AtomicPwrdRobot

@Jimbotron
112 Followers
597 Following
442 Posts
Enthusiast and man-about-town.
Letterboxdhttps://www.letterboxd.com/AtomicPwrdRobot
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AtomicPwrdRobotOct 12, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–œ๐–Š๐–“๐–™๐–ž:

UZUMAKI
(2000, dir. Akihiro Higuchi)

Crossing another modern J-horror off of my list with the 2000 adaptation of the classic horror manga by Japanese comics icon Junji Ito. I mostly know Ito's work thanks to seeing memes on social media, so I'm curious to see how those surreal visuals translate to film.

My review: https://boxd.it/4Z0ANJ

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… review of Uzumaki (2000)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–œ๐–Š๐–“๐–™๐–ž: Maybe just a little too dreamlike and airless to really land for me, but it had some good deadpan surrealist moments throughout. I think I might just need to go read Ito's manga to get the full effect, since the fairly low-budget CGI and production design didn't quite capture the feeling of the artwork I've seen.

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 12, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–“๐–Ž๐–“๐–Š๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

THE ZODIAC KILLER
(1971, dir. Tom Hanson)

Tonight's movie is the second of the three "bonus" features selected by Cinemonster for this year's challenge. The movie is a highly-fictionalized and sensationalized recounting of the events surrounding the still-unsolved 1968-69 Zodiac murders in San Francisco.

My review: https://boxd.it/4YnKOp

A โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ review of The Zodiac Killer (1971)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–“๐–Ž๐–“๐–Š๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: Definitely doesn't hold together as a narrative, and the mix of apparent ripped-from-the-headlines fact (20%) and utterly bankrupt fabrication (the other 80%) is completely wild to see. On the other hand, from a '70s anthropological standpoint it's an amazing find. The stylistic choice to depict horrific violence and misogyny as sub Benny Hill-caliber slapstick turns up in a lot of movies of the time, and it's hard to gauge whether the filmmakers thought they were being truly transgressive here or if it was just something in the air back then.

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 12, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–˜๐–š๐–“๐–‰๐–†๐–ž ๐–’๐–†๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Š๐–Š ๐–Š๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER
(2023, dir. David Gordon Green)

Taking my first daytime trip of this Hooptober to see the second of my promised Triple XXXorcisms at the local theater:

๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ‘น๐Ÿ‘ฟ 3 Satan/Devil centered films

My review: https://boxd.it/4XZN05

A โ˜…โ˜… review of The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–˜๐–š๐–“๐–‰๐–†๐–ž ๐–’๐–†๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Š๐–Š ๐–Š๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: Green brings a couple of potentially interesting ideas to this, but the movie doesn't really do enough with them to either make it a compelling standalone viewing experience, or a companion to the original movie. I'm curious to see what other viewers might make of the general worldview/cosmology demonstrated here, as well as some of the faith/race/class-based implications of the casting and depiction of the two families in this movie. I can tell Green was going for *something* here, but I'm having a hard time articulating the precise point of view. Adding a star to

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 12, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“/๐–˜๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–“๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

DOUBLE FEATURE EVENT:

BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA
(1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
+
DRACULA 3000
(2004, dir. Darrell James Roodt)

Tonight's double bill takes care of two categories:

๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿง›โ€โ™‚๏ธ 1 film based on a work of or invoking the name Bram Stoker

๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿง›โ€โ™‚๏ธ The worst Dracula film (by Letterboxd rating) that you haven't seen and can access.

My reviews:
Bram Stoker's Dracula: https://boxd.it/4Xq4S7

Dracula 3000: https://boxd.it/4Xq5D3

#hooptober #horror #dracula

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… review of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: Came away from this really impressed after having seen it only once during its original release. At the time, I don't think any other movies (aside from maybe Lucas/Spielberg's big blockbusters and Tim Burton's Batman films) had prepared the younger me for the level of directorial maximalism on display here, where it feels like every single shot composition, insane camera move, and special effect, and (to an extent, see below) every wild editing choice was concocted by a mad genius. I'm curious to know if a longer cut exists of this, because now that I'm watching

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 6, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–‹๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

HIRUKO THE GOBLIN
(1991, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto)

Tonight's movie is another rewatch for me from one of my favorite genre directors. Tsukamoto's cyberpunk-gone-amok TETSUO films were a foundational part of my discovery and appreciation of modern Japanese cinema in college, and are a perfect synthesis of both arthouse and grindhouse in their realization.

