Author Archives: Eric Thirteen

Moneyball + Betting on Zero

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Eric Thirteen
Moneyball + Betting on Zero

Narratives vs numbers. Eric uses his tease voice. When you money some ball and win a sport. People who think they’re changing the world versus people who actually have an impact, for better or worse. Segway segue. The Sorkin trope of people working at their peak. Fictionalized reality. The importance of winning the final game. Scrappy revolutions. Betting on Zero and learning about multi-level marketing. The heroic wealthy white hedge fund man. Michael’s summary of Clint Eastwood films. The tragic victim at the top of the victim pyramid. Actual human suffering isn’t funny. Temporarily embarrassed millionaires. Anecdotes are the best friend of survivorship bias. Correctness is irrelevant to successful persuasion.

Climax + The Beach Bum

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Eric Thirteen
Climax + The Beach Bum

Maybe Gaspar Noé and Harmony Korine can be friends. Michael Climaxes all over a Beach Bum. The never-ending journey to give Harmony Korine a playmate. Eric has not figured out how to release Disposition. If you’re a Patreon, send in lists of films you want on the show. Climax is not a good time. The alternative to art is sometimes suicide. Building up to hell, then hell. Leaving the audience outside the character’s experience. Dancing. Leaving the alarming things unexplained. Maybe there aren’t drugs in Climax, as opposed to Beach Bum. Finding places in that feel like another planet. Secret wealth, privilege, and accomplishments. Pushing wheelbarrows of weed. Tripping into a Pulitzer without showing any labor. Eric gets upset that others might have wild success without doing much work. (No one tell him about his president.) Not letting the audience see how the character sees the world. Shit’s gonna work out, though. Michael on sharks.

The Verdict + Doubt

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Eric Thirteen
The Verdict + Doubt

The writing and cinematography adventure gets difficult! The Verdict and Doubt. The David Mamet, writer, and Roger Deakins, cinematographer, Year 12 journey continues. Even Mamet gets demands for rewrites. Convoluted plots that may not really matter without the core character. Writing a courtroom drama. Classic three-act structure. Deakins does what a film needs him to do. The things that happened on screen. Semi-ambiguous pedophilia returns to Double Feature. Foreground versus background. Subtle camera work allowing the story to advance. Revisiting the hypothesis. Ghosts versus sledgehammers.

Assassination Nation + Hail Satan

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Eric Thirteen
Assassination Nation + Hail Satan

Change through antagonism! A delightful experience with Assassination Nation and Hail Satan? Everybody who saw Assassination Nation died. Deliberately antagonizing people without just being a bigot. The trailer for Assassination Nation. A misunderstood teenager of a film. A Trojan horse full of challenging ideas for the audience. Check out this article. Hey Man, Nice Shot. The satanic church. Pink masses and turning the dead gay. The case for and against evangelism. When all your costume just amounts to wearing a fedora. Michael’s glad for the guy dressed as squirtle next to him in the theater, but doesn’t covet him. Satanic panic is dumb, but did lots of harm. On dismantling systems from within. Pigs heads are scary. Sign up for the Patreon and tell Eric and Michael what films you want them to cover.

Space Jam + The World’s End

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
Space Jam + The World’s End

Double Feature ends the decade with a very personal look at nostalgia. Mike’s Special Episode to close out the Year of Our Lord 2019 feat. the exploitation of nostalgia via Space Jam and The World’s End. The retroactive viewing of Space Jam. The differences 25 years makes. Michael Jordan used to be huge; now he’s just tall. The belief that things were better back when. Eric is still optimistic about the world. And loves Edgar Wright’s The World’s End. Darkwave and New Wave. Wanting to relive your past versus wanting to live forever. Nostalgia and the Internet. Michael’s message of hope: there is no God and it sucks for everyone right now. Death to Double Feature. Chip in a few bucks to keep Double Feature alive.

Blade of the Immortal + L’Atalante

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
Blade of the Immortal + L’Atalante

1v100. Takashi Miike returns to Double Feature with his hundredth film, Blade of the Immortal. French pronunciation secrets and Jean Vigo’s first and only film, L’Atalante. Eric and Michael ignore Alec Baldwin’s roles in both films and talk about bigger things. Having too much information. Someone who seems to still love his job, 100 films in. Barge life and dull synopses. L’Atalante is about feeling and is fucking amazing as a very early piece of cinema. Actual fucking cats. Michael presents a history of basic things invented after L’Atalante was filmed. Eric explains French New Wave and some of the art that followed in the footsteps of L’Atalante.

A Simple Plan + Logan Lucky

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
A Simple Plan + Logan Lucky

Crime without gloss. Looking into the heist with A Simple Plan and Logan Lucky. Join the Patreon and suggest some films, maybe have Eric read your name every show. Uncut Gems is notably not part of the Double Feature. Temporarily embarrassed millionaires. Education vs riches. Money doesn’t matter. Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan is full of extremely elaborate plans. Different decades’ notions of how well dumb people can commit crimes. Soderbergh returns to Double Feature with Logan Lucky. The mystery of Rebecca Blunt, who may or may not exist, but definitely got Soderbergh to come out of retirement to direct. CSI KFC. Odd, great performances. Smart films about dumb people. Eric’s crisis about dumb people being wildly successful. When a lack of inhibition helps you get ahead.

The Big Sick + The Lovely Bones

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
The Big Sick + The Lovely Bones

Supporting casts rally around center stage when these films’ lead characters check out of planet Earth. Smash that Describe. John is writing the show descriptions now. (Hi.) Eric re-crosses the pond. The Double Feature Host Bubble and questions of pairing. The Big Sick’s dramatization of the main character’s real life. Secrets, social discomfort, relationships, and support. Arranged marriages, without and with vetting. Chicago menu spoilers. Moving from the audience-based soft focus to camera-based soft focus. The Lovely Bones costuming may be slightly over the top. Looking like a cartoon of a pedophile lets you have a more interesting acting performance. Peter Jackson’s filmmaking trajectory. Creating a grandiose world out of a small event. Giving the victim a voice. What makes a film hard to revisit? Killers are not fucking interesting. Brian Eno is, though.

The Beyond + Three Colors White

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
The Beyond + Three Colors White

Spiritual trilogies meet again when Double Feature digs deeper on a new pair of filmmakers. Eric’s crossed the pond and is on a tin can for the first time since Double Feature: The Early Years. Part two of the two parallel trilogy adventure of Year 12. Gracious gratuity in The Beyond. The Gates of Hell cinematic universe that never was. People forgot the lessons of the spider scene. Greatest Hits of gore shots. Also probably a story. Types of deaths in horror. Atmosphere. Kieślowski’s Three Colors: White. The French flag and revenge. Or equality. Heavily underappreciated, superb art, for art’s sake. An unconventional interpretation of equality. Solondz with less cum. Having a less personal story allows for more comedy.

Border + The Princess Bride

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Eric Thirteen
Border + The Princess Bride

Border is a fucking perfect film. Double Feature is still not a review show. Double Feature is like a telethon, complete with commemorative plates. Michael on deciding on his favorite film of the year. Film that does more than it has to. Keeping the audience actively assembling, but not confused. Show up, watch Border. Michael’s favorite Cary Elwes films. The Princess Bride is very watchable. Films that hide everything vs nothing. Michael fails to bring up The Congress. Using a framing device to cut to the second tape of Titanic. Never let Michael edit for you. Pathsploitation.