DAILY CALL SHEET: APRIL 19, 2024

Sasquatch Sunset (2024) In which we join a small family of Bigfoot as they traverse the shrinking wilderness looking for more of their kind. Along the way, we see them grunt, forage, grunt, sleep, grunt, mate, and exercise every possible excretory function you can imagine (and one or two you probably can't), while grunting. Gross, ridiculous, and oddly poignant by the end. Honestly, I'm not sure whether to give this a low or high rating, but I'm going high since it makes me happy that oddball movies like this can still get made.

TIL: A pastoral statement from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops noted that by preserving natural environments, by protecting endangered species, by laboring to make human environments compatible with local ecology, by employing appropriate technology, and by carefully evaluating technological innovations as we adopt them, we exhibit respect for creation and reverence for the Creator.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Continuing to keep my notepad nearby as I bumble my way through  daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: FEBRUARY 14, 2024

The Substitute (1996) Merc goes undercover as a high school teacher to find and punish the thugs who roughed up his ex-lover. Along the way, he decides to whip (and beat and stab and shoot) the rest of the student body and faculty into shape as well. Ah, the 1990's, the last decade where you could solve both school violence and classroom overcrowding by tossing the problem kids out of a second story window. Crank up your suspension of disbelief and enjoy the brainless fun.

TIL: While never recommending it, the Church believes that corporal punishment remains a matter of prudential judgment for parents as they are the ones who have a duty to rectify their child’s inappropriate action by imposing reasonable consequences for bad behavior. Punishment of any kind, however, must take into consideration the child’s ability to understand it as corrective, and must never undermine the child's inherent dignity as a person.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More dubious doodlings on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: APRIL 10, 2024

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1966) Another amiable Amicus anthology wherein tarot reader Peter Cushing spins yarns about werewolves, vampires, voodoo, and killer plants. The highlight features Christopher Lee as a pompous art critic (is there any other kind) tormented by the disembodied hand of the artist he (quite literally) drove to suicide. A bit of wish fulfillment fantasy from the creators of low budget movies perhaps?

TIL: The criticism that some art is derivative is kind of silly when you think about it. All human artists have no choice but to draw from preexisting material. Only God is able to make something from nothing.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Continuing to jot down thoughts on my daily Scripture readings, even though some of them suggest something is obviously wrong with me.

DAILY CALL SHEET: APRIL 6, 2024

Dead Dudes in the House (1989) A group of friends pitch in together to renovate a fixer-upper, only to discover once they get there that a weird old woman is squatting on the premises. Perhaps she has something to do with all the dead bodies and zombies that start showing up? Though nowhere near as good, it's sorta Troma's take on the Evil Dead, but mercifully played more straight than most of that studio's other output.

TIL: Aquinas taught that in cases where there is no other way to secure a basic necessity for survival, such as shelter, taking it from those who have more than they need is not wrongful because such basic necessities are a human right. However, it's immoral to take basic necessities, even from the rich, if such things can be obtained through one’s own work or through the voluntary assistance of others such as governmental agencies or private charities.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Still jotting down musings on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: APRIL 2, 2024

Nemesis (1992) The future's not bright, but everybody wears shades anyway, especially cyborg cop Alex Rain, who's going through one of those "Am I still human?" existential crises as cyborgs are prone to do. Angst takes a backseat, though, when Alex uncovers an android plot to eradicate flesh and blood humans. This could've been just another schlocky sci-fi outing starring some random martial artist, but it's Albert Pyun, so it's dripping with style. What would video store shelves have done without him?

TIL: Neuroscientist Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk sees the transhumanist notion that our current human bodies don't represent the final state of our evolutionary development as being reflective of our inherent desire for transcendence. However, the problem is that transhumanism only promises transcendence of the body and not of the soul. As he puts it, "There’s a bigger kind of unsettledness at the heart of who we are and simple longevity and life extension isn’t going to address that at its core."

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Continuing to jot down thoughts on my daily Scripture readings because the Pope hasn't told me to knock it off yet.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 30, 2024

Santo in the Wax Museum (1963) A Dr. Moreau wannabe plies his monster making trade at the local waxworks, sending his creations out to kidnap more raw materials. Nothing seems able to stop this evil until El Santo takes time off from wrasslin' to stop by and beat the crap out of everybody. If you've seen one Santo film, you've seen'em all, but if you liked that one Santo film you saw, then you'll probably like this one as well.

TIL: Dating back to the 5th century, one of the Church's oldest known sacramentals is the “Agnus Dei”, a wax disc with the image of a lamb pressed into it. Originally, these discs were made on Holy Saturday from the wax of the previous year’s Paschal candles and then blessed by the Pope before being distributed for free to the people. Sadly, the custom of handing out Agnus Dei appears to have all but ended with Vatican II.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Perhaps not the deepest thoughts  on my daily Scripture readings, but thoughts nonetheless.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 27, 2024

 

Saturn 3 (1980) Love-hate triangle on a space station turns into a square when homicidal Hector the robot wants in on the action. It has impressive set design, one of the 80's coolest looking automatons, and plenty of star power in Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, and Farrah Fawcett... and yet the film is a mindboggling mess of sci-fi leftovers from the late 60's/early 70's. At some point Douglas and Fawcett drop some kind of space acid and you'll wish had some as well to help get through it all.

TIL: While not a common sight these days, the "cappello romano" was a popular hat worn by many priests for centuries. It was often called a "saturno" because its rounded top and wide, circular brim resembled the ringed planet. Unlike a bishop's mitre, the saturno had no real ceremonial use or religious meaning. Apparently, priests just liked wearing them because they looked good with cassocks.

Funny Book Philosophy: Mad Magazine 108 (1967) I haven't bothered with seeing Immaculate yet because it looks like nothing more than fancied-up nunsploitation for millennials who've never been to a drive-in before. I'll probably catch it down the line on streaming, but I hold no hopes for its portrayal of religious life. Heck, even back in the 60's, Mad Magazine knew the deal with how nuns and priests are handled in Hollywood.