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teenytinycoffeebean · 1 year

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I Am On A Journey to Watch AS MANY Films with Crispin Hellion Glover in Them As Possible

I will do my best to watch the films/shows and give a high-level view of my thoughts on each.

I will continue to do this until I watch all of the films I have on my list (the list will be added to this post as well as updated throughout).

I am playing catch-up compared to my other social media accounts but, to be honest, Tumblr is perfect for this kind of thing.

So... Buckle up because this is going to be a LONG ride. (:

First, I’d like to personally thank Crispin Glover for all the fantastic performances and artworks he’s created over the years. His approach to acting is beautifully unique, and every single one of his performances are memorable. Though I haven’t had the pleasure of viewing his own films, I’ve at least seen some of his artwork through the books he publishes. Now that I’ve found myself down a rabbit hole of sorts, not just watching these movies but also listening to all kinds of interviews and such, I am a huge admirer of the way he approaches what he does and creates.

TL;DR: I’ve found boundless inspiration and joy from observing both his craft and his art. So, for that and for a lot more I’m struggling to put into words because they are genuinely such big emotions, thank you!

Ok, let’s get into it.

Although this is not the original list from when I started the journey (this project began in early December 2022--today is January 1, 2023), here is the list I am using to track, plus where to watch the films. Note that some of these are me rewatching them--like Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Alice in Wonderland--but I will note those as I go.

Crispin Glover's Filmography Watchlist

Note: this is not his full filmography (and does not include his personal films--though I aspire to see those as soon as I can) however it is a list of the films I aim to watch and potentially own.

Watched (in order of coverage):

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter (DVD - owned)

Back to the Future (Peacock)

Bartleby (DVD - owned)

Wizard of Gore (Tubi)

Willard (DVD - owned)

Twister [1989] (Amazon Prime)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (DVD - owned)

Lucky Day (Amazon Prime)

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix)

Drop Dead Sexy (Tubi)

The Donner Party (Tubi)

Like Mike (Tubi)

Aimy in a Cage (Tubi)

River’s Edge (DVD - owned)

Crime and Punishment (Tubi)

Charlie's Angels (DVD - owned)

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (DVD - owned)

Rubin & Ed (DVD - owned)

Simon Says (DVD - owned)

Hot Tub Time Machine (HBO Max)

Freaky Deaky (Tubi)

The People vs. Larry Flynt (Hulu)

Mr. Nice (Tubi)

At Close Range (HBO Max)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (HBO Max)

Epic Movie (Hulu)

Wild at Heart (DVD - owned)

Alice in Wonderland (Disney+)

Watching:

American Gods (DVD - owned)

To watch:

Little Noises (DVD - owned)

Teachers (DVD)

The Doors (DVD)

Fast Sofa (YouTube/DVD)

Beowulf (Pluto)

The Incident at Loch Ness (Amazon Prime)

Smiley Face Killers (Amazon Prime)

The Bag Man (Amazon Prime)

Hotel Room - Episode: "Blackout" (YouTube)

The Orkly Kid (?)

Where the Heart Is (?)

Why am I doing this? Because I want to!

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To kick things off, and in the order in which I cover this journey on other social media platforms, a rewatch of one of my favorite slasher flicks was in order. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)!

If you remember this movie at all, which you should because it is the 2nd best film in the franchise, you may recall the awkward kid who kept talking about being horny, obsessed over his friend calling him a "dead fuck," and danced real wacky in that one scene. Ya know, Jimmy “Jimbo” Mortimer. Yes! That one! That was Crispin Glover alright.

Though the role is small, his performance in this is just exactly what I’ve come to expect from most, if not all, of Crispin’s performances: oh so memorable.

I love this performance a lot. Even before I was aware of Crispin Glover, I was enamored with just how strange the character was and how that differed from a lot of the other performances in the Friday the 13th franchise.

A bit of a fun fact: Crispin has talked about that dance he does and mentions that the song that was played on set during filming was not what ended up being used in the final product of that scene. Apparently, the song used for filming was AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” Cool folks on the internet have attempt to show that off so check this shit out:

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As part of a double feature with Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, I watched Back to the Future (1985) for the first time. Yes, the first time. I know how shameful for a 28-year-old such as myself.

