I saw it once when I was little and it was relatively new.

I found it HORRIFYING and I will never watch it again. That imagery is just straight fucked up.

“Antichrist” is less upsetting than “Howard the Duck.”

A few recently seen:

1) Black Water (2018)- New Dolph Lundgren/Van Damme 'actioner' that opens in most places next week. Hugely entertaining. A film that not only embraces its yesteryear B-movie theatrics, but exploits them to great effect. Lundgren is so good here in his small role.

2) Sole Survivor (1983)- Remember that great, nasty post-nuke film "Night of the Comet"? This is from the same director the year before which got him that gig. Atmospheric at times and it creates some terrific tension from its urban sprawl. Hard to deny that films like "Final Destination" and "It Follows" blatantly ripped this one off.

3) Adore (2013)- Should be waaaay more interesting than it is, especially because it deals with Naomi Watts and Robin Wright screwing each other's 18 year old sons.

4) Who Took Johnny (2014)- On Netflix. Pretty terrifying for the malicious, half-baked conspiracy theories it proposes. I spent about 4 hours after this film exploring the internet wormhole for some facts behind the events this film highlights.

5) Mortal Thoughts (1991)- Been on a bit of an Alan Rudolph kick lately. This one is pretty simplistic.... early 90's HBO style film noir with Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Glenn Headley doing their worst hawkish New York accents.

6) Vazante (2018)- If you like Bela Tarr or Cria Guervos films, this one's for you. Slow but ultimately very sad black and white film about life on a plantation in South America and the consequences of boredom and colonial rule.

7) Roads to the South (1978)- The last Joseph Losey film I'd never seen (which finally popped up on KG and CG, thank you!). Wish I could say it was worth the wait. It is a companion piece to "Mr. Klein" however, in that Yves Montand plays an exiled ex Communist brought back into the struggle after his wife dies in an accident. Flat at times, laborious at others, it does close a chapter in Losey's non American financed 70's period.

8) Hereditary (2018)- Effective horror film, but jeez people are doing cartwheels over this. I felt it a bit derivative. The best seance film? A nifty little George C. Scott number called "The Changeling". Or maybe Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Seance" which does just as much with light and shadow as "Hereditary".

9) Variety Lights (1950)- Fellini's debut film that encapsulates all the themes of his later work- a wandering sense of the journey being more important than the destination.... his fascination with creative/performance artists.... and a clinging love for the distraught and poor.

10) The Misandrists (2018)- Queer pioneer filmmaker Bruce Labruce's most mainstream work is still not for the faint of heart. It plays like a cross between a Rainer Werner Fassbinder film and a student porno. Enter at your own risk.

I fully agree. HORROR in the theater. brutally shit.

Great news guys! there might come a Howard The Duck sequel/remake. Lea Thompson who played in the original movie would like to direct it.


Sev, you remind me of my nephew who got to watch E.T. when he was too young. He didn't sleep for a month or so, maybe even more :)

ah, finally was able to catch LADY BIRD



which is on prime video of all places! who knew?

this movie was supersuperfun. not a single boring moment i thought. continuous action and good writing and hilarious dialogue and just so well fucking done.

why people don’t spend pages and pages writing about this movie and discussing it? i have no idea. there is no spandex or cgi i guess. and it’s not about dudes, by dudes, for dudes. lmao.

anyway. this movie was great. this is probably like what pretty in pink should have been if it would have been done correct. but instead it was written by a dude about a girl the way he imagined her. so we have that. this is not it at all. this is a real non-dumb girl being real.

i was looking at this movie and thinking there was way too much detail about “sacramento” not to be autobiographical. so afterwards i went and scanned greta gerwigs page and sure enough, there are some clear parallels, it’s not i think a “true story” but it’s highly inspired, obviously, clearly. and it’s so fucking good.

when i think about scorsese writing and directing mean streets, and how it was also autobiographical, not literally but you know, inspired/formed by/ whatever, i keep thinking, sure this lacks the drama of being torn up between god and violence, but it’s sure a livelier and happier take on everyday life in THIS century.

hey! not everybody can grow up asthmatic in a tenement.

but oh my point was i expect more great things from her. looking forward to whatever project she’s working on next.

but anyway. this was very good. better than frances ha. better MADE. less homage to the french new wave, more smart incorporation of its lessons. it’s all so well made, the cast is great, the story is great, the characters are great, and yeah, you don’t have to be miserable to enjoy a good well-made movie. it’s also accessible! like so many greatest hits lololol. but srsly.

sacramento! who knew?

anyway, props for all this. also: nobody here has unlimited resources or x-ray vision. so extra plus points for that. made for 10 million bucks! high maybe for an indie but still on the cheap considering its success.

ah, fuck, sweet and good movie, i swear. it’s rare that you get both things in one package. this is proof that you don’t have to be cynical or depressed to be intelligent. i want more catholics! yeah. the best art is by catholics lololol. but srsly.

well. ok. bye i guess.

