This is the first Abbott and Costello anything I've seen (aside from “Who’s on First?) and I freaking loved it. Lou Costello is a comedic genius and was just so lovable. Everything about this was really fun. The gags worked so well. I feel like this movie in particular is what inspired Joe Ruby and Ken Spears to create SCOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? It is also so cool to see Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi reprising their Universal Monster roles. If Boris Karloff had played the Creature, I think it would have been perfect. I’d love to see a crossover of this sort in the modern era, but it definitely couldn’t be done as well as this.
Quarantine Watch #226: While We're Young (2015)
This one of the last Noah Baumbach movies I needed to see before finishing up his filmography. All the best parts of this film are things we’ve come to love of his films. There are a lot of real funny moments even if you don’t laugh out loud. The core four actors are all great in their roles. I particularly adored Naomi Watts — she should do more comedies. I also love that Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys was in it too. I also think the role Stiller plays here is a role he has been playing for a long time now — the old guy who is getting older and frustrated about his station in life. You see this in BRAD’S STATUS, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), and THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY for example. The film does a great job though of really showing the differences in generations and how we perceive the generations that come after us.
Quarantine Watch #225: The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Well this really resonated with what is currently going on in the world. It’s amazing how much we’ve changed as human beings while also staying exactly the same. There are so many great sequences here; the scene where Ali is assigned to assassinate the cops, when the bombs are planted, when the two guys lower the bomb in the basket, the ending,— there are so many. They aren’t even really strung together too cohesively, but that’s kind of the point. It makes it feel like you are right there. I need to explore more Italian Neo-Realist films. It’s amazing how much they were able to accomplish practically in 1966 regarding the effects. I kept jumping around from being on the Algerians’ side to against them to back to them multiple times, which is also a great line the film toes. Morricone’s score is also superb. I love Tarantino repurposed it for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.
Quarantine Watch #224: Unfriended (2014)
I always really liked this one. It came on TV and I ended up watching it with my parents since they hadn’t seen it. My only issue is that I hate the final shot. It's one of only a couple of films where the final image makes the film slightly worse (another for me is Lars Von Trier's NYMPHOMANIAC). If it wasn’t in the film, I’d have liked it even more.
Quarantine Watch #223: Throne of Blood (1957)
MacBeth is not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, which is probably why I didn’t love this movie. It was, however, so well made. The fog is so beautiful around the epic sets and really great directing by Kurosawa. Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada give such deep and powerful performances as well. I loved the make-up and costuming for Asaji — the makeup on her face whitens her face, removes her eyebrows, and adds two streaks on her temple which (to me) resemble horns. She subtly looks like a demon in women’s clothing. The arrows at the end are also AMAZING.
Quarantine Watch #222: Buffaloed (2020)
I have been a fan of Zoey Duetch for a long time now. She is so adorable, witty, and strong. Her performance here as the fast talking, hustling, debt collecting, ambitious Peg is one of the best of her career so far. This has elements of films like THE BIG SHORT, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, and 99 HOMES. It was fun and engaging while dealing with the story of debt collectors — which on the surface doesn’t sound fun nor engaging. I enjoyed this one way more than I thought I would. I also didn’t realize that the guy who played Sal was also the writer/producer Brian Sacca (and that he’s the brother of Chris Sacca).
Quarantine Watch #221: Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (2020)
PSYCH was such a fun show and the first movie was so great. I honestly hope that they just keep making these movies forever. However this was so much weaker than the first film. The meta jokes were fun, but the plot was pretty convoluted and could have been done a little tighter and more thought out. The tickling scene was a little too much. I liked the idea of using two mysteries, but ultimately it just seems like it was made for the fact that Timothy Omundson had a stroke and basically missed the first one. He was honestly the best part of the film — turning Lassiter into a really sympathetic character while allowing Omundson to comment on what happened to him in real life at the same time.
