Lynch and Luis meet the Little Rascals

6 comments November 19th, 2008

Over at his excellent Some Came Running blog, writer Glenn Kenny discusses the brand new Our Gang boxed set and discovers that the classic comedy shorts — specifically the early ones and, even more specifically, the 1930 short “Pups is Pups” are more than just movies about little kids getting into mischief, they’re surrealist mini-masterpieces fit to sit on the shelf next to the works of David Lynch and Luis Bunuel.

That above shot from “Pups is Pups,” for instance, is the sort of thing Kenny says looks like a landscape from Lynch’s ERASERHEAD — and he’s right. The old Our Gang shorts are full of those sort of moments  — plus, they’re darned funny to boot.

Man, I gotta get my hands on that DVD collection. I want my daughter to grow up watching the oddball antics of Depression-era scamps just like her old man did when he was a kid.

Bonus trivia question: Can anyone name the former Little Rascal who actually co-starred in a David Lynch movie?

Early TWILIGHT reviews … sort of

2 comments November 19th, 2008

There’s a strict, studio-imposed embargo on TWILGHT reviews (usually not the best sign), but audience reactions from preview screenings are starting to leak out, thanks to the modern miracle of Twitter. Here, courtesy of Cinematical, is a sample:

“TWILIGHT: cheap looking and often hilarious. DARK SHADOWS at DEGRASSI JR HIGH. With half the budget.”

“Twilight, seen. It wasn’t terrible… Wasn’t great, either. I hate movies that are painfully mediocre. They are worse than bad movies.”

“If you want to hang out with a lot of teenage girls and sexually frustrated middle-aged women, get yourself to a “Twilight” screening!”

The writer of the Cinematical post, Erik Davis, points out that most of these reactions came from men, who are definitely not this movie’s target audience. That means how good — or bad — this movie actually is is anyone’s guess. Two things, however, are certain.

1. It’s going to make a ton of money

2. I’m already sick of it.