My Day with Film (Monday, 12/19/16)

Monday, 12/19/16

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry that it's been a couple of days since I've written. 'Twas a busy weekend! I tried to keep up by tweeting and retweeting a lot of cool things I noticed online. I saw ROGUE ONE for a second time, yet it did not change my initial feelings towards the film as a whole. 

This morning, I finished this season's viewing of the perennial cult classic SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT. Based on the poster, you can probably guess what this movie is about. A traumatized young man dressed as Santa Claus goes on a Christmas Eve rampage across his town, snuffing out any and all semblances of naughtiness. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is most famous for the controversy surrounding it. Upon its release in 1984, no horror film had made a villain out of Santa Claus. That, combined with the film's graphic death scenes, prompted critics, politicians and concerned parents across the country to call for the film's swift ban, as well as the heads of both producer Ira Barmak and director Chuck Sellier, Jr. Among horror aficionados, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is most famous for containing one of the all-time great slasher movie deaths - a topless Linnea Quigley impaled on a mounted buck's antlers. Earlier this year, I picked up Anchor Bay's "30th Anniversary Edition" Blu-ray for an extremely low price. This is the complete uncut version of the film and is the only copy I've ever seen. Apparently, the master used for this Blu-ray disc was compiled from both an incomplete HD master and a VHS composite. At several moments, the "high-def" footage gives way to early-VHS-quality video. It's a bit jarring, and one could argue that it ruins the impact of one or two kills, but for me, it reinforces the film's low-budget charm. I can see why this is a cult classic, and just this year, it's become a fun guilty pleasure for me. Not recommended for children, the squeamish, or concerned mothers.

Industry news I saw today noted that ROGUE ONE made about $150 million in North America over the weekend. Worldwide cumulative estimates were just above $290 million. Perhaps unsurprisingly, COLLATERAL BEAUTY, the ensemble melodrama led by Will Smith, struggled to hit pay dirt. Read more about the weekend's box office totals at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Speaking of ROGUE ONE, director Gareth Edwards spilled to Radio Times that he found some unused footage from A NEW HOPE that made it into the final cut of the new film. Industrial Light & Magic cleaned up the aging celluloid, and Edwards then used it hoping that eagle-eyed fans would appreciate it and that less discerning audiences wouldn't notice. I won't post spoilers for ROGUE ONE on this blog, so if you want to find out exactly which footage was used, read here.

We also got a couple of insanely awesome new teaser trailers today! These two sub-2-minute clips may have singlehandedly rescued me from my cynicism towards the just-passable trailers of the past several weeks, including THE MUMMY and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. 

First we got an all-new look at JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2, and it looks terrific. The last film was a pleasant surprise with franchise potential that nobody saw coming, and the sequel looks to build on that in a valuable way. I can't wait!

Then we got our very first look at BLADE RUNNER 2049! I was skeptical at the idea of a sequel to BLADE RUNNER, but once Warner Brothers confirmed all the talent involved, I grew more receptive to it. This teaser damns skepticism to hell and may just be the best of this year. It shows just enough to make us excited but not so much that any aspects of the plot are given away. I could watch it a million times.

As I wrote this post and finished some other work for the day, I put on Criterion's disc of Terence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE. This is one that's been sitting on my shelf for several months, and I finally got around to it. Such a magnificent film.

Lastly, I'm ending my day with a screening of the new sci-fi romance film PASSENGERS. Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt have been tearing it up on the press junket for this movie, so hopefully it lives up to the hype.

Until tomorrow, 

BC

My Day with Film (Saturday, 12/10/16)

Saturday, 12/10/16

Dear Diary,

Today I watched two films at home that I rented from Redbox - MIKE & DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES and HELL OR HIGH WATER. What can I say? I have diverse taste.

MIKE & DAVE was a truly terrible movie. Anna Kendrick is the only reason this unfunny mess was tolerable. HELL OR HIGH WATER has been getting loads of Oscar buzz, and I just saw it for the first time. It's a solid western crime drama, but there's nothing particularly special about it. Not a bad film by any stretch, just certainly not worthy of consideration for awards that are supposed to go to the most outstanding cinematic work of the year.

I reviewed NOCTURNAL ANIMALS today too. You can read that piece here.

Honestly, after this week full of movie trailers and news, I don't mind a day where my interactions with the world of cinema are limited.

Might watch a Christmas movie tonight. I can't decide between THE NIGHT BEFORE or SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT.

Did I mention I have diverse taste?


Until tomorrow,

BC

My Day with Film (Wednesday, 12/7/16)

Wednesday, 12/7/16


Dear Diary,

After midnight last night (technically today!) I watched Michael Dougherty's KRAMPUS. I'm convinced that it is a new holiday classic. At least it will be in my house. I love the mythology of its story, as well as Dougherty's creative vision and use of practical visual effects in order to realize that vision. Also, the film features one of the best opening credits scenes of all time. If CHRISTMAS VACATION and GREMLINS are near and dear to your heart, KRAMPUS is for you.

