Today's Mood

Or rather, let's try to make this Today's Mood. 

Positive energy time!

The Goblin King Meets the Prince of Darkness

I've always found it odd that I have no emotional connection to the 1986 film Labyrinth -- I'm the right age for it, I loved The Muppets, and I'd eventually grow up to become a horror freak who adores David Bowie. But the movie for whatever reason never grabbed me as a kid and so I find myself in a weird position approaching today's news from Deadline that no less than director Robert Eggers is apparently working on a sequel to the film.  Alongside yesterday's much-more-thrilling-to-me news that Eggers is working on a werewolf movie it's proof that the box office success of Nosferatu (along with its four Oscar nominations, and even better its high placement on my own Top 20 of 2024 list) has everybody wanting to take a bite of Bobby and that makes me happy. But this is just weird news that I don't know how to react to. I did re-watch Labyrinth a couple years ago (it's on 4K now!) and I still feel very little for it but I guess it will be cool to see what the hell Robert Eggers would do with puppets. Or will this movie be puppet-less? I can't imagine that is a possibility -- the people who love the original would riot. It's hard for me to imagine this movie at all! I don't know! Weird news! If nothing else I hope they bring back Jennifer Connelly.

Plowing Thru Sundance

Besides some lingering screenings today of the films that won prizes at Sundance 2021 -- and you can see a list of winners over here; per usual I saw like one of the movies that won awards (and I didn't even like that movie) because my tastes never seem to overlap with such things -- Sundance 2021, the first one I have ever covered, is done. When I get home from work tonight I'm gonna check to see if any of those screenings have tickets left but I doubt it, so I've probably seen all I'm personally going to see. Which was a whole lot. But this post is not actually a wrap-up of Sundance as a whole, because I'm going to have reviews popping up over the next couple of days still, and I'll do a wrap-up once that's done. For now though, this is a catch-up. I shared my first two reviews on Friday -- my review of Human Factors is here and my review of the doc The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is here -- but a ton's gone up since, so let's list 'em! First up at The Film Experience...

... here is my take on Strawberry Mansion, Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney's surreal lo-fi sci-fi romance that brought to mind sprinklings of Michel Gondry.

... here is my take on John and the Hole, a wicked child fable about a boy and his hole and y'all get your minds right out of the gutter right now! Right now.

... here is my take on the period lesbian romance The World to Come starring Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby (plus Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott as their beards). And yes putting the words "period" and "lesbian" so close together always makes me think of like a moon-cup, doesn't it you?

... here is my take on the doc Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, which is exactly what that title tells you it is. Muppetlicious!

Then we head over to Pajiba, where I've also been reviewing things -- my first Sundance review over there was of the killer horror flick Censor, which played in their Midnight movie series. You can read that one right here. (Psst this was one of my faves.)

... and here is my take on the doc A Glitch in the Matrix, which dives cyber-face-first into the concepts of "Simulation Theory" from the director of Room 237 and The Nightmare.

... and here is my take on the Boyd-Holbrook-starring werewolf flick Eight For Silver, a big disappointment. Boyd barely takes his shirt off! What is this nonsense?

And then finally, for the moment anyway, here's my take on the new Ben Wheatley freak-out called In the Earth, which returns the director to his folk horror roots after the perfume-ad that was his Rebecca re-do.

Anyway that's what's up as of this writing -- there's more

scheduled over the next couple days, so keep your ass tuned.

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

The Muppet Movie (1979)

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Kermit: Who said that every wish

Would be heard and answered

When wished on the morning star

Somebody thought of that

And someone believed it

Look what it's done so far...

The first movie I remember ever seeing is turning 40 this weekend so I figure I should give it a quick shout-out at the least -- I didn't see it in the theater (I wasn't even two then, so I don't think I'd recall that if I had) but on TV, and it was the very first time I was dropped off at a babysitter's house away from home. Right this minute all these years later I can still feel the panic and hysteria of my mother leaving me, abandoning me, evaporating away as Kermit sang this song about rainbows -- Jim Henson quite literally taught me to be my own human being, to exist as a thing separate. The Muppet Movie is more than the first movie I remember, it is the oldest memory I can recall, with this little patch of green fabric with bug eyes slapped on it singing my troubles away and molding me into the beginning of me. What a thing to be! Calling something truly magical might seem cliche but this is magic, real magic, a before and an after. Not me, then me. And Kermit.

