Film lover, work in progress.
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Psycho 1998
On this rewatch, I realized the fundamental flaw of Van Sant’s Psycho. When he made the original, Hitchcock was trying to make a thriller. With his remake, Van Sant is only trying to copy another movie. Any possibly for suspense or entertainment is sacrificed at the altar of simply replicating Hitch, in garish color.
Those bold color choices have inspired me to revisit Psycho ‘98 often. But each time I feel a little less of the Gus Van Sant who…
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Fleshtone 1994
The worst movie I’ve yet seen on the Criterion Channel.
Fleshtone is part of the new Erotic Thrillers collection on the channel. Other, better candidates must not have been available. A lot of better candidates, if incompetent garbage like Fleshtone has to sit beside classics like Dressed to Kill, and The Last Seduction.
Fwiw, I don’t think a movie has to be “good” to be on the Criterion Channel or released by CC on disc. Their mission statement, “an ongoing…
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Hannibal 2001
Even when I try to view Hannibal through the prism of “doing its own thing”, it fails. Or maybe the twin specters of Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs simply loom too large. A sequel that does its own thing should still seem to give a shit. (Not that Thomas Harris’ novel, with its bold yet inappropriate twist of Lecter and Starling falling in love, gives Ridley Scott & Co a worthy starting point).
Hopkins is simply collecting a check, Julianne…
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Damien: Omen II 1978
I’ve always preferred the Omen sequels to the original. It helps that Damien has more agency now that he’s older (though the plot still mostly features adults arguing over Damien/getting killed by Damien’s sub-conscious, long-distance whims ). Still, the adult cast is great (Holden is a walking saddle, god bless him). Jerry Goldsmith’s score is the real star of the series.
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Schlock 1973
Schlock has been unavailable for years. There was an out of print DVD from the early 2000s that kept getting more expensive, but other than that there's been no way to see John Landis' debut film. Recently an all-region blu-ray came out from a German company. Wow, was it worth ordering.
Schlock has all the flaws you'd expect from a low-budget horror movie made in the 70s by a 21-year-old. There's plenty of bad acting, sloppy lighting, and a threadbare…
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Mandy 2018
A gorgeous, haunted rock concert of a movie. I’m so happy Panos Cosmatos has been able to continue the throw-everything-at-the-wall style trip he was on for his debut, Beyond the Black Rainbow. Mixing Argento, 80s kitsch, proto heavy metal so heavy it feels like the soundtrack to an ancient sect of evil monks, and a strong simple belief in true love, Cosmatos doesn’t so much make a movie as cast a spell.
At the start of the film (set in…