(Aug ‘25) MONTHLY MARATHON In FILM - August Freestyle
This month, I was really busy and did not do a great job of organizing my time. I did, however, find some time to watch some films. These are those films.
I started off with The new Naked Gun movie at the Metreon AMC in San Francisco. I thought it did a fairly good job of capturing the same sometimes-laugh-out-loud-hilarious-mostly-eye-roll humor that the franchise is famous for. I was initially very skeptical of Neeson as a fierce Nielson-head, but ultimately I think he was more than fine. I know that the original hilarity of the Nielson casting was that he had been a straight-edge police archetype for the previous 20 years. He was parodying himself. They were trying to do the same thing with Neeson- but at the end of the day he didn't have the same chops. Still very entertaining though. I laughed out loud in the theatre multiple times. The only joke thats coming to mind right now is the car film footage scene with the chilly dog - and specifically where he fires his pistol in the air to clear the bathroom line. Good stuff!
I rewatched the Blues Brothers this month- which will always be a favorite. I've listen to the soundtrack on Spotify from time to time - I love the jaunty fun of “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and the Cowboy jangle of “Rawhide.” I listened to a lot of those cowboys songs growing up so it really scratches an itch for me there. This movie is at-all notable because of the energies of the two headliners ofc, but also due to the pure weight of the musical cameos. (SPOILERS) Imagine assembling some of the all time greats to play actual parts in your odyssey-like epic (I love this format as you recall). Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, James Brown. It's overstimulatingly impressive and lost to the past in its essence. This will never happen again because everyone wants too much $. What a great historical artifact.
I watched FD: Bloodlines at Ansleys house which was great he has a big TV. I am fascinated by these movies because of the pure twisted creativity one needs to develop these deaths. I remember listening to an interview with some cast members that were actually excited to hear how their characters would die purely due to the unique abnormal ideas surrounding. I think overall the hospital twofer was the best but kudos also goes to the garbage compactor and the lawn mower. Also, I liked the choice of bookending this one with killing the last two. Very clean.
Next, I watched The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. I enjoyed seeing the 80s era San Francisco and I thought Will did great - this might be his greatest performance? I really enjoyed the line (paraphrased) “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream you got to protect it. People will try to suppress your dreams because they themselves gave up on their own yada yada yada…”
I watched Cape Fear (1962). I’m a big fan of Robert Mitchum and particularly his performance in The Night of the Hunter. The vibe is very similar here. My sister describes his character in this as “…a slippery snake, slithering through the swamp…” I’m not sure anyone could have produced his particular type of energy that was so effective in this role.
I watched The Game (1997) directed by Fincher. Overall, I love this concept and I think it would do great if remade today: an emotionally distant billionaire (probably a tech one if we keep it set in San Francisco) is given a gift for his birthday by his brother that forces him to confront the deepest darkest depths of himself. This is a relatively early Fincher, and I heard that he had to push this one back to work on Se7en; so I imagine most of his effort was in that. It's still a really good movie but it’s just a bit rough around the edges. I like Michael Douglas - but perhaps his performance could have been more effective if I was different relative to the grand scheme of things.
All-in-all, this month was a bit transitional. I wanted to relax a bit and not think too deep. I do have a solid September planned.
