movies

[Kory]

It's a weird evolution where one could go from hiding their love of superheroes because they'd look a wimp to hiding it for fear that people will think one is a seething racist/misogynist/fascist.

Or even just a corporate stooge. Nerds are a little boomerish in the counter-culture->mono-culture transition, imho, and all the bundles of insecurities and imagined ongoing persecutions that animates both groups.

When comic book nerds said that they wanted their love of the genre to be accepted, that they didn't want to be made to feel diminished for it, it turns out that what they actually wanted was for that love to dominate and not be shared or inclusive. Keep the segregation, but flip the status.

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

[Dr. Medulla]

It's a weird evolution where one could go from hiding their love of superheroes because they'd look a wimp to hiding it for fear that people will think one is a seething racist/misogynist/fascist.

Or even just a corporate stooge. Nerds are a little boomerish in the counter-culture->mono-culture transition, imho, and all the bundles of insecurities and imagined ongoing persecutions that animates both groups.

When comic book nerds said that they wanted their love of the genre to be accepted, that they didn't want to be made to feel diminished for it, it turns out that what they actually wanted was for that love to dominate and not be shared or inclusive. Keep the segregation, but flip the status.

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

Yeah, that's true. Not that I'm anywhere sympathetic to the jocks who torment the nerds, but seeing what the nerds do to other marginalized people when they get a chance muddies the emotional picture for me.

[Kory]

It's a weird evolution where one could go from hiding their love of superheroes because they'd look a wimp to hiding it for fear that people will think one is a seething racist/misogynist/fascist.

Or even just a corporate stooge. Nerds are a little boomerish in the counter-culture->mono-culture transition, imho, and all the bundles of insecurities and imagined ongoing persecutions that animates both groups.

When comic book nerds said that they wanted their love of the genre to be accepted, that they didn't want to be made to feel diminished for it, it turns out that what they actually wanted was for that love to dominate and not be shared or inclusive. Keep the segregation, but flip the status.

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

Yeah, that's true. Not that I'm anywhere sympathetic to the jocks who torment the nerds, but seeing what the nerds do to other marginalized people when they get a chance muddies the emotional picture for me.

It's a lot more trivial, but perhaps somewhat akin to TERFs or biphobia in the gay community.

[Dr. Medulla]

Or even just a corporate stooge. Nerds are a little boomerish in the counter-culture->mono-culture transition, imho, and all the bundles of insecurities and imagined ongoing persecutions that animates both groups.

When comic book nerds said that they wanted their love of the genre to be accepted, that they didn't want to be made to feel diminished for it, it turns out that what they actually wanted was for that love to dominate and not be shared or inclusive. Keep the segregation, but flip the status.

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

Yeah, that's true. Not that I'm anywhere sympathetic to the jocks who torment the nerds, but seeing what the nerds do to other marginalized people when they get a chance muddies the emotional picture for me.

It's a lot more trivial, but perhaps somewhat akin to TERFs or biphobia in the gay community.

Or when I learned that in the original NY disco scene, gay men did not care, at all, for lesbians in the clubs "ruining" things. It probably speaks to a certain naivete on my part that the young gay scene would be more united based on shared experiences of oppression, but still, why seek to divide yourselves further?

[Kory]

When comic book nerds said that they wanted their love of the genre to be accepted, that they didn't want to be made to feel diminished for it, it turns out that what they actually wanted was for that love to dominate and not be shared or inclusive. Keep the segregation, but flip the status.

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

Yeah, that's true. Not that I'm anywhere sympathetic to the jocks who torment the nerds, but seeing what the nerds do to other marginalized people when they get a chance muddies the emotional picture for me.

It's a lot more trivial, but perhaps somewhat akin to TERFs or biphobia in the gay community.

Or when I learned that in the original NY disco scene, gay men did not care, at all, for lesbians in the clubs "ruining" things. It probably speaks to a certain naivete on my part that the young gay scene would be more united based on shared experiences of oppression, but still, why seek to divide yourselves further?

