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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 2, 2013 23:53:45 GMT -5
Alright this month's theme is recommendations and the exact opposite of that. Basically any movie that has been recommended to you by any source you consider worth a damn (can apply to movies you haven't seen or movies you have ,but were convinced enough by the recommendation to give another chance) and any movie that was so bad it was recommended not to watch by any source you consider worth a damn.
1 point for any recommended non-horror movie 2 points for any recommended horror movie 3 points for any recommended against non-horror movie 4 points for any recommended against horror movie
As usual honor system at work and the competition ends at the end of the month at midnight California time. LOB hope you're feeling better, I wasn't feeling much better last week either. As usual bring it on!
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Post by jipper on May 3, 2013 0:30:11 GMT -5
I hope I'm invited too. I might not provide much competition but I had fun losing last time. Plus, there's been an unusual amount of recommended movies swirling around my world lately so you never know.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 3, 2013 1:51:57 GMT -5
Oh yeah bring it on is open to all. Just hoping LOB feels better. Bring it.
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Post by loverofbeers on May 3, 2013 22:19:42 GMT -5
I like the competition rules, and thanks guys.
I should have gone to the ER on Tuesday but checked in last night, all fubarred. Left a day early against my nurses wishes but the pooches needed me.
Doing better, much better, but I was in early kidney failure and I slightly damaged my heart, temporarily. I am done with pizza, ranch salads, and cheap tacos. I need to get a third ultrasound of my gallbladder, the main suspect year after year, and I want the fucker out of my body! The pain was unreal, cramping and muscle spasms from my face to arms to abdomen to calves. Walking was torture and well shit, my ass was kicked as bad as it ever has been. Physically the worst week of my life. And I am half joking, I feel like I suffered a wee bit of brain damage. No food, little liquids, and too much pain to sleep for three days will ruin you. So lesson time kids, don't be a stubborn "hero" and go to the hospital. Health and well being is more important than medical bills.
Give me a day to feel better, and I'll be watching movies again.
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Post by jipper on May 4, 2013 17:21:19 GMT -5
A little over a year ago a really good friend of mine started having all kinds of issues. By the end of it, she was in pain daily. She got to where she couldn't eat anything without being in pain. Several foods began tasting different to her. Which I thought was very strange. Who knew that an illness could change your palette so that everything roasted like peanut butter and coffee would all taste burnt to you. Eventually we found out that it was actually an escalating problem over several years and not just for the 6 months at the end when it got really bad. She quite drinking two years before because it always caused her pain if that tells you anything. Well the whole thing turned out to be a gallbladder. She could have had it taken out at any point and saved her some misery but waited and waited to avoid doctors bills. She didn't even know what was wrong with her until the last couple of months.
After that, I went through her being scared to death of having surgery. Just so you know, the surgery was very simple. Even she'll tell you that the amount she worried over it was far worse than what she actually went through. We were only in the hospital maybe two hours. The majority of that was waiting. Once they took her off for surgery they brought her back within 30 minutes. She was in a little pain for the first day. After that it was just some discomfort for a few days. The symptoms didn't leave right away. It's like how when people that lose a leg can still feel it there for awhile. She immediately felt better thoguh and within 3-4 months she was able to eat and returned to her normal self. Apparently gallbladders are very strange. They can cause a wide range of issues that vary from person to person. I hope you feel better man. And try not to stress over the surgery when time comes. Take it from my friend who knows. It just doesn't live up to the worrying.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 6, 2013 1:41:47 GMT -5
Warning Spoilers Below:
First I watched E. Elias Merhige's 2000 vampire horror movie Shadow of the Vampire starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Udo Kier. It's about the filming of Nosferatu , except with a twist. The acting, cinematography, gore, soundtrack, and special effects are all great. In particular I liked Malkovich as the crazed, driven Murnau who feels partially guilty yet wants to film his masterpiece and Willem Dafoe as Max Shreck, who I thought was similar to the Nosferatu remake where he seemed world weary and was sympathetic. There were some genuinely creepy moments and expressions from Dafoe and I thought the vampire hands in particular looked great and additionally I liked how they showed his super strength as being effortless. Also something I wasn't expecting was how funny this movie was , while still managing to be serious, and some of the dialogue (both comedic and serious) was great. Great movie. This was a movie that's been recommended to me by two different podcasts, various internet lists, and when it came out I remember hearing lots of good things about it. Second I decided to watch a film which LOB strongly warned me against, William A. Levey's 1973 horror film Blackenstein. He was right... man this movie sucked. The acting, gore cinematography, story, fight scenes, and half of the soundtrack was all terrible. In particular John De Sue as Blackenstein was bad, I mean everyone was bad ,but he was the worst. There were slight positives and most were unintentional. Half of the soundtrack was good, I found it funny how everyone tried to fight Blackenstein by assuming a pseudo boxing stance, and the Doberman's at the end looked vicious.
