Author Archives: Eric Thirteen

Tammy and the T-Rex + Behind the Curve

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Tammy and the T-Rex + Behind the Curve

Good and evil nonsense. A new release honors the late John Carl Buechler’s original gore effects as the Tammy and the T-Rex Vinegar Syndrome restoration blurs the line between 1994 release and 2019 release. Freshening up an old Double Feature gag. Who will admit that Tammy and the T-Rex actually happened (also, did it?) Denise Richards rides off on a dinosaur. Why do the restoration? Behind the Curve is a flat-earthers documentary, and it’s fun, and is that ok? Why people believe weird things. The power of community, even when the word “community” mostly just means an intangible thing in a sad person’s mind. What’s the harm? Remembering the work of James Randi. Continue reading →

Porco Rosso + My Life as a Zucchini

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Porco Rosso + My Life as a Zucchini

The final stop in the Studio Ghibli stop motion adventure. The journey comes to and end as year finale questions are flirted with. What Porco Rosso means to someone who has just watched a string of Studio Ghibli films. A single adventure in a larger world. There are symbolic Studio Ghibli war movies and then there are Studio Ghibli movies wherein the war occurred or is even portrayed. Hayao Miyazaki antagonists. My Life as a Zucchini is called Ma vie de Courgette in French, which sometimes leads to the English version being called My Life as a Courgette. Especially if you’re quite British. A defense of G-rated film for fans of ugly subject matter films. The utility of motifs for visual and meditative storytellers. Various motifs in My Life as a Zucchini. Continue reading →

Deerskin + Get Duked!

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Deerskin + Get Duked!

Country side gets fucked in to grounded movies that spin into surreal wtf nightmares. Deerskin, also known as Le daim, also known as this weird fucking Quentin Depieux film. One cannot prepare for Depieux weird. What the jacket really wants. The unlikely stars who show up for this bizarre time. Coat-wearing dysmorphia. A horror film for some, a great fantasy about filmmaking for others. Get Duked! as a Danny Brown v Run the Jewels hip-hop megacut. The music videos of Ninian Doff. The D of E! The plot of Get Duked is based on a real, no kidding Duke of Edinburgh award which is a very real thing that very real british kids can all go do. How a fast paced film can go beyond the machine for empathy and become an audiovisual adrenaline shot. Continue reading →

Lost in Translation + He Died with a Felafel in His Hand

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Lost in Translation + He Died with a Felafel in His Hand

Adrift in the world. Two Americans get Lost in Translation. The midlife crisis is a redux of the 20 something finding their place in the world. 2003, Focus Features, and the rise of the existential indie into the mainstream. It’s ok to be a rude fuck if no one can understand you anyways. It would be nice if Americans learned something about the immigrant experience from Lost In Translation but that’s probably too much to ask. Double Feature takes a trip back to magic time in their lives with He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. Missing out on the present. Eric recalls the most obvious thing he didn’t even think to film during The Birthday Massacre 2006 Bootleg. Continue reading →

Sound of Metal + Jacob’s Ladder

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Sound of Metal + Jacob’s Ladder

Addiction to normalcy. Moving demanding conversation: the style of the Sound of Metal debut could mark the return of the film festival style release (even if there was no festival). An entire way of life is threatened, and with it goes the sense of normalcy. The denial phase. How drug addition is the unspoken experience looming over Sound of Metal. Avant-garde music is the perfect choice for the film. The pain of audio in a visual-heavy medium. Manipulating language to keep the audience alienated. The notable consciousness-threatening first hour of Jacob’s Ladder. Michael believes the audience’s entire relationship with the film’s madness can be pinpointed to a single critical scene. What was happening in horror when Jacob’s Ladder came out and how it may have secretly helped pay the way for the new tone of the 90s. Continue reading →

The Lure + The Untamed

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
The Lure + The Untamed

Art-smut! Tentacles and sea-foam reign as Double Feature continues to live deliciously. The Lure find another coming of age use for genre metaphor. What are the rules of the world in The Lure and more importantly, to what ends are they used? Eric makes a stretch for trans-themes and honestly give it a go. What the ending of The Lure could me for audiences and also teenage girls. The Untamed from the tentacle’s perspective. Who are the players and how are their stories intermingled? Homophobia, repression, guilt and shame. No one shame this tentacle though, it’s doing its best. Character mysteries once the plot is settled. Continue reading →

Booksmart + Moonlight

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Booksmart + Moonlight

Mainstream films with the stomach for sexuality identity discourse. Booksmart makes an appeal to both blockbuster and niche audiences. Rewatchability – how editing and pace and reward an audiences many times over. Challenging the far too common trope of sexual identity and experimentation in the college years. Other ways Booksmart pushes narrative to be just a bit more sophisticated. Moonlight is a surprising breakthrough. Why Moonlight should garner attention even before any discussion on its themes or narrative. Picasso’s Bull. Dissecting the relatability of a film you don’t see yourself in. Double minorities and the fracturing of networks of support. Continue reading →

Memories of Murder + The House That Jack Built

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Memories of Murder + The House That Jack Built

Punishing cinema gets criminal. Memories of a Murder subvert the ringer trope. What makes this Bong Joon-ho film truly upsetting. South Korean cinema creeps up on Double Feature in a retrospective of the films covered so far. The unrated cut of The House That Jack Built and the MPAA fuckery that caused it. A report from the sold-out one-night-only showing of Lars von Trier’s uncut killing spree. Art is Murder. No, you’re thinking of The Smith’s song. Getting away without rolling the eyes. How The House That Jack Built provokes in new ways. The stories about Lars and how they feed into the controversial film. Always remember: fuck Hulu. Continue reading →

Chelsea Girls + Bad Girls Go to Hell

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
Chelsea Girls + Bad Girls Go to Hell

Sex and sexploitation. Artfuck films ask the world to rethink their preconceptions on cinema and smut. Chelsea Girls provides a deep dive into Andy Warhol. What is actually on the screen during the runtime of Chelsea Girls? Why is it there? What does it mean? How Any Warhol films were made. What Any wanted as an artist. The Factory and factory films. Bad Girls Go to Hell causes Eric to take a pause on sexploitation. Exploitation films as a Chicago-based phenomenon. In an era where audiences and consumers are more conscious of their choices than ever, what is the value of programing Bad Girls Go to Hell? Asking hard questions about what audiences give a spotlight to. A new Woody Allen documentary series provides a brutal point of comparison. Continue reading →

The Martian + Fermat’s Room

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Eric Thirteen
The Martian + Fermat’s Room

Rooting for smart people to solve the room. Matt Damon is making it work on Mars. Building a narrative feature film with a protagonist who has no one to interact with. Charm and charisma is apparently how you avoid 90 minutes of talking to plants. The power of great people doing their best work. Plant-based devastation. Solving Fermat’s Room before grandma’s Facebook feed does it for you. A broader conversation about the solvable bottle movie. Contained puzzle thriller role-call. Triangles not included. Circle and the race to strip down the escape room. Continue reading →