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Post by Jeremy on Oct 16, 2021 19:44:45 GMT -8
See, this is what I appreciate about this forum. Most people on the Internet would get upset if I criticize one of their favorite films/miniseries. But here, people just quote popular song lyrics and everything's cool.
Gonna take a page from Guttersnipe's book and watch some horror films over the next couple weeks. Though presumably my picks will be less obscure than his.
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Post by guttersnipe on Oct 17, 2021 11:16:51 GMT -8
Glad to hear it, though it has to be said that most of my viewings this year have been obscure with good reason; this hasn't proved some recherche treasure trove, rather most have been unceremoniously dumped onto YouTube and rarely dusted off since the very atomic age that concocted them. In other words, I wouldn't ask anyone other than myself to drag the waters of '50s creature-features in the vain hope of netting a pearl.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 17, 2021 13:48:13 GMT -8
See, this is what I appreciate about this forum. Most people on the Internet would get upset if I criticize one of their favorite films/miniseries. But here, people just quote popular song lyrics and everything's cool. Or, you know, maybe I was trying to get that song stuck in your head, as punishment for your insolence. Mind you, it probably won't replace that Barenaked Ladies song you heard repeatedly during the most recent What We Do In The Shadows episode.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 17, 2021 18:45:44 GMT -8
Glad to hear it, though it has to be said that most of my viewings this year have been obscure with good reason; this hasn't proved some recherche treasure trove, rather most have been unceremoniously dumped onto YouTube and rarely dusted off since the very atomic age that concocted them. In other words, I wouldn't ask anyone other than myself to drag the waters of '50s creature-features in the vain hope of netting a pearl. I figured it was in part because you had already seen most of the heavy hitters in the horror genre, and are now left with the table scraps. I try to watch a few of the more famous horror films each year (it gets easier with time, as my stomach grows progressively more impervious to excessive violence/gore), but I do hope I never reach the day when I need to stoop to The Giant Gila Monster. Mind you, it probably won't replace that Barenaked Ladies song you heard repeatedly during the most recent What We Do In The Shadows episode. So for those who are not aware, I watched the most recent episode of What We Do in the Shadows a few days before the rest of the world, at a preview screening at NYCC. Watching the show with a packed crowd was quite an experience (even if the room's acoustics weren't the best fit for a big-screen presentation), particularly the roars of laughter that reverberated every time the soundtrack broke out with "YIT'S BEEN." That said, I think this is the kind of show best appreciated in the comfort of my own home.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 18, 2021 1:30:15 GMT -8
Mind you, it probably won't replace that Barenaked Ladies song you heard repeatedly during the most recent What We Do In The Shadows episode. So for those who are not aware, I watched the most recent episode of What We Do in the Shadows a few days before the rest of the world, at a preview screening at NYCC. Watching the show with a packed crowd was quite an experience (even if the room's acoustics weren't the best fit for a big-screen presentation), particularly the roars of laughter that reverberated every time the soundtrack broke out with "YIT'S BEEN." That said, I think this is the kind of show best appreciated in the comfort of my own home. To me, it was one of the least comedic episodes of the season, because the primary focus was Nandor's depression. The episode where they were trying to track down the escaped Original Sire probably would've been ideal in that setting, though, because there were a ridiculous number of visual and verbal gags in it (assuming you could actually hear them). Alas, the comic convention was scheduled when it was. I sure hope the actors on that show get some love from the Emmys next year. Their performances are over-the-top, but very specific in nature. And Novak's spot-on impressions of the other cast members in episode two of this season ruled. But because many of the most acclaimed comedies these days are actually half-hour dramas with a few jokes thrown in, and many viewers seem to think dramatic acting is more difficult than comedic acting, it's gonna be an uphill battle for big comedic performances to get recognition.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 18, 2021 7:03:32 GMT -8
If WWDITS does get an acting Emmy nom next year, I'd imagine it would be for Novak's performance in "The Cloak of Duplication." The Emmys love actors who engage in dual (or more) performances, and he really was spot-on in that episode.
