Catching up with Jason Shawhan

A few things of recent publication...

An interview with the singular Doug Stanhope.

A review of Robert (The VVitch) Eggers' THE LIGHTHOUSE.

A review of Billy Senese's THE DEAD CENTER, an exceptional horror film made right here in Nastyville.

My seminannual omnibus to horror stuff to be seen in October (and beyond)...

My wrap-up of the exceptional 2019 New York Film Festival.

What's on the Graveyard Shift?

HERE’S WHAT ALL IS ON THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT!

I beg of you to attend.

Monday – 10/7/19

NINA at 4PM

Maria Winther Olsen's film NINA is a somber and restrained work of suspense and unease that deals with a gifted artist in an isolated space having marriage troubles. And a selkie may be involved... This is classier than Graveyard usually gets, but worthy of your time. It's screening with a great, Lynchian short called BOXES, from Tony Yang.

ROT at 8PM

Scandalous and grotesque and quite captivating. Showing with Josh Ethier's short film GUTTER.

THIS IS WRESTLING: THE JOEY RYAN STORY at 8:30PM

What can I say about the King of Dong Style? Showing with the short film UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

The DREAMS OF THE EXTREME Shorts Program at 830PM

Here’s what all lurks in this program. BELLS (short and sweet and creepy as hell), BLACK SHORE (an epic, emotionally focused apocalypse), BLOOD SPOOK (a haunted diabetic versus a serial killer), BOYS’ CLUB (a grand dirty joke for these troubled time), THE FOLLOWER (a devastating riff on Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?), LUKEWARM LIQUIDS (so very, very gross), the time trauma of MEET YOU IN THE PARKING LOT, and Steven DeGennaro’s STOP (the suspense of being alive and at risk).

Tuesday – 10/8/19

SCREAM QUEEN: MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET at 6PM

Roman Chimenti and Tyler Jensen's SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is a big deal, telling Mark Patton's story as the first male scream queen and as a queer actor under siege in '80s Hollywood. It is an exceptional film and you need to see it. It is showing with the short film JEFF DRIVES YOU from Aidan Brezonick, which is also a film about how mass culture commodifies queer desire. The pairing is also showing Tuesday, the 8th, at 6PM.

The FRAYED SHORTS Program at 8PM

the FRAYED SHORTS block, which is the (slightly) more accessible shorts block on this year's Graveyard Shift. The films featured in this block are Montana Mann's ESTHER (an EC Comics Western with a delicious surprise), Mac Cushing's FULL MOON (a mystery with unspeakable comic undertones), Ryan Worsley's GOOD GIRL (absurdly cute and grotesquely violent), Katie Kapuza's HUNKS (a special kind of animation), Aidan Moretti's I SEE YOU (lovingly Lynchian both in terms of unease and absurdist humor), Dan Hass' MAGIC H8 BALL (a queer Fantasy about childhood magic colliding with adult sexuality), Alec Cohen's MOUNTAIN (a dramedy that pushes all the envelopes), Will Bakke's THE STUDY (a SciFi/Horror setup that's just irresistible), RJ Blake's TIKTOK (SciFi romantic comedy for this modern age), and Dan O'Brien's TRICK OR TREATMENT (horror icons in amazing puppet form).

There will be filmmakers in attendance.

YOU DON’T NOMI at 9PM

Let's talk about Showgirls, with friends and genius theorists Matt Baume and David Schmader among the countless amazing minds holding forth on one of Paul Verhoeven's endearing fusillades against complacency.

Wednesday – 10/9/19

CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER at 830PM

Mickey Reece and his crew are back again, after winning heaps of awards at last year's Nashville Film Festival. Classy sensual vampire nightmare, y'all.

The DREAMS OF THE EXTREME Shorts Program at 830PM

Here’s what all lurks in this program. BELLS (short and sweet and creepy as hell), BLACK SHORE (an epic, emotionally focused apocalypse), BLOOD SPOOK (a haunted diabetic versus a serial killer), BOYS’ CLUB (a grand dirty joke for these troubled time), THE FOLLOWER (a devastating riff on Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?), LUKEWARM LIQUIDS (so very, very gross), the time trauma of MEET YOU IN THE PARKING LOT, and Steven DeGennaro’s STOP (the suspense of being alive and at risk).

