Category: Film

Martin

I’m a big George Romero fan. I was excited to find his movie, Martin, on YouTube. It’s (sort of) a vampire film and very different from a lot of his other work.

Young Martin (John Amplas) is entirely convinced that he is an 84-year-old blood-sucking vampire. Without fangs or mystical powers, Martin injects women with sedatives and drinks their blood through wounds inflicted with razor blades. After moving to Braddock, Penn., to live with his superstitious uncle (Lincoln Maazel), who also believes Martin is a vampire, Martin tries to prey exclusively on criminals and thugs but stumbles when he falls for a housewife (Sara Venable).
-Rotten Tomatoes

You can also view it on Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/Martin.1977.DVDRipAmoFilmesdeTerrormkv

Remember (Free as a Bird)

Do you know what song ties The Beatles, John Lennon, Billy Joel, Goodfeelas, and Tik Tok?

In 1977, John Lennon recorded a demo of the song Free as a Bird.

Here it is remastered with AI (hey, I didn’t do it):

Now listen to this song by The Shangri-Las (15-year-old Billy Joel is thought to have played piano on it):

I know this song because it appears in the movie Goodfellas:

That’s where I first realized Free as a Bird quotes this song, which you can really tell in the re-recorded version with the rest of The Beatles (the part where it says “whatever happened to…”

Turns out, there’s also an Aerosmith version:

In 2005, Capone sampled The Shangri-las version:

Which was sampled by Kreepa:

Which is the source for its use in many a TikTok video:

Backrooms

Do you know The Backrooms? I think I’d heard the name and then hadn’t seen footage until it was shown on Corridor Crew. The original was (mostly) CGI and done by Kane Parsons/Kane Pixels, who was 16 or 17 when he made the original viral video. Now, at the age of 20, his feature-length version is being released by A24. I’m glad to see Kane is also directing this, and I’ll be curious to see what they do for a story. The original was inspired by a photo of an abandoned HobbyTown under renovation. Anyway, here’s the trailer, the original, and the clip from Corridor Crew.

The Teaser:

The Original:

Corridor Crew video:

Free Movies

If you’re ever in a pinch and looking for something to watch, did you know you can watch free (legally, with ads) movies on YouTube? I’ll often use this to scope out something before paying for it, or if it’s not streaming elsewhere. Here’s a sample of a few sources…

Weapons

I’ve been thinking about Weapons (the movie) off and on since I saw it. This has been partially bolstered by others’ video essays. I’m not going to go into detail to avoid spoilers, but I’m curious what others think.

The movie draws on several sources:

  • A standard mystery/drama: The first section of the film operates like one, with characters trying to find missing children and exploring the lives of Josh Brolin and Julia Gardner.
  • Fairy tales: Most obviously, the Pied Piper and Goldilocks.
  • P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia: The episodic nature, the cop character, the overall look and feel. Plus, the director even said so!
  • Alcoholism: The director has gone on record as saying this is a massive piece of the film. Julia Garner’s character is one, as were Josh Creeger’s parents. The idea of a child taking care of their parents originated here.
  • What else am I missing?

Comfort Movies

I hesitate to call most of these “comfort movies,” but these are movies I will put on in the bacikground mostlybecause I’ve seen them so many times.

  • Back to the Future (1985)
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) I’ll often keep watching the series – they’re more connected than their Next Generation counterparts.
  • Zodiac (2007)
  • Alien (1979) again, I’ll often watch a lot this series (even with its highs and lows)
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Wings of Desire vs City of Angels

I first saw Wings of Desire in a college film course and have seen it a few times since. City of Angels was a loose Americanized remake made around the same time. I’m not someone who is generally angered by remakes, but I think this one so missed the mark that it got to me a bit at the time.

Despite decades of awareness of the U2 song from the movie (with a music video based in the same world), I have yet to see the sequel, Faraway, So Close!

This video by Nerdwriter does a great job of comparing the strengths and weaknesses. If you’ve never seen the Wim Wenders original, I encourage you to seek it out! Watch almost any other Nic Cage movie.

Music videos inspired by Wings of Desire:

Trailer:

Movie Retrospective

I’ve previously written about AI and what uses I do and don’t like. Here’s one I do like… gathering info about posts I’ve written in the past. I thought I’d see what movies I’ve referenced over the last few years.

Movie TitleYearDirector(s)
Abigail2024Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Attack the Block2011Joe Cornish
Barbarian2022Zach Cregger
Billy Elliot2000Stephen Daldry
Bit2019Brad Michael Elmore
Body Bags1993John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper
Brassed Off1996Mark Herman
Bride of Chucky1998Ronny Yu
Child’s Play1988Tom Holland
Child’s Play 21990John Lafia
Child’s Play 31991Jack Bender
Chopping Mall1986Jim Wynorski
Dark Star1974John Carpenter
Dune (1984)1984David Lynch
Dune (2021)2021Denis Villeneuve
Fright Night2011Craig Gillespie
Fresh2022Mimi Cave
Freaky2020Christopher Landon
Halloween II1981Rick Rosenthal
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II1987Bruce Pittman
Hereditary2018Ari Aster
It Follows2014David Robert Mitchell
Late Night with the Devil2023Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Lisa Frankenstein2024Zelda Williams
Love and Monsters2020Michael Matthews
Malignant2021James Wan
Martin1977George A. Romero
No Time to Die2021Cary Joji Fukunaga
Nosferatu (Robert Eggers, upcoming)(2024/2025)Robert Eggers
Parasite2019Bong Joon-ho
Phantasm1979Don Coscarelli
Possession (1981)1981Andrzej Żuławski
Pride2014Matthew Warchus
Prom Night1980Paul Lynch
Seed of Chucky2004Don Mancini
Shadow in the Cloud2020Roseanne Liang
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings2021Destin Daniel Cretton
Sleepaway Camp II1988Michael A. Simpson
Sleepaway Camp III1989Michael A. Simpson
Slither2006James Gunn
Talk to Me2022Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
The Babadook2014Jennifer Kent
The First Omen2024Arkasha Stevenson
The Forever Purge2021Everardo Gout
The Funhouse1981Tobe Hooper
The Lighthouse2019Robert Eggers
The Northman2022Robert Eggers
The Omen1976Richard Donner
The Omen III1981Graham Baker
The Omen IV (TV Movie)1991Jorge Montesi, Dominique Othenin-Girard
They/Them2022John Logan
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge1985Jack Sholder