Jan 18, 2008
Jan 17, 2008
take a hike, Migrant Mother
Is this the greatest photograph ever taken in the history of ever? I think I'd have to answer "fuck yeah!"
Maila Nurmi (1921-2008)
Nabbed from The Exploding Kinetoscope.
Vampira + Packard = Bliss.
Maila Nurmi (1921-2008)Nabbed from The Exploding Kinetoscope.
Jan 16, 2008
28 sentences later
Julia Roberts winning that Oscar for Erin Brockovich (over Ellen Burstyn for Requiem for a Dream) (which is simply one of the most amazing performances by anyone in anything in the history of ever) (I'm just saying) turned me into a cold-hearted snake with regards to awards. Oh, sure, we all know awards are suspect- particularly when it comes to declaring one piece of art "the best", but sometimes the sheer wrongness of it all (Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction? Really?) makes me want to get a tattoo on my forearm: a big anchor with the words FUCK AWARDS written around it in fancy cursive script.
That said, I should probably point out that any time I win an award, it's totally and completely well-deserved, like when I won the French Award in high school. And no, unfortunately I didn't win the French Award in the Kissing Division- that honor went to Alisha J...that whore!
My point is, when 28 Weeks Later won "Best Horror Film" at the Scream Awards, I reacted with a resounding "meh". When you all voted it "Best Horror Film of 2007" in a recent poll here at Final Girl, I reacted with a resounding "Jesus, can't I get some GD readers who aren't total crackheads?"
And then, the other night, I finally watched the damn thing.
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to seeing it. Maybe it's because I loved the first one- how could the sequel match up, particularly considering that the writing/directing team of the first (Danny Boyle and Alex Garland) weren't to be found in the second? And...you know...it's a sequel. Diminishing returns and all that.
Let's just say that I owe everyone who voted it "Best of '07" a big "Gee, I'm sorry I doubted you". Don't let this humble apology go to your head, however. It should be noted that I still find your fashion choices dubious at best. But honey, your taste in horror films is simply divine!
28 Weeks Later is paced so frenetically that it makes me want to bust out some primo Peter Travers-style movie-poster-worthy- yet-trite-and-shitty-one-liners: It's a non-stop, action-packed thrill-ride! 28 Weeks Later goes for the throat and doesn't let up! It's a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride you'll never forget! You'll be so scared you'll punch your gramma!
It's highly possible, even, that I liked it more than I liked the original. It was much more gory and, to my surprise, much more moving. The opening sequence left me feeling that all bets were off, and by the end of the film I was proven right; it's wonderful to go into a horror film only to realize that you can't know what to expect.
Virtually the entire zombie subgenre is rife with political and social commentary (let's not debate the use of the word 'zombie', okay? that argument is so 2002) and 28 Weeks Later is no exception. I like my horror with a little meat on its bones, to be sure- but here it didn't really matter. I was so damn wrapped up in the goings-on that I was simply enjoying that (white-knuckle roller-coaster) ride. Yeah, there are a few plot holes, a claim to which I react with a resounding "BFD".
I loved this film so much that I think I need to reconsider the text on that anchor tattoo. Maybe I'll change it to say FUCK JULIA ROBERTS.
That said, I should probably point out that any time I win an award, it's totally and completely well-deserved, like when I won the French Award in high school. And no, unfortunately I didn't win the French Award in the Kissing Division- that honor went to Alisha J...that whore!
My point is, when 28 Weeks Later won "Best Horror Film" at the Scream Awards, I reacted with a resounding "meh". When you all voted it "Best Horror Film of 2007" in a recent poll here at Final Girl, I reacted with a resounding "Jesus, can't I get some GD readers who aren't total crackheads?"
And then, the other night, I finally watched the damn thing.
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to seeing it. Maybe it's because I loved the first one- how could the sequel match up, particularly considering that the writing/directing team of the first (Danny Boyle and Alex Garland) weren't to be found in the second? And...you know...it's a sequel. Diminishing returns and all that.Let's just say that I owe everyone who voted it "Best of '07" a big "Gee, I'm sorry I doubted you". Don't let this humble apology go to your head, however. It should be noted that I still find your fashion choices dubious at best. But honey, your taste in horror films is simply divine!
28 Weeks Later is paced so frenetically that it makes me want to bust out some primo Peter Travers-style movie-poster-worthy- yet-trite-and-shitty-one-liners: It's a non-stop, action-packed thrill-ride! 28 Weeks Later goes for the throat and doesn't let up! It's a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride you'll never forget! You'll be so scared you'll punch your gramma!
