I’ve been rewatching HEY ARNOLD! during the pandemic and I’ve finally gotten to the point for the film. Not the biggest fan of the computer animation style (it kind of reminded me of BIG MOUTH, but that is such a different style from the original). The updated wardrobes and looks for the characters was really well done.The story is great for fans of the show, since we get so many little nice call backs. I am on the fence on whether or not Arnold’s parents should have been alive. It is very farfetched that they wouldn’t have starved to death after being asleep for 9 years. While it is really nice he gets to have his parents back, and yes I did cry during the reunion, but there is something about having to accept the deaths of your parents and how you view the world. Arnold’s positive outlook despite losing his parents is a great thing for kids to see and kind of invalidates it for people who really experience this because in real life parents don’t come back. I loved the Helga/Arnold arc here. In rewatching the whole show, you really see that Helga is the co-lead of the series and how mature she is.
Quarantine Watch #697: The Little Mermaid (1989)
My friend’s 1 year old daughter loves two things right now: dogs and fish. As such, this is one of her favorites and so we were watching it together. Its so cute to see what she reacts to. Additionally, I don’t think I 'I’ve seen this whole film start to finish before. There are so many moments I forget, mostly the Eric scenes on the ship, the shipwreck, and the fact that Ariel had sisters. Some of this stuff must be so obvious to people, but I mostly remember the songs and the the main plot. We also need more Kenneth Mars in the world. It’s sad that he isn’t around to make more stuff.
Quarantine Watch #693: Posse (1993)
A lot of this film plays out as a paint-by-numbers Western, aside from the diverse cast made up of so many iconic talents from all across entertainment: rappers, game show hosts, wrestlers, and more on top of great actors. The films feels like a group of people who really like Western movies and wanted to make one so they ticked off all the boxes of what you tend to see in those films from the shot compositions to story points to tropes. I did not care for the way the Flashbacks were presented either. The pacing of the first film is a little off, with the plot not necessarily clear, but once they leave New Orleans and form the Posse the film starts to really take shape for the second half acting as a much more cohesive story while also playing out very episodically. Another thing the film really suffers from is just too much going on. It’s a revenge story and a treasure adventure similar to something like THREE KINGS. As such the plot is bogged down with too many villains. Still, Mario really knows how to shoot himself so he is the coolest motherfucker in the land. I’d love to see some sort of crossover with his character aged and Jamie Foxx as Django from DJANGO UNCHAINED. There are also some great moments, like when the Posse leaves the teacup and gold piece for the Colonel. The socio-racial politics and commentary of the film is also handled really well and so far ahead of its time. I also loved what Stephen Baldwin is doing. This is that era he was really getting good work between this BORN ON THE FORTH OF JULY and THE USUAL SUSPECTS. I don’t know what Billy Zane is doing here. He is making a HUGE choice with his acting and speech patterns.
Quarantine Watch #692: Scream (1996)
For some reason, I had an inkling to rewatch this. I think it was because I was listening to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and it reminded me I hadn’t seen this in a while. On this time around I noticed a lot of things I never really noticed before. First, I never found the opening scary. This was a lot of reasons, but most of all because I didn’t see it in 1996. I saw it after I had already seen SCARY MOVIE and because by the time I had seen it I had already seen horror films that took inspiration from SCREAM and pushed the envelope even more. The thing that makes the entire opening work so well is Drew Barrymore. This may be one of the best performances of her career and I actually think she should have gotten an Oscar nomination for the amount of work she does here to truly make it terrifying. I also noticed a lot of plot points and silly dumb choices the characters make throughout the film. It’s really the charm and tone of this film that helps you push past these blemishes on the film and just fall in love with how pure it is not only as a horror film but a horror film about people who like horror films.
Quarantine Watch #686: Nate Bargatze: Greatest Average American (2021)
I really loved Nate Bargatze’s previous special THE TENNESSEE KID so I was really jazzed when this came out. The first half, which focuses on really did nothing for me. However once he gets past that at around the halfway point and talks about his daughter and age and syrup every really starts flowing. It’s so smart but not overwritten so it feels very everyman. Overall it was a really nice special.
