GrahamS.

Thank you!

Thanks! Those are good suggestions! I did check—through an app called Reelgood—to see if any of those that are available to rent or buy or stream online and the only ones were Romeo is Bleeding (rental/purchase only) and The Last Seduction (possibly available on HBO and also available to rent/buy). Since my movie-watching time has opened up exponentially since society has shut down, I was thinking of having one “official” quarantine choice to discuss, but adding other films for extra credit. If people have other films they want to suggest for extra credit for next Tuesday, please do so! Might/might not be able to watch them all, but it would be fun to have the options. Also, if people have suggestions for next week’s quarantine film, please make suggestions! Please limit your suggestion to one “official” quarantine film in order to make for easier decision-making all around (feel free to ad extra “extra credit” suggestions if you want). For example: @Elektra Boogaloo did suggest Cats a couple of weeks ago but it wasn’t available for rental yet (it’s out on April 7th). If she still wants to watch Cats then (and who doesn’t, really?) I’m happy to have her choice be the choice for that week’s quarantine movie. I’m just making up guidelines as I go along to (hopefully) make things easier. Since hopefully this will be a community activity, the rules aren’t etched in stone, but ideally would provide a good foundation.

Hi all! Last week was—I’ll be honest—fairly rough for me and this film was too trippy or cerebral or whatever to get into. I watched about twelve minutes of it. Perhaps I will give it a chance when not concerned about family illness (my father had a slight fever that hopefully is not related to COVID-19, and has been feeling slightly better and slightly crummy alternately. He’s doing fine, but it’s a bummer because I live two blocks from him and can’t see him or my mom right now). Anyway, I like weird, but that was too weird for the current moment.

I have mentioned this movie on Twitter, but I must repeat myself: THIS FILM IS FUCKING NUTS!! —21% on Rotten Tomatoes! —Ray Liotta acting his heart out! —Linda Fiorentino with nothing to do! The plot summary (taken from RT): ”This cross between a psychological thriller and an old fashioned murder mystery tells the story of a police pathologist who takes extreme measures to prove himself innocent of his wife's murder and to solve the puzzling massacre in a Seattle drug store. Dr. David Krane was formally charged with his wife murder, but tainted evidence got him an acquittal; it did not clear his name and as a result he lost his two daughters. His search for her killer begins when he is called to the drugstore scene where he finds a curled up matchbook, the exact same kind that was found near his wife. Soon afterward he learns of noted neurologist Dr. Martha Briggs experimentation with a new form of memory retrieval. She has discovered that memory resides in brain fluid and that if the fluid from one brain is mixed with a special formula and injected into the brain of another, that person will experience the memories of the other when a strong stimulus is administered. At least that is the theory. So far she has only worked with lab rats. But for the fact that the majority of the injected rodents die of heart failure, her experiments have been successful. Learning more about Briggs' work, Krane becomes determined to test it on himself using the stored brain fluid of his late wife.” I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it and it just gets crazier. I have tickets to both of your Seattle shows and I will be heartbroken if you do not pick this film! It is the true definition of BONKERS. Here is the YouTube link to the trailer. I have no idea why they list it with Christopher McDonald as the actor—he has a rather small role. The trailer does an EXCELLENT job of conveying the tone of the movie.

I’m giving this film a bump because it’s still fucking nuts and it’s steaming on Hulu!

By the way, it’s a movie about a serial killer with talking pets, talking dead people and at least one musical number. It’s a dark comedy for sure.

It’s a fucked-up, dark movie, but better than you might think (interesting footnote, the director was the Iranian-born graphic novelist—and co-director of the adaptation of Persepolis, her graphic novel—Marjane Satrapi. two WILDLY different films). In some ways, I was more impressed with Reynolds’ performance on this than in Deadpool (which I liked as well). it would be interesting to hear their take on it, but—like I said—enjoyable for what it is.

I tried watching Moonstruck tonight and I COULD NOT get into it. Nic Cage felt like a very California-y New Yorker and as a result felt kinda miscast. The film itself felt like a rather blandly shot play. I know this is a beloved movie but I lost complete interest after an hour. I think the fact that it won a shitload of awards in 1987 overshadowed the film for me. And I’m not really a Cher fan. Oh, well.

I’m trying to gather suggestions into more straightforward groups/lists with less blathering on (on my part). Electra Boogaloo requested a Nic Cage list, so here is the streamlined edition. I’d be happy to watch any of these movies anytime. I will be coming up with more lists and am happy for any/all suggestions. Just trying to get the ball rolling. Nic Cage list in no apparent order Raising Arizona Valley Girl Birdy Moonstruck Wild at Heart Red Rock West Face/Off (HDTGM episode) The Rock Adaptation Vampire’s Kiss (HDTGM episode) Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Lord of War The Wicker Man (HDTGM episode) Mandy Mom and Dad The Color Out of Space if you haven’t heard of The ColorOut of Space, I saw it in the theater and it was a blast. It was directed by Richard Stanley, who was the ORIGINAL director of the Marlon Brando version of The Island of Dr. Moreau and is in the excellent documentary Lost Soul, about the turbulent production of THAT film. Here’s the preview for The Color Out of Space. It makes for a good double feature with Mom and Dad.

Here’s the thing: HDTGM actually does GOOD movies. I liked this film as well. A lot, for what it is. It got good reviews. I liked Face/Off. it got even BETTER reviews and they did a show on it. I definitely think this film is bonkers enough for the HDTGM treatment. Plus, if the do an episode on it, itwill get more people to see it (and the film got a pretty limited release). same as above. I agree, but still could be an episode.

