Petty-Crush

[kitschmelange]

by Roger Duvoisin from The House of Four Seasons (1956)

[petty-crush]

Two or Three Things about “Logan’s Run” (1976)

-/-//////—/

The design of this film’s world (especially at the start) is dazzling.

A lot of is very simple, such as Logan 5’s uniform being all black, with a splash/rectangle of grey in the chest. Pops right out.

The minimal thought/follow orders headspace of the sandmen and their desire to kill on command is intriguing.

Sex is now to be called up on a computer, and (it is implied) being gay is all groovy, baby.

The plastic surgery lab is delightfully creepy.

The carousel scene is trippy, and a kaleidoscope in motion.

This greatly underscore the mystery of what is the truth in this world. What have people given up for a finite amount of paradise. Genuinely compelling.

//-//-//—-

Here is a decision I really don’t get-the characterization of the old man.

The whole film has been building to an outside world, where people are allowed to live past 30, raw in nature. We see our sole survivor, in the dilapidated remains of the White House, surrounded by cats.

And yet…the old man is so feeble, so fucking boring, so aimless, that it almost makes the enforced age ceiling exciting by comparison. His existence is so dreary.

I think I get it. He’s been alone for years, possibly decades. He only had his parents to talk to, no children or young adults to exchange ideas with. And, of course, all those fucking cats are annoying as shit.

But, none of this is ever really given any more screen time or attention. The film doesn’t even attempt to mix this into the debate of the in universe; no “yes, you will live past 30, but this runs the risk of senility, exhaustion, and a numbing isolation”. Nothing!

They don’t even give this guy a name. So, I will. Let’s say…Saul.

Saul never has one interesting thing to say. He babbles in a way where it seems he would say the same thing whether it was an audience of 50 or none. He seems to barely register there is anyone around. His one desire seems to be wanting to be buried under the ground (if the alternative is being eaten by cats, then I agree).

Like, if you picked the most ageist opponent for Saul, could they possibly make him look any more useless?

This is just so underwhelming.

Obviously this a decision by the filmmakers, but what is even trying to be communicated?

There is nothing interesting about “dying young vs living longer than you think” being expressed here. Saul (to me) is handled with such a lack of care I have no idea what the point of including him was. He seems like the very definition of a place holder character. Where I spend time with him but gain nothing from it.

Wouldn’t it be awesome that his knowledge or vibrant personality makes the rest of the young dwellers rethink their existence? That they have to come to terms with and make a decision about how long to live?

As opposed to doing or wanting something vital he just…exists to occupy space. Lame.

An attention grabbing first half of a film comes undone by a gravitational strong force of apathy in the latter part.

-/-//—////

It’s kinda funny how easily flummoxed machines are in this world.

The food robot drifted to freezing humans, but gets totaled by one master blast.

The overlord computer that super aged Logan 5 fries itself when told that no sanctuary exists. The idea that hope is an imagined place, not real, is too much for its fragile little circuits.

I guess the only thing that we can put our trust in is the smoking body of Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6. Wowee.

Women > robots…again!

[nemfrog]

The serpent consuming its tail, crowned with flame. Frontispiece by Melchior Lechter for Stefan George's, Der siebente Ring. The Seventh Ring. Berlin, 1907.

Internet Archive

[petty-crush]

“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” [1969]

-in the pantheon of “films that are absolutely amazing for the first hour then dissolve to nothing” this would be way up there , Mount Rushmore status

-totally worth seeing, but just know it drops off a cliff at one point

-but that first hour, fucking incredible

-it has quite a variety of scenes too, it’s not all one flavor

-what I was struck by was the “raindrops keep falling on my head” bicycle sequence

+it’s a cheerful, sweet section, that has the nerves to go into the deep end of “impossible to be serious because you are having so much stupid fun” pool

But it works. It is a delight from first minute to last

-I’m a little flabbergasted that this film, about two dudes robbing banks and killing bandits, was the birthplace for the song itself. Ahhh, the “whatever happens” attitude of late 60s films

-the scene where Butch returns to his gang’s hideout and has to deal with the usurper to his throne is rough, tough, and totally beautiful

-“whose idea was it to rob a train?!?”

