Good job Kevin James.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Some movies I think you should check out...
Before part II of Netflixorama comes to fruition, I've been checking out some trailers again for films I can't wait to see. Not sure if all of you have seen these, so I'll take it as me being your dealer of filmy goodness.
Ahhh Chocolate. I can't wait for this film. Kick ass fights, an autistic girl who loves candy and martial arts and stunts gone horrible wrong. From the director of Ong Bak, so story doesn't matter. The choreography matters more in this case.
Bronson. The film I can't wait for, probably more than any other. A new version of A Clockwork Orange might be in our midst, and it seems they didn't try too hard to attain that. Tom Hardy looks absolutely bat shit crazy in the title role and I see he's bulked up a bit since Star Trek Nemesis.
And finally the film I'm so dying to see and was elated last night that Sony just bought the distribution rights to the film. I speak of Black Dynamite, the film that might finally make Michael Jai White the star I've always fashioned him as. People probably recognize him most now as one of the crime bosses in The Dark Knight. I knew him as Mike Tyson in a pretty good TV movie, Spawn himself in a terrible movie and as a great deleted scene in Kill Bill Volume II. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
There's a trio of films, two of which are officially coming out this year. I'll scour the interweb to see if there's any more trailers I think you people should check out.
Ahhh Chocolate. I can't wait for this film. Kick ass fights, an autistic girl who loves candy and martial arts and stunts gone horrible wrong. From the director of Ong Bak, so story doesn't matter. The choreography matters more in this case.
Bronson. The film I can't wait for, probably more than any other. A new version of A Clockwork Orange might be in our midst, and it seems they didn't try too hard to attain that. Tom Hardy looks absolutely bat shit crazy in the title role and I see he's bulked up a bit since Star Trek Nemesis.
And finally the film I'm so dying to see and was elated last night that Sony just bought the distribution rights to the film. I speak of Black Dynamite, the film that might finally make Michael Jai White the star I've always fashioned him as. People probably recognize him most now as one of the crime bosses in The Dark Knight. I knew him as Mike Tyson in a pretty good TV movie, Spawn himself in a terrible movie and as a great deleted scene in Kill Bill Volume II. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
There's a trio of films, two of which are officially coming out this year. I'll scour the interweb to see if there's any more trailers I think you people should check out.
Read More...
Netflixorama: Double Featuroo! Part I
Ahh it's been a long time, hasn't it? Which is why I decided to attempt a double feature article with two movies that have nothing at all to do with one another besides the simple fact that I pressed play on my Netflix account and watched them beginning to the final credit rolled.
The first film is one that I was tempted to see when it was playing in theaters, mainly for the fact that I love a good vampire flick and it was based on a comic book that I liked a little bit (sorry to all the lovers out there, not the biggest Steve Niles fan. And I tried many times, will try again as well). The movie is of course 30 Days of Night starring Mr. Mumbles himself, Josh Hartnett. And I have to say he finally stepped it up, considering I remember him just sleepwalking through his roles in both The Faculty and Halloween: H20.
I sat down and watched it with Danyell, because she had seen the stark colors being used and was as intrigued as I was in the first place. Also, being lovers of the film Hard Candy and knowing that David Slade had directed that first and then 30 Days of Night, it brought my attention level to a higher point. So what is there to say about the film? Not as gory as I thought it would be, which wasn't a bad thing. It had the proper amount of scares, Ben Foster played a creepy and dirty drifter who is helping the vampires in a scene stealing performance, the fantastic and underrated Danny Huston playing lead villain Marlowe with the iconic line of 'No God' working even after seeing the tons of trailers with it in it, the very likable Melissa George playing Hartnett's soon to be ex-wife and ultimately it's all tied together with Josh's subtle portrayal of Sheriff Eben Oleson.
Trust me, I never thought I'd say that. Especially after Hollywood Homicide. You know it!
Seriously, though, he's a regular guy, doing his job to the best of his ability before the month of darkness come to his small town. When a rash of vandalism starts occurring right before total darkness, he likens it to kids just messing about before they're cooped up for the month. But when he sees one of the townsfolk's dogs all murdered viciously, he knows something more is going on then common childish vandalism.
What commences is a tense thriller mixed with a different take on the vampire lore we're all accustomed to in film. Gone is the normal fare from films such as Twilight where all vampires are flamboyant and emo hipsters to what they should be; a visceral bunch of animals who have but a smidgeon of humanity left in them peeking on through their suits. But when it comes time to feed, they let loose and the animal instinct comes through, while they tear the throats out of all the town members who aren't quick enough to get into hiding or strong enough to fight back. Throughout the next 30 days, it's a nonstop fight for survival of Eben and his small band of survivors who keep dwindling down in number.
Weaknesses are found, hints at how the vampires work, even the sadistic nature of the vampires is shown when they let a victim go look for help, but use the person as bait, hoping that any survivor would be a good samaritan and come out there to help their brethren. Luckily Hartnett's Eben is a smart guy and doesn't fall for that, which is when we see Danny Huston's lead vampire Marlowe utter the familiar line "No God" to his bait when not being able to do what he set her out to do in the first place. And instead of just killing her, he has his minions slowly beat her up and get some slashes in before they ultimately feed on her.
Of course there's some proper gore posted throughout the film as well, a lot of corn syrup goodness which is always a favorite of us gorehounds out there. Blood is splattered through the winter landscape and looks really nice in the HD sharp contrast of the film. Sometimes it wouldn't work, ala Underworld, but I prefer it in this film. I think it's Slade's directorial expertise in music videos of yesteryear and his first film tweaking it to the full potential.
