Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

Agreed - GODFATHER is one of the few reputed "classics" that lives up to its reputation.

[Rev. Powell]

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT (2024): A brother/sister team complete a robbery and then hide out at a house that has the ability to slip them into another time; their plans to return after two weeks are frustrated when the mysterious forces who control the time technology demand they take out an intruder first.This low budget, minimalist time paradox story seems to drag on as long as the siblings are trapped in the house; the confusion over exactly what's supposed to be going on here would be forgivable with tighter pacing. 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" (2003)
Made-for-TV documentary about the "New Hollywood" wave of the 1970s, in which a younger, hipper crowd of film makers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, and many others, crashed the old fashioned Tinseltown "studio system" and ended up making some of the most adventurous films in American movie history. Clips from "Easy Rider," "The Godfather," "The Last Picture Show," "Rosemary's Baby," and many more are mixed with interviews with the filmmakers, producers, critics, and stars. It's a crash course in 70s cinema.
Based on the book by Peter Biskind, which is still hands down the best book I've ever read about the movie biz. Great stuff.

[lester1/2jr]

The Man Who Laughs (1928) - This is kind of sold as a horror movie because of the guy's huge crazy smile, but it's more of just a "classic". It's good, but not scary.

Nefarious royal castle intrigue type people kidnap a potential throne successor's child and have gypsy plastic surgeons give him a permanent rictus grin. I don't know if that was a real thing or not. Going around all day with his crazy looking face, he has no choice but to become a freak show attraction and visit horrible brutish towns where people laugh at him. On top of that, he's still part of the royal family so he still has to deal with all the intrigue stuff.

It's good, but it's good in a way a book is good not a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Mostly drama but with some swashbuckling type stuff toward the end. some confusion and cliches. good temptress

4 / 5

[M.10rda]

THE OTHER (1972):
Niles and Holland are two adolescent boys that look identical, dress identically, and are played by virtually identical real-life brothers. They live on a big farm w/ their extended family, including "LA Law"'s Diana Muldaur as their widowed mother; John Ritter as their older sister's husband; Victor ("Little House"/"Highway To Heaven") French, who gives a lean, highly effective performance as their farmhand; and legendary theatre actor and acting teacher Uta Hagen as their kindly yet slightly spooky grandmother. During a lazy summer in the middle of the American Depression, the boys seem to pass their time playing pranks and having good clean fun, though Holland has been a bit distant recently. Also, inexplicable accidents keep happening and sometimes people die.

In 1999 there were two major films released that crucially featured enormous (and reasonably distinct) twist endings that changed viewers' perception of the previous events of each film. Very similar twists became familiar fixtures in subsequent films for the next 5 or so years. Even in '99 (and '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, etc) I wondered why no acknowledgment was being made of much earlier films (some from the early 70s or even 60s) with essentially identical twists. THE OTHER is one of those films - another one I'd read about yeeeeeeeears before I ever got around to watching it. Its twist is, curiously, similar to the twist in both those films from '99 - it splits the difference, shall we say. To THE OTHER's credit, though, its twist isn't climactic - it's delivered two-thirds of the way through the film (and really might've been obvious to any careful viewer from the beginning), and when it arrives, it doesn't provide catharsis. Instead, it's a turning point from which the plot grows even more dire.

Hagen was a household name among theatre folks in the 20th century and is still remembered from colorful footage preserved on Youtube etc. She only acted in three feature films and this was the first. I found myself assuming a rather antagonistic attitude towards her for the first hour of the film, like, "C'mon, Uta, show me what you got already." Then when the twist comes, she showed me. Hagen had the legit goods. 12 year old Chris Udvarnoky (who looks a bit like H.J. Osment) also delivers some goods, particularly as Niles begins to unravel. This was his first film, too, and he never acted onscreen again.

There's no blood or onscreen violence in THE OTHER. Robert Mulligan, who also directed TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, keeps it strictly PG within the confines of the frame. But this film is dark, man. It bummed me out more than any other horror film in a long while. Comparatively speaking, you could say that HENRY:POASK has a more optimistic ending than THE OTHER. If your October is a touch too festive suddenly, maybe check this one out.

4/5

You can never really be sure what David Lynch has seen or not seen - well, besides VERTIGO and THE WIZARD OF OZ. But fwiw there are two major images/symbols in this film that also appear, and function similarly, in FIRE WALK WITH ME.