After that I watched a movie recommended to me by both WithoutYourHead and LOB, James Mangold's 2003 horror movie Identity which is about a group of random people who get stuck at a motel and realize they're being killed off one by one. It has an ensemble cast of sorts starring Jake Busey, Ray Liotta, and John Cusack. The acting, cinematography, soundtrack, gore, and acts of violence were great. The only thing that bugged me was during the scene where a guy gets beat up and it looks realistic, except it has these over the top sound effects that don't match up at all, but it wasn't enough to take away the enjoyment for me. Also funnily enough the murders all take place the same day as my birthday and I realized about halfway through that I'd seen the last 15 minutes when I was younger and my extended family was watching it so I knew the twist. The very end was still creepy and I loved the way they used the great shot of the desert hills and the monologue together to show that he could be anywhere. Also I thought there was something about the killer bouncing the weapon in his arms that was just effective. Second Magnold film I've seen, the other being Copland and both were great.
Finally I watched a movie that was vehemently recommended against by two different podcasts, 2012 horror anthology film V/H/S which is about various tales of horror on video tapes while a group of hoodlums is searching for a particular V/H/S tape, with 6 tales including the framing device. Adam Wingard did the framing device, which is about the aforementioned hoodlums looking for a video tape and one of the members watches the various tales of horror. The second story was done by David Bruckner and is about a trio of friends who are looking to pick up some women and plan to secretly film their sexual escapades with a pair of glasses that secretly have both a video camera and microphone in them. They pick up two women with one being more outgoing and the other one more reserved. Whoever played the reserved chick did a great job, she has this bugged out look in her eyes, and almost feral manner about her that was genuinely creepy. Turns out she's some sort of demon and goes on a rampage when after the other woman passes out they try to have a foursome. She looks genuinely creepy here as well because of her bugged out eyes and sharp teeth, but unfortunately there was some bad CGI added to her. I don't know if it's the fact that I'd been up for a day and a half or that it reminded me of Sleepaway Camp's ending ,or maybe a combination of both ,but I was genuinely creeped out near the end (ignoring the bad CGI on her forehead) and realized I actually had goosebumps. This dissipated to laughter in the end when she grew wings and dragged the protagonist off the air which was hilariously bad. The third story was done by Ti West (House of the Devil and The Innkeepers) and was about a couple on vacation who get stalked while staying at a motel. This was creepy, especially at one moment during the middle ,but the ending didn't look the best and was kind of abrupt. The third story was done by Glenn Mcquaid and is about a group of friends who go up to the woods and get killed off by a blur monster. God this one was so bad, and near the end I was laughing so hard at how dumb the blur monster was. The fourth story was done by Joe Swanberg and is about a couple who chat on Skype and the woman thinks she's being haunted. The concept was good and I liked how at first they'd have things in the background slowly move, but the ending again had me laughing at how dumb it was. Seriously, ghost story where ghosts are actually aliens and the man tears out either a human fetus or alien baby and is secretly working for the aliens. The fifth and final story done by Radio Violence ( a group of filmmakers) is about a group of friends going to a Halloween party and accidentally ending up at a haunted house. The CGI was so bad in this one and again I found myself laughing a lot. Overall the acting was good in the first two stories (not counting the framing device), bad in the third and fourth, and ok in the framing device and final story. The gore was good throughout ,but maybe a little too much at times that didn't make sense. The cinematography was surprisingly good for a handheld found footage film particularly in the Ti West and Glenn McQuaid stories. There was bad CGI in all of the supernatural ones, except for the framing device. A running theme I noticed throughout was good ideas or actually creepy moments being ruined at the end and becoming unintentionally funny which led to me laughing a lot. So yeah this was a bad movie and the ending credits sequence was really dumb and gave me the impression they'd really accomplished something , when they hadn't.
