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Cursed Films - Season 1
Cursed Films - Season 1
2020 | Documentary, Horror
Cursed Films is a 5 part series focusing on the ins and outs of film productions that were deemed cursed for one reason or another - the 5 parts concentrate on The Exorcist, The Omen, Poltergeist, The Crow, and The Twilight Zone movie respectively.

When this series is focused on the films themselves, it's a real treat. Some of the interviews are moving as hell - in particular the conversations with Richard Sawyer, Lance Anderson, Jeff Most, and Gary Sherman. These guys are to this day still affected by some of the things that happened during their film productions.
The Twilight Zone episode includes footage of the infamous on set accident which is genuinely haunting, and is honestly a really powerful part of the documentary having Sawyer's interview running alongside it.
The Crow episode is great as well, and the look we get at Anderson's relationship with Brandon Lee is so human and raw.
These moments really shine a light on how ridiculous the curse theories are, when in fact, they are just tragic events that effected real people, people who then had to deal with a following media circus.

The big thing I really didn't like about this series is only really relevant to The Omen and Exorcist episodes. It's almost like they didn't have enough material to fill the runtime of these segments, and so opt to pad it out with interviews with real exorcists, or magicians that practice black magic. I'm sure that there are interesting stories to be told by these people, but it feels really out of place and forced here. It's even cringe inducing at times and feels like very obvious filler. It detracts somewhat from what is otherwise a pretty solid documentary series.

Cursed Films is certainly an interesting watch, and is easy to digest in the 30 minute episodes that are presented. Also, that theme music is wild (found out it's by an Italian space-prog band from the 70s called I Signori Della Galassia!)
Worth a watch for sure, just ignore the silly filler parts.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated It All Began with a Scream in Books

Nov 11, 2021 (Updated Nov 11, 2021)  
It All Began with a Scream
It All Began with a Scream
Padraic Maroney | 2021 | Film & TV
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Uneven History of the Scream Franchise
This book covers the history and production of all four movies released to date in the franchise. With new interviews and research into previously released articles, Padraic dives into what went into the creation of each movie in the franchise. He starts with the origins behind Kevin Williamson writing the first script and covers casting, production, releases, and everything in between for all of the films.

Despite my normal cozy mystery reads, I am obsessed with the Scream franchise, so as soon as I learned about this book, I knew I had to get it. I appreciated the interviews and research that went into this book. There were fewer bits of trivia I didn’t know about the original movie, but the sections on Screams 3 and 4 made me understand some of my issues with those films better. I did feel that the writing lacked a bit of passion that kept me out, and many of the quotes could have been cleaned up for clarity to make the reading better. I would have really appreciated it if the author had included a person’s full name and their position in the crew more than the first time he mentioned them. There are a handful of typos throughout the book, and that wouldn’t bother me, except that each time my alma mater was mentioned by name, it was listed as Santa Rosa high school instead of Santa Rosa High School. Yes, it’s silly, but it bugged me. I also take exception to the producer interviewed about that controversy saying not getting to film at the school was censorship. While there is much to be said on the subject (and both sides behaved poorly during the controversy), it was never censorship. Overall, the writing issues keep me from giving the book a full recommendation, but I am glad I read it.
  
Daisy Jones & the Six
Daisy Jones & the Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
A true (fictional) history of a rock band!
I loved everything about this book. I’ve wanted to be in a Rock band since I was a small child. There were only two small problems with this: 1. Only I think I can sing; and 2. My mum would only let me learn to play the clarinet, not the guitar. Life is so unfair... Instead I live vicariously through my favourite bands and books like this!

Told through interviews with the various band members, we hear the story of the rise to fame of The Six, and their chance meeting with Daisy Jones. We hear the fascinating story of their relationships, particularly that between Billy the lead singer, and Daisy the OTHER lead singer.

It’s all very Fleetwood Mac - the love affairs, the break ups - I loved it! And yes, I did listen to Rumours once or twice whilst I was reading. How could I not?
  
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
2018 | Biography, Documentary
A real tearjerker of a documentary
It felt weird rating this documentary as "epic," but whatever.

I saw this in theaters this week and cried like a little girl. This is a documentary about a wonderful man who did wonderful things. It showcased how he cared--truly, truly cared--and it called on the audience to remember his message: that you don't have to do anything spectacular to be special. You're perfect just the way you are. You have inherent value as a person, and you deserve to be loved and to be able to love.

If ever there was a man who embodied Christian values, it was Mr. Rodgers. The interviews here were especially poignant. They have the diverse cast and crew offer their memories and opinions. Some are heartbreaking, like interview with Francois "Officer" Clemmons.

Do yourself a favor. Watch this documentary. Remember what you learned all those years ago: you are perfect just the way you are.