Scream (1996)

The Scream franchise is a piece of 90's pop culture that I only glimpsed at a distance at the time, I was not watching R rated movies back then. Watching it now Scream tells me that I might almost be ready to embrace some real 1990's nostalgia, in contrast to my present preference for the 1970's.

Scream was considered very inventive at the time of its release, and at the that time it honestly was rather innovative. It was a meta- horror  movie, credited as the first horror film in which the characters in the film had seen other horror films (that's not entirely true, off the top of my head I can site Return of the Living Dead as an example of this from about a decade earlier). The film takes horror movie conventions and lightly satirizes them, while at the same time still working as an example of the genera at which it takes these knowing glances. Interestingly this a Wes Craven film, and Craven of course helped shape many of the horror movie clichés this film and its sequels have fun with. Though Craven had apparently first done this meta sort of thing  in one of his later Nightmare on Elm Street movies, the Scream franchise is where this really took off.

I liked Neve Campbell in this, she's a good actress, and in fact having an actresses of her caliber in these films is itself a meta commentary on earlier slasher and franchise horror films, which of course are known for using lesser caliber actors. Scream has some pretty good 90's names in it, with Courtney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and David Arquette being the best remembered. Of course Drew Barrymore has a memorable cameo role at the beginning of the film, a sequence that really got a lot of pop culture attention at the time and starts the film off strong. The ending of this movie, an even longer extended sequence is also quite good, its the middle that feels a little stretched out and doesn't have all that much to offer. On the whole though certainly this was something of an achievement, it plays well now but seeing it at the time of its initial release you know it packed more of a wallop. ***

Black Christmas (1974)

Canadian produced early slasher film from A Christmas Story director Bob Clark. This is the movie were the genera cliché line "he's calling from inside the house, the killer is inside the house" comes from. The house in this case is a sorority house, the movie begins at the start of Christmas break, and among the sorority girls are Olivia Hussy and Margot Kidder, both seem a little to old for their roles. It keeps things interesting with the killer, who spoiler..... we never learn who he is. The sequences with the community being organized to search for a missing girl, I really liked that, it felt real, their was a civic sense there you don't often associate with horror movies. Smarter then what this genera would become, I recommend it. *** 

St. Vincent (2014)

It's one of the most Joseph Campbellian of all stories, the young man and his mentor, and that's why we keep coming back to it, it's iconic, it's mythic, it's true. In this case the story is of the extremely polite but social awkward son of a recently divorced mother and his crotchety neighbor turned babysitter. You get more of a performance then your used to out of Bill Murray in this, he's not just playing a version of himself like usual, Vincent is more evolved, an actual character. In fact that is the thing I loved most about this movie, the characters, and how they interact with each other. I loved Murray and Jaeden Lieberher together, I loved Naomi Watts Russian prostitute, Chris O'Dowd's ironist priest, and Melissa McCarthy's decent, hard working, conflicted mother. I haven't enjoyed a comedy on a character level so much since maybe She's Out of My League. A treasure this one is. ***1/2

The Creeping Terror (1964)

Widely regarded as one of the worst movies of all time The Creeping Terror is about an alien space craft that crashes in rural California and unleashes a genetically engineered monster upon the populace, a monster that looks like a giant slug by way of Chinese new years dragon, but made out of old rugs. The story of the films creation is more interesting then the film itself, directed, produced, and staring first time filmmaker Vic Savage, the script was by Robert Silliphant, the brother of the popular television writer Stirling Silliphant, who had co-created such hit series as Route 66, and The Naked City. Filmed off and on over the course of about two years Savage sold bit parts in the film to locals in exchange for their investment in it, which is why the monster attacks start to get so repetitive, he is trying to squeeze everybody into the film by having the monster attack him. Savage filmed portions of the film without sound, necessitating a cheesy, after action report narration to hold the movie together and to cover for the audio gaps. As the film neared completion Savage become subject to multiple lawsuits, so he literally just disappeared, apparently dying of liver failure under an assumed name in 1971. Savage's story is the subject of the 2009 book A Hollywood Con Man by Lois A. Wiseman. For those who are curious but don't think they can stand to watch the whole thing unaided, the series Mystery Science Theater 3000 did an episode on the film that would probably make watching it easier. *

The Children Act (2018)

