I remember reading once (and I’m sure this is apocryphal) that 2001 was snubbed for a Best Makeup Oscar nomination because everybody thought those were actual chimps.
So those old outfits must have really gone to seed.
Always a few offerings from the 80’s, but mainly “cult classics,” which can veer into so bad it’s good; often meaning Mary Woronov.
Old movies aren’t necessarily good. I often look at the TCM schedule and can’t find anything interesting.
They have Film Noir nights that are good.
Sometimes they run Hitchcock movies thay I enjoy.
Oddly, they rarely run Westerns. That’s a big disappointment.
“Suit”? That’s pretty charitable. Seriously, just a hairy mask and fuzzy feet, matching loincloth. Just a normal dude everywhere else. I really felt bad for what Joan must have been going through to make her need to be a part of this debacle.
Watched Border (2018) on British TV. I thought it worked very well. Not sure how much to say about it, with a film like this the joy is discovering it as you watch. However I doubt it will appeal to everyone so the basic set up.
It’s a Swedish film with subtitles which, although I’m never keen on subtitles, wasn’t obtrusive. There’s a lot said with just the actors and actresses eyes - all the more impressive since the two leads both have (very effective, very realistic) heavy, prosthetic brows.
Tina works as a Customs / Border Patrol officer at a small Swedish port. She’s very good at her job because she can literally smell not only contraband but she can smell guilt on people. One day she detects a man smuggling child pornography. Although he is caught the police ask Tina to help catch the people creating the porn.
Tina also finds herself intrigued by a strange man who has similar physical features to her - a somewhat Neanderthal appearance. Her appearance means she’s been bullied, called ugly all her life.
I’m calling out three other films: The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, Eraserhead and The Company of Wolves. If you love those three there’s a good chance you’ll love Border. If you hate those three you will probably hate Border too.
Warnings about content. There’s some nudity. There is not much violence but there is a single brief shot of a smashed head. A plot point is vile child porn (adults with babies) but it’s really only mentioned, nothing remotely gratuitous is actually shown.
I recommend this film.
TCMF-2L
The only parts in Trog worth watching are the animated dinosaur segments taken from Irwin Allen’s 1956 documentary The Animal World. These were done by Willis O’Brien (the guy behind King Kong) and Ray Harryhausen – their only collaboration since Mighty Joe Young seven years earlier, only this one was in color. For years this was the only way to see this section, since The Animal World was out of circulation (and thought lost for a time; now you can buy it on DVD)
Over the weekend, I saw Hombre with Paul Newman. It was decent, although halfway through I realized I’d read the Elmore Leonard novel it was based on.
I also watched Now, Voyager with Bette Davis. It was decent, but at about the point I thought it was finished, there was still half an hour to go. And I didn’t think that last half hour was worthy of what had gone before. In fact, seen through modern eyes it was rather icky. The only thing I knew about Now, Voyager going in was that there was some famously meaningful scene where Paul Henreid lights Bette Davis’ cigarette. He did it several times throughout the movie and each time I was like, is this the one?
Oh yeah, and I got a chortle out of some of the female characters being labeled as “fat” although they didn’t appear to be overweight. I think we were supposed to believe it though.
This is slightly off-topic, but I didn’t realize until recently that TCM had curated a rather large library within HBO Max. It doesn’t come with the charming intros or trivia, but there are just a ton of TCM-type movies there…I had been thinking of dropping HBO Max, but will need to do some exploring first.
It’s the one where he lights both cigarettes in his mouth and hands one to Bette. It’s not my favorite Bette Davis movie.
The “fat” actresses are like the “pregnant” actresses. Flat stomachs until they go into labor.
You might enjoy this recent documentary about the Cowsills. A family band that inspired the idea of the Partridge Family.
I’m sure he did other work, but the only other later thing he did which I can recall was Star Trek: Insurrection in 1998: Anthony Zerbe | Memory Alpha | Fandom
RRR - streams on Netflix*
Indian movie and yowza, what a movie. The most expensive movie in Indian movie history and every penny is there on the screen. It has almost everything in it. Insane action sequences, huge dance numbers(well, one main one), slow-motion everywhere, and really just an incredible movie.
I found the opening 40 minutes(the movie is 3 hours long) to be the worst, but then something about the charm of such a film just overwhelmed me and I found myself cheering by the end. It’s a really fun movie and it is really getting a lot of attention from film-lovers. It’s quite the big picture.
*they only have it in Hindi even though Telugu is the original language. Why Telugu is not an audio option is a mystery. Anyway, detracts from Netflix more than it does the movie.
Finally watched Ghostbusters Afterlife and it was ok. It had some good moments and bad. I feel it would have been better not bringing back the original Ghostbusters and just focusing on the new crew.
"Bill & Ted Face the Music." It was available for free on Amazon Prime, and lacking anything else we hadn’t seen, we gave it a look. High art this is not, but if you enjoyed the rather charming goofiness of first two Bill & Ted movies, this will bring a warm smile to your face. Of particular note are the two young actresses who play Bill & Ted’s teenage daughters, who play a significant role in the plot. Brigette Lundy-Paine is especially noteworthy as the offspring of Ted. She really nails it, dude.
I would point out that it is Alex Winter who actually seemed to get back into his character the best. Keanu was normal, but I don’t think I ever really felt he was back to playing Ted fully.
Bogus Journey is such a great sequel and hilarious comedy, I don’t think it is beatable and this movie kind of showed that.
The girls saved that film. I would go see a “Billie and Thea” movie, but I’ll pass on any future films that feature Bill and Ted.
Yeah, do not make a fourth one with the boys. I was very thankful to see a third one because I loved the first two when I was in middle and high school.
The girls? I guess. I’d watch it, no need to make it in my opinion, though.
While I agree that a fourth movie should star the girls (who incidentally are in their late 20s, not teenagers, since the second movie was released 29 years before the third one), I don’t think a fourth movie should be made at all, since this movie nicely ties up everything.
The Love Witch (2016).
Ugh. I couldn’t wait for it to end.
All My Friends Hate Me
This movie is listed as horror or comedy, but it isn’t really either. It’s about anxiety, especially social anxiety. A man comes back from charity work(in a refugee camp) and is attending a party for his own 31st birthday. His friends, who hasn’t seen in awhile, show up and he feels detached from them and so forth.
I guess there is more to it than that, but sadly not enough to make the movie very gripping. It’s also not funny enough to be a great comedy.
Just not enough here to recommend it to anyone. It’s OK.