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Pour one out for Lance Reddick, watch The Guest again.
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Mar 18, 2023 02:11
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Tabitha King wrote that "in literature, the ghost is almost always a metaphor for the past." This is a me-problem, but I find the very literal interpretation of that idea (as found in Beloved and many other stories) really, really tired. It's probably just over-saturation. These are objectively interesting stories and Beloved is objectively well-made, but once you figure out what the Beloved character represents (which takes about 15 seconds from her first appearance) the rest of the movie is mostly just waiting for the details, and this movie is three hours long. Basically, Beloved isn't a bad movie but I didn't like it.
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Mar 19, 2023 06:10
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Beloved ain't super great, but on the other hand, the Victor Fleming Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is a pretty lackluster adaptation. Ingrid Bergman is the only one who really sells the horror, and she's so doing such a marvelous job it verges on being over-the-top, compared to what everyone else is doing. I can appreciate Spencer Tracy's performance but I don't really like the choices all that much; his Hyde seems to be just having fun being naughty instead of actually being evil. (His Dr. Jekyll I do rather like for the way he falls into temptation, but that lack of contrast I don't find as interesting.) The final result is a rather tame version of a story that was done better before, and thus feels like an unnecessary remake even if it, too, is not a terrible movie.
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Mar 19, 2023 07:46
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Beloved Argument: It’s not a horror movie. Counterpoint: At the beginning of the movie, a dog is telekinetically thrown against a wall so hard its eyes pop out. In all seriousness, great movie – amazing acting from all the main characters, with Thandie Newton's facial expressions being a standout. Really dug the score too. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde has some good stuff – the cackling, the “Burlesque” club scene, the polka song in general, Ingrid Bergman in general, any scene with fog in it. Apart from that it’s so drat boring. Easy vote for Beloved. The Guest really isn’t as good as it should be – it has all the elements for a truly fantastic movie but I never quite like it as much as I should. Can’t quite point my finger on what’s wrong with it though. Peninsula is good when it’s Carpenter, bad when it’s anything else – the cgi car chases being the lowest points. I don’t generally mind bad cgi, but it sure would have been nice if the animators knew how cars moved in real life. I’ve seen video games with better car physics. Easy vote for Guest
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Mar 19, 2023 17:47
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I’m really pushing the “when I get to it” thing lately, huh? I’m not feeling great, slept in real late, and didn’t finish the write-ups before I passed out. So I apologize for the lateness and if these are a little low effort or sloppy. But lets get to it.  We have our second shutout and FIRST 100% unanimous movie of the tourney for the Guest! Its a lower turnout than we’ve been having. No judgment, I didn’t vote either. Busy week. But The Guest gets all 11 ballots submitted and even Adam Wingard’s record to 1-1 and propels his team forward for the first time in the tourney history. That’s gonna be the end of the run for Kangra’s Koreans Gone Global unfortunately as it just drew the tough matchup even though most people didn’t seem to have too much bad to say about Peninsula. Sometimes that’s the luck. On the flip side Beloved may have benefited from some luck too as it advances with just 4 votes. But with only 7 people voting in that matchup that’s enough. Beloved might have been long and a maybe iffy horror addition to some but enough people liked what it did enough to propel it against a Jekyl and Hyde that sounded like it disappointed. Maybe not the most accessible or crowd pleasing matchup we’ve had but Weapon X’s Acolytes of Corman survives it with Serv’s Classic One Offs sadly reaching the end of the line. Demme also moves to 1-1 in tourney history. And this means the second round matchup will be Acolytes of Corman vs Sam’s #ThrowbackThursday in just 2 weeks. Ok, lets get this week started. The last of Fozzie’s first round. 