A Fistful of Double Features! (Brad's Picks)

I love pairing movies.  Grab Eyes Wide Shut off the shelf and double it with Days of Thunder and see what happens.  Or how about Conquest of the Planet of the Apes with Hell Up In Harlem?  I try a lot of weird Double Features here at the apartment, and I love subjecting my wife & friends to the most gonzo of combos.  Listed below are a few of my favorite mixtures, and a couple I'm dying to try out.

 

5.  The Raid/Dredd:  Two films in which a supreme badass kills his way to the top of a drug cartel's diabolical bunker high-rise.  Perfect examples of thrilling ultraviolence that should not be pitted against each other, but partnered like the exploitation beauties they truly are.

4.  Night of the Creeps/Halloween III:  Who's the go-to action hero of the 1980s?  Schwarzenegger?  Stallone?  Yeah, probably one of those guys.  But who's the go-to action hero of 1980s horror films?  Kurt Russell?  Bruce Campbell?  Yeah, probably them.  But standing right over their shoulders is Tom Atkins.  He never got the fame or the fortune, but this mustached madman did confounded rage like no other.  Whether rising to the challenge of "Thrill Me" in Night of the Creeps or screaming "Turn It Off" to a bunch of kiddie hating druids in Halloween III, Tom Atkins ruled the VHS tapes if not the big screen.  I dare you to watch these wildly weird B Movies back-to-back and not come away a fan for life.

3.  Point Blank/The Limey:  Viewed on their own, Point Blank & The Limey are exceptional examples of crime cinema.  But if you watch The Limey immediately after Point Blank then you will discover a great love letter to the movies.  Having already dabbled with John Boorman's dialog/image layering in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh goes for broke replicating both the dreamy quality of Point Blank as well as the rage motivating his professional thief.  The fine details might be different, trade a chunk of cash for a dead daughter, but The Limey is practically a remake of the Boorman beast.  A bloody brilliant one.

2.  Dirty Harry/Zodiac:  The San Francisco Zodiac Murders grabbed all the sensational headlines of the late 60s/early 70s.  The killer was never apprehended, but the mystery spawned dozens of What If TV movies & True Crime novels.  The most famous spawn being Clint Eastwood's constitution smasher, Dirty Harry.  When bureaucracy and political red tape get in the way, Detective Harry Callahan is there to put his boot on the perp's knee and beat a confession out of him.  A frustrated public response to indiscernible crime perpetuated by media fear mongers.  Decades later, wannabe sleuth Robert Graysmith would write two books detailing the backwards insanity of the Zodiac investigation, and David Fincher's cinematic adaptation actually incorporates the Dirty Harry premiere as a means of punctuating the passage of time.  I have yet to commit this double feature, but I think Dirty Harry could provide some fantastic catharsis after suffering the procedural frustration of Zodiac.

1.  After Hours/Into The Night:  Both of these films are at once absolutely hilarious and deeply depressing in their assault upon their protagonists.  Ever have one of those nights where nothing goes right?  No you haven't.  You might think you have, but after you sit yourself down for these two brutally funny films from Martin Scorsese & John Landis then you'll have a brand new appreciation for your dull, pedestrian life.  Griffin Dunne's nightmare is a little more ordinary than Jeff Goldblum's (certainly fewer David Bowie assassins in After Hours), but both flicks are masterful in their ratcheting of tension. The only release at your disposal is laughter - of the schadenfreude variety.   If you sympathize too much you'll probably go mad after this double feature.

--Brad

Dork Art: I Love You Man!

This weekend, the Brooklyn Bottleneck Gallery is hosting the I Love You Man art show, featuring the great bromances of cinema.  Expect showcases of Ghostbusters, The Three Amigos, Hook, The Boondock Saints, Anchorman, etc.  If you visit SlashFilm you can get a glimpse at the other pieces, but Neal Russler's tribute to David & Jack from John Landis' An American Werewolf in London is my absolute fave.  Terrifying, smiley, beautiful.  I need a print and I need it now.  Just a couple of chums connected by the moon.

BEWARE THE MOON!

