Hello? Max Schreck? Yes, technically, his name in the movie is not Dracula, but the script was based on Dracula, hence the lawsuit from Bram Stoker's widow, so in effect he's still Dracula.Originally Posted by GuitarGeek
Also, while only tangentially related, Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck was excellent, too.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
Nope, I found it - it's called Home Again, and actually the Yes music starts at 1:40:
Not sure what channel it's on now actually, and if it's a series or movie. I just noticed the music!
Welcome to Me (2015). From RottenTomatoes: "What happens when a young woman with Borderline Personality Disorder wins the lottery? In the case of Alice Klieg (Kristen Wiig), she quits her psychiatric meds and buys her own talk show. Inspired by the immortal Oprah, she broadcasts her dirty laundry as both a form of exhibitionism and a platform to share her peculiar views on everything from nutrition to relationships to neutering pets." Also starring Wes Bentley, James Marsden, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Linda Cardellini. RT scores: 72% & 46%
This movie is considered a comedy/drama, which I wasn't aware of before seeing. Which turned out to be a good thing or I might have avoided it altogether because I noticed a trend in the '80s where movies marketed as comedies would shift into drama (or action) in the third act, often while adding cheap sentimentality. It's as if either the writers ran out of jokes or they needed to add a moral to the story. The first movie where I noticed this happen was Stripes. And it seems most comedies since have continued this pattern. I hate when comedies do that.
This movie does that as well but I wouldn't necessarily call it a comedy/drama. The difference is that the shift to drama is handled well while also still including some humor. More importantly keeps the sentimentality in check. It also felt as if the third act was shorter than usual. Another plus. And while Alice's situation continues to devolve into pathos, it's pitiful or pathetic rather than playing on your emotions or, worse, becoming embarrassing; I hate when comedies resort to making you feel embarrassed for the protagonist. I think it's because the point of view shifts to the supporting characters, taking you out of Alice's strange existence and bringing you back to reality. And I have to say that as a comedy, it isn't chock full of humor the way great comedies are. It's a lot more low key than that; it's an oddball comedy. Still, I was surprised at the number of times I laughed... and the fact that I laughed at all (I often find good comedies humorous without actually laughing). Not that it was a lot.
It's important to point out that the treatment of mental health is handled adeptly. While many of the jokes are at Alice's expense, you're not really laughing at her because you've become immersed in her world. And, more importantly, you see the effect of someone with mental illness not treating themselves properly, which happens a lot in real life. The person gets better on their meds and thinks they no longer need them. It often becomes a vicious cycle.
Wiig is excellent, as you would expect. There's even a moment that shows how brave she is as an actress. But I won't spoil that for you. The rest of the cast is also very good, altho Cusack & Leigh seem wasted, as their parts are minor. Cardellini is as gorgeous as ever.
I had this movie for a while before I watched it, thinking it might be one of those I'd need to be in the mood for. On a whim, I started watching it late last night thinking I'd fall asleep at some point. It kept me awake. I liked this movie.
Last edited by Hal...; 07-28-2018 at 01:10 PM.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
The spoiler sold it for me!
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
In case everyone's wondering what the hell Jerjo's talking about, I realized that I use the generic style to view PE and the spoiler might still be visible even tho I changed the color of the font. Consequently, I deleted it.
If you're dying to know, PM me.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
I own Tremors and all the sequels up to Tremors 5 (The first four, you can get in a multi-disc set). They are fun in a low budget, don't take ourselves too seriously, way. The way they keep learning about the life cycle and mutations of the sandworms is pretty cool. There is a new sequel out, Tremors 6: A Cold Day In Hell (2018), which I have yet to see. One of the attractions, to me, of the original Tremors movie is that it was filmed in the Alabama Hills area near Lone Pine, California. Throughout the films, Michael Gross is great as the worm-hunting gun nut Burt Gummer.
That first Tremors movie was so good! I love that one! Great B-movie monster entertainment, IMO.
It has been like 20 years since I saw Tremors 2, but I remember liking it. I don't think I've seen any of the others. There was supposed to be a TV series set 20 years after the first Tremors and starring Kevin Bacon, but SyFy pulled the plug on it which really disappointed me -- the premise sounded potentially very fun. There's a pilot out there somewhere, so maybe one day it will leak.
First Tremors is a minor classic .
They used to run that a lot in the early 90s.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Tremors is a lot of fun. A nice throwback to old school creature features. Great cast, great chemistry, with Michael Gross in a scene chewing standout performance. Not a hint of the smarmy cynicism that permeates most modern horror films.
