FLESH & BLOOD: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON (2019)

Wednesday, December 31, 12:01 am

Late last night I suddenly and impulsively watched FLESH & BLOOD: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON on Amazon Prime.

I thought it was GREAT.

To be honest, I was not a fan of exploitation/genre filmmaker Al Adamson's work to begin with, so that fact made me only vaguely aware of his actual filmography. As I watched the documentary, I realized and slowly remembered, that a film called DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1971) was by him. I think it might have been stills from that film of the Frankenstein monster that informed my disinterest in Adamson's work. I was not impressed with the make-up. That terrible makeup gave me a sense of how cheaply made these films were. Usually for me that isn't a turn-off but a turn-on, but my artistic tastes are capricious.

Anyway, backing up a little, the documentary focuses on Adamson's film career and also his shocking death: his body was discovered buried in the floor of his house after he had gone missing. That's how the doc starts, so that's not a spoiler. But then we go through Adamson's life and eventually learn the details of his death.

I love this film. NOW I want to see these awful movies, hahaha!

It's delightful listening to his friends, past cast and crew members tell stories of the man and working with him.

All the stories and clips are pretty terrific, but I especially loved the anecdotes from DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (and working with actor J. Carrol Naish). Also, Sam Sherman, Robert Dix, Russ Tamblyn offer great stories, but I was especially delighted to see Fred Olen Ray offering great commentary as well. Another favorite aspect I've now discovered of Adamson's films is how they re-titled them and re-released them to blatantly capitalize on current fads and trends. For instance, BLAZING STEWARDESSES was a mildly T&A film that had primarily western genre trappings to take advantage of BLAZING SADDLES' popularity. BLAZING STEWARDESSES would later be re-released under three other titles: TEXAS LAYOVER, CATHOUSE COWGIRLS (to capitalize on the popularity of THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS), and THE GREAT TRUCK ROBBERY (with some additional footage of a truck robbery, because CONVOY and other trucker movies were then popular).

There's a section on a UFO documentary that Adamson shot, BEYOND THIS EARTH, and as they discuss this film, there's a strange mood change from Sam Sherman and friend/actress Stevee Ashlock (who played a woman abducted by aliens). There seems to be a sinister secret attached to the making of this film, a sort of conspiracy vibe about UFOs, which is both unexpectedly weird, serious and fascinating since the vibe comes from both Sherman and Ashlock in separate interviews Adamson was devoutly a non-believer of UFOs going into making his film, but this weird meeting Ashlock talks about during filming seemed to change his mind. Really weird.

The stories about his one children's film (!), CARNIVAL MAGIC, are pretty good, too!

The final section on Adamson's murder is also well done and his housekeeper's comments during this section are simple and straight forward but ultimately compelling.

An excellent documentary from director David Gregory and Severin productions. Meanwhile, check out Al Adamson's filmography at your own risk!: PSYCHO A-GO-GO! (later reworked and re-titled as THE FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN and then majorly overhauled and again re-titled as BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR); BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE; FIVE BLOODY GRAVES; SATAN'S SADISTS; HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS aka VAMPIRE MEN OF THE LOST PLANET; ANGELS' WILD WOMEN aka SCREAMING ANGELS; DYNAMITE BROTHERS aka STUD BROWN; DEATH DIMENSION aka DEATH DIMENSIONS aka FREEZE BOMB aka ICY DEATH aka THE KILL FACTOR aka BLACK ELMINIATOR; and many more.

#30DayFilmChallenge - Day 5: ED WOOD (1994)

Day 5: "A film where a character has a job you want."

Okay, I'm going with ED WOOD (1994, directed by Tim Burton, screenplay by Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander) and the title character (played by Johnny Depp) has the job of screenwriter/film director. There are probably other films with characters that have that job that I could have chosen, but I feel that Ed Wood in ED WOOD seems most appropriate. Wood's filmmaking efforts are arguably sincere but leavened with some limiting circumstances (like a lack of sufficient funds) and Wood's own dubious creative choices and tastes. The difference between Wood and myself is that he actually finished some projects.

Shot in black and white, Depp is quite wonderful as Ed Wood, boyish in his energy and enthusiasm, and determinedly positive in the face of difficulty. Martin Landau is terrific as Bela Lugosi (winning an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor) and the ensemble cast is also excellent. For me, the appeal of director Ed Wood, in this film and in real-life, is his insistence to make art despite circumstance and possibly even talent or skill. Arguably, I might have more directing skill than Wood (emphasis on arguably), but I lack his tenacity to follow through on projects, a quality I seriously need to develop and/or tap into.

