#149- Back to the Future

Quick recap: Marty McFly accidentally travels 30 years into the past where he must help his parents meet before he and his siblings are erased forever.

Don’t start getting ideas, Michael Bay

Fun (?) fact: Thomas F. Wilson, who played Biff, improvised the ‘butthead’ line as well as the ‘make like a tree and get out of here’ line. He also gives out FAQ cards to fans when they ask him about the movie.

What not to do when time traveling

My thoughts: Unlike Jaws, I do have memories of seeing this movie at some point in my adolescence. It wasn’t a favorite then, although I remember being entertained by it. In the years since, not much has changed. Back to the Future is one of those movies I would watch anytime it was on tv or if someone put it on, but it isn’t something I would seek out on my own.

If I had to put my finger on the best part of the movie, I’d go with Michael J. Fox’s performance. Casting did a perfect job choosing him as the lead character. On the surface, he’s a normal teenager with the typical problems of school, having a girlfriend and being embarrassed by his parents. On another level though, he is a very thoughtful kid, befriending an eccentric scientist and then doing everything he can to help him. Getting his parents together was selfish, I suppose, but he really took to heart who his parents were and who they eventually turned into. It’s these layers that made me appreciate the movie so much more than when I originally watched it.

But mostly, Back to the Future is about time travel. The action scenes were good, although the science a little fuzzy. I like that the answer to why this was possible at all was the ‘flux capacitor’ as if that’s all you really need to know. The only issue I have is how easily McFly was able to change events into the future. he mentioned being mayor to Goldie one time, and he latched on to the idea. He played guitar at the end of the movie, where Chuck Berry’s cousin just happened to be, thus creating rock and roll. At least it all turned out for the better, in the end.

Final review: 4/5. Very enjoyable and also a movie that perfectly captures the 80’s. Oh, does it ever.

Up next: The Player

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#138- The Conformist

Quick recap: A spy has been given the task of assassinating an Anti-Fascist, who happens to have been a mentor of his.

Fun (?) fact: I got nothing. For a movie so aesthetically pleasing and for something so complex, I was expecting a bevy of information but all IMDb gave me was the Italian Censorship Visa # (56307 for all my censorship visa nerds. I know y’all LIVE for that kind of stuff)

seriously. This movie is beautiful. It’s an art form all by itself

My thoughts: First of all, hi everyone! I’m back from my month long hiatus where I participated (and won) NaNaWriMo. A good time was had by all.

I wanted to ease back into this blog with a comedy or something that I could make fun of easily but this was next on the list, so here we are: The Conformist. The title itself is a whole philosophical discussion about man’s true need to conform to society and especially political beliefs. Or something like that. Marcello Clerici, the main character ,is a Fascist because that’s just what many powerful people in Italy were, but he ultimately failed to conform because he couldn’t carry out his duties as a member of the secret police. Or something like that.

even insane asylums are beautiful

As beautiful as the film was, the non-linear storyline was confusing, especially in the beginning ,but I got used to it about halfway through. Clerici shares a flashback in the beginning of the film where he talks about being bullied by neighborhood boys because his family was wealthy. A chauffer befriends him and then tries to sexually assault him. Clerici shoots him and is able to escape. At the end of the film, as Mussolini has fallen, Marcello walks around with another Fascist pal and comes across Lino, the guy he thought he had killed. He suddenly freaks out and starts labeling everyone around him as a Fascist and implicates them in the murder of the professor and his wife. Director Bernard Bertolucci implies that the only reason Clerici is a Fascist is because of childhood sexual trauma and repressed homosexual urges, which is a pretty damning statement but not really how that kind of thing works.

By far, the best part of the scene is the murder of the professor and his wife, who Clerici has fallen in love with. Prior to the assassination, he warned Anna to stay in France but she didn’t listen. When her husband is stabbed to death (by a gang of spies and it takes FOREVER) she runs out of the car for help. She sees Clerici in the car and starts screaming because that’s pretty messed up, but he just sits there and lets her get murdered. It’s such a dark part of the movie that it is hard to believe that this movie was released in 1970.

Final review: 4/5. This is a complex movie that was way ahead of its time and certainly stands with more modern movies.

