Rolling Thunder (1977)

I have been trying to see this movie for a while. It's actually not readily available yet on DVD, so when I had some free time on a Sunday evening and saw that it was on our cable's On Demand, so I decided to go for it. Quentin Tarantino has long cited it as one of his top ten (or 12) movies, even as recently as this year when the new Sight and Sound Director's Poll came out, he cited it once again (check out his list it's usually one of the most interesting at least to me. And bless Matthew Vaughn for putting Rocky III on his list-the one's that go off the beaten path, so to speak, are always the most interesting. Anyway, I should have written a post about the Sight and Sound poll months ago, so I will continue...) Anyway, Rolling Thunder, where William Devane returns from Vietnam where he was imprisoned for years in a POW camp along with a young Tommy Lee Jones. He returns to San Antonio and the town gives him a bunch of pieces of silver, one for each day he was away. Then some redneck thugs steal his silver, mangles his hand, and kills his family and the last part of the movie is him exacting his revenge on said thugs. It's written by Paul Schrader who also wrote Taxi Driver, and there are a few similarities between those movies. This movie is a lot more open about the torture Devane endured in the camps, showing a bunch in flashback, while in Taxi Driver it was only hinted at - just showing Travis Bickle's scars when his shirt is off. But Devane's character is a lot less nuts until he is pushed over the edge and decides to enact revenge. I looked up Paul Schrader because I thought for sure he must have been in Vietnam but I couldn't find any evidence of it, but he definitely spent a good portion of the seventies in a depression and these movies seem to be the product of it. That being said, Rolling Thunder seems to be more of the straight forward, pulpier companion piece to Taxi Driver, and it's good at being the lean revenge thriller it's trying to be. Oh also. Tommy Lee Jones as another vet who is returning home from a camp, he is at his Tommy Lee Jones(iest) being the more strong, silent type. If anyone is the more Travis Bickle character here, it's probably him really. It's well worth a look if you happen upon it.

-Kevin

The Parallax View (1974)

The Parallax View is one of a small bunch of movies in the 70's, like The Conversation, which were made and came out around the time that Watergate was heating up. So hence, the idea of government conspiracies and cover-ups, and of people spying, were bubbling up pretty close to the surface. Overall this is a great, paranoid piece of 70's work where Warren Beatty plays the dogged journalist (shades of Woodward and Bernstein) who tries to uncover the truth about a series of assassinations that had been happening around the country. On the one hand, I liked the paranoid thriller, there is a pretty great twist ending to it all, and there is also a virtuoso 5 minute scene in the middle where the corporation that trains the assassins (or finds people to be assassins, so to speak), shows Beatty, who is pretending to want to be a trainee, a film that is supposed to suss out whether or not he is up to the job. You'd think for five minutes the film would stop cold, but it is a really eerie set piece as this film that Beatty is supposed to be watching is shown in it's entirety, and it really gets across the worldview of the people behind the conspiracy. it's really amazing. I'd put in a video of it, but if you ever decide to watch the movie I'd want  you to catch it by surprise like I (sort of) did. On the other hand, and I guess this happens in any movie or TV show where one or two people are the only people looking for THE TRUTH, it's natural to think that a conspiracy like this would surely just fall down under the weight of how big it is. And also people seemed to be getting murdered or assassinated at an alarming rate in this movie's America, you'd think there would be more than one journalist on this case. But, then again, after a year like 1968 and with Watergate going on, maybe people really did think (or maybe it was the truth) that only a handful of people were actually looking for the real truth truth behind what was going on. Wow, this 70's conspiracy thriller really made me think!

I was inspired, one night, to watch it because of this AV Club list. But, again, don't watch that part that they talk about in detail there!

-Kevin

Reading Roundup

I realized just recently that I have gotten backed up on the books I have read towards my 25/50 project and there is only a little more than a month left in the year, so I need to get moving. At this rate I am going to start reading whatever my youngest nephew is reading (Everybody Poops!) and just calling it a day. But I am SO CLOSE to doing this, so without further adieu, hopefully I am on the home stretch:

The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K. Dick (18/25 books)

Only Phillip K. Dick would write an alternate history book where the Allies won the (longer) second World War. And inside his alternate history book, the people and characters' in his book's favorite book is an alternate history book where the Allies won the Second World War. It's enough to make your head spin. It takes place in 1962, 15 years after the Axis won World War II because of an ill prepared United States and now there is intrigue between the Axis powers and how they are going to  or if they are going to strike against each other. It's all pretty fascinating, but I was (Spoiler!) a little let down by it's open ended conclusion. I hear Dick had planned a sequel for years but had never gotten around to it.