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6 Off My Head: Siri Says 1979

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After a bit of a break we're trying to get ourselves back on schedule... which will probably be blown to shreds in about a week when press screenings for the New York Film Fest begin. But for now let us pretend! And so we asked our phone to choose us a number between 1 and 100, as we do, and our phone today gave us the number 79. Which means we're listing our favorite Movies of 1979. I was two at the time and I don't believe my parents were taking me to the movie theater yet (and if they were they were assholes) but I've somehow managed in the time since to see a bunch of 1979 movies all the same. It's a fine year! So fine I refused to narrow this list down from six to the usual five, actually. So let's take a look...

My 6 Favorite Movies of 1979

Alien

(dir. Ridley Scott)

-- released on June 22nd 1979 -- 

The Muppet Movie

(dir. James Frawley)

-- released on June 22nd 1979 --  

All That Jazz

(dir. Bob Fosse)

-- released on December 20th 1979 --  

Being There

(dir. Hal Ashby)

-- released on December 20th 1979 --  

The Brood

(dir. David Cronenberg)

-- released on May 25th 1979 -- 

Manhattan
(dir. Woody Allen)
-- released on April 25th 1979 --

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Runners-up: Apocalypse Now (dir. Coppola), Kramer vs Kramer (dir. Robert Benton), The Warriors (dir. Walter Hill), Nosferatu (dir. Herzog), The Jerk (dir. Carl Reiner), The Amityville Horror (dir. Stuart Rosenberg), Mad Max (dir. George Miller), Phantasm (dir. Don Coscarelli)...

... When a Stranger Calls (dir. Fred Walton), My Brilliant Career (dir. Armstrong), The Marriage of Maria Braun (dir. Fassbinder), The Tourist Trap (dir. Schmoeller), The China Syndrome (dir. Bridges), Woyzeck (dir. Herzog), Zombi 2 (dir. Fulci)

Never seen: Breaking Away (dir. Peter Yates), Moonraker (dir. Lewis Gilbert), 1941 (dir. Spielberg), Norma Rae (dir. Martin Ritt), Stalker (dir. Tarkovsky), The Rose (dir. Mark Rydell), The Tin Drum (dir. Volker Schlondorff), Rock n' Roll High School (dir. Allan Arkush), Love at First Bite (dir. Stan Dragoti), Tess (dir. Polanski)

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What are you favorite movies of 1979?

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5 Off My Head: Siri Says 1984

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Welcome back, tis the time to talk to the little lady housed inside my phone and ask her to tell me a number between one and one hundred - Hark, today it is 84! So The Movies of 1984 it is. (Coincidentally 1984 is also the "Year of the Month" over at The Film Experience - you should go see an ode to Jeff Bridges' gorgeousness that literally just got posted a minute ago.)

(Oh and you can see more of that in an old post of ours here, by the way.) Anyway I usually have had a tough time narrowing down my list to just five when it's been a year I look back upon nostalgically - two of my toughest bouts were 1988 and 1996. But 1984 turned out to be kind of easy! I have a lot of runners-up, but the five top titles were all like, "Duh." So now that I've thrilled you with high expectations of shock and awe, let's do it!

My 5 Favorite Movies of 1984

Body Double

(dir. Brian De Palma)

-- released October 26th 1984 --

A Nightmare on Elm Street

(dir. Wes Craven)

-- released November 16th 1984 --

What Have I Done To Deserve This?

(dir. Pedro Almodovar)

-- released March 30th 1984 --

The Terminator

(dir. James Cameron)

-- released October 26th 1984 --

Crimes of Passion

(dir. Ken Russell)

-- released October 19th 1984 --

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Runners-up: Gremlins (dir. Joe Dante), Ghostbusters (dir. Ivan Reitman), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (dir. Steven Spielberg), Romancing the Stone (dir. Robert Zemeckis), Blood Simple (dir. Coens), Broadway Danny Rose (dir. Woody Allen), The Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan)...

...  The Muppets Take Manhattan (dir. Frank Oz), Night of the Comet (dir. Thom Eberhardt), Silent Night Deadly Night (dir. Charles E. Sellier Jr.), Sixteen Candles (dir. John Hughes), Starman (dir. John Carpenter), Supergirl (dir. Jeannot Szwarc)

What are your favorite movies of 1984?

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Put That Baby Spell On Me

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I don't really need any more indicators of old age - the lower back pain that greets me upon waking every day is plenty enough, thanks - but today being the 30th anniversary of the release of Labyrinth practically has me packing my bags for Shady Pines. So while I'm doing that you should head over to The Film Experience where I try to make the best of decrepitude with this week's "Beauty vs Beast." (Bowie's clearly the beauty. All the beauty!)

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Today's Mood

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Børk! Børk! Børk!

