F This Movie!

Your 2026 Flashback Weekend Preview

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley

Chicago's biggest and best horror convention returns!

One of my favorite weekends of the year is Chicago's annual Flashback Weekend, the horror convention created and run by Mike and Mia Kerz that takes place in Rosemont, Illinois. It's three days of panels, parties, contests, vendors, celebrity guests, live music -- everything you could want as a horror fan. This will be my sixth year hosting panels at the convention, but I've been going to Flashback much longer than just these six years. I love it.

This year's Flashback features a salute to 30 years of the Scream franchise, celebrates Halloween II, a Night of the Creeps reunion, features first-time Flashback appearances from Henry Thomas, Steven Weber, and the Silent Night, Deadly Night Santas, and even has Obsession co-star Megan Lawless making her convention debut (I get to host her panel on Sunday! Come on out!). Plus, this year sees the world premiere of a brand new Full Moon movie (relevant to my interests!), in-costume photo opps, Alan Howarth playing the score to Halloween II LIVE along with the film, a tribute to Svengoolie (the greatest horror host of all time), and so much more.

One of my favorite things about Flashback -- besides all the cool guests and the chance to spend the weekend surrounded by horror stuff and horror fans -- is that it's a family-run convention and really feels that way. All of the proceeds from the con go into supporting the Midway Drive-In located in Dixon, IL -- the nicest and best drive-in in Illinois -- which they bought in 2007. I love that Flashback is dedicated to preserving the big-screen theatrical experience.

From this year's press release:

Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention

July 31 - Aug. 2, 2026

Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago, Rosemont, IL 60018

Tickets now on sale at www.flashbackweekend.com

Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention celebrates its 25th year with a MASSIVE Celebrity guest line-up, amazing evening events, luxurious after-parties, an enormous vendor room, and special Celebrity costume Celeb Photo-Ops.

All of this and more, taking place in one of the largest and most beautiful Convention hotels in the World!

FLASHBACK WEEKEND 2026 SALUTES;

-30 years of SCREAM!

Horror Icons! Tribute to the 1980's Golden Age of Horror!
"OBSESSION" (2026)!!! Megan Lawless - "Sarah Harper"!

JUST ANNOUNCED - Henry Thomas - "E.T.", "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE", "DR. SLEEP"!

The Celeb Photo Ops schedule and the Q & A schedule is posted for Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention July 31-Aug. 2, 2026. The Celeb Photo-Op schedule is at
https://celebphotoops.com/schedules/2026Flashback.pdf

The Flashback Weekend Q & A schedule is at
http://www.flashbackweekend.com/schedule.html

Start your planning! Many amazing Celeb Photo-ops!

CELEBRITY GUEST LINE-UP

CELEBRATE 30 YEARS OF SCREAM!

"SCREAM" Series Reunion !!!

David Arquette - Deputy / Sheriff "Dewey Riley" - "SCREAM" 1-5
Marley Shelton - Deputy/ Sheriff "Judy Hicks" - "SCREAM" 4-5
Dermot Mulroney - Detective Wayne Bailey - "SCREAM 6"
Roger L. Jackson - The Voice of Ghostface
Tony Revolori - Jason Carvey "SCREAM 6"
Celeste O'Connor - "Chloe Parker" - "SCREAM 7"
Joseph Whipp - "Sheriff Burke" "SCREAM" (1996)
Jeremy Conner - Ghostface - "SCREAM 7"
Kraig Dane - Karl Gibbs - Ghostface "SCREAM 7"
Spencer Charnas ICE NINE KILLS - Official "SCREAM 7" "Twisting the Knife" Hit Song & Music Video

HORROR ICONS

Megan Lawless "Sarah Harper" ("OBSESSION" 2026)
Steven Weber - "Jack Torrance" "THE SHINING" mini-series (1997)
Henry Thomas - "Elliott" - "E.T.", "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE", "Jack Torrance" - "DR. SLEEP"
William Katt ("CARRIE", "HOUSE")
Spencer Charnas - Lead singer "ICE NINE KILLS" - Special "SILVER SCREAM" Costume Celeb Photo-Op
Charles Band - Full Moon Founder
Richard Band - Full Moon Composer
Quinn Lord - "Sam" ("TRICK 'r TREAT" 2007)
Svengoolie (Rich Koz) - Horror Host Icon

HORROR LEGENDS

CELEBRATE THE 1980's GOLDEN AGE OF HORROR

"AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON" 45th anniversary

David Naughton - "David Kessler"

"NIGHT OF THE CREEPS" 40th anniversary - Costume Celeb Photo-Op!

Tom Atkins - "Det. Ray Cameron"
Jason Lively - "Chris Romero"
Jill Whitlow - "Cynthia Cronenberg"

"HALLOWEEN II" (1981) 45th anniversary reunion

Dick Warlock - "MICHAEL MYERS"
Pamala Susan Shoop - "Nurse Bailey"
Ana Alicia - "Nurse Marshall"
Gloria Graham - "Nurse Alves"
Alan Howarth - co-composer music score

"SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT" series Reunion - Costume Celeb Photo-Op!

Robert Brian Wilson "SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT" (1984) - "Billy Chapman"
Eric Freeman "SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 2" (1987) - "Ricky Chapman"

Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Indie Horror Directors!

Jason Paul Collum - "SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS", "OCTOBER MOON" series, "MARK OF THE DEVIL 777"
Tony Wash - Scothworthy Productions, "BETTER LUCK THAN CHUCK", Director of Programming SCREAMBOX.

CELEB PHOTO-OPS now on sale at https://celebphotoops.com/event/flashback

Celeb Photo-Ops for our Flashback Weekend Celebrity guests are now on sale including solo and group Reunion ops!

“Special Edition” Flashback Weekend Celeb Photo-Ops including:

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS In costume Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow Sat. Aug. 1, 2026
"TRICK 'r TREAT" - Quinn Lord in Costume Sat-Sun Aug. 1-2, 2026
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT In Costume - Robert Brian Wilson Santa costume-op Fri-Sat. July 31 - Sat. Aug. 1, 2026
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 2 In Costume - Eric Freeman Santa costume-op Fri-Sat. July 31 - Sat. Aug. 1, 2026
DUO SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT In Costume - Robert Brian Wilson &Eric Freeman Santa costume-op Fri-Sat. July 31 - Sat. Aug. 1
Spencer Charnas - IN COSTUME - Silver Scream Ghostface Saturday Aug. 1, 2026
Svengoolie (Rich Koz) In Costume Fri-Sat July 31 - Aug. 1, 2026

Celeb photo-ops now on sale at https://celebphotoops.com/event/flashback

When the Vendor Room closes, the convention and party is just getting started!

Special evening events on Friday and Saturday night!
Elegant and Luxurious after-parties on Friday and Saturday evenings!

SPECIAL EVENTS!

Friday July 31, 2026

SVENGOOLIE LIVE! THE LIVE HORROR TALK SHOW HOSTED BY SVENGOOLIE!

The Legendary SVENGOOLIE (Rich Koz) will be taking the stage for “SVENGOOLIE LIVE”, the live Horror talk show on Friday July 31, 2026. Featuring Svengoolie live on stage with celebrity guests and surprises, all in the classic Svengoolie style that we love! Imagine your favorite late night talk show. Imagine Svengoolie hosting. Imagine yourself in the studio audience. You can stop imagining, because it is happening! This will be the Horror Event of the Year!

Separate ticket required. Purchase in advance or at the door (pending availability)

Saturday Aug. 1, 2026

ALAN HOWARTH IN CONCERT – ALAN HOWARTH PERFORMS THE SCORE OF “HALLOWEEN II” LIVE TO A SCREENING OF THE FILM!

Composer Alan Howarth will perform his classic score to “HALLOWEEN II" (1981) live to a screening of the film at Flashback Weekend on Sat. Aug. 1, 2026! This all-immersive audio and visual film screening experience is not to be missed!

Separate ticket required. Purchase in advance or at the door (pending availability)

FLASHBACK WEEKEND FILM FEST!

Friday July 31, 2026 - 9:15PM Chicago Premiere!

"THE FRIGHT STUFF" (2026) - The acclaimed new documentary on the Haunted Attraction Industry!

From director Mike Myer (the popular web series Days of the Living Dead) and haunted attraction legend John LaFlamboy, comes "THE FRIGHT STUFF" , the first documentary to cover the history and cultural impact of haunted attractions from the inside. From humble beginnings in the early 1900s to a multi-million dollar industry, haunted attractions remain one of the few linchpins that connect modern American folk traditions and regional commerce...a place where dreamers and misfits come together to entertain people at a scale that is simultaneously huge but personal to their community.

At the center of the story is the journey of seasoned "haunter" John LaFlamboy as he battles time and resources to build his dream attraction....HellsGate Haunted House.

Flashback Weekend ticket holders for Friday July 31, 2026 are welcome (Either Weekend pass or single day Friday passes). Attendance limited to capacity.

Saturday Aug. 1, 2026 10:00PM

WORLD PREMIERE - "ROBOTICA"(2026)

Full Moon Founder Charles Band's newest film "ROBOTICA" will have its World Premiere at Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention on Saturday August 1, 2026! Buckle-in and get ready for director Charles Band's latest film ROBOTICA, a hot and high-octane new sci-fi thriller that stars Lilly Bell (PROMPT) as the titular beautiful sex-bot with murder on her mind. After getting brutalized once-too-often by her despicable male overlords, Robotica snaps out of her pre-programmed stupor and enacts a wave of bloody, brutal revenge. A contemporary, blood-and-skin-soaked indie pulp classic that only could have come from Band and Full Moon!

Flashback Weekend ticket holders for Sat. Aug. 1, 2026 are welcome (Either Weekend pass or single day Sat. passes). Attendance limited to capacity.

OFFICIAL AFTER PARTIES

Friday July 31, 2026 After Party 9:15PM - ???

UNDER THE DOME - Conference Center LOCATED ON THE HOTEL REGISTRATION DESK LEVEL

All Flashback Weekend ticket holders welcome.

One (1) drink purchase minimum from the bar upstairs.

*Attendance limited to capacity*

All Flashback Weekend ticket holders welcome.

One (1) drink purchase minimum from the bar upstairs.

*Attendance limited to capacity*

Official After-Party Saturday August 1, 2026.

WELCOME TO WOODSBORO DANCE PARTY.

Official After-Party Saturday August 1, 2026. In the Conference Center – UNDER THE DOME. Party and Dance to the Music of SCREAM! The music soundtracks of SCREAM 1-3 defined the decade in which the first SCREAM trilogy took place. Saturday night at Flashback Weekend you will relive the amazing era of the 1990's! All Flashback Weekend ticket holders welcome. (1) drink purchase minimum from the party bar. Attendance limited to capacity.

THE LEGENDARY SVENGOOLIE (RICH KOZ)!

Svengoolie (Rich Koz) joins Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention for his annual appearance!

SVENGOOLIE SCHEDULE (Times TBA)

Fri. July 31, 2026

Celeb Photo-Ops - (purchased separately)

"SVENGOOLIE LIVE! THE Live Horror Talk Show Hosted by Svengoolie! (separate ticket required)

Sat. Aug. 1, 2026

Celeb Photo-Ops (purchased separately)

Autographs and Selfies (based on availability)

Svengoolie hosts the Sinister Visions Costume Contest

You may also purchase a professional photo-op with Sven by Celeb Photo-Ops and receive a high quality 8 x 10 photo with Sven!

