tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86146433203140264532024-03-18T12:58:13.497-07:00Reel BadHhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-5755297923593693732017-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:002017-04-30T17:55:21.599-07:00House<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhYysqw5aLt51fCFEASPz8mWNwymnffDQrnmXCqMbALfKrLt3gvWvT_Oes50bkbaxeP_9tCAkYjh0NMp426sIgPvSEQB70xZOZ59xTWUl5OEVmG8iR75lv5mQBuUlbVoJFe9JngB-n4p7/s1600/Hausu+-+dvd.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518547190541803266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhYysqw5aLt51fCFEASPz8mWNwymnffDQrnmXCqMbALfKrLt3gvWvT_Oes50bkbaxeP_9tCAkYjh0NMp426sIgPvSEQB70xZOZ59xTWUl5OEVmG8iR75lv5mQBuUlbVoJFe9JngB-n4p7/s200/Hausu+-+dvd.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 142px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 98px;" /></a>House is a film that seems to set out to defy all attempts at categorization or even comprehension.<br />
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If you were to imagine a version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Evil Dead</span> directed by Luis Buñuel using overly-colorized sets from H. R. Pufnstuf... from the point of view of a half-dozen Japanese schoolgirls that are simultaneously having the same nightmare about it... <span style="font-weight: bold;">that</span> is <span style="font-style: italic;">House</span>.<br />
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But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. This movie has a lot of interesting history so I'll need to back up a bit.<br />
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In the mid-70's, after emerging from an art group that included the likes of Yoko Ono, a lifelong film-experimenter by the name of Nobuhiko Obayashi was working as a director of strangely avant-garde television commercials. After a few of these...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/EzWTr-BczGQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/pmQTmFizuFY?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;">One of his most famous series of commercials starred Charles Bronson for Mandom cologne.</span></div>
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...he managed to catch the eye of Nagaharu Yodogawa, a journalist, who wrote "If Obayashi can make such TV commercials, he should be able to make Japanese films more exciting." Only a year later, Obayashi was approached by Toho Studios about trying to make a film "as exciting as <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaws</span>," and he was finally given a chance to make his first commercial feature.<br />
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After his initial meeting however, Obayashi found that he didn't really want to go in the direction the studio was hoping for at all. He just couldn't find any artistic appeal in trying to make some sort of man-eating animal <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaws</span> clone like they were suggesting. When he got home afterward he found his 13 year-old daughter Chigumi brushing her hair in front of a mirror, so he asked her what she thought about his predicament. Her reply was, "If my reflection in the mirror could jump out and eat me, that'd be scary." Obayashi knew she was onto something altogether different than <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaws</span>, so he immediately followed that by asking what else she thought might be scary. Her reply? "I love playing theme tunes on the piano after watching the films, but I can't play as well as you dad... and it feels as if the keys are biting my fingers."<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryuskiRCrhA0hJQ8i_5BHxoPpVJWW-odNrKhPLphIJg1HlUp5ceeyFkttcPRq1LtNLYK6mjIHvN0XbrQ7N0U3pfZL14fM1u2Adys__Ged47l9yxUlf-j5Ju3sP2VnYpJ2hVlkdG-ZDwO1/s1600/hausu+-+pianohands.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518502893927912178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryuskiRCrhA0hJQ8i_5BHxoPpVJWW-odNrKhPLphIJg1HlUp5ceeyFkttcPRq1LtNLYK6mjIHvN0XbrQ7N0U3pfZL14fM1u2Adys__Ged47l9yxUlf-j5Ju3sP2VnYpJ2hVlkdG-ZDwO1/s320/hausu+-+pianohands.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 217px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Pictured: Not <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaws</span>. I think we're onto something...</span></div>
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Later, while visiting relatives in the country, Nobuhiko and Chigumi retrieved a watermelon from a well, split it open with a cleaver and ate it. Afterwards Chigumi remarked, "As the watermelon came out of the well, it looked like it was a smiling head and it was scary."<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1LCvg1hOcvGt7aL3Cml12bb0XVJPZRzvSDErUxTnXwd6-HSpHT-4Wsn-dyYLHrIlp0Y8_0GGFnKeWOGuruWj4-XOeMepuE9gbu08uL7F5VXIh1Np0nCIAKy3Hx4j6lym0q8lmMPycvkd/s1600/hausu+-+decapitationwell.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518503422942983602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1LCvg1hOcvGt7aL3Cml12bb0XVJPZRzvSDErUxTnXwd6-HSpHT-4Wsn-dyYLHrIlp0Y8_0GGFnKeWOGuruWj4-XOeMepuE9gbu08uL7F5VXIh1Np0nCIAKy3Hx4j6lym0q8lmMPycvkd/s320/hausu+-+decapitationwell.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 162px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Pictured: Also not <span style="font-style: italic;">Jaws</span></span></div>
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The story's generation proceeded along those lines until what emerged was a strange fantasy about a group of girls who go to stay for a while in a house belonging to one girl's widowed aunt... who's a cannibal... and can possess the house itself to make it do her bidding.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bQRLg2e2KHS4g2ccHu9MXYOZPO6Ettl-xzQ2NgY46mmr10W124ELTPaJkn5YAuOmdimCcPLNJnqDbTZ29hF4cjmWoCXx38ECW2C6abkKIivm2fn7qJnVg8dsrZ2aU2mvxcVdTyieJBoE/s1600/hausu+-+cateyes.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518508776271264706" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bQRLg2e2KHS4g2ccHu9MXYOZPO6Ettl-xzQ2NgY46mmr10W124ELTPaJkn5YAuOmdimCcPLNJnqDbTZ29hF4cjmWoCXx38ECW2C6abkKIivm2fn7qJnVg8dsrZ2aU2mvxcVdTyieJBoE/s320/hausu+-+cateyes.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 203px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 255px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Also, this cat's involved.</span><br />
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Now just in case those glowing eyes were a little too subtle for the viewer to pick up on, the film goes out of its way to rationally explain why this is a paranormal cat...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4w0c_RBuJ5LFJ-VverOM5U_2JAKEVuPVLQhQCL8FKIVRocz0SRRGB3hWyT7Zlxlp8NMEbHiKHkK6KdExbXD2csv4YrSo5OBav5e4A5yC1BKtoeD1fLl25fpRMhF1VCOXvkzmg8t9_TMh/s1600/hausu+-+oldcatscanopen.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518509569892848002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4w0c_RBuJ5LFJ-VverOM5U_2JAKEVuPVLQhQCL8FKIVRocz0SRRGB3hWyT7Zlxlp8NMEbHiKHkK6KdExbXD2csv4YrSo5OBav5e4A5yC1BKtoeD1fLl25fpRMhF1VCOXvkzmg8t9_TMh/s320/hausu+-+oldcatscanopen.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 217px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwfdd1AL2z3OJlgGTbZD2Q30QycZ-gopY7oSGCkBIHjooVAKI3TAdKwnRWVlT05NTJqaAvZmIQJN4mXOJPfx_VaRL_wux-YUCR7y05AcMPqw_yULpNWglnWOW-Lh_rE2JKzxMFcqCJ5q_/s1600/hausu+-+canclose.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518509709416656786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwfdd1AL2z3OJlgGTbZD2Q30QycZ-gopY7oSGCkBIHjooVAKI3TAdKwnRWVlT05NTJqaAvZmIQJN4mXOJPfx_VaRL_wux-YUCR7y05AcMPqw_yULpNWglnWOW-Lh_rE2JKzxMFcqCJ5q_/s320/hausu+-+canclose.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 217px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCd2hGb0lKyI8jzLK879yPuzvA1pm0xAgb0PORM9_mPtMNAKD972a7rZTLPSX8OZFGCea5hWZ4nIqiO7bm0bQASZZdgA-KuiauyXQBLtaDF1gWynuVpAhd1vFJuFr9k-w9XEr-bZlD6nga/s1600/the_more_you_know2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518511900705275986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCd2hGb0lKyI8jzLK879yPuzvA1pm0xAgb0PORM9_mPtMNAKD972a7rZTLPSX8OZFGCea5hWZ4nIqiO7bm0bQASZZdgA-KuiauyXQBLtaDF1gWynuVpAhd1vFJuFr9k-w9XEr-bZlD6nga/s320/the_more_you_know2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 211px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
Anyway, the aunt/house proceeds to try "eating" the girls and has some degree of success. The pretty girl's face <a href="http://i52.tinypic.com/14khzxl.jpg.gif">shatters and falls off</a>, men are reduced to skeletons and/or piles of bananas (in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnWFhPCNHbQ">scene</a> I couldn't even begin to describe), and eventually we find ourselves at a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOBCMoDGGZU">climax</a> that must include every crazy camera effect Obayashi had available to him. That clip is long enough to shows how the movie resolves the little haunted-house problem: at the last minute disembodied legs kick a painting of the cat, which kills the cat, which kills the aunt... Now at this point I'm sure the more logically minded readers are thinking, "Wait, wouldn't that cause the room to fill with cat's blood?"<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2exvAscpZdogBRdA-8J5uNlp9snpySYFrLzGFpKD1qVhGgdJdZ8ft4-ZGi4EcngnWFydMc64hEL9TFv3DMNAD68-vLCgdLWpGdhIroQHzTrrOJXLXqdD2s39XxCrWd6TkjDzaH2f62NJh/s1600/hausu+-+catblood.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518544766329168146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2exvAscpZdogBRdA-8J5uNlp9snpySYFrLzGFpKD1qVhGgdJdZ8ft4-ZGi4EcngnWFydMc64hEL9TFv3DMNAD68-vLCgdLWpGdhIroQHzTrrOJXLXqdD2s39XxCrWd6TkjDzaH2f62NJh/s320/hausu+-+catblood.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 194px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Well yes... yes it would.</span></div>
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As strange as all of this might have been, as it turned out this was the first time in Japanese history that a film studio had been willing to risk getting behind a filmmaker that wasn't one of their contracted employee-directors, so, whatever Obayashi produced, it was very important that it be well-received. Luckily for Obayashi and the rest of Japan's stranger filmmakers, it was a huge success... The industry was changed and actual film-making was now a realistic ambition for Japanese artists with crazy movie ideas everywhere.<br />
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Visually, House is an hour and a half of interesting-looking and historically significant art. As strange as the images we see are, it's obvious that every single thing in the film was specifically intended to look exactly as it does.<br />
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I think the trailer said it right by introducing this film as: A FEAR TOO BEAUTIFUL TO RESIST! If you're as interested in not resisting as I am, tour dates for screenings are posted on the Janus <a href="http://www.janusfilms.com/house/dates.html">Janus site</a>. DVD and Blu-Ray are available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WKL6XA?ie=UTF8&tag=reelbnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003WKL6XA">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=reelbnet-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003WKL6XA" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" />.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Note:</span> As for the title, <span style="font-style: italic;">House</span> seems to usually be referred to as the Japanese word, "Hausu." The English word "House" is used as the actual title on even the <a href="http://i56.tinypic.com/33cy7wn.jpg">original Japanese promo artwork</a>... so I'll be sticking with that.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Trailer:</span><br />
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Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-83270258791088561912011-06-01T10:10:00.000-07:002011-06-01T10:10:00.806-07:00Wrong Subtitles: Galaxy of Rabbits<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaSKyg5fMw7U8Am9vvAU2yKkkb2Z_mwgCdmxnw2UV3iVgJAoQ8LYCRANSaf4h9ERkrk8__CWmm81IRJJjvzwpGP5FXPfD4PbQ8SQYjhRxSIOd44Lbq8fti-UO2M_ExcAQ8-Fy9PK5ukzX/s1600/galaxy-of-rabbits.jpg"></a><div> </div><div> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaSKyg5fMw7U8Am9vvAU2yKkkb2Z_mwgCdmxnw2UV3iVgJAoQ8LYCRANSaf4h9ERkrk8__CWmm81IRJJjvzwpGP5FXPfD4PbQ8SQYjhRxSIOd44Lbq8fti-UO2M_ExcAQ8-Fy9PK5ukzX/s1600/galaxy-of-rabbits.jpg"> </a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaSKyg5fMw7U8Am9vvAU2yKkkb2Z_mwgCdmxnw2UV3iVgJAoQ8LYCRANSaf4h9ERkrk8__CWmm81IRJJjvzwpGP5FXPfD4PbQ8SQYjhRxSIOd44Lbq8fti-UO2M_ExcAQ8-Fy9PK5ukzX/s1600/galaxy-of-rabbits.jpg"><img style="text-align: left; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 478px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaSKyg5fMw7U8Am9vvAU2yKkkb2Z_mwgCdmxnw2UV3iVgJAoQ8LYCRANSaf4h9ERkrk8__CWmm81IRJJjvzwpGP5FXPfD4PbQ8SQYjhRxSIOd44Lbq8fti-UO2M_ExcAQ8-Fy9PK5ukzX/s400/galaxy-of-rabbits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605138378956593538" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-27627262792601565772011-05-16T06:34:00.000-07:002011-05-16T16:40:43.578-07:00Wrong Subtitles: Recalsablanca<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfegqK7mBUOE5Viykna8gBr4hgTVAF9MeqOtkjmVgzUt7mVD1wv1Dfda8ZS_xfenVJnGGXxtjM465UnWFBQ9ryPXY3KZLHPDKq4OIL_3MNwdVQXMAMgPD-Tyd1yNAOcNv22GVRl-7YddMN/s1600/Wrong-Subtitles---Total-Recalsablanca.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"> </a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfegqK7mBUOE5Viykna8gBr4hgTVAF9MeqOtkjmVgzUt7mVD1wv1Dfda8ZS_xfenVJnGGXxtjM465UnWFBQ9ryPXY3KZLHPDKq4OIL_3MNwdVQXMAMgPD-Tyd1yNAOcNv22GVRl-7YddMN/s1600/Wrong-Subtitles---Total-Recalsablanca.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfegqK7mBUOE5Viykna8gBr4hgTVAF9MeqOtkjmVgzUt7mVD1wv1Dfda8ZS_xfenVJnGGXxtjM465UnWFBQ9ryPXY3KZLHPDKq4OIL_3MNwdVQXMAMgPD-Tyd1yNAOcNv22GVRl-7YddMN/s400/Wrong-Subtitles---Total-Recalsablanca.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606843213425221842" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-50603174130902246372011-03-15T21:14:00.000-07:002011-05-16T16:53:29.583-07:00RoboGeisha<a style="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbzDfkHm3HKE6tyY6ewRefRpMWv1h_h-AklGsN8Q49zs7HEFLwmLJz6eEJHkBTOJ2rulC5V56eYB7I0bi2F7Ubf4H9Yke4RSj8RFtWk0Q_hUKxhCUAswN4D09bdeLsAJLUT2pU2HB0SHo/s1600/robogeisha-dvd.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbzDfkHm3HKE6tyY6ewRefRpMWv1h_h-AklGsN8Q49zs7HEFLwmLJz6eEJHkBTOJ2rulC5V56eYB7I0bi2F7Ubf4H9Yke4RSj8RFtWk0Q_hUKxhCUAswN4D09bdeLsAJLUT2pU2HB0SHo/s320/robogeisha-dvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516869524788720402" border="0" /></a>RoboGeisha is a collaboration between Noboru Iguchi and special effects man Yoshihiro Nishimura (i.e., the director of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tokyo Gore Police</span> and co-director of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl</span>).<br /><br />With a team like that you sort of know what to expect going into this one... but as with their other titles, knowing the <span style="font-style: italic;">sorts</span> of things you can expect does not mean that everything you're about to see isn't still going to be completely mind-blowing.<br /><br /><br /><br />The story opens by introducing us to Yoshie (Aya Kiguchi) and her older sister Kikue (Hitome Hasebe, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Battle Royale II</span>).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWZSP_n_3upgHiTAhXdLDydLzT-ZpC8oKVClvKFpVzMPotv7A9XEF2Fm5t92k8dumX1D5__t3-6-x8hp4FjHHB7ZtGSeCAVpCBvtSEjEwsjbZKUob7lV3V3zTGUJerAp-ZJuAVX2lcRVt/s1600/robogeisha-sisters.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWZSP_n_3upgHiTAhXdLDydLzT-ZpC8oKVClvKFpVzMPotv7A9XEF2Fm5t92k8dumX1D5__t3-6-x8hp4FjHHB7ZtGSeCAVpCBvtSEjEwsjbZKUob7lV3V3zTGUJerAp-ZJuAVX2lcRVt/s320/robogeisha-sisters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546512765868997650" border="0" /></a><br />Kikue is a an ambitious geisha while Yoshie is her supposedly "uglier" younger sister who is basically just a servant in the house where Kikue works. Kikue is hoping to impress the young head of Kageno Steel, but as it turns out he actually prefers Yoshie... So of course the conflict between the sisters just escalates rapidly from this point on.