--Brad

A Fistful of Bands! (Brad's Picks)

As we learned in Step Up 4 The Revolution, Dance can set a generation free.  The same can be said for music.  Rock, funk, country, rap - whatever style of weapon - we look to a special band of warriors to deliver thumping freedom to the hearts & minds of the young & old alike.  Now, we can argue whether Elvis Presley or The Beatles or Public Enemy really made a difference in this world or not (for the record, I most certainly think they did) but there is no doubt that the world of cinema is radically altered by the actions of a few great musicians.  Spinal Tap.  Sexual Chocolate.  Mumblin' Jim.  Sex Bob-omb.  The Monkees.  These are the bands that affected serious social change in their worlds.  But they are just the honorable mentions.  My true heroes of Techno, Rock, Country, & Blues are as follows....

5.  Autobahn (The Big Lebowski):  They might say they believe in nothing, but they certainly worship the All Mighty Dollar.  This trilogy of terror (& their toeless girlfriend) set into violent motion a brilliant bumbling saga that, at the very least, brought internal change to The Dude and even the creation of life in the inevitable little Lebowski.  Karl Hungus can at least claim that to himself...and Logjammin' imdb credit.

4.  The Cruisers (Eddie & The Cruisers):  The most earnest band on the list, The Cruisers appear to be the second coming of Dylan, Elvis, & The Beatles all wrapped into one.  The best part is the mysterious death of its lead singer, Eddie Wilson.  When he died he apparently took the greatest work of rock poetry with him, their second album A Season in Hell.  This record was going to change the world.  But Eddie got scared.  And then Eddie got dead...or did he?  A plucky reporter will risk life & limb to find the truth as well as that lost, world-changing album.

3.  Banjo & Sullivan (The Devil's Rejects):  Before they were butchered in a nameless field by a demon-made-flesh called Otis, Banjo & Sullivan were a couple of hicks that belted out tunes like "I'm at Home Getting Hammered (While She's Out Getting Nailed)" and "Dick Soup."  Yes.  They were a couple of sadsack crooners, but dammit, they loved to twang some pervo music.  And I loved to listen.  RIP fellas.

2.  The Hong Kong Cavaliers (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension):  Samurai Scientist Buckaroo Banzai is the greatest musician that ever lived.  Not much is made over his night club jam rock; he's too busy saving the world from the Red Lectroids from Planet 10 to show off, but there's real philosophy in his suicide-stopping trumpet rock - "Wherever You Go There You Are..."  Oh yeah, that's deep man.

1.  The Blues Brothers:  They're on a mission from God.  Not much else to say.  Jake steps out of Joliet and into his brothers super charged Bluesmobile - an epic quest to recollect their band and save the orphanage that raised them.  James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker.  The brothers and sisters of American Music fight on the side of right against a plethora of jackass goons.  Car Chases, Pile-ups, State Troopers, Country Bumpkins, and the Illinois Nazis don't stand a chance when the Lord's got your back and you've got a briefcase full of blues.  Badass supreme with a side of rubber biscuit.

--Brad

Dork Art: Bruce White's Velvet Painting For Your Inner Nerd

Bruce White's Velvet Paintings For Your Inner Nerd have been making the Internet rounds of late, but it wasn't until I saw the above celebration of Mr. Miyagi that I my brain exploded.  I seriously need this for my bedroom.  Sure I can get The Wife to agree.

--Brad

Dork Art: An American Werewolf in London Showdown

Another classic Scott C great showdown featuring a couple of American backpackers and one angry English werewolf.  Win.

--Brad

Two Fistfuls Of Favorites! (Brad's Picks)

Where Matt might not have been a List Guy until I forced him to put his favorite films together, I've always obsessed over what films are better than the other.  What are the best horror films?  What are the best crocodile movies?  What's the best use of a cigarette in cinema?  (Answer, Dan Aykroyd's butt in Ghostbusters).  When I was a kid my favorite movie was The Empire Strikes Back.  And then for a little while it was Predator.  The Top Ten I have now has not changed much in the last ten years or so.  But recently, after seeing a couple of these flicks on the big screen at AFI Silver and E Street Cinema, I've had to do quite a bit of rearranging.

