Witching and Bitching

Another classy foreign film poster. This one also tells you the original title was “The Witches of Zugarramurdi.”

Witching and Bitching

Trigger Warning:  Subtitled film.  If you just can’t handle reading subtitles on a great film, I have an alternate film for you.  Last time I showed a film by , it was very well received.  Time for another!  I rented this a few years back, and was waiting for it to come out streaming. I like a lot of things in this movie, including:

Look and feel:  Álex can really shoot some film.  Also, look at how he dresses his witchy characters to portend how they will act in the film.  When you get to witch town, everything is dirty, the characters are covered in filth and have all kinds of bizarre deformities and mannerisms. That may be an old trope but it is very effective here.

Carolina Bang: Wow!  What a great, attractive, conflicted villain.  Her character portrayal and dress (she’s not covered with shit) might also portend her character’s actions. I saw she has a few more films in the hopper, I need to hunt those down. One bit of trivia: She married Álex de la Iglesia the year after this film came out!

You know what else I like about this film? Nobody is the hero.  Everyone is an asshole at one point or another. No heroes dressed in white here.  So if nobody is the hero, how does the story conclude?  You’ll have to tune in tonight and see! This is a fantastic film that starts with bank robbery, car chases, Carolina Bang on a motorcycle (removes hat, sighs deeply) and then quickly everyone’s lives spiral even further out of control.   Stay with it all they way to the end! Keep in mind that Álex drops many hints in his films about the ending.  Can you figure it out before you get there?

So watch!  Or don’t!  Everything is voluntary until an old coot steals your country and hands it over to a Satanic cabal!  Next week, it’s time for some sci fi!  What kind of sci fi? 1970s disco sci fi, baby!  The Shape of Things to Come with Jack Palance!  Aliens!  Disco!  Scenery Chewing!  See you there!  After that, I hope to finish a special sci fi film I have wanted to review and need to watch carefully: Metropia.

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(h/t: The Hyperbole)

About The Author

R.J.

Hello. My name is R.J. I am a Tulpa with extra cheese and sour cream.

145 Comments

    • R.J.

      Anyone who believes she is barely worth $100,000 is smoking crack.

      • kinnath

        She’s been in office a bit over 4 years.

        She’s loud, brash, and highly-visible. I don’t expect anyone is funneling her money directly.

        Maybe the boyfriend is racking up unearned compensation, but I don’t think she’s on the gravy train yet.

    • rhywun

      Her most recent financial disclosure shows her with assets between $3,003 and $45,000

      I don’t believe that, either.

      • Pat

        I wouldn’t be that surprised. Now, her campaign fund, PAC, boyfriend, family members…

        • rhywun

          I suppose it’s possible that she hasn’t figured out how the game is played yet.

          • kinnath

            1) I think she believes the shit she spouts. I don’t think she’s in it for the money . . . . yet.

            2) I don’t think she’s bright enough on her own to work the system. Until she become less caustic and someone decides to “mentor” her, I don’t expect her to pile up the big bucks.

            • cyto

              She has changed bigly in the last 2 years. She is a hard core establishment shill, a maverick no more.

              • kinnath

                The bill to limit congress critters from trading in stocks is a great weather vane. Either she means it, or she doesn’t. It should obvious in short order.

  1. Brochettaward

    RJ, did you see me whip my dick out and defend you earlier? They cancel RJ, they cancel The Firster Formerly Known As The First Of All Firsters But Now Known As The Three Eyed Firster.

    • R.J.

      I am sorry, I missed that! Thanks!

  2. DEG

    I’ll queue this up for later viewing. Thanks RJ!

    • R.J.

      You are welcome, this is one of the good art house films I have been saving.

  3. Pat

    Trigger Warning: Subtitled film.

    Why would I need subtitles? I took 2 years of high school Spanish, it’s not like I forgot it all by senior year and can’t say anything besides puta pendejo or anything…

    • Brochettaward

      I know the words que, pantalones, and hola.

    • The Hyperbole

      Roberto es guapo, Maria es bonita.

      • R.J.

        los frijoles me hacen pedo.

      • slumbrew

        ¿Donde esta la zapateria?

    • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

      Look at this chupa!

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        And, no, I am not a hueto, just a little bar room/teamster boss spanglish.

    • The Bearded Hobbit

      Try Portuguese;

      Sim, nao tiem ananas; nao tiem ananas hoje.

    • Rat on a train

      Cerveza, por favor. ¿Donde esta el bano?
      The two basic phrases to learn.

  4. cyto

    I have been watching 2 old TV shows. House and Battlestar Galactica (the new one).

    House holds up. Solid network TV nightime drama.

    Galactica is also still good. The Iraq War season is less annoying in streaming format where it only lasts a few days instead of a year. I am not finished yet… I am at the Starbuck as Jesus sequence. Or maybe Moses?

    Anyway, Katee Sackhoff made it from Peacock to my YouTube feed. I never had a huge opinion on her, personally. YouTube changed that. She seems pretty awesome.

    This was the first video they poked my way.

    https://youtu.be/is3u5cPn7NQ

    I saw a couple of more about her workout for different characters… She really puts some work and thought into how to play these characters,, which I found impressive. So score one for the algorithm. I spent maybe 20 minutes with Katee Sackhoff when I had zero intention of doing so. Being trapped in a waiting room helped, but they were right.

    • Ted S.

      I’ve been watching Classic Concentration on Buzzer. Alex Trebek at his snarkiest.

      • rhywun

        Is that the one with the flipping cards and memorizing prizes? I never liked that show.

        • Ted S.

          Trilons on the original; computerized doors on the Trebek version.

          And it’s great for playing along at home, if you can remember where the match for the Samsonite luggage is.

    • slumbrew

      * watches video *

      Yeah, 2% is way low.

  5. Dr. Fronkensteen

    Is just me or does the woman in front look like Ozzy Osbourne?

    • R.J.

      Si!

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        It’s Ozzvaldo.

  6. Count Potato

    *hits play*

  7. Brochettaward

    On Trump’s real estate knowledge and let’s say skill – I have no doubt he could bullshit you all day or go into the nitty gritty details of NY real estate all day. Anyone at his level should be able to impress you talking about what is supposed to be their area of expertise. But how much money is Trump worth and how much of that did he make? How much would he have made if wasn’t making big deals, and instead just investing his money? I’ve seen it argued that he would have made more just investing the money he started with than he’s made off all of his real estate moves.

    But I guess the point stands – he’s probably not dumb. Joe Biden is and was fucking dumb. George W was dumb.

    • slumbrew

      I’m re-watching the link I posted and it remains pretty compelling; he’s talking actual numbers for his projects vs. the UN quote.

      Is he lying about how much he spent? Mebbe. But when the UN spent $27M on an architect who they ended up firing, he looks like the greatest real estate mogul in history.

      Also, “move it, sell the existing site, it’ll pay for itself” remains the best plan put forward. Which will never happen, of course.

      • slumbrew

        From Wikipedia*:

        “By September 2015, the renovations were nearly complete but the cost had risen to $2.15 billion”

        10 years after that video and double the price (which was already too high).

        * I know, I know

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        I always think back on him taking over the NY ice skating (?) park, which the city couldn’t fix to save its life, and bringing it in under cost and on time.

        The guy comes across as a carnival barker, but I get the feeling that he uses that to disarm his opponents. Is he perfect? Oh, hell no. But he is the best we have had in a long time.

    • kinnath

      I’ve seen plenty of analyses that say he would have more money if he just invested it.

      But, from what I can see, he’s made a lot of money and spent a lot of in on a lavish lifestyle.

  8. Brochettaward

    This movie looks pretty OK. Better than any of the shit Hollywood is putting out. I get nervous when I see a gang of gun toting females, but it’s only one second.

    • slumbrew

      That looks fun.

      *adds to list*

    • R.J.

      That does look good. Adding to the long-term watch list.

      • Brochettaward

        I feel it is imperative that we get off our asses and go see the stuff that is actually worth supporting. It is the only slim chance of getting more of what we want. Though, this movie has cult classic at best written on it more than surprise hit.

        • R.J.