Quarantine Watch #220: All That Jazz (1979)
This was really something else. I’m so glad that I watched FOSSE/VERDON before ever seeing this — it gives so much context to Bob Fosse’s life, which is brutally and honestly on display here. It’s also shocking that Fosse predicted his own death. It happens almost exactly here as it does in real life. It goes to show that Fosse really knew who he was. Without him this movie would be nothing. The editing is out of this world. The dance between Katie and Michelle is so well done, adorable, and awe inspiring. There’s a reason he cries at it. I never knew Roy Schneider had so much song and dance in him. He’s so good that you forget it is Roy and not Joe Gideon at times. It was also interesting to see John Lithgow, Wallace Shawn, and C.C.H. Pounder in small roles here. I also loved Tito Goya as the orderly who talks with him at the end of the film. I looked him up and found out he was arrested for murder after this — so I guess that I won’t see him in anything else. I loved the idea of Jessica Lange as the angel of death. I feel like this is where Tarantino got the idea for Val Kilmer’s role in TRUE ROMANCE.
Quarantine Watch #219: Old Joy (2006)
This was a patient, slow, and meditative play on drifting apart and growing up. It doesn’t grab your attention — it lets you sit in. It’s almost like it doesn’t care if you watch these guys in the woods or not. It may be one of the most patient films I’ve ever seen.
Quarantine Watch #218: Fitzcarraldo (1982)
How the hell did they do this? It seems like an impossible task in real life, let alone for the sake of a film. The sheer will of man is on display here and I was enthralled with it not only for the story but for the true mastery it took to accomplish what is on screen. The film doesn’t really find its legs until after the crew abandons Fitz and the boat (the beginning feels like it goes on forever), which can attribute to it’s two and half hour run time. Aside from the moving of the boat there are a lot of beautiful scenes from the moment Fitz plays the phonograph on the boat to the unseen natives to the moment they learn what ice is for the first time. I also love the moment where the chef keeps placing his glass on the table, but the boat is on an angle so it keeps sliding back. This was also educational for me in terms of how rubber is made and where latex comes from. Had no idea it looked like that nor that it came from a tree. Klaus Kinski has such a unique look to him and comes across like a mad scientist in a cartoon. That fits this character so perfectly since only a crazy person could come up with this original and brilliant, albeit crazy, plan. I haven’t seen many of Werner Herzog’s narrative films — I know him more from his unique personality, acting roles, and documentaries. I’m excited to dig deeper into him.
Quarantine Watch #217: Jim Jefferies: Intolerant (2020)
Jim Jefferies specials are out of this world amazing. This special would probably be some comedians’ best, but for Jefferies, this is one of his weaker ones. There are still great moments here — the stuff about his mom at the end, the framing story of eating cheese on a date, people speaking specific words in Italian. It just is hard to live up to BARE, FREEDUMB, and THIS IS ME NOW. I think it is because the stuff about his ex-girlfriend and his son are just very compelling and much more visceral to people. This is also the second special in a row that involves Jim shitting himself, which I think he giggles gleefully at.
Quarantine Watch #216: Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
This got off to a little bit of a slow start, but after the origin story it was really fun. I loved how they shot the sex scene and the flashback where Wolf takes on the Shogunate’s army in his white robes. The duel during this moment is particularly great. Ogami Ittō AKA Lone Wolf is such a great character. I’m excited to see where they other films go. The real shocker for me was how bloody and violent this was. I always thought cause of the little kid involved it was something that was like on TV similar to some of the Chinese Kung-Fu movies released in the 70s. The rape scene in particular was particularly brutal and caught me off guard.
Quarantine Watch #214/215: American Pie (1999)/American Pie 2 (2001)
AMERICAN PIE 2 was one of the first R rated movies I ever saw. I remember staying up late and sneakily watching it on cable at midnight when I was staying over my grandparents’ house. It’s funny seeing what has aged and what hasn’t from the early aughts. What’s really clear is the T&A films like this and from back in the ‘70s and ‘80s only really worked for pre-teen/teenaged kids who had no access to pornography. The AMERICAN PIE films are so much more than a raunchy teen sex comedy. They were the last bastion of an era of films before sex and romance and coming of age were thrown into the world of the internet. I rewatched both of these (AMERICAN PIE and AMERICAN PIE 2) with my parents since we finished another movie and turned on the TV catching the end of the first one and watching the sequel in it’s entirety.