I’ve read so much gushing about this movie but I haven’t wanted to see it until just now, after reading what you wrote. Sweet and good, you say? I’m in.

Also something nightmarish about it. I have thankfully forgotten *specificaly* what that nightmarish element was, but it was there. Of all the movies of my young life, this fucker made me cry and gave me nightmares. The only other one that did that so early was “Monster Squad,” and that’s only because ... FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER WAS A GOOD GUY, WHY DID HE HAVE TO GET SUCKED INTO THE DIMENSIONAL PORTAL AND DIE EITH DRACULA?!

*sobs uncontrollably*

That is not great news.
ET had some moments that were creepy, like, first time around, but once you realized what the deal was it was more bittersweet than anything else.

Howard the Duck is fucking horror porn, far as I’m concerned. It’s fucking hentai bestiality. Or the closest thing to it. NO.

i forgot to mention i guess how so well acted it is, especially by the 2 main characters. this is important not just for believability but there are so many great lines in this movie their delivery is crucial. a bit sorkinian maybe? something. good lines! very good lines.

think ima rewatch it tonite just for the lines since i already know the ending.

I've just finished watching all four documentaries that VICE produced last year. Fascinating!

'Outsider - A Look At The World's Most Insane Movies'




Laz Rojas was my favorite one by far, followed by the one about Miami Connection. Truly emotional and hilarious.


Trash films have always fascinated me. They are often made by filmmakers with a lot of dedication, persistence and a love for the art form.
I have collected many over the years and a few others that spring to mind... with slightly higher budgets are:

Thundercrack! (1975) by Curt McDowell




Dark Star (1974)




Even Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers (2009) has its place in this area of film making for me. I'm sure some of you would disagree.




Be sure to check out Severin Films if you are into this kind of beautiful trash.

Please share your recommendations. I'm always looking for more to add to my collection.


Had to think of our old friend...

RIP Atsonicpark

Laura

Top notch noir. Otto Preminger at his most cynical. Gene Tierney at her most beautiful. Dialogue you could cut diamonds with.

Saw this once and liked it very much.
Will rewatch, I think.

this thread suddenly got very very good again

so much to see!

thanks

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as it is, have little to contribute today. i (finally) saw “stargate’ yesterday and thought it was shit. lots of spectacle and cgi and very little of interest happens. i was just curious to find out what it was all about since i had never seen it or the many tv shows it forever spawned. anyway. interesting only for historical purposes otherwise highly skippable. as a movie anyway. for the mythology, just read a synopsis?

A few you may check into:

1) Jim VanBebber's "Deadbeat At Dawn", or really any of VanBebber's stuff.

2) Christiane F.- very disturbing teen prostitution/drug addict German film from the 80's. One can feel the degradation and filth falling off the screen.

3) I don't think he's making trash cinema, but anything by Sion Sono (especially "Tokyo Tribe", which is an epic musical/Walter Hill Warriors rip off) is pretty off the rails.

4) Anything by Jorg Buttgereit. "Nekromantic" or "Schraam".

Oh man, don’t recommend Christians F. Yikes. Oof. Never need to see that one again. Also, I don’t think it falls into quite the same trash-film category as some of these. Pretty serious business if I recall, and based on a true story of course. With David Bowie! But nah... never again.

Watched Ant Man and The Wasp matinee. Loved it. had a ton of fun and I loved that the battle was not to stop an alien invasion from destroying the Earth. (tired of that shit)

I got Amazon Prime this week, so far I've watched
Lady Bird- A really nice surprise. Really liked it. Very well written.
The Disaster Artist- So damn funny.
and just watched Spectre. I enjoyed Spcetre, as I've enjoyed all the Daniel Craig Bond movies. The best action in the newer Bonds are whenever Craig's Bond gets into those knockdown fist fights. The one he has on the train in Spectre is some good action.

Happy 10th birthday to The Motherfucking Dark Knight

Oh, the last movie I watched was “I, Tonya.”

It was good... fellas... on ice.
It was GoodFellas on ice. Totally ripped off Scorcese’s pacing and style and mixed it with some ice skating. It was still good, but it could have been better. David O. Russell is better at ripping off Scorsese than whatshisname who directed this, and Scorsese himself probably would have had fun with it.

Props to Margot Robbie — who looks nothing like Tonya Harding apart from being blond, but damn well learned to skate like a motherfucker for this! — and whatshisname from the Captain America movies. Sebastian Stan? Think so.

Lots of domestic violence, kinda glossed over and rephramed as a black comedy. And domestic violence doth not a comedy make, really.

Anyway, good not great.

Some nice picks.

Some more suggestions at the ultra-trashy end ...

Russ Meyer and early (ie pre-Hairspray) John Waters are the gold standard, along with Paul Morrissey's films for Andy Warhol, although some people find those deadly-boring. Ditto Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures. Also at the more underground end is The Kuchar Brothers Hold Me While I'm Naked and Ken Jacob's Blonde Cobra.

More mainstream (relatively speaking) ...