          It is getting harder and harder to find theaters that show stuff like that. Even here in DFW it is difficult to find a theater that takes big chances with art house films.

          • Brochettaward

            It has one showing a day in a theatre about a 30 minutes away from me. It aint like there’s a whole lot of big time movies out there.

        • Mojeaux

          surprise hit

          That would have been Strictly Ballroom back in 1992. I saw that fucker about 4 times in our little art house and then it exploded. I told my mom and dad to go see it and said, “Just sit through the first 10 minutes. I promise it’ll be worth it.” They did admit that they almost walked out during the intro because it made no sense to them.

    • Sean

      I’m interested.

    • Chafed

      That is clearly John Wick as a Finn killing Nazis. Sign me up.

    • DEG

      In 1944? Germans in Finland fighting Finns?

      Oh, Lapland War reference. Where the Finns only fought the Germans because the Allies threatened to occupy Finland if the Finns didn’t expel the Germans.

  9. Sean

    Friend’s birthday gift ordered. ✔
    Mother’s day gift ordered. ✔

    What would I do without Amazon?

    • R.J.

      Use eBay?

      • Sean

        EBay has wishlists?

    • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

      Live like a free man?

      • Sean

        None of us are free. Are you new here?

    • Mojeaux

      So, I told my husband I ordered our moms their flowers for Mother’s Day.

      He said, “Mother’s Day? I forgot all about it.”

      • Sean

        Doh!

        Good on you.

        • Mojeaux

          He said, “No flowers, right?”

          I’m like, “Well, I’m not going to throw them in the trash and yell at you for wasting money like your dudebropal’s wife did him, but they’re not my favorite thing to have money spent on, no.”

          • hayeksplosives

            How about chocolate covered strawberries?

            Those are only half bad for ya!

            • Mojeaux

              I told him I wanted a cherry pie with ice cream.

              My mom used to make cherry pies for me on my birthday because she makes the best cherry pies EVAR, but she can’t physically do that anymore, so I haven’t had one for the last 3 years.

              There’s just some knack to cherry pie I haven’t quite been able to conquer. Apple? No problem. Cherry? Problem.

              • hayeksplosives

                Do you use tart cherries to make your own filling? I prefer the canned tart cherries 🍒 with a little almond extract.

                I suck at making the crust though.

              • Mojeaux

                I love it tart. The tarter the better.

                Almond extract is a new one on me *for this purpose*. Otherwise, I use almond extract in equal measure in almost everything else where I use vanilla.

              • Pat

                Blessed is the man who, when presented with an obvious opportunity to post a link to Cherry Pie by Warrant, refrains.

              • Mojeaux

                I haz a disappoint.

      • Brochettaward

        I know from experience I am far too busy Firsting to worry about holidays and birthdays. If someone wants a gift from me, they need to text me the day prior and let me know what’s up.

      • hayeksplosives

        Thanks for the reminder!! I better get on the stick and order some for my mom too.

  10. R.J.

    Anybody gotten to the Sugar Free nightmare of the giant naked witch crapping a kid out of her hairy ass?

  11. groat scotum

    So, that Windows password you use to log in to your PC is just a figleaf. Apparently you can take that hard drive, plug it into another PC, and give yourself permission to view the contents.

    In other news, I found out my uncle took a lot of pride in growing pot and didn’t have a whole lot else going on in his life.

    • slumbrew

      That has always been the case.

      • groat scotum

        It’s surprising. I took everything from his desk (he passed, this wasn’t robbery) and figured I’d be looking through the mess for awhile trying to figure out whether he wrote down the password.

        Nah brah plug it in, you’re the administrator now.

        • Pat

          Sorry to hear about your loss.

          OS account passwords are there to keep you from breaking the system and separate user files from each other more than anything. For file protection you need disk encryption. Windows ships with BitLocker (AKA ShitLocker) nowadays, but you’re probably better off using VeraCrypt.

          • groat scotum

            Thank you, and thank you.

            I’ve got another drive with the real old interface, with a bunch of pins interface and a four prong power adapter. Is that even worth trying to find an adaper?

            • Ownbestenemy

              IDE to SATA adapters are not hard to find.