HARPOON at 9PM

It is a vicious and hysterical film that gets at the absolute worst aspects of human behavior, and it delivers the same kind of sick joy you get from The War of The Roses, The Last of Sheila, Blood Simple, or The Champagne Club. 

HARPOON is showing with the short film TAYLOR IS MISSING, from director Mia Sorenson. It's a beautiful and brutal short about memory, trauma, and regret.

MAD? at 9PM

If you're ever wondering why nobody uses genre cinema to explore the twisted side of the mental health industry and how older women never get to have their own adventures in SciFi and Horror except as a glorified cameo to pass information on to some fresh-faced white teen, then this is for you.

Thursday – 10/10/19

YOU DON’T NOMI at 1PM

Let's talk about Showgirls, with friends and genius theorists Matt Baume and David Schmader among the countless amazing minds holding forth on one of Paul Verhoeven's endearing fusillades against complacency.

ROT at 8PM

Scandalous and grotesque and quite captivating. Showing with Josh Ethier's short film GUTTER.

The World Premiere of DEMENTER at 830PM

Chad Crawford Kinkle, the guy who gave the world JUGFACE, is back, with an amazing film about trauma, cults, and centering on the differently abled. Y'all ain't ready.

THIS IS WRESTLING: THE JOEY RYAN STORY at 830PM

Sleaze is back. Thankfully. Joey Ryan is a damn treasure, and you can see why here... Showing with the short film UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

Friday – 10/11/19

DEMENTER at Noon

Chad Crawford Kinkle, the guy who gave the world JUGFACE, is back, with an amazing film about trauma, cults, and centering on the differently abled. Y'all ain't ready.

MAD? at 4PM

If you're ever wondering why nobody uses genre cinema to explore the twisted side of the mental health industry and how older women never get to have their own adventures in SciFi and Horror except as a glorified cameo to pass information on to some fresh-faced white teen, then this is for you.

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT 3D at 830PM

A sensuous haze of a film where it takes a 56-minute continuous 3D tracking shot to unmake one's traditions of toxic masculinity. A box office phenomenon (under wonky circumstances that uncool people complained about) in China, and a magical journey for the adventurous viewer.

CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER at 9PM 

Mickey Reece and his crew are back again, after winning heaps of awards at last year's Nashville Film Festival. Classy sensual vampire nightmare, y'all.

If you make it to this point, I commend you. Hopefully we all made it here...

Today on the Graveyard Shift - 10/6/19

Today on the Graveyard Shift at the Nashville Film Festival.

At 10:30am, we've got Bruno Dumont's COINCOIN AND THE EXTRAHUMANS, a sequel to the director's 2014 French TV series L'IL QUINQUIN. It's a raucous three hours with alien invasions, slipping into absurdist fascism, and all of your favorites from the first series. Showing with it is Tracy Facelli's film FAVORITES, which is a kind of effective drama. I'm big on tradition, and a new Dumont/Facelli pairing is always a wild way to start the day.

At 8:30PM, we have the encore showing of the new film DRIVEN from director Glenn Payne, starring periodic lifelong Nashvillian Richard Speight Jr.  It's got ancient evil, a decent amount of humor, demonslaying (which should come as no surprise to fans of RSJ), and the emotional stress of trying to make ends meet doing a rideshare.

It will be showing with Dieter Spears's short film THE TRAVELER, which is a ghoulish little short story with a masterful last shot. There will be folks from both films in attendance. 

Tomorrow (Monday the 7th), we're showing NINA at 4pm, ROT at 8pm, THIS IS WRESTLING: THE JOEY RYAN STORY at 830pm, and the DREAMS OF THE EXTREME shorts program at 830pm.

Tonight on the Graveyard Shift - 10/5/19

Greetings to y'all.

It's Saturday, October 5th, and we have two Graveyard features tonight, both showing at 9pm.

Roman Chimenti and Tyler Jensen's SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is a big deal, telling Mark Patton's story as the first male scream queen and as a queer actor under siege in '80s Hollywood. It is an exceptional film and you need to see it. It is showing with the short film JEFF DRIVES YOU from Aidan Brezonick, which is also a film about how mass culture commodifies queer desire. The pairing is also showing Tuesday, the 8th, at 6PM.