It's highly possible, even, that I liked it more than I liked the original. It was much more gory and, to my surprise, much more moving. The opening sequence left me feeling that all bets were off, and by the end of the film I was proven right; it's wonderful to go into a horror film only to realize that you can't know what to expect.
Virtually the entire zombie subgenre is rife with political and social commentary (let's not debate the use of the word 'zombie', okay? that argument is so 2002) and 28 Weeks Later is no exception. I like my horror with a little meat on its bones, to be sure- but here it didn't really matter. I was so damn wrapped up in the goings-on that I was simply enjoying that (white-knuckle roller-coaster) ride. Yeah, there are a few plot holes, a claim to which I react with a resounding "BFD".I loved this film so much that I think I need to reconsider the text on that anchor tattoo. Maybe I'll change it to say FUCK JULIA ROBERTS.
Jan 15, 2008
It's that time again...
...time to choose another Film Club selection! The hills are alive with resounding 'huzzah!'s, I can tell. Film Club Fever will be at a record high as soon as the title of the next choice is revealed, I can assure you.
I'm revealing it....NOW!
Yes, my babies, it's The Manitou (1978), the film that brings together Tony Curtis, Burgess Meredith, and Stella Stevens to tell the story of...the story of...well...
Clicken ze Netflix if you so desire. It's been somewhat recently released on DVD, so hopefully it'll be easy-ish to find. This selection can't get here fast enough...sometimes life is goooood, I tells ya.
The film: The Manitou
The due date: February 25
I'm revealing it....NOW!
Yes, my babies, it's The Manitou (1978), the film that brings together Tony Curtis, Burgess Meredith, and Stella Stevens to tell the story of...the story of...well...When Karen (Susan Strasberg) tries to have a tumor removed, she discovers it's actually the deformed fetus of an ancient Native American shaman ready to be reincarnated. Soon, the evil spirit bursts forth, and Karen turns to a sham psychic (Tony Curtis) and a contemporary medicine man (Michael Ansara) for a showdown with the murderous creature.I've been assured it's the best movie ever. I can't fucking wait to see it.
Clicken ze Netflix if you so desire. It's been somewhat recently released on DVD, so hopefully it'll be easy-ish to find. This selection can't get here fast enough...sometimes life is goooood, I tells ya.
The film: The Manitou
The due date: February 25
Jan 14, 2008
Film Club: Suspiria
Regarding Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977), I must say that there's a part of me that wants to write something along the lines ofSuspiria is a bit like taking a big bowl of sticky ribbon candy, tossing in a bit of red paint and LSD, and cramming it directly into your brain.
and simply leave it at that. After all, it's a film that needs to be experienced rather than read about, isn't it? Who cares what I have to say about it? Just go watch it.
I suppose, however, that I can't get away with that, if only because I cajoled some of you into watching the thing and writing abut it yourselves. With great power comes great responsibility, I guess...and sometimes, free booze!
The plot, as such, is completely secondary to the film as art piece; in the wrong hands, that approach has "pretentious disaster" written all over it. Argento, like his contemporaries David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, and George Romero, is a true horror maestro and Suspiria is nothing short of a visual masterpiece. These men all have hits and misses in their filmographies, but no one can deny that each film they produce bears the indelible mark of the man who created it.
If you're all, like, "But I need to know what happens!", then fine. Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is a new student at a prestigious at a German ballet school. Suzy's an American dancer, and this stranger soon finds herself in very fucking strange land. Students who displease the teachers and staff- particularly harsh instructor Miss Tanner (Alida Valli), who looks to be straight outta Caged Heat or something- disappear. Maggots appear, weird-looking people abound, and Suzy falls ill. Just what the hell is going on at Tamm Academy? "Maybe there's a hex on the place," one student opines. Girl, if you only knew!
Sure, there's some gobbledy-gook about witches and their witchy ways, but if you want to get the most out of Suspiria, you're going to have to turn off your Logic Meter and simply allow the film to assault your senses. It's absolutely exquisite, unsettling, and beautiful to behold. Every single frame of this film feels like a work of art, and it's quite unlike anything else I've ever seen. The only other horror film that even comes close, I think, in the amount of deliberate framing and design is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Mirrors, water, glass, colors...I don't really have the words to describe the experience of watching this movie. "Durrrr mrrrffff, it's so purty!" is about all that I can muster.
