I have to wait seven months to see this?! Mainline it into my brain already!
Movies
Alive and Drooling
Yeah. I am still alive. What an up-and-down summer it has been. Some good times, some pretty bad times, and quite a few trips to the movie theater. Maybe I will chat about all that at some point.
Meanwhile … Second Sight (over in the UK) has announced their limited edition Blu-ray of The Blair Witch Project and you can color me stupidly excited! This release “represents the filmmakers’ complete vision for the film” as the home video versions that Lionsgate has been putting out messed with the look of the original film. Needless to say, I pre-ordered this asap. Ha, ha. Second Sight is out to bankrupt me. Their limited edition releases are ACES.
Special Features
- A new Second Sight Films restoration from the Hi8 videotapes and 16mm film elements, supervised and approved by the Producers and Directors
- 2-disc edition includes restored and remastered Original Theatrical Cut and Festival Cut plus original-release version
- The Blair Witch Documentary: a new feature-length Second Sight Films production
- New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- Directors’ and Producers’ audio commentary
- Deleted scenes including previously unseen video and 16mm footage
- The Blair Witch Project: Analogue Horror in a Digital World by Mike Muncer
- Curse of the Blair Witch
- Alternate Endings
- Cannes 1999: archive Directors interview
- Trailers
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Timothy Pittides
- 184-page hardback book with archive production materials and new essays by Stacey Abbott, Becky Darke, Adam Hart, Craig Ian Mann, Mary Beth McAndrews, Dr. Cecilia Sayad, Pete Turner and Heather Wixson
- Heather’s Journal
- 3 collectors’ art cards
Tripled!
Life is slogging along. I had COVID a few weeks back and then David got Strep early last week. Sheesh. Hopefully, we can both manage to avoid germs for a while.
At least the freelance work is poppin’. Though I do wish it was more consistent. I need more spending cash for movies and records and books. Ha! I guess the freelance stuff would be more consistent if I got off my ass and actually promoted myself to more people. Though I did get contacted over the weekend and it sounds like I might be tapped to do a logo for the county’s first-ever Pride Festival. That should be fun and interesting.
And the movie studios certainly worked it for horror film fans this week. Guess who is going to the movies for the next three nights? This guy! So there is Late Night with the Devil tonight, Ghostbusters, Frozen Empire tomorrow night, and Immaculate on Wednesday night. No links ’cause I am lazy!
Upcoming [Van Sant Edition]
I am pretty stoked that Criterion has announced a new 4K edition of one of my favoritest satire/black comedies, Gus Van Sant’s To Die For. But … c’mon, Criterion! Those special features are a bit anemic. I remember the good ol’ days when you all were the gold standard for home video special editions.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Gus Van Sant and director of photography Eric Alan Edwards, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Van Sant, Edwards, and editor Curtiss Clayton
- Deleted scenes
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Jessica Kiang
And So …
Saltburn got me all like …
Getting Back
Yeah. I am working on getting back to posting here. Life has seriously been a struggle lately … since the end of October really. Things have finally felt like they have been getting back to some sort of normalcy over the last few weeks. Maybe one day I’ll type all the craziness and mental anguish here. Beginnings. Endings. Nakedness. All sorts of shit.
Meanwhile, Criterion is bringing it in May with a 4K release of Thelma & Louise and a Blu-ray of Peter Bogdanovich’s underrated first feature film, Targets. Color me stupidly excited!
Dreams Do Come True
I can’t tell you how long I have been waiting for a box set of the Ju-on films. Well, that box set has now been officially announced and it’s stacked. Squee!
Ju-on: The Grudge Collection (Limited Edition) drops in the UK (and for us multi-region player owners) on December 19th from Arrow Video.
