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Let Go (LP)
KMFDM
KMFDM, doing it again! The 23rd album from the industrial giants is in my opinion, a more cohesive one than their last record "Hyena." A nonstop ride from start to finish a more appropriate title would have been "Hold Tight" rather than "Let Go!"
2024 also marks the 40th anniversary of KMFDM's "ultra heavy beat" and "conceptual continuity."
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Black Tight Killers (BLU)
For fans of colorful 60s Japanese films such as Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter. Features female ninjas and hidden treasure and some of the most outrageously colorful photography ever. From the director of the Stray Cat Rock series.
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Cemetery Man / The Church / The Sect (BLU)
3 films from Argento protégé Michele Soavi. Cemetery Man is one of the more famously fun zombie films to come out of Italy. A cult hit in the video store era languished on DVD for all these years.
The Church is almost a single location film, but uses its Budapest cathedral location to wonderful effect. Outstanding practical effects. Am ildly uncomfortable performance from a young Asia Argento, but if you're an Argento fan then you already know the score. Features corpse towers, beheaded priests and a Satanic goat man. Good stuff!
The Sect is an odd one. Starts off with a hippy cult vibe but ends up being so much better than that sounds. While it shares a fair bit in common with Rosemary's Baby, it is far far weirder. While I find Italian horror to be a bit lacking in logical flow, The Sect makes a lot more sense and characters react with surprising realism. Plus there is an assault by giant bird monster. Maybe I have problems but that was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. These are all on Blu-ray or 4K/UHD and chock full of bonus features from Severin.
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Bubble Bath (BLU)
This 1980 Hungarian animated film is about a gal studying for a medical exam. A man shows up who is getting married to her co-worker. He is having second thoughts and is for some reason burdening himself on this poor girl who didn't even want to go to the wedding. Ok. That plot is just not that interesting... but be that as it may, this is one of the most outrageously psychedelic and fascinating MUSICAL animated films I've ever seen. Chock full of pop/disco musical numbers (1 literally about studying for the exam) and featuring a wild variety of visual styles. I loved the use of real light refractions and shimmers over top the animation to give the effect of time of day and mood(?).
Like most Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray releases, this includes multiple short films from the director. His shorts often use a unique animated painting (oil or acrylic I'm not sure). The man declined medical help for his leukemia deciding instead to finish a manifesto and series of paintings. A one of a kind figure and posthumous national treasure of Hungarian modern art. If you are interested in animation, check out a trailer at the very least!
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Poor Things (BLU)
My obligatory "main stream" pick. This movie seemed to really divide people. I personally thought it was Lanthimos' best film yet. I utterly loved every pretentious and hilarious second. Emma Stone is a force of nature (as they say) and Mark Ruffalo has never been funnier as a sleezy yet uncertain European lothario. Such a fun movie and wild that Emma Stone won an academy award for a movie that shares similarities with Frankenhooker.
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Supermarkt (BLU)
1974 German film from Roland Klick, director of cult classic Deadlock (features a Can score). A classic juvenile delinquent film set in a gritty 70s Hamburg. Highly recommended if that's your thing. Now they just need to release Bübchen, his killer little kid movie.
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Yes, Madam! / Lady Reporter (aka The Blonde Fury) (BLU)
2 Cynthia Rothrock Hong Kong action films available on Blu-ray for the first time. I love HK action films (and comedies) and these are 2 great examples. Chock full of amazing stunts and fights. Yes, Madam! co-stars Michelle Yeoh.
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Fallen Leaves (BLU)
I am a huge fan of Aki Kaurismaki so any new film of his is automatically a big deal to me. With this one he goes back to the same extra stripped down plot as earlier films such as Shadows in Paradise and Drifting Clouds. I love that Aki continues to make films about people in the lowest rungs of the working class, something that seems oddly missing from most movies these days. I know film is escapist, but do we really need to see more movies where we are supposed to feel bad for someone living in a 5 bedroom house in the suburbs? I love Aki's visual style and the pacing and dialogue cadence he employs. There is no extraneous dialogue or emotion yet you feel just as deeply for these characters.
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Stopmotion (BLU)
A horror film about a gal working on a stopmotion animated movie. Family trauma and mental illness are explored using the little characters made of morticians wax and carrion. Loved the vibe and look of this. The animated elements are so damned creepy.
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Huesera: The Bone Woman (BLU)
This is one of the hippest Mexican films I've seen. Chock full of cool music and a wild underground post-punkish concert scene.
The film revolves around a young woman who finds herself pregnant and is maybe having second thoughts which manifest in extreme anxiety and parnoia as we delve deeper and deeper into folk and body horror territory. I can't imagine watching this as a young woman who is facing societal and familial pressures to have children. Bleak and beautifully shot and a great performance from the newcomer lead actress.
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Film Releases I am excited about but still haven't seen: (BLU)
I embarrassingly have way too many new releases on my watch list that I haven't gotten to. (Too many video games and Chucky movies/shows)
I am excited about these releases. Maybe they suck, but I kind of doubt it.
"Beijing Watermelon": 80s Japanese drama from the director of Hausu.
"Beauty of Beauties": 1965 Taiwanese epic in the vein of Kurosawa's Ran. Looks as beautiful as the name implies.
"Bounty Hunter Trilogy": Lone Wolf (and Cub) himself Tomisaburō Wakayama
stars in these 3 spy/assassin flicks from the late 60s and early 70s. I had never heard of these and they sound really fun.
"Bushman": 1971 An immigrant from Nigeria comes to San Francisco and reflects tribal, personal, and racial frictions during the tumultuous sixties. The actual actor was deported before the filming was completed and my understanding is it takes a documentary turn when this happens. Sounds fascinating and an almost unknown San Francisco shot film!
"The Shape of Night": 60s Japanese film that very much looks akin to "In The Mood For Love" (a personal favorite). Can't wait to check this out. Super colorful!
"Shinobi Trilogy": 3 60s Japanese ninja films! Can't go wrong... I assume.
"World War III": a homeless day laborer in Iran ends up cast in a Holocaust film. Things go very wrong. I've heard comparisons to the Chinese film A Touch of Sin and the Korean film Burning... both excellent. We don't get enough Middle Eastern films released in America, so it's worth checking out.
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Rust in Peace, South of heaven, Ride the lightning, Arise, living in darkness, Revenge, Deathalbum 1&2, holiday at lake bodom 15 years wasted youth (LP)
Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica,
Feel Like Going Home (LP)
Miko Marks
Miko Marks is a new artist for me, although she has been around for awhile. She's currently being mentioned as part of the new "black country" movement which she nails. However, this album leans closer to Americana, in a Bonnie Raitt vein. My favorite tune is the title track "Feel Like Going Home," and I also love "One More Night." Miko has a beautiful strong voice that compliments her material.
Read moreCountry Jazz (LP)
George Barnes
Never thought this one would ever be reissued. It was originally released on two different budget labels, probably in the early '60s. George plays so cleanly and beautifully. Some of the tunes are corny standards like "Shortnin' Bread" but there's also cool improvised originals. He also stretches out and plays a plectrum banjo, on "Banjo Hop" and bass, "Bass Guitar Blues." I also like "Hot Guitar Rag," and "Strollin' Slow." Guitar fans should take this opportunity to grab this limited reissue.
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