JAS-12
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 10, 2013 17:56:14 GMT -5
Warning Spoilers Below:
First I watched a film that'd been recommended to me by various podcasts and friends, Kinji Fukasaku's 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale starring Takeshi Kitano. It's set in universe where the Japanese government has a program where they force kids to kill each other with only one survivor allowed. I was really looking forward to this movie and had heard nothing ,but good things about it ,but was sadly disappointed. The acting was mostly bad and over the top, but I found Takeshi Kitano (who's made 2 awesome movie's that I've seen) as the sadistic teacher disillusioned with the current youth and Masanobu Ando as the psychotic Kazuo Kiriyama two be the only parts that were well acted. The soundtrack was half good ,but a lot of the times was way too over the top. The practical gore effects looked great ,but then later sometimes during the same scene they'd use bad CGI gore ,which I've always found especially jarring. I found most of the fight scenes looked really bad and fake, which took me out of the movie as well. However, the cinematography was great all around. Two scenes I really hated was where the teacher gets shot to hell and then stands up after seeming dead for a few minutes and talks on the phone casually before dying, in the other a girl gets poisoned so she explodes blood out her mouth. I did like Kiriyama's general I don't care attitude , which went well with his crazy hairstyle and the fact that he'd fight recklessly.
Second I watched a film that was recommended against strongly by a podcast and also banned in England and Norway a few years ago, Koji Shiraishi's 2009 Japanese horror film Grotesque which is about a serial killer who captures a couple and tortures them in attempt to sexually excite him. Similarly to Battle Royale, some of the practical gore looked good ,but there was also some really bad CGI gore as well and honestly there wasn't enough gore to match what was happening to the characters. The acting wasn't very good except for the killer, I mean for what's happening to them they are way under-reacting. The sound effects were god awful, but at least it was funny. This film which got banned and I'd heard as so disturbing to me ended up being an unintentional comedy, I mean I laughed uncontrollably for like ten minutes after finishing this movie. The woman get's decapitated while Pomps and Circumstances is playing while the killer has this over the top angry look on his face and then her head manages to soar threw the air and somehow land on his neck and bite him , at which point the male prisoner who was already dead somehow manages to come back to life and stab the killer in the ankle with a knife and then die again. This is preceded by a scene where the woman says he's a killer because since he has no sense of smell he doesn't realize he stinks and because of that women have always avoided him and therefore he becomes a serial killer, this is then followed by the scene just described and finished up by a scene where he decides to kill again ,but this time he sprays on some deodorant beforehand. This ending sequence of events was unintentional comedy gold. I figured this movie would either be good yet misunderstood and was prepared to defend it similar to Neal with Antichrist or that'd it have good special effects ,but be bad otherwise . In reality, it's just a bad movie that isn't disturbing and shouldn't be banned. The closest thing to disturbing is the scene where the killer rapes both of them ,but if anything it was less disturbing and seemed more like those movies from the 70's I've heard about where there'd be random pornographic scene thrown into a regular movie.
After that I watched a film that was part of a series of films recommended to me by a podcast, Nicolas Winding Refn's (who's one of my favorite current directors) 1996 Danish debut film Pusher which is about a drug dealer and his misfortune as he deals with a drug deal gone wrong and having to owe money to a drug lord. First however, a little story. I started watching this film before Grotesque and got all the way to the last ten minutes where it stopped working and I had to send it back to Netflix, wait a day, got another copy sent and then it didn't work again, but this time it worked on another device. Anyway... the acting, cinematography, soundtrack (made up of heavy metal and techno), cinematography, acts of violence, and gore were all great. So far I've loved all the NWR films I've seen, they're so brutally realistic and manage to keep you guessing. Additionally I liked: how the protagonist had a habit of using the environment while fighting, that he was turned off by his drugged out female companion, and that his antagonistic drug lord seemed less upset about the money and more the fact that someone he considered a friend was trying to screw him. Great movie.
