Friday Watch Party: Prom Night

I'm still, as always, on my Jamie Lee Curtis kick, and I've been meaning to do Prom Night since we kicked off the ol' Covid lockdown.  So, let's do it.

I've never seen this thing, but it's got JLC, so we're assuming it can't be all bad.  But you'll have to axe her, I guess.

Hey, it was this or Virus, and apparently even JLC doesn't like Virus.  So we'll save that for when Dug is around.

Day:  Friday 03/31/2023

Time:  8:30 Central, 6:30 Pacific

Cost:  $2

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL

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Friday Watch Party (Jamie Edition): A Fish Called Wanda

My favorite Jamie's favorite movie stars one of my other favorite Jamies.  And that's how we'll be watching A Fish Called Wanda for Jamie's birthday.  No, not that Jamie, this Jamie.

Anyway, I like this movie quite a bit, so it's not a tough sell.  I no longer yell "asshoooooole" at people on the road, but there was a time.

It is like an hour and 45, so we'll need to get going pretty quick.  

So, here's to Jamies with oval faces and good cheekbones, Oscar winners and birthday girls alike.

as a JLC fan, this brought me great joy

Day:  03/24/2023

Time:  6:30 Pacific, 8:30 Central

Cost:  I think it's free on Prime

Join us for the heist of the century!

CLICK HERE TO STEAMROLL INTO FRIDAY

(link live 10 minutes before showtime)

Friday Watch Party: The Killers (1946)

This one is a straight up banger.  The Killers (1946) brought the world Ava Gardner (we're celebrating her centennial) and Burt Lancaster.  It's based loosely on a short story from Ernest Hemingway, directed by Robert Siodmak and is the noiriest noir that ever noired.  

Also features Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Charles McGraw, William Conrad, Sam Levene, and a dozen other "hey, THAT GUY" type actors.  

I say "this is one of my favorite movies" a lot, but this one IS one of my faves and genuinely solid.

Day:  03/10/2023

Time:  8:30 PM Central, 6:30 PM Pacific

Cost:  $4

CLICK HERE TO EAT THE BIG DINNER

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Friday Watch Party: Strangers on a Train

You've all suffered enough.  I mean, the past few weeks of watch parties have been a real gauntlet and test of intestinal fortitude.  And while "strangers on a train" sounds like something incredibly dirty, it's actually the title of a phenomenal movie directed by no one less than Alfred Hitchcock.  This is how we pivot at the Signal Watch.

I haven't seen this flick in decades, but I remember loving it at the time circa 1997.  It's a popular Hitch favorite, so let's get on that train and see who wants to swap murders.

Day:  03/03/2023

Time:  8:30 PM Central/ 6:30 PM Pacific

Cost:  $3-$4

CLICK HERE TO GET ON BOARD

(link live 10 minuts before showtime)

Friday Watch Party: In the Line of Duty 2 - The Super Cops (aka: Yes, Madam!)

I've dreamed of this one becoming available for our Friday-viewing pleasure.  I've never seen it, but it stars Oscar-contender Michelle Yeoh* and American Martial Arts phenom Cynthia Rothrock dubbed for some reason by a lady with a British accent.  

It's a chance for us to bear witness to acrobatics, flying kicks, slow-motion-bodies-falling-through-glass and all the best bits of mid-80's HK non-prestige cinema!   

Day:  02/24/2023

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $0 for Amazon Prime subscribers

CLICK HERE FOR A FOOT TO THE FACE

(link live 10 minutes prior to showtime)

*be still my heart

Friday Watch Party: Come Celebrate Raquel Welch with "Kansas City Bomber"

Sadly, this week we lost movie star Raquel Welch.  

Let's remember this singular movie star with a movie that shows her acting, her toughness and let's Welch look terrific while elbowing jerks off a banked track.  

Day:  Friday  02/17/2023

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $3

CLICK HERE TO WHIP IT WITH WELCH

(link live 10 minutes before showtime)

Friday Watch Party: Birdemic 3 - Sea Eagle

Look, we all know what this means.  But we're doing it anyway.

I can promise you nothing but confusion, tears, rage, and some low-grade long-term trauma.  But I think it's important we do this.  Everything up to this point has been a training for this moment, really.  Now is when we prove our mettle.

Day:  Friday 02/10

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $4

HANGERS, UP, Y'ALL!  CLICK HERE TO BEAR WITNESS TO A BUCKETLOAD OF INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

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Friday Watch Party: Gorilla at Large

reminder:  you can always see what we're up to each week by clicking on the Watch Party tab or seeing what's up by checking under the "Interaction" label.  

Friends, this may be the most exciting title for a movie I've ever seen in my whole g-d life.  

I was pretty thrilled with just the name, but then I saw it stars Anne Bancroft, Raymond Burr, Lee J Cobb and Cameron (Space Mutiny) Mitchell, and, y'all, I done lost my mind when I noted an appearance by none other than Lee @#$%ing Marvin.