It may be that one wants one's own space after being oppressed for so long, and an interloper is an interloper. A friend passed along this quote from somebody trying to drum up some solidarity: "who does your biphobia benefit? not queer people." Which I think is a sharp way of saying "let's not play right into the hands of our enemies."

[Dr. Medulla]

Those who are bullied often wind up bullies themselves.

Yeah, that's true. Not that I'm anywhere sympathetic to the jocks who torment the nerds, but seeing what the nerds do to other marginalized people when they get a chance muddies the emotional picture for me.

It's a lot more trivial, but perhaps somewhat akin to TERFs or biphobia in the gay community.

Or when I learned that in the original NY disco scene, gay men did not care, at all, for lesbians in the clubs "ruining" things. It probably speaks to a certain naivete on my part that the young gay scene would be more united based on shared experiences of oppression, but still, why seek to divide yourselves further?

It may be that one wants one's own space after being oppressed for so long, and an interloper is an interloper. A friend passed along this quote from somebody trying to drum up some solidarity: "who does your biphobia benefit? not queer people." Which I think is a sharp way of saying "let's not play right into the hands of our enemies."

How does racism and colonialism (and capitalism, for that matter) succeed? By encouraging oppressed people to turn on each other to gain relative favour with the oppressor. Over and over, across the decades and geographies, misidentifying the enemy is part of the system.

[tepista]

Mother of Tears (2007) A century old urn is discovered and opened and it unleashes violence all over Rome in Dario Argento’s outrageous, incoherent and long-awaited conclusion to his Three Mothers trilogy. A good amount of gore and nudity had me thinking at one time that this was truly a great movie and Argento’s return to form, but the script is a mess. It’s still a lot of fun, though, a mom throws her baby off a bridge for Christ sake! Starring Asia Argento and cameos by Udo Kier and Dario Nicolodi. Also starring a monkey, but unlike the heroic monkey from Phenomenon, this monkey is a jerk!

Frankenstein’s Army (2013) Near the end of World War II, a group of Russian soldiers complete with cameras to document the events, are on a mission to recover a missing platoon. What they find instead is dozens of half-human, half-machine soldiers that has caused the entire town to either flee or die. A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein has made a whole army full of killing machines for the Nazis out of dead bodies, and they’ve gone berserk. This doesn’t stop him from making more. These zombie robots include a man with a large drill in his face, one with a propeller for a head, and several with various knives and weapons as appendages, just to name a few. The soldiers soon realize their mission has an ulterior motive and soon find themselves trying to stay alive, and worse yet, avoid becoming fresh bodies for the mad doctor’s experiments!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) A group of outcast teenagers find a half-written book of short stories by a witch, The book continues to write additional stories by itself, in which members of the group disappear in real time. I just couldn’t get behind this kiddie-romp, and was even more disappointed to find that it’s from the director of the outstanding Autopsy of Jane Doe. Set in 1968, Donovan’s fantastic “Season of the Witch” played over the opening credits, while Lana Del Ray’s uninspired cover of the same song played over the end credits.

The Hunger (1983) Catherine Deneuve is a centuries old vampire who with her husband, David Bowie, goes to cool goth clubs where Bauhaus plays to pick up young couples to take home and kill! When Bowie inexplicably ages 100 years in a couple days, Deneuve turns her affection to Susan Sarandon, an anti-aging doctor. One of Tony Scott’s best, though his hackiness shows through, particularly when Sarandon spills wine all over the white t-shirt with no bra that she wore to Deneuve’s house. I’d better take this off! Not that I minded. Good movie with good nudity, I saw this in the theater once upon a time.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Stephen Spielberg’s UFO blockbuster starts out like gangbusters when Richard Dreyfus and others chase a spacecraft across Indiana freeways. The second act sees Dreyfus descend into madness highlighted by the iconic mashed potato sculpture, but the climax was anti-climactic if you ask me. I understand this isn’t a horror or war movie, but I could have gone for something more exciting than dueling synthesizers at the end.

