Supernatural, Season 4, episode 5 “Monster Movie” (2008; d. Robert Singer)
A movie-mad feast. Plus, my favorite one-night-stand-girl. (Piper is a close tie.)
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 6 “Yellow Fever” (2008; d. Philip Sgriccia)
An example of what the show does best, when everyone is operating at the highest levels: it’s hilarious, the conception is great and filled with possibilities (all explored), it gives both lead actors a lot to chew on … AND it manages to STILL operate at a depth-ful level, with a truly upsetting final exchange. My only criticism is in the cross-cut editing of the “Ka-Boom” sequence. It’s pushed a little bit. But other than that, perfect.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 7 “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” (2008; d. Charles Beeson)
Member when Sam and Dean were hesitant to kill witches?
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 8 “Wishful Thinking” (2008; d. Robert Singer)
An all-time favorite. It never gets old. So hilarious and yet with that deep Season 4 undercurrent of Dean’s trauma and his growing inability to hide it. Such great stuff. Plus …
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 9 “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (2008; d. Charles Beeson)
Maybe the butch-est this show has ever been.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 10 “Heaven and Hell” (2008; d. J. Miller Tobin)
I love Anna. This is not an easy role. Some of her dialogue … (“same bottom line”) … Oy. She does a phenomenal job.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 14 “Sex and Violence” (2009; d. Charles Beeson)
This is some seriously deep fucked-up shit and I love it so much.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 15 “Death Takes a Holiday” (2009; d. Steve Boyum)
Oh, Pamela, NO.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 16 “On the Head of a Pin” (2009; d. Mike Rohl)
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, this episode fills me with dread. And yet I am able to maintain enough distance to be blown away – again and again – by the trust these two actors have in one another in order to create what they created. It’s one of the most intimate scenes in the show’s entire history.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 17 “It’s a Terrible Life” (2009; d. James L. Conway)
“You should see my decolletage.” “Ew. No thank you.” LOL.
Gauguin: Voyage de Tahiti (2018; d. Edouard Deluc)
The girl he “married” in Tahiti was 13 years old. Making her older is super sketchy. Did you think we wouldn’t notice? My review at Ebert.
A Very English Scandal Episode 1 (2018; d. Stephen Frears)
Hugh Grant is killing it this year (although he’s always killed it. But he’s really moving into a super interesting phase in his career, now that he’s older.) I’ve only watched the first episode but it’s really good and he’s doing some extremely specific character work which isn’t just skin-deep. He’s so good.
The Staircase, episodes 1 and 2 (2004; d. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade)
I’ve seen this before, recently re-watched with a friend of mine. It unfolds slowly, different layers and aspects revealed as we go. There’s something “off” about this guy. Doesn’t mean he murdered his wife (although I think he did) … but he’s a fascinating guy to watch.
Written on the Wind (1956; d. Douglas Sirk)
The hottest of hothouse Freudian melodramas.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 18 “The Monster at the End of This Book” (2009; d. Mike Rohl)
I’m not the biggest Castiel fan in the world but every time I watch this episode I am thrilled by Castiel’s moment of break-away, when he aligns himself with Dean, filled with fear, but also adrenaline, because he knows what he is doing is right. It’s major.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 19 “Jump the Shark” (2009; d. Philip Sgriccia)
Dean is so REVVED UP this episode, barely in control, dealing with so much trauma he’s spinning out into space.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 20 “The Rapture” (2009; d. Charles Beeson)
This is a very painful episode. Misha Collins kills it. When he can’t pray at the dinner table? I can’t take it.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 21 “When the Levee Breaks” (2009; d. Robert Singer)
So good! I love how Mary shows up and VALIDATES Sam. Such an interesting and complex choice. I have to ignore what has been done to Mary since her return to enjoy these former appearances.
Eighth Grade (2018; d. Bo Burnham)
This is SUCH a good movie. Please see it. My review at Ebert.
The Tarnished Angels (1957; d. Douglas Sirk)
A terrific film. Same cast basically as Written on the Wind (sans Lauren Bacall). Rock Hudson, Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone.
Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957; d. Richard Thorpe)
A good, if all-over-the-place movie, about a former pilot suffering from PTSD, estranged from his wife, who gets embroiled in a criminal racket in Madrid, because of course.
The Fast and the Furious (1955; d. John Ireland)
Produced by Roger Corman. Probably shot over a long weekend. It’s a lot of fun. Lots of cool race cars too. All of these Dorothy Malone movies were re-watches in preparation for my most recent essay on Film Comment, where I paid tribute to her spiky complex persona.
