I’ll cop to having a soft spot for Laserblast, just because it was shown (on a projector!) at my first science fiction con, when I was probably about 10, and it must have made an impression on me because that’s the only thing I remember besides the Star Trek bloopers.
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Wow, Samauri Cop sure is a hilarious stinker.
I’m watching the Rifftrax version, of course. Otherwise this piece of crap Lethal Weapon rip-off would be completely unwatchable.
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Lesbian film fest part 2!
Imagine Me & You - Part of the subgenre of “people who discover true love only once they have just married someone else”. I thought it was well-produced, but more or less by-the-numbers. I disliked a contrived mechanic to the way the story was written where once the main character met the woman of her life, every man in her life became complete jerks, only to become supportive once she resolved to leave her new husband for the other woman. That was too tidy and coincidental and I think robbed the drama they were going for of its possible depth. Probably my least favorite that I have reviewed so far, but was somewhat entertaining.
Madame X - Eine absolute Herrscherin - Crazy late 70s art film about various women who leave their unfulfilling lives to travel with the fearsome Madame X, Pirate Queen. The way this was made did not feel like typical narrative cinema. It appears to have been shot silent, with narration, sound effects, and looped snippets of dialog added after. The story was told mostly without dialog, and felt like performance art / dance private rituals which happened to be caught on film. As I loosely interpret it, the women who join the crew each reach their personal limit in their commitment to the cause, as a result of their socialization into patriarchy. This causes them to apparently die, but be reborn later without those limitations. Madame X is just sort of the catalyst for their rebirth as real feminist pirates.
Fucking Åmål - Yes, another “coming out” story, but one of the best I have seen. Agnes is an angsty teen who feels isolated and doesn’t get on with most people. People find out that she is infatuated with Elin, a more popular girl, who then kisses Agnes on a dare to shock her friends. Realizing that it was a prank, Agnes becomes more despondent, but Elin questions if she might have more genuine feelings for Agnes then the boys she feels pressured into being with. The way this was depicted seemed quite realistic to me, including the acting of the relatively young people. My only complaint would be the inclusion of pop songs in the soundtrack, but I am picky about music.
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same - B&W deliberately cornball spoof on old sci-fi schlock, like Larry Buchanan’s 60s TV movies. There are alien women (who talk like coneheads) exiled from their homeworld of Zots because it is believed that the strength of their emotions are depleting the ozone layer of their planet. So it is thought that after having their hearts broken by callous Earth people, they will be able to return home. Except that Zoinx meets Jane - an alienated woman who works at an NYC stationary store. It seems to work almost despite itself, because the obvious fish-out-of-water gags are so cliched and goofy, but the real wit is in the understated absurdity discussed by the characters. I thought it was fun, but suspect that others might find it annoying.
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Just discovered that the guy that made Primer made another film a few years ago, and it’s on Netflix - Upstream Color (clearly, I’m running three or four years behind). Very different film, but clearly by the same person. I thought it was a really good little film.
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Just watched Arrival. Glad I didn’t know anything about it going in. Really liked it Bill and Ted deus ex machina nothwithstanding, I continue to enjoy Villeneuve’s films (I should seek out his earlier French language stuff), ever more hopeful about Blade Runner 2049 and Dune.
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What did you think was the Bill and Ted deus ex machina? I never saw the B&T movies, but I thought that the causal nature of Arrival was quite clear.
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Gotta agree with popo. Wasn’t that the whole point? We’ll need humanities help in 8000 years.
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The whole “remember to have the conversation about phone numbers in the future so that I can make the call in the past” thing?
Ted: Our historical figures are all locked up and my dad won’t let them out.
Bill: Can we get your dad’s keys?
Ted: Could steal them but he lost them two days ago.
Bill: If only we could go back in time to when he had them and steal them then.
Ted: Well, why can’t we?
Bill: Cause we don’t got time.
Ted: We could do it after the report.
Bill: Ted, good thinking dude. After the report we’ll time travel back to two days ago, steal your dad’s keys, and leave them here.
Ted: Where?
Bill: I don’t know. How about behind that sign? That way when we get here now, they’ll be waiting for us. (bends down and picks up the keys) See?
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I haven’t seen La La Land or Moonlight (although I’m much keener to see Moonlight), but the ending to the Oscars sounds like it was quite amusing tonight.
Fuck Casey Affleck winning anything, though.
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At the risk of outing myself as a mental midget that just didn’t get it, I think what bugged me about it is that while I can imagine a loop starting at some point in time, the premise that all time happens simultaneously would mean that at some point something has to set the events in motion, but that happens in the future, and how can the past be changed when everything has already happened at the same time?
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I haven’t watched the Oscars in many years, but I have to say I thought Jimmy Kimmel did a great job (I’ll never tire of him insulting Matt Damon), and it was all around a pretty entertaining several hours. Ended with my wife and I agreeing that I’ll watch La La Land while she watches Manchester by the Sea. Also think we’ll check out Moonlight and Hell or High Water.
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This is where I first heard about fermats principle. Which might help explain what they’re driving at.
http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_26.html
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It has been more than a few days but I should say both @JemmieDuffs and I really enjoyed What We Do In The Shadows. It was much more fun than I expected and the ending was just adorable.
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I love that film. We have always been big fans of Nosferatu-type stuff, and “Shadows” was a wonderful and funny illustration of the funny side of the lifestyle. Plus, I got to implore my kids to “Eat your Pasghetti!” the other day, in a fake Romanian accent.
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There’s a sequel in the works!
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I am starting to believe in this film.
I am convinced they’ve mined the comics for this one, check out this frame (close up), it even looks like a comic panel!
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It’s about time Scott made an Alien film. Getting on for 40 years since the last one…
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I can almost hear his voice
*puffing cigar
"I am going to blow your fucking socks off with this one, alright."
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I’ve seen 13 Assassins at least five times. It’s a favorite at our house.
@gellfex: Agreed. I was OK with this movie for the first 40-ish minutes. When Ant-Man jumps into a storm sewer and then comes out of a water tap I lost my shit, and left the room.
@daneel: Scott made Prometheus, a hot mess of a film set in the Alien universe. I count it as an Alien film. I’m disappointed that Fassbender is playing the android again.
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