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.

I Forgot to Mention...

...Armie Hammer's dancing in Call Me By Your Name might be my new favorite dance scene ever.

He was just really feeling The Psychadelic Furs and, well, who can blame him?

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Let me start by saying I watched this movie two nights in a row. If that's not an endorsement for seeing a movie over 2 hours long about a teen in Italy falling for the PhD candidate who comes to study with his father and stay with his family in Italy on a 6 week fellowship, then I just don't know what is.

This isn't a movie full of action or intrigue, but a film about the beauty of desire and giving in to those urges at the risk of broken hearts. When Oliver arrives, Elio is instantly a bit suspcious and jokingly refers to him as the "Usurper". He is judgmental of him, but in such a curious way. The attraction between the two men grows and grows and the script by James Ivory allows them the time to let it build. Timothee Chalamet as Elio is every bit a teenager- aloof, sensitive, longing for approval and attention from this man he has grown so attracted and attached to. Armie Hammer as Oliver is charming and bold while also being very tender towards Elio. The scenes of these two riding bikes and swimming in the river are often as sensual as seeing them kiss.

But this isn't just a movie about romance. It is also a movie about how beautiful Northern Italy is. Armie Hammer is handsome, but he is no match for the backdrop. Much like director Luca Guadagnino's previous films A Bigger Splash and I Am Love, Italy is a character unmatched in this film, filled with charm and wonder.

Call Me By Your Name is stunning, beautifully shot, and includes exceptional performances with such emotional range it will take your breath away.

I, Tonya (2017)

The first time I ever heard of Tonya Harding was in 11th grade. The 1992 Olympics were happening, and our sports obsessed P.E. teacher had commandeered a TV on one of those wheeled stands, and set up a viewing party instead of having us play handball. So I grabbed a seat and watched hockey, speed skating, or skiing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday over the next couple weeks. During one of those classes, we walked in to see figure skating on the TV. "Go ahead and shoot some hoops if you want, guys" P.E. Teacher said with a sigh, since no one wanted to watch figure skating, right? Half the class, including me, did want to watch, so we took our seats by the TV.

I grew up playing hockey, which is to say I was as comfortable in skates as I was in sneakers. If you don't  skate or have only ever skated a few laps around a community rink every winter, you might just think skates are skates. Well, you my friend are wrong. Hockey skates are not figure skates. Haven't you ever seen The Cutting Edge? Anyway, while I never had any interest in that type of skating personally, I was always in awe of it during the Olympics. So there we sat and watched Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan, and Tonya Harding skate for the US. Harding didn't look like the rest of the skaters, she looked more like someone who went to school with us, that you would see smoking on the corner before class. She stood out, but also, she could skate. Then a couple years later that scandal happened and well, everyone knows about that.

Is this how you remember it? I ,Tonya (2017)

Twenty years later, we get I, Tonya from Craig Gillespie. Before going to see the movie, I watched an interview special done with Harding, who is now in her late 40's. The special gets into the incident with Kerrigan in '94, but it really focuses more on how damaged Tonya Harding was from an early age, but also how tough and determined she was. The movie turns all of that up to eleven.

Margot Robbie and Sebastian Stan play Harding and Gillooly, and lose themselves in those characters, but it's Allison Janney and Paul Walter Hauser who really steal the show. Janney plays Harding's abusive, chain-smoking, mother LaVona to perfection. Hauser embodies Shawn Eckhardt, the dopey friend of Gillooly's who believes himself to be an international man of intrigue capable of mind control, not a schlub living in his parents basement. I'm telling you, watch that interview or footage with some of these people before seeing the movie and it will only enhance your experience.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit. Beyond the great performances, the way they shot the skating scenes was intense- I got chills when she landed that triple axel. CHILLS! And not because they were at an ice rink. The 4th wall breaks by various characters, some long takes to ramp things up, and the overall look of the film was just right for the late 80's/early 90's. There were a couple things I was left wondering though. One was the absence of Harding's dad. He shows up a tiny bit and they have a pretty strong bond, but then her parents separate and he's out of the picture, reappearing again at her wedding. The other thing is the whole Nancy Kerrigan knee smash incident. Did Harding know more than she claimed? Did Gillooly? Will we ever know? Is this the longest blog I have ever written about a movie while hardly talking about the movie?

So far I would say yes to my last question. And probably not to the 3 questions before that. Because most of those people are so unreliable. Even so, this is a movie worth seeing, catch it at Cinemapolis (or wherever it may be playing near you) while it's there. 

Fond Farewells

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2014

I just stopped at my favorite coffee shop in town for the last time, as they will be closing down after tonight. I've got all these feelings about that place so I figured I'd write them down here because this is my blog, after all.

When they first opened 8 and a half years ago, they were my favorite daytime hangout. Friends owned it, friends worked there, and they had the best drinks in town. It was my favorite place to just hang out, drink coffee and chat. We even used to have a code for meet ups, and would just write the 2 words on Facebook, and it was like sending out a beacon in the night, only it was daytime and friends would simply appear and sit for hours, drinking lots of coffee or tea and just chat away. 

When I started library school, I would spend hours writing code or working on papers about metadata or databases. Ugh, databases.

When I was feeling lonely or down, I'd go grab a coffee and chat with whoever was working about movies or books or TV or other random stuff. 

When I really wanted to finish a book, I'd leave my phone at home, go get a drink and sit there and finish that book and walk home feeling accomplished and caffeinated. Ok, maybe I didn't always leave my phone home, because how else would I Instagram my latte or whatever tasty treats they had in the pastry case?

The Shop has always been a place I felt right at home in, and while I know that's sad and a great loss to Ithaca, here's the thing: few things last forever. We got this awesome spot for almost 9 years, which is nearly a decade. For that I am truly grateful, and I wish the owner and staff the best of luck on what comes next. 

The Square Revisited

The Square 2017. Dominic West, Terry Notary Dir. by Ruben Ostlund

When you see a movie with a friend or friends, usually you chat immediately after and discuss whether you liked it or not. Today, I had coffee with my friend  Anna who I had seen The Square with, almost a month ago. She wasn't feeling well during/after the movie, then the holidays happened. So we sat down and starting catching up and she said "Wait. Listen, we have GOT to talk about that last movie we saw". That movie was The Square, which I really liked. Anna did not.

If you haven't seen The Square, I'm sure it will be streaming soon. It won the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 2017, and is a satirical look at the art world. But at its core, it's a movie about aiding others when they need it, despite race/class/religion.  How they do it, is what Anna had a hard time with. There's a scene in which Terry Notary plays a performance artist who does a pretty extreme piece at a formal gala during dinner, which illustrates how far someone can go without anyone stepping in to assist the person in need. Vague summation, I know, but I am aiming to keep this spoiler free. Anna thought it was gratuitous and disturbing, and it most certainly is, but I think the movie would be lacking without it.

There are plenty other scenes throughout the film to illustrate this and make people squirm which I think is what the director, Ruben Ostlund, was going for. I mean, there are also issues of trust and guilt throughout the film, and the question of what art actually is, and Elisabeth Moss who we both wondered what the hell her role was all about. Maybe trust AND guilt? I should have just recorded our conversation and posted it here. If you are wondering whether The Square is a movie for you, just remember that Anna says no. Woody, on the other hand says Yes.