Death by Invitation (1971) An ancestor of a witch takes revenge by killing her accuser’s descendants, particularly the teenage kids of man who looked exactly like the man who condemned her. Maybe I missed something, but I couldn’t understand why this attractive young woman had dinner every night with a grieving family. The woman was Shelby Leverington, who has dozens of TV credits over the years. She manages to keep her clothes on in a movie that looks like it was made for nudity, and delivers loads of headsctratching dialog. Bad movie, but I was strangely compelled by the lead actress. Well, she is a witch!

The Evil Dead (1981) For who knows how many times in preparation for the Evil Dead art exhibit I saw at an occult book store in Burbank, CA. There we dozens of film-used props on display, including Ash’s S-Mart name tag, the pendant he gave to his girlfriends, numerous wardrobe pieces, etc, and a lot of original artwork.

Camp Fear (1991) Vince Van Patten (Rock n Roll High School) and Betsy Russell (Avenging Angel) take a group of college girls to a mountain top to look for Indian arrowheads but instead find a group of rapey bikers and a giant Indain spirit who wants to sacrifice everyone. Betsy, who takes her top off in almost everything, keeps her top on here, but what appears to be an add-on scene in the beginning has at least 6 sorority sisters flash their credentials while vying for a shower. Bottom of the barrel stuff here and very little gore, avoid.

Seeding of a Ghost (1983) A Hong Kong taxi driver calls in a favor from a witch doctor to get revenge on those responsible for the death of his cheating wife. He gets it, and a few innocents find themselves in the crossfire too. Lots of nudity, worms, and general sleaze. Chinese with subtitles. Produced by the Shaw Brothers, also known as Black Magic 5. I’d previously seen Black Magic 1 & 2!

Parasite (2019) An out of work family hustles its way into the employment of a rich family, but their deceit eventually catches up with them and erupts into a violent conclusion in this fun, funny, and very good South Korean feature from the director of The Host. Korean with subtitles. Recommended.

Bloody Pit of Horror (1965) A group of Italian fashion models and their crew crash a castle they thought abandoned, but is inhabited by a recluse and his “henchmen” (They dress like Batman villains). They release the spirit of “The Crimson Executioner” who was buried there hundreds of years ago during the Spanish Inquision, and find themselves on the wrong end of torture racks, iron maidens, and various other fun devices that were stashed in the dungeon. American muscleman and husband of Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay, plays the villain, complete with red hood and wrestling tights. Cheesy and sleazy, with some ridiculous dialog, this movie is a delight. If you’re looking for a “bad movie night” this is a can’t miss. There’s a 74 and 87 minute version of this, but according to an internet search, there’s no sex or violence in the cut scenes.

[Dr. Medulla]

Frankenstein’s Army (2013) Near the end of World War II, a group of Russian soldiers complete with cameras to document the events, are on a mission to recover a missing platoon. What they find instead is dozens of half-human, half-machine soldiers that has caused the entire town to either flee or die. A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein has made a whole army full of killing machines for the Nazis out of dead bodies, and they’ve gone berserk. This doesn’t stop him from making more. These zombie robots include a man with a large drill in his face, one with a propeller for a head, and several with various knives and weapons as appendages, just to name a few. The soldiers soon realize their mission has an ulterior motive and soon find themselves trying to stay alive, and worse yet, avoid becoming fresh bodies for the mad doctor’s experiments!

Is this any good? Cos the premise is excellent.

edit: Just checked a site where I find odd movies and found this: "Army of Frankensteins (2013) A young man travels back in time, finding himself entrenched in the Civil War with an army of Frankensteins."