Do I know anything about this movie?  I do not.  But how can we go wrong with a gorilla, a circus, and Lee J Cobb?

Day:  Friday 02/03/2023

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Cost:  $4

Click here to GO APE

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Friday Watch Party : The Amazing Mr. X

housekeeping note!  HEY.  We've added a "Watch Party" tab to the main menu.  If you ever wonder what's up with the next Watch Party and can't immediately find a link, click on the "Watch Party" option.

So, I'm told The Amazing Mr. X is being shown at this year's Noir City in Oakland.  By K, who works in Oakland.  I guess she knows.  

Anyway, I ain't against anything with THIS poster, and it has Cathy O'Donnell, who is great.

Let's watch this thing. 

Day:  01/27/2023

Time:  8:30 PM Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Cost:  Free for Amazon Prime members

Click here to BE AMAZED!

(link live 10 minutes before show)

Friday Watch Party: ZARDOZ (1974)

I've never seen Zardoz beyond the first 20 minutes, and so now I'm going to watch it.  We're ALL going to watch it.  

Here's all you need to know:  

I would kill for 1/200th of the confidence it takes to say "yes, put me on film in that"

Anyway, I am told the movie occurs in 2023, which is now.  So, put on your red diaper and hurt-me boots, and let's watch this thing.

Day:  Friday, 01/20/2023

Time:  8:30 Central, 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $4, and a small bit of your sanity

CLICK HERE TO GET 'DOZZING!

(link live 10 minutes before show)

BEHOLD!  The trailer.

Friday Watch Party: The Woman In Green

We don't want to fall too far off pace, so on Friday we'll watch a Sherlock Holmes movie.  Because I like Sherlock and you can't stop me.  There are three women listed, I don't know who they are, and which will look swell in green (in black and white).  

I assume there's a mystery.  This is Sherlock Holmes.  But we're really here for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  And mysteries.  And the *idea* of "green".  

Day:  FRIDAY THE 13th (of January, 2023)

Time:  8:30 Central, 6:30 Rain-Soaked Coast

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  Free if you have Prime

CLICK HERE FOR THE GAME TO BE AFOOT

(link ready 10 minutes before showtime)

Friday Watch Party: Holiday in Handcuffs

we're going to be studying the composition of this poster for decades to come

What could be more merry than watching 90 minutes of Unlawful Restraint charges pile up?  Not to mention assault, etc...

Join us as I get in a trifecta of Saved by the Bell alumni in Christmas movies in this Mario Lopez/ Melissa Joan Hart pair-up.  (See:  Lucky Christmas and Northpole).  

Is it good?  Probably not.  Is it free?  It depends on how you categorize your Amazon Prime membership and viewings.  

Anyway, you'd hope something with handcuffs this much at the center of the film that isn't The Defiant Ones would be kind of fun.  I don't know how any of this set-up will play out in a way that doesn't work a bit like the Saw franchise, but that doesn't seem very Christmassy.  And it's not, like, *fun* handcuffs.  It's an ABC Family original film.  

It's also got Markie Post!  Who doesn't love Markie Post?  No one.  She was great.

But I am sure we can make something out of this.

Day: Friday December 23rd

Time:  8:30 Central, 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Price:  I think it's streaming for free with Prime

Click here to Houdini your way to Holiday Hilarity

(link live 10 minutes before showtime)

Friday Watch Party: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

I was not of a mind in 2000 to go see the Ron Howard-directed adaptation of Dr. Seuss's perennial holiday classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  But I've mellowed, and in careful consultation with Jenifer, we've chosen this movie to extend the Holiday Watch Party festivities.

Jim Carrey is a fine actor, I find him very funny.  I find this suit unnerving.  What I've seen of Jeffrey Tambor in the movie also makes me want to burn Whoville with fire.  I do not tolerate uncanny valley stuff in CGI very well.  Do it in real life, and my blood runs cold with the Lovecraftian implications.

I don't know what else is in this 105 minute movie that wasn't covered in the children's book or 30 minute TV show, but it does seem the filmmakers were like "we should unnerve Ryan by putting the lovely Christine Baranski in this and make her a sexy Who.  That should @#$% him up but good."    

my grinchy heart will grow three sizes that day

I don't know what the context is of this whole scenario, but let's find out. Here's to Opie Cunningham.

Day:  Friday 12/16/2022

Time:  8:30 Central

Length:  1:45

Service:  Amazon

Price:  $4

CLICK HERE TO HEAR A WHO

(link live 10 minutes before show)

Friday Watch Party: A Christmas Melody

When it comes to people who have tried to make a career out of Christmas media, it's hard to top Ms. Mariah Carey and/or Ms. Lacey Chabert.  Way, way back in 2015, this power duo teamed up for a single Hallmark movie.  Hold onto your hats, because this one was also directed by Mariah Carey.  I'm pretty sure its about a kids' singing competition or concert or some nonsense. 