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 22 “Lucifer Rising” (2009; d. Eric Kripke)
Another truly thrilling Castiel moment.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 1 “Sympathy for the Devil” (2009; d. Robert Singer)
Continuing into the next season on very strong legs.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 2 “Good God, Y’All” (2009; d. Philip Sgriccia)
So good to see Ellen and Jo and Rufus again AND so good to live in the world of super competence, which they all show. They’re at odds, due to the effect of War (I love the 4 Horsemen SO. MUCH.) … but everyone is working at a high level, thinking, reacting, acting. And this location … they must have flagged this early on as a perfect spot, waiting for the right time to use it. Stunning. They’re DWARFED by their surroundings, a perfect spot for a “break up.” (This is what recent seasons have not had: some kind of ongoing conflict BETWEEN the brothers. It’s such a rich subject.)
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 3 “Free to Be You and Me” (2009; d. J. Miller Tobin)
I do like the Castiel-Dean dynamic – Castiel brings out funny things in Dean. I don’t like the “Bert and Ernie are gay” line. I could probably write an essay about why, but I’ll just leave it at that. I like the connective fabric between Cas/Dean and Sam/whats-her-name at the bar. It’s Dean and Sam trying to “date” other people after their break-up. These subtexts are fantastic and bizarre.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 8 “Changing Channels” (2009; d. Charles Beeson)
An all-time favorite. It always works for me. I mean, even the closeup on that poor girl’s camel toe … I could have lived without it, but still it’s like: GUYS, ARE YOU SERIOUS WITH THIS SHIT? And it’s FUNNY in a truly push-the-envelope way.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 9 “The Real Ghostbusters” (2009; d. James L. Conway)
I love the alternate Sam-and-Dean so much. They bring real heart to what could be jokey condescending roles. Both of them are terrific.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 12 “Swap Meat” (2010; d. Robert Singer)
There’s something off here and it took me a while to figure out what it was: I wish they had gone true Big with this, and had Jared actually play the 15-year-old virgin inside him. And then had the kid play a kid with a huge adult man trapped inside HIM. Seeing Dean interact with the kid, and having to suspend our disbelief that Dean is actually seeing his brother … is funny … but not AS funny as seeing Jared Padalecki actually play a 15-year-old kid, like he does in the teaser. The moment we get to see Jared in the mirror, flexing his muscles, is a case in point: it’s so FUNNY seeing Jared admire himself, pretending to be a teenager. MORE, PLEASE.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 13 “The Song Remains the Same” (2010; d. Steve Boyum)
Again, I have to ignore the travesty of what they’ve done to Mary in order to get the impact of these earlier episodes. She is so so good.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 14 “My Bloody Valentine” (2010; d. Mike Rohl)
Funny all around. And a shout out to those two actors who have to devour one another in the teaser. That CANNOT have been easy. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know each other, you come on set, and you have to play that scene. Hats off. Also: the concept of “Famine” here is so so brilliant. What an opportunity to explore what it is every character WANTS. It’s not literal. You get so much more of a payoff when you’re not literal.
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 16 “Dark Side of the Moon” (2010; d. Jeff Woolnough)
Jared’s face when he says this line makes me laugh every time.
Supernatural, Season 11, episode 8 “Just My Imagination” (2015; d. Richard Speight Jr.)
This could have been so dumb. That it’s not is a huge tribute to Speight. It’s hilarious, it’s touching, and it somehow manages to make all these “imaginary friends” – played by adults – not creepy at all. But sweet. PERFECT casting of ALL of them. Nate Torrence is quite brilliant. And Anja Savcic! My God, she’s good: she makes me cry every time. “I’m just still SO. MAD.” (sob)
Supernatural, Season 11, episode 11 “Into the Mystic” (2016; d. John Badham)
Very painful to watch. I’m pissed.
Supernatural, Season 11, episode 12 “Don’t You Forget About Me” (2016; d. Stefan Pleszczynski)
Hahahaha. This “family dinner” is high comedy. I have to watch it repeatedly so I can track each character, there’s so much going on. This episode is marred by one of the longest “here’s why I done what I done” monologue by a monster, but there’s lots here that’s great. I was not a “Wayward Sisters” person (I’m sorry!!) and I hope it doesn’t impact Jodie’s casual entry into the action, as well as Claire and Donna. Hopefully the next time we see Claire, she’s not as caked with makeup as she was in “Wayward Sisters.” I guess … that’s the look now for young women? Nice, Supernatural, nice. Applying pounds of foundation to fight monsters. Yup. I look back on Jo, yearningly.
Supernatural, Season 9, episode 13 “The Purge” (2014; d. Philip Sgriccia)
This whole Dean-Sam arc is one of my favorites in the whole series (they really draw it out, they let it be unresolved, oh my God I’m in heaven with unresolved issues), and the final shot of Dean in this episode is one of my favorite closeups of him. He is so lost. What’s so great about Ackles is he tracks the low-level depression Dean is managing at all times. His voice even changes. His “light” is under a bushel. His eyes are flattened out. Ackles is so good.
