Meanwhile Meanwhile …

Criterion is going to bankrupt me in October with the release of their The Complete Kubrick box set. Do I have most of these films on Blu-ray or 4K already? Yes. Will I shell out $300 for this at the next B&N 50% Off or Criterion Flash Sale? HELL YES! I haven’t been peddling my ass on OnlyFans for nothing.

Criterion THE COMPLETE KUBRICK
Criterion THE COMPLETE KUBRICK
Criterion THE COMPLETE KUBRICK

THIRTY-DISC 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURES

  • 4K restorations of Kubrick’s thirteen features, including Fear and Desire, and three shorts, with their original soundtracks alongside the 5.1 mixes, restored and remastered
  • Over twenty-five hours of interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes materials
  • Kubrick’s international version of The Shining
  • New 4K restoration of Vivian Kubrick’s behind-the-scenes documentary Making “The Shining”
  • Newly recorded commentary tracks featuring filmmaker Lee Unkrich (editor of the book Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”) and author Michael Benson (Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece)
  • Rare films from Graphic Films and computer-animation pioneer John Whitney that inspired the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Unseen Lolita screen tests with actors James Mason and Sue Lyon and rare Full Metal Jacket behind-the-scenes footage
  • Newly recorded conversation with novelist Jonathan Lethem and film historian Kevin Wynter on Kubrick and authorship
  • Essay by author and critic Nathaniel Rich
  • Deluxe packaging illustrated with rare photographs, artwork, and documents annotated by Kubrick himself, all housed in a singular box inspired by the director’s legendary archive
  • And much more . . .

*DROOLS!*

Meanwhile Meanwhile …

Hell Has Frozen Over!

Ken Russell's THE DEVILS

In a development that I NEVER thought I would see happen in my lifetime, Ken Russell’s 1971 shocker The Devils has received a 4K restoration. The director’s cut will premiere at Cannes later this month (!) and is supposed to include the infamous Rape of Christ and Sister Jeanne/femur scenes that have been censored since the film first premiered. Hopefully that means a 4K release on home video sometime thereafter! It would be awesome if there were a theatrical release here in the States as well, but I am not holding my breath on that one.

“The 4K restoration was drawn from the original camera negative by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services and Water Tower Color. The restoration is part of the newly launched Warner Bros. Clockwork specialty label, which is dedicated to restoring and releasing classic Warner Bros. films. The restored film, with a runtime of 114 minutes, is set to screen in the Cannes Classics lineup.”

I have had this BFI DVD (Region B locked, of course) of the British “X” theatrical cut for a few years now. It’s been a great way to see this film (albeit censored).

I would argue that any true film fan needs to see The Devils at least once. Even after all these years, this film still manages to be shocking and has absolutely stellar performances by Oliver Reed and Venessa Redgrave.

Hell Has Frozen Over!

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!

Getting Back

*Drools!*

A new David Cronenberg film? Yes, please!

*Drools!*

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 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!

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 …
Sunrise

In movie news … Robert Eggers’ The Northman opens next week and I can’t fucking wait!

Hey. Hi. Hello.

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.

Tipsy on Christmas

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!

Wong Kar Wai Double Feature

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).

Crushin’

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 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!
Paul Verhoeven Shirt

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!

Fri-YAY!

Christmas in October!

The Guest Limited Edition 4K UHD / Blu-ray from Second Sight Films
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
Christmas in October!