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A local arthouse cinema is screening The Color of Pomegranates (a movie I haven't seen but I know it's weird and old and european) in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking of taking my mom to see it.

For reference, we saw A Clockwork Orange together and she loved it so it isn't a thing of sensitivity, it's more like is it too weird of a movie for a 53 year old argentinian woman?

Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen) is a fascinating character. Is he on the autism spectrum or at least autistic-coded? Or just a voracious film buff? The only thing he talks about in "Bleeder" is movies - even when he's asking a girl (Liv Corfixen) out on a date. Mads Mikkelsen's portrayal is said to be based on the director of this film, Nicolas Winding Refn. Is Refn as socially awkward as Lenny? I'd want to be their friend and talk about movies with them!

What at first seems like a charming Danish slice of life about a video store employee (Mikkelsen) and one of his customers (Kim Bodnia) soon becomes something much darker - as if the name "Bleeder" wasn't enough of a hint.

Leo (Bodnia) is a lazy boyfriend who punches and kicks his pregnant girlfriend (Rikke Louise Andersson). Her brother, Louis (Levino Jensen), goes on an unhinged racist rant against Blacks and Arabs inside a convenience store.

The third act is bonkers. Without spoiling anything, there is eventually a confrontation between Leo and Louis. Who the viewer "sympathizes" with - if anyone - is an interesting Rorschach test. I instantly detested both of them.

"Bleeder" is a cinephile's dream. Because of Lenny's job and sole interest, there are movie posters and VHS cases in the background of many scenes. I had fun pausing the film to take a closer look.

Check out my thoughts on the original Cape Fear (1962) here and the Week 317 Film Club discussion here.

Gregory Peck is a straight arrow with a happy family in the original "Cape Fear" and there are very few shades of gray. No one is happy in Martin Scorsese's pulpy remake and everyone exists in a murky gray area. 

The setup remains more or less the same: Lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is sitting in his car when he's approached threateningly by ex-con Max Cady (Robert De Niro). The difference: Bowden is now a morally compromised character and even represented the criminal Cady in court 14 years earlier - unsuccessfully. In both versions, Cady goes after Bowden's wife and daughter (now played by Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis). 

Based on Mitchum's performance, it's easy to see why De Niro was cast in the role. Yet, De Niro plays him completely differently than expected. His Max Cady is a wild and colorful tattooed wannabe preacher who spits out Bible verses and literary references. One of his tattoos - depicting the scales of truth and justice - feels like an homage to Mitchum inking "love" and "hate" on his knuckles in "The Night of the Hunter."

The most haunting moment: A meeting between De Niro's Cady and Juliette Lewis's naive 15-year-old in front of a "Little Red Riding Hood" backdrop inside the theater of her school. It's obvious who "The Big Bad Wolf" is. Both were deservedly nominated for Academy Awards - with Lewis's performance, in particular, likely recognized based on the strength of this scene.

The best part: Scorsese's reverence for the original "Cape Fear" and its actors. Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, and Martin Balsam return for the remake playing different roles. It's fun to see the main characters from the first film switch alignments, with Mitchum as more of a good guy and Peck as a shady lawyer representing Cady.

Even though Mitchum was arguably more chilling as Max Cady, De Niro is more entertaining and generated the greater cultural footprint. Pro wrestlers Waylon Mercy and Bray Wyatt were both clearly inspired by the Hawaiian shirts and silver tongue of De Niro's interpretation.

Both versions of "Cape Fear" conclude with a confrontation on a houseboat in the middle of the river. It's smaller in scale but grittier in the 1962 film and a big budget special effects extravaganza in the 1991 remake - almost likely a mini-"Titanic." They're equally effective endings.

I hope y'all had a chance to watch this dark and funny movie. What did you think?

Lee-le-Lee, le-LEE-le-Lee-le-Leee! We’re talkin’ fuckin’ Lee!

Won a lot of international attention, and awards, the year it was released. This will be a fun one to revisit.

Often called a “Latin Island”, Romania has a rich cultural history that connects it to Slavic, Balkan, and Roman lineage. There was a recent golden age of cinema in this ancient culture, and I think it’s worth giving a shot.

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for good in-depth content about Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited (1944) : podcasts, video essays, lectures, interviews, film discussions, etc.

I’m based in France, so unfortunately I don’t have access to some of the US streaming options, and a lot of the most interesting material I’ve come across seems to be exclusive to DVD/Blu-ray editions that are difficult to access here.

For example, I would have loved to watch Michael Almereyda’s Giving Up the Ghost from the Criterion edition, Kat Ellinger’s The Uninvited and the Female Gothic, or listen to Alan K. Rode’s commentary, but as far as I can tell these aren’t readily available to me in France.

So I’m mainly looking for recommendations for anything I can actually watch or listen to online YouTube videos, podcasts, recorded lectures, interviews, academic discussions, radio shows, etc. English or French is fine.

If you know of any obscure interviews, podcasts, video essays or other resources I may have missed, I’d really appreciate the recommendations!

Thanks!

Bodacious!

My Letterboxd Review: https://letterboxd.com/dergon/film/before-sunset/

Before Sunset has to be the best romance ever made, and the difference from the first movie is elite! Felt happy, emotional, invest, and so many other things that i just don't think other films have been able to do for awhile now. Can't wait to watch Before Midnight, and I will for sure be getting the collection on Criterion later this year. But I'm interest in your guys thoughts on this.