"The Bill of Rights says nothing about the freedom of hearing. This, of course, takes a lot of the fun out of the freedom of speech." - Pat Paulsen
My Art- http://www.facebook.com/rabidrenfro -My Life
Apologies if I've missed it, but has anyone in this thread mentioned John Carpenter's The Thing yet? That is hands-down my favorite horror movie ever. Having a group of guys (who are all relatively smart) encountering something truly otherworldly, and the realization that they are all in way over their heads -- that sense of cosmic dread has never been replicated for me in any other film. And those creature effects still creep me out to this day. The dog kennel scene is still so unsettling.
Are there any other fans here?
I just got the collectors edition Blu-Ray that has a commentary with Carpenter and Kurt Russel, which has some really interesting insights into the making of the film too.
Tremors is one of those B-movies that knows exactly what it is and revels in it. Despite the fact that Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward's characters are bumpkins, there's not any moments in the plot where to move it forward someone does something stupid.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Totally agreed. And I'd forgotten that Reba McEntire was in it too! What an odd cast, but it really worked.
Been mentioned numerous times.
I, too, love that movie, altho I think the FX are over the top, even if they are good. My fave scene, with regard to the thing/FX is when the guy's head falls off, the thing sprouts legs, starts crawling off, and one of the guys says, "you gotta be fucking kidding."
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
A favorite movie, and this always makes me laugh.
I agree the creature effects were over the top, but I liked that about it. And it kinda needed to be, for the type of lifeform they were dealing with, IMO.
LOVE The Thing. I think I wore out my old VHS tape with that and American Werewolf In London back in the day. Two classics!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 4 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Just saw MI:Fallout. It was a fun rollercoaster ride, but totally ridiculous. Suspend your disbelief for sure.
Oh man, I remember seeing that on HBO back in 82 or 83 or whenever it was. I actually screamed during the scene where they're testing the blood (don't want to give away any spoilers).
Pretty much any time you put Kurt Russell and John Carpenter together, you hit paydirt. A few years ago, I saw Escape From New York again, on TCM, and it was still pretty awesome. I mentioned earlier that Superfuzz and The Black Hole were the first two movies I saw Ernest Borgnine in, and this one must be in there someplace too.
But my favorite is Big Trouble In Little China. Great, great movie. Lots of fun, that one is.
Also Insomina with Pacino , directed by Christopher Nolan. Williams again , as an off centered "bad" guy. Good movie.
I agree AWiL is a classic, too. In fact, I think it's John Landis' best movie. Even better than The Blues Brothers.
The first time I saw it I had smoked a spliff just before going into an empty theater. I sat in the 10th row, I think. That first scene on the moors was so intense. And then the scene when Jack shows up in David's hospital room, I was horrified. But then when Jacks asks David if he's going to eat his breakfast... omg, I burst out laughing so hard I gave myself the hiccups. Best scene in the movie. Another great moment was when Jack picked up the Mickey Mouse doll, waved it's arm and said, "hi David." I lost it then, too.
It's a perfect mix of horror & comedy.
“The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone."
Completely agree with all of that! I laughed so hard at that hospital scene - despite Jack's torn-up throat. "Can I have a piece of toast?" Or the scene in the pub before they hit the moors with the drunk British guy telling the joke and the guy playing darts.
And you're bang on about the perfect mix. The comedy is laugh out loud funny and the horror is shocking and disturbing - particularly David's nightmares.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 4 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Just watched another fun B-movie, Machete Kills.
Another great creature feature is The Beast Within from 1981. Very close to the book by Edward Levy, it stars Ronnie Cox and several other familiar faces. The transformation scene in the hospital is some messed up shit. Love this one.
beastwithin.jpg
"The Bill of Rights says nothing about the freedom of hearing. This, of course, takes a lot of the fun out of the freedom of speech." - Pat Paulsen
My Art- http://www.facebook.com/rabidrenfro -My Life
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a traumatized war vet with PTSD who tracks down missing girls.
A brutal & grim existential art film .
I liked it!
The Equalizer (2014)
A 60 year old Denzel Washington stars as a genius super soldier that's equal parts Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, The Terminator and every 80s action / 00s superhero movie you've ever seen.
So many bullets, so many misses
Last edited by nosebone; 07-29-2018 at 01:18 PM.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
I saw it a few hours back. Best of the bunch for me, but probably best not to think about it too much afterwards. Hugely entertaining though.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
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