We're also showing Maria Winther Olsen's film NINA, which is a somber and restrained work of suspense and unease that deals with a gifted artist in an isolated space having marriage troubles. And a selkie may be involved... This is classier than Graveyard usually gets, but worthy of your time. It's screening with a great, Lynchian short called BOXES, from Tony Yang. And it's showing again on Monday the 7th at 4pm.

Coming up tomorrow (Sunday) we have Bruno Dumont's COINCOIN AND THE EXTRA-HUMANS at 1030am and the encore of DRIVEN at 830pm. Please, please for the love of Gawd come and see them.

Tonight on the Graveyard Shift - 10/4/19

Tonight, Friday the 4th, we've got two different selections on deck.

At 8:30PM, we have the new film DRIVEN from director Glenn Payne, starring periodic lifelong Nashvillian Richard Speight Jr.  It's got ancient evil, a decent amount of humor, demonslaying (which should come as no surprise to fans of RSJ), and the emotional stress of trying to make ends meet doing a rideshare.

It will be showing with Dieter Spears's short film THE TRAVELER, which is a ghoulish little short story with a masterful last shot. There will be folks from both films in attendance. DRIVEN and THE TRAVELER are also both showing on Sunday the 6th at 8:30 PM.

In addition, at 9:00PM we have the FRAYED SHORTS block, which is the (slightly) more accessible shorts block on this year's Graveyard Shift. The films featured in this block are Montana Mann's ESTHER (an EC Comics Western with a delicious surprise), Mac Cushing's FULL MOON (a mystery with unspeakable comic undertones), Ryan Worsley's GOOD GIRL (absurdly cute and grotesquely violent), Katie Kapuza's HUNKS (a special kind of animation), Aidan Moretti's I SEE YOU (lovingly Lynchian both in terms of unease and absurdist humor), Dan Hass' MAGIC H8 BALL (a queer Fantasy about childhood magic colliding with adult sexuality), Alec Cohen's MOUNTAIN (a dramedy that pushes all the envelopes), Will Bakke's THE STUDY (a SciFi/Horror setup that's just irresistible), RJ Blake's TIKTOK (SciFi romantic comedy for this modern age), and Dan O'Brien's TRICK OR TREATMENT (horror icons in amazing puppet form).

There will be filmmakers in attendance. The FRAYED SHORTS block will also play at 8pm on Tuesday, October 8th.

Tickets are available here.

Coming up tomorrow, Saturday the 5th, we have two Graveyard offerings, both of which are showing at 9pm. 

Maria Winther Olsen's NINA (also showing at 4pm on Monday the 7th)

and

Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen's SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (also showing at 6pm on Tuesday the 8th)

Tonight on The Graveyard Shift - 10/3/19

It's opening night at the Nashville Film Festival, now celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Tonight, at 7pm, we are ecstatic to be presenting Rob Grant's film HARPOON.

It is a vicious and hysterical film that gets at the absolute worst aspects of human behavior, and it delivers the same kind of sick joy you get from The War of The Roses, The Last of Sheila, Blood Simple, or The Champagne Club. 

HARPOON is showing with the short film TAYLOR IS MISSING, from director Mia Sorenson. It's a beautiful and brutal short about memory, trauma, and regret.

I'll be presenting the Graveyard section with trailers or more info on a daily basis, and I hope to see y'all there.

Tickets are available here.

Tomorrow, Friday the 4th of October, we've got the following on the Graveyard Shift:

DRIVEN (with special guests) at 8:30 (also shows on the 6th at 8:30PM)

The FRAYED SHORTS Program (with special guests) at 9:00PM (also shows on the 8th at 8PM)

At the movies: La Flor.

La Flor is like nothing else out there. You should check it out, for real.

At the movies: In Fabric.

A sensual riot from Peter Strickland, and one of my favorite films this year.

At the movies: One Cut of The Dead.

An utter delight for fans of horror, comedy, the theatre, Japanese cinema, Noises Off, or families working together in weird situations. I would genuinely recommend this to my Mom. Also, shame on what Fear The The Walking Dead did to Kim Dickens (the actress, not the character). And you should read This Book Is Full Of Spiders.

