Halloween Watch: Halloween (2018)

Watched:  10/05/2021

Format:  Amazon

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  David Gordon Greene

When I heard David Gordon Greene, Danny McBride and Jamie Lee Curtis were involved, for once, I was not skeptical of a new installment in the Halloween franchise.  

Look, I am sure seeing - and thoroughly enjoying - the original Halloween when I was fourteen means I can't really be objective about that 1978 film.  I was already roughly a fan of Curtis in 1989 when I saw it, and the movie is - for this blogger - the platonic ideal of a slasher horror film.  In many ways - after Halloween, you either up your game or what's the point?  

Like Meyers the character, the 1978 movie itself is a single-minded shark, moving forward and striking.  It's fatless meat and bone, giving just enough character to Laurie Strode and her friends to make you actually care when kitchen knives get deployed.  And, of course, we only get the crucial details about Michael.  The horrifying incident as a child that indicates how broken he is, and then Loomis letting us know:  "oh, yeah, he's bugfuck crazy.  We need to stop this maniac."  (That's his doctor.) provides a villain who simply is.

DCU Animated Bat-Watch: The Killing Joke (2016)

Watched:  10/03/2021

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Sam Liu

Look.  This... should never have been a movie.  I know what DC/ WB Animation was thinking, but I have no idea what DC/ WB Animation was thinking.

Winding it way back, in 1988 I would have been about 13 when I stumbled across The Killing Joke as a comic book.  And, yes, at one point I had a first printing of the comic, which rises and falls in value on a regular basis.  

It's worth noting - Moore and Bolland were commissioned to do the comic en route to the Keaton-starring Batman movie.  Moore now distances himself from the comic as he has all things DC.  It was, I assume meant to be something of the moment and to give people curious about Batman and the Joker and modern comics something they could pick up as a "graphic novel" at B. Dalton Booksellers.  

This was the era just before 1989's Batman movie, and DC was pushing occasional random things out there and making sure to have collections on the shelf of Year One, Year Two, Dark Knight Returns and the ever popular Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told.  A beautifully crafted story by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland was a slam dunk - focusing on Batman and the Joker to give it synergy - what could go wrong?

Your answers are multiple choice.

PODCAST: "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) - Avengers Chronological Countdown #17 w/ Jamie and Ryan

Watched:  A while back

Format:  Disney+

Viewing:  unknown

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Taika Watiti

For more ways to listen

Jamie and Ryan have been displaced in time, but return to podcasting Marvel movies in order! Our conversation is out of this world as we take on a threat that we kind of forgot about - doing this podcast - and it comes back to bite us. Join us as we talk the pivot point for Thor in the Marvel U and Cate Blanchett being sassy as all get-out.

The Signal Watch PodCast · 161: "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) - Avengers Countdown 17 w/ Jamie and Ryan

Music:

Thor Ragnarok - Mark Mothersbaugh

Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III

Marvel Movies PodCasts

The Signal Watch PodCast · Avengers Chronological Countdown (w/ Jamie and Ryan)

I'm Team Hela

Modern Horror Watch: The Conjuring (2013)

Watched:  09/25/2021

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  James Wan

So, it's not a huge secret that I'm a little skeptical of a lot of horror.  When you're like "you know that scene in Hereditary?" I'm like "Nope."  I mean, I just don't make time for it.  I'd rather be watching guys in large suits make time with dames with great hair and schemes.

But enough has been said about The Conjuring from 2013, that I finally watched it as I rev up for Halloween season.  And, I genuinely liked it.  Well, I liked about half of it.  The rest was fine.  Which I know will be taken as "bad", but that's not what I mean.  I was fine with it up to a point, and then I really liked it.

My favorite haunted house movie is and will be a tie between The Shining and 1963's version of The Haunting.  But... this one sure ain't bad.  And, as was discussed elsewhere with MBell, this is a Stefon movie.  

Wow Watch: Sorry To Bother You (2018)

Watched:  09/04/2021

Format:  Hulu

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Boots Riley

Man, I am not even going to try to summarize or reflect on this movie.

What I do know is that AmyC was going to make me podcast this, and it would have been one in a series of movies Amy woud have shown me that would have blown my mind and then she would have been, like, "hey - react!"  I love that she does this, but I think I always spend the first 5-15 minutes of those podcasts trying to get my thoughts in order.

Anyway - HIGHLY recommended.   You haven't seen anything like it.

Comics BioPic Watch: Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017)

Watched:  09/04/2021

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director/ Writer:  Angela Robinson

Why do biopics exist?  

No, really.  Because I don't think producers really know.  

Taking someone else's life and presenting it to the populace in order to tell a story that you want to tell, when you can't be bothered with reality or facts, is a tremendous disservice to the people you're speaking for.  It also means that whatever story you're telling - the point of it, whatever that might be - is now hopelessly compromised the moment someone googles the subject of your film.  Whatever homily you hoped to make of a life isn't going to survive first contact with anyone wondering why the hell you changed so many things.  The hubris, man.

