2010's Watch: Everybody Wants Some (2016)

Watched:  04/28/2021

Format:  Amazon

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Richard Linklater

I remember the trailers for Everybody Wants Some (2016) were almost confusing.  They made no argument for why anyone should get off their ass and get to the theater to see the movie - a film about a bunch of baseball players at the fictional East Texas State University, kind of screwing around, and...  

It seemed the ads almost counted on a knowledge of how Linklater's other movies worked, and counted on you wanting more with different characters.  But in 2016, an all-male cast of dudes acting like dudes seemed almost tone-deaf, and the population who would be nostalgic for the college years circa 1980 was mostly home watching Downton Abbey.  

Honestly, the first fifteen minutes or so - I wasn't sure I was on board.  It *is* an all-male cast being dudes.  I'd like to say college dudes are not that crass, but some sure are, and the things you let slide... 

Friday Night Movie: Teen Witch

Announcement:  

We'll be wrapping up Signal Watch curated Friday films soon - at least in a "you can expect Ryan to organize this every week" mode.  I will do a movie this week and next week.  After that, in the future, we'll do it again from time to time, maybe even monthly, but not every week.  Certainly we'll be back for Christmas and Halloween.

Keep your eyes on twitter or this blog.

I genuinely appreciate the Friday night movie club and y'all trusting me to curate a collection of often terrible, terrible films.  Y'all have gotten me through a really, honestly, difficult year, and I can't thank you enough.  I hope it's helped.

As the world re-opens and things shift around a bit, I kinda need to reclaim my evening time - even Friday evenings.  (I used to go to the gym!  I used to leave the house! I think we can all envision a world where these things can happen again!)  

SO, let's try and go out with some high quality films.

THIS WEEK:

A movie that always makes me think "I bet Heather would unconvincingly defend this movie", it's Teen Witch!  

What if a sort of unpopular girl who was picked on by teachers found out she had amazing magical powers and DIDN'T use them to burn prom to the ground - but instead made her friend rap?  Casually bent the laws of time and space and obliterated free will in others?

That's THIS movie.

(see, how much will you really miss me doing this to you?)

Day:  Friday  04/30/2021

Time:  8:30 Central

Amazon Prime Link 

Hey, it's Cloris Leachman's Birthday

She passed in January, and we were sad then, so let's turn it around and celebrate Cloris Leachman on her birthday!

I believe she would have been 95 today.

Art House Watch: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)

Watched:  04/28/2021

Format:  Peacock (of all places)

Viewing:  Second

Decade:  1980's

Director:  Peter Greenaway

Back in the merry old days of first arriving at college, living on campus at UT Austin was a perfect sort of thing to do if you were a movie nut - or turn you into one.  I could walk to Dobie Theater and catch international and art film, Hogg Auditorium was basically rented by a student society of some sort who brought in Hong Kong films.*   The Memorial Union Theater was open at the time and programmed by some serious film nerds, so that's where, my first night on campus, I wandered down to see Tie Me Up, Tie Me  Down with kids I had never met before but who lived a few doors down.  

Anyway, I was not unaware of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) in high school.  I was known to drive into town to go catch a movie at the River Oaks or wherever some interesting stuff was showing - and I may have seen the poster of Helen Mirren in lingerie and given the poster a longer than necessary look.  Or maybe a cover in the video store.  Anyhoo, early Freshman year at some point (I really think in the first weeks of school), we headed down to the Memorial Union and caught the film.  And my brain kind of melted.

Happy 21st, Jamie

Watch Party Watch: Voodoo Woman (1957)

Watched:  04/26/2021

Format:  Amazon Watch Party

Viewing:  First

Decade:  1950's

Director:  Edward L. Cahn

So, Voodoo Woman (1957) is a low-budget picture released through API that's more or less a jungle horror adventure aimed at teens, I think.  

The plot gives us the ruthless Marilyn (Marla English) who wants GOLD in the jungle, I think.  Anyway, she dupes a local barkeep into funding her as she talks her would-be boyfriend (Lance Fuller) into going out there, along with a hired guide/ tough guy (Touch Connors).  But - whoops - they're headed for a village where voodoo magic is melding with mad science as colonialist scientician Dr. Roland Gerard (Tom Conway) is working with local tribes people who perform voodoo to (a) prove you can transform a person into a sort of Voodoo Monster, and (b) use science to keep them in that state.

I won't bother you with more details.  It's a movie that is rigidly against more than three set-ups per scene, doesn't make much sense, but has both an AMAZING monster suit for the titular Voodoo Woman and Marla English is terrific as the scheming evil-lady at the center of the picture.  

Go in expecting a movie-serial-level production and you'll be fine!  

PODCAST: "Blade Runner" (1982) - a Signal Watch Canon episode w/ Ryan and SimonUK

Watched:  04/19/2021

Format:  BluRay - version - The Final Cut

Viewing:  Unknown

Decade:  1980's

Director:  Ridley Scott

For more ways to listen

More PodCast than PodCast, that's our motto! Ryan and SimonUK sit down and check our emotional response to this 1980's favorite of design and theme! There's nothing artificial about how we chase down one of the best of the sci-fi genre that defined an aesthetic, crossed genres, and asked the big questions.

The Signal Watch PodCast · 146: "Blade Runner" (1982) - a Signal Watch Canon episode w/ Ryan & SimonUK

Music:  

Blade Runner Main Theme - Vangelis, Blade Runner OST

Tears in Rain - Vangelis, Blade Runner OST

Signal Watch Canon:

The Signal Watch PodCast · The Signal Watch Canon

Art House Watch: In the Mood for Love (2000)

Watched:  04/25/2021

Format:  Criterion Channel

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2000's

Director:  Wong Kar-wai

Still processing this movie.  Stunning.

Clearly Hong Kong based and created melodramas are a bit out of my wheelhouse, but there's much here to admire, from the cinematography to the restrained, lovely performances of Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.  

I've been meaning to take in some Wong Kar-Wai movies for... about 25 years.  Well worth the wait.  I admit what triggered me to take a look was that Tony Leung will be in Shang-Chi, and I remembered "oh, yeah...  some Wong Kar-Wait stuff is on the Criterion Channel right now..."

Anyway, will definitely watch again.  Lovely, and I wish I'd seen it on the big screen.

Watch Party Watch: Crawl (2019)

Watched:  04/23/2021

Format:  Amazon Watch Party

Viewing:  second!

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Alexandre Aja

This is the second time I saw this.  It was a good movie for a crowd with lots of go-to jokes about injuries minor and fatal.

SimonUK and I discussed my love of movies about animals eating people on a prior podcast about Crawl.  

Super Watch: Thunder Force (2021)

Watched:  04/24/2021

Format:  Netflix

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2020's

Director:  Ben Falcone

Look, this movie is exactly what it looks like and exactly what you expect.  It feels like it fell out of the 1990's in a lot of ways, but is totally fine.