Other possible films featuring the same job, this time on vivid display in two documentaries, AMERICAN MOVIE and HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE.

AMERICAN MOVIE (1999) focuses on independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt (as well as his friend, Mike Schank) and his efforts to make his B&W horror film, COVEN (which Borchardt's determined to pronounce as "COH-ven"). At first glance, the film seems like a study of a not quite capable filmmaker trying to make a film. You hear some of his plans and ambitions and the way he describes his film and the scenes he intends to include, and well, his description sounds like wishful thinking and the audience feels already the execution will be far less than he imagines. As an example, we see him directing a scene in the woods. Borchardt's manning his own camera, and as he lies on the ground and has set up his shot, he tries to direct his handful of actors. He gives them a specific direction regarding blocking - a fine tuning of where they already are standing - and, if I remember correctly, no one moves at all in response. And, after a beat, he shoots the scene. I remember watching this film and my wife walked in and started watching it as well and then she said she had to leave the room, "This reminds me of you..."

Ummm...

HEARTS OF DARKNESS (1991) is the brilliant documentary of APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola as the subject of his troubled film and his efforts to get through the agonizing process of shooting, which was faced with many setbacks and delays, cost overruns and his near bankruptcy. What makes me embrace this film is the portrait of an artist trying to achieve something on an ambitiously grand scale, not only in physical scope but artistically. In one scene, he compares the original concept of APOCALYPSE NOW to an Irwin Allen film. Film producer Allen was known for his disaster films, like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and THE TOWERING INFERNO. Coppola's comparison is based on his idea that initially APOCALYPSE NOW was simply full of spectacular, crowd-pleasing scenes and exciting, thrilling (but arguably superficial) moments. BUT, now that he was in the middle of the production, he realized he was wasting an opportunity to properly consider the subject matter, the Vietnam war, and so he was re-writing and trying to figure out how to improve things as he went along. And he feared his efforts were going to be horrendous. In reality, Coppola ultimately made another cinema classic, but his process was typically difficult and perhaps, even self-destructive.

In all three of these films, I'm fascinated by the artist and his dreams and then the difficult reality of trying to achieve those dreams: lack of money, lack of assistance, lack of inspiration, the limits of one's own talent and persistence through hardship, the general difficulties of trying to shape an idea into reality.

"Alright, let's shoot this fucker!" - Bela Lugosi (as played by Martin Landau) in ED WOOD.

#30DayFilmChallenge

#30DayFilmChallenge - Day 4: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)

DAY 4: "A film with a number in the title."

I had a tough time trying to pick a title for today, but the winner is… 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968).

Some runners up:

16 BLOCKS, the Bruce Willis/Mos Def film that I happened to catch on cable a few years ago, got hooked enough to stick with it, and ultimately found it surprisingly affecting, which I’m chalking up to my strong sentimental streak;

SUPER 8, which I found enjoyable throughout, although the actual main storyline I found forgettable. This film has one of my favorite sequences, when the kids, amateur filmmakers, are shooting a scene for a Super 8 film at the train station and the boys suddenly realize the girl they cast in the film (for perhaps other reasons) can really act, but then suddenly the train comes and crashes and we’re back to the main story (whatever)…;

1941, Steven Spielberg’s first flop, an expensive and critical flop which he made up for in spades with RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but I still like this extremely loud and unsubtle comedy;

1900, a Bernardo Bertolucci film that I saw years ago in a theater (in Pittsburgh?). I remember finding it vividly directed, but I’ve forgotten lots of it, too… I’ll need to revisit it;

THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION, because, well, what a great title, and a wonderfully goofy movie… Jeff Goldblum and his furry, white cowboy chaps! And I still occasionally say, “I don’t give a flying handshake..!”;

And another film that I’ll actually use later in this challenge…

But back to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (directed by Stanley Kubrick, screenplay by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke (based on Clarke's novel).

Love that this is a merger of sci-fi film and art film, arguably an experimental film as well. Years ago I had a book edited by Jerome Agel, THE MAKING OF KUBRICK’S 2001. Full of cool articles and topics related to the film, among them audience and cultural reactions. Included was an outline analyzing the film, breaking down scenes and considering the meanings, which was written by a female high school student. Kubrick actually read it (either she or a teacher of hers mailed it to him?) and he was impressed by her thoughts on the film. If I’m remembering correctly, the student had plans to do scientific research and one scientific question she considered was whether or not the soul can be located in one’s DNA, like an actual element, which was a fascinating idea. Anyway, at some point years ago, I misplaced the Agel book, but somewhat recently, I was delighted to discover another copy at a used bookstore.

