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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Nov 1, 2013 3:41:15 GMT -5
Despite losing twice in a row I was given the honor of choosing this months theme. So I decided to combine adaptations and this month's holiday, Thanksgiving. Basically any movie that's adapted from another medium can be used, except for screenplays (or pretty much every modern movie would be worth points). The rules are as follows: 1 point for any non-horror adaptation 2 points for any horror adaptation 3 points for any non-horror Thanksgiving movie 4 points for any horror Thanksgiving movie 5 points for any non-horror adapted Thanksgiving movie 6 points for any horror adapted Thanksgiving movie
The last two categories are worth more points because I imagine they'll be both harder to find and less likely to be good. As always honor system at work, movies should be at least an hour long, and the competition ends at the end of the month at Midnight California time.
This will be the beginning of my streak until I finally manage to win the Halloween Competition, bring it LOB!
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Nov 8, 2013 17:56:05 GMT -5
Before I talk about my first set of movies I want to clarify a little bit about what I meant by adaptation. The following count as adaptations: reboots, remakes, reimaginings, TV show adaptations, video game adaptations, comic adaptions, films based on true stories (assuming they're are based on actual true stories and just don't say they are), literature, songs, etc. Really just about anything except for screenplays. Anyway, I started out with a quartet of moves that varied in quality. Spoilers Below:
First I watched Frank Khalfoun's 2012 American-French horror film and remake of the classic 80's slasher of the same name Maniac, starring Elijah Wood and Norah Arnezeder. The acting, cinematography, gore, acts of violence, and soundtrack were all great. Elijah Wood in particular excelled in his role as the main character Frank Zito. I liked how it referenced and kept the spirit of the original without just completely copying it. For example it shows how the killer takes advantage of the internet and dating sites to find and stalk his victims, but different to the original, in this film Frank is clean cut and not as grungy or physically large while still suffering the same mental state. Also similarly to the original it manages to make you really feel for the main character. However, Wood still offers a good presence when he wants to. I was really hoping the protagonist would kill his love interests boyfriend, who was just an asshole. Overall great film and I'm glad the original was done justice.
Then I watched Nettie Peña's 1981 slasher Home, Sweet Home about a family having to deal with an escaped mental patient during Thanksgiving. The acting ranged from awful to good, but was mostly ok. The cinematography was awful-great, with the awful being that horrible can't see anything 80's night footage, but the great being the outdoor scenes. The soundtrack was good ( a combination of 80's rock and this almost acoustic sounding 80's synth), which I know sounds contradictory. The gore was good and the acts of violence ranged from ok-good. The killer played by Jake Steinfeld was jacked although he lacked a sort of presence, that being said he had these hilarious facial expressions and I thought it was funny how he used pro wrestling moves twice while utilizing a car each time (both press slamming and body splashing someone onto a car). It also managed to be both intentionally and unintentionally funny, for example a KISS army character constantly harassing people with his electric guitar playing and an obnoxious Latina playing her guitar while thinking that she's the greatest musician around and that everybody around her loves her music. This is an entertaining so bad it's good movie.
After that I watched James Watkins 2012 British horror film, adapted from a novel which was also turned into a play and 1989 film, The Woman in Black. It stars Daniel Radcliffe and is about a lawyer who's job is on the line taking an assignment in a small town to sell an old isolated house. The acting, cinematography, gore, and soundtrack was great. In addition similarly to The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, it does a great job of having all these old and creepy toys in the background as part of the set design. I also liked how it had you watching the background the whole time because sometimes subtle and not so subtle things would happen. Great horror movie and I also recommend the 1989 film as well.
Finally I watched Sydney Pollack's (Jeremiah Johnson) 1975 film Three Days of the Condor, adapted from James Grady's novel Six Days of the Condor. It stars Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, and Max Von Sydow. It is about a non-field CIA member who finds himself being hunted after all his coworkers are killed and wondering why. The soundtrack (70's funk rock and jazz) and cinematography was great, acting and gore was good-great, and the acts of violence were sort of inconsistent. The scenes involving shooting looked great, but the one hand to hand combat scene took me out of the movie because there having this hokey martial arts kicking battle (the protagonist is meant to have almost no combat training)and while it looked better than a lot of other hokey 70's fight scenes it still didn't look too good. It also had that 70's ending where no matter the outcome there's still a hint of depression or sadness. Additionally I liked the explanation about how the government sometimes does good things with good intentions and how people don't care until they have the luxury to do so. If it wasn't for that fight scene this would be a great movie, despite it is still a really good movie.
