And to a reasonable posting schedule, as well.
Devil’s Pass (2013), in which a bunch of college students go to a remote locale to shoot a documentary about strange goings on, but you haven’t heard nearly as much of this story before as you might think…
The Lost Boys (1987), in which two Coreys first become The Two Coreys…
Near Dark (1987), in which the vampires would be just as threatening if they weren’t vampires at all…
Prison Girls (1972), in which some weekend prison furloughs are more enjoyable than others, but not for us…
Return of the Jedi (1983), in which every last check is dutifully cashed, even if one or two of them come up a few bucks short…
and…
The Young Playmates (1972), in which Val Guest, of all people, tries his hand at smut.
#1 by RogerBW on September 29, 2015 - 6:50 am
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Yes, foreign au pairs became trendy in the UK in the early 1970s. The idea took off after the Second World War when people really didn’t want to be domestic servants any more; au pair means “at par”, i.e. a relationship of equals. In practice they were often foreign students who would split their time between child-care and study (or “study”, since many of them were away from home for the first time). They were paid a lot less than nannies, because they were theoretically self-supporting in their studies (they basically got an allowance, room, and meals with the family) and were well within the reach of many middle-class couples.
I’m sure those who know film better than me will be able to point out earlier examples, but what The Lost Boys and Near Dark showed me for the first time was vampire society, something more sophisticated than a single vampire or a boss plus slavish underlings.
#2 by El Santo on September 29, 2015 - 11:49 am
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That’s an excellent point, which I think goes along with what I was saying about modern, low-class, American vampires. Once you ditch the idea that the head vampire is Count This or Lady That, it follows naturally that you need a new model for how the vampires following his or her lead relate to each other.
#3 by Alaric on September 29, 2015 - 4:34 pm
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“…Jack the Ripper was really the Loch Ness Monster.”
Of course! It all makes sense now! How did everyone miss the obvious clues for so many years?
#4 by RogerBW on September 29, 2015 - 5:22 pm
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You have seen Amazon Women on the Moon, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2yVZCVLK3E
#5 by Supersonic Man on October 1, 2015 - 1:02 am
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It’s finally sunk in for me that Santa Carla is nowhere near Santa Clara. I think I pretty much failed to notice the distinction in anything I had previously read about that movie.
#6 by Rabukurafuto on October 3, 2015 - 4:56 am
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Safari 3000?
#7 by El Santo on October 5, 2015 - 9:17 am
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That probably the correct level of awfulness (I haven’t actually watched the movie yet, so I can’t be entirely certain about that at this point), but think more recent.
#8 by Rabukurafuto on October 7, 2015 - 5:10 am
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…That final Hobbit film? It would complete that trilogy of reviews.
#9 by Jen S 1.0 on October 5, 2015 - 2:33 am
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I’m sure those who know film better than me will be able to point out earlier examples, but what The Lost Boys and Near Dark showed me for the first time was vampire society, something more sophisticated than a single vampire or a boss plus slavish underlings.
One of the most striking scenes for me in Near Dark is the one where Jesse and Diamondback are driving along at night (of course) reminiscing about how they met. When Diamondback looks over at him and purrs ‘I just knew you were trouble’ in that cut tobacco voice, you felt that these people had a history, a long one, known only to that one other person. Bigelow deserves her Oscar just for that scene, even if she never made another movie.
And as for Lost Boys; ahhhh, David. Dream of my youth. I loved him the most because his was the only painful death–everybody else blew up or exploded or melted in a bathtub of holy water, but you saw his face as he was dying, realizing that the impossible thing–his destruction–was really happening. He also got the only echo of Dracula, when the head vamp takes closer look at him and he looks peaceful and boyish, like he’s sleeping. The true human and the goodness that was submerged by the corrupting influence is gone. Sigggghhhhhh….. *draws hearts all over Pee Chee*
#10 by Jen S 1.0 on October 5, 2015 - 2:43 am
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Arrrgh, that first part’s supposed to be a quote, duh.
#11 by Anna on October 23, 2015 - 11:00 pm
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Hey. 🙂 It wasn’t only boys that got a charge out of Leia in the slave-girl togs. XD
For all the flaws noted in ‘Jedi’, I think that ultimate moment when Luke throws away his weapon and refuses to submit to the Dark Side redeems it. “You’ve failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” Leia choking the life out of that slug with the very chain meant to control her is a brilliant commentary as well. For all that Lucas seems to have zero idea what a woman would think about, the visual symbols we see with Princess Leia throughout the trilogy are brilliant and insightful.
The Ewoks never much bothered me, and the pacing of the triple climactic scenes still excites me after all these years and viewings. I always like Wedge, in the space battle – Denis Lawson was seemingly delivering a throwaway performance, but his near total lack of emotion actually shows character growth. After being chastened for his emotional reaction to the first Death Star by Red Leader, Wedge seems to be making up for it in spades now that *he* is Red Leader.
Thank you for the Star Wars reviews, I’m really enjoying your take on these favorites. 🙂