One of my favorite film transitions of all time is the understandably famous one from 2001, from the prehistoric past of the DAWN OF MAN sequence to the futuristic year of 2001 with a bone as murder weapon (well, tool) thrown up into the air, “flying” in slow motion and then the sudden cut to the Pan Am space clipper heading to the moon, a clever combination of visual images and intellectual ideas.

I did see 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in the theater once and I’m wondering if that was my first time watching it. It’s quite possible. It was at the Four Seasons in Niagara Falls and I remember my mom took me (us? I think one or two school friends came as well... Steve? Peter? NOTE: Steve and Pete and myself went to the movies fairly regular during high school, hence...). During the sequence when the astronaut, Bowman (played by Keir Dullea), is traveling through the atmosphere of Jupiter and it starts getting way psychedelic, even psycho-delic, my mom started grabbing my arm really hard, because the posterized aerial shots of the landscapes started getting to her and she was trying not to scream.

I know a guy who is a writer for the Washington Post (yes, I’m pseudo-name dropping without, uh, actually dropping a name) and he’s an eloquent cinephile, but he is NO fan of 2001. I think he described it once as equivalent to “looking at a rock.”

Too bad for him, but I think 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is great from beginning to end and I love how it strongly elevated and expanded the sci-fi film genre in terms of what other kinds of stories could be told in that genre beside pulpy escapism. A very inspirational work on several levels.

#30DayFilmChallenge

UNFINISHED BUSINESS (what else is new?): #30DayFilmChallenge - Day 2: "A film you like that starts with the first letter of your name." - THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974)

[NOTE:

Sunday, November 29, 10:09 am

I wrote this post three, maybe four months ago, and then decided I should write more, but never did. Gee, not following through on something? That's a surprise (insert irritated growl). And because the 30 Day Film Challenge is (arguably) chronological, not publishing this post has held me up in terms of posting more entries in the series, supposedly. I'm a predictable lame-head.

Anyway, with 2020 locked in to finally winding down and eventually moving on calendar-wise - I mean, we had Election Day, Thanksgiving and Black Friday - I'm hoping to wrap this series of posts up in the next month.]

A version of this post was originally posted on Facebook on May 27, 2020.

DAY 2: "A film you like that starts with the first letter of your name."
When I first posted this on Facebook, I wrote:

I was going to say TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN by Woody Allen, which I love, but I decided to go with THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974) because there was more nostalgia linked with it. 
I loved this movie and I remember seeing it at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda when it first came out. Although, I think we paid only a buck to get in, so it might've been when it was making the second run circuit, but still 1974.  I remember us walking out of the theater talking about the film, including the great David Shire score. Loved Walter Matthau in it, and thinking about him makes me want to check out these other Matthau crime dramas from the 70s I've heard about but never saw: THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN and CHARLEY VARRICK, both from 1973.

Wow. That was it?
So, I'm going to add to it (Yeah, what else is new?).

I remember TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE was very entertaining. Suspenseful, funny, and solid performances from the entire cost, especially Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, also Martin Balsam and I remember Jerry Stiller and his one line: "Even great men have to pee." The other cool thing I recall about PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is the New York character of the piece. It just has a certain attitude that adds to the entertainment.
On a side note, when I first started thinking back about PELHAM, I realized I was confusing the filmographies of Joseph Sargent with some of Joe Johnston's movies. Sargent passed away in 2014 and was Johnston's senior by 15 years.
Joe Johnston directed HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, THE ROCKETEER, JUMANJI, JURASSIC PARK 3, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER and also, HIDALGO, which I don't think did too much at the box office, but I caught it on cable and found it very enjoyable.

