If Music Could Talk

Mimi wrote: ↑

14 Aug 2020, 12:51pm

Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑

14 Aug 2020, 12:48pm

Mimi wrote: ↑

14 Aug 2020, 12:34pm

Makes one wonder how weak humans really are that we'd rather please our peers than risk ridicule by doing the right thing. I know that's a simplistic view to a complex situation but fuck them. I have no sympathy.

That's basically the mid-century argument about totalitarianism put forward by liberal scholars. Modern life offers a lot of freedom and responsibility for governing yourself, but some people can't hack it, so they follow the crowd of similar scared and weak people and end up in totalitarian movements led by tough guy leaders who promise they have all the answers. There's a garin of truth in there, but it's a bit too neat and abstract and self-congratulatory.

I've never actually seen the movie, The Nasty Girl, but it's based on a West German young woman who researched what her town did during the war, and discovered active participation in the Holocaust. And when she wrote about it, exposing what older people chose not to talk about, she and her family were verbally and physically targeted. Very much an example of Faulkner's wise observation that the past isn't dead, it's not even past.

Sounds familiar.

Yeah, it's gotten a lot of replay in the last few years. It's still overly simple and self-congratulatory for my tastes.

Open 24 Hours (2018) A young woman who set her serial killer-boyfriend on fire takes a graveyard shift at a gas station. She has constant violent delusions in her heard and when shit starts to go down she isn’t sure what’s real or her imagination. Pretty fun slasher, I had a guess at the “twist” and I was way wrong. I wonder if that was their intention.

The Wretched (2019) A “cool mom” gets possessed by some sort of child-killing wood dwelling creature, so when teenage Ben who is staying next door with his dad for the summer sees the strangeness, he becomes obsessed with spying and ignores the cute girl who is into him. So just like Fright Night! The monster did have one neat trick that I won’t give away, but overall pretty mediocre. There were a couple butts.

We Summon the Darkness (2019) Three metal chicks and three metal dudes meet at a concert in 1988. News reports that a Satanic Cult has been committing ritualistic murders in the area. Fun and kinda light Satanic Panic stuff. Anytime Alexandra Daddario’s face is on a screen it’s never a bad thing. Johnny Knoxville plays a televangelist.

La Llorona (2019) A disgraced Guatemalan General, convicted but pardoned of genocidal war crimes, is confined to his mansion with his wife, daughter and granddaughter while a never-ending protest rages outside. All his servants but one have left, and the only replacement one he can find…well, there’s something a bit “witchy” about her. Good movie. Not action packed, but I was never bored.

Pengadbi Setan aka Satan’s Slave (1982) When their mother dies, two teens and their father must face the forces of evil, staring with a sinister housekeeper, and continuing with loved ones rising from the grave. Some unintentional cheesiness, specifically a bad car crash and someone choked by a chandelier, and a heavy handed “if you don’t worship God bad things will happen” message, but still pretty fun and creepy, with pretty cool make-up FX. An Indonesian classic, apparently.

Pengadbi Setan aka Satan’s Slaves (2017) A former pop singer and mother of four passes away, leaving her husband and kids at the mercy of evil forces in this remake of an Indonesian classic from the director of Impetigore. When the teens research the strange occurrences that befall them, they find mom may have fallen in with the Satanic crowd. Good, creepy stuff, with a likeable family and a few brutal death scenes.

Both on SHUDDER, I didn’t realize there were 2, and since I liked Pedigore I wanted to see the director’s earlier work. I was thinking, WOW, this movie really nailed the retro 70s feel, from the clothes and cars all the way down to a Linda Ronstadt poster on the kids wall! By the end I wasn’t sure I was watching the movie I thought I was. The remake still had the “you need god” message, but it didn’t come across like a PSA as it did in the first one.

The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971) The second in Dario Argento’s “Animal Trilogy” of giallo. James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes) is a newspaper reporter, who teams up with a blind former detective (Karl Malden) to solve a string of murders connected to a bio-tech company. Franciscus manages to get in bed with the president of the company’s hot daughter and avoid drinking poisoned milk. Not quite on the same level as Bird with the Crystal Plumage, but near-classic nonetheless. Eninno Morricone soundtrack.

Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975) A model dies during an abortion, then employees from her agency become the targets of a killer in a motorcycle helmet. The Undisputed Queen of Giallo, Edwege Fenech, this time in a short haircut, plays a fashion photographer who’s out to solve the crimes with the help of her boyfriend, who’s a violently abusive cheater, yet is still portrayed as the hero. Different times, I guess. Lots of nudity from Edi, and at least four others in this sleazier than most entry from the director of Burial Ground.

Anthropophagus (1980) Tisa Farrow gets a ride on a boat to find her father on a deserted island…wait a minute, isn’t that the same plot as Zombi? She and her friends run afoul of a cannibal beast in this infamous gorefest from sometimes-porn-director Joe D’Amato, that was available in cut form on VHS under the title The Grim Reaper in the 80s. There are 2 notorious scenes near the end that make the movie, so if you’re looking for a copy, make sure you find one that is 91 minutes long. This was Serena Grandi’s film debut, she played a pregnant woman who keeps her clothes on, but would soon be a famous nude model/actress in Italy that you might recognize from Lamberto Bava’s Delirium. As for Mia Farrow’s sister, she said "fuck it" and never acted again.