Friday the 13th: Parts III (3-D) and IV (The Final Chapter)

A fun opportunity here in Nashville for a Friday the 13th weekend. And I had to get a little shady regarding the Screen Drafts kerfuffle on their Elm Street/Friday Superdraft, because shame on me if I didn't. I maintain 4 is the best Friday the 13th film, and that III is one of the lesser offerings, unless you're actually watching it in 3D, in which case it is way better than it has any right to be.

Catching up with Jason Shawhan

So I'm gearing up for this year's New York Film Festival and then following it up with this year's Nashville Film Festival right after, so I'm getting myself in order, and I realize that it has been way too long since I've updated this website. The shame is profound, and I feel it. Here's what I've been up to, in addition to programming the Graveyard Shift and VR sections of the upcoming Nashville Film Festival.


INTERVIEWS:

Joe. Bob. Briggs.

I interviewed Gaspar Noe, and he and A24 sought me out, which will probably go on my business card and is definitely on my resume right next to having been Crispin Glover's photo elf on a few occasions.

Daniel Sloss is just the best.

I got to talk to Nicole Byer, and she was much cooler than I am and you can barely tell how awkward the interview was from this. Editors are our friends.

Patton Oswalt endures and endears.



REVIEWS:

All-time classic 9 TO 5 - one of the greatest films ever made about the American workplace.

MIDSOMMAR. An addendum after the fact: the director's cut is interesting, but the original theatrical cut is superior pretty much across the board.

NIGHT KILLER/NON APRITE QUELLA PORTA 3, or THE NIGHT PORTER ON ELM STREET.

Sensual SciFi nightmares for your soul in Claire Denis' HIGH LIFE.

Why wait for heaven to experience glamour and beauty? DIAMANTINO.

The politically relevant and strangely exciting HAIL, SATAN?

Bad doll, fun movie. ANNABELLE COMES HOME.

Gaspar Noe's CLIMAX, which works as a liminal carbonation of the brain.

KNIFE + HEART, a queer phantasy of murder and texture.

Neil Jordan's GRETA, which I liked a lot.

ANGEL HAS FALLEN. It's hard to try and make a reactionary action film these days.



PODCAST APPEARANCES:

Here's me on NASHVILLE DEMYSTIFIED, talking about Altman's NASHVILLE and my ten favorite Nashville related films.



OTHER STUFF:

A profile on national treasure and musical theatre/horror legend BETTY BUCKLEY.

Central Cinema in Knoxville, the Stardust Drive-In in Watertown, and Chelsea Stardust's SATANIC PANIC.

In which I go on about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 35mm and the new 4K restoration of Alien.

A roundtable discussion about issues in the Nashville LGBTQIA+ community.

The 2018 Jim Ridley Film Poll: The Apocrypha.

The 2018 Jim Ridley Film Poll: The Apocrypha.

So in addition to all the stuff publushed in the Scene’s Film issue, there was a lot more left over. I present it here because it’s a monument to the diversity of thought of this year’s contributors, especially in their willingness to tackle some of my weirder questions, and because I want everyone out in the world to be able to experience each of these responses. I would have had it up sooner but for my house flooding, which is a whole other thing. Be good to one another.

Who would you most like to see in concert: Darlene Sweet, Ally Maine, a festival experience with all the performing artists from Episode II of “La Flor,” or Celeste?

Darlene Sweet for sure. Cynthia Erivo made Bad Times at the El Royale enjoyable for me. She is amazing! She deserves to be a household name. (Howell)

All of them. (McQuiston)

Calum Worthy/Jackie Long/Shoniqua Shandai in Bodied  (Skipper)

I do not especially care for A Star is Born, but I do quite like the music of Ally Maine when she is initially starting off. I imagine it would make for quite a fun lounge show, with Gaga, ahem, I mean Ally’s increasingly velvet-like voice basking over the expansive soundscapes of her quasi-Elton John tracks. (Turner)

I managed to avoid Bad Times at the El Royale — a trend that may continue until my dying days. And I didn’t have time for all 500 hours of La Flor. That said, instead of Ally Maine, I’m going to go see Clint Eastwood from The Mule stand on a stage and sing dirty reworkings of songs he hears on the radio. (Prigge)

Psh. None of these. I want to see Gilda Live in 1980. (Okay, maybe I’d want to see Ally Maine, too.) (Williams)

Buster Scruggs (Tafoya)

I would love to see a Celeste concert, but only if Willem Dafoe narrates. (Burns)

Lakeith Stanfield’s character from SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, performing “Nigga Shit.” (Lindsey)

What’s the film you most want the rest of the world to see in 2019?

