Jason goes to Holehead--Day 3

The big day at the festival, with 5 features and one short.

First was the world premiere of "Circulation", a movie that has nice scenery and an intriguing premise, but falls short on character and plot. Noir-tinged narration opens the film with the narrator explaining that he died a while back and ever since he's been driving his truck on Mexican roads to Cabo San Lucas. So you know it's going to be strange, and it took me a while to get the death logic. Figuring it out is part of the challenge, but I'll reveal it here anyway. When you're dead, you take on aspects of an animal. The narrator Gene is a spider. He kills flies, wraps them in rope, and dines on them. He runs into Ana, who at first is on the run from her psycho ex-husband. She's a caterpillar, he's a dog. Her brother's a snake, etc. To complicate matters, there's a language barrier as Gene only speaks English and Ana only speaks Spanish. It's a good premise, and I definitely appreciate that director Ryan Harper didn't spell it out completely, choosing to let the audience figure it out themselves. But it was also very slow, too many times I was just waiting for something to happen. In fact, I'm kind of still waiting for something to happen. Here's a pic of director Ryan Harper:


Next up was the movie I was actually most looking forward to in the festival, "Summer Scars", so it was disappointing to note it had the worst attendance so far (at least of the screening I've attended). But that just means it's a more exclusive treat, at least I liked it. The previous collaboration of director Julian Richards and star (and British horror icon) Kevin Howarth, "The Last Horror Movie", actually changed the way I thought of horror movies and what it means that I'm a fan of them (in a nutshell, I had to become comfortable with the fact that I'm a bit of a sick fuck to like horror so much). "Summer Scars" is a bit less ambitious/audacious, but it's still a great movie on the strength of interesting characters and a tour de force by Kevin Howarth. A group of school friends (5 guys and 1 girl) head off into the woods for a bit of fun on the first day of summer vacation. They run into an eccentric loner Peter (Howarth). Literally, two of them are zipping around on a motorbike and run into him (or maybe he jumped out and attacked them). At first he seems kinda creepy, but then kinda cool. He enlists them to search for his dog Jesus (there's a lot of "looking for Jesus"/"I've lost Jesus" humor in there). He takes them to spy on a couple having sex in a car. He chases off older bullies (with his pellet gun, which becomes very important). But then he crosses some lines--particularly violent lines. He tries to teach them a lesson (which some might not get for 20 years) by having them all attack him. The fighting goes a little too far, he freaks out, the kids freak out, it becomes a pretty bad day. It's kept far more engaging than this synopsis sounds by the strength of fantastic acting all around. But there's also another point, that I didn't quite realize until I was thinking about it later. As a horror movie, this is about the fear of growing up (it's a horror coming-of-age story). And really, it's more Peter's horror than any of the kids, because the kids all have a good shot at a bright future. Peter is the one who has failed to grow up right, and as he's trying to impart his wisdom on the kids you can see his scars and how he's living the horror. The kids lived through one horrible day, Peter's lived the true horror of his life. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's still very, very cool.

Next was an excellent sci-fi flick "Homeworld". I have to start with a comment from director Phillip Hudson at the Q&A. He and his writing partner Glen Settle had shopped many scripts around Hollywood, with no luck. So they decided to make their own movie. Philip wanted to make it epic, about something like "saving all of humanity...from extinction! We have $5,000 to make it!" So that was the impetus for cleverly turning "running around in the woods" into "saving humanity". In the future, humanity is in a fight for survival with the evil Mendax, a race of mind-controllers bent on subjugating "inferior races". A small crew is tasked with a last-ditch mission to the Mendax homeworld. Only Doctor Bayne and Captain Dolen know the real mission, but when they crash land and the captain is injured the Doctor explains it--release a virus that will kill all the Mendax (and maybe them, too, but that's a small price to pay). Along with the Doctor and the Captain, there's Corporal Hart (the religious one with doubts about the mission--if God created the Mendax, doesn't he love them, too?), Lt. Gray (the smart one, with torn allegiances), and the only girl, Sgt. Fulsom. (BTW, notice there's meaning in almost all the names--Bayne becomes the bane of their mission, Gray sees things as neither black nor white, Hart is the one with a heart...). Trudging through the woods to the Mendax city, they come across and capture a Mendax--maybe. He looks completely human, but Mendax can do that. And suspicions and mistrust plague the crew (mostly from Bayne)--Mendax can cause that, too. Meanwhile they're all having strange dreams (Mendax again). And that's the beauty of the premise--since Mendax can control your minds, everything you see, hear, and believe might be a lie. And they play that too the hilt without it getting ridiculous (and I freakin' love the ending! But no spoilers here). So big kudos to the writing for that, and kudos to the actors for pulling it off. There was a big crowd there for this, its world premiere. Here's the only really decent pic I got, director Philip Hudson and actress Larissa Kasian (Sgt. Fulsom):


I just noticed that both "Homeworld" and "Summer Scars" had a bunch of guys running around in the woods with one girl. Theme?