<br /><br />Both girls eventually end up at the young guy's rural home, which is where he's apparently been essentially kidnapping and brainwashing young girls into a personal army of cyborg ninja geisha assassins.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9Toei3Eo1u8VcMLXdNyVqi58Ffc60s8WPwgjFKZlLYhDhRHLvjz5KjAnmxXCH2eeVL6V5pY7kVrX-txrsMTLQz16lIEUGHBVGJKWg00ZVkB_wkOZofJJPp-nZC1ZsTgFqlGFHdxFN4Y_/s1600/robogeisha-training.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9Toei3Eo1u8VcMLXdNyVqi58Ffc60s8WPwgjFKZlLYhDhRHLvjz5KjAnmxXCH2eeVL6V5pY7kVrX-txrsMTLQz16lIEUGHBVGJKWg00ZVkB_wkOZofJJPp-nZC1ZsTgFqlGFHdxFN4Y_/s320/robogeisha-training.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546508649289175122" border="0" /></a><br />The girls begin training there and competing for success as assassins. This quickly leads to both of them getting mechanical enhancements of their own and it's here that things really take a turn for the wacky.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SUnSJTtxu_5drMeiWjimXJmcARp1MzZJrhxJqv9RMTITc5ivGu8xaic0POsl92UT3BcfY0o2Dsf44r4Idsqrv1cZiYWD0IBrmIVMNtV-Bhd0CgH0KdcwivuxYyU8DkJEmk2d6Oga5G-r/s1600/robogeisha-weird1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SUnSJTtxu_5drMeiWjimXJmcARp1MzZJrhxJqv9RMTITc5ivGu8xaic0POsl92UT3BcfY0o2Dsf44r4Idsqrv1cZiYWD0IBrmIVMNtV-Bhd0CgH0KdcwivuxYyU8DkJEmk2d6Oga5G-r/s320/robogeisha-weird1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546508852657893266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Exhibit 1: Killer socks</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTEyfySpProhPvMrsZqrlRVFiCf8XibCRGUm8z_c7U0DLFRNqXQW4ynX0Y0qmroagUeNyhQhN5j-_EDu1Mu6MkyABE_ETrOMhJmDglPzLozUxVbl92LGSiwtXb2ICuJ-6J1ENJmUlIRbo/s1600/robogeisha-weird2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTEyfySpProhPvMrsZqrlRVFiCf8XibCRGUm8z_c7U0DLFRNqXQW4ynX0Y0qmroagUeNyhQhN5j-_EDu1Mu6MkyABE_ETrOMhJmDglPzLozUxVbl92LGSiwtXb2ICuJ-6J1ENJmUlIRbo/s320/robogeisha-weird2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546509037108369970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Exhibit 2: Breast-cannons</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3h-sGJqvdL7ivAMGnaqBykHseLbp-4OUeIIaYyrqK3pm940OR91C0EXu-FFvoDi0w-85bnckjZTJPERkll9CBrG8nG3ZGpvaSzwGY8cazxmhDdm7UsZ2yi3otVHDddZBVubBBusYdTjX/s1600/robogeisha-buttshuriken-comp.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3h-sGJqvdL7ivAMGnaqBykHseLbp-4OUeIIaYyrqK3pm940OR91C0EXu-FFvoDi0w-85bnckjZTJPERkll9CBrG8nG3ZGpvaSzwGY8cazxmhDdm7UsZ2yi3otVHDddZBVubBBusYdTjX/s320/robogeisha-buttshuriken-comp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546509966522297778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">And, last but not least,<br />Exhibit 3: Ass-shurikens.<br /></span></div><br />Apparently Iguchi was asked to tone down the violence and gore a bit for this one, so the weapons are a bit more ridiculous and cartoony than usual, and all blood effects are done in CGI. CGI blood almost never looks good... or even remotely passable... and this case is certainly no different, but then the silly cartoon blood is not exactly pulling you out of an otherwise believably realistic scenario, so it bothered me less than I expected it to.<br /><br />Yoshie eventually emerges as the top "clockwork cortesan" and at this point decides to abandon the robogeishas in order to stop the evil steel corporation and save Japan from them.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJA_kCJtPqI4Z7lQmwuv9V-kQJQ8XsqDSAAEi8XZAY5_0iSx-93Vuh2Vcl8hoBzDFzW5fsmTFb2dFj0ep8ESsFTvdxORxxjBmBgA5PkRDXMuliJMnos2EnlA5Pn2udb6pUKhJWLBtc2GH/s1600/robogeisha-mariokart.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJA_kCJtPqI4Z7lQmwuv9V-kQJQ8XsqDSAAEi8XZAY5_0iSx-93Vuh2Vcl8hoBzDFzW5fsmTFb2dFj0ep8ESsFTvdxORxxjBmBgA5PkRDXMuliJMnos2EnlA5Pn2udb6pUKhJWLBtc2GH/s320/robogeisha-mariokart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546514052342453794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">With a name like Yoshie, this understandably has to happen by way of a Mario Kart battle.<br /></span></div><br />The final showdown, the climax of the movie's absurdity, is a battle between Tank-Yoshie and a robotic building with an atomic bomb necklace, during which blood spurts from destroyed bystander-buildings in a way that it absolutely should have been doing in monster movies since the very beginning.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwque8yy_DAWSaMdV9Q-3hiUL9DNh7VFCljZG_lNrUvWpB2gbwfrArjM4t1EoYdugdNqy3PmsyeFlkDI2DOlPHF1WBw_AOat9EPHU9-mA8lzK4K-tKDdp67wJ89HxfNRa-gLe15Il5Qt2C/s1600/robogeisha-building-blood.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwque8yy_DAWSaMdV9Q-3hiUL9DNh7VFCljZG_lNrUvWpB2gbwfrArjM4t1EoYdugdNqy3PmsyeFlkDI2DOlPHF1WBw_AOat9EPHU9-mA8lzK4K-tKDdp67wJ89HxfNRa-gLe15Il5Qt2C/s320/robogeisha-building-blood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546514993456851602" border="0" /></a><br />If you're a fan of the sort of surreal absurdist gore that's come from Noburu Iguchi in the past, you're likely to enjoy RoboGeisha. Even if you've been hesitant to see the more extreme things like Tokyo Gore Police, this is a pretty tame introduction to his style. While the premise does start to stretch a bit thin at times, overall I still really had a lot of fun with this one.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trailer:</span><br /><object height="205" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo-gGes6qig?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo-gGes6qig?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="205" width="320"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=222222&fc1=FFFFFF&lc1=0000FF&t=reelbnet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0040319AS" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-13155585026389225192010-11-18T09:09:00.000-08:002010-11-18T09:47:57.810-08:00Larry Blamire Announces 3rd "Lost Skeleton" Film<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXufex1NAYg-jjUfNDcy26mY683CZkXBk1twFcmm9PE2lHM3_JVvPb4Qiv-DxQzQvc44kO7JpAEuYwnti5ofaSUBU_dBsOqA8zZ4MxIa9MTIX9rB7EzSGpJMx1S-ff0KOpCo7Wxu3VowsU/s1600/Lost-Skeleton-Walks-Among-Us.bmp"><br /></a>Larry Blamire has just announced that he is starting on a 3rd entry into the Lost Skeleton chronicles, titled "The Lost Skeleton Walks Among Us."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXufex1NAYg-jjUfNDcy26mY683CZkXBk1twFcmm9PE2lHM3_JVvPb4Qiv-DxQzQvc44kO7JpAEuYwnti5ofaSUBU_dBsOqA8zZ4MxIa9MTIX9rB7EzSGpJMx1S-ff0KOpCo7Wxu3VowsU/s1600/Lost-Skeleton-Walks-Among-Us.bmp"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXufex1NAYg-jjUfNDcy26mY683CZkXBk1twFcmm9PE2lHM3_JVvPb4Qiv-DxQzQvc44kO7JpAEuYwnti5ofaSUBU_dBsOqA8zZ4MxIa9MTIX9rB7EzSGpJMx1S-ff0KOpCo7Wxu3VowsU/s320/Lost-Skeleton-Walks-Among-Us.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540939214736071042" border="0" /></a><br />While Blamire has spoken against chaining a bunch sequels onto a franchise, he also seems to be a fan of great ideas, so for now I'll just trust him on this one. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">More info as it becomes available...<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9x1NgK8sKSWnIeSPBImo1zYFaQ605na8GjVgJl8RF6KlDVWRU1qOzZ5iVPQ6dHwK0x9iRzigRNMW-lrOkPRxl3sY-aMzTK_2Rt-jxTBfsiT8XoD_fj2wF-uRVqLa3_jYxngaPPfJEScPB/s1600/lost-skeleton.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9x1NgK8sKSWnIeSPBImo1zYFaQ605na8GjVgJl8RF6KlDVWRU1qOzZ5iVPQ6dHwK0x9iRzigRNMW-lrOkPRxl3sY-aMzTK_2Rt-jxTBfsiT8XoD_fj2wF-uRVqLa3_jYxngaPPfJEScPB/s320/lost-skeleton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540943596367503714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">I sleep now!</span><br /><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-60518334696708323472010-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:002010-11-16T14:09:29.333-08:00Best Worst Movie Released on DVDIf you missed out on the excellent and award-winning documentary, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Worst Movie</span>, as it toured across the country, now's your chance to fix that.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6-USJTcwikfULxGVOw3gbIq9QSp5J4cTaaxAVCLX9_hr7J6P-h3vCIjd2LasJ-_VGeC4E0Vxw9sR6LuFaFs6VPLcQ39zDllliCYjpqR0w6Z82gaXB91zePZqozISiyCWTL1nHoy_6Pul/s1600/bestworstmovie-dvd.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6-USJTcwikfULxGVOw3gbIq9QSp5J4cTaaxAVCLX9_hr7J6P-h3vCIjd2LasJ-_VGeC4E0Vxw9sR6LuFaFs6VPLcQ39zDllliCYjpqR0w6Z82gaXB91zePZqozISiyCWTL1nHoy_6Pul/s320/bestworstmovie-dvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540270772695438338" border="0" /></a><br />You might not expect the stories of the creators and cast of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Troll 2</span> to be extremely interesting and engaging, and if that's the case, you'd be wrong.<br /><br />While it may not mean much to say that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Worst Movie</span> is better than <span style="font-weight: bold;">Troll 2</span>, it's definitely true. Be sure to not let this one pass you by.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=reelbnet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B003X3BYHE" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-19605459786436704112010-10-25T21:56:00.000-07:002017-05-16T14:08:08.579-07:00Troll<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljN3U_rmT8_vqYdybEiWkrJBh_JnU9Py4vjFbgShwqmA2NmRiSGinxwNurKZX819BM0zQjTduxXGudAOSVIvX8m-XDEGmm7iRFCrO0pacVlqUahxExGGLDfbWBcMFJsDV7Fs9s1FLvhAR/s1600/troll-vhs.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521582412012925234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljN3U_rmT8_vqYdybEiWkrJBh_JnU9Py4vjFbgShwqmA2NmRiSGinxwNurKZX819BM0zQjTduxXGudAOSVIvX8m-XDEGmm7iRFCrO0pacVlqUahxExGGLDfbWBcMFJsDV7Fs9s1FLvhAR/s400/troll-vhs.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 182px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 118px;" /></a>I'm always amazed at just how many Gremlins "inspired" movies came out of this period. At some point people figured out that when you make your monsters the size of children and kind of cute, you can make them appeal to a much wider audience than your run of the mill creature-feature. Gremlins proved this to great effect in 1984 and a year later, Ghoulies proved that this was indeed a winning formula. After a few Ghoulies sequels, the guys behind that film decided to try something with a fantasy angle, and what we ended up with was Troll.<br />
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I'll do my best to run through the odd plot quickly. As I recall, Troll is a Harry Potter fan-fiction about a time in the 80's when a middle-aged man named Harry Potter (Michael Moriarty) moves his family into a new apartment building.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpoAJgcCDndHYtU73MbjK1LQl_wSzCNZPDMUoiQZ6A16snbnowOSQvCrKyXvmoizPNKkTMq28HeZnSk4AeM1kWnfIqOTbXyRfAn6qBtAjHWrowfGvYr5oBIFiP8K0s2vP6i-ygUZd4ajk/s1600/troll+-+mmoriarty.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521821001275274962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpoAJgcCDndHYtU73MbjK1LQl_wSzCNZPDMUoiQZ6A16snbnowOSQvCrKyXvmoizPNKkTMq28HeZnSk4AeM1kWnfIqOTbXyRfAn6qBtAjHWrowfGvYr5oBIFiP8K0s2vP6i-ygUZd4ajk/s320/troll+-+mmoriarty.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 191px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 211px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
As it turns out, the building's full of little singing monsters...</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtFlFlPWbRWj9qs79av1Mq7t-VJJUaFo8MvNCsIMKKmuoleqygXd2-vVIYJ_8PixqVCnHAJbYEQO8unHxHlg4I_14uPvIyabr3i2rqXgbGVWzuYlC_lfE4lmJ1McEaU1I4x66BZq7R5cm/s1600/troll-singingtrolls.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521818003480789618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtFlFlPWbRWj9qs79av1Mq7t-VJJUaFo8MvNCsIMKKmuoleqygXd2-vVIYJ_8PixqVCnHAJbYEQO8unHxHlg4I_14uPvIyabr3i2rqXgbGVWzuYlC_lfE4lmJ1McEaU1I4x66BZq7R5cm/s320/troll-singingtrolls.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 94px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 85%;">...and naked Julia-Louis Dreyfuses...</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9ZzxF5nnI1d06ZcbpzX1gMAn3LB-w97j7sRddSD48Ow5IEiW1vXV_8NL_BJocHKfoH_lnITNFeXaWAlfqj6CwzzdeIihLKDqz7m79M-e8Md0sfs0L1QlGPqrsWgWZdpVhT0SCBjXcBB4/s1600/troll--julia-2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521590694173442866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9ZzxF5nnI1d06ZcbpzX1gMAn3LB-w97j7sRddSD48Ow5IEiW1vXV_8NL_BJocHKfoH_lnITNFeXaWAlfqj6CwzzdeIihLKDqz7m79M-e8Md0sfs0L1QlGPqrsWgWZdpVhT0SCBjXcBB4/s320/troll--julia-2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 218px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
...so it doesn't really turn out to be a smooth transition for anyone involved.<br />
<br />
Luckily, Potter's son, Harry "Atreju" Potter Jr. drops by to save the day with his golden spear and the help of Eunice, his elderly accomplice... but only after he gets beaten up by a little girl.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUz0pmdrkuZMRF6pqG-5qE6NEvhdjxZ4GpydWZt2b1DPRMaQCHbMJaiwgFri6Vmfd06KcACgC05xyv-cOiWgM5iLIPYxtg9bAC-AQH3F7wsURrc-9_pNlPyFVHbbHg2Ai9IeEiRrBLj3b/s1600/troll-atreju-and-oldlady.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521590296662379634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUz0pmdrkuZMRF6pqG-5qE6NEvhdjxZ4GpydWZt2b1DPRMaQCHbMJaiwgFri6Vmfd06KcACgC05xyv-cOiWgM5iLIPYxtg9bAC-AQH3F7wsURrc-9_pNlPyFVHbbHg2Ai9IeEiRrBLj3b/s320/troll-atreju-and-oldlady.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 134px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Pictured: Action-heroes</span></div>
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If that sounds awesome, it's because it is. Troll turns out to be much better than it has any right to be. The main reason is the great ensemble cast and the array of truly likable characters that they manage to portray here. I find most child actors to be almost unbearably bad, and the two kids are actually the main characters here, but these guys really do a fine job.<br />
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus appears here in her first feature-film role, as "pretty girl living in apartment" but does a great job of making her background character real in a way that a lesser film (especially in this genre) wouldn't have bothered to do. <span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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The villain is played ably by Phil Fondacaro, to the extent that he can express anything at all using only body language... but Fondacaro actually pulls double-duty here and also plays the role of Malcolm, a dwarf with cancer, in a tragic side-story.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67DNyRYuhQn-fxqEQ2HFK6rdzfBMp0_2VA_pNC_J4FuTAdNjt35E1Zac_x992Q1BQ6YLBXZjkyT_wfceaJRqaiFJz375Q1rXW-0V117L7ET8H489l4zObe1jHRQqMFqbRbc4zh56xjQoe/s1600/troll-phil.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521825313029861202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67DNyRYuhQn-fxqEQ2HFK6rdzfBMp0_2VA_pNC_J4FuTAdNjt35E1Zac_x992Q1BQ6YLBXZjkyT_wfceaJRqaiFJz375Q1rXW-0V117L7ET8H489l4zObe1jHRQqMFqbRbc4zh56xjQoe/s320/troll-phil.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 221px;" /></a><br />
The character of Torok the troll is taken in an interesting direction. He's not played for straight-comedy like the Leprechaun, but he's not really scary either... he just is. The only real conflict is that he and all the tenants of the apartment building must share the same space, but require different environments. The movie seems to go out of its way to make him <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> be scary actually... But since he does go ahead and turn people into trolls (or things that would better fit in troll-world), and that's probably a bad thing for those involved, the movie takes several measures to redeem him afterward. First he turns Malcolm into an elf in order to cure his illnesses and give him a chance at a life where he can be normal. As if that wasn't enough, when the time comes for Harry Potter Jr. to kill the giant monster at the end (and he fails), Torok goes ahead and kills him for him... thereby defeating himself. If that doesn't make any sense to you, don't worry, there's an easy explanation. At some point Torok must have simply decided that it would be easier to get a fresh set of clothes, change his name to Hoggle, and head out to the Labyrinth to work for David Bowie.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhsb9zI86qVCPTUnU3UASbG3I5TIXcj2tt6ay3g5NRGJ6LWKZ-Gk06dXJkIY8W49wwtpmgyXjRP_mBu_mFPxBKvfx0ofFBb1ePa3LX4ERc8BGm4DWbBqDzDpbjd77uFNxEVNHvcCRT8B3/s1600/troll-torok-hoggle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521587060150044018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhsb9zI86qVCPTUnU3UASbG3I5TIXcj2tt6ay3g5NRGJ6LWKZ-Gk06dXJkIY8W49wwtpmgyXjRP_mBu_mFPxBKvfx0ofFBb1ePa3LX4ERc8BGm4DWbBqDzDpbjd77uFNxEVNHvcCRT8B3/s320/troll-torok-hoggle.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 130px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Really, is there a difference?</span></div>