In no way am I saying this film is the end all, be all of vampire films. Give me John Carpenter's Vampires, Near Dark, The Lost Boys or Blade/Blade II any day, but 30 Days of Night is a nice addition to the vampire myth on the silver screen. Sadly films like Twilight sell to the teeny bopper crowd that prefers vamp to vampire.
Part II of Netflixorama: The Double Featuroo will continue later tonight or tomorrow. It's on a film that I know and love for years and re-watching on Netflix for the first time in about 5 years has opened various other doors in my psyche that I had to write about it. Can you guess the film? It stars one of my favorite comedic actors. And directed by a former Ghostbuster. Til then, the 360 needs to cool down.
The first film is one that I was tempted to see when it was playing in theaters, mainly for the fact that I love a good vampire flick and it was based on a comic book that I liked a little bit (sorry to all the lovers out there, not the biggest Steve Niles fan. And I tried many times, will try again as well). The movie is of course 30 Days of Night starring Mr. Mumbles himself, Josh Hartnett. And I have to say he finally stepped it up, considering I remember him just sleepwalking through his roles in both The Faculty and Halloween: H20.
I sat down and watched it with Danyell, because she had seen the stark colors being used and was as intrigued as I was in the first place. Also, being lovers of the film Hard Candy and knowing that David Slade had directed that first and then 30 Days of Night, it brought my attention level to a higher point. So what is there to say about the film? Not as gory as I thought it would be, which wasn't a bad thing. It had the proper amount of scares, Ben Foster played a creepy and dirty drifter who is helping the vampires in a scene stealing performance, the fantastic and underrated Danny Huston playing lead villain Marlowe with the iconic line of 'No God' working even after seeing the tons of trailers with it in it, the very likable Melissa George playing Hartnett's soon to be ex-wife and ultimately it's all tied together with Josh's subtle portrayal of Sheriff Eben Oleson.
Trust me, I never thought I'd say that. Especially after Hollywood Homicide. You know it!
Seriously, though, he's a regular guy, doing his job to the best of his ability before the month of darkness come to his small town. When a rash of vandalism starts occurring right before total darkness, he likens it to kids just messing about before they're cooped up for the month. But when he sees one of the townsfolk's dogs all murdered viciously, he knows something more is going on then common childish vandalism.
What commences is a tense thriller mixed with a different take on the vampire lore we're all accustomed to in film. Gone is the normal fare from films such as Twilight where all vampires are flamboyant and emo hipsters to what they should be; a visceral bunch of animals who have but a smidgeon of humanity left in them peeking on through their suits. But when it comes time to feed, they let loose and the animal instinct comes through, while they tear the throats out of all the town members who aren't quick enough to get into hiding or strong enough to fight back. Throughout the next 30 days, it's a nonstop fight for survival of Eben and his small band of survivors who keep dwindling down in number.
Weaknesses are found, hints at how the vampires work, even the sadistic nature of the vampires is shown when they let a victim go look for help, but use the person as bait, hoping that any survivor would be a good samaritan and come out there to help their brethren. Luckily Hartnett's Eben is a smart guy and doesn't fall for that, which is when we see Danny Huston's lead vampire Marlowe utter the familiar line "No God" to his bait when not being able to do what he set her out to do in the first place. And instead of just killing her, he has his minions slowly beat her up and get some slashes in before they ultimately feed on her.
Of course there's some proper gore posted throughout the film as well, a lot of corn syrup goodness which is always a favorite of us gorehounds out there. Blood is splattered through the winter landscape and looks really nice in the HD sharp contrast of the film. Sometimes it wouldn't work, ala Underworld, but I prefer it in this film. I think it's Slade's directorial expertise in music videos of yesteryear and his first film tweaking it to the full potential.
In no way am I saying this film is the end all, be all of vampire films. Give me John Carpenter's Vampires, Near Dark, The Lost Boys or Blade/Blade II any day, but 30 Days of Night is a nice addition to the vampire myth on the silver screen. Sadly films like Twilight sell to the teeny bopper crowd that prefers vamp to vampire.
Part II of Netflixorama: The Double Featuroo will continue later tonight or tomorrow. It's on a film that I know and love for years and re-watching on Netflix for the first time in about 5 years has opened various other doors in my psyche that I had to write about it. Can you guess the film? It stars one of my favorite comedic actors. And directed by a former Ghostbuster. Til then, the 360 needs to cool down.
Read More...
I was writing a dual post...
But then blogger decided to shit on me and just not save it, so when I went back to finish the blog (which was a double feature Netflixorama), I had a few sentences, even though I had typed out about 10 paragraphs worth of funny and great banter about two movies. Pissed me the fuck off to no end, I tell you.
So this will be a stream of thought blog, because I'm exhausted from work and can't think straight right this second.
Got to work today at 6 a.m., as per usual and everything seemed fine. We went inside, went to punch in, I put my coat away and then noticed that the MP3 cage we have was shattered and everything was missing. We told our manager, went up front and found out that burglars came in the middle of the night and actually burgled the place. My friend Mike and myself had to count two sections we could see were hit, Digital SLR and iPods. Sure enough, after our counts were done, we noticed we were missing $18,000 worth of iPods and $15,000 worth of SLR cameras. What a day already!!
