For this Friday Movie Night, we’re starting off with Opening Night (1977), starring Gena Rowlands as a struggling stage actress whose personal problems all come to a head right before the premiere of her big new show. Lay off the booze, ok? It’s not helping things. We haven’t watched any John Cassavetes films yet, despite his renown, and this is supposed to be one of his best. It is currently ranked #198 on Letterboxd’s Top 250 films of all time. Rave reviews for this one, so let’s give it a shot. After that is The Raid (2011), one of the most critically-acclaimed action films of the 2010s. A cop goes into a Jakarta drug lord’s death-trap lair and single-handedly ends the War on Drugs by kicking and stabbing people in various martial-arts duels. The premise makes my eyebrow raise a bit, but hey, it’s an action movie, I guess it comes with the territory. It’s Indonesian, too (in fact, only its sequel is rated higher among Indonesian films on Letterboxd), so we can check off one more country. However, the director is Br*tish import Gareth Evans. This is his best-known film.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Opening Night: https://letterboxd.com/film/opening-night/
• The Raid: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-raid-2011/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Opening Night: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/176492
• The Raid: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/41524

CWs for Opening Night:

• Domestic violence in the play-within-the-film (but not the film’s narrative.)
• Alcoholism.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Blood.
• Self-harm.
• Death of teenager.
• Cheating.
• Jump scares.
• Ghosts.
• Ableist language.
• Someone is hit by a car.
• Blood and gore.

CWs for The Raid:

• Protagonist is a cop.
• Blood and gore.
• Fist fights.
• Pregnancy.
• Cutting of flesh.
• Decapitation.
• Bloody nose.
• Gun violence.
• Police brutality.
• Strangulation.
• Stabbing.
• Broken bones.
• Drug use.
• Drug addiction.
• Profanity.
• Misogyny.
• Squashed heads.
• Finger mutilation.
• Death by falling.
• Eye mutilation.
• Death of child.
• Someone wets themselves.
• Audio gore.
• Misophonia.
• Anxiety attacks.
• Claustrophobia.
• Shaky cam.
• Flashing lights.

Links to movies:

• Opening Night: https://vimeo.com/904649090
• The Raid: https://vimeo.com/904650484