Director Joseph Sargent had a career in both TV movies and feature films, but most of his accolades came with his television work. He directed TRIBES (with Darren MacGavin and Jan-Michael Vincent) and AMBER WAVES (with Dennis Weaver, Kurt Russell, and Mare Winningham) and I remember them both, especially TRIBES. He won an Emmy for THE MARCUS-NELSON MURDERS which was the pilot for KOJAK starring Telly Savalas. Sargent also directed COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, which I recall enjoying on TV decades ago, WHITE LIGHTNING with Burt Reynolds and NIGHTMARES, a horror anthology I've never seen. But, he's also infamous for directing JAWS 4: THE REVENGE, which I also haven't seen but I know it has a pretty universal reputation for being awful. From what I hear, the basic premise is the shark has a personal vendetta against the Brody family, or it comes across that way in the film. After directing JAWS 4, all the films he did were for television.
Whatever. THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is excellent. I'll definitely have to revisit it. Maybe I'll make it part of a Walter Matthau marathon and check out some of the actor's other stuff. Ooh, perhaps I'll do a mix of things I haven't seen, like those two crime films I mentioned above, and maybe re-visit some of his comedies I saw years (and years) ago, like A NEW LEAF, or THE BAD NEWS BEARS. In fact, I was just thinking about BAD NEWS BEARS today because I just finished watching BUGSY MALONE for the first time and it made me think of other movies with child actors. Anyway, sitting through a Walter Matthau marathon shouldn't be a hard task, 'cause I do like him.

PS. Speaking of BUGSY MALONE (1976), I never saw it, and I haven't thought about it in years, but the recent death of director Alan Parker was the sad reminder.  So, motivated by his obituary and filmography, I checked BUGSY MALONE out on Amazon Prime. It was fun and fascinating watching this strange concept film - child actors playing normally adult roles and the genre is 40s era gangsters and musicals. And re: film marathons, watching BUGSY MALONE is hopefully the first in checking out a number of Parker's diverse resume, especially BIRDY, PINK FLOYD:THE WALL, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, FAME and MISSISSIPPI BURNING. Anyway, I hope to post some thoughts on BUGSY, too. NOTE: Of course, don't hold your breath... although stranger things have happened.

#30DayFilmChallenge - Day 3: "A film that has more than five words in the title." - FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DATE FRIENDS (2014)

A version of this post was originally published on May 28, 2020 on my Facebook page.

DAY 3: "A film that has more than five words in the title."

I'm sort of making this up as I go along through this 30 day challenge, but I'm excited that I managed to name early on in the process a locally made film, FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DATE FRIENDS (2014), written and directed by Rhonda Parker. It happens to be one of my favorite features made in WNY, and as an added bonus, I became friends with Rhonda and her husband, Mark (who was the director of photography) after I saw their film at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. Our friendship has been cemented since then by the fact that I not only created the poster/DVD cover designs to two subsequent feature films they made, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE and A CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY, but I did so well after the deadlines they gave me - ah, yes, the personal Kimmel touch! Yes, "Better late than never" is perhaps the worst professional freelance artist motto to have...

But getting back to FDLFDF (that's the movie title for short, not my tongue flapping in the breeze): it's delightful, has strong performances from the three leads (Adam S. Dixson, Erin Stamp, and especially Rhonda's cinematic alter-ego, Amelia Favata) and a solid ensemble cast supporting them. But, most importantly, the film is personal, wearing its John Hughes inspirations unabashedly on its sleeve, but not in a derivative way. Rhonda tells her story in her own way, citing Hughes' past films as part homage and part affectionate template to carve out her own storytelling path.
Okay, some of the jokes are corny, and a scene or two perhaps could have been shot more effectively (a sign of the low-budget strain on a tiny crew wearing multiple hats simultaneously). But Rhonda's empathy for the characters is genuine, and the ending is affectingly told, managing to be both sentimental, yet not saccharine, and cautiously optimistic.
The soundtrack also boasts an excellent collection of songs from the Lonely Ones, a band out of Rochester, NY.
Some day I hope to do a bonafide review of the film. Stay tuned.

Check out the trailer:

#30DayFilmChallenge2020, Day 3

Found on Google from twitter.com

#30DayFilmChallenge - Day 1: The first film you remember watching (and maybe some understandable nostalgia and revisiting of the past...): ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966)

A version of this was originally posted May 25, 2020 on Facebook.

DAY 1: "The first film you remember watching."

My first film memory was ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.
I had to check the release year because it was a toss-up between ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966) or PLANET OF THE APES (1968). I remember seeing both of them at the now defunct Sheridan Drive-in (two screens!) and my parents and I arrived late to both of those movies. In fact, I think we usually arrived late to the drive-in. I'm imagining that any time we went to the drive-in it was a very impulsive, spur-of the-moment decision just as the sun was setting. Whatever. As far as I can tell, images of these two films are my earliest memories.
For ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., we came in as authentic specimens of early man were fighting a giant sea tortoise. Fortunately, after the drive-in played the double feature, they repeated the first feature, so we'd stay around and see what we missed. I don't think they repeat the first feature at the drive-ins anymore, do they?
I would've been 6 years old when I saw it.

