JUNESPLOITATION! 2026 starts in less than 48 hours!🥳😍 Before that...
BACKROOMS (2026, AMC PRIME) quietly blew me and a sold-out opening night crowd away. Flashing a Kubrickian control of atmosphere and an unexpected sense of humor to go with great production/set design, this is the most impressive feature-length debut since... well, Curry Barker directed "Obsession."😃 Despite having great producing talent behind it (Osgood Perkins, James Wan, Shawn Levy, Peter Chernin, etc.) you can't help but be impressed that 21-year-old Kane Parsons displays such complete control over the psychological horror at the core of the "Backrooms" experience. As someone in therapy right now, there are scenes in which Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve open themselves up that hit too close and feel too real despite the fantastical setting and era this depicts (early 90's). Best $10 million A24 ever spent on a movie.😎👍
Rewatched John Woo's BROKEN ARROW (1996, AMAZON PRIME). Hated every prior viewing of this, feeling it's a major quality dip compared to Woo's Hollywood peaks of "Hard Target" ('92) and "Face/Off" ('97). Between the Jury Room 4.0 group watchalong on Discord, '90s. Action!' being the first day of Junesploitation! on Monday, and my now-raging appreciation for doing things practical and/or without CG (lost count of how many helicopters explode/crash😁), "BA's" eccentricities stood out and made me enjoy it more than ever before. It helps that (a) John Travolta's ridiculously hammy villain role is prominent ('Ain't it cool?'), (b) Hans Zimmer score feels like its building-up toward "The Rock" (released four months later), (d) the supporting cast (Delroy Lindo, Frank Whaley, Bob Gunton, Vondie Curtis-Hall, etc.) is stacked, and (d) Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis stage a "Pump Up The Volume" reunion.🥰 So much hard work by so many talented folks went into making such a dumb movie. That's 90's action in a nutshell.🤓
Filmmakers and documentarians around the world ran out of prominent World War II battles, personalities and/or major events to depict or profile. Smaller, lesser-known people and events surrounding WWII are now getting the spotlight (remember "Lee"?). The aptly named PRESSURE ('26, THEATER) revolves around British chief meteorologist, Capt. James Stagg (Andrew Scott), clashing with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser, excellent) over the ideal day/time to launch the D-Day invasion over Normandy. Told within the 72 hours before the expected assault date, director Anthony Mara ("Hotel Mumbai") manages to somehow wring dramatic tension over a weather forecast for a historical date we all know happened. It helps that Kerry Condon (as Ike's personal assistant) and Damian Lewis have prominent supporting roles, and that Andrew Scott plays Stagg like a shy introvert that contrasts with everyone's gung-ho attitude. A small gem, but wait for free streaming.🥸
Watched THE SHEEP DETECTIVES ('26, THEATER) at a late evening screening with a packed house of mostly adults that clearly enjoyed themselves. I couldn't disagree more. While inoffensive and at times too cute for words (Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Lily develops a moving relationship with her owner Hugh Jackman, no small feat when the former's a CG animal), the murder mystery at the heart of the story feels too dumb and convoluted even for a movie aimed at children. Acting borders on Nickelodeon levels of bad; fine for kids, not the likes of Nicholas Braun and Emma freakin' Thompson! That adults have propelled this to unexpected box office heights (executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller helped out) can only be explained by the desperate need to escape a real world at odds with its make-believe junior detective optimism. Lord knows Patrick Stewart's Sir Ritchfield and Bryan Cranston's Sebastian didn't do anything for me. Your mileage will definitely vary as l seem to be the only a-hole l know that disliked this.🥺😰
I cannot get over just how incredible the set/production design was for Backrooms. One would think it would get repetitive just based on the nature of the backrooms but I was fascinated with each new reveal. I really felt as though I was exploring it along side the characters. And there was so much dread and unease. And that last shot really left me feeling uncomfortable.
Can't wait to rewatch "Backrooms" (hopefully with friends) because it leaves enough material/plot unexplained to lead to interesting theories/conversations, which l spent 30 minutes engaged with other folks afterwards. 🙂 Only the fear that A24 will rush into lookalike sequels to cash on its popularity gives me pause about "Backrooms'" meteoric success. Kane Parsons has such first-world problems. 😁
I normally avoid trailers, but saw the trailer for it, and it was "this is either going to be amazing, or one of the dumbest movies ever". It's getting good reviews.
I laughed out loud during this weeks podcast when Patrick said something like "fucking youtube directors" with a tone of derision. It's kind of funny, because I feel the same way. There have been a couple of breakout movies by people that dabbled in youtube, but I doubt that the path to becoming a movie maker has now become, begin by doing a bunch you youtube shorts.