Incidentally, the actors briefly discussed that episode at the NYCC panel (Berry, Demetriou, and Guillén were all there, and Novak livestreamed from Toronto). They were flattered and humorously offended at Novak's impersonations. Incidentally, I wasn't even planning to go to the screening at first, but I was getting bored at the Animaniacs panel (fully livestreamed, where the voice actors discussed the reboot in glowing terms without acknowledging the many criticisms leveled at it), so I slipped out and headed down the hall to see how the vampires were doing. A smart choice.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 18, 2021 12:31:23 GMT -8
Oh, I think the entire cast is really good. Guillen is probably the glue that holds it together (the calming, reflexive force), Berry is hilarious with his horndog pomp, and even Kristen Schaal, who I'd never been that fond of in the past, does terrific, spot-on work. I'm sure the show will get a bunch of writing nominations again (as they did the last time it was eligible), but given the number of potential nomination slots (often more than five) in individual categories, most of them are very worthy. Not that I care about the Emmys that much, but this show is often more laugh-out-loud funny than most, and it's clearly already on the TV Academy's radar.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Oct 18, 2021 14:38:26 GMT -8
If WWDITS does get an acting Emmy nom next year, I'd imagine it would be for Novak's performance in "The Cloak of Duplication." The Emmys love actors who engage in dual (or more) performances, and he really was spot-on in that episode. Incidentally, the actors briefly discussed that episode at the NYCC panel (Berry, Demetriou, and Guillén were all there, and Novak livestreamed from Toronto). They were flattered and humorously offended at Novak's impersonations. Incidentally, I wasn't even planning to go to the screening at first, but I was getting bored at the Animaniacs panel (fully livestreamed, where the voice actors discussed the reboot in glowing terms without acknowledging the many criticisms leveled at it), so I slipped out and headed down the hall to see how the vampires were doing. A smart choice. They could just give it to the whole cast for their performance in "The Casino", which was the hardest I've laughed in a long, long time. The third season has been pretty damn good this season, I think. Especially the even-numbered episodes for some reason.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 18, 2021 18:52:14 GMT -8
It really boasts one of the funniest ensembles on TV, guest cast included. I don't think its chances at the Emmys are especially high (it's already on its third season and hasn't won any awards in its first two), but I could see it slipping through the cracks in the competition.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 22, 2021 13:34:18 GMT -8
And now, a spook-tacular edition of "What I Watched This Week":
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Did you know there was a preposition at the start of this movie's title? I only found out about that this week, when watching the OG Freddy Kreuger film for the first time. It's an entertaining film for much of its run - formulaic even for its time, but has good fun with the dreams vs. reality scenes, and some horrific visuals from the director's Craven mind. (I believe this is the first movie in Wes' filmography I've seen outside the Scream series, and you can certainly see how films like ANoES gave his later work the fodder for their meta tinge.) Only real letdown to this film is the ending. I think it's supposed to set up the sequels, but it's kind of a lame finale on its own.
The Host (2006) - I guess this is technically a horror film, or at least parallels the genre as a monster film. I'm working my way through Bong Joon-ho's oeuvre, though very slowly, as I can only climb the one-inch barrier of subtitles so often. Anyhow, The Host is in line with what I've come to expect from Bong's more recent work - an engaging story with familiar genre elements, wrapped up in a lot of sociopolitical commentary that is deployed cleverly, if not always subtly. (This film seems less anti-capitalist than satirically anti-government... though in today's day and age, I expect a lot of people wouldn't see much difference.) At its heart, it's a family drama, and an effective one at that. Some spiffy CG as well.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - A once-infamous film that has since gained a reputation as a cult classic, Halloween III is most succinctly described as "the one without Michael Meyers." But this does a disservice to the film itself - specifically, how totally bonkers it is. With a plot combining robots, bugs, lasers, snakes, possessed pumpkin masks, Stonehenge, etc... the film is a sharp left turn into insanity and would probably (and tragically) have been forgotten if not for it being technically part of the "Halloween" series. Not a good movie, but certainly a memorable one - and surprisingly gory for the time it was released. The main downside is that I now have the stupid jingle stuck in my head. "Eight more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween..."
