Best New-to-Me: July 2023

 My relationship to online life/social media (such as it is) has always been a bit fraught. I've enthusiastically spent hours posting and engaging with folks who share my interests and values and I've managed to develop some of those relationships into real friendships. At the same time I've found myself retreating from certain avenues of social media for my own sanity. Particularly during the peak of pandemic lockdown, I felt a longing for offline experiences and decided to disengage from some online spaces so I could refocus my priorities. The experience has mostly been a good one and the only reason I mention it here now is because I'm kind of back online in some places both old and new. I rejoined the smoking wreck that is twitter and somewhat more hopefully signed up on bluesky largely to promote this blog but also because that's where other film writers congregate. I feel like you shouldn't have to depend on social media to find and engage with current film criticism and analysis but I was truly missing some of the voices I appreciated when I was originally in the mix. 

So I'm back in some respects but I hope with a more balanced perspective. It's good to make your work accessible to people but it's also important to understand that the work is the work, not the social media persona. If you write you need to write, if you make art you need to make art, if you design you put your efforts into designing. Also, while it may not have the same reach as social media I think it's ultimately more rewarding to invest in and participate in your local scene of whatever it is that moves you. My impression is that the people I know with healthier attitudes around social media are also fully plugged into their local communities. The very earliest iteration of what was to become these best new-to-me lists was essentially my attempt to encourage people to go out and experience the amazing slice of film culture we have in this corner of the world. I'm still trying to do that and I hope I am in some way successful. 

Earlier this month I attended the Lumières Françaises and wrote a thing about it. I won't reiterate that here but I have broken out my other theatrical experiences below the at-home watches.

Best New-to-Me: July 2023

Heartbreakers (1984) - Kicking things off with yet another knockout release from Fun City Editions. There's a definite 70s European existentialism to this tale of male friendship and maturity but the delivery is pure 80s: Aerobics, Tangerine Dream, and not-exactly Patrick Nagel art abounds. Features some stunning LA location work shot by Michael Ballhaus right before he became Scorsese's go-to cinematographer. I've found myself increasingly fascinated by Peter Coyote, both as a performer and his unconventional road to acting. This is probably my favorite performance from Coyote that I've seen so far.

The Firm (1989) - I was relatively certain I'd seen The Firm before but either that's not the case or it was long enough ago that it felt fresh to me this time around. Furious examination and dissection of toxic masculinity from the always fascinating Alan Clarke by way of a scorching performance from Gary Oldman. Coming in at a lean 70 minutes in no way diminishes the impact which is like a wrench or a sledge to the temple. Absolutely astonishing that this was produced for broadcast television (which is something I think I say about every Clarke production).

Natural Enemies (1979) - I got the impression that Natural Enemies was one of the most enthusiastically received releases from FCE and it certainly garnered a lot of praise from various corners of the internet. Yet, it was actually because of the things people kept saying about it that I hesitated on checking it out. Luckily, my faith in what Jonathan Hertzberg is doing won me over and I finally snagged a copy. It's dark to be sure, and Hal Holbrook's Paul practically smolders with rage and despair, but there's a depth of humanity reflected back at him - not only from Louise Fletcher as his wife but from several of the other incidental characters he encounters on this fateful day. Paul's resistance to them and his resignation makes everything all the more tragic. The subject matter is likely the main hurdle to accessing Natural Enemies but anyone who is a fan of the period owes it to themselves to check this one out. It's a fascinating collection of talent (in front of and behind the camera) and features some tremendous location footage.