SINISTER VISIONS COSTUME CONTEST HOSTED BY SVENGOOLIE

Sat. Aug. 1, 2026 at 5:00PM

Join us on Saturday, Aug. 1 in your favorite ghoulish costume for our 19th Annual Sinister Visions Costume Contest and compete for fun and prizes! The contest will be hosted by the Legendary Svengoolie (Rich Koz)! All ages welcome! Prizes are awarded for First, Second and Third Place, and there's a Kids Category for ages 12 & under. Winners are determined by audience applause. This event is sponsored by Sinister Visions. All you need to enter is to pre-register, your Flashback Weekend convention tickets, and your costume! Seating limited to capacity.

You must PRE-REGISTER for the 18th Annual Sinister Visions Costume Contest at the Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con.

The last couple of years have seen overwhelming attendance at this event, which is great, but we only have so much time and space! The first 20 adults and first 10 kids (12 & under) who submit their info via this registration form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcgYPOJdZExNduftxKizeReGYzs5LyBWnYKWxon7-SxTj8VA/viewform?pli=1 will be this year's contestants; first-come, first-served. Please share this post and spread the word! More info about the SVCC at http://flashbackweekend.com/schedule.html.

Flashback Weekend Q & A's and Panel Discussions are moderated by Prominent Film critics, Journalists, and Podcast hosts;

Dann Gire - The Daily Herald

Nick Digilio - The Nick D Podcast

Steven Prokopy - Third Coast Review

Patrick Bromley - "F THIS MOVIE!"

Morgan Gire - "Fighting Gire With Gire," Podcaster

A FANGORIA Magazine Collector's Edition for FLASHBACK WEEKEND CHICAGO HORROR CONVENTION 2026! 

This is a one-time printing. Custom editorial, articles, and photos based on the 2026 Celebrity guests, the legends, the events, and the moments that define Flashback Weekend. Signable front and back covers. A must have keepsake from a Flashback Weekend you won't forget.

You can pre-order this special edition collectible in advance at a discount price of $8.00 on the Flashback Weekend ticket sales page. Pick up your pre-purchased issue at the Flashback Weekend Convention registration desk when you check in.  This will not be shipped. The price for the special Flashback Weekend FANGORIA edition at the convention will be $15.00 and may be purchased either at the Flashback Weekend Registration Desk or the Fangoria booth while supplies last.  

JSA – JAMES SPENCE AUTHENTICATION will be at Flashback Weekend all three days!

HAVE YOUR CELEBRITY AUTOGRAPHS AUTHENTICATED!

Special $15.00 show special for autographs signed by the Celebrity guests at the convention weekend!
Other autographs authenticated at the JSA retail price.
JSA will be set-up in the foyer along the windows inside the main entrance.
Look for JSA in the Grand Foyer

Flashback Weekend 2026 Hours of Operation

Check out our schedule which features our 2026 convention hours at http://www.flashbackweekend.com/schedule.html. Detailed schedule to be posted closer to the event.

THE HYATT REGENCY O’HARE CHICAGO – THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!

Our venue, the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago is one of the largest convention hotels in the world! The Hyatt is luxurious and elegant and will provide you with the extravagant and lavish weekend that you deserve!

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

Buy your convention and Celeb Photo-Ops tickets now at www.flashbackweekend.com.

Flashback Weekend 2026 Hours of Operation

Check out our schedule which features our 2026 convention hours at http://www.flashbackweekend.com/schedule.html

THE HYATT REGENCY O’HARE CHICAGO – THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!

Buy your tickets now and visit www.flashbackweekend.com for updates!

THE HYATT REGENCY O’HARE CHICAGO IS A CASHLESS VENUE – BRING CREDIT CARDS FOR PAYMENTS TO THE HYATT

The HYATT REGENCY O'HARE CHICAGO is a cashless venue. Please bring your credit cards for all purchases and charges to the hotel for their restaurants, bars, gift shops, perks, hotel room charges, and parking fees.

FLASHBACK WEEKEND, VENDORS, and CELEBRITIES WILL ACCEPT CASH

Please note that while the Hyatt is a cashless venue, your cash is still accepted at the Flashback Weekend registration desk for your Flashback Weekend ticket and T-Shirt purchases. And cash is accepted at the Flashback Weekend vendors and at the Celebrity tables.

FLASHBACK WEEKEND PAYMENT AT THE DOOR POLICIES

FLASHBACK WEEKEND TICKET SALES AT THE DOOR – PAYMENTS ACCEPTED

Cash accepted with no additional fees.
CREDIT CARDS MASTERCARD OR VISA ACCEPTED WITH THE FOLLOWING FEES

SINGLE DAY & WEEKEND PASSES TICKETS CREDIT CARD FEE - Add a $2.00 fee per ticket at the door with a Mastercard or Visa credit card

TICKETS AND UPDATES!

For info and updates please visit us at www.flashbackweekend.com.

Review: SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

With waning franchise power comes unreasonable franchise responsibility.

When we last left our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, he was rescuing the multiverse from a reality-bending catastrophe — one which was admittedly his fault to begin with — and wiping his memory from the minds of everyone who ever knew and loved him. Four years later, Peter Parker (Tom Holland), now without the largesse of the late Tony Stark or the guidance of his beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), has settled into a rickety studio apartment and doubled down on his solemn commitment to protecting the city of New York. Watching from afar as MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) live it up at M.I.T., Peter can at least take solace in Spider-Man’s successes: He’s popular with the citizens he serves, he’s trusted by the NYPD (led by The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas), and he’s even made a reliable frenemy in vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). But when a mysterious body-hopping telepath threatens to undo all of that good work, Spidey must learn that no man is an island; we all — even super-heroic spider-humans — need a little help from our friends.

In other words, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day presents at first as an old-fashioned Spider-Man story. No longer just a pawn in the galactic vagaries of the MCU — and, mercifully, no longer just Tony Stark’s overeager chihuahua — our wall-crawling pal is now his own man and free to navigate the trials of early adulthood as he sees fit. Written by series regulars Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the film presents a more aloof and taciturn Peter Parker, a twenty-something at a crossroads between his old identity and his next one. Tom Holland, in the midst of his Big Odyssey Summer, brings new interiority and confidence to the role he’s refined over thirteen years, and much of what works here is owed to his ability to make punching villains like the Scorpion (Michael Mando) seem like a reasonable coping strategy against the heartsickness Peter’s tamping down. When Peter’s inner imbalance manifests as new arachnid traits — organic webs, increased sensitivity — Holland imbues his normally mild-mannered hero with a surprising jolt of fury and menace.

Charitable though it may seem to call Brand New Day “old-fashioned” and not simply “a rehash of other Spidey adventures” — most notably Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, still the best superhero film ever made — it’s earned with an encouraging focus on Peter’s journey toward existential realignment: He misses Aunt May, sure, but he’s proud to carry on her legacy of charity. He wants to be in college with his friends, of course, but he knows that the good times he’s missing would have inevitably been interrupted by battles with Tombstone (Marvin Jones III) or the ninjas of the Hand. He’s trading dates with neighborhood girls for meetings with Damage Control’s Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman) and playful squabbles with the Punisher. In short, he’s doing Spider-Man things. Coupled with street-level battles right out of Sony’s Playstation game series — veterans will recognize a few costume variants and combo moves — these stretches of Brand New Day feel the most like classic Spider-Man exploits, a welcome reprieve from the MCU bullshittery that poisons other installments.

Of course, that MCU bullshittery was always destined to rear its ugly head, especially after the decade of misfires, resets, do-overs, and Hail Marys that have plagued Marvel since Avengers: Endgame. Spider-Man has become the only reliable weapon in Kevin Feige’s once-invincible arsenal, and he now has corporate brand responsibilities that extend far beyond the boundaries of the Five Boroughs. Therefore, a thoughtful story about a young person’s reckoning with new maturity must necessarily become an exercise in franchise management: Spider-Man needs help developing a device that will inhibit his unwelcome mutation? He’ll go see Professor Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). He needs to unlock classified information on his elusive shape-shifting enemy? He’ll call Black Widow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). That enemy’s identity, by the way, is another groan-worthy piece of the franchise puzzle; any more would spoil, but you’re free to compare the cast list with actors I haven’t mentioned yet and deduce which legendary Marvel character they might be playing.

To its credit, Brand New Day tries to temper all the IP dumb-fuckery by pivoting to a bonus final act — you will literally feel your movie clock restart around the 105-minute mark — that forges a stronger thematic connection between that villain and our web-headed hero. While this additional piece does give the unnamable actor a chance to show off some powerful performance chops, its clumsy placement and cynical undercurrent make it feel more like a prelude to someone else’s story than a resolution to Peter Parker’s. It takes up time that would have been better spent developing Frank Castle as a cautionary example of the perils of isolation — Holland and Bernthal share excellent chemistry, having first worked together in 2017’s Pilgrimage — or giving MJ more time to unpack her lost past with Peter — Holland and Zendaya share excellent chemistry in that, you know, they’re fucking married — and decide how best to move forward with her life. But no; lonely as he may feel, Spider-Man is still web-swinging at the pleasure of shareholders everywhere.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits U.S. theaters on Friday, July 31st.

FTM 831: FATAL ATTRACTION

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Never bring your pet bunny around Patrick or Sonia.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: The Odyssey (2026), The Furious (2026), A Toxic Love Story (2026), Erupcja (2026), Brain Donors (1992), Perfect Stranger (2007)

Fifty Before '50: GERTIE THE DINOSAUR

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by JB

Before Mickey Mouse... Before Oswald the Lucky Rabbit... Before Krazy Kat... There was Gertie.

In 1913, Winsor McKay was one of the most famous cartoonists in the country, drawing the enormously successful Little Nemo in Slumberland for the Hearst newspaper syndicate. Looking to expand his fame and income, he embarked on a vaudeville tour wherein he did a “chalk talk,” drawing on a large blackboard while engaging the audience with jokes and banter. Soon, he expanded his act with an animated cartoon he drew himself; he would stand next to the screen and interact with a cartoon dinosaur projected there. He named the dinosaur “Gertie.”

McKay’s vaudeville turn became very popular very quickly. He would stand next to the screen, holding a whip like a lion tamer and command Gertie to perform various tasks: raise your right leg, dance, and bow. At the end of the act, McKay would sneak behind the screen and his animated image would appear onscreen, climb up Gertie’s neck, and Gertie would walk offstage with McKay atop her head. Sensational. No one had ever seen anything like this before.

But all of this vaudeville business took McKay away from his day job, and William Randolph Hearst demanded that McKay return to San Francisco and continue drawing his popular daily comic strip. McKay came up with the brilliant idea of filming additional bookend material, so that he would appear on film presenting Gertie, and the entire movie could be sent out “on tour” in his stead.

You can watch McKay’s film here:

NOTE: If you only wish to see Gertie, skip ahead to the seven-minute mark!

This is the film that survives today. Although the bookend material is a little tedious, the cartoon holds up quite well. In making his cartoon, McKay came up with many of the techniques of modern cell animation: using registration pegs to hold the drawings still while being photographed so there would be less jitter, starting with a series of “major poses” and then filling in the cells in between, and using assistants to draw the backgrounds. Because McKay used regular paper instead of clear vinyl acrylic, these assistants needed to tediously redraw the background on each and every cell.

The next year, because Gertie the Dinosaur was such a sensation, scalawag John Randolph Bray filmed and released a plagiarized rip-off. Looking at the two films, it’s really astounding what a bald-faced criminal Bray was. Unfortunately, in the 1970s, Blackhawk Films began selling copies of Bray’s nonsense as the real thing, and so film history got a little scuffed and scuttled for a short time. Eventually, the truth was sorted out. McKay was a trailblazer. Bray was a wannabe.