Morocco (1930; d. Josef von Sternberg)
I have been having fun with the new Criterion box-set of the movies Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg made in Hollywood. First up? Morocco. With that incredible final shot. 1930!! And, of course, Marlene in a tux kissing a woman on the lips.
Semi-Tough (1977; d. Michael Ritchie)
This movie would not get made today. Not because it’s offensive, or anything like that. But because this mid-level type movie, not really “about” anything, not swinging for the fences, just a light entertainment starring big honking movie stars, just aren’t financed anymore, and we are all the poorer for it. I love this movie, and yeah, there are some moments that wouldn’t fly today but whatevs, it was 1977. So here we have three gigantic stars – Jill Clayburgh, Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson – in a movie that appears to be about professional football but really isn’t at all: it’s one long spoof on self-help culture like Est and Rolfing and all the rest. It’s funny, it’s charming, Clayburgh and Reynolds are great together, what’s not to like?
Dishonored (1931; d. Josef von Sternberg)
So good. She’s difficult to talk about. You really just have to experience her. What she is doing is not what other people do. It’s … her own thing. Or von Sternberg’s thing, as performed by his perfect muse. Whatever it is, you can’t look away.
Paddington 2 (2018; dir. Paul King)
As of now, along with First Reformed and You Were Never Really Here, this is in my Top 10.
The Greatest Showman (2017; d. Michael Gracey)
Watched this with my nieces and nephews. Pearl knows all the lyrics. They all do. I was one of the only critics who loved this damn thing (my review here) and it holds up. It’s not meant to be a dark expose about exploitation. It’s meant to be a feel-good story about a makeshift family of people rejected by society. And it succeeds. Plus: they cast two leads – Jackman and Efron – who can actually dance. No La La Land grading-on-a-curve necessary.
Cocote (2018; d. Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias)
My review will go up this week.
Shutter Island (2015; d. Martin Scorsese)
I haven’t seen this since it came out. It is currently streaming on Amazon. Leo is so so so SO good. At this rate, he may become one of the most underrated of all time. Yes, he’s a huge movie star. But he’s also taken for granted, and his ability to suspend disbelief is unparalleled. Watch him in this. And remember they filmed out of sequence. When you remember that and when you watch his gradual deterioration over the film … bow down in awe at his gift.
Shampoo (1975; d. Hal Ashby)
This is such a good film. Like Semi-Tough, it wouldn’t be made today. It’s a sex farce, sparked with political despair. So 1975 you can feel the malaise licking at everyone’s heels. And yet it’s still beautifully funny. Everyone gets to be human. Pauline Kael described the Warren Beatty character as having a “pagan purity” and that’s just right. Criterion is releasing this and I am so excited.
Private Life (2018; d. Tamara Jenkins)
Review to come eventually.
#1. Don’t apologize for not being a “Wayward Women” fan. I don’t get it either. No offense to the actresses. I would love for all of them to have good rich meaty roles to get involved in, but “Wayward Women” is not it. It is a tepid (at best) offshoot of the SPN universe and simply won’t do, especially who have been watching SPN since the beginning and remember the quality and depth that the show started with. We only see that type of depth sporadically now. The main actors clearly still care and seem to be still having fun but I’m not sure about the show runners and the writers.
#2. I found it gratifying to see that you are going back to the early seasons to enjoy. I’m sure that most of us do the same thing when we need our SPN fix. It sort of like going back to read a classic every once in a while. You just need to immerse yourself in good music, good words and good people to refresh the spirit.
#3. I’ve seen both Semi Tough and Shampoo and love both of them but I would also “$” in that category of films that maybe couldn’t be made today. I think it’s because the 60’s were so tough and so horrible in a lot of ways ( 1968 in particular when we lost both RFK and MLK), that we needed beautiful people (in those days) making movies with decent dialogue but weren’t so goddamned serious. We needed and deserved a break. Given Hollywood’s propensities for sequels, prequels and do-overs, I surprised we haven’t seen endless copies of these movies but I don’t think its possible. Who is the new Warren Beatty? Ryan Reynolds? Burt Reynolds=The Rock? Jill Clayburgh=Amy Adams? Nope.
Carolyn – there’s something disturbing to me about Wayward Sisters and it’s probably a deep enough topic to write something on it … it reveals a trend that may be somewhat refreshing on a certain ideological level … but really does nothing for me in terms of drama or character development. In fact, I find it extremely alienating. Granted, I’m not the target audience. I’ve got too many miles on me – and maybe that’s why watching Sam and Dean has been so gratifying – they have some miles on them too. But there’s something about the new requirement for female characters – the “badass” being the highest praise – which I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before – that I think is extremely deadly, not to mention pandering. Wayward Sisters was pretty benign in that regard and obviously everyone was well-intentioned – but boy, the difference between the presentation of character in WS and the presentation of character in the best of SPN as a whole – could not be more dramatic.