I genuinely felt that the best descriptor for the film was "cute". It was cute! It’s one of those movies that I felt like I had really already seen due to how references to it have permeated our culture.

I can understand why the film is a classic. The way Crispin plays George McFly makes him an incredibly endearing character. I loved the “George-isms” that Crispin created, that carry over from old George to young George. It’s excellent work.

I think Back to the Future is talked about too much, in all honesty, and especially with the whole lawsuit and incredibly harmful shit that happened to Crispin with Back to the Future II, a movie which I straight up refuse to see.

But yeah, all that aside, Back to the Future was cute and a fun time.

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Shout out to the free streaming service Tubi, which has been incredible kind to me and provided SO many of the films on my list.

One of those films is Bartleby (2001). Bartleby is a surrealist, sit-com-style office comedy film adaptation of Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener". Crispin plays Bartleby, and genuinely ends up having few lines except for, of course, “I would prefer not to” or some iteration of that.

This film ended up being Supremely My Shit in terms of what I look for in a comedy.

I LOVED this movie, so much so that I now own it on DVD and plan to show it to everyone. I cannot recommend it enough.

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Next up, Wizard of Gore (2007). A splatter/noir horror film. This is a remake of the 1970 film of the same name.

I will say that this film, overall, wasn’t that great. It has some highlights though! For instance, Crispin hams it up as a wacko magician who has an outrageously huge codpiece. And, oh hey! Brad Dourif and Jeffrey Combs are in it!

As I’ve sat with this one, it’s one where I can say the performance that Crispin gives is the real draw here. He’s absolutely perfect for something so strange and unusual as this.

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Now, I should back up and take some time to talk about Willard (2003). I have a lot of thoughts, as well as some fun facts.

This remake of a 1971 film of the same name, which in turn was based off of the Stephen Gilbert novel Ratman’s Notebooks, is a standout so far for the films I've seen Crispin Glover in. I knew going into viewing it that it was well regarded in his filmography. I can understand why! It's incredible.

It is a horror movie but not in the way that is typical. To me, the horror lies in the treatment of Willard, particularly in the workplace. And then, of course, later the horror continues but more in the form of self-inflicted acclimation of choices made by Willard (if only he were nicer to Ben! Oh, things would’ve been different). I do believe reading the rats as a force of nature as an element of horror is pretty accurate.

Though the part that make this film an instant comfort movie for me/a film that immediately went on my "get to know me movies list" is Crispin's performance and the framing of Willard's abuse in the workplace. I have some pretty bad workplace-related trauma from sustained abuse by past and previous employers. I have to admit to feeling some level of catharsis in relating to the Willard character, as well as viewing him as a kind of hero despite serious pitfalls and gruesome mistakes throughout, including a variety of self-inflicted repression of emotion and being (also I'd say the character is neurodivergent-coded, and thats highly relatable to me). I also think that [spoilers] when he kills his boss with a horde of rats--not for himself, entirely, but for Socrates--I felt that in my core like, yes, it's so much harder to stand up for yourself, even if you can't take more abuse, but it's easier when you have something rally behind or protect or avenge, in this situation. Am I thinking too hard about the contents of a 2003 horror movie? Probably.

Anyway. The rats are awesome in this film too, as is the performance of R. Lee Ermey. I wish New Line Cinemas let the film be rated R. I feel like more gore and Ermey riffing off strings of cursing would've been nice. Apparently, there was an R-rated version but it is lost now. I've been able to view some of the deleted scenes and I can see where an R-rated version could have been.

A great aspect of promotional materials for Willard was that Crispin Glover recorded a cover of Michael Jackson's "Ben" (yes, it's about the rat). It's my understanding the original song was recorded for the 1973 sequel to Willard, also titled Ben. Anyway, the music video for Glover's take on "Ben" was also directed by him. It's an absolute treat. Check it out:

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While I have you here, I'd like to let you know that the opening credits of Willard feature imagery from Glover's own published book -- Rat Catching. Rat Catching, published in 1988, is a heavily illustrated piece of visual and textural art built from the 1896 book Studies in the Art of Rat Catching.

