Fe-Burt-uary: Starting Over

Starting Over (1979)

It’s a special week for Fe-Burt-uary! Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but this week also marks what would have been Burt Reynolds’ 89th birthday, his birthday was February 11th. Sadly, Burt passed away from a heart attack in 2018, leaving behind a rich legacy of 20ish box-office hits, a successful sitcom Evening Shade (CBS, 1990–1994), seven Golden Globe nominations and two wins, two Emmy nominations, and a single Oscar nomination. After watching Starting Over, I would argue that it should have been two Oscar nominations.

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Fe-Burt-uary: Semi-Tough

Semi-Tough (1977)

After several failed attempts to convince my fellow Mildly Pleasers to do a Burt Reynolds-themed month (Novem-Burt could have been something beautiful) for our movie podcast, The Pick, I’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to go it alone and devote four Fridays this month to Hollywood’s top-grossing star from 1978 to 1982.

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The Vault: Alice, Sweet Alice

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

This is part 3 in a 300 part series of Fangoria Magazine’s “Top 300 Horror Movies”.

A week ago, cult cinema distributor Arrow Video announced the release of a special Alice Sweet Alice Blu-Ray August 2019. Why am I excited? Not only does this mean a proper release for the cult classic slasher film, but it’s also another opportunity for people to see one of the most underrated horror movies of the ‘70s. By all means Alice Sweet Alice should be a classic with merchandise and fan art and a shitty 2006-ish era remake. Instead, it’s an often forgotten slasher that launched Brooke Shields and did little else. Which is a shame. This movie is atmospheric with great characters and an even better mystery. That mystery including the question, “Why didn’t this make a bigger impact on the genre?”

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MCU Retrospecticus: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Original Review: n/a

One thing I didn’t mention in my Ant-Man review is how it parallels the first Iron Man so well. You could describe Tony Stark or Hank Pym’s arc as the story of a guy recovering from a trauma and standing up to the evil dude who took over his company. The big difference being that Hank Pym is not the main character of Ant-Man, Scott Lang is, so they came up with a contrived reason for Hank and Hope to have to rely on Scott to help them. The smartest thing Ant-Man and the Wasp does is lean back the other way, letting the film become the story of a super hero father and daughter, and this other guy who wants to help but mostly wants to take care of his own daughter.

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The Vault: The Abominable Dr. Phibes

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

This is part 2 in a 300 part series of Fangoria Magazine’s “Top 300 Horror Movies”. Here we go!

Why is it so damn hard to find a copy of The Abominable Dr. Phibes? For anyone who’s not a horror fan I’m sure the answer is “Because it’s called The Abominable Dr. Phibes.” Fair enough. It is a title that invokes the worst of b-movie shlock. Maybe a film you’d catch at 2:00 AM on a nostalgia channel or featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Yet there is a “Je ne sais quoi” to Phibes that is memorable. Or maybe it’s the fact that Phibes laid the groundwork for an iconic horror franchise and nobody talks about it.

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MCU Retrospecticus: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Original Review: Some Kind of Movie – Ep. 9: Why is Gamora? (unrated)

Well, the reviews for Endgame are out and it sounds good. I wouldn’t know, I’m scared to actually read any of them, because it’s hard to write critically about a film without revealing plot details and those are something I’m trying to avoid. But it does have me thinking about this year we’ve had and whether the climactic moment of Infinity War should have been more than a cliffhanger setting up this year’s part two.

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MCU Retrospecticus: Black Panther

Black Panther (2018)

Original Review: Wakanda Forever (four stars)

I think Wakanda is Marvel’s most interesting idea. Like Clark Kent being the alter ego of Superman, an unassuming, landlocked African nation secretly being the world’s richest and most technologically advanced place is immediately exciting. On top of that, it is a tantalizing alternate reality where we get to see a country that has grown up peacefully and without the influence of colonization. It’s so intriguing that it’s fun just to think about. Black Panther is one of the MCU’s most popular films and definitely its most acclaimed in a big part because it realizes this world. The struggle between the two lead characters, T’Challa and Killmonger, represents alternate visions for the future of Wakanda, making the story more compelling than typical save-the-planet super heroics. But it all ends in a terrible CGI battle, perhaps the worst out of all Marvel movies. Here’s my pitch for how they could have avoided that.

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