The funny thing is, all these cops came, looking around, wondering if TVs were taken. Which shows I should be a detective because we knew how they came into the store (through the roof hatch in the stockroom). There's only one way to get that unlocked (a manager) and on this past Saturday we supposedly had 2 new people from the roofing company to check our heating ducts. So what I deduced was they never gave the lock back, so therefore they either came back last night at 3 in the morning when nobody was around (we know this because our lights came on, which the camera shows at that time) and that they came in and left in about 10 minutes. The hatch is small, so there's no way television sets could get out and luckily they also didn't take laptops either, which is a miracle. Another thing that seems fishy is that the camera doesn't see anybody come in or out at all. They knew were the cameras were and there's no way you would know where they are unless you had an inside man (or woman) helping you out, letting you know the schematics of the camera layout.
It's funny, I hate the place with a passion, but I hate thieves even more. There's something about people stealing shit they don't necessarily need (which means if there's a poor family in need of food and they steal something to eat, I wouldn't get as pissed) I want their head on a platter. It just attracts the negative attention our store doesn't need, which is when you get all these corporate whack jobs coming in, asking stupid questions to the wrong people and making life a living hell. I can't wait for the next few weeks. Maybe they'll finally listen to me about certain precautions they should have been taking a year ago when I first started this position.
But anyway, that's the main reason/reasons why I didn't get my Netflixorama out to you fine folks. I'm going to attempt to get back to it a little later, after a much deserved nap. I'll let you all know for sure. Thanks for understanding.
So this will be a stream of thought blog, because I'm exhausted from work and can't think straight right this second.
Got to work today at 6 a.m., as per usual and everything seemed fine. We went inside, went to punch in, I put my coat away and then noticed that the MP3 cage we have was shattered and everything was missing. We told our manager, went up front and found out that burglars came in the middle of the night and actually burgled the place. My friend Mike and myself had to count two sections we could see were hit, Digital SLR and iPods. Sure enough, after our counts were done, we noticed we were missing $18,000 worth of iPods and $15,000 worth of SLR cameras. What a day already!!
The funny thing is, all these cops came, looking around, wondering if TVs were taken. Which shows I should be a detective because we knew how they came into the store (through the roof hatch in the stockroom). There's only one way to get that unlocked (a manager) and on this past Saturday we supposedly had 2 new people from the roofing company to check our heating ducts. So what I deduced was they never gave the lock back, so therefore they either came back last night at 3 in the morning when nobody was around (we know this because our lights came on, which the camera shows at that time) and that they came in and left in about 10 minutes. The hatch is small, so there's no way television sets could get out and luckily they also didn't take laptops either, which is a miracle. Another thing that seems fishy is that the camera doesn't see anybody come in or out at all. They knew were the cameras were and there's no way you would know where they are unless you had an inside man (or woman) helping you out, letting you know the schematics of the camera layout.
It's funny, I hate the place with a passion, but I hate thieves even more. There's something about people stealing shit they don't necessarily need (which means if there's a poor family in need of food and they steal something to eat, I wouldn't get as pissed) I want their head on a platter. It just attracts the negative attention our store doesn't need, which is when you get all these corporate whack jobs coming in, asking stupid questions to the wrong people and making life a living hell. I can't wait for the next few weeks. Maybe they'll finally listen to me about certain precautions they should have been taking a year ago when I first started this position.
But anyway, that's the main reason/reasons why I didn't get my Netflixorama out to you fine folks. I'm going to attempt to get back to it a little later, after a much deserved nap. I'll let you all know for sure. Thanks for understanding.
Read More...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
I have a blog?
I almost forgot this was here, sadly. The holidays killed my creativity big time, which is a big bummer to me considering I attempt at being a writer at all times. A creative person at heart yet I haven't been able to garner the strength to write my thoughts via this blog and/or continue my Netflixorama. I know the few of you out there were hanging onto every word. :)
But seriously, thanks to my friend Ryan for waking the demon inside me up and reminding me that I do have a blog and that I should get back up on the bike even though I fell down. And what's weird about that analogy is that I can't ride a bike because I fell down horribly when I was a child.
But I do want to write, so that's a good thing. I have a few ideas. I sent out my second article for Paracinema Magazine, the up and coming magazine every film lover needs to get a subscription for. This time I wrote about remakes and why they aren't such a bad thing after all. Interesting topic that I could write continuously about, which I might do down the line on here anyway.
Also have a ton of films lined up on my Netflix queue, one of which I was sent the other day and watched a bit with friends. The Patton Oswalt approved Death Bed: The Bed That Eats and from what I've watched, it's a real doozy of a film.
Also have something lined up about a favorite genre of mine that doesn't get as much credit as it should. And no, it's not Nunsploitation. I already covered that in Paracinema issue 4. And yes, I'm being a big time mark for it. More people should learn about films like School of the Holy Beast. So I'll keep that under wraps for now.
Until next time, I need sleep. Work still beckons my call.
But seriously, thanks to my friend Ryan for waking the demon inside me up and reminding me that I do have a blog and that I should get back up on the bike even though I fell down. And what's weird about that analogy is that I can't ride a bike because I fell down horribly when I was a child.
But I do want to write, so that's a good thing. I have a few ideas. I sent out my second article for Paracinema Magazine, the up and coming magazine every film lover needs to get a subscription for. This time I wrote about remakes and why they aren't such a bad thing after all. Interesting topic that I could write continuously about, which I might do down the line on here anyway.
Also have a ton of films lined up on my Netflix queue, one of which I was sent the other day and watched a bit with friends. The Patton Oswalt approved Death Bed: The Bed That Eats and from what I've watched, it's a real doozy of a film.
Also have something lined up about a favorite genre of mine that doesn't get as much credit as it should. And no, it's not Nunsploitation. I already covered that in Paracinema issue 4. And yes, I'm being a big time mark for it. More people should learn about films like School of the Holy Beast. So I'll keep that under wraps for now.