Crispin has published other works similar to Rat Catching: Oak Mot (1989), Concrete Inspection (1990), What it is, and How it is Done (1992), and Round My House (2016). In each he rearranges text, blacks out certain standing passages (a la blackout poetry), and adds his own prose and occasionally images into the margins and elsewhere, thus creating an entirely new story. Plus, as is my understanding, a visual feast for the eyes.

GUESS WHAT THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THESE BOOKS ARE?! You can get em directly from the guy himself! Literally. You can chuck $30-ish + shipping at him directly (metaphorically, of course) and you'll get a book.

I fully intend to get my hands on at least a few of them... or all of them, ya know, casually. If you also think these books sound rad as fuck, here's the website: crispinglover.com. Do it. Go get an awesome book created by an awesome artist. It's cool to do.

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On my TV back a few weeks ago was Twister (1989).

From what I had previously read about the film, it billed as a comedy but in actuality it is more drama. It is an adaptation of the the novel Oh by Mary Robison.

The film features music by Hans Zimmer, a cameo by William S. Burroughs, and, of course, a late 80s Crispin Glover doing his weird lil thing that I love oh so much. It was... bizarre!!

I can’t really say if it is good or bad--it just is. I can’t even say if the ending is good or bad, it simply is what it is. Having sat with it for a while, I can appreciate Twister for eliciting emotion. I was pretty fed up with some of the character and confused at their motivations but at least it got me thinking about what was happening and asking the question “what are they doing and why?” That’s important in its own right.

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Let me just say, I was VERY excited to watch We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018). I am a huge fan of the original novel, which I read when I was much younger. I remember starting to watch this film when it came to Netflix in 2019 but failing to finish it due to life events (I think we were moving), but I can say now that I have finished watching it!

I am happy to report that We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel, give or take, and was really enjoyable to see. I feel like it is a hard novel to adapt since Merricat is an unreliable narrator and it is all told from her perspective, but I think this film does a solid job illustrating that.

I'm generally very pleased with the framing of the characters in the adaptation and the performances are great. I don't think anyone else could do Charles except for Sebastian Stan. He's so good at playing a total dick.

On that note, I don't think anyone else could've played Julian Blackwood like Crispin Glover. Comparing to the novel, I had no idea how to really imagine Julian in a lot of instances but seeing this character performed in this way makes SO much more sense to me. Incredible work.

I could probably go on, but I highly recommend checking it out for yourself, especially if you're a fan of the novel!

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Ohhh Lucky Day (2019)! It was AWESOME. Though, I didn’t keep enough detailed thoughts about it so I apologize for a short and sweet overview of some highlights.

I swear to god this film must've flown under the radar when it came out because I hadn't heard of it until recently (but I distinctly remember seeing showtimes for it back when it came out).

It was a damn good time. Crispin plays a contract killer of sorts who has the most over-the-top French accent (despite not being French at all) and every scene he's in is golden. His serious demeanor for some of the more ridiculous scenes just works and brought a big stupid grin to my face.

I’ve seen this film twice now it’s just a masterfully done action/comedy/drama--and yes, it really does blend the genres so well.

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Before I take a break from letting this live in my drafts, I want to talk about a big one for me: Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Episode 5: “Pickman's Model”. The one that started this journey. And I know, I'm so utterly late to the party! I live in my own lil horror-themed film bubble most of the time until I find some performances I enjoy and really gnaw on, for lack of a better word. So this kicked it off entirely.

The whole show is a standout for me. I enjoyed every single episode and every story. I think the most technically scary was “Lot 36″ and the most relatable to me in the way it is framed is “The Outside”. Upon my first watch of the show, I just knew I'd be head over heels for the “Pickman’s Model” retelling. It's my favorite Lovecraft story, and I just love that integration of tangible art and eldritch horror. It's just the best.

I feel that the adaptation is very strong, and a great depiction of a more modern Lovecraft despite the setting and time period. I loved all the lil reference drops to other works in the Cthulhu Mythos throughout as well -- such a nice touch.

I felt the relationship that Thurber and Pickman have is so utterly bizarre and my own explanation for why there is a draw there is that "the darkness" itself as described and felt by both character acts as an allegory for queerness. I might be um biased, being a queer person and all, but that's just me. I think it's also valid to interpret the whole relationship as like human curiosity--like hell yeah I'd also be fascinated by this guy's art, if not also a bit frightened! So the draw is simply explained that way... if you so choose. Lots of ways to go on that end of things, and that's rad.

