Disqus - Latest Comments for TGGP

Re: Jennifer Lawrence solved Bravo’s rat problem

TGGP — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:37:41 -0000

Aw, I was hoping this was a story about literal rodents.

Re: Scary Movie and other scary movies have the power over the box office

TGGP — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:15:36 -0000

I recommend doing so in the latest slang to make sure it's distinct from prior English translations.

Re: Scary Movie and other scary movies have the power over the box office

TGGP — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:17:57 -0000

The Bible is public domain, and thus not technically intellectual property. L. Frank Baum's novels are also in the public domain now, which is how the novel Wicked was able to avoid paying for the use of its characters (even though things like the witch having green skin are plainly from the copyrighted movie rather than novel).
The Odyssey is even older than the New Testament, and thus definitely in the public domain, so Nolan's film isn't using any IP. However, its screenplay would not be considered "original", but rather an adaptation of Homer's poem.

Re: Scary Movie and other scary movies have the power over the box office

TGGP — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:16:15 -0000

You're right, humanity is great!

Re: Scary Movie and other scary movies have the power over the box office

TGGP — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:14:55 -0000

I don't think even the 80s He-Man was a hit. Now that I think about it, neither was the original Tron (or Tron: Legacy). Why do they keep thinking a dead IP will work this time if they add Jared Leto?

Re: AVQ&A: Which horror movie caught you by surprise?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 01:28:28 -0000

Unfortunate Argento used that title for a film that WASN'T part of his Three Mothers Trilogy, none of which have titles that fit with each other.

Re: AVQ&A: Which horror movie caught you by surprise?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 01:25:27 -0000

I thought it was of roughly the same quality as Immaculate.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:14:37 -0000

That was better than I expected. Probably above average for Troma.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:08:36 -0000

I only know her from Mindhunter. I thought she was neither distinctly better nor worse than the other regulars.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:04:23 -0000

The angriest I have ever been in a movie theater was after watching I Am Legend, sure that using his title meant they MUST be sticking with Matheson's ending!
I've also seen Last Man on Earth, but not Omega Man.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:24 -0000

He gets beat up by #2 Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 23:42:22 -0000

Sole credit, not co-written.

Re: What's On Tonight (Sunday): Give me a T! What does that spell?

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 23:17:03 -0000

I saw it a long time ago. The director really went off the map afterwards. I forgot Edward Furlong played the little brother until I listened to the Filmshake podcast on Terminator 2 recently. I dislike Judgement Day, and partially blame the arc-free child lead, but at least I don't recall Furlong hampering AHX.

Re: This Weekend in Pop Culture: June 5-7

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:37:38 -0000

I had heard of Barker's Milk & Serial before he made Obsession, but never watched it because I'm not interested in found-footage and wasn't interested in Barker's Youtube comedy channel (I also still haven't checked out the channel of the Phillipou brothers, even though I liked both of their features). I had also heard raves about this once it played at a festival, but didn't feel the need to watch it right away. It's unusual growth in ticket sales since its debut meant I still got the chance to see it during its theatrical run despite being late to the party, and my verdict is that it's quite accomplished for Barker's first professional feature (I'm not sure how the $800 M&S should be categorized) but not quite deserving of all the hype its gotten. The premise of Bear (Michael Johnston) using a store-bought "One Wish Willow" to get his coworker Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to love him more than anyone else in the world, and finding he's bitten off more than he can chew, is right out of The Monkey's Paw, and a slew of stories that have followed it. Unfortunately, there is far from a direct logical line running from what he wished for and what actually happens that I don't think it works nearly as well as that classic story, and that problem is only more glaring with how explicit the film is about how this is Bear's fault because it's what he wished for. It could actually be argued that he doesn't actually get his wish, because we only see Nikki during a brief opening of the film, and after his wish she's replaced by someone completely different. And this isn't just me giving a possible take on how different her behavior is, rather the film itself makes it explicit that the real Nikki is undergoing torment separate from this replacement (who in turn experiences a different kind of suffering via a bottomless need that can never be satiated), and in the few moments where she reverts back she goes from freaking out to trying to kill herself. There is no fine print on any box indicating something like this, and in explaining how the OWW could even exist as a product for sale we have to switch to comedy mode of laughing at the popular perception of it rather than taking seriously the premise as something that could actually exist in that world. There is a significant amount of comedy in the film (though it's more of a horror overall), and just as in comedy there can be a rule-of-funny where anything goes and doesn't have to make sense as long as its funny, here Barker seems to be throwing in anything weird or unsettling he can think of as long as it well get a reaction, without being concerned about audiences asking why that would happen (for instance, the film leaves out any dialogue when Nikki is brought to a hospital for self-harm, and we just have to accept that she's not brought in for treatment and her bleeding stops for convenience). I think there was potential to just make a straightforward careful-what-you-wish-for story where Nikki (or the replacement version of her) simply follows her logic of keeping Bear with her to extremes, but perhaps Barker thought that wouldn't have enough potential for surprises. I should note I was also surprised by the ending, as I expected Nikki to use the extra OWW Bear bought to prevent/undo his suicide before his death ends his wish and she snaps back for the last time.