‘[the usurper], Butch’

“Well…that’s just what we are going to do!”

-probably the biggest impact of this film was setting the stage for Robert Redford (as Sundance), his career, and his changing of the cinematic culture

+his introduction—in close up—playing cards, absolute poker face against someone (Sam Elliot) waiting for him to draw his gun but then that guy backs out when he realizes who Sundance is, just star making in the most unabashed way

-I think he totally steals the film out from Paul Newman, which given the former’s presence and easy going charm, is Olympian level skill

-easily my favorite part is the buildup towards robbing a safe with dynamite, particularly the 2nd time

-it really shows that you only need two scenes just a bit apart to make a forever memorable cinematic moment

-the timing on the extra dynamite for the 2nd time around safe is perfect; one of the biggest laughs I ever had in my life

-and from that high…the movie goes down

-it sure doesn’t look like it, the very next sequence with the super posse barreling out of the solo train car is staged beautifully

+it seriously looks like an intro to giant boss battle

Just a great use of the iconography of the western (horses, trains, pistols, hats)

-then we get to a super duper extended section of Butch & Sundance [B&S] running like hell from the super posse

-at first it seems like the comedy technique of something funny, goes on way too long, then funny again…but then it extremes even farther to a cinematic pacing land totally lost in fog

-if somebody made an edit of the film ending on “the fall will probably kill ya” scene, I think we have a contender for five best films of the sixties onward

-it just really feels like the perfect anti ending

-but, they keep on running

And running

And running

And running…..

-what really soured me was the section after, where B&S flee to Bolivia, is even less interesting

-I am absolutely astonished that writer William Goldman (and possibly director George Roy Hill) thought this was the reason to make the film

-this is like when an awesome band makes a new album, full of great songs…and then the title track is the weakest, most boring song on here

+and it ends the album (film)! This is what you are presenting as the best material-part?!?

-holy (creative) dissonance, Batman!

-like, wow, wow, wow, wow…this is the core that motivated you want to make this film?!

-as if to say

“see all that early stuff [sections of brownies, ice cream, candies]?!?

Well, now get ready for the real treat [unveils a small wet carrot]!”

+what a decision!

-anywho

-Kathrine Ross as Butch’s girlfriend is unforgettable; she elevates their scenes together to a new high,

they have a unforced tenderness, sometimes even bitter sweetness together

-which contrasts nicely with the rowdy bonding B&S have when alone and bickering

-I like the golden time scenes (with delightful score by Burt Bacharach),

and a part of me wonders whether it inspired the music memories in “Duck, You Sucker” (which I love even more, but then again that had the ace in the hole of Ennio Morricone composing)

-overall, this film is a real oddity in cinema history, and in the western genre in particular

-it contains some of the strongest *and* most bland moments the genre ever produced; real highs, real lows

+some directors apparently think its ultra money success set the genre on a slow death spiral, cultural impact wise.

Like it crawled to its death in the early 80s, but the bullet with the slow poison was placed in the body in 1969

-that’s just hyperbolic…but I can see why those feelings exist

-still, the material that is first rate in this film is really really really first rate. As good as it gets

-it soars, then it falls to earth with a splat

-a must see, a film barreling into Icarus path/fate with no hesitation, no quarter given.

Truly a sight to behold. In every sense of that last word.

[oldpagesclub]

S. Marschak "Gedichte für Kinder"

(book from my private collection)

[petty-crush]

“Mr. Sardonicus” (1961)

-a sterling horror film from William Castle, from that period where he went from strength to strength

-having watched several of his pictures from the late 50s onward, I can heartily say he had a terrific bag of ideas and inspiration, on the screen and well as extracurricular activities

-he also, and this is important, kept it focused and fever pitched. It seemed below 90 minutes was his sweet spot for endless mirth. His grip on you was terrific.

-one of his best directed sequences in any film is here in the moment the son robs the grave of his father to get the ticket to riches. Its dread, cut to black, and genuinely horrifying screams leave an effective mark on the audience.

