What are we watching now?

You should get Cycle of the Werewolf if you haven't picked it up yet. It's great. Very different from his usual books. I like some of King's writing, but after a certain point, his books are mostly awful. Regardless, after a few of them, he got very verbose and my mom has always joked that he got paid by the word.

He needs to have his publisher's go, "Okay, skip this section (box around particular section) if you do not give a fuck about the history of a bar rag."
It was a graphic novel, right? IIRC, I read it decades ago and remember loving it. I read the heck out of King when I was a kid as he came up on the scene basically as I came of age. I have a LOT of nostalgia for his stuff, even when it's some of the most over-done writing ever. Every once in a while I will pick up something from his modern era and I feel like he has gotten better at it? My consumption of books has been terrible since becoming an adult :(
 
It was a graphic novel, right? IIRC, I read it decades ago and remember loving it. I read the heck out of King when I was a kid as he came up on the scene basically as I came of age. I have a LOT of nostalgia for his stuff, even when it's some of the most over-done writing ever. Every once in a while I will pick up something from his modern era and I feel like he has gotten better at it? My consumption of books has been terrible since becoming an adult :(
My girlfriend and I go to the book store weekly, so I can't relate. In fact, I ordered the autobiographies of Nick Menza, David Ellefson, Frank Bello, Scott Ian, and Yngwie Malmsteen, plus I awaiting Marty Friedman's book in December. Once I have Marty's book in December, I will have the autobiographies of all four members of the RIP-Cryptic Writings lineup.
 
My girlfriend and I go to the book store weekly, so I can't relate. In fact, I ordered the autobiographies of Nick Menza, David Ellefson, Frank Bello, Scott Ian, and Yngwie Malmsteen, plus I awaiting Marty Friedman's book in December. Once I have Marty's book in December, I will have the autobiographies of all four members of the RIP-Cryptic Writings lineup.
Very interested in the Menza book. I have the Mustaine one at home. Next one I will grab will probably be the Alex Van Halen one :unsure:
 
Very interested in the Menza book. I have the Mustaine one at home. Next one I will grab will probably be the Alex Van Halen one :unsure:
Do not lose that book. I'm not sure why, but I was seeing some listings on Amazon at like 70+ dollars. Not sure if it is now OOP or what the deal was.

Honestly, I don't find Alex too interesting by himself, and calling the book "Brothers," with the obvious notion of focusing on he and Eddie being brothers, was probably for the best. Then again, maybe he's more of an introvert and more interesting than he appears.
 
Do not lose that book. I'm not sure why, but I was seeing some listings on Amazon at like 70+ dollars. Not sure if it is now OOP or what the deal was.

Honestly, I don't find Alex too interesting by himself, and calling the book "Brothers," with the obvious notion of focusing on he and Eddie being brothers, was probably for the best. Then again, maybe he's more of an introvert and more interesting than he appears.
Yeah with Alex; always loved his drumming. The trope of him being underrated is real yet it's true to my ears. I don't know how much into the 'nitty gritty' he's going to go. Or not go. I have the Sammy book and it's definitely Blabbermouth-fodder.. I still enjoyed it though?
 
Yeah with Alex; always loved his drumming. The trope of him being underrated is real yet it's true to my ears. I don't know how much into the 'nitty gritty' he's going to go. Or not go. I have the Sammy book and it's definitely Blabbermouth-fodder.. I still enjoyed it though?
Sammy's book commented on stuff the fans already knew. There was either a photo or video with Dave Friedman if memory serves and there are marks all over an amp. I think people were saying the marks were from a meth pipe or something like that.
 
Just tried Mortal Engines for the 2nd time. And just like the first time, the plot and the acting fell completely into one of those gigantic tracks those rolling cities made, but due to the absolutely amazing visual effects, this time I didn't fall asleep. :LOL:

It was cool enough that I'd love to see more like it, but with more originality and better character development. I mean, it really drew me in at the beginning...., then pretty much sucked.
 
They got this new sort of docudrama series on the Sundance channel name of The Taillor of Sin City. I think some of the recollections by the main character may be exaggerated, but it's interesting insight about the mafia in Vegas and Pablo Escobar as well as a portrayal of the times.
 