Until next time, I need sleep. Work still beckons my call.
Read More...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Netflixorama: The Third chapter...
Working today through about 3 hours of sleep and the imminent rush of customers who came into Best Buy to buy The Dark Knight on DVD, Blu Ray and whatever else we had that had Batman or Joker's mug on it (we even had decals for the X-Box 360), I knew I had to pick up one of the various copies of the film. I loved it the few times I saw it in theaters, but I've gotten to the point in my life where I can't keep on buying the edition which comes with a mini clown mask or a Batman mask that looks like a bondage lover's dream.
So I decided, until I pony up the money for a PS3 or some various Blu Ray player, I was going to buy the normal 2 disc edition, which has a smattering of bonus features about the making of and whatnot. Sadly, no commentary.
So why am I mentioning this in my newest Netflixorama blog? Well, it reminds me of various comic book movies and even furthermore, reminds me of movies in the superhero vein that I love. Even when they're not so good (guilty pleasure being Sky High, but look at that cast of nerdness) they still bring a tear to my eye. But let's not get into the Elektra's and Catwoman's of the world and instead use this forum to discuss what has to be my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie.
No, not The Happening. Even though it's so hysterically bad that I need to finally watch it from beginning to end. Anyone want to send me a copy?
The movie I speak about is the only M. Night movie up on Netflix's Watch it Now venue, which is Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Who hasn't seen this film? Actually, I was surprised to hear a lot of my friends and family haven't checked this film out, yet have seen The Sixth Sense before it and Signs (which I still think the plot is extremely flawed. I mean, come on... aliens who are hurt by water... come to EARTH??!!?!?) after it.
The origin story of a superhero we've never heard of in a world that is as normal as he tries to pass himself to be. He survives a deadly train derailment, which kills everyone in the passenger cars. Somehow he survives but he just deals with it at first as just dumb luck on his side. But the whole story starts to unfold when he finds a note on his car when visiting a memorial for everyone who died in the accident asking him if he's ever been sick in his life. And what worries him is that he can't remember and when he asks his wife (played by the wonderful Princess Buttercup, Robin Wright Penn), she can't remember any particular time but dismisses it as just being a very long while ago.
The other story revolves around Jackson's character of Elijah Price (or Mr. Glass because of his Type I osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition which basically means your bones are so brittle that they break with any bit of applied force), who believes he's finally found his complete opposite in the world. If he is always sick and gets hurt with ease, there must be someone out there who is on the other side of the spectrum who never gets hurt or sick. And Bruce Willis' David Dunn is hopefully that man. Elijah is a huge comic book fan, who has made his fortune from selling rare comic books and artwork from superhero comics.
So that's the basis for the movie. One man's journey into finding someone on the other side of the spectrum and another man's journey into finding his true self. A feel good movie? In some ways, I guess. But it's also a darker take into the whole origin story of a superhero who might have went through the rest of his life not fulfilling what his destiny truly was.
One of the main pros in this film is that M. Night doesn't have a huge part, just playing a drug dealer at the football field Dunn works at. The other power I didn't speak about more was Dunn's ability to feel if someone is bad in any way. He actually senses it and when he hones his skill, can see a playback of what they've done. A very interesting scene is when he's finally given in and accepted his place in this world and decides to try to do something heroic, and when he's feeling people at the train station in the city, he feels a few different people who have done harm to others. A gang member, a rapist... all people who deserve to be brought to justice. But when he finds someone who is more or less a serial killer, he follows him back to the house where he's taken over and killed the father, so he could attempt to save the rest of the family. This isn't any Spiderman heroics either, but brutal beatdown and choking of the killer until he is dead and sadly, unlike in the comic books, only the kids are saved but the mother wasn't gotten to in time. A very creepy but effective scene to show that the 'real' world is a much harsher place than the bright colors on the page.
I don't want to showcase too many of the set pieces or little nuances that make this film great (but the scenes with Dunn and his son are actually well acted). I'd rather the people who haven't seen this film yet get to watch it and fully take in all the surprises that are in store. All I'll say about the film that is a con of the highest order is the ending. I won't say what it is, but it's something that was tacked on at the last minute because advanced screenings had the audience wondering what the ending was. Sad but true story, one which M. Night regrets to this day.
I know there's been subtle talks about doing a sequel, which I would personally like to see. I'd love to know more about his powers and see him on adventures and trying to be the sworn protector we all know he can become because he's always been more than what he became in life.
So check out Unbreakable as soon as possible. I hadn't seen it since it's release in 2000, so it was like finding a bottle of Crystal Clear Pepsi (which I love but wish there was more of) or the old Cadbury eggs (which are way too small now).
Until next time, the X-Box is shut down.
So I decided, until I pony up the money for a PS3 or some various Blu Ray player, I was going to buy the normal 2 disc edition, which has a smattering of bonus features about the making of and whatnot. Sadly, no commentary.
So why am I mentioning this in my newest Netflixorama blog? Well, it reminds me of various comic book movies and even furthermore, reminds me of movies in the superhero vein that I love. Even when they're not so good (guilty pleasure being Sky High, but look at that cast of nerdness) they still bring a tear to my eye. But let's not get into the Elektra's and Catwoman's of the world and instead use this forum to discuss what has to be my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie.
No, not The Happening. Even though it's so hysterically bad that I need to finally watch it from beginning to end. Anyone want to send me a copy?