Deliverance by James Dickey (19/25 books)

Over the Summer, looking in my parents' basement, I found a bunch of books they had stuck away in their bookshelves down there (great story!) I remember growing up always seeing a copy of Deliverance on the shelf, and I realized reading a fellow blogger's review of the book that I had never actually read it myself. For some reason I thought I had (this story continues to fascinate, I am sure) In one of those rare instances, this book is just as good as the movie, a movie, I might add, that I love. I actually would like to read about James Dickey himself, because he is supposed to be a fascinating character and there is a couple books about him floating around out there (one of which is written by his son). ANYWAY, yeah the book is just as good as the movie and includes a section before and after their trip that the movie doesn't cover. I especially liked the prologue where the men are meeting up in Atlanta to talk about their trip and their reasons for going and what not, it really helps set up and deliver (ha!) on the rest when they can't escape to civilization from their predicament. Great stuff.

The Human Stain by Philip Roth (20/25 books)

Just in time to Philip Roth to announce he is retiring, I read my second Philip Roth book! He is considered one of America's greatest writers and it is not hard to see why. For one thing I didn't realize that the narrator here, Nathan Zuckerman, actually appears in other Philip Roth books I haven't read yet, like American Pastoral, which, to me, is actually kind of cool. But he plays the narrator telling the story of a friend of his, Coleman Silk, who is actually the main character and it his story that is slowly revealed through the book. It's a really interesting book that initially plays out with the Bill Clinton sex scandal as a background but goes deep into not only University/academic politics but also race and class. It plays out like a mystery with the narrator only doling out bits and pieces of information as the novel goes on, slowly doling out the whole picture. I found it pretty fascinating, like it seems a lot of other people did, I am sure others might find it overwrought.

Communion by Whitley Strieber (21/25 books)

So Whitley Strieber himself is a fascinating character to me, he's a writer, a screenwriter, and then one day, in the eighties he releases a supposedly true book about his abduction by aliens (later made into a movie starring Christopher Walken). He is fascinating, I can't say his writing style is that compelling. At least here, I'd like to try some of his fiction stuff because it sounds like he has done some interesting stuff. I particularly want to find this one called Warday that deals with the aftermath of a nuclear war (written in the 80's again) Now this novel, it is interesting but something about the way he writes just irks me. Also I am sure he is a huge liar like the guy that wrote about his haunted house in The Amityville Horror. it's fun to imagine but I think he just went to his ski cabinet and drank a lot of scotch and then voila: Communion! 

-Kevin

Skyfall (2012)

Being late to the game in internet terms, a whopping five days after its US premiere, a lot of this has already been said about the new Bond movie: overall I liked it, but I didn't love it. It left me hoping that the next Daniel Craig-Bond movie will be the real "Bond Is Back" moment. I feel like the last three Bond movies have been setting up for just that moment, but we don't quite reach it in Skyfall.

Skyfall lies somewhere in between Casino Royale, which I love, and Quantum Of Solace, which I didn't care for. Sam Mendes has learned to shoot an action sequence where previously in Quantum Of Solace, every action sequence was wasted with whatever he was trying to do with a camera.  The action sequences here, especially the initial one, are done really well.  Someone gave him really good advice on how to film them.

I will just add my same opinion to the top of the same cinematography opinion pile - the film looks amazing thanks to venerable cinematographer Roger Deakins. I wouldn't be surprised if he got an Oscar nomination for this, which would be funny after all the dazzling work he's done with the Coen Brothers (No Country For Old Men, True Grit).

Every actor nails his/her part. Daniel Craig should just be James Bond and not get distracted by other movies. I initially liked Javier Bardem as the villain, Silva. In theory he had a really good reason for wanting revenge. He was at his best when he spouts off an insane monologue about rats. But his story arc was weirdly wasted in making it too personal, too narrow.

I was excited for the final battle on the Scottish moors, which again looked amazing when the muted blues and grey erupted into fiery yellows and orange (the ice scene - breathtaking!), but it had too many people along for the ride.  And the stakes seemed pretty low when it was simply two people fighting to the death.