Audio plays almost as large a role as visual in Suspiria- I don't think Goblin has ever produced a more unnerving (yet somehow...danceable) score. Synthesizers and layered voices combine to create an atmosphere that's taut and yes, frightening. And I don't think an emphysema-style snore has ever sounded quite so terrifying.All this art and stuff is fine, but how does Suspiria work as a horror film? Again, if you allow yourself to be swept up in the mood, it works quite well. It's all a bit like a dark Alice in Wonderland; of course, I find Alice- even the Disney version- to be more than a little nightmare-inducing. From the moment Suzy steps out of the airport in Berlin (in the film's opening moments), she leaves the normal world and enters the paranormal...no, that's not quite right. The supernormal? It's almost unnoticeable at first, but she's stepped through the looking glass and entered a world where logic has no place (a room full of razor wire? at a ballet school? that must be for the advanced classes or something.) and witches exist. Argento's visual style is the perfect match for this fairytale kind of storytelling.
There's also a few straight-up Grand Guignol set pieces that are as brutal as they are operatic. They're virtually impossible to describe in any way that can accurately relate the impact they have on the viewer, but that's probably for the best. Again, see it, don't read about it.
My first thought upon finishing the film was "I can't wait to watch that again." I have a feeling that I'll say that every time I watch it.Film Club Coolies, y'all!
$7 Popcorn
Kindertrauma
Aphorisms and Ectoplasm
Craig Moorhead
The Winding Way
Emma Blackwood
Evil on Two Legs
The Horror Section
Cinevistaramascope
The Film School Dropout
Askewed Views
Jan 12, 2008
They're dead...they're all messed up.
In an attempt to use my newborn MySpace page for something besides hooking up with hot chicks who "love to have sex" and will "do anything" on their webcams because they are "so horny", so long as I spend $347298/minute nothing, I wrote a little thingy over there regarding the trailer for George Romero's Diary of the Dead. So, I don't know, go over there and read it and comment. Or stay here and comment. Or don't do anything. See if I care!
Gawd, why are you always such a jerk?
Gawd, why are you always such a jerk?
Jan 11, 2008
Jan 9, 2008
VHS zeitgeist
This morning I walked by my big honkin' movie shelf thing and spotted a lineup of films on VHS that made me pause. Yes, pause. I looked and thought...wow. Wow, that's a whole lotta sweet right there in that little section. I mean, see for yourself!
In the last couple of years I've re-become a bit of a VHS junkie, scooping up as many old horror titles as I can. I'm sad to say that there's a part of the love that has to do simply with the format itself. Is it the fact that VHS has gone the way of the dodo? Do I fancy myself some sort of archivist? Do I simply like the box art? Am I attempting to recapture bits of my youth, those heady days before Blockbuster and the homogenization of the home video market? I spent so many hours at New England Home Video, poring over clamshell boxes, working up the courage to rent a movie that would surely drive me stark raving mad, and it just doesn't feel the same in the age of the DVD.
Maybe I'm attaching too much sentimentality to the medium and not enough to the message. I mean, the movie itself is the thing, isn't it? Surely April Fool's Day looks better on DVD- why am I so loathe to replace my VHS copy? Suddenly it feels like I'm one of those people forever trapped in high school because it was the best time evarrrrrr- it's difficult to talk about the here and now with them, for all they want to do is reminisce about that time So-and-So pissed his pants at the bonfire.
But dammit, movies used to be more of an experience- for me, anyway. Now there's instant access to virtually everything; movies can be bought on the street for a few dollars before they've even left the theatre, clips can be easily found online, and there's an information overload a mouse click away. What's missing, though, is the tactile.
The same can be said about music. Buying a record, pulling out the inner sleeve, reading every lyric and liner note, flipping it over after five songs...really spending time with it and getting to know an album are a thing of the past thanks to digital downloads. I've got albums...well, I can't really call them "albums" because I don't have anything but the songs on my iPod...for which I have no idea what the key artwork looks like. Obviously it doesn't change the music itself and buying stuff on iTunes instead of at the store is a choice. But...I don't know. I don't know why seeing those movies on my shelf has made me all wistful, either. You'll probably think I'm insane or maybe you'll get it...most likely depending on your age and how often you hug your media before bedtime. At any rate, I'd better lay off before I feel any older.
In other news, what's up with the way kids wear their pants nowadays?
In the last couple of years I've re-become a bit of a VHS junkie, scooping up as many old horror titles as I can. I'm sad to say that there's a part of the love that has to do simply with the format itself. Is it the fact that VHS has gone the way of the dodo? Do I fancy myself some sort of archivist? Do I simply like the box art? Am I attempting to recapture bits of my youth, those heady days before Blockbuster and the homogenization of the home video market? I spent so many hours at New England Home Video, poring over clamshell boxes, working up the courage to rent a movie that would surely drive me stark raving mad, and it just doesn't feel the same in the age of the DVD. Maybe I'm attaching too much sentimentality to the medium and not enough to the message. I mean, the movie itself is the thing, isn't it? Surely April Fool's Day looks better on DVD- why am I so loathe to replace my VHS copy? Suddenly it feels like I'm one of those people forever trapped in high school because it was the best time evarrrrrr- it's difficult to talk about the here and now with them, for all they want to do is reminisce about that time So-and-So pissed his pants at the bonfire.
