Man, that was good. One of those films where you forget you’re watching someone speaking a language you don’t know. Also, 1970s Brazilian pop music ROCKS.
If you own a movie theater, this movie gives you the opportunity to play a really mean prank. Tell people you’re showing “I’m Still Here,” and when they come expecting to see an Oscar-nominated film, show them the terrible Joaquin Phoenix documentary. Then again, the director of that is a creep, so maybe not.
I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about this movie’s lazy parody poster…
2025 has had kind of a rough start. One of the things that’s made it harder than usual was Los Angeles’ attempt to burn itself to the ground. This showing of Superman at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood was a fundraiser for a bunch of charities who are helping people impacted by the fire.
It was the right choice for a stressed city. Did I tear up a couple of times, including once right at the very beginning when the music swelled as Superman’s symbol appeared onscreen? I’ll never tell.
It’s not a perfect movie by any means- I could live without ever hearing Margot Kidder recite “Can You Read My Mind?” again- but it was a pleasure to watch a Superman who is unquestionably a force for good. I’ve always liked a Superman who’s greatest power is to do the right thing, even when the right thing is impossible. I hope Gunn’s version in July keeps that unwavering goodness in place.
Now, about this poster…
Yesterday, I blamed the poor poster on the poor movie. Today, I have no excuse.
Here’s hoping I remember how to make these decent soon.
There’s a thing going on in DC comics right now called the Absolute line. There’s an Absolute Superman, an Absolute Batman, and an Absolute Superman. The idea behind them is simple: How much can you take away and still have the story be true it the character? So far, it’s worked surprisingly well, giving new looks at the heroes without abandoning there core concepts.
This feels like someone had a similar idea for Star Trek, but in this case it absolutely does not work. Sure, it has some of the same aliens and characters, but it feels like someone went to a costume shop and said “hey, gimme some stuff from that Doctor Spock show.”
This was originally supposed to be a series. I see why they decided against it.
Also:I always fight to make decent parody images for bad movies. They take way too long, I never find source images I want to use (because they don’t exist), it’s hard to come up with a parody concept, and they never look as good as I’d like. Seriously, you have no idea how much work I put into this thing that doesn’t work.
…and now I’ve wasted the poster for A Star is Born on this terrible movie.
This is cracking good fun- it’s Wallace & Gromit, how could it not be? Wallace still has his delicate balance of brilliance and boneheadedness, and Gromit continues to be a combination of Jeeves and James Bond.
This is up for Best Animated Picture. It’s not my favorite of the bunch, but it’s still a lot of fun.
I wanted to do a “Revenge of the Sith” parody for this poster, but I already made a Star War. I think this is actually better.
When I was a kid in the 1970s, KCOP (channel 13) showed this movie. Watching it now, I can’t figure out how they did it. The movie is 75 minutes long, and half the scenes, including the climax of the movie, feature prominent nudity and/or sex. It must have been thirty minutes long.
Also: no, this isn’t a secret classic movie. It’s a silly “hey look at these boobs” film that I watched with a bunch of other folks just to make fun of it. Don’t seek it out.
This movie is about the first play performed in a video game world, and it’s all in-game recordings. During COVID lockdown in England, two actors stumble across a giant outdoor stage and are inspired to mount an in-game production of Hamlet. I’ve never played the game, but I knew that it builds its cities based on real world locations. I was amused when I saw that the stage they found was modeled on the Hollywood Bowl, which is just a few miles from my home.
There are some scenes that were clearly recreated to allow for some more nuanced acting, but most of the movie seems to be captures of actual rehearsals and performances. It’s a pretty fun spin on the “Let’s Put On A Show” movie.
The Grand Movie Poster
My silly poster project has caused me some surprising stress about the movies I choose to see. “That looks interesting, but I don’t know how I’ll spoof the poster.” My current plan: just watch the damn movies and worry about the poster after.
This was my best idea for this movie. Does it work? Not really. It’s hard to find a GTA screenshot using one point perspective.
What a great movie. If I weren’t already into cycling, this movie would get me there.
So, about this movie’s poster…
The obvious parody poster would be Breaking Bad. Unfortunately, I already used that one, so I had to do something else that was more complicated, and far too difficult for me to knock out on a school night when I should be in bed. Please enjoy this concept of a plan for a poster:
After we saw this, my spouse said I should call this section “Mike Leigh needs a hug.”
Some of the audience seemed to think this movie was a comedy, but it didn’t feel like one to me. Pansy says some clever things, but every word is soaked with anger and pain. She gets no relief from her caustic behavior.
A strong movie, but holy cow it was painful to watch. You know what it needs? A silly poster.
Hundreds of Beavers
HE TRIES TO CATCH BEAVERS BUT HE LOSES HIS CLOTHES AND GETS POOP ON HIS HEAD! AND THERE’S A GUY IN A HORSE SUIT!
I love this movie.
After Hard Truths I needed something silly and fun, and Hundreds of Beavers definitely qualifies. It didn’t trigger the crazy gut laughs like when I saw it the first time, but I re-watched by myself on my computer instead of in a crowded theater so that’s not surprising. I wish I could show it to my classes so they can see that great movies don’t require huge budgets, but it’s just a little too racy for me to risk playing it for middle schoolers.
Do you know what the wildest part of this movie is? This:
Things this movie has in common with Poe’s story:
The title
a cat (briefly)
Things this movie does not have in common with Poe’s story:
plot
characters
tone
message
It’s fun to see Lugosi and Karloff in the same film, and to see Lugosi is a (kind of creepy, but still mostly) good guy, but good golly this movie is silly.
Speaking of silly, here’s this movie’s really dumb poster:
The buzz about this movie was stuff like “Pamela Anderson’s greatest performance! Incredible!” That sounds great until you remember that she’s never been known as a great actress. I don’t mean to sell her short- there are some scenes where she is absolutely riveting- but they are surrounded by acting that ranges from “okay” to “bewildering.” Jamie Lee Curtis is strong, as she always is when not terribly miscast and slogging through dreck. But my favorite performance was from Dave Bautista, who gets to play small and subtle. I’m really glad he’s been able to somehow avoid always being cast as “Large Angry Fighting Person.”
And now some (very) slightly sad news!
I started making fake posters this year so I could use them as replacements on Letterboxd, but the site where they draw posters from is cracking down on fan art, which means this is the last one you’ll see on Letterboxd (and it will probably disappear from there). The good news: you’ll still see them here! Another great reason to visit my blog!
Othe spoof considered include: The Las Starfighter, The Last Dragon, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers
