Casper: Eggs and Orange Juice

casper

Casper (1995)
Directed by Brad Silberling
Written by Sherri Stoner & Deanna Oliver
100 min.

Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about how great Casper is? Yes, the 90’s Casper, starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci. I don’t know about you, but as a kid I fucking loved this movie. But I feel like if I were to bring it up to people as a legitimately good film, they’d laugh at me. Well, laugh away if you want, because I revisited last night to make sure it holds up, and it turns out it absolutely does.

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Chloe Pelletier on Greg and John’s Argument

chloegregjohn

If you didn’t catch the latest episode of the Smug Film podcast, in which John D’Amico and Greg DeLiso get into a heated argument about film and film criticism, you should, because it’s important.

Having read the site for as long as it’s been around, I believe what sets it apart from most film blogs is that everyone here has a very unique and personal perspective on film—and that individualistic honesty is on full display in this episode.

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Box Art Trailer: Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
A BOX ART TRAILER
By CHLOE PELLETIER
Edited by CODY CLARKE
For the film SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER AND SPRING

Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSPf_ThouSY

Work Boots and Ballet Slippers: A Review of ‘Flashdance’

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Flashdance (1983)
Written by Thomas Hedley Jr. and Joe Eszterhas
Directed by Adrian Lyne

When mentioning having recently seen this for the first time, more than anything I hear, “Too bad you didn’t see it in the ‘80‘s—it was great then, but now it doesn’t hold up.”  Even people who like it seem to only like it ironically, for its leg warmers and soundtrack.  Few take it seriously—it’s got a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the screenplay got a Razzie.

Did we see the same movie?  Because to me, Flashdance is a cohesive and universally relatable work of art.  In fact, I was so impressed by it that I watched it again a couple days later.  What gives?

I think it has to do with it being so iconic to its era that people have become blind to its timeless themes and legitimate beauty.  It’s mistaken for a glamorous romp about a girl with high heels on, when really, it’s the struggle of a woman alternating between bare feet and work boots.  It’s remembered as an ‘80’s movie’ for silly, surface reasons, but really, it’s a human movie.
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The Final Member: A Documentary About Penises, And On A Deeper Level, About Documentaries

finalmember


The Final Member (Completed in 2012, Released in 2014)
Directed by Zach Math and Jonah Bekhor
90 min.

Spoiler-free.

There’s a scene in this delightful film about a penis museum and the men who want their members to be immortalized in it that is so important that I shouldn’t even talk about it, but I have to, because it unintentionally has a lot to say about documentaries. Don’t worry—I’ve figured out a way to discuss it without spoiling anything.
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