This is quite a month for landmark pop culture anniversaries:
March 1, 1994: Mellow Gold released
In March 1994, the major label debut from Beck was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 30th MG!
March 2, 1984: This is Spinal Tap / Repo Man open
In March 1984, two bona fide cult films were released on the same day. It's kind of cool that both of them actually have sequels coming soon. Here is my piece I wrote about both films in 2019. Happy 40th TISP and RM!
March 6, 2009: It's Blitz! released
In March 2009 the third album by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 15 It's Blitz!
March 8, 1994: The Downward Spiral / Superunknown released
In March 1994, both Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden released their best albums on the same day. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 30th TDS and Superunknown!
March 10, 1989: New York Stories opens
In March 1989, an anthology film from three NYC-centric filmmakers was released with all three segments being about NYC. Martin Scorsese looked at an artist, Francis Ford Coppola looked at a girl at a hotel and Woody Allen looked at, well, an overbearing mother. The problem with most anthology films is they are uneven and some stronger than others. Here - all three completely ran with the challenge of making a shorter film to fit into this larger one. But Scorsese throws in more emotional longing in his segment than some filmmakers show in a lifetime. Happy 35 NYS!
March 11, 1994: The Ref opens
In March 1994, Ted Demme's second feature film was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 30th The Ref!
March 13, 1984: Heartbeat City released
In March 1984 the fifth album by The Cars was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 40th HC!
March 15, 1974: Get Your Wings released
In March 1974 Aerosmith's second album was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 50th GYW!
March 19, 2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opens
In March 2004, Michel Gondry's best movie was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 20th ESOTSM!
March 30, 2004: Honkin' on the Bobo released
Speaking of Aerosmith -In March 2004, their 14th album was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 20th HOTB!
March 31, 1989: Heathers opens
In March 1989, one of the best teen movies of that era was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 35th Heathers!
Film after film: Beautiful Girls (dir. Ted Demme, 1996)
Thurman is surprisingly the best part of this heavily misogynistic film about sad-sack straight men chasing, for no apparent reason, the attention and affection of various women, some of whom (Sorvino, Plimpton, both good) fall for it. It has a pleasantly slow pace and it's long, but weirdly affective despite all the gender-politics-related bullshit. Hutton is an interesting anti-star, whose best role is still "Ordinary People": whenever I see him, I think he's still resting from this early acting gig. Dillon and Rappaport, predictably, play assholes. Arquette is very hot.
This is a Movie Health Community evaluation. It is intended to inform people of potential health hazards in movies and does not reflect the quality of the film itself. The information presented here has not been reviewed by any medical professionals.
Blow has brief scenes with spinning-style police lights at night. Cameras flash in a few scenes, but never frequently enough to create a strobe effect. There are a couple of montages that use a rapid succession of images, creating a strobe effect.
Brief moments are filmed with shaking cameras.
Flashing Lights: 4/10. Motion Sickness: 3/10.
TRIGGER WARNING: There are multiple scenes of couples verbally abusing each other in front of their children. Brief homophobic slurs are used.
Mondo will release The Silence of the Lambs 24x36 screen prints by Nate Sweitzer tomorrow, January 18, at 1pm EST. Expected to ship in April, it's limited to 185 and costs $80.
What a month for pop culture landmark anniversaries! Here's a few I'm toasting:
Sept. 8, 1998: Celebrity Skin released
In Sept. 1998 the 3rd album by Hole was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 25th CS!
Sept. 10, 1988: Alf Tales premieres
In Sept. 1988, the second Alf animated Saturday morning series premiered. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 35th Alf Tales!
Sept. 10, 1993: True Romance opens
In Sept. 1993, one of the great crime movies of the 90s was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 30th TR!
Sept. 11, 1998: Rounders opens
In Sept. 1998, the great poker movie of the 90s was released. It was in post-production when I was an intern at Spanky Pictures. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 25 Rounders!
Sept. 12, 2003: Lost in Translation opens
In Sept. 2003, Sofia Coppola's greatest movie was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 20th LIT!
Sept. 12, 2008: Burn After Reading opens
In Sept. 2008, the Coen brothers' highly underrated dark comedy was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 15th BAR!
Sept. 13, 1993: Late Night with Conan O'Brien premieres
In Sept. 1993 during the late night TV wars of the 90s, newcomer Conan O'Brien took over for David Letterman on Late Night. So much attention was on Dave, Jay, Arsenio and Chevy Chase, but for former SNL / Simpsons writer O'Brien his style was completely different and worked great in that time slot. Here is my appraisal of Conan's TV hosting from 2021 including my memories of attending Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1994 and 1995. Happy 30th LNWCO!
Sept. 14, 1978: Mork and Mindy premieres
In Sept. 1978, one of the best sitcoms about aliens as a fish-out-of-water premiered on ABC. Spun-off from an episode of Happy Days, the wacky alien Mork played by Robin Williams goes to 1970s Boulder, CO and he moves in with a local, Mindy (Pam Dawber). So much of the humor went over my head, but what was funny was Williams' wild physical comedy. I enjoyed reruns of this along with Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley as a kid! Happy 45th M&M!
Sept. 24, 1993: Dazed and Confused opens
In Sept. 1993, Richard Linklater's 2nd film (2nd commercially released film that is) was released and it is one of the all time great films about high school. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 30th D&C!
Sept. 25, 1998: Monument Ave opens
In Sept. 1998, the first movie I ever worked on was released. I was an intern in the location department in 1997 and then in 1998 I was an intern at director Ted Demme and producer Joel Stillerman's production company Spanky Pictures. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 25th Monument Ave!
Sept. 26, 2003: Hope and Faith premieres
In Sept. 2003, the ABC-TV sitcom starring Kelly Ripa as a former soap star, now in suburbia with her sister and family premiered. I worked on the entire first season. Here is my piece I wrote in 2018. Happy 20th H&F!