              • groat scotum

                But to USB?

                And is the drive even likely to be preserved at all?

                And readable by a Windows 10 PC?

              • groat scotum

                Oh, I see what you mean.

              • Pat

                As long as the drive’s still operational you should be able to recover files from it no problem. Anything Windows-based from the last 30 years is going to be either FAT32 or NTFS, both of which are still supported (NTFS with various extensions is still the default Windows filesystem).

                There’s IDE to USB adapters, or if you’ve already got an external USB SATA drive caddy, you can go adapter-through-adapter (although that can cause some accessibility problems, depending on how good the controller chipset is).

          • Brochettaward

            I am torn between putting a self-destruct feature on my computer and knowing that my Firsts, drafts of future Firsts, and contemplated Firsts and notes on Firsting need to be preserved for posterity’s sake.

            • groat scotum

              Drafts of Future First was an okayish movie but come on, the franchise is doomed

        • DEG

          Sorry about your uncle.

          Pat is right – to keep someone from doing what you did you need filesystem encryption.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Yeah unless you have bitlocker or any other encryption device, the drive contents are open for all.

    • one true athena

      The funniest part was when Windows forced me to change my logon password to a 4 digit “PIN”. Because four digits are lots more secure than nine, right?

  12. hayeksplosives

    Well, the Kraken are stinking up the ice, so if the 2nd period sucks, I’m going to go home early and watch from there.

    But at least I got my chicken wings!

  13. Michael Malaise

    Hung out with some blue pills (California work colleagues) who say things like:

    “I kind of like have a nice grandpa as President”

    “I mean, look at Joe Biden, he’s fit. He’s out there doing things. Have you seen Trump?”

    and

    “People are fleeing the state like crazy. It’s almost unlivable now. We had to move out of LA to make things work.”

    and then a minute later:

    “But I like the politics.”

    Without ever connecting the dots between the cost-of-living, homelessness, cultural decay and “the politics”

    • Michael Malaise

      I just stay quiet. I don’t have the heart to tell them I’m basically an anarchist.

      • hayeksplosives

        I’m pleasantly surprised by how Washington State is so far. I’m sure id feel differently about it if I lived in Seattle proper, but I don’t.

        I’ve had a few semi-political discussions with people here and been able to introduce libertarian ideas. People are super nice up here in Mukilteo.

        I just had a good chat with a lady at the bar where we are watching hockey. I introduced her to humanprogress.org and Johan Norberg, Marion Tupy, and other non-gloom speakers. She was genuinely happy about it and bookmarked everything on her phone.

        I could get used to this place.

        • Pat

          Spokane used to be pretty conservative, skewing a little libertarian-ish back in the day, but even when I left 10 years ago it had turned into East Seattle. The last news story I saw from there was a couple of years ago somebody getting arrested for protesting drag queen story hour at the downtown library. The ‘burbs are still alright, but the city’s gone to shit.

        • Gustave Lytton

          Cut the population in half and that’s Baja Washington too.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Cause it hasn’t hit home so to speak.

    • Gender Traitor

      “How can we lose have negative consequences when we’re so sincere?”

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        This. My best friend lives in SF, and will not think of living anywhere else, no matter how bad it gets. He lived there as a kid, only moving away when his parents thought it got to bad back in the eighties, and he hated every minute of where they moved to. He is liberal to the core, and just cannot see how those ideas are failing, destroying everything they touch.

        • Chafed

          Then he must be enjoying the current times.

    • Chafed

      JFC I hate those people. They are the reason I will have to move when I retire.

  14. Count Potato

    I’ll have to finish this later. Why doesn’t life pause when I’m trying to watch a movie? We shut down the world for two years over the sniffles.

    Thanks, RJ 🙂

    • Brochettaward

      I like how the family stepped up after his death. What are the odds they wanted anything to do with him before they saw it as their ticket to winning the ghetto lottery?

      • slumbrew

        The uncle was yelling about how the system failed Neely. He didn’t discuss why he, himself, didn’t take his nephew in.

        • Chafed

          Hold on now. That’s someone else’s job.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Outside or statutes of limitations that is. Initial charges should be within 1 day of knowledge of alleged crime.

