GrahamS.

It seems like any “official” awards should be judged by a group of men, women, non-binary (apologies for groups I’m leaving out), ,etc. ..., to TRY to even things out. it would also be nice to have a system that accurately included all groups when voting for the president of the United States (and I think president should be in caps, but since Trump’s in there, I don’t want to boost his ego. And I’m sure he browses this forum ALL THE TIME.).

By the way, for film lovers, my favorite doc was Horror Noire, which examines how black people are represented in horror films. It has great interviews with a ton of people, including Jordan Peele and Keith David, among others. It was so good, I wish it were a series. The only downside is that it’s only available on Shudder, but it is worth a month’s subscription to watch that and other offerings (like Joe Bob Briggs) if you’re interested.

DeNiro isn’t QUITE 80+, (he was born in 1941), but close enough. I love the movie but agree with what you mean. It felt really weird whenever Joe Pesci called him “kid.” Also, Dolemite Is My Name was very enjoyable.

This post has NOTHING to do with HDTGM-related material, and I can’t even post the link on here, but I can talk about it. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I wish there was a playlist that has everything from Beyoncé to Radiohead, from Creedence to Run The Jewels!” Well, then, do I have the playlist for you! It started as a mix for my brother’s 40th birthday, then went on to include the bulk of my music collection. And it’s still growing! I don’t know how sharing with Spotify totally works, but the playlist is called The Big 40 by justanotherwriter-us (other than turning 40, the title is amusingly referenced in Cypress Hill’s Insane in the Brain, which is also in here). Take a listen if you’re interested and if it works! I recommend hitting shuffle, but you can listen to whole albums, too. Also, there’s plenty of family friendly material and plenty of Parental Advisory material, just FYI. If you don’t like a track, just skip it. Happy New Year!

I will say it is a unique film in that I liked it at a 3-31/2 star level for the first half, which proceeded to make its way down to a 1-11/2 star level by the end. To be fair, I also found The Lighthouse kind of frustrating and well-made but overrated. It’s also guilty of having some of the self-consciously arty A24 tropes that I mentioned with Midsommar. Also, while I really liked Once Upon, a good friend of mine had the exact same reaction I had with Midsommar (growing restlessness, eye-rolling, etc.). Since I knew once upon was almost three hours, I encouraged him to leave so I could enjoy the film and he wouldn’t feel like he wasted his time. He was grateful, I was happy, different strokes for different folks!

Did you legitimately like Pet Semetary ? It was a guilty pleasure of mine—honestly, I think the directing and acting (except for Fred Gwynne, who’s GREAT in the original ) in the new version is way better, while the script is not good (except for one sequence involving the resurrected child that was brilliant and they abandoned too quickly). The best possible adaptation would be the new directors with rewrites on the old script. i actually liked Glass more than I thought I would. I respected how much it gave the middle finger to fans and just didn’t give a shit. There have been M. Night movies that have been far worse. I respect Midsommar for trying something different, but it’s the one film I legitimately hated this year. I initially liked it even though its use/depiction of mental illness was rather insulting window dressing, but then it became a VERY SLOW rip-off/homage to The Wicker Man and any number of Kubrick films. The horror element also played out as unintentional comedy to me—not scary on any level and so predictable and dull that I almost walked out and was pissed when I didn’t. I disliked it so much that I still question if I’m interested in seeing what Ari Aster does next (even though I liked Hereditary). But it’s possible that I’m burnt out on the A24 style of horror in general and I realize that most people love this film for some reason. I’ll just bang the drum for The Nightingale again.

I liked Us better as well! I liked Get Out, but it didn’t help that the whole movie was revealed in the trailer. what movies did you hate with a passion?

This is basically me repeating myself from Cameron’s post about top movies of the year because I wanted to call attention to this one. The more I think about it, the more it REALLY stuck with me. I’m curious what other people thought. Here’s my reaction from earlier: i Just watched Jennifer Kent’s (director of The Babadook) The Nightingale on Hulu. Holy shit. I don’t believe in ordered lists but for me, this is going behind Parasite as number 2. a lot of controversy surrounded this film and people walked out of theaters when it screened at festivals. This is due to the fact that the film contains THREE rape sequences (including a gang rape), the death of children (including a baby) and some brutal violence. Plus it’s almost 140 minutes long. There’s no doubt that this is a film seething with rage. It’s also a very human and extremely well-made one, that is extremely well-acted and beautifully shot in the Outback. It has moments of character-based humor and is a buddy movie as well as a feminist revenge Australian western. For it’s length, the film never drags and Kent doesn’t shy away from the horror of the rape sequences, but she doesn’t linger on them either (plus, on Hulu you can just skip through them, which I was guilty of once or twice). she is a master of building to a brutal set piece, then easing back to observe the characters. It’s an unexpectedly moving film, actually. This film seemed felt similar to Django Unchained and The Revenant, but feels more grounded in reality. Like Ive said, Kent does not shy from brutality, but neither does Tarantino or many other male directors. I just feel like this film deserves to be talked about more and will age really well.  Here’s the preview: 