The Ernie Game (1968) - I can see how this could be an exasperating watch for some people. The character of Ernie (who does have some kind of undisclosed mental illness) is childish, self-absorbed, chaotic, and even abusive. The women in Ernie's life probably tolerate too much from him and I imagine some viewers will wonder how on earth they can continue to support or enable Ernie's meanderings. Still, I think both Donna and Gail are fascinating in their own right and they do draw boundaries for themselves unlike many of the compelling if frustrating female characterizations in films from the late 60s through the 70s. Character motivations aside, I was totally struck by the late 60s vibes, the sense of place (Montreal), and the focus on street life. I could watch these characters walk along snow covered streets or stumble upon informal Leonard Cohen performances all night. Canadian International Pictures has become one of my absolute favorite labels and the package for Ernie's Game is tremendous. It features several short films from Don Owen including a Leonard Cohen documentary from around this same time.  

Another Woman (1988) - Perhaps the most restrained Woody Allen film I've seen to date and that's a tremendous asset when you have a performance as powerful and nuanced as Gena Rowland's is. There's such a depth and emotional complexity that Rowland is able to portray and Allen was mature enough to give her the space to do it. The supporting cast is excellent as well and you get some killer stuff from Blythe Danner, Martha Plimpton, Sandy Dennis, Gene Hackman, and Ian Holm.

Metropolitan (1990) - I can't quite recall what drove me into the arms of Whit Stillman, but I found myself watching all three of his 90s films in July. I actually started with The Last Days of Disco and my favorite while watching it was Barcelona but I feel as though Metropolitan left the most lasting impression of the three. This isn't news to anyone who was paying attention to his films (I definitely was not motivated to see them in the 90s) but there's a real alchemy in taking these chatty, mannered, affluent twits and making likeable if not altogether relatable characters out of them. Stillman takes on young, frequently oblivious subjects and gives them enough outlandish statements, pop culture obsession, and occasional insight that you actually want to spend more time with them. His articulate asshole schtick doesn't change much between the films but I totally want to hang out with Chris Eigeman now.

The Dogs (1979) - I picked up both this and Shock Treatment from Severin's most recent sale making for a total of three Alain Jessua films for me this year (I wrote about Armageddon a few months back). Jessua's films are far from perfect but I've found them all really interesting in their own right. My understanding is that his films were popular so he had access to resources and high profile actors. In the case of The Dogs he was able to work with Gérard Depardieu in front of the camera and Étienne Becker behind it. Étienne Becker shot some fantastic looking movies and was the son of Jacques Becker - who besides being a favorite director of mine was one of Jessua's mentors when he was starting his film career. A French film critic mentioned on one of the special features that while Jessua didn't exactly work in science fiction he did work in a sort of adjacent reality to our own. That's such an apt description of The Dogs. There's nothing explicitly fantastic about it but it has such an alien feel to it - in part thanks to being shot in this quasi-brutalist looking Paris suburb. The community featured in the film is recognizable but operates at a heightened pitch of paranoia and there are some genuinely bizarre sequences like when the town meeting is disturbed by the arrival of more and more silent citizens with loudly barking dogs. Depardieu's Morel creates something akin to a cult or a secret society around the dogs which some of the characters become seduced by over the course of the film. I'm not sure the social satire fully coheres but it's still depressingly relevant today. Shock Treatment contains some similar themes exchanging clannish villagers trying to maintain a status quo for wealthy socialites trying to cling to their youth. Alain Delon plays the charismatic doctor who has masterminded the "treatments" he administers for outlandish sums of money. I think these actually make a solid double feature and would recommend all three of Jessua's 70s films if any of this intrigues you.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) - Finally, finally caught up to this classic and it was every bit the brutal powerhouse I understood it to be. Sydney Pollack's direction palpably conveys the tense physicality of the dance marathon. The "derby" scenes are positively gut-wrenching. The ensemble is incredible. Fonda and York ably demonstrate that they won't be steamrolled or pigeonholed for the next decade. Still, it's Gig Young that absolutely knocked me out. He was recognized for the performance by the Academy but that doesn't convey how wonderfully dark and strange and occasionally touching it is. 

