Film critic. Theatre nerd. Latter-Day Saint. writer of essays. Lover of things retro and random. Reader of pulp and fun stuff. Watcher of old TV. Everyday dude.
Utah County
Joined December 2010
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I'm glad I finally saw this one! The 1958 version of THE BLOB is fun in its own way, but this 1988 remake blows it out of the water. It takes a plot point in the original (teens save the day) and expands it into an interesting post-Watergate theme that adds flavor to the story!
The film also boasts a really impressive plot twist that it lifted from another famous thriller (Hitchcock is all I'll say). I didn't know it was coming and it really took me by surprise. It's a positive result of all the character work Russell & Darabont did!
AJ Howell retweeted
This is actually a condescending view of working-class people. I grew up in a working-class immigrant family and we ate at Red Lobster and The Cheesecake Factory for "fancy nights out." But even we understood that the White House should not look like the inside of a Red Lobster. Working-class people are not culturally illiterate just because their experiences are shaped by their limited means.
This was a brisk, fun read! It says it’s a mystery on the cover, but I’d classify it as more of a suspense novel. It’s fairly obvious who the culprit is right away and I think Peter Abrahams wanted it that way, because it leads to a strong, suspenseful tone!
One: this is a much better poster than ROCKY ever had on its initial theatrical release.
As to the question at hand: when I hear “soundtrack,” I think of songs more than I do the score (it’s a weird movie-nerd quirk), so:
One of my favorite details in SCREAM is the Fonzie jacket hanging in Himbry’s closet. I know it’s just an Easter egg, but in my headcanon, he’s a former “bad boy” (maybe Fonzie himself?) who became “the man,” but still keeps his jacket as a reminder of his glory days.
AJ Howell retweeted
I honestly feel that a lot of franchise reboots today are almost made with TOO MUCH reverence for the past. The filmmakers are fans who grew up with the properties & treat them like important pop culture epics. But sometimes they're just '80s slashers! Or ghost-busting comedies!
Just because I was listening to it: shoutout to DAWSON’S CREEK for introducing me to one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. I love the lyrics, and they fit the episode so well it might as well have been written for the show!
youtu.be/jssnRkHODE0?is=9YXy…
There’s a great essay (written or video) just waiting to be created about all the ways-subtle and large-that John McTiernan deconstructs and teases classic masculinity in his action movies.
Since rewatching PREDATOR is what made me think of this, it’s wild to me that the most quoted line (“Get to the choppa!”) is one of the blander ones! I prefer “Ol’ Painless is waiting,” “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” or “There’s something out there, and it ain’t no man.”
I haven’t seen the whole movie, but I’ve seen this scene several times and I totally agree with the consensus that this is one of the greatest jump scares of all time. It still makes me jump even though I know it’s coming!
Here it is, in case you haven’t encountered it:
youtu.be/F2BN-WpW2Qg?is=Uiy7…