by Nathaniel R
Butt Boy - no, really, that's the name of the movie
Infamous former* filmmaker John Waters has released his annual Top Ten List in ArtForum and it's as completely entertaining and performative as ever. He kicks things off with two movies about people putting things into various orifices that don't belong there (Butt Boy and Swallow, the latter of which we've discussed before) and ends with a double-feature of courtroom docu-dramas (Trial of the Chicago 7 and Mangrove) to keep you guessing. You should read it but here are two brief spotlights just for fun...
Spotlight #1 because each year Waters manages to include a film we've never even heard of even though we try to hear of most films that exist
WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! (Kirill Sokolov)
A blood-drenched, seat-ripping, Tarantino-influenced Russian grindhouse family-revenge comedy that begs one to watch it with other stoned or drunk ticket buyers in a packed movie theater. Sigh. Will this ever happen again?
Spotlight #2 because each year Waters manages to make us eager to see something we've either put off or re-watch something we were only partially into.
TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG (Justin Kurzel)
A gory, insane, homoerotic, historical western featuring a gang of outlaw robbers who sometimes dress in drag just to fuck with the cops’ heads. A truly astonishing, unhinged performance by George MacKay as their leader gives new meaning to the word butch.
* Is it okay to call John Waters a former filmmaker? He used to suggest it was because he couldn't get funding. Which is disheartening. But 16 years after his last feature when he's still a celebrity and the need for content has long-since exploded and people with less name-recognition values have gotten new deals (especially with streamers trying to lure people away from studios in the past 10 years, often successfully) is there really no company that's ever been interested in him? If so, that's A Dirty Shame.