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Buffy & The Craft

October 18, 2021 No Comments

Yesterday I updated my LetterBoxD going back all the way to June, if that’s of any interest.

I know last time I said I would talk about Muppets Haunted Mansion and Cry_Wolf, one of which is actually worth your time (have fun guessing!), but because I missed that week and I’ve been having a tough time of it anyway I’ve put some notes up on LBD and decided to leave it at that.

Truly it’s difficult for me to remember what I watched last Friday for Spooktober because my brain decided that the best remedy for nights of insomnia was to play unconscionable amounts of Hollow Knight and Disco Elysium. Did you know I’m a sad cop? Doesn’t surprise me really. I keep trying to go the way of the rough sentimentalist but that doesn’t seem to be an option in this universe. Also everyone is REALLY racist. 

So less movies and TV overall this week, but there were a couple of things I did watch:

The Craft (1996): What a perfectly good movie ruined by the last act. Full of ‘90s cliches and focusing on female friendships, the plot really deftly built up each specific girl’s circumstance that made them want to use magic to escape. (Unfortunate that the only thing they could come up with for the black girl was racism but again, 90s laziness.)  It seemed like the characters would realize the cost of using their magic and even though they’ve improved their lives that revenge wasn’t as fulfilling as they’d hoped. Nope! Instead they just became voiceless evil vessels to terrorize the main “good” character. It deserves its cult status, and there are some truly iconic moments, use of songs, and costume design, but I’m always a bit disappointed by the end. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992): This movie is all kinds of underrated. I know I watched it a few years ago in a room full of people and everyone laughed and enjoyed it and was clearly there because they knew what was up but it’s still incredible how many people refuse to acknowledge how good and fun it is. Everyone deserves an Oscar. Now that I’ve watched a season and a half of Beverly Hills 90210, the casting of Luke Perry is a masterstroke. Kristy Swanson NAILS this role. SMG is a great actress and definitive in the role but Swanson is a worthy adversary. The movie dropped right at the height of cinema’s obsession with valley girls and the fact that it’s three years before Clueless makes it feel like Clueless was inspired by Buffy. Please enjoy your life and watch this.

In other news, I’m about to wrap up the last two episodes of The Sentinel. There was a point mid-season 2 where this dumb show actually found a really great smoothbrain groove where it was enjoyable and great for knitting. Its reputation as Shipping 101 is fairly earned and the leads genuinely have good chemistry. But season 3 got anxious about all the other shows that were doing better and made script decisions that were well beyond their reach and budget. It almost makes me miss the monks with guns. I’m in this for Blair’s curls and anthropology geekiness and that’s about it. There are details I like about the show but episode to episode it’s kind of a drag. That said, the most recent episode featured Robert Vaughn and was a love letter to 70s buddy cop shows and completely pandered to me and I enjoyed it a lot. It also made me think maybe I should watch Starsky & Hutch next, although Spenser: For Hire takes place in 80s Boston and that could be fun.

Silent Terrors and Pre-Code Horrors

October 4, 2021 No Comments

Turns out I missed writing every week. Welcome to Spooktober! I’ve built a line-up of scary movies for every Friday (and some Saturdays) to watch with my friends. Here was last week’s.

Nosferatu (1922): Despite all the furor I’ve heard about the film and how excited I was to watch scary vampires, I wasn’t as fully moved by it as I thought it would be. This is potentially because we ran into an error that made the subtitles linger for a long period of time, leading to a hilarious, instead of horrifying, dramatic peak. 

I found myself questioning the antisemitic roots of the character design a bit too often to get pulled into the narrative, so it’s definitely a movie I’d watch again to get past my initial defenses. (My conclusion: not intentional but also…not very avoidable.) While I have a lot of respect for Goth Wife, I never felt particularly attached to anyone. I was impressed by the speed at which the story unfolded and the fluidity of the editing. Maybe silent dramas just aren’t my thing but I find that the way they linger on faces for three extra beats make me bored. Here, there always seemed to be an understandable action and when that was done it moved on. In some ways the audience is supposed to revel in the emotions of the character but at some point when the camera stays on too long the emotion stops registering and I’m like, “what are we here for?” I can’t tell if this was because of difficulty editing (which, understandable) or because it’s supposed to be conveying an emotion I’m just not reading. Either way, I was impressed how all the horror movies across the board seemed to clip along at an engaging rate. Kind of like switching from The Woman in White to The Sign of Four. There’s just something I appreciate about economical storytelling.