So, I'm thinking Raquel Welch was probably the first film (and female) celebrity whose name I remembered and where I began my fondness for attractive actresses and making a point of learning their names. Elke Sommer was probably the next actress, first seeing her in A SHOT IN THE DARK, although I also remember Peter Sellers. I don't know how old I was when I was aware of director Blake Edwards but I'm pretty sure my first association of his name with a film was this first Pink Panther sequel. Although, I'm surprised to see A SHOT IN THE DARK came out in 1964. I saw it on TV while we still lived in Buffalo on E. Oakwood Pl. (ca. 1964(?)-1969). Maybe a later rerun? And as I try to dredge all these memories up, it just occurred to me that non-film female celebrities also made an impression on me, such as Petula Clark, because we had her Greatest Hits album. 
Oh! How can I forget Diana Rigg as the often cat-suited Mrs. Peel on THE AVENGERS TV show!? Jeez! I can't believe I DID forget her, especially since I watched her weekly! [NOTE: This blog's author clearly has a defective brain.] But getting back to the subject of remembering names associated with films, I don't know when I first made note of Ray Harryhausen's name. I remember seeing JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS on TV in Buffalo, too, and I want to say I knew his name by the time I was nine (i.e. in 1969). Of course, Harryhausen was responsible for creating and animating a number of the dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures in ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (although, there is at least one giant lizard and an enormous tarantula which were both created through trick photography). Name-wise, I knew Alfred Hitchcock directed THE BIRDS by the time I was nine, because I first saw it on the TV back then, too, and I want to say I knew who Hitch was when I watched it, and that may have been because of his TV show, too? Although, no, that only ran until 1962. I don't think we watched it when it was first on, at least I don't recollect it. And if I did, that would've been when we were living on Humboldt Pkwy at the time, and I would've been 2 at the oldest (if Alfred Hitchcock Presents ended in 1962). I do remember watching the show later with my mom when it was in syndication on channel 29, but this was after 1969.

Arghhhh! Man, it's stuff like this when I wish I kept a diary back then to see when I kept track of certain details, etc.!

Anyway, I find it interesting that when I think back on ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., my initial embrace of that movie is prehistoric hottie, Raquel Welch. As a 6 year-old boy, one would think that the film's biggest impact on me would be the dinosaurs, etc. So, my emphasis on Ms. Welch now is probably because I'm a juvenile sexagenarian. Although, Harryhausen's humanely animated creatures did make its mark on me and I loved the other movies he worked on: the aforementioned JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, MEN IN THE MOON, 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER, THE VALLEY OF GWANGI, and CLASH OF THE TITANS. But, still, there was that irresistible combination of fantasy, horror and lovely ladies, even in PLANET OF THE APES. She didn't say anything, but I remember Linda Harrison as Nova.

[NOTE: And speaking of PLANET OF THE APES, we came in as the astronauts were escaping their space ship as it was sinking in the water.]

LONG-WINDED NOSTALGIA NOTE: Our house on Humboldt Pkwy was set in the back of a sort of apartment complex, I think. We lived in an upstairs apartment in a building that had car garages for the other apartments, or maybe not. I'm vaguely remembering this, and I remember garages, and also the notion that my dad was employed or partly employed as a caretaker for this complex? I'm not sure. I think the apartments were in other buildings, one or two of them, and all these buildings framed a parking lot probably for the other tenants' cars? Ah, I was too young to recollect all this clearly now. Although, before we moved to E. Oakwood Pl., I do remember knocking down our Christmas tree because I "chopped it down" with a plastic toy axe. I can see it in my head (decorated, too?) as I knelt down in front of it and saying "Timberrr....!" and pushing the tree over. Hahaha! Am I making this shit up??? Anyway, sadly, that apartment and all the apartments around it on Humboldt Pkwy (near Delaware Park and the NY 198/Scajaquada Expressway) no longer exist. Within a year after we moved, the whole complex somehow caught fire and it all burned down. It was during the winter, less than a year after we moved to E. Oakwood Pl. And equally unfortunate, the E. Oakwood house (a duplex and we lived upstairs) is gone, too. About ten years ago (longer?) I happened to be in the neighborhood with a friend and I thought I'd drive by just to check out the old place. I made the turn off Main St., less than a block away from P.S. 54 (in the 60s, although I think it became a Childhood Learning Center at one point, but according to my Google map, it's P.S. 54 again?). I drove down E. Oakwood, which is only one block long, but it doesn't dead-end, it stops at a low wall and an open alley (Canton Alley) that ran along that wall connecting to Leroy and Dewey, the streets parallel to E. Oakwood, although at some point in the last two decades half of the alley got closed off, so you can only get to Dewey now. If you looked over the wall, you saw railroad tracks, but it was, like, one story down, not level with our street. Anyway, while driving down the street I saw that the house of one of my childhood friends, who I haven't seen since the 60s, was being worked on, a Habitat for Humanity home, and then when I got to our house... it was gone! Just an empty space with a grass lot! That was a shock. The last time I was there was in 1997. Even though my parents and I left in '69, my dad was actually the landlord and he owned the duplex until, well, at least 2000, I think, maybe a little later? Anyway, I actually moved into the lower apartment in the 80s when I moved out of my parents' house after college and eventually I moved to Lockport in '97. My dad finally sold the duplex to our remaining tenant who lived upstairs, an elderly gentleman and his wife, and I never really kept contact with him. I think I heard of his death sometime later and then... well, it was all gone. 
As if it happened a million years ago...

