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The Deepest Cuts: MYSTICS IN BALI (1981)

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

Witchcraft, voodoo, black magic: spiritual practices which harness otherworldly powers are inherently fascinating to the outsider and have provided research material and fodder for wild and often dangerously prejudicial imaginings for centuries. Take a classic dramatic work like The Crucible or Dreyer’s Day of Wrath, in which witchcraft serves as the metaphorical fulcrum for political or moral lessons, where the existence of the supernatural is either completely discounted or irrelevant. These are important, valuable contributions to art, society, and so on. In stark contrast are just the kind of films we’re interested in, wherein the dark forces are definitely real and the only moral lesson is simple: don’t fuck with the occult. Mystics in Bali is a totally one-of-a-kind example of the latter.

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Director Face/Off: Paul Thomas Anderson Vs. Quentin Tarantino (Part Two – Reusing Actors)

QuentinvPTAPART1
This time, Director Face/Off pits two legendary visual storytellers against each other: Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. While some may disagree, the two have some stuff in common – both directors were obsessed film fanatics at very young ages, broke into the industry humbly by way of short films and co-written screenplays, and then went on to make cinematic staples like Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights. Both directors make solid, intriguing films held up by foundations of strong, colorful characters, nonlinear narrative continuity and plenty of violence. Who does it all better, though? 


Like our former Face/Off directors, Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino have a thing for reusing actors. Let’s find out who reuses their talent of choice better.

Battle 2: Reusing Actors

Round One:Recently Updated9

Philip Baker Hall

Anderson Filmography: Cigarettes & Coffee, Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia. 

Michael Madsen 

Tarantino Filmography: Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Sin City (Tarantino was a “guest director) 

Anderson landed the talent of Philip Baker Hall in his debut short Cigarettes & Coffee, garnering them both a cult following that amassed even more following Magnolia, and Hall’s role as game show host Jimmy Gator. Michael Madsen is most notably remembered as Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs, the guy responsible for the iconic “ear scene,” in which he also dances nonchalantly to Stealers Wheel. There’s no denying Madsen’s roles in Tarantino films are quite typically the lovable badass villain, as proven by his role as Budd in the Kill Bill series.

Winner: Michael Madsen/ Tarantino 

Round Two:

Recently Updated10

Joaquin Phoenix

Anderson Filmography: The Master, Inherent Vice

Uma Thurman

Tarantino Filmography:Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2 

Anderson’s work has always been deep in story and subject matter, but at one point in his career, his work went from deep to really f-ing heavy, around the time that There Will Be Blood came out. Following the two and a half hour oil-drilling epic drama came The Master, where Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie, a drifter haunted by inner demons and PTSD who follows a leader of a religious movement. Uma Thurman’s roles as Beatrix Kiddo in the Kill Bill series and Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction are both pretty much legendary in cinema. With rumors of a third installment to the Kill Bill series in the works, there’s just no battle here!

Winner: Uma Thurman/ Tarantino

Round Three:Recently Updated11

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Anderson Filmography: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, The Master

Samuel L. Jackson

Tarantino Filmography: Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Django Unchained 

 This is a very difficult round, due to the incredible talent of both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson. While Jackson is a Tarantino staple, known for his righteousness, filthy yet quotable lines and just general badassity, Hoffman is just as worthy from his proven versatility and range in Anderson’s films alone.Between confessing unrequited love for Dirk in Boogie Nights or leading people into an inner circle of unconventional beliefs as a religious leader in The Master, Hoffman gives incredible, real performances. RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman!

Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman/ Anderson

Subjective Winner: Tarantino Reuses Actors Better

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Join us next week for the next battle,  and check out prior segments:

Battle #1: Tell Offs

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The Deepest Cuts: SOCIETY (1989)

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

Society 4

We all know that the members of high society are different from us hoi polloi – they drive fancier cars, they wear designer clothes, their hair is always perfect. But these are just aspects of the shiny spectacle of wealth and good breeding that they present to the public, and while shows like Keeping up with Kardashians give us a so-called inside look, we all know that there’s a fair degree of editing and staging involved. What does high society really do behind closed gates, hidden from the masses’ view, free to revel in their own advantages? Society reveals just that – and be warned: it is sick and oh-so-twisted.