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): The slow sink into madness again. This was my second viewing, but my first time with a score that at least tried to mirror the time period. My first attempt was accompanied by a college electronica kid who just booped and beeped endlessly. It was an interesting experiment but also five times louder than it needed to be and gave me a headache halfway through. Much more pleasant experience this time! The cumulative effect of the weird, twisted world of Caligari is unparalleled.

My friend Bill, the composer, also did some excellent work

It feels like a much newer movie than Nosferatu, even though it’s a few years older. I think because where Nosferatu feels like a Victorian novel (a very faithful adaptation!), Caligari takes on fairy tale and cartoon qualities. I couldn’t stop looking at how the stripes on the Doctor’s gloves matched the stripes in his hairline. It’s like someone had sketched him. Kind of like a weird comic strip brought to life? The entire world is done in coal and pencil and I just love the aspect of it being a representation of someone’s memory. And the forced perspectives!!!

Also Cesare is hot.

And then, of course, TCM was airing an entire day of Pre-Code horror films, so I had to hop on that train this weekend. 

The Most Dangerous Game (1932): This film, barely an hour long, was amazing. While I know it’s used as a reference for many I think the actual movie is underseen and underrated. It has everything you want out of an adventure film, with Joel McCrea as a heartless hunter, Fay Wray as a woman who knows what’s happening before anyone else does, Leslie Banks as the Russian gentleman murderer. Yes, you know going in exactly what’s about to happen, but I found the actual theme of the film to be much deeper and psychologically exciting than what I expected. Plus, everyone fully throws themselves into their roles. The cinematography is excellent, all deep shadows and creaky stairways until we’re thrown out into the dense island jungle and foggy canyons. It’s literally only an hour, do yourselves a favor and watch it.

White Zombie (1932): Along with this gem! I have found that across the board early cinema horror film scores SLAP. White Zombie is no exception, with a smart mix of chanting, humming, orchestra and sometimes, dead silence. The groan of the sugar mill while the zombies mindlessly work is truly chilling. I’ve never considered the use of zombies as a question of agency, but this film pulls it to the forefront. Bela Lugosi captures local natives, his former enemies, and the lead female herself, all falling under his thrall and forced to his will. It’s also another slow sink into the gothic as we start with a fairly modern age sensibility and then move to Lugosi’s castle where the bride is wearing queenly and Victorian gowns with her long hair curled. It’s heavy on style and atmosphere and never fails to excite.

Next Week: Muppets! Jared Padalecki! 3D remakes!

Halloween Song of the Week: Perhaps the best monsterfucker song that is criminally underplayed.

Jan 2017: Y’all! I made it to January! Aren’t you proud of me? Right now I’m between Jonathan Creek and Sherlock specials and have been for a few weeks. A lot of my time has been spent on The Sentinel, which is not part of any viewing project, except perhaps that one in my heart. Jonathan Creek? Can be good but it’s a lot! Sherlock? Does not hold up well! Exactly what I expected! More news as it develops.

If you enjoyed my writing, or even just to spite me, consider donating to my kofi!

Go Ahead, Ditch A Movie

May 24, 2021 No Comments

Hope everyone had a good Eurovision and #worldgothday weekend. I watched both semi-finals and spent 6 hours on Saturday rooting for Italy and Ukraine so my brain is wonderfully rotted.

You know how some people’s comfort movies are cheesy action flicks from the 80s and 90s? I’ve discovered that mine are RKO disaster musicals. Specifically, Step Lively is a mid-forties musical remake of a not-that-great-to-begin-with Marx Brothers comedy that desperately wants to be a 1932 Busby Berkeley smash but it’s ten years too late and also Frank Sinatra is there. It has such a weird energy and I’m enamored.

