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What was the last film you watched?
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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 405417" data-attributes="member: 8"><p>Three years before our most favourite FBI agent showed up in</p><p>[ATTACH=full]53871[/ATTACH]</p><p>he was working on another mysterious case in</p><p>[ATTACH=full]53872[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>A film that is literally hidden in the dusty, brown years at the end of the eighties decade. We remember the gaudy and bitchy years of the 1980s, but when it comes to the nondescript '87 - '89 period there appears to be a worldwide, collective amnesia.</p><p>It certainly wasn't nondescript in my personal life, but somehow I always need to make an effort to recall any of it, or simply misremember those events as something that had happened a few years earlier or a few years later, as if the narrative calls for a stronger flavour.</p><p></p><p>The Hidden (1987) is like THE THING (1982) meets GOD TOLD ME SO (1976).</p><p>On paper it looks like it combines the worst of the eighties cinema: special effects "creature feature" and buddy cop action flick, precisely those genres that haven't aged very well.</p><p>The big difference between all those films and The Hidden is, of course, Kyle MacLachlan.</p><p>It's essentially one big chase without any plot twists (except for the big one), but it's very handsomely made and it looks deliciously brutal. It certainly helped that I watched the cleaned up version on streaming.</p><p>Actor William Boyett looks particularly menacing as one of the humans who hosts the alien.</p><p>It ends with a moment of extraterrestrial spirituality in the form of a Sleeping Beauty's kiss, which brings it even closer to Twin Peaks.</p><p>Conclusion, there was something brooding in those dusty years before David Lynch unleashed the dark evil of Killer Bob (who was also looking for the perfect host).</p><p></p><p>And there's more dark stuff brooding in the dusty, cinematic set piece of THE ACCUSED (1988).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]53873[/ATTACH]</p><p>It's not as scary and supernatural as Laura Palmer's ordeal, but it's getting close.</p><p>The various haircuts are...suspicious - I can't think of another way to describe it - and again, there's something "unofficial" about the whole film, the various awards notwithstanding.</p><p>We've all seen The Accused and we all know it, but do we remember <em>when </em> we saw it? And if we can't remember that then I wonder what other dark pages have been secretly torn out of the American government's Greatest Cookbook.</p><p>Or does America hide it's biggest <em>real</em> discovery (as opposed to their laughably fake moonlanding) in plain sight? And does that mean that a certain actor is in fact not only a real FBI agent but also the first alien on earth?</p><p></p><p>But anyway, the contemporary controversial theme of THE ACCUSED should make it look very dated, and every courtroom story on film has a whiff of melodrama no matter how straight they play it.</p><p>The tricky thing is, dated to <em>what</em>?</p><p>Jodie Foster is timelessly terrific, but it's also the lack of associations (because they stole our memories) that makes it more timeless than it deserves to be.</p><p>Don't be fooled by the misleading and inappropriate pop-synthy score, this film is not from 1985.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 405417, member: 8"] Three years before our most favourite FBI agent showed up in [ATTACH type="full"]53871[/ATTACH] he was working on another mysterious case in [ATTACH type="full"]53872[/ATTACH] A film that is literally hidden in the dusty, brown years at the end of the eighties decade. We remember the gaudy and bitchy years of the 1980s, but when it comes to the nondescript '87 - '89 period there appears to be a worldwide, collective amnesia. It certainly wasn't nondescript in my personal life, but somehow I always need to make an effort to recall any of it, or simply misremember those events as something that had happened a few years earlier or a few years later, as if the narrative calls for a stronger flavour. The Hidden (1987) is like THE THING (1982) meets GOD TOLD ME SO (1976). On paper it looks like it combines the worst of the eighties cinema: special effects "creature feature" and buddy cop action flick, precisely those genres that haven't aged very well. The big difference between all those films and The Hidden is, of course, Kyle MacLachlan. It's essentially one big chase without any plot twists (except for the big one), but it's very handsomely made and it looks deliciously brutal. It certainly helped that I watched the cleaned up version on streaming. Actor William Boyett looks particularly menacing as one of the humans who hosts the alien. It ends with a moment of extraterrestrial spirituality in the form of a Sleeping Beauty's kiss, which brings it even closer to Twin Peaks. Conclusion, there was something brooding in those dusty years before David Lynch unleashed the dark evil of Killer Bob (who was also looking for the perfect host). And there's more dark stuff brooding in the dusty, cinematic set piece of THE ACCUSED (1988). [ATTACH type="full"]53873[/ATTACH] It's not as scary and supernatural as Laura Palmer's ordeal, but it's getting close. The various haircuts are...suspicious - I can't think of another way to describe it - and again, there's something "unofficial" about the whole film, the various awards notwithstanding. We've all seen The Accused and we all know it, but do we remember [I]when [/I] we saw it? And if we can't remember that then I wonder what other dark pages have been secretly torn out of the American government's Greatest Cookbook. Or does America hide it's biggest [I]real[/I] discovery (as opposed to their laughably fake moonlanding) in plain sight? And does that mean that a certain actor is in fact not only a real FBI agent but also the first alien on earth? But anyway, the contemporary controversial theme of THE ACCUSED should make it look very dated, and every courtroom story on film has a whiff of melodrama no matter how straight they play it. The tricky thing is, dated to [I]what[/I]? Jodie Foster is timelessly terrific, but it's also the lack of associations (because they stole our memories) that makes it more timeless than it deserves to be. Don't be fooled by the misleading and inappropriate pop-synthy score, this film is not from 1985. [/QUOTE]
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