Finally I watched a movie recommend to me by WithoutYourHead, Don Coscarelli's 2012 horror-comedy John Dies at the End starring Chase Williams and Rob Mayes and is an adaptation of the novel. It's about a pair of friends who get involved in universal/ inter-dimensional problems. The acting is good, gore is great, soundtrack is great, and cinematography. It's also really funny ,but the only issue is due to the subject material at hand (cosmic/sci fi horror) they used a lot of CGI that, while having good designs, doesn't look the best. It's similar to other Don Coscarelli films I've seen (Phantasm and Bubba Ho-tep) in that while it might not be great overall and has it's issues, it's still really, really fun and enjoyable. High recommend.
On a side note I know the cthulluesque , hard to describe monsters are hard to do good and as a result, people usually opt to use CGI, it really hurts movies that otherwise have good ideas and designs. The Thing showed us it can be done though.
JAS-20
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Post by loverofbeers on May 15, 2013 1:05:39 GMT -5
Sorry I've been away for a bit. These are movie watches from last week, so I can move on and watch more movies. I ordered a few dvds for this competition (no netflix) from ebay on the CHEAP. I love buying on ebay. Pennies on the dollar shopping is my style as long as I'm a broke mofo.
First I watched The Avengers which was recommended by everybody in the whole world. I loved it. These Marvel Comics Studio movies have been great since the first Iron Man. I loved the CGI, the acting and strong characters, plot, humor (The Hulk!!!), the Heli-carrier, the continuation of the use of the Tesseract (sp?, the Cosmic Cube of Earth in the comix, a classic tale by Jim Starlin involving The Avengers, The Thing, and Adam Warlock), the tease of Mistress Death-worshiping Thanos (He WILL be a heavy in the sequel!), shit I loved it all. I even liked Samuel L. Jackson's performance, but Nick Fury will always be a crusty cigar smoking white guy with no beard and like Captain America, a World War II veteran who is very slowly aging over the decades. But Jeez, is Samuel L. Jackson in every major blockbuster franchise nowadays? Maybe he'll have a cameo in the new Star Trek movie. Anyway, only one part of the movie bugged me. Shouldn't have happened. I hated the death of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Colson. He was an awesome character in this franchise of super-hero movies. My only complaint about the movie, but obviously a great character for me to actually care. I also would have preferred a more fun-loving Hawkeye to contrast and compliment Captain America especially in battle, not this intense brooding special agent. He needs a cowl or mask dammit, and a smile. I am old fashioned sometimes. Hey, sorry, but I grew up with these characters and still love them. Oh yeah, I heard that these alien bad guys were basically Skrulls but named Chitirin. No. They were nothing like Skrulls or their arch-enemies the Kree. They reminded me of the Badoon with the organic-technology of The Brood, and using the race of aliens of space whales (I forget their name) that The Brood traveled space with. A quick Cheers! to Stan "The Man" Lee, whom showed up only by the end of the movie. I was afraid he was going to be skipped over for his first Marvel Superhero movie, but there he was in his magnificence. I worship Stan Lee! Exelsior!
Second I watched John Dies at the End. It was recommended by the great weekly horror podcast, Horroretc.com and somehow by my brother. I agree with JAS about this movie, but must warn you. If you smoke green, smoke a very little. I smoked too much. The movie became too trippy after a while. Never watch this movie on psychedelics, kids. I woulda a decade or two ago. It would have blown me away more than say Altered States did on the old Loony Sychedelic Drug to be a bit discreet. Oh JAS, the scene with the eye was more practical than CG, I was surprised, but saw the extras and "re-watched" it with the commentary track while reading other things on the interwebs. Oh yeah, I loved the racial reveal and swerve at the end. Great and brilliant stuff.
Next I almost fell for one of Jipper's traps. Wasted two nights.... Moved on, but will attempt to re-watch.... Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. He chose such a dreary period of Abraham Lincoln's life to cover and he had such a great source, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. I love this lady/author, she is brilliant.