#30DayFilmChallenge

What did I watch in 2017?

January 1-2, 2020, 1:39 pm

First of all, Happy New Year!

I was so excited when my wife and I watched this Netflix series. We had just bought a smart TV and so we could stream Netflix and I finally watched what everybody was talking about on Facebook. This new upgrade in our personal technology reminded me of the first time we no longer had to wait for dial-up on our computer. I forget what year, but suddenly we could watch Youtube videos like everybody else. Weird.

Second, my apologies for this post because it's kind of a dry, "clerical" post, for lack of a better description. Basically I just transcribed a list of movies, etc. that I watched in 2017.

I like to keep track of what I watch in the margin of my film blog and I've accumulated a few of these lists. So, in an effort to do some housecleaning and de-cluttering, I'm going to delete my "What Have I been Watching in 2017" list and post it here. Eventually I'll do it with my 2018 and 2019 list, too.
Besides keeping track of what I've been watching, this list will also give me a guide (theoretically, hopefully) to write some reviews on these films, etc. But, mostly, my brain is increasingly becoming a sieve and I just forget shit more and more. So, I like to be reminded where I've been, so to speak.
NOTE: I'm notoriously inconsistent with whatever parameters I set up for something because I usually do so impulsively, but for the most part I kept track numerically what feature films and documentaries I watched. I also included seasons of TV series. So, if I watched a whole season of a show, that season was included as a single film.  However, I listed individual episodes of a series if the episodes were feature film length. In 2017 I think there were only two series that I did that with: the Swedish TV series, WALLANDER, and the BBC series, SHERLOCK. I also listed short subjects, but not numerically. I just wanted to keep track of what I've watched in my life... or at least attempt to.
Having said that, while going over this list for the first time in a few years, there are some questions or inconsistencies I see (besides the trivial standard way I list local movie theatres), such as why some films are not listed numerically, TERMINAL ISLAND and PRINCESS O'ROURKE, specifically. When we living at our old house (which is when this list occurred) I sometimes had a habit of watching movies late at night and at the time I didn't have headphones, so I'd watch the film with the sound off and the captions on. I make a point of saying that with NIGHT MOVES, though, and still counted it. Besides, I can't believe that TERMINAL ISLAND and PRINCESS O'ROURKE were the only other ones I did that with, so I don't know why I made this distinction with them. Also, I see that I did count a "short documentary feature" on MYRNA LOY. Oh, who knows!
Other than that, this list is pretty straight-forward.

