GrahamS.

Hopefully I’m not coming off as too combative. Reading the book made me a life-long Stephen King fan and a horror fan. Movies based on his books—and there are a LOT of them—often fuck it up on their way to the screen. I thought the director did a decent job and deserves kudos for that. But part of me just wishes he’d either been more adventurous or he’d made shittier movies. For a decent amount of reviewers, the second chapter seems to be aiming for option b, so perhaps that’s why i like it more and that’s just my taste.

Ok. We clearly have different opinions. Fair enough if it works for you. I will say that the first Movie—to me— has just as much distracting CGI as the second, because EVERY appearance of Pennywise (except for maybe the opening) is super CGI and that’s why I don’t find it scary at all. I thought individual moments were cool—the slide show, for example—but I think big-budget horror is unsuccessful because it has a shit-ton of money to make stuff literal that would be more effective if it were left to the imagination. And that’s true of both chapters. I like the second one more because they went more wild with it, and I would agree that the first film had less BIG moments than there are in the second one (and thusly is more restrained). But at least the second one had the balls to go absolutely nuts with its creations, and personally, I would rather have CGI that goes cuckoo fo Cocoa Puffs rather than be bland, which (unfortunately) I felt that Chapter one was in the FX department. As for the kids in Chapter One, I made perhaps the ill-advised decision to watch the first half of the miniseries before the movie dropped. As a result, I couldn’t help but compare the acting (and everything else). I liked the kids in the miniseries more, but it’s personal opinion. I don’t want to ramble any more than I already have. For whoever likes these movies, great! I just don’t think one is better than the other and they both slightly miss the mark for me in different ways.

I read It when I was 12 going on 13(!), which is almost 32 years ago. From what I remember, the book, miniseries and film all have the same basic horror set pieces (including the fortune cookies). Both the film and the miniseries are equally over-the-top with it. I agree that the adult half has more flaws, but as someone who has dealt with traumatic shit (both as a kid and as an adult), I found it WAY more interesting than the kids stuff, perhaps because the kids section also had Stephen King’s upteenth representation of a bully along with the monster, etc. The reason I don’t think it was restrained was that it was overpacked with stuff. This may be a controversial opinion, but I actually like the first half of the TV miniseries better than the first film. The second (adult) half of the TV miniseries sucks—and the second film, no matter what you think of it, is a VAST improvement over the TV counterpart. But the TV version of The first half (although far from flawless) manages to compress the kids’ story in a way that I found much more satisfying. Also—and this might be REALLY unpopular—I found some of the kids in It Chapter One ...annoying. I won’t identify them, i liked some of the performances in the first film. I was just happier to watch Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgård and James Ransone rip it up rather than watch those particular (again, unidentified) kids. That's why I liked the second movie better. Feel free to tell me to go fuck myself now !

I will just add that both this show and Fateful Findings were AWESOME! Good work to Paul, Jason and June and everyone else involved for delivering kick-ass shows. Hopefully they will both be aired, but if not, I got some great memories from them.

I hope the second Seattle show of HDTGM has sold out because it deserves to be. Last I heard, they were still trying to sell tickets. I just watched The Visitor (which is the film they will be covering) and loved it (it’s available for free on Hoopla). Here’s what I said about it on HDTGM’s Twitter feed: I am going to this show and just watched The Visitor. It is fucking insane!!! Come for Shelley Winters singing racist songs, stay for a bonkers sci-fi take on The Omen(?) RECOMMENDED!!!!!! Oh, and John Huston, Sam Peckinpah and Lance Henriksen are all a part of this mix as well! That’s my attempt at free PR. I’m taking the day off from work on Monday so I can be a part of this cultural event. You should too!

Just checked it. It is! Here’s the preview, where Rusty Cundieff introduces the film. It’s also very funny.

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay—I was actually at a HDTGM double feature last night (of Fateful Findings and The Visitor) and it was fucking awesome! The team and the audience brought it. I got some merch. I took the day off and slept in. Anyway, my choice is Rusty Cundieff’s Fear of a Black Hat (1993). The film is a mockumentary (ala Spinal Tap) about N.W.H., a fictional hardcore rap group. It’s not a film a lot of people have heard of, but I think it’s funny. The director—Rusty Cundieff—had a supporting part in School Daze and went on to work with Michael Moore on one of his TV shows (TV Nation, maybe?) as well as direct several episodes of Chappelle’s Show. He also directed the Tales from the Hood films and a variety of stand up specials. What I’m trying to say—I guess—is expect something that is not afraid to be crass/provocative/fun! it is streaming for free on something called tubi. After you watch it, I would suggest checking YouTube for the deleted scenes and videos. It’s also a dvd that’s worth tracking down via library or wherever you get them because it has A LOT of bonus stuff that’s very entertaining. Hopefully this works for you. I own this film because I bought it from the local video store that went out of business () and at least I enjoy it, but if you’d like something different, I’m happy to oblige.

