This film is not what I expected. I went in expecting this to be an erotic sci-fi film where an illness would spread causing people to feel super into having sex. Basically I thought it would be more sensual and less violent/rapey. Part of my issue with the story is the rules of the parasite are all over the place. Some people end up eating people others end up just wanting to FUCK. It’s interesting to compare what was considered racy in the 70s versus today. The “orgy’ scenes feature everyone in clothes and seeing a few breasts every once in awhile. I can only imagine what would be filmed if someone like Gaspar Noé made this. Additionally you don’t see many examples of the people in the building loosing it. It is a really strange choice to show a man making out with his daughter and the a little girl kissing a grown man in slow motion as two of the main examples of what is happening in the building when we don’t see a huge variation. What I got was a B-Horror movie in the spirit of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS or a Roger Corman film. A lot of it also feels very inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, especially when starts eating the guy. This makes sense since the film is low budget and Ivan Reitman was really playing in this area (like he did with CANNIBAL GIRLS) a lot at the time. There are so many little low budget filmmaking things that reminded me to making movies with my friends as a kid that filled me with glee. These usually have to do with the creature and effects shots as well as quick editing to make it feel legitimate. For instance we will see the creature move a little then see a trail of blood going away. It weirdly seems cheesy & stupid but also really effective simultaneously. This is an apt description for the tone of the entire film. The design of the creature actually reminded me a bit of beginning version of the creature John Carpenter’s THE THING. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t looked at as some sort of inspiration. This is also a film that really shows how small a bathtub really is. A lot of times in films they always look so big, but here Barbara Steele barley fits in it. There are other realistic qualities in the film that fits in this way — such as how the majority of the people are average or below average looking instead of everyone being models and really good looking — like what we would see in the 80s slasher scene. The acting wasn’t the best in the film, which fits with the type of genre is, but I liked Lynn Lowry as the nurse.
Quarantine Watch #667: Monsoon Wedding (2001)
The one word that best describes this film is alive. From the moment it starts the entire film It reminded me of something like LOVE ACTUALLY or DEATH AT A FUNERAL or an Altman film where we’re seeing multiple stories unfold around a specific event. However, instead of going for comedy like those films, MONSOON WEDDING focuses on the drama. The atmosphere was also very reminiscent of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. My favorite parts were the two dance scenes. Even though the raining one is so much fun, it’s got nothing on the first one when the boy decides to no longer dance. The way Mira Nair shoots it is so electrifying. All of the child grooming/molestation plotline is heavy and feels even more raw as I am currently watching ALLEN V. FARROW. I also did not expect where it ended up. I thought she would just be protecting the young girl not really show how dark the family line has gotten. It sets the end of the film up to be as good as it is.
Quarantine Watch #666: Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021)
The best moments are the ones when it is just her and her family, especially when she writes songs with her brother. It’s so funny because it feels like any conversation any family would have, but its about making an album or a music video. It’s so interesting, but also obvious at the same time. Billie Eilish is one of the coolest people I’ve seen in recent years, mostly because she lives her life the way all of us want to live our lives. It just so happens she skyrockets to superstardom as she lives her life. The film works well to showcase the writing and formation of an album, all of the collaboration involved, the release, tours, and everything else that follows. The Orlando Bloom bit is very funny and the Justin Bieber moment is adorable.
Quarantine Watch #665: Love, Antosha (2019)
I feel like Anton Yelchin’s death just happened, so it is insane to think it was almost 5 years ago. This was such a warm documentary while also playing in a world full of feelings and sadness. Its so great that there have been so many interviews with him, not only professional ones but just him in front of his camera in the house. The whole film just feels like the aura Anton gives off, which is the greatest thing about it. He really seemed like an amazing guy. I would have liked to have met him.
Quarantine Watch #664: Now, Voyager (1942)
- “Remember what it says in the Bible. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.”
-“How does it feel to be the Lord?”
-“Not so very wonderful, since the Free Will Bill was passed. Too little power.”
