Tripled!

3/25/2024 Chas.Leave a comment

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]

12/15/202312/15/2023 Chas.Leave a comment

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 …

12/8/202312/8/2023 Chas.Leave a comment

Saltburn got me all like …

Getting Back

2/15/20232/15/2023 Chas.Leave a comment

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

9/30/20229/30/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

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

8/18/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

Drools!

4/19/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

A new David Cronenberg film? Yes, please!

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Hey. Hi. Hello.

4/13/20225/27/2026 Chas.Leave a comment

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 adventures. 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!

Nemo Tensor Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Pad

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!
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[Untitled]

3/7/20223/7/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

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

1/20/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

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.

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Crushin’

12/28/20219/30/2022 Chas.Leave a comment

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).

Fri-YAY!

12/10/20215/15/2026 Chas.Leave a comment

Jesus. This has been the LONGEST WEEK EVER!

Nothing terribly exciting to report from here. It’s been the same old “wake, treadmill, eat, struggle through the work day, eat, sleep” routine. I guess old fart status has really been attained since I am in bed by 9:00 every night. Sheesh. I am still struggling with my mood too. It’s in full on yo-yo mode. Yay. That also makes the days fun and probably contributes to wanting to be in bed early.

Months ago, I signed up for OnlyFans and have a page there complete with semi-anonymous name (though my scowling mug can be seen clearly). For some reason (probably the desperate need for validation), I keep circling back to the idea of posting some content there. But, would anyone want to subscribe for free, let alone pay for content (which would be the ultimate goal)? More importantly, do I have the time to self-promote and talent to make anything hot enough to get said subscribers and cash?

Ah, well.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t resist buying this film nerdy shirt. Paul Verhoeven doesn’t get enough credit for the years of awesome movies he has given us. Seriously!

Plus, it’s been pretty exciting to find out that The Fixx have released a new single and will have a new album out next year. Give the new single a listen. I command it!
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Rockin’ the “D”

10/6/202110/6/2021 Chas.Leave a comment

Wow. Life and my brain chemistry sure are trying their best to knock me down. But, I am still here. Sorta.

We braved the COVID infected crowds and went to Gatlinburg for the day this past Saturday. It had been well over a year since we had been … and the lure of moonshine and getting the fuck out of the house proved to be too great to resist. We sampled moonshine and hard cider, plus had a disappointing lunch at our favorite place to eat.

Sweet, sweet ‘shine! (And yeah … I need a beard trim.)

Besides the disappointing lunch, the worst part of the day was that the Mysterious Mansion didn’t open until 5:00 pm. This picture was taken at 2:00 pm. There were a fuck ton of people on the street and in stores with absolutely NO safety precautions in mind. So, we didn’t want to hang around and kill three hours until they opened. Maybe next time, Mysterious Mansion!

And now there will be 10-14 days of paranoia about whether we both got infected while in Gatlinburg. Was it worth going? I guess time will tell.

Meanwhile …

I am one week away from hitting the big 5-0! On Sunday, my friends threw a fun little surprise party. It was really great to see the selection of friends that showed up. It feels like it’s been ages since I have seen that many people I know in one place at one time. Food. Fun. Fellowship. It was a really nice afternoon.

Honestly, it feels like the slide started years ago.

And, this is what it looks like when you open a box and there are books that you wanted inside. Books make the best presents! Well … books and Blu-rays and records and CD’s. Ha, ha.

And, what do you do when you are nearing 50? Why, you pre-order an insanely expensive, oversized, limited edition coffee table about the making of one of your favorite films. To be honest, it’s not the book that’s insanely expensive … it’s the shipping from the UK that is. #25 Trainspotting looks like it’s going to be really awesome! The same author and company are working on a book about Taxi Driver which I am fairly certain I will end up ordering as well. Yay, books about movies!

The Boy Wonder

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