I thought the kids were good in the first one and made a strong, cohesive unit, better than the adults did as a team... but I would not call the first film restrained. as for the CGI....pick your poison. It didn’t work for me in the first film at all, sounds like it didn’t work for you in the second. It’s possible it doesn’t work altogether and the movies should have done without it.

That’s exactly what they all liked about it. Haven’t seen the movie, heard the podcast. They all unanimously loved it. So prepare yourself if you think this movie is going to be torn to shreds, because it is celebrated.

I’m giving this a bump because fuck that OTHER Unforgettable movie! This is one that time has unjustly forgotten and it is FUCKING BONKERS.

THANK YOU. I posted the 1996 Unforgettable with Ray Liotta over the summer in hopes they would pick it for Seattle (It was partially shot here and would have been a solid choice). It wasn’t. I was bummed (although I have watched Fateful Findings and it is legit insane, so it should make for a very fun show). In their current HDTGM episode, Paul and June reveal that they had seen the 2017 film (I was going to call it a “version” but the films appear to be completely different),, loved it, already picked it. I’m betting they didn’t want to pick the 1996 Unforgettable in order to avoid confusion. Such is life . I might bump the 1996 film again just for fun. RE: DDF, interesting experiment. I listened to the podcast before watching the film because the film didn’t catch my interest at the time. When I listened to the podcast, I initially sided with Paul but thought Jason and June made interesting arguments. I would have been Team Sanity if I had to choose. I let things cool down, I watched the film a couple of weeks ago. Not only was I surprised at how much I enjoyed it, but I had way more in common with the Team Fred view than Team Sanity. I’ve bought a shirt and am wearing it to the Seattle show.

Is it just me or do Paul’s reactions on the Drop Dead Fred episode and this episode sound conservative, as if a Fox News host has temporarily taken over his body? I’d have to pay more attention to the details, but his sympathy for the mom’s POV in DDF and his badmouthing of the kid here sound weirdly...cranky. Or maybe I’ve just been huffing too much paint.

Finally, a horror movie from 1996 that feels like it came from 1984 and has something for everybody! From Eric Red (writer/co-writer of The Hitcher and Near Dark) comes... A film in which sex, bad special effects and gory death all occur in the first 5 minutes! A startling transition to a bucolic setting that has nothing to do with the first minutes! Mariel Hemingway playing a surprisingly feminist (for a film of this quality), well-rounded character! The best performance by a German Shepherd ever (he could be a good basis for another Monkey Shines debate on animal acting). His character’s name is Thor! He is the hero of the story! Michael Pare IS Mariel Hemingway’s brother who MAY BE a werewolf! Scenes that go on for a beat or 5 too long! Scenes that abruptly transition to the dog and the werewolf’s POV! Scenes in which characters (looking at you, guy in the forest who measures trees at night in the woods and ignores obvious signs of danger THREE TIMES IN A ROW, before getting wolf drool that looks like jizz dropped on him before being spectacularly murdered!) do STUPID, STUPID things! A movie that feels padded at 78 MINUTES!!! Here’s the trailer! Oh, and did I mention that the special effects look bad? Because they do not look good! Available for streaming on Shudder! Truly, this should be a Halloween classic, right up there with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! And Pumpkinhead! Would also make an excellent double feature with Silver Bullet (1985). Love the trailer tag line, too: “It doesn’t have to be Halloween to be THIS scary.” Not 100 % sure if they’re referring to the holiday or the John Carpenter film.

I don’t really think werewolves of either gender look hot, so I’ll take your word for it.:) The special effects were trash for the 90s but would not have been great for the 80s. I believe my quote above reflects how this movie whole-heartedly embraces 80s horror tropes in general.YAY! i thought Michael Pare’s (sorry to be a spoiler but IT’s EXTREMELY FUCKING OBVIOUS) werewolf was such a moron that it was hilarious. His entire rationale for moving back home was so insanely stupid that it made the movie for me. It was icing on the cake. surprisingly, I thought the leads did fairly well for this sort of thing.

Honestly, I think ANYONE who is in a potential HDTGM film who has had a kid die should get a free pass on getting bad-mouthed. It just seems mean and in poor taste. That being said, it seems like Gotti (which I haven’t seen) has SO MUCH MORE to laugh at than Travolta—like its aspirations to be of Goodfellas/Godfather-type stature—that it might be worth a watch.

Plus, on a personal level, I have seizures. The fact that his son died in a pool while having a seizure is fucking heartbreaking.

American Crime Story was unexpectedly GREAT from top to bottom. I really enjoyed his performance in that, too.