I’ve mostly been in the land of film, since I’m using the TCM app to catch up on 31 Days of Oscars, but still managed to watch the first season of The OA, the second season of Fuller House (I have a much longer meditation on my feelings about this show in drafts), and the beginning of Trollhunters.  The thing abou-

I’m sorry, I can’t continue. “Adrenalina” is playing in my head.

While I’ve watched plenty of films I’ve enjoyed, what I’ve been allowing myself to do more recently is stopping in the middle of a movie I’m not really feeling. It’s hard to gauge, since I want to give a film a fair shake before I “give up” and if I’m half an hour from the end might as well close it out, but this past week I noped out of both San Francisco (1936) and The Sandpiper (1965). SF is one of the first disaster movies and does some impressive if badly aged special effects work for the time period, considering that the city they’re depicting is entirely gone, but I’m really not a fan of Jeannette MacDonald or her soprano voice or any romance she might have with Clark Gable. Despite an interesting cast and premise, I felt the film lacked any sort of vitality and was leading toward hitting me over the head with sentimentality about faith and perseverance in the face of unendurable hardship. Wasn’t in the mood. 

The Sandpiper, while apparently capitalizing on the steamy Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton affair by having Liz and Dick’s characters…have an affair, didn’t seem all that interested in being entertaining at all. Taylor was completely miscast, it layered on needless literary pretensions with the sandpiper/free birds metaphor, none of the characters or cinematography or scripts seemed to have much of a personality at all. The 60s beatnik free art scene seems custom made for me, but alas. ‘Twas boring.

Finally, more than a week ago, I stopped in the middle of Papillion (1971) despite the fascinating pairing of Steve McQueen with Dustin Hoffman. Gritty and grim for the sake of being gritty and grim (prison’s not a laugh but did we have to have it repeatedly anvil over our heads?), there sadly wasn’t much going for it despite McQueen’s performance as a man driven slowly insane by solitary and the appearance of Man From U.N.C.L.E. repeat guest Woodrow Parfrey . It’s kind of like people enjoyed watching McQueen escape in The Great Escape and decided that it made any escape movie starring McQueen worthwhile. Not really. And then it was remade in 2017???

All this to say that if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Letting go of films halfway through has led me to watching many more films simply because I’m watching what I’m in the mood for. It’s difficult for me, sometimes, because I believe in watching things outside my comfort zone – but sometimes movies just aren’t good.

Have you read my article about a goat yet?

Hud (1963)

May 3, 2021 No Comments

The other night I watched Hud for the first time. It’s not a movie I was avoiding, and I quite like Paul Newman, but it wasn’t on the top of my list either. I mainly watched it because I’ve been reading Pauline Kael’s “I Lost It At The Movies,” and while I have a good general idea of the films she’s talking about (I’m much better equipped to be familiar with the late 50s-early 60s era than, say, ten years ago), I was interested in watching the specific film that she’s talking about. Since her piece on British Free Cinema covered about seven or eight films at once (which I’ve located but haven’t sat down to yet), I decided Hud was probably the best bet.

Kael is divisive mostly because she will take other reviewers to task about their opinions on film. I’ve found that she cares less about the content of movies themselves and more about the way the public is receiving them. She worries about the state of cinema as she sees the movies in front of her lack completion or thematic resolution. Her writing focuses more on what people are taking away from movies than what the movies actually are. Sometimes she seems willfully wrong in her interpretations of films so that it’ll fit her worldview. She has a nostalgia for the past that is highly inaccurate. Despite all this, her writing is interesting because she has a cohesive worldview of the way movies should be. Whether or not you agree with her is one thing, and whether she’s ultimately a snob is another, but she very clearly wants a type of clarity from films that she often finds frustrating. 