Quarantine Watch #683: Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Hot take — this may be my favorite Toshirô Mifune performance. The moment he sees that his son and daughter-in-law and real beast of a samurai comes out is so good. The best part of the film is that it spends most of its time in a build up (similar to HIGH NOON). Everyone knows that blood will be spilled, but everyone from the Lord’s vassals, chamberlains, stewards, guards, and samurai try to prevent it because Mifune is that much of a badass. I also love how formal everything is. The film takes its time keeping you waiting for the moment the powder keg finally bursts. Even when people are monstrous they do it honorable and bureaucratically with formal letters. It was like watching a work email chain happen in olden days. You can see this film's influence all over some of the best films like BRAVEHEART (even though that event actually happened in real life), UNFORGIVEN, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, and Kobayashi's other film HARA KIRI.
Quarantine Watch #682: Lolita (1962)
This is such a weird movie, mainly due to the story it is based on. I never read the book and had only vaguely been aware of the plot. Tonally, I also didn’t expect this to have so many funny moments as it does. There moments played for pure comedy that are fantastic, like early on when he touches the urn with the ashes in them or when Humbert is helping the bellhop set up the cot in the hotel room while Dolores sleeps. These moment do not gel with the rest of the film at all. I think the humor is in there to undercut some of the grossness of the plot and of the male characters in the film. Everyone acts big and in that way it lessens the creepiness everyone has especially Humbert. Humbert Humbert is so creepy and lascivious. He looks like he is drooling for Lolita the entire film like a rabid dog. The photography is really beautiful and was my favorite part of the film. Kubrick is able to make ordinary things look special. When you see Lolita for the first time, it’s hard not to be pulled into her. I think it’s the glasses she has on — they are something Audrey Hepburn would wear. I also was really taken with the editing. there are moments where the film smash cuts into different moments, that you feel propelled through the film. Peter Sellers is the best part of the cast, although he feels so superfluous to the actual story and is also such a super weirdo. The things he does in here make for an interesting Sellers character, but I wish I could see him in another movie. It is also obvious that this was a big influence on the Alicia Silverstone movie THE CRUSH. I kept thinking of that movie the entire time I was watching this. It was also so hard to watch this after just watching ALLEN V. FARROW.
Quarantine Watch #681: The Double Life of Véronique (1991)
This film reminded me how much I really loved Irène Jacob in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s other film THREE COLORS: RED. She is stunning here. and has such a presence in the scenes she is in. You can’t help but adore her from her youthful face to her singing talents to her infectious smile and laughter and even in moments of emotional evisceration. I don’t have any idea what Kieślowski is trying to say about duplicity, the grief Véronique feels, or the puppet guy’s parable with the extra puppet. Frankly, I’m okay without understanding it, I still like it. It feels like its summing up a part of what it is like to be alive, while never able to articulate what that feeling is. The cinematography is the main thing to really focus on here. The way the camera sways in POV shots that feel disorientating and organic. Then you have other moments where lights are the star — like the concert scene. Color is used in such a unique way. I feels spread out across the whole frame like a painting in a museum. If you look in one corner you see something different than what’s in the other side of the frame. It can be red or yellow it is at times, but with blues and grays creeping in as well. There is a grittiness to the color too — so it never feels loud except when it comes to the color green which is ever present, especially in the second half of the film. It’s similar to the beginning and final scenes of STALKER if it was toned down about 50%. I also LOVE the shot of Weronika early in the film when she is filmed through the reflection of the window (pictured below). It makes it feel like there are ghostly shapes around her. I have also never been so taken with a puppet show before, but also it was a little expressionistic and deep for the little kids that were watching it. Even a little girl turn to Véronique in fear at one moment.
Quarantine Watch #680: The Last Blockbuster (2020)
I remember the day my Blockbuster closed. As a kid Blockbuster was my favorite place to go. It was a part of who I was. I also have films I fell in love with because I saw the artwork on the box in the middle of the aisle. The profile on the company is an interesting thing to examine because in the 90s the idea of there not being any Blockbusters anywhere felt like an insane idea. I bet it would be a cool place to work at if you were a teenager growing up in Bend, OR nowadays. The way it is made is a little sloppy and the tone reminded me a lot of Netflix’s THE TOYS [MOVIES] THAT MADE US (not in a bad way), but there is a lot of heart in here. Watching the film really made me feel like that little kid again because I remember what that box feels like in your hand and how the places smell. Overall it was a fun movie that is short, but doesn’t feel like it.