God's Country (1985) - I have Brian Sauer of the Pure Cinema Podcast to thank for this last addition to the at-home list. He mentioned it on their recent 80s Missing Pieces episode. I have a seemingly endless appetite for public television documentaries from around this period but how have I missed one from Louis Malle featuring a small town only a couple hours away from where I am now? It's difficult for me not to compare Malle's film to Middletown which I watched earlier this year or possibly some of Les Blank's films. Malle actually appears on camera occasionally which is different from those but he still offers a similar look at daily life in an environment both familiar to me and one that doesn't necessarily exist in the same way any longer. I was totally absorbed by the stories from the people he met and loved hearing their observations on everything from gardening to economics. Highly recommended if you are a fellow Midwesterner or grew up around farming.

Theatrical Screenings!

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) - Caught this with the in-laws on Independence Day. It was entertaining enough though I can't help but feel like they should have used fewer animated effects and more real planes, trains, motorcycles, etc. Something about Indiana Jones cries out for the physical world. 

Cría cuervos… (1976) - It's Geraldine Chaplin's birthday as I write this (7/31) and it was an absolute joy to watch her in one of her many collaborations with Carlos Saura in a theater on 35mm film, no less. This is only my third Saura film having seen his entry into the quinqui genre Deprisa Deprisa and an earlier film he directed with Chaplin: Peppermint Frappe. Many of the reviews I read regarding Cria make it out to be this unrelentingly brutal depiction of childhood trauma but that wasn't my experience with it. The texture of the film is much richer than that and what makes it such an exceptional picture is how it weaves melancholy and trauma with moments of levity and humanity. I don't mean to say it won't be deeply affecting but it didn't psychically assault me or anything. Chaplin is entirely magnetic per usually and the haunted visage of Ana Torrent - a wide eyed witness to all manner of adult behavior - leaves an indelible impression. Also worth mentioning that Saura seems to have a real relationship with pop music in his films and Porque te vas? by Jeanette has been in heavy rotation after seeing this. 

Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987) - Screened as part of the Genre Brain Melt series at Emagine Willow Creek. I dragged my poor buddy Stuart to this because that's the kind of pal I am. I'd seen it before but Andy Sidaris' epic of boobs, bazookas, and questionable snake puppets really needs to be seen with an audience for the complete experience. I had an absolute blast and Stuart hasn't yet blocked me on social media so I feel as though our relationship is intact. 

The Conformist (1970) - I first saw pieces of The Conformist in the absolutely essential documentary Visions of Light twenty odd years ago and was totally entranced by it. Since then, I've managed to see it a few times in varying states of quality and it's a film the reveals itself in different ways with each viewing. Seeing the 2022 restoration at The Trylon was definitely the best version I've ever watched and it's every bit as engrossing now as it was the first time. An unflinching portrait of fascist collaboration and a masterclass in cinematic language. Do not miss a chance to see it if you get one.

Past Lives (2023) - The praise for Celine Song's debut feature has been practically universal so I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I finally sat down for it. I found myself almost instantly charmed. The filming appears relatively low-key (though I wonder how it will look upon revisiting it) but the performances are so beautifully delivered, so delicately evocative. I couldn't take my eyes off of Greta Lee's largely subtle and occasionally expansive facial expressions and I loved that Song was willing to be patient and let the camera dwell on her. Past Lives is a great addition to the canon of New York movies as well. I'm sure the argument could be made that you could wait for streaming to catch this, but I'd say go snag a viewing if you still can. Take someone you like, go talk about it afterwards, you can thank me later.

Lumières Françaises 2023

 

Every year around Bastille Day the MSP Film Society hosts their Lumières Françaises Festival du Cinema - it's a showcase for French and francophone films focusing largely on newer releases with the occasional rep feature. I've caught a screening here and there during previous festivals but this year I wanted to make it out for a more significant chunk of the fest. Some of that is driven by my enthusiasm for what's going down at the Main Cinema these days but the film selections were also intriguing. I managed to catch five movies over the weekend and wanted to do some write ups for anyone interested. Most importantly, the festival is through July 19th, so if you're local to the Twin Cities you absolutely still have a chance to head out and get your French film fix. Whether you're interested in romance, zombies, or the greatest film of all time - there's something of interest for just about anyone this year.

