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grudlian.

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Posts posted by grudlian.

  1. Posted

    2 hours ago, ol' eddy wrecks said:

    It's been a year or so since I've seen it, but was meaning to rewatch this month. 

    My recollection is it's a little rough/incomplete (due to the rushed shooting time) and surreal. I suspect it's not going to be your thing.

    Not saying you won't surprise me, but that is where my suspicions lie.

    ETA: I do like it based on my memory, both of those attributes disproportionately appeal to me. 

    Yeah, the picture on the imdb app definitely lead me to think it's exactly how your describing it. But the plot synopsis got me interested even if I expect it to feel like the plot will be meandering.

    I haven't watched Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus yet but I also wasn't aware it was a remake either. 

  3. Posted

    1 hour ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    i feel like Frankenstein may be taking that early/1920s-1930s slot is my only concern with it.

    i do think "horror" is way too broad of a genre for this. school was a pretty focused genre choice, they could've focused this down to like 'vampires' or 'slasher' or something. but i also imagine they'll do this theme every October.

    Frankenstein is a much better movie all around. I'd easily pick it over Nosferatu.

    I agree that horror is extremely broad and themes would be beneficial. I don't know how focused I'd want it to be, but certainly more than five movies for an entire genre. Might as well make the next theme "comedy".

  4. Posted

    3 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    I had 3 ideas I would immediately want to suggest:

    Nosferatu

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    Let The Right One In (the Swedish version)

    These are all really good. I can't say I really like Nosferatu outside of the makeup but it's still about as creepy a vampire image as we've seen on screen.

  6. Posted

    Speaking of sales pitches, Gonzo points out the only lucrative pilot jobs are commercial aircraft. Then ends his pitch saying something like "do you think you'll get to fly F18s with Tanya's school?"

    You literally just said there's no money in military flying. No one even has that perception that the Air Force is a money maker. I get it's a sales pitch and he's switching from a logical to emotional appeal but this guy really is all over the place. I can't imagine the air force is putting people in F18s because they weren't to Gonzo flight school. 

    • Like 4

  7. Posted

    3 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

    After the model tells Pink Fedora (or Trilby) there weren't any camera crews on site for the shoot because it was being filmed from a plane, she goes on to explain that the audition for the gig was at a flight school so she just figured that it was being filmed as a promotional film. I am SUPER curious about what flight school she thinks would include aerial shots of people making out and being rubbed down with coconut oil as a part of their marketing materials.

    "Planes get you laid" seems like a convincing enough sales pitch. 

  8. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

    Also, for the record, Pink Fedora was going to grad school for English Literature. When she's debasing Jake in bed for being stupid and unambitious, she tells him she "didn't mean to say that" and he retorts "You're studying English, you always know exactly what you're saying." Which is kind of crazy when you think about it. Jake tells her they can't afford to go on vacation because she decided to go to grad school, but speaking as a former English Major, I assure you, you can absolutely work a part time (or even a full time job!) while studying. Let me tell you, being a full time English Major would have been quite the luxury. 

    Doesn't Jake say "you're a writer" not English major? I might be wrong about that but it really stuck out to me.

    I mean, writers aren't just putting down stream of consciousness into their work. Writers have drafts and editors. So, the idea that a writer knows what to say at all times is dumb.

    • Like 3

  9. Posted

    4 minutes ago, gigi-tastic said:

    Ok so was I just on a bunch of migraine meds or did they say they hadn't had sex in 3 YEARS? When did they get married? How long have they been together? Sex isn't everything but like if you aren't together in 3 YEARS and you are a relatively young couple and not asexual.. perhaps you should go tot therapy? Talk? Not be married to a bag of mayo?

    I believe he said she hasn't wanted to have sex for three years. I interpreted that to mean that they had sex but she wasn't into it at all or had to be talked into it every time. But maybe they aren't having sex at all. Either way, definitely an issue for therapy.

    • Like 2

  15. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

    Honestly, most bands are manufactured to some degree or another. Even if not on a strictly corporate level, there is definitely some artifice going on. Even someone like Tom Morello said in his MasterClass that choosing your persona is just another aspect of Rock. I think I brought this up when we covered Head, but it's a big reason why I give The Monkees a pass as being a "manufactured" group. There's no real "right" way to start a band. Nor is there any "right" way to be a band. As cheesy as it sounds, all that really matters is whether the music is good or not. Everything else is just pointless gatekeeping.

    Yeah, I don't have a problem with a band being manufactured. My complaint with The Sex Pistols is the hypocrisy of the fans acting like Sex Pistols are true punks while so many other bands are posers. Of the classic punk bands The Sex Pistols were the most manufactured.

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    Yeah, proto punk is more accurate. My understanding is punk as a descriptor was kind of nebulous in the late 70s and anything in the New York/CBGB scene (which Runaways weren't but I think I read somewhere this week they opened for The Ramones) as kind of considered or called punk until a lot of other genre names were established. Even bands like Television and Talking Heads were lumped in with punk to a small extent and I don't think anyone would put them in sound wise with Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, etc. But I think that happens with new genres repeatedly. So, it's not like punk got it worse than metal or grunge or hip hop or disco or whatever.

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

    To be fair, The Runaways released four more albums than the Sex Pistols who were also semi-manufactured. 

    Punk music can definitely be localized and a lot of influential bands don’t tend to have huge (or any) hits. Kind of like The Velvet Underground or Operation Ivy. They are huge within the scene, but not necessarily to laypeople. The Runaways at least had some commercial success.

     

    To be fair, I think the Sex Pistols deserve a lot of derision because they were manufactured. It's widely known Sid Viscous replaced someone who could play an instrument purely because he looked the part.

