What I Watched - January and February 2020

There's a lot here so I'm going to be brief about what I watched over the first 2 months of this year.

#1 - Model Shop - This was a title that I expected to see in the Criterion Jacques Demy boxset, but it wasn't, so I grabbed a copy during the December Twilight Time sale. And I liked it. I don't think that's as great as Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Young Girls of Rochefort, but it's still good. I

#2 - Django, Prepare a Coffin - I had intended to write this up for Western Wednesday, but I got busy and never did. I may still do it, but the short version was that I liked it, it was one of the better Django cash-ins, and Arrow Video put out a great looking disc.

#3 - The Apartment - Another great looking disc by Arrow. This is one that I wish that I been able to get the limited edition that Arrow released with the book and slipbox, but the standard release is still really good. The movie is great, and it's one that I seem to enjoy more as I get older.

#4 - Highlander - this is one of my "comfort food" movies. I can put this on and it always makes me happy and content. It's a movie that shouldn't work, but everything about it clicks. The thing that stuck me during this watch is how great the movie looks. A lot of movies from the 80s are kind of flat looking, and don't look good. Russel Mulcahy made a great movie that should of been one and done.

#5 - Dolemite - I wanted to watch this after seeing Dolemite is My Name at the end of last year, and Vinegar Syndrome's blu-ray of this looks great when you consider the kind of budget and constrants that Rudy Ray Moore was working with. Is it high art? No, but it's a fun movie.

#6 - Tampopo - this is another fun movie that I watched for the first time. Criterion did a great job on this disc, and the film is wonderful. This is a really happy movie. It made me hungry for some real ramen. It's called a "ramen western", but I really felt like it feels more like the subgenre of martial arts films where someone spends the film learning and training in a particular style of fighting, but with cooking in place of fighting. 

#7 - The Cotton Club Encore - This was a Francis Ford Coppola movie that I had never bothered to seek out, but after hearing good things about this new cut of it I decided to finally check it out. I can't judge how the original version of the film played, but I really enjoyed this cut of the film.

#8 - Highlander 3 - I imported the region free disc from Germany since I figured that we will never get a stateside release here. It ended up being around $10 shipped, so it wasn't too bad for an import. It's probably the only good Highlander thing other than the first movie, but it's no where near as good as the first one.

#9 - Jay and Silent Bob Reboot - it was alright I guess. I kind of feel at this point that I have aged out of Kevin Smith and I'm watching his stuff out of obligation. It's one of those things that you know what you're getting walking into it.

#10 - Paradise Hills - I liked it, but I don't know if it's something that I will ever watch again. It's a great looking movie, but it kind of feels like they wanted to make something like The Prisoner for rebellious teenage girls. It wasn't bad but the visuals are the highlight.

#11 - Zoolander - I think that the last time I watched this was during the theatrical run. It holds up pretty well.

#12 - Heaven Can Wait - this was partly cause of Buck Henry's passing, but also cause I had never seen it before. I really liked the movie.

#13 - Knives Out - this was a film that I was disappointed that I wasn't able to see in the theaters. But I liked it a lot, and I am glad that Rian Johnson was able to make this after the crap he got after The Last Jedi, which is a better Star Wars movie than we deserve and better than what we got last year with Rise of Skywalker. But Knives Out was really fun and I am excited about another film with Benoit Blanc.

#14 - Parasite - I watched this the day that it ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. I did not expect it to win. It's good.

#15 - The Man Who Would Be King - Watched digitally.I had been wanted to watch this since I read Michael Caine's autobiography "What's It All About". That's a great read, but in that book he calls this the film that he wanted to be remembered by. And it's a really good movie, but I wonder if he still feels that way. But now when he goes people will probably watch The Dark Knight instead.

#16 - Ford v Ferrari - This was a weird experience for me. I watched it and my immediate response was "it was good, but not best picture good". But it stuck with me, and I kept thinking about it for the next week. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. That's when I realized that it had made an impact on me. It is definitely one of the best movies of last year, and one that I feel I will end up rewatching again soon.

#17 - Jexi - I liked this a lot. It's basically Her if the phone was an asshole. But it was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. I'd recommend it.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - this is one of those things that I never expected to get a blu-ray release. It looks better than the dvd did, but really I was surprised that it ended up as a 3 disc set with 2 of the discs being just special features. But this is my favorite adaptation of HHGttG, as I felt that the theatrical version of lacking in a lot of ways. But this is what always what I think of when I think about the characters, so it's nice to have it in higher quality than before.

#18 - The Law - It was alright I guess. This was my first time seeing a film by Jules Dassin. I know it's not one that is usually brought up as being one of this best but I just thought that there wasn't much special about it other than an interesting crane shot at the beginning. Maybe I will like Rififi better.