This may be my favorite Bette Davis performance. She really is amazing. This story is SO ahead of its time from its positive portrayal of psychology. This romance is so fantastic and I think its even better than the “forbidden it can’t happen” love than BRIEF ENCOUNTER. It’s so interesting how this came out a few years before that one, considering Paul Henreid (who is great in this as well) reminded me a lot of Trevor Howard’s character in that film. The relationship between Charlotte and her mother reminded me a lot of the toxic parts of my own relationship with my mother, even though our relationship is good while this one is terrible. The mother character in here is also one of the greatest film villains I’ve seen. The writing in here is so sharp with so many great lines. I LOVED Mary Wickes as the nurse. She reminded me of Alice from THE BRADY BUNCH. I had no idea she was the animation model for Cruella De Vil.
Quarantine Watch #663: The Forty-Year Old Version (2020)
Radha Blank is a star — as both an actress and a director. There are such smart decisions directing that she did and she is so charming. It is so painful during that first performance — the “Yo” one — and she plays it so naturally and perfectly. I don’t know what to make about her character also being her own name. It really blurs the line of this being her story and this being a movie she is making. My thoughts go around in a circle, trying to discern the intention behind the choice. Still I can’t wait to see more of her work. The ball sack moment was so well done, I had tp rewind it 3 times to understand what happened. I honestly thought my Netflix glitched. It also really cuts you like a dagger that he was forced to do that. While I really dug the atmosphere and overall look, I feel like it was a missed opportunity to shoot this on 16mm. I think that would have really made the film lived in a bit more. The film gave me off a vibe that reminded me a lot of early Spike Lee, specifically SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT mostly due to to the incidental horn music used in the film, black & white filming, the fact that it’s New York City, and its racial themes. It also brought back other independent cinema films like early Jim Jarmusch films, HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE, and Adam Davidson’s THE LUNCH DATE. I loved the raps (except for “Harlem Ave.”)— I haven’t been this into the lyrics of a movie like this since PATTI CAKE$. I felt the through-line of Rhada needing to deal with her mother’s death could have been integrated better into the plot. That would have made this piece even stronger. Peter Kim was great as Archie. The speech he gives at the end is so great. It may be one of the best supporting role speeches I’ve seen in awhile. (SIDE NOTE: He is Blade from HACKERS — one of the people on the Hacker TV show. Mind — Blown). Reed Birney was such a meta choice for the role, but I think he was way too big for the character. I feel like a different actor could have. The racial stuff worked well with Rhada’s character and her music, but all the stuff surrounding the play and the white people involved with it came out very cartoony because everyone doesn’t get it on such an absurd level. Although I loved the joke that the Female African American biographical musical he is always talking about keeps changing. It comes off as parody, which isn’t in tone to the reset of the film. I just think it happened in such an overt way. I’m not sure what Rhada is trying to say with it. It could honestly be that a lot of things written by white people portray other races as such caricatures, that this film is doing the same thing back to it. I’d love to know more about her intentions regarding the different parts of the film, since it is hard for me as a 30 white guy to assess the POV of a 40 year-old Black woman completely.
Quarantine Watch #662: Collective (2020)
This film breaks my brain. Corruption seems like a thing we know that happens, but the way that this unfolds is at an absurd level. It has gotten so horrible that it can’t be fixed. It also shows how important voter turn out is super important. The film reminded me a lot of HONEYLAND, another international documentary that plays like it was written like a script. You really forget at times that it is an actual documentary. However, unlike HONEYLAND, I have no idea how the hell they made this and all the access they were given in. There is a scene where the film focuses in on one of our “characters” during a meeting involving a big group of people and there is a small moment where he snaps a piece of plastic. It’s one of those moments, I’m shocked they were able to grab. Its extraordinary. The reason the film works so well is because the human faces/toll at the center of everything with the fire. The video footage of the fire is some of the scariest footage I’ve ever seen. I don’t how I would have handled being in that situation.
Quarantine Watch #661: The Trip to Greece (2020)
"Legoland costs a fortune, but you get a lot for your money."