She ultimately seems to like Hud because of the split nature of the film. She sees it as though it’s at war with itself. While other critics treat it as condemnation of a selfish and cynical man who pushes everyone away, Kael understands that it’s these qualities that the audience actually relates to. Hud is the only “real” character, as the other characters simply stem from the public imagination of who good people are. The split creates a frission that makes the movie more useful and interesting than other Hollywood vehicles. In the split you can often see more of a truth than a wholly realized (and boring) film.

I think Kael still got it wrong though. The split is there but not because the audience cheers for the bastard character. It might have been different for audiences in 1963 – coming from a line of films like On the Waterfront and Rebel Without A Cause it’s easy to mistake empathy for encouragement. The film doesn’t condone Hud’s actions but it doesn’t celebrate them either. Instead it’s a bigger view of how Hud came to be, why he’s alone, and what happens to a person when they’ve never been treated with kindness.

The morality is the kind of baseless restrictions of the early 60s – one wrong move (read: one bad cow) and you’re ruined for life. Hud’s father sees himself as a good man but has never shown a shred of sympathy for his son. Young Don grows up and over his adolescent worship of Hud, which I guess is seen as a good and proper thing, yet doesn’t consider how Hud might feel about his good influence. It feels like a natural system for raising psychopaths and then condemning the new youth for not having any substance. Why are these kids so angry? We’ve given them everything. 

Throughout the film people are always telling Hud that he’s wrong and it’s easy to assume this is the way it’s been for Hud his entire life. People telling him he’s a bad kid, his father giving up on him “long before” the terrible accident that killed his brother, and being surprised when he lashes out at everyone else. It seems a lot like he and his brother did all the same things but because Hud “never cared about anybody but himself” he got all the shit for it. I’m loathe to defend a character who attempts rape (and here Kael is EXCEEDINGLY wrong) but it’s clear that the movie doesn’t quite know what to do with Hud, so neither does the audience, and that’s kind of the tragedy of the film.

  • If you haven’t seen it already, I wrote about my beloved Milo the goat for Nerdist.
  • Glad Patricia Neal got an Oscar for this because she deserved it.

Shadow & Bone 1×08: Across the Unsea

April 24, 2021 No Comments
There is no photo of the main cast all together, so here is Zoya instead.

I haven’t been rewatching episodes before writing these recaps. I thought I would be, but I found yesterday that I didn’t need to in order to collect my thoughts. The finale might be the only episode where rewatching it is necessary, as I think it will only improve. When it comes to big turning points and long-expected team-ups I tend to always feel underwhelmed. I enjoyed Inej getting the drop on Mal and all four of them bickering in the hold. I could have watched a whole episode of that. I also enjoyed Inej and Zoya forming an allegiance. I could have watched a whole series of that. Alina finally knows and understand the Crows, and all of them – including Nina and Matthias, are on the same ship across the True Sea. Are we going to see more Mal and Alina interacting with them in Novyi Zem? Probably not.

The Crows popping up in the first novel of “Shadow & Bone” isn’t a wholly failed experiment but it is an interesting gambit. One that only they would be proud of, I imagine. As people, Kaz and Inej (and to a lesser extent, Jesper) have changed. But, accustomed to “Six of Crows” nonsense, I had assumed they’d have a larger outcome on the plot. All the Crows backstory is cool and well-thought out, clearly these characters are very loved, but backstory just isn’t as fundamentally interesting is…forestory? Alina and Mal are moving forward and the Crows are inching their way towards their beginning. It’s just too frustrating. The closest we got was Inej sending a knife into the Darkling. And I mean, who didn’t want to see that? The Darkling has been given many reasons at this point to despise the Crows and I’m hoping that has some consequences down the line. Mostly the consequential storylines seem to be saved for Alina and Mal, though.

The Darkling’s destruction of Novokirbirsk is given more motivation too, a deed I didn’t think was necessary. Now it’s for retaliation on the attemped assassination of Alina and grab for power. Part of the core of the Darkling’s…well, darkness, is his use of senseless violence. Growing the Fold in the first place, and then extending it, was all part of his need for power. That’s the only emotional motivation he really has – that’s the disturbing part. I can’t tell whether the show is trying to save the character or just give Ben Barnes more to work with, as he’s amazing in the role, but I’m not interested in another Ben Kenobi story. Sometimes the people are miserable wretches and that can be just as compelling. The Darkling could have easily been redeemed in the books but always chooses not to be.

