Chadwick H. Saxelid's Blog: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggedy Beasties, page 45

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #16

As a symbol of good luck, all three filmmakers were required to "kiss the first slate," and Mike got a little carried away. The silliness took place on Day One of "The Blair Witch Project" in Burkittsville Cemetery, on a hill overlooking the town. Heather provided on-camera narration for the opening sequence, which focused on the unusually high number of children's graves in the cemetery and served as an evocative "hook" for her documentary.

Devouring the Slate
 

Underworld: Awakening (2012) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - Friday, January 27, 2012
Underworld: Awakening is one of two films in the Underworld franchise that I have seen. The first one was 2009's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which appears to have been a prequel film fleshing out the backstory of the first film and all its subsequent sequels. 

Neither film grabbed enough of my interest to compel me to check out the other entries, to see what I was missing out on. The only reason I did see Underworld: Awakening was because a friend-of-a-friend of ours, at the time, did not want to go the movies alone. Since I am a Monster Guy, I was willing to sit through watered down vampires fighting watered down werewolves. I was not all that engaged, but I was not bored, either.

Perhaps if I were to approach the franchise not as horror, but as action film oriented Urban Fantasy adventures, I might get the stick out of my muddy backside and enjoy the Underworld films for what they are. Frothy entertainments.

Maybe. But then, maybe not.

Back to the Future Part III (1990) - Soundtrack Collection

"These are our boys, Jules... and Verne!"

Separate films being made back-to-back, as one giant production, was not unheard of in the late 1980s. The Salkind Clause had existed for well over a decade by the time Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and Amblin Entertainment announced they would be making two sequels to their 1985 mega-hit Back to the Future, instead of the traditional one. Because they could not fit all of the story they wanted to tell into a single film.

It was a pretty big creative swing that, thankfully for all involved, paid off. Both for its makers and its viewers. Well, this viewer, at least. I recall the warm glow this finale ignited in my heart and the bright smile that spread beneath my widening eyes as Doc and Clara's time-traveling train took flight and swooped off to who knew where or when.

Silvestri's love theme for Doc and Clara debuts in the opening credits, which was markedly different from the second film's rousing "the sky's the limit" action adventure interpretation of the first film's iconic theme. A stylistic shift that communicates the warmer, gentler nature of Part III.

In the liner notes for this 25th Anniversary Edition composer Alan Silvestri describes the love theme as, "...an out-and-out nursery rhyme. Doc's love for Clara was childlike. It was the first time you felt Doc had ever experienced anything like that. And it was meant to be just a one-finger, simple, pure child's nursery rhyme."

That simple one-finger theme, which grows stronger and stronger as the movie progresses towards its exciting race back to the future, is my favorite thing about this particular score. A reminder that, for all of their time-traveling bombast and paradoxical play, the Back to the Future films are, at their core, about the power of love.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #13

Parker is bitter, unhappy with his current assignment in space and a frequent complainer to Officer Ripley about the working conditions aboard "Nostromo". 

Schoolgirls in Chains (1973) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - Wednesday, January 25, 1978I have come to believe that there are only two kinds of movie. There are movies I want to see and then there are movies that I do not want to see. Schoolgirls in Chains falls into the latter category.

What kind of movies I want to watch, when I want to watch them, and why I want to watch them are decided by my own idiosyncratic tastes and fickle moods. I can swing from something dead serious to a silly or campy romp. I could be in the mood for a slow burn or I could have a hankering for something a tad faster paced.

Yet there are films that I will probably never be in the mood or frame of mind to watch. Again, Schoolgirls in Chains falls into that category.

Back to the Future Part II (1989) - Soundtrack Collection

Once, a long time ago, I read a critique that proffered an interesting and challenging opinion regarding the scores for Jaws and Jaws 2, both of which were composed and conducted by the legendary John Williams. The opinion was that the score for Jaws 2 was superior to the iconic, and Academy Award winning, score for the first film.

I hold this very same opinion about the scores for Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II. The former, while fresh, vibrant, and iconic, is nowhere near as fleshed out and expansive as the latter. Of the trio of films, the score for this one is my favorite and the one I listen to the most.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #15

Born in 1973, Michael Williams remained fairly unfocused as a young adult before taking two courses in sound mixing and editing for film at Montgomery Community College. That's where he met Joshua Leonard and the two became friends. When Leonard teamed with Heather Donahue for Donahue's "Blair Witch Project," he asked Michael to join them.

Front: Mike sets up his equipment on the first day of shooting.

Michael Williams

 

Xtro (1982) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - Friday, April 8, 1983
I was still living in the United States when Xtro got its limited theatrical release, but I have no memory of it.

What I do remember from that time period was the gnarly image from the film that graced the cover of Fangoria's 24th issue.

Fangoria 24 - December 1982

There was also an interesting observation made about the film in The Twilight Zone Magazine's annual movie recap, printed in its January-February 1984 issue, titled 1983: The Year of Living Languorously (a scathing reference to the perceived mediocrity of most genre films released in 1983). 

TZ's recaps shared opinions of what was believed to have worked in the films, and what did not. The observation regarding Xtro was considered something that worked: "The oddly touching idea, buried somewhere in the film, that this entire story of a man kidnapped by aliens and returned to earth may be just the wishful dream of his abandoned young son." I like that read, it works for me. 

Xtro does have something of a dreamlike vibe to it and, if you go with that "wishful dream" read, its pairing with David Cronenberg's The Brood is an excellent choice. But I can't say the same about having Jekyll and Hyde Together Again serving as a comedic palate cleanser for this triple-feature. That movie is just plain dreadful.

Back to the Future (1985) - Soundtrack Collection

Here is an example of how my completist streak can guide a soundtrack into my collection.  I did not see Back to the Future until 1989 or 90, because I had decided to see Back to the Future Part II, or maybe it was Part III, on the big screen.

That would be the only time I ever watched the first film, although I did watch Parts II and III several more times, after they had come out on home video.
I also passed on the first film's original soundtrack album release, as it emphasized the rock and roll songs in the film, rather than Alan Silvestri's excellent, and iconic, film score.
But when remastered and expanded versions of the soundtracks for Back to the Future Part II and Part III were released, I felt it was only reasonable that I include this remastered expansion, which not only contains the complete original soundtrack, but also a second disc containing early session alternates.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #12

An emotional, occasionally high-strung young woman, Lambert is nevertheless an expert navigator and a valued member of the "Nostromo" team.