The movie I speak about is the only M. Night movie up on Netflix's Watch it Now venue, which is Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Who hasn't seen this film? Actually, I was surprised to hear a lot of my friends and family haven't checked this film out, yet have seen The Sixth Sense before it and Signs (which I still think the plot is extremely flawed. I mean, come on... aliens who are hurt by water... come to EARTH??!!?!?) after it.
The origin story of a superhero we've never heard of in a world that is as normal as he tries to pass himself to be. He survives a deadly train derailment, which kills everyone in the passenger cars. Somehow he survives but he just deals with it at first as just dumb luck on his side. But the whole story starts to unfold when he finds a note on his car when visiting a memorial for everyone who died in the accident asking him if he's ever been sick in his life. And what worries him is that he can't remember and when he asks his wife (played by the wonderful Princess Buttercup, Robin Wright Penn), she can't remember any particular time but dismisses it as just being a very long while ago.
The other story revolves around Jackson's character of Elijah Price (or Mr. Glass because of his Type I osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition which basically means your bones are so brittle that they break with any bit of applied force), who believes he's finally found his complete opposite in the world. If he is always sick and gets hurt with ease, there must be someone out there who is on the other side of the spectrum who never gets hurt or sick. And Bruce Willis' David Dunn is hopefully that man. Elijah is a huge comic book fan, who has made his fortune from selling rare comic books and artwork from superhero comics.
So that's the basis for the movie. One man's journey into finding someone on the other side of the spectrum and another man's journey into finding his true self. A feel good movie? In some ways, I guess. But it's also a darker take into the whole origin story of a superhero who might have went through the rest of his life not fulfilling what his destiny truly was.
One of the main pros in this film is that M. Night doesn't have a huge part, just playing a drug dealer at the football field Dunn works at. The other power I didn't speak about more was Dunn's ability to feel if someone is bad in any way. He actually senses it and when he hones his skill, can see a playback of what they've done. A very interesting scene is when he's finally given in and accepted his place in this world and decides to try to do something heroic, and when he's feeling people at the train station in the city, he feels a few different people who have done harm to others. A gang member, a rapist... all people who deserve to be brought to justice. But when he finds someone who is more or less a serial killer, he follows him back to the house where he's taken over and killed the father, so he could attempt to save the rest of the family. This isn't any Spiderman heroics either, but brutal beatdown and choking of the killer until he is dead and sadly, unlike in the comic books, only the kids are saved but the mother wasn't gotten to in time. A very creepy but effective scene to show that the 'real' world is a much harsher place than the bright colors on the page.
I don't want to showcase too many of the set pieces or little nuances that make this film great (but the scenes with Dunn and his son are actually well acted). I'd rather the people who haven't seen this film yet get to watch it and fully take in all the surprises that are in store. All I'll say about the film that is a con of the highest order is the ending. I won't say what it is, but it's something that was tacked on at the last minute because advanced screenings had the audience wondering what the ending was. Sad but true story, one which M. Night regrets to this day.
I know there's been subtle talks about doing a sequel, which I would personally like to see. I'd love to know more about his powers and see him on adventures and trying to be the sworn protector we all know he can become because he's always been more than what he became in life.
So check out Unbreakable as soon as possible. I hadn't seen it since it's release in 2000, so it was like finding a bottle of Crystal Clear Pepsi (which I love but wish there was more of) or the old Cadbury eggs (which are way too small now).
Until next time, the X-Box is shut down.
Read More...
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Um... don't remake this!!!
I just don't get it. Why can't people think up film ideas themselves? I'm all for remaking certain films that lacked in certain ways (The Maltese Falcon being a prime example) and some remakes surprised the hell out of me (such as Aja's The Hills Have Eyes, which in some ways I like much more than the original Wes Craven film).
But They Live??? This film has such a special place in my heart that it just boggles my mind as to why they'd want to remake it. It's funny... it seems they are remaking all of Carpenter's films in one way or another. Let's not speak about The Fog or Halloween. That's what makes me shudder. Knowing how royally they can fuck up the whole 'society is blind' concept.
I'll just be crossing my fingers for one of two things to happen. Either it drives itself into developmental hell for the rest of eternity or gets remade by somebody proper.
Remember, according to Hollywood, if it ain't broke, remake it.
Read More...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Netflixorama: The second blog...
We're here for another roundup of the Netflixorama blog. Patent pending. This time we'll be discussing the underrated horror film Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight. A very fun film from the quickly killed off line of Cryptkeeper presents movie line.
Where to begin? Well, first off the cast is something to die for (I'm sorry, the Cryptkeeper got to me with his horrible puns). You have Death himself, William Sadler, The Phantom and the best part of Titanic Billy Zane, CCH Pounder or how most people know her now as Claudette from one of the greatest cop shows ever to be produced The Shield, Roger Corman and Joe Dante's favorite guy Dick Miller, The Sandman Thomas Haden Church (in those Wings hairstyle days), Will Smith's better half Jada Pinkett and last but not least you have one Roger Rabbit himself, Charles Fleischer. A great ensemble cast to start off the proceedings and what occurs during this film is a fun ride from beginning to end.
The movie of course starts off with a little car chase between Mr. Sadler and Mr. Zane while Filter's Hey Man! Nice Shot! is blasting, therefore cementing this movie in the 90's forever (don't get me wrong, I love the song. But what ever happened to Robert Patrick's brother's band anyway?). Of course some crazy stuff happens and their cars crash and somehow both have survived, still chasing one another for something sinister. Sadler gets away and meets up with Dick Miller's drunkard character, who tells him of this place he can stay for the night, which used to be a church but people around these parts stopped believing.
But they'll have to start believing tonight.