Third I watched The Amazing Spider-Man, once again, recommended by the whole world. Loved it. Even more than Raimi's films. This movie is what Spider-Man was originally about, a high school kid who develops "Spider Powers". Peter Parker's character was a bit different, less the weak book worm, and more of a fighter. I loved the use of Flash and the scene with Flash approaching Parker to offer his sincere regret on the death of Uncle Ben. And Uncle Ben was great. I couldn't believe Martin Sheen played him, but I am glad. I did miss the use of the saying "With great power comes great responsibility" which I first read back about 1987 in the double-sized The Amazing Spider-Man #175 (a form of Wendigo was the villain, but not the race of Wendigos from The Incredible Hulk comix). I was glad to see Gwen Stacey and Captain Stacey, but he should not have died. I would love a sequel with Captain Stacey and Detective Jean DeWulff and her death at the barrel end of the Sin-Eater, an underrated and forgotten but classic storyline from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man's pages. In the future I want to see Norman Osborne wear a latex green mask and purple raggety costume. I also want a proper Hobgoblin, none of that foolish Harry Osborne Goblin shiite. And I loved Gwen, but Osborne MUST kill her in the next movie. A third film can have Mary Jane (cough) Watson introduced to a depressed Peter. I love MJ and actually teared up when I read that Peter and MJ's marriage was erased by (the great) Mephisto a couple years back. I remember the summer when these two characters married and I still have both variant covers of this "Annual". Good times. Good times. Oh yeah, Stan "The Man" Lee had a cameo. Another Cheers! to Stan Lee. 'Nuff Said.
Next I watched Looper. Terminator-like time-traveling interesting stuff here, and smart, very smart. This was recommended again by HorrorEtc.com and my brother. A very good sci-fi/dystopic future thriller with a few Horror elements (a freaky telekinetic kid, slooooow motion exploding gun-men, and disappearing body parts). Another movie where I have no complaints. The acting was all great, and I liked both Young and Old Joe. I especially liked Kid Blue, and his earnestness to be a great gun-man. Bruce Willis, the old pro, knocked it out of the park during the action scenes. Who would have guessed that Mr. Moonlighting would end up on the same level as Arnold and Sly? A Cheers! to Bruce!
I pass on the recommends I received on all four films. I liked 'em.
LOB-5
Edit: I loved Shadow of the Vampire. I can't believe you watched Blackenstein and yes those dobermans were fierce looking. Last week I was actually recommended V/H/S by some goof who claimed it was a good movie. And yeah, the ending was creepy of Identity. That, I believe Bob Dylan song at the end now gives me mental "flashbacks" of the orange grove scene. Impressive watching there overall Jake.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 16, 2013 12:29:32 GMT -5
First I watched a film recommended to me by a podcast, Lucky McKee and Trygve Allister Diesen's 2008 film Red starring Brian Cox, Robert Englund, Tom Sizemore, and Richard Riehle. It's about a man seeking justice for his dog being killed by teenagers for no reason. The acting, cinematography, acts of violence, gore, and soundtrack are all great. In particular Brian Cox and Tom Sizemore stood out. I thought it was interesting how the protagonist didn't really care what kind of justice happened as long as it happened, if the DA would've just prosecuted he'd of been fine with it and there'd have been no violence. Great movie and a high recommend.
Second I watched a movie recommended to me by two different podcasts and practically the whole internet, Park Chan-wook's 2003 South Korean film starring Choi Min-sik and Yoo Ji-tae. It's about a man who after being imprisoned for 15 years with no explanation, is suddenly released and decides to get revenge. The acting, cinematography, soundtrack, gore, and acts of violence are great. In particular the protagonist and antagonist, played by Choi and Yoo respectively, are great. Choi has this insane, deranged smile and Yoo is one of the greatest villains I've ever seen. There's one fight in this movie that could be a little over the top ,but works because of the circumstances, they're not all attacking at once because they are bewildered and/or scared by this crazy guy who's actually doing damage against like fifteen people. I got the feeling that I was sort of meant to feel for the antagonist ,but I mean I couldn't, just like I couldn't feel bad for the protagonist at the end. Second I've seen of the Vengeance trilogy, so far the first two have been great. Also the protagonist should've killed that hypnotist and I felt back for Mr. Han he was undyingly loyal and only didn't listen because he got stabbed in the ear and couldn't hear.
After that I watched a movie highly recommended to me by WithoutYourHead as just a fun movie, Scott W. Mckinlay's 2012 horror-comedy Creep Van. It's about a down on his luck protagonist and his ensuing horror with the titular antagonist in his Creep Van. The acting is bad, the soundtrack (especially the rock part) and cinematography is great, the gore was good (except for one CGI part) and the acts of violence were bad. The thing is though this was a fun and funny movie so I guess it doesn't really need to have the best acting or fight's. I liked how the Creep's van was basically loaded with all these traps and the depravity of the protagonist's best friend. Not a good movie, but a really fun one.