Later, when I woke up in the morning and scrolled through my social feeds, I found two new "teasers for the teasers." These are those 10-20 second clips of a movie trailer you usually see promoted in your Instagram or Twitter feed. In the past week, we've had "teasers for the teasers" for THE MUMMY, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 and TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT. Today, we got 'em for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and the BAYWATCH reboot. Full trailers for these anticipated blockbusters are coming tomorrow. Perhaps it's no surprise that SPIDER-MAN looks pretty awesome, and BAYWATCH looks like a trainwreck in the making. Decide for yourself.

I'm not sure where I stand on the whole "teaser for the teaser" thing. It's a neat ploy to build hype on social media, but at the same time, nothing beats seeing the full two and a half minutes in a movie theater for the first time. How cool was it when J.J. Abrams shocked us all in January with the trailer for 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE? You didn't see it on YouTube first; you had to go watch 13 HOURS in the theater on Thursday night. Call me old fashioned, but I think that's awesome.

Later in the afternoon, I had to swing by Target to pick up some working Christmas lights, but I found APOCALYPSE NOW on Blu-ray for $4. I nearly had a stroke when I saw that price. It has both the theatrical and "Redux" versions, as well as a separate disc full of bonus features. Both cuts of the film are on and off streaming services constantly, but APOCALYPSE NOW is one of those movies that demands consistency and quality in terms of home viewing. It deserves a place on your shelf no matter what. If you ask me, at $4, that's one of the finest deals you can get as a cinephile.

I saw that a remake of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is in the works at Warner Brothers, and they've announced Greg Berlanti as director. Berlanti is known for his work as a producer and showrunner for DC's television universe consisting of Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. Might be interesting.

Tonight I asked some friends when we'll be seeing OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY and ROGUE ONE. One of my buddies is out of town, so OCP may be out. We'll see.

I also saw Will Smith's new film COLLATERAL BEAUTY. Be on the lookout for my full review next week. I'm reviewing LA LA LAND very soon as well. Stay tuned to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Lastly, I'm thinking THE REVENANT for tonight's at-home viewing.


Until tomorrow,

BC

My Day with Film (Thursday, 12/1/2016)

Thursday, 12/1/16


Dear Diary,

Last night I tried to convince a GREEN ROOM virgin to watch the film on Amazon Prime over the Los Angeles Kings game. They were down 3 goals to San Jose at the end of the first period though. Even as a fan, I would've switched to GREEN ROOM at that point. This person is a dear friend of mine, and I'm just looking out for his general well-being.

I had another brief discussion with this same friend about the Critics' Choice Awards nominations. I sent him the list of Best Picture nominees. It's likely to be the same list as the Oscars in February, although it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Academy swapped LOVING or SULLY for Martin Scorsese's SILENCE. He was surprised that Yorgos Lanthimos' THE LOBSTER was not included among the nominees. He hasn't seen that movie yet. I wanted to tell him that it's not that good, but knowing him, he'll skip it entirely if I tell him that. I always encourage people to watch every film they can regardless of what someone says about it.

I shared my thoughts on the Critics' Choice nominees with Dan and Frankie on the new episode of The Reel Movies Podcast, which we recorded today. Be on the lookout for it soon!

We're also going to be attending a cool event on Friday night down at The Woodward called "Smash Cut." It's like a live, movie-themed comedy game show thing. I believe it's going to be hosted/moderated by the guys from the Future Science comedy show. I'm hoping to do a live recording inside the event to use for a future Reel episode, but we'll see. May have Frankie bring along his fancy focused-audio thingamajig.

I sent prospective job emails today to some contacts I have at various local film commission offices. I think I mentioned this in yesterday's post. Fingers crossed!

I also reached out to the guys at the GoRentSkip podcast, who I met completely by chance at an event I was working for the upcoming LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, to let them know about "Smash Cut."

Lastly I wanted to mention that I, in fact, did not get to GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) last night. Darn. Instead I watched the last half of CHRISTMAS VACATION with my sainted mother. With my dad out of town on business this week, she's wanted to watch Christmas movies with me. We caught Rudolph and part of Nancy Meyers' THE HOLIDAY on TV on Tuesday night.

I managed to start up part of GHOSTBUSTERS this afternoon and will finish up the extended edition tonight. The opening five minutes, in my unpopular opinion, feature some of the best executed haunted house elements of any horror movie this year. Also, Kate McKinnon is a hoot. For these reasons, GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) will never be totally devoid of merit for me despite falling flat in just about every other respect.

Looking forward to another big day tomorrow!

-BC