But dammit, movies used to be more of an experience- for me, anyway. Now there's instant access to virtually everything; movies can be bought on the street for a few dollars before they've even left the theatre, clips can be easily found online, and there's an information overload a mouse click away. What's missing, though, is the tactile.
The same can be said about music. Buying a record, pulling out the inner sleeve, reading every lyric and liner note, flipping it over after five songs...really spending time with it and getting to know an album are a thing of the past thanks to digital downloads. I've got albums...well, I can't really call them "albums" because I don't have anything but the songs on my iPod...for which I have no idea what the key artwork looks like. Obviously it doesn't change the music itself and buying stuff on iTunes instead of at the store is a choice. But...I don't know. I don't know why seeing those movies on my shelf has made me all wistful, either. You'll probably think I'm insane or maybe you'll get it...most likely depending on your age and how often you hug your media before bedtime. At any rate, I'd better lay off before I feel any older.
In other news, what's up with the way kids wear their pants nowadays?
Jan 7, 2008
like, stuff and stuff
I have nothing pertinent to address today, so I figured I'd use this opportunity to show you some stuff. WOW CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT?
When I'm not writing for Final Girl or doing noble things for The Children, I enjoy engaging in various hobbies, such as pointing out old people on the street or painting. The former is something we must do together live and in person, but as to the latter, well, I can show you the fruits of my labors right here and now! WOW CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT? Here's some paintings I done did- all are acrylics on 12" x 12" canvas. For you trivia nuts out there, '12" x 12" ' is also known as a "square".
That dingy yellow-looking color is actually white...it's Monday and I'm far too lazy to tweak these photos in PhotoShop. Anyway, I think Christopher Lee is my favorite.
In other WOW CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT? news...
SIIIIIGH. I have no idea what I'll do with it or how long it will last, but there you go. Make with the addening!
When I'm not writing for Final Girl or doing noble things for The Children, I enjoy engaging in various hobbies, such as pointing out old people on the street or painting. The former is something we must do together live and in person, but as to the latter, well, I can show you the fruits of my labors right here and now! WOW CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT? Here's some paintings I done did- all are acrylics on 12" x 12" canvas. For you trivia nuts out there, '12" x 12" ' is also known as a "square".
That dingy yellow-looking color is actually white...it's Monday and I'm far too lazy to tweak these photos in PhotoShop. Anyway, I think Christopher Lee is my favorite.In other WOW CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT? news...
SIIIIIGH. I have no idea what I'll do with it or how long it will last, but there you go. Make with the addening!
Jan 4, 2008
awesome movie poster friday- THE DESCENT edition!
I was intending to do a 'posters from some of my favorite movies' edition, but when I came across 7 different posters for The Descent, I decided it should probably have its own special day. So there.
Thanks to JA (aka The Man) for that last one!
Thanks to JA (aka The Man) for that last one!
Jan 3, 2008
foreign relations
Did you know that they make movies in languages other than English? I know, I know...I had no idea either! According to my brand new 2008 Fact-A-Day desk calendar, however, it's entirely true.
It seems serendipitous*, then, that I stumbled on the trailer for the new Norwegian horror flick Rovdyr on the very day I learned this startling fact. The film seems to be about a group of teenagers who travel via van into the woods for one reason or another, wherein they are set upon by some woodsy-types intent on doing them harm. I know, I know...but it's not a remake!
See the trailer for yourself.
What I almost find the most interesting is the teeny-tiny logo for Lee Jeans in the bottom left corner of the poster. It's just not right, somehow.
*Yes, 'serendipitous'. Last year I had a Word-A-Day desk calendar!
It seems serendipitous*, then, that I stumbled on the trailer for the new Norwegian horror flick Rovdyr on the very day I learned this startling fact. The film seems to be about a group of teenagers who travel via van into the woods for one reason or another, wherein they are set upon by some woodsy-types intent on doing them harm. I know, I know...but it's not a remake!
See the trailer for yourself.
What I almost find the most interesting is the teeny-tiny logo for Lee Jeans in the bottom left corner of the poster. It's just not right, somehow.*Yes, 'serendipitous'. Last year I had a Word-A-Day desk calendar!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)