The devil I don't know. (Patreon)

Turns out y'all did not want back-to-back martial-arts poll winners. Having been defeated last week by The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, Tsui Hark's Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain made it to showdown again, only to be smacked down by the nearly century-old Faust. This is (I think) the last major (extant) Murnau film that I haven't seen; as a rabid fan of The Last Laugh and Sunrise (and a less-rabid fan of Tabu and Nosferatu), I'm excited to sit down with it at long last. Available, to me at least, on Kanopy. Also, apologies for the delay on Pole Fighter, my review of which is imminent— the immediate aftermath of the Skandies occupies a lot of my time, as I maintain a fuckton of lists that need updating. Also why I've watched only one film so far this week. 

March's random drawing selected one relatively recent request and one that dates back to probably 2018. Zero Effect (available for rental from the usual suspects) did 16 consecutive weeks before being withdrawn a couple of months ago; I missed its 1998 theatrical run but caught up with it on video two years later. (Sarah, you introduced me, yes? That's my vague memory.) Looks like I gave it a C+ at the time, so expect a rating in the 54-46 range. But we shall see. As for 1941 (likewise usual suspects), I haven't seen that since sometime in the '80s, and don't have particularly fond memories. And I'd completely forgotten that it had ever been a contender, as its seven entries are among the first 100 or so chronologically (out of 2,400+ at this point).  

As ever, my deepest gratitude to all of you for your support, especially now that this—for the moment, at least—has become my sole source of writing income. (Case numbers are now low enough in my area that I'm tentatively contemplating a return to poker income, though I still feel uneasy about sitting at a table with nine other people for what's usually a good 8-10 hours at a stretch. That just seems like the easiest means of catching literally anything.) It means a lot. Thanks so much.