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Well this news is way overdue - TV Line is reporting that ABC is finally getting around to rebooting The Muppet Show! I've been calling that one no-brainer for years upon years, I really am shocked it took them this long. Maybe they wanted to get their movie money first? Anyway one of the show-runners from (groan) The Big Bang Theory is developing it, but as much as I hate that show he wasn't pulled out of thin air; he's worked on a couple of previous Muppet projects. You can read the story specifics at that link - it's all very meta, but the original Muppet Show was meta before meta was meta, so meta's fine.

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Quote of the Day

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"I’ve never stopped loving his work, 

even as a young frisky man, and on into adulthood."

--- That's Joseph Gordon-Levitt - excuse me, that's ex-frisky-young-man Joseph Gordon-Levitt - talking about Jim Henson and why he's just signed on to star in the live-action Fraggle Rock movie.

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The Lovers The Dreamers And Dern

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That picture is bringing the smiles today! Also bringing smiles is the spectacular news that Laura Dern's lining up her next project and you know how we told you Michelle Williams is reuniting with her Wendy and Lucy director Kelly Reichardt yesterday? Well Laura Dern is also joining the movie! We still don't know anything about the story but THR says it will shoot in spring in Montana, and that Jared Harris and James LeGros are also joining the cast. (Oh and Todd Haynes is producing!) 

I do have to admit the first thing I did, after squealing, was wonder if there was any overlap shooting-wise with when David Lynch is going to start filming his new season of Twin Peaks - I really have no reason to believe that Dern will be in the new Twin Peaks episodes besides the sheer exuberance of my own will wishing it to be - Laura's never been on the show before - but man, my will is strong, very very strong, on that number. She's gotta show!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Labyrinth (1986)

Jareth: I ask for so little. Just "Fear me,"
"Love me," "Do as I say," and "I will be your slave."

Happy 68, David Bowie!

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I Am Team Tightpants

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We are all Team Tightpants. Today we are, at least. Over the weekend the most recent Team Experience Poll revealed itself at The Film Experience - this time around we're talking the best movies that were adapted from television shows, and sure enough we found space for Joss' favorite space-crew. Indeed that little write-up was scraped off the tongue of yours truly, so head on over to hear me wax poetical upon it. Would you like to know my whole list? (That question was rhetorical; I am totally giving you my whole list now.)

9. The Naked Gun

8. The Brady Bunch Movie

7. Jackass

6. In the Loop

5. The Fugitive

4. Serenity

3. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut

2. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

1. The Muppet Movie

My list only has nine because one of my picks - Addams Family Values - got tossed because of blah blah reasons. I should add that I hadn't seen Pennies From Heaven when it placed on the final list, so I went and watched it last night and I LOVED it; it would totally make my list now. Also yes, I stand by that placement of Jackass. Dadaism via genital mutilation, that.

Escape From Bulge Mountain

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Yes Virginia it's true, Tom Hiddleston made Muppets Most Wanted near pornographic for one hot second. I tweeted about this when I saw the movie way way back when...

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The best, and safe to say the most surprising, cameo in Muppets Most Wanted is definitely Tom Hiddleston's penis.
— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) March 16, 2014

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... but now that it's hitting DVD in a few weeks we can all savor the spectacle of The Great Escapo and his inappropriate gulag underpants. Thanks to Nat for reminding me of this - check out The Film Experience's list of The Top 20 Hotties at the halfway point of 2014. Luke Pasqualino really made an impression on him.

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Muppets Most Wanted in 150 Words or Less

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How do you really review a Muppet movie? I'm in no place to judge such things - these are my oldest friends, and spending two hours with them is always, no matter the circumstances, a joy. I cried my way through half of 2011's The Muppets (when they start singing "The Rainbow Connection"? Fuggedaboutit.) and sure enough here with Muppets Most Wanted push me over like a feather, I'm done. MMW doesn't rely on that tearful nostalgia so much though - it's much more concerned with good old-fashioned felt-folks silliness, and bless it for that. I did worry beforehand when I saw the movie was two hours long that it might wear out my bum's welcome for a story that revolves around the presence or lack thereof of a solitary mole, but Muppets Most Wanted just floats on by on a cloud of effervescent wocka-wockas. Totally delightful.