LOB I'm glad your health has improved my friend.
JAS-9
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Post by loverofbeers on Nov 10, 2013 15:20:49 GMT -5
You are psychic. You answered my question before I asked. I start tonight, but I'm working quite a bit this month. I smell a JAS win. And thank you for listing our stats for the last two years. Pretty freakin' cool.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Nov 16, 2013 16:57:14 GMT -5
Spoilers Below:
First I watched Ariel Vromen's 2012 film The Iceman again. Not much to say about it this time except that it was great and I managed to share it with someone else.
Then I watched Darren Lynn Bousman's 2012 American-Canadian horror movie The Barrens, about a family who goes into the New Jersey Pine Barrens (actually filmed in Canada) for a camping trip and begins to experience bizarre things. First a story, when I was younger a friend told me about the Jersey Devil and for whatever reason the idea stuck in my mind, I not only had nightmares about it ,but it kind of gave me an interest in Jersey Devil films. Additionally, when this film came out I remember seeing the commercials and was intrigued because of the cinematography. The acting in this movie ranges from awful-good, but it mostly either awful or ok. The acts of violence looked either awful or ok. The gore and soundtrack (a mix of blues, rock, and traditional horror music) was great. The cinematography was mostly great, but then there were a lot of shots that reminded me of what me and my friends would call "one of those movies", which was basically a term we'd use to refer to horror movies that you could tell right off the bat were going to be bad because of the way they looked. There's just something about the look of a lot of these lower budget 2000's movies that accurately indicated there quality about 99% of the time. The actual Jersey Devil looked really and surprisingly good. It had the failing of a lot of horror movies, unlikeable characters, seriously the dad, mom, daughter, and the rest of the characters were generally unlikeable assholes. Another flaw is that the movie couldn't decide what was really going on, now I'm all for threat ambiguity in horror (whether the threat is psychological, real, natural, or supernatural) and in fact like when they keep you guessing or mix the types, but this movie decided to just copout and go yep everything was happening. Everything in this movie except for the acting was well done, but acting is generally the backbone of a movie. I can say with certainty that I'd of been pissed off if I spent money to see this in a theater. Awful movie with some great elements.
After that I watched something I'd been looking forward to seeing for long time, Jordan Downey's 2012 horror-comedy Thankskilling 3, sequel to Thankskilling about a killer talking turkey. The acting and cinematography was great. Additionally it had a lot of really cool backgrounds/sets for the puppet scenes. The gore was good as well. I don't really know how to describe the acting, I mean it's bad, but it is done in a way to purposely seem unintentionally bad, so I guess it's ok or good.? The main thing about this movie that works for it is just the almost unending bizarreness, references, and puns which made for a hilarious movie. So I enjoyed this as an intentional so bad it's good horror movie parody, if you liked the original Thankskilling then I'm pretty sure you'll like this.
Finally I watched Fernando Meirelles 2005 British film The Constant Gardner, based off of Jone le Carre's novel of the same name. It is about a British diplomat in Africa trying to figure out why his wife was murdered and stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. The acting, acts of violence, cinematography, gore, and soundtrack are all great in this movie. The point of the movie is that pharmaceutical corporations are evil and not to be trusted. I didn't mind the main character ,but he never seemed to learn and seemed delusional. Sill a great movie though.
In case I didn't make it clear The Iceman is based off the real life Iceman Richard Kuklinski and The Barrens is based off the legend/ story of the Jersey Devil. As much as I love serious and well done movies, there is just something I love about so bad it's good movies (especially when they're horror) and when it's something that seems like it doesn't lend to horror such as a killer bed or a talking killer turkey.
JAS-17
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Post by loverofbeers on Nov 21, 2013 0:18:03 GMT -5
First my excuse for being absent. I have been working like a dog this month an average of six days a week and I am juggling three jobs and just was hired today for a fourth job. Life is expensive and you have to do what you have to do. I also want to say that I like the theme of the month and I can see it being a theme we repeat in the future.