Honestly, I don't find Alex too interesting by himself, and calling the book "Brothers," with the obvious notion of focusing on he and Eddie being brothers, was probably for the best. Then again, maybe he's more of an introvert and more interesting than he appears.
The main thing I took away from Noel Monk’s Running With the Devil was that AVH was kind of an asshole (at the time.) I’d be interested in getting his own point of view on some of that history, though. The combination of stress and alcohol fatigue must have been off the charts.
 
After three tries, we finished Someone's Watching Me!, the "lost" John Carpenter TV movie from 1978. Lauren Hutton is fucking terrible. Her acting is unwatchable. I kept falling asleep out of some protective instinct. Carpenter has put out films I love completely, but this just shows how even directors with a great feel can put out turds in their prime.
 
After three tries, we finished Someone's Watching Me!, the "lost" John Carpenter TV movie from 1978. Lauren Hutton is fucking terrible. Her acting is unwatchable. I kept falling asleep out of some protective instinct. Carpenter has put out films I love completely, but this just shows how even directors with a great feel can put out turds in their prime.
Summer of Fear/Stranger in Our House shows that Wes was always the better director.
 
Summer of Fear/Stranger in Our House shows that Wes was always the better director.

Interesting; I've never seen those, and I've always believed the opposite, but only based on three movies. I love all of Carpenter's work from Assault on Precinct 13 through the 80s. I hated Escape From LA (his own favorite) and stopped caring after that.

For Craven, the three I've seen were A Nightmare On Elm Street, Shocker, and Scream. I don't think any of them are directed well, because he let go a lot of terrible acting performances. I think he may have gotten the suspense chops from Hitchcock or something, but I just can't deal with how bad the acting is. One note about Nightmare on Elm Street: I do think there are parts that are hilarious, like the medical examiner puking in the bathroom haha! The thing that gets me with Carpenter in the good period is the mood and the acting, both of which are cool. Notable exception: I do think Halloween is terrible in just about every way haha.
 
I think they both can be great as well as terrible. I prefer Carpenter generally speaking but I feel like Craven was always better jumping from decade to decade without grumpy old man director baggage weighing him down.

I think Craven's early work was corny af and almost as if he wasn't seeing the same things in the dailies as I was watching the finished products at a far too young an age. See Hills Have Eyes getups. The Aja remake of this film is :chef:chef:chef
 
Last night we saw Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, from 2007, for the second time. This is by my favorite director, and I had seen it a while ago. My God, it's so dark, it's like a real horror movie. The characters are so bleak and doomed, it's like Requiem For A Dream. There acting was great, because these are all capable actors directed by the very best, in my opinion, but the story is so cruel and without hope it just was a soul destroying experience. Everything about it was well done except the cinematography, which had no artistry to it whatsoever.

I think that was the movie that solidified my love of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I might be wrong about that as it’s been a while and I can’t remember specifically why it was that flick, but that’s the memory of it I have. Agreed on the Requiem comparison.
 
I think that was the movie that solidified my love of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I might be wrong about that as it’s been a while and I can’t remember specifically why it was that flick, but that’s the memory of it I have. Agreed on the Requiem comparison.

He's an interesting case, because unfortunately he was cast in so many of his roles as people who are so distasteful in one way or another. He was capable of so much more. I think Sydney Lumet would almost always bring out the best in his actors, and here Hoffman has a range that is surprising and very cool to see, from manipulative and overbearingly dominant to broken and vulnerable, and it's just a really good performance that is essential to how well the story moves forward.
 
Craven didn't have the benefit of growing up watching films and TV from what I understand. Some of his stuff is exploitation/grindhouse style, so it generally fits. Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes are very good. Carpenter was not generally tackling stuff as horrific as that. In addition, much of Carpenter's work didn't exactly do great at the box office.

The only films I can truly criticize Craven with are The Hills Have Eyes 2, which is okay, but was only done for money, and his "Wes Craven Presents..." stuff, which I find to mostly be crap.

On top of that, Carpenter comes off as very, "I kind of hate my films and my fans. I hated doing horror, and did anything I could to escape it." I like/love quite a few of his films, but Carpenter doesn't come off as very genuine behind the camera or when discussing his films. He's also an outright prick in interviews and pretty curmudgeonly.
 
Carpenter's bitterness shouldn't matter to me as a fan but it does and it certainly does get kinda tiring. Dude made some great flicks in my estimation and should be proud of that fact. Horror and otherwise. I am not sure where he feels like he doesn't get his due?
 
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