FanFare

A young man carrying a big basket that contains his deformed, telepathic, previously-conjoined twin seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Oct 22, 2022 - 8 comments

Marty Malt (Judd Nelson) is an unhappy garbage man who moonlights as an atrociously unfunny standup comic. He lives in a dark, grimy, garbage-strewn urban netherworld, where a company named Blump's apparently owns everything. His best friend and fellow trash collector, Gus (Bill Paxton), who accompanies him on accordion, eggs him on. When the "comedian" grows a third arm out of his back, the friend uses this twist to get him signed up with a sleazy talent agent (Wayne Newton), and it begins to look like his career is on the move. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Aug 14, 2022 - 16 comments

If ever there was a movie that could be called "virtually indescribable," this one is it. Loosely, though, it's about a con artist (Robert Mitchum) posing, or at least halfway believing himself to be, a traveling preacher who, during a short prison stay, meets a man sentenced to death, one who had stolen and hidden $10,000. The would-be preacher learns that the man will soon have a window (Shelley Winters), and an idea is born. What follows is half-gritty Depression era crime tale, half Southern Gothic/Grimm Fairy Tale (and or Good vs. Evil fable), as he tries to track down the money, via the widow's children. Now playing through July 23 at Watch TCM, available with a cable sign-in. [more inside]
posted by raysmj on Jul 16, 2015 - 15 comments

Cult Film Club: Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and 'pills' - the beloved "dolls." A prim New Englander (Barbara Parkins) unexpectedly skyrockets from her job as secretary in a talent agency to a glamorous TV model. A determined singer (Patty Duke) finds that Hollywood success can also spell self-destruction. And a beautiful sex symbol (Sharon Tate) is torn between the money commands and the shame of feeling exploited. Based on Jacqueline Susann's phenomenal best-seller about the underside of Hollywood, this fascinating melodrama was once seen as a shocking behind-the-scenes look at how show business creates instant stars, destroys romances and changes personalities forever. [more inside]
posted by maxsparber on Sep 1, 2014 - 5 comments

Cult film of the week: Comic actor Ben Stiller co-wrote, directed, and stars in this spoof of the fashion industry that began as a short skit for the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards. Stiller is Derek Zoolander, an intellectually challenged but bone structure-blessed male model who's despondent after being eclipsed in popularity by an equally vacuous rival, Hansel (Owen Wilson). Upon his reluctant retirement, Derek is invited to a day spa by previously standoffish fashion designer Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell), where the befuddled model is brainwashed by the mysterious Katinka (Milla Jovovich) into assassinating the prime minister of Malaysia. In addition to Stiller's real-life wife Christine Taylor, Zoolander co-stars his father Jerry Stiller, along with Jon Voight, David Duchovny, Andy Dick, and Fabio. [more inside]
posted by maxsparber on Aug 25, 2014 - 21 comments

In David Lynch's "dream of dark and troubling things," Henry is left alone in his apartment to care for his deformed baby and has a series of strange encounters with the beautiful girl across the hall and the woman living in his radiator. [more inside]
posted by maxsparber on Aug 4, 2014 - 20 comments