Every single time I go into a TRIP movie I’m always expecting it to be boring. Its because even though intellectually I know I liked the other ones, I’m still skeptical for some reason. Then I fall in love with the relationship between these two guys. Their chemistry is some of the best between to actors in recent years. A visceral delight fills as you laugh at them annoying and bouncing of one another. Doing the trek of the Odyssey is also a really great through-line, similar to the Don Quixote stuff in THE TRIP TO SPAIN. As always the impressions are the best part of the film. The Dustin Hoffman rabbit hole is the best out of all of them.
Quarantine Watch #660: Gates of Heaven (1978)
“When I turn my back I don't know you, not truly, but I can turn my back on my little dog and I know that he's not going to jump on me or bite me. But human beings can't be that way.”
I really love the use of color here. The greens of the grass just look so green. Then he frames people against wheat or some sort of tan dry plant. Morris really creates an idiosyncratic vibe by just showing the ordinary world. The best parts of the film are the interviews with people who have actually lost pets. If you had just walked in the room, you would have thought they were talking about a human family member, not a pet. The couple who talk about heart worm got me scared about my own dog who I give heart worm medicine to. The film also does a good job about presenting the dilemma about how to treat animals, and for that matter people, when they die. The lack of music in the ending is so right on. You really feel the weight of the silence when we see all the headstones. I also love when the woman is making the dog make noises. It’s super cute.
Quarantine Watch #659: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)
I had planned to watch GATES OF HEAVEN and VERNON, VL since I have had the dual Criterion DVD for sometime. This was on the GATES OF HEAVEN DVD. It was something I had been aware of since college, but never actually watched, so I thought, “Why the hell not!”. It acts as a really great preamble into GATES OF HEAVEN. I love how serious Herzog takes the whole thing while preparing to cook it. It adds a whole other reality to the piece. I also haven’t seen Werner Herzog this young. He looks a little like Donald Sutherland in ANIMAL HOUSE (or maybe that is because of the jacket he wears and his mustache). He is a great man in terms of inspiring people; caring enough to try to help Morris get started and then get the film more recognition by doing this on stage and making it a film. The short film acts as such a fantastic conclusion to the Herzog/Morris/GATES OF HEAVEN story. It is also the best example of “putting your money where your mouth,” Les Blank also did a great job on the edit when this could have been 8 minutes of Herzog just eating a shoe. I loved the comparisons and the use of shots from Charlie Chaplin’s THE GOLD RUSH.
Quarantine Watch #658: Extraction (2020)
This was a lot of fun and shows why we let experience stuntmen direct movies. We get the best action sequences out of it. I loved the location. Using Bangladesh, a not often seen in Hollywood films, was so great. The location reminded me a lot of the favelas of Rio in CITY OF GOD or FAST FIVE .I think it was super smart to have the tracking shot scene early on in the film. It really set the template for what the film was. If it happened as a climax the film wouldn’t have the same impact. I liked the team a lot, I wish they had been more involved. Aside from the girl we barely seen everyone and its Hemsworth, behind enemy lines, trying to survive. I’d love to see prequel films that showcases this mercenary team. The plot is nothing new, innovative, or at all interesting. The entire film felt a lot like a RAMBO sequel or TERMINATOR 2 (specifically in how he needs to protect the kid). I’m surprised that the Russo Brothers made it mainly because they also produced 21 BRIDGES which has A LOT of similarities and came out only a year before. The both involve manhunts with someone in power, “Closing all the bridges.”
Quarantine Watch #657: Blow-Up (1966)
David Hemmings looks like a mix between Bud Cort in HAROLD AND MAUDE and MALCOLM MCDOWELL in IF… and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. He acts like Roman Polanski’s character in THE TENANT. What I’m trying to get at is he is a unique looking guy whose character, Thomas, acts like a total creep. He’s like a creepier version of his character from DEEP RED. I was shocked when he was forcing the woman to take off her clothes as well as trading sex for photoshoots not only because of how we look at these moments through 2021 eyes, but because I honestly thought Thomas was gay. This may be the usual problem of trying to figure out if someone is gay or just really British. This film is also so British in its cadence, rhythm, themes, and style. It’s up there with THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP or THE ITALIAN JOB for the most British movie.