1. (Darth’s Sumptuously Stupid) Tarsem Singh’s The Cell vs. 16. Jean Rollins’ La Vampire Nue  Darth’s Sumptuously Stupid earned their spot in the tourney by winning the 2022 HalloweeNIT last October, and while much of the team has been overhauled since then The Cell not only was drawn then but actually won the championship for this team! So its fitting that it was drawn as the first film for it in the main tourney, and its a different game now. For one people are actually paying attention. So can Tarsem Singh’s late 90s hornball and creepy CGI imagery and wild costumes spectacle pull off another win for this team when it really counts? On the flip side Jean Rollin already has a win in this tournament and he’s hoping to keep up the momentum with something he’s pretty well known for. Naked french vampires. Reviews make it sound like a Rollin film for better or worse and I’m clearly not on the same wavelength as most when it comes to him. And this is is the kind of thing he has a reputation for. So is that enough to beat out something self described as Stupid? Its a matchup of two films that sound very horny and very visually impressive more than any of that story stuff. So that feels like its gonna come down to subjective gut more than usual to see which one resonates more or just has prettier colors. Or maybe I’m being unfair and these are actually two very good stories. I really can’t say. But you can. Its why we do what we do. The Cell is available for streaming on Hoopla. La Vampire Nue is out there and available upon request. 8. (Goat’s Knockoffs of the Living Dead) Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead vs. 9. (mbd’s Indonesian Insanity) H. Tjut Djalil’s Ratu Buaya Putih  I did it. I brought that polarizing fella Zack Snyder to the tourney and with him that other polarizing guy James Gunn. But before the two of them were in the middle of a vicious, crazy, endless, exhausting, internet fandom war and before people even really knew their names they combined to do something rare - make a crowd pleasing remake of a horror classic. And it really has all the elements we’d come to know from both parties. High octane action, mean and vicious approach, dark biting comedy buried in there. Its lacking in some of the more nuance of the Romero original for sure but its also clear Snyder was paying tribute with his cover version including cameos from Tom Savini and Flyboy. But does the film hold up from the early 2000s edgey sensibility? And can it break the zombie overload malaise as even this tourney has seemed to feature a zombie film quite often? On the flip side we have… well I don’t really know what we have. Indonesian Insanity sounds about right and with only a limited number of reviews on Letterboxd and most of them not in English its a bit of a wild card. I did peruse the film for quality and subtitle purposes and.. .yeah, it seems like something. And maybe something Bracketology tends to like. This very goofy and wild and maybe edgy from another period sense of humor? So which wins out? 80s East Asian edgy or 2000s American edgy? Its a pair of movies that really don’t feel like they fit together but also sorta do in a weird way? I dunno. Should be interesting. Dawn of the Dead is out there and available upon request. Ratu Buaya Putih is out there and available upon request. A kind of tough to find slate of movies this week but I’ve got copies if you need them. A very odd mix as usual. A couple of modern films you might have already seen but maybe haven’t revisited in awhile and a couple of foreign films I’m guessing there’s good odds you haven’t seen. Again, sorry this one’s a little mailed in. I had a rough night and morning. But I’ll try and start next week’s early and not be such a procrastinating sickly idiot next week. What we all need is some spring time air. But if its 20 degrees at night right before the Spring Equinox for you like it is for me then at least we have spooky movies. As always the goal is to just have fun and watch what you want. We try and make sure every film is reasonably available, some are a little harder to find than others and not everyone has the right streaming services so if you need help finding any of the films ask and help might be right around the corner. It will. I have the movies. Just ask. You can vote in this round until 12 noon March 26th (or when I get to it) Next Week! 5. The Magical Muppet Wizardry of Jim Henson and Friends vs. 13. Chucky and His Pals 6. Ladies Night vs. 14. Final Girls Spreadsheet Letterboxd List
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Mar 19, 2023 21:36
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The Cell rulesssss. I mean I haven’t seen it in like a decade so I hope it still rules! But costume designer Eiko Ishioka is an all-time great. RIP      
WeaponX fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Mar 19, 2023 |
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Mar 19, 2023 21:45
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My gut instinct is that Tarsem will win the visual design side of things, while Rollins might have the more interesting movie. I haven't seen The Nude Vampire, though, so I don't know if it'll be enough to actually win here.
