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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 14, 2012 3:09:27 GMT -5
First I watched Herbert Ross's The Goodbye Girl a comedy-drama starring Richard Dryfuss, Marsha Mason, and Quinn Cummings. It's about a single mother and her daughter who get screwed by an actor and have another actor move in. Parts of it can kind of be sad ,but overall it was pretty funny and I liked it.
Second I watched John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness from 1987 which is about the discovery of the Devil and the Anit-God. Man this was a great horror movie I'd heard it was good ,but I didn't think it'd be on this level. The characters are likeable, the special effects are good, the way the bad guys attack is surprisingly freaky, and a few scenes actually managed to scare me. I really liked the Lovecraftian influences and themes as well and thought the hobo mob was creepy looking. It has one of those what'll happen endings and I still thought that was done well. I actually think this was better than the original Halloween and heavily recommend this if you've never seen it. I was just blown away.
After that I watched Frank Darrabont's The Shawshank Redemption which is a great movie. The revenge is awesome and the first time I watched it I came in a little before that moment, the second time I watched it I started a little farther back ,but this was the first time I'd seen the first 20-30 minutes or so and also the first time I'd seen it completely in one sitting. Again if you've somehow not seen this watch this movie.
Finally I watched Michael Mann's The Keep a horror movie based on the former WYH guest Paul Wilson. This marked a trifecta of firsts: the first time I'd seen this movie, the first and so far last time Mann has doubled in horror, and the first time I haven't liked a film by Mann. The only two other films I've seen by Mann were Heat and Public Enemies which I thought were both great. There's three things this movie gets right: the cinematograhpy is great at some points particuarly the shots of the forrest and there's one shot that just looks ominous, the set design; the village and keep look awesome, and the first part of Tangerine Dream's score actually isn't bad. Otherwise this movie is horrible. The acting is crap, the special effects are laughably bad especially all the horrible 80's CGI, and the story is conuluted. The only special effect that looks good was the part where one guy gets shot and man the monster looks horrible. Not to mention all the techno and fog is just so much bad 80's. Don't watch this one unless you want to see a bad movie.
JAS-21
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 14, 2012 12:21:41 GMT -5
Just watched The Deer Hunter. Wow. I'll say a bit more after I return from work tonight.
LOB-11
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 15, 2012 4:06:13 GMT -5
"Get busy living or get busy dieing". I'll take the former. This movie paid homage to Raquel Welsh, Marylin Monroe, and Rita Hayworth. Great taste in sex symbols. First off, I have been on a warpath with the Dogfish Head Brewery for a week now. I gave up on the brewery, not the owner's vision (good old Sam Calagione), a month or two ago. It concerns the price of 120 Minutes IPA now that it was re-introduced in Texas after four or so years. It is now 15 percent alcohol and $9.99 a bottle compared to the bottle I am partaking of which aged beautifully since 2005. Back then it was $6.99 a bottle and a record breaking 21 percent alcohol. My Mama did not raise a fool. I don't pay more for less. So a very special heart felt Cheers! of an incredibly soul-warming seven year old STRONG brew for three people. Kristie C. (RIP) whose fight against the death penalty in Texas as a rare and special breed of attorney and whose tragic death nearly two years ago changed and softened me and got me past my support of the death penalty in an immensely flawed system. To Stephen King for this great tale. And to JakeAwesomeSnake for making me dust of the dvd I bought a dozen years ago but never watched because I was sure it was a major downer. It wasn't. It was the light at the end of a tunnel. Thank you Jake. I appreciate it and so would Kristie. My heart was chiseled into with a small rock hammer tonight. Oh a fourth person, of course Frank Darabont. Cheers!, Cheers!, Cheers! The Shawshank Redemption. LOB-12 So Jake, have you ever seen Jacob's Ladder?
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 15, 2012 14:39:03 GMT -5
Yes I have, saw it for the first time a few months ago and thought it was great. For some reason I associate Jungle Boogie with that dance party scene now.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 17, 2012 12:09:15 GMT -5
First I watched Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. It starred Donald Sutherland and is about him and his wife in Venice mourning the recent loss of their daughter. Near the end it get's particuarly creepy with the ambient sounds, good use of cinematography and shadows in Venice. The ending didn't scare me as much as it did the first time I saw it on a countdown of the 100 scariest movie moments. It was also noteworthy for it's sex scene which at the time and still to this day some people thought was real ,but Sutherland has denied it. Sutherland does a great job acting in this movie and I think he'd be good as a killer in some movie.
Second I watched Jean Rollin's Requiem for a Vampire a French film about two runaway girls who encounter a group of vampires in an abandoned chateau. This movie wasn't very good the acting was abysmal, the gore wasn't that good, and the vampires looked like goobers. That being said the cinematography of the French countryside was great and I loved it's score especially the organ-drum solo parts. Another thing I hated was the crappy shooting sound effect they used to use in alot of movies.