Finally I watched a movie recommend to me on a podcast, Tim Fehlbaum's 2011 German-Swiss horror movie Hell. It's about a group of protagonists trying to survive in a dystopian future where Solar Flare's have caused the Earth's temperature to increase by 10 degrees Celsius. The acting, gore, cinematography, soundtrack, and acts of violence are all great. There is nothing wrong with this movie. I thought the idea itself was cool because the whole time everything is exceedingly bright due to the increased heat and also it show's how one characters arm is pretty messed up because he got knocked out and left in the sun for a few hours. I expected an alright or maybe good film ,but as I said this movie does everything right. I recommend.
On a sidenote, one thing I've noticed is that cinematography seems to be getting better on a wider and lower level, especially horror which probably has to due with the fact that you have a lot more high quality camera's for cheaper now then there used to be making it easier for upstart filmmakers. Also Creep Van didn't spend as much time as I thought in the Van ,but was still fun. It had me thinking though I always liked the idea of a horror movie that mainly takes place in a car, although I don't really know how it'd work.
JAS-26
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Post by loverofbeers on May 17, 2013 1:20:01 GMT -5
That is funny that you watched Red, which I'll be skipping. I haven't watched a dog movie since 1985, fifth grade, when my English class watched Where the Red Fern Grows. Never seen Cujo or Lassie or Rin Tin Tin or Old Yeller. I did watch one or two Benji movies as a tyke and that Otis and cat movie. Even the theatrical cartoon release of Charlotte's Web made me sad. But I love Animal Farm. Anyway, I have three Hal Ketchum movies on the way courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service and Ebay. I got The Most Dangerous Game yesterday from 1932, tonight's watch in a bit.
Yep, cinematography is getting better like you say. It's the better but more affordable cameras and ditto for lights and lighting set ups. RIP terrible 1980s "too dark to see" night scenes.
About Old Boy's hammer scene. Like, I believe Suspiria's bloody victim's room to window to rooftop to neighboring rooftop to neighbor's window to inside the room scene, it was a single long take with no cuts. Perfection to me in both cases. I feel that the fight was one-on-one at a time was for two reasons, honor in battle (residual Martial Arts philosophies ingrained in fighters and subconcious "rules of war" among some Asian gangsters) and that the fight happened in a long but fairly narrow setting, necessitating taking turns. Do you remember that whacked out Korean-American college kid who shot up Virginia Tech? He was obsessed with this movie and included a crazed photo of himself brandishing a hammer to news organizations as part of a post-death cry for further attention via press package. I say we ban all hammers and limit the sale of nails to nine at a time. Think about the children!
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Post by loverofbeers on May 17, 2013 1:34:17 GMT -5
A few months back when I lost my Lou boy, I repeated the words, "Cry and you cry alone. Laugh and the world laughs with you". Difference is that I wasn't Hell bent on delivering vengeance. Just had the Blues, and wanted an excuse to smile again, any excuse.
On the lighter side, I kept the two giants from the litter, 'Nilla Wafer and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy III, aka Chowderhead or Meathead, typed with love and a now present smile. "Vanilla" is so much like Lou in some sweet ways, and Terry is something else. A Cheers! to the pooches that we have loved, love, and will love someday.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 17, 2013 2:35:59 GMT -5
Yeah it was one single take after 17 previous tries over three days and no editing except for the knife. Impressive stuff.
