Two days into Shocktober and I’ve already broken my own rule. All of the films selected were supposed to be available on Netflix at the time of review. Yet Cujo was taken off yesterday. What evil force is working against me to talk about the story of a sweet young boy and a dog with rabies? Luckily, I watched the film before those Netflix fat cats ripped it from my cold bloody paws.
I first saw The Legend of Hell House as boy on a tape recorded off of TV. Sounds bad and yet the film captivated me with its gothic setting and grandiose cinematography by Alan Hume (Return of the Jedi, A View to a Kill). But viewing the film today, I wonder if I convinced myself of these things to stay up late. So, let’s turn up the tracking and look for answers with The Legend of Hell House.
Do you have any idea how terrifying the prospect of watching 31 movies in 31 days is? How can anyone find the time to eat or sleep or dread the upcoming presidential election? Like passing through the gates of Hell, “Shocktober” is filled with evil, fear of the unknown, and a lot of half-assed two paragraph reviews. That’s why this year, we’re getting a little help from a guardian angel.
Netflix. How had I not thought of it sooner? All 31 days available at the click of a button! Gone are the days of visiting totally not illegal streaming sites and digging through dumpsters outside F.Y.E. Every single movie we watch will be readily available on everybody’s favorite streaming service. Or should I say “SCREAMING SERVICE!?!?” No, streaming service is better. Anyways, happy haunting everybody!
Can you smell it? The aroma of beer foam, hot wings and sweaty American pride? Yes, football season is back, and what better way to bring in the season then with my take on one of the best football stories ever told. Not only because it shows the bonding power of sports, but because it’s true…. all of it.
Thank god it’s Friday! Um, er, I mean Tuesday. Sorry, with Labor Day Weekend I was away from the site for a bit, though I did start working on a post last Thursday. Seems like a shame to let it go to waste, so here it is.
It’s rare that an actor can be so beloved for multiple roles. Some people will remember Gene Wilder as cynical chocolatier Willy Wonka, others—such as myself—as Mel Brook’s most treasured madcap pawn. Yet Gene had a third on-screen life as one half of cinema’s most underrated comedy team. I’m not sure who decided to pair the sweet Gene Wilder with Richard Pryor, one of the edgiest comics who will ever walk this Earth, but it worked, particularly in Arthur Hiller’s 1976 classic Silver Streak.
R.I.P VHS
If you haven’t heard this month, Funai Electric, the last major manufacturer of VCR’s will close its production lines forever. This isn’t much of a surprise considering the last major film released on VHS came out eleven years ago—it was A History of Violence, btw. To most people, this won’t mean much. DVDs and Blu-Rays look and sound better. They also have special features, don’t need rewinding, and don’t require you to ride your finger on that goddamn tracking dial every five minutes. It makes me shudder just thinking about it.
If you think it’s perverse that Seth Rogen and Co. have made what is essentially Toy Story with F-Bombs, consider the fact Ralph Bakshi made an animated film far more perverse and profane over forty years ago. I’m talking about Fritz the Cat, the first ever X-rated animated film and one of the first (if not the first) animated film made for adults. Based on the comic strip by Robert Crumb, Fritz is a feisty feline in search of sex in the big city at the height of counterculture. Fritz is so crass and devious, he makes Bugs Bunny look like Mother Theresa. It’s crazy to think anyone would consider the character for a feature length film and yet it happened.
P.S. It was hard to find pics for this post that did not feature nude animals, so I apologize for the lack of quality images.