The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire (1971) Very nasty giallo, with a killer who burns his victim’s faces with acid on several occasions, and is not opposed to harming children or the elderly. Luigi Pistilli (Eli Wallach’s priest brother from The Good, The Bad & the Ugly) is a detective, himself demoted for excessive violence, on the case after a mangled corpse is found in the trunk of an ambassador’s Rolls Royce. Not for the faint of heart.

Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) Pre-teen boys are being murdered in a small Italian village and the townsfolk are quick to blame a local voodoo-doll making witch, but a closer look shows that the gorgeous Barbara Bouchet, a former junkie trying to kick the habit in obscurity, has been the last person to see the kids alive. Some great nudity from Babs, and just an overall brutal giallo from Lucio Fulci, considering the age of most of the victims. One of the best of the genre.

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) Barbara Bouchet is Kitty, a fashion photographer whose family has been plagued by a centuries-old curse that one sister would kill another, and that the dead one would rise from the grave to commit seven murders, the final one being her sister. Well, Kitty’s sister is dead, and someone who fits the description is killing Kitty’s coworkers at the modeling agency. A+ nudity from Sybil Danning and Babs, in an all around entertaining giallo that manages to give a gothic and supernatural vibe in a modern setting.

City of the Living Dead (1980) Lucio Fulci's gore classic was known as Gates of Hell on VHS when I was a kid. A psychic in New York has a vision of a priest in Dunwich, MA committing suicide and opening the gates of hell in the process. She and a reporter (Christopher George) travel to somehow stop it. Along the way we are treated to several scenes of intense gore, enough to give this one the cult status it deserved in the 80s. Highlights are a young woman vomiting her own guts, a drill through the head, brains squeezed out of skulls and a windstorm of maggots.

tepista wrote: ↑

21 Aug 2020, 11:01am

The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971) The second in Dario Argento’s “Animal Trilogy” of giallo. James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes) is a newspaper reporter, who teams up with a blind former detective (Karl Malden) to solve a string of murders connected to a bio-tech company. Franciscus manages to get in bed with the president of the company’s hot daughter and avoid drinking poisoned milk. Not quite on the same level as Bird with the Crystal Plumage, but near-classic nonetheless. Eninno Morricone soundtrack.

I feel like Franciscus was cast in Beneath the Planet of the Apes because of a contractual insistence from Charlton Heston. "Yes, I'll be in the movie for three minutes, but you'd better make the star a charisma vacuum." He'd have growled through closed teeth.

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Let's see if I can get the wife to watch this. I forced London Town on her so we'll see.

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Does he become an American sports columnist at the end?

matedog wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 2:25pm

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Let's see if I can get the wife to watch this. I forced London Town on her so we'll see.

It's a really sweet movie. And much better than London Town. Low bar, I know, but still.

Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 3:41pm

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Does he become an American sports columnist at the end?

I don't get this reference.

Explain it please for this pop culture ignoramus?

Spiff wrote: ↑

23 Aug 2020, 12:18pm

Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 3:41pm

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Does he become an American sports columnist at the end?

I don't get this reference.

Explain it please for this pop culture ignoramus?

Sorry—it's been observed by others that American sports columnists have a weird affection for Broooose as a way of demonstrating their own real working man cred. They ain't sissies typing on laptops; they know about the appeal of the open road and a Camaro. Quote "Born to Run" in a piece on Tom Brady and hit publish.

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Yeah, this was a nice feel good film.

Flex wrote: ↑

24 Aug 2020, 12:05pm

Spiff wrote: ↑

22 Aug 2020, 1:30pm

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I watched "Blinded By the Light" a feel-good film about a Pakistani immigrant living in Luton, England, who idolizes Bruce Springsteen and uses the Boss's music to get through troubling times as a high schooler facing racism, plus the usual teen awkwardnesses.

Quite good, if a little Hollywoodish toward the end. Based on a true story of ultra Bruce fan Sarfraz Manzoor, who's seen more than 100 Springsteen concerts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8266310/

Yeah, this was a nice feel good film.

My wife winced through large chunks of the movie. I definitely would have as well if not for my love and adulation for Bruce. I told the wife she just needs to have her Bruce tornado epiphany.

Other than the very very cheesy moments, I liked how well rounded they made the dad character.

matedog wrote: ↑

24 Aug 2020, 12:14pm

Other than the very very cheesy moments, I liked how well rounded they made the dad character.

yeah, the dad character was great. i dunno how much it hewed to real life, but he was the most real-life feeling character in the movie.

Flex wrote: ↑

24 Aug 2020, 12:16pm

matedog wrote: ↑

24 Aug 2020, 12:14pm

Other than the very very cheesy moments, I liked how well rounded they made the dad character.

yeah, the dad character was great. i dunno how much it hewed to real life, but he was the most real-life feeling character in the movie.

Well, other than all the minorities that love Bruce.

Also this line had me rolling.