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Post by loverofbeers on May 20, 2013 16:32:08 GMT -5
The theme this weekend was Human Horror. All four of the movies I watched were Human Horror where the monster or monsters, the antagonists, are everyday people seemingly preying on weaker victims of society. All four movies I watched were based on books also. First I watched The Most Dangerous Game (1932), which was shot co-currently with King Kong by RKO and also shares some of the cast including the original Scream Queen, Fay Wray, and the co-director. And sets: As a follower of The Zodiak Killer unsolved case (The San Francisco cops failed, a motif I will pick up again in this posting while discussing another movie) and a fan of King Kong, this movie has come up again and again to the point I feel it has been recommended to me personally. This was Arthur Leigh Allan's favorite movie so it seems, but I watched it regardless. A great classic film. Like many early Horror films, there is a tinge of humor here and there. The Cossack hunter, was played so well by Leslie Banks, a great character. A fun watch, and an influential early Horror film. (2 points) Second I watched Jack Ketchum's Offspring (2009). I heard about this movie from some Canadians, one a big fan of Jack Ketchum's books. I believe that this story, just like The Hills Have Eyes, was based on a clan of cannibals in Scotland living in caves on the coastline who ate travelers in the region. This is the Sawney Bean story which I very much recommend you read about here, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawney_Bean . I think that the two cool Canadians liked it. The Canadian born in England that "puts on airs" sometimes about his deep knowledge of the Horror genre hadn't seen it and was hesitant to do so. The Ketchum fan was definitely a fan of this movie. The "Cow" was interesting as was the wild dialect and "religion" of the knappy-headed, woman-led clan of murderers. The hopefully soon to be ex-husband was a great character played so well. You want him to die, but only him from the victims. This movie does not pull it's punches and goes there with babies, but not as far as in A Serbian Movie, but more so than The Hills Have Eyes. Good Horror here, folks. I can't wait to watch The Woman, a sequel to this movie of sorts. (2 points) Third I watched The Lost (2008), another great movie based on a Ketchum book, that I first heard about during a discussion by three Canadians. One of them, Ted, was fubarred in the psyche by this movie and almost turned it off. I see little difference between the brutality and evil depicted in film by Ray Pye, the homicidal villain here, and that of Mr. Blonde. I would say that Reservoir Dogs was as graphic and nearly as "disturbing" and "sickening" upon it's release, if not more so. Not to me, I loved the movie (and Reservoir Dogs), Pye's beer cans and all. Shot beautifully overall (and a few grainy scenes to represent homicidal rage and other "tricks" of the modern trade, but not too many), great acting top to bottom, and intense story telling with a coked-out, sped-up final fifteen minutes of carnage and homicidal madness, evil, and rage. What more can you ask for? (4 points) Fourth I watched The Girl Next Door (2007). So I am a masochist, or a black-hearted monster, or a lover of beers and lover of the Horror genre. I watched three Ketchum movies in a row and watched this movie twice. Gore is minimal, the evil of the kids and "Auntie Ruth" is not, and that is what brings the Horror in this great film. It is shocking, disturbing, and sad, yet beautiful and with lessons to be learned, i.e. "It's the last thing that you do that counts" in life and those situations that life might present to any of us or someone we love. Early in this movie, this notion is presented when the narrator, David, gives mouth-to-mouth to a homeless man. Personally, I recommend The Lost, but for idealistic reasons. This movie needed a hero or shall we say a village of heroes early on, but society failed a young and fragile life full of promise. That is what I want to convey as meaningful and important about this movie and true life Horror, like what happened for over a decade until recently in Ohio or in the Jefferey Dahmer saga. Another lesson from the events from Ohio and the Dahmer case, and this movie and book being based on a true crime committed in the 1950s, is that the police can be easily fooled by the "bad guys" and the "bad gals" in society sometimes and sometimes the police are aloof in the face of true evil. Not enough focus on "protecting and serving" but more on "harassing and intimidating" and eating donuts. Almost like ego-high fools acting as demi-gods.... but I am not gonna go on and rant, we all see it often enough in the nightly and local news. This lesson is that as a society we are ultimately responsible for helping others in need, and if necessary when facing an aloof police force, we must pester them REPEATEDLY, REPEATEDLY, REPEATEDLY and in the words of Fredrick Douglas, we must "Agitate, agitate, agitate" in order to make this a better world. This movie like the previous three, was beautifully shot. The acting, including the child actors, was spectacular and believable. I was rooting for the victims more than in most films, for obvious reasons, but knowing about the true life criminal case, I knew how this movie would end. This is great social commentary about how 1950s America was so full of shit (Ketchum and I apparently agree on the hypocracy of that plastic "Leave