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Mar 20, 2023 02:05
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Checking back in after a rough work week. I managed to vote for The Guest but had to abstain from the other matchup. I really enjoy The Cell. It has such a ridiculous premise, but Singh handles it with such style and seriousness that it becomes like a quintessential 90's movie released a year late to actually be a 90s movie. For me I don't see it getting beat by a Rollin film because Rollin himself is style over substance. If someone is gonna beat The Cell it would be by having more substance, you're not gonna beat it on style.
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Mar 20, 2023 14:48
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Cell is so good. I liked every rollins I've seen so far but I doubt he's gonna beat it.
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Mar 21, 2023 01:47
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If anyone has a lead on the Indonesian movie, please message me. Cheers!
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Mar 21, 2023 11:10
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I ended up liking The Nude Vampire quite a bit, I was pleasantly surprised. I feel like it had a bit more plot running through it than the other two or three Rollin films I've seen. The plot supported the style in a way that I thought was lacking in the other films. I don't think my vote will change though, it was a much closer call than I expected but I still like The Cell a bit more.
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Mar 22, 2023 20:23
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To no real surprise I didn't get much of anything from The Nude Vampire. That 70s euro stuff does little for me to start with and Rollin's interest in horniness over plot or story or character is a huge turn off to me. I didn't find it offensive or anything, just boring mostly. Certainly there's some interesting settings and costumes and visuals and if that's enough for you and if you dig that 70s vibe and acting... quality then more power to you. But for me its just creepy noise. I don't feel like rewatching The Cell as I watched in October. And while I didn't like it very much... hence not wanting to rewatch it... I do think I took more out of it. The costuming and setting and vibe stuff seems of the same nature but WAY more pronounced and impressive. Like I'm sure a lot of work was put into Rollin's film but The Cell is something else. And Vincent D'onofrio stands out to me as a really great performer and element that Rollin's film simply doesn't have. The plot's not great and the 90s psycho/philosophy babble is suspect. I see nothing in Rollin's film that beats D'onfrio. Still, the fact that I don't want to watch it again makes me a little hesitant to give it my vote. Does that make sense? I'm not sure it does. I'm leaning towards voting for Cell but I also might abstain if it doesn't feel right. But definitely not voting for Rollin.
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Mar 23, 2023 06:44
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I voted for Rollin because I don’t gel with Tarsem Singh although his movies are very pretty. I don’t think there’s any shame in Rollin losing to another stylist who had a thousand times his budget. Dawn of the Dead was all downhill for me after the excellent opening scene. The zombie baby was particularly bathetic. It was a bit surreal being on vacation on release and going to a theater to see my hometown get overrun by zombies, but it was disappointing to see nothing in the film that actually placed it in Milwaukee or SE Wisconsin for me. I sort of doubt Waukesha even has any black cops for one thing; the whole county is Milwaukee’s parasitic white flight twin.
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Mar 23, 2023 12:18
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I'm digging nude vampire. I'm not very far in but opening with 8 minutes of no dialogue and the costuming is fantastic. The weird outfits the twins wear while dressing the rich son are certainly something
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Mar 23, 2023 16:06
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Lol letterboxd
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Mar 23, 2023 16:08
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I don't know how I feel about Dawn of the Dead these days. I used to love it but I definitely don't anymore. Some of its probably aged from that era of edgelordy nihilism and meanness. Of course we're on SA so clearly not everyone has moved past that but I have definite lost tolerance for it as I get older. Still its a zombie movie so like, a lot of that is built in. I think its a very interesting thought experiment since Snyder and Gunn both have distinctive "auteur" voices and I think you can hear Gunn's voice in a lot of the writing but also see Snyder's choices. One clear non spoilery example of this I think is when they enter the mall there's a muzak version of Don't Worry, Be Happy playing. You can see how Gunn would have played up this joke with a Chris Pratt or John Cena type making some sort of comment or reaction. But Snyder just plays it very lightly in the background as everyone acts very serious and somber. Obviously that's more Snyder's vibe and I don't know that Gunn's Dawn of the Dead would have been a better film. But I find myself noticing this kind of stuff throughout the film and while I