Showing posts with label First viewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label First viewing. Show all posts

Friday, November 2, 2018

Halloween (Night) Watch: Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Watched:  10/31/2018
Format:  TCM (live, for once)
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1960's

Again, still pretty tired.  A Roger Corman produced Poe-derived horror film starring Vincent Price.  It's been a long time since I read the story of Masque of the Red Death, but this movie... doesn't really do that.  Kinda weird that the one, 30 second scene in Phantom of the Opera captures the spirit better than a whole film with that name.

Apparently this is a mix of Poe stories I haven't read, so... maybe I need to get back into reading some Poe.

Still, visually striking and with some complexity to the exploration of morality in an inscrutable world, it's not half bad.  Not 100% my thing, but I'd watch it again for how good Price is here in a non-camp role and how much I was digging the script.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Halloween (Night) Watch: Cat People (1942)


Watched:  10/31/2018
Format:  TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

Well, I finally watched Cat People (1942).

I wish I had not been so tired when I put it on, but I figured "now or never" as I was winding down my Halloween night, post trick or treaters and family heading home.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Halloween Hammer Watch: The Mummy (1959)


Watched:  10/25/2018
Format:  TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1950's

I thought I'd seen this movie before, but I had not.  But, boy howdy, did I like it - weird British Imperialistic dismissal of other cultures and all.  The movie is The Mummy (1959), part of Hammer's slate of Universal Horror remakes from their 50's and 60's boom era.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Hammer Horror Watch: Twins of Evil (1971)


Watched:  10/19/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Twins of Evil (1971) is the third in the Karnstein Trilogy of vampire films from Hammer, the two previous films included The Vampire Lovers (which I really liked) and Lust For a Vampire (which I swore I'd rewatch more closely and haven't done, so...  I'll get on that).

Friday, October 19, 2018

Where Wolf? Watch: Wolfen (1981)


Watched:  10/19/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1980's


Well, I finally managed to watch Wolfen (1981) instead of The Howling.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

PODCAST! HALLOWEEN WATCH! "Isolation" (2005) w/ SimonUK and Ryan


Watched:  09/15/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2000's

A lonesome Irish farm.  A lot of rain.  A cow ready to drop a calf.  Ruth Negga for some reason.  SimonUK and Ryan watch a movie that isn't afraid to borrow, but manages to find a path unique to itself.





Music:

Bride of Frankenstein Theme - Franz Waxman
Milk Cow Blues - Bob Wills
Walking the Cow - Daniel Johnston
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky

Playlists:

Featured:  Signal Watch Halloween 2018




Get your audio episodes at:

Halloween Watch: Vampire Circus (1972)


Watched:  10/12/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming in my hotel room
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Halloween Watch: Hocus Pocus (1993)



Watched:  10/03/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1990's

Millennials, I feel like we need to have a talk.  I understand that you were mostly raised by distracted parents who left you with a VCR or DVD player and no limit on the number of viewings you could take in of any movie, so long as you didn't interrupt whatever your parents were up to.  And, believe me, I understand the power of nostalgia and re-enjoying a movie that takes you back to your past, when things were simpler and life was all Capri Sun pouches and sugar cereals.  But right now, the two movies I keep seeing you defend - arguably unironically - are Space Jam and Hocus Pocus

In 1993 I was 18, adjusting to college, trying to land a date with the girl in the Italian class I was busy failing, and didn't make time to leave campus to see Hocus Pocus. The movie has appeared as a streaming option every year, and I've considered it.  Lately - as noted above - the kids have rallied around this movie, naming it a Halloween holiday classic.

The thing, tho, is that Hocus Pocus (1993), sux.

Sunday, September 30, 2018

PODCAST! SIgnal Watch Halloween Horror Watch: Horror Express and Death Line (both 1972)



Watched:  09/08/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade: 1970's

In the spoooookiest of all Halloween themes - SimonUK and Ryan settle on "Christopher Lee + trains + 1972".  Two wildly different takes on the horror genre from the same year, each with a lot to offer, but offering up chills - one featuring a drunk Donald Pleasance as a policeman, and one Telly Savalas as a vodka-swilling Cossack.  But, honestly, both well worth a viewing this Halloween season.




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
Bound for Hell, Love and Rockets
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky

Playlists:

Featured:  Signal Watch Halloween 2018



More Playlists:

Saturday, September 29, 2018

A TL;DR SPECIAL - Mind-Blown Watch: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)



Watched:  09/26/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1980's

People, for oh so many reasons, I am absolutely baffled and stunned by this movie.

Where to start...

Begin at the beginning, I suppose

Monday, September 24, 2018

PODCAST! WEREWOLF WATCH! a Signal Wach Halloween! "Late Phases" (2014) and "Dog Soldiers" (2002)


Watched:  08/18/2018
Format:  DVD
Viewing:  First (both)
Decade:  2000's and 2010's

SimonUK and Ryan go to the dogs with two monstrously good films set to make anyone howl.  We talk the werewolf genre and the troubles which ail it, but also what goes right in two movies sure to transform you into the Halloween mood.  It's two modern-era movies doing something a bit different with an age-old idea, and maybe coming out the top of the pack?

And, of course, there's a detour into discussing Sean Connery for absolutely no reason.




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Hungry Like the Wolf, Duran Duran
Wolves (radio edit), Wu-Tang Clan
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky

Get your audio episodes at:

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

PODCAST! A SIGNAL WATCH HALLOWEEN! "Psychomania" (1973) w/ SimonUK and Ryan


Watched:  07/21/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970s

Watch ALL of Psychomania!

A Signal Watch Halloween BEGINS!

 SimonUK brings Ryan a spooooky film of his youth. The Easy Rider scene reaches the British suburbs as a crew of hooligans cause mischief, dabble in the occult and plan for world domination by generally making a nuisance of themselves. Frogs, the undead, shallow graves, lousy hippie music, motorbikes and locked rooms converge in a film that dares to ask: are you really going to watch all of this?




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Psychomania Theme by John Cameron
Riding Free from Psychomania
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky


Get your audio episodes at:

Sunday, September 16, 2018

PODCAST! A Burt Reynolds Tribute via "Hooper" (1978) w/ SimonUK and Ryan


Watched:  09/15/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing: First
Decade:  1970s


In honor of Burt Reynolds, who passed September 6, 2018, SimonUK and Ryan watch "Hooper", a 1978 Hal Needham directed action comedy about the life of a Hollywood stuntman. And Ryan learns... Simon knows *a lot* about Burt Reynolds.


Get your audio episodes at:

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Noir Watch: The Locket (1946) - recommended


Watched:  09/11/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

The Locket (1946) gets name dropped a lot in noir circles, but not always with a lot of context.  It starred no particular favorites aside from Mitchum, and didn't happen to cross my path til it aired on Noir Alley, so I'd not made a tremendous effort to watch it.  Turns out, The Locket is a hell of a movie with some terrific qualities, from the performances to the direction and cinematography, but it starts with a story and script that - while maybe a bit rudimentary in applying psychology as a science (a common trope of this era) - tells a unique, engaging, tragic story via unconventional techniques - and puts a new spin on the "femme fatale" (if that's accurate here, and I'll say it is) that's fascinating to watch unfold.

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Spy Watch: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)


Watched:  09/09/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's

Sometimes you watch a movie and something about it just doesn't click with you.  On the heels of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, we decided to take in Henry Cavill's last outing as a spy, a movie I'd just not felt compelled to watch previously, The Man from U.N.C.L.E (2015).  And, yeah, that was absolutely a stylish spy movie directed by Guy Ritchie.