Cold in July (2014) - September 30, 2014

[Akijama]

Cold in July Blu-ray

How can a split-second decision change your life? While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall in an affectingly vulnerable performance) puts a bullet in the brain of lowlife burglar Freddy. Although he s hailed as a small-town hero, Richard soon finds himself fearing for his family s safety when Freddy s ex-con father, Ben (Sam Shepard, August: Osage County) rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge. But not all is as it seems in this seemingly peaceful community, and soon Richard s life begins to unravel into a dark underworld of corruption and violence that will pit him against the most unlikely of foes. Co-starring Don Johnson (Django Unchained) and adapted from the Joe R. Lansdale novel by director Jim Mickle (We Are What We Are) and star Nick Damici (Stake Land), COLD IN JULY is a pulpy Southern noir whose twists and turns continue to pile up right up to its shocking conclusion.


Special Features: Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Previsualization Tests, Trailer

Source: Amazon

Cold in July 2014 Official Trailer [HD 1080p] - YouTube

[slasherdisc]

Day one!

[javi92]

This was a lot of fun. The attention to 80s period detail was pretty good, the sound track was great, and the scuzzy feel to everything topped it all off. It doesn't really work as a whole, but man are the individual parts a blast.

[The Great Owl]

Cold in July and Under the Skin are my two favorite movies of 2014 so far. I'll be purchasing this title on day one.

This is a great adaptation of a great Joe R. Lansdale novel. I cannot recommend the movie enough.

[Scottie]

I watched this a couple of days ago and I was pleasantly surprised with how it played out.

It's a gritty film - packed with suspense - that feels like a neo-noir at times.

[StonesEGF]

Definitely looking forward to the Blu-ray release. It never came to a theater near me, and I didn't want to pay $7.99 to see it on-demand knowing that I could eventually rent or buy for cheaper.

Has anyone read the book? How does it compare with the novels of, say, someone like Jim Thompson?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by StonesEGF

Has anyone read the book? How does it compare with the novels of, say, someone like Jim Thompson?

I've read Joe R. Lansdale's Cold in July several times, along with several other books from this author. Lansdale is a Texas writer who comes across like a gritty blend of William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Harper Lee, Mickey Spillane, Sam Peckinpah, and Quentin Tarantino. His stories are generally crude, rude, and gruesome, but there's also an undercurrent of Southern Gothic and an idyllic rural backwoods aesthetic.

[Thieves Dont]

Day 1 purchase. Incredible film. The twist was awesome.

[StonesEGF]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've read Joe R. Lansdale's Cold in July several times, along with several other books from this author. Lansdale is a Texas writer who comes across like a gritty blend of William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Harper Lee, Mickey Spillane, Sam Peckinpah, and Quentin Tarantino. His stories are generally crude, rude, and gruesome, but there's also an undercurrent of Southern Gothic and an idyllic rural backwoods aesthetic.

I read Lansdale's Cold in July this week and enjoyed it quite a bit. The writing reminded me a bit of two other books that I've read recently: Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto (of True Detective fame) and Knockemstiff, a collection of short stories by Donald Ray Pollock. If anyone enjoyed one of these books, I would recommend the other two.

Now that I've read it, I plan to watch Cold in July on-demand this weekend.

[StonesEGF]

I saw Cold in July this weekend and was fairly impressed. The atmosphere is pitch-perfect!

While there are a number of narrative differences between the novel and the film, both feature equally unbelievable plot devices which serve mainly to move the plot forward. (I am still undecided as to which medium features the more unbelievable plot elements!) However, in the case of the film, I am willing to forgive the required suspensions of belief as devices typical of a lot of noir films. In the case of the novel, I am willing to forgive them because they mainly serve as violent entryways into the protagonist's headspace (the novel is written in first-person).

There are a few other significant differences between the novel and film which lead me to prefer the former:

[Show spoiler]Dane's wife, Ann, is such a great character in the novel - intelligent, sexy, strong-willed, etc.. She is aware of her husband's dealings throughout. In the film, she is completely relegated to the background.

The first-person aspect of the novel allows for a very rich exploration of Dane's feelings about fatherhood: his father and himself, he and his own son, and Ben and Freddy's "relationship". The movie does as much as it can in this regard, but there were some great passages in the book that weren't expressible in this type of film.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by StonesEGF

I read Lansdale's Cold in July this week and enjoyed it quite a bit. The writing reminded me a bit of two other books that I've read recently: Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto (of True Detective fame) and Knockemstiff, a collection of short stories by Donald Ray Pollock. If anyone enjoyed one of these books, I would recommend the other two.

I love Donald Ray Pollock's Knockemstiff short story collection, and his debut novel, The Devil All the Time is even more amazing.

I'll have to check out Galveston.

[StonesEGF]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I love Donald Ray Pollock's Knockemstiff short story collection, and his debut novel, The Devil All the Time is even more amazing.

I'll have to check out Galveston.

Awesome, Owl! I loved Knockemstiff as well. I've had The Devil All the Time in my stack of "to-read" for a few months.

Genre related: Out of curiosity, have you read Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son? (It was a big influence on Pollock's stories.) Johnson's first novel, Angels, is also excellent! He's one of my favorite authors.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by StonesEGF

Awesome, Owl! I loved Knockemstiff as well. I've had The Devil All the Time in my stack of "to-read" for a few months.

Genre related: Out of curiosity, have you read Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son? (It was a big influence on Pollock's stories.) Johnson's first novel, Angels, is also excellent! He's one of my favorite authors.

I have not yet read the Denis Johnson stories.

I got into Joe R. Lansdale after reading Cormac McCarthy's novels a few years ago. I've also enjoyed stories of a similar vein by William Gay and Tom Franklin. William Gay's Twilight and Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter are both quite marvelous.
I also recommend the works of Ron Rash, whose novel, Serena, is being released as a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

All of these authors take cues from William Faulkner's darker works to great effect.

[SammyJankis]

I could see this being one of those annual midnight classics. The score is awesome.

[twardyyy]

Awesome. Watched this last month and definitely think it's one of the best movies of the year. Sam Shepard, Don Johnson and Michael C. Hall put on some great performances. Day One purchase for me.

[Thieves Dont]

Any reviews up for this yet? Still one of my favorite films of 2014.

[pjoseph23]

Looking forward to this! I've read a lot of Lansdale novels and collections, but not this one. I'll be getting into the novel this weekend.

Re-watched Bubba Ho-Tep this week in preparation.

[FilmBufffff]

Anybody have any idea if Best Buy is going to have this in stores? I'm betting probably not.

[Arlington]

Originally Posted by FilmBufffff

Anybody have any idea if Best Buy is going to have this in stores? I'm betting probably not.

Website says "Store Pickup: Coming Soon", which seems to indicate they will...and they have competitive pricing...

[The Great Owl]

I picked up this Blu-ray of Cold in July from Movie Stop today during my lunch break.

I paid too much ($24.99), but the Blu-ray was right there on the shelf in front of me while I was buying a couple of other items.

This is a great little film, and it should translate well from my theatrical viewing to watching the Blu-ray at home.