In conclusion there is a lot to like, even more to love, and with all the components finally coming into place (the new Q, Miss Moneypenny), I feel like they are getting closer and closer to something more thrilling. There was a brief scene where he fights in a pit with some Gila monsters that has a payoff that felt like something out of the Roger Moore era where he could have been running across some rubber alligators like in Live and Let Die.

I just hope that every subsequent Bond venture from now on doesn't focus on him trying to overcome childhood trauma but rather puts it all behind him and gets down to the ass-kicking business. 

Oh, and our generation's sake, Adele should do all the Bond themes from now on thankyouverymuch.



-Kevin

Argo (2012)

Well, Ben Affleck continues to prove that he is most definitely better as a director than as an actor. To be fair, he is three for three for me now. And he's not bad as an actor for sure, but even in his own movie he is probably the weakest link. I'm not sure how closely he worked with the casting director (I am assuming a lot) but one thing he has an eye for is filling this movie with amazing actors and character actors, including people we haven't seen in a long time, from Kyle Chandler and Bryan Cranston to Phillip Baker Hall to John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Clea Duvall and relative newcomer Scoot McNairy as one of the hostages who has a great arc. Simply put: this is just really great entertainment that turns into a suspenseful white knuckler in the last part of it. The thing that makes it really successful is Affleck is able to keep it suspenseful even though the ending is a foregone conclusion, it's in the public record we can all look it up, but it's still suspenseful, which I think is a good trick. Because if it wasn't it would just be boring, and it never was.

Also, until the nineties when this story was declassified the Canadians, who did play a big part, got ALL the credit for this operation. This isn't important to what I think of the movie but thinking of Canada will ALWAYS make me think of this:



-Kevin

Guest Post: Scareway To Heaven

Thank you for reading my guest blog post (at least the first line)!

I love Halloween so much, mostly because of all of the scary shit that comes with it. Like the AMC horror movie marathon! I don’t understand why they can’t do that all year. I realize that Fearnet exists, but most of the movies on Fearnet totally blow and it’s not the same. Just because people like horror movies doesn’t mean that they will blindly consume the worst movies ever. We have standards. Step up your game, Fearnet.

Anyway, for my blog post, I wanted to write about something that I always notice and appreciate, but have never taken the time to sit and think about carefully: the use of popular music in scary movies and books. By popular music I don’t mean pop music (necessarily). Rather, I’m referring to music that isn’t part of the film score or that wasn’t written specifically for the film; the use of “real” songs, presumably written with some other intention, that are repurposed or transformed to accompany or portend horrible things.

For me, the reason the use of popular music is so effective is because it takes a song that you’ve likely heard before, maybe even one that you have on your iPod, and uses your familiarity with it to pull you further into the story. It brings an element of realism that serves to remind the viewer that this could happen to you, too.

I started off really trying my best to make a top 10 list that didn’t oversample from Stephen King but I failed and so this list really oversamples from Stephen King. I was very disappointed that I couldn’t find the actual clips from many of these movies…when I could, I included them. Otherwise I posted just the song.

Speaking of Stephen King, let’s talk about him for a hot second. I LOVE Stephen King. His books are really good. When his stories are in the hands of capable filmmakers you get the best movies ever (Carrie, The Shining, Stand by Me, Shawshank Redemption, Misery, etc…). When his stories are made into miniseries, they tend to have some snippets of awesomeness amidst hours of garbage. Or they are really good leading up to the end and then they fall flat and regardless of whether or not you’ve read the book you feel like you kinda got effed in the a because you spent so many hours invested in this awesome story and then the payoff is lame (It, The Stand). Whatever you think of Stephen King’s stuff, you should know that he is a fucking master of incorporating popular music into his stuff.

So here are my favorite uses of popular music in scary movies/books in no particular order other than that I start with the books. I’m sorry that I didn’t include "American Girl" as used in Silence of the Lambs in this list, but when I think of that I really think of Fast Times.

  

1.)   Bad Moon Rising – CCR (as used in the novel The Shining by Stephen King)

Just under halfway through the book, we’re presented with a scene in which Wendy and Danny are driving in a truck to get supplies before the first big snowstorm hits the Overlook. Wendy talks with Danny about leaving the Overlook before it’s too late (i.e., before the snow comes) and staying with her mother for the winter instead. Danny says no 1.) because he’s afraid his dad will get pissed (and he’s probably right - I think we all know what goes down when Jack Torrance gets pissed) and 2.) because he knows that Wendy’s mother makes her feel bad. Why a child has so much decision-making power in this situation is kind of weird, but he’s like a psychic magical child so I would probably listen to him too. Anyway, it’s during this car ride that it’s decided that Wendy and Danny will stay at the Overlook with Jack for the duration of his employment. And what’s playing on the radio? Bad Moon Rising by CCR! Could there be a more perfect song to be playing in the car? No, there really couldn’t be. Even though the song isn’t featured in the Kubrick movie (I don’t remember if it’s in the miniseries or not) I still always associate it with the CCR song, all because of this short, but pivotal, 4-page chapter in the book.

2.)   My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) – Neil Young (as used in the novel It by Stephen King)

Unlike Bad Moon Rising, which is used very briefly in The Shining, My My Hey Hey is interwoven through much of the latter half of It – when they’re adults going back to Derry for the epic battle. The song is used as an epigraph to at least one chapter, but more salient for me, is its use as the characters descend back into the sewers as adults to face what’s haunted them their whole lives. If you have read a Stephen King book, then you are probably familiar with his writing style, which sometimes presents characters’ inner thoughts as a sort of stream of consciousness - probably what our thoughts might actually look like if we tried to articulate them without a filter. In this stream of consciousness format, the lyrics to My My Hey Hey (particularly the line “Out of the blue and into the black...”) are used over and over and as a result, I have a strong association between the song and the book It. If I think about it in the context of the It miniseries, the song doesn’t work really But when you’re invested in the book, and the characters are going back as adults to face the thing they’re most scared of, knowing that their lives will never be the same (and when it doesn’t seem at all silly that they’re facing serious psychological repercussions from fighting It when they were kids) then the song really fits.

3.)   Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan (as used in Zodiac)

I really love the movie Zodiac. I’m obsessed with true crime stories because they’re kind of like survival guides, a “what I wish I’d known then” as written by victims. I don’t think Zodiac is technically considered a horror movie because it’s a true story so maybe it gets classified as a drama or something. But I think the fact that it’s true makes it so that it should be considered even more of a horror movie. For the longest time when I thought of Donovan I thought of happy hippies frolicking in the grass. No more! Now I think of serial killers. Hurdy Gurdy Man is used at the beginning of the movie as the couple in the car talk about getting it on. I think what makes it so creepy is that the couple’s fate is being decided by the Zodiac killer right as the song is playing. Think of all the times you’ve sat in a car and listened to the radio…like a million, right? For some people that song on the radio as they sit in the car is the last song they’ll hear. Now, in real-life, was the couple listening to Hurdy Gurdy Man? Probably not. But, they were probably listening to something on the radio.

Another reason I really like the use of this song is because I think it characterizes the time period well.

I can’t find a link that shows the opening scene but here’s some video someone made with the song and scenes from the movie, which is kind of a lame consolation, but whatever.

4a.) Don’t Fear the Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult (as used in the miniseries The Stand)

When Stephen King chose this song to open the insane 8-hour commitment that is The Stand miniseries it really worked for me on several levels. First, the stuff that you’re shown is kind of horrifying in that “deadly virus killed everyone montage” way and it’s an interesting contrast to the music which is kind of upbeat. Second, it’s darkly humorous because the lyrics are telling everyone not to fear the reaper when in fact they’re all dead already anyway. And third, it works to foreshadow the climax of the story when shit gets real between good and evil.  Here’s the opening:

4b.) Don’t Dream it’s Over – Crowded House (as used in the miniseries The Stand)

Two songs that start with the word “Don’t” and that were both featured in the Stand. What are the chances?

In many ways I found this scene of the movie more impactful than the opening because it took a song that I never particularly cared for that much and transformed it into a song I really like now, because of what it signified in the movie. In this scene we have Frannie and Harold. Harold is a huge nerd and has been in love with Frannie forever. She is nice to him, but doesn’t consider him a romantic prospect. But guess what happens? Everyone she knows starts dying. Her dad’s dead. Pretty much everyone in the town is dead. So, she’s left alone with Harold, with whom she’s decided to join forces for the time being out of necessity and desperation. Now later Harold turns out not to be that good of a guy -- years of being a nerd have made him more susceptible to the wiles of the dark side -- and I think in this scene we start to get the first hint of that: despite the fact that this super flu is killing everyone, Harold is legit LIVING HIS DREAM. The girl that he pined for his whole life is now completely his, in a way. So what if everyone had to die? I feel like this point is driven home by the shots towards the end of the song reminding the viewer just how fucked the world is (tons of litter = world is fucked). But then there’s also the part of me that totally understands where Harold is coming from – how awesome would it be if you were in high school and everyone was gone except you and your crush?