Next program was a short and a feature, both with loads of gratuitous gore. The short, "Stink Meat", came with its own promotional barf bag (which I didn't quite need and wouldn't have worked anyway, it was just a paper bag and barf would've leaked through in a second). Anyway, a girl is tied to a chair and forced to eat meat--meat of a certain type of animal. Okay, it's human. You can see it here, it's just 5 minutes and it's pretty gross. Best short so far.

And the feature, "Trailer Park of Terror" was exactly the best you could expect from a movie called "Trailer Park of Terror". 20 years ago, Norma was "the queen of the trailer park". Smart, pretty, she had a future--i.e., she was gonna get the hell out of there. Too bad the grotesques living at the park didn't take to kindly to her new boyfriend. They just had to push him around a bit...oh, and kill him. So she ran...right into the arms of a tall, dark stranger (okay, the devil) who in exchange for her soul gave her a charmed gun to kill the whole fucking lot of them...and then she blew up the trailer park. Fast forward 20 years, a small group of troubled kids are on their way to a church retreat, driven by their young pastor. They crash into a truck (that's just there in the middle of the road). They search for shelter, find a trailer park, see a light on, and are welcomed by...Norma, queen of the trailer park. It's one of those little slices of hell on earth demon region flicks, as all of Norma's victims are demons who only come out at night (the rock and roll demon was my favorite, and actually the music is possibly the best part of the film). There are no surprises in the overall story arc, but there's plenty of blood, and it's all thrown out there with cartoonish glee, like this is straight out of a comic book. Oh yeah, it is, from Imperium comics. Anyway, here's director Steven Goldmann and possibly the grossest trailer park resident/demon, Tricia Rae Stahl (Larlene):


And finally, the midnight movie, after a few free Red Hooks, was the 40th anniversary presentation of "Barbarella", taking you back in time to when people wanted to see Jane Fonda's tits. I don't know how to start describing this, and I assume most people who are at all interested have seen it (if not, what's keeping you, it's been 40 freakin' years?) It's a bizarre, colorful parody of sci-fi and porn. Jane Fonda is a supremely sexual space traveller (although in the future, making love means touching hands and taking pills), tasked with a mission to travel to the world of pure evil and stop the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she meets an odd collection of characters, first one who teaches her a different way to make love. Later a blind angel named Pygar who has lost the will to fly--if only she had just learned something that will improve his morale. It even has Marcel Marceau (in a speaking role) as Professor Ping. Why isn't this movie bandied about with the likes of "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" when arguing about the best movies ever? Oh yeah, and Robert Rodriguez is re-making this, and as much as I like his work, I have to ask, "Why remake perfection?"

And that was Saturday with a Hole in the Head.

Jason goes to Holehead--day 2

The fun continues with three more movies, and a couple of shorts.

First up was the local short film, "Imp of Satan", which I like to call "Buttsecks of the Dead". A gay couple decides to move in together since one is having problems with his apartment/landlord. So he calls to tell his landlord he's breaking the lease. Too bad the landlord worships Satan. There's no way I could name them all, but here's a pic of all the Satanic imps behind this movie:



Then the feature film paired with the short was "Mindflesh", based on the novel "White Light" by local author William Scheinman. Chris is a cab driver, but lately he has neglected work to chase a vision. He swears he can see a beautiful (and often naked) woman, but whenever he chases her she disappears. His friends think he's crazy, and maybe he is but they're not really ones to talk (especially the cop who jacks off to crime scene photos). Things get especially strange when the mysterious woman becomes very real--at least for times. A friend loans him a book which might hold the answer, he tracks down the author who's angry and frightened by him. It all has something to do with his "Supernature". Maybe he has the psychic ability to make his obsessions flesh, or maybe his mind holds the passage to other levels of existence. What is sure is that there's a very naked woman in his home a lot, and they have sex (which might be literally him fucking his own mind). And this all has to do with some terrible childhood trauma, which manifests as some hideous fucked up imagery (I won't get the crotchful of maggots out of my mind for quite a while). Anyway, here's a pic of the sick bastards who came up with this--director Robert Pratten and author William Scheinman:



