by Adam Riske and Patrick Bromley
Double Feature 1:
Adam: #1: Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Patrick: #2: Wired (1989)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Billy Elliott, No Hard Feelings, Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four
Patrick: Theme: Motherfucker Looks Just Like The Thing
Patrick: I had a hard time pairing Reservoir Dogs because it meant so much to me at one point in my life and doesn’t feel like it goes with anything easily – at least, nothing that isn’t just repeating the same kind of “crime gone wrong” ‘90s bullshit that this movie helped invent. I decided to pull one random line of dialogue I like about Lawrence Tierney and build the double around that. Plus, I’ve never seen Wired so this is my chance to experience one of the most reviled movies of all time on the big screen!
Adam: It’s a funny theme and a great observation about Lawrence Tierney. I’d love to see Reservoir Dogs on an original 35mm print so that’s why I picked it as a headliner. Following it up with one of my childhood fascinations, Wired, is like nutmeg to me. So let me explain. When I was 7 years old, I saw the newspaper ad for Wired and knowing the little that I did about John Belushi (but knowing that he was a big comedy star) I thought it was going to win several Oscars. I was very surprised that Siskel & Ebert didn’t like it because it was going to win several Oscars. I can vividly recall being at Lake Geneva on Wired’s opening day and thinking “You know what would be a great capper to today? If we see Wired on the way home.” I eventually bought a bootleg of Wired at Monstermania convention of all places and watched it once and thought it was bad but not as bad as Siskel & Ebert thought it was. It has a good performance by The Thing that should have won an Oscar. I feel like if we played a print of Wired we might awaken the Deadites.
Double Feature 2:
Patrick: #1: Femme Fatale (2002)
Adam: #2: Gone Girl (2014)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Draft Day, Fast Five, Wayne’s World
Adam: Theme: Alliterative Titles
Adam: The trailers don’t really fit the tone of the double feature, but they should be fun to watch. That aside, I think Femme Fatale and Gone Girl would play great together and would be an entertaining showcase for two movies made by stylish directors. I need to give both another try. I don’t dislike either but I’m not the fan of them that most are, which bums me out a little. Did you know Norman Reedus was at my screening of Gone Girl when I saw it in 2014? That day I was VIP.
Patrick: I love this double because these two movies are among my favorites of their respective decades. Not trying to sell you on movies you don’t love. Maybe this will be a magic viewing for one or both! I think these would play together, too, because they’re both modern day takes on the “dangerous woman” trope. Where did you see Gone Girl with Reedus in attendance? Was it Troy Duffy’s bar?
Adam: Hahaha. I was at the late, great Alamo Drafthouse Ritz in Austin.
Double Feature 3:
Patrick: #2: The Protector (1985)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Heart of Dragon, Cannonball Run II, Dragon Lord
Patrick: Theme: ‘80s Jackie Chan
Patrick: I know the ‘70s gave him his start and the ‘90s are when he broke through with American audiences, but I love the ‘80s period of Jackie Chan when he was bouncing back and forth between his Hong Kong films and trying (pretty unsuccessfully) to make it in the U.S. I tried to make this double feature a reflection of that, programming one of his all-time greats with a mostly-forgotten buddy cop actioner directed by the great James Glickenhaus that pairs Jackie with Danny Aiello of all people. I like both of these movies because I can’t tell good from bad.
Adam: I like this double feature because a) I like Jackie Chan movies and b) I can never remember which I’ve seen of his pre-1996 releases. I know I have seen a few of them but for some reason I can’t retain which ones I’ve seen prior to my Letterboxd days (thank goodness for having that as a tracker). Plus, I love Aiello so a buddy cop movie between those two guys sounds great.
Double Feature 4:
Patrick: #1: The Matrix (1999)
Adam: #2: Ready or Not (2019)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, V for Vendetta, The Babysitter, Mayhem
Adam: Theme: An Evening with the Weavings
Adam: Ok, can I make a confession? I love Samara Weaving while also being rarely interested in her movies. I’m becoming genre movie averse perhaps or maybe just the type of movie she usually does. To be more positive, I do want to try Ready or Not again because I like Samara Weaving so much as an actor and personality off screen and Hugo Weaving is in a lot of bangers, my favorite of which is the original The Matrix (imo the best movie of 1999) so thank you for programming that as the lead feature.