After that I watched Peter Medak's The Changeling starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. It's about a man who's struggling with the loss of his wife and daughter who starts to get haunted when he moves into another house. I thought this was a really good movie, the acting was good, the story made sense, and the use of sound was great. I think in ghost movies having good sound is really important since alot of times you don't actually see the ghost or won't until the end so until then you have to use scary sounds to produce fear and this movie was great at that. On a sidenote this director has made two other films I liked alot The Krays and The Ruling Class which I think is a great movie.
Finally I watched the Spanish horror film Finishing School aka La Residencia and The House That Screamed. It's about a strict boarding school. I didn't think this was a very good movie, the acting wasn't that good and it just wasn't scary. However, the end was genuinely creepy the serene Dexter-ish look on the killer's face was creepy stuff and while the special effects for the end result's of their killings wasn't that good the idea behind it and how he explained it was. It almost made up for an otherwise bad movie.
JAS-29
Edit: In Requiem for a Vampire I saw something for the first time. A bat going down on a woman. Never seen that in a horror movie before.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 17, 2012 15:20:22 GMT -5
I was going to recommend you watch Jacob's Ladder. That movie, Fight Club, and The Usual Suspects are the only three movies I had to rewatch immediately after my first viewing. Powerful stuff, to me.
It is funny how a song is forever changed for me, too, after it is used in a horror film. One example is Freebird, always associated with The Fabulous Freebirds, now equally reminds me of the end scene of The Devil's Rejects. Well, for me, count every song in The Devil's Rejects, An American Werewolf in London, and other films too like the aforementioned Fight Club. Where is My Mind indeed?
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 17, 2012 17:46:04 GMT -5
I always imagine Gordy fighting his way back and the Devil's Rejects whenever I hear Freebird. Ever since Reservoir Dogs whenever I hear stuck in the middle I imagine some dude getting tortured and In-N-Out Burger.
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Post by luditesupreme on Sept 17, 2012 23:41:24 GMT -5
Ever since Reservoir Dogs whenever I hear stuck in the middle I imagine some dude getting tortured and In-N-Out Burger. that just makes me like the song all more ''torture you wht a good idea'' lol
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 18, 2012 2:49:53 GMT -5
Damn Jake, regardless of who wins October, you my man get to name November.
Two songs make me think of Terry Gordy. I will share them.
And I love "Stuck In The Middle With You". When I hear that song I always smile and Lucifer himself climbs into me. I love Mr. Blonde's little dance....
Just watched 1408. Okay, I counted at least five homages to The Shining and one to 2001 a Space Odyssey (When John Cusack bangs on the ceiling grate like a man-ape after touching a smooth large black monolith for the first time).
I need to request room 1408 (14 plus 08 equals 13) on the 14th (actually usually the 13th) floor sometime. Drinking a Sixth Point Sweet Action Ale from Brooklyn, New York. My first PG-13 horror film that I am aware of, and I liked it! Cheers! to Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy dammit!!! Freebird!
Lob-14 Edit, LOB-13, 13, 13.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 18, 2012 2:57:27 GMT -5
Oops. LOB-14.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 19, 2012 23:46:23 GMT -5
Just watched Thor. Cause of Marvel comics, I dig Norse mythology for decades now. To start things off, I liked this movie a lot, and I was a huge fan (to this very day) of Walt Simonson's run on Thor, which I highly recommend to that DC and Marvel fan, Wulfie-baby, and of course to Jake. Jake, I rarely recommend comic books to people. Check out the Essential Marvel Trade paperback of Thor (more inexpensive and THICK but in black and white) during the Simonson run, or the awesome trio of Marvel Visionaries: Walt Simonson's Thor (in glorious color and more expensive but ebay is always a great place to score a steal of a deal). Great story-telling both in writing and incredible art. So as a fanboy I have two words for ya, The Destroyer. Dammit, and a Cheers! to that classic Silver-Age automaton of Odin's. I loved Jane, the very adorkable and played by my favorite modern actress, Natalie Portman. I loved her nerdy and sassy assistant and her taser. I loved all the acting, I repeat all the acting, but I'll get back to the cast. I loved Stan "The Man" Lee, always have and always will (Make Mine Marvel!), and a quick "All my love to the man" Cheers! to Marvel's MVP, Mr. Lee. I loved Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin Allfather. I loved Loki's portrayal, but he could have been less gloomy at points, more mercurial in temperment, with more of a Trickster streak. I liked Thor's face, but I didn't. Either no beard or a fuller beard. The face itself was built like the comic character's. I hated the cast chosen as Asgardians, not for their great acting, but physically they were all wrong, miscast in my humble fanboy opinion. Volstag should have been built at least as rotund as King Maple/Viscera/Big Daddy V. Thor physically, was perfect for somebody like a HHH, or somebody taller than that and built like a Dwayne Johnson or Thunderlips era Hogan, 6'6" plus kind of guy. Heimdall was perfect, but (no self-censorship here), Vikings are not of African descent. Great actor, great body for the role, but in instances like this, roles in movies, I am not for affirmative action (a first for me). And Hogun the Grim? An Asian man of average build? What the fuck? At least Heimdall looked like he could whale on your ass. I repeat, the Asgardians were awfully cast with some top-notch actors in the wrong roles, not trying to hate on them. And Lady Sif is exempt from that rant. She was okay, but could have been portrayed by an amazon of an actress. Asgardians are bigger-boned and taller versions of Vikings for crying-out-loud. Asgard itself should have been less of the CGI that was used for the realm, and maybe contracted out to Peter Jackson's CGI company to shoot and enhance scenes in New Zealand like in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I really liked the movie but as a fanboy I nit-picked. My favorite issue of Thor, ever. A Cheers! to the Thunderer. LOB-15
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 20, 2012 0:16:49 GMT -5
First I watched Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight. This movie was awesome and very funny in various ways and interestingly the Tales From The Crypt I remember giving me nightmares as a child. I'd always been trying to find this movie ,but didn't know the name ,but low and behold I finally found it. I probably was five at the most when I originally saw it. Now enough nostalgia and back to the movie. First off it was intentionally funny and there were a whole bunch of awesome puns, second I loved the lead demon trying to trick everybody that was also hilarious, third the demon's looked awesome and the gore was great. The only thing that lacked in the special effects department was the crappy glowing eyes. There were some kills that were just brutal especially the part where all the demons swarm that guy, just beautiful effects here man. If you've never seen this I reccomend it.
