I ended up having a little Abyss day Tuesday. I don’t know what happened, I just sorta cratered.
I was off, so I decided to DVD myself happy again. But where to start?
“Shaun of the Dead.” It’s a brilliant, comedic homage of zombie movies. There’s lots of arguing and profanity, people beating zombies with shovels and cricket bats, and it’s hysterical. Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright cowrote this, the first installment of their “Cornetto Trilogy.” This was a fine start. My mood was improving.
You find something that works, and you stay with it, so it was on to “Hot Fuzz,” installment two in the “Cornetto Trilogy.” This time, Wright and Pegg take on cop buddy movies. I like this even better than “Shaun.” One reason is that I’ve seen so many Dirty Harry, Lethal Weapon, etc, films. Also, the cast is spectacular, especially Timothy Dalton, Paddy Considine, Jim Broadbent, and Olivia Colman. Just fun. Over-the-top, well executed fun.
To wrap up, one of the sweetest, most-overlooked movies I’ve ever seen: “Matinee.”
“Matinee” stars John Goodman as Lawrence Woolsey, a maker of B horror films. Woolsey and his long-suffering actress girlfriend (Cathy Moriarty). The backdrop is Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and people are on edge.
Stuck in the middle is Gene (Simon Fenton), a junior high Navy kid whose dad is on one of the blockade ships. Gene and his family move every year, and he finds his solace in the movies.
Lawrence Woolsey is in Key West to premier his latest film, “Mant.” He employs all manner of trickery, like electric shockers in the seats, smoke bombs, etc. It’s showmanship.
Add in a cute girl named Sherry (Kellie Martin), her reform school ex, and a twitchy theater owner, and “Matinee” is a little gem of a film.
I feel better. What more could I want?
Shaun of the Dead: B+
Hot Fuzz: A-
Matinee: A-
Books and Movies and Stuff 
Well, I wisht Ida known you were cratering because I was too. It was a horrible day. I need to make a list of these movies for crater days.
I have seen Shaun of the Dead and it was fine. The other two I have not seen. But will try to!
Today feels like a better day.
I hate abyssmal days.
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I posted you a 16 minute piece of awesome if you’re still infected with soul pus.
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I hope you’re both feeling better today. Sometimes the Abyss just jumps up and swallows you, and other times it’s lying in wait for you to step in. But either way, you can laugh yourself out. Nice recommendations, tom.
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You could’ve called, and we’d be able to whine and kvetch. Hope today is better. It’s going to be stormy, so I’ll be in stabbyfeet hell.
You would really like Matinee. It’s just the nicest, sweetest, coolest little movie.
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You might be the only person I know who prefers Hot Fuzz to Shaun of the Dead. Glad you’re feeling better!
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Thanks, dollbaby. I’m not a huge zombie movie person, so a lot of the references went by me. I was all over the Hot Fuzz homages. I love Shaun of the Dead too. They’re pretty equal. And they both use the word “twat,” which i will now be using whilst driving for about the next week. xox
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I liked both of your first ones and the last one sounds familiar but if I saw it, it was a loooong time ago!
Sorry you were having the blues but happy to hear you’ve rehappyfied yourself!
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Twat. Twat. Twat. Twat. It’s a very underused word anymore.
Twat.
I hope that, despite stabbyfeet, your abyss gets a little shallower. I think this weekend, if I have a stretch of time to myself, I’ll see if I can find Shaun of the Dead. Or Hot Fuzz.
I’m sure neither is on Netflix streaming…
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I have never seen Matinee, but I’m going to add it to my to-watch queue.
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Let me know what you think, Steve. Matinee is Joe Dante’s love letter to movies and innocence. Really good stuff.
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I actually saw “Matinee” in the theater. It’s such a wonderfully sweet movie. And “MANT!” the movie-within-the-movie is also fun. (I don’t remember if the ! is in the title, or just should be). All the clips are compiled in a DVD extra.
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So YOU are the other one who saw it in the theater! My best friend, John, and I saw it as a matinee in a little movie theater in Baltimore.
The best thing about Mant! to me was the horrible dialog with parentheticals: “Bill will metamorphose–or change..” “Bill was exposed to radiation–which is measured in units called roentgens–during the x-ray.”
Love that movie.
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