#19 - Dune (1984) - Watched digitally. I rewatched this after finally reading the book for the first time. I will say that I always liked the movie, but at the same time I thought it was a flawed movie with beautiful production design. But watching it after reading the book leaves me feeling like the movie is not so great and that some of the changes are weird and changes the book it weird ways. But I am excited about the new adaptation coming out this year, but I am fearful that it will bomb and the not get a sequel adapting the last half of the book.

Doctor Who - The Complete Eleventh Series - I didn't bother to watch this season while it was airing, but finally checked it out when the new season was starting. And I liked it, and a Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. I heard a lot of complaints about it being "too woke" and stuff, but other than the Rosa Parks episode I didn't think it was too bad and it made sense in that episode. An argument was made to me that some alien from the future being in Montgomery Alabama in the 1950s and being a racist didn't make sense, but 60 years later racism still exists and it makes sense for a show with the leads having 2 people of color to have to deal with it in that time period. But overall I think that the season was good, and I am looking forward to the twelfth series, which I guess I could purchase on Amazon right now.

#20 - The Fanatic - I liked it. This movie I have complicated feelings on. It's interesting, and kind of crazy, but the movie is autistic exploitation movie. John Travolta's character Moose is obviously on the spectrum, and as a parent of an autistic child it's interesting to see someone with autism that isn't presented like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory.

#21 - Color Our of Space - This is really good. My only experiences with Lovecraft comes from films based on his works, and I'd say that this is a good one and I hope that Richard Stanley will get to make another film soon. In terms of recent Nicolas Cage movies I think I liked Mandy from last year better, but this was still really good and visually impressive.

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1- this is an amazing disc by Warner Archive, and probably one of the most important animated blu-ray releases in a long time. The shorts are great, but the remastering of the shorts looks amazing, and hopefully this will lead to more Tex Avery releases. This set looks so good that it has me considering picking up the Popeye and Tom and Jerry releases that WA has also released.

Star Trekkin - Mudd's Women

Mudd's Women

After depleting the ships energy saving the occupants of another ship, the Enterprise must hurry to a mining facility to replenish their supply while dealing with criminal Harry Mudd and his precious cargo.

Star Trekkin' - The Enemy Within

The Enemy Within

A transporter accident splits Kirk into 2 beings, one good, one evil.

Star Trekkin' - The Naked Time

The Naked Time

While observing a planet on the verge of collapsing, the crew of the Enterprise is infected with a deadly virus.

Star Trekkin' - Charlie X

Charlie X

The Enterprise picks up Charlie Evans, the sole survivor of a crash that lived alone for his entire life, and begins to transport him when they discover that he has powerful mental abilities but not the temperament to control them.

Star Trekin' - The Man Trap

The Man Trap

The crew arrives on a planet to give a medical review to a scientist and is wife, only for them to begin to lose crew members in mysterious circumstances.

Star Trekkin - Where No Man Has Gone Before

Star Trek's second pilot, where an encounter at the edge of the galaxy causes changes in two crew members.

Star Trekkin' - Introduction

As I am reading the 2 Fifty Year Mission Books oral history on the Star Trek franschise, I have decided that I want to rewatch (or in some cases watch for the first time) all of Star Trek. The plan is Original Series, Animated Series, TOS Movies, Next Gen, Next Gen Movies, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. I plan on going all the way, but I could see myself throwing in the towel during Voyager. There is not going to be a set schedule to this, so it could be several episodes a week or maybe just one, but I will write something about every episode or film. So here we go with The Cage...

Star Trekkin' - The Cage

Star Trek's first pilot, where Captain Christopher Pike leads a rescue mission to Talos IV only for him to be captured and enticed to live there under the veil of illusion.

Goodbye Moviestop

August 13, 2004. That was the day that I first discovered Moviestop. After picking up several of that week’s new releases at my local Best Buy, my friends and I noticed a new red sign across the parking lot. We had some time to kill before seeing a movie (Alien Vs Predator, which really we would have been better off skipping), so we stopped in. I was amazed. I had dealt with used media stores before, but this store was like it was made for me. Great selection, and most importantly great prices. At the time Macon’s only other option for used movies (aside from Goodwill and pawn shops) was Media Play. Media Play’s used selection was not that great, and in most cases their prices weren’t that competitive compared to new product. So seeing a store that focused on movies, new and used, was perfect for me. Added to this was that at this time they still bought and sold VHS, and even though it was a dying format and I was moving away from that format, it was great to find a place that dealt in them so I could find things that weren't on DVD at that time, which also would give me something for my old unused tapes. My first purchase from the store: the 2 disc special edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The next day my old VHS copy was traded into the store.

