Thanks to Criterion, it will be Christmas in June when they release 4K editions of John Waters’ Desperate Living and Hairspray! Squee!!!
Christmas in June!
Directors
Squee!!! [Zombie Edition]
I have to wait seven months to see this?! Mainline it into my brain already!
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!
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!
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).
Fri-YAY!
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 could 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!
New PTA!
Squee!
Christmas in October!
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love The Guest. So, when Second Sight Films in the UK announced in August that a fancy, limited edition 4K UHD set, I knew I would be ordering this. Dang. This set looks amazing! And, yeah … I spent too much money on it and I don’t care.
Special Features
- Limited Edition of 5,000
- 4K / Blu-ray dual format release
- Brand new grade for both formats supervised by Director Adam Wingard
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New commentary by Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett
- Archive commentary by Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
- The Uninvited Guest: a new interview with Actor Dan Stevens
- A Perfect Stranger: a new interview with Actor Maika Monroe
- By Invitation Only: a new interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
- Producing The Guest: a new interview with Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder
- Light and Fog: a new interview with Director of Photography Robby Baumgartner
- Lightning Strikes: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock
- The Sounds of The Guest: a new interview with Composer Steve Moore
- Deleted / Alternate Scenes, Outtake Gag with optional Director commentary
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Adam Stothard
- Various Artists Soundtrack CD
- 160 page book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Zena Dixon, Craig Ian Mann and Zoë Rose Smith; Script-to-Screen featuring storyboards and script extracts, Behind-the-Scenes photos and Adam Wingard soundtrack notes
- 6 collectors’ art cards
Exclusive to Second Sight orders
- 3 art card reproductions of the on-set Halloween Dance posters
Alive, Not Kicking
Not much to report here really. Just navigating the winter and pandemic doldrums.
I wish we would get some warmer weather. I miss (socially distanced) fire pitting with friends. I want to get out on some camping trips. I am tired of just sitting around the house worrying about finances and COVID-19. I want my county to get on a roll with the vaccinations so that I can get my shots (of course I am in the very last “everyone else” category).
And, I am tired of feeling underappreciated. It’s making me bitter. I have felt bitter most of the day … for most of the last several days, to be honest. Sometimes it just feels like people are just paying a lot of lip service in regards to my abilities/training. I am always getting duped into feeling the expectation that someone is going to put in a good word for me when they are not. And after months of lip service, I am bitter. Honestly, I think I’d prefer to be treated with indifference. At least then I wouldn’t have these expectations that people are standing up for me or are advocating for me when they are not.
Meanwhile … I finally got the two packages that the USPS has been holding hostage. Yay!
This Week’s Excitement: Trump is out of office! Thank Christ.
Movie Update
If arty sci-fi/thriller/horror films are up your alley, you should immediately check out Possessor, the new film from Brandon Cronenberg. It’s seriously the coolest movie I have seen this year. And, I gotta give props to Christopher Abbott for absolutely knocking it out of the park in the role of Colin Tate.
I am a bit bummed that the theatrical and not the “uncut” version is what’s streaming on VOD. Go figure. That will be remedied when the Possessor: Uncut 4K UHD release arrives in my mailbox next month. Physical media for the win!