-at certain points, if you drop a viewer into sequences fifteen to twenty minutes in, you can tell he is riffing on Dracula, and it’s an inspired one too.

-I love when films from the mid 19th century drop into the 1800s with no attempt to fool anyone; this is clearly the 1960s take on ye old England, and it works all the better for it

-it’s funny to think of a time when a director is so well known that he can bookend the film with his own on screen appearance. That he is intoxicatingly silly at just the right angle helps.

-something I’ve noticed recently is that people think a film is weak if you can tell where the story is going.

No, that’s the sign of a motion picture (or any tale) working. We are waiting with bated breath to see Sardonicus’ face cause we know that mug is going to be freaky. We revel in it.

Not every story has to have a fool the audience twist. Then it just becomes a lack of vulnerability.

A film is underwhelming when the story is obvious and there is no energy or conviction to the telling. A problem Castle definitely does not have.

-Ronald Lewis plays one of the best good guys in Castle’s filmography. Often the bad guy got the whole spotlight, but here Lewis is equaling as compelling.

-so the gimmick for this picture is taking votes from the punishment poll(a glow in the dark card); thumbs down to punish Sardonicus, thumbs down to give him peace.

This allows Castle the on screen actor to ham it up. “The couple back there, is that one vote or two?”

Ultimately, Castle knew his audience, his fellow countrymen, and I’m sure you can guess what fate awaits the baron Sardonicus. Another well telegraphed triumph.

-a fitting end to a delightful motion picture that showed there was a twinkle in Castle’s eye and magic under his hat.

[taylornprice]

thickleaf yerba santa

[petty-crush]

“Kpop Demon Hunters” (2025)

-a highly jubilant animated film, its twin strengths being its smart structure and boundless energy

-this is very much a musical, but full with so much action and whooshing camera movements, it won’t even register to a third of the audience

-personally, I can’t get into kpop. It’s not bad, it doesn’t frustrate or annoy me, it more often than not is just there, but I was so involved with these characters that I did not care

+the one song I really dug was “What it sounds like”, maybe it was auto tuned differently, more reverbed, or maybe it just came at one of the best moments in the film, but it had an impact no other song had on me

-the kids watching this film absolutely loved every second of it, and I suspect that this will be a soundtrack that has a generational impact

-the animation is bustling with lots of visually clever moments. It has an elasticity that I don’t see often in non 2d. Especially the faces, chock full of big brush strokes of emotion

-the film does have quiet, little moments (comparatively); when the gals eat a mountain of food, letting their bellies stick out. The cosmic joy with which they say “Couch! Couch!” When they reveal this group helps them not feel like unwanted freaks.

-in my timeline, I saw many an animated kids film with absolutely horrendous songs, the most banal shit, and the characters given no attention of loved behavior. This motion picture is like the anecdote to that; every frame has joy in it, and the songs are important to the characters fighting the world’s pain.

It sure beats the shit out of 98% of the animated films I grew up on

-the voiceless grinning tiger and insolent crow steal just about every scene they are in (“the tiny hat was for the tiger, the crow just keeps stealing it”)

-there is one element I really do not like in this film; the constant praise of the fans. It looks exactly like the human club in the real world and those people are populists full of reactionary slop. It shackles the group to the worst elements of humanity.

+but, then again, so do the real kpop (or really any pop) groups, and no film has to provide answers to bigots. Plus, really, this is the thinnest of pin heads to dance on, it’s a handful of sand in the tidal wave of awesome this picture provides

-I like how the film does provide the gals with self doubt, worry, fear of isolation; but does so in a complete pop art way, where it’s an emotion to drive through, not wallow in

-I’m starting to suspect again animation is just a better medium to do comic book stories than live action. We’ll see

-it’s always a charged delight when a crowd pleaser delivers the goods. It doesn’t get pulled down to the mob, it rips the audience up the to the stars. A total triumph.

[nemfrog]

"The pet crow steals bright things out of the house." Illustration detail.

Real bird tales. 1924.