Patrick: I think you’re onto something with Samara Weaving. I’m glad she’s getting movies and big opportunities but she’s kind of being wasted in material that’s just good to ok. This is a good pairing not just for the Weaving connection but because Ready or Not will go down very easily after The Matrix, which is so much movie that it’s hard to pair anything with it.
Double Feature 5:
Patrick: #2: The Color of Money (1986)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Eric Clapton “It’s in the Way That You Use It” music video, The Departed, Ben Stiller Show “Cape Munster” sketch
Patrick: Theme: Scorsese Goes Commercial
Patrick: I know you’re not a big Color of Money guy so I’m sorry to program it again (I think?), but I liked the idea of a pair of movies directed by Scorsese because he wanted to make a hit. He’s so good that you can’t even tell that he’s “slumming” as far as his body of work goes because both of these movies are, to me, pretty great. What do you think is his weakest movie? I don’t think he has ever made a “bad” movie but there are a few I like less than others. Also I don’t really want to watch the Cape Fear TV show on Apple TV. Life is too short to keep adapting the same IP over and over and over again.
Adam: For the record, I’m as pro The Color of Money as I’ve ever been right now thanks to a rewatch early this year. I just don’t think it’s as good as The Hustler and it’s a bottom tier Scorsese (imho) but it’s totally watchable and entertaining. I haven’t seen his Cape Fear in a long time so I’m due for a revisit. As far as Scorsese’s weakest movie??? Hmmm...maybe New York New York? I just don’t think it works.
Double Feature 6:
Patrick: #1: Demonic Toys (1992)
Adam: #2: Child’s Play 2 (1990)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Toy Soldiers, Toys, Toy Story, Jingle All the Way, Small Soldiers
Adam: Theme: Toys!
Adam: I mean…I didn’t try very hard on this theme, but it seems silly not to program another killer toy movie here to pair with Demonic Toys. Is that one of your recommended Full Moons? I trust your judgment in this department. The trailer block should be fun. I remember seeing the preview for Toys (probably before The Distinguished Gentleman) and thinking it would gross $100M easy. But alas, audiences didn’t want to play with it. They had Robin Williams money that holiday season and it was all going to Aladdin. I remember being at a Burger King when I was 10 and overhearing a kid and his dad talking about seeing Aladdin and I looked at my parents like “I wonder if they’re hearing this and putting together that I dunno their own son wants to see Aladdin.” I wasn’t gonna ask. They needed to figure it out themselves. We didn’t see it in theaters. I saw it on video. My point is I didn’t have everything growing up.
Patrick: I do not recommend Demonic Toys, actually. There are way better Full Moons. I’m just slowly trying to see all of their movies in theaters and right now I’m at a total of 3. I’m excited that we at least get to watch Child’s Play 2 right after because I think that’s the Chucky I revisit the most. That toy store finale is such an all-timer.
Double Feature 7:
Patrick: #2: Urban Legend (1998)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Old School, Jamie Lee Curtis redoes her rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” from The Last Showgirl live
Patrick: Theme: Turn Around, Bright Eyes
Patrick: Again, I’m being very obvious, but this came to mind because I just saw Ready or Not 2 and there’s a big sequence set to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” on which I call bullshit because because The Strangers: Prey at Night – to date the only Strangers movie I’ve seen and a movie I like – already laid such effective claim to it. RoN2 should have picked a different song. I’m going to go out and buy snacks when Jamie Lee does her live performance because just watching that shit in a movie was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen. No way I can handle it in person. I’ll bring you back some Raisinets.