    But I'm not knocking The Runaways. This started as me saying they didn't have any commercial hits in the US and weren't big (except in Japan) outside of their bubble. But I think that's a criticism you could put toward every punk band.

    There's that quote about The Velvet Underground (maybe from Lester Bangs) that goes something like "Velvet Underground only sold 1000 albums when they were together by every one of those people started a band."

    I don't think that quote is entirely applicable to The Runaways but I'm not super into punk music and very much less into American punk music. So, maybe I'm wrong. Based on my own experience, I've heard way more talk about The Slits, X-Ray Spex, The Raincoats, Wendy O. Williams, Siouxsie and the Banshees as female punk (and post punk) inspiration than The Runaways. But I think all those groups formed after The Runaways but were active concurrently. So, maybe they influenced a bunch of other women lead groups. I honestly don't know. 

    • Like 3

  19. Posted

    1 hour ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    Yea, though "Cherry Bomb" was a pretty big hit in Japan. I'm not sure the movie made that as clear as it could have.

    They became influential later, probably when Jett became more famous (and even Ford and the others). Now they're recognized as an influential female band, I think. Maybe less in the punk realm though and more towards rock or even metal (i.e. Ford). Actually maybe 'influential' is the wrong word, not sure they changed much really, but they were a pioneering group.

    I was stunned by this number as I was listening to their music the other day. On Spotify, "Cherry Bomb" has over 88 million plays. Their second highest song is at 2 million (my favorite of theirs "You Drive Me Wild"). So yea they're definitely a one-hit wonder type of group.

    Yeah, I knew The Runaways were massive in Japan. Wikipedia says they were the fourth most imported music band in whatever year that was. Im curious if Cam Bert has any insight into if The Runaways have a lasting legacy in Japan.

    There's a story about Bob Seger (I think but might be wrong on being him) where he was huge in his hometown of Detroit. Sell out shows everywhere he went in Detroit. But was virtually unknown outside Michigan until finally breaking nationally. Music could still be very regional in the 70s. I assume the Runaways were kind of similar. They just didn't stick together long enough to truly benefit from punk gaining popularity. But I also wonder how well it would have gone down if it were better known at the time that they were a semi manufactured group.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    3 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

    I think it depends on what you call “hits.” They have other well-known(ish) songs, but I’d say “Cherry Bomb” was their big one.

     

    "Hit" is extremely debatable in the US. Cherry Bomb was their highest charting song but didn't get into the top 100 in the US.

    Having a hit doesn't necessarily make you a big deal just as not having a hit means you're nothing. Loads of bands are technically one hit wonders like Jimi Hendrix or The Grateful Dead. Loads of influential bands had no hits like Velvet Underground or Nick Drake or Big Star. 

    My perception of The Runaways is they were basically not a thing at all in the US unless you were really into their scene. I'm not especially into punk but I don't even recall hearing people list them as an influence. Joan Jett (and the Blackhearts) for sure as a touchstone. I'm sure Runaways fans exist, but I don't really hear about them. 

    • Like 3

  22. Posted

    12 hours ago, Cam Bert said:

    As expected I was not a fan of this movie. I very much agree with Paul that this movie has comedy chops but it just keeps getting in the way of itself. Rather it walks this fine line of being a wacky comedy and being a B-movie pastiche. Let's start with the first real joke, the car exploding. The gag of putting "VFX: Car on fire" or whatever it was is a fine joke. It's a little inside to film making process when shots like that exist in not yet completed films. Yet, in a real B movie would that shot exist? No it would be a terrible effect or some stock footage. Imagine that scene but say they cut to clearly some stock footage of a car in an open area that's clearly not that location exploding. Still funny but yet actually in keeping with B-movie style and behavior. Both are fine jokes yet one is an homage and the other just a joke. To me it's more like he wanted to make this silly movie but could only get a little money to make it so he decided "if I deliberately make it bad then I can get away with doing things on the cheap." This was a comedy first that they slapped B-movie onto to cover up possible short comings. That's the problem. B-Movie is not a genre. To take tropes from all these things and try and put them together muddies the waters.

    My understanding is this movie was based on a fake trailer the director did (similar to the fake trailers in Grind House). I think that probably is perfect for this premise. Five minutes or less because it's really just the portmanteau to skate by on. 

    The director has done a couple other movies I've never heard of, then this. So, I kind of wonder if he either has no other ideas or if the velocipastor trailer got his biggest reaction and this was his best shot at making a name for himself.

    12 hours ago, Cam Bert said:

    .They read claims from the director that the film was baked in an over and dragged around in a car. Did anybody notice any grain or film like quality to the movie? No it looked digital for for that budget was most likely digital.

    I wondered about this as well. I watched this on my phone while working. So, I figured maybe I missed the scratches on the film but I didn't notice any.

    Robert Rodriguez claims he purposefully scratched the film for Planet Terror from Grind House. Velocipastor's first movie was a fake trailer that he expanded to a full length movie and claims he destroyed the film. So, I think this guy is just a huge fan of Grind House or Robert Rodriguez.

    • Like 3

  24. Posted

    I voted no. The one time I watched this, I didn't think it was particularly good. I felt like a lot of its appeal is exploring teen culture in a new way and James Dean.

    I think there are a lot of movies that explore teenagers clashing with adults and finding their place. In 1955, this would have felt huge but it feels a tad too dated today. 

    As for James Dean, East Of Eden and Giant are better movies.

  25. Posted

    1 hour ago, SideofMcG said:

    I've only watched about half of the movie but here's a few things I want to address...

    "Feed a fever, starve a cold."

    That's the wrong way around. It's "feed a cold, starve a fever." 

    Regardless of the order, it's not valid medical advice. I'm not a doctor, but everything I've ever read says that this is outdated from when people didn't understand viruses at all. You should feed both.

    • Like 1
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