And then I saw the early winner of the festival so far, and an excellently twisted Japanese splatstick comedy flick, "Machine Girl". Ami is a peaceful but athletic girl. Her parents are dead (suicide after being accused of murder) and all she has is her little brother Yu. He's picked on by bullies, led by the son of the local ninja Yakuza gang. They kill him, she gets revenge they get revenge back, she gets more revenge. A good time is had by all. That good time involves tons of blood, ninjas, severed digits, limbs, heads. A machine gun arm, a chainsaw leg, flying guillotine, and tempura. That's just to name a few of the delights. A crowded theater was whooping it up all through the chaos. I think we have a new certified cult classic.

Oh, and for fans of Japanese splatstick gore-comedy, not only does "Machine Girl" play twice more--June 12 at 5 and June 14 at 9:30--but Holehead has added a new bonus closing night screening. On June 22, 8:00 at the Brava theater (24th and York) they've added the west coast premiere of "Tokyo Gore Police", with effects by the same guys who did "Machine Girl". This isn't on the printed schedule, and I don't know how prominently announced it is on the website. So you just have to be in the know. And now you are.

And finally the last show, with free beer by the wonderful sponsor Red Hook (at all the midnight shows). First up the short "Date of the Dead". Blind dates can be frustrating, but when your date has to constantly excuse herself on some pretense so she can feast on the flesh of the living, that's kind of awkward. And here's the guy responsible for it, local director Dusty Caruso.



And finally, the best title in the festival, "Mutant Vampire Zombies From the Hood". This one I'm dedicating to all my colleagues in nuclear medicine, since it starts with a drug deal gone bad in a Compton nuc med supply warehouse. This is actually important, because the lead walls storing all those radiopharmaceuticals protect them from the massive solar flare that turns nearly everyone else into zombies. Interestingly, this movie approaches the fast zombie/slow zombie/smart zombie logic in a unique way. The solar flare causes mutations that manifest differently in different people. So the survivors (one cop and several drug dealing gang members) have to battle all different types of zombies, including ones so smart they pass for human. Along the way they make references to Romero movies and others ("Aliens" comes up a lot) on their way to a surviving scientist who is broadcasting on public access TV. The scientist happens to have a really hot daughter, so repopulating the planet won't be a problem (and in the one sex scene she gets off on letting the zombies watch. That was pretty twisted). But first they need to get to the airport and escape. Basically, this was a great movie for getting drunk and shouting at the screen. It was a lot of fun. I wonder how it plays sober. Here's the homey who made this flick, Thunder Levin:

Jason goes to Holehead--opening night

One of the Holy Weeks of the film festival year started last night! It's great to be back, and I'm looking forward to a good looking lineup this year.

It's already started off better than last year. The opening night film was "The Gene Generation". The only caveat I have to put on this film is do not try to understand the science or take it seriously. I guess the second caveat I can put in there is while they accomplished a lot with a very low budget, the fake CGI backgrounds loook like...fake CGI backgrounds. I know this bugs some people, I can easily forgive it if the movie is interesting enough (and this one certainly was). What you should enjoy is the stylish cyber-punk Bade Runner/Crow future set design, the gross out giant worm/tentacles, and Bai Ling kicking everyone's ass (and showing her boobies in a brief love scene), and some good ol' sadism.

In the future, gene therapy research advanced to the point where you could heal instantly with a touch, or kill instantly (with tentacles that burst from the victims body--this is the science you shouldn't take seriously). Hayden technologies, the inventor of a DNA manipulation glove called a "transcoder", is blown up shortly after the weapon capabilities were starting to be explored (and turned Faye Dunaway in to a tentacle beast). One scientist survived, with the last transcoder. In the world left after the explosion, DNA hackers thrive, as do the assassins hired to take them out. The best of these assassins is Michelle (Bai Ling). Her problem is, she has a worthless brother, Jackie. He's a drunk and a gambling addict who's always getting beaten up for his debts. To maybe get a little scratch to help pay off debts, he robs his neighbor, and finds nothing of interest other than this weird glove like thing that clamps to people's hands and burrows into their skin (a Chinese finger trap for idiots?). The transcoder becomes both the MacGuffin and a weapon for the action that follows, as everyone struggles to possess it, and then to not be destroyed by it. And all the while, everything just looks fucking cool. No more plot spoilers, I'll just end by saying I loved it, and here's a pic of producer Keith Collea and director Pearry Teo:




