#pb&jmarathon

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Goodnight Mommy [2014]. Austria. 99 minutes. Written & directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala.

Horror films like this remind me why its the best genre there is. Nothing has ever so gripped me than the exchange of fear & mistrust & love & anger that circles within this very small cast comprised of a mother and her twin sons. Eerie, angelic, demonic, and heartbreaking, this story goes down a hard road when a famous actress undergoes facial surgery and begins to behave strangely to her children. See this one as soon as physically possible people. It really is one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen. Simply orchestrated, vividly emotional, and cold-sweat-drenched horrifying. I look forward to this writer-director duo’s next movie eagerly.

This is the last film in my PB&J marathon and also the first in my 30th Birthday Movie Marathon which comprises of me sitting on my butt and only watching movies while I get older. Join me won’t you?

[doitgordon-blog]

Ladyhawke [1985]. United States. 121 minutes. Directed by Richard Donner.

Seventh in the PB&J marathon. This movie comes at great recommendation from my new favorite novel, Ready Player One, and honestly, I can see why. A classic tale of medieval romance, swords and spells and Matthew Broderick being his usual mischievous self. Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a small part for Alfred Molina as well... Quintessentially 80′s Fantasy film for anyone who longs for more after seeing Legend or The Princess Bride. If nothing else, its a good reason to watch Broderick play lovers’ messenger, all the while being a slippery shit and a lying thieving lovable menace.

[doitgordon-blog]

Weird Science [1985]. United States. 94 minutes. Written & directed by John Hughes. 

Fifth in the PB&J marathon. Since the last film was pretty much the serious, real-world-implications, horror-show outcome of the whole femme-fatale Frankenstein’s monster idea, I decided to take us 30 years into the past to a much sillier, adolescent, “nerds learn a valuable lesson” John Hughes comedy version of the same concept. What the boys create ends up molding them into respectable boyfriend material, or at least the closest thing to it in Shermer, Illinois. 

The last time I saw this I was about 12 or 13, so suffice it to say there was a lot of things I forgot since that viewing. Mostly that Lisa was more of a genie than an android, and that the bald guy from The Hills Have Eyes and a weird turd-like muppet were in this movie, not to forget a flat-top’d Bill Paxton and the eternally-cute Robert Downey Jr. Most of all, this movie is funny, like stupidly funny from Anthony Michael Hall’s awful blues-musician accent to the brutally-honest confrontation Lisa has with Gary’s parents. It’s just absurd and wrong and painfully bizarre at times, but somehow fits in with the John Hughes teen comedy spirit, and so it can never be completely forgotten.