<br />
One last thing that I almost forgot is the troll chorus. It was composed by Richard Band, brother of the producers, but this whimsical tune could've easily come from Danny Elfman.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/RI9sYcr-pyk?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/RI9sYcr-pyk?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div>
<br />
Troll is always more fun than I remember it being, and it's probably tame enough to be appropriate for even the youngest kids.<br />
<br />
As an added bonus, the only DVD version I've ever come across is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009PY4I?ie=UTF8&tag=reelbnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00009PY4I">double-feature disc</a> that also includes the completely unrelated but wonderfully awful, Troll 2.Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-85830789466654887952010-10-05T09:33:00.000-07:002010-11-16T13:49:50.927-08:00Troll 2 DVD Released20 years after it's debut, Troll 2 has finally gotten the DVD release it deserves.<br /><br />While it was previously available on a double-feature disc along with it's namesake, Troll, the two films don't really have anything to do with one another and both stand on their own as enjoyable, albeit entirely unique experiences.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wfdXsil4_JeYBbO5in7dAKfLV2oB3ED-CWpjFHcl4znjiwti57Z1vdmaTi-RW0gRDoG_FeKtGbcTO1gwjSy2Sua2Eh7jx1J_R9VOiIJ_k0rKpyDq2h38ABKy-5Q9fYuLFvOf_bxXe2KJ/s1600/troll-troll2-comp.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 117px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wfdXsil4_JeYBbO5in7dAKfLV2oB3ED-CWpjFHcl4znjiwti57Z1vdmaTi-RW0gRDoG_FeKtGbcTO1gwjSy2Sua2Eh7jx1J_R9VOiIJ_k0rKpyDq2h38ABKy-5Q9fYuLFvOf_bxXe2KJ/s320/troll-troll2-comp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540205229562006290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">One of these is not like the other...</span><br /></div><br />I was just talking to a few friends last night who have somehow never gotten the chance to see this classic bit of well-aged cheese. After today's DVD release, I'm guessing I'll be changing that for them very soon.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=reelbnet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B003ZD9DSO" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-39526958957885390782010-09-24T10:28:00.000-07:002010-09-24T11:55:31.558-07:00Elvira's New Movie Macabre Intro Now Available<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid64bDI6udqxVkLmrtTDpL-WSQvsGGPjom5y9jlmHlKh_i7GuGapzauaYgbjA1Ummm8pzvmAoQFkrRVmJXcbA_m9-REhWSxgLspKiVS8xyVWFN-fC0pjq5k_u87jKCSKxzSRIkJBbYFgMK/s1600/movie-macabre-new-logo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid64bDI6udqxVkLmrtTDpL-WSQvsGGPjom5y9jlmHlKh_i7GuGapzauaYgbjA1Ummm8pzvmAoQFkrRVmJXcbA_m9-REhWSxgLspKiVS8xyVWFN-fC0pjq5k_u87jKCSKxzSRIkJBbYFgMK/s400/movie-macabre-new-logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520534518194228338" border="0" /></a><br />Elvira's long-awaited return to television is nearly upon us, but until it airs, here's a brief teaser by way of the show's new intro.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G0IPNDYJ95Q?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G0IPNDYJ95Q?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /></div><br />After taking all that in for the first time, let's take a closer look at a few things.<br /><br />What I first recognized was the theme music, an instrumental version of The Black Belles' song, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXNTQ-GmMkM"><span style="font-style: italic;">What Can I Do</span></a>. I'd been thinking that The Black Belles were creating an original song for some reason... but the instrumental track actually works pretty well on its own.<br /><br /><br />Probably the most surprising thing about the intro is that a character from Peaches Christ's film, <a href="http://reel-bad.blogspot.com/2010/09/all-about-evil.html">All About Evil</a>, pops up about 15 seconds in...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07VSKm4Jw4eVLXrexu1_8pM7SPECOAjmIoHeGUy8E6xFH1WF6V40BpcxvBWwqDwoKY5dMMwmvEuFqdZTVAaIoW3otXMn_3lnHRzHMu3y3sAgqIFfqW1UDpm1R6UegLvkHoN-sQSpJau-b/s1600/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-usher-comp.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07VSKm4Jw4eVLXrexu1_8pM7SPECOAjmIoHeGUy8E6xFH1WF6V40BpcxvBWwqDwoKY5dMMwmvEuFqdZTVAaIoW3otXMn_3lnHRzHMu3y3sAgqIFfqW1UDpm1R6UegLvkHoN-sQSpJau-b/s400/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-usher-comp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520539072371243170" border="0" /></a><br />Initially I wasn't too sure that this was really an exact match, but upon my second viewing I decided that this probably wasn't just a coincidence.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9Qp-3Kw5h9Uh70Uw8pgYh2_GtVAuVqYoBPt3pPJGJY7cmS8zzQ_n27cNuIzM_fBy_U91tCAedaYjoa_PcUd4u9RbzrsJ6OqqOgiONqFQ2dWYwSS66mIOYVw4QEMZccJrQOP0nHvHnGKi/s1600/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9Qp-3Kw5h9Uh70Uw8pgYh2_GtVAuVqYoBPt3pPJGJY7cmS8zzQ_n27cNuIzM_fBy_U91tCAedaYjoa_PcUd4u9RbzrsJ6OqqOgiONqFQ2dWYwSS66mIOYVw4QEMZccJrQOP0nHvHnGKi/s400/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520540072986073762" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhdYDxJrgkC6KpIyWa0pLv0yjyx9XMx1lu0GDMuH7pu0HkcN7saCG2uIqKh2EihDcWsj6y28fprbHJuRsM-AY6ojK02TLx8x4ytDM7xkR-RVwMEZDvsXLPViRrFSrv5ON6jFgslZHy600/s1600/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhdYDxJrgkC6KpIyWa0pLv0yjyx9XMx1lu0GDMuH7pu0HkcN7saCG2uIqKh2EihDcWsj6y28fprbHJuRsM-AY6ojK02TLx8x4ytDM7xkR-RVwMEZDvsXLPViRrFSrv5ON6jFgslZHy600/s400/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520539612878004818" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJQWoWPfLqZFomJCTUH6mpbcQJISiM7EPunvtPli6LiWzAOET6KVE8qVYt9BlqtWSTG0u_FZMRjXWXiNkfSDDCMBKMRSVYaQYXwcQZ86q1QtArMbS9-TkPnfYUKvHoZF7w5LyvUw7usXc/s1600/all-about-evil-poster.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 601px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJQWoWPfLqZFomJCTUH6mpbcQJISiM7EPunvtPli6LiWzAOET6KVE8qVYt9BlqtWSTG0u_FZMRjXWXiNkfSDDCMBKMRSVYaQYXwcQZ86q1QtArMbS9-TkPnfYUKvHoZF7w5LyvUw7usXc/s400/all-about-evil-poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520540314729803106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Take note of the cast listings up there...</span><br /></div><br /><br />As for the other featured one-sheet on the right, I have no idea what it might be. If you happen to recognize it then by all means, leave me a comment below.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKtoijaTyjVXgLbs8Pu1_fRRTdotN7MqO8Q4SVat0gMJ50Hg4GkEfI4ZhNe_tGYSDHutKUlzX2EjHubzxHxUVnHzpuMkYmXhsNWabq36tLHJQaMw72P5oMi5uCALtmw-BnxJprO0CcP-F/s1600/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster-on-right.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKtoijaTyjVXgLbs8Pu1_fRRTdotN7MqO8Q4SVat0gMJ50Hg4GkEfI4ZhNe_tGYSDHutKUlzX2EjHubzxHxUVnHzpuMkYmXhsNWabq36tLHJQaMw72P5oMi5uCALtmw-BnxJprO0CcP-F/s400/movie-macabre-all-about-evil-poster-on-right.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520542476682276530" border="0" /></a><br />For a list of TV stations with Movie Macabre syndication, check for your city on the <a href="http://www.elvira.com/pdf/movie_macabre.pdf">PDF file from Elvira's official site</a>.Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-30884823876400626972010-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:002010-09-19T13:55:53.062-07:00Hobgoblins SoundtrackLast weekend I got a copy of the Hobgoblins soundtrack in the mail. Because this isn't the 90's, the first thing I did was rip digital versions of my all my new Fontanelles tracks into iTunes. Unfortunately, upon doing so I discovered that I couldn't find a picture of the cover anywhere online... <br /><br />So today I hauled out the camera and just took my own picture. Hopefully Google will get itself over here and index it before anyone else runs into the problem I did.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6Llq7BryDBgoUM3zanJjXQmelbi3kgicdXqF9b6doGqiIvSOMYE6kN6RgoDg6Roxx8vB40EBQL6e8_zxO9a59735LSOmxP-4ih9G2pm_4KFE1jaP0i3S39-QgxofW_pn83kHSZDuphyL/s1600/Hobgoblins-OST.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6Llq7BryDBgoUM3zanJjXQmelbi3kgicdXqF9b6doGqiIvSOMYE6kN6RgoDg6Roxx8vB40EBQL6e8_zxO9a59735LSOmxP-4ih9G2pm_4KFE1jaP0i3S39-QgxofW_pn83kHSZDuphyL/s400/Hobgoblins-OST.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518727526769033858" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-63761187886774726782010-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:002010-09-16T13:38:49.485-07:00"Best Worst Movie" Gets DVD Release Date<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz545xM6hFYNkRZ_tLxLdyAM6IodPp8EKrbQbAnfQ_A0DHBGhXMsuQ8z0SLu2HukvkuBLuXir3Dad4F-YkXoBLiHONLUKA6Dl6HB8uKr7ByrlsoekpiPNLKaEHP1F1rHPwm2JNB1ZNnSYb/s1600/bestworstmovie-dvd.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz545xM6hFYNkRZ_tLxLdyAM6IodPp8EKrbQbAnfQ_A0DHBGhXMsuQ8z0SLu2HukvkuBLuXir3Dad4F-YkXoBLiHONLUKA6Dl6HB8uKr7ByrlsoekpiPNLKaEHP1F1rHPwm2JNB1ZNnSYb/s320/bestworstmovie-dvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517611931012672290" border="0" /></a>Michael Paul Stephenson’s award-winning documentary film about the creation of Claudio Fragasso's TROLL 2 (and subsequent fallout left in its wake) has been picked up by <a href="http://www.newvideo.com/">New Video Group</a> and will be available on DVD and digital platforms on November 16.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />DVD extras include:<br /><p class="MsoNormal">• Director commentary.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">• More than an hour of deleted scenes and interviews.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">• Fan contributions, including music videos, mash-up trailers, and scenes from screenings.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">• Filmmaker Q&A with <em>Creative Screenwriting</em> magazine</p> Michael Paul Stephenson has hinted at some of the other extra content already. Most interestingly, he's mentioned material with the Goblin Queen herself, Deborah Reed, who was conspicuously absent in the documentary.<br /><br />Stepenson stated “We didn’t get enough time with her early on. It was hard to coordinate. As we got a little bit further down the road, we had shot a few things with her, but by that time, it had become very clear to us that the story was so much more about George and Claudio and a few of the other people we had been focusing on. There was no intention [to exclude Reed]; it was just that we were happy with this story the way it was, and anything additional at that stage felt like a distraction, or a deviation of where we were going with this movie.”<br /><br />When asked if fans will actually get to see this material, Stephenson answers, “Absolutely! ... There’s so much great material that is perfect for them ... It depends on how much space they’re going to give us, but I’ll do everything I can to get as much extra material in there as possible.”<br /><br />The DVD retails for $19.99 but can be preordered on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X3BYHE?ie=UTF8&tag=reelbnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003X3BYHE">Amazon</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=reelbnet-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003X3BYHE" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> now for $17.99.Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-65659610634535300762010-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:002010-09-16T12:45:51.940-07:00Three New Sharktopus Clips Released<div>Three new Sharktopus clips were released yesterday (via Syfy's <a href="http://blastr.com/2010/09/3-new-horrendously-good-s.php">Blastr</a>). Our first clip is the wonderfully ridiculous bungee-jumping bit that we see at the end of the trailer... only now it's in context. Nothing too new or interesting here, although the fairly slow and silly tone of the buildup makes the sudden attack even better.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><object align="middle" height="400" width="400"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249248"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249248" quality="high" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="400" width="400"></embed></object></div><br /><br />The second clip shows Roger Corman's cameo scene and that a sharktopus can hide in only a couple of inches of water...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><object align="middle" height="400" width="400"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249246"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249246" quality="high" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="400" width="400"></embed></object></div><br /><br />And finally, the last clip gives a glimpse at some of the other characters and shows us the surprisingly simple way in which the experimentally weaponized sharktopus gets off his leash and escapes into the wild.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><object align="middle" height="400" width="400"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249245"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1249245" quality="high" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="400" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Mark your calendars folks. Sharktopus airs on September 25th on SyFy.<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75JynzxP8vsSaraQOS-_fqMPIvIoAcwvLvunkPvxyv-4Bfq9YpHCL04J86Q2wIjfH77BdgR4QTnBqbSDeVTC0ubJ8HafcVNhZwJzMCH0mwTpy5ZZCRZI_yCfeYKhSmBv3yAWIOg1F-5ti/s1600/sharktopus-plush.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75JynzxP8vsSaraQOS-_fqMPIvIoAcwvLvunkPvxyv-4Bfq9YpHCL04J86Q2wIjfH77BdgR4QTnBqbSDeVTC0ubJ8HafcVNhZwJzMCH0mwTpy5ZZCRZI_yCfeYKhSmBv3yAWIOg1F-5ti/s320/sharktopus-plush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517589953884384466" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-73534425239692356322010-09-15T12:08:00.000-07:002010-09-15T22:54:18.695-07:00"Boy Scouts Vs. Zombies" Brings on Director, Andy Fickman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieN0Ovk3tgsFwt_02mEchhcByBfLfYcJIypVF4mTHES_ywuIKeSSm98cwWY6KUZImtrUnvMCC46rgy2FRxY6FQSxbbZZPn19f4WVwZwpRhIwLPyfR_LcNFgS0XqX6A0K9LBCVL7Kx100Yq/s1600/BoyScoutsVSZombies-comp.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 440px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieN0Ovk3tgsFwt_02mEchhcByBfLfYcJIypVF4mTHES_ywuIKeSSm98cwWY6KUZImtrUnvMCC46rgy2FRxY6FQSxbbZZPn19f4WVwZwpRhIwLPyfR_LcNFgS0XqX6A0K9LBCVL7Kx100Yq/s320/BoyScoutsVSZombies-comp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517239240057384354" border="0" /></a><br />According to a <a href="http://twitter.com/prodweek/status/24516104558">tweet</a> from Production Weekly, the upcoming horror-comedy, <span style="font-style: italic;">Boy Scouts Vs. Zombies</span> has been attached to director, Andy Fickman (<span style="font-style: italic;">Race to Witch Mountain, She's the Man</span>).<br /><br />This movie is coming from a script by the well-proven horror writing duo (<span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Carrie Evans, Emi Mochizuki</span></span>) behind such genre classics as... <span style="font-style: italic;">College Road Trip</span><span> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljSKc7T9M68">Trailer</a>)</span> and... well, that's all. This doesn't look good.