Hello, and happy Monday!
After a handful of 100+ degree weather in LA, we finally started getting some fall temps and I am loving it!
My wisdom teeth removal has practically fully recovered and I can have my pumpkin spice lattes!
Also, I had a birthday in the last couple of weeks! It’s been a little more bittersweet this year than others because the idea of growing “old” hit me harder than before. It’s felt very odd, but so it goes.
The last episode of Agree to Disagree is still on The Old Guard. We will take a short hiatus before returning in late October with a spooky pick to discuss.
FILM
Highlight: The ’Burbs | Joe Danet | 1989 ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it’s hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper, and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Young Tom Hanks took on much more interesting projects pre-Philadelphia/Forrest Gump. I do like those movies and a good number of the ones that come after, but nothing quite hits like Splash, Big, Turner & Hooch, or, now that I’ve seen it, The ‘Burbs. This movie is a little campy and goofy, but it’s so much fun! Tom and his suburbanite neighbors (Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, and Corey Feldman) are supremely reckless and they investigate their spooky new neighbors. It’s something I wish I would’ve seen as a kid, I would’ve eaten it up. But even without nostalgia, it’s a fun movie.
The Pawnbroker | 1964 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a tough watch but a very powerful and moving one. Rod Steiger gives a powerful performance as a haunted concentration camp survivor and director Sidney Lumet, alongside cinematographer Boris Kaufman, uses some jarring inserts to make us feel as haunted as our protagonist. The jazz score from Quincy Jones is great and that final sequence left me stunned.
Chopping Mall | 1986 ⭐⭐⭐
While a little sluggish somehow, this weirdo horror movie has enough fun kills and gore to make it a worthwhile watch. Some horny kids get trapped in a mall with new security robots who go wild. Dumb, fun, if a little slow.
Creepshow | 1982 ⭐⭐⭐½
Composed of five vignettes that all mostly work, some more than others. This has some great makeup & SFX work. My favorite tales of terror were “The Crate” and Something to Tide You Over, with the latter featuring a pre-Cheers Ted Danson and Leslie Nielsen.
From Beyond | 1986 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is so in my wheelhouse, I’m mad I hadn’t seen it before. It has great, gloopy creature effects and an insane story. It’s based on H.P. Lovecraft so there’s a lot of unknowable horror and it’s executed really well here. It’s also incredibly horny, which is always fun in a splatterfest monster movie.
Explorers | 1985 ⭐⭐⭐½
Not as good as I was expecting but still very fun and it features an incredibly young Ethan Hawke. Some kids get to space and talk with aliens. I found something interesting in that the human kids want to escape the angst of life as a kid only to find aliens that feel very similar.
Young Frankenstein | 1974 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a Halloween staple for me. It’s my favorite Mel Brooks and possibly my favorite comedy of all time. I love how much it loves the monster movies of old and it plays perfect homage to them as well as poke fun of them in a loving way.
Christine | 1983 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was absolutely blown away by some of the effects in this one. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how they did some of the stuff. It’s a fine story, elevated by John Carpenter’s direction and score (might be my favorite tbh).
Catch Me If You Can | 2002 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I remember catching bits of this when I was younger, but I think this was my first full watch of this movie, and boy is it incredible. The score is wonderful and the performances are top-notch.
War of the Worlds | 2005 ⭐⭐⭐½
Mr. Spielberg was processing the horrors of 9/11 here and it’s a little messy. But feelings are messy and this felt very much like a master filmmaker processing the only way he knows how to.
SCAM Girls Movie Club
🚲 Kids on Bikes 🚲
Now and Then | 1995 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The finale for our Kids on Bikes was excellent. It doesn’t do anything new with this genre, but it hits all the beats entertainingly and with a love of childhood. That’s really all this type of movie needs to do for me to fall for it.
Stranger than Fiction: The Wide World of Documentary Cinema
Grizzly Man | 2005 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An incredibly tough watch, but also terrifyingly beautiful. It was about much more than I expected, mental health is a big factor that, while not directly addressed, is all over this documentary. Werner Herzog tastefully and delicately handled this story while also not shying away from criticism. It’s one I may never watch again but will stick with me forever.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters | 2007 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After such a heavy subject, this was deliciously light and juicy. There are more turns in this story of someone conquering a decades-old Donkey Kong high score than I was expecting and some great “characters” are showcased. Even if you aren’t into video games, the drama will still pull you in.
TV
In Progress
What’s New, Scooby-Doo? Season 1, Episode 1-4
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Season 1, Episode 1
Books
In Progress
A Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson - 65%
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination | Neal Gabler - 22%
The Weathered Tome Society
A Boy’s Life | Robert R. McCammon — 45%
Games
Highlight: Astro Bot | PS5 | Team ASOBI ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I got this as a birthday gift to myself and man was it a perfect present! Good job me! This is a love letter to PlayStation’s history so I was hit by two feelings: 1) This is amazing, I have such a connection with so many of these games and characters 2) This is a giant commercial for a mega-corporation that just announced they are charging a ton of money for a new half upgrade system because they have no viable competition. The former feeling won out over the latter, but I still feel a little haunted by it. It really was a joy to find all these robot versions of believed characters and the platform game design was some of the best I’ve ever played. I can’t recommend this game enough for anyone who loves a good old-school platformer, especially if you grew up with the PlayStation mascot platformers.
Doom Eternal | PS5 | id Software ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everyone has been talking about the new Warhammer: Space Marines video game and I saw a ton of comparisons to Doom: Eternal. That made me realize I still hadn’t beaten this one so I booted it up. I’m not a huge fan of first-person shooters but something about the new Doom iterations just really hits with me. The music, the visuals, the quick movements, and the excellent gunplay all make this shine above others in the genre. The story is a little incomprehensible to me. It's not as bad as a Souls game, but getting awfully close to that level of opaqueness. I can forgive it a bit here because I’m mostly playing to shoot big guns at giant demons and that’s perfect in this game.
In Progress
Persona 4 Golden | PS Vita | Atlus
YouTube
We lost a titan in the entertainment industry and I was affected more than I would’ve expected. I spent some time watching clips of Hames Earl Jones and this is one of my favorites. I would give a lot to have seen him perform live on a stage, but I’m grateful there are clips like these.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!
Til next time!
— Colton
Werewolf? There wolf. There castle.