My review: https://boxd.it/4WUgUZ

#hooptober #horror

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ review of Hiruko the Goblin (1991)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–‹๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: A surprisingly wacky romp considering the tone of Tsukamoto's other better-known films. According to a pair of interviews in the bonus features (recorded a couple of decades apart), Tsukamoto makes the claim that this was closer to his personal filmmaking style at the time than either TETSUO or TETSUO II, which makes sense in hindsight. The structure of the film, relying mostly on a single location and nearby exteriors, as well as a fairly minimal cast who are rarely all together in the same place, lends itself well to the kinds of no-budget genre exercises that

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 6, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–‹๐–”๐–š๐–—๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

THE HIDDEN
(1987, dir. Jack Sholder)

Tonight's movie takes care of this Hooptober category:

๐Ÿ‘ฆ๐ŸŽ‚ 1 film that was released the year that you turned 10

Catching up with what I believe may be a crucial missing link in the career of a favorite cult/genre actor, Kyle MacLachlan.

My review: https://boxd.it/4W3ZBR

#hooptober #horror

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ review of The Hidden (1987)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–‹๐–”๐–š๐–—๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: The trailer gave me vague SCANNERS/BLADE RUNNER vibes, but after watching it, I get more of a TERMINATOR/MEN IN BLACK feeling from the whole thing. I kinda wonder how much inspiration Ed Solomon drew from this when writing MIB. The bits with the baddie displaying obvious alien-in-a-skinsuit behavior definitely reminded me of D'Onofrio as the Edgar-bug. Also, thinking on where this fits into Kyle MacLachlanโ€™s career, there's moments in the first half where he's doing some of the same minimalist stuff with his body language that he drew on as โ€œDougieโ€ in TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN.

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 6, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–—๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“:

LISA AND THE DEVIL
(1973, dir. Mario Bava)

Tonight's film takes care of another notable director category:
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐ŸŽฅ๐ŸŽฌ 1 Mario Bava film.

I've watched a bunch of Bava for Hooptober and other challenges, but I'm still amazed at how many things on his filmography I have yet to see.

My review: https://boxd.it/4VJv8P

#hooptober #horror

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ review of Lisa and the Devil (1973)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–—๐–™๐–Š๐–Š๐–“: Definitely more to this one than the trailer lets on, although I think I'd need another watch to determine whether all of the pieces fit neatly together by design, or if this might have been something that came together in editing after the fact. I like that the precise nature of Savalas' character is left slightly ambiguous, depending on whether we're seeing him from Sommer's perspective or from a more omniscient one. For her part, Sommer doesn't really do much as a heroine beyond acting as a point of attention for the other characters; If we're

AtomicPwrdRobotOct 6, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–œ๐–Š๐–‘๐–›๐–Š:

THE ENDLESS
(2017, dir. Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson)

The third of this year's "directors' series" category. In past weeks I watched one from Ken Russell (GOTHIC) and one from Alfred Hitchcock (THE BIRDS); Now I'm moving on to a more recent directing team, consisting of American filmmakers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson.

My review: https://boxd.it/4ViCx9

#hooptober #horror

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ review of The Endless (2017)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–œ๐–Š๐–‘๐–›๐–Š: I would classify this one as existential horror about unpacking your childhood trauma, implemented with an assist from cosmic horror. It's basically the two epigrams from the beginning, one part Lovecraft, one part jokey folk wisdom. I don't know if it quite comes together in the end, but I enjoyed trying to work out what was going on based on what we see early on, as well as how some of the different [PARANORMAL PHENOMENON REDACTED] scenarios were staged later on. I got the sense in a few spots that we were missing certain shots/effects due

AtomicPwrdRobotSep 30, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–Š๐–‘๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–“:

THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE
(2001, dir. Guillermo del Toro)

Coming into the end of the second week of Hooptober with one of a handful of rewatches. I recently acquired all of Guillermo del Toro's "Trilogรญa" films (CRONOS, PAN'S LABYRINTH, and THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE) on Criterion Blu-Ray and have already watched the other two, so why not round it off with the third?

My review: https://boxd.it/4V0xsx

#hooptober #horror #guillermodeltoro

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… review of The Devil's Backbone (2001)

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐– ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–Š๐–‘๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–“: A very rewarding rewatch! I don't think I truly understood enough about the Spanish Civil War (or world politics or anti-fascism, etc.) when I saw this 20-odd years ago to fully get what del Toro was doing here until now. He manages to ease us into a fairly elegant microcosm of the war (told within a story at that same war's fringes) by adding just the tiniest drop of magical realism that adds an extra moral and spiritual dimension to everything that happens, and it makes the allegory just *pop* in a way that a mundane

AtomicPwrdRobotSep 30, 2023

๐–๐–”๐–”๐–•๐–™๐–”๐–‡๐–Š๐–— ๐–
๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–™๐–Š๐–“:

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN
(2008, dir. Ryรปhei Kitamura)

Tonight's pick knocks off another two categories for this year's Hooptober:

โš’๏ธ๐Ÿš‡ 1 something is underground film

๐Ÿ“Œ๐Ÿค• 1 film based on a Clive Barker story

I went with the adaptation of Barker's 1984 short story of the same name, as found in his trailblazing "Books of Blood" anthology.

My review: https://boxd.it/4Uo7Oh

#hooptober #horror #clivebarker

A โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… review of The Midnight Meat Train (2008)

This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.