Here is Bray’s affront to McKay:

Notice that, although you can argue that Bray’s dinosaur drawing is “better,” the animation definitely is not, obviously trying to wring the maximum amount of movement from the minimum number of drawings. I think McKay’s Gertie has much more personality. YouTube commentator CosmicSponge2004 put it best when he dismissed Bray’s film as “unnerving and creepy.”

If Gertie looks somehow... familiar to you, you may be thinking of the life-sized Gertie statue that towers over “Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Creams of Extinction” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. It just makes sense that Disney knows how to honor animation pioneers.

Before Gertie, "animation" consisted of flipbooks and early motion toys like the phenakistoscope and the zoetrope. Cartoons were more like James Stuart Blackton's "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces"—very short, chalk-talk style vignettes. Gertie was the first real animated character with a personality, and audiences loved her. Less than 25 years later, Walt Disney would mark the next great leap forward with Snow White, the first full-length, full color, animated feature—and though there were many steps in between, Snow White couldn't have happened without Gertie.

Thrill Seeker: BAD INFLUENCE

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Sonia Mansfield

A year after Sex, Lies, and Videotape, James Spader starred in another movie about sex, lies, and videotape.

Welcome to Thrill Seeker, in which I watch thrillers from the 80s and 90s. This month, I watched 1990’s Bad Influence, starring James Spader, Rob Lowe, Christian Clemenson, and Lisa Zane.

So much of the discussion around this movie in 1990 was about Rob Lowe and a leaked sex tape. In case you don’t remember (or maybe you weren’t even born yet *sighs*), in 1988, there was a tape of Rob Lowe having sex with two people (including a 16-year-old girl) that was filmed the night before the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, Rob Lowe was was campaigning for Michael Dukakis. In other words, Illegally Yours wasn’t Lowe’s only bomb in 1988.

Eventually, Lowe settled out of court with the girl’s family, and no criminal charges were filed, because at the time the age of consent in Georgia was 14. I know, right?

Bad Influence was his first movie after that scandal, and it’s almost like it was created to capitalize on it by putting Lowe’s character into threesomes and filming a sex tape without consent.

A few other things of note: This is directed by Curtis Hanson, who y’all remember wrote and directed the Oscar-winning LA Confidential. But to me, he’s the guy who directed The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Don’t worry, Cradle, your time will come in Thrill Seeker.

Bad Influence is also one of the first screenplays by David Koepp, who has worked with some nobody named Steven Spielberg on Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Disclosure Day. No big deal.

OK, let’s run through the plot, no spoilers.

The plot: James Spader plays Michael, an analyst at some corporate job. He wants the big promotion to senior analyst, but there’s this jerk in the office named Patterson, who also wants the job. Patterson is trying to sabotage Michael by hiding his work from him. (No, really.) He’s also engaged to Ruth (Marica Cross), who comes from a wealthy family and styles her hair like Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary.

You can immediately tell Michael just isn’t that into Ruth, but he doesn’t have the guts to say anything. Just like he doesn’t have the guts to stand up for himself to his shitty coworker. Instead of going to therapy, Michael goes to a bar to get a drink.

While at the bar, a woman comes in, our boy offers to buy her a drink. Then her boyfriend comes in and pushes Michael’s face into the bar. Dang, the dude can’t even buy a woman a drink without someone making him feel like a spineless turd. But then Rob Lowe’s Alex comes in, smashes a beer bottle on the bar, and threatens to stab the bully. But before Michael can thank him, Alex disappears faster than Dukakis’s political career.

Luckily, Michael runs into Alex the next day, so they decide to get a drink and chat. No one pushes Michael’s face in the bar or smashes a beer bottle, so the hang out is a success. The conversation mainly consists of Alex spouting out manosphere talking points. If this movie were made today, Alex would definitely have thoughts about high-value men. Then they go to another bar where Alex puts on a fake French accent and lies to everyone because his idea of a good time is lying to people for no reason at all. That’s when they meet Clarie (Lisa Zane - that’s right, Billy’s sister!).

They all go back to Michael’s super '90s apartment. It’s all windows and dark with hardly any furniture, but he does have a video camera and TV set up. Michael and Claire pass out on the couch, and Alex stares at them while they sleep like a psychopath. When Claire wakes up, she and Alex make out, but he tells her to go fuck Michael instead, and she’s like, “OK, cool.” The next morning, Michael wakes up to Alex watching a sex tape of Michael and Claire knocking boots, which is just super-cool normal bro stuff, right?

And here’s where my plot summary ends, thrill seekers. Just know that filming a sex tape without consent and watching it isn’t a red flag for our buddy, Michael. Instead, he’s all-in on Alex, and Alex is all-in on infiltrating Michael’s life and controlling him, including “helping” him with that annoying coworker and that whole engagement thing. Murder, insider trading, and questionable decisions ensue.

Is it a thrill? Yep, this one is good y’all. Rob Lowe plays a good creep. He’s played a few assholes throughout his career, but usually the movie still wants us to like him like in St. Elmo’s Fire or in comedies like Wayne’s World or Tommy Boy. Lowe is an impossibly good-looking man, and I love that Bad Influence weaponizes that, showing that he can just move through life with pretty boy privilege and get what he wants with no consequences (for a while anyway).

If this movie has been made two years earlier, James Spader and Rob Lowe probably would’ve swapped roles. Spader always has a darkness about him, which is why he’s so great at playing douchebags and assholes. It’s entertaining to watch him play such a broken tool for most of the movie, but because it’s Spader when he’s finally had enough, we believe it.

I do wish they’d given Lisa Zane a little more to do. The character is just there to do whatever the man in the scene tells her to do, and she does it no questions asked. She deserves better.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 bunnies in a boiling pot

Weekend Open Thread

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Review: THE DINK

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

Or: Unhappy Gilmore

As he so often does, our very own Adam Riske dropped some wisdom on me today: I was sitting at home, watching my screener for Apple TV’s upcoming pickleball comedy, The Dink, and wondering why things haven’t quite come together for New Girl breakout Jake Johnson. He’s a famous guy getting plenty of work — he’s played supporting roles in blockbusters like Jurassic World and the Spider-Verse films and starred on underrated series like HBO’s Minx — but have any of those projects taken him to the next level? Remember when he was the sidekick in Tom Cruise’s The Mummy? No, you don’t! That movie’s not real. Hell, most of the questions he’s getting in the Dink junket interviews are about the potential for a New Girl reunion. That can’t feel great, you know? “Aside from TV and streaming, the industry doesn’t have a place for a guy like him,” Adam said. And he’s right! Johnson is too seasoned for a Zoey Deutch rom-com, and he’s already served his tour in the Marvel Universe. Still, he’s a talented comedian! He should be a movie star! This shouldn't be hard!

And perhaps it’s that dearth of forward momentum that prompted Johnson to reach back into film history for inspiration. To wit: The Dink, an endearing, old-school sports comedy harkening back to — and, in some cases, straight-up stealing from — IMDb favorites like Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore, and BASEketball. Johnson is Dusty “The Hammer” Boyd, a former tennis prodigy who, much to the chagrin of his hard-charging father/coach, Chuck (Ed Harris, more genial than usual but still absolutely terrifying), had his career cut short by a devastating wrist injury. Now in his schlubby mid-forties, Dusty has settled into the role of junior tennis instructor at Chuck’s swanky country club, regaling indifferent youngsters with stories of his late lamented glory days. One never knows when a hero will be called to battle, however, and trouble soon rears its head in the form of a tennis purist’s worst nightmare: Pickleball. The club's septuagenarian set (including Mary Steenburgen’s Candace) is obsessed, and it’ll be up to Dusty to stop its insidious spread before it’s too late.

Helmed by reliable comedy director Josh Greenbaum (Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Will & Harper, and 2027’s Spaceballs: The New One) and written by Hollywood Handbook podcast co-host Sean Clements, The Dink is a good-natured, low-stakes affair perfect for audiences looking to taper off from the 70mm majesty of last week’s The Odyssey. It’s a formula we’ve all seen before: Dusty’s a headstrong has-been who never mustered the courage to admit he needed a Plan B. For him, this push for more pickleball courts — led by the feisty Candace, her doubles partner, Judy (Lynne Marie Stewart), and the self-elected committee president, Skip (Patton Oswalt) — is more than just an existential threat to the sport of tennis; it’s a threat to the fantasy that he still has enough time to earn back his father’s love. But when he volunteers to represent the tennis pros in an all-or-nothing pickleball duel against former rival Andy Roddick — a flimsy story conceit handwaved so hard you’ll feel a gentle breeze — Dusty discovers an unexpected path to redemption.

That path is riddled with light-hearted, reflexive comedy irreverence as Dusty struggles to downshift to pickleball’s leisurely pace. Pickleballers are curious characters, he discovers, but the more he gets to know them — and the more he finds himself falling for Candace, a recent divorcee who makes him country music playlists and invites him over to watch The Graduate (!) — the more “The Hammer” sees the benefit of a softer approach to life in general. Sean Clements builds a genre scaffold sturdy enough to support all the silliness, though there are times when Greenbaum’s PG-13 sensibilities make stray gags like Dr. Stone’s (Ben Stiller) porn fixation and PJ’s (Aaron Chen) sexual attraction to a decommissioned battleship — it makes slightly more sense in context — feel a bit out of place. The Dink is charming enough that you’ll forgive most of those missteps, I think, though not even I could excuse the wholesale theft of BASEketball’s radio joke, especially since, perhaps realizing their indiscretion, they failed to take it as far as Zucker did in ‘98.

So while The Dink is unlikely to elevate Jake Johnson’s profile to any lofty new heights, it does give him another opportunity to play his game — so to speak — and reminds us why we all found New Girl’s Nick Miller so disarming in the first place. It’s always great to see Mary Steenburgen, and the two share some unexpected chemistry in a “will they/won’t they” scheme that doesn’t go in the direction a crasser, lazier movie would probably have taken it. Christine Taylor, Chloe Fineman, and Chris Parnell all show up to say hello, and even John McEnroe’s predictable cameo is put to good use as he has a little fun with the fourth wall. Will the cinemas ever start making room for inoffensive, midbudget sports comedies like The Longest Yard, Bring it On, Slap Shot, or The Dink again? Probably not. Will talents like Jake Johnson be limited to the confines of streaming services unless they want to play one of the green army men in Disney’s inevitable live-action Toy Story reboot? Most likely. For now, let’s just be glad we all have Apple TV. You do have Apple TV, don’t you?

The Dink hits Apple TV on Friday, July 24th.

24 Hours of Movies: Keanu

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley
A day and night with one of my all-time favorite actors.

I have loved Keanu Reeves since the first time I saw him in a movie at 11 years old. He was one of the first actors I can really remember responding to in such a way that made me want to track down and see all of his other work -- smaller, early movies like River's Edge and Permanent Record that I was probably way too young to be watching. He gets great press as a human and mostly bad press as an actor, with critics leaning on lazy, decades-old stereotypes of his performances to dismiss someone I truly feel is a singular and special screen presence. To prove me right, his career has survived for 40 years. He has been one of my favorite actors during all four decades and I can't wait to devote 24 hours to watching his movies.