After looking over this list again, it's cool being reminded of the particular film interests I had over that year, like re-watching a number of the James Bond films and checking out for the first time the comparatively unpopular Timothy Dalton films. I watched these with my wife and she's actually a fan of the Dalton films, making a point of saying that these films were closer to the novels in terms of Bond's character.
It's also cool seeing that I attended at least a half a dozen films at the annual Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. Traditionally, I try to attend as many films as possible but I was dealing with a new job and limited schedule availability this particular year. Still, I saw some terrific movies, especially Richard Rowntree's excellent DOGGED and the fascinating MICKEY REECE'S ALIEN, an examination of Elvis as an extraterrestrial. Rowntree, who's main job is as a greensman on several big budgeted Hollywood films, (seriously, check out his impressive, jaw-dropping filmography!) attended the festival in person, too, coming all the way from the UK! He also re-visited 2019's Buffalo Dreams with his latest film, NEFARIOUS. Mickey Reece is this independent filmmaker operating out of Oklahoma City, OK, according to IMDB, who none of us heard about before, including friends Greg Lamberson and Chris Scioli, the guys who run Buffalo Dreams. Reece apparently only shows his films at festivals, but there doesn't seem to be any DVD releases? Which is too bad. However, he also had another film at last year's Buffalo Dreams, ARROWS OF OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE, a strange take on Hamlet, supposedly (it was pretty experimental in parts, I thought).
This was also the year that I audited a SUNY at Brockport Intro to Horror Film class taught by my friend (and occasional filmmaker and producer), Professor Carter Soles, that I really enjoyed attending. Among the films that I discovered and loved from the class were CAT PEOPLE (1942) and PEEPING TOM (1960) where I was really struck by the sympathy characters in the film had for the supposed "villains" of the films. I also enjoyed the shit out of discussing the films in class with the other students. The combined academic and group analysis was a real pleasure and I hope that if I ever make any films, short and/or features, that the films invite and stand up to similar audience scrutiny and discussion.

Anyway, here's what I watched in 2017:

108. STRANGER THINGS (2016, TV series, Season 1, 8 Eps, Netflix)

107. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (2017, Spectrum On Demand)

106. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017, Regal Transit)

105. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017, Netflix)

104. VOYEUR (2017, Documentary, Netflix)

103. SUNRISE (1927, TCM)

102. KUNG FU PANDA (2008, Netflix)

101. MIFUNE: THE LAST SAMURAI (2015, Documentary, Netflix)

Saw this independent film directed and co-produced by Richard Rowntree, who lives in the UK yet made the trip to WNY to accompany his film at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. Saw DOGGED at the Screening Room the last day of the festival and it was one of my favorite films. Richard was also very accessible and great to talk to. The dude also has a number of credits on IMDb working in the art department on a number of major films and TV series, and then he makes these independent films on the side with his regular collaborators (a few of them also traveled across the pond to attended the festival). Very cool!

100. V/H/S 2 (2013, Netflix)

99. V/H/S (2012, Netflix)

98. SHE MAKES COMICS (2014, Documentary, Netflix)

97. SEX IN THE COMICS (2012, Documentary, Netflix)

96. HIT MAN (1972, TCM Underground)

95. WALLANDER: THE SNIPER (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 8)

94. ATOMIC BLONDE (2017, Spectrum On Demand)

93. DOGGED (2017, Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival (BDFFF), The Screening Room)

92. GUYS AND DOLLS (1955, TCM)

91. GOOD TIMES NEVER COME (2017, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

DVRed this off of TCM Underground. Never heard of it before. Pretty cool film. I mostly remember Casey from the Burt Reynolds' film, SHARKY'S MACHINE, although checking out his IMDb page, I realized I've seen him in other films but I never knew who he was. Also while googling his name, I discovered he was a former pro football player (running back and wide receiver over eight years) before he turned actor. I also remember writer/director George Armitage from his 1990 film, MIAMI BLUES. 

90. MICKEY REECE’S ALIEN (2017, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

89. GET MY GUN (2017, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

- WALK OF SHAME (2017, Short Subject, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

88. OFFENSIVE (2016, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

87. HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS (1988, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

86. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE (2016, Spectrum On Demand)

85. DIFFABILITY HOLLYWOOD (2017, BDFFF, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

84. THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION (1984, Spectrum On Demand)

83. DAMNATION ALLEY (1977, Amazon Prime)

82. CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954, Amazon Prime)

81. OUTLAND (1981, Amazon Prime)

80. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (2016, Amazon Prime)

79. MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (2017, Premiere Screening, The Screening Room)

78. THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION (1976, TCM)

77. WALLANDER: THE LEAK (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 7)

76. WALLANDER: THE PRIEST (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 6)

75. BABY DRIVER (2017, AMC Maple Ridge)

74. WONDER WOMAN (2017, Main Street Movies 5 – Newark, Delaware)

73. THE ICE PIRATES (1984, TCM)

72. THE DEAD POOL (1988, DirecTV on Demand)

71. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 2 (2017, Regal Transit)

70. SUDDEN IMPACT (1983, DirecTV on Demand)

69. THE ENFORCER (1976, DVD)

68. MAGNUM FORCE (1973, DVD)

67. DIRTY HARRY (1971, DVD)

66. 5-25-77 (2017, The Screening Room)