Everything in here makes it seem like this going to be a really interesting murder mystery film. Instead the film does a very strange, almost experimental, thing. It feels like something that would happen in a Brunel or Lynch film or something from the French New Wave. The story just ends. It doesn’t come to any sort of conclusion and Thomas is left to ponder what that means. I never expected this to pivot in this direction. While I like the moments with the mimes, I felt like it didn’t connect well with the rest of the film.
It also sets up a paranoia that we would eventually see in future political thrillers like THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, JFK, the films of Alan J. Pakula, and even films directly referencing the premise like THE CONVERSATION or BLOW OUT. Incidentally, I really believe Coppola and de Palma really elevated the ideas and concept in such a great way that they stand even greater than this film. Herbie Hancock’s score is so fun and fits the film immensely well. I never knew this was the originator of the photographer yelling at the model trope that was really aped in a lot of comedies. For that matter, it is clear there is a lot of inspiration for Austin Powers in this from the music to the Thomas as a character. I’d bet that Jay Roach or Mike Myers was inspired to use this as one of the many references in that film series.
Quarantine Watch #656: Nashville (1975)
This is the longest review I’ve written and I think that is a testament to the size of the film. Additionally I still can’t stop thinking about the film and small specific moments that I didn’t really think about when I was watching the film itself.
The Grand Ole Opry stuff in here is so interesting to me. The camera sits there, putting you in the crowd, but its so bright it doesn’t feel like a concert, it feels more like a middle school auditorium. Additionally the lack of movement in the stage compared to the people getting up and moving around during the show makes it feel like something that is way past its prime. It never tries to show the Opry in an amazing way — it just presents it how it is. That is really a metaphor for the entire film in a way. Most Altman films are tapestry’s showing a large picture within many tiny parts, but this may be the biggest in terms of sheer scope that I’ve seen so fat. It’s like he has control of an entire city and can shoot where-ever with whoever in whatever free form way he wants to bouncing in and out of different people’s lives. All of this causes the film to feel more like an immersive experience rather than a movie. There are also a lot of moments that feel like they belong more in ANIMAL HOUSE or the BLUES BROTHERS like everything that happens with the motorcycle guy or Lady Pearl. These moments give the film such a bizarre sheen.
Lily Tomlin was my favorite part of the film. This is some of her best dramatic acting work that I’ve seen and her scenes were the ones that kept bringing back in when I found myself losing interest in the story. I’m always a big fan of Keith Carradine and he was so, damn, smooth as Tom and really fits into his character well. “I’m Easy” really is the best song out of all of them. Ronee Blakley was another standout, my favorite moment being her somber song in the hospital. The song she sings at Opryland is also great. Shelly Duval was pretty funny. Her story is really good in terms of how she focuses more on the excitement of celebrity and rather than family, but I wish Altman played into it more. We don’t spend enough time with her character and as such she comes off pretty flat. Gerladine Chaplin also did a great job with the comedy. She reminded me of a character who could be from something like TEEN WITCH or REALITY BITES (or any ‘80s or ‘90s movie) as the best friend character. I think that had to do with her clothes and hats. She had great moments, but ultimately I found the character really annoying.
The strip scene is so fucking sad. I teared up by the time it had finished. I don’t get why Altman feels the need to be really mean to certain female characters. He does the same thing to Houlihan in M*A*S*H*. The scene is so dirty and lascivious and Altman doesn’t put us in Sueleen’s POV about how gross this all is, but rather we are spectators of the song and dance — just like we were in the Opry scene, we’re in the audience. I wish I could figure out what Altman is trying to say here, and ultimately I don’t think there is any greater theme, it’s just stuff that happens. Still this was handled better than the moment in M*A*S*H* and I think that has to do with the writing from Joan Tewkesbury.