Quarantine Watch #213: Palm Springs (2020)
This was my favorite movie at Sundance this year (tied with Behn Zeitlin’s WENDY). It’s so much fun, insanely well constructed, perfectly acted, and hyper existential. I was so happy to sit down and show this to my parent when it finally came out on Hulu.
Quarantine Watch #212: The Seventh Seal (1957)
I started watching this once in college, but fell asleep about a half hour into it. I’ve always loved the imagery from the film — the idea of playing chess with Death for the chance to live. I honestly thought this was going to be the majority of the movie, but surprisingly there is very little of the chess match. There a bunch of scenes in here which are so wonderful — the confessional in the church, the crazy woman who’s burned at the stake, and the end when Antonius delays death so the actor and his family can escape death’s grasp. The entire film is a lyrically crafted meditation on death and setting it agains the plague is so smart as well. I didn’t see the point of the actors at the start, but by the end of the film I came to really adore their inclusion in the story. I don’t even recognize Max von Sydow as a young man (I’m so used to seeing him as a very old man). He is so great and you can really see how he stood tall as one of the greatest actors of his generation. I was also surprised at how many funny moments there are here. I found myself laughing way more than I thought I would in a film that deals with such heavy and dark topics.
Quarantine Watch #211: Weekend at Bernies (1989)
This has been on my list for a long time. I know all the details of the film — two dummies are about to be killed by their boss, but he dies and they pretend he is alive so they can have a fun vacation. It’s a premise that doesn’t seem sustainable (considering the fact there is a sequel), but somehow it does. There are set pieces here that are very funny but for the most part this is one of those silly dumb comedies. Andrew McCarthy is fun, but a little too much. He’s a caricature and not a real character. Meanwhile I believe David Schwimmer modeled Ross in FRIENDS after Jonathan Silverman in this. The real comedic standout of the whole film though is Don Calfa as the hitman Paulie. He is so funny with what he does with his face as well as his slapstick abilities. He outshines everyone in the movie.
Quarantine Watch #210: Snow White (1933)
I never was a fan of Betty Boop and never understood the fascination with her. Growing up my aunt loved her and had so many memorabilia around her townhouse. Since recently playing CUPHEAD I have grown more fond of the Fleischer/rubber hose style of animation. This was a cute little short that I also watched for two main reasons: 1) it’s listed in the National Film Registry and 2) it was made before Disney’s Snow White. It was a little meh, but I loved the Cab Calloway stuff.
Quarantine Watch #209: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
As I watched this I thought, “This must be Guillermo Del Toro’s favorite movie. It’s got everything he loves: Fantasy, a child protagonist, the love of horror, political commentary, and most importantly— Frankenstein. Both of the little girls were so damn good. There is something here that really encapsulates what it’s like to see the world in a child’s eyes especially the serious topics the film explores. The production design is also really great — especially the honeycomb windows.
Quarantine Watch #208: Gamemaster (2020)
I am a bit biased here since I’m good friends with most of the filmmakers involved here. I’m not super crazy about boardgames, but that mainly comes from not having people to play with. Still it’s not something you typically think about — the artists involved with making board games AKA tabletop games. The most compelling of the 4 creators profiled is Nashra Balagamwala. I’m excited to see where she goes in her career. Aside from her, it’s still interesting to see what it takes to make a board game. You can also really feel the influence that producer Jimmy Nguyen has here — there is so much consistency here with both of the docs he previously produced; BARISTA and SHOWRUNNERS (most specifically BARISTA).
Quarantine Watch #207: My Josephine (2003)
This really lost me. Partly because I watched it on a big screen projector and it caused everything to be blurry. (I know it’s blurry on purpose, but this caused the subtitles to also be blurry). Watching these very early short/student films by great filmmakers makes me feel better since my work felt similar in a way. I didn’t even think of the 9/11 connections considering I’m watching this in 2020 and not 2003. I really liked the shots from the perspective of the washing machine, other than that it was hard for me to follow it.