Thunder Road is a dazzling portrait of a flawed man trying his damnedest to be better.  The opening 15 minutes are among the best I've seen in years. Writer-director-lead actor Jim Cummings plays Jim Arnaud, who delivers a eulogy at his mother's funeral that is both heart breaking and hilarious, and that frenetic energy carries through the film. We might all see ourselves in Officer Jim — in the ways we grieve, fail and triumph. (Ciccarone)

Sorry To Bother You, if only to shut down the idea that communists can't have fun. (Leavitt)

I would like everyone to put down their cell phones and watch Won’t You Be My Neighbor, especially if they didn’t grow up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. We could all use the wisdom and legacy of kindness and compassion that Fred Rogers left us. (Howell)

A tie between Jean-Luc Godard's THE IMAGE BOOK, Kamran Heidari's ALI AQA and Ulrich Koehler's IN MY ROOM. (Erickson)

Hu Bo’s An Elephant Sitting Still. KimStim is providing a domestic release for this starting in March 2019 and it’s an incredible first (and last) film for a talent exploring four distinct characters that interact over the course of a day and ultimately decide to find an elephant rumored to grant wishes. It has multiple single-take sequences as the camera diligently follows the characters and one especially neat sequence taking place outside over a prolonged sequence to show the gradual shift from day to dusk. (Lichman)

After the Screaming Stops - It's a fantastic documentary and not to sound cliche, but it made me laugh, cry and immediately want to call my mom. It has been released in the UK, and although most Americans don't know who Bros are - I hope they have a chance to find out. (Feldbin)

I can’t choose! Definitely ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, the indie Japanese zombie movie, because it’s the most innovativefilmgoing experience I’ve had in years. And everyone needs to experience the joy that is THE WORLD IS YOURS, a French crime/thriller/comedy so charming I bet you two eagles you’ll love it to bits (catch it on Netflix right now!) (Winters)

The Academy Film Archive has completed a countless number of restorations of queer experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer's long filmography, showing a number of these in Los Angeles. The Academy only charges shipping + handling for prints, so I hope ambitious programmers take advantage and show off this wondrous oeuvre. (Labuza)

Dragged Across Concrete. Stop projecting politics onto the film / flmmaker and just watch the damn film. It’s electric and Mel Gibson delivers one of his best performances somewhere between Buster Keaton and Lee Marvin. (Kane)

What movie do you want rest of world to see? For anyone with a narrow, staid, or reductive view of the horror genre, I urge them to see SUSPIRIA (2018). I initially was dubious about this "remake." It is a sequel as anti-sequel. Is it a revision of the fairy tale motif ? Is it an exploration of the nexus between magic and delusion ? Is it a meditation on late 20th century European history ? Or is the entire film an exercise in Lacanian psychoanalysis ? It is a film of multifaceted thematics. I saw this film on five occasions and each viewing revealed additional layers of meaning. This film dispels the notion that the horror genre is mindless and tired. (Cosner)

Since Ahmad Kiarostami’s tweet last May that let slip the news about The Criterion Collection working on a restoration of Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy (WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOME?, LIFE AND NOTHING MORE, and THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES), I’ve been longing for the chance to see these three films in a way that most of America has never had the chance to see them. It has been said that Akira Kurosawa credited Kiarostami as the filmmaker who filled the void left by the passing of Satyajit Ray. But with the devastating news of Kiarostami’s death in 2016 while still working on 24 FRAMES (which was finished by his son Ahmad and played at the Belcourt last April), I’d been left with merely the hope that his hard-to-find and poorly mastered masterpieces would soon get the same treatment that Ray’s Apu trilogy received in 2015 with the Janus Films theatrical release and the Criterion blu-ray release of the miraculous 4k restoration of those wonderful films. Now that the 2019 version of the Criterion Collection New Year’s Drawing seems to suggest that this will be the year they release the Koker trilogy, is it too much to hope that Janus Films will also give us a theatrical release of these three rare gems? (Millennium)

STARFISH, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT 3D, and TUMBBAD. (Shawhan)