Re: This Weekend in Pop Culture: June 5-7

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:36:18 -0000

I still haven't seen Dionysus.

Re: This Weekend in Pop Culture: June 5-7

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:34:24 -0000

I had been surprised that the director of Martha Marcy May Marlene was doing the Iron Claw, but I wasn't that eager to see it myself (indeed Netflix indicates the film was about the leave their service). I'm not enough of a professional wrestling fan to have heard of the "Von Erich" family prior to the announcement of the film, with much of the story taking place before I was even born. I also wasn't a fan of Zac Efron, who I only recently saw for the first time in Me and Orson Welles, whose Kevin is the lead of the film, nor was I a viewer of the shows starring Jeremy Allen White, whose Kerry is the next most prominent brother. I suppose I'm more of a fan of Holt McCallany, who plays the somewhat stereotypical bad showbiz dad "Fritz" (he changed his name to better fit being a wrestling villain) due to his work with David Fincher, but then I suppose the Fincher movies based on true stories are among my least favorite of his works (though they're at least better than his Benjamin Button). In reading about the film I had heard that the true story of the "cursed" Von Erich family was actually too excessive for Durkin and thus he cut out one of the six(!) Von Erich brothers, and reading up his fate on Wikipedia does indeed make real-life seem redundant in a way that a screenwriter would want to avoid such repetition. I did find it strange that Kevin claimed his great-grandmother's family was cursed and thus that Fritz cursed his own family by taking her name (if it even was her name, as Wikipedia expresses doubt on that) when the only instance of such a curse we here about is the childhood death of his oldest brother (that we never get to see in life) before the film begins. The first death and permanent injury during the story actually occur offscreen, and even the first time any of them are in the NWA title match Fitz has craved is only barely seen via a TV their mother (Maura Tierney) is watching. I can understand tastefully excluding the first two and only letting the audience hear about it, but I thought not letting us see that match like we do so many lesser ones made little sense. I suppose it also makes sense not to include any of the other wives of the brothers who got divorced and instead only show Kevin's relationship with Pam (Lily James), marking him as the responsible family man who has his personal life most together even if he's never at the top of his father's explicit rankings of his sons based on their distance from that championship belt. I shared Pam's scoffing at the importance the family places on that, since the outcomes of the matches are all pre-determined, but Fritz simultaneously regards every Von Erich victory as earned while their lack of that belt is chalked up the NWA screwing them out of it, and the film never explains just how he has influence to get his sons a shot at it (according to TV Tropes he had a vote on such matters, and even became NWA president at one point, but that's not in the film). I would have assumed that a lot more of the tragedy in the family would be directly be caused by wrestling, which is after all an activity that risks injury, but only one of the numerous incidents really qualifies. I can say that the film succeeded in making me tear up by the end, but Secrets and Lies had long ago demonstrated to me how contagious that could be by just having a character crying a lot (whereas this tries to do that more sparingly amidst the abundant tragedy). I suppose people more into pro wrestling or weepies would want to seek this out.