There is such a a genuine level of depth and understanding of character in the way Crispin plays Pickman. I swear there's not even that much depth in the original Lovecraft story! It's just all on this adaptation, the director, and his performance. It's outstanding, and he really steals the show (and my heart) in this one particularly.

A lot of folks, and I mean A LOT, didn't seem to appreciate the the truly old-timey Bostonian accent. I see ya’ll out there. C'mon, he worked with THE Erik Singer for that accent to sounds as true-to-time-period as possible -- at least respect it but I find it fascinating how that, being as normal for that setting as it is, given an extra level of strangeness to Pickman as a character (namely because nobody else is doing that, give or take. There are some Massachusetts accents here and there from other characters but there's not really the same level of commitment).

Also, I thought the way they did Pickman's sketchbook up as a multi-media and textural kinda piece in and of itself was a nice touch -- felt like that was purposely laid out specifically with Crispin in mind to play off the works he creates. Not quite, of course, but I think that's neat and how I’m choosing to read into it.

#Crispin Glover Filmography Watching Journey #crispin glover #crispin hellion glover #friday the 13th final chapter #back to the future #bartleby 2001 #wizard of gore 2007 #willard 2003 #twister 1989 #we have always lived in the castle #lucky day 2019 #Cabinet of Curiosities #pickmans model

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blueheartbookclub · 3 months

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Unearthing Wonders: A Journey into the Depths of Jules Verne's "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth"

Jules Verne's "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" is an extraordinary odyssey that transcends the limits of imagination and plunges readers into the heart of an enigmatic subterranean world. Originally published in 1864, this timeless classic continues to captivate audiences with its gripping narrative, scientific curiosity, and the boundless spirit of adventure that permeates every page.

The story begins in Hamburg, Germany, where Professor Otto Lidenbrock discovers an ancient Icelandic manuscript that hints at a passage to the center of the Earth. Fueled by an insatiable thirst for knowledge and adventure, the professor, along with his reluctant nephew Axel and their guide Hans Belker, embarks on a perilous journey beneath the Earth's surface.

Verne's narrative unfolds as a first-person account penned by Axel, offering readers a front-row seat to the awe-inspiring discoveries and challenges encountered during their subterranean expedition. The trio navigates through labyrinthine caves, encounters prehistoric creatures, and witnesses geological marvels, each episode building a sense of wonder and excitement.

One of the novella's strengths lies in Verne's ability to blend scientific knowledge with the art of storytelling. The meticulous attention to geological and physical details reflects Verne's fascination with science and exploration. The vivid descriptions of the underground landscapes, illuminated by the trio's improvised lighting, create a palpable sense of the unknown and evoke a spirit of scientific discovery.

Verne's characters are both endearing and emblematic of the scientific curiosity prevalent in the 19th century. Professor Lidenbrock embodies the relentless pursuit of knowledge, Axel represents the inquisitive but apprehensive observer, and Hans exemplifies the silent determination of the guide. Together, they form a trio that captures the essence of exploration and scientific inquiry.

The novella's enduring appeal lies in its timeless themes—curiosity, exploration, and the indomitable human spirit. Verne invites readers to reflect on the nature of discovery and the insatiable desire to unravel the mysteries of the world. As the characters delve deeper into the Earth, the narrative becomes a metaphorical journey into the uncharted realms of human potential and the boundless possibilities of scientific exploration.

In addition to its narrative prowess, "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" serves as a precursor to the science fiction genre, influencing generations of writers and filmmakers. Verne's imaginative storytelling laid the groundwork for tales of subterranean adventures and became a benchmark for science fiction's capacity to transport readers to unexplored realms.

In conclusion, Jules Verne's "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" stands as a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the insatiable curiosity that drives human exploration. The novella's blend of scientific precision, vibrant characters, and enthralling adventures continues to inspire readers to embark on their own journeys of discovery, inviting them to unearth the wonders hidden beneath the surface of the known world.

Jules Verne's "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" is available in Amazon in paperback 14.99$ and hardcover 22.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 310

Language: English

Rating: 9/10

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

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