[tepista]

Frankenstein’s Army (2013) Near the end of World War II, a group of Russian soldiers complete with cameras to document the events, are on a mission to recover a missing platoon. What they find instead is dozens of half-human, half-machine soldiers that has caused the entire town to either flee or die. A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein has made a whole army full of killing machines for the Nazis out of dead bodies, and they’ve gone berserk. This doesn’t stop him from making more. These zombie robots include a man with a large drill in his face, one with a propeller for a head, and several with various knives and weapons as appendages, just to name a few. The soldiers soon realize their mission has an ulterior motive and soon find themselves trying to stay alive, and worse yet, avoid becoming fresh bodies for the mad doctor’s experiments!

Is this any good? Cos the premise is excellent.

Very good, Overlord (2018) is better. Similar premise, instead of machine-men it's super-soldiers, and it doesn't rely on the found footage gimmick. Both worth watching.

[Flex]

I really liked Frankensteins Army

[Dr. Medulla]

I've dl'd Frankenstein's Army, Army of Frankensteins, and Overlord. I aim to watch 'em all before the year ends.

Meanwhile, the Boss is watching Love Actually, which I've never seen. It is not good at all. I'm not sure a terrorist attack that kills most of the characters could save it for me.

[Flex]

Meanwhile, the Boss is watching Love Actually, which I've never seen. It is not good at all. I'm not sure a terrorist attack that kills most of the characters could save it for me.

i actually (heh) like love actually - it's terrible but it's terrible in ways i find amusing and watchable - but i'll never forgive it for spawning a "Love Actually is Bad, Actually" thinkpiece industrial complex that rivals only baby it's cold outside during the holiday season. Like, your feelings about this movie isn't Doing Politics, people. go volunteer for a campaign or something.

[Dr. Medulla]

Meanwhile, the Boss is watching Love Actually, which I've never seen. It is not good at all. I'm not sure a terrorist attack that kills most of the characters could save it for me.

i actually (heh) like love actually - it's terrible but it's terrible in ways i find amusing and watchable - but i'll never forgive it for spawning a "Love Actually is Bad, Actually" thinkpiece industrial complex that rivals only baby it's cold outside during the holiday season. Like, your feelings about this movie isn't Doing Politics, people. go volunteer for a campaign or something.

I can't imagine being invested in this movie enough to generate a hate piece, unless it's part of a meta-Hugh Grant hate piece. I'd be cool with that.

update: B just headed off to the tub for a warm-up bath, so I've changed the channel. She told me I'll want to see how it ends; I assured her that I don't care a whit about any of the characters' happiness.

[revbob]

Meanwhile, the Boss is watching Love Actually, which I've never seen. It is not good at all. I'm not sure a terrorist attack that kills most of the characters could save it for me.

i actually (heh) like love actually - it's terrible but it's terrible in ways i find amusing and watchable - but i'll never forgive it for spawning a "Love Actually is Bad, Actually" thinkpiece industrial complex that rivals only baby it's cold outside during the holiday season. Like, your feelings about this movie isn't Doing Politics, people. go volunteer for a campaign or something.

I can't imagine being invested in this movie enough to generate a hate piece, unless it's part of a meta-Hugh Grant hate piece. I'd be cool with that.

update: B just headed off to the tub for a warm-up bath, so I've changed the channel. She told me I'll want to see how it ends; I assured her that I don't care a whit about any of the characters' happiness.

Avoiding Hugh Grant movies is a pretty safe bet.

[Dr. Medulla]

Watched Frankenstein's Army this evening. Torn over the thing. It looks great. Seriously unsettling, albeit more steampunk than I'm into. (Still, I loved how batshit impractical the creatures were. Yeah, I'll give this guy a propeller for a head because, you know, why not?) But I'm not really a fan of the found-footage style because, as effective as it can be for selling a story, it's often used to cover up the lack of a narrative. Which is how this felt. I'd still recommend this for this visuals and particular scenes, but it still seems slightly less than the sum of its parts.