What Altman is fantastic at is directing the image. His choices of where to point the camera and the characters is so masterful. I specifically love how he shoots the “I’m Easy” scene.
I think another reason I had a hard time connecting with the film is all the political stuff that the film surrounds itself with, which the film really zooms in on and says it is the most important part. It also tries to examine a famous person’s relationship with politics and how it telegraphs to the public. Those really are the three main characters: Fame, Politics, and the Audience. It reminded me of the political backdrop in SHAMPOO. I also think seeing so many rallies and the political upheaval of recent years that I am just burned out of it. I probably would have dug stuff more if I hadn’t of watch it right now.
Also, Karen Black reminded me a lot of Jennifer Coolidge and Dave Peel reminded me so much of Jesse Plemons. I couldn’t stop seeing them in my head.
Quarantine Watch #655: Senna (2011)
I know nothing about Formula 1 racing and its so weird that you don’t really need to in order to love this movie, especially because the film is so much about the inner politics of a major sport organization. The film doesn’t use talking heads, but relies instead on VO from interviews with various people. It makes you forget that the film is a documentary at times and that you’re just watching a narrative film. The final 25 minutes are edited so well and it transforms into compositions in a similar way to how someone would shoot a scripted movie. The end also becomes very harrowing because you get the sense Senna will die, but you do not know when. There are so many crashes that follow that you expect him to involved in all of them. For that matter, it is INSANE how many crashes he is involved in or how many crashes happen in F1 to begin with. It is an insanely dangerous sport. Never have I seen racing be given such humanity. You really get the sense of how amazing of an athlete Senna was. I’m shocked that a major Hollywood studio hasn’t made film about him yet, especially with the personality he had. The world is truly a little less passionate without him.
Quarantine Watch #654: Häxan (1922)
I watched the 105 minute Swedish Film Institute restoration version of this film. I loved how the film is essentially a visual essay. Almost like you’re watching a book. The imagery is really great, especially with the film’s use of color in a silent film that is nearly 100 years old (although I’m sure some of this has to do with how the restorations are tinted). The film incorporates animation and documentary techniques. I understand completely how it is such a revolutionary and innovative film. It is a must watch for anyone making a film about witches, demons, and the supernatural. All of that being said, you have to go into it as if you are going to sit down and read a book about witches instead of sitting down to watch a story unfold. I had no idea this was the case going into it, which I think impacts my enjoyment of the piece. Though, I can easily say I have never seen anything else like it.
Quarantine Watch #653: Spontaneous (2020)
This was really cute. Charlie Plummer and Katherine Langford are great together. I really appreciated their chemistry. I also loved all the movie references too, especially the E.T. one. Despite having a really great premise, I felt like the plot wasn’t really well constructed. It leaned a little too much into the Sci-Fi stuff instead of the romance part. If the story had be grounded a bit more I think it would have flowed a little better. I wish it had also leaned more into the comedy of the premise. Instead it trades out places where comedy could be inserted for strangely toned, “Down with Republicans,” lines. If the film wanted to be an expose on the way the government handles situations from the POV of teenagers, then it shouldn’t have given the romance equal weight with sci-fi plot. There’s just too much happening at one time. It also doesn’t help when the romance is the most interesting part of the movie. It explores the finality of dying at any moment but from a young age and how does that impact how you want to live your life. The running through the school scene is pretty fantastic.
Quarantine Watch #652: House of Games (1987)
I really love con films and hadn’t seen one in a bit and this plays like THE STING if it was a noir. It also had a very SHALLOW GRAVE type of vibe, but maybe that is because of the suitcase full of money. In fact, the film helped remind me how much I love these types of movies. The main reason for this is that Joe Mantegna really seduces you into the world. He really is the best part of it, although I couldn’t stop seeing “Fat Tony” from THE SIMPSONS every time he spoke. I also never realized how similar he is to Kevin Corrigan. In fact Joe Mantegna is what you get when you cross Kevin Corrigan and Chaz Palminteri . Ricky Jay is really great here. I’m so happy he got into acting, and I never new this was his first one. He is dearly missed. William H. Macy is also so young here. I haven’t seen him in a young role in awhile. I also think Mike Nussbaum has a great voice and reminded me of a Maurice LaMarche character. The biggest problem with the film is that because we’ve seen con movies, we know that everyone is screwing her over from moment one. Still I sat on the edge of my seat waiting to see if I was right in my assumption there or if Mamet would subvert the genre. Still, the ending was really great.