Freestyle (2022) - I was very impressed with Marina Foïs' performance in The Beasts which I saw during MSPIFF back in April. I didn't have much other than that and a brief plot synopsis to go on but that was sufficient to get me to check out Freestyle. The feature debut of director Didier Barcelo has Foïs playing a woman suddenly and acutely possessed by a neurosis that keeps her from leaving her automobile. Stuck in a carpark after running out of gas, the situation gets more complicated when a thief (Benjamin Voisin) attempts to steal the car with Foïs still inside. The two initially struggle against each other but eventually become unlikely allies in a bizarre cross-country journey. Freestyle is frequently funny, touching, occasionally melancholy, and primarily a solid platform for Voisin and Foïs. Being trapped in a car for even 89 minutes is a personal nightmare, but the charm and chemistry between the two leads was enough to keep me invested even if things do start to meander a bit towards the end. Recommended for some solid character work and one of the best scenes of backseat psychoanalysis at gunpoint I've witnessed.

The Innocent (2022) - I wrote about The Innocent back in May when I picked it as one of my favorite new-to-me films of the month. I liked it well enough that I jumped at the chance to see it theatrically. It's become an impossibly easy recommendation to make to people due to its earnest, entertaining blend of heist and romantic comedy genre elements. It doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is overflowing with cool needle drops from a combination of movie soundtracks and 80s/90s europop. Louis Garrel and Noémie Merlant are excellent together and the supporting cast are terrific. Definitely catch this either in the theater (Stelvio Cipriani and Gianna Nannini jams via surround sound are where it's at!) or check it out on Criterion.

Scarlet (2022) - A lush, fable-like story set in post WWI France. Scarlet features some gorgeous compositions, stylistic flourishes, and what appears to be restored/colored footage from the period. Pretty pictures aside, I found Raphael Thierry's performance as a wounded vet returning from war only to learn that he's both a father and a widower to be worth the price of admission alone. It's hard not to make comparisons to Michel Simon and though the films are very different I couldn't help but be reminded a little of Panique. Juliette Jouan acquits herself well and I was happy to see more of Louis Garrel, but honestly missed Thierry's presence when he wasn't on the screen. I'm going to have to hunt down more of his work. The plot trajectory gets a bit murky in the final third or so but there's enough intrigue and magic to make Scarlet worthwhile if you can appreciate something closer to a fairy tale than a realistic drama.

La Syndacaliste (2022) - For fans of realistic dramas, La Syndicaliste is based on actual events. Isabelle Huppert stars as a hardnosed union rep for a nuclear power conglomerate in France. She discovers some clandestine dealings with China that could put the careers of her fellows in jeopardy and starts making waves. I don't want to give away too much of the plot as I truly found myself on a journey while watching this, unsure which way the film was headed. It's a bit of political intrigue, true crime procedural, and genre thriller. Huppert is naturally superb and she gets to share some screentime with Marina Foïs which I enjoyed tremendously. 

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) - I'm certain that in a fit of hyperbole I've said something to the effect that I'd gladly watch Delphine Seyrig peel potatoes. Thanks to Chantal Akerman's most famous film, you can experience the joy of Seyrig preparing spuds, mixing meatloaf, and washing dishes along with a myriad of other daily rituals. I've seen Dielman before but never theatrically and I felt that amongst the other dedicated souls who turned up for an 11am screening that I must be among my people. It is a fascinating, engrossing, intimate, frustrating, and somehow still surprising work. I don't know that I could successfully watch it at home again so being forced to sit with it in the dark, with no pauses or smartphones available to me was a genuine treasure. It's not going to be for everyone but if you have an inkling to see it, I can't recommend it enough. I'm half tempted to take some time off of work to see it again on Wednesday.