Internet Archive

[petty-crush]

“The Thing from Another World” (1951)

-a delightful, lean 50s sci fi film about people hanging out around in the North Pole, shooting the shit..when a monster starts making trouble

-this motion picture feels much more packed with fun than its motorcycle speed 87 minutes would hint at. The world feels very lived in, very grooved on

+an aspect that helps is that rarely is a sentence finished without a smart ass comment or joking camaraderie interjection interwoven. Dialogue becomes not load bearing but alive and overlapped with joy

-the reporter trying to get a scoop is one of my favorite characters, particularly when he tells a scientist that he respects him but his readers would “find you full of wild blueberry muffins”

-women have something to do in this picture, not just type notes but play games with rope, sneak information to save the base, and make the captain go above the line of duty

-there is a definite thrill when they discover the spaceship in the ice, and form a circle to gawk at its length and circumference

-the music is excellent, a score by Dimitri Tiomkin that feels adventurous and thrilling

-and in the middle of all this, of talk of making a incredible discovery…oh yeah, a monster shows up!

-this film would have been good as just a human observation, but the creature kicks it up several notches

-every appearance of by it is varied and hair raising

-my favorite moment of the film is his second intrusion, when the lights go out, a door center frame gets opened, the light pours in creepy shadows; and then fire fire fire!

-it is undeniably a tremendous jolt, the kind of mood explosion that 50s black and white sci fi does so well

-there is a nice subplot of the head scientist being obsessed with communicating with the alien, with no concern at all for his (or the others) life

+there is a little in universe explanation that he is tired and running on no sleep, but more often then not this dips into the fear of scientists and their results, one highly contagious moral panic after the invention of the atomic bomb

-I can’t think of any other film from this era that so readily uses flamethrowers. It gives it a different atmosphere

-if one was to compile a lists of famous last lines in sci fi (or film in general) the “keeping watching the skies!” outro would rank highly. It is executed perfectly

-this motion picture rarely gets talked about, but its human warmth, dark thrills, and verbal battles makes it an tale to savor, again and again

[taylornprice]

shroooooms

[petty-crush]

“Comin’ at Ya!” (1981)

-I’ve waited years to see this film, and it has the audacity to not only be a preposterous gimmick motion picture but also a good western in its own right.

Yeeeeeee-hawwwwwww!!!

-this film hit the early eighties like lightning bolt coming straight through the brain. After this, fucking everyone from Jason to Jaws had to do 3D flying at the screen.

-it is so shameless, that even the bewildering “Friday the 13th part 3(D)” looks positively sedated and cowardly.

-guns, gold, beans, cigars, snakes, even a fucking yo-yo, all of it will be in your face

-and yet it has further ambitions on its mind

-the flashbacks are wordless and carried through music and action, recalling favorably the all timer sequences in “Duck, You Sucker!”

-the brother villains are well inhabited. Actors Ricardo Palacios and especially Gene Quintano have delightful chemistry as the Thompson siblings (not twins). They have a very brothers Grimm type vibes

-westerns went into hibernation during the 80s, but is one well worth seeing, flat or otherwise. A breezy romp that breaks out the fun.

[nemfrog]

The winds. The baby's own Aesop. 1887. Walter Crane, illustrator.

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[petty-crush]

Amy Madigan winning best supporting actress for the character of Aunt Gladys in “Weapons” is a straight up, no holds barred win.

It is, to quote Kurt Vonnegut, “god-damn delightful”.

It’s cool that horror can give thrilling roles to women that traditional dramas are highly reluctant to, and that such an offbeat character can be woven into Oscar history, sending people who would perhaps otherwise never see it, is pure ecstasy.

-/-///-/—-

It also had me laughing and wondering…is there a more violent death for an Oscar winning role?

It’s one of the most brutal killings I’ve seen in recent years, let alone one with a golden statue attached to it.

[lostfunzones]

Sven Jonson.

