So I’m going to begin this post with a shout out to my friend and fellow blogger Michael over at moonknight65.wordpress.com. Michael is a very good writer, a knowledgeable film buff and connoisseur of retro television. He also knows music and–if I’m not mistaken-has worked in the music industry.
Michael likes the band X, which makes him very cool in my book.
That being so–Michael has very questionable movie watching habits…
Okay. I’m just going to come out with it:
He’ll watch almost anything. I’m not kidding…He is the most indiscernible, educated film watcher I’ve ever known. He confounds me. And confuses me. That’s one of the reasons we get along.
Here’s a for instance: Michael watches Hallmark movies. Okay, I’ve seen a couple myself. Literally two. Michael watches them frequently. Then he’ll turn around and watch Midnight Meat Train. I’m serious. He is an independent film fanatic and a proponent of the micro movie. He savors the avant garde.
At the same time he’s very hip to the classics. Same thing with his reading material. It’s all over the place. Eclectic. Smart.
Michael is a searcher for the diamond in the rough, the unexpected; the little movie that could. He’s always mining for gold. Sometimes he finds it.
He inspired this this post. After all, Midnight Meat Train is early Bradley Cooper.
See… There’s that diamond in the rough I’m talking about.
Cheers, Michael.
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Actor Logan Marshall-Green is a very handsome man. He has an interesting aura; it’s different. Quirky, yes. But not condescendingly so. More distinct than quirky, I think.
Like Mark Ruffalo. And Ryan Gosling.
Greene’s aura–presence, what ever you want to call it–is probably the most sincere and serene of the aforementioned. His eyes are kind.
Sometimes that can be distracting, like when he plays Mac Conway, a Vietnam Vet recently returned home from the war. Out of sorts. Jaded. Newly ambiguous. Conway becomes a paid assassin navigating the wiles of the Dixie Mafia circa 1972.
The series is Quarry. Stuck on Cinemax, where it can still be accessed, it survived only eight episodes. September 2016- May 2017.
Quarry is both interesting and uneven, potential follows it around like a lost dog. The acting rates a solid B–and that’s because the actors are trying too hard. They seem intimidated by the pervasive theme of 70s grit glam. As such, Quarry is interesting–to look at.
Set primarily in Memphis, Director, Greg Yaitanes is clearly taken with the ambiance, i.e., everybody sweats a lot as they perform their tasks–extraordinary and mundane–in buckskin and flared denim, with pecks and cleavage exposed. Oh, yeah…The hair…It’s greasy.
Everybody’s hair is greasy in Quarry. And everybody looks like they haven’t bathed in two days.
See what I mean? Grit glam.
Too bad it doesn’t pass the smell test. At least, not to those of us who are actually from the South. We barely recognize the accents as they are on the end of the spectrum at extreme. Still, it’s worth a look–especially if you don’t know any better.
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Logan Marshall-Green is better cast as Will, in Karyn Kusama’s brilliant and startling psychological horror film, The Invitation (2015). Set in the affluent, new age otherworldliness of Hollywood Hills, we are introduced to Will and his girlfriend, Kia (Emayatzy Corinealdi) as they are driving up the steep and winding incline of an estate. They are accompanied by dread. Kia urges Will to make the best of it.
The estate turns out to be Will’s former home and the woman of the house is Will’s former wife. Her name is Eden (Tammy Blanchard). She’s rich and she’s weird.
Dressed in a figure hugging floor length frock, Eden glides along like an an early forties ballerina on oxys. She radiates Stepford Wives. Her new husband, David, (Michiel Huisman) is too polite–too polished–in a too cool guy, kind of way. He flashes the glint of a control freak.
Inside the rambling Richard Neutra inspired house, there are more guests–all mutual friends of Will and Eden with the exception of a clearly mentally ill, child-like, twenty’s something house guest, Sadie, who likes to walk around naked from the waist down. (I know, I’m exhausted too, but the sentence stays in the post.) She’s a friend of David’s.
Then there’s the backstory of Will and Eden’s relationship that comes crashing to the forefront, like an animal that leaps into your windshield on a road less traveled. They once had a son. Their son was murdered.
Will deals with his grief in a tragic, yet, normal way–he experiences anxiety attacks, hopelessness and cynicism. In other words, he experiences pain. He allows himself to feel it.
On the other hand, Eden is determined to escape pain. And she is so selfless and empathetic that she doesn’t want anyone else to experience pain either–especially those she loves–because the little pain that she has allowed herself to feel is just–well frankly– it’s too painful. (That’s Eden in a nutshell. You wouldn’t want to be trapped inside a car or a house with her, Richard Neutra or not.)
If you think you know where this is headed–you’d be right…And wrong. And that’s the existential grey zone that Will finds himself wandering in for three quarters of the film. When that barrier is broken, all hell breaks loose and it’s brutal–and at that point it switches genre to thriller. I liked that flourish, you may not.
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And that brings me to Leigh Whannel’s ambitious Sci Fi, body horror, thriller Upgrade, (2018.) This a superb film from start to finish. It achieves all of it’s objectives, e.g., an atmospheric cyberpunk current that binds up loose ends, special effects that hold up, (despite a paltry three million dollar budget) a mesmerizing color palate and soundtrack–and, this above all, a sexy everyman lead, (Logan Marshall-Green) that every man, woman and child can root for. Theoretically, of course.
