Movie Night 4

This week's theme was, apparently, "talk through all the movies." That's what I get for hanging out with a bunch of drunks.


1. The Delicious -
A ridiculous (and delicious) short film about an average businessman becoming obsessed with one of his mother-in-law's old pantsuits. You know, that old story. It's complete nonsense, which is why I love it.
Featured in Wholphin Vol. 1.
Link




2. Labyrinth (1986) -
Best. Movie. Ever. Or at least very high on that list. There's no telling what kind of impact this movie had on me as a child, although I'm sure David Bowie's bulge is forever imprinted in the depth of my subconscious. The music rocks, the art design is top notch, and the special effects - while dated - are better and more imaginative than most of the CGI kid-flicks coming out twenty years later.
Some of group hadn't seen this movie before and I needed to remedy that. But since movie night became chatty night this week, they still haven't really seen it.


3. The Host (2006) -
I didn't get the chance to see this in the theaters, but snagged it once it came out on DVD. The hype surrounding it was probably a little overblown. Harry Knowles' blurb on the front cover, "On par with Jaws", is the kind of exaggerated fan-boy gushing that only he is capable of. Nor is it "a seriously SCARY freakout," as Manohla Dargis of the New York Times would have us believe.
It is a very entertaining monster movie, often more funny than scary, with some great effects and death scenes. It follows the trials of one family trying to rescue their daughter after she is dragged off into the sewers by some sort of mutated salamander.
What makes this movie most unique is the ineptitude of its heroes. Time after time the girl's father proves that he is the last person you'd want in charge of a rescue operation. Almost every heroic attempt is met with failure. Several major characters are dead by the end, due more to human error than any effort on the monster's part. Even the young girl's own attempts to free herself, and another young boy taken hostage, ends in disaster.
I guess I enjoy this movie because of its pessimistic outlook. It seems far more realistic than, say, the absurd heroics of King Kong's protagonists (especially in the remake).