Blood Feast - 60s no-budget gore-fest from H.G. Lewis. If The Cramps had made movies instead of music, they'd have probably looked a lot like Blood Feast.

The Astro-Zombies - The director TV Mikels earned the nickname '1 shot' because he refused to shoot any scene more than once. The films are grindhouse to the core and Astro-Zombies even feautures trash legend Tura Satana.



Death Race 2000 - Paul Bartel's 70s original is a must-see. Avoid the remakes and the recent 'sequel' though.

Basket Case - Perhaps more sleazy than trashy, but even so. One of my favourite films, period.

Return of the Living Dead - Essentially a spoof cash-in on Romero's zombie films but an 80s trash classic in its own right.



Hobo With a Shotgun - One of the better examples (alongside Planet Terror) of those post-Tarantino homages to trashy 70s-80s grindhouse films.



EDIT:

Some other honourable mentions:

Rat Ffink a Boo Boo - A 60s attempt at making a superhero film without a budget or a script.



Funhouse - Tobe Hooper's next film after Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I'm amazed Rob Zombie hasn't tried to remake this.

Piranha 3DD - Essentially Girls Gone Wild meets Roger Corman with a cameo from David Hasselhoff.

I could keep adding to this list forever so I'll stop now. ... or at least try to.

Has anyone seen The Greasy Strangler? I have not seen it but the things I read after it premiered in festivals was that was getting comparisons to Pink Flamingos-era John Waters.

Yeah, the John Waters comparisons make sense (I'm sure the guys behind it are big fans of those movies) but it actually reminded me more of British comedies like League of Gentleman.

Piranha and Piranha 3DD are small guilty pleasures of mine.

Yeah, they set out to do something pretty basic but unlike most films like that, they actually pull it off.

Speaking of most films like that, I watched Pool Party Massacre today, which sets the bar stupidly low and still fails to clear it. Proof that there's good trash and bad.

haaa haaaa haaaaa i saw piranha 3dd thanks to demonyo—was hilarious yeah and thanks again

have never seen the original piranha somehow

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in a bit of a hurry but just to shout death race 2000 HELL YEAH

what about... rollerball? have not seen in ages cant remember much but its on amazon. same era/ look as the other

—

ps christiane f was so fucking sad

RIP to Shinobu Hashimoto. Born 1918-2018. A screenwriter who wrote and co-wrote Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, The Bad Sleep Well, Hidden Fortress, HaraKiri, Samurai Rebellion, and The Sword of Doom. Thank you for your stories.

Dial M For Murder

Dismissed by some as mere filmed theatre despite Hitchcock's filmed theatre still managing to be more cinematic than 99% of even the most elaborate and tricksy filmmakers. And Grace Kelly was, and always will be, perfect.

I like Rollerball but I'm not sure I'd call it trashy. Although, like you, I haven't seen it in ages. (I wouldn't be surprised if the year it's set isn't already behind us).

I started watching Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them but holy hell that thing is long. Pretty, but long. Paused to watch some Americans Dad episodes because I needed a larf.

well, hell yes.

if i recall well ROPE was originally a play? and what he did with the camera there was simply fantastic. i think it was just 2 takes? brilliant.

hitchcock’s visual sense was something else.


think it was meant seriously yes? i mean the movie. i’ll watch it some time soon and report

Fantastic Beasts was actually pretty good, even though it took three attempts to view the whole thing.

Good world-building if nothing else.

sci fi short feature (30 min) called the Manual. Not bad at all

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6173346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I got Black Panther ready to watch, as soon as my wife is ready to view another massive CGI, actioner, superhero battlefest.....

It's serious in the same way Battle Royale or Hunger Games is serious but, say, Death Race 2000 isn't, despite all of them making a fairly similar point.

Damn, I really wanna watch Death Race 2000 again now.

wait, no, battle royale is a beat takeshi thing isnt it? wait, no—he was in it but it wasn’t his.

anyway ive only seen it only once but saw it more as a very dark comedy... whereas hunger games is earnest as fuck (event though i cant take it seriously).

yeah death race 2000 is infinitely rewatchable. would make a great video wallpaper. oh, maybe one for antagon’s dj shows...

It’s surprisingly meh.

One friend of mine was like, “it’s better than the Dark Knight,” and I was like, “no it’s not.” Then he was like, “you haven’t seen it yet.” And I was like, “I know, it’s not.”

Then I watched it, and I was like, “Yeah, nope.”

SPELLBINDING, isn’t it?!

Nah, but seriously... it’s fine. It’s black Iron Man. Little bit of black Wonder Woman. It’s not at all bad, but it’s nowhere near great.

Possibly yeah. I've only seen it once and couldn't really get into it. This is gonna sound terrible but I had real trouble telling the difference between the characters. I could distinguish between the boys and the girls and the teachers, obviously, but beyond that it was just lots of school uniforms running around killing each other.

haa haaa haaa

i dont remember any characters either— outside of takeshi that is

the rest is just one fucking gorey (edward) death after another... i do remember laughing. was i wrong? im a terrible man.