As I walked the aisles, I noticed two things. First was the amount of back catalogue titles the store had. Even at that time, the biggest difference (other than prices) between the Best Buy and Media Play was selection. Best Buy was great for finding big blockbuster titles, but Media Play had a better selection of older titles and odder, artier things. You wanted a new release Criterion, you’d hit Media Play. You want that big Hollywood movie, then Best Buy would have it and it would be cheaper. But for back catalogue releases, Moviestop was the place to go. Their vast selection of older titles meant that you could easily find what you were looking for, and if you were lucky, a used copy would be available. It’s gotten to the point where if an older film is released on dvd, I knew not to bother wasting my time to see if Best Buy had it, and would head straight to Moviestop. I knew that if I wanted a Shout/Scream Factory release, I was better off going to Moviestop. It was reliable, and the employees seemed like they cared as opposed to the blue shirts at Best Buy that knew next to nothing about the products that they were stocking.

As the years went by, I started to take the store for granted. I still went there every week, and I still made purchases there (usually used). I began drifting away from brick and mortar stores and using online resources for movies. I stopped getting Criterions on release days, instead waiting for the 50% of sales that Barnes and Noble offer. Retailer exclusives like steelbooks and digibooks for new releases lured me to back Best Buy and Target. But Moviestop was always part of my shopping routine, and without fail I’d usually find something there. Things seemed like they would always be the same in Moviestop.

So I was a bit worried when I learned of the sale of Moviestop to Hastings. (Ok, technically it was to Draw Another Circle, but whatever) The staff said that there wouldn’t be much changing, but it started slowly with some of the dvd shelves that once held children’s movies now stocking Pop Vinyls. At the time I was fine with that, since it was somewhat movie related and didn’t take up much space. Then the Pops expanded and took up more space. Then the redesign happened.

They “remodeled” the store, meaning that replaced the old pressboard shelves with taller wire frame shelves and filled more than half the store with toys. Movies were crammed onto shelves that were tightly fit into the store, placed so close together that it was inaccessible for people in wheelchairs to maneuver through the aisles*.  I personally felt a bit claustrophobic standing between the aisles, but more importantly I also felt that it was harder to browse the dvds due to the spacing of the shelves. But hey, they had to make room for the Grumpy Cat merchandise. And the oven mits and magnets and other dumb tacky stuff that you’d find in a Spencers. There’s a pretty nice framed lithograph of the Rolling Stones in the store. It’s an item that while it’s cool, it’s also something that belongs in a music store and not in a store that has a focus on movies.

There were times when I questioned some of the merchandise in the store. At the time I was was told that the figure and stuff sold, but it never seemed like it to me. After the closing of Moviestop and Hastings was announced, it was revealed that the parent company owed Diamond Comic Distributors and Funko, the creator of the Pop Vinyls a combined total of around 4 million dollars, I was shocked but not surprised. As someone that likes the Pops, I hope that this won't negatively impact Funko too much. Granted nowhere else stocked Pops as aggressively as Moviestop.

This picture was taken from the Moviestop Facebook page.

The oddest thing is that they went in and repriced old stock. I can understand lowering prices, but they raised prices on a lot of old cheap stock. Recently I have made purchases during the closing sale and discovered old Moviestop price tags with cheaper prices under newer, higher priced Hastings tags. This doesn’t make any sense, because if a Moviestop couldn’t move copies of The Returner for $1.99, then why did Hastings think that they’d fly off the shelves for $10.99? 

I was shocked in May when I read the news online that all Moviestops would be closing. But like many other people, I began to take advantage of the clearance sales. Like with Blockbuster closing, I swooped in and picked up things I had put off getting, and when the clearance percentages were high enough, picked up somethings that I had never seen since they were very cheap. On one hand, good deals, but on the other hand, it was bittersweet. I kept going in, once or twice a week, watching the stock dwindle and racks be removed from the store. My last trip to the store as a customer was Friday, July 22. My last purchase from the store: Jane Got a Gun (blu-ray), and the dvds of Swimming with Sharks, The Kid Stays in the Picture, The Tao of Steve, and the 2 seasons of Pushing Daisies, the Heisenberg retro figure, and a blind boxed Doctor Who figure that turned out to be Missy. My total was under $20. I asked the employees when the last day was, and I was told closing was July 26. I expected to have one last trip to the store. But when I went there today, this is what I saw:

They sold everything. I was dumbstruck by this. Even the local Blockbusters were unable to completely sell off their inventory. This was very sad for me to see. What was once a thriving store was dead. Young told me that I could buy the sign. I laughed, cause what am I going to do with a Moviestop sign? A more fitting and less impractical purchase would of been one of the cash registers, only to sit in my house as a tribute to all the thousands of dollars that I probably spent there over the years.