find that interesting I also find it to be a distraction. There's also just stuff. Like I don't want to open one of those boxes but it definitely feels of a post 9/11 era from the guy who made 300. Like why does he include that shot of a mosque at prayer? Its not part of more clips of crowds chanting or anything. Its with riots and violence. So its tough to read. But I dunno. We're talking about the guy who used a war protest song over a montage of zombie violence because he thought it was funny. I'm not gonna try and dig too deep. But its briskly paces, I think the characters are solidly defined and well acted, Sarah Polly is good and a nicely multi layered character who is a natural leader, a healer, and a bad rear end when she needs to be without any of those traits defining her. I like that. It think its well written. Snyder's passion is obviously with action and there's lots of it. I definitely don't love it anymore but its a solid watch. I just didn't know what to do with Ratu Buaya Putih. A few times I kind of thought I knew what was happening but that didn't last long. Its weird and dumb and weird and I get that people like that but I was just really bored and it took me 2 hours to watch a 95 minute movie. I am voting for Zack Snyder I guess. Edit: long story short? Dawn is a flawed movie where I see the seams a bit too much but White Crocodile Woman is just badly made and not ordering me anything I want. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 19:29
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Did not care for the white crocodile movie. Dawn of the Dead and The Cell but admittedly it's a coin toss between it and Nude Vampire (let's go tie!)
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Mar 23, 2023 20:25
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STAC Goat posted:I don't know how I feel about Dawn of the Dead these days. I used to love it but I definitely don't anymore. Some of its probably aged from that era of edgelordy nihilism and meanness. Of course we're on SA so clearly not everyone has moved past that but I have definite lost tolerance for it as I get older. Still its a zombie movie so like, a lot of that is built in. I think its a very interesting thought experiment since Snyder and Gunn both have distinctive "auteur" voices and I think you can hear Gunn's voice in a lot of the writing but also see Snyder's choices. One clear non spoilery example of this I think is when they enter the mall there's a muzak version of Don't Worry, Be Happy playing. You can see how Gunn would have played up this joke with a Chris Pratt or John Cena type making some sort of comment or reaction. But Snyder just plays it very lightly in the background as everyone acts very serious and somber. Obviously that's more Snyder's vibe and I don't know that Gunn's Dawn of the Dead would have been a better film. But I find myself noticing this kind of stuff throughout the film and while I find that interesting I also find it to be a distraction. There's also just stuff. Like I don't want to open one of those boxes but it definitely feels of a post 9/11 era from the guy who made 300. Like why does he include that shot of a mosque at prayer? Its not part of more clips of crowds chanting or anything. Its with riots and violence. So its tough to read. But I dunno. We're talking about the guy who used a war protest song over a montage of zombie violence because he thought it was funny. I'm not gonna try and dig too deep. I’m in a very similar boat with Dawn. It’s hard to reconcile the opinion of the 15/16 year old me to now. The more I look at it now the more cracks I see. But it was a film that blew my little mind at the time, I was just starting to seek out horror films on my own and discovering this and the original Dawn around the same time really pulled me into the genre. I still think it’s a great zombie film. Visceral, swift, and nasty. It’s meanness is of course hit or miss but I get a chuckle out of the sheer ineptitude mixed with genuine ingenuity (we built the perfect zombie death-mobile but let’s make sure we include these chainsaw slots that couldn’t possibly go wrong!). But the action is creative and fun and there are lots of actors I still love. Nice knowing now where Sarah Polley’s career is now. Funny thinking how this is Snyder at his more restrained. At this point for me, it’s a bit of junk food where you try not to take a look too hard at the nutritional value...
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Mar 23, 2023 20:49
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When you give me two movies to vote between that offer the same thing, I'm going to choose the winner based on the other potential films in the teams. In this case I'm going for Nude Vampire. It wasn't a better film than Cell, but the weird visuals were weird in a way that clicked every-so-slightly more than Singh's, and I'm interested in the rest of the team. I also dated an art-school girl in the late naughties and the teenage pretension I got to hear about Singh almost certainly left a subconscious impression. On the other side, as much as I have teenage nostalgia about Dawn of the Dead (and haven't soured on it nearly as much as some others) White Crocodile Queen is exactly my flavor of movie. I loved the villain pissing on the guy, I loved the song interlude about being a night time man, I loved that the copy we watched had a blue screen pause in the middle where someone changed the tape. WCQ is an easy win, but I liked revisiting Dawn of the Dead quite a lot.