Anyway, this combo is like loading your 5 lb. bag of Christmas with like 100 lbs. of Christmas, and we're gonna do it, and we're gonna like it.  No, I have not seen the full movie, just parts of it, which seems impossible.  

We're gonna Holiday the @#$% out of this %$#@.

Day:  Friday - 12/09/2022

Time:  8:30 Central, 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon Streaming

Cost:  $3-$4

All I Want For Christmas is Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Friday Watch Party: This Gun For Hire (a Noirvember/ Veronica Lake 100th B-Day Celebration 2-fer)

POSTPONED TO Friday 11/18/2022

Noirvember is underway!  We'll have our first Noirvember screening by pairing it with a celebration of Veronica Lake, who would have turned 100 on November 14th of this year.  

This is sort of proto-noir, but plays with a lot of the ideas that would inform characters and movies after the war.  It also has so many great talents, from Lake to Ladd to Cregar.  Also, a cat.  You'll be glad, I tell you.  GLAD!

So join us for some WWII-era moralizing, bare witness to the first pairing of Lake and Ladd, and see what the fuss was about Lake.*  And what a hundred movies and pulp novels would borrow when it comes to loner hit-man types in the years to come.

Day:  Friday 11/18/2022

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 PM Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Price:  $4

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME VERONICA LAKE MUSICAL MAGIC

(link live 10 minutes before showtime)

*she is very, very, very good looking

Friday Watch Party: House of Dracula

I asked Jenifer what she wanted to watch, and her instructions were to find something with Dracula meeting another monster.  Which is harder than you'd think.  Anyway, here's House of Dracula, one of the movies so late in the original run of Universal movies that I've never seen it.  

Dracula (John Carradine), the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.) an Frankenstein (Glenn Strange) meet a mad scientist and his nurse.  Even if it's bad, it's only 67 minutes.  Sure to include some serious monster-mashing mayhem!

Wait, no.  I've seen this.  ha ha ha. Ok.  This movie is goofy as hell.

Day:  Friday 10/28/2022

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $4

CLICK HERE TO GET SPOOKTACULAR

link live 10 minutes before showtime

Friday Watch Party: The Fog (1980)

I keep telling people "The Fog is, like, a perfect movie for Halloween."  So I'm going to make you watch it before Halloween.  

Featuring a sort of perfect trinity of female leads in Adrienne Barbeau (in her first role!), Jamie Lee Curtis showing up for Carpenter because of course she did, and Janet Leigh(!) - that's a good reason to watch any movie.  But it also features the great Hal Holbrook and unlikely hero Tom Atkins.  

Produced by Debra Hill, directed by John Carpenter and co-written by both - this thing just fires on all cylinders.

"I'm Stevie Wayne, and you're listening to 'Sounds to Get Ghost Murdered By'"

And the movie is creepy AF.  A lovely ghost/ revenge story!

Day:  Friday 10/21/2022

Time:  8:30 Central

Service:  Amazon

Cost:  $4

CLICK HERE TO TUNE IN TO KAB Radio 1340 - Antonio Bay, CA

link active 10 minutes before showtime

Halloween Watch Party: The Black Cat (1934)

This one is real weird.  Like, I don't really feel like anything I can say would really prepare you for or contextualize the movie terribly well, so let's just light this candle.

Day:  Friday - 10/14/2022

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Service:  Amazon 

Cost:  $4

Click here to get weird, y'all

link live 10 minutes prior to show

Friday Watch Party (Halloween Edition): An American Werewolf In London

 

This one is streaming for free with Prime, which is mind-blowing, and so we're going to do it.  One of my favorite horror pictures, An American Werewolf in London is about what you see in the title. It's scary, funny, grim, and has kind of everything.  Plus:  Jenny Agutter

And it will really make you think twice about taking the subway.

Day:  Friday 10/07

Time:  8:30 Central

Service:  Amazon Prime

Cost:  $4 - $0

Click here to howl at the moon

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Friday Watch Party: Ladies in Retirement

Before we get into the Halloween season, we need to check in on another Ida Lupino movie.  I know nothing about it, but here's what Amazon is saying it's about:

A wealthy woman's companion turns to murder to keep her deranged sisters from being committed to an asylum.

That's bananas, and I'm here for it.  Add in Lupino and the always amazing Evelyn Keyes (we'll do 99 River Street some time.  Amazing film.), and - of course - Elsa Lanchester, my imaginary movie friend.

It's mystery and murder on the moors!

Day:  09/16/2022 - Friday

Time:  8:30 Central/ 6:30 Pacific

Cost:  $0 if you have Amazon Prime

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US FOR A THRILLING SOMETHING OR OTHER

link live 10 minutes prior to showtime