03-02 – 03-08 Memphis, TN – Malco Studio on the Square
03-02 – 03-08 Seattle, WA – Grand Illusion Cinema
03-02 – 03-08 Portland, OR – Clinton Street Theater
03-03 – 03-05 Phoenix, AZ – FilmBar
03-08 – 03-11 Los Angeles, CA – Egyptian Theatre at the American Cinematheque
03-09- 03-10 Bellingham, WA – Pickford Film Center
03-15 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
03-26 Austin, TX – Alamo Drafthouse Ritz
04-11 – 04-12 San Francisco, CA – Roxie Theater
There’s something wrong with this picture. NO BOSTON SCREENINGS! Pitchfork, however, reassures us “Additional screenings will be announced, with details posted on Facebook and Twitter.”
Today is John Belushi’s birthday and if he were alive today he would be 63. Sadly, he died thirty years ago today. RIP and Happy Birthday!
I love the Black Flag shirt! He was a big fan and tried to get them on SNL like he did for Fear. Belushi and old school punk rock always makes a great combo.
Okay, so I do this annually and if this looks similar to the post I made last year that is because it is! well, for the most part- not much has changed. Here we go:
Films (in no particular order):
1) It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
2) A Christmas Story (1983)
3) Home Alone (1990)
4) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
5) A Christmas Carol (in any of it’s versions, specifically 1951. I usually attend the play, as I will be Saturday night; one of the few plays I enjoy seeing)
6) The Santa Clause (1994)
7) Edward Scissorhands (1990) (okay, so only towards the end of the film this is applicable, but for me it gets me in the mood)
8) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (I suppose this is more apropos for Halloween)
9) Bad Santa (2003)
10) Die Hard (1988)
TV:
1) The Simpsons- “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire” (1989), “Bart Gets an F” (1990), “Marge Be Not Proud” (1995), “Mircale on Evergreen Terrace” (1997), “Grift of the Magi” (1999),”Skinner’s Sense of Snow” (2000)
2) South Park- “The Spirit of Christmas” Original (1992), “The Spirit of Christmas” (1995), “Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo” (1997), “Merry Christmas Charlie Manson” (1998), “Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics” (1999), “A Very Crappy Christmas” (2000), “Red Sleigh Down” (2002), “It’s Christmas in Canada” (2003), “Woodland Critter Christmas” (2004)
3) Family Guy- “A Very Special Family Guy Freakin’ Christmas” (2001)
4) At least one Johnny Cash Special
5) Dr.Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1964)
6) Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
7) Frosty The Snowman (1969)
8) It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (2009)
9) A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
10) SNL- various skits
Literature: A Christmas Carol By:Charles Dickens (1843) A Story A Day Till Christmas Various Authors (1985) The Catcher in the Rye By: J.D. Salinger (1951)
I usually end up viewing (or reading for that matter) only half of these! But, either way, I have a lot of work to do and I recommend others to watch/read them too. I would recommend music, but that will take too long. I’ll save it for another day. To kick things off, here’s Kyle’s Christmas ballad, “I’m a Jew on Christmas” from the South Park classic “Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo” (1997).
This is truly one of my all time favorite movie scenes. On the surface it appears to be nothing, just random shots, but within the context of the whole film it serves a purpose- a sort of bizarre PSA, like this is what will happen to you if you get too fucked up beyond repair. There’s also an eerie calmness to the scene (perfectly complemented by the music, incredible soundtrack) that stood out to me from my initial viewing nearly five years ago. The shots that linger on the various, “lost,” homeless residents of NYC are tragically beautiful. It should be noted to those have not seen Kids (1995) (a high crime indeed WATCH IT NOW!) that this is the second to last scene in the film and it serves as a transitional scene; it sets the audience up for the eye opening, disturbing finale. This is probably my favorite scene in the entire picture because it exists on its own, but it also ties in with the work as a whole. Lastly, the fact that the scene is set in the early hours of the morning not only gives a certain quiet aesthetic to it as I mentioned earlier, but also makes the images we see in front of us feel routine, like this is normal, this is how it always is and always will be. Sad, but true.
Glen Maganzini
Matthew Hurton
Chris DeCarlo
Richard Franke
bobmatthews2
Ben Tan
deadlypunkrockx1979
Andrew Bedsole
jamesdinanno
Lauren Chavarria
shanewolf
