davidpatricklowery

Easy yes here. Definitely love SCREAM. I rewatched the original three a few years back and was amazed at how fresh and vital the first one still felt (although I do have a deep nostalgic fondness for the sequels - and yes, the fourth was legitimately pretty strong). Special shout-out for the consistent use of Nick Cave's Red Right Hand across the quadrilogy and for Marco Beltrami's fantastic score, which still sounds fresh and distinct and memorable twenty years later. Also, while listening to this episode, I realized that it was almost certainly this movie that instilled in me a deep fondness for dopey small-town deputies.

In regards to Hughes' mean streak - having just rewatched both Home Alone movies, I'd say the first one is harmless slapstick, but goddamn is the second one brutal. I feel bad for dragging my parents to see that multiple times. It has a gonzo level of violence in it (e.g. the electrocution scene) that makes me wonder if, like Spielberg and Lucas on Temple Of Doom, its creators might have been working through some issues

The first Iron Man isn't perfect but it's still a ton of fun and - with its limited scope and complete lack of Chitauri - a more successful movie as a whole. Also, as mentioned a few times above, it is a better fit for Canonization simply on the grounds of its significant historical context (something that only Black Panther has matched since). If it must be an actual Avengers movie that goes down in history, I'd argue that Captain America: Civil War should be counted, since it is basically Avengers-minus-Thor (but plus a bunch of other dudes) and is more successful than the rest of them - but actually, it doesn't really matter all that much. Marvel Movies are cinematic synechoches; each one is a part that is almost interchangeably representative of the whole.

I didn't rewatch PDL for this episode because I had seen it not too long ago when Criterion put it out, and it keeps getting better and better (and more and more interesting) for me. So it's an immediate yes for me, for reasons largely laid out in posts above - BUT that being said it's been nice to hear PTA's work be interrogated, both in this and the vs. episode. He's been such a beloved fixture of my cinematic life for so long that it's easy to take my affection for granted. This has been helpful. Also, in case anyone doubts that PTA actually COULD make a stupid Adam Sandler comedy, don't forget about this short film they made a few years after PDL:

I watched HAROLD AND MAUDE in high school and didn't love it. I watched BEING THERE a few years later and didn't love it either. I watched SHAMPOO somewhere in between and flipped out for it and that's what made me an Ashby fan. I rewatched it the other day and found it to be way more culturally relevant than my memory of BEING THERE. I'm voting for H&M but my heart belongs to all those in-betweeners in Ashby's 70s output.