10 am - Youngblood (1986, dir. Peter Markle)

We'll start things off with Keanu's first movie, a hockey drama meant to capitalize on Rob Lowe's handsome stardom as the titular Dean Youngblood but which winds up being stolen from him by co-stars Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb, and Keanu Reeves in what is I believe a two-scene role as a young member of the team. He's doing a French Canadian accent and everything. There's barely a sports movie cliche this movie won't touch, but it will go down easily first thing.

Noon - Speed (1994, dir. Jan de Bont)

Like in the making of a good mixtape, it's important to ramp things up with our second feature. This is one of Keanu's very best -- the movie that bought him the back half of his 1990s until The Matrix was released. He's Jack Traven, the cop who boards a bus to stop it from slowing down and killing everyone on board after a mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) plants an explosive aboard. This is spectacular Hollywood filmmaking and maybe the best action movie this side of the original Die Hard, with Keanu functioning perfectly as a man of few words and a whole lot of action.

2:30 pm - The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988, dir. Ron Nyswaner)

An early Keanu sleeper featuring one of his very worst onscreen haircuts (the other is Parenthood). He plays the eccentric son of a frustrated miner (Fred Ward, perfectly weaponized) who also happens to be in love with an older woman (Amy Madigan). This is the kind of comedy-drama that rarely gets made anymore, one in which Not Much Happens but is instead entirely character-based. Keanu shines in an early starring role playing the sort of charming space cadet in which he specialized at the start of his career. The movie is just ok, but I like the idea of trying to play some lesser-known also-rans alongside the Big Guns for our marathon.

4 pm - The Gift (2000, dir. Sam Raimi)

After three movies, it's time for some Dark Keanu. He's surprisingly good as Donnie Barksdale, abusive redneck husband and chief murder suspect in director Sam Raimi's Southern Gothic supernatural thriller. This comes from that late '90s/early 2000s period in which Raimi was trying to stretch himself and make different kinds of movies. This one isn't as good as A Simple Plan despite coming from the same writers, but it is better than its reputation would suggest (Giovanni Ribisi performance aside). The cast is wall to wall heavy hitters (Giovanni Ribisi performance aside) and the atmosphere is great even when the story sometimes lays it on a little thick. Then again, Sam Raimi has never been a very subtle filmmaker.

6 pm - Street Kings (2008, dir. David Ayer)

Another Dark Keanu, but here he's playing a dark character who's at least trying to do the right thing. He's a dirty cop on a squad of dirty cops who uncovers that some cops are dirtier than him and tries to serve some justice. This is directed but not written by David Ayer, because dirty cops in Los Angeles. He didn't write it, though; the script is from James Ellroy and Kurt Wimmer (lobster and Skittles). This is a really underrated thriller that Keanu only could have made between the Matrix trilogy and the John Wick franchise because he could take weird chances and mid-budget cop movies like this still existed. It's Den of Thieves before Den of Thieves.

8 pm - Point Break (1991, dir. Kathryn Bigelow)

Primetime Pizza goes to one of Keanu's best and a reminder that he's starred in like four of the 10 best American action movies of all time. I love his performance as Johnny Utah, an FBI agent on the trail of some bank robbing surfers, and the relationship he develops with head surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). Keanu was still a bit of a blank at this point and director Kathryn Bigelow perfectly understood that he was a vessel looking to be filled -- he thinks he'll find it through law enforcement but finds it through extreme sports and spirituality. Point Break is a movie pretending to be dumb but actually very smart, made by intelligent and skillful people. How I love it.

10:15 pm - Knock Knock (2015, dir. Eli Roth)

It's getting late and we're getting tired, so our movies need to start getting darker and weirder. Eli Roth's horny remake of the already-horny Death Game fits the bill. Keanu plays a rare family man who's tested when a pair of women (Ana de Armas and Lorenza Izzo) show up on his doorstep determined to totally fuck up his life. This is a weird one in that a lot of it does work -- Keanu is great and Izzo steals the movie -- but it's all made grosser by the Eli Roth of it all. For the record, Izzo over de Armas twice on Saturday.

Midnight - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)

It's horror time! Keanu hasn't made many horror movies outside of this insane and overcranked fever dream from Francis Ford Coppola. Reeves got the worst reviews of the movie and the worst reviews of his career for his portrayal of Jonathan Harker, but they were mean and kind of unwarranted. His English accent is shaky, I'll concede, but his innate innocence and decency shine through. The inconsistencies in his performance can be forgiven by the fact that everyone in the cast is acting in a different movie. Also, it's weird how much Gary Oldman's Dracula keeps talking about how much he loves standard def DVDs.

2:30 am - A Scanner Darkly (2006, dir. Richard Linklater)

There's no better time to watch Richard Linklater's adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly than 2:30 am. The wild rotoscope animation visuals and trippy narrative can just wash over us. One of my favorite movies of 2006 and arguably Linklater's most underrated effort features Keanu's second pairing with possible wife Winona Ryder; the cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jr., and Rory Cochrane. As usual, Keanu is very good as a guy trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Spare me your punchlines.

4:30 am - The Night Before (1988, dir. Thom Eberhardt)

I love the idea of playing a One Crazy Night comedy as we survive One Crazy Night. A really funny pre-fame comedy features Keanu as a sweet dork who gets Lori Loughlin to go prom with him but then gets all messed up and loses her to a pimp; the rest of the movie (which, in true Eberhardt fashion, never actually shows us the prom) consists of his efforts to find her and get her back. It's basically The Odyssey. Yes, there is a good deal of 1980s grossness that hasn't dated well, but Keanu is so funny and director Eberhardt so insistent on upending every convention of the then-popular teen comedy that this winds up being something special.

6 am - John Wick Chapter 2 (2017, dir. Chad Stahelski)

I don't want to program a whole Keanu marathon without at least one John Wick movie, especially because at this point in the marathon it's becoming clear that there won't be any Matrix movies (gotta save something for the inevitable follow-up marathon). I haven't revisited the franchise in a couple of years, but my memory is that Chapter 2 is my favorite of a series with no bad entries. It's got the cool hall of mirrors finale and expands on the mythology just enough without becoming totally silly. Plus it will be cool to wake up watching all the people getting shot in the head.

8 am - Destination Wedding (2018, dir. Victor Levin)

One of the things I want to be able to do with this marathon is show different sides of Keanu, and he rarely gets to do this kind of dialogue-driven movie or play the lead of a romantic comedy. Plus it pairs him with Winona Ryder again and those two have the ability to bring out the best in one another. This one feels largely forgotten, which is a shame because it's incredibly charming while still maintaining its acid edge.

9:30 am - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991, dir. Peter Hewitt)

I want to end with this one not just because it's the best of the Bill & Ted movies and because it represents Keanu's amazing 1991 summer (this and Point Break were released weeks apart) but because the only thing better than watching 24 straight hours of Keanu Reeves movies would be ending our Keanu marathon with the utopian montage and "God Gave Rock 'n Roll II You" by KISS.

FTM 830: THE BLUES BROTHERS

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

It's 106 miles to Chicago. Patrick and JB have full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and they're wearing sunglasses.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: The Odyssey (2026), Faces of Death (2026), Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (2026), Disclosure Day (2026)

Fifty Before '50: George Melies THE ODYSSEY

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by JB

I am about to save you both time and money.

Would it surprise you to learn that early filmmaker/magician George Melies filmed an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem in 1905, a full 121 years before Christopher Nolan? Well, he did... and I am here today to sing this much shorter film’s praises.

You can watch Melies’ film here, for FREE:

What you get with the Melies’ film: 1) The Calypso episode and the Cyclops Polyphemus episode. No ups, no extras; 2) A main character, Odysseus, played by writer/director George Melies himself; 3) The gist of just that part of the narrative; 4) Somewhere between $13 and $27 dollars to keep in your own pocket where it belongs; 5) 170 minutes of your life back to do whatever you choose. Say what you will, Melies does not waste his audience’s time. Melies knows that in this modern era (Era.) audience members have plenty of other things to do.

What you DON’T get with the Melies’ film: 1) IMAX or IMAX 70mm projection; 2) Color; 3) Sound; 4) The sweep on the entire epic poem; 5) A night out on the town; 6) The ability to know exactly what everyone else is talking about when they discuss the film this week; 7) Big star performances from the likes of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and John Bernthal; 8) Story elements including Penelope’s other suitors while husband Odysseus is away, the iconic Trojan horse sequence, anything involving the witch Circe turning Odysseus’s men into pigs, any prophecies of Tiresias, anything involving Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Artemis, or Hades, anything involving Penelope giving up on Odysseus and declaring she will marry whoever can string Odysseus's bow and shoot an arrow through a row of axe heads (A girl has to have her standards.), and SPOILER ALERT: Nothing involving Odysseus ceding his throne to Telemachus, leaving Ithaca with Penelope to seek peace in exile, and sailing west to honor the dead.

I’d say it’s about even. Join the rest of humanity in lining up for Nolan’s film, or just watch this handy YouTube video and slink back to your domicile to enjoy some delicious Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? The choice is yours.

2K Replay: CLERKS II

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Best Comedy of the Year” at the Golden Schmoes Awards. It lost to Borat.

• Best Scene/Moment (tie): The scene towards the end with Dante (Brian O’Halloran), Randal (Jeff Anderson), and Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) in jail and any scene with Rosario Dawson.

• Best Song: “ABC” by The Jackson 5.

• Best Merch: A “Vintage Mooby’s Visor Clerks II Kevin Smith Movie Promo Yellow Hat Cap” for $24.97. This is the kind of thing that would be fun to get signed by the cast at one of those Kevin Smith conventions that take place. I kinda want to go to one of those, but that could just be me with autograph fever right now since we’re so close to Flashback Weekend.

• Director Grade: Clerks II was directed by Kevin Smith.
Great Movies: Clerks
Good Movies: Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Clerks II, Tusk, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
OK Movies: Dogma, Jersey Girl, Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Bad Movies: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Yoga Hosers, Clerks III, The 4:30 Movie
Unseen By Me: Cop Out, Red State
Overall Grade: B-

• Double It with This 2006 Movie: Employee of the Month

• Year 2006 Movies to Trailer Before Them: Beerfest, Borat, Grandma’s Boy
• Ella McCay or Clerks II? Tie. I’d give it to Clerks II if it weren’t for how cringe-inducing a lot of the humor is.

• Mall Movie? Absolutely. This movie has mall written all over it.

• Only in 2006: Kevin Smith pushing the irresistibility of his wife on audiences.

• Scene Stealer: Rosario Dawson. She elevates the whole movie.

• I Miss: The time after Clerks II (which has a perfect ending) and before Clerks III (where Kevin Smith lost his mind and undid everyone’s happy endings in Clerks II). This was like killing Newt and Hicks at the beginning of Alien 3-level stupid.

• I Don’t Miss: Kevin Smith basking in racist, homophobic humor but then wanting a get out of jail free card because oh c’mon you know I don’t mean it.

• 2006 Crush: Rosario Dawson.

• 2026 Crush: Rosario Dawson.

• What I Thought in 2006: I liked Clerks II overall. It was funny at times and had a lot of heart. I was also impressed by how the movie is such a glow-up from the grungy original but still feels like a Clerks movie.

• What I Think in 2026: I’m still a fan despite some significant reservations about the movie. Rosario Dawson is so good in this, and I really like Dante and Randal as characters so seeing them evolve as they get older is rewarding. Plus, the movie ends well and that often can save a film that’s a little shaky leading up to the finish.

Weekend Open Thread

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 02:00:00 -0500

10 One-and-Done Movies Directed by Actors

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley

When what they really want to do is direct. Once.