// making movies with decent dialogue but weren’t so goddamned serious. We needed and deserved a break. //
I hadn’t thought of it that way but I think you’re onto something!
Hey, really love the blog, have only read and not commented so far but I felt I needed to to address something here: how can you – or ANYONE – think the guy from The Staircase actually killed his wife? I mean, the show literally showed how he couldn’t have done it. Not trolling, just honestly interested in your opinion on it.
Charlie – oh, I don’t know, because I’m a fully functioning human being who makes up my own mind about things? And human beings come to different conclusions and that’s okay, it’s kind of the gig? No real surprise in that.
Oh – sorry for sounding like an ass.
Yes, yes, yes to all the Supernatural rewatching! I also love Anna and young Mary. Interesting to see in the Castiel/Anna storyline how fan love/hate reaction diverted the direction of the series. I am a fan of all the “wayward women” IN the series. It is an interesting choice to balance the maleness of Sam and Dean with an inordinately disproportionate number of female law enforcement from Linda Blair as Det. Ballard to Jody and Sheriff Donna. In my opinion the term “bad ass” is an unflattering masculine descriptor of guys who try to prove they are tough by waving their dicks around. I think SPN has done a good job of showing how the femaleness and even vulnerabilities of these women have contributed to their strengths and ability to do what they do so well. I would not have watched the spin off.
I have watched the first 1 or 2 episodes of “A Very English Scandal”. I know that British actors need to work in Hollywood and vice versa, but there is something thrilling to me to see Hugh Grant in this show that is soooooooo very English! I love the juxtaposition between stiff and proper appearances and unadulterated sex romping and am enthralled by the lengths to which they will go to keep the latter from ruffling the former! It carries with it the essence of the first English novel, Tom Jones. The British are the masters of the period costume drama of which I am a huge fan. This is a much nearer historical period, but they have magically re-created that wacky, weird late 60s/early 70s time. Add on top that this is depicting actual events – irresistable. Hugh Grant is amazing as are Alex Jennings and Ben Whishaw. Have I gushed enough?
Carolyn, You make an interesting point about movies in the 70s. I was a young “tween” who was not allowed to watch Shampoo, but I remember the heaviness of Viet Nam, racial tensions, and assassinations. Movies were an escape, have been in many different eras. I honestly don’t prefer today’s movies which must say something profound or be labeled as lesser. It’s a bit like ‘The Greatest Showman’. Sometimes you just want to enjoy the show!
// I am a fan of all the “wayward women” IN the series. //
Yes, me too!
Season 1 was a Boys’ Club. But in first ep of Season 2, in came the ladies. And they added such a nice texture to the monastic macho world of the guys.
// In my opinion the term “bad ass” is an unflattering masculine descriptor of guys who try to prove they are tough by waving their dicks around. I think SPN has done a good job of showing how the femaleness and even vulnerabilities of these women have contributed to their strengths and ability to do what they do so well. I would not have watched the spin off. //
Cosign 100%! Very well said!
Melanie – so glad to hear your thoughts on A Very English Scandal! And British-ness and costume dramas! Ben Whishaw is just amazing. You can TELL he’s … if not “bad news” – then definitely someone like Lord Douglas, who was the downfall of Oscar Wilde. A manipulator, a beautiful amoral boy … you look back on what happened to Wilde, and you want to say “Do not let this person into your life.” But of course, love/lust are not rational!
I think what Carolyn is saying, though, in re: the 70s – is not that we want an “escape”. Shampoo is an explicitly political movie – it takes place on the 1968 election eve after all – and yet it’s also speaking of the exhaustion following Watergate and Nixon resigning – so it’s about 1968 but it’s also about 1975 – and so we have the biggest sex symbols of the day making sex farces and comedies – which ALSO comment on the mood of the time (Semi-Tough does too – although it has a way lighter touch than Shampoo. Semi-Tough lampoons self-help, exploding in the 1970s – all of these things which are still with us) – and these “light” comedies were HITS back then. The industry has changed so much that these mid-level movies – about human beings – yet adult about sex and relationships – quite subversive in their own ways – flat out do not exist any more. And you watch those movies and they are trying to SAY something about the era in which they take place. They are surprisingly depth-full, not “escapes” at all. Shampoo certainly isn’t.
And they were hits. Huge hits. Now they would be tiny indie movies lost on Netflix, not starring, say, Tom Cruise or George Clooney or name-your-gigantic-movie-star.
Times have changed. Too much money is involved. Better to just do reboot after reboot, and tilt the entire industry towards 15 year old boys. Not grownups. Even grownsups now need to have their hands held, given an inspiring message, soothed. I find it all extremely alienating.
I still love Paddington 2 though. and Greatest Showman.
But not at the expense of grownup movies. Like 5 Easy Pieces or Shampoo or Reds or Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore or [name almost any 1970s movie].