Up next: Farewell, My Concubine

#136- The Evil Dead

Quick recap: A group of friends stay in a cabin for a weekend and have a lovely time. They learn about themselves, each other and most of all the evil demons that surround and inhabit them. Literally.

I appreciate a title that just cuts to the chase!

Fun (?) fact: During filming, Bruce Campbell had several of his teeth knocked out as well as suffered a twisted ankle. Things of that nature are bound to happen when you make a film with your best friend as director and have next to no money in your budget.

evil Homer, evil dead…shut up and let me enjoy this gif. It’s mesmerizing.

My thoughts: Hey, Bruce Campbell is in this movie! If I had to choose one takeaway from Evil Dead, it would be that. He starred in another low budget film, Bubba Ho-Tep, and at one point visited my college town. My husband interviewed him for the paper since he always had a thing for him or something. I,however,knew nothing of him and didn’t understand the hype. Now I get it! Well, not really because this is the only movie I’ve seen of his but I at least have a point of reference in case he ever comes up in conversation. It’s the little things, you know.

how is Ash still alive?? HOW?

Evil Dead is not the sort of movie I would seek out normally. Gross out, buckets of blood kind of horror isn’t my thing mostly because too much of it desensitizes me to the scary parts and I just become bored. This movie was different because I already knew the insane amounts of blood and gore beforehand so I couldn’t be disappointed later on. Plus, the title Evil Dead just screams B-movie horror film, which are usually full of that sort of thing. What surprised me was that there were some legitimately scary scenes mixed in with all of the gross stuff. The first time one of the girls is possessed was creepy, really creepy. In fact, all of the demons freaked me out, I think because of the voices changing. They stopped being so scary once the blood starting pouring but it was still impressive for quite awhile.

One thing that dawned on me while watching the movie was how insignificant the characters were to the ‘monster’. I’ve never really thought about it but that’s true for most horror films. The 5 friends in this particular movie have little to no personality which made it easier to watch them be mutilated in various ways. The beginning of Evil Dead was SO SLOW that by the time the horror started, I was ready. Bruce Campbell’s character Ash survived longer than anyone but I cheered him on much like I would watching a random marathon on tv.

Final review: 4/5. Scary in some parts and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Up next: I’m nearing the end of Horrorfest, but I still have a few left!

#135- A Nightmare on Elm Street

Quick recap: Years afters burning to death from a mob, Fred Kruger haunts the dreams of teenagers and murders them while they sleep.

Freddy’s here…..for hugs

Fun (?) fact: The idea of Nightmare on Elm Street comes from a real story in which 3 men from Cambodia had a nightmare and then refused to sleep. When they did finally sleep from exhaustion, the men simply died. The phenomenon is now called Asian Death Syndrome, which also sounds like a cool band name.

SO 80s

My thoughts: I find it fascinating how, in the horror genre, it is the monster who people end up rooting for instead of the victim. Whether it be Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or Freddy Krueger, they all have some sort of a fan base. Based solely off the first Nightmare on Elm Street, I can sort of see the allure although not that much because he’s a child murderer and basically spends his time popping out and slashing teens. Busty teens, I might add.The final scene where everyone is back alive and piled into the car (which turns out to be Krueger) was the perfect amount of dark humor that made me begin to understand why so many people gravitate towards this movie.

Comparing it to Halloween, which I do because it was also about murdering teenagers, there were more scenes that creeped me out during Nightmare on Elm Street. The ‘scariest’ for me was probably when Nancy fell asleep in school and dreamed that she followed a trail of blood to the boiler room. Seeing her friend in the body bag was also sufficiently creepy. The actual murder scenes weren’t scary so much as gross. Once again, buckets of blood just doesn’t do much for me, horror wise. I also felt a little more threatened than I did watching Halloween because everyone has nightmares so I could certainly relate to that. Luckily they don’t happen as much anymore because my mind is usually occupied with something else…….

Final review: 4/5. Also worth watching if you are into nostalgia because this movie screams 1980s!

Up next: Horrorfest…..

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1001 Movie Nights

Tag Archives: 4/5

#149- Back to the Future

#138- The Conformist

#136- The Evil Dead

#135- A Nightmare on Elm Street

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