Watching Movies Alone with crumbsroom

An odd little thing in how it uses the basic structure of a horror film, but through the lens of some slow cinema humanism.



Not sure if I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't have the patience for watching multiple scenes of a car stuck in mud, but it's an interesting watch, and has a really great non-professional performance from an old Romanian man who looks like he's probably never even seen a movie before.

Mike Leigh's Who's Who is a BBC production, so no movie poster for this one.

This is niche stuff, even for Mike Leigh's predominantly nichey British working class ouvre (sp). And this one doesn't even dare to be working class. This is his 80's fop territory. Still good!

His television work is extremely character driven, generally has the most basic of premises as a working plot (in this case a dinner party), and let's his characters just be themselves.Then the movie will end and you feel as if you've been pushed out of a room, having not learned anything beyond what you've just seen.

Good stuff.

Even at this early period in his career his is still the unparalleled master in understatement. In grasping the human condition through the smallest of daily details and routines.

One of the greatest of the greatest, even when it's mid tier work.

This particular film is probably in the upper middle pack of the BBC work. Essential for anyone on his wavelength. Eminently skippable for anyone who finds him a bore.

A ranking of Mike Leighs BBC films (from what I've seen)


Hard Labor
Bleak Moments
Abigail's Party
Nuts in May
Who's Who
Grown Ups
Kiss of Death
Four Days in July


Range from very very good, to pretty good.

Then I look forward to it.

I loved both but would also give the edge to Janos. I watched them on consecutive nights, so maybe White Mare just suffered from being second. But yeah, if you liked one, definitely watch the other.

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At least My Dinner With Andre had a waiter to relieve the tension. No such luck here. Two people, one apartment, nowhere to hide. A beautiful, terrorizing agony.

I see Fear No Evil is now available on Shudder.


Maybe it will now find an audience like Night Warning seems to have done recently.

Excuse me, but the film's title is Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker and I will NOT hear otherwise!

Now get me hyped for Fear No Evil.

'81 or '69?

Back when I saw it for the first time in, I believe 2011, the title that showed up on that roll of film was Night Warning.


Admittedly, by similar logic, the name of Cronenberg's first feature length film is, The Parasite Murders.

IDK, it's been a long time since I've seen it, but the first thing that jumps to my mind is, "that shower looks like it must have been cold."
So I guess don't get too hyped on that part.

I rate this Fear No Evil hype a . I am not yet hyped!

So is Skinamarink

Dork at highschool who is actually the son of Satan, plots his revenge...or something like that.


It's been a long time and I think I watched it the same week or maybe even the same day I first watched Night Warning (which like Ash, I saw around the same time and went by that name then...one of the reasons no one probably remembered me ever mentioning it because it's a forgettable title). So the two of them are always lumped together quite positively, as I had zero idea what either were, and had very low expectations for both.

81

Well that would be great as I got sick on the one day I could have gone to the theater.


And I would have probably hated watching this with other people anyways because it seems destined to get people who annoy me restless and even more annoying

Parasite Murders is definitely a better title

I lucked out and got a mostly empty theater that was dead quiet throughout. Entire row to myself so it was like being alone.

It’s the opposite of a crowd pleaser so you’re likely right if you didn’t luck out.

So, Jennifer Kent's Nightingale is an even more horrific experience than her Babadook. Like, it will rip your head off if you're not careful.
And it may even be better than her first film, which I loved very much.


Some complain the film goes too far. And for some tastes it will definitely go too far. It's a gruelling watch. But I think, considering my film watching background, it was a fascinating meeting between a beautifully made but violent historical thriller which seeks to expose the colonialist history of Australia without any excuses, and almost pure Grindhouse revenge nightmare. A mix that is likely what makes so many people uncomfortable.


By any measure, it's a great movie though

I'm not going to go googling, but are there one or two angels masquerading as, like, sexy high school girls? Or is that a different film?