My beard is getting grey. Tiny little white hairs is forcing themselves out, taking over my chin one piece of skin after another. The hairline is slowly crawling up and away, like a dog preparing to die. But I kinda like it. I like it because I can look back at - soon - 37 years of experience. That, if something, is impressive for me. I would never want to be 17 again. Or maybe, if I could rememeber where I am today and knew how to get there a bit easier. But except that, nah!
Getting older, I'm fine with it.
For a movie fan, a geek, a film nerd - whatever you call yourself - it's even better. I've seen everything I'm suppose to see. I've watched everything worth watching in the Italian genre cinema, I've experience the J-horror craze up and close, I've dived into Swedish cult cinema and watched everything by Roger Corman. I saw Blair Witch Project on a crappy bootleg tape when it still in cinemas in the US, and it was scary.
Then came the Indian cinema, the Telugu parts of India, the wackiness seeing chubby, small men doing advanced kung fu with the help of not so invisible wires. I've discovered Japanese murder mysteries from the 70's, Indonesian rip-off's, Norwegian horror, American shot-on-video classics from the eighties.
Franco came and is still there. First the basics - Orloff, Faceless, She Killed In Ecstasy, then the sleaze, the weird sex-dramas, the noir-ish crime films from the early 80's, the later movies shot with no budget at all. Fulci of course, but I still many of his comedies to see, Argento - I've seen everything. My chase began for new martial art movies - from Indonesia (I began way before The Raid), Vietnam, Thailand - which took my life a step further by actually going there and finding some of the key actors. A memory for life.
I still, from time to time, does raids to get all the parts in horror franchises no one cares about. I have them all: Children of the Corn, Hellraiser. Wishmaster, Leprechaun, Critters - part one to fifty-seven. I'm starting to re-watch the splatter movies of the 60's, I'm more and more interested in the erotic thrillers from the 80's and 90's. It's like going back to the beginning, but it's not. It was just movies I ignored when they came - maybe because I was young and pretentious and just wanted obscure European films?
But this is just the surface, there's so much more - did I forgot Filipino superhero movies and Mexican wrestlers? I did. And Turkish action and Kurd fantasy, James Bond-rip offs from the Asian countries, Eastern European sci-fi, "American Giallos", gay exploitation, surrealism and downright classy story-based porn.
I can't get enough.
What I think is even more important is to be open about today's cinema/video/vod/whatever. The production is fucking bigger than ever. Indie movies are thriving, and there's so many creative geniuses out there - and I'm trying - I'M REALLY TRYING - to watch them all. From Irish monster movies to Taiwanese slashers.
We, everyone, who once entered this drug of an interested, owes every new filmmaker to go out there with open eyes, open mind and just watch everything we can see. I promise you there's much good stuff out there. I love the experience of hearing about something new. Sometimes it's Jason or Jocke who's heard something, or suddenly I see someone on Facebook who liked a movie I never heard of - and off I go, to experience. To purchase. Support, that's the key word here.
Sometimes it's shit. But in all honest, you can grab any random movie from the 70's and find it's even worse. Under all that nostalgia there's a lot of dung waiting to get the foot of a movie geek stuck in it.
I'm still searching the past for more stuff to see. I'm continuing to dig deeper into the Indian cinema, which is so huge is absurd. One day I will watch all those Edgar Wallace films I have on DVD, one day I will pour myself a huge mental drink of Pinku Eiga. I'm waiting for Eric Stanze or Jason Christ to make a new movie, I there will be a good production of genre films made in Sweden, serious films - not one joke 80's nostalgia jerk-off's. Real genre cinema.
I'm 37, and I still have that urge to find new and old movies, genres and concepts I haven't seen before. I love meeting new fans, new collectors, who just have discovered Fulci or Argento and just let them know where to go next. It's such an awesome feeling giving them old and new titles to watch, filmmakers to discover. Just to open the mind of a collector and make him realize how much movies he/she can buy from the whole world is a kick better than drugs. That's what makes those 37 years worth living, at least in this silly biz.
Somehow I hope this blog is an extension of the love I have of sharing more or less mainstream cult cinema and underratted filmmakers. To show people that there's no rules out there. You can love a movie, even if very few other does. You don't have to listen to what the acclaimed and "serious" critics out there say. It's all up to you, that's so awesome. But very few understands it.
I rarely write about movies I dislike because I find it to be a waste of energy. I rather encourage people to watch interesting flicks and make them experience something new than discourage them from something they might actually love.
Anyway. It's Friday afternoon now. It's weekend time. That feels nice. Next week Nymphomaniac is released in Sweden and me and G will be there. This weekend we will go bowling, drink some drinks and just chill. Maybe review or two. We'll see :)
"For a movie fan, a geek, a film nerd - whatever you call yourself - it's even better."
Yeah, and you can tell younger people that you saw some films in the cinema before they were born...hahhahhahahhahahh
"Fulci of course, but I still many of his comedies to see,"
What????
Fulci made...ehhhhhhh....comedies...?
I had no idea....
"I still, from time to time, does raids to get all the parts in horror franchises no one cares about. I have them all: Children of the Corn, Hellraiser. Wishmaster, Leprechaun, Critters - part one to fifty-seven."
Ah....Critters......it´s so wonderful, never seen Wishmaster series.....do some reviews will ya?
"I'm more and more interested in the erotic thrillers from the 80's and 90's. It's like going back to the beginning, but it's not. It was just movies I ignored when they came - maybe because I was young and pretentious and just wanted obscure European films?"
Yeah, it sucks in a way......how many times didn´t I stand in the video store in the 90´s......and rented some arthouse crap when I could seen something else?
Well, cable can help you sometimes.......
"What I think is even more important is to be open about today's cinema/video/vod/whatever."
Yeah, sometimes I forget that......
"Sometimes it's Jason or Jocke who's heard something,"
I have found lots of nice stuff on their blogs, they do a great job.
"Sometimes it's shit. But in all honest, you can grab any random movie from the 70's and find it's even worse. Under all that nostalgia there's a lot of dung waiting to get the foot of a movie geek stuck in it."
Yeah, crap has been made in every decade.
"one day I will pour myself a huge mental drink of Pinku Eiga."
YES, you need too!
"I there will be a good production of genre films made in Sweden, serious films - not one joke 80's nostalgia jerk-off's. Real genre cinema."
Yeah, that might happen......pretty soon even.
"Somehow I hope this blog is an extension of the love I have of sharing more or less mainstream cult cinema and underratted filmmakers."
I definetly think people know that......it comes across in anything you write.
"To show people that there's no rules out there. You can love a movie, even if very few other does. You don't have to listen to what the acclaimed and "serious" critics out there say. It's all up to you, that's so awesome. But very few understands it."
hahahhahahhah....yeah, I loved Parker(2013), and found After Earth(2013)to be very entertaining, and I was the only one who did that.
"Anyway. It's Friday afternoon now. It's weekend time."
Yes, enjoy your weekend, nice rant, thanks Fred.
http://youtu.be/FEKEjpTzB0Q
Posted by: Megatron | January 24, 2014 at 17:00
And what about Bud & Terence? Are you still watching those old classics?
I will never get tired of msny of those. I watch so much movies out there, but i always come back and revisit feelgood movies.
By the way. The other day i saw a Japanese "found footage" movie called the Curse. Have you seen that one? You might even have reviewed it?
I am not a huge fan of that kind of movies, but that one really was strong.
Posted by: Tobe | January 24, 2014 at 23:16