I’m not going to delve into plot here, I’ll just reveal that it’s my favorite of the three exercises in Logan Marshall-Green. I’d be willing to bet that if you like action and can at least tolerate cyberpunk…If you like your violence with a dash conscience and and a smattering of humor…If a touch of medical espionage and body horror doesn’t turn you off…Upgrade is for you.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed One To Watch. And don’t forget to checkout Michael at http://moonknight65.wordpress.com
Thank you so much for your kind words,Pam! I think I watch films the same way I booked bands in my other life…always looking for the new big thing and finding it more then not.
Sometimes its not the viewing that is the fun…its in the sharing…and I like to think the cheetah and I entertain quite a few folks with our all over the place watching.
This is so amazing,,,,,
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My pleasure, Michael. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
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Wasn’t there another show called Strike Team or something like that that was on Cinemax the same time “Quarry” was on? Now I’m going to have hunt that down…..
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Yes there was…is,,,I tried to access Quarry just last night on Cinemax and I got only the overview of the series. But if you can dig it up, it’s worth a look.
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I wonder if it got a home release? I’m going to poke around and see….
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I was out hunting this past weekend and found a copy of “Quarry”…..for 22.00….too rich for our blood but at least I know its out there!!
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Man…That is pretty steep. I’ll be on the look out too.
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Michael has left very intelligent comments on some of my posts in the past, and I echo your praise for his writing.
As for the actor, the TV show, and the films you mention, I have no knowledge of them at all. But if you recommend them, I will certainly look out for them. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, Michael is a good blogger. He is worthy of the praise. The two movies I reference, The Invitation and Upgrade are very good if you run into them. Thanks for reading, Pete.
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Thank you Pete…I do enjoy my time on your blog,definitely one of my favorite places to drop in on…..
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Great post 🙂 Though I have not been on his website in a long time (I think I am long overdue), I love the blog entries that Michael writes and If it was not for your wonderful website, I do not think I would have stumbled upon his wonderful website as well 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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Thank you John. And I know Michael thanks you too. How was your vacation?
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My vacation was wonderful and thank you very much for asking 🙂
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John,you are always most welcome to drop by and say hello…and am so thankful for the support you two have always shown me. I am very thankful!
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Great Post-Pam… I just saw an old interview with Wayne Rogers who is from Alabama. He said the hardest thing about southern accents is what southern accent to use. Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Miss, and Florida all have different variations. I never thought about that before but he was probably right.
The movie sounds good.
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Yes. They all have variations and they all can be beautiful, too, though nobody gets that right except for Billy Bob Thornton, when he’s not selling out. He gets it, but, then again he should, he’s from Arkansas.
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I automatically think of Sling Blade and the accents. He hired many actors from Arkansas I believe for that. They got that right.
I’ve heard ridiculous southern accents in movies. Pretty much mocking but not meant to be. An upperclass Kentucky Colonel accent I’ve heard a lot that was unapproiate for a movie.
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I watched the first episode of Quarry and was telling everyone this was a hidden gem of a series. Couldn’t wait to watch more. THEN the buggers cancelled it WTF! I didn’t bother finishing it.
I love sci-fi so I was in my element with Upgrade. How incredible what they pull off for the “low” budget. The body take over scenes (especially the first one) was laugh out loud funny and then horrific at the same time. One bit in the toilet had me looking through my fingers not wishing to etch something truly horrifying on my brain.
Will look out for The Invitation.
He’s definitely an actor to look out for.
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Yeah, I was into Quarry too. I actually liked the character Buddy more than, the main character Mac and that’s a problem. If you didn’t get any further than eps. 1 then you haven’t been introduced to that character yet.
Agreed, LMG has star potential.
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Another good one, Pam. I will check out Michael’s blog. Always on the lookout for something different. I watched Quarry and had mixed feelings about it, Never decided whether I liked it or not. The attraction for me was having read some of Max Allan Collins books that the series is based on. .
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Yes. I’ve read about those. You liked the books, I presume?
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I have read the first three in the series and did like them.
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I may check into those. Thanks John. and thanks for reading.
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Michael is TOTALLY eclectic and I’m glad I bumped into him in the electronic ether ’cause it’s definitely been a blast reading all his stuff. On top of which, he’s very supportive and encouraging when it comes to writing and gave me some personal insight into something of mine.
I like this actor too. I actually skipped the summary of Invitation ’cause I immediately knew I wanted to see it and don’t want to know about it beforehand. You probably didn’t put any spoilers–but I’ll go back and read it after I’ve seen it.
Quarry sounds like it had potential: if it had lasted, maybe it would have grown into itself a little more. Like they would have washed their hair sometimes and honed the accents in with time, lol.
That reminds me of Jodie Foster in Elysium and how her *accent* kept coming and going like the tide……
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Ha! I haven’t watch Elysium, though I thought she overdid the accent in Silence of the Lambs. I know I’m in the minority on that, but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Yes, Michael is a good guy–all around. I enjoy his eclectic rummaging and his intellect.
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I can’t all the credit,I do have one crazy cheetah co-writer to help me out….
While I enjoyed Jodie in “Silence”,I really enjoyed her in “The Inside Man”,she was pretty bad ass in that….sort of weird how we don’t hear much about that film these days.
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Maybe you’re not in as big a minority as you think. Probably a lot of other people who live in places, like you do, where people are speaking with their genuine accents know Jodie overdid it with hers. No Meryl Streep is she, lol!
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