So far I have only watched three movies.
The First is based on the must read George Orwell novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four written in 1948 and filmed and released in 1984. It was directed by Michael Radford, and stars John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, and Cyril Cusack. The story follows the life of Winston Smith and his secret party girlfriend Julia in Oceania, a country run by a totalitarian government and at war at times with Eastasia and at times with Eurasia. The story coined terms like thoughtcrime, Big Brother, Room 101, and Three Minute Hate. As a Horror fan I can honestly tell you that no movie has ever made me jump due to a scare. The book did upon my first reading in the scene in the rented bedroom when Winston says to Julia' "We are the dead", which she repeats to him, and Hell follows..... This movie is one side of a dystopic coin, where we the audience feel like a hopeless victim of a brutal government like Winston, and we lose.
My second movie was the opposite side of that same coin, but this time we win. V for Vendetta is based on the Alan Moore comic series/graphic novel of the same name (Moore by his own choice is not credited). The movie is different at a very few points from the original source, and I do prefer the movie. Here, we the audience win over a ruthless totalitarian government. This movie made the Guy Fawkes mask a symbol for some (of us) in our current struggles to curb what is happening in Western "democracies". One similarity to Nineteen Eighty-Four is that John Hurt is one of the main actors, but plays a very different role. From the mighty Wikipedia: V for Vendetta is a 2006 British action thriller film directed by James McTeigue and written by the Wachowski Brothers, based on the 1982 graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Set in London in a near-future dystopian society, Hugo Weaving portrays V—a bold, charismatic freedom fighter, attempting to ignite a revolution against the brutal fascist regime led by Adam Sutler (John Hurt) that has subjugated the United Kingdom. Natalie Portman plays Evey, a working class girl caught up in V's mission, and Stephen Rea portrays the detective leading a desperate quest to stop V.
The film was originally scheduled for release by Warner Bros. on Friday, 4 November 2005 (a day before the 400th Guy Fawkes Night), but was delayed; it opened on 17 March 2006, to positive reviews. Alan Moore, having already been disappointed with the film adaptations of two of his other graphic novels, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, after reading the script for V for Vendetta refused to view the film and subsequently distanced himself from it.
The film has been seen by many political groups as an allegory of oppression by government; libertarians and anarchists have used it to promote their beliefs. Activists belonging to the group Anonymous use the same Guy Fawkes mask popularized by the film when they appear in public at numerous high-profile events, emulating one of its key scenes. Lloyd is quoted saying: "The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny – and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way." I love the line by Evie in answering Inspector Finch's question about who V was. "He was Edmond Dantès. And he was my father. And my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you, and me. He was all of us". I love this movie.
Last, to lighten things up, I watched Howard the Duck (1986) directed by Willard Huyck, produced by George Lucas, and starring Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, and Jeffrey Jones. This was the first Marvel Comics (back then known as Timely Comics) film based on a comic character theatrically released since the old Republic serial of Captain America from 1944. I first saw this movie when it was released with my mom. Back then I did not get the racy humor which included Howard's tiny condom, duck nipples, and the bestiality angle. This movie is fun, but not a gem, but I have been a fan of the Howard the Duck character since I picked up an old issue of Giant-Sized Man-Thing from the seventies from a vintage book/comic book store where Howard fought a vampire cow that had been infected by Dracula. Fun times....
LOB-3
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Post by loverofbeers on Nov 22, 2013 15:24:03 GMT -5
I just watched Oliver Stone's JFK (1991) for the first time. I avoided this movie for years as I was not a big Oliver Stone fan. Now I am. He nailed it here. What I have studied for two years, he captured, even alluding to David Ferry's research on cancer with mice (Dr. Mary's Monkey).
This was a great movie in terms of acting (an all-star cast including Kevin Costner,Donald Sutherland, John Candy, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, and Sissy Spacek), cinematography, a soundtrack by John Williams, etc. I have a feeling that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy would approve of this movie. Fascism has been growing in this country for decades.
Jim Garrison like John Brown are American heroes to me. I highly recommend this movie which you can find in it's entirety on Viooz.com.
