I’m alive / NO WATCH PARTY TONIGHT….

Updated on October 18, 2024 By Ken Begg 13 Comments

Hey, everyone, I’m back home but in a post-trip fog and about to stumble to work. I’m a bit too out of it to run a watch party tonight, as I’d rather just come home and go to sleep. Sorry about that. We’ll do one next week instead, with another Halloween appropriate film like Son of Dracula, which we watch last time.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Watch something stupid.

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  • 🐻 bgbear_rnh

    Welcome home. I drove the 12 hour trip back from Idaho Sunday and I think I am finally awake and now I am taking a 3 hr drive down south today so I would miss a party if it were tonight.

  • Gamera977

    I watched 'Island of Lost Souls' and the '70s 'Island of Doctor Moreau' over the last two days.

    I ended up with a horrible nightmare where Ken was Dr. Moreau and we were all his beast people…

    WHAT IS THE LAW?

    TO WATCH STUPID MOVIES IS THE LAW!

    WHAT IS THE LAW?

    TO NOT TOUCH THE MASTER'S PIES IS THE LAW!

    ARE WE NOT JABOOTUITES!?!!?!

  • Eric Hinkle

    Well at least you didn't imagine Ken as the Marlon Brando version of Moreau.

  • Eric Hinkle

    Welcome home, Mr. Begg! Good to have you back.

  • Gamera977

    That Eric would have had me waking up screaming….

    I was thinking Charles Laughton for Ken…

  • Eric Hinkle

    "The Jabootuites are restless tonight."

  • Beckoning Chasm

    The Charles Laughton role would have to be Sandy. No other. Ken would probably hate it, but he would have to be The Sayer of The Law.

    "What is the law?" "To see Reptilicus in 4K!"
    "What is the law!" "To see The Giant Claw in 4K!"
    Scowl. "The whippings will continue!"

  • Gamera977

    As long as I'm the Turtle man that after being created sleeps though the entire movie including the shooting, screaming, and explosion of Moreau's lab. Then in a post credit sequence I wake up and ask 'Duh, what happened???'

  • Beckoning Chasm

    "Turtle, turtle, turtle! What do you mean, worst movie ever?!"

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Tonight's 4K feature was "Donnie Darko" courtesy of Arrow Video, who supplied 4k for both theatrical and extended versions. That's pretty rare–usually, anything other than the theatrical version gets blue-ray at best ("Listen! Videophiles of the night! What moaning they make!").

    At any rate, I watched the theatrical version.

    I imagine this film divides a lot of people. There are those who say "it's a perfect view of adolescence and how moving into an adult world means a lot of choices, some of which are…bad." And there are those who say "It's a lot of pretentious nonsense with obvious good-bad figures!" Both are kind of correct, really.

    I'm in the middle, here. I think it really reflects what it is to be a teenager, pushed into a world where there are ideas which you've never seen before, but must either embrace or discard. I also think it tends to be obvious where the "good-bad" ideas are, way too obvious honestly. And there's the central idea, what would you do for love? When you understand that the world is more than your perception, and when you know that the love you feel could not be returned? Is the love that much?

    I like the film myself, in both versions. It's the soundtrack to Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Which appears in the film.)

    I would recommend Arrow Video's 4K. But, it's one of those films. You know what I mean.

    I'd recommend it to everyone. But that's just me.

  • Ken_Begg

    Sadly, much more accurate.

  • Ken_Begg

    Accurate. Once when people were grousing when I showed Last Year at Marienbad (I know, seems impossible) Sandy threatened to turn the movie off. "Is this what we've become?!" I shrieked. "People who turn off bad movies?" Luckily we regained our senses and carried on.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Tonight's 4K feature was "Superman" or to be more proper, "Superman – The Movie." Yes, the Richard Donner-Christopher Reeve film that basically started the whole superhero movie genre. (The box set was recently on sale at Amazon. Looking forward to 4, thanks Ken!)

    Let's get the technical stuff out of the way. Image and sound are terrific. The miniature effects are really convincing. What isn't convincing is anything needing a blue screen (technically, I guess it was a green screen). 4K really shows the flaws when Superman is flying around.

    You know what? Who cares. Not me. The main thing about this movie, though, is how innocent and charming it is. It doesn't have a cynical bone in it's body, which is so refreshing after seeing all the grim and dark superhero films that followed from Tim Burton's "Batman" (a film I love, by the way). Superman is a pure innocent, baffled by Lex Luthor…which is how it should be with the Big Blue Boy Scout.

    (As an aside, one of my favorite Superman moments is in the Justice League episode "Comfort and Joy." Superman has invited Martian Manhunter to spend the Christmas holiday with him and the Kents. Ma and Pa say "This little fella [Superman] was crazy for Christmas. We had to wrap his presents in lead foil so he couldn't peek!"

    (To which Superman frowned, and said, "You mean Santa wrapped them." That's Superman. He truly believes in Santa Claus.)

    Anyway–

    All the performers here are charming. Reeve is terrific, Kidder is wonderful, Cooper is great, and in fact all the roles are perfect. You really couldn't ask for a more perfect Superman movie. It has everything one could want.

    Some folks complain that the lighter tone of the second half contrasts too much with the elegiac tone of the first half. Well, those folks need to watch "Man of Steel" five times in a row. Maybe, then, we'll let them out of the chamber.