This does look terrible. Honestly, I still like John Travolta (and if you hold Scientology against him, he’s WAY less shady than Tom Cruise) and so I just have no desire to see him debase himself this way. I’d watch Gotti, though.:)

P.S. those were supposed to be zombie emojis but now I don’t know what the hell they are.

Hold up—Repo Man was a musical? The Emilio Estevez/Harry Dean Stanton Repo Man? I haven’t watched that in a LONG time. I’ll have to rewatch it—I don’t remember that AT ALL. I won’t totally recap my initial reaction (which I added to the other post last week). It boiled down to: I wanted to like it but it simply didn’t gel for me. I’ve only watched the first 45 minutes because I felt like I had seen what it had to offer and it didn’t appear to really be ramping up to be something different. i still have Epix because I think I forgot to cancel my subscription (and at least I can watch that Ben Kingsley/Jackie Weaver crime show now that’s supposed to be good), so I can still finish Anna. My honest question is, Is it worth it? I guess I found a handful of jokes funny—the film itself had the potential to be really funny—but it seemed like the filmmakers felt like it was enough to set up an amusing situation and then not follow through on the jokes. It seemed like the people behind the movie thought it was more outrageous than it actually was. I didn’t hate it, but It felt weirdly inert. I hope I don’t sound overly grouchy—I’m just burnt-out on zombies and feel like if they aren’t used for more than window dressing in a movie/show, I wish they’d stay dead (which is somewhat hypocritical of me because one of the stories I’m working on involves zombies, but I try to make them more than bullet-fodder). But having said that, I’ll probably still see the Zombieland sequel.

Ok, the link worked and I watched it. Holy shit, it’s like Tommy Wiseau directed the last 30 minutes of Mulholland Drive and stretched it into a 100 minute movie. My only concern was during the final stretch of the film. I was genuinely worried that Neil Breen was autistic or had another disability. As someone who has worked with students with disabilities from kindergarten through high school, I could totally buy that he was trying his best despite a disability. I wouldn’t feel comfortable laughing at this if that were the case, but after doing some research, I didn’t find any articles indicating that this was so. So I guess we can all laugh away? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Ok, there a LOT of posts on here and in the interest of full disclosure, I have not read read them all. Also in the interest of full disclosure, I had not seen this movie and my first exposure was through (1) The preview, (2) Roger Ebert’s scathing review and (3) the HDTGM podcast (which was my favorite episode so far, other than Death Spa). i waited until last week so I could forget the podcast and form an unbiased opinion. I was going to try and be fair, but based on Paul’s presentation, I went into the movie expecting to hate it and align with Team Sanity. After I watched the movie, I listened to the episode again. Although I take issue with Jason and June’s assertion that Phoebe Cates has healed herself at the end (I think every character in the movie still needs COPIOUS amounts of psychotherapy by the time the credits roll. There is not one clearly defined “sane” person in this picture, and I say that as someone who has dealt with mental health issues on a personal level)... I was shocked to find myself aligned with Team Fred. I have purchased a shirt and will wear it to next week’s Seattle show (if it arrives by then). I echo Jason’s statement in that I throughly expected this film to be trash and was surprised to find how much I liked it. I won’t break down every detail because it has been talked over so much. I will say I found Paul’s defense of the mother shocking, especially because the mother basically abducts Phoebe Cates in the film’s opening moments because she feels like she knows what’s best for her twenty-something daughter (and Paul never really talked about the mother doing that during the episode, which in retrospect seems like a purposeful choice). That’s not what a “nice” mom would do. Phoebe Cates is not spiraling out of control at that point. I could honestly see Darren Aronofsky using the mother/daughter relationship in Drop Dead Fred as the prototype for the mother/daughter relationship in Black Swan. The main reason i think I enjoyed this film is because it played like Black Swan meets Fight Club filtered through the dream logic of David Lynch. If Dean Stockwell had showed up while singing Roy Orbison into a lightbulb at the end of this movie, I would not have been surprised. Anyway, Team Fred!

I WISH they would do the Ray Liotta/Linda Fiorentino one. It is righteous trash that deserves to be celebrated.

I’m repeating myself but I’ll post this again because it’s relevant: It: Chapter 2 has a Hottie and the Nottie-type dynamic to it (this is not a spoiler, so don’t worry). One of the characters has been carrying a memento of Jessica Chastain’s character around in his wallet for 30+ YEARS. I think we’re supposed to find this sweet—I found it fairly creepy (it doesn’t help that this character is the King of Bland).

It: Chapter 2 has a Hottie and the Nottie-type dynamic to it (this is not a spoiler, so don’t worry). One of the characters has been carrying a memento of Jessica Chastain’s character around in his wallet for 30+ YEARS. I think we’re supposed to find this sweet—I found it fairly creepy (it doesn’t help that this character is the King of Bland).