How Many Friday the 13th Movies Are There?

I just spent a big chunk of my Sunday watching Crystal Lake Memories (2013) a comprehensive 6 and a half hour documentary on the entire Friday the 13th series. I'm talking Freddy vs. Jason, the reboot, and Friday the 13th: the Series, too!

Awwwwwwww...

Now, I know you're thinking, "Woody, you have too much time on your hands". This statement might be true, but I have had this doc in my queue for years now, and figured today would be a perfect time to just lie on the couch with the dogs and take in all 6 and a half hours of the history of Jason Voorhees.

For a lengthy doc about an extensive franchise, I have to say it was extremely enjoyable from start to finish. Crystal Lake Memories features interviews with almost everyone involved- writers, actors, producers, directors, and effects folks. They talk about the film but also dish on gaffs during shooting, script changes, problems on set, challenges and random Friday lore.

Not counting the series, there have been 12 films, each with a different director, writer, and most with a different Jason. Thanks to this doc I now realize I have seen 10 of them (Sorry, Jason X and the reboot). I will always remember watching the very first film at a young age and being terrified by these gory kills at camp. What was even scarier was the reveal that the killer was Jason's mom! The second one delivered scares, too, and I would love to see part 3 in 3D someday. The movies were standbys at so many slumber parties I went to, and always got plenty of screams, even if the movies weren't that great. Jason just scared everybody, and each movie tried to outdo the kills in the one before it.

I also loved the cheesy Friday the 13th Series (which had nothing to do with Jason) when it first aired. The allure of an antique shop filled with cursed items appealed to teenage me, and I would seek episodes out, staying up later than I probably should have, just to see what item they'd be tracking down. Prime is now streaming it, so I might revisit the show and see if it holds up.

As for the films, I think I want to revisit some of them. Although I still might pass on Jason X. Cuz Space. Jason in Space.

Black Panther (2018)

GO SEE BLACK PANTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Black Panther Marvel Studios 2018

If you were expecting a review, you're going to have to wait til I have seen this movie a second or third time because IT IS THAT GOOD!

Not convinced? Fine, how about this: For me, many Marvel movies (and their ilk) always seem too long and often boring, despite crazy action. They all top out over 2 hours, some creeping towards the 3 hours mark. I say creeping, because there is some stretch of narrative that drags and I mean draaaaaaaaags. A romance, a falling out,getting the team together, a fall from grace, what have you. Something boring that makes me start checking my watch. Black Panther does not do this. It's smart storytelling, an amazing cast, some gorgeous visuals, and action that took my breath away more than once. Hell, more than twice! I plan to see it again as soon as possible because it is that good. 

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!! Go see it opening weekend if you can. 

Guess Who Got Movie Pass?

I signed up for Movie Pass recently because it just seems too good to be true. I finally used it for the first time last night, to see a movie I might have otherwise skipped. In fact, I skip so much that is plying at Regal because it's pricey, I often leave feeling like I wasted my money (I am talking to you, Jigsaw and Ouija movies!), and those snacks hurt my stomach- but damn, I do love a slushie!

While watching the trailers, I realized the power of Movie Pass isn't just that you can use it to see movies you really want to see, but that you can see films you would likely pass on while at the theater, and watch when it hits the streams.

Like this movie which I will totally go see because:

 A. I am intrigued by this trailer

and B.  Taraji P. Henson.

The Winchester (2018) or I Saw This Movie so You Don't Have To

The Winchester (2018) Oh, how I love a good pun on a movie poster

Last night I saw The Winchester, newest film from the Spierig Brothers about the famously haunted house out in San Jose, California. Starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke, I settled in with my movie companions and was hoping for some good scares, but my expectations for the film were pretty low due to some early reviews. The scares were there, however overall, this movie is a shade above terrible.

Helen Mirren hams it up as Sarah Winchester, widow of the head of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. After her husband died, a psychic urged her to move west from Connecticut and build a house to trap the spirits that were haunting her. So that's what she did, bought  a small house and expanded with rooms that were unreachable, staircases that went nowhere, and some other odd stuff. Google it. Better yet, next time you're in San Jose go visit it then report back to me. I'd love to hear about it. The character development is pretty weak thanks to a plot with more than a few holes. It then rushes everything together in the last quarter. The acting is fine, and seeing Mirren get to chew the scenery is fun, but with the exception of the scares, it's a bit of a slog.

This is not to say we didn't have fun. Everyone likes to laugh at me when I jump and scream in my seat, and I revel in it to be honest. It's why I go to horror movies- I like being scared in this controlled environment- whether its a quick jump scare or the drawn out, suspenseful scares. I've enjoyed the horror genre since I was a kid and probably will until I reach my final movie going days.

If you want a well done ghost/ haunted house movie, skip this and just watch The Conjuring (for jump scares), Crimson Peak (for style over substance jump scares) or better yet, the Uninvited (for old school still scary jump scares).

Phantom Thread (2017)

This winter has been wacky. Deep freeze days followed by oddly warm and sunny days. It's climate change, friends. We're doomed. But enough about that fun stuff. I just haven't been going to the movies as much. It's not just due to the weather, thanks to the popularity of what's playing a my local fave, Cinemapolis, they've held over the same 5 movies week after week. Hey, they've got bills to pay like the rest of us. But I have seen everything currently playing, some of the films twice.

One film I saw that I didn't write about is Phantom Thread. It was a totally overwhelming film filled with What-In-The-Hell-Is-Happening. By now, everyone has heard that this is the film that drove Daniel Day-Lewis to retire from acting due to the mental anguish caused by the role. See the movie, you'll understand how playing Reynolds Woodcock pushed him over the edge.

Reynolds Woodcock.

Let's talk about that for a minute, shall we? Just say that name out loud, it's hilarious. I've said it to several people who have seen the movie(and some who have not) and it almost always elicits giggles. DDL is rumored to have come up with that name. Paul Thomas Anderson thought it was so ridiculous, but went with it. Why not? Reynolds Woodcock is a ridiculous character who sees the ghost of his mother, only truly trusts his sister, thinks he is cursed, and wants everyone in his orbit to obey his rules and follow his routines with extreme precision. Naturally, someone comes along to upset Mr. Woodcock's apple cart.

Reynolds meets Alma (Vicky Krieps), who seems at first to be just another attractive young woman Mr. Woodcock fancies, but turns out to be more of a match than he bargained for. She shakes things up, and then the power struggle begins. All the while this story is playing out the style and design of the film emerge as co-stars. Its gorgeous, and lest I forget to mention the score! So see this movie, maybe just once. And then say to yourself 'Reynolds Woodcock'. And chuckle. Because you, like me, are secretly 13 years old.