If the Crows are going to be a part of Season Two (and I can’t see why they wouldn’t be) then I’m unsure why the writers seems so determined to keep everyone on separate paths. There are many hopes I have for the second season (many of them include flying ships) but my biggest might be that the fun that the writers have with individual character dynamics can extend to larger groups. We know what Kaz, Inej, and Jesper together are like – what about Jesper and Zoya? Alina and Kaz? (what brief tidbit we did get was very interesting) Mal and Inej? What would it look like if all these people had to cook up a heist together? If it’s going to be a show about all of them, then they should all be in on the plan. Mal and Alina dream of retiring to a farm and leaving everything behind them. Pairing them up with new friends might mean that they have a better, much more interesting future ahead of them.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS

  • Speaking of choice, the holy stag chooses Alina! It’s about the people you choose – crows, stags, or goats – not about what you get out of it.
  • Bold vs. smart. If that isn’t the best encapsulation of Mal vs. Kaz. I would LOVE to see them work together more.
  • Matthias thinks Nina is a witch again. She seems genuinely remorseful. She’s also now more explicitly a Grisha traitor.
  • Zoya/Inej forever
  • “I’m exhausted.” The 2021 Jesper mood.

Shadow & Bone 1×07: No One’s In Fjerda But Someone Still Gets Fridged

April 24, 2021 No Comments
SWIGGITY SWAG, I’M THE GRISHAVERSE STAG

Goddamn, the first five minutes of this episode pissed me off.

Having backstory for a villain is always a complicated thing. The audience has to understand their motivation and place their despicable action in the grander scheme of things. The Darkling has no interest or use for mortals – their either soldiers or inconsequential. He wants Grisha to be safe and bellieves the best way for that is for Grisha to have power, to wield it strongly instead of fighting scared. That’s believable and actionable, those views have very elegantly and subtlely been expressed.

BUT WHY OH WHY DOES HE HAVE A WIFE THAT DIES?!? Yeah okay, it’s to show the futility of a Summoner in love with a mortal. Oh boo hoo, Alina will get over Mal. But there are…other types of important people in your life? It could have been a brother or a child (ring any bells with Morozova?), it could have been a best friend. If we’re to believe that Jesper and Inej would grieve over each other the way that Alina would grieve over Mal, why is it that romantic women are always cut down just to drive decent men insane. JESUS CHRIST, I’M TIRED OF IT.

Okay, okay, that’s out of the way. I mean, the rest of the episode? Pretty great. Centering around the Darkling’s viewpoint and how he loses Alina isn’t the worst decision. Alina mentions that the Darkling could have had everything he wanted, but he never gave Alina the chance to say yes. Consent issues lie at the heart of their relationship. Mal even says it – doesn’t matter who understands her best, Mal is the one Alina has chosen. As much as the show is about survival (and Genya frames her betrayal as the need to survive), the romances are often about partnerships. What makes people truly equal? The Grishaverse is fascinated with power dynamics.

Milo makes a return as The Most Important Goat in the Grishaverse. The Kaz and Inej ship takes flight as Kaz essentially calls Inej his own personal Saint. The Crows are on board the skiff crossing the Fold. Most likely they are going to try to kidnap Alina again. No mourners. No funerals. I’m hoping things change on the ship, that we correct course by veering wildly off-course. If the Crows are going to be along for the ride, at least let Alina learn their names.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS

  • I can see a future where the Crows are part of Sturmhond’s crew as Alina and Mal search for the sea creature. Please bring me this future.
  • The body horror of the stag’s antlers is pretty gross and I’m fascinated by it.
  • The other reason Kaz loves crows so much is because they’re called a murder. Maybe don’t mention that to Inej, though.
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