This film is lovingly redone in some ways by one of my favorite gore fests in the last 5 years Feast. Not that it's copied it, but I'm all for the similar group of people who don't all get along and have some secrets themselves that are being attacked on all sides by sinister forces. One of my favorite genres in horror, not really done enough.
I'm not going to go into detail because everyone who likes a good time should check it out with some sort of blindfold on. Even if you have seen it like I did many years ago when Tales from the Crypt still aired on Fox late nights, you should go watch it again and notice the performances within it, especially Billy Zane. This movie really makes me miss the poor guy, who's been relegated to doing straight to video shitfests, so it's no wonder when you see him in this film hamming it up as The Collector, a tear will come to your eye at the brilliance of Mr. Zane. I always said he would have been a perfect Destro of G.I. Joe fame.
The demons look pretty convincing, a head gets punched in and then torn off with such ease (and ends with a great gag of 'Head's up!'), and arm gets cleanly ripped off, Roger Rabbit gets his dick and insides ripped out (sadly you don't see it but it's implied impeccably) and lots of head explosions, hearts being crushed and a demon kid explodes into a million pieces with all that's left of him being his high top sneaker. That brings back fond memories of every film that a child gets killed viciously in a horror film. For some reason in horror films it tends to be funny. Can't explain it. Felt bad for the kid in Ransom being tortured and then peeing when he hears Gary Sinise's voice but when the 3 kids going to Mecca in Pitch Black get torn to shreds, I applauded.
Yes, I'm demented. I can't help that.
So to the millions of fans of this blog, go check Demon Knight out. Makes me want to check out the Dennis Miller starring role in Bordello of Blood, but only slightly and because of the Corey Feldman interview showcasing of how much of a dick Mr. Miller was on the set. Makes sense that he's a republican maniac now.
Next time I'll be delving into the world of Netflix again, but it will be a surprise to even myself as to what I'll watch. Could be anything. But this will be written tomorrow, considering I might not have a job anymore. We shall see kiddies!
Til next time, the 360 is off.
Where to begin? Well, first off the cast is something to die for (I'm sorry, the Cryptkeeper got to me with his horrible puns). You have Death himself, William Sadler, The Phantom and the best part of Titanic Billy Zane, CCH Pounder or how most people know her now as Claudette from one of the greatest cop shows ever to be produced The Shield, Roger Corman and Joe Dante's favorite guy Dick Miller, The Sandman Thomas Haden Church (in those Wings hairstyle days), Will Smith's better half Jada Pinkett and last but not least you have one Roger Rabbit himself, Charles Fleischer. A great ensemble cast to start off the proceedings and what occurs during this film is a fun ride from beginning to end.
The movie of course starts off with a little car chase between Mr. Sadler and Mr. Zane while Filter's Hey Man! Nice Shot! is blasting, therefore cementing this movie in the 90's forever (don't get me wrong, I love the song. But what ever happened to Robert Patrick's brother's band anyway?). Of course some crazy stuff happens and their cars crash and somehow both have survived, still chasing one another for something sinister. Sadler gets away and meets up with Dick Miller's drunkard character, who tells him of this place he can stay for the night, which used to be a church but people around these parts stopped believing.
But they'll have to start believing tonight.
This film is lovingly redone in some ways by one of my favorite gore fests in the last 5 years Feast. Not that it's copied it, but I'm all for the similar group of people who don't all get along and have some secrets themselves that are being attacked on all sides by sinister forces. One of my favorite genres in horror, not really done enough.
I'm not going to go into detail because everyone who likes a good time should check it out with some sort of blindfold on. Even if you have seen it like I did many years ago when Tales from the Crypt still aired on Fox late nights, you should go watch it again and notice the performances within it, especially Billy Zane. This movie really makes me miss the poor guy, who's been relegated to doing straight to video shitfests, so it's no wonder when you see him in this film hamming it up as The Collector, a tear will come to your eye at the brilliance of Mr. Zane. I always said he would have been a perfect Destro of G.I. Joe fame.
The demons look pretty convincing, a head gets punched in and then torn off with such ease (and ends with a great gag of 'Head's up!'), and arm gets cleanly ripped off, Roger Rabbit gets his dick and insides ripped out (sadly you don't see it but it's implied impeccably) and lots of head explosions, hearts being crushed and a demon kid explodes into a million pieces with all that's left of him being his high top sneaker. That brings back fond memories of every film that a child gets killed viciously in a horror film. For some reason in horror films it tends to be funny. Can't explain it. Felt bad for the kid in Ransom being tortured and then peeing when he hears Gary Sinise's voice but when the 3 kids going to Mecca in Pitch Black get torn to shreds, I applauded.
Yes, I'm demented. I can't help that.
So to the millions of fans of this blog, go check Demon Knight out. Makes me want to check out the Dennis Miller starring role in Bordello of Blood, but only slightly and because of the Corey Feldman interview showcasing of how much of a dick Mr. Miller was on the set. Makes sense that he's a republican maniac now.
Next time I'll be delving into the world of Netflix again, but it will be a surprise to even myself as to what I'll watch. Could be anything. But this will be written tomorrow, considering I might not have a job anymore. We shall see kiddies!
Til next time, the 360 is off.
Read More...
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Netflixorama: The first blog...
Recently signing up for X-Box Live Gold and having a subscription to Netflix meant one thing to this film fanatic: An even more endless stream of movies to my living room.