LOB-4
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Post by loverofbeers on Nov 26, 2013 0:32:20 GMT -5
Okay, I've made my last minute strategy decisions. Gobble freaking gobble, JAS, here goes nothing!
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Nov 27, 2013 17:41:50 GMT -5
Looking forward to the onslaught LOB. I'm going to be away from home. So while I should have access to a computer, I might be a little late on some of my final posts.
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Post by loverofbeers on Nov 28, 2013 22:54:46 GMT -5
I like this competition. I'll post the next set tomorrow.....
Have a Happy Thanksgiving JAS!
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Post by loverofbeers on Dec 1, 2013 1:49:09 GMT -5
I'll write more later, it has been a long week and an especially long day and night.
I watched three movies.
First I watched Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998) - A family is terrorized by extraterrestrial creatures while celebrating Thanksgiving. This is a remake. 6 points.
Second I watched Boogeyman (2005) - Around Thanksgiving, a man is stalked by the entity that haunted his childhood. 4 points.
Third I watched Blood Rage (1983) - A psychopath goes on a homicidal rampage after the twin brother he framed for murder years earlier escapes on Thanksgiving. 4 points.
The above film blurbs are from the mighty Wikipedia.
Okay JAS, bring the pain! I got a feeling I will be receiving an ass kicking momentarily from you.
LOB-18
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 1, 2013 7:51:37 GMT -5
Spoilers Below:
First I watched Jim Mickle's 2013 American horror film We Are What We Are, a remake of a 2010 Mexican horror film of the same name. It stars Bill Sage, Julia Garner, Ambyr Childers, and Nick Damici (Mister from Stakeland) and is about a secluded religious family with a dark secret. The acting, soundtrack, cinematography, gore, and acts of violence were all great. I loved how it displayed a scene of cannibalism cooking and the prep required for it in an almost loving way with it's piano song. I also thought it did a great job of both building and creating tension, seriously there were two parts during and extended scene near the end that had me thinking anything could happen. I also liked that the characters weren't foolish, for example they generally had weapons on them, and that they fought dirty. Another great horror movie from the team of Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, Stakeland and now this film. Great film and a recommend.
Then I watched Bruce Rubin's 1987 American slasher Blood Rage which is about a killer who's twin brother he framed for a murder years ago escapes from the asylum and comes back to see his family on Thanksgiving. This movie has a sort of interesting history, it was originally shot all the way back in 1983, but sat on the shelves until 1987, at which point it was released on VHS as Blood Rage in it's original unedited form and theatrically as Nightmare at Shadow Woods in a heavily edited form. Anyway I watched the Blood Rage version. The soundtrack (80's horror snyth) was great, the cinematography was bad (the 80's darkness where you can't see much, although it's better than a lot of other films from that era), the gore was great, acts of violence bad-ok, and acting was laughably bad. The characters were incredibly dumb at some moments (pranking people when they think a killer is on the loose) and at other times smart (grabbing a weapon when they think there's trouble). Some of the moments were so bad its good and I liked the mother character. It's not that she was a particularly good character or particularly well acted, but I thought she was sort of realistic. She get's stressed out when she hears her "crazy" son has escaped and responds by obsessively cleaning, eating, and drinking. This was a bad, yet fun movie.
After that I watched Ruben Fleischer's (Zombieland) 2013 American film Gangster Squad based on the real life LAPD unit and Paul Lieberman's Tales from the Gangster Squad book in particular. It had an ensemble cast of sorts starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Emma Stone and Robert Patrick. The acting was good, acts of violence great, gore was great, great cinematography, and a good soundtrack. The only real issue in this movie was gore ,when it was shown it looked great, but it wasn't present in a lot of moments where it should've been. Really good and fun movie.
Finally I watched Quentin Tarantino's 1997 American film Jackie Brown, based off of the book Rum Punch, and starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, and Robert De Niro. It's about a flight attendant being caught up between the law and the crime underworld. The acting, cinematography, gore, acts of violence, soundtrack (70's soul and funk), and dialogue were all great. In particular I thought Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Forster did an especially great job, the prior was both hilarious, smart, and menacing while the latter was laid back, unafraid, and smart. I also loved all the twists and turns of the plot. Great movie and a recommend.
Thanks LOB I had a good Thanksgiving.
JAS-25
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