      • Zwak , who will swing for the crime, in double time!

        For good or ill, they won’t charge anyone until they are fully onboard with that person being guilty. If it turns out there is some exculpatory evidence, they are hosed if they try to convict someone else for it. It would look like they have no idea what they are doing (even more than now) and defense lawyers would eat them alive.

    • rhywun

      It’s all so drearily predictable.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        At least it wasn’t a murder charge but, yeah, this sucks.

  15. Festus

    Apropos of nothing, I just had a memory cache unveiled. I was 16 and my friends and I were watching a football game, enjoying some bevs. Suddenly my elder brother burst into the room in full Dylan Mulvaney mode trilling “Have you got a beer? Have you got a beer for me?” in a sing-songy voice, grabbed two bottles and skipped away. Took about three seconds for us to react. He is the funniest and about the fifth most terrifying person that I have ever met. We are estranged. I miss Funny Dave.

    • Festus

      Crazy Dave can die in a fire. We don’t care for each others politics. He’s a Commie and I’m a Nazi. I’m a Nazi because I laughed about Trump winning. Fuck him. Life is better without him.

      • Pat

        That’s too bad. My mom and her family had a similar dynamic.

        • Shirley Knott

          Both my parents had difficult/problematic relationships with their siblings. There was very little family interaction between them while we were growing up and it declined over time.
          Yet they never understood why my brothers and I aren’t tight.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Madcon? Sounds like a discount cellphone carrier. How much is their unlimited data plan?

      • UnCivilServant

        Funny, my first thought is that it was a convention for the mentally ill. Or nuclear annihilation.

        • Rat on a train

          Mad magazine fans?

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, Sean, Stinky, U, and Roat!

      Shortened work day today…but that’s because I have to take Little Black Kitty to the vet AGAIN. Final (I hope) follow-up on his ear infection, but I’ll probably have to make yet another appointment, assuming his abscessed tooth has to come out. 😟🐱‍👤

        • Gender Traitor

          Awwwww! 😃 Kind of a reverse yin yang!

      • Sean

        Awww, poor kitteh

  16. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “Homeless man charged with hate crimes for defecating on pride flags at Manhattan restaurant”
    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/11/homeless-man-charged-hate-crimes-defecating-pride-/

    Black homeless man no less…guess it’s clear where we’ll stand on the intersectionality chart. I don’t approve of people shitting in random places and using the property owner’s stuff to clean up but that’s what happened, not a hate crime. What a damn joke.

    • Rat on a train

      We let your attacker off easy. He beat for pleasure not hate.

    • rhywun

      “This was a total hate crime,” restaurant owner Courtney Barroll told New York’s Daily News. “He came in within 15 minutes of us opening up the restaurant. He could have gone to Popeyes or McDonald’s around the corner. He could have used napkins.”

      LOL

    • Not Adahn

      Innocent, 45, was also charged with burglary and criminal trespass in the incident.

      It will be a travesty if they find an innocent man guilty.

    • Not Adahn

      “Barcelona off of Broadway…a hangout that still encompasses the low key, comfy vibe of the neighborhood but has the chic décor and forward thinking cuisine of a downtown trendsetter.” Close your eyes and you think you’re in Spain, many Spaniards and locals exclaim. The amazing tapas, reasonably priced wine list and warm staff will keep you returning to this Iberian find without the jet lag!,

      I’m liking this story more and more.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Upper West Side, yet.

    • DEG

      Inflation is a bitch.

  17. Not Adahn

    Question:

    All of these impoverished migrants fleeing war with nothing, relying on NGOs to eat and get their cell phones charged… how much is their data plan, and how do I get on it?

  18. DEG

    Mornin’ all.

    • UnCivilServant

      As a fat bastard… I hate this.

      • R.J.

        Agreed. Stupid law.
        Also good morning.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Instead of hiring a lawyer how about losing some weight?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Would be cheaper.

      • Michael Malaise

        Saw a guy at the airport who clearly had knee troubles. Was also at least 60 lbs overweight and wearing flipflops.

        I give up.