it to Beaver" decade), and the horrors of not just child abuse, but human torture to the point of murder. I heard about this movie from three Canadian guys, but they reported, appreciated, and warned rather than recommended this movie. They also cautioned against women watching this movie. I do not. There are lessons for all of us here, brutal and sad lessons. I pick my four points based on the top three critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, all New Yorkers, bless them. Apparently this movie should not be watched by decent folk, was obvious (duh, we know the ending going in), and too traumatic of a watch. Let me share: " There's little reason to see the movie. Unless, of course, you get off on watching the sexual exploitation of underage girls" - The New York Post. " Beneath the 1950's seemingly placid exterior of Ozzie and Harriet normalcy, there were -- brace yourself! -- sinister undercurrents at work." - The Village Voice. " The kind of movie that makes you wish you could rinse your brain in bleach, to wash all traces of it from your memory" - New York Times. (4 points) Personally, I recommend all four movies and will be rewatching all four. Oh, I don't think Jack Ketchum is a mysoganist, but the opposite, an advocate for women facing evil, and a man who understands that monsters are real and live amongst us. Kinda like the message from John Carpenter's Halloween and The Monster Squad's Scary German Guy, a great film character. LOB-17
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Post by loverofbeers on May 20, 2013 16:50:33 GMT -5
The irony, sad and disgusting, that the top three reviews, all negative, came from New Yorkers is the Catherine Susan "Kitty" Genovese case which was alluded to in Alan Moore's Watchmen and the reason Rorschach became unhinged, which he told about in his story about a dog skull split open. Another sad story about society failing society. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese , a "must read".
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on May 24, 2013 8:08:33 GMT -5
Warning Spoilers Below:
First I watched a movie recommended to me by a podcast which happens to be a sequel to a film I watched earlier this month, Nicolas Winding Refn's 2004 Danish movie Pusher 2: With Blood on My Hands. It's about the ensuing mess that the protagonist has to deal with after getting out from prison and finding out he's a father. The acting, soundtrack, cinematography, gore, and acts of violence are all great. What I found interesting was the way it took an unlikeable character from the previous film, made him the protagonist, and actually made you root for him. It also did a good job of making you think the people around Tonny are better than him ,but slowly showing you that they are in fact worse than him and just truly awful people. Like all the other NWR movies I've seen, a recommend.
Second I watched a movie initially recommended against by a podcast which after watching I found out has a somewhat positive following, Ciaran Foy's 2012 Irish-British horror movie Citadel. It's about a man suffering from agoraphobia after his wife is attacked while pregnant and his ensuing struggle with paranoia and determining if what's happening is reality. The acting, gore, cinematography, and soundtrack were all good. Thought the antagonists were a cool idea ,but they just didn't look that good once you fully saw them. Overall I'd say it's a good ,but not spectacular or great movie. It's not horrible ,but it's not fantastic or some horror breakthrough.
After that I watched a movie recommended to against me by multiple people on the website where I first encountered it's literary form, Gen Takahasi's 2008 Japanese horror movie Goth. It's about a duo of teenage sociopathic acquaintances and their ensuing adventures. First off a little info, Goth was a book that was then adapted as a comic which was then adapted as a movie. It was the first and one of few comics that I've ever read and I thought it was great. On a sidenote I recommend the great, but sadly short comic. The acting was ok, the cinematography was good, gore was ok, and the soundtrack was good. One thing I want to compliment the movie is the appearance of the heroine which looks exactly like she did in the comic, it also had some cool looking indoor sets. A problem I had was the movie being too overdramatic at points. I also didn't like how they left out large chunks of the story. What's sad is that the source comic is one of the few that's realistic to the point you could actually make a film out of it and not suffer the hardships of making it appear real on screen. Overall the movie was ok. It's not an offensive adaptation ,but the comic was great and again I recommend it. Hoping the English adaptation is much better.
Finally I watched a movie recommended to me by a list on a website, Shane Meadow's 2006 British movie This is England. It's about a 12 year old who's father died during the Falklands War who joins a skinhead gang. The acting, soundtrack, cinematography, gore, and acts of violence are all great. What I found interesting was how it shows how skinhead gangs were originally harmless enough and had connections with reggae and blacks ,before it became dominated and associated with white supremacists. It did a fantastic job showing how people become indoctrinated and also just showing intense belief, it showed how they're people and why they believe what they believe. Great movie and a recommend.
JAS-36
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