Black Mother (Tafoya)

Front-runner for my next year's best film is Radu Jude's I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS, which takes the ACT OF KILLING / BISBEE 17 template (re-enacting a past atrocity) but adds the element of the viewer. The director wants to engage in a revisionist take on Romania's role in World War II and the Holocaust, to ... mixed results. Even when the production at its most successful as intended propaganda. Patriotism is a tougher nut to crack than many think. (Morton)

HALF THE PICTURE (Inman)

I think American audiences are going to flip for Climax, but it isn't in English so I'm probably wrong. (Martini)

There should be a law requiring everyone to see MINDING THE GAP. It's a great skateboarding film that evolves into a blistering portrait of dying industrial small towns in America and the violence that exists there. (Owens)

I only want the usual, self-selected group of non-haters to see Godard's The Image Book, thank you very much, so a film I love that I'd want *everyone* to see would be Transit, the latest from Germany's Christian Petzold. It's a story of a fascist takeover of Europe, and from one moment to the next you can't tell if it's set in 1936 or the present day. The two times have melded into a single strand of daily horror. A brilliant film about our times. (Sicinski)

SEDER-MASOCHISM, the latest animated feature from Nina Paley (SITA SINGS THE BLUES). (Lindsey)

Everyone who has ever complained about the lack of quality cinema, the paucity of Black films that aren't romantic comedies, or the lack of productions with roles giving women characters equal power and authority with their male counterparts should see and savor "If Beale Street Could Talk." Barry Jenkins surpasses his amazing achievement of "Moonlight" with this gripping adaptation of the mid-70s Baldwin novel, keeping his work steeped in the intense romanticism and unrelenting authenticity that always resonated within Baldwin's writing. Everything, from musical choices to a gripping, if heartbreaking ending, made this an unforgettable masterpiece. (Wynn)

Bodied! (Skipper)

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD! Unfortunately everyone had a one-day window to get a sneak peek of the film when someone posted a pirated copy to Amazon Prime at the very end of last year... Hopefully that only feeds the hunger for a decent US release of this absolutely phenomenal film about the joys and struggles of collaborative creation. It's also the best film about why you shouldn't denigrate and disparage so-called "so bad they're good" movies. (Hall)

Which film has the production design that you’d most want to live in?

"Bad Times at the El Royale," but without all the creepy hidden stuff. (Duralde)

Wakanda Forever! Not since COMING TO AMERICA has the cinema put forth a place I wanted to live better than BLACK PANTHER. I want to parade around in Ruth Carter's costumes and take in every aspect of T'Challa's homeland. Of course, my clumsy ass will probably fall off one of those cliffs. It's a risk I'm willing to take. (Henderson)

It’s a toss-up between the big-ass house from ROMA or the big-ass house from THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND. (Lindsey)

I want to live in the ROMA house -- whatever room they’ll give me. (Inman)

I'd love to linger at any of the vantage points and window sills in 24 Frames. My own pocket of serenity. (Stoehr)

Barbara (Tafoya)

It’s hard to say anything other than Black Panther, which Hannah Beachler so expertly crafted from a multitude of Afrofuturist sources. Wakanda brought, to mainstream audiences everywhere, a way of looking at the world as it might have been were it not for overwhelmingly European-colonial influence. Rather than tradition and modernity being mutual exclusives, it creates a world  where deeply-rooted culture and technological progress go hand in hand, so different from what western cinema normally shows us that even films set in fantasy realms or on distant planets can’t hold a candle. (Adlakha)

As a student of early 18th century British history, I would love to inhabit Queen Anne's palace in THE FAVOURITE. (Cosner)

The cold cement tombs of Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria might not seem inviting to most but I would love to scratch my fingernails against that Brutalist Utopia.  (Adams)

Probably Bad Times at the El Royale - from the funriture to the clothes, to the cars and even wallpaper, that time period and aesthetic (lots of Mid-Century Modern - SWOON) are very much my bag. (McQuiston)

Mandy. I must live in a shared universe with Cheddar Goblin. (Kane)

The Hong Kong musical biopic HOUSE OF THE RISING SONS, which dramatizes the story of Beatles-esque teen idol band The Wynners, features a a meticulous recreation of a 1970s Hong Kong neighborhood block, but drapes it in candy-colored nostalgia. It’s like Wes Anderson got his hands on it and added lots and lots of orange, mint green, sunshine and whimsy. I’d like to move in tomorrow, thanks.(Winters)