i Just watched Jennifer Kent’s (director of The Babadook) The Nightingale on Hulu. Holy shit. I don’t believe in ordered lists but for me, this is going behind Parasite as number 2. a lot of controversy surrounded this film and people walked out of theaters when it screened at festivals. This is due to the fact that the film contains THREE rape sequences (including a gang rape), the death of children (including a baby) and some brutal violence. Plus it’s almost 140 minutes long. There’s no doubt that this is a film seething with rage. It’s also a very human and extremely well-made one, that is extremely well-acted and beautifully shot in the Outback. It has moments of character-based humor and is a buddy movie as well as a feminist revenge Australian western. For it’s length, the film never drags and Kent doesn’t shy away from the horror of the rape sequences, but she doesn’t linger on them either (plus, on Hulu you can just skip through them, which I was guilty of once or twice). she is a master of building to a brutal set piece, then easing back to observe the characters. It’s an unexpectedly moving film, actually. This film seemed felt similar to Django Unchained and The Revenant, but feels more grounded in reality. Like Ive said, Kent does not shy from brutality, but neither does Tarantino or many other male directors. I just feel like this film deserves to be talked about more and will age really well. Here’s the preview:

Great list! I haven’t seen as many of them as I’d like. I’ll have to spend some more time thinking about it. I will second The Farewell, Booksmart,Ad Astra and Knives Out. I’m not into ranked lists, but Parasite was my favorite movie of the year. I won’t claim it’s flawless, but I loved The Irishman. (I will go out on a limb and agree somewhat with Scorsese: whether they are “cinema” or not, I am fucking burnt out on Marvel and Star Wars films. Though I did really like the Watchmen HBO series). i have to rewatch it to solidify my opinion, but a shout-out to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Not everyone loved it, but that’s what makes a film interesting. I also loved Us. more to come!

I finally watched it and enjoyed it. It’s weird that I have no memory of it because I loved the Muppets as a kid but my first concrete memory (of the muppets) is The Muppet movie. I guess this one just passed me by—or was over my head at the time. Speaking of Muppets and Christmas, I wonder if the Muppet Christmas Carol is on Disney+. I don’t have it but my brother’s family does. Might be fun. Happy holidays everybody’

A coming of age comedy that’s kinda like Superbad for women. When it came out, some guys made idiotic “it’s ripping Superbad off so it’s terrible” comments. It successfully makes the material its own and is very funny, I think. It’s currently streaming on Hulu and worth checking out, or worth renting if you don’t have Hulu.

Joe Bob Briggs JUST did a screening of the original Black Christmas for his Christmas marathon on Shudder. I’d never seen it before. It was awesome (although he did have a critique about the end that was very valid)!

I have to take a minute—in compiling this list, I have to say they have the complete 220-minute Heaven’s Gate cut here. The original, widely distributed cut (which killed United Artists in 1980) ran 150 minutes. I’ve seen the 220 minute cut, and I would suggest splitting it into two nights, but IT IS FUCKING FASCINATING. Good or bad, it doesn’t really matter—this film is an uncut piece of history that is well worth watching. It cost the studio a bundle (I think $50 million in 1980 dollars) and the spectacle is on screen. But HURRY, because everything in This post is leaving VUDU (and are replaced by more trashy films) on 9/1! Also, I’ll mention a classic GREAT film that everyone needs to see: This Is Spinal Tap. Please watch this before any of the others listed if you haven’t seen it. Please watch it before any of the others listed if you HAVE seen it. Please respect legit greatness. And now for the trash. Here’s the list (I have not seen all of these and am going by title/rating to judge their trashiness, just FYI)! I’ll also write HDTGM next to films that have been the subject of an episode. Robot Holocaust The Rage: Carrie 2 Dream Lover Disturbing Behavior Pumpkinhead! Cherry 2000 The Animal Abduction—HDTGM EPISODE Raw Deal The Assignment Sucker Punch—HDTGM EPISODE Wild Wild West—HDTGM EPISODE Havoc The Honeymooners (2005) Imagine That Fatal Instinct Silver Bullet (which is one my bad movie picks) Graveyard Shift (haven’t seen it since high school, but I remember it sucking then. I’m sure it still does). Leprechaun:Origins (got 0% on RT! Take that for what it’s worth) The Butterfly Effect 2 Young Guns 1 &2 (how the fuck have THESE not been an episode yet?) The Fog (2004) Man on a Ledge The Last Witch Hunter ((with Vin Diesel!) Vampire Academy—HDTGM EPISODE Demolition Man—HDTGM EPISODE Terminator 3 Ghost Rider Failure to Launch

I remember those discs! You had to flip them every 15 minutes or so. i have to wonder why someone would only sell the second half of Heavens Gate. Is the second half worthless? Is the first half awesome unto itself? It’s a riddle whose answer may never be known!

I saw a preview before Knives Out. The way the preview played it seemed like a made-up joke. They didn’t even turn the sound up like the other previews. I didn’t know it was real until I saw it listed on RT,

I think the second link you posted captures the true spirit of Paul's Taco Bell rants. Side note: I’ve always called Taco Bell “Taco Hell” because it’s where real tacos are tortured, regurgitated and served back to you.

For Parasite or Midsommar? I’d be curious to hear both.

Just keep you expectations in check. That’s all I’ll say.

I thought we needed a couple of reflective, empty posts to let the experience sink in. it’s a Zen thing, I think.

Truly, it’s majestic.

I’m not allowed to erase the posts so let’s take another moment to appreciate the poster, shall we?

Ok, somehow I reposted this multiple times. Apologies.

I just REALLY looked at this poster and it’s fucking awesome. Makes me wonder if they’re going to a production of Midsommar in Sommerlojer. I think Midsommar would actually be improved by being a musical.