For every Kane Parsons or Curry Barker there are dozens of Chris Stuckmans ("Shelby Oaks") and Mark Fishbachs ("Iron Lung") that overpromise and underdeliver. Some of the latter could be money makers ("Iron Lung" was very profitable), but the finished movie is either bad/mediocre or underwhelmimg. The reason "Obsession" and "Backrooms" are making bank and getting good reviews isn't that they were made by YT creators. It's because those YT creators learned from the digital content they made and translated those skills into competent movie premises that could sustain long-term narratives. 😎🧐
Speed Racer (2008): In glorious 4k. This movie begged for it. With all the saturated colors, the split screens flying over one another, the camera flying everywhere, the Wachowskys showed us what a live action cartoon should look like. They didn't shy away from the original material, they leaned into it, giving us one of the most entertaining movie of the 2000s. The whole thing is like a sugar rush after a caffeine bender. There's room for improvement on the story side, and shouldn't be more than 2h, but at this point I'm nitpicking, I always had fun with it. The fact is, you have to just go with it. Most of the reviews back then trashed it, but it's one of those re-evaluated movies that people like now. I missed it in theaters, but my friend told me it was quite an experience, watching it in a room full of hyperactive kids.
Rashomon (1950): That's a weird double-bill with Speed Racer, but that's how I roll. What can I say, it's Akira Kurosawa, one of his most influential movies.
Ms .45 (1981): I've been hearing about this movie for so long, so when it was mentioned in the Joe Dante podcast a while ago, I couldn't hold it anymore and got the 4k. I'd only seen 2 Abel Ferrera before, Pasolini and Bad Lieutenant. Both good, but not quite enough to get a real idea on the guy, but enough to know he doesn't make 'fun' movies. All this to say, the movie's excellent (and short, which is always a plus) and I'm glad to finally saw it.
Cemetery Junction (2010): A somewhat classic coming-of-age, set in a small town in England, co-written/directed by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais. Say what you will about the later, he knows how to do drama. All the clichés are here: the bad boy from a broken home, the ambitious one with a factory worker dad, the 'slow' one who gets teased relentlessly, the girl next door, all on the brink of adulthood, all dealing with expectations and looking to the future.
Lastly, it feels like I'm pregaming Junesploitation, but I recently got a 2-pack of Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Land of the Dead (2005). I've seen the former a million time, it was my first watch for the later. Land is way less serious than I expected and a ton of fun. Dennis Hopper always makes a cool bad guy.
Is it worth watching the other 'of the Dead' movies?
On a side note, I impulse bought The Visitor 4k on amazon (don't ask about the other stuff I impulse bought). It arrived with no disc, no booklet, no cover. It did have the slipcover. The a$$hole added a bunch of cardboard with bits of food on it and managed to rewrap it to look like new, with the HDR sticker on it. I'm super pissed, but at least amazon is quick with the replacement.
Sorry about your bad "Visitor" shopping experience. 😕 Hope you drop a Junesploitation! review when it eventually arrives, it's a hell of an entertaining Italian genre pic. 🤘😁
Every Romero "of the Dead" movie BEFORE "Land" is definitely worth seeing. Night of, Dawn of, Day of... CLASSICS! 🤓 "Land" lands squarely in the middle, and the two Romero zombie movies made afterwards (Diary of, Survivor of) are generally regarded as bad. I like aspects of both, but if you watch them set your expectations lower than low. 🫤🙄
I'm broke, but as soon as l can save enough cash that "Speed Racer" 4K will be mine.✊️🙃
Surprised you didn't hold "Ms. 45" for a June-timed review. It's as exploitation as exploitation movies come, and one hell of a 70's 'New York is hell on Earth' revenge flick. Oh well, another Arrow 4K winner and permanent monument to Zoë Lund's legend. 🤠🥶
"This is houston control we are t-minus two days till Junesploitation liftoff...FThis Crew, initiate movie checklist countdown......"
Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (digital rental)
This flick and its TV counterpart were completely off my radar....it was an FThis reviewer on a weekend thread who brought them to my attention and im so glad they did. The premise of the tv show and movie is simple: two silly musicians are trying to book a gig at a local theater with crazy plans. In this case the plan is inspired by Back To the Future and...if you can believe it....things go awry! Its a fun, cute, silly story with a little bit of reflection on friendship and life goals and Orbitz fruit drink. Dug this comedy bunches.
Reed Strickland pushed the movie on us mid-February (https://www.fthismovie.com/2026/02/weekend-open-thread_0693066467.html?showComment=1771123170397&m=0#c2928105613797115233), and I'm glad he did. One of the most pleasant surprises of 2026 at the movies. 😃🧐
Love that pic.😅
ReplyDeleteJUNESPLOITATION! 2026 starts in less than 48 hours!🥳😍 Before that...
