We Are Going to Eat You!

Zombi 2 (1979)
Dir - Lucio Fulci
Midnight Madness

My triumphant return to the Inwood's midnight series for some big screen Fulci. Like I was really going to let that go by without watching.

This is my second time seeing this classic in a theater but my frist of the new restoration. It looks beautiful and there isn't as much obvious make-up/prosthstetic lines as expected - though the underwater zombie does look pretty bad in certain shots.

Of all Fulci's films this is not even close to my favorite but it's still great and deserves all the accolades and attention it gets.

Have You Tried Hare Krishna?

The Muppet Movie (1979)
Dir - James Frawley
Midnight Madness

It had been far too long since I last saw this film, and it's criminal that I don't own the DVD. Fun to see it in 35mm, probably my first time, and luckily the sometimes chatty Inwood crowd was quiet for this one. Well, aside from a handful quietly singing along with the tunes. That I'm alright with. I forgot how funny this movie is and at every turn it just floods my brain with nostalgia and the good times I had watching this throughout my whole life.

T-U-R-T-L-E POWER

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Dir - Steve Barron
Midnight Madness

The first time I saw this was on opening night on a friend's birthday after going and eating pizza. It was such a blast and we were a very happy group of 10-year-olds. Having not seen it in quite a few years, and not in 35mm since 1990, I can say that I still find it a ton of fun! Henson's Creature Workshop does a great job with the costumes and Splinter. Watching this really makes me want to go back and watch the other movies (never saw part 3 or the recent CGI version) and even the original cartoon series, which I watched obsessively at one time. I also need to read the source comic series. I've wanted to for years. Somebody hook a brutha up!

Now, where's that pizza?

"Got to Stop Thinking to Each Other"

Flash Gordon (1980)
Dir - Mike Hodges
Midnight Madness

A-ma-zing! In that uber-cheesy way, of course. The plot is a bit of a mess and absolutely ridiculous in parts, but behind the laughs there are some insane sets and costumes, wonderful color and a few good performances. Love Max Von Sydow in his evil Emperor Ming garb but the show is stolen by a fantastic performance by Brian Blessed as leader of the Hawkmen Prince Vultan. "Savior of the universe!"

Now I just need to see Flesh Gordon (1974)...

You Are Tearing Me Apart

The Room (2003)
Dir - Tommy Wiseau

This movie is bad... but in all the right ways.  I originally saw it at the same theater last year and had a blast. When I heard the man behind it all, writer/producer/director/star Tommy Wiseau, was going to be on hand for a screening I got my tickets as soon as possible.  Getting to the theater two hours early was good enough to put us waaaaaay back in line, but it was nice to be on the balcony to see when Tommy entered to thunderous applause and chanting of his name. Wiseau stayed in the lobby tossing around a football with ravenous fans and signing autographs for a little over an hour before the film and his Q&A.

Highlights of the pre-movie evening
- Tommy entering and being dressed just as I expected (with no less than two belts)
- Football throwing that resulted in someone dropping it on the balcony down into the open roof lounge below, hitting some guy on the back and knocking over a few beers
- Tommy announcing one of his favorite films is "James Dean"
- Co-Star/Line Producer Greg "Oh, hi Marc" Sestero making a surprise appearance
- An errant football cannoned from the back row slams into Tommy resulting in him dropping the microphone and groans from the sold out crowd.
- And pretty much anything Tommy said during the Q&A... what a weird dude

Then the movie started...

It's a lot of fun and I have no real problem with the whole audience participation/riffing on bad movies thing but this was just ridiculous. I was on a Rocky Horror Picture Show cast for five years, around 300 or so shows, and it was never this bad. There was just so much extraneous chatter from the majority of the audience with conflicting, mostly unfunny, lines and bad timing. You could barely hear any of the dialogue/delivery that was being mocked. The few funny lines I did hear that people actually said together are mostly just recycled jokes from RHPS. Oh well.

I will still watch this again, though probably not in that setting. Twice might be enough. I'll just get the DVD and laugh from my couch. Or I could wait for the upcoming Blu-Ray that Tommy teased.