I like that this could’ve just as easily been titled Crazies 2 (and maybe should’ve been? Probably more money to be made having “Zombie” on the poster).
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Manhattan Baby 1982
A mish mash of references (Poltergeist, Rosemarys Baby, Exorcist) that simmer together to make something entirely, nonsensically new.
Every time I found myself bored or unengaged I chalk up to watching it sober in broad daylight. I bet this kills with a crowd. -
Patriot Games 1992
In 1989 Phillip Noyce made the perfect rated R movie for 13yr olds: Blind Fury
In 1992 he made the perfect PG13* movie for middle aged Dads: Patriot Games*ok it’s rated R but it has heavy PG13 vibes.
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The Hot Spot 1990
Sweaty, sleezy tale of a man who knows he’s a piece of shit that tumbleweeds into a small town an briefly believes he deserves better (in the form of 19yr old Jennifer Connelly, which is uhhhh- gross- but on brand for what a gross dude he is).
Anyways, Dennis Hopper manages to wring plenty of that old 50s Puritanism/ virgin vs whore worldview that hippies supposedly shook off into this, and it’s better for it. Thorny icky noir stuff.But yeah, it’s too long.
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The Wedding Planner 2001
In 2001 McConaughey launched his decade of RomComs with The Wedding Planner. He’d cap it off in 2009 with The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past before going quiet for two years (coming back w Lincoln Lawyer).
This being the first, they definitely get better but it’s not without its charms. If this is the sort of thing you’re in the mood for- it will not disappoint (except for a few poorly aged “jokes”, also J-Lo is Italian and the film makes… -
The Hellbenders 1967
General Lee surrendered but Joseph Cotton and his shitty kids didn’t (one of them is only half shitty). They’re murdering & thieving their way through the southwest in hopes of reforming the Union Army.
Fuck these guys.
I mean, it’s a Corbucci western with a Morricone score: it’s good. -
A Pistol for Ringo 1965
From the title song:
“Cross the canyons he laughed
Down the valley the death
And he left behind a river of blood
For his life was guided
By a crude law
He only had a mind to get gold”This verse is better than the lyrics to about 99% of every song ever.
I gotta remember to watch this at Xmas -
The Invisible Woman 1969
A film that finally asks: what if a woman had fabulous hairdos AND depression?
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Palmetto 1998
Mostly forgotten or maligned, I think this is Volker Schlöndorff just throwing everything there is to love about classic American Noir film into the mix and setting in the sweatiest town in the world.
A near constant stream of Hollywood references & ends with the David Byrne (bleh) song Miss America. I can’t believe this came out two weeks before the similarly themed Big Lebowski.
Plus it boasts a clothed sex scene that seems actually dirtier for it’s lack of nudity.