[Jim H]

The Man Who Laughs (1928) - This is kind of sold as a horror movie because of the guy's huge crazy smile, but it's more of just a "classic". It's good, but not scary.

Nefarious royal castle intrigue type people kidnap a potential throne successor's child and have gypsy plastic surgeons give him a permanent rictus grin. I don't know if that was a real thing or not. Going around all day with his crazy looking face, he has no choice but to become a freak show attraction and visit horrible brutish towns where people laugh at him. On top of that, he's still part of the royal family so he still has to deal with all the intrigue stuff.

It's good, but it's good in a way a book is good not a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Mostly drama but with some swashbuckling type stuff toward the end. some confusion and cliches. good temptress

4 / 5

Really clearly the visual inspiration for the Joker too.  They occasionally reference the title in comics for this reason.

I just watched Hell House II.  Kind of badly acted retread.  Has some OK moments.  Kind of meh.  Way overexplains the backstory too.  Feels like it needed a second draft.

[lester1/2jr]

Jim H - His relationship with the audience is interesting. They laugh at him but also love him. Similarly he must hate them, but needs them.

[RCMerchant]

THE OTHER (1972):
Niles and Holland are two adolescent boys that look identical, dress identically, and are played by virtually identical real-life brothers. They live on a big farm w/ their extended family, including "LA Law"'s Diana Muldaur as their widowed mother; John Ritter as their older sister's husband; Victor ("Little House"/"Highway To Heaven") French, who gives a lean, highly effective performance as their farmhand; and legendary theatre actor and acting teacher Uta Hagen as their kindly yet slightly spooky grandmother. During a lazy summer in the middle of the American Depression, the boys seem to pass their time playing pranks and having good clean fun, though Holland has been a bit distant recently. Also, inexplicable accidents keep happening and sometimes people die.

In 1999 there were two major films released that crucially featured enormous (and reasonably distinct) twist endings that changed viewers' perception of the previous events of each film. Very similar twists became familiar fixtures in subsequent films for the next 5 or so years. Even in '99 (and '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, etc) I wondered why no acknowledgment was being made of much earlier films (some from the early 70s or even 60s) with essentially identical twists. THE OTHER is one of those films - another one I'd read about yeeeeeeeears before I ever got around to watching it. Its twist is, curiously, similar to the twist in both those films from '99 - it splits the difference, shall we say. To THE OTHER's credit, though, its twist isn't climactic - it's delivered two-thirds of the way through the film (and really might've been obvious to any careful viewer from the beginning), and when it arrives, it doesn't provide catharsis. Instead, it's a turning point from which the plot grows even more dire.

Hagen was a household name among theatre folks in the 20th century and is still remembered from colorful footage preserved on Youtube etc. She only acted in three feature films and this was the first. I found myself assuming a rather antagonistic attitude towards her for the first hour of the film, like, "C'mon, Uta, show me what you got already." Then when the twist comes, she showed me. Hagen had the legit goods. 12 year old Chris Udvarnoky (who looks a bit like H.J. Osment) also delivers some goods, particularly as Niles begins to unravel. This was his first film, too, and he never acted onscreen again.

There's no blood or onscreen violence in THE OTHER. Robert Mulligan, who also directed TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, keeps it strictly PG within the confines of the frame. But this film is dark, man. It bummed me out more than any other horror film in a long while. Comparatively speaking, you could say that HENRY:POASK has a more optimistic ending than THE OTHER. If your October is a touch too festive suddenly, maybe check this one out.

4/5

You can never really be sure what David Lynch has seen or not seen - well, besides VERTIGO and THE WIZARD OF OZ. But fwiw there are two major images/symbols in this film that also appear, and function similarly, in FIRE WALK WITH ME.

I seen this waaay back in the 70's, and just rewatched it about a month ago- gave me the creeps then, still does.

[Trevor]

THE OTHER (1972):
Niles and Holland are two adolescent boys that look identical, dress identically, and are played by virtually identical real-life brothers. They live on a big farm w/ their extended family, including "LA Law"'s Diana Muldaur as their widowed mother; John Ritter as their older sister's husband; Victor ("Little House"/"Highway To Heaven") French, who gives a lean, highly effective performance as their farmhand; and legendary theatre actor and acting teacher Uta Hagen as their kindly yet slightly spooky grandmother. During a lazy summer in the middle of the American Depression, the boys seem to pass their time playing pranks and having good clean fun, though Holland has been a bit distant recently. Also, inexplicable accidents keep happening and sometimes people die.