<br /><br />I've always thought that one of the worst horror-movie crimes is to waste a great title / concept on a movie that's got no chance of living up to its own potential. With a concept like Boy Scouts Vs. Zombies, there certainly seems like there's potential for something fun with a <span style="font-style: italic;">Fido</span>-ish, <span style="font-style: italic;">Leave it to Beaver</span> feel or something like that, but as for whether or not this team can actually pull it off... I'm not holding my breath.Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-88188921854696314702010-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:002010-09-14T09:30:01.011-07:00Search Engine Craziness: Cretacious Cloistered Crackheads<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" class="Apple-style-span" >dinosaur nun gang members</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" class="Apple-style-span" ><br />Strangely enough, another set of Google keywords that aren't obviously sexual...<br />This one is doubly strange in that it's also something that links to an article that does actually contain all of those words. <br /><br /><br /></span>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-56075790518992671932010-09-04T14:09:00.000-07:002011-03-14T23:11:30.741-07:00All About Evil<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgse2DqfVMAjTrS4q2Ol9h-5JdjsIvgTLX1OYCez6gC2PQwIRcHLfWUaOrt3wRWE8B7017fJIzuKp5u69-0Ftew639DLwmmEoc7mXqagb8rbuH_E-NYI6_YbLI0cc9PDmAW8aGXqxTCju/s1600/allaboutevil-AAE_1sheet_final_web_sm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513359402655211586" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 143px; cursor: pointer; height: 217px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgse2DqfVMAjTrS4q2Ol9h-5JdjsIvgTLX1OYCez6gC2PQwIRcHLfWUaOrt3wRWE8B7017fJIzuKp5u69-0Ftew639DLwmmEoc7mXqagb8rbuH_E-NYI6_YbLI0cc9PDmAW8aGXqxTCju/s320/allaboutevil-AAE_1sheet_final_web_sm.jpg" border="0" /></a>Last weekend I managed to catch Peaches Christ's directorial debut, <strong>All About Evil</strong>, as it stopped off at the Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta, Georgia.<br /><br />The event, (described by Peaches as a "spooktacular"), includes a pre-screening live show that features a couple of song and dance numbers perfomed by Peaches Christ and an assortment of local drag-monsters. The film is touring through 20 or so stops across the country, featuring one or more cast members at each stop. In my case, I got veteran John Waters actress, Mink Stole...<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleQFAfSiihmstGDzs9p9dfImDL2Bur8jyLkJxPH6t2dqR5VfR8-3Cl3waCKHeiNlgsQJRp62_H4UiySB1nECb6Kf81gT59iCuqt7C_Wh8dCVKUqvByLUQSsr5IpGVyY5MKHYiyRxhDpjs/s1600/allaboutevil-peaches&mink.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513648947112671794" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleQFAfSiihmstGDzs9p9dfImDL2Bur8jyLkJxPH6t2dqR5VfR8-3Cl3waCKHeiNlgsQJRp62_H4UiySB1nECb6Kf81gT59iCuqt7C_Wh8dCVKUqvByLUQSsr5IpGVyY5MKHYiyRxhDpjs/s320/allaboutevil-peaches&mink.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">and I can't say that I would've had it any other way.</span><br /><br /></div>For any not familiar with Peaches Christ, she is the stage persona of Joshua Grannell and regular host of "Midnight Mass" shows. In appearance, she's a sort of glittery drag-Elvira with just a dash of Divine.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxmliV8ZHo9pd7oRLf_FObY3UHlfeWdPMpAr_JiRlIeVfOWj6ah5hAGOZLuQ60UVfZIkUsHkWjtxE6iAuUEF_KkMAvpNG0-0LpuMTX4lXkr7RfdWID1kOrNiRGtmEL6odPPGb6IZd12DP/s1600/allaboutevil-peaches&cassandra.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513645368121580466" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxmliV8ZHo9pd7oRLf_FObY3UHlfeWdPMpAr_JiRlIeVfOWj6ah5hAGOZLuQ60UVfZIkUsHkWjtxE6iAuUEF_KkMAvpNG0-0LpuMTX4lXkr7RfdWID1kOrNiRGtmEL6odPPGb6IZd12DP/s320/allaboutevil-peaches&cassandra.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Probably not a coincidence.</span><br /></div><br />After the song and dance bits, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MJ5vlwuOiI">Gore Gore Girl</a>" and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V609P4KhLlA">Female Trouble</a>" (that was still stuck in my head when I woke up this morning), and a brief clip-show introduction piece revisiting famous Mink Stole scenes, the lights went down and the real fun began.<br /><br /><strong>All About Evil</strong> is the story of a<span class="text8"> mousy assistant-librarian named Deborah (</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Natasha Lyonne</span><span class="text8">) who has inherited her recently-deceased father's beloved old movie house, the Victoria Theatre. When we meet her she's grieving over her father, but is </span>particularly upset that her father has died without getting to see her succeed at "the business of show," as she's never had any luck getting work as an actress.<br /><br />When her cold-hearted mother <span style="font-size:100%;">(Julie Caitlin Brown)</span> comes in to try threatening Deborah into selling the theater, she snaps, killing her with a stab to the neck... and then giving her a few more for good measure.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvcOuSRKsznABtpl3lVHHsX5Q6vABdia_6_IngO8VBsxpbsZuLj8RLB-HPuXGDgo6VTrLwcMq99LKpcyacAWAqQjDK_PWXKS7dy4WSjqgwkMN3fDoOsa4mfUn_nVbQghFgubBdAyxsvav/s1600/allaboutevil-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513665471657710802" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvcOuSRKsznABtpl3lVHHsX5Q6vABdia_6_IngO8VBsxpbsZuLj8RLB-HPuXGDgo6VTrLwcMq99LKpcyacAWAqQjDK_PWXKS7dy4WSjqgwkMN3fDoOsa4mfUn_nVbQghFgubBdAyxsvav/s320/allaboutevil-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />What she doesn't realize until later is that the murder has been captured by surveillance cameras and, as luck would have it, almost immediately gets accidentally played back to the entire theater.<br /><br />The attending cult-horror fans mistake the CCTV snuff film for a well-acted homemade cult film and embrace it wholeheartedly. When Deborah realizes what's happened, she seizes the opportunity to rejuvenate the independent theater and, most of all, to finally get her moment in the spotlight.<br /><br />Short after grisly short is filmed and screened like this, seemingly daily in a very quick sort of macabre <span style="font-weight: bold;">Be Kind Rewind</span> fashion and the theater's popularity swells nearly as quickly as Deborah's growing ego.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0inU7aa59wowlJr3eGl0aUXpTRRNzVrNRN27VB4_Ljz8RX8GSWAsVffFkox13puUnqmiYwPBa0MCSQsLmrnuCYpsPUM715STFgZV2Jn3Bum1HW4auxBdxyuQrhW16uJbAurC82SgxhhVE/s1600/allaboutevil-2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513672046454455170" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0inU7aa59wowlJr3eGl0aUXpTRRNzVrNRN27VB4_Ljz8RX8GSWAsVffFkox13puUnqmiYwPBa0MCSQsLmrnuCYpsPUM715STFgZV2Jn3Bum1HW4auxBdxyuQrhW16uJbAurC82SgxhhVE/s320/allaboutevil-2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The diva-directress (now pronouncing her name De Bor'a) finds she can't do all this on her own however, so she and the projectionist (Jack Donner) round up the twisted twins, Vera and Veva (Jade and Nikita Ramsey)...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eUI_Begd-gkg5Gl_k4kz9W8CooV8cceg-4ZtrcniXFyvGfTXN6ZPvEmASGRK02THiY_1suO1pfx-oS74zDB-w1N8jHSYH62G62F4Y32pNm1q-Y5b7rPSyQPmhFjSMjUOycN53qxXT9a/s1600/allaboutevil-3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513672227417369842" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eUI_Begd-gkg5Gl_k4kz9W8CooV8cceg-4ZtrcniXFyvGfTXN6ZPvEmASGRK02THiY_1suO1pfx-oS74zDB-w1N8jHSYH62G62F4Y32pNm1q-Y5b7rPSyQPmhFjSMjUOycN53qxXT9a/s320/allaboutevil-3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...and a murderous young drifter (played by Noah Seegan, who you've probably last seen in <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dead Girl</span>)...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XmU7RDAaH9EkbAE70yflPG3nODLNnK2gpTH4-GMar_d48BRXf-sMZLU9MRtvRNyftTfdqAxLOK2mjshGOU9mpNcLLsaFKFi9RQK-fmDx2RIlCBHOx1qkFseHu_ro2aJNYiA8zDVfHn1W/s1600/allaboutevil-usher.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513672450976998562" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 214px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XmU7RDAaH9EkbAE70yflPG3nODLNnK2gpTH4-GMar_d48BRXf-sMZLU9MRtvRNyftTfdqAxLOK2mjshGOU9mpNcLLsaFKFi9RQK-fmDx2RIlCBHOx1qkFseHu_ro2aJNYiA8zDVfHn1W/s320/allaboutevil-usher.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...to round up these victims a bit more efficiently. The shorts this little team produce really are brilliant, and with names like <span style="font-style: italic;">Gore and Peace</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Tale of Two Titties</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Diary of Ann Frankenstein</span> I'm sure that will come as no surprise.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a_vxPyVFGghqplfRQ0gMXy1c2Ynw7xefsW-1OgGMGgtYFbSnK6i_0S0ZvXu7kcqMZczCSXFxf6BIr9JeUiJggt_7oH3A84jhweLAbttl5cdw9Q32QoCZh8vP-rxS0Qe2DSfbkQ45ig1o/s1600/allaboutevil-annefrankenstein-VICTORIA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513673198856444610" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 207px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a_vxPyVFGghqplfRQ0gMXy1c2Ynw7xefsW-1OgGMGgtYFbSnK6i_0S0ZvXu7kcqMZczCSXFxf6BIr9JeUiJggt_7oH3A84jhweLAbttl5cdw9Q32QoCZh8vP-rxS0Qe2DSfbkQ45ig1o/s320/allaboutevil-annefrankenstein-VICTORIA.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Seriously.<br /></span></div><br />Their first team production takes them to the library Deborah had worked at earlier, to have a go at the librarian, Evelyn (Mink Stole), to create a very persuasive video about keeping quiet during movies. I'm not going to give away what exactly they do to her, but Mink Stole's version of the <strong>All About Evil</strong> poster gives a little bit of a hint...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQcoBxmIlfPRhlPDMTKm2yMhaIm78DI_-BoKSRbaQEbD8-vTiPcxENOXP02SR_E70n1Bq-bVYpeu6eAnYaHwX4nfCGWWZgZEMseFWJKRm3_lKc8_nkjHEFK7Bd5FXVrLju5ZAWeQdZdlw/s1600/allaboutevil-mink_stole_poster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513688413085006034" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 211px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQcoBxmIlfPRhlPDMTKm2yMhaIm78DI_-BoKSRbaQEbD8-vTiPcxENOXP02SR_E70n1Bq-bVYpeu6eAnYaHwX4nfCGWWZgZEMseFWJKRm3_lKc8_nkjHEFK7Bd5FXVrLju5ZAWeQdZdlw/s320/allaboutevil-mink_stole_poster.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Things eventually hit a snag for Deborah when her biggest fan, Steven (Thomas Dekker, from the Terminator TV series and the Nightmare on Elm Street remake), starts noticing that all the young folks appearing in her films happen to overlap with the growing number of students going missing from school. Steven doesn't have an easy time looking into this though, as he's constantly interrupted at school by the faculty who are convinced that his horror-interests mean that he's going to "Columbine" the place at any second... And things don't go too much smoother at home where he's got his concerned mother (Cassandra Peterson) to deal with.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECt4tChE-DO4qsW5iu6dOhbXVofodeQhfm9yWGk2Z48o3eRNwNvQ6wnL9xGcjmY-lJXoB3LOoHWzTPUgwsbfWF_NCBGbKGTv0kxy5CbLwUix_do8zwAy41QA1Et9HLthT-VcejwpqNraU/s1600/allaboutevil-cassandramom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513675643043596258" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 275px; cursor: pointer; height: 183px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECt4tChE-DO4qsW5iu6dOhbXVofodeQhfm9yWGk2Z48o3eRNwNvQ6wnL9xGcjmY-lJXoB3LOoHWzTPUgwsbfWF_NCBGbKGTv0kxy5CbLwUix_do8zwAy41QA1Et9HLthT-VcejwpqNraU/s320/allaboutevil-cassandramom.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Freud would have a field-day with this kid.<br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://i53.tinypic.com/2zzmbt5.jpg">This</a> </span>is what's on his wall just to the right of the frame there.</span><br /></div><br />The murder-movies get bigger and better until they culminate in the biggest show at the theater, which pretty much involves the whole town. I won't spoil any details regarding the climactic ending, but it manages to be even more over-the-top than the rest of the movie thus far.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qvlloncO6_AUaaPH7bjHf7WNFfZvpFPGNHMeW5A5X8iM1KVaDKM1WCEGFuLXWTBDRRXgwWiTrgCXbQ0D35P1u8Q-SFF29z9iWfOfOGL6nanlSC_QsCWgp92pZqf5Noapb6gLlF6bzhPE/s1600/allaboutevil-8.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513677665886442226" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qvlloncO6_AUaaPH7bjHf7WNFfZvpFPGNHMeW5A5X8iM1KVaDKM1WCEGFuLXWTBDRRXgwWiTrgCXbQ0D35P1u8Q-SFF29z9iWfOfOGL6nanlSC_QsCWgp92pZqf5Noapb6gLlF6bzhPE/s320/allaboutevil-8.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Since the Victoria is in San Francisco, "the whole town" includes Peaches Christ herself in one of her several cameos.</span><br /></div><br />Low-budget, independent horror movies are often either so horribly acted as to become unwatchable, or so financially restricted that their silly effects prevent the movie from being taken seriously... but <span style="font-weight: bold;">All About Evil</span> suffers from none of that. The production values really shine throughout, and with such a surprisingly strong cast, there's never any bad line-reads that take you out of the scene or anything of that sort.<br /><br />Long-time Elvira fans may find themselves pleasantly surprised and impressed by Cassandra's Peterson's ability to change tones and actually play a "straight" character role for a change, but she makes the transition look easy. Vera and Veva, the evil twins, were even more surprising. They're genuinely creepy throughout, in a sort of slasher-Wednesday Addams way, but all their other work seems to be stuff like this:<br /><div align=center><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="300" height="255" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7YbmYg2qVOY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><br />Those "Brit twins" were not exactly an obvious choice for this sort of role by any means, but the result speaks for itself.<br /><br />Ultimately, what I think I was most impressed with was the tasteful handling of wink/nod distribution concerning all the little genre references sprinkled throughout.<br /><br />The logo's font is a derivative of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Evil Dead</span> font for example...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnz1yXh32vjvr6biBlDIFt-dTJcFBY-mqgc8lLX8SWmXRwJxY1VX1W2HoYMs943folt9nxbg_iC9dwJdlPPuzLPjfqQZQmgOmpwUsuND_La7p_einF0DOreioDeBlsOw928_9EuzcamR2/s1600/allaboutevil-logo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513685654909359698" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 170px; cursor: pointer; height: 121px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnz1yXh32vjvr6biBlDIFt-dTJcFBY-mqgc8lLX8SWmXRwJxY1VX1W2HoYMs943folt9nxbg_iC9dwJdlPPuzLPjfqQZQmgOmpwUsuND_La7p_einF0DOreioDeBlsOw928_9EuzcamR2/s320/allaboutevil-logo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />While not everything is quite as subtle as all that, you get the idea. Considering that such subtlety usually seems out of reach to horror-comedies (and, come to think of it, drag queens too for that matter...) this reserved sort of homage-handling was one of the most surprising and appreciated aspects for me.<br /><br />As I recall, there was only one small technical detail that bothered me with this movie. There were a couple of times (one of which I remember was in the very beginning when Deborah's mother comes by) when the hand-held camera shot was uncomfortably wobbly to me. That only happens about two or three times as I recall, but it just always bothers me when tiny things like that pull my attention away from a story that I'm really enjoying otherwise.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I don't think enough good things can be said about Joshua Grannell's first attempt at direction here. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I left this thinking that it's pretty much exactly the sort of thing that any genre-respecting filmmaker trying for a horror-comedy should aim for, and that's certainly not a bad standard to set with your first try at making a film.