65. GOOD TIMES NEVER COME (2017, Vimeo)

64. S.T.A.R. (SPACE TRAVELING ALIEN REJECT) (2017, Premiere Screening, Hamburg Palace)

63. PIECES (1982, Thursday Night Terrors, Dipson Amherst Theatre)

62. A GRIM BECOMING (2014, DVD)

61. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS (2016, DVD)

60. THE BABADOOK (2014, DVD)

59. VIDEODROME (1983, DVD)

58. WALLANDER: THE CELLIST (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 5)

57. GINGER SNAPS (2000, DVD)

56. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974, DVD)

55. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999, DVD)

54. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969, DVD)

53. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999, DVD)

52. DEAR GOD, NO! (2011, DVD)

51. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987, DVD)

50. LICENCE TO KILL (1989, DVD)

49. THE RING (2002, DVD)

48. BARBARELLA (1968, DVD)

47. RINGU (1998, DVD)

46. THE LURE (CORKI DANCINGU) (2015, Polish, The Screening Room)

45. HALLOWEEN (1978, DVD)

44. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016, DVD)

43. WALLANDER: THE THIEF (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 4)

42. TO SIR, WITH LOVE II (1996, DirecTV)

41.  JOHN WICK (2014, DirecTV On Demand)

40. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968, DVD)

39. THE DARK BELOW (2017, The Screening Room)

- THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER (1933, Short Subject w/W.C. Fields, TCM)

38. KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017, Regal Cinemas Transit)

- THE STORY OF FILM: EPISODE 3, THE GOLDEN AGE OF WORLD CINEMA (Documentary series, DVD)

37. DOCTOR STRANGE (2016, DirecTV On Demand)

36. SUSPIRIA (1977, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

35. NIGHT MOVES (1975, TCM)(W/o sound, captioned)

34. HORROR OF DRACULA (1958, DVD)

33. PEEPING TOM (1960, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

32. DRACULA (1931, Spanish language version, DVD)

31. WALLANDER: THE COURIER (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 3)

30. PSYCHO (1960, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

29. DRACULA (1931, DVD)

- THE STORY OF FILM: EPISODE 2, THE HOLLYWOOD DREAM (Documentary, DVD)

- THE STORY OF FILM: EPISODE 1, BIRTH OF THE CINEMA (Documentary, DVD)

28. TEAM FOXCATCHER (2016, Documentary, VOD)

27. THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

26. THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944, TCM)

25. NAVAJO JOE (1966, Cable)

24. HIDDEN FIGURES (2016, Regal Cinemas Transit)

23. CAT PEOPLE (1942, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

22. PUBLIC WEDDING (1937, TCM)

21. WALLANDER: GUILT (Swedish TV series, Season 2, Episode 2)

20. THIRTEEN WOMEN (1932, TCM)

19. BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS (2016, HBO Documentary, HBO)

- KUNG FURY (2015, Short Subject, El Rey Network)

18. FRANKENSTEIN (1931, DVD, SUNY at Brockport, Intro to Horror Class)

17. CONRACK (1974, Cable)

16. SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL PROBLEM (Season 4, Episode 3)

15. LA LA LAND (2016, Dipson Eastern Hills Cinema)

14. THEY LIVE (1988, Thursday Night Terrors, Season 2, Dipson Amherst Theatre)

13. SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE LYING DETECTIVE (Season 4, Episode 2)

- TERMINAL ISLAND (1973, TCM UNDERGROUND)

- PRINCESS O’ROURKE (1943, TCM)

12. ULTRAMAN GINGA S: THE MOVIE (2015, The Screening Room, Boulevard Mall)

11. ULTRAMAN X: THE MOVIE (2016, the Screening Room, Boulevard Mall)

10. DILLINGER (1973, TCM)

9. SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE SIX THATCHERS (Season 4, Episode 1)

8. ROGUE ONE (2016, Regal Cinemas Transit)

7. BIG TROUBLE (2002, Cable)

- BRUCE LEE, THE LEGEND (1984, Cable)

6. THE ROOTS OF HEAVEN (1958, FX Movie Channel)

5. BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN (1967, TCM)

4. THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT III (1994, TCM)

3. THAT’S DANCING (1985, TCM)

2. MYRNA LOY: SO NICE TO COME HOME TO (1991, Documentary Short Feature, TCM)

1. A BONE TO PICK: AN AURORA TEAGARDEN MURDER MYSTERY (2015, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel)

- FUNERAL IN BERLIN (1966, watched it for the second time)