Adam: I haven’t seen Ready or Not 2 but it’s an eyeroll from me for using “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (a family favorite song in the Riske household back in the day). The scene in The Strangers: Prey at Night (which is also the only Strangers movie I like -- I’ve seen that one and the original) where they play it is pretty fantastic. Pairing that movie with Urban Legend sounds really fun. Because of you, I once YouTube’d that JLC scene in The Last Showgirl and wow is it awkward. They really thought they nailed it, didn’t they? Thank you for the Raisinets. They go great with popcorn. Just ask Paul Reiser. He knows what’s up.
Double Feature 8:
Patrick: #1: Network (1976)
Adam: #2: Tender Mercies (1983)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Phenomenon, A Civil Action, Open Range, Secondhand Lions, The Judge
Adam: Theme: Robert Duvall Through the Decades
Adam: I miss Robert Duvall. Hopefully this is a good tribute to him. Network isn’t my jam (I’m allergic to a lot of satire) but I’ve only seen it once so I’d like to try again and I’ve never seen his Oscar-winning performance in Tender Mercies so this will be a good opportunity to give myself an excuse to watch it. In recent years, I’ve really enjoyed watching Duvall, especially how amused he is onscreen while skirting the line of being in character and breaking character. It’s kind of a magic trick. He’s especially good in Phenomenon, A Civil Action, and Open Range. I couldn’t resist programming the trailer for Secondhand Lions because it’s a running joke between me and anyone who will listen. The first thing I thought after Duvall passed was “Aw man” and the second was “There’s an opening to be a Secondhand Lion.” Maybe Thirdhand. I don’t know. I’ll need to confer with Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment. Maybe just Caine. I hear Osment is sketchy these days.
Patrick: I like when we devote a night to one of the greats. Duvall has never been one of my guys but he’s obviously always great, especially in the movies you mentioned. Like you, I’ve never seen Tender Mercies so I’m stoked that we will both be seeing it together for the first time. If we ever franchise the Cinemarink, we can call the next location Secondhand Cinemarink. Just kidding! We are never franchising.
Double Feature 9:
Patrick: #2: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: The Dentist, Teeth, Novocaine
Patrick: Theme: Is It Safe?
Patrick: I’ve only seen Marathon Man once and don’t remember being knocked out by it, but my love for Roy Scheider has only grown since then so I need to revisit it. The only thing I could remember about it was the dentist stuff so I built the night around that. Real creative, Patrick.
Adam: I’ve yet to see Marathon Man. I should. Can I make a confession? I don’t think I like Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Am I a pariah? There are a few beloved '80s comedies I can’t get down with (like Scrooged) and over the years LSoH is one of them even though I used to like it as a kid and am a fan of the Roger Corman original. P.S. Not sure why but I wanted to see the Steve Martin Novocaine badly when I was away at college. There were no theaters nearby playing it. It’s not good, but I’ll always like it a little because I wanted to see it so much for whatever reason.
Double Feature 10:
Patrick: #1: Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Adam: #2: Inside Man (2006)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: The Bone Collector, The Hurricane, American Gangster
Adam: Theme: Universal Denzel
Adam: These aren’t among my favorite Denzels but that’s okay. He’s in so many great movies that it seems almost like mid-tier when you consider the ones that are just good. I haven’t seen Mo' Better Blues in a while so this is a great opportunity to see it in a theater with that amazing score blaring. Fun fact: I do the trumpet of the song Mo' Better Blues pretty well with my mouth. Join Patreon to hear that! It’s like the scene in Jarhead where Jake Gyllenhaal plays “Reveille.” Inside Man is a movie I like more each revisit. My only complaint is it’s a hostage movie and that’s a subgenre that I don’t like very much. Two Spikes in one night!
Patrick: I like Inside Man more each time too! When I first saw it I felt like it was Spike trying to be commercial but now I love seeing how it fits in with his work. Yes it’s commercial but it’s still totally a Spike Lee joint. I was watching Mo’ Better Blues for the first time when I programmed it so I’m excited to rewatch it again as part of a Spike/Denzel/Universal double. You should do mouth trumpet live at this screening. Maybe Cynda Williams will come and you can serenade her. I will back you up on air sax. Then we can have Love and Air Sax. Goodnight!
Adam: 10/10 Brilliant.
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