Did that feature Audition? I think it's what made me go out and rent it.

Yes. I covered my eyes for Audition. Why did you want to rent it? I had no idea you were into horror-- and that seemed to be the most horrific film on the list by far.

ETA: I should be careful when griping about lack of scares—I just unexpectedly ran across the climactic stained glass skylight scene of Suspiria while channel surfing. Argento was so over-the-top they must have needed rockets to get the actors to set.

Ahh, the first and last movie to ever put me under my seat. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever freaked me out like the first 15 minutes of that movie (the scene discussed above is part of that). The big feeding scene in TROUBLE EVERY DAY came closest (some of Cronenberg has come close to that as well), but that was more sad and disturbing than central nervous system disrupting. It's intersting become completely jaded about scary movies when you're 13.

Incidentally, while nothing else of his is quite as OTT, DEEP RED, INFERNO, TENEBRAE and OPERA are all worthy Argento flicks (strong stomachs required for most of these, though - he doesn't stint on the pate')

I had no idea you were into horror-- and that seemed to be the most horrific film on the list by far.

I am totally not into horror -- but it seemed to be the movie that most shook the commentators. So I avoided watching any of the clips.

Sure, other movies had gross bits, but this seemed so creepy.

I was not misled.

Dayum.

Saw Millions and Be Cool this evening. Loved the first and disliked the second (although The Rock and Andre 3000 are both lots of fun to watch). Millions is gorgeously shot and a wonderful look at the world through a kid's eyes--and not just a kid, but a really interesting, dreamy, passionate kid.

This is from five days ago, but Kathy posted--

Coolest thing I found out in the first interview was that Warner will be releasing the complete set of Astaire/Rogers RKO pictures by the end of the year, completely restored!

This is so cool! I've been bemoaning the lack of Fred and Ginger movies on DVD for a few years now.

Warner will be releasing the complete set of Astaire/Rogers RKO pictures by the end of the year, completely restored!

THANK YOU, GOD!

I also saw The Ring Two yesterday. I wasn't expecting the world, but the more I think about it, the worse it was. There were a few good creepy bits, though, which is all I really wanted.

Watched The Deer Hunter last night. I think I'll appreciate it more after some time has passed, but right now, I only can say two things about it: so farking depressing, and really farking long.

My weekend viewing included Mifune, a Danish movie, and Stander, which takes place in late-70s South Africa. I am all foreign-languaged up!

The former, a Dogma movie (remember that thing, with the Dogma? With the "no klieg lights, etc." rules? It doesn't at all obviate a good movie resulting), was a goofy, oddball story about returning home to one's embarrassing relatives and rural 70s decor and games where one puts a pot on one's head and bellows in pretend-Japanese in reenactment of The Seven Samurai. A gentle story, except for the stalking and the peeing on expensive rugs.

Stander is a true story of a Johannesburg cop who started robbing banks just to prove he could (while all his colleagues were too busy oppressing the black people to actually police the streets), got caught, and graduated (via prison escape) to a professional, many-years bank-robbing spree with "rebel without a cause" side effect. I don't know what is funnier -- that it's a true story, or what the star (Tom Jane) looks like in plaid 70s pants.

I should note for the prurient among us that Stander's main method of de-stressing after state-sanctioned murder is to dance completely naked to Iggy Pop in the middle of the night.

Anyway, fun movie. Sort of a wild-hare-breained adventure, and then there'll be the tiniest moment when you're like, oh yeah, this is late-70s South Africa. Being a criminal is, like, a sane response to that environment.

Dogme 95.

I have this recurring fantasy of kidnapping Steven Spielberg and forcing him to make a dogme-95-compliant film at gunpoint.

I have this recurring fantasy of kidnapping Steven Spielberg and forcing him to make a dogme-95-compliant film at gunpoint.

Ooooh. Need a driver?