Then I stayed for the second film of the night (rather than going to the after party), a Thai horror movie, "Alone". The premise is so simple and effective that it seems odd that I've never seen it before. Simply put, a woman is haunted by the ghost of her conjoined twin (or Siamese twin. Hmmm...Thailand used to be called Siam). Pim and Ploy were conjoined twin sisters, and obviously very close as children (in all senses of the word). But their bond became more like shackles just as soon as Pim fell in love with Wee. To be with Wee, Pim convinced Ploy to go along with the operation to seperate (they were attached by a small section of their bellies). Ploy didn't survive. Pim and Wee moved to Korea to get away from it all. Now her mother is sick in the hospital, and Pim returns home to look after her. Ploy's ghost uses the opportunity to attack.

But what impressed me even more than the simplicity of the premise was the excellent creepy atmosphere and just how well done everything was--even the scares I knew were coming still made me jump. A while back I mentioned that I was a big fan of Wisit Sananatieng and as far as I'm concerned he's the beginning and end of Thai cinema (other than the martial arts of Tony Jaa, which have never had a great story to go along with his skills). Well, since then the movie gods seem to have conspired to show me there's more to Thai cinema, like writer/directors Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom. New resolution, I will no longer ignore Thai cinema, and especially Thai ghost stories--they have excellent atmosphere.

Jason watches "The Last Movie", "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?", and "Running on Karma"

And I believe I set a new record for length of a title in a post.

Tonight Holehead starts, so brace for horror reviews for the next week. But last night, Dead Channels and the Film on Film Foundation presented a double feature of actors turned directors making hilariously indulgent movies with movies in them. Whew!

First actor-director was Dennis Hopper's "The Last Movie". I had a hard time summarizing the plot, until I went to IMDb and found this plot summary:

A film shoot in Peru goes badly wrong when an actor is killed in a stunt, and the unit wrangler, Kansas, decides to give up film-making and stay on in the village, shacking up with local prostitute Maria. But his dreams of an unspoiled existence are interrupted when the local priest asks him to help stop the villagers killing each other by re-enacting scenes from the film for real because they don't understand movie fakery... Written by Michael Brooke {michael@everyman.demon.co.uk}

Yeah, that's exactly what happens, but it doesn't describe the movie at all. You'd also have to say that it's a convoluted non-linear near-abstraction, shot in Peru--presumably with nearly everyone on cocaine--and edited for over the year--presumably under the influences of many drugs, but definitely under the influence of Jodorowsky's "El Topo". And you'd have to mention that the studio heads were befuddled by the final cut (even though it had already won an award at the Venice Film Festival) and only allowed a limited US run and no European release. And yeah, I can see how it can frustrate some audiences, but it's such an audacious spectacle that I just had to marvel at it. It's crammed full of ideas (or at least statements) about film making, reality, religion, violence, sex, and probably a whole lot of other things. I'm not sure if it forms a coherent world view, but it does form a picture of a hyperkinetic brain with a touch of ADD.

Next they showed a bizarre comedy, "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?". I have to confess, I didn't actually know who actor/director Anthony Newley was before I saw this. I had read the brief description that this movie was autobiographical (he plays Hieronymus Merkin, real life Joan Collins plays his wife Polyester Poontang, and their two real life kids play their two kids), and that it destroyed his marriage and his career. I can understand why, since he comes off as a womanizing, drug abusing, child molesting creep who only cares about himself--but it's all presented ironically. And yet in making this movie Anthony Newley comes off as a total narcissist. Hieronymus Merkin has just turned 40 years old, and since he's so important he's donating all the historical artifacts (films, audio recordings, etc.) of his young life to an institute. He's also screening a work-in-progress documentary film about his life (and writing and editing it as he goes along). The audience is his mother and his two children, some critics, and the filmmakers (writers, himself as the director, etc.). The film portrays himself as a marionette, with his strings pulled by greater powers. The greatest of the greater powers is Milton Berle as Goodtime Eddie Filth (aka, the devil) who leads Hieronymus from his early childhood stardom to a life of women and carousing (oh yeah, this was the X-rated cut). Soon he has women lined up beside his bed (which is placed on the beach). As his fame grows, so does his appetite, until he shamefully admits he developed a longing for young girls (I don't know how autobiographical this was). The young girl he finally seduces is the Mercy Humppe from the title. But at the same time, he meets Polyester Poontang (Joan Collins) and is driven back and forth between them. Ultimately he dumps Humppe and marries Poontang for the very practical reason that he got her pregnant. But as much as he tries to settle in to the quiet married life, his thoughts always return to Mercy Humppe--and to other distractions Goodtime Eddie Filth has for him (including a film within the film within the film about a Princess and a Donkey).

So yeah, it had everything to love in it. I don't know how to end this review, much as Hieronymus didn't know how to end his movie. But there might be a moral in there about recognizing your dragon and in doing so, defeating it. Of course, given that this destroyed his career and marriage, I guess this would count as a Pyrrhic victory. But who cares about him, anyway? He died in 1999, and his movie is still around (in beautiful Technicolor) to entertain me.


Now the only problem with this double feature is it conflicted with the Johnnie To series at the PFA. Last night's movie was "Running on Karma". Now I happen to have seen it when it played at Indiefest in 2004. So you could accept the "rational" explanation that I just looked in my archives and did a cut-and-paste job below, or you can believe me when I say I was in two places at once (I'm a physicist, I can do that!).

Anyway, I arrived at the PFA to see "Running on Karma", starring Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau ("Infernal Affairs" and"Fulltime Killer" among many, many others). As the movie opens, he's working as an incredibly buff (think Schwarzenneger in his "Pumping Iron"days) male stripper named Big. He's busted for indecent exposure by a female undercover cop (Cecelia Cheung). Wacky hijinx ensue as she becomes enamored with him, but he can see people's karma and sees that she will be murdered. Meanwhile, he uses his incredible martial arts skills (which he learned back when he was a monk) to help her fight crime, in hopes that he can save her and change her karma. Ummm...and then things get weird. It was pretty cool. Whether you're a fan of Hong Kong wackiness, or just wanna see a male stripper in a muscle suit, it's a fun movie.

Jason reaches back in his archives and pulls out "Sidekick"

So way back in Indiefest of 2006, I saw this neat independent Canadian superhero movie called "Sidekick". Here's what I said back at the time (imagine this in the middle of several reviews):

[N]ext up was "Sidekick", a wonderful superhero comedy. I wouldn't call myself a comic geek, but I do have a love of superheroes. If I had planned ahead, I would've worn my superman t-shirt for this show (I'm wearing it today, instead) [Jason's note: I've since worn it so much that it fell apart. I need to get a new one!]. Anyway, this was the first ever screening of the 35 mm print of this movie, and I got to see it first, by at least a few nanoseconds [Jason's note: because light travels at 1 foot per nanosecond, and I was the only guy in the front row]. It's the story of a comic book geek Norman (as in normal man) who works (in IT, of course) in a big financial company. One of the top dogs in the company is Victor (as in Victory Man), who has a secret--he has mild telekinetic powers (he catches a falling coffee mug that's a little out of his reach, he can always hit a home run in baseball). He keeps it a secret, but Norman is so obsessed with comic books and superheroes that he picks up on what's happening. He talks it over--hypothetically--with comic book shop owner Chuck (Daniel Baldwin, in a really cool supporting role), who thinks Norman is pitching a comic book idea. He convinces Norman to train Victor. Problem is, Victor is a jerk--not really hero material. And he makes a sort of Frankenstein's monster out of him (another meaning to "Victor"). A really cool, funny movie, with a weird homosexual subtext (typical of superhero-sidekick relations, even if they're both straight--which they are in this movie). Focus features (which made "Brokeback Mountain") has purchased the remake rights, so this version might be buried, but maybe you'll be able to see a Hollywood-ized version sometime soon. If not, this movie is great as it is, and leaves it open for a sequel (or trilogy?)

Yeah, I still remember and like the movie, it was really cool. I have no idea what happened to the Hollywood remake of this, but I'm sort of glad that it hasn't happened (yet?).