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Mar 24, 2023 00:08
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Its Friday! For once I'm actually caught up on the movies. Go figure. But have no worries if you're not because there's still time! I know spring has sprung and maybe where you are its actually spring and not freezing. But if it is and you do wanna spend time indoors you've still got just under 48 hours to watch these movies and vote. And this is the last of the first round of the Fozzie conference so we get another round of puppet and lady winners next week. You can vote in this round until 12 noon March 26th (or when I get to it) Next Week! 5. The Magical Muppet Wizardry of Jim Henson and Friends vs. 13. Chucky and His Pals 6. Ladies Night vs. 14. Final Girls
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Mar 24, 2023 17:24
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I realized with this matchup that I've basically landed on an unofficial policy of voting against zombie movies. I'm all zombied out I guess.
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Mar 24, 2023 17:30
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That's definitely a handicap I figured this team would have to overcome but if there was a draw I thought they could win...
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Mar 24, 2023 21:28
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Basebf555 posted:I realized with this matchup that I've basically landed on an unofficial policy of voting against zombie movies. I'm all zombied out I guess. That was my policy too but I've actually had to vote for a couple this tournament. Not Snyder tho.
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Mar 25, 2023 23:31
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Officially announcing the retirement of Knockoffs of the Living Dead team after this tournament. Since everyone’s all zombied out and most people have seen the good films on the team anyway and my interest is not in winning I’m just gonna retire them when they lose and free NotLD and RotLD to wherever wants them. Seems for the.best. I thought it was a fun idea but if it’s not working for anyone or exploring any new films what’s the point? Right? They can’t all be good. More room for something else. Even I don’t wanna be sitting here pushing Snyder out of some weird need to “win”.
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Mar 26, 2023 00:05
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I voted for the snyder zombie movie
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Mar 26, 2023 00:05
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STAC Goat posted:I thought it was a fun idea but if it’s not working for anyone or exploring any new films what’s the point? Right? They can’t all be good. More room for something else. Even I don’t wanna be sitting here pushing Snyder out of some weird need to “win”. Yeah, man. Do what you think is fun. But we did collectively vote to get the knockoffs team into the tournament, I don't think there's enmity or anything.
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Mar 26, 2023 06:48
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Yeah, I know. I hope that didn't come off like a tantrum or anything. I guess I just really do think like if everyone really is all burnt out on the zombie films then its just better to open up that slot for something else. We'll see. Maybe it wins this week. Maybe it wins the whole thing. Its got some killer movies on it. But when it it goes I think that's it for it because there's probably something else people want to watch more. edit: And I'm not gonna lie. Even though most of the time I'm not about winning I secretly want to win this one because I have a chance to have 3 of the 4 Sweet Sixteen entries from Fozzie's Conference with the 4th being one of my former teams. Would be wild. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Mar 26, 2023 |
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Mar 26, 2023 07:17
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Counterpoint to Dawn of the Dead: In my movie, a magical crocodile is thrown against a tree so hard it explodes
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Mar 26, 2023 15:52
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Admission: This week I’m shamelessly voting on sympathy rather than whats the better movie. Nude Vampire delivers on the promise of nudity to an extent that’s a bit obnoxious, so even more than the standard Rollin movie it’s torn between low and highbrow. The result is a very dumb pretty movie that’s quite enjoyable to watch, fantastic dreamlike vibes, loved the animal masks. Would be an easy vote if not for what it’s up against Cell competes in pretty much the exact same niche as Nude Vampire, but is just so much better at pretty much everything Vampire does well – plus it tones down the horniness to a less embarrassing level. In all fairness I should vote for Cell but I want to watch more Rollin. Dawn of the Dead is pretty much peak generic mainstream zombie movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s just very well done, tense, violent, stylish. I don’t like the 2000s meanness now and I also didn’t like it too much when it came out. Still, very solid. White Crocodile Woman I had to watch without subtitles so I had to piece together the plot by what I saw on screen. I’m not exactly sure what made Jeffrey the hero as his first scene shows him shooting innocent crocodiles for no reason. On the other hand the villain ruled, and I don’t think he was ever shown doing anything morally objectionable besides murdering some people. Either way, lots of fun to be had, lovingly crafted SFX, a surprisingly good soundtrack, a welcome musical number, I had a good time. Voting Croc.