BACKROOMS (2026, AMC PRIME) quietly blew me and a sold-out opening night crowd away. Flashing a Kubrickian control of atmosphere and an unexpected sense of humor to go with great production/set design, this is the most impressive feature-length debut since... well, Curry Barker directed "Obsession."😃 Despite having great producing talent behind it (Osgood Perkins, James Wan, Shawn Levy, Peter Chernin, etc.) you can't help but be impressed that 21-year-old Kane Parsons displays such complete control over the psychological horror at the core of the "Backrooms" experience. As someone in therapy right now, there are scenes in which Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve open themselves up that hit too close and feel too real despite the fantastical setting and era this depicts (early 90's). Best $10 million A24 ever spent on a movie.😎👍
Rewatched John Woo's BROKEN ARROW (1996, AMAZON PRIME). Hated every prior viewing of this, feeling it's a major quality dip compared to Woo's Hollywood peaks of "Hard Target" ('92) and "Face/Off" ('97). Between the Jury Room 4.0 group watchalong on Discord, '90s. Action!' being the first day of Junesploitation! on Monday, and my now-raging appreciation for doing things practical and/or without CG (lost count of how many helicopters explode/crash😁), "BA's" eccentricities stood out and made me enjoy it more than ever before. It helps that (a) John Travolta's ridiculously hammy villain role is prominent ('Ain't it cool?'), (b) Hans Zimmer score feels like its building-up toward "The Rock" (released four months later), (d) the supporting cast (Delroy Lindo, Frank Whaley, Bob Gunton, Vondie Curtis-Hall, etc.) is stacked, and (d) Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis stage a "Pump Up The Volume" reunion.🥰 So much hard work by so many talented folks went into making such a dumb movie. That's 90's action in a nutshell.🤓
Filmmakers and documentarians around the world ran out of prominent World War II battles, personalities and/or major events to depict or profile. Smaller, lesser-known people and events surrounding WWII are now getting the spotlight (remember "Lee"?). The aptly named PRESSURE ('26, THEATER) revolves around British chief meteorologist, Capt. James Stagg (Andrew Scott), clashing with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser, excellent) over the ideal day/time to launch the D-Day invasion over Normandy. Told within the 72 hours before the expected assault date, director Anthony Mara ("Hotel Mumbai") manages to somehow wring dramatic tension over a weather forecast for a historical date we all know happened. It helps that Kerry Condon (as Ike's personal assistant) and Damian Lewis have prominent supporting roles, and that Andrew Scott plays Stagg like a shy introvert that contrasts with everyone's gung-ho attitude. A small gem, but wait for free streaming.🥸
Watched THE SHEEP DETECTIVES ('26, THEATER) at a late evening screening with a packed house of mostly adults that clearly enjoyed themselves. I couldn't disagree more. While inoffensive and at times too cute for words (Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Lily develops a moving relationship with her owner Hugh Jackman, no small feat when the former's a CG animal), the murder mystery at the heart of the story feels too dumb and convoluted even for a movie aimed at children. Acting borders on Nickelodeon levels of bad; fine for kids, not the likes of Nicholas Braun and Emma freakin' Thompson! That adults have propelled this to unexpected box office heights (executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller helped out) can only be explained by the desperate need to escape a real world at odds with its make-believe junior detective optimism. Lord knows Patrick Stewart's Sir Ritchfield and Bryan Cranston's Sebastian didn't do anything for me. Your mileage will definitely vary as l seem to be the only a-hole l know that disliked this.🥺😰
See you on Monday, you filthy maggots!🤩
I cannot get over just how incredible the set/production design was for Backrooms. One would think it would get repetitive just based on the nature of the backrooms but I was fascinated with each new reveal. I really felt as though I was exploring it along side the characters. And there was so much dread and unease. And that last shot really left me feeling uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to rewatch "Backrooms" (hopefully with friends) because it leaves enough material/plot unexplained to lead to interesting theories/conversations, which l spent 30 minutes engaged with other folks afterwards. 🙂 Only the fear that A24 will rush into lookalike sequels to cash on its popularity gives me pause about "Backrooms'" meteoric success. Kane Parsons has such first-world problems. 😁
DeleteI really wanted to go see Backrooms with my friends, but plans fell apart. We'll try next week.
DeleteI normally avoid trailers, but saw the trailer for it, and it was "this is either going to be amazing, or one of the dumbest movies ever". It's getting good reviews.
DeleteI laughed out loud during this weeks podcast when Patrick said something like "fucking youtube directors" with a tone of derision. It's kind of funny, because I feel the same way. There have been a couple of breakout movies by people that dabbled in youtube, but I doubt that the path to becoming a movie maker has now become, begin by doing a bunch you youtube shorts.
