Jon SpencerSick of Being Sick A long time ago Steve Albini was on the Marc Maron podcast and was asked who his favorite people were to produce. Albini mentioned Jon Spencer and said something like “he knows exactly what he wants.” If you don’t know who Jon Spencer is, or don’t like his music, doesn’t that at least command some form of respect? Of all the people Albini has worked with, and been underwhelmed by, Spencer stands out. Luckily for...
Nosferatu Can you feel it? Everyone’s got Nosferatu FEVER! Well, maybe that’s just the plague. Or maybe it’s the pneumonia that was going around. I, for one, was certainly a victim of that, coughing almost uncontrollably in the theatre while watching Count Orlok seduce poor Ellen. But it takes a certain kind of director to make something unique and so weird that it compels people to reference and meme it endlessly. There’s just so much of this movie that’s...
Wolf Man It’s kind of nice watching a movie and not knowing who any of the stars are. Jodorowsky once said that movie stars are the death of cinema, or something like that. He’s not wrong. Then again, he also wanted to make a movie with Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, and Orson Welles. So, maybe he IS wrong. But in a time when almost every mainstream movie is overcast (NO role is too small!), I enjoyed watching Wolf Man and...
Seven Does the fact that you can remember distinct facts about a movie 30 years after you watch it mean it’s a good movie? I watched Seven once – just once – on VHS when it came out, being terrified of certain parts, and still distinctly recall certain sequences. Yes, I remember the ending, but also, surprisingly, several shots, scenes, and exchanges. I don’t know, that sounds to me like a good movie. So, how would this...
The Dark Knight Returnsby Frank Miller There was a time when Frank Miller was the coolest. No, not the 80s. I’m talking about the mid aughts. Graphic novels began their ascension into cool and adult, the Sin City movie came out and was well received or at least unique, and Frank Miller got a black check of sorts. We all had Frank Miller fever! I had it too! That all quickly vanished when Miller was given a chance to make...
North By Northwest I’ve watched a lot of Hitchcock and Cary Grant movies, and maybe, just maybe, North by Northwest is the best execution of the two. It might be the best Grant or Hitchcock movie period! Look, Notorious is ridiculously overrated and Birds might just be ridiculous. The great thing about North by Northwest is that it strikes a perfect balance of mystery, suspense, humor, and romance. Thornhill is a perfect character in an almost Lebowski-style fashion: an...
Twisters Look, I understand a popcorn movie can only do so much, but you gotta give me something to work with, OK? You gotta give me SOMETHING interesting or new to keep me invested in the plot or the characters or ANYTHING, for that matter. Instead, Twisters is just a middling piece of mediocrity that spins around and around instead of going anywhere. Remember in the 90s when everyone had Twister FEVER? Well, according to Twisters it’s still going...
The Wild RobotCollector’s Edition Boy, this is a tough one to write. Wild Robot is full of things you want from a good movie. It has an interesting plot, cool designs, it’s fun AND funny, has vibrant characters, robots (ok, maybe that one’s just for me) and it’s full of coziness. It’s also full of great performances from the cast. Lupita Nyong’o is able to bring heart to a character who’s supposed to be all brains, and...
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice I’ve always known about Beetlejuice but I never sat down and actually got to know it. That changed last year when I watched (or rewatched? I can’t remember) the first movie and truly hung out with it for a coffee. What struck me was its personality: it was fun going back to a time when Tim Burton was (arguably) more creative and where all this stuff was fresh. The first Beetlejuice is just perfectly cast and as engaging...
Joker: Folie a Deux Does anyone with brains actually like the first Joker movie? I remember watching it, being compelled by Juaquin Phoenix’s performance but just found the whole thing to be equal parts awkward and inelegant. It’s basically a movie about a guy, down on his luck, who snaps and takes matters into his own hands by resorting to violence. It’s a reflection on the audience on whether Joker’s acts were misguided or admirable. I don’t know if Todd...