My Day with Film (Wednesday, 12/21/16)

Wednesday, 12/21/16


Dear Diary,

Okay, so I'm freaking / nerding out a little bit right now. Maybe it's just the coffee kicking in, but within the past 24 hours, I received a package in the mail that I have been waiting a year and a half for.

That's right! THE BARN is finally in my hands! This crowdfunded '80s throwback first came to my attention in August 2015. I blogged about my hype after watching the trailers and exploring the many perks for contributors to the Indiegogo campaign. I've done my best to champion it ever since. I finally watched the film last night, and I am so ecstatic that the wait was worth it! THE BARN has the same look and feel of the cheesy, lo-fi slashers of yesteryear, complete with artificial film grain, dubious acting performances, and homemade gore effects. 

Perhaps regrettably, I've become something of a Blu-ray snob over the past couple of years. Ever since I got a proper player and HD television set, I refused to buy or watch any movie on DVD aside from some black & white films and studio comedies that I didn't think necessarily needed the added detail of 1080p. I don't need to count every hair on Owen Wilson's ragamuffin head in WEDDING CRASHERS. For now, THE BARN is only available on DVD and videocassette(!), and after seeing the film on DVD, I'm not sure I'd bother upgrading if writer/director/editor/awesome guy Justin Seaman and Nevermore Production Films ever released a Blu-ray. I think it may tarnish the film's low-rent aesthetic. Furthermore, the DVD I have is exclusive to Indiegogo contributors, and yours truly just happens to have a spot in the credits.

I don't know why I used my full name. I should've told them to put "The Reel Movies Blog." I think my id went crazy in that moment, and thus I briefly indulged my movie producer fantasy. I couldn't be more excited or happy that I finally have my claws on THE BARN and that my name is included on such a fine package that so much love and care went into. 

I'm running short on time as I have a screening of ASSASSIN'S CREED to make, but I retweeted a bunch of news today on my Twitter feed. Among the headlines, Denis Villeneuve confirms that BLADE RUNNER 2049 will be rated R, and apparently he is in talks to direct a remake of DUNE. Elsewhere, beloved film critic Leonard Maltin discusses 2016's must-see movies, 336 films qualify for the Best Picture Oscar, voice casting for Wes Anderson's ISLE OF DOGS could include you, and in honor of the Blu-ray release of Rob Zombie's 31, Bloody Disgusting explores what happened to the rumored NC-17 cut. Head over to my Twitter to read on. 

Until tomorrow, 

BC

My Day with Film (Tuesday, 11/29/2016)

I decided today to start a daily diary with my interactions with film. I'm not sure exactly what it will be aside from a little insight into how my warped mind works when it comes to movies on a daily basis. I don't have time to cover stories like these all the time on my podcast, so I thought I'd just write everything down. I hope you'll stick with me and continue to listen to The Reel Movies Podcast and continue to read this blog. So here goes:


Tuesday, 11/29/16

Dear Diary,

Today is Tuesday, which means it's another week with more new releases on home video. I've been doing well recently with saving some money. Christmas gifts for the family are all pretty much set; now I'm saving for my best friend's bachelor party next year. Overall I've been trying to reduce the number of Blu-rays I buy, particularly at release day prices. I have a collecting problem that I'm slowly getting under control. I didn't go nuts with Barnes & Noble's 50% off Criterion November sale like I usually do, and I also didn't buy any movies on Black Friday this year, which is extremely uncharacteristic of me.

No, I had to wait until literally the day after all the damn sales ended so that I could get DON'T BREATHE and PETE'S DRAGON - two of my favorite films of 2016. FML!

I'm ecstatic to have them in my collection, but the whole time I was in Target today, I was thinking "These are probably going to be on Netflix or Hulu or Crackle someday, and if they aren't these Blu-rays will come down in price another day. You don't need them today." Then my inner Kermit the Frog took over.

"Disney Blu-rays very rarely, if ever, go on sale after release day. You might as well jump on it now. And you loved DON'T BREATHE! To sweeten the deal, both movies have a director's commentary! You can't beat that!" 

I hate you, Kermit.

I loved both of these films when I saw them in theaters this year. I reviewed both on the blog a couple of months ago. They're for completely different audiences, but I'd recommend them to anyone in those target audiences. I'm excited to check out the bonus features on each disc. 

Mark these famous last words - PETE'S DRAGON and DON'T BREATHE will be the last two Blu-rays to go on my shelf between now and Christmas Day. 

It's the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday, and I'm not sure what the rest of the day in cinema will hold. I just reviewed THE LOVE WITCH, and I laughed to myself that I reviewed a '60s inspired pulp melodrama before DOCTOR STRANGE, MOANA or FANTASTIC BEASTS. All great movies, by the way. I wanted to watch my Criterion disc of Terence Malick's THE NEW WORLD over Thanksgiving because when else would you watch Terence Malick's THE NEW WORLD? I didn't get to do that over the holiday, so I'll try to knock that out tonight. Ah, but I haven't watched this week's episodes of WESTWORLD or THE WALKING DEAD yet. And I still have several discs at home I haven't popped in yet, including Criterion's THE APU TRILOGY which I got for Christmas last year. Not to mention everything in my Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO and Crackle queues. There simply aren't enough hours in the day. I feel slightly overwhelmed by the amount of content I have to get through and eventually revisit, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Until tomorrow.

BC