For every Kane Parsons or Curry Barker there are dozens of Chris Stuckmans ("Shelby Oaks") and Mark Fishbachs ("Iron Lung") that overpromise and underdeliver. Some of the latter could be money makers ("Iron Lung" was very profitable), but the finished movie is either bad/mediocre or underwhelmimg. The reason "Obsession" and "Backrooms" are making bank and getting good reviews isn't that they were made by YT creators. It's because those YT creators learned from the digital content they made and translated those skills into competent movie premises that could sustain long-term narratives. 😎🧐
DeleteSpeed Racer (2008): In glorious 4k. This movie begged for it. With all the saturated colors, the split screens flying over one another, the camera flying everywhere, the Wachowskys showed us what a live action cartoon should look like. They didn't shy away from the original material, they leaned into it, giving us one of the most entertaining movie of the 2000s. The whole thing is like a sugar rush after a caffeine bender. There's room for improvement on the story side, and shouldn't be more than 2h, but at this point I'm nitpicking, I always had fun with it. The fact is, you have to just go with it. Most of the reviews back then trashed it, but it's one of those re-evaluated movies that people like now. I missed it in theaters, but my friend told me it was quite an experience, watching it in a room full of hyperactive kids.
ReplyDeleteRashomon (1950): That's a weird double-bill with Speed Racer, but that's how I roll. What can I say, it's Akira Kurosawa, one of his most influential movies.
Ms .45 (1981): I've been hearing about this movie for so long, so when it was mentioned in the Joe Dante podcast a while ago, I couldn't hold it anymore and got the 4k. I'd only seen 2 Abel Ferrera before, Pasolini and Bad Lieutenant. Both good, but not quite enough to get a real idea on the guy, but enough to know he doesn't make 'fun' movies. All this to say, the movie's excellent (and short, which is always a plus) and I'm glad to finally saw it.
Cemetery Junction (2010): A somewhat classic coming-of-age, set in a small town in England, co-written/directed by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais. Say what you will about the later, he knows how to do drama. All the clichés are here: the bad boy from a broken home, the ambitious one with a factory worker dad, the 'slow' one who gets teased relentlessly, the girl next door, all on the brink of adulthood, all dealing with expectations and looking to the future.
Lastly, it feels like I'm pregaming Junesploitation, but I recently got a 2-pack of Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Land of the Dead (2005). I've seen the former a million time, it was my first watch for the later. Land is way less serious than I expected and a ton of fun. Dennis Hopper always makes a cool bad guy.
Is it worth watching the other 'of the Dead' movies?
On a side note, I impulse bought The Visitor 4k on amazon (don't ask about the other stuff I impulse bought). It arrived with no disc, no booklet, no cover. It did have the slipcover. The a$$hole added a bunch of cardboard with bits of food on it and managed to rewrap it to look like new, with the HDR sticker on it. I'm super pissed, but at least amazon is quick with the replacement.
DeleteSorry about your bad "Visitor" shopping experience. 😕 Hope you drop a Junesploitation! review when it eventually arrives, it's a hell of an entertaining Italian genre pic. 🤘😁
DeleteEvery Romero "of the Dead" movie BEFORE "Land" is definitely worth seeing. Night of, Dawn of, Day of... CLASSICS! 🤓 "Land" lands squarely in the middle, and the two Romero zombie movies made afterwards (Diary of, Survivor of) are generally regarded as bad. I like aspects of both, but if you watch them set your expectations lower than low. 🫤🙄
I'm broke, but as soon as l can save enough cash that "Speed Racer" 4K will be mine.✊️🙃
Visitor should be coming in today, hopefully is the complete thing
DeleteI'm taking note of the 'of the dead' movies. This should be fun
Surprised you didn't hold "Ms. 45" for a June-timed review. It's as exploitation as exploitation movies come, and one hell of a 70's 'New York is hell on Earth' revenge flick. Oh well, another Arrow 4K winner and permanent monument to Zoë Lund's legend. 🤠🥶
Delete"This is houston control we are t-minus two days till Junesploitation liftoff...FThis Crew, initiate movie checklist countdown......"
ReplyDeleteNirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (digital rental)
This flick and its TV counterpart were completely off my radar....it was an FThis reviewer on a weekend thread who brought them to my attention and im so glad they did. The premise of the tv show and movie is simple: two silly musicians are trying to book a gig at a local theater with crazy plans. In this case the plan is inspired by Back To the Future and...if you can believe it....things go awry! Its a fun, cute, silly story with a little bit of reflection on friendship and life goals and Orbitz fruit drink. Dug this comedy bunches.
Reed Strickland pushed the movie on us mid-February (https://www.fthismovie.com/2026/02/weekend-open-thread_0693066467.html?showComment=1771123170397&m=0#c2928105613797115233), and I'm glad he did. One of the most pleasant surprises of 2026 at the movies. 😃🧐
Delete