Jesus' Son (1999) - Built on a series of short stories, Alison Maclean's film stars Billy Crudup as a ne'er-do-well drug addict stumbling semi-philosophically through various episodes. The film starts as he meets the woman that would end up getting him hooked on heroin, through their tragic relationship and his collapse, and then into a slightly offbeat redemption when Crudup's character gets clean. Maclean does a good job threading the episodes together and using various techniques to add some style. Crudup plays the character in a manner so that he sometimes seems developmentally challenged, which is a bit of an odd juxtaposition with his occasional bursts of philosophical introspection. Various well-known actors pop up in minor roles, with Dennis Hopper really doing the most to add something in a very brief scene he has. Holly Hunter also is solid as a woman that is extremely unlucky with her lovers. The film is amiable enough and it is good enough to recommend. But it didn't quite strike any deep emotional chord with me, which left me feeling a bit disconnected from the film by the time it ended. Screened on DVD.
Killer Party (1986) - This horror film meets sex comedy is incoherent trash and a waste of time. I get a sense that there are some people that have tried to elevate this to cult status in the "so bad it's good" genre, but it didn't fit that mold for me. It was just bad. The plot is nonsense - not in a "this is crazy" way, but in a "when are they actually going to begin the story" way. The comedy isn't funny, so it doesn't work on that level. I have to believe horror fans won't like that they have to sit through an hour of garbage before a horror film actually starts rolling. It doesn't work, intentionally or unintentionally, on either level. A complete waste of time. Screened on Warner Archive Instant.
The Show (1927) - This silent film comes from the latter part of Tod Browning's directorial career, but a few years before he made Freaks and Dracula. It tracks some performers in a Budapest sideshow. One of them, played by John Gilbert, is trying to fleece a naive farm girl. Another, played by Renée Adorée, is torn between her love for con-man Gilbert and her current boyfriend, a thug played by Lionel Barrymore. When the farm girl's father turns up murdered, the thing unravels for Gilbert, so he goes to hide out at Adorée's apartment while Barrymore (the real murderer) plots to kill Gilbert with an iguana. Yes, an iguana. The early part of the film is interesting and Browning's coverage of the Budapest sideshow and freak show suggests a precursor to his brilliant Freaks. Unfortunately, it turns into little more than second-rate melodrama and the second half is fairly boring. Barrymore makes for a pretty solid villain, and there are a couple of chuckles from the film's sense of humor, but overall the film doesn't have enough beyond the mediocre melodrama to recommend it.
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