Junesploitation/Best New-to-Me June 2023

 Last year I participated in my first Junesploitation - F This Movie's annual film challenge where they provide 30 prompts and we all do our level best to watch at least one movie per category. I had a great time with it so I didn't think long or hard before taking the dive again this year. I often travel in June which can complicate my Junesploitation schedule  (of course last year I made it out to Ex-Fest which was actually pretty helpful in knocking out some categories) but I still managed to watch 29 Junesploitation movies and hit all 30 categories. One of the great things about this particular viewing challenge is the openness in the attitudes of its participants. If you need to hop around the schedule or double up or don't have time to watch everything, it's no problem. As long as you're down to indulge your genre proclivities in some way during the month of June, you're invited. I know there's a lively community of commenters over on F This Movie! and I've done some social media posts for Junesploitation before, but I was really happy to have the Unsung Horrors discord server to blab about what I was watching and follow along with other participants. It's a cool community of movie fans (with interests much wider than horror) so you should definitely be listening to the podcast and then check out their other links.

Me being me, I watched a lot of non-Junesploitation movies in June as well so I think I'll break up this post into challenge related first time watches, other movies that really struck me in June, and then some notes on theatrical screenings I managed to catch. There's plenty to talk about!

Best of Junesploitation 2023

Gina (1975) A vitally potent blend of labor politics, pseudo-documentary, and genre elements set in a very specific time and place. Gina was a "free space" pick for me but would also work for the "revenge" category. It is a rape/revenge film which I realize is not going to work for everyone. Still, I don't think it feels particularly exploitative. Part of that is the storyline parallel to Gina's: an indie film crew trying to make a documentary on the textile workers in the small Canadian town in which it's set. Director Denys Arcand got his start as a documentarian and employs both his experiences and filmmaking techniques to this part of the film. Not only is this a smart way to manage a low budget, but it adds some gritty reality to the proceedings. I don't want to make this sound like a kitchen sink drama, though. Gina delivers the genre goods when it comes to Céline Lomez' dancing (choreographed by Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal founder Eva Von Gencsy), moments of intense violence, or the absolute crackerjack snowmobile chase towards the end of the film. Between this and La Gammick, Canadian International Pictures is becoming a favorite smaller blu ray label of mine and I'm very much here for more Quebecois crime classics!

Freedom (1981) - My choice for the "Teenagers" category this year. Who knew that I would become such a tv movie fan? It helps when you have absolute killers like Joseph Sargent and Barbara Turner behind the scenes and actors the quality of Mare Winningham and Jennifer Warren in front of the camera. Freedom isn't a particularly gritty take on teenage independence or the life of a carny - but it does feel genuine. Turner based the script on her actual experiences with her older daughter and Winningham and Warren really do seem to embody that familial friction so believably. Sargent doesn't do anything too flashy here, but he shoots a carnival midway just as ably as he does a Manhattan street scene. He also includes some nice handheld montages that give this a pseudo-documentary feel in a few sequences. I dragged my feet on Fun City Edition's first set of made for tv movies but have truly enjoyed them after picking it up. I'll be first in line for the new set!

The Last Run (1971) "Cars" can be a tricky category for me. To say I'm no gearhead is a vast understatement and while I love a good chase sequences, I'd just as soon see a bunch of disposable Fiats careening around then any kind of fancy sportscar. Still, there's no shortage of crime films that intersect with driving and The Last Run has been on my watchlist for ages. It's a fantastic slab of European set hardboiled crime action featuring George C. Scott at the height of his powers. Alan Sharp (Night Moves) wrote the script and he had such a gift for this brand of downer 70s neo-noir. There was a bit of behind the scenes hijinks on this film but Richard Fleischer eventually took the helm and delivers the goods very competently. The Last Run has been languishing in Warner Brothers dvd limbo for as long as I can remember and would make for an ideal blu ray upgrade. I almost hope someone else can take the reigns on this as WB tends to do barebones discs and I think there's some great bonus feature potential here. 