Mandy and Red’s house in MANDY. The Tanzgruppe Markos’ headquarters in SUSPIRIA. The house in COLA DE MONO. Treepeopleville in ANNIHILATION. (Shawhan)

Ava DuVernay and the production team behind A Wrinkle in Time practically brought empathy to life with its lush, welcoming vision of Madeleine L'Engle's novel. If I could book a ticket to go hang out with Oprah the a sentient being of hope and be a warrior of light to fight evil bad mood storms, I'd do it in a heartbeat. (Woodroof)

I would want to live on the island in The Wild Boys. It comes from a vulgar imagination, as if erotically charged dreams conjured it out of thin air. (Turner)

1977 Berlin, but mainly the witches’ kitchen, den, and wardrobes, in SUSPIRIA; the miniature and masterfully crafted apocalypse of ISLE OF DOGS; and Sandi Tan’s imaginative dreamworld glimpsed in the lost fragments of SHIRKERS. (Smith)

Benjamin Loeb’s photography in Mandy captured Hubert Pouille’s horrific neon fever dream production design so perfectly to me. Not only would I want to live in it, I’d want to submerge myself in those reds and blues. (Howell)

What are you most looking forward to in 2019?

New Almodóvar, and it sounds like it's his 8 1/2. (Duralde)

Watching Adam Sandler in Auteur Sandler mode, Idina Menzel, Lakeith Stanfield, Pom Klementieff,The Weeknd, and Judd Hirsch working with the incomparable Safdie Brothers on Uncut Gems, what could potentially just about be the greatest film of all time. (Woodroof)

New Martin Scorsese gangster film with De Niro and Pesci and Keitel. But in a theater, Netflix! In a theater!! (Morton)

As a big Star Wars nerd, Episode IX is huge for me.  (Skipper)

COINCOIN AND THE EXTRA-HUMANS, PETTA, BODY AT BRIGHTON ROCK, HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U, VELVET BUZZSAW, A WORLD WAR II FAIRYTALE, DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT, UNCUT GEMS, CLIMAX, KNIFE + HEART, The Bruno Dumont/Sparks musical, GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, NEW MUTANTS, Ava DuVernay’s Prince Documentary, SOMETHING ELSE, SYNCHRONIC, TUMBBAD 2, and NOW APOCALYPSE. (Shawhan)

Robert Mueller handing down some Trump family indictments. Impeach the motherfucker! (Sicinski)

KNIVES OUT, the latest from Rian Johnson, has me really excited. (Owens)

The ridiculously glorious cliffhanger at the end of the second installment has left me triple excited for JOHN WICK 3, due out this May. Sometimes all you need in life is a little Keanu Reeves, a lot of guns, and maybe a pencil.  RUINED HEART: ANOTHER LOVE STORY BETWEEN A CRIMINAL AND A WHORE from Filipino filmmaker, musician and poet Khavn, was absolutely groundbreaking when it was released in 2015. I have no idea how he could possibly top himself in the newly announced sequel, but I am absolutely ready to see him try. (Winters)

Films from women fueled by #metoo. (Inman)

Glass, Godzilla: King of The Monsters. (Dr. Gangrene)

R. Kelly finally going to jail. (Lindsey)

“BLANC OR MARKOS?”

Oh, that's tough. Markos definitely appeals to the lumpy, blobby, misshapen dictator I am in my heart. And who can resist her sunglasses/vestigial baby arm fashion combo? But ultimately I must shout BLANC! She's not who I am, but she's who I'd want to be. She's exacting and cruel, sure, but she's also capable of love and besides, it's all in the name of art! And she looks great eating chicken wings. Who doesn't aspire to that? (Ponder)

Blanc all the way. (Kane)

Blanc! (Skipper)

Blanc. (Feldbin)

Markos. (Martini)

Blanc. Steely-armed artists in flowy outfits > bétisier signifier vulture capitalists. (Shawhan)

This question was actually harder than I anticipated once I realized you get Tilda either way, but I gotta go with… Blanc!!! I always vote the way Ingrid Caven tells me to. (Adams)