Elevated horror movies

I haven't seen any of them but Pulse is the  clear favourite with me (maybe next Halloween): 

The Whopper goes to court

Nature's angry Regulator!

My favourite commercial cheeseburger. 

As my friend Scott Dagostino once said: "I like the Angry Whopper [made with real Jalapeños!] -- too bad it takes its anger out on my colon!"

SAMANTHA FISH

I am listening to a lot of Samantha Fish these days: 

"First we take Manhattan..."

Oh, sure: it starts with The University of Michigan. 

And, just for shits and giggles: 

Remembering Don Matheson

Don Matheson married into my mother's family in the late-60s. I took these pictures with my 110 camera in the mid-80s. This is how I remember Uncle Don. 

Watching MY BEAUTIFUL BROKEN BRAIN

I'll watch anything about a hemorrhagic stroke. 

Daisy air rifles

I used to spend many nights perusing the Daisy catalogue. 

"With this thing in the stock

that tells time!"

This is the current Daisy catalogue, online, natch. 

A couple of things I learned reading porny comics

Confession: there was a time when I was reading porny comics. And I discovered some fellas really hate women. One of these comics was nothing short of a rape fantasy.

This is Paul Morton, writing for the LARB, on the porny comics of Wally Wood. 
I finally laid money down for Smut Peddler (Amazon) and discovered A) some men didn't hate women; and B) how to relax around The Other (a lifelong journey, really). 

Re-watching BLOOD SIMPLE

The Coen Brothers are the only ones I know who actually went shorter, with their directors ' cut of Blood Simple. 

A cheap gubalini and a $12,000 Fender Strat

That's $12,000 worth

of sustain I'm holding.

You can almost see a family resemblance...

Re-watching NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

I have read the Cormac McCarthy novel once and own that, too, and have seen The Coen Brothers movie several times. 

Re-watching PLANET OF THE APES (1968)

It can currently be seen on YouTube: 

Re-watching ALEXANDER THE GREAT by Oliver Stone

Appantly Oliver Stone was never happy with this movie. 

Re-watching DIAMOND MEN

Worth looking for.

Watching AHSOKA

So help me I'm watching Asoka. Writer/Director of the first episode of Ahsoka is Dave Filoni a veteran of Star Wars: The Mandalorin and Star Wars: Rebels so the question becomes: what can Real Life offer that Animation can't do? 

Rosario Dawson, demonstrating weight and effectiveness.

Anwer: weight and the expressiveness of the human face. But while Rosario Dawson is clearly in incredible shape for the title role, her face doesn't offer much. That's more than can be said for poor Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Alas, her face just kinda sits there. The face on the animated Captain Syndullah was more expressive and, well, animated. The animated Star Wars: Rebels can still be seen. But if you gotta watch Live Action Star Wars: The Mandalorian isn't bad. 

WP Flashbacks: I really like Star Wars: Rebels. And you might dig this Stanley Kubrick stylings of Star Wars: Andor. 

Watching THE TREE OF LIFE

Plus I'm a sucker for Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt. 

Re-watching MASTER & COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD

A cheer for Russell Crowe and a cheer for Paul Bettanyand a cheer for director Prter Weir and a cheer for creator Patrick O'Brien. And a cheer for Blu-Ray DVD. 

Moon Duo, SLEEPWALKER

Oh, sure -- it's funny now: 

"Cheese," you say..

Today it's cheese. Tomorrow it's...your hand!

Re-watching VERA CRUZ

A childhood favourite. I can still recall that Sunday afternoon in the 'Bach when we watched Vera Cruz in my buddy's basement and played pool. 

I tried smiling like that for weeks after -- apparently, so did Sam Shepard. 

Re-watching TWIN PEAKS

Saw it back in the day, actually -- the TV show gave us an excuse to stay home Sunday nights. 

"Douglas Firs! And please send me a copy 

of the report on the dead girl."

I recommend this set. I will probably order and watch this set afterward and fill this blog with my lofty thoughts -- stay tuned!

"I can hardly wait."

Link: This (Film Inquiry) is Jack Alexander Hall on The Excruciating Sadness of Twin Peaks.  

Pee-Wee Herman & Tommy Flanagan

 Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Rubens, recently dead) gets into a lying contest with Tommy Flanagan (John Lovitz, very much alive): 

 

Re-watching SOYLENT GREEN

I first heard about Soylent Green in an interview with DEVO. Charlton Heston was "the lout who learns a lesson." I blog about it here. 

Speaking of Soylent Green this is what Erik Davis has to say about RAW, and SG is mentioned. 

Re-watching LOGAN'S RUN

I remember reading the William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson paperback in the Pop Culture section at the front of the ILIF library. I have vague recollections of finally watching the movie on the family b+w television set in the kitchen. Some years later I saw it in Toronto on a colour TV set. I can still remember Jay Scott saying, "The filmmakers had two problems: a futuristic look, and getting Farrah Fawcett to act. They solved the first problem by shooting inside brand-new shopping malls in Dallas. The second one, well..."

It seems Logan 5 is an incel.

I have a friend who says he encountered Michael Yorke. Apparently Yorke's voice really carried. I'm sure this quality served Yorke well in the Austin Powers movies. 

Apparently Logan's Run was a television series that ran briefly in the '70s. I don't know anything about that, of course, but it was a big deal to Scholastic Books. 

Re-watching NATURAL BORN KILLERS

I watched the other Oliver Stone movies, why not this one, too? 

Re-watching THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

Not just the best LEGO movie but the best Batman movie. 

This viewing's LOL Moment -- when Batman sings, "'cos I'm a billionaire!"

"Quick! Stop him before he starts singing!"

And I'm a pushover for a woman's exposed shoulders, plastic or otherwise: 

Re-watching MANDY

The horror of HP Lovecraft, the Prog Rock of Jóhann Jóhannsson and the acting of Nicolas Cage? I am so there!

Watching PAINKILLER and UNTOLD: JOHNNY FOOTBALL

Watching THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS

Why, that's my morning routine!

The movie is very explication-heavy, but that's a good thing. The Matrix: Resurrections is almost as excellent as The Matrix: Reloaded (the second, and best, of The Matrix movies. I was grateful for the first only because it brought The Matrix: Reloaded around. I can still recall driving out with my brother to see Reloaded in the theatre). 

Link: This is the Roger Ebert review of The Matrix: Reloaded. 

The Argument

When Sider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse first appeared the argument was, " Just think how much better it would be if it was Live Action."

But Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse can't get any better. 

And it is animated.