hoopla

TRAGEDY GIRLS (2017)

October 1, 2020

(hoopla/kanopy/Hulu/VOD) The story of two teen murderesses and the trials of their friendship. Riffs on all of the great teen horror films — probably the most quotable teen horror film I’ve seen in years (it’s been endlessly compared to HEATHERS (1989)) — but still manages to be something completely different, while also being emotionally satisfying.

I’ve said this before but, while there’s a trailer? Best not to watch it, as it gives away all of the best moments & lines. That said, it’s an endlessly re-watchable trailer.

“You’re just hitting bone, dude.” “I’m trying!”

(I know we’re all loving A24 and ANNAPURNA right now, but GUNPOWDER & SKY doesn’t get enough credit, as they’ve shipped some amazing works out into the world within the past several years. Hell, they don’t even have a proper Wikipedia page!)

DELIRIOUS (1991)

September 17, 2020

(hoopla/VOD) Reminds me a bit of STAY TUNED (1992, previously mentioned) in that it’s obviously meta self-indulgence by screenwriters Lawrence J. Cohen and Fred Freeman (both of whom have had an illustrious TV career, writing everything from THE DICK VAN DYKE show to EMPIRE). I’ll go out on a limb and posit that it’s their comedic answer to TWIN PEAKS.

DELIRIOUS has a few wincing moments, especially when it comes to male wish-fulfillment and the auto-shop owner, but it makes the most of John Candy’s physicality, Mariel Hemingway is extraordinarily charming, and the rest of the cast is peppered with amazing character actors, including Raymond Burr basically playing SUCCESSION’s Logan Roy, if Logan Roy was constantly frustrated by his cable box.

Not a brilliant film, but a fun 90s curio. “I can only control what I write, right?”

TREAD (2020)

September 4, 2020

(hoopla/Netflix/VOD/Vudu) A ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ doc from the writer/director of GRACE about a welder, and that’s all you should know going into it. One hell of a slow burn, but I wish the film had dug deeper into his psyche.

ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1989)

August 29, 2020

(AMC+/hoopla/Hulu/Prime/Shudder/tubi) Combining Elvira’s vaudeville MC schtick with a John Waters-type of cultural/sexual norms disruption was goddamn inspired. Yes, the male gaze interrupts the film’s flow every two minutes, but the self-aware winks and Elvira’s personal agency (mostly) subverts it. (I wish there was a better trailer for the film than this one.)

Also highly recommended: THE ELVIRA SHOW, which never made it further than the pilot.

Feels like THE GARRY SHANDLING SHOW but with Elvira. What more could you want?

WE TAKE THE LOW ROAD (2019)

August 1, 2020

(hoopla/VOD/vudu) Overpacked thriller about the cruelty of the US health care system, mental illness, and family. The script and performances are bit clunky here and there, and it doesn’t quite come together in the end, but its big swings are to be applauded.

STRAY DOLLS (2020)

July 23, 2020

Kind of a mess, a bit like THE FLORIDA PROJECT if it were a thriller, but it has style, the lead is fantastic, and (small spoiler) Cynthia Nixon shredding the lead’s passport is one of the most violent scenes I’ve seen in some time.