Ian McEwan adapted his own 2014 novel of the same name for this nicely understated film about a serious subject. The Children Act in The Children Act is an actual British law passed in 1989 to guide government agencies, the courts etc. in looking after children's best interests in legal matters. Emma Thompson plays the Honourable Mrs Justice Maye DBE a respected, high profile family court Judge in London. As her long, generally happy, but childless marriage to her husband Jack (Stanley Tucci) is entering a crises, centered on his desire to have an affair due to her lack of sexual interest in him, Justice Fiona May gets assigned a life changing case. Fionn Whitehead is Adam Henry, a devout Jehovah's Witness boy three months shy of his 18th birthday, suffering from Leukemia he is destined to die if he does receive a medical treatment involving blood transfusion, something that is forbidden by his faiths doctrine. Justice May must make a decision that is literally life or death for Adam, and in the end must deal with the consequences of that decision, which are not going to be what she is expecting. It's really an interesting dilemma, the answer might seems obvious at first, but there are implications that go beyond law, or even right and wrong, but to the very core of someone's identity. A really good part for Ms. Thompson and good supporting performances all around. It will make you think. ***1/2

Tombstone (1993)

Text conversation I had with a friend about this movie:

Me: "I'm really surprised how much I'm hating Tombstone."

Friend: "Really?!? I'm surprised by that."

Me: " I just can't get into it, it's very blah. Great cast wasted."

Friend: "Your not into Doc Holliday? I thought it was a lock that you'd like that movie."

Me: "I was expecting to like it to. It is one of those movies that keeps making me think of better movies. Even Open Range is a better movie. I'm about halfway through maybe it will grow on me. Val Kilmer's Doc isn't doing anything for me, though I kind of like Powers Booth's Lee Marvin impression."

*1/2

Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)

With Fahrenheit 11/9 Michael Moore is asking you to find him relevant again. From its very title, a play on Moore's 2004 box office busting documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, and the date on which Donald J. Trump's victory in 2016 election was announced, you already know what you think about this movie. Moore is nothing if not consistent, this movie contains rehashes of his signature bits, such as Moore going to a public place to confront a nemesis, in this case Michigan's state capital building to perform a citizens arrest on it's Republican governor Rick Snyder, invasions of personal space, here spraying polluted water from the city of Flint on the same governors lawn, commiserating with poor people, criticizing powerful people, gallivanting around the country, exhausting his editor, and otherwise preaching to the choir. Fan service in this movie includes Hitler parallels, a digression on Trumps sometimes creepy relationship with his oldest daughter, and playing the theme from the movie The Omen over footage of  Trumps 2016 election night victory party.

Moore can hardly be accused of breaking new ground, both in style and in the movies signature observation, that much of America today is politically broken. Other then Trump, both as problem and symptom of problem, the film seems to lack a central focus and skips around from topic to topic and story to story, poisoned water in Flint, teachers strikes in West Virginia, gun violence in Florida. This movie is a collage, and perhaps of most value long term as a time capsule. Fifty years from now students will be using this movie to cram from their poli-sci test on Trump era America.

For some the most surprising aspect of this movie will be the degree to which Moore goes after Democrats. Institutional bias against Bernie Sanders candidacy during the primaries is explored, the calcified leadership is criticized, even a particularly jarring and poorly executed PR stunt by Barack Obama, involving a glass of water in Flint, is righteously called out. The movie is a call to arms, but not particularly clear on what that in tells, other then that new blood is needed. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is interviewed, as are other defiantly leftist insurgent candidates across the country, largely women and people of color.

There is a certain schizophrenic element to Moore's political approach in this movie, which I actually think many people share as regards their reaction to the 2016 election. He bemoans Hillary's loss, while at the same time implicitly bemoaning Hillary. Moore is one of those Ralph Nader supporters who can never quite forgive himself for Florida in 2000, and while he would love radical change, he will gladly prop up a lackluster establishment to keep the barbarians at bay.

Mr. Moore is still a very capable filmmaker, he brings a 99 year old former Nuremburg prosecutor on screen and you want to weep for the mans service, he shows you a montage of Hawaiians reacting to what ultimately turned out to be a false incoming missile warning and you ask yourself, why have I never seen this presented so well and kinetically before? Moore has a habit of imposing himself too strongly on his material, self regardingly preening in a way that you will seldom see a man that schlubinly do. Fahrenheit 11/9 doesn't climb any new mountains, its not great, but through talent and an interesting array of subject matter it does slide into being a good, and occasionally (for some at least) even thought provoking movie. So I suppose he's a little relevant. ***