Shocktober: What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath (2000)

If you want to know what “blank check” filmmaking is like, look no further than Robert Zemeckis in 1999. In the middle of shooting the cursed Cast Away, they decided to take a long hiatus so that Tom Hanks could lose a bunch of weight and grow his hair and beard all crazy. I don’t know how you’re supposed to spend your break away from a technically-innovative, $90 million-dollar A-list project shot on location on an island in Fiji, but Zemeckis decided to take his crew and shoot another $100 million-dollar movie with even more A-listers. What Lies Beneath is a profoundly Hitchcock-influenced thriller starring Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold, and Harrison Ford, that grumpy old. Was Zemeckis biting off more than he could chew? You know, I’m not sure.

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Shocktober: The Old Dark House

The Old Dark House (1932)

I begin my Shock-BOO-ber this year in a place that’s always a fun place to start when exploring the history of the horror genre. I’m of course talking about the Universal monster movies cooked up by studio head Carl Laemmle, Jr. in the 1930s that gave us some of film’s most iconic horror villains. One of those, of course, was Frankenstein, brought to life in 1931 by director James Whale, who would later bring to the screen other iconic characters in this loose “universe” with 1933’s The Invisible Man and 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein. However, the horror movie he would follow up Frankenstein with didn’t really have any iconic characters in it and was fairly forgotten for many years. And yet, I would put The Old Dark House right up there with any of the great Universal horror movies and a great example of Whale’s knack for dark intrigue with a dash of camp. Continue reading →

Shocktober: 13 Ghosts

13 Ghosts (1960)

Welcome Girls and Ghosts (Boys) to yet another Shocktober! This year’s theme is G-G-G-GHOSTS! Yes, in honor of movies like The Conjuring: Last Rites and Good Boy (neither of which we’ll be covering) Shocktober is now Shock-BOO-ber. Which is a great name for an adult film. I could spitball some ideas for that but instead lets put on our proton packs, place our fingers on our planchettes, and dive into the Further!

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C.A.T: Breakfast in America

Supertramp – Breakfast in America (1979)

It’s been a rough year for rock star deaths. Just this summer we’ve lost Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Ralphs, Bobby Whitlock, and George Kooymans, to name a few. One name that almost slipped by me was the passing of Supertramp founder Rick Davies, who died on September 6th from multiple myeloma at the age of 81.

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10 Criterion Months

It’s August now, which means Colin, John, and I have completed a total of 10 Criterion Months over nine years. Is this an occasion worth celebrating? Well, after the first time I ran our stats in 2021, I always knew I wanted to do an even more robust breakdown someday. You tell me, when is the best time to crunch these numbers again? This year, upon the completion of our tenth Criterion Month? Next year, to mark a decade of Criterion Months? Maybe 2027, when we will have done one full calendar year’s worth of Criterion Months (but just shy of 365 reviews)? I don’t know, I just chose the one I got to write soonest. Let’s look at the charts!

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Criterion Month Day 30: Weekend

Weekend (2011)

Another year, another Criterion Month, already a fading memory, soft and delicate, like a confessional whispered into a tape recorder. Much like Glen records his subjects speaking of love and intimacy in Andrew Haigh’s subdued romantic drama Weekend. Yet again, I’m saying farewell to Criterion Month with an Andrew Haigh film, despite my ongoing struggle to articulate what it is he does best: people talking.

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Criterion Month Day 29: Infernal Affairs III

Infernal Affairs III (2003)

It’s a cliche at this point but, if you don’t mind indulging me, Infernal Affairs III makes Infernal Affairs II look like Infernal Affairs. Released just a year after the first movie, Infernal Affairs III exists to show fools like me that I had no idea what was *really* going on back when I enjoyed the story that would one day become The Departed. Is dumping this much lore on top of an already dense story a good idea? As a Star Wars fan, I feel confident in saying: eh, sometimes, I guess, but usually no!

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