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Director Face/Off: Paul Thomas Anderson Vs. Quentin Tarantino (Part One- Tell Offs)

QuentinvPTAPART1

This time, Director Face/Off pits two legendary visual storytellers against each other: Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. While some may disagree, the two have some stuff in common – both directors were obsessed film fanatics at very young ages, broke into the industry humbly by way of short films and co-written screenplays, and then went on to make cinematic staples like Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights. Both directors make solid, intriguing films held up by foundations of strong, colorful characters, nonlinear narrative continuity and plenty of violence. Who does it all better, though? 


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The Deepest Cuts: NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

Night of the Creeps 2

Aliens with disturbingly large heads! A crazed ax murderer/mental hospital escapee! Fecal-looking, slug-like parasites that enter their human prey through the mouth! And, of course, zombies!! Though it obviously has a little something for everyone, Night of the Creeps is definitely a horror movie fan’s horror movie, with its twisted sense of humor, countless references to classic films of the genre, legitimate suspense, and, my personal favorite, plenty of gore.

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The Deepest Cuts: C.H.U.D. (1984)

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

CHUD 1
A gnarly green claw reaching up and pushing aside a manhole cover. A fluke-like, decomposing face glimpsed in the reflection of a quarantine mask. A flash of bared teeth – sharp, fang-like chompers. These are the Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (C.H.U.D.), living beneath the streets of Manhattan, thriving in the dank waste of modern society. And as long as they’re staying deep underground, attacking only the city’s least-wanted, it’s of little concern to city officials; but as the film’s opening demonstrates, the C.H.U.D.s are hungry, and they’re coming for average, above-ground citizens – and their little dogs, too. And, they’re awesome.

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Director Face/Off: Wes Anderson Vs. Richard Linklater (Part Five – Their Other Stuff)

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Wes Anderson
and Richard Linklater –prominent writer/directors, Texas natives (both have roots in Houston) and coincidentally my two favorite humans. Their latest films were nominated for Best Motion Picture this year and, delving further, their careers have evolved at very similar rates, humbly paving the quaint dirt road that was the indie film scene in the ‘90s with
Slacker and Bottle Rocket. Onward, they transitioned to tastemakers, acquiring cult followings with Dazed and Confused and The Royal Tenenbaums. With each film Anderson and Linklater make, their toolbox gets a little bigger without compromising their eclectic and pridefully offbeat styles, one vastly different from the other, yet hauntingly similar. Which leads to the question, who does it better?

In past Face/Offs, we’ve pitted directors Anderson and Linklater against each other, comparing their very best films, their tried-and-true indie gems. This week we’re taking a slight departure from the directors’ most known work, to their little known work, or at least less known. In this final installment to pit Anderson against Linklater, we ask “Who does other stuff better?” Read More

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The Deepest Cuts: THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (1969)

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

Honeymoon Killers 3

“The incredibly shocking drama you are about to see is perhaps the most bizarre episode in the annals of American crime. The unbelievable events depicted are based on newspaper accounts and court records. This is a true story.”

The solemnity of this opening title card suggests that the ensuing film will be serious – a true crime exposé, an episode of 60 Minutes. Do not be misled. Premiering in 1969, at the beginning of the New Hollywood era, in which independent, international, and schlock (from the likes of American International Pictures) films were emerging as a critical force in the world of cinema, The Honeymoon Killers is hardly a news-channel-appropriate treatment. Shot in the stark black and white of the era’s arthouse films and starring soon-to-be cult-movie stars Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco (in their first onscreen roles), it’s a compulsively watchable, disturbing combination of devastating violence and dark comedy.
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Director Face/Off: Wes Anderson Vs. Richard Linklater (Part Four – Memorable Quotes)

WesVsDick4
Wes Anderson
and Richard Linklater –prominent writer/directors, Texas natives (both have roots in Houston) and coincidentally my two favorite humans. Their latest films were nominated for Best Motion Picture this year and, delving further, their careers have evolved at very similar rates, humbly paving the quaint dirt road that was the indie film scene in the ‘90s with
Slacker and Bottle Rocket. Onward, they transitioned to tastemakers, acquiring cult followings with Dazed and Confused and The Royal Tenenbaums. With each film Anderson and Linklater make, their toolbox gets a little bigger without compromising their eclectic and pridefully offbeat styles, one vastly different from the other, yet hauntingly similar. Which leads to the question, who does it better?