Look, I am not a William Moulton Marston scholar.  I've read possibly three or four books about the history of Wonder Woman over the past 25 years, and I've done my fair share of reading of articles on and offline on same, and therefore touched upon the people at the center of Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017).  

Regret Interaction Watch: "Burlesque" (2010)

Watched:  08/27/2021

Format:  Amazon Watch Party

Viewing:  Kind of first/ Kind of second

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Steve Antin

I had never seen the beginning or end of Burlesque (2010).  A few years back I had a barber/ stylist who had set up a salon in her house, and instead of the mirror in front of you, she had a television.  And one time I went in and watched a huge chunk of Burlesque, because she'd get distracted by the movie or TV show she was watching, and what should have been a 20 minute haircut (my hair is so boring, I call the style "The Continental"), turned into a nearly 90 minute journey every time.  

Anyway - she was into the movie, and I know lots of people are.  But I come bearing bad news.  Burlesque is a super terrible film that has so much money and star power thrown at it, it looks like it should be good and people kind of accept that maybe it is.  But it isn't.

Doc Watch: Chris Claremont's X-Men (2018)

Watched:  08/02/2021

Format:  YouTube

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Patrick Meaney

Chris Claremont didn't invent the X-Men, but he did turn them from a middling Marvel team book that could have/ should have disappeared into a sprawling mythology with beloved characters that became a multimedia franchise (that Disney is probably losing a lot of sleep over how to properly exploit).  Chris Claremont didn't introduce me to comics, but he did write comics that hit me like lightning, over and over again, and made me a devoted comics reader - a habit that has lasted 35+ years.

While everyone is still young and healthy, a documentary crew put together what is really a remarkable doc explaining what Claremont's X-Men was, why it was so unique in the world of comics, and what eventually broke it.  Including interviews from people who broke it, still totally unaware of what they did 25 years after the fact, still high on their own supply.

PODCAST: "Midsommar" (2019) - a Signal Watch Canon Episode w/ AmyC and Ryan

Watched:  07/03/2021

Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Ari Aster

For more ways to listen

AmyC and Ryan delve into the 2019 horror film that really gets into the end-result of people dressing too matchy-matchy and insisting on group activities. It's a slow burn of a film with a lot worth talking about, from amazing visuals to the unique presentation of horror elements to why it fits in our Co-Contributor Canon. Let's all take a break and not push hard enough to find out what folks are putting in the meat pies.

The Signal Watch PodCast · 151: "Midsommar" (2019) - a Signal Watch Canon Episode w/ AmyC and Ryan

Music:

Prophesy - Bobby Krlic, Midsommar OST

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - Frankie Valli

Canon Playlist:

The Signal Watch PodCast · The Signal Watch Canon

Food Watch: Chef (2014)

Watched:  07/03/2021

Format:  Amazon Prime (I think.  Jamie dialed it up.)

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Jon Favreau

Chef (2014) is a terrific little film, not too hung up on being more than light entertainment with a bit of grounding in mid-life crisis and family issues.   And, of course, the whole thing is kind of meta.  

Starting as a kind of wunderkind responsible for writing and starring in Swingers back in '96, Favreau had been working on bigger and bigger films, not least kickstarting the Marvel Universe by directing, starring in and otherwise producing the Iron Man films (at pre and post-Disney Marvel).  But if the movie is about a guy who works at a well-respected LA bistro, losing touch with his son and after the divorce from his wife (a very good+funny Sofia Vergara), and certainly in a rut professionally - one can see how Favreau might have come to a story about a guy who felt like he needed to get back to the basics of what he loved in the first place.  

In the film, he accidentally starts a twitter-war with a famed food reviewer that... escalates.  Favreau has to do what Rocky's of all types have always done - go back to where it started and find the passion again.  Unfortunately for me, that starting over looked awesome, and I was starving while watching the movie.

Ghost Watch: Extra Ordinary (2019)

Watched:  06/12/2021

Format:  Google Play Streaming

Viewing:  First 

Decade:  2010's

Directors: Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman

A supernatural comedy with an utterly specific and terrific tone, Extra Ordinary (2019) is an Irish comedy about a psychic who'd rather she wasn't, who has chosen a dull existence as a driving instructor until a confluence of events pull her back into the ghost-wrangling work she once performed with her father.

The movie co-stars Will Forte playing an incredibly Will Forte character of a former one-hit wonder and practicer of the Dark Arts who finds himself crossing paths with Rose Dooley, our ghost-wrangler.  

I'm realizing this movie is very hard to talk about without littering the post with spoilers, so just bookmark the movie or add it to your "will watch" column for some night when you need a light, goofy comedy.  

 

International Watch: The Handmaiden (2016)

Watched:  05/02/2021

Format:  Amazon Streaming

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Chan-wook Park

Look, this movie is impossible to discuss without spoilers - so, look out

SPOILERS

2010's Watch: Everybody Wants Some (2016)

Watched:  04/28/2021

Format:  Amazon

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Richard Linklater

I remember the trailers for Everybody Wants Some (2016) were almost confusing.  They made no argument for why anyone should get off their ass and get to the theater to see the movie - a film about a bunch of baseball players at the fictional East Texas State University, kind of screwing around, and...  

