I don't really do discord so I've created a matrix room on my server that's open to the public. I have no idea if it will gain traction but anyone's welcome to join. You just need any matrix account (if you want a matrix account specifically on my server let me know and I'll open registrations, otherwise just use matrix.org). If you don't know what matrix is, it's this, but you can think of it as a more secure, decentralized IRC chat room. Here's the address to the room. You can use that link to join or create an account or use one of the various mobile apps. I'll put the address in the sidebar as well.

Not really related to film content but to the medium. Thought this was nerdy and interesting.

It is wild to me that a series this low budget, ghoulish, and mean spirited has almost become main stream now. I remember seeing the second one at the drive in and there were families there with kids running around like it was no big deal while some girl was getting skinned alive and disemboweled on the screen.

The Texas Theatre was built in 1931 and is probably best known as the place of arrest for Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's assassin, in 1963. It's undergone countless ownership changes, renovations, burnings, closings, and all sorts of zoning chaos. Thankfully, as a result of recent historical landmark status, its funding is fairly secure.

https://thetexastheatre.com/

I was thinking about this because last Tuesday I went to an event there called Tuesday Night Trash which is a free movie they show on Tuesday nights and saw Primal Rage, an insane 80s Italian killer monkey movie and it was so much fun. Seeing it with a full audience was a blast. And they do this stuff all the time. The theater is very involved in the local film scene, often holding film festivals featuring local filmmakers. They don't serve food except for popcorn and candy but they do have a full bar with movie themed drinks. They also host a VHS swap once a month where the locals come out to sell and trade tapes and cool merch.

Just a taste of the upcoming lineup (all movies shown except brand new releases are on film): Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the 50th anniversary, a double feature of Wiseau’s movies The Room and Big Shark and Q&A w/ Greg Sistero star of The Room and author of The Disaster Artist, Lady Snowblood, the original Django, Samurai Showdown, Time Masters (an awesome '82 French animated sci-fi), Cat Video festival, Altered States, Ed Wood with a live drag show afterwords, 50th anniversary showing of Phantom of the Paradise, a tribute to Roger Corman, and Near Dark.

Around Halloween is my favorite time as it's non-stop monster movies, including obscure shot on video stuff and classic B&W features.

Anyways, just wanted to brag a little bit about this local treasure. As I've gotten older, I dread the giant soulless multiplexes more and more, and I know Texas gets a lot of shit, much of it rightfully earned, but this theater it not part of that.

If you have a local treasure I'd love to hear about it.

Combine Tom Savini's genius fx talent with producer and creator Harvey Weinstein's sociopathic cruelness and you get The Burning, a wicked slasher but also an incredibly mean film. The killer's genesis is mean, the kids are mean, the hospital orderlies are mean, the killer himself is mean as hell, and even the erotic sequences are mean. Usually there are some funny hijinks and shenanigans within summer camp movies that give the viewer a break but here they fall flat and don't generate the same light-hearted emotions so that what you are left with is relentless and unforgiving. There is an undeniable cruel streak that runs throughout the runtime, but I think it can be said that without it the film's impact would have been lessened considerably.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In order of post date:

Ernest Goes to Jail

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

Ernest Goes to Camp

Ernest Saves Christmas

Ernest Scared Stupid

Ernest Rides Again

Don't let the beginning credits full of English names fool you, this is Italian through and through. There is a certain stilted dialogue and style that is always a dead giveaway, and this film has style in spades. Some of the most beautiful shots I've ever seen staged in a horror film. The score is divine as well. It starts slow and doesn't really pick up speed until the final act, but what you end up with is certainly worth waiting for, if not for the visuals alone. I didn't realize until researching the film after watching that the director Michele Soavi also made Cemetery Man, a sleeper hit for me that I discovered a few years ago. I will definitely be checking out the rest of his work.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I forgot that at one time Jim Belushi was poised to be the next big action/comedy star, and Real Men is not a bad example of why that was. He definitely has charisma, and can even be funny at times. But the real star here is Ritter. His physical comedy and facial expressions make me really miss him. He's such a lovable guy that I'm glad I never got a chance to meet him because it would have broken my heart if he turned out to be a real dickhead IRL. This is goofy 80s fun, but one of its flaws is that it feels like a build up to something great but by the end it just peters out and doesn't really deliver.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

https://popcult.blog/2024/04/25/movie-review-mulholland-drive/

Also even though I'm not usually an Ebert fan, I believe his review and analysis is worth noting as well:

https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/lost-on-mulholland-drive

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mulholland-drive-2001