Take a Hard Ride (1975) - I had initially picked another movie for the "Fred Willimson" category but swerved towards this Antonion Margheriti western after it was recommended to me due to its dummy drop content! Presumably meant to capitalize on the success of the previous year's Three the Hard Way - Hard Ride transplants Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, and Jim Kelly into a fairly straightforward western tale of a man traveling with some money while everyone tries to take it from him. The plot doesn't break new ground, the details make for some wild viewing. Fred Williamson plays a fancy gambler who throws bags of snakes at people, Jim Kelly is a mute martial artist in a Billy Jack hat, Lee Van Cleef is essentially playing his usual role but teams up variously with corpse-robbing henchmen, religious war criminals, and a pack of mutinous bandits. It's not a profound film, but it's an incredibly entertaining one. Also, dummy drops!

For A Cop's Hide (1981) - Pour la peau d'un flic is not a "great" movie, but it was a fantastic surprise for me. It's the first of Alain Delon's directorial efforts during a period where he was only doing these hyper-masculine crime/action films. This was my "80s Action" pick and I assumed it would be something more along the lines of the Belmondo films from the same period (which I do like). Instead Cop's Hide is more in line with the shaggy, pulpy private eye stories that gained some traction in the 70s. Delon isn't well cast as the hard luck type but the film eventually sidesteps that characterization and he's able to play the kind of charming rogue he's better suited towards. There are twists galore as a missing persons case gives way to murder, crooked cops, conspiracies, drugs, and various unsavory activities. I was fully taken with the mystery though the version I watched had some synching issues with the subtitles. It's a great looking movie - shot by veteran Jacques Tournier - and the supporting cast is terrific. Anne Parillaud as Delon's secretary has to weather some generally shitty behavior and plays the dopey dame to an extent - but her screen presence is still there and she would go on to play some badass ladies (Nikita, for one). I'm curious to see her in Delon's other directorial effort, Le Battant. Brigitte Lahaie also turns up randomly as a nurse - though she never gets the chance to deliver any sinister injections!

The Bride Wore Black (1968) - I still need to shore up some major holes in my Nouvelle Vague filmography and was happy to finally catch up to Truffaut's genre flex for my actual "revenge" choice. Obviously a Hitchcock homage but also incredibly entertaining in its own right. I found Bride to be darkly funny and totally absorbing and I'm still thinking about the final gag. I confess that it has additional layers of interest for me due to the clear influence it had on other filmmakers. Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino are the most obvious examples though one would gladly tell you so with a wink and the other claims he'd never seen it (bleargh)

The Dion Brothers (1974) - My "Hicksploitation" choice had been languishing on my watchlist for a while and came heavily endorsed by Erica of Unsung Horrors so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately it also coincided with the recent passing of Frederic Forrest but what better way to celebrate his life than to dig into one of his great co-starring roles. Forrest is great in this along with the excellent Stacy Keach as two rural brothers telling the man to shove it and trying to make it as professional robbers. Crammed with awesome 70s actors, memorable dialogue, and some wild set pieces (shoot out in a building that's being demolished?) - this movie DEMANDS rediscovery, restoration, and re-release. The online copies look like deep fried shit, but you can still see the greatness. Somebody save this one!

Best of the Rest

Cisco Pike (1972) - Another long time watchlist denizen that turned up kind of randomly on YouTube. I've been having good luck with that lately and don't mind if it continues (though I would totally pick this up on blu-ray if I could). The cast for Cisco is the stuff of my 70s obsessed dreams - Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, Harry Dean Stanton, Joy Bang, and others - but this isn't a movie about powerhouse performances. Even though Kristofferson's Cisco is tasked with selling 100 kilos of weed in a single weekend, there's not much urgency in the film. It's a naturalistic, hangout movie about a pack of losers doing what they think they have to and results in some wonderful scenes and moments. Maybe the ultimate 60s hangover movie and very much my kind of deal.

