Barring my last Saturday’s matinee of The Whale, I was fortunate enough to get a ticket at a local single screen theater that plays cult classics. The double bill for this night was Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker and George Mihalka's My Bloody Valentine, both films aligning for a recent holiday celebration. In preparation for the night I watched Basket Case and Brain Damage to see what I was getting into. I’ve always been game for gorefests, schlock, and camp, but never exactly impressed…
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The Whale 2022
"It's the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him."
Moby DickThe key to understanding The Whale is understanding the metaphor it borrows from Moby Dick, which in turn borrows from the Bible. Brendan Fraser's Charlie has a through-line to Ishmael that connects to Jonah. In Moby Dick, Ishmael goes to a chapel and hears Father Mapple describes Jonah's futile attempts to flee God. He says the harder…
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Scorpio 1973
It's that time of the week once again for The Searchers podcast! We review and analyze the political thriller Scorpio where there is betrayal, 70s cynicism, and kitty cats abound! Though a two star rating from yours truly, listen in to see if we intrigue you with the film's background or the heavy handed metaphor that's being attempted. Starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Paul Scofield. Give us a rating and tell us what you think!
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Baby Face 1933
Cupcake Curated Cinema!!!
Baby Face is a slew of moral conundrums tied up in one Depression era package: Prohibition speak-easies, barmaids moonlighting as prostitutes, men hitting the bottle when they aren’t working, and even a wacky bank metaphor to prevail over the woeful times. Imagine your own befuddlement as you gaze upon that monument of power, a monolith that towers over the rest of the city, as you contemplate the words of Nietzsche. No I’m not talking about the building,…
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Mad God 2021
It feels absolutely wrong to give something so filled with artistic vision, creative heartache, and endless amounts of time anything less than the near perfect or perfect score. Yet as much as I love stop-motion, this does not allow me to give this feature full praise. For something that has now taken 30 years to come to fruition, it makes sense that there is so little in way of narrative and we are instead gifted with a world so full…
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Thief 1981
For my buddy, Rolf. Cheers dude!
Michael Mann (at least in the 80s and up to Mohicans) has this style that strictly oozes confidence with an undeniable ear and eye for matching picture with sound, particularly music. It’s not quite like a music video. There’s negative space and patience with an underlying chaotic energy. The composition of a scene in Thief is layered with city lights and bar signs bleeding onto cars, melting into city street puddles, or twinkling in the…