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Mar 26, 2023 16:47
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Sorry. Couldn’t sleep last night and passed out all day. Lets get the results up because I’m excited about this new week.  The zombies just won’t die! Despite the zombie fatigue and Snyder baggage and obvious whacked out appeal of White Crocodile Woman Dawn of the Dead still manages to hold just strong enough to force our second tie of the tournament. That means both Knockouts of the Living Dead and Indonesian Insanity will move on to the second round to face off with Stupediously Stupid as the Cell just cruised to an easy victory. That’s actually the second time The Cell has won a matchup for this team since it also won the HalloweeNIT that sent it here so now this mid conference champion will have a chance in a tough three way to make the Sweet Sixteen. And for Jean Rollin sadly he’s the only one to go home this week as his record drops to 0-2. Ok, new movies have waited long enough. 5. (Goat’s The Magical Muppet Wizardry of Jim Henson and Friends) Joe Dante’s Piranha vs. 13. (C3KS’s Chucky and His Pals) Tom Holland’s Fright Night  There may not be any actual puppets in this puppet vs puppet matchup. Maybe some in Piranha? Them’s the breaks of the draw. Still as much as I wanted a Muppet vs Chucky matchup here we ended up getting a pretty marquee clash in its own right. Joe Dante vs Tom Holland, Piranha vs Fright Night. Odds are most of us have seen one if not both of these as they’re both old school cult classics from goons’ favorite 70s/80s era of spook-a-doodle. And I’m not sure there’s a lot I can say about either. Both are pretty original and transformative in sequels and influences I think. Both probably borrow a bit from what came before in their respective exploitation/animal attack and vampire/teen horror genres but both definitely make their own mark. Both men have been in this tournament before with Dante at an even 2-2 while Holland is 0-1. Holland actually was responsible for Chucky and his Pals’ elimination last year with his Twisted Tales but this looks like a pretty good chance for redemption as its hard seeing Fright Night losing this one, isn’t it? Piranha is a cult classic but Fright Night is Fright Night. Still exploitation, gore, and the sort of stuff Piranha seems to bring is pretty popular so you never know what’s gonna surprise you in this tournament. Both of these teams picked up their first win in two tourneys last round but now one of them is gonna advance into the Sweet Sixteen. May the best puppet win. Piranha is availble for streaming on AMC+, Crackle, Freebee, Fubo, Hoopla, Kanopy, Peacock, Plex, Pluto, SX, ShoutTV, Shudder, Roku, and Tubi TV. Fright Night is available for streaming on Sling. 6. (Goat’s Ladies Night) Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon vs. 14. (Sam’s Final Girls) M. J. Bassett’s Solomon Kane  Its a rare lady vs lady matchup which will make it sad to see one of them go but nice to see one of them advance. Ladies Night has been to the Sweet Sixteen its first two years so its gonna try and keep that run going a third year with the return of Ana Lily Amirpour to the team. Two years ago she advanced this team into the Sweet Sixteen with A Girl Walks Alone At Night and now hopes to do the same with her newest weird but vibey film. I haven’t seen it but I’ve been excited to for awhile. Nearly watched it a couple of weeks ago when I drew it for this and decided to wait. its reviews look strong and while there’s some people who deem it disappointing compared to Amirpour’s breakout film most seem to love all its mood and vibe and aesthetic. But MJ Bassett’s Solomon Kane looks pretty strong itself. An adaption of Conan the Barbarian writer Robert E. Howard with a ton of praise in reviews for its revival of the “sword and sorcery” genre with supernatural and dark gothic elements. This one feels like it flew under the radar and while at first glance I was expecting some cheap DTV film this looks like a lot more than that. So its two ladies bringing two very different vibe movies seemingly heavy on style and aesthetics. And unlike the last matchup two films that I’m betting most here haven’t seen. I know I haven’t. I’m gonna be sad to see one of these teams lose but I’m very excited to watch and see which one will win. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is available for streaming on DirectTV, Fubo, and Showtime. Soloman Kane is available for streaming on Roku. That’s our week and it looks like a really fun one to me. The puppets matchup doesn’t actually have any puppets but it does have two cult classics of the 70s/80s era. And the ladies matchup brings two really interesting looking films. I am DOWN for this week. I am pumped. I hope everyone else is too and I hope it delivers like I think its gonna. As always the goal is to just have fun and watch what you want. We try and make sure every film is reasonably available, some are a little harder to find than others and not everyone has the right streaming services so if you need help finding any of the films ask and help might be right around the corner. It will. I have the movies. Just ask. You can vote in this round until 12 noon Apr 2nd (or when I get to it) Next Week! - 1. Sumptuously Stupid vs. 8. Knockoffs of the Living Dead vs. 9. Indonesian Insanity - 7. #ThrowbackThursday vs. 15. Acolytes of Corman Spreadsheet Letterboxd List STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Mar 28, 2023 |
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Mar 26, 2023 22:51
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Piranha does have some Phil Tippet stop motion animation in it, so definitely in the puppet family there. But yea Fright Night is Fright Night. Holland has/had(he seems retired?) such a gift for balancing a lighter tone with genuine scares. He's exactly the kind of director I wish we had more of today.
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Mar 27, 2023 14:25
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Piranha and Fright Night is a really great double bill. Both have similar, fun, tongue-in-cheek energy playing with the conventions of the horror films that inspired them.
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Mar 27, 2023 15:56
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Basebf555 posted:He's exactly the kind of director I wish we had more of today. Same. Piranha is fine but Fright Night is a classic. Not sure if I will rewatch those this week. I've got the Fright Night remake on my watchlist for the Horrorx52 challenge on letterboxd. In any case, Fright Night is an easy vote there. The other match is really exciting, I'm looking forward to both (and they're both new to me).
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Mar 27, 2023 21:55
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Booya survived the round! Amirpour is just such a cool person and filmmaker, but also a bit cold. Still definitely the top dog in this matchup. But I like Solomon Kane, I definitely wouldn't count it out. It's a fun dumb Warhammer/Bloodborne inspired DnD session.
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Mar 28, 2023 00:35
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Piranha vs. Fright Night is a tough one. I really like both movies, but think I have to give a slight edge to Fright Night. They are fun enough I'll definitely give both a rewatch before voting though.
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Mar 28, 2023 20:05
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I really like what I'm seeing so far from the trajectory of Ana Lily Amirpour's career. For me A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night was actually my least favorite of her three so far. Hopefully someone comes along soon and gives her a bigger opportunity than she's had up to this point with more resources to work with. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon was produced by like five different little companies and distributed by Saban Films, so I'd love to see her move up to that next level. Then again, maybe she does it this way because she doesn't want to give up any of the freedom she has to make weird stuff.
