POLL: The Films of Gregg Araki

i saw nowhere when it came out and know that i LOVED it but don't now -- two decades later -- remember anything much abt it or what i liked abt it :(

I'll revise my decade-ago judgment.

lol i just watched 3 mins of nowhere on youtube to remind myself and it very much occurs to me that me loving it in 1997-98 was not unrelated to me in 1997-98 being deeply confused and miserable and nihilistic

i am still on the whole pro murderous dinosaurs with rayguns and wd probably enjoy it all over again, but in a much less intense FUCK EVERYTHING kind of a way

Now Apocalypse is on amazon prime in the uk.

Thanks. Somehow it didn't turn up in a general film&tv search (prime videos usually do)

Yes it’s weirdly random the way things turn up or don’t. Did you get it? I can’t believe the degree to which streaming services are so ubiquitous but it’s so amazingly difficult to actually find out what’s on them.

Yes it’s weirdly random the way things turn up or don’t. Did you get it? I can’t believe the degree to which streaming services are so ubiquitous but it’s so amazingly difficult to actually find out what’s on them.

No idea why that posted twice.

My preferred tv viewing is to turn on the tv and see what’s on. I hate the streaming tv model.

My preferred tv viewing is to turn on the tv and see what’s on.
― Good taste, bit Victorian but who isn't? (jed_), Monday, January 20, 2020 1:17 AM

I'll happily never do this again and wish I hadn't in the last 20 years. Successes were so few and far between. I hate regular tv so much.

I'll need to schedule this series, maybe in a few months. Looking forward to it.

Now Apocalypse - I wasn't expecting much, quite a lot of people were complaining that Araki is just repeating himself, the soundtrack doesn't have many surprises, it is a lot like Nowhere and Kaboom, I almost felt like I was watching a remake at times (perhaps there was some things intended for his 90s tv series that never taken off) but even then just being firmly in Araki-land is a welcome breath of fresh air to me. It was lovely being in this space again for 5 hours and I'm really sad it was cancelled because I'd love to stay there for longer and there's a greater emotional connection because of the length and character development.
I'm not optimistic for there being more Araki films any time soon.

There's more sex than ever (maybe a third of it being gay?), I wonder if he's always wanted to do this but only been able to now (on television that's nothing like the television he worked on in the 90s) or if it's just the nature of this story. No genitals except for the alien reptile but we do get one of the main characters ejaculating all over his own chest.

I liked the book titles "Bernie Bites: A Bernie Sanders Cook Book" and "A Big Green Alien Ass Raped Me"; the wall poster that says "Circle Jerk: A Support Group For Men".
There's a lot of digs at woke-isms that might have been grating if it were in a different context, but probably would have been controversial if a big enough audience was watching it.

Kelli Berglund was particularly good. Other favorites were Avan Jogia (adorable smile too) and Desmond Chiam as Jethro (a classic Araki himbo). It's a really short appearance but Monica Cho as Worm's Assistant was really fun.
Surprised to see RJ Mitte (Walter Jr from Breaking Bad) and Henry Rollins as the Alex Jones/David Icke guy.

Please watch it.

Thought I had mentioned some of his controversial opinions. I think he really disliked some of the indie directors of 00s and Scorsese. Said he would never do a gangster film because it's just "a bunch of fat guys saying motherfucker".

This is a fashion advert from 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLW5aMd3nQ

Shopping trip from 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS4LNAhBxd0

This Is How The World Ends - Never aired mtv pilot episode, a lot of the story was later recycled into Kaboom. Michael J Anderson appears as a robber, Chemical Brothers and of course James Duval. I doubt Araki had a lot of choice in which bands he got (though The Creatures are there) because it has some of the biggest tunes of the era. This might be the most 90s thing that ever happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTvVcXFjlog
Micronauts music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH4Nr6mcNIU

watched The Living End again after many years. From the opening scenes I thought I remembered that it was going to be really nihilistic, but it ended up being a love story

My students loved Totally F**** Up!

I remember it looking conspicuously less polished than the others (even The Living End which preceded it) and I'm guessing that was a choice?