In 1999 there were two major films released that crucially featured enormous (and reasonably distinct) twist endings that changed viewers' perception of the previous events of each film. Very similar twists became familiar fixtures in subsequent films for the next 5 or so years. Even in '99 (and '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, etc) I wondered why no acknowledgment was being made of much earlier films (some from the early 70s or even 60s) with essentially identical twists. THE OTHER is one of those films - another one I'd read about yeeeeeeeears before I ever got around to watching it. Its twist is, curiously, similar to the twist in both those films from '99 - it splits the difference, shall we say. To THE OTHER's credit, though, its twist isn't climactic - it's delivered two-thirds of the way through the film (and really might've been obvious to any careful viewer from the beginning), and when it arrives, it doesn't provide catharsis. Instead, it's a turning point from which the plot grows even more dire.

Hagen was a household name among theatre folks in the 20th century and is still remembered from colorful footage preserved on Youtube etc. She only acted in three feature films and this was the first. I found myself assuming a rather antagonistic attitude towards her for the first hour of the film, like, "C'mon, Uta, show me what you got already." Then when the twist comes, she showed me. Hagen had the legit goods. 12 year old Chris Udvarnoky (who looks a bit like H.J. Osment) also delivers some goods, particularly as Niles begins to unravel. This was his first film, too, and he never acted onscreen again.

There's no blood or onscreen violence in THE OTHER. Robert Mulligan, who also directed TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, keeps it strictly PG within the confines of the frame. But this film is dark, man. It bummed me out more than any other horror film in a long while. Comparatively speaking, you could say that HENRY:POASK has a more optimistic ending than THE OTHER. If your October is a touch too festive suddenly, maybe check this one out.

4/5

You can never really be sure what David Lynch has seen or not seen - well, besides VERTIGO and THE WIZARD OF OZ. But fwiw there are two major images/symbols in this film that also appear, and function similarly, in FIRE WALK WITH ME.

I seen this waaay back in the 70's, and just rewatched it about a month ago- gave me the creeps then, still does.

I found it creepy too. 😳

[Rev. Powell]

THE BLUE ROSE (2023): Two rookie detectives investigate a murder, which leads them into a dreamworld. A tiresome succession of David Lynch tropes and homages, this is basically a technically adept fan film with an inspiring backstory. Writer-director-star George Baron shot most of this while he was still in high school, made it look like a real feature film, got it into festivals, and sold it to a distributor. Even though it's not a very good movie, it's an incredible achievement: Baron is way ahead of the curve, and when he finds his own voice, look out! 1.5/5.

[indianasmith]

DEER CAMP '86 (2022)

   A group of goofy friends from Detroit head into the woods for their annual deer hunt at their uncle's cabin - only to run afoul of a monstrous, vengeful spirit after a local Indian girl is murdered.  This was better than I expected - a nice homage to 80's horror.  4/5

[zombie no.one]

^^ you didn't want to say that it SUCKS then? I understand. 

DEER CAMP '86 (2022)

   A group of goofy friends from Detroit head into the woods for their annual deer hunt at their uncle's cabin - only to run afoul of a monstrous, vengeful spirit after a local Indian girl is murdered.  This was better than I expected - a nice homage to 80's horror.  4/5

Sounds potentially like something I might enjoy

[lester1/2jr]

Evil Dead (1981) - Another cool underground horror movie that only I know about. Best case scenario for low budget horror movie rental back in the day. No pointless drama, cute little kids, etc to try and sell it to non horror fans. Instead, immediate creepiness and then endless blood and gore follow, the way it should be. I'd like to think this was written after a weekend with some friends took a bad turn due to excessive drinking, loud sex noises, and resurfacing of past grievances but they were probably just really into horror movies and wanted to make one.

The smoke machine had to have been one of the biggest expenditures. The weird fisheye type lens used in the outdoor shot made it look like a skate movie.

5/5 not exactly my thing nowadays, but perfect for what it is

[M.10rda]

^^ you didn't want to say that it SUCKS then? I understand. 

 
I deleted it and put it in the other section where it belongs.......

[M.10rda]

Evil Dead (1981) -
5/5 not exactly my thing nowadays, but perfect for what it is

Probably belongs on my own 25 Greatest Horror list, but I'm too busy watching LEECH WIZARD to revisit it...