Torn Curtain [1966]
1. Most asinine line of dialog: “But that’s behind the Iron Curtain!”
2. “To celebrate I will pay for the liquid.”
3. Under the blankets again.
This movie reminds of David Lynch’s Dune: no matter how many times I watch it, it never gets any better.
Dead of Night [1945]
1. Savagely tearing apart the mirror on the wall.
2. “What shall we do tonight? Dress up, spend lots of money?”
3. Smashed face on the floor.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar [2021]
1. She’s thinking about Kermit on his bicycle.
2. Three pills in the treasure chest. They float away from the bar.
3. Headshake, ringtone.
When Grace Jones’s cover of “Tomorrow” from Annie came on the soundtrack, I knew this was the movie for me.
Intimidation [1960]
1. Beginning and ending with a train.
2. He slips on clear plastic galoshes.
3. Multiple receipts for counterfeit seals.
The Golem [1920]
1. Ecstatic figures on a platform flanked by glowing candelabra.
2. An epic manifestation displayed for the amusement of the royal company. They all laugh.
3. Aryan children sitting on top of the deactivated Golem.
Alex Wheatle [2020]
1. Put in a straitjacket, dumped on the floor.
2. Listening to shit.
3. As he sleeps we hear the commencement of a raid.
Runaway Jury [2003]
1. Valuable data cache stored on an MP3 player.
2. Powdered sugar on his tie. Mustard on his tie.
3. Lonely Sazerac at the Napoleon House.
Presumed Innocent [1990]
1. “It’s going to be so good.”
2. Is that a backdrop of Chicago outside his office window?
3. Brain matter on a claw hammer.
Derek DelGaudio’s in & of Itself [2020]
1. Eight years to learn how to hold a deck of cards.
2. Crumbling sand pedestal.
3. The frames collapse onto the floor and the audience gasps.
Let Them All Talk [2020]
1. Checking out the ship’s library to see which of her books they have.
2. “I was wondering if I could kiss you … sometime … in the near future.”
3. Thrombosis montage.
Me on Chicagoist
