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.

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



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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

Noir Watch: Angel Face (1953)

Watched:  09/27/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  Second
Decade: 1950's

Angel Face (1953) is a heck of a film - a dark, twisted noir about honey traps, stepping out on perfectly lovely receptionist girlfriends, cool cars, retaining your Robert Mitchum cool in crazy situations, and maybe not going along to get along.

PODCAST: "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) - Part 5 of Avengers Chronological Countdown

Watched: 09/21/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  unknown
Decade:  2010's

Ryan and Jamie talk about "Captain America: The First Avenger" - and it goes on way, way too long. We talk about why the movie felt like a risk, how it fits in with the Avengers overall mega-narrative, and how it compares to the comics. This may or may not be one of our favorite movies, so we may have shown up with multiple type-written pages of notes, ready to go.



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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

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Noir Watch: Desperate (1947)

Watched:  09/19/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM via DVR
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940s

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


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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.


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Burt Memorial Watch: Cannonball Run II (1984)

suddenly I know where the Marvel movie poster strategy came from

Watched:  09/13/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  Oh, who knows?
Decade:  1980s

Cannonball Run II (1984) is not a good movie.  But it is a fascinating movie and an extraordinary time capsule of a certain era as an old guard is mixed with a new guard of Hollywood to make a giant Looney Tunes movie directed by Hal Needham.

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.

PODCAST! HIGH SCHOOL WATCH! John Hughes, no less! "Sixteen Candles" (1984) and "Pretty in Pink" (1986)

Watched:  Sixteen Candles 08/28/2018 & Pretty in Pink 08/31/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  Unknown.  A lot for both.
Decade:  1980's.  Obviously.  Duh.

Laura and Ryan return to high school movies and grapple with some of the difficulties in the narratives of Gen-X staple, John Hughes. We take a look at two Molly Ringwald-starring films, and try to sort out what the hell was going on in the 1980's when these movies were made, and what the movies were trying to do and say.





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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.

Rogers Watch: Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Watched:  09/07/2018
Format:  Streaming Amazon
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's

Marx Bros. Watch: Room Service (1938)

Watched:  09/06/2018
Format:  TCM on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1930's

IMPOSSIBLE WATCH: Mission Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Watched:  08/29/2018
Format:  Alamo Slaughter
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's


SimonUK and Ryan go to see a "Mission: Impossible". Spoiler: Simon is a fan of the franchise and Ryan's a bit cynical about the M:I flicks he'd previously seen. And probably Tom Cruise in general. But that doesn't stop them from talking stunts, action and whatnot, with the usual meandering side conversations.





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AMAZING WATCH: Streets of Fire (1984)

Watched:  09/04/2018
Format:  Austin Film Society screening with PaulT
Viewing:  Fifth?
Decade:  1980's

I think it's fair to say that Streets of Fire (1984) is one of those movies you either get behind or you do not.  Like, I'm not sure there's a lot of gray area in how people react to whatever it is this movie is serving up - but despite the fact that I am well aware that Streets of Fire is not a very good movie, I am also of the opinion that Streets of Fire is an amazing movie.

Kubrick Watch: 2001 - A Space Odyssey (1968)

Watched:  09/02/2018
Format:  4K restoration at Alamo Slaughter
Viewing:  8th?  9th?  10th?
Decade:  1960s

PODCAST! MARVELWATCH: Thor (2011) - Jamie and Ryan welcome the god of hammers to the MCU!

Watched:  08/24/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  I dunno.  Fifth?  Sixth?
Decade:  2010's


Jamie and Ryan watch the fourth Marvel Studios film, Thor! It's the first off-world excursion for Marvel, an introduction for a key Avenger, expansion of the MCU and a lot of set-ups for payoffs. And, of course, more handsome than any movie should be asked to handle. Some top flight talent joins some soon-to-be-household-names as adventure unfolds!






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PODCAST! DISNEY WATCH! The Black Cauldron (1985)

Watched:  08/19/2018
Format:  DVD from San Antonio Public Library
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1980's


NathanC returns to discuss Disney in the 1980's! Ryan is kinda sick and grumpy! We talk Disney's 1985 misfire that "almost took down the studio". It's high fantasy adventure for the kiddies, but Disney's first foray into PG territory, all while Disney underwent corporate reshuffling!




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