House Calls (1978) - I think it was ultimately my obsession with Art Carney's career in the 70s that led me to track down a dvd for House Calls and I'm so glad I did. This brand of sad/funny/charming love story propelled by amazing performances by Matthau and Glenda Jackson is so completely up my street and I absolutely loved it. Carney and Richard Benjamin are solid here as well but they're truly supporting characters. In an unfortunate theme of this month, I was saddened to hear of Glenda Jackson's passing. She positively lights up the screen in everything she did.

Middletown (1982) - I have not watched all six parts of this public television documentary series but the two I've watched were outstanding. Family Business focuses on a man and his family trying to make a Shakey's Pizza franchise successful. It's a rather striking portrait of people doing all the "right" things and still struggling to keep the lights on in the face of corporations and banks that don't value much of anything beyond the bottom line. My dad worked in pizza parlors like Shakey's in the 80s so it was a deeply nostalgic trip for me as well. Seventeen focuses on a group of high school students in their final year and has to be some of the rawest "coming of age" footage I've ever seen. The kids, though charismatic and kind of sweet, often come off as little sociopaths trying to understand the limits of their own agency. There is some deeply fraught racial context on display as well and some of the things said left me with my mouth hanging open. It was pulled from PBS before it aired for being too controversial and then went on to win the documentary Grand Jury Prize at Cannes a couple of years later. Essential stuff.

Little Murders (1971) - Hilariously nihilistic stage play adaptation that could only exist in those strange transition years between the 60s and 70s. While I find Elliot Gould's apathetic Alfred relatable, nobody is particularly admirable in this one and it goes really dark towards the end. While their characters are mostly terrible, everyone involved in the production is fantastic. Again, this was an unfortunate memorial watch for Alan Arkin who both directed this and makes a phenomenal appearance as a neurotic police detective. 

Theatrical Screenings!

New Jack City (1991) - I was able to catch a screening of this in NYC as part of the Tribeca Film Festival (a first for me) with a filmmakers Q&A. The film holds up beautifully and Mario Van Peebles is impossibly charismatic in person. Listening to Fab 5 Freddy and the RZA talk about 90s hip-hop has to be one of the raddest things to happen for me.

The Dragon Lives Again (1977) - Not only is this a Brucesploitation flick, but it also features low-rent, occasionally inexplicable knock-offs of the Godfather, Clint Eastwood, Zaitoichi, Caine from Kung-Fu, the One-Armed Swordsman, Dracula, Emanuelle(!), the Exorcist, James Bond, and even Popeye. Completely bonkers tale of a post-mortem Bruce Lee who enters the underworld only to get mixed up with this motely crew of weirdos and the horny king who rules over them. I'd definitely recommend seeing this with a crowd and (maybe more importantly) seeing a version with the original scope aspect ratio. By all accounts, the pan and scan bootlegs are horrendous. I was able to see the AGFA scan but there is a new Severin scan/restoration which will probably look even better.

Asteroid City (2023) - I'll probably have to sit with this another time before I have anything really substantive to say about it. I really did enjoy it though and I haven't been quite as enamored with Anderson's last couple films (which I still enjoyed so maybe I'm just a hopeless fanboy). While the puzzle box structure of Asteroid City may be the most convoluted in Anderson's filmography, it's noticeably less frantic and I think that's a good thing. 

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) - I was able to catch a 16mm screening of this Harryhausen classic thanks to our local Cult Film Collective. If you're local to the Twin Cities, you love weird movies, and you're passionate about seeing films on actual film, you owe it to yourself to look the CFC up and become a member. Sinbad isn't my favorite Harryhausen but it has an absolute banger of a skeleton fight and how about that Star Wars chasm swing?