Dead Man's Wire is fortunately about an event which took place over a few days rather than over the long span of someone's life, like the dreaded womb-to-bomb biopic (Iron Claw wasn't exactly that, though there are a number of deaths in it). Bill Skarsgard's Tony isn't really notable for anything other than taking hostage Richard (Dacre Montgomery), son of Merdian Mortage's M. L. (Al Pacino in a 100% sitting performance) because he blames the latter for his failure to attract tenants for the shopping mall he was planning to build on property he mortgaged (and M.L was unexpectedly not there on the day Tony carried out his plan). Tony indicates his willingness to kill Richard, but doesn't actually appear to believe it's likely either will die and acts as if he thinks he's a reasonable man that others will also regard as reasonable after hearing what he has to say. Part of the comedy of the film is how far that is from reality and his frustration at things not being that way (although he's not a complete idiot or oaf as a lot of his preparations for the crime actually do work as he planned). Montgomery doesn't get to do that much interesting acting and I don't how much of that to chalk up to the limitations on what the character could do, the comedic tone working in the film better than its attempts at drama, or that the film sympathizes with Tony more than he actually deserved (in real life there doesn't appear to be any evidence for his claims of sabotage, nor are professional lenders usually that good at finding profitable uses of property they would get in a default that it beats their normal profit from interest). Another deviation from real life is that the real Tony was actually rational enough to communicate via a radio newsman, which this film replaces with smooth jazz DJ Fred (Colman Domingo). I guess news would be too boringly rational while music gives a chance for more "This is the 70s!" signifiers, and adds incongruity in which Tony tries to back up his assertion to Richard that he's a talented dancer despite the lack of any formal training. The funniest bit is Tony thinking he could fire his pump-action shotgun into the ceiling while surrounded by cops and not immediately be grabbed & placed under arrest, which I only read later is what he actually did. Perhaps people old enough or well read enough would already know exactly what happened and thus experience less surprise, but for me it was all new. I had heard this film killed its first-time distribution company, and I suppose I'm part of the problem for waiting until it hit Netflix rather than seeing it in a theater during its brief release. It's not the 70s anymore, and this can't rival Dog Day Afternoon, but as with some other attempts to mimic films of that era, I'm thankful for films which try and fall short of such idols rather than imitating contemporary dreck.

Re: This Weekend in Pop Culture: June 5-7

TGGP — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:31:42 -0000

I watched two movies on Netflix based on true stories and which complete my missing halves of relatively recent Next Picture Show pairings: Sean Durkin's The Iron Claw and Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire. I also watched Curry Barker's Obsession. Finally, I finished reading Robert Heinlein's Double Star, and my review is at my blog .

Re: Hello darkness, my old friend: Bleak Week is upon us

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:56:44 -0000

A burn on Portland Oregon & Seattle Washington.

Re: Hello darkness, my old friend: Bleak Week is upon us

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:55:20 -0000

It is a cruel portrait of American history, but it’s perhaps one of the most accurate

Not in the slightest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(film)#Historical_basis I can only conclude that someone would write that only if they were ignorant of the actual history, and thus how far the film is from it.

Re: A dive bar Bonnie and Clyde lead the charming Carolina Caroline

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:21:37 -0000

I reviewed it last year https://thepopculturists.bl...

Re: A dive bar Bonnie and Clyde lead the charming Carolina Caroline

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:12:35 -0000

You forgot John & Angelica Huston.

Re: A dive bar Bonnie and Clyde lead the charming Carolina Caroline

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:12:09 -0000

What trash film?

Re: The new Scary Movie is the most embarrassing spoof since the first Scary Movie

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:08:18 -0000

Those two sentences appear to be in some tension.

Re: The new Scary Movie is the most embarrassing spoof since the first Scary Movie

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:14 -0000

I don't believe any reviewer actually has the opinion that the Friedberg & Seltzer "[Genre] Movie" followups are better.

Re: The new Scary Movie is the most embarrassing spoof since the first Scary Movie

TGGP — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:56:53 -0000

That's from Scary Movie 4.