You mean I can put a list of 500 of Instant Watch movies and just peruse through them? I have to say my mind melted a bit and happiness prevailed. Considering work has been a bit on the rough side (meaning I hate my job and want to get a new one) and my writing has become stagnant, I needed a venue to get something on the board. Something to keep writing on a semi-daily basis. And a thanks goes out to Microsoft for signing this deal up because my love for Netflix has significantly gone up a bit more. Also a godsend because when we get the DVD's in the mail from them, we tend to not watch them for a week or so, which is just a waste of money in the long run.
So I've been watching tons of stuff, mostly stuff I just don't own on DVD (like Hook, which watching again just makes me love Dustin Hoffman's performance that much more... yet Robin Williams leaves a lot to be desired in the way of Peter Pan. Especially that little Pan hairstyle he's got going on... atrocious). Also have been catching up with my favorite Britcom of all time, Red Dwarf, but was sad to see that the first two series are the re-edited ones done for the 10th anniversary on BBC, I believe. It's like Lucas' redoes, but without any of the finesse and taking out full lines of dialogue that I've memorized since watching this show on channel 31 back on NYC UHF television. Sad, but still funny as all hell.
But then again, I'm not going to waste my time reviewing movies I've loved for many years on here. That's just asinine. Instead I'm going to divulge the films that either I somehow never watched or better yet, might have watched many years ago but now it's like watching it for the very first time.
The first film I did that with was Cotton Comes to Harlem. Where to begin with that film? I had a great time watching this blaxploitation classic that I've always seen the VHS at the video stores but never got a chance to rent it like I did with the larger than life classics of blaxploitation like Superfly and Shaft.
I have to say I wasn't disappointed by this film, directed by the late great Ossie Davis, a great melding of both tradition comedy and a high stakes crime film. Yes, you heard that correct, it had some great set pieces in Harlem, of course, and with the likes of Coffin Ed and Grave Digger on the case, nothing would ever be the same. It has the underlying (and sometimes blatant) theme of racism mixed in with the power someone could have over the poor black families when given a choice that seems almost too good to be true. The whole plot revolves around 87 poor black families who have given a $1000 a piece to go Back to Africa, the campaign held by the Reverend Deke O'Malley to send back his black brethren to the motherland. The only problem is the money is stolen at the rally held for the fund and now it's up to Coffin Ed (Raymond St. Jacques) and Grave Digger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge of Watermelon Man fame).
Red Foxx also plays Uncle Bud, a homeless man always looking to get a quick buck. As usual, he's funny and looking like he's one heart attack away from the promised land. The one scene of note had me laughing loud enough for my neighbors in the other building to shut up for a few minutes was when they're chasing the culprits who have stolen the money, and Ed and Jones crash their car into a watermelon truck, of all things. The look the give each other, especially when Ed just smacks the watermelon out of Jones hand, almost seemed to be a statement about that common misnomer about what black people like in the food department. When asking a few guys at work about that stereotype, I have heard the same thing, "Ugh, I hate watermelon."
It's a back and forth chase throughout, which I don't want to ruin for the few of you who might want to watch it, but finally checking it out, I got where the Cotton part of the title comes from. They find a huge bail of cotton from the south, pure cotton which hasn't been treated yet. I won't go into detail, but it's a very important plot point that makes a whole lot of sense.
You also have a white cop getting seduced by the sultry Iris (played by the epitome of beauty Judy Pace), who somehow convinces him into wearing a paper bag over his head to make love to her but then gets away with him in just his skivvies, a gun in hand and the paper bag on head. Just one of the many funny scenes that will make you think a little too.
Am I thinking too much into it? I don't think so. It deserves a ton of credit for the genre it helped spearhead in the coming decade. Many people point to Melvin Van Peebles' seminal classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song as the first in the genre, but the year before had two very different films that pointed in the direction for black people to get noticed in the world of film. They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (another film in the Netflixorama future) and Cotton Comes to Harlem predating Van Peebles' film by a full year.
So check it out, and I'll come back tomorrow with a review on a film that I could have swore I've seen before yet while watching some of it today seemed like a breath of fresh air. That film being Tales from the Crypt presents Demon Knight.
Til then, happy watching..
You mean I can put a list of 500 of Instant Watch movies and just peruse through them? I have to say my mind melted a bit and happiness prevailed. Considering work has been a bit on the rough side (meaning I hate my job and want to get a new one) and my writing has become stagnant, I needed a venue to get something on the board. Something to keep writing on a semi-daily basis. And a thanks goes out to Microsoft for signing this deal up because my love for Netflix has significantly gone up a bit more. Also a godsend because when we get the DVD's in the mail from them, we tend to not watch them for a week or so, which is just a waste of money in the long run.
So I've been watching tons of stuff, mostly stuff I just don't own on DVD (like Hook, which watching again just makes me love Dustin Hoffman's performance that much more... yet Robin Williams leaves a lot to be desired in the way of Peter Pan. Especially that little Pan hairstyle he's got going on... atrocious). Also have been catching up with my favorite Britcom of all time, Red Dwarf, but was sad to see that the first two series are the re-edited ones done for the 10th anniversary on BBC, I believe. It's like Lucas' redoes, but without any of the finesse and taking out full lines of dialogue that I've memorized since watching this show on channel 31 back on NYC UHF television. Sad, but still funny as all hell.
But then again, I'm not going to waste my time reviewing movies I've loved for many years on here. That's just asinine. Instead I'm going to divulge the films that either I somehow never watched or better yet, might have watched many years ago but now it's like watching it for the very first time.
The first film I did that with was Cotton Comes to Harlem. Where to begin with that film? I had a great time watching this blaxploitation classic that I've always seen the VHS at the video stores but never got a chance to rent it like I did with the larger than life classics of blaxploitation like Superfly and Shaft.