It seemed the ads almost counted on a knowledge of how Linklater's other movies worked, and counted on you wanting more with different characters.  But in 2016, an all-male cast of dudes acting like dudes seemed almost tone-deaf, and the population who would be nostalgic for the college years circa 1980 was mostly home watching Downton Abbey.  

Honestly, the first fifteen minutes or so - I wasn't sure I was on board.  It *is* an all-male cast being dudes.  I'd like to say college dudes are not that crass, but some sure are, and the things you let slide... 

Watch Party Watch: Crawl (2019)

Watched:  04/23/2021

Format:  Amazon Watch Party

Viewing:  second!

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Alexandre Aja

This is the second time I saw this.  It was a good movie for a crowd with lots of go-to jokes about injuries minor and fatal.

SimonUK and I discussed my love of movies about animals eating people on a prior podcast about Crawl.  

PODCAST: "Paddington 2" (2017) - a Signal Watch Canon episode w/ JAL and Ryan

Watched:  03/22/2021

Format:  Amazon

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Paul King

For more ways to listen

Justin returns to talk a movie everyone *should* agree on, the gargantuan movie about a very small and polite bear. It bears some discussion what makes it work and what makes it stand out in a crowded field of children and all-ages film. Have a good cry with two grown adults talking about everyone's favorite fellow from darkest Peru.

The Signal Watch PodCast · 142: "Paddington 2" (2017) - A Canon film discussion with JAL and Ryan

Music:

Winsdor Gardens - Dario Marianelli, Paddington 2 OST

Rain on the Roof  - Hugh Grant, Paddington 2 OST (originally Sondheim, Follies)

Signal Watch Canon:

The Signal Watch PodCast · The Signal Watch Canon

"Well, That Was Delightful" Watch: Paddington (2014)

Watched:  03/21/2021

Format:  Amazon prime

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Paul King

We're doing a podcast on Paddington 2 in a bit, so I expect we'll discuss this movie and Paddington in general at that time.  

This movie is fantastic, and you should watch it.

Cattrall Watch: Meet Monica Velour (2010)

Watched:  03/08/2021

Format:  Amazon Streaming

Viewing:  First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Keith Bearden

I'm not really sure what qualifies as an indie film in this day and age, or even what constituted an indie movie in 2010 when Meet Monica Velour was released.  But it had been a while since I'd watched a lower-budget film like this one - and it almost hums with "this is an indie film" in a way the big studio releases I've been watching simply do not.  

The movie pitches itself as a "career high performance" for Kim Cattrall, and I'll argue - maybe!  I have only seen a fraction of her catalog, but she is, indeed, very, very good in this movie.  I totally get why she jumped at the chance to play this character, especially when the general TV and movie audience was associating her with her character on Sex and the City.  And, frankly, she nails it.  

Frozen-In Watch: Frozen II (2019)

Watched:  02/14/2021

Format:  Disney+

Viewing:  I'm not sure

Decade:  2010's

Director(s):  Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

The weather in Austin is historically cold and we're having a winter storm like we normally only ever see on television in other states.  It just doesn't do this in Texas.  Or, at least, it didn't tell global warming.  These polar vortexes are a real sonuvabitch.

Anyway - we're all super stressed hoping the power stays on and our pipes don't burst and we don't freeze to death in our own homes.  But, ha ha, we probably won't.  So we watched a movie with an ironic title.

(update:  02/16/21 1:35 PM - it did, indeed, freeze.  We lost power.  It's been rough.  Power is back for the moment.)

Inspirational Watch: Eddie the Eagle (2015)

Watched:  01/02/2021

Viewing: First

Decade:  2010's

Format:  Disney+

Director:   Dexter Fletcher

"Based on a true story" is more or less Hollywood speak for "we got the three things you remember about this event right, and everything else doesn't bear up to a quick Wikipedia check".  It doesn't mean this or others movies aren't worth watching, but always always always Google the subjects of "true story" movies after finishing a film.  It's inevitably more interesting than what's in the movie.

I do not remember the 1988 Calgary Olympics at all.  I was 13 and lived in Texas where none of the sports existed, and didn't watch much TV at that time in my life.  Jamie was actually at those Olympics, so she remembers the actual events and guy.   I think I vaguely remember watching hockey.  

Eddie the Eagle (2015) is a fine movie - a decent one for kids and adults.  Unlikely guy goes to the Olympics to compete - and the glory is in trying.  I've spoiled nothing - you can still watch.  Everything is very color-by-numbers and has the edges removed.  I mean, it's fine - I enjoyed it for what it was.  

Watching the Detectives: The Nice Guys (2016)

Watched:  12/28/2020

Format: Amazon Streaming

Viewing: First

Decade:  2010's

Director:  Shane Black

This was exactly the movie I needed this evening.  

I dunno what to say about it.  Somehow Shane Black made a movie that managed to utterly surprise in every scene, was absolutely wrong, and absolutely hilarious.  Had a killer soundtrack, featured Keith David and gave Kim Basinger stuff to do.  

I am not sure liking this movie this much makes me a good person, but there we are.