I was watching 1975's Posse recently and thinking that Kirk Douglas should have directed more movies, which is what inspired this list. Joke's on me, of course, because Kirk Douglas did direct more movies -- one, at least, Scalawag in 1973. That makes him ineligible for this list, but it got me thinking about other actors who directed one movie and then never directed again. Here's a list of 10 of them!

1. One-Eyed Jacks (1961, dir. Marlon Brando)

The sole directorial effort of Marlon Brando is a revisionist western about a bandit seeking revenge on his former mentor (Karl Malden) after being betrayed. Apparently, Brando only took the job directing after clashing with multiple writers and directors (this was before the Eastwood Rule), but he does a fine job both in front of and behind the camera. History has vindicated him as well, as the movie entered the Criterion Collection in 2016 and the National Film Registry two years later. This was the last movie to be shot in VistaVision until The Brutalist in 2024.

2. Harlem Nights (1989, dir. Eddie Murphy)

The only movie ever directed by Eddie Murphy came around the height of his powers but also kicked off a nearly 10-year dry period when the movie was poorly reviewed and accused of pure hubris. Murphy writes, directs, and stars in a movie that casts three generations of legendary black comics -- Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx -- in a period piece about gang warfare in 1930s Harlem. It's never funny enough to be pure comedy but too funny to be taken completely seriously, making it a kind of fish/fowl that alienated both audiences and critics alike. Apparently Murphy didn't really like the experience of directing a movie and opted not to do it again, which is too bad because I think Harlem Nights rules.

3. Man of Tai Chi (2013, dir. Keanu Reeves)

Keanu Reeves used all the martial arts training he received while making the Matrix trilogy to put together a team that could tell this story about a man (Tiger Chen) who becomes involved in an underground fighting tournament in order to earn money to restore his temple. Reeves does an incredible supporting turn as the guy running the fighting ring. The martial arts action is predictably amazing given Reeves' own background and the team with which he was working, but even the scenes without fighting have a snap to them that suggest Reeves would do well with more turns behind the camera. I hope he directs again.

4. Return to Me (2000, dir. Bonnie Hunt)

One of 2000's great romantic comedies comes from character actor and (later) talk show host Bonnie Hunt, who also gets big laughs co-starring in the story of a widower (David Duchovny) who finds new love with the recipient of his dead wife's heart (Minnie Driver). While there are more fantastical elements than I might prefer in my traditional romantic comedies, I find Return to Me endlessly charming: the two stars glow, the supporting casts steals every moment they can, the Chicago details are wonderful, and Hunt directs with one foot in romantic fantasy and one foot in the practicality of day to day life. She has such a light touch with this material (which she and regular collaborator Don Lake co-wrote), which is exactly what it requires. Like almost everyone on this list, she should have directed more movies.

5. Lost River (2015, dir. Ryan Gosling)

Back when I used to have a different read on Ryan Gosling, I thought his lone directorial effort was the perfect reflection of who I thought he was: stylish, full of promise, kind of mannered, pretty pretentious. I know I was wrong about Gosling (sorry, Erika); I would have to revisit Lost River to see if my mind has changed about his movie. I remember it showing real artistry and vision and that Gosling showed great promise as a filmmaker and a creator of striking images, but that it felt a little hollow. Maybe that's a faulty memory on my part. I'd be down for a revisit.

6. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996, dir. Martin Lawrence)

Comedian Martin Lawrence took his superstardom for a test drive by directing this comic thriller in which he plays a man so wonderful and sexually appealing that one of his many conquests (Lynn Whitfield) is driven insane when she can no longer get that dick. Obviously it's Lawrence doing his version of Fatal Attraction (he gets sole story credit and co-screenplay credit), with Whitfield giving her all in the Glenn Close role and Regina King providing welcome support as the woman with whom Lawrence finds real love. For some reason, I went to see this movie first show, first day.

7. Nothing But Trouble (1991, dir. Dan Aykroyd)

My kingdom for the R-rated "gore cut" of Valkynvania, director Dan Aykroyd's lone directorial effort that was dulled down and re-titled at the request of the studio. Much of the weirdness remains. Chevy Chase and Demi Moore are a yuppie couple who run afoul of the law in a small town and are subject to potential punishment courtesy of Dan Akyroyd, buried under prosthetics as an ancient judge, plus John Candy in multiple roles and even Digital Underground. The movie doesn't work and the stars feel mostly stranded in a material they recognize as DOA, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth watching as a very singular curiosity. I'm drawn to repeat viewings even when I know what I'm in for.

8. Whip It! (2009, dir. Drew Barrymore)

Elliot Page plays a young woman who gets into the world of competitive roller derby in this charming comedy drama from Drew Barrymore, who co-stars as one of Page's teammates alongside Kristen Wiig, Eve, and my girlfriend Zoe Bell. It's too bad that Barrymore hasn't made more movies because she mostly nails this one. It has energy and heart and dares to be about young women in a way not a lot of movies do.

9. Jojo Dancer Your Life is Calling (1986, dir. Richard Pryor)

I only recently discovered this autobiographical drama from Richard Pryor thanks to the Criterion release and was kind of blown away by how messy and raw it is. He directs and plays a not-super-fictionalized version of himself, a rising comedian raised in a brothel and gradually alienating himself with sex and drugs. Pryor used the film to confront the truth of the "accident" that nearly killed him just a few years before, and even though he's not able to totally get there as an actor or a filmmaker, the realness of the swing makes the movie kind of great.

10. Night of the Hunter (1955, dir. Charles Laughton)

This is the one that for sure belongs on the list because it's usually considered the greatest one-and-done movie of all time regardless of having been directed by actor Charles Laughton. Seeing as how it feels like one of the best movies ever made each time I watch it, I'm inclined to agree.

My Top 5 Christopher Nolan Movies

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley

Subject to change at any moment. Including now. And now.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is in theaters today! To celebrate, I thought I would share my favorites of his movies. For some reason, Nolan has become a controversial figure in the film community, with everyone seemingly divided between Toxic Bros who worship him and the Hipsters who are too cool for his brand of squareness. I would like to think I'm neither (and so are many others who may like or dislike his work for Totally Valid Reasons), but I do realize he's become one of my guys. My Top 5 could include most to any of his movies, but here's where it stands today.

1. Inception (2010)

Still my favorite of all Christopher Nolan's movies and maybe my favorite movie of the first decade of the 2000s. I won't bother to recount the cast or the plot -- it's a dream heist -- but will instead say that this became one of my favorite movies after my first viewing on opening night 2010 and then only got better on repeat watches. Then I read a piece from a former critic who described the movie as Nolan's 8 1/2 and explained that the movie itself was all about the filmmaking process. Leonardo DiCaprio is even styled to look just like a 2010 Christopher Nolan. That reading made a masterpiece even better.

2. Memento (2000)

The movie that introduced me to Christopher Nolan remains one of his best. You all know the deal by now: Guy Pearce plays a man who can't form new memories trying to solve the murder of his wife by any means necessary, all told in reverse chronological order. As someone who hadn't yet seen Following when I saw this in theaters, it announced one of my favorite new voices in film and established a number of stylistic tropes and thematic concerns that would carry across much of Nolan's work.

3. Insomnia (2002)

Probably the most underrated of Nolan's movies, Insomnia is often dismissed as more of a programmer than one of the greats. I love it. Al Pacino is called up to Alaska to solve a murder, but gets entangled with the killer when a tragedy occurs and he's forced to cover it up. Robin Williams, an actor I always enjoy in dramatic role and almost never in comic ones, is great as Pacino's nemesis and co-conspirator. This is Nolan's most straightforward thriller, probably because he's remaking a Norwegian film of the same name. Nolan's change is that he makes Pacino's crisis a physical one instead of an existential one, if that makes sense. This movie is so good.

4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I know it's blasphemous to put this ahead of The Dark Knight (and probably even Batman Begins for most people) but keep in mind this is my list of favorites, not yours. Though I was very mixed on the movie when it came out and still am able to acknowledge its messiness, a recent gig hosting it and revisiting it on the big screen confirmed that it's my favorite of the director's Batman trilogy. I love its scope, its scale, its ambition, the way it expands the story beyond a hero/villain showdown to a battle for the soul of a city -- and, by extension, our humanity. Anne Hathaway brings a jolt of energy to every one of her scenes and steals the film. She (and her costume designer) should have won awards for this.

5. Tenet (2020)

This is the Blackhat of Christopher Nolan movies (complimentary). It's Nolan porn for fanboys like me, all great clothes and insane set pieces and IMAX photography and fuckarounds with time. I won't pretend to really understand the story. It's pure vibes, and I love it for the vibes.

Review: THE ODYSSEY

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:12:52 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

“Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost.”

It should come as no surprise that Christopher Nolan would choose to follow his Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer — the purest, most ideal synthesis of his lofty thematic sensibilities and blockbuster storytelling instincts — with a retelling of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. It’s almost too perfect, really: The storyteller of storytellers presents the story of stories, the classical text widely considered by scholars to be the foundation of all literature ever recorded by mankind. Who else but Christopher Nolan — the Thinking Man’s Studio Director, now at the height of his power — could do it justice? Nolan is our last remaining above-the-title auteur, after all, the only filmmaker whose mere involvement in a project all but guarantees both critical and commercial success. An opus like The Odyssey deserves such pomp and circumstance. It deserves to be brought to life by a master craftsman like Nolan, who’s intelligent enough to appreciate its momentous influence on the modern world and articulate enough to effectively stage it for a mainstream audience.

For my friends who have forgotten their school days (or who never bothered to read it in the first place): The Odyssey begins in the banquet hall of Ithaca's king, Odysseus (Matt Damon), now gone twenty years since Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) called his commanders to the Trojan War. In Odysseus’ long absence, his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), has been besieged by a host of wealthy suitors, each one scheming to marry the would-be widow and seize the throne before Odysseus’ rightful heir, Telemachus (Tom Holland) comes of age. The most prominent among them is the pompous Antonious (Robert Pattinson), who, though he admired Odysseus in his youth, has come to resent the great king and plots with Penelope’s handmaiden Melantho (Mia Goth) to win the queen’s reluctant hand. Frustrated by his powerlessness to stop these evil machinations — and dreaming to one day reunite with a father he never knew — good-hearted Telemachus sets sail to Sparta, where he hopes to find incontrovertible proof that a forgotten hero will soon make his way home.

Meanwhile, an amnesiac Odysseus lays on a faraway shore, held an unknowing captive by the nymph, Calypso (Charlize Theron). Though their lives are peaceful, Odysseus is plagued by an emptiness that Calypso finally lifts by restoring his memories of the war: These memories include his forces’ sack of Troy, their battle with the fearsome Cyclops, their encounter with the alluring Sirens, their confrontation with the transmogrifying witch, Circe (Samantha Morton), and their descent into Hades, where they communed with dead comrades — including Sinon (Elliot Page)— whom Odysseus, in his lust for glory, failed to honor with proper burial. In Sparta, King Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) and his wife, Helen (Lupita Nyong’o) regale Telemachus with stories of his father’s exploits but offer no news of his fate. When Odysseus and Telemachus finally do return to Ithaca, they’ll rely on the bravery of stalwarts like blind herdsman Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) and the guidance of gods like Athena (Zendaya) to defeat the suitors and return their kingdom to glory.