[petty-crush]

“Friday the 13th Part 2” (rewatch)

-the Jason Voorhees era truly begins here(albeit in oddball amoeba form) and is one of the stronger entries in the series, with a terrific final girl

-this rewatch is brought to you by the mathematically astounding two Friday the 13ths in a row(Feb & March), with two perfect 4 weeks (starts Sunday, ends Saturday) in a row

-next one is..3050 AD?

+who knows, by that point this might bump up to my favorite “Friday” since it went wayyyyy up in my opinion since last time

-it will never not be funny to me that Sean Cunningham made the first “Friday” just to straight up make money…but refused to continue this series with Jason, thinking it dumb as fuck.

Yeah, stupid as a fox…all the way to the bank!

-his assistant Steve Miner took over the director reigns, and absolutely leaves the first film (a highly enjoyable schlock) in the dust

-indeed, this might be Miner’s best directing effort. He had something to prove

-he also loves to show female butts, including a delightful moment where one is ogled then hit by a slingshot

-he assembles a pretty good cast of young thespians, who play up their charmingly silly parts with gusto

-another motif Miner likes in this film is background action vs foreground action

It’s set up early with the couple on in the phone booth while their car is towed in the back, and of course boomerangs back with our heroine chased by Jason seen through a window

-Jason’s one eyed sack look is really interesting. Good twist on “the town that dreaded sundown”, (hey, the OG stole from “Halloween” & “Carrie” & “Meatballs”, why not?)

-having only one eyehole here makes it visually interesting, deflates copycat/klan associations, and gives him an truly demented, weird vibe

-speaking of, I really liked the line from part 1 (show in start of film flashback) with his mom calling him “not a very strong swimmer” which sets up his challenges perfectly

-also, and I somehow never noticed this before, but this intro flashback is really long, and it actually makes the film a mere 70 minutes without it, which certainly helps with the pace

-this series never again brought back a previous final girl(from part 1), only to kill her off so casually in next entry. Kinda harsh and deflating

-so, previously I saw this back to back with “The burning”(1981) at a secret marathon at the new Bev, and I (at the time) thought “burning” completely destroyed “Part 2” at its own game, and they cover a lot of the same ground

-so seeing it again, and its own strengths really threw me for a loop. I thought it would be a ok blip in the marathon of the first eight “Fridays” but it throughly trounced both entries on ether side

+huzzah for nice surprises

-one of its most prominent pluses is having a heroine that is not only (by a mile) the best female protagonist in the whole series, but, honestly, maybe a top five final girl overall

-actress Amy Steel plays the character of Ginny with supreme conviction

-it’s in the little details. How Ginny is a aspiring child psychologist, and when she ponders the mental state Jason occupies while she is in the bar, the camera actually stays and holds on her so we can see her thinking and digesting the follow through

-it totally pays off later with the infamous wardrobe change

-by the way, how weird is it that a comedy character goes to another bar…and lives? His partying saved his life. Nice

-hard to pick a favorite kill, but the wheelchair guy falling down the stairs in the rain (machete in head) is certainly one of the most quoted ones, probably only second to the beheading move in part 1

-kinda a little sad that crazy Ralph was killed here. I get nobody was thinking a big series, but I rather liked him

-the “listen up, it’s time to tell the truth about Jason” group campfire scene is another series highlight, beautifully interwoven into “Final Chapter” (probably still my single favorite entry)

-obviously an timer moment of horror film is the part where Ginny is running from Jason, stumbles into his shack, finds the worn sweater of his mother, and (using -Psychology-!) puts it on to fuck with his head beyond all reason so she can survive

+just a lovely cat & mouse moment worthy of “Tom and Jerry”

-the moment where she holds the pitchfork, tears of fear running down her face, is also magnificent

-that dog being alive is such a cheat, but I admire the shamelessness of that move

-the same impulse that also pushed Miner and writer Ron Kurz to rip off a few awesome kills from “Twitch of the Death Nerve”

-“Part 2” is no slave to its influences. Its has the verve and moxie to take ideas to another destination, and made a few often copied moves of its own to inspiration lake.

A good time to see death in the woods

[nemfrog]

Ravenous locust swarm. The population of an old pear-tree. 1870.

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