It always seems to surprise people when I admit stuff like this, but until now I had never seen WYATT EARP. And when I was getting ready to watch it and do this review I worried I was gonna get myself into trouble because it came out six months after TOMBSTONE, and lived and died in its comparisons to TOMBSTONE, so I know everyone in the comments is gonna want to talk about that. And the thing is I still haven’t seen TOMBSTONE either. Yeah, I know. I’ll get around to it.
Initially I thought I should do that first, but then I realized it was a unique opportunity to be the one guy watching WYATT EARP on its 30th anniversary with zero instinct to compare and contrast to TOMBSTONE. I have been preparing three decades to be this specific guy. (read the rest of this shit…)
Request: please be extra careful in the comments not to give away that one surprise thing where people might see it by accident.
SPLIT is M. Night Shyamalan’s odd little thriller about three teenage girls abducted from a parking lot and kept locked in a room by a man calling himself Dennis (James McAvoy). Terror turns to confusion when he starts coming to the room talking different, acting different, claiming to be different people. It turns out Dennis is just one of 23 personalities in this guy, and they don’t all necessarily support what he’s doing.
Logically you assume this kidnapper is gonna be a rapist or killer, and these may be true, but for now he’s being told to cool it by “Patricia,” a female personality who shows up occasionally to make the girls mayo sandwiches and assure them “he’s not supposed to touch you.” Oh, okay, that’s comforting. He also shows up as “Hedwig,” an 11 year old boy who likes to dance and listen to Kanye West and giggles a little when he warns them that “The Beast” is coming.
I haven’t always been on board for McAvoy (WANTED, VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, X-MEN FIRST CLASS), who’s obviously a good actor but seems weirdly prone to playing heroes who are a little too douchey to completely root for. But here he’s truly great. Each character has a different voice, accent and body language – you can recognize them even before he speaks, even if he doesn’t change his clothes. (Though he usually does. He seems to be very fast at it.) McAvoy is clearly having alot of fun with this, taking his acting skills and doing a bunch of donuts and wheelies and shit. Going off jumps. (read the rest of this shit…)
When one of us says “Carrie,” I bet we all think of the same thing: Brian DePalma’s iconic 1976 film, an American classic. It’s the first and still-second-best movie based on a Stephen King book, so of course we could also be talking about that 1974 novel (the fourth that King wrote, but first he got published). Or we could be talking about the 2002 made-for-TV version, or the 2013 remake, or I suppose the 1952 William Wyler movie which in my opinion is not based on King’s book. Anyway this week I’d like to take a look at the different incarnations of King’s story. (Not the failed Broadway musical though. I never saw it.)
I’m assuming I don’t have to tell you the story. And then I’m telling you the story just in case. Carrie White (Sissy Spacek, PRIME CUT) is a shy, awkward girl who already doesn’t fit in at her high school before she has her first ever period in the locker room shower after gym class and thinks she’s bleeding to death, much to the amusement of all her classmates. Yeah, thanks for the heads up on that menstruation stuff, abusive and mentally ill Christian fundamentalist mother (Piper Laurie, RETURN TO OZ, THE FACULTY).
The other girls get in trouble from their gym teacher Miss Collins (Betty Buckley, THE HAPPENING) for pelting Carrie with tampons and chanting at her. One of the girls, Sue Snell (Amy Irving, THE FURY) feels guilty about it and convinces her greatest-American-boyfriend Tommy Ross (William Katt, SUPER) to take Carrie to the prom and show her a good time. Another girl, Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen, ROBOCOP), goes the other route, she’s not allowed to go to the prom, and plans a cruel prank to avenge Carrie. Meanwhile, womanhood has unlocked in Carrie a freak power to control objects with her mind. So if she gets humiliated again, perhaps on stage at the prom to name one possible scenario, she’s not gonna cower in fear this time. There will be Hell to pay. (read the rest of this shit…)
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Recent commentary and jibber-jabber
Miguel Hombre on Code of Silence: “It’s safe to say Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris contains multitudes.” Dec 6, 12:07
Mr. Majestyk on Code of Silence: “If you’re like me and you spend December looking for movies that technically qualify as Christmas movies but aren’t actually…” Dec 6, 06:13
geoffreyjar on Kill Bill: Vol. 2: “Saw it yesterday with a relative. The way QT wanted us to see it: on a DCP with a guy…” Dec 5, 20:44
Stu on Kill Bill: Vol. 2: “KayKay- It got a UK release. I saw it tonight. Enjoyed it a lot with the first half having the…” Dec 5, 20:42
Dreadguacamole on Predator: Badlands: “Of course they would only make movies about the times the predator is bested, which statistically only happens about 0.1%…” Dec 5, 17:54
KayKay on Kill Bill: Vol. 2: “Vern, you lining up for KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR? Color me jealous—this is one of those times I…” Dec 5, 16:41
The Allusionist on Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point: “Better yet, you could publish your Hallmark Christmas movie essentials in book form. “From the author of ‘Seagalogy…’ “” Dec 5, 12:53
Mr. Majestyk on Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point: “Vern, you should do a yearly feature on all your favorite Hallmark-style Christmas movies. I would like to delve into…” Dec 5, 10:55
Stu on Predator: Badlands: “To be fair CJ, in most movies the Predator usually kills at least 90% of the humans he fights in…” Dec 5, 07:56
KayKay on Mortal Kombat: “RIP. In the glory days of VHS carnage, two villains carved themselves into my adolescent cortex with switchblades of pure…” Dec 5, 04:45
geoffreyjar on Good Boy: “Enjoyed this one but think it would be better as a short. Hopefully we get a bunch of rip offs…” Dec 4, 20:03
CJ Holden on Mortal Kombat: “Now we lost Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa too. With Udo Kier and him it’s a bad time for always enjoyable “that guy”…” Dec 4, 19:27
Ben Railton on Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point: “Happy holidays, Vern and all! Just putting in a plug for my wife’s new/first book, a really fascinating look at…” Dec 4, 15:03