The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

 'The Slumber Party Massacre' is another movie we recently recorded an episode on for 'Rob and Nate Record a Podcast'. Roger Corman produced slasher film is probably one of the better 'Halloween' knock offs. Directed by a woman, Amy Holden Jones, it has a slight knowing edge to it, an element of subtle satire and the film is simply better then it needed to be, which I apricated. **1/2.

The Lighthouse (2019)

 I didn't love 'The Lighthouse', I was surprised, thought I was going to to like it more. I was very impressed by director Robert Eggers previous film 'The Witch', I thought that was a very strong and creepy debut and it stayed with me. 'The Lighthouse' on the other hand didn't do much for me, though I liked the look of the thing and strong performances from Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. However as a whole it just didn't resonate, though I don't think I was in the right mood for this kind of film when I watched it, so I may have to give it another go at some point. **1/2

Halloween II (1981)

 Recorded a whole episode about 'Halloween II' on the podcast (Rob and Nate Record a Podcast) so I'm not going to say much about it other then I liked the pacing, I liked the feeling of logical outgrowth from the original film, didn't love the Meyer's family twist at the end. Still ***

The Trail of the Chicago 7 (2020)

This film was made for Netflix but I actually saw it in the theater, where I was the lone person in my showing. Originally intended as a theatrical release to be directed by Steven Spielberg, he eventually dropped out and directorial duties were taken over by the films writer Aaron Sorkin, who does a capable job. 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' is the story about what was essential a show trail, the trail of what was going to be 10, then it was 8 and later 7 anti war activists accused of actively plotting and causing the riots in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic convention. 

I had been vaguely aware of this story for I don't know how long and then years ago I saw a documentary called 'Chicago 10', which included celebrity voiced computer animated depictions of actual court dialogue, it was practically a plea that a feature length film on the subject be made. It's hard to think of a more appropriate writer to take something like this on then Aaron Sorkin, our greatest dramatist when it comes to inspiring at liberal virtue. 

The film has a great cast including the newly re-relevant Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as a redeemable prosecutor) and John Carroll Lynch (always happy to see him). The film also boasts at least two likely acting nominees come Oscar time, Mark Rylance as the lead defense lawyer, and Frank Langella as the judge (I really hope he gets the award). 

This is strong, old fashion Oscar bate stuff and I really enjoyed it, best picture I've seen so far this year, which admittingly hasn't been many. ****

 One of the chief criticisms of Donald Trump in this election is his handling of the Corona virus, with over 228,000 American's having died of it so far. The United States has by far the most deaths from this condition, the next highest is Brazil with almost 157,000 deaths. Now one of the most common counters I have heard of this criticism is that the United States numbers are so high because we have such a large population and our relative performance should be based on per capita death not total population. This is not an unreasonable position, so let's do a comparison. 

The nation of Japan has a population of 126.5 million people and 1,748 reported deaths from Corona virus (it should also be noted that Japan's population is older then ours). So with a population of around 38% that of the United States 328.2 million lets triple Japans number of deaths and we would come to a total of 5,244 if Japan was the size of the United States. So with 228,000 deaths the United States death rate is more then 43 times that of Japan. I think this nation could do better then 43 times worse then Japan. 

I do not think the President has done a good job on Corona virus and of course I know there are extenuating factors, he's not in control of everything, others have responsibilities on this ect.  However Harry Truman used to say of the presidency that the buck stops here, which is the exact opposite of Donald Trump's attitude to anything that is not overwhelmingly positive. Now this probably won't change anybody's mind but hopefully it adds some perspective.  

Digging For Fire (2015)

 A packed cast and seemingly little plot I expected that 'Digging for Fire' was going to be a high end whack at 'mumblecore' but it seems too highly thought out for that. The story is actually surprisingly complicated, though at the same time arguably not much happens. A couple with a young son (Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt, PE teacher and Yoga instructor respectively) are staying at a nice, presumably Topanga Canyon home of one of the latter's clients who is in Hungry filming a movie. This is with the home owners knowledge, it was arranged as a kind of treat, a mini-vacation. Anyway Jake Johnson is poking about on the land, finds a rusted pistol and what looks like a human bone. The police are seemingly uninterested but Jake becomes kind of obssesed, so when Rosemarie takes their three year old to her parents so she can have a girls night out, Jake invites some of his friends over for beer, barbeque and digging. 

Despite the set up of the mystery the couple stumbles upon this film isn't really about that, it's about their relationship, a mixture of the rocky and the strong. This movie goes in some unexpected directions, I liked it's looseness, I liked how unconventional this is, it's hard to think of something else that is really like this movie, and of course the cast is amazing. Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Orlando Bloom, Sam Elliott, Judith Light, Ron Livingston, Melanie Lynskey, Jenny Slate, though some appear only for a scene or two. So if your good with something lose and in the mood for something different, I really enjoyed both how unusual and how oddly laid back this movie is. **1/2

Winter Passing (2005)

 A film in which Zooey Deschanel drowns a cat, granted there is context, but she still drowned a cat. Will Farrell is in this as well, about 2 years after 'Elf', he and Deschanel fail to recapture what chemistry they had in the earlier film though here they are not a romantic coupling. 'Winter Passing' is a kind of vaguely arty, indy type film about an estranged grown daughter reuniting with her eccentric writer father (Ed Harris), there are a smattering of other films this reminds me of, all of which seemed to do it better, including 'Pieces of April', 'Wonder Boys', even 'Eulogy'. Still 'Punching Pilot' is a great name for a Christian rock band, even if they did get too Ska. **

Big Hero 6 (2014)