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />I can't wait to hear more about Grannell's possible upcoming new project that may be in the works. In the meantime, if the <strong>All About Evil</strong> spooktacular extravaganza comes through your area, be sure not to miss out. Tour information can be found at the film's website, <a href="http://www.allaboutevilthemovie.com/tour.html">AllAboutEvilTheMovie.com</a>.<br /><br /></span>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-57558286007036692112010-09-02T22:34:00.000-07:002010-09-14T01:02:14.930-07:00Search Engine Craziness: Freezer Section<div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >it was a bad idea to cool off in walk in freezer </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />and almost immediately after that:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">surviving temp in walk in freezer</span><br /><br /></span></span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Well this doesn't look good...<br />I just hope I gave the guy a few giggles before he turned into a stalagmite.<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-85728625850246721852010-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:002010-09-13T23:45:30.079-07:00Queen of Outer Space<div style="text-align: center;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></u></div><a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIBKEMRyWBEZbMNHDYkB2rboKQXuhMm5MKnGQimnKMA4Vw4xTSZpr0UTnUTRlK7P_j_0F5cWgrwxK4LqWJCC8htI7YevQrsT5E35ai3FPgV7fvh_2VYjHlye5TeZJWVYmVQEiuccmFhuO/s1600/queenofouterspace-cover.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIBKEMRyWBEZbMNHDYkB2rboKQXuhMm5MKnGQimnKMA4Vw4xTSZpr0UTnUTRlK7P_j_0F5cWgrwxK4LqWJCC8htI7YevQrsT5E35ai3FPgV7fvh_2VYjHlye5TeZJWVYmVQEiuccmFhuO/s320/queenofouterspace-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511611395696981362" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Queen of Outer Space is a campy sci-fi film about a spaceship crew that, while on a routine trip out to a space station, gets thoroughly lasered and crash-lands on Venus.<br /><br />As it turns out, Venus is inhabited solely by women, whose queen, Yllana (Laurie Mitchell), had destroyed the space station with a death ray and now wants to destroy the planet earth before its inhabitants destroy Venus.<br /><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQtiGzzQl1jNolUHXk6z9SCQoOemMi2H0grRTHMgJrlfjUuecXUKmv6ccmAivmaxVxddADuJzDWZjVK6b-DU2QlLBB3DXAUSN5oCke4_FtS5EixL98Y0jSLDLd15HVIiPxBKjxnPzYhBr/s1600/queenofouterspace-deathray2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQtiGzzQl1jNolUHXk6z9SCQoOemMi2H0grRTHMgJrlfjUuecXUKmv6ccmAivmaxVxddADuJzDWZjVK6b-DU2QlLBB3DXAUSN5oCke4_FtS5EixL98Y0jSLDLd15HVIiPxBKjxnPzYhBr/s320/queenofouterspace-deathray2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512364873149250690" border="0" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"But how could a WOMAN be smart enough to create such a powerful weapon?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><br />Queen Yllana's opinion of the earth-men is colored by the fact that her face was disfigured by radiation during an earlier war waged against men from another planet.<br /><br />I</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'d guess that she also has a little bit of pent up anger from a lifetime of being named Yllana...<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:16px;" ><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YfFdJRts1LUOJYfcMFN-R03Xf8PUT5mwlTB_j5DbILIY8eqKIwKKAD4Qh9brJ1_L-GIoQPZumJ_LTXuIZgApBvzALnhIk2L4AMWnXBeCZVd0xx-ynWJKCl6RH-aIDJ4x1jGEcV9khq7S/s1600/queenofouterspace-goatseface.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YfFdJRts1LUOJYfcMFN-R03Xf8PUT5mwlTB_j5DbILIY8eqKIwKKAD4Qh9brJ1_L-GIoQPZumJ_LTXuIZgApBvzALnhIk2L4AMWnXBeCZVd0xx-ynWJKCl6RH-aIDJ4x1jGEcV9khq7S/s320/queenofouterspace-goatseface.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512388895671698290" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 184px;" border="0" /></a></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Psst... that's "Anally" spelled backwards.</span></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As it turns out, Yllana's beliefs aren't shared by all the Venutian "Glamazons." In particular, someone in her royal court, Talleah (Zsa Zsa Gabor), actually leads a secret resistance force that quickly decides to help the captured earthmen escape. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZJC2x9SIymF13wfsuF62XUySZYSLMb7xE_6JBBRIHjpCUsKW22nQQVf11ISECkXiMfj8-DrsEjFPMuAXZWso9tJWXA2bWOXeMwC4-ddK9BujwwYQa0qJHGLGwtbXQkFqGDTf0tU5ADCx/s1600/queenofouterspace-zsazsabettyCROP.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZJC2x9SIymF13wfsuF62XUySZYSLMb7xE_6JBBRIHjpCUsKW22nQQVf11ISECkXiMfj8-DrsEjFPMuAXZWso9tJWXA2bWOXeMwC4-ddK9BujwwYQa0qJHGLGwtbXQkFqGDTf0tU5ADCx/s320/queenofouterspace-zsazsabettyCROP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512368944048640338" border="0" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"I HATE HER! I HATE ZAT QUEEN!"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;" ><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Because it's the 50's, the men quickly take charge of the revolt force by virtue of their overwhelming charisma and the resistance force is no longer much use for anything but swooning.<br /></span></span></div></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br />Of course, eventually everything culminates in a giant catfight... and those silly dames get easily overwhelmed by the side that includes men. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3deV_owqMec3Rbq8QLDIdTAfeX6NxncBwixQNQFDR3Z_KmW0FCiQ4b2QZ5fyn-NdwTguI2wiBD0MbHF0PteyT7VMRRRAGQLBxPtj7vLSTRDiy5cJeOT2Lleho6umFDIZSnzNjxmdVcqV/s1600/queenofouterspace-catfight.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3deV_owqMec3Rbq8QLDIdTAfeX6NxncBwixQNQFDR3Z_KmW0FCiQ4b2QZ5fyn-NdwTguI2wiBD0MbHF0PteyT7VMRRRAGQLBxPtj7vLSTRDiy5cJeOT2Lleho6umFDIZSnzNjxmdVcqV/s320/queenofouterspace-catfight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512349732613292690" border="0" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The queen is easily dethroned and the men get their opportunity to communicate back to earth to schedule a rescue mission to pick them up... in one year so they'll have plenty of time to do a little repopulating with the locals.<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed0Lpa2p4kWEnBFCKLMhaTWJOOaE8L4-V732W1OuWvU17fV8FKzqAb7uI1Xok5eVN7OYT1bls6n95-Mr_NI7BXOe9Ug-GIYX5edm9_00Kp92ALqMRL9t0tQl3PVmvlJboSxvc0q6Qtx1I/s1600/queenofouterspace-awholeyear.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed0Lpa2p4kWEnBFCKLMhaTWJOOaE8L4-V732W1OuWvU17fV8FKzqAb7uI1Xok5eVN7OYT1bls6n95-Mr_NI7BXOe9Ug-GIYX5edm9_00Kp92ALqMRL9t0tQl3PVmvlJboSxvc0q6Qtx1I/s320/queenofouterspace-awholeyear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512376481038438162" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The men reluctantly accept their duty.<br /></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It probably won't surprise you to learn that the first third of this movie was actually shot in only one day. The movie gives us a few intro shots of the space-crew to introduce their personalities and let us see the interior of their ship (which looks strangely like the ship-interior set in </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">World Without End</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> ... which is also where the men's uniforms were last seen).<br /><br />Right away the men blast off and we're shown stock footage of an actual rocket launch of a completely different looking rocket. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:16px;" ><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcBkMpNRVQusnRepjsWCKnRCFXcdE1uEIWSeBa5c12LxtL9RLeOKPRbsIJBGVmXMrrGlYGprKnblQ-2QdzDVKx2kVbWh9uyHxoE6O32Rb4IGqvjiN-th7P9kkGHUfWixiNQ0ZBj7zDuNk/s1600/queenofouterspace-stockrocket.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcBkMpNRVQusnRepjsWCKnRCFXcdE1uEIWSeBa5c12LxtL9RLeOKPRbsIJBGVmXMrrGlYGprKnblQ-2QdzDVKx2kVbWh9uyHxoE6O32Rb4IGqvjiN-th7P9kkGHUfWixiNQ0ZBj7zDuNk/s320/queenofouterspace-stockrocket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512385532439669154" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 252px;" border="0" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Moments later, we're given a shot of their transforming ship flying through space... Only now it's actually the spaceship model from </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Flight to Mars</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCazjwhsSEKtTa7Svs13bZsjFM8jTdVqL4onOpGGUIVpdytpzOa_p9x5q_yz5BM3I_q5WNmPPM7QCxroH_1eAhXE1X_tpU_qoMUrXfecy7FNk5_Z_izJjRj_Xmciti3K8C7RRDWoh0cUI/s1600/queenofouterspace-flighttomarsship.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCazjwhsSEKtTa7Svs13bZsjFM8jTdVqL4onOpGGUIVpdytpzOa_p9x5q_yz5BM3I_q5WNmPPM7QCxroH_1eAhXE1X_tpU_qoMUrXfecy7FNk5_Z_izJjRj_Xmciti3K8C7RRDWoh0cUI/s320/queenofouterspace-flighttomarsship.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512345203618411618" border="0" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">While I'm on the subject of borrowed props, the little rayguns the Glamazons use are lifted out of </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Forbidden Planet</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70QAiW87QRb6zaYMZuwg-GpKqH220RElzXnJCroC6wLKk1Bm53KVRKi9myZM427uecyPPj4vZI8gjJaBxjy_uhiG14l4Wa2SwLTZmtuffsB-LSvVsYzccjaanj8xD8RoPCGD4GzsgdnAt/s1600/queenofouterspace-raygun.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70QAiW87QRb6zaYMZuwg-GpKqH220RElzXnJCroC6wLKk1Bm53KVRKi9myZM427uecyPPj4vZI8gjJaBxjy_uhiG14l4Wa2SwLTZmtuffsB-LSvVsYzccjaanj8xD8RoPCGD4GzsgdnAt/s320/queenofouterspace-raygun.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512370606894729186" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Anyway, my point is that the movie wastes no time at all getting to the point, even if that requires taking a few shortcuts. A lot of old movies are paced so slowly that they can be hard to watch today... but not this one. Within five minutes or so we're already on Venus with the Glamazons and things are actually happening. The movie keeps a nice novelty-to-pacing balance, doesn't go on for longer than it needs to, and makes a real effort to keep itself entertaining throughout.<br /><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmR8sur7Up4TnCSDgbMs31Z5Xywt80ECQ9rcnS2SyNZSUvQIk3PoEYjYUJNEeMXUn6Mqjfqjwiwi7LYjuiwO3oy7gRvtDtkak9nGE1tBmiT9gFkcWrf00rr8AvgMw1S8thTUBLfLo4Cbi/s1600/queenofouterspace-bug.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmR8sur7Up4TnCSDgbMs31Z5Xywt80ECQ9rcnS2SyNZSUvQIk3PoEYjYUJNEeMXUn6Mqjfqjwiwi7LYjuiwO3oy7gRvtDtkak9nGE1tBmiT9gFkcWrf00rr8AvgMw1S8thTUBLfLo4Cbi/s320/queenofouterspace-bug.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512380351349399298" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Actually, it might have tried a little too hard to keep things interesting...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"There's been nothing but calm dialog against a boring backdrop for the last 60 seconds!<br />Quick, throw the giant paper-mâché bug into the scene!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAn0HrtVkhFCAt5mcOwsA5JCifHIUHaKargjhrxrJLiXXhqq0JlpawBA7pSfTM02zJwAsE08MCjIgC_FQrJ7e2tHNSZj33QWrKwh98Wl82qwtMdhnLme2wZ9myLg03Za-i1_18w5nzXHl/s1600/queenofouterspace-WorldWithoutEnd1956.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAn0HrtVkhFCAt5mcOwsA5JCifHIUHaKargjhrxrJLiXXhqq0JlpawBA7pSfTM02zJwAsE08MCjIgC_FQrJ7e2tHNSZj33QWrKwh98Wl82qwtMdhnLme2wZ9myLg03Za-i1_18w5nzXHl/s320/queenofouterspace-WorldWithoutEnd1956.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512380839920459858" border="0" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"Yeah, the one we found in the prop box we got those uniforms out of."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Queen of Outer Space has a reputation for being among the cheesiest, campiest relics of 50's sci-fi, and for good reason. While the cardboard sets and misogyny don't hold up, the entertainment value definitely does. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Available on </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OHZJNW?ie=UTF8&tag=reelbnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000OHZJNW"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);">Amazon</span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></div></span></span></div></span></span></span></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-37635691293869953552010-08-18T23:49:00.000-07:002018-08-14T20:31:02.292-07:00Birdemic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEild9qkGV221-ligxoo3glf4aTz8SX1ydCw-j9-LqldrwiLxSSfELNuQwNplfLgvY6tkbDfaDmTsFwjARDv6Zk3DQlyJ6UpvrijrKbTm9F1manmH_NjdhyphenhyphenqHD4BXOf_Qzn0ujeajXpYPetU/s1600/birdemic-cover.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453203963280750082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEild9qkGV221-ligxoo3glf4aTz8SX1ydCw-j9-LqldrwiLxSSfELNuQwNplfLgvY6tkbDfaDmTsFwjARDv6Zk3DQlyJ6UpvrijrKbTm9F1manmH_NjdhyphenhyphenqHD4BXOf_Qzn0ujeajXpYPetU/s320/birdemic-cover.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 175px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 119px;" /></a>I first watched Birdemic around last April and since then, I'd somehow nearly forgotten about it... that is until today when I pulled onto the interstate, passed a crow pecking around some sort of furry roadsplatter, and thought to myself, "screeaaww-(explode.gif)."<br />
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That's all it took for me to develop a renewed urge to sit down with the missus, dim the lights, and have another go at this thing... and as soon as I got home, that's exactly what I did.<br />
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On my original viewing, I was a bit surprised to find that at about the 45 minute mark, I'd still not seen the birds I'd come to giggle at. For anyone who's seen the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrw2FQ7mLyQ">teaser trailer</a> (which makes you stare at boring cityscapes with nothing happening in them for 3/4 of the running-time), get ready for more of the same.</div>
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Anyway, our first five minutes are spent with Rod (Alan Bagh) and the opening credits, driving around a winding road and watching from the point of view of a shaky handycam that's apparently riding shotgun. During this, we're treated to an audio track that's about 30 seconds long... repeated over and over. It goes without saying that this is very boring... although it was pretty funny that this is the scene where they give the credits for editing and cinematography.</div>
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When we finally get out of the car, we find ourselves at a restaurant where Rod has stopped for breakfast. He talks to the waitress a bit and when we see him again we find that he's ordered a coffee, bottled water, and orange juice for breakfast. That doesn't seem like much of a breakfast to me, and Rod seems to agree because he doesn't bother paying. When he gets ready to leave, he just does.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAJaX8T3fzPsclmoukgNaGYJsFavAEfiH9yMAaO_daJaHneYYcKkWTG_3Xrh82SkrY-U4COcKTPpGMdd2quICXRH2yQnfNZ_LCt8LUWkajorPqhEUgn9b_ErguKaiKq_B4VBpBYy8b-P_/s1600/birdemic-transaction.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511375428786011554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAJaX8T3fzPsclmoukgNaGYJsFavAEfiH9yMAaO_daJaHneYYcKkWTG_3Xrh82SkrY-U4COcKTPpGMdd2quICXRH2yQnfNZ_LCt8LUWkajorPqhEUgn9b_ErguKaiKq_B4VBpBYy8b-P_/s320/birdemic-transaction.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 78%;">Transaction Complete.</span></span></div>
