Image Source (Quick trigger warning, this post will discuss the deaths of several real life children.) People love to talk about cursed films. The idea that some form of media is mystical and breaks everything it touches or everyone who works on it. The Exorcist is probably the most famous example of the phenomenon, with its production being famously filled with injuries and pain. The truth of these "cursed" films is that most of the time it is a combination of little care for performers or safety that results in this pain. There is no mystical reason behind it, just cut corners leading to tragedy. What happened during the production of The Twilight Zone: The Movie is one of the most heartbreaking examples of this. John Landis is most known for such feats as The Blues Brothers , An American Werewolf in London , and having a sex offender child but he should be most known for that time he ended up killing children with unsafe wo...
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Image Source If I were to ask you what Bollywood is, how would you define it? It's not a genre, though there are some common themes in these films, and it is not really a film movement either. The types of movies made are simply too varied to be boiled down into one idea. It is after all a term for all the big budget movies from a country of over a billion people. There's going to be a lot of variance. But what if you took all of that variance, everything you could expect or even dream of from a Bollywood film, and put it in one? You would probably get something like RRR (2022). A four hour masterpiece that is truly something to behold. RRR is kind of impossible to succinctly describe. It's got songs, action, a dance routine, the best bromance in cinema, kind of everything. In a weird way I like to compare RRR to Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. The two films came out in the same year and both feel like every genre being blasted into yo...
Image Source Consistency in tone is for suckers! At least if you have my tastes that is. I have always been someone who has a lot of differing tastes and ideas for what I want from media. I've almost never been able to put the things I love into neat boxes and have those really fit. These varying tastes have been a huge reason why I have come to develop an adoration for the horror-comedy genre. I always love the practical effects of classic horror cinema, but I'm just not always in the mood to be scared. Horror-comedies allow me to experience the passion and wonder of practical effects with a more relaxed atmosphere. Of course I also love camp, that's a big part of it too. When it comes to my absolute favorite horror-comedies, it shouldn't be surprising that Little Shop of Horrors is near the top. I adore live theater and Little Shop has an absolutely amazing sound...
Image Source Horror movies excel when they are examining real life problems through the lenses of horror. When horror films combine this with a fantastical setting, it can serve to further heighten the metaphor while also asking questions that would be impossible anywhere else. One of my favorite recent examples of this is the 2014 film Ex Machina by director Alex Garland. The film centers on a man named Caleb, Domhnall Gleeson, who is invited to the estate of his eccentric billionaire boss for a week. Nathan, Oscar Issac, introduces Caleb to the real reason he was invited onto the estate. To be a real life Turing test for an artificial intelligence he has created named Ava. From here, things begin to spiral. Caleb begins falling in love with Ava whilst finding out more about Nathan. The film ends with Ava and Caleb plotting an escape for her together. Caleb confronts Nathan who tells him that the real test was to see if Ava could fake love in ord...
Image Source My second favorite romantic comedy is the 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader by director Jamie Babbit. Babbit is most known for her queer work and honestly I should watch more of her films given how much I love this one. The film itself focuses on Megan, a teenager played by Natasha Lyonne, who is sent to conversion therapy by her parents. Only problem is that Megan doesn't even know she's gay when she gets sent. Everyone around her knows, it's really just like that sometimes, but she remains ignorant. This is the setup for a film about self discovery and queerness and that also has Dante Basco in it. So a complete package. Something that But I'm a Cheerleader does exceptionally well is how it utilizes color. Within the walls of True Directions, the conversion camp, everything is painted in vibrant tones. One of the main goals of the camp is to make those within re-identify with ideas of traditional gender roles and th...