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All The Movies In All The World

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I'm looking to have a pretty full and varied weekend at the cine-plex this weekend - I'm seeing Jake's new movie Enemy for a second time (if you missed it read my review here), I'm seeing the new Muppets movie, I'm finally catching Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, and I've got the Veronica Mars movie patiently crossing and uncrossing its legs in my email inbox, sighing impatient come-hithers. But back to Enemy for a second - here's a new behind-the-scenes thing where Jake and Denis Villeneuve and Co. talk about adapting Jose Saramago's book The Double (a great book, by the way, you should read it after you see the movie):
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Anyway on top of all those movies, also on my Wish List is getting around to the second part of Nymphomaniac, which I just mentioned, and also I just now noticed that Film Forum (which has been showing every single movie that Alfred Hitchcock ever directed and I have shamefully not been there for a single one) is showing the German version of his 1930 movie Murder, which is called Mary - he shot both versions simultaneously but with totally different casts. The film is on YouTube but only without subtitles I think? I love Murder, it's fabulous, and I've always wanted to see this one but have yet to. But time, time is not my friend.

What are you guys planning on seeing this weekend?

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Fifty Years Til Schweiger

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We were just talking about the German actor Til Schweiger and his naked body parts in the movie Maybe Maybe Not a dozen or so days ago, and here we are again. No we still haven't seen the movie; it's just his fiftieth birthday today, so's I figure let's remind me. Whether I mean let's remind me to watch the movie, or let's remind me that I like to look at Til Schweiger's naked body parts, I'll leave open for discussion. Til can next be seen in Muppets Most Wanted; I have a feeling he'll probably be clothed for that one, sad face.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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Besides tomorrow's Way Not To Die post, which is already prepped and plucked and stuffed and scheduled to go in the morning, we're gonna be closed up blog-wise for the holiday from now through Monday. Everybody eat slash be merry!

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

The Muppet Movie (1979)

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Kermit: I've heard it too many times to ignore it...

there's something that I'm supposed to be.

Happy 73, Paul Williams!

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I Am Link

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--- Muscle Men - Finnish director Dome Karukoski is going to make a bio-pic about famed gay artist Tom of Finland, aka Touko Laaksonen, whose oh let's say exaggerated portraits of male physiques and the exaggerated male physiques that love them have been popping our eyeballs out of our heads for decades now. I actually didn't know anything about Laaksonen so I just looked him up and it sounds like he led a pretty crazy life (drawing what he did when he did, that shouldn't be surprising).

--- Mutant Pryde - There's really no substantial news to this since Joss is kind of busy with those other superheroes these days, but Ellen Page would like everybody to know that she'd totally sign on the dotted line if he actually wanted to make a movie starring her X-Men character. Good to know!
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--- Swinton For Prez - And this is like reason number five billion that we love Tilda Swinton - at a screening of Bong Joon-hos' Snowpiercer at a film fest in France this week the actress basically called Harvey Weinstein a dick if he cuts the movie for American audiences. She was already my superhero, but now she's my savior.

--- Bell Bio - I mentioned the news here yesterday about Nicole Kidman taking over for Naomi Watts in Werner Herzog's next movie, but I also mentioned it over at The Film Experience, and over there I went crazy about it, and I recommend it for a chuckle.

--- Game of Thrums - Because all bands have members with giant beards and therefore fit into the world of A Game of Thrones perfectly, bands keep getting cast in the show. The latest band cast for the show is Sigur Ros, and while they don't really have beards, they do look like Keebler Elves, which also works.
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--- Penny Portrait - He's been Peter Parker and he's been Jeff Buckley, and now Broadway actor Reeve Carney is setting his sights on classic literature's preeminent ever-youthful sex machine - he'll play Dorian Gray in Sam Mendes' upcoming Showtime series Penny Dreadful, which we've told you about before, and really just keeps sounding like more and more of a rip-off of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; this way they bypass dealing with noted asshole Alan Moore though.

--- Bug Power -  I'm so used to things I want scurrying away from me in fright that I don't really know how to take the delightful news that Edgar Wright's Marvel superhero movie Ant-Man has been pushed forward from the Fall of 2015 to the Summer. Everything's coming up me! I should go stake out Jake Gyllenhaal's house again, see if this momentum maintains...

--- Mangle Forward - Three killer names have been added to the cast of David Gordon Green's next movie... which, sigh, is not the remake of Suspiria. No word on that. He's making something called Manglehorn, which already has Al Pacino in the lead; the three people who just joined the cast are Holly Hunter (yay!) and Harmony Korine (okay!) and Chris Messina (yummmmm).
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--- No Term Limits -  Another day, another great interview with Brie Larson, continuing her total charm offensive on the world. Short Term 12 (my slightly unhinged ecstatic review here) is slowly rolling across the country so I imagine she's got weeks more of these to do, and therefore we've got weeks of being charmed ahead of us. Smiles!
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--- And Finally just because here's Tom Hiddleston messing around (minds out of the gutter) with Cookie Monster, because, everybody together, awwwwwwwwwwwwwww. (via)

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