Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

89. The Fog (1980), John Carpenter, Avco Embassy 90. Assassin of Youth (1937), Elmer Clifton, BCM Roadshow 91. Reefer Madness aka Tell Your Children,The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness (1936), Louis Gasnier, Motion Picture Ventures 92. A Time for Drunken Horses (2000), Bahman Ghobadi 93. Doctor Strange (2016), Scott Derrickson, Walt Disney Studios 94. Marihuana (1936), Dwain Esper, Roadshow Attractions 95. Gimme Danger (2016), Jim Jarmusch, Magnolia 96. Blues Road Movie (2002), Louis Mouchet 97. Child Bride aka Child Brides, Child Bride of the Ozarks, and Dust to Dust (1943), Harry Revier, Astor 98. Deadpool (2016), Tim Miller, 20th Century Fox

What is classic rock anyway? Sometimes genre specification make me wonder, especially when I listen to music from numerous genres as I work. However, I often believe the genre, rock music, is not so much a genre as a catchall category for most types of guitar-based music made after 1965. Just like alternative rock, such subgenre categories as hard rock, have become close to meaningless. Those who have suffered through my endless diatribes about certain periods of music know that I reserve specific definitions for other genres: rock 'n' roll to me is a very specific type of music drawing from Sun Records luminaries like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Indeed, bands who play rock 'n' roll today follow this template. Yet it is more about rocking out on bass, guitar, and drums than exploring guitar solos. Rock 'n' roll is also an attitude like punk that gets the job done fast and dirty with little indulgence. In the last couple days my musical ex...

79. Breakfast With Hunter (2003), Wayne Ewing 80. Blow-Up (1966), Michelangelo Antonioni, MGM 81. The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), Giuliano Carnimeo 82. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972), Kenji Musimi, Toho 83. Spasmo (1974), Umbero Lenzi 84. The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971), Sergio Martino,  Copercines, Cooperativa, Cinematográfica, Devon Film 85. The Trouble with Angels (1966), Ida Lupino, Columbia 86. Do Not Disturb  (1965), Ralph Levy and George Marshall, 20th Century Fox 87. The Central Park Five (2012), Ken Burns, Sundance Selects 88. Torso (1973), Sergio Martino, Joseph Brenner

Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg is one of the oddest and most charming films I have watched since I started this project. In a love letter/rejection notice to his beloved hometown, he creates an oddball documentary that blends the fantastic and the real, while purportedly portraying Maddin's escape from the ever-wintry city. Personal history vies for space with historical vignettes, all filtered through a dream landscape that obscures reality. Maddin uses recurring characters, such as his mother, played deftly and domineeringly by Ann Savage (far removed from her femme fatale roles of yesteryear like Detour ), and himself, played by Darcy Fehr, usually asleep on the train that never can leave the city. The film has to be seen to be believed, and I highly recommend it. The eerie narration and dead pan humor of the narrator's script are worth the price of admission alone. I will mention a few other high points because I cannot capture them all. Here are a few key scenes/events/v...

67. Slaughter Hotel (1971), Fernando Di Leo 68. Branded to Kill (1967), Seijun Suzuki, Nikkatsu 69. Lady Snowblood (1973), Toshiya Fujita, Toho 70. Onibaba (1964), Kaneto Shindo, Toho 71. Seven Blood-stained Orchids (1972), Umberto Lenzi 72. Mr. Majestyk (1974), Richard Fleischer, United Artists 73. Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?: The Life and Music of Robert Johnson (1997), Peter Mayer 74. In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey (2013), James Cullingham 75. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988), Penelope Spheeris, New Line 76. Breathless (1960), Jean-Luc Goddard 77. Drunken Angel (1948), Akira Kurosawa, Toho

57. The Blob (1958), Irvin Yeaworth, Paramount 58. Park Row (1952), Samuel Fuller, United Artists 59. Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), Mack Sennett, Keystone 60. Viva Joe Strummer: The Clash and Beyond (2006), Mike Parkinson 61. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), Emilio Miraglia 62. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971), Emilio Miraglia 63. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), Lucio Fulci, Medusa 64. The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), Paola Cavara, MGM 65. Devil's Doorway (1950), Anthony Mann, MGM 66. A Colt is My Passport (1967), Takashi Nomura, Nikkatsu

47. The Bag Man (2014), David Grovic 48. It's So Easy and Other Lies: Live at the Moore (2016), Christopher Duddy 49. The Whole Town's Talking (1935), John Ford, Columbia 50. Get Shorty (1995), Barry Sonnenfield, MGM 51. Elvis and Nixon (2016), Liza Johnson, Amazon 52. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Joel and Ethan Coen, CBS 53. Burn After Reading (2008), Joel and Ethan Coen, Focus 54. Mulholland Drive (2001), David Lynch, Universal 55. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Billy Wilder, Paramount 56. Compulsion (1959), Richard Fleischer, 20th Century Fox