Quarantine Watch #679: The Conformist (1969)
This was something seriously special. The film is gorgeous with the best cinematography and lighting I’ve ever seen. I was shown three scenes from this out of context in film school during cinematography class and the moments always stuck with me, but I just never got around to seeing this until now. Dominique Sanda was stunning in this. She is so seductive — not only pulling Marcello and Giulia into her, but the audience as well. I can't wait to explore more of her filmography. This was also such an interesting and formative film for me to this at this point in my life. I just turned 30 and examining the meanings of life and normalcy feels like an everyday thing. They were all on display here. I loved it.
Quarantine Watch #678: 7 Days in Hell (2015)
I had friends over so I decided to show this to them since we both love sports and comedy. I knew that they would love this. This is one of my favorite things to watch if I only have 45 minutes because it is super smart on-top of being super ridiculous. Everyone involved just kills it including Kit Harrington who should do my comedy work.
Quarantine Watch #677: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
The acting here from is phenomenal specifically from Daniel Kaluuya, Dominique Fishback, and Lakeith Stanfield. Lil Rel Howery was also fantastic in his one scene. The film is really effective about showing how abusive J. Edgar was of his powers in in the FBI and how horrendous the assassination (the scene where it happens is just heart breaking) of Fred Hampton was. Everything that was presented regarding the Black Panthers by the government made them seem so much more a danger than they actually were and it is a really dark shame on society. It’s so crazy that he was only 21 when he did all of this.
Quarantine Watch #676: Carnal Knowledge (1971)
The opening shot where Candice Bergen walks into the light is so gorgeous that I was immediately drawn in. Jules Feiffer’s writing is so fast and is so expertly composed, especially in regards to dialogue. This film has a lot of those great Mike Nichols types moments where it feels like your watching a play on stage (similar to moments in WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF). This is especially the case during the second chapter of the film when Nicholas and Ann Margaret are acting up a storm. Ann Margaret is so great in this and she really deserved all the love she got from this film. I also think Candice Bergen did a great job as well. Art Garfunkel is way better than he has any right to be. I wish he had done more acting jobs.
Quarantine Watch #675: The Cameraman (1928)
There are so many great moments in here. Like when he grabs onto the firetruck and it pulls into a fire station instead of taking him to the fire. This is one of the best films to look at for Keaton’s signature stone face reaction shot. It plays so well here, especially when he goes to meet the boss at MGM Newsreels. The Yankees stadium stuff was also great. If there is one thing Keaton is amazing at is his movement abilities. It’s why still today he is considered one of the greatest slapstick performers. This is really shown during the bus scene when he climbs and sits on the wheel. The amount of stuff he does with vehicles is so great, yet dangerous which is why they standout as the best parts of it. My favorite moment was when two legs of the tripod are shot off so he olds out the third one to balance it out. I thought the Tong Wars as a backdrop was also such a brilliant idea on Keaton’s part. All of it shot so wonderfully. When everyone starts firing in the long shots it looks so grand. The only scenes of the film I didn’t care for were the dressing room/pool scenes as I thought it really took away from the cameraman plot line. The monkey was also really adorable.
Quarantine Watch #674: Safe (1995)
There are so many layers to this movie from the feminist POV, the metaphor of the modern era and suburbia being what’s making Carol sick, the upper class and women’s place in it, how the AIDS crisis around the world was handled, how society treat people with illnesses, and so much more. It was especially interesting to watch in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is really the case when you notice during the seminar only one person is wearing a mask. You can really see a lot of Todd Haynes’s interests as the environmental sensitivity impact of chemicals comes back around in DARK WATERS. It really makes you think how progress can be harmful. The first half of the film is so strong. It reminded me of a lot Polanski’s REPULSION at times. I loved the pastel color palette that really compliments the yuppie era it’s set in. I also really loved the slow push ins the camera does from time to time. It becomes so frustrating that no one believes her even after she collapses, bleeds, and froths at the mouth. It’s a scathing indictment on how society treats women. The second half of the film reminded me a lot of NOMADLAND mainly because of the wide open spaces and the sparse abodes everyone is in. Once it moves to this cult-like commune, the film really starts to lose me in both its plot and pacing. I would have loved to seen Carol stay in the suburbs and come undone more and more. However the final moments are so powerful especially because of how hypnotic Julianne Moore’s eyes are in that moment. For that matter Julianne Moore is so good in this.
