Scarecrow's Blog From the Darkside

 Just a few episodes before a family get together on New Year's Eve. While I personally dread the election season, I love looking forward to Day One of the New Year so I can enjoy one final day of Twilight Zone marathon season. With just a few episodes like Little Girl Lost, The Little People, and The Dummy before breaking from TZ for the Eve day, it's a great close to the year when Syfy opted to kick off their marathon a day early.

 I almost got an entire day in. I woke up at 2 pm after a nice sleep, having missed the entire morning block. That's okay, because I just reached the 6:30 pm (Central Time), prime-time block (I did watch "King Nine Will Not Return" at 8 pm out of order, but that was it). Watching "The After Hours" at 11:30 pm instead when it came on at 6:30 pm still felt right. I am glad "The After Hours" made the prime time lineup this year, even if it was on the Eve to New Year's Eve. I hate that "The Hitch-Hiker" was in the morning, though. I still believe it belongs in prime-time, but it always seems to get lost in a forgotten morning lineup when everyone's asleep or buried in an early afternoon. One year, maybe SYFY will give "The Hitch-Hiker" its rightful place in the prime real estate when most TZ fans will be watching. Or maybe when it was shown is prime real estate. I watched it some time Saturday afternoon, but "The Fever"

 There is always a discussion on what season is the best in regards to Twilight Zone. I still think the first season has the most memorable, classic episodes. Of course, I've well documented my rationale on the blog as to why countless times. I mentioned "The Lonely" in my previous post, so that is left back there, but Twilight Zone sure had its share of assholes. in "Time Enough at Last", Henry Beamis just wants to read. Let the guy read, for goodness sake. The wife sure cucks oh Henry. ordering him around, discarding his poetry, disregarding his affinity for words. The bank boss sure smiles at the thought of Henry being deprived of his books, "the print". In "What You Need", Mr. Renard (I laughed at Serling's narration regarding his "carrying a chip on his shoulder the side of the national debt...imagine the chip he would have in 2023!!!) cannot be content that his life was saved by Pedott, the "peddlar" thanks to the sci

 YouTube TV isn't quite as good with their up-to-date timestamp regarding DVR as DirecTV. I set up recording the marathon on YouTube TV and The Lonely, the very first episode of the 2023 marathon, is an episode recorded back five months ago! Like, what?! Why would it not be this morning? Sigh. At any rate, interesting kickoff choice, The Lonely. Where Is Everybody? and One for the Angels pop up New Year's morning. I don't know why I continue to intellectualize and analyze how these marathons are put together. I'm sure they are low effort affairs now. I guess as I have written time after time in the past, Syfy still showing Twilight Zone is some small miracle. I just wish I was watching the episodes as they were recorded this morning. No big deal because I'm racing through these commercials anyway. Syfy decided to show a bunch of Twilight Zone this year, 140!!! So that's cool. What else can I say about The Twilight Zone episodes that I haven't year after year

 Going through the Letterboxed reviews, what you see a lot of are "Christmas movie, it is!" I'll tell ya, the Christmas tree and lights are all over the place. But that is aesthetic, wallpaper backdrop while sex, sex, sex takes center stage.  I did ask myself, considering the tormented auteur perfectionist Kubrick was, how many times did he shoot Kidman's lovely naked body from behind as she snapped her bra on. Or her fantasies through Cruise's mind with sailor stud...these are Kidman fully committed to very intimate scenes. So how many times did she have to do those scenes?! I have to say, Kidman naked in front of the mirror as "You did a bad bad thing" kicks up...pure fire. Can we not see why Cruise wouldn't want to take his hands and lips off if her? The iconic look to the mirror as the film's poster image. It sets the underlying sexual tensions. I'm sure they will have a good fuck after the final scene. I just wonder if she'll want hi

 I posted this in its full form on Letterboxd but decided to shorten that and add it here in its entirety instead: Maisie and the guys wanting to impress her decide to follow a demon rite found in the basement of an old Catholic school, returning to it December in 1971. A wintry atmosphere, the snowfall accumulating, a supper cooking by remaining adult, Rosie, with gifts even to unwrap, Jimmy eventually returning to pop the question. Clara and Samantha, two remaining students unfortunately left behind with no other place to go. Will the cult killers shed the blood of all innocents at the school and summon a demon to do their will like some djinn, or does a demon have plans for them? I have to be honest: Jude annoyed the fuck out of me. He was really laying it on thick. A bit too overripe. Jude really wants to be *the vessel* and tries to convince his “friends” of it. Clara, I think it’s safe to say, was far more convincing that she’s the one to give orders and hopefully leave the “pris

  It's that time of year again! Having a Gizmo was obviously a goal since I grew up with him. I told my daughter that I believe I had the Gizmo in the pink car toy growing up.

What a theatrical experience. Fifteen million dollars. This cost less than Marvel and Lucasfilm shows. And this film looks and feels just as grand and epic as the films touted so by Hollywood. Godzilla's rampage through Ginza after it's initial massacre of Odo Island mechanics while pilot, Shikishima, is so traumatized by war he is frozen in fear and unable to use his kamikazi plane is next level impressive. I kept thinking, 15 million dollars. Astonishing use of resources for such an accomplishment. The human drama, the message on what war can do and cause, and the effects and impact on the survivors trying to eke out some sort of rebound from the rubble through primarily the perspective of shellshocked Shikishima and another survivor, Noriko, looking after a child, Akiko, just built this inspired take on Godzilla that was taken very seriously and sincerely, while the fantastic director, Yamazaki, did not forget to remind us just how ferocious, devastating, and immense this mo