 Synergy the movie. 'Big Hero 6' is a hybrid of Disney animated fair and a Marvel movie, loosely based on a Marvel property. It's a super hero team origin story set in an alternate, futuristic San Francisco with high Asiatic influences, almost like we are seeing the place a century after the Japanese won World War II, but quickly became multi-culturalists. I can see why kids would like this but it never really spoke to me, even nostalgically, I'm simply not it's audience. It would spawn a TV series, which is appropriate because this felt like a pilot movie. **

Infinity Baby (2017)

 Of all the Bob Byington films I've seen this one had the hardest time hooking me, though I did like the ending. 'Infinity Baby' is a surreal relationship comedy built on the hook of a company 'Infinity Baby' tasked with finding homes for 1,200 or so babies that do not age because of a genetic experiment gone wrong. Weird, kind of gross concept, but the movie is less about that then about the personal lives of a group of people associated with the company including Kieran Culkin, Martin Starr and Kevin Corrigan. I thought Trieste Kelly Dunn, who I was not familiar with, extremely cute. Byington's casting is usually very good and he often gives lesser known actresses big parts. Filmed in black and white. **

Ice Station Zebra (1968)

 'Ice Station Zebra' is classic Saturday matinee fair, the kind of movie my father loved. The film got poor to middling reviews when it came out and I wasn't expecting to like it much but wanted to see it because again it is the kind of movie my dad loved, and I like to watch those to remember him, as well as it's being a pretty big title from a solid director (John Sturgess) and boasting a good cast (Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, and Patrick McGoohan in a rarish film role). This is a largely submarine based cold war espionage movie, and is best when it's on the submarine, the scenes before the mission and after the arrival at the titular ice station didn't work as well for me (the production design for the artic set is extremely dated and fake, almost distractingly unconvincing). I don't think there is a single woman in this picture, even in the bar sequence at the beginning of the movie. The film is still good, better then I thought it would be, but it could really use some editing, cutting 15 to 20 minutes off its 150 minute running time would have helped a lot. Still *** 

The Magician (1958)

 'The Magician' is a lesser known Bergman work about a troupe of traveling hucksters in 1846 Sweden who spend a long night and day at the residence of duke, where a local doctor and sheriff attempt to provoke them and many a grievance is aired between characters. Max von Sydow plays a mute. I love drama's of confined spaces and Bergman psycho drama, unusual setting, solid performances. I was lead to believe this was one of Bergman's worst films and the attendant low expectations probably helped in the film in my estimation, but I thought it was really solid. The day I saw it I would have given it 4 stars, thinking on it awhile I'm dropping that down to ***1/2 but its still really good. 

Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk (2017)

 The directorial debut of Eric Stoltz and adapted by Tony DuShane from his novel of the same name 'Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk' certainly has an at least semi-autobiographical quality to it. This is the story of the awaking, sexually and otherwise, of Gabe (a solid, grounded performance by Sasha Feldman, who comes across as a dramatically weightier version of Jay Baruchel) a young JW gowning up in 1980's California. This movie really felt real to me, mostly episodic it feels like it's carrying some real childhood baggage. Of especial interest is it's focuses on the heavy control the Jehovah's Witness organization keeps on its members, and how brutally hard they can clamp down on something as innocent as a boy and a girl holding hands. The relationship between Gabe and his cousin Karen is legitimately... we'll say uncomfortable. I was rather impressed with this. ***

Akira (1988)

 I'm not an anime guy, other then the films of Hayao Miyazaki or the occasional more serious subject matter like the Hiroshima film 'In This Corner of the World' it's not a genera or style that I visit often. I was however aware of 'Akira' a 1988 film that is considered a classic of it's type, so I decided to go to a revival showing at a local theater (making this only the third film I've seen in the theater since March, and the second revival showing). This takes awhile to get going but I was surprised how good it was, especially visually. 

Set in 2019 there is a lot going on here, rival motorcycle gangs, intrigue in the Japanese government, children with telekinetic powers, labor unrest, a religious cult, the aftermath of the third world war and preparations for another ill fated 2020 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo. The whole thing, but especially the ending is worth seeing on the big screen. Apparently periodic attempts have been made at making a live action version of this story, but I don't see how they could top the visuals, best to keep it as it is, and for what it is it's ***1/2.

Jasper Mall (2020)

 I enjoy those dead mall videos on Youtube especially Dan Bell's, the documentary 'Jasper Mall' (which indecently has been endorsed by Dan Bell) can be considered kind of a longer version of one of those. Unlike the YouTube video's this movie seems to have been made over the course of at least one year and you get something you don't get from the internet video's, you get to know some of the regular patrons, tenants and employees of the mall over a decent period of time. It's kind of like a portrait of a small town. I'm sure that the film makers interviewed more people then appear in the final product but elected to present subjects of focus who had the best 'arc's.'

A 'dead mall' by the way is loosely defined as a mall on its downward slop in terms of business, I'd say any mall that has less then 50% occupancy of it's retail space can probably be referred to as a dead mall. The Jasper Mall is a one story 1980's vintage mall in the smallish town of Jasper, Alabama, the mall manager interestingly is an Australian former zoo keeper. Other recurring 'characters' in the film include a florist who is one of the malls longest surviving tenants, and a young interracial couple who we meet in their senior year of high school and follow through eventual amicable breakup as they both prepare to leave town. I found it a rather pleasant film but it is nitch, if you enjoy dead malls and slower paced character studies you'll probably like it. ***

Feeding Frenzy (2010)

From the folks at Red Letter Media 'Feeding Frenzy' is an homage/satire of those 1980's puppet/monster movies like 'Gremlins' and 'Critters'. Tighter then their later feature 'Space Cop' I enjoyed it, though it's definitely on a tight budget and its certainly nitch in its sensibilities as well as little bit gross. **1/2