But it's weird that feel so sad about the store closing. I didn't feel this way when Media Play closed, or Blockbuster**, which was a bigger part of my adolescence due to constantly going in there for rentals. I think it had to due with the fact that I was going in there from when they opened, and that I was constantly in there pretty much every week. I felt welcomed, and I became friendly with the staff.Employees likeYoung, Holly, Justin and Blake (among many others that had come and gone), that seemed like they genuinely loved movies, and sometimes it was fun to just go in and shoot the shit with the staff. It was always fun to be recommended something from an employee that knew what I liked and shared interests with. While I am sad about the closing, ultimately this is saddest for the employees that are losing their jobs, and for the loss of another retailer of physical media.

Draw Another Circle/Hastings purchased Moviestop in November of 2014. The last of the Moviestop stores is closing July 26, 2016. It took less than 2 years for Hastings to destroy Moviestop. That’s a bit unfair, due to changing customer preferences towards streaming and digital formats rather than the old reliance on physical media. I could argue forever about why that’s a bad idea, but at the same time I have stopped buying a lot of television shows on dvd/blu mainly because they are available through streaming means. Well, that and because I already have a humongous backlog of unwatched stuff.

But really, I got 12 years of entertainment out of this store. Realistically I have things that I purchased in the last month that I will probably not get around to watching for a long time***. But I want to end this by saying thank you to all the Moviestop employees past and present. Hastings/Draw Another Circle will probably screw you out of the benefits packages that they promised you, but you have my gratitude.

*I was told this by an employee. A wheelchair bound customer couldn’t shop there easily due to the bad shelf planning because of Draw Another Circle’s focus on filling the store with merchandise.

**I think a big part of why I wasn't upset about Blockbuster closing was due to their causing of a lot of smaller video rental stores to close down, so seeing them fall to the juggernaut of Netflix was a bit satisfying, especially after they had the chance to purchase Netflix and passed.

***Seriously, I still have some unwatched blu-rays that I purchased from closing Blockbusters. I think I have a serious problem.

What I Watched 10/12-11/1/2015

4 Classic Westerns: Whispering Smith

Passion - It's not DePalma's best. It's alright, but there are moments are Rachel McAdams is awful and moments where she is great. It's interesting and one of DePalma's better recent films. But it isn't as good as Snake Eyes.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - it's a very well made movie but it doesn't really connect with me. I'd call it Fincher's worst movie.

Lincoln - it's kind of an amazing film. Well made and well acted. I liked it a lot.

Bram Stoker's Dracula - it's better from a technical standpoint than in terms of story. Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins carry the movie. The new blu-ray looks good though.

Jurassic World- dumb fun. It's flawed but entertaining.

Detroit Rock City - it's not a great movie but it's fun if you like Kiss.

Enter the Dragon - the new bluray looks a lot better than the original disc. It has a more film like quality and the colors seem to pop more.

Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein - I think I like this more as I get older. It seems like it's something that shouldn't work but it does.

Vampire Hunter D - I used to watch this all the time in middle and high school, but I don't know if it really holds up that well. The new bluray looks good, but I did miss the old Streamline dub track.

Stanley Kramer Film Collection - The Wild One, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - both are good, but GWCTD was funnier than I thoght it would be. Spencer Tracy was really good in the movie. I liked it a lot.

Archer Season 3 eps 1-10
Not Pictured:
After Porn Ends
Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill
Nathan for You Season 1 eps 1&2 - I'm going back and watching the episodes I missed on Hulu. The bit in the first episode where H. Jon Benjamin is feeding Nathan lines during the job interview had me in tears.
Daredevil season 1 eps 1&2 - I am enjoying it so far. Much better than the problematic Agents of Shield.

What I Watched 9/25-10/11/2015

 Thoughts after the break...

Lootcrate September 2014 Galactic unboxing

So I've been seeing ads on Facebook for about a year now hawking Lootcrate. I got bored the other day and started looking into them, and watching unboxing videos on YouTube. After seeing the September box, I ended up buying that box on eBay. Here are it's contents:The box:

A Tribble:

A Funko ReAction Alien figure (the biggest reason that I wanted the box):

A Mal Reynolds vinyl figure:

That month's pin:

Some pop rocks, a Star Wars/Asteroids mash up magnet, a download code for some Halo comics, and some replica Firefly money:

And this poster:

Close up on the magnet:

Close up on the Firefly money (the same image is on each of the bills. It came with 6 of the 500, and 4 of the 100:

Close up on Mal (there will be a Mal in the retail line, the one in the box is a different mold):

The Alien, Mal, and the Tribble sold me on it. The magnet is kind of cool and up on my fridge now. I am considering throwing the Firefly money on ebay though. I thought it was worth the money.