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 22, 2021 13:57:02 GMT -8
And now, a spook-tacular edition of "What I Watched This Week": A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Did you know there was a preposition at the start of this movie's title? I only found out about that this week, when watching the OG Freddy Kreuger film for the first time. It's an entertaining film for much of its run - formulaic even for its time, but has good fun with the dreams vs. reality scenes, and some horrific visuals from the director's Craven mind. (I believe this is the first movie in Wes' filmography I've seen outside the Scream series, and you can certainly see how films like ANoES gave his later work the fodder for their meta tinge.) Only real letdown to this film is the ending. I think it's supposed to set up the sequels, but it's kind of a lame finale on its own. They did an episode of that Netflix documentary series The Movies That Made Us on this film, and it's worth checking out, because that extremely silly ending (especially the blow-up doll aspect) is discussed. They shot, like, eight different versions of an ending, and that one sort of ended up on the reel by accident. Heh. At any rate, if you want to check out one more in the series during October, I'd go with the third one, Dream Warriors. It's set in a mental hospital, is quite visually inventive, and was just before the tipping-point of the Freddy character into full-blown stand-up comic mode. It's arguably better than the original, and also features a very young Patricia Arquette. I mean, while you could certainly argue that the entire series, in the absolute sense, is "trash", this sort of trash is FAR more compelling than the Friday the 13th crap, and most of the Halloween sequels (that don't involve Jamie Lee Curtis). I can't recall if you've seen Wes Craven's New Nightmare, but that was a meta precursor to Scream as well.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 23, 2021 18:52:09 GMT -8
Haven't seen any of the other Nightmare films, but what I've heard about New Nightmare film sounds interesting. I like the Scream films a lot (the first two, anyway), and I appreciate how Craven was able to both indulge horror/thriller fans while poking fun at the genre. So I'll probably check out more of his work.
I've never watched any of the Friday the 13th films, though I'm tempted to at least sit through the first one, if only to complete my viewing of original slasher flicks. As for the original Halloween series, I strongly disliked the second film when I watched it a few years back, and all signs indicate the later sequels aren't much improvement (excepting maybe H20). I'm guessing continuity isn't a major factor in these slasher franchises; the Halloween series appears to have been retconned/rebooted at least three separate times.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 23, 2021 21:25:00 GMT -8
See, the thing about the original Friday the 13th movie is that it DOESN'T EVEN FEATURE the Jason character. And if I recall correctly, while he does show up in the second film, he doesn't even put on the damn hockey-mask he's known for until the third film. Regardless, none of them are "good" films, even by low slasher-movie standards. I saw them all when I was young. That said, IF you want to watch one of them to get your fix and move on, watch Part 6 - Jason Lives, as these films reset with new characters pretty much every time anyways, and that one is generally regarded to be the best made by a fair margin.
You could probably have some degree of fun with most of the Nightmare On Elm Street movies, but like I said, the third one (Dream Warriors) and New Nightmare (the metatextual one) have the most going for them. And they're the only three that feature Heather Langenkamp, the original female lead, so there's continuity there.
And yes, Halloween 2 was a quick, cheap cash-in when those weren't nearly as prevalent as they are today. It's sort of too bad that the original had the inconclusive ending, but the studio was probably thinking franchise, even at that point. I would say that the first David Gordon Green reboot/sequel from a few years ago was easily the second-best after the John Carpenter original, but unfortunately, it sounds as though the sequel that came out this month was a big letdown.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 24, 2021 13:52:41 GMT -8
One of my favorite things about the original Scream is how the opening scene spoils the original Friday the 13th. I learned the twist in the movie simply by watching a more well-regarded horror film.
I notice that your Letterboxd ratings for the Friday the 13th films are uniformly quite low (particularly Jason X, which you gave one star). It seems that audience interest had seriously declined by the time the 2000s, particularly once the series reached the inevitable Freddy vs. Jason crossover. (Cinematic universes - they weren't always for superheroes!)
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 25, 2021 2:59:06 GMT -8
Oh, did I rate those F13 movies on Letterboxd? I must've just done it from memory, when I initially made the account. Or maybe I actually watched that installment when I was maintaining the account, or something. "Jason in Space" sounds almost crazy enough to work, but I think it was just mostly really boring, with little in the way of cheap laughs. That said, Freddy vs Jason certainly isn't one of the better NoES movies, but it's probably still better than virtually all of the F13 flicks, at least in terms of basic filmmaking craft (which isn't to say it's good or anything): there are some cheap laughs to be had in that.
Truth be told, I know I've probably seen all of the F13 movies, but I can only really recall the first one, parts of the second one, and then the sixth installment onwards. The seventh movie featured a Final Girl with telekinesis, which at least freshened things up a touch. Jason Takes Manhattan, the eighth one, is really misnamed, as he doesn't arrive in "Manhattan" (Vancouver) until, like, the last 20 minutes of the movie (the rest is spent on a boat). Anyways, this is far more information than you need about entirely disposable movies.
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