Wes Anderson’s oh-so-deadpan characters spout off some wise, sometimes just straight up madcap tidings, whereas Linklater’s characters go for the gold with philosophical revelations even too deep for Tiny Buddha, and one-liners that end up on t-shirts. Let’s compare the two directors’ most memorable quotes.

Battle 4: Memorable Quotes

Round One:

Swordsasda

“That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
Linklater – Dazed and Confused

“Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone’s *not* a genius? Do you especially think I’m *not* a genius? You didn’t even have to think about it, did you?”
Anderson – The Royal Tenenbaums

In Dazed and Confused, David Wooderson is a grown-up loser who still hangs out with high school kids. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Eli is a self-absorbed author of western books and also an endearing stalker who hangs out in closets wearing only his underwear. His prose is truly hilarious, as we discover when he reads an excerpt at a press conference: “And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight . . .” Both memorable characters, but Wooderson’s wacky wisdom lives on forever in frat houses across the world.

Winner: Linklater/ Dazed and Confused

Round Two:

ElectricGuitarfish

“I have been touched by your kids… and I’m pretty sure that I’ve touched them.”
Linklater – School of Rock
“I’ve never seen so many electric jellyfish in all my life!”
Anderson – The Life Aquatic

Both School of Rock and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou have ample amounts of hilarious, memorable quotes. Nothing beats that awkward moment at the parent-teacher conference when Dewey Finn says that perverted quote without even realizing. Ned Plimpton, in his nasally, southern accent-y voice, declares his quotes in a state of enamored fascination. Quotability, in my opinion, is based on if you can shout an obscure quote at a dinner party totally out of context and have people laugh, rather than stare are you questioningly.

Winner: Anderson/ The Life Aquatic

Round Three:

MaxFishcering

“You know how everyone’s always saying seize the moment? I don’t know, I’m kind of thinking it’s the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us.”
Linklater – Boyhood

“I saved Latin. What did you ever do?”
Anderson – Rushmore

Linklater’s most recent coming of age opus Boyhood is ripe with wisdom and heartfelt realizations. So is Anderson’s Rushmore, which follows a confused kid as he gets caught up in an obsession with a teacher at his school. I could be biased here, since I’ve been quoting Rushmore avidly for years, but there is just so much angst-filled honesty in Max Fischer, such vulnerable truth.

Winner: Anderson/ Rushmore

Subjective Winner: Wes Anderson’s Quotes are Better

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Join us next week for the next Wes/Dick showdown and check out prior segments:

Battle #1: Reuse of Actors
Battle #2: Locations
Battle #3: Music

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Camera Obscura: DARK CITY

Camera Obscura: (Latin: “dark chamber”) is an optical device that led to photography and the photographic camera. The following films penetrate the modern psyche through an all too clear lens–its iterations, ethos, phobias, catharsis, and moreover, crisis. With stunning clarity, these masters peered into a void and showed us the contemporaneous man in all of its conflicting form before our eyes.  

Dark City 2

Every time I read or watch narrative subject matter about modern life, I’m reminded, like others, of our former observers’ clarity. Yes, they had unstoppable imaginations lit on fire, but as fantasy bleeds into reality it’s the warnings that leave a knot. We know they’re there, but our modes of modern catharsis are only synthetic and soon we won’t know what’s real and what’s not. John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) doesn’t know, violently waking supine in a water-filled bathtub as a dingy ceiling light undulates above. More so, he awakens with no memory to an Art Deco nightmare where, in the words of “The Strangers”, “All times and no times are blended together.” Read More