Thursday Movie Picks: Rituals

-
This week's Halloween Theme from Wandering Through Our Selves is something you hope you're never a part of...a ritual. There are a ton of horror movies involving rituals out there and lucky for us, one of the best ones ever made came out this year. Here are a few I enjoy for varying reasons

 1) Midsommar

 This is still one of my favorite films I've seen this year, and it's the prettiest horror movie you'll ever see. Even when those horrifying rituals show up.

 2) The Ritual

 This one you can watch on Netflix about a group of men who get lost camping and stumble upon something sinister. It's pretty good, especially for how Netflix horror films tend to go.

 3)The Wicker Man

 Now for something stupid! You can't not laugh during the Wicker Man remake. It's one of the funniest movies ever made. I suppose if you're a huge fan of the original you might be offended by this movies' presence but it's one of the best bad movies out there. 

Comments

  1. joel65913October 24, 2019 at 7:54 AM

    I'm 0 for 3 again this week but then horror just isn't my thing. I have however seen the original Wicker Man which I can't say I loved but I admired it for it's strangeness and capturing a certain strange mood.

    I've heard positive things about Midsommar so I'll catch up with it some day but the other two I doubt that I'll ever see.

    I went back a little (and for one way back) for my three. I was reminded of my second by all the discussion about Sharon Tate (and she has a relation to my first) that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had engendered of late.

    Rosemary’s Baby (1968)-Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow in full pixie mode) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet (Sidney Blackmer & Ruth Gordon who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar). When Rosemary discovers she’s pregnant she becomes increasingly isolated, the now successful Guy begins to change in disturbing ways and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth. Roman Polanski’s first American film is a classic of sustained dread.

    The Eye of the Devil (1966)-French vintner Philippe de Montfaucon (David Niven) returns to Bordeaux with his wife Catherine (Deborah Kerr) when the estate falls on hard times. Upon arrival they are confronted by the beautiful witch Odile de Caray (Sharon Tate in her starring debut), who also lives on the estate with her brother Christian (David Hemmings). As time passes it becomes clear that a ritual sacrifice is expected to return the vineyard to its former glory.

    Häxan (1922)-Silent film explores the history of witchcraft, demonology and Satanism. Lacing a narrative of the persecution of a woman accused of witchcraft through its representations of evil in a variety of ancient and medieval artworks and offering vignettes illustrating a number of superstitious practices. The film ends by suggesting that the modern science of psychology offers important insight into the beliefs and practices of the past. Fantastic hybrid of documentary and fiction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 25, 2019 at 6:15 AM

      Eye of the Devil sounds interesting, I'll have to look that up. I need to re-watch Rosemary's Baby. I've only seen it once and it was a long time ago.

      Delete
  2. s.October 24, 2019 at 10:30 AM

    Wicker Man remake is one of the funniest movies ever made lol When he threatens Molly Parker with a gun to give him her bike lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 25, 2019 at 6:14 AM

      YES, basically any time he has to interact with anyone. lol

      Delete
  3. thevoid99October 24, 2019 at 2:18 PM

    I still haven't seen Midsommar as I really wanted to but timing relating to personal matters beyond my control prevented me. I hope to see that and Hereditary soon. The only film I've seen in that list is The Wicker Man as I just think it's fucking hilarious...

    OH.. OH... GODDAMN!!! HOW DID IT BURNED? HOW DID IT GET BURNED! HOW DID IT GET BURNED!!!!! STEP AWAY FROM THE BICYCLE!!!!! NO, NO, NOT THE BEES, NOT THE BEES!!!!!!! AH, MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!! IT BURNS!!!!!!!!!

    It pisses me off that HBO/Cinemax cut that "Not the bees" part in the film.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 25, 2019 at 6:13 AM

      THEY DID?! How?! That's iconic.

      Delete
    2. thevoid99October 26, 2019 at 12:59 AM

      I don't know. That is the reason I watch it whenever it's on and they kill my enjoyment of that film.

      Delete
    3. Brittani BurnhamOctober 27, 2019 at 11:34 PM

      Someone needs to be re-assigned for that decision.

      Delete
  4. WandererOctober 24, 2019 at 3:17 PM

    Well we sort of match on two...I picked the original Wicker Man. Yes the remake is good for a laugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 25, 2019 at 6:13 AM

      I feel so out of the loop with having not actually seen the original some times. I only know the bad.

      Delete
  5. JayOctober 24, 2019 at 5:07 PM

    I mean, that gif alone...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ronyell (a.k.a. Rabbitearsblog)October 24, 2019 at 8:02 PM

    Great list! I still need to watch Midsommar and I haven't seen either Wicker Man movies.

    Here’s my Thursday Movie Picks!

    Ronyell @ The Surreal Movies and TV Blog

    ReplyDelete
  7. BOctober 25, 2019 at 8:13 AM

    If a bear punches a woman in the woods and no one is around to hear....LOL Great list!

    ReplyDelete
  8. BirgitOctober 28, 2019 at 11:21 AM

    Midsummar is THE film this week and one I need to see just from what everyone has talked about. I haven't seen the others but that Wickerman GIF is so stupid but funny

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 28, 2019 at 8:06 PM

      I would LOVE to hear what you think of Midsommar. I hope you get to watch it soon.

      "Stupid but funny" might as well be Wicker Man's tagline.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more