- Brand new 4K restoration of Ju-On: The Grudge from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Ju-On: The Grudge in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all films
- Home video premiere outside Japan of Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2
- Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (except The Curse and The Curse 2) and 2.0 stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Exclusive 60-page collector’s booklet featuring writing by Grady Hendrix, James Marsh, Tom Mes, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson [Limited Edition Exclusive]
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
- Twenty-four double-sided, postcard-sized artcards [Limited Edition Exclusive]
- Reversible poster with new and original artwork [Limited Edition Exclusive]
DISC 1 – JU-ON: THE CURSE AND JU-ON: THE CURSE 2 (BLU-RAY)
- Introduction to both films by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
- Introduction to Ju-On: The Curse by actor Takako Fuji
DISC 2 & 3 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY / BLU-RAY)
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
- Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
- New audio commentary by film historian David Kalat
- Audio commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel
- Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround
- Haunting in Monochrome, a new interview with Takashi Shimizu on the Ju-On films
- Being Kayako, a new interview with Takako Fuji on her role as Kayako
- The Evolution of Ju-On, a brand new featurette with authors and Japan specialists Tom Mes and Zack Davisson discussing the cultural forces that shaped the series
- Through a Glass Darkly, an archive interview with Takashi Shimizu
- Whispers in the Dark, an archive interview with actor Megumi Okina on her role as Rika
- Fade to Black, an archive interview with actress Kayoko Shibata, who plays Mariko
- On-set interviews with Takashi Shimizu, Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara and Yui Ichikawa
- Deleted scenes with commentary by Takashi Shimizu
- Almost an hour of behind-the-scenes footage
- Ju-On True Stories, two ghostly true-life tales that inspired the films, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara
- Original trailers
- Image gallery
DISC 4 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE 2 (BLU-RAY)
- Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
- New audio commentary with scholar Raechel Dumas and critic Jasper Sharp
- Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround
- Interview with Takashi Shimizu from the time of making Ju-On: The Grudge 2
- On-set interviews with Noriko Sakai, Chiharu Niiyama, Kei Horie, Yui Ichikawa, Emi Yamamoto and Shingo Katsurayama
- Deleted scenes
- 55 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage
- On-set reports by cast members Noriko Sakai, Yui Ichikawa and Erika Kuroishi
- Premieres and stage greetings footage from Japan, Taiwan and Korea
- Trailers and TV spots
- Image gallery
DISC 5 – JU-ON: WHITE GHOST AND JU-ON: BLACK GHOST (BLU-RAY)
- Introduction to Ju-On: Black Ghost by writer-director Mari Asato
- New interview with Mari Asato
- Original trailer
- Image galleries
Today’s History
*Drools!*
A new David Cronenberg film? Yes, please!
Hey. Hi. Hello.
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Not much has been going on here other than my standard “work, eat, sleep, be depressed” routine. I have not had much energy about posting here (shocker!) because day in and day out seems to be the same ole, same ole.
I did actually have a vacation scheduled last month … to a gay campground in Florida! But, guess who got sick with strep the day before we were supposed to fly down. You guessed it. I ended up home sick and missed the vacation while David got to go. It’s hard not to feel like the universe has it in for you when shit like this happens.
During REI’s member discount sale, I did finally pull the trigger on a new sleeping pad for my backpacking adventure. You can see in the pictures that the new pad packs much, much smaller than the Thermarest that I have been carrying for 20+ years. Over the past three years, I have managed to replace all my old gear. The only thing I want now is a more compact camp stove (and maybe a lightweight camp chair) and I will be fully set!
And … I am stupid excited to finally have acquired a copy of Austra‘s debut album, Feel it Break, on vinyl. I have been looking for a copy of this for quite a while. Whoo!
And, yeah. Sunrise in the mountains never gets old …
In movie news … Robert Eggers’ The Northman opens next week and I can’t fucking wait!
[Untitled]
Yeah. I am still alive. My mental state and mood have been in the crapper for the last month. Yay.
At least there is a new Alex Garland movie dropping on May 20. Can’t wait!
Mid-Winter Blahs
Yeah. I am officially stuck with a case of the mid-winter blahs. The weather has been too cold to get out and do anything outdoorsy and I am tired of being stuck inside. The weekly Saturday Firepit sessions with Shortlegs and Co. are currently on hold because the weather has been too cold, rainy, or snowy for us to gather. It’s my sanity break for the week and I miss it terribly. C’mon, spring!