If this is sounding like yet another sprawling Christopher Nolan film, it should. In fact, it’s remarkable just how comfortably The Odyssey’s non-linear structure suits Nolan’s signature talent for elliptical storytelling and, frankly, how willing the director is to trust his audience to track how each segment influences the others. True to Homer’s original text, much of The Odyssey is told in episodic flashbacks, with many of its dramatic revelations — most of all, Odysseus’ moral awakening after the Sack of Troy — coming in the final movements of each story thread. While The Odyssey lacks the character complexity of Oppenheimer or the sci-fi intricacy of Inception, Nolan’s ability to keep us invested in a variety of sequences often separated by time, place, and, in this particular case, planes of existence, remains his most significant contribution to blockbuster filmmaking. It’s almost funny to consider that a man once accused of pretension for writing labyrinthine screenplays like Memento and The Prestige was — perhaps unintentionally — actually using some of the oldest tricks of all.

Craftswise, The Odyssey is predictably spellbinding, with lush IMAX cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema and a guttural, understated score by Ludwig Göransson. Nolan shoots on location, of course, at the summits of ancient islands, in the depths of gigantic caves, and aboard massive warships replicating the designs once used by Achaean armies. While it’s completely inappropriate for me to dismiss such profound, exhausting work with just two sentences, Nolan and his team have unfortunately cultivated such a reputation for this sort of excellence that it’s become de rigueur; you’d be more surprised to hear that The Odyssey wasn’t an immaculate exercise in filmmaking prowess — an accomplishment that even the 70mm IMAX screen on which the film played in front of me could barely contain — than you would be to hear just how blown away I was by its depth and precision. However, like Oppenheimer before it, The Odyssey is also an epic of faces, with just as much time spent on the internal battles — tonally, think Bergman, not Harryhausen — as on the external ones.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with Nolan once again keeping his audience oriented throughout the story using recognizable faces who embody each theme, idea, and emotion he needs to communicate without relying on leaden exposition: Lupita Nyong’o, for example, as a face worth going to war for (no shit), Robert Pattinson as a slimy opportunist, Jon Bernthal as a cocksure ruffian with soul, and Zendaya as the ephemeral personification of wisdom. Matt Damon gives Odysseus a jolt of mischief (in the first act) and pathos (in the last). Anne Hathaway and her gigantic eyes play the tension boiling below Penelope’s regality. It might be young Tom Holland, though, who impresses the most: Iterating on adolescence in a much different mode than his spastic Peter Parker, Holland leans on Telemachus’ sense of duty; what seems like timidity is actually product of his breeding, a respect for the weight of each individual action he takes (or doesn’t take). It’s nice to see Holland not overcrank it for once. His path away from the MCU is starting to take shape.

For all the film’s virtues, though, some audiences will certainly grate against The Odyssey’s three-hour running time, and I’ll admit that there’s a clunkiness to some of the movements — mostly due to their episodic nature, which precludes sufficient momentum from building to a powerful ending — that may lead to some watch-checking even amongst Nolan’s most faithful. Worse, by singling out non-negotiable chapters from Homer’s text to include — the Trojan Horse, the Sirens’ song, etc. — Nolan also removes a few formative episodes that would have made his hero’s ultimate catharsis feel as stirring as it did in, say, Oppenheimer — which remains his masterpiece — and given us enough time to really chew on his myriad concerns about gods, men, and the future of civilization. Odysseus is clearly a great warrior, but the time and energy it takes for Nolan to depict those great wars leaves less time for his conversion from brash hero to penitent acolyte than Homer was able to give us. That’s a small quibble, though, and one that will almost definitely diminish with multiple viewings.

And honestly, that may just be me wanting more existential direction than a $250 million summer blockbuster featuring a one-eyed, man-eating giant is able to give me. But like Oppenheimer — I promise to only invoke Oppenheimer one more time, okay? — The Odyssey is concerned with the righteous and unrighteous behavior of human beings. It’s concerned with the empathy we extend to our neighbors and the mercy we extract from the gods and goddesses above. Just as Robert Oppenheimer wonders if his invention really had turned him into the destroyer of worlds, Odysseus wonders if humanity will ever be forgiven for the sins that he and his warriors committed against those who had been foolish enough to trust them. He laments that his song will be sung, not written, because he has damned civilization beyond the written word. That may be true — I don’t know about you, but current events don’t exactly instill me with a ton of confidence to the contrary — but as long as masters like Christopher Nolan are playing his tune, I think we stand a fighting chance.

The Odyssey hits U.S. theaters on Friday, July 17th.

FTM 829: F/X with Joel Edmiston

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Joel Edmiston returns to practice the deadly art of illusion with Patrick.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: Scary Movie 6 (2026), Jackass: Best and Last (2026), Supergirl (2026), The Invite (2026), Inferno (1980), Find Your Friends (2025), Echo Valley (2025), Bang My Box: The Robyn Byrd Story (2026)

Fifty Before '50: Edison's FRANKENSTEIN (1910)

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by JB

I love libraries. And Frankensteins.

I have warm and fuzzy memories of both the Bellwood Library and the Arlington Heights Memorial Library from my largely misspent youth. A building full of books you could just borrow for free? Sign me up... and be still my little (black) literate heart!

I especially remember a series of children’s books devoted to classic monster films published by Crestwood House in the 1970s. They all had distinctive bright orange covers. I checked them out of the library, but I have since learned they were also offered as classroom sets with teachers' guides, posters, and the books read aloud on cassette tape. I believe this is where I first encountered a picture of the monster from the 1910 Edison production of Frankenstein. However, it could have been in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which I became addicted to the 1970s. Where were my parents?

The film was thought lost until collector Alois Dettlaff bought a copy in the 1950s from his mother-in-law, who was also a collector. At first, he did not realize its rarity. Somewhat deteriorated, the film was still in viewable condition, but Dettlaff still had a 35mm preservation copy made in the Seventies. Much later, he authorized a DVD release of 1,000 numbered copies. Decades later, in recognition of Mary Shelly's bicentennial, the Library of Congress completed a restoration of the film, having purchased the Dettlaff collection in 2014. This restoration was made available for streaming and downloading in late 2018. Now, it is all over YouTube like a rash. Tasty.

You can watch the Library of Congress restoration here:

At the 45 second mark, we are told via title card that Frankenstein leaves for medical school, then “Two years later Frankenstein has discovered the mystery of life,” to which some anonymous wag in the comments section exclaimed, “That must be SOME SCHOOL.”

I am still impressed by the creation scene (2:30 – 5:15) in which primitive special effects are brought to bear on a sequence that would become a highlight or a disappointment in every other version ever made. Here, director J. Searle Dawley chose to build an articulated doll of the monster, set it ablaze, then reverse the film. Thus, the creature starts as an unrecognizable mass, then gets slowly built up in form and features, its wildly swinging “muppet arms” creating the illusion of life. I would love to have seen this in 1910... and seen the original audience’s reaction.

I’m also impressed by an early scene (5:30) in which Frankenstein is overcome with guilt over his creation. He faints on his bed, and his creature appears from behind some curtains right above him. The visualization of the scene seems to copy Henry Fuseli’s famous painting “The Nightmare,” or am I just seeing things and getting all pretentious again?

But it is the image of the monster... Charles Ogle as Dr. Frankenstein’s creation... that still fascinates. Who dreamed up this makeup and costume? Ogle himself? Theatrical tradition at that time assumed that most stage actors did their own makeup. You will admit the monster would never look like that again. Ogle’s monster is weird and memorable, but bears no relationship whatsoever to the monster described in Mary Shelly’s novel.

Yes, this film is very old-fashioned and quaint. I'll give you three compelling reasons you should watch it:

1. It was FIRST. These filmmakers had nothing else to guide them, or to get in their way. Film was completely unchartered territory, a new medium with amazing potential and possibility. Dawley and his crew were running on pure inspiration, and that's fascinating. In the words of film critic Kim Newman, “Of course, the first version of anything is by default influential and important; a hundred and [fifteen] years on, this is fascinating because it’s a Frankenstein.

2. Like many films of this era (ERA), the 1910 Frankenstein sets itself an impossible task: adapting a some 200-page novel into a 15-minute film. (In the years that followed, Dawley helmed similar, digest-sized adaptations of The House of the Seven Gables, A Christmas Carol, Aida, The Corsican Brothers, and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Given this challenge, the filmmakers here do a pretty good job. It contains not only the major incidents, but the "gist" of the book: even the best intentions can be waylaid by ego and playing God has consequences. Minor quibble: I would have loved to have seen how Dawley et al would have summarized the novel's polar climax in 30 seconds or less.

3. We are looking at a film that owes more to stage conventions than to film conventions... because film conventions had NOT YET BEEN INVENTED. With the exception of the creation scene, there is nothing in this film that can't be done on stage. I find these glimpses into turn-of-the-century stage convention fascinating. It gives us all a chance to sit in a theater in 1910 and see what live drama may have looked like; it also serves to remind us how far modern film has come.

4. BONUS REASON: It's about 12 minutes long. You have 12 minutes to edumacate yourself on film history, don't you? Otherwise... why are you here?

Pretty good for a kid from Michigan: the electric light, the phonograph, moving pictures, and a cool monster to boot. Not too shabby, Thomas, not too shabby.

Songs I Love From Movies

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Adam Riske

Some great tracks to turn up loud on your summer road trip.

Song: “Give U My Heart”
From: Boomerang
Artist: Toni Braxton & Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds

There are other standout songs from the Boomerang soundtrack (like the ones by P.M. Dawn and Boyz II Men) but this one rules and doesn’t get brought up nearly enough. Kind of like most Babyface songs. That guy’s a genius. I’m mixed on Toni Braxton, but that’s beside the point. I like that her hair in the music video is the same as Halle Berry in Boomerang. That’s good symmetry. It’s a little funny to be reminded of 1992 when we were like “I dunno…Robin Givens…maybe over Halle Berry??” and now it’s like a complete no-brainer in the other direction. No disrespect to Robin Givens, but she wasn’t Jinx. Ok, some disrespect. The Die Another Day opening credits should’ve been Bond and Jinx singing “Give U My Heart” is what I’m saying. BTW…Boomerang is a rock-solid romantic comedy. #MAAAAAARRRRRCCCUSSSSS

Song: “Runway”
From: The Devil Wears Prada 2
Artist: Lady Gaga & Doechii

This song is a jam and a lot more fun than the overly plot-heavy The Devil Wears Prada 2 (which is fine but nowhere near as good as the first one). I like this song because it feels like you walked into a Sephora and are a little out of your depth but entirely turned on and don’t want to leave the store because you know everyone in there has the upper hand. That makes sense in my head, and this song encapsulates that feeling completely. If I saw the video for this cold and didn’t know it was a single on the DWP2 soundtrack and I had to guess which soundtrack it was on I would have guessed I Love Boosters. It has a real Boots Riley vibe.

Song: “9 Teen 90 Nine”
From: The Fast and the Furious
Artist: Limp Bizkit

I appreciate when YouTube members make slideshows to go along with songs. This tune wasn’t on the soundtrack for the original The Fast and the Furious (2001) but it was in the trailer, and I remember it making me more amped than shot-gunning a Mountain Dew. I never traded in my Limp Bizkit fan card. Their songs rock. I wouldn’t ever go to one of their concerts though, because I’m a square and would be intimidated by every person there wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and/or backwards baseball cap. P.S. Whatever the hell is going on starting at the 4:22 mark almost singlehandedly ruins the song.