There’s also the very blatant foreshadowing from the lyrics which I’m guessing weren’t originally written about a virus wiping out most of the human population and the ensuing battle between good and evil but somehow really really really fit.

6.) Nights in White Satin – Moody Blues (as used in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II)

Let me be clear: I am not a huge fan of the Rob Zombie Halloween remakes. However, I will say that the man knows how to use a song to set the mood in a horror movie (e.g., his use of Midnight Rider and Free Bird in The Devil’s Rejects). For some reason, when he used Nights in White Satin in this movie it really stuck with me. The song is used within the diegesis as Laurie wakes up in the hospital and is being pursued by Michael. They show a TV in a security booth that’s airing a live performance of the song. When I say “live” I mean that the Moody Blues are shown performing it. But, I’m not sure if the viewer is supposed to believe that it’s being shown live as it’s happening or if it’s a recording. In fact, I’m never quite sure what time period his remakes are supposed to take place in. Anyway, I think this song contrasted with being relentlessly pursued by your homicidal psychopathic brother is pretty creepy.

7a.) Notorious  - Duran Duran (as used in Donnie Darko)

I know that Donnie Darko is probably more sci fi than horror, but it is a Halloween movie, so shut it. I really like this scene where Sparkle Motion is dancing at the talent show and Donnie leaves the movie theater to torch Patrick Swayze’s house.  I also really love that it’s set to this Duran Duran song. When I saw the director’s cut I still really liked the scene still, but as you may know, in that version the song is replaced by West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys. Although I do enjoy that song, I didn’t think it worked as well in the scene. I can’t articulate why.

 Here’s the song with a picture of Donnie Darko looking confused. Who the hell makes these videos?

7b.) Head over Heels – Tears for Fears (as used in Donnie Darko)

Such a great “get to know the characters” montage.

8.) I Put a Spell on You – The Sanderson Sisters (as used in Hocus Pocus).

Hocus Pocus is friggin’ awesome. Not in a “so bad it’s good” kind of way. In a legit, it’s really good type of way. If you don’t believe me, look at this list from Buzzfeed, paying specific attention to item number 23.

9a.) Strong as I Am – The Prime Movers (as used in Manhunter)

I recently watched this movie with a fine group of people and was reminded of how awesome the scene featuring this song is. At this point in the movie, our primary antagonist has finally gotten laid and learned to love someone. As he sits in his van outside of her apartment (not creepy at all) he sees her getting a ride home from her co-worker. Like a nice dude, the co-worker helps her to her door (she’s blind). Although this is a very innocuous, the killer doesn’t perceive it as such. He imagines that the woman kisses her co-worker. This song is playing as he loses his shit (e.g., ripping the cover off of his dashboard). He then kills the coworker dude and abducts his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.

Here’s an unofficial music video for the song:

9b.) In a Gadda da Vida – Iron Butterfly (as used in Manhunter)

Once in his evil clutches, the killer seeks to torment the woman for betraying him. She’s already at a disadvantage because 1.) he’s crazy and 2.) she’s blind and in a house with which she has limited familiarity. To further incapacitate her, the killer BLASTS this song, rendering her almost completely defenseless. So creepy.

10.) 96 Tears - ? and the Mysterians (as performed by whatever random band covered it for the movie) (as used in Cat’s Eye)

Ok, I started with Stephen King and I’m going to end with him. One of my favorite short stories by him is Quitters Inc., which is one of the three stories featured in Cat’s Eye. In this story a guy reallllllly wants to quit smoking so he solicits the services of a company that guarantees to help you quit. The way they do this is by telling him that they will constantly watch him and that if he slips up, his wife and handicapped daughter will pay the price. Naturally, the guy screws up. So, they kidnap his wife and put her in a room with an electrified floor. Then, they make him sit there and watch from an adjacent room as she is repeatedly shocked. All while 96 Tears is playing. Pretty effed!

The shocking starts just before the three-minute mark.

So that’s my list. It’s not exhaustive and it’s kind of random and, like I mentioned before, it 

oversamples from Stephen King.

Just a little bonus feature: if I had to pick a song that was written specifically for a movie to include here, it hands down goes to this gem, from The Worst Witch (1986) as performed by Tim Curry. Just watch it... you’re welcome.

(Thanks Lindsay!)