I have to say I wasn't disappointed by this film, directed by the late great Ossie Davis, a great melding of both tradition comedy and a high stakes crime film. Yes, you heard that correct, it had some great set pieces in Harlem, of course, and with the likes of Coffin Ed and Grave Digger on the case, nothing would ever be the same. It has the underlying (and sometimes blatant) theme of racism mixed in with the power someone could have over the poor black families when given a choice that seems almost too good to be true. The whole plot revolves around 87 poor black families who have given a $1000 a piece to go Back to Africa, the campaign held by the Reverend Deke O'Malley to send back his black brethren to the motherland. The only problem is the money is stolen at the rally held for the fund and now it's up to Coffin Ed (Raymond St. Jacques) and Grave Digger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge of Watermelon Man fame).
Red Foxx also plays Uncle Bud, a homeless man always looking to get a quick buck. As usual, he's funny and looking like he's one heart attack away from the promised land. The one scene of note had me laughing loud enough for my neighbors in the other building to shut up for a few minutes was when they're chasing the culprits who have stolen the money, and Ed and Jones crash their car into a watermelon truck, of all things. The look the give each other, especially when Ed just smacks the watermelon out of Jones hand, almost seemed to be a statement about that common misnomer about what black people like in the food department. When asking a few guys at work about that stereotype, I have heard the same thing, "Ugh, I hate watermelon."
It's a back and forth chase throughout, which I don't want to ruin for the few of you who might want to watch it, but finally checking it out, I got where the Cotton part of the title comes from. They find a huge bail of cotton from the south, pure cotton which hasn't been treated yet. I won't go into detail, but it's a very important plot point that makes a whole lot of sense.
You also have a white cop getting seduced by the sultry Iris (played by the epitome of beauty Judy Pace), who somehow convinces him into wearing a paper bag over his head to make love to her but then gets away with him in just his skivvies, a gun in hand and the paper bag on head. Just one of the many funny scenes that will make you think a little too.
Am I thinking too much into it? I don't think so. It deserves a ton of credit for the genre it helped spearhead in the coming decade. Many people point to Melvin Van Peebles' seminal classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song as the first in the genre, but the year before had two very different films that pointed in the direction for black people to get noticed in the world of film. They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (another film in the Netflixorama future) and Cotton Comes to Harlem predating Van Peebles' film by a full year.
So check it out, and I'll come back tomorrow with a review on a film that I could have swore I've seen before yet while watching some of it today seemed like a breath of fresh air. That film being Tales from the Crypt presents Demon Knight.
Til then, happy watching..
Read More...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A film to be made... by moi?
Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I was last on this blog and it's not that I don't care about the few of you who do read my exciting blog of sorts. It's just that with work, apartment hassles and this past election finally out of my system, I can get back into the groove of things and start writing again.
Which leads me to the title of this blog. A film to be made. Not necessarily a feature length one, but instead a teaser trailer of a film that may never be made. Why do you ask am I doing something so bizarre? Is it because people are still into the whole Grindhouse fever? No, I would've jumped the bandwagon the year ago when everyone else was doing it (my personal favorite being Hobo With a Shotgun, which is now being made into a feature length movie.).
The reason is that Tommy, Steve and myself have realized Best Buy is not our lives, but a means to get some cash so we can raise our families and be able to live in our separate apartments. Those two are probably the most creative guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, let alone they hold me in high regard for my imagination as well.
So by the end of the year there will be a teaser trailer made. Something horrifying, hopefully getting us known to all the big shots out there. It's part of a grander scheme of things, which is this competition on this site , a Spanish film making site, with some of the greatest horror directors and writers in the field today (creators of both .Rec and The Orphanage, to give two examples). The winner gets a grand prize of $18,000 to putt toward a short film to be completed by September of next year.
I haven't been this excited for a long time. Danyell is fully behind me, even giving me the basis of the idea; the thread of horror that will have people shaking in their little skivvies. The more ideas we were coming up with, the more intense the story became. Soon, if the time permits, I might post up some of either Danyell's or Steve's storyboards for the trailer.
You're going to want to see it to believe it. Let alone come long for the ride.
-James
Which leads me to the title of this blog. A film to be made. Not necessarily a feature length one, but instead a teaser trailer of a film that may never be made. Why do you ask am I doing something so bizarre? Is it because people are still into the whole Grindhouse fever? No, I would've jumped the bandwagon the year ago when everyone else was doing it (my personal favorite being Hobo With a Shotgun, which is now being made into a feature length movie.).
The reason is that Tommy, Steve and myself have realized Best Buy is not our lives, but a means to get some cash so we can raise our families and be able to live in our separate apartments. Those two are probably the most creative guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, let alone they hold me in high regard for my imagination as well.
So by the end of the year there will be a teaser trailer made. Something horrifying, hopefully getting us known to all the big shots out there. It's part of a grander scheme of things, which is this competition on this site , a Spanish film making site, with some of the greatest horror directors and writers in the field today (creators of both .Rec and The Orphanage, to give two examples). The winner gets a grand prize of $18,000 to putt toward a short film to be completed by September of next year.
I haven't been this excited for a long time. Danyell is fully behind me, even giving me the basis of the idea; the thread of horror that will have people shaking in their little skivvies. The more ideas we were coming up with, the more intense the story became. Soon, if the time permits, I might post up some of either Danyell's or Steve's storyboards for the trailer.
You're going to want to see it to believe it. Let alone come long for the ride.
-James
Read More...
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