Song: “Gimme Some Lovin’”
From: Mr. Destiny
Artist: The Spencer Davis Group

It might be hacky to love this song now since it’s been in so many movies over the years, but the first 30 seconds of this track are undeniable. Like if I were a Universal Soldier, I would want those 30 seconds to play so I know it’s time to stop charging and get to work. I love that this is in Mr. Destiny because it’s the Jim Belushi-est of songs hitting that sweet spot between hand-me-down Blues Brothers and drinking three too many Old Styles.

Song: “Walls”
From: She’s the One
Artist: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Not only is this a GREAT song but Edward Burns (cab driver, carnival barker), Mike McGlone (tending a horse?), Jennifer Aniston and Maxine Bahns (cultural appropriation!) make appearances in the music video! I like how this music video (directed by Phil Joanou) looks so much better (Set design! Technique!) than anything my guy Eddie Burns has ever done. Do you think going to a circus with him would just be like “Look at these assholes. Wanna have sex? Let me get some of that elephant’s peanuts.”

Song: “For You I Will”
From: Space Jam
Artist: Monica

This one gets me right in the feels. I’m a little embarrassed to be so moved by it because it was written by Diane Warren, who’s that woman who tries to win an Oscar every year but never does. Anyways, she should’ve won one for this song. Academy Award Winner Space Jam has a nice ring to it. BTW…have you watched Space Jam lately? Not bad. Better than some sporting events, tbh. Also, try watching the entire end credits and not wanting to immediately listen to the soundtrack (R. Kelly song aside and all). It has everything. I like Monica. Whatever happened to her? I’d take her to see Space Jam. Maybe even Space Jam: A New Legacy. For her I will. OH! Now I get the song!

Song: “There But for the Grace of God Go I”
From: Summer of Sam
Artist: Machine

This is a disco song (a genre I love) I completely forgot about but then remembered because I heard it on the Studio 54 Sirius XM channel on my way home from a White Sox game during a thunderstorm. It made the commute not that bad. I vaguely remembered hearing it originally in a club scene during Summer of Sam but needed to go home and confirm it. Yes, indeed, this is the song I was thinking about. You owe it to yourself to watch Summer of Sam if you haven’t seen it already, especially if you’re a Spike Lee guy/girl. It’s one of his best and super underrated, imho. I love this song so much. It has so much thump!

Song: “Be Thankful for What You Got”
From: The Taking of Beverly Hills
Artist: Peter Blakeley

If you haven’t seen The Taking of Beverly Hills you really owe it to yourself to do so. It has everything – a quarterback action hero (played by Ken Wahl), Harley Jane Kozak in a football jersey, and a wildly overqualified soundtrack including Faith No More and Janet Jackson. The song I remember the most, though, is this one which plays over the opening credits. I remember it because I’m pretty sure the entire 5:05 minute song plays over those credits. They’re so long! You see like every square inch of Beverly Hills before the Directed by Sidney J. Furie credit. I love doctor’s office waiting room adult contemporary jazz (?) like this. If you do too, go straight from this to the Stanley Clarke tracks on the Passenger 57 soundtrack but make sure you have Zima nearby.

Weekend Open Thread

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Reviews: MOANA (2026) & NIGHT NURSE

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

You’re getting two because I refuse to devote a whole column to live-action Moana.

Moana (Dir. Thomas Kail)

You know what I love about animation? I mean really good, textured, vibrant animation? I love the creativity of it all. I love the way talented artists imagine a world — or worlds, sometimes — beyond our own. They’re wondrous and strange worlds that are also uncannily familiar. The characters that populate those worlds are familiar, too. They’re comforting! Hell, for many of us, animated characters helped us navigate our earliest emotions. They were our introductions to literary archetypes. They were our first friends and teachers. Think about Woody and Buzz or Sully and Mike. Think about Snow White. Or Totoro! The Iron Giant! Jack Skellington! Each has the requisite humanity for us to see ourselves reflected in them, but then they also have that extra bit of, well, animation that lets us imagine ourselves as so much more. I don’t know how to create anything that special. I’m no artist. I’m no designer. But I love seeing what these geniuses are capable of — and what they can teach me about myself — when they’re given the room to dream.

Meanwhile, do you know what the people at the Walt Disney Corporation love? Money! Right? That’s the only feasible explanation for Moana (2026), the next in an endless parade of live-action remakes that have started to feel like an elaborate test of our collective intelligence (or lack thereof): Are global cinema audiences stupid enough to pay for the same product twice? They are? Excellent! What if it was half as good as the first product? What if it was half as textured and vibrant? What if it was flat and dull, lifeless and uninspired? Would anyone be able to tell, and — perhaps more insidiously — would anyone actually care? That’s it, isn’t it? Judging by the billions and billions and billions of dollars these remakes have generated since they began in earnest roughly a decade ago, I think we have our answer: No one gives a shit. We are dumb enough to pay not just for the same thing twice — Disney has always re-released their classic titles, and there’s at least an understandable nostalgia factor there — but something tangibly, objectively worse.

That revelation — that Disney, like Netflix, Amazon, and the United States of America, is both more expensive and less valuable than it used to be — is far more powerful than any insight I could share about Moana (2026). If you insist on an actual review, here it is: It’s Moana but worse. It’s Moana but shot against a shitty green screen. It’s Moana without the color, texture, or depth. It’s Moana without the clever direction or comic timing. It’s Moana with songs half-heartedly performed by less talented singers. It’s Moana starring a Dwayne Johnson who — fresh off the first of what will likely be many bungled Oscar campaigns — looks openly exhausted and disengaged. It’s a Moana that can’t even muster the condescending smirk of Aladdin (2024) or the catastrophic self-importance of The Lion King (2019). It’s a Moana made by people who think they don’t actually have to earn your money anymore. It’s a Moana that believes you’re a fucking idiot. But I’m here to tell you something: You’re not a fucking idiot. I don’t care what Disney believes. I believe in you.

Moana hits U.S. theaters on Friday, July 10th. You work too hard to waste your time on it.

Night Nurse (Dir. Georgia Bernstein)
Look, I’m not here to kink shame anyone (at least not until I get paid for it). I think the world is a rainbow and we’re all god’s children and hey, whatever goes down between consenting adults is none of my business (at least not until I get paid for it). But even I have to admit feeling a little bit of trepidation during the opening of Night Nurse: The camera traces the length of a telephone cord wrapped around the body of a young woman as she role plays a granddaughter under duress. “Help me, Grandpa,” she says — no, moans — as an approving male voice eggs her on. “I don’t have much time to talk. I’m in a lot of trouble. I hurt people. They say I’m going to jail, and I need a lot of money.” Someone’s getting scammed, here — and at least two people are getting off — but it’s unclear exactly who, where, and, frankly, why. Now again, that’s none of my business (at least not until I get paid for it), but it did catch my attention long enough to keep watching Night Nurse, a steamy black comedy from longtime indie producer Georgia Bernstein, making her feature debut.

As it turns out, the voice on the phone is Eleni (Cemre Paksoy), an unassuming young woman who’s just taken a nursing position at a retirement community. It’s a swanky one with personalized care, and Eleni’s been assigned to Douglas (Bruce McKenzie), a dementia patient with a history of sexual misadventure. If you’re wondering why Dr. Mann (Mimi Rodgers) would willingly put young women like Eleni and day nurse Mona (Elenore Hendricks) in a sex pervert’s orbit, well, that might just all be part of the plan. Douglas is a con artist, you see, and his Svengali bit is apparently so intoxicating that women young and old are lining up to subjugate themselves to his whims. It’s not long before Eleni and Mona are cruising the community in Douglas’ convertible, hunting for the target of their next call. But what happens when Douglas starts to tire of Eleni’s devotion? What happens when his eye starts to wander? To what lengths will Eleni go to demonstrate her undying enthusiasm — an enthusiasm that feels like it’s starting to border on obsession — for Douglas’ care?

Night Nurse isn’t funny enough to be an out-and-out comedy, nor is it thorny or complex enough to really qualify as a thriller. It rides a lane somewhere in a campier middle, with an offbeat, enigmatic tone that mixes Secretary and Fatal Attraction with a dash of The Piano Teacher and Crash. It might never approach the perverse elegance or uncompromising bravery of The Handmaiden, Titane, or Blue Velvet — you know, the boss-level sicko shit — but Bernstein nevertheless demonstrates a strong eye for composition and an essential trust in her audience’s intelligence. Debuts tend to be overconfident, “kitchen sink” affairs in which first-timers trip over their own feet in a rush to prove themselves as budding masters or idiosyncratic revolutionaries, but Night Nurse is an excellent case of addition by subtraction. Bernstein’s refusal to illuminate each of the story’s nooks and crannies is a feature, not a bug, and while it might keep the film firmly in the genre’s B-tier, that restraint will actually earn the writer/director a bit more trust from us on her next feature effort.

Night Nurse is in limited theatrical release on Friday, July 10th.

2K Replay: The Break-Up

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 9 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Favorite On-Screen Match-Up” (Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn) at the People’s Choice Awards. They lost to Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

• Best Scene/Moment: Any scene with Jon Favreau (who’s really funny in this) and Vince Vaughn.

• Best Song: “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette.

• Best Merch: A “3 Brothers Bus Tours Dickies Jacket…” for $65.00. Omg. This is a production crew jacket from the making of the movie with cartoon caricatures of Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Cole Hauser for their fictional tour guide business. I almost wanted to retire this category and then I saw this and I know now I can never do that or I’d miss finding merch like this, which is G-D tier.

• Director Grade: The Break-Up was directed by Peyton Reed.
Great Movies: N/A
Good Movies: Bring It On, The Break-Up, Yes Man
OK Movies: Down with Love, Ant-Man and the Wasp
Bad Movies: Ant-Man
Unseen By Me: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Overall Grade: B-

• Double It with This 2006 Movie: Stranger Than Fiction

• Year 2006 Movies to Trailer Before Them: Friends with Money, The Holiday, The Lake House

• Ella McCay or The Break-Up? The Break-Up
• Mall Movie? No. This would play the fancy theater in town because Jennifer Aniston isn’t mall enough and “the town” would take Vince Vaughn more seriously now because Wedding Crashers made so much money and people who play golf also liked it and not just frat bros.

• Only in 2006: Being a part owner of a Chicago tour guide company being treated like a game-changing business venture.

• Scene Stealer (tie): Jon Favreau and Vincent D’Onofrio, who’s doing a thing in this movie and it’s fascinating.

• I Miss: Being able to like Vince Vaughn without feeling slightly dirty about it.

• I Don’t Miss: Vince Vaughn’s Julius Caesar haircut which is so bad that I’m surprised it was allowed in a studio film.

• 2006 Crush: Jennifer Aniston.

• 2026 Crush: Joey Lauren Adams.

• What I Thought in 2006: I remember thinking The Break-Up was a good drama that was mistakenly marketed as a comedy, which was the main reason I was mixed on it at the time.

• What I Think in 2026: The Break-Up is a movie that’s really grown on me over the years, and I really like it now. I was wrong thinking it wasn’t enough of a comedy (there are a lot of moments that go for jokes) but I still think it’s a really good relationship drama at times that takes the situation seriously and doesn’t cop out at the end. The two leads are very good in this.

FTM 828: A GOOFY MOVIE

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 8 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

For goofy guys like Patrick, Adam, and Rob, this is just a movie.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: L'Avventura (1960), Normal (2025), Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Dante's Peak (1997), Rope (1948), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Furious 7 (2015), Finnegan's Foursome (2026), Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026), The Invite (2026)

Johnny Showtime: Coming Attractions

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 7 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by JB

Weird scenes inside the goldmine... of physical media... over the next few months...