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This first restaurant scene also gets to be our introduction to the horrible sound-quality and editing in Birdemic. Sometimes, when there isn't any dialog in a scene, it seems that no one bothered recording any background audio whatsoever, either that or they just exclusively used the microphone on the camera giving us nothing at all for the long shots. Early on we can tell something is amiss when Rod walks up to the restaurant. As he comes down the sidewalk there are a few moments where everything goes nearly silent. Luckily for us, the expert foley-artist ingeniously added sounds of walking through loud crunching leaves to alleviate the awkwardness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGGpsdzhQE5wcZOQafL79NxsXAEYo7xlhbSpc0p_7DzOKoYa7Yh8dWMrhGvOYxlgX0Dexmr5CVVmvUFE-u6iJ-E1o57uZYtJ9inBTuXjnKqx18gN_hAkPld5fqFJYtKlVgXEIBerqLpBc/s1600/birdemic-forest.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505473546129510418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGGpsdzhQE5wcZOQafL79NxsXAEYo7xlhbSpc0p_7DzOKoYa7Yh8dWMrhGvOYxlgX0Dexmr5CVVmvUFE-u6iJ-E1o57uZYtJ9inBTuXjnKqx18gN_hAkPld5fqFJYtKlVgXEIBerqLpBc/s320/birdemic-forest.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 236px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 78%;">Pictured: A forest</span></div>
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Once inside the place we're shown just how bad things can get when we're treated to what I think is probably one of the worst executed scenes of the movie. As Rod talks to the hostess/waitress there are several rapid, jarring cuts between the two. I don't think anyone bothered to light the waitress, so the lighting is very different between the two rapidly switching vantage points, and the sound is even worse. It seems no one bothered trying for any sort of ambient noise recording, so no there's no attempt made at any sort of audio continuity through these cuts. It's pretty much about as uncomfortable to watch as you could possibly make a 10 second conversation between two people.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwZmiw-eEq_tl9idxlNTeCroDvfwkS89iSB5oMImI4EJQZAk2YvZ2AqwK-86wqBX1tQVX-eK-zR81yPCvNG1C-KL9Nii7q9v5Rg2W0HuZIKxdVNz89H4GC6_jStnbjR5bYmZYBkrO7mDC/s1600/birdemic-waitress.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511376804574394546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwZmiw-eEq_tl9idxlNTeCroDvfwkS89iSB5oMImI4EJQZAk2YvZ2AqwK-86wqBX1tQVX-eK-zR81yPCvNG1C-KL9Nii7q9v5Rg2W0HuZIKxdVNz89H4GC6_jStnbjR5bYmZYBkrO7mDC/s320/birdemic-waitress.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;">Pictured: Agony</span></div>
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Then again, sometimes when there is a long scene with dialog close to the camera, the environmental sounds are so loud in parts that you can't even hear what's being said... so you just have to take what you can get here.</div>
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At some point while enjoying his three beverages, Rod notices Natalie (Whitney Moore), decides to stalk her awkwardly, and spends the next 5 minutes of the movie doing so in a way that would've gotten him pepper-sprayed in the real world, but gets him a date in bizarro-The Birds-world.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br />
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In addition to the awkward banter and strange courtship of Natalie, the first half of the film also spends a while showing us Rod and Natalie's jobs. Rod is a software salesman (more on that later) and Natalie is a fashion model. As soon as we're shown what their careers are, both of them are suddenly and inexplicably incredibly successful. Rod is essentially a telemarketer selling software in one scene, and a board member learning that he's got millions of dollars coming his way as a result of stock-options when the company he works for is bought for ONE BILLION DOLLARS.</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcSq3W6JAmCCRUh-zx_e9g9NUnWP_G47ua3zefC_FHgnuxySIHuAAFSQCYxIqN9fRYDpY7neZTOfH14rrkKnDGrfG9tj7mXLTec0Epr1ZPGXLJQ7GGxh9Sxy3ygcNIPYZVwLHq23oyGnm/s1600/birdemic-BILLION.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511381077006780466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcSq3W6JAmCCRUh-zx_e9g9NUnWP_G47ua3zefC_FHgnuxySIHuAAFSQCYxIqN9fRYDpY7neZTOfH14rrkKnDGrfG9tj7mXLTec0Epr1ZPGXLJQ7GGxh9Sxy3ygcNIPYZVwLHq23oyGnm/s320/birdemic-BILLION.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 252px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;">"BILLION!"</span></div>
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<div>
Natalie advances just as quickly. The first modeling gig we see her doing is at a one-hour photo shop...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYtZG8tVdqFSEZrjkdMklsShtawo-INPXS4_ERsyGU9RIIrU0k8kwdlfrRCe7hlTmQI7QjqnLrqlWQ0mIrXJyJNM79EVgOQ5ns7EpdthumGaJ2Txvmx5KBNru1XlPz8t8D2GU73JZATcL/s1600/birdemic-photostudio.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511378500511388258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYtZG8tVdqFSEZrjkdMklsShtawo-INPXS4_ERsyGU9RIIrU0k8kwdlfrRCe7hlTmQI7QjqnLrqlWQ0mIrXJyJNM79EVgOQ5ns7EpdthumGaJ2Txvmx5KBNru1XlPz8t8D2GU73JZATcL/s320/birdemic-photostudio.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
I'm not sure if this means that some local weird small-business owner hires models to let him take pictures of them while he's at work, or maybe James Nguyen just didn't realize that those photo-shops actually only develop film, but whatever... that's just where Natalie's modeling career is right now. As it turns out though, Natalie's modeling agency actually gets a call from Victoria's Secret while she's on her way to her 1-hour photo gig, so she's off to the big leagues as well.</div>
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<div>
Rod, who's somehow managed to become a millionaire during the day before their date, finally takes Natalie out on a date that's so awkward it looks like something was guest-directed by Tim & Eric. No wonder those guys have endorsed this film so much...</div>
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At one point during this date we're teased with a far-off glimpse of some parrot.gif birds while they're walking outside, but that's all we get for the first date.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Zn7wA1WBdn37CdH2vECjfDlbHdqeHcLKPdf9TqOUixXWqx4rjfKu5VaZ09SfOBkSR3kHwV4o9PBLunSZNovaNBK6kki6yx_ufPmj4OlDoRgYMMITam2lP-k2kK-oCPf3km_LDzqm4du9/s1600/birdemic-earlybirds.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511379085625000882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Zn7wA1WBdn37CdH2vECjfDlbHdqeHcLKPdf9TqOUixXWqx4rjfKu5VaZ09SfOBkSR3kHwV4o9PBLunSZNovaNBK6kki6yx_ufPmj4OlDoRgYMMITam2lP-k2kK-oCPf3km_LDzqm4du9/s320/birdemic-earlybirds.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;">Such a tease</span></div>
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The next day, Natalie has an awkward conversation with her mother (that is very reminiscent of the mother-conversations in The Room) where she lets her know about her new job and her new Rod. I only mention this because in this scene, the mother offers Natalie some of her home-cooking, which is just a deli-tray someone swiped from craft services before the shoot.</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcRMtNfqvfZHMjzRd-WLDDUN9xEXCIFL7SbBNtD3YH-NgBAqZWd5gGIvJX1pu88a2_iVEes9VHlPpzMQSVHvmW6tWf9Uj41sfXzQm15-Kj0kbAOnc2OBu-aS0RWBKtvu80N94kAPv3e62/s1600/birdemic-craftservices.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511379952506826274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcRMtNfqvfZHMjzRd-WLDDUN9xEXCIFL7SbBNtD3YH-NgBAqZWd5gGIvJX1pu88a2_iVEes9VHlPpzMQSVHvmW6tWf9Uj41sfXzQm15-Kj0kbAOnc2OBu-aS0RWBKtvu80N94kAPv3e62/s320/birdemic-craftservices.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
Somehow, Rod talks Natalie into a second date and it's here that we find that, while Natalie doesn't kiss on the first date, she's wastes no time on the second.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyQEFyeLn6LcG-lJlUkx0horNYi27Cw8E1JYeVxndMZ-dbznT312SJS8z9uHXys_fJxIWwfyb_-KOzR64VKS9mj0__4EXhcNiul73gLiy8n32P2WAwqEJAogdXFoWNrD8KKHr_QIa6Bko/s1600/birdemic-sexbirds.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511388213402914498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyQEFyeLn6LcG-lJlUkx0horNYi27Cw8E1JYeVxndMZ-dbznT312SJS8z9uHXys_fJxIWwfyb_-KOzR64VKS9mj0__4EXhcNiul73gLiy8n32P2WAwqEJAogdXFoWNrD8KKHr_QIa6Bko/s320/birdemic-sexbirds.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 230px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;">AAAAHHHHH BIRDS!!! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 78%;">Sorry, false alarm again.</span>..<span style="font-size: 78%;"> Back to the almost-naked footsy session.</span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_o5xxuuoJ4QdKy_2Lufvk_S-AHGvwHOzzwbT6hmN1aL7irtPQZzaDpwOlMYTNsu0otzMbm_rVRiM3oBUD2dorCUI4g1xwkwLPC62BRBS9aPmLyVf9lVltd-0JuZHCUiY026TZug7YcRu/s1600/birdemic-footsy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511389704939009426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_o5xxuuoJ4QdKy_2Lufvk_S-AHGvwHOzzwbT6hmN1aL7irtPQZzaDpwOlMYTNsu0otzMbm_rVRiM3oBUD2dorCUI4g1xwkwLPC62BRBS9aPmLyVf9lVltd-0JuZHCUiY026TZug7YcRu/s320/birdemic-footsy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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<div>
The scene fades to black, our protagonists fall asleep, and we get to enjoy the camera-guy using up the rest of his film roll.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKPWssqgaKtzji0E80EERD3P3zas0AsVBMbpOzXZ8JDucA6vq7SCTu2ezYzTrvxLFJomc1VDRX66hGf4-1uOe49nIukVQKfre476mp7BYZunpGDXckzPSbDNOxp0O-MS76dlgsh8GwrLe/s1600/birdemic-b-roll.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511404915371271650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKPWssqgaKtzji0E80EERD3P3zas0AsVBMbpOzXZ8JDucA6vq7SCTu2ezYzTrvxLFJomc1VDRX66hGf4-1uOe49nIukVQKfre476mp7BYZunpGDXckzPSbDNOxp0O-MS76dlgsh8GwrLe/s320/birdemic-b-roll.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 29px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;">Pictured: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.</span></div>
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Suddenly, the sun rises on a new day and we find that Rod, Natalie, and ourselves have quite suddenly awakened into the movie we actually came to see.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nlayvy6NVZgaR4iI0uHO0_pA-ztXoysL34_VTCmx_venNDfagn_5QlKzqfR1QKggeAevfP5F-SXM1nyN61__3Wya-o6lYSEECy7sV6CKphCQfFNf2Cb54tQOwGXzSCa1tFmIBi-FupWZ/s1600/birdemic-abouttime.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511406076859292514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nlayvy6NVZgaR4iI0uHO0_pA-ztXoysL34_VTCmx_venNDfagn_5QlKzqfR1QKggeAevfP5F-SXM1nyN61__3Wya-o6lYSEECy7sV6CKphCQfFNf2Cb54tQOwGXzSCa1tFmIBi-FupWZ/s320/birdemic-abouttime.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;">Now that's more like it.</span></div>
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Unfortunately for Rod and Natalie, it didn't take these low frame-rate monstrosities long at all to hone in on the smell of fresh toe-sweat at the local motel.<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CTs8sXMMyDEOGucpRXhk2nGfo3tUQQ6WoZUiLXVOsAsf2B1RqyDB609AK_G8tZVE2U7TYoqE-WqCUrXSRZa1QNphGO6JhivTELG2jEsmygbP0800LecWgT2t-2CvpVXHgfq4jaoPAgRz/s1600/birdemic-hotelbirds.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511407178407362834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CTs8sXMMyDEOGucpRXhk2nGfo3tUQQ6WoZUiLXVOsAsf2B1RqyDB609AK_G8tZVE2U7TYoqE-WqCUrXSRZa1QNphGO6JhivTELG2jEsmygbP0800LecWgT2t-2CvpVXHgfq4jaoPAgRz/s320/birdemic-hotelbirds.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
They meet up with a couple of disposable characters who have a van and a great strategy to get out to it that involves swinging blindly at the air with clothes hangers... for nearly a minute of screen time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4C6ibx0EfQz305ZsCguEa1dLu0GWKIfspP0plUbdROOcsxOtyHuprq712Y3rIEoBU9r9K3xgXdExqd9pjzQdk29_NE3NWqQewgHKHhF0f8JglC7jPsh_6X4EunAQG-2OIb9-5Vl7lxbF/s1600/birdemic-swinging.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511415331897196834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4C6ibx0EfQz305ZsCguEa1dLu0GWKIfspP0plUbdROOcsxOtyHuprq712Y3rIEoBU9r9K3xgXdExqd9pjzQdk29_NE3NWqQewgHKHhF0f8JglC7jPsh_6X4EunAQG-2OIb9-5Vl7lxbF/s320/birdemic-swinging.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 183px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;">Brilliant.</span></div>
<br />
Somehow this works and they make their getaway... then they stop and fight birds again, with equal strangeness, and sometimes with automatic weapons. Strangely, instead of trying to get away they seem to stop every chance they get. Early on they see a few people stranded in a double-decker bus and decide to "save" them by bringing them outside. This is where we find out that the birds can shoot yellow acid when the mood strikes them...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKgWhXhw42Q31_E7-RVW0lEHPF2Udvi8nD0vuaqxO8s_Cj_gorj4uHJMo8ufh0HHp0naoDrcsgQg7iweuBv-t77mGIdhVqBPPGqsscGi2CI3NgXo2xpdElR1Sm20y__1RTxWIOqXPyh-W/s1600/birdemic-busattack2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512888183683659202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKgWhXhw42Q31_E7-RVW0lEHPF2Udvi8nD0vuaqxO8s_Cj_gorj4uHJMo8ufh0HHp0naoDrcsgQg7iweuBv-t77mGIdhVqBPPGqsscGi2CI3NgXo2xpdElR1Sm20y__1RTxWIOqXPyh-W/s320/birdemic-busattack2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 283px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;">The mood striking</span></div>
<br />
They drive, then stop and shoot at birds, then drive some more... over and over. <br />
<br />
Things meander aimlessly like that and then, when it's time for the movie to be over, the birds just leave. Rod and Natalie see the light, reminding us once more about the heavy-handed message the movie has been giving us since the beginning: global warming is behind all of this.<br />
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Strangely enough, and contrary to my expectations, the birds are not the most interesting, or funniest thing about Birdemic. The rest of it is much harder to describe, but many entertainingly novel ways in which it fails are mostly paced pretty well in a <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Room</span> sort of way. It turns out to not only be watchable, but actually really entertaining.<br />
<br />
The actual story about the birds is pretty minimal: global warming causes birds of prey to attack, and sometimes to explode (In the Birdemic universe, vultures count as birds of prey, apparently). They seem to have trouble really taking that idea anywhere, which makes you really wonder about what exactly is going to happen that's worth making a sequel about...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1674047/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505485763000798178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfORYRu_XLi4jPd2wTRTWLer5d9OdeSX6RXGDNLiFxnty-sd1lZgFinXNYzLgrepwlVYkFZLwEf2AZNkAcTmMEors1yqi6bRXwrKHaPqm04Lrvoxg_7E98NvNasYIg6NHu_vZTb9P6gvj/s320/birdemic-theresurrection.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 206px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Luckily for us, I'm sure James Nguyen is a creative genius that will be able to write something brilliant, just <span style="font-style: italic;">look</span> at the incredible variety of characters he's been able to invent so far.<br />
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<div>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/movies/25birdemic.html">James Nguyen</a> - "Mr. Nguyen ... a Silicon Valley software salesman..."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358551/plotsummary">Julie and Jack (2003)</a> - "Jack Livingston ... a successful computer chip salesman for STELLAchip Corporation in high-tech Silicon Valley"<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374170/plotsummary">Replica (2005)</a> - "Joe, a computer chip salesman..."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://twitchfilm.net/reviews/2010/02/birdemic-shock-and-terror-review.php">Birdemic (2008)</a> - "Rod is a young software salesman living the dream in Silicon Valley..."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh...</div>