Speaking of snow … we ended up getting about 9″ last Sunday! It’s about time we got some of the fringe benefits of winter.
A few weeks ago, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my trusty iPhone X to a spankingly new iPhone 13 Pro. I am now in debt on the damn thing for 2-12 years! Sheesh. It’s almost like having a car payment. I initially had buyer’s remorse but eventually got over that. The camera alone was worth the upgrade. *drools*
I was reshelving some movies last week and made a fun discovery. I managed to buy TWO copies of the Criterion Collection edition of Alan J. Pakula‘s The Parallax View. I had bought a copy at the B&N Sale in November but had (apparently) forgotten that fact. When I rewatched Klute one day, I thought about how I needed a copy of The Parallax View for my collection and ordered a copy off Amazon. Talk about feeling stupid when I realized what had happened. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign that senility is setting in.
We did get out earlier this week and caught the new Scream film. I really dug it! It had chills and thrills and even made me cry at one point. Out of all the horror franchises out there, I think the Scream franchise is my favorite one. Get thee to the theater to see it!
Work has been horrifyingly slow the past few weeks. I hope in the long term it doesn’t mean that I am about to be unemployed. In the short term what it means is that the workdays feel long and the work weeks feel even longer. Ugh.
And, finally … There’s lots of good music on the way this spring with new albums from Ghost, Midlake, and Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear fame) on the horizon.
Crushin’
Life continues to be a bit of a slog. The workweeks just seem to drag on FOREVER.
Well … at least Christmas is over! There is one more weekend of holiday shenanigans (wherein we will hopefully not get Omincron-laced COVID) and then we are into the doldrums of winter. Yay.
We did attend a big Christmas party at the beginning of the month and I went to a short family gathering on Christmas Eve and a rather lengthy Christmas Day dinner at a friend’s house (10 people were in attendance).
This might be me tipsy and in a Santa hat after too many vodka tonics before dinner. I guess there are worse ways to spend the evening.
It’s hard not to feel paranoid about social interaction these days and I must confess to being jealous of those people who can put the worry of potential illness aside. The slightest headache or sniffle sends me into a fit of worry about whether I have COVID or not.
And, yeah. The beard is in serious need of a trim.
I got some cool presents (movies and books and such) this year … and I also received some end-of-the-year cash from the bosses. Whoo! So, while we were in Asheville last night, we stopped into my favorite movie store. I had been in last week and had found used copies of Wong Kar-Wai’s Fallen Angels and Happy Together on the shelf. These are the Kino Lorber releases that are seriously OOP. I have been pretty keen on locating copies of these after the revisionist debacle that World of Wong Kar-Wai ended up being. I didn’t buy them last week, so I was pretty excited to see that they were still on the shelf last night. $50 total for both movies! I have yet to see these listed for under $80 each on eBay or the Amazon marketplace. And somebody has this exact set listed for $280 on eBay. I am guessing the movie store didn’t quite know what they had on their hands. Ha, ha. Christmas Cash FTW!
We’ve been going to this movie store for a while, and I had started to develop a crush on one of the employees. He’s punkish. He has tattoos. He’s a film nerd. A trifecta of awesomeness! When we walked in last week, Siouxise and the Banshee’s Juju was playing through the store’s sound system. Then it switched to Siouxise and the Banshee’s Tinderbox (my most favorite album of all time). Then it switched to a few songs by The Cure. Then is switched to the Cocteau Twins’ first album, Garlands (arguably the least liked by most fans … though I think it’s totally aces!). Guess who was behind the counter controlling the tunes. My Film Nerd Crush! So, now my wee “in-store” crush has blossomed into a full-blown “I want to watch movies and listen to records with you” crush. Oh, well.
Ah, life. It’s been a while since I have totally crushed on a store employee (remember the Cute Bookseller?).
Next stop … 2022 and hopefully a new iPhone 13 Pro (which will take years to pay for).