Vernon: Florida

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Vernon Florida!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th March 2025

I am attracted to any movie that has a fascinating backstory behind it and the one attached to this documentary is a doozy.
Documentarian Errol Morris went to Vernon, Florida to do a feature based on a story he heard about how local residents were cutting off body parts for an insurance scam. However this original idea had to be abandoned due to Morris receiving multiple death threats. So, as a Plan B, Morris instead made a documentary about some of the eccentric individuals that make up the town.

 As mentioned above this is exactly what it is: Some residents of a southern town talking about their lives and what they  think. It may sound dull but what makes it compelling isn't just these people's various eccentricities but their own insights thereby conveying their philosophies and experiences. Also noteworthy is that I gather this will be the closest we will ever get to see Southern people on the screen: a rarely seen people showing them as they are and having speak in their own voice. 

So in it's own roundabout way, this is a very human documentary. 
Truly a case of building something out of when one's original plan falls though....

Student Bodies

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... Student Bodies!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th October 2023

I hate to sound like I'm repeating myself but this movie got viewed through a number of familiar threads: 1) October is the time to watch horror movies, 2) the tradition of watching horror movies at October may also include some shlock 3) I like horror movies that mock both the tried & tested tropes and the acts of idiocy and 4) It had been on my watch list for so long that I'd forgotten why I put in on there to begin with. 

It would be fair to say that Scary Movie wouldn't exist without this movie, as it tells the same jokes: Mocking tropes in slasher movies all through a rather puerile eye. That being said, this movie is amateurish (at best) and completely stupid (at worst) with many jokes range from the obvious to the cringy and the complete misfire. But there are some moments that got a decent chuckle out of me (ie the R-18 rating announcer, the on-screen body count tally). 
My cup of silliness? Well since you put it that way....

An American Werewolf in London

And this week's Friday night movie has been... An American Werewolf in London!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st October 2022

I do believe it's safe to say that I'm not the first person to know this through the Michael Jackson connection: He liked this movie so much he hired the people who made it for the music video for Thriller. So may as well take a look at the source material then...

It can't be denied that this movie has an identity all of it's own: It's not just the werewolf effects - which still look incredible forty one years later - but also the odd combination of horror and humour. Sure there is some moments of suspense and gore but there are some actually genuinely funny moments. But compared to other horror/humour hybrids (like the Evil Dead trilogy), the humour doesn't come across like it's going out of it's way to be funny. As a result the humour hits harder - a prime example being the cinema scene.
So yeah, great movie and it's amazing how some of the effects haven't aged at all. Practicality, amirite?

Roadgames

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Roadgames!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th October 2022

From one Australian horror movie to another. This was made in 1981 and tells the story of a truck driver being put through the wringer by a potential serial killer. However it should be noted that this has been noted as a favorite by one Quentin Tarantino.

Thing is, I don't feel this is really that much of a horror movie. Sure it relies on the Australian landscape as hostile (much like Long Weekend) and barren, and sure there are some jump scare moments and sure there is a building of tension to rival that of a Hitchcock flick. But I feel this is more a character study: Our protagonist is constantly fighting not just against the driver menacing him but also his paranoia and somewhat fragile mental state. I suppose it is impressive that this film can stand up as something that took the lessons imparted by Hitchcock but somehow this seems more dull then frightening.
Maybe next week I'll try something with a bit more bite...

Reds

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Reds!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th July 2022

Lets talk about Warren Beatty for a minute.
To me, he is a man of two sides. One is the actor/ladykiller/'i'll-bang-anything-with-legs' and the other is the filmmaker: One who can produce, direct, is willing to take risks and is willing to back his own projects in order to make them happen. Of course, it is the latter side that interests me and the one that seems to less prominent in the mind of the public consciousness (and as such, less difficult to shake off).
So we come to this: A three hour biopic from 1981 which snagged Beatty an Oscar for Best Director. It tells the story of John Reed, a US writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution and even became involved in it. And, as a major selling point, the movie includes footage of people of the era (then aged considerably) describing John and the era this movie portrays.

Perhaps it is fitting that i mention Doctor Zhivago in last weeks post because I feel this is working from the same template: A three hour epic on the Russian Revolution with a romantic framework. And much like Doctor Zhivago I found myself more interested in the Revolution than the actual romance.
And it is with that that Beatty's talents as filmmaker shines through: In the terms of a history this movie is compelling and having the interview footage adds a lot to it with humanity and historical documentation. It may be slow to start with but this movie does indeed gather steam the more it goes on. And it is fascinating to see Reed grow from a passionate idealistic to being defeated by the system he supported.
Have to wonder though: Just how much did Reed resonate with Beatty? Obviously enough to get this movie made would be a suitable answer - But it's a story that Beatty wanted to tell so I'll give him that much.

Chariots of Fire

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Chariots of Fire!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th September 2021

I tried to watch this movie back in 2009. But for some reason or another I never got around to finishing it. Well, today seemed like a good as any. After all, this film is forty years old. And 2021 is an Olympic year (kinda). And I WILL get past that unforgettable theme song and finally see the movie that came with it!