10.  Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979):  Late last year I finally rewatched the Alien saga on blu ray (thanks to the Wife and her Egg purchase) and I came away thinking that 1) Ridley Scott's Alien is the scariest damn slasher movie ever made and 2) the reason this film kicks so much unholy ass is the crew of The Nostromo.  These Space Truckers are real.  They know each other.  They love each other.  They hate each other.  And they are gonna get home once they get their credit.  Too bad about that whole HR Giger beastie stalking about the gothic corridors.

9.  Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957):  Never has a film been filled with so much rank and hate and it's both hilarious and terrifying.  Burt Lancaster is a monster as JJ and Tony Curtis is the best little weasel...poor sucker.  There really isn't a nice character in the movie and that's what is so damn wonderful about the whole experience.  If you haven't picked up the Criterion Blu from last year than do yourself a favor and bask in its horror.

8.  The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension (W.D. Richter, 1984):  Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai is the coolest, most badass Rock 'n' Roll Scientist on the planet.  Thank God we have him on our side to battle John Whorfin's red aliens freed from The 8the Dimension.  And like the crew of the Nostromo, his Regulators are a bunch of cool cats you need to party with.

7.  Point Blank (John Boorman, 1967):  Lee Marvin's Walker wants one thing, his money.  Do not get in his way.  If you're his wife, forget it.  If you're his lover, forget it.  If you're revenge, forget it.  Just give him his money.  And John Boorman directs the Hell outta Richard Stark's The Hunter splashing his insanity all over the script in bright psychedelic colors.

6.  Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982):  I don't even know what to say.  I love Star Trek.  I love Shatner.  And I love them so much I can't even talk about them with the slightest bit of rationality.  Wrath of Khan is the ultimate statement on these characters, it's a great reverse revenge film and, the ending...no matter how much the later film's negate its greatness, still packs a heavy emotional wallop.  "I feel young." I can cry just thinking about Kirk looking at the Genesis planet.

5.  Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975):  The First A Budget B Movie Summer Blockbuster and it rocked (destroyed?) cinema.  But it's a damn fine time out at the movies.  However, for all its creepy John Williams score and Hitchcockian shark attacks, Jaws is all about the relationship between Scheider, Dreyfuss, and Shaw--singing "Show Me The Way To Go Home/I'm Tired And I Want To Go To Bed." Plus, it doesn't get much better than Shaw's monologue on the USS Indianapolis.

4.  Miller's Crossing (The Coen Brothers, 1990):  I love the Coen Brothers.  And I love their pornographic lusting for gangster lingo.  What's it all mean?  Something about a hat.  Sure, okay.  Gabrielle Byrne is a cold mutha, and really just loves Albert Finney more than his moll.  He'd go to war with anybody and everybody to keep Leo on top.

3.  The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982):  Put simply, the greatest monster movie ever made.  Everything works.  The cast.  The direction.  The effects.  The Score.  The climax.  I could watch this movie every month for the rest of my life and never get bored...okay, that might be hyperbole but I watch it at least four times a year.

2.  An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981):  Beware The Moors.  John Landis' love letter to the hirsute Universal Monster is darn funny...but it's mostly scary and sad.  Honestly, it doesn't get more tragic than the relationship between David & Nurse Price (va va va voom, Jenny Agutter...excuse the Tex Avery wolf tongue) and even though I chuckle throughout at the naked American man stealing balloons and Griffin Dunne's zombie I finish the film feeling pretty damn melancholic.

1.  Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992):  Is there a better Western?  Sure.  Is there a better Clint Eastwood Western?  Maybe.  But this was the first Western I ever saw in the theater and it was one of the first "Grown Up" movies to rock my tiny 13 year old mind.  Eastwood is just a good guy who was once bad...uh, no.  He's a horrible human being hiding from his nature and Unforgiven takes two hours to reawaken the beast within.  An amazing bit of scripting from Blade Runner's David Webb Peoples and Clint Eastwood has never been better as director, even though he keeps trying.  Oh, and Gene Hackman at his monstery best.

--Brad