Before I discuss what films I've watched theatrically as of late, my activities on Friday the 13th will be mentioned. Dinner was had at Smoke & Donuts, a low-frills establishment in Orlando which combines BBQ and donuts... that is one heck of an idea. Both were good; I then was going to stop somewhere else before heading home but plans changed so instead I went to the Oviedo Mall for the first time in ages. They have some unique stores yet it's still not a place I'll visit often due to the distance & tolls.
That said, one of those places is a used media store which is going out of business so I picked up some CD's for only a buck each. That includes Jim Croce, The Doobie Brothers and a 2 disc best-of from Jimmy Buffett; the latter I was surprised was still available. Also, for the first time ever I went into a Spirit Halloween store. It amused me; in case anyone knew & wondered, yes I did see last year's Spirit Halloween: The Movie because it co-starred Rachael Leigh Cook! It was average but if you have tween kids like those who were the leads in the movie, it should be a fine gateway horror film until they can watch the more visceral genre efforts in the future.
Speaking of tweens, while at the mall (which has a Regal Cinemas) I chuckled when I saw a quartet of young girls obviously excited, dressed in a particular way, about to enter the Regal; it was obvious what they were going to see. I imagine they had a grand old time but I knew beforehand that was going to do such boffo business, I saw all my movies before that came out. To do this in chronological order:
Stop Making Sense: This was the 1984 Talking Heads concert film from Jonathan Demme. It got re-released this year after getting restored. I knew various songs from the band yet had never seen it before; now, I understood why this was such a blast, between seeing it on an IMAX screen, the presentation, the songs, and the stage show where David Byrne especially was sweaty w/ all the gesticulating he did.
Expend4bles: Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse! The first two films were a lot of fun while the third was lame. However, number 4 was just putrid. The story was embarrassing, although not as much as the “special effects” that looked atrocious. Megan Fox I've never understood the appeal of; she has had so much plastic surgery, she barely looks human now, which ironically also described her “performance.” I couldn't believe how bad that was. The same goes for...
The Exorcist: Believer: The original will forever be a classic, the second is at least a hilarious, bizarre sort of bad while the third is flawed yet has some great moments. Believer, though... what a mess the plot was. Worst of all, an Exorcist film wasn't even scary. It even made Ellen Burstyn look terrible.
The Creator: At least this was far more enjoyable. The plot is technically original, even if its ideas are familiar and there are more than a few cliches. It avoided many of the modern movie tropes I'm not a fan of and looked great for its relative low budget. I enjoyed the film more than many, to be honest; I'm happy to be in the minority here.
The rest of the month there isn't too much on the agenda. I'll return sometime between real late October and early November.
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