As is often the case, it is not the story but the way it is told. Sports movies aren't my favorite kind of movies because they tend to have an outcome that is never in doubt (ie the protagonists win) but here, there is enough drama and detail that one doesn't think about the outcome. It does indeed make for compelling viewing to see these characters go all the way from Cambridge to competing in the Olympics And such a sincere approach does, surprisingly, hold water when a modern approach demands cynicism and drug scandals.
In fact being a document of the era it is set in (despite a number of inaccuracies) is one of the strongest assets of the film. The costumes, the sets and the details are are stunning to behold - as well as various class/religious differences of the time.
So yep, looks like this movie scores gold.

For Your Eyes Only

And this week's Friday night movie has been... For Your Eyes Only!

Original image located here. Accessed 6th August 2021

As stated previously, one reason i have been watching more James Bond movies this year is that I have seen many of them in bits and pieces but few of them all the way through. And For Your Eyes Only was one of the former. True i have been saying I've seen it but it wasn't in it's entirety - and that struck me is being very dishonest. So time to rectify such a situation.

So what can i say about this one? Well, it's well and truly one of the highpoints of the Moore era. Roger is in suburb form with his quips and the action sequences are excellent. The Greek scenery is great and the final assault on Kristatos' (Pycelle!!!) lair.
It is well documented that this was intended to bring Bond down to earth after some truly fantastical adventures and to that end, it was a successful one. And it certainly is proof that the sensibilities of the Connery era can indeed work in the early eighties.

The Evil Dead

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Evil Dead!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th October 2018

Well i once told myself that I would have to watch the Evil Dead trilogy - and in correct chronological order - so October seems a good time as any.

As is my understanding the Evil Dead movies have a reputation of combining humor and horror. That however doesn't appear to be the case here. This? Well, it's bloody. And it does come across as being a triumph of movie making on the cheap. And it's bloody. And it has some decent atmosphere. And it's bloody. And it boasts horrific but inventive special effects. And it's bloody. And it apparently rewrote the rulebook for slashers. Oh and did i mention it's bloody?
But in the terms of being a horror and humor hybrid, it's less of a humorous movie and more disturbing - particularly through the lens of thirty odd years of age.
Tucker and Dale Vs Evil it ain't.....

Still if a horror movie is meant to challenge an audience in a discomforting manner, well this movie succeeded at that end.

Das Boot

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Das Boot!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th August 2018

From the director of The Never-Ending Story...

Let me say this up front: Tense does not BEGIN to describe this movie. I was dreading a three and a half hour movie would be a slog to get through but this wasn't the case. It was gripping, it was never dull and one gets the feeling that this is as real as one is ever going to get with a German U-Boat. Furthermore, one gets the impression this is quintessential submarine movie: the one where everyone has been trying to replicate ever since.

But I think the greatest achievement of this movie is to make me root for a cast of Germans in a World War 2 movie. I found the rising of the sub in the last half hour genuinely inspiring and the conclusion a real punch in the gut. Seeing as people like a clear distinction between Good-guys and Bad-guys (if the Facebook debates I've seen are anything to go by) one would have to be insane to try and give Germans in a WW2 movie some humanity but here it works - largely through a committed cast.
Mind you, at least i now know where that joke from Disney's Aladdin originated...

Excalibur

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Excalibur!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th May 2017

I admit I have an interest for fantasy movies in the eighties because they strike me as looking more gritty and grungy than the fantasy movies made in a post-Lord of the Rings world. I will argue that the eighties produced some solid fantasy movies (ie Labyrinth, Conan the Barbarian, Never Ending Story and this) with a unique look that has never since been replicated.

As for the movie itself, this was a decent retelling of the stry of King Arthur and indeed setting a benchmark for future adaptations. Ever since I was a young lad I'd always associated King Arthur with the stories of heroism that made them famous - so it is indeed a surprise to see this adaptation boasting lots of grittiness, blood and sex. No way around it: Excalibur is King Arthur viewed through the lens of eighties Low fantasy and is all the better for it.
Special mention must also go to the use of music with O Fortuna and Siegfried's Funeral March
Plus it's fun to see a young Gabriel Bryne, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren.

The Devil At Your Heels

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Devil at Your Heels!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th February 2017

Has anyone heard of this? This is a 1981 documentary on the (now deceased) Canadian stuntman Ken Carter. This follows his attempts to perform the ultimate stunt: Jumping the St Lawrence River (on the border of Canada and the U.S.) in a rocket car. It was Ken's intention that this be his moment of glory after twenty years of car jumps.

So what this documentary....documents is the journey to make that jump. But it never runs smoothly: It covers five years (!) to make it happen, wherein so many things go wrong with backers coming and going, numerous attempts to drum up support, technical faults and delays & cancellations upon delays & cancellations. It may sound like grounds for a Monty Python skit but it's not: There is an aura of tragedy - particularly when one sees Ken Carter himself: He's always talking up this jump like any man with a dream and he certainly has the passion and conviction to see it through. Thus in a way, you really feel sorry for the guy when nothing is going right.
Still, great documentary, and it;s great to finally see it after some twenty four years since i was first made aware of it.