Second I watched The Yellow Wallpaper which is a reimangining of a short horror story of the same name from the late 1800s about a woman who begins to go crazy/notices things are in the wall. At first this movie wasn't very good ,but it slowly built up pace and everyone's reserved manner made sense because of the circumstances. The cinematography in this movie was great, the whole time you had this sense of forboding with the huge house and all the woods around. It started off slowly building up to more and more unnverving occurings and near the end I not only ended up jumping ,but was genuinely frightened for awhile. The soundtrack has mixed emotions while I thought it does a good job sounding ominous they'd use it when nothing was happening ,which gave the effect of it being too over the tope at times when nothing was happening. I reccomend this as well. After that I watched Dark Night of the Scarecrow which is about a group of men who lynch a mentally handicapped man for a crime he didn't commit. While hiding in a scarecrow they shoot him and then they start to dissapear. At first I thought this movie would be bad ,but it was surprisingly good. The lynchers are well played as dumb fools who mess with something good for no reason and the mailman ends up being a genuinely threatening villian. At first you thing he's just an overzealous protector ,but it comes to light that he's actually a pedophile after the young girl that the mentally handicapped man Bubba "harmed". I really like the end which was genuinely scary, the use of camera angles in the cornfield and finally seeing the scarecrow walk was good stuff. The scarecrow looked genuinely scary when it was or wasn't moving. Also on a sidenote this movie from 1981 is the first known horror movie's to be about killer scarecrows so it spawned it's own subgenre of horror.
Finally I watched Pontypool which is about people working at a radio station who get trapped inside as some type of chaos is going on outside. I liked how at the beginning alot of it was psychological with them just hearing brief descriptions over the radio and then you actually see the evil near the end. When you finally do see it it was well done ,with good audio effects and gore. This movie was also pretty funny and I reccomend this as well.
Nice to have a batch of nothing ,but good movies.
JAS-37
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 20, 2012 0:21:45 GMT -5
I need to get back into the super hero movies as I've heard they've gotten really good. I haven't seen a single super hero movie since Spider Man 3 which made me paranoid to watch them for awhile. I thought Spider Man 2 was a great movie though.
I've never actually read too many comic books ,but I always liked the animated versions of them. I agree about black vikings it isn't a racist thing it just doesn't make sense and isn't historically acurate. It's like when I was watching some crappy version of Hamelt where one of the commanders is some black dude and they say nothing about it. I'm sorry ,but there weren't black Danish military commanders centuries ago.
It's like when you act like a charater is really beautiful or ugly when they're not. The actor needs to match the character either naturally or through effects.
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Post by loverofbeers on Sept 20, 2012 0:38:10 GMT -5
Thank you Jake for agreeing.
Comic movies: The second Hulk was good, the John Woo version was awful. Spider-Man 3 and X-Men 3 sucked. I am not brave enough to watch the Wolverine flick. I am too afraid to watch Daredevil but mildly curious about The Punisher films. I watched parts of Ghost Rider on a Mexican teevee channel in Spanish. Seemed good. I watched the first part of The Fantastic Four. Had to take the dvd out. Total poo-poo. Iron Man 2 was okay, the original was great.
I have read only five DC comic books, ever (Batman: A Death in the Family parts 1-4 and Action Comics #1) and over 2000 Marvel comics from the 1960s to very early 1990s. I purposely skip most Marvel movies but watch most DC ones though I had no interest in The Green Lantern. I had to leave before the end of The Watchmen. The comic is a must read, the movie was visual masturbation to me. V for Vendetta is required viewing.....
Back to why I logged in, a very special Cheers! to the Leprechaun himself, a truly great actor, Warwick Davis! A Modelo Cerveza Salud mi hermano!
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Sept 20, 2012 11:06:14 GMT -5
V for Vendetta was a really good movie and I liked Ghost Rider. The only problem with that movie was that there was no sense of urgency during any of the fights.
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