Quarantine Watch #651: The Bad News Bears (1976)
Wow. I forgot how amazing Tatum O’Neal was as an actress when she was a kid. She is so damn good in here. There is a way she has about articulating her words that they feel really lived in. Chris Barnes as Tanner is really the best kid after her and says the funniest things with the best voice. I really like how the writer, Bill Lancaster, treats Buttermaker as a character. I kept expecting him to be mean to the kids in the beginning, like Emilio Estevez in THE MIGHTY DUCKS, but he is really on board to be kind and stick up for these kids. It conflicts with other characters in past films who are drunks and it so nice and refreshing to see. This film also wastes no time with exposition. Walter Matthau really fits into him well. It’s so interesting seeing Jackie Earl Haley as a kid. I totally forgot he was even in this. I really need to explore more of his early work. The use of the opera Carmen for the music just works, but I don’t understand why. It plays similar to CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM using Luciano Michelini’s “Frolic” and IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA using Heinz Kiessling's '“Temptation Sensation'“. I’d love to know how that idea originated. I feel like we missed the 1st act where the kids were denied playing and then the lawsuit happens, but that’s what’s great about this film. It ditches how we got here in favor for playing baseball and having a great time. It really goes to show how quickly you can condense huge parts of a film and not lose story. The ending of the films is just joyous. There is a real moment where the pin drops and your heart sinks, but after that, when everyone gets a chance to play, it is so jubilant that my heart could barely contain it. I really didn’t expect for this to leave me feeling so optimistic and full of smiles.
Quarantine Watch #650: M*A*S*H* (1970)
Watching this crossed off a lot of lists I’ve been working through (AFI Top 100, WGA 101 Funniest Scripts, Palm d’Or Winners, etc.). I don’t think the film plays well as a satire of war. It’s hard to see what the film as a whole is saying actually. It plays very episodically and the humor of a bunch of people partying around and being happy-go-lucky, is what kept me from really connecting with the plot. It is also hard to get past the sexism of the 1970s and the extreme misogyny. I will say the juxtaposition of the light-hearted summer camp-like moments and bloody red surgeries. I really like the ideals as depicted by Hawkeye and Houlihan and I think it ‘s the smartest commentary on living through war: Why should we be stiff and proper about things when everyday there will be a sea of suffering and carnage. The issue is they trade that conversation that’s happening in to make it to a snobs vs. slobs comedy of pranks. It could have been so much more, but it relegates itself to a comedy film akin to the films that would come after it like ANIMAL HOUSE, REVENGE OF THE NERDS, OLD SCHOOL, and PORKYS. The cast is phenomenal, but I especially loved Elliot Gould. I feel like he was the basis for Borat since their hair and mustache are very similar. Tom Skerritt was also a standout for me. The show scene is really terrible and she’s right about it being Blake’s fault. Altman is clearly not on her side though, even though her breakdown is played as a joke with Blake being in bed with a woman at the time. It’s such a weird moment in film history considering how big this movie was. The fact they show it again in the credits is also horrible.
Quarantine Watch #649: Small Axe: Red, White, and Blue (2020)
John Boyega shines as Leroy Logan, who is one of my favorite characters to watch in something from 2020. He really balances the pressures of the job, racial injustice, the idea of feeling like a traitor to his community and his father, and general life pressures made him not only a great person to profile. You really get into the head of this character to understand what the real guy must have went through as the first Black cop. I really liked that the academy training didn’t have people riding him because of his race, it was only when he climbed further up the ladder that you see it. It was also such a great story to have in a Black Lives Matter world. I love seeing Antonia Thomas in anything, I just wish she had more to do here.