Quarantine Watch #673: The Aristocrats (2005)
This film feels like a home movie Penn Jillette was making. Like he carried around a camera and every time he saw someone he pulled it out and asked them about ‘The Aristocrats’ joke. The style reminded me a lot of HECKLER with Jamie Kennedy. A lot of the actual versions of the joke are very funny. I tend to like the joke but the film gives a good point counterpoint on its views within the comedy community. Still, I believe when you analyze jokes to this extent it kind of takes the fun out of it. I really think this should have been a short film as it meanders for a very long time doing the same thing over and over again. The only way it gets away with it is that all of the people interviewed are amazing comedians. The one thing that comes across is that Gilbert Gottfried is the KING of the Aristocrats joke. He is the best of part of the doc.
Quarantine Watch #672: The Hidden Fortress (1958)
This is such an “adventure film” from the early days of the sets and plot. It reminded me a ton of what was happening with the Hollywood biblical epics at the time (THE TEN COMMANDMENTS was 2 years before this). Kurosawa must have been inspired a bit from them considering the whole opening moments with Tahei and Matashichi feels so grand. The lance/spear fight in the middle of the film was so good. The relationship between Rokurōta and Tadokoro is so fascinating and it shows during that fight. The moment afterwards when Rokurōta rides away that Mifune smiles in the most joyous and infectious way. Mifune is the best part of the film, which is why I did not care for being in the POV of Tahei and Matashichi. We spend so much time with them which becomes frustrating with how great Rokurōta as a character. They also are a little too much in terms of the comedic dummy characters that appear a lot in Japanese cinema. It’s also hard not to mention the STAR WARS of it all, and it seems like George Lucas also saw that the POV characters needed to be minimized when he conceptualized C-3PO and R2-D2. Although I think the thing that Lucas really took the most from here is the use of wipe transitions.
Quarantine Watch #671: Moxie (2021)
I love the attitude of the film and the whole Riot grrrl/zine movement. I got the chance to see Bikini Kill in concert and its so nice seeing teens of the modern era discovering it. I remember when I was in high school and found music like The Violent Femmes, Streetlight Manifesto, and The Gaslight Anthem that felt like they were speaking to me. It was such a fun exploration to bring back that era and inject it into a modern high school. Some of the sexist things were very overt to the point where it is hard to buy Marcia Gay Harden’s character up until the very end. At the same time the overtness of the injustice that is happening to these women could also be an exaggeration in order to show what it is like to be in that POV so I’ The absolute best part of the film is Hadley Robinson. She actually looks like is Amy Poehler’s daughter and had an energy and look similar to Elsie Fisher. The whole cast is great. Other shoutouts go to Lauren Tsai (who people might remember from LEGION), Alycia Pascual-Peña, Nico Hiraga, and Josephine Langford. I also wish they used Josie Totah more. My one issue with the cast is that Patrick Schwartzenegger is a little too old for the role.
Quarantine Watch #670: Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
“Lies! Those ain't lies! Those are campaign promises! They expect 'em!”
Eddie Bracken has such expressive eyes. He feels like an actor that learned from watching Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, or Three Stooges bits. I felt the same way about his performance in MIRACLE AT MORGAN’S CREEK although I like him a lot more in this one. The best part of the film is the script. While the plot is very aggressive in as much as no character gives Woodrow the chance to explain himself, the dialogue is so witty and sharp. In typical Preston Sturges fashion dialogue is not only so quick but also lends itself to being a scathing commentary on how people at the time (and even today) build up in their heads who is a hero and what a hero actually is. The committee chairman also reminded me a lot of the “YESSSS?” guy from THE SIMPSONS. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an inspiration for him.
Quarantine Watch #669: Brian Regan: On the Rocks (2021)
I really like Brian Regan’s delivery and comedy stylings but his specials for me have felt rather hit or miss. This is one of his best hits. So many of his moments had me dying like the moments about his bookcases, talking to people at parties, and the mushrooms. As Brian Regan ages his “I’m talking as some else” voice becomes a little like Jim Gaffigan’s high pitched voice in terms of tone. I also LOVE Red Rocks. Its the one concert venue I’ve always wanted to go to. Now that he has gray hair, Regan kinda looks like the bad Sensei from THE KARATE KID movies.
