Double Feature Friday: THE LAST EXORCISM and S&MAN

Double Feature Friday:
THE LAST EXORCISM and S&MAN
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

Two of the most unsettling films in recent years are both on Netflix streaming. One is a horror film about a documentary, and the other is a documentary about horror films. Both attempt to blur the lines between reality and fiction. Both succeed at disturbing.
The Last Exorcism is one of a slew of recent horror movies filmed in “documentary” style. The camera operator is a character in the world, and the cast know they are being filmed. This stylistic choice serves two purposes. First, it dramatically reduces the budget. Second, if used properly, the format can heighten the reality, an essential ingredient in scaring an audience. The Last Exorcism makes good use of the device, showing us just enough to keep us guessing, even eking out a ludicrous PG-13 rating by keeping anything too explicit just out of frame. And unlike many “found footage” films that explain the cameras by having a character near the beginning say something like “someone should be filming this”, the faux doc actually has a thesis. It feels like a real documentary. For awhile.
S&Man is an actual documentary about underground horror. Filmmaker JT Petty interviews actors and auteurs of B horror past and present. The independent productions use cheap effects that get really disgusting and sometimes a little too real. The film delves deeper than other docs on the subject as Petty wonders about the existence of actual snuff films. Some of the creepier filmmakers featured make you wonder if their onscreen violence extends to the real world. And there’s nothing scarier than reality.

THE WALKING DEAD

THE WALKING DEAD
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

Before Season 2 premieres on AMC this Sunday, you can catch up on Season 1 of The Walking Dead on Netflix streaming. Even the conservative TV viewer can finish the 6 episode mini-season in three days.
The show, based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, stays fully faithful to the tone of its origin if not the details. New characters and subplots have been added, but the story is thematically untouched. TWD is ultimately not about monsters but rather about character development under the harshest of circumstances. The show’s heroes are forced to examine their own morality and humanity in a lawless landscape filled with abject horror- those who survive, anyway. This focus is what elevates the book to great literature and makes the show one to watch for fans of genre and high drama alike.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Now Streaming on Netflix, New Episodes on HULU
*/5 Stars *varies Season to Season

Saturday Night Live has been the first name in sketch comedy for over 30 years. More than any other variety show it has entered the American zeitgeist, becoming a household name, a staple, and a tradition. But the show began as an upstart, with the “not-ready-for-primetime-players”, the rebels poking fun at the status quo. Now that the show is The Man, can we really count on it for the irreverent comedy we need? SNL has been accused of late as being stale, irrelevant, and worst of all, unfunny.
But there is hope for SNL, and that hope is the Internet. That’s right. YouTube is making Saturday Night Live funnier. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of amateur sketch comedy groups, anyone looking for a quick laugh can find it any time they want. It won’t have the production value of NBC/Universal, but it will be something you haven’t seen before. And that is the gauntlet laid down at the feet of SNL’s writers and performers. They have to step up their game to justify their existence in a world with FunnyOrDie, The Onion, and Derrick Comedy, a world where any college kid with a cell phone and a script can deliver big laughs. SNL doesn’t just have to be funnier; they have to be edgier. Most importantly, they have to be more original. Discerning comedy fans with long memories have been tired of the “recurring character in new location” formula for years, but now that people can watch their favorites whenever they want, putting on the same sketch week to week is coming off as more repetitive than ever. And it’s becoming clear from the past couple years that the writers are aware. So leave your prejudice at the door and give tradition another try. SNL is getting better. Because it has to.

SCREAM

SCREAM
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

There are two halves of Scream.
The first half is a perfect little 13-minute short film celebrating the slasher film. Drew Barrymore is a wonderful victim, and she and the phone gimmick are executed very well. When people remember Scream, they remember the opening sequence, and rightfully so. It’s strength and scariness carry us through the second half of the film.
The second half is just a solid 90-minute slasher film in which a few characters reference other horror films. Although this convention was pretty new in 1996 (but not unprecedented- see: 1992’s There’s Nothing Out There), it doesn’t make the film revolutionary.
Scream still holds up as a fun, well-paced ride and is especially rewarding if you watch with the ending in mind. The movie spawned three sequels of varying quality, but its great contribution to horror will always be 13 minutes long.

A Couple of Docs

Double Feature Friday:
JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK and 
MR. WARMTH: THE DON RICKLES PROJECT
Now Streaming on Netflix
4/5 Stars

Each of these documentaries gives remarkable insight into the long and storied career of a comedy legend. You’ll finish both feeling like you know much more about the history of comedy in general and the subject in particular. The big difference between the two is the perspective.
MR. WARMTH tells the story of Don Rickles mostly in the words of his friends and admirers, with only a few moments of interview with the man himself. A PIECE OF WORK practically gives Joan Rivers herself the camera. The documentarians follow her around practically 24/7 for months as she continues to tour, giving history lessons every few minutes. WARMTH feels like the final honor of a life of accomplishment. It is a retrospective of a man who seems to have found contentment. WORK, on the other hand, paints a portrait of a woman that will never be satisfied, that always wants to reach the next echelon, that wants to go on forever. This makes it the sadder of the two films, but also the more affecting.

BETWEEN TWO FERNS

BETWEEN TWO FERNS
Now Streaming on funnyordie.com
5/5 Stars

I love Conan. Ferguson has great conversations. Fallon’s energy is infectious. But the funniest late night talk show host is on the internet. Zack Galifianakis gaffs, pouts, and blubbers as the host of Between Two Ferns, a low-budget talk show parody exclusive to FunnyOrDie.com. Guests such as Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller, Jon Hamm, and Conan O’Brien play along to their comic strengths as Galifianakis insults and ignores them. New episodes are released sporadically, so every hilarious sketch is an event- a can’t-miss event for fans of Galifianakis, comedy, and ferns.

REVOLVER

REVOLVER
Now Streaming on Crackle.com
4/5 Stars

Guy Ritchie’s least known effort may also be his most ambitious. After the debacle of a departure that was Swept Away, Ritchie returned to form with a vengeance. Revolver features several Ritchie staples: Jason Statham, tough-guy talk, gunplay, and a supporting cast of quirky characters (including excellent turns by Mark Strong as a hawk-eyed hitman and Outkast’s Andre Benjamin as a chess-playing con man). The film is also as visually striking as we’ve come to expect from the experienced director.
The difference here is that Ritchie attempts to infuse this film with a deeper message about the ego and conception of the self. Does the movie effectively communicate its meaning or fly off the rails? Is it insightful or muddled? The answer is up to you and will likely affect how you remember Revolver, but there’s no denying the flick is 100% Ritchie.