Anyway, what has happened is it got DVD distribution. Lightyear Entertainment is distributing it through Warner Home Video, and they were kind enough to contact me out of the blue and send me a DVD of it to review! It's available for purchase on June 10. When I have time to actually watch the DVD, I'll write another post about the DVD features (director's commentary, deleted scenes, etc.) In the meantime, it leaves me with a little problem. You see, although it's out on DVD in the US on June 10th, it's been out on DVD in Canada for a while. And I liked it so much, I bought the Canadian DVD. So now I have two almost identical copies of it, and I only need one. Which means...it's time for another amazing jasonwatchesmovies free giveaway!

Here are the rules. Leave a comment on this post telling me (and the world) what the best independent superhero movie--other than "Sidekick"--is, and why. It's gotta be an independent movie (I know you all love "Iron Man", but that won't work). And you've gotta explain why. In 100 words or less, make the case for your favorite indie superhero flick. In fact, I'll judge the entries entirely on the case you make--so if someone has already chosen your movie, you can still win by making a better argument for it. I'm going to be busy at Holehead starting Thursday, then I'm taking off for a family reunion. So the deadline is when I get back--June 21. Start...now!

Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum and sees "The Circus" (plus a couple of shorts)

It's about time I made it back to my little local hangout that happens to be the only theater that plays old silent films on a regular, weekly schedule. It's surprising how long it's been since I've had a Saturday night free to go to Niles. And now I'll miss it for at least 3 weeks, what with being at Holehead and then out of town.

But last night was a lot of fun. First a couple of shorts. First was "Modeling" by the Fleischer brothers (Dave and Max) and starring Koko the Clown. This is from 1921, and combines animation and live action very, very effectively. Max Fleischer dips his pen in the inkwell, the ink jumps out of the pen onto the page and forms Koko the Clown. Max draws a frozen lake and ice skates for him, so he'll have something to do. And Koko has silly adventures there. Meanwhile, in the other part of the studio, a man has come in commissioning a bust of himself out of clay. Trouble is, he has a huge nose and huge ears, and the bust just isn't right--it looks too much like him. While Max and the sculptor try to fix the bust, Koko jumps off the page and starts causing trouble in the studio. Very funny stuff.

I should also mention that this short was projected on their hand-cranked projector. When I first visited the theater and toured the projection booth, it became my new dream to someday hand crank a short film for an audience. Big kudos to the projectionist for this one.

Next up was the Buster Keaton short, "One Week". I've seen this before as part of the Buster Keaton DVD box set. But seeing it with an audience is a whole different matter. The story of newlyweds building their own house is full of Keaton's characteristic acrobatic comedy, and some completely absurd architecture. What more can I say, it's hilarious.

Then there was an intermission, and finally the feature presentation. This was a last minute rescheduling, because they couldn't get the film they originally wanted to play ("Orchids and Ermine" starring Colleen Moore), but as a last minute replacement you can do a hell of a lot worse than Charlie Chaplin's "The Circus".

They actually started this movie in sound, with the score Chaplin himself wrote for it. Just long enough for the opening credit song, sung by Chaplin himself (recorded for the 40th anniversary re-release in 1969, when Chaplin was 80). Then they turned the sound off an let Bruce Loeb take over at the piano (and he deserves kudos for the entire night's music).

For those who haven't seen "The Circus", Chaplin's famous Tramp character inadvertently joins the circus as he's running from the cops. Turns out, he's funnier than any of the actual clowns there, and without knowing it he's the star of the show. He's given a job, but can't do the actual clown acts. So he's made an assistant to the prop master, and gets his biggest laughs tripping over the props and "ruining" the show. He falls in love with the circus master's daughter, but a love triangle forms when she falls for the newest star, the tightrope walker named Rex. And, of course, in the wacky antics Chaplin ends up on a high wire himself.

But enough, I don't need to describe the plot. The gags are classic Chaplin, and it's hilarious. And of course, it's on DVD (in many editions), so just go rent or buy it and see it yourself. But still, there's nothing like watching it with an audience that's laughing along with you.

And that was last Saturday at the Edison Theater in the Niles Essanay Film Museum.

Jason watches "The Strangers"

As part of my effort to find a theater not playing "Sex and the City".

Anyway, "The Strangers" is a pretty good but not great horror flick. I appreciate that they don't rely on intentionally dumb teenagers or gratuitous "torture porn" gore. It's a small cast, a stripped-down plot, and a well executed slow build. A young couple are trapped in a house and attacked by three masked strangers. Allegedly based on (speculation about) true events, and they got the scares right. Yeah, it was okay, but not great. It was a good waste of 90 minutes.