Seattle has just closed down its public schools—where I work— due to the coronavirus for TWO WEEKS. Holy shit! I have a ton of time to watch movies!

Technically, it’s not THAT much more. Going to a movie at night is around $13-15 in the Seattle area. But I wouldn’t pay that much to see Cats in a movie theater and I don’t want to own it Some movies that would be released/were released in the theaters RIGHT now (The Invisisble Man, The Hunt, etc.) are able to be rented for $20. That’s not a bad deal if more than one person watches it. Right now, I think only Universal is releasing movies this way. Cats—on the other hand— is in the “normal” waiting period between theatrical and streaming/DVD. If you’re dying to see it, sites like VUDU allow you “early access” to buy and watch it. For renting it, you have to wait until April 7th. Why the studios aren’t forgoing the wait period between theatrical release and rental availability during a pandemic (where they LITERALLY have a captive audience) I don’t know. Seems stupid, but they want to turn a profit, so it is what it is.

April 7th. yes, I’d watch Great Wall. Also, Paul just posted on Twitter that they were able to talk Showtime into giving out month-long free trials to watch Black Monday (and other stuff, I’m assuming).

I think that was his initial reaction (to suck it up), but then he re-evaluated and seemed to see the issue from your POV. He kinda covered both bases, is how I heard it. The outtake was awesome. I’ve really appreciated all of Paul’s efforts to keep us entertained. I just binged the first season of Black Monday during a free Showtime trial. It helped me get through a rough week. I will probably wait until Penny Dreadful is on to subscribe to Showtime (I’m finding free deals to take advantage of in order to keep my streaming bill affordable), but I really enjoyed it. Recommended!

I’m down to watch it! But honestly, with the salary of a special ed instructional assistant—and I’m lucky to have that, I’m fully aware and thankful for that right now—I have to be choosy about how I spend my money. And PURCHASING Cats—sight unseen—just seems like a step too far. I’m happy to rent it, but it doesn’t seem to be available until April 7th. And since schools are still going to be closed, I can wait. That said, if there is a way to watch it without spending $20+, I’m into it. And I Think you’re right to be terrified, Also, I think if I watched it stoned, there are 50/50 odds that it would haunt my dreams.

STARZ has a deal now where it’s $4.99 a month. I wanted to watch Rear Window for unspooled and it was streaming it, so I went ahead and got it. STARZ is actually streaming a number of HDTGM/Unspooled movies, just FYI.

This will be a controversial choice. I just watched this. Here are the things that are good about this movie. 1. Prince’s opening and closing performances. 2. Morris Day (who’s also fucking awesome). Acting-wise, he’s the best thing in this film. Pretty much every scene he’s in is funny. And his music numbers are entertaining. otherwise, holy shit,Prince is a fucking asshole in this film. And I’m a Prince fan. I’m legitimately surprised that he allowed himself to look THIS bad. Perhaps he thought he was giving off a tortured artist vibe—and the film is semi-autobiographical—but he treats Appolonia (and pretty much all the women around him) like shit. Why her character is romantically drawn to him is a totally underdeveloped mystery, since he abuses her fairly routinely. Also: I will go out on a limb and say Computer Blue is a terrible song. So is Appolonia’s song. Dont get me wrong, the soundtrack to this movie largely kicks ass and some of the musical sequences are great (and besides Morris Day, they’re the main reason to watch the film). But man, there’s some dark stuff here that’s given a superficial 80s music-video style treatment, and it’s pretty fucking jarring. i know people—especially Jason—would object, but I would be interested in hearing Jason, June and Paul take an honest look at this film. I know this film has an iconic reputation, but goddamn is it problematic.

Yes, thanks! Mandy is on there. Again, I don’t want to limit these lists to ONLY Nic Cage movies. That’s a pretty narrow list. Open to whatever as long as there’s interest!

Best wishes! Hope you get better soon!

I’m rewatching Adaptation tonight and I’m going to say it’s my favorite Nicolas Cage movie. Raising Arizona is an extremely close runner-up—both movies fire on all cylinders—but Adaptation has so many levels to it. Everyone in it—Including the supporting cast— is AMAZING and it’s a brilliant, profound script by Charlie Kaufman, also brilliantly directed by Spike Jonze. It somehow manages to be melancholy and fucking hilarious, sometimes in the same scene.

Sure! I wouldn’t want to buy it, I’m not THAT committed to it, but I’d rent it. i saw the play in high school and was thoroughly confused by it/kinda hated it, by the way. I may or may not watch this sober.

Color out of space is worth a rental fee. IT IS FUCKING BONKERS.

I think I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll repeat myself: I’ve created a playlist on Spotify that now holds the majority of my music collection, from the 1960s up until now. It’s approximately 275 hours long. It spans a lot of different music genres. I like to put it on random. i Didn’t edit my tastes—there are some artists that people will probably offensive, but there are hours of stuff that is not (just press skip!).Classic rock, hip hop, R &B, grunge and more...it’s all in there. Good for coronavirus binge listening. I can’t post the link here, but for those who have Spotify and are interested, the Playlist is called The Big 40 and is by justanotherwriter—us (that’s me!).

I’m getting Red Rock West from Netflix dvd in a couple days. That’s a good one!

I’ll confess I’m not an “all in” Cage fan. The films on the list are my preferred. There are a couple on Hulu that I might watch that I haven’t listed —Drive angry and some newer film with Laurence Fishburne. I don’t have Prime—because Jeff Bezos is fucking with my hometown, I don’t give him my money—but have Netflix, Hulu and Cinemax, and am willing to try any Cage movies that are on there.