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Mar 29, 2023 20:27
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She's a woman of color making very weird auteur stuff and we know how lopsided and unfair the business is to that. I saw an interview with Diane Guerrero the other night where she noted that in 2022 only 3 films in the top 100 were made by women of color and in the last 16 years only 21 of 1600 were by women of color. So you know... I just finished Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon and really dug it. Its not a perfect film. I do think it meanders a little in the middle especially with Amirpour's style of not having a really driving plot. But I loved the vibe, aesthetic, and performances. I never got bored or anything, maybe just a little restless to piece together the themes or direction. Something I just learned was that Amirpour has lost 30% of her hearing and she says that's why she tends to be light on dialogue and heavily focused on the soundtrack. And it shows. For the last act of the film its really the soundtrack that drives the plot. I mean that's true the whole way but it really punches in the last act and had me fully completely engaged and ramped up with the rhythm. Really impressive stuff. Solomon Kane just didn't do much for me. Both films are probably more style than... narrative? I know people don't like that old phrase, but you know what I mean. If you dig that sword and sorcery style more I could see enjoying this more. Its mostly a pretty good looking bit if horror fantasy and swords. But I don't really love that sword stuff so I found it pretty dull and the flaws in writing and plot and character very noticeable. Everything's very shallow and derivative and I swear the last act twist isn't even something that gets mentioned or teased earlier. Like I could be wrong but I really don't remember them even mentioning that Kane had a brother. That's the sort of thing you'd think you'd do in the first 40 minutes or so of setup. From what I can tell Kane being kind of directionless and empty aside from killing evil stuff is kind of his thing and that's fine. There's plenty of stories like that. But its like they tried to do an origin story but just didn't really bother writing an origin. I dunno. Just wasn't a fan. So easy vote for me. I'm pretty sure I'm voting Fright Night over Piranha but looking forward to a double feature of them to be sure. edit: And for shits and giggles I might follow that with a double feature of Fright Night 2 - directed by Tommy Lee Wallace who did Stephen King's It and Halloween III: Season of the Witch - and Piranha 2 - directed by some guy named James Cameron. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Mar 30, 2023 |
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Mar 30, 2023 09:27
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I remember liking Fright Night 2 but obviously it's missing something without Chris Sarandon, as any film would be.
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Mar 30, 2023 13:48
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So I watched Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon after watching Only Lovers Left Alive a few weeks ago, and it struck me that, in many ways, Ana Lily Amirpour is mirroring Jim Jarmusch, in terms of tone and stylistic choices. Simple plots, more focus on character than story, very specific musical choices, a very specific detached tone, etc. It seems like they're both making movies more as a vibe than as a vehicle for storytelling, which can be a divisive approach. Fortunately, I do vibe with that (at least most of the time), and I enjoyed Mona Lisa a fair amount. Don't know if I'll have time to fit in a viewing of Solomon Kane this week, but based on the trailer I don't know that I would end up being able to vote against Amirpour here. As for Piranha vs. Fright Night, I watched the former for one of the April/May challenges a year or so ago, as an option to celebrate Earth Day. And what struck me then was that, while Piranha was a fine film on its own merits, it also didn't really have any hallmarks of Joe Dante's stylistic conceits and everything from his later career. And that's fine and all - not everyone can be Steven Spielberg and hit the ground already running fully - but I can't deny that I was disappointed by what I got, when you pitch this film as "Joe Dante does a Jaws ripoff." You can just feel that it should be funnier than it is, should be bigger or broader than it is, etc. (That's not necessarily a bad thing. The downbeat ending of Piranha works so well, where everyone is just so beaten down and depressed by their failure to corral these animals and protect the kids under their charge, while Karen Black gets to skate with a smile into the camera while her secret bioweapon project gets out into open water. Failure all around, but there's still a mordantly funny anti-authority charge to it.) It's not a bad film at all, and you can definitely see the very early beginnings of where Joe Dante will end up in it. But I just feel like Fright Night is a bit more assured, and feels more in-line with Tom Holland's career, so I'm more inclined to vote for it.
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Mar 30, 2023 16:10
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 12:27 |
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Oh poo poo, its Thursday isn't it? Long day. Well you still have time to watch the movies and vote this week. A little less time than if I had done this around noon like I usually try to but still about 43 hours or so? Not bad. Then one more week of Fozzie's conference where we have 5 films thanks to last week's tie. And then a Spring Break because I definitely kind of need it. But that's all to come. You can still watch your killer fish and vampire neighbors and weird vibes and swordwielding grumps this week. You can vote in this round until 12 noon Apr 2nd (or when I get to it) Next Week! - 1. Sumptuously Stupid vs. 8. Knockoffs of the Living Dead vs. 9. Indonesian Insanity - 7. #ThrowbackThursday vs. 15. Acolytes of Corman
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Mar 30, 2023 22:25
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