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Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-52210631443656201512010-08-06T12:51:00.000-07:002010-09-14T00:55:29.083-07:00Search Engine Craziness: Plankton Rape<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">plankton rape</span><br /><br />While I like how straightforward this guy is, what exactly is he expecting to find? <br /></span></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-84313995165817090642010-08-02T14:15:00.000-07:002010-10-19T14:30:30.008-07:00Syfy's Releases "Red" TrailerSyfy has released a trailer to it's latest batch of TV-movie craziness by way of its gritty sequel to The Little Red Riding Hood, simply titled "Red."<br /><br />In the Syfy universe, the descendants of Little Red Riding Hood became werewolf hunters, and judging by Red's trailer time shooting giant harpoons at and karate-kicking giant werewolves, it looks like she's in the family business.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdGGgvbTouNSWJx8Ins2xzf1S1mVOIMiiD8R-ejphUtc5JXosXlLoeEEg1Zucsnyy_Tkkt1hTaBA_IQEfUzywbz03OebqQOiD3OTWYW7EhQIiJbZN-HTcIn7zyHLXc9tSzx3GW9VWg20T/s1600/Red-FeliciaDay.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdGGgvbTouNSWJx8Ins2xzf1S1mVOIMiiD8R-ejphUtc5JXosXlLoeEEg1Zucsnyy_Tkkt1hTaBA_IQEfUzywbz03OebqQOiD3OTWYW7EhQIiJbZN-HTcIn7zyHLXc9tSzx3GW9VWg20T/s320/Red-FeliciaDay.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529870450088244546" border="0" /></a><br />The plot involves Red (Felicia Day) bringing her fiance home to meet her family and explain to him what it is that they do. Though he's initially skeptical, he gets were-bitten himself soon enough. Red finds herself now having to fight back both the werewolves and her family as she attempts to keep her fiance safe.<br /><br />It's good to see Felicia Day (whose been busy creating/ starring-in her web series The Guild) returning to the small-screen... even if it is to fight this weird mixture of CGI werewolves and creatures from The Howling.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object align="middle" height="400" width="400"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1240438"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><embed src="http://widget.syfy.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.10035NXC&WID=48e10f5e9dbb50aa&clipID=1240438" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="400" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">If the music sounded familiar to you, you probably played a lot of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vocxw1j9m0Y">Quake II</a>.<br /></span><br /><br />Red airs on Syfy October 30th at 9/8 central.<br /><br /><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-23109589406586929192010-07-01T00:42:00.000-07:002010-09-14T00:51:18.010-07:00Search Engine Craziness: Art<div style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />"Art (photo of sexy blond woman being cooked alive by native cannibal women)"</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">I love that it seems the person first searched for "Art," and then decided that maybe he could use a parenthetical to clarify his favorite art style...</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-34372463398024944172010-06-09T19:28:00.000-07:002010-06-10T17:17:58.810-07:00Sleepaway Camp<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhHrb-hsDNa015-pJ7Wp2dSDKDR4-q5UOeKS3Q1bi-U-AubOdJZafyl0rDLw3hvhcuolGKb8JMMeDmnMPgjFYeJSc3_IxqmwIQjnMNyodH2SOF5xh7TFm7tiATQf8S2qCZcs6hdHJ6xkH/s1600-h/sleepawaycamp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhHrb-hsDNa015-pJ7Wp2dSDKDR4-q5UOeKS3Q1bi-U-AubOdJZafyl0rDLw3hvhcuolGKb8JMMeDmnMPgjFYeJSc3_IxqmwIQjnMNyodH2SOF5xh7TFm7tiATQf8S2qCZcs6hdHJ6xkH/s320/sleepawaycamp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429816983629063266" border="0" /></a>From the first scenes of Sleepaway Camp it's pretty apparent that we're setting off down the heavily-trodden path to the Friday the 13th cloning summer camp. Pretty soon though, we start to get hints that things are going to be a little different with this one.<br /><br />First of all there's eerie Aunt Martha (Ricky's mother) who Angela lives with after her father dies. Her character seems to fall somewhere between "Generic high school acting teacher" and "creepiest thing you've ever seen."<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LiJ-Dz9cw27k5_HK9K2r79XDR-3pH66WHQJi08o-36fVfFnYcflPBg7DNHi0FnTGnu0tRWPvtUAJ6LTSoDS3QL4t1ZbHMQFDSi7yg-9eKRvQBjrEBtS1SMxMTBLk5FCPsy3abgnfDb1C/s1600/sleepawaycamp-mom.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LiJ-Dz9cw27k5_HK9K2r79XDR-3pH66WHQJi08o-36fVfFnYcflPBg7DNHi0FnTGnu0tRWPvtUAJ6LTSoDS3QL4t1ZbHMQFDSi7yg-9eKRvQBjrEBtS1SMxMTBLk5FCPsy3abgnfDb1C/s320/sleepawaycamp-mom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480987147792170610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ijm2sMThvE">Full scene</a></span><br /></div><br />Soon enough we leave Aunt Martha's house and follow Angela and Ricky to camp. As soon as they arrive, we start to realize that shy Angela, who's been very quiet thus far, is a little odder than your average socially awkward teenager and doesn't talk to anyone... ever.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I2Hv7AMA7TyOQTwVNP9dPAw-2iJ4-7i8fo5QVWPmqyMk92T-8dqqKjy90a23k6k54-Xt2PVPB8Vk2uvzgJkiSeTHptNatrK7x_WlbdF4kXcmTUGlrpGZO7mVJwPxVFQJasjbnI6sw9Ad/s1600/sleepawaycamp-ricky-angela.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I2Hv7AMA7TyOQTwVNP9dPAw-2iJ4-7i8fo5QVWPmqyMk92T-8dqqKjy90a23k6k54-Xt2PVPB8Vk2uvzgJkiSeTHptNatrK7x_WlbdF4kXcmTUGlrpGZO7mVJwPxVFQJasjbnI6sw9Ad/s320/sleepawaycamp-ricky-angela.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480989575431448818" border="0" /></a><br />These are the sorts of things that work pretty effectively to lend us a sense of uneasiness that I wasn't really expecting out of what I'd anticipated to be such a formulaic summer camp setup. The movie progresses along like this, introducing us to the other campers and counselors, and gradually starting to work in a few pretty creative slasher kills.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuMbu8oRg_u4espm5H6YukEZAVxCM53KQsfalJQnBiiozt33rNyXpND9AW-NoZ21ARxUwCYgsg4UxHjUSnS2zmz6eWY9M-jx5pR0hUpCf7QYL2e9lIBl1Aa8LHduIHrA_CdGZXjAw2e7z/s1600/sleepawaycamp-kills.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 77px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuMbu8oRg_u4espm5H6YukEZAVxCM53KQsfalJQnBiiozt33rNyXpND9AW-NoZ21ARxUwCYgsg4UxHjUSnS2zmz6eWY9M-jx5pR0hUpCf7QYL2e9lIBl1Aa8LHduIHrA_CdGZXjAw2e7z/s320/sleepawaycamp-kills.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480993950692944258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Notice that the guy who looks like a cross between Lloyd Kaufman and Mel Brooks </span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">gets an appropriately ridiculous death scene.</span><br /></div><br />They're all shot from the killer's point of view so that you can't see who it is and we're obviously being set up for the usual Scooby-Doo reveal ending. Before we get there though, we need to take a detour into the strange sexual aspect of Sleepaway Camp.<br /><br />Whereas you'd ordinarily just pepper your slasher with a few breasts and call it a day, Hiltzik did things a little differently and cranked the homoeroticism all the way up. First of all there's Aunt Martha. By the end of the film I still hadn't figured out the gender there. Then we have all the male counselors and older campers not bothering with the camp uniform everyone else wears, in favor of these sorts of skimpy outfits.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EXupm24NWetnh4duT2TqKxUEkcPkW5wUYXNnwPS4iXNGpi_JBZqi8RAD1UYu45ukHNlWIyrkwdGgj9Uo6LhxNy1TRUep8YdVZb5pf0SXZ8K7eBTzAKTFXmg95VaN-AfAkBtszL04YUqz/s1600/sleepawaycamp-shorts.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EXupm24NWetnh4duT2TqKxUEkcPkW5wUYXNnwPS4iXNGpi_JBZqi8RAD1UYu45ukHNlWIyrkwdGgj9Uo6LhxNy1TRUep8YdVZb5pf0SXZ8K7eBTzAKTFXmg95VaN-AfAkBtszL04YUqz/s320/sleepawaycamp-shorts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481003696836717346" border="0" /></a><br /></div>I'd be willing to doubt the intention of that and just write it off as an 80's dress-anomaly, except the female counselors and all the young campers pretty much just stick to their regular Camp Arawak uniforms. After a while with that, the focus shifts away from the men's bodies and turns back toward the murders... which give Angela flashbacks of seeing her father with his boyfriend.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp97U6r9ItOVb4viHyoPisTjqPJ5Y1P1xUteEKoOagc3pkeTV0caKYCCInO0X0qhm6L0L7yO9UhfyGYtY_yQqBsHKzVvbKhmlZPJ4hatVHepxoIC3JqFtzYfek28cbYUdS1GLrBYgYnOrl/s1600/sleepawaycamp-father.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp97U6r9ItOVb4viHyoPisTjqPJ5Y1P1xUteEKoOagc3pkeTV0caKYCCInO0X0qhm6L0L7yO9UhfyGYtY_yQqBsHKzVvbKhmlZPJ4hatVHepxoIC3JqFtzYfek28cbYUdS1GLrBYgYnOrl/s320/sleepawaycamp-father.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481004135090572562" border="0" /></a><br />If these things were all part of some sort of weird, homophobic, "gay people cause murder" message, it would at least make more sense. As it stands, they just serve as more of the strange story anomalies that constantly pop up to defy the otherwise standard summer-camp slasher formula we're working with.<br /><br />If you've heard vague descriptions of the movie from anyone, they'll probably just be about how shocking it is or how the climax is something that you will never forget... something along those lines. At least, those are the sorts of things I'd heard. But up to this point, aside from the entertaining little abnormalities I've been mentioning, there really hasn't been anything too mind-blowing to speak of and I didn't really see how things were going to suddenly turn around and suddenly fulfill all that had been promised. Soon enough though, the big reveal comes and whether you've figured out who it is or not (you probably have) is completely irrelevant. The execution of the final scene is something that was engineered to be burned into the brain forever, while just incidentally communicating the plot resolution on the side.<br /><br />The characters catch the killer, the killer turns to face them, and then the characters all just stop what they're doing and freeze in place so as to not distract you from the scene's hypnotic effects until the movie's finished having its way with your eyeballs... not to mention that terrible noise...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvyxP2TklPO6F_LT3bWh2RJOkQBlAI0xPsAgeaJycLSv3QUETU3vyC0po0mvBolxZ9MJmlV6MM0jfUjcJa-UofcTNuDTp-CfeQJVk4OPDGAlYAxk44QEmi4nHg-z1VItni33Tv6vivKh_/s1600/sleepawaycamp-end.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvyxP2TklPO6F_LT3bWh2RJOkQBlAI0xPsAgeaJycLSv3QUETU3vyC0po0mvBolxZ9MJmlV6MM0jfUjcJa-UofcTNuDTp-CfeQJVk4OPDGAlYAxk44QEmi4nHg-z1VItni33Tv6vivKh_/s320/sleepawaycamp-end.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481008923396929250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The first time I saw it, I was still making that face halfway through the credits.<br /></span></div><br />I'm not willing to give away any more details about the ending here, but this movie is definitely shocking and does turn out to have a conclusion that you'll never ever forget.<br /><br />If you've not seen it yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Go ahead and give yourself a new favorite slasher. <div><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yaAcitYY4OU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yaAcitYY4OU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></p><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Available on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305841985?ie=UTF8&tag=reelbnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=6305841985">Sleepaway Camp</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=reelbnet-20&l=as2&o=1&a=6305841985" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-7450468004324902772010-05-31T01:44:00.000-07:002011-03-11T20:27:02.755-08:00Plankton<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVMWc6Dq6QRDFyoeLVYq9DjwYUd-mn5gc4yd7MjlN7rx-mfIb579aaMUVZIkhrq63DxIyVvKrAVwJ76kHpthlWIX8hqHTZ8e0K4a2k0KtT7OXMoGBz5IAI3XhyphenhyphenhuVWQUNed-_m4m5YVJ-/s1600/planktondvd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVMWc6Dq6QRDFyoeLVYq9DjwYUd-mn5gc4yd7MjlN7rx-mfIb579aaMUVZIkhrq63DxIyVvKrAVwJ76kHpthlWIX8hqHTZ8e0K4a2k0KtT7OXMoGBz5IAI3XhyphenhyphenhuVWQUNed-_m4m5YVJ-/s320/planktondvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476950639781649602" border="0" /></a>When someone uses the phrase "so bad it's good," this is the film I think of. In fact, almost everything about this movie is just about as bad as it could possibly be.<br /><br />The acting is... well, let's just say that almost every actor here has never appeared in anything else after doing this.<br /><br />In fact, the woman on the cover wasn't even in <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> movie.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynwB_Fe82pZoffxCvoDO48OOeQbWjxKZZX8MFHA7Ss1k6u1B8ZehAlj4VqVJ95klziHAwMWCBf1YLdK0xbbDdEbwwWIic8O7TwR_elH-hsQOOzT_iEkAAb5DvMOCeQbhNHPcbNzK2dZLN/s1600/plankton-toxie.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynwB_Fe82pZoffxCvoDO48OOeQbWjxKZZX8MFHA7Ss1k6u1B8ZehAlj4VqVJ95klziHAwMWCBf1YLdK0xbbDdEbwwWIic8O7TwR_elH-hsQOOzT_iEkAAb5DvMOCeQbhNHPcbNzK2dZLN/s320/plankton-toxie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477337686585636114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Stage direction:<br />Look scared<br />(Bonus points if you can make your eyes asymmetrical and look like the Toxic Avenger).</span><br /></div><br />The set is ridiculous. The whole movie takes place aboard a "research ship" which does have a laboratory, but seems to be mostly a discotheque.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUiWwtCWCseF-z6if4W5fcR0V3Mc4MlpjiWRnij8aEqQ1LSsk7ge9j3c3eWRS3VWU7KIFMApOmZafnMp1WUbOh5ETyntdBAyJ93roL_peByszpPrjPuCPlUsc0BsaQ7BQVl7pgQSRF4u7/s1600/plankton-disco.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUiWwtCWCseF-z6if4W5fcR0V3Mc4MlpjiWRnij8aEqQ1LSsk7ge9j3c3eWRS3VWU7KIFMApOmZafnMp1WUbOh5ETyntdBAyJ93roL_peByszpPrjPuCPlUsc0BsaQ7BQVl7pgQSRF4u7/s320/plankton-disco.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477341791258229442" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">And not just that, but one designed by a sexed up Sid and Marty Krofft. Just take the hallway clock for example. We see it, have enough time to wander why the designers opted for full red lips instead of hour or minute hands, and then suddenly it starts batting its eyelashes at us and announcing "I give good time!"</div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf0qj5FPINXbj8Jmkn1i9Vr1ryKaTo_3wvLapQ04wC0AkPqn3jwIMGLkXapfVUg7EFdksUjxUILnoMAgqynO-yuKpR_w_dmamn70jFfJz2LsxDlXLJc0meMbh5r62iTHtofPFvPZ4gCIu/s1600/plankton-jessicacutietime.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf0qj5FPINXbj8Jmkn1i9Vr1ryKaTo_3wvLapQ04wC0AkPqn3jwIMGLkXapfVUg7EFdksUjxUILnoMAgqynO-yuKpR_w_dmamn70jFfJz2LsxDlXLJc0meMbh5r62iTHtofPFvPZ4gCIu/s320/plankton-jessicacutietime.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477342223842380594" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Oddly enough, the clock actually introduces itself as "Jessica." All sorts of things in the ship have a sexy female persona, including all of the bathroom fixtures (collectively known as "Suzy" I believe). What's even weirder is that the characters here and everyone else I've ever heard talk about this movie refer to the clock as "Cutie Time."<br /></div></div><br />I'd like to be able to comment on the screenplay, and I have my suspicions, but I've never actually been able to find the native language version. What I can comment on is the ridiculous dubbing used for the English version. It's always seemed to be that the dubbers really had fun with this thing. Either that or someone got the contract to create the English dubbing track, took the Italian screenplay and ran it through Babelfish (from Italian, to Mandarin Chinese, to Russian, to English), and then removed half the pages and handed it off to a high school drama class to do the voice-work. The results probably would've made the movie pretty much unwatchable if it hadn't accidentally become so hilarious. The really weird thing about the dubbing is the mixture of quality. On the one hand, the dubbing is actually really good for some of the movie. The dubbing is matched to the mouth movements so well at times, you could easily go through the first 20 minutes or so without realizing that the actors are actually not speaking English. On the other hand, there are times when we hear dialog when there's obviously no one speaking on screen. At other times, we can't see the guy speaking and so the dubbing is done in a Porky Pig voice. At another time a character impersonates Elvis for a while... It's just weird, and this strange dichotomy makes it even weirder.