For collectors of movies on disc, the immediate future offers some odd treasures. You can have your Fear City, your Elephant Man 4K, and your Rocky Horror documentary Strange Journey (all out today); your Hud, your Michael, your Crying Game, your Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and your Obsession (all out July 14); your Pleasantville 4K, your Falling Down 4K, and your Money from Home 3D (all out July 21); your Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, your Soylent Green 4K, your Explorers 4K, and your Pillow Talk 4K (all out July 28). I will be buying the following... more “specialized” releases.

Because I am a strange person.

July 28: Voices of Desire
This looks interesting, esoteric, and obscure. All these boutique video companies, knowing my weakness for Blu-ray shopping in the wee small hours of the morning when I cannot sleep, send me endless invitations to taste their wares. The latest, received a week and a half ago, is from Something Weird Video and AGFA, the American Genre Film Archive. It reads,

“Before starring in Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left, Sandra Peabody shined in Voices of Desire (1972, Color) [....] Filmed in and around Manhattan, the story follows Peabody as she attempts to escape the hauntings of a ghoulish sex cult. Voices of Desire is an undiscovered gem from the Something Weird vaults, and a sublime convergence of arthouse style and grindhouse thrills. Plus, the hallucinations continue with Fly Now, Pay Later (1969, B&W) — a drugged-out blast of sex-horror delirium that was made by gutter dwellers in New York's Greenwich Village, featuring super groupie and Andy Warhol starlet Geri Miller."

I don’t know. They had me at “ghoulish sex cult.” This new disc features a commentary track, booklet essay, and “scintillating short subjects.”

August 11: Mars Attacks! 4K

One of my favorite Tim Burton films finally comes to (non-steelbook) 4K disc. I don’t know about you, but I could watch two full hours of just those honking alien sons of bitches assuring earthlings they have nothing to fear... followed by said earthlings being vaporized by the aliens’ ray guns. Honk! Honk!

It turns out Burton decided to direct Mars Attacks! only after a project called Go Baby Go fell through. Go Baby Go was to be a beach party film as if directed by Russ Meyer with a screenplay by Jonathan Gems. The film was about three go-go dancers who, after being exposed to toxic chemicals, become 50 feet tall and destroy several beaches in Southern California. Burton and Gems left the project after they learned HBO was remaking Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Burton went on to direct Mars Attacks!, which was written by Gems.

August 25: Teenage Riot Video Party
This disc looks especially tasty: four juvenile delinquent pictures from the Something Weird archives (Lost, Lonely, and Vicious; Jacktown; The Flaming Teen-Age; and The Narcotic Story) combined with a collection of “riotous trailers and drive-in snipes.”
“This time, we’re racing for pinks!”

September 8: Hell’s Highway
Just when Teenage Riot Video Party gets you all revved up to go drag racing out past the city limits, here is a collection of 1950s Driver’s Ed “scare films” to bring you down to earth. Interestingly, sociologists and psychologists would theorize decades later that these gruesome classroom films have little to no effect on young drivers, because ALL TEENAGERS THINK THEY ARE IMMORTAL. Buckle up and take a look at the trailer:

September 23: Drive-In Delirium: A New Beginning
Umbrella Entertainment revives its trailer compilation series with 304 mind-blowing, uncensored, and uncut trailers spread across two discs in a Collector's Edition featuring new art cards; a 48-page book with behind-the-scenes material and an extended essay by Guy Davis; archival interviews with trailer editors Steve Carver, Alan Arkush, and Joe Dante; and extensive poster galleries. NOTE: There is also a “non-special edition” available at a lower price without all of the paper ephemera.

September 29: Forbidden Planet 4K

The Daddy of modern science-fiction films finally comes to (non-steelbook) 4K disc.

I confess that I cannot wait to see this old chestnut in 4K; I’m hoping that the transfer was done with as much love and care as the recent War of the Worlds 4K disc. Earthlings can hope.

The included standard Blu-ray features a bevy of special features, some of them brand-new: “Unearthly Aura,” a newly filmed appreciation of Bebe and Louis Barron's pioneering electronic score by historian and composer Neil Brand; “Watch the Skies: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us,” an archival documentary about the film; “Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet,” another archival documentary; “Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon,” an archival featurette; deleted scenes; lost footage; The Invisible Boy, a bonus feature-length movie featuring Robby the Robot; and "Robot Client," an episode of The Thin Man TV series also featuring Robby the Robot.

24 Hours of Movies: Pop Stars on Film!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 6 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley

You know their music, now see them on screen!

10 am - House Party (1990, dir. Reginald Hudlin)

A recent rewatch of this '90s classic is what inspired this whole marathon, because it reminded me that Kid 'n Play were really good on screen. While there are moments and lines of dialogue that feel outdated in 2026, the movie is pure joy -- music and dance and comedy, with appealing performances by the two leads as well as Tisha Campbell, A.J. Johnson, Robin Cook (RIP), and a funny (and young) Martin Lawrence. I'm so glad this got the Criterion treatment because it will no doubt help improve its reputation as more than just the Kid 'n Play movie and places it among the ranks of important Black cinema.

Noon - Girl Happy (1965, dir. Boris Sagal)

One of my favorite Elvis movies that rarely gets talked about, Girl Happy casts The King as a nightclub singer who has to travel down to Florida and keep an eye on his boss's daughter (Shelley Fabares) during Spring Break. Even by the standards of an Elvis movie, this is a silly, horny movie, but that's what I find so charming about it. The songs are fun, too. It's basically an Elvis Beach Party movie, so no wonder I love it.

1:45 pm - Moonstruck (1987, dir. Norman Jewison)

Cher won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of an Italian American woman engaged to be married to a Baxter (Danny Aiello) but who falls in love with his intensely passionate brother (Nicolas Cage). This is a rare romantic comedy that manages to be both funny and romantic thanks to John Patrick Shanley's terrific script and fantastic performances all around. Cage steals every moment in which he appears, but then I'm probably inclined to think that. Miss you, Margo.

3:30 pm - Dune (1984, dir. David Lynch)

Sting made a rare big screen appearance as Feyd Rautha, nephew of the evil Baron Harkonnen, in David Lynch's ambitious and messy adaptation of Dune. It was an interesting bit of casting that undoubtedly got some people out to the theater to be totally confounded by what they were watching the frontman of The Police appearing in, but it's just one of the many aspects of this Dune that make it special. Sting doesn't have to do much but be wild and menacing, at which he acquits himself just fine. His casting lends the role a larger-than-life quality that suits it well. I'm happy that Lynch's Dune can still exist alongside the Denis Villeneuve movies; I'll watch either of them depending on my mood.

6 pm - Tougher Than Leather (1988, dir. Rick Rubin)

The Run DMC movie! This one, directed by superstar music producer Rick Rubin (who also co-stars as the Big Bad), keeps the spirit of 1970s Blaxploitation alive with a story about the rappers reuniting after DMC is released from prison and trying to get their musical careers up and running again while trying to solve the murder of their friend. It's crudely made and unevenly acted (Rubin is kind of bad) but effective as a street-level crime movie. Slick Rick, Flavor Flav, and The Beastie Boys also appear as themselves. It's been trapped on VHS since the '80s, never receiving a DVD or Blu-ray release. I'm guessing it's a music rights thing, but I also know that some of the parties involved aren't super proud of the project or the way it was received. We'll have to watch it on YouTube.

7:45 pm - Purple Rain (1984, dir. Albert Magnoli)

Primetime Pizza slot goes to what may be the best modern movie musical (if you can call a 40-year old movie "modern"). The first of three Prince movies is also the best, highlighted by music from one of the best albums of the 1980s and an extended concert sequence that allows us to see Prince at the peak of his powers. It didn't exactly turn Prince into a movie star, but it didn't need to. The movie was too busy launching him into the stratosphere.

9:30 pm - Romeo Must Die (2000, dir. Andrzej Bartkowiak)

I'm not the biggest Romeo Must Die guy but it does make me miss Aaliyah, whose music I didn't really know but who proves to be a welcome presence on screen. The film tells the story of two feuding families, with Aaliyah and Jet Li caught in the middle. Maybe they fall in love? That doesn't really become clear, either because it was cut out or because Jet Li couldn't generate the right chemistry as a romantic leading man. I like the idea of transitioning into genre stuff as we get later into our marathon even if I think the movie is just ok. The action is decent and Aaliyah is great.

11:30 pm - Studio 666 (2022, dir. B.J. McDonnell)

As we enter the overnight section of our marathon, I want to spotlight this funny and surprisingly gory Foo Fighters joint in which the band plays themselves and recording their new album in a cursed house. Shot in secret and released just as we came out of COVID, the movie felt and feels like a curiosity -- a one-off goof by a rock band who wanted to make a horror movie. The actors are all fun -- even the band does a good job -- and the effects are cool, even if it all doesn't amount to much. At least we get to hang out with Taylor Hawkins one last time.

1:30 am - Videodrome (1983, dir. David Cronenberg)

I know Debbie Harry is known for being an actor as much as a rock star these days, but back when Videodrome came out in 1983 she was really just the frontwoman for the great Blondie. I love that she chose this to be one of her first screen appearances because it's one of the most messed up and punk things she could have done. I know that this isn't Cronenberg's best movie, but it remains my favorite of all his work. I love the idea of watching it in the middle of the night.

3 am - The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976, dir. Nicolas Roeg)

Confession: I have never seen this movie. Maybe 3 am isn't the best time to experience it for the first time. Maybe it's the perfect time to experience it. Judging by what I know about Nicholas Roeg -- who just might be one of my guys based on my reactions to all of his movies I've seen -- I'm guessing it's the latter.

5:30 am - The Allnighter (1987, dir. Tamar Hoffs)

This is one of the weirdest pop star vanity projects ever made. It was an attempt to make The Bangles' frontwoman Susanna Hoffs a movie star, but it often feels exploitative in a gross way. Even the poster feels exploitative. What makes that weird is that the movie was directed by Hoffs' mother Tamar. Anyway, it's a fine Beach Party update for the 1980s, with Hoffs supported by Joan Cusack, Dedee Pfeiffer, and Deathstalker II's John Terlesky. It's exactly the kind of mindless, breezy entertainment we need at this point in our marathon.

7:30 am - Poetic Justice (1993, dir. John Singleton)

John Singleton's follow-up to his massive breakthrough Boyz N the Hood zags just enough to feel interesting and more sensitive when it could have just been repetitive. Janet Jackson returns to acting for the first time post-pop superstardom and plays a poet taking a road trip with her friends, finding romance with a very good Tupac Shakur along the way. You get two musicians acting in this one! There's messiness in the movie -- some of it because of the time in which it was made, some of it because John Singleton was all of 25 -- but a lot of good here, too. I've been wanting to revisit this ever since Criterion put it out. Now's our chance.

9:30 am - Freejack (1992, dir. Geoff Murphy)

Truth be told, I wanted to program Performance into this marathon because I saw it for the first time a few months back and was totally knocked out by it. Unfortunately, I didn't feel right about having two Nicholas Roeg movies and needed the excuse to finally see The Man Who Fell to Earth so Performance hit the bin. Instead, we'll end our marathon with this goofy 1990s sci-fi actioner in which Emilio Estevez is hijacked into the future so that Anthony Hopkins can take over his body. For some reason, Mick Jagger plays a bounty hunter chasing after Estevez. He didn't act in very many movies so I'm not sure how Freejack made the cut, but his presence makes the movie 50% cooler than it otherwise might have been.

Let's play some records.

Weekend Open Thread

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 4 Jul 2026 02:00:00 -0500