<br /><br />As for the effects, they are mercifully CGI-free, and while the practical monster effects are kind of silly looking, they at least had some fun with them rather than just lifting all of the fish designs directly out of <span style="font-style: italic;">Piranha</span> along with the other stuff they took from there.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJftuSRqJLelUjDxPCZ2bcmxIWc4RGeDAWeS9qE1ft5z3g6CmnGCvuw9dVDTlJHmELBvR7B_aTUv0i37OzfTFG11zk08u2a84CbfSjPTiIIzbIBSaYz998TaB97V-jeYwVAYcrhapxIrl/s1600/plankton-monsters.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJftuSRqJLelUjDxPCZ2bcmxIWc4RGeDAWeS9qE1ft5z3g6CmnGCvuw9dVDTlJHmELBvR7B_aTUv0i37OzfTFG11zk08u2a84CbfSjPTiIIzbIBSaYz998TaB97V-jeYwVAYcrhapxIrl/s320/plankton-monsters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477332773488083666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Ok, so they're </span><span style="font-size:78%;">actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> </span><span style="font-size:78%;">very</span><span style="font-size:78%;"> silly looking.</span><br /></div><br />The whole premise of this movie is that a radioactive contaminant has somehow mutated fish (a la <a href="http://reel-bad.blogspot.com/2010/03/humanoids-from-deep.html">Humanoids From the Deep</a>), somehow reanimating long-extinct "carnivorous fish that live out of water" and ramping up their sex drives. We later find out that the sex drive doesn't immediately cause their aggression until they've been sexually provoked by people's "curious minds."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqejKb0QKgXOykkalotDBy9dsbAw6moy7Rn_vulFHYAKSIw78RymVpz4CPdCqUoeBhE7N7NCC6wdXseWIg2lqskZm6SmnjwxvCmmUr2TStgh9kscPSTfihkkFDvni6SEIjXGX8q5Kmu1z/s1600/plankton-sexyfish.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqejKb0QKgXOykkalotDBy9dsbAw6moy7Rn_vulFHYAKSIw78RymVpz4CPdCqUoeBhE7N7NCC6wdXseWIg2lqskZm6SmnjwxvCmmUr2TStgh9kscPSTfihkkFDvni6SEIjXGX8q5Kmu1z/s320/plankton-sexyfish.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477354177323319410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Just have a look at some of the fish fossils and let that last thought sink in.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">Between the constant laughter and the quickness with which these lines are skimmed over, I actually didn't notice that this was actually a fish's rape-revenge story for the first several years I had this movie. Even though at one point later, someone asks the one crazed surviving scientist of the boat "How long have you been fucking fish?!" To which he answers "They were old enough!" For a long time I just thought that was yet another really weird dubbing anomaly, but as it turns out it is actually a plot point.<br /><br />With the rape-revenge angle, it makes a lot more sense that the climax of this movie is one of the fish monsters taking over the most annoying male character, getting him to have sex with one of the girls, and then changing into a fish/hippo monster and raping her until she's full of fish eggs.<br /><br />I've got no screenshot of that, and I doubt I could even get one that would do the scene justice. Instead I'll just say that if a fish/hippo monster raping someone until they're full of fish eggs sounds like something you'd like to see, just go pick up your copy of this movie. You'll love it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ydm9MDgegug&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ydm9MDgegug&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Available on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000095J2T?ie=UTF8&tag=reel-bad-blogger-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000095J2T">Plankton</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=reel-bad-blogger-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000095J2T" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /></span><br /><br /></div></div></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-72825228996880914822010-05-05T20:16:00.000-07:002010-05-08T00:08:18.712-07:00Mazes & Monsters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6P26kK5kBXlyFykPr4FPW0B3QttZCgBDN2gaLbU4LWMASrYbSVIOhJ37H4QeDmDpArN3TnGDyxED8HDHUkOp12ETEUjk1-mKFGecpVJ2_ClPc33dGPdz1tmmYMgLTjzsFnNrXP0FuAs-/s1600/mazesand-cover.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6P26kK5kBXlyFykPr4FPW0B3QttZCgBDN2gaLbU4LWMASrYbSVIOhJ37H4QeDmDpArN3TnGDyxED8HDHUkOp12ETEUjk1-mKFGecpVJ2_ClPc33dGPdz1tmmYMgLTjzsFnNrXP0FuAs-/s320/mazesand-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468007201369911522" border="0" /></a><div>Like <a href="http://reel-bad.blogspot.com/2008/12/reefer-madness-is-film-about-drug.html">Reefer Madness</a>, Mazes and Monsters is obviously <i>meant</i> to be a cautionary tale, but is centered on such a flawed and silly premise that its message is just laughable.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://reel-bad.blogspot.com/2008/12/reefer-madness-is-film-about-drug.html">Reefer Madness</a> is a little more interesting in most ways due to it's overwhelming jazz-era kitschiness, but Mazes and Monsters makes up for it as well as it can by starring Tom Hanks.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br />While I actually posted the cover image from the VHS version that I watched, as it turns out the DVD cover art is even weirder.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkTMCVBCUrbiy_9ZkfQZCFy2cMN9gA9XaCdC3IIZaSArxaK7pWkf0_zJ76sBDjCcwfJmF_YkJn9K-wipj_LVy0Dg8cFv6QYgMNbnyJru9BHMtJr62IAy7fuiZtU87Mu42l0VZid2m5sj4o/s1600/mazes-and-monsters-dvd.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkTMCVBCUrbiy_9ZkfQZCFy2cMN9gA9XaCdC3IIZaSArxaK7pWkf0_zJ76sBDjCcwfJmF_YkJn9K-wipj_LVy0Dg8cFv6QYgMNbnyJru9BHMtJr62IAy7fuiZtU87Mu42l0VZid2m5sj4o/s320/mazes-and-monsters-dvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468753030514906034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Contains: A hedge-maze (not in the movie), a dragon-monster (not in the movie),<br />and a Tom Hanks from the future (not in the movie).<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">The movie starts off showing us a few home-life vignettes of our characters. Actually, scratch that, the movie starts off with very long scenes of taxis set to the first song of the awful soundtrack. After that though, introductions.<br /><br />First, there's silly hat guy. He's wearing something ridiculous in every scene. In his first scene, a man outside his building compliments him on this "hat," but it's the last time anyone even mentions the crazy nonsense he keeps on his head.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjuy9iQ1idXubbmrgJzQqSqlhq8nA0KkpCyJns6N1D6X3JfnZ6cwWxl3bWSHTsffqTl5ybTrVMQrkKieTPxrVB3M6h-liAUAQwKjQodru9sfRsXXNaE3-0MdhxUooyrqmHsGttMisDZIb/s1600/mazesand-hat1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjuy9iQ1idXubbmrgJzQqSqlhq8nA0KkpCyJns6N1D6X3JfnZ6cwWxl3bWSHTsffqTl5ybTrVMQrkKieTPxrVB3M6h-liAUAQwKjQodru9sfRsXXNaE3-0MdhxUooyrqmHsGttMisDZIb/s320/mazesand-hat1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468760683985754674" border="0" /></a><br />Next we meet our token girl-gamer. She has a quick scene which only serves as a setup for her to complain that she "can't be herself," to which her mother tells her to "use her imagination." Sounds like this girl's psyche is ripe for a satanic Dungeons & Dragons reprogramming.<br /><br />Our next character is a wholesome generic jock type. His hidden depravity is shown by his unwillingness to enroll in the classes in "computers" that his parents suggest, and his suggestion that he'd prefer to take classes about making games... on computers... instead.<br />The parents are of course outraged.<br /><br />We finally meet Tom Hanks, sort of. Mostly he just sits in the back while his parents argue about how drunk his mother is.<br /><br />Funny-hat shows up for school wearing a cowboy hat and quickly meets up with the girl, who he apparently already knows. As an aside, although the film is shot on a college campus and in urban cityscapes, I'm pretty sure this is the only scene that contains a black person in the whole movie, so watch out for that. Anyway, these kids apparently play Dunge... er... Mazes & Monsters regularly along with jock-guy, but at the moment they're stuck looking for a fourth player. This is where Tom comes in. All of them end up at some sort of tuxedo party (with funny-hat wearing a yellow hard hat). And they quickly convince Tom to play with them.<br /><br />Finally the next scene actually introduces us to the Mazes and the Monsters. The players all gather around a boardgame and light lots of candles. This game ends almost immediately. The movie says that it's because one of the characters has died, but I think it's because there's candle wax oozing all over their boardgame.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSyEHBoOymPagWptuEojLSO5Aqaik_hJJULW5Mx7S-40TMP5qNyv2_n8NdljSrLynH5WilU9ZCBh_HDmut19Ju2HYrnT_YUb1JDcUHkLYr3nAeZkDemeljzoBEhA4crhqvg1FnyYFlk7Z/s1600/mazesand-gameboard.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSyEHBoOymPagWptuEojLSO5Aqaik_hJJULW5Mx7S-40TMP5qNyv2_n8NdljSrLynH5WilU9ZCBh_HDmut19Ju2HYrnT_YUb1JDcUHkLYr3nAeZkDemeljzoBEhA4crhqvg1FnyYFlk7Z/s320/mazesand-gameboard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468766955992003778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">That, along with the terrible soundtrack that kicks in again here,<br />is enough to end any party.</span><br /></div><br />We get a couple of minutes of "college life" montage, hat-guy is passingly referred to as both a college sophomore and a 16 year-old, and then we're back to their next game. This time they decide to step it up a notch, so hat-guy puts on his safari hat and they invent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_action_role-playing_game">LARPing</a>. They "borrow" costumes from the theater department and head to some nearby caverns. As soon as they make it down there Tom decides to go off on his own.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZosTaF0N1XNHE3fsfO3O1YcNFlGFpdAt5XavCDpZ6iScCrDj69c3LIts12-Asa4K9m1bXtvl307FWETiSfwQul0IL7F1i54OoFYo3Oa6Wr11nxIQAWfj7q9WaciAzjQeHqmELuotRWy-/s1600/mazesand-healer.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 304px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZosTaF0N1XNHE3fsfO3O1YcNFlGFpdAt5XavCDpZ6iScCrDj69c3LIts12-Asa4K9m1bXtvl307FWETiSfwQul0IL7F1i54OoFYo3Oa6Wr11nxIQAWfj7q9WaciAzjQeHqmELuotRWy-/s320/mazesand-healer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468769366095849778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Since his character is a healer, this makes perfect sense.<br /></span></div><br />Everyone bumbles around a bit, mostly uneventfully, but as soon as Tom gets nearly out of earshot, he runs into a "Gorvil." After a lot of screaming, he ends up killing it with his sword.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WJQl97hX8QUq4IRUPX6j0aEdZtE3vhqtoZPsVaRI0r2-3-KQ35WKwGlhcyCWcICNQ0fd49RYCtG8erVQqoeiJpdsJ25ZxBmMFmj5kH7m_v9Fnj2Wyu3dPJP_WZX5XLxpW2ye1c-DWcwb/s1600/mazesand-meetmonster.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WJQl97hX8QUq4IRUPX6j0aEdZtE3vhqtoZPsVaRI0r2-3-KQ35WKwGlhcyCWcICNQ0fd49RYCtG8erVQqoeiJpdsJ25ZxBmMFmj5kH7m_v9Fnj2Wyu3dPJP_WZX5XLxpW2ye1c-DWcwb/s320/mazesand-meetmonster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468771669846176770" border="0" /></a>About the time of this odd little hallucination, we start to realize that Tom's actually a little bit insane. Things start falling apart for him pretty quickly after this. He almost never completely breaks from his "Bardeux" character and he pretty much spends the rest of the movie either as Bardeux or just sad/confused.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7a16KDhi7cFB-NK45gRT7voKzqllXhUbraTK5ng7EWL5Eh63vbOtsj9OfW5pmgQ9pXurqqyL53HNrROg3iQBAuLfqfAwpJawMnI2tMszIRk8cNul6khNpV-fguVkTUmCT_0IxD2HzjM8/s1600/mazesand-sadconfused.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7a16KDhi7cFB-NK45gRT7voKzqllXhUbraTK5ng7EWL5Eh63vbOtsj9OfW5pmgQ9pXurqqyL53HNrROg3iQBAuLfqfAwpJawMnI2tMszIRk8cNul6khNpV-fguVkTUmCT_0IxD2HzjM8/s320/mazesand-sadconfused.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468776917659657714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Pictured: Sad / Confused<br />Note the sad mouth that's so confused that it starts looking happy again...<br />the undecided popped/unpopped collar...<br />This guy's obviously had too many RPGs.<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">They all leave the "maze" for the night, then Tom goes home to commune with the great glowing hallway. </span></span>The hallway gives him a new quest, to head to Tolkien's "Two Towers," so he breaks up with his girlfriend, and sets off for New York to go to the World Trade Center.<br /><br />Once he finally gets to NY, he first decides to wander the alleys for a while. Of course, soon enough he runs into a gang member, confuses him with another one of those Gorvil monsters, and stabs him with his "sword" too.<br /><br />Now that Tom has hallucinated and killed someone, the next important anti-drug-propaganda analogue is going to the top of a building and trying to fly. So he heads to the top of the World Trade Center to do that. His friends find him up there and convince him that he doesn't have enough points for his flying spells, so he comes back down instead.<br /><br />Nothing seems to happen as a result of Tom having stabbed that guy, so Tom's just taken back to his parents' place, and everyone goes back to their lives. Some time later the 3 friends go back to visit Tom and find him still stuck as Bardeux, presumably forever.<br /><br />It's obvious that the ending is meant to be a somber look at a sad and serious situation, but the whole premise is so ridiculous that it doesn't even come close. The moral of the movie is supposed to be that role-playing games are evil, will take over your impressionable children, and can only get them hurt or killed. Unfortunately for the movie, this idea is so silly that to even make it work in the story the character has to be given a serious preexisting mental-illness to make any of the things that happen remotely plausible... and that of course cancels out any point the movie could have hoped to make.<br /><br />This thing is basically a failure all around, but Tom Hanks' trademark likability really works wonders for the film, so it ends up not being completely unwatchable. You will need to keep your mute button readied for that soundtrack though...<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I didn't see a trailer on Youtube, but this is probably better:</span><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E6AOd6r6Qi8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E6AOd6r6Qi8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /></div></div></div></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div></div></div></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614643320314026453.post-79076659315756698492010-03-20T22:19:00.000-07:002010-04-01T20:26:18.678-07:00Zombie Self-Defense Force<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdIlFmETq0R0-rd2Ay6pLXFOT-x9lqTr8R3cX3uzMMRXFmKuMg8lNseTO_pINDXIwbQjQQnPtMcAZY8xDD-raGPFbo9eZlsoGP1sqd49xNlZ0KH7SM_sz42HdTjzVBklgjYpq9Xc9yTts/s1600-h/zombiesdf-cover.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdIlFmETq0R0-rd2Ay6pLXFOT-x9lqTr8R3cX3uzMMRXFmKuMg8lNseTO_pINDXIwbQjQQnPtMcAZY8xDD-raGPFbo9eZlsoGP1sqd49xNlZ0KH7SM_sz42HdTjzVBklgjYpq9Xc9yTts/s320/zombiesdf-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450581603293879266" border="0" /></a>Zombie Self-Defense Force is the first of Naoyuki Tomomatsu's trio of zombie productions. I've had this movie for probably six months before I actually got around to watching it, but now that I have I think I just might be intrigued enough to look into those other two. That's not to say that it's a great film (it's not), but in this case I think that this trainwreck turned out to be hilarious enough for repeat viewings, from several angles.<br /><br />The movie starts out with a ridiculous CGI spaceship being seen over Fujiyama, Japan. After a drawn out display of every single Japanese citizen's reactions to the U.F.O. the thing crashes, bathing the surrounding landscape in an electric green light.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKeg1jPYJvVtZxiNtenJlAg-MRDHAzu1tyoet4DfB3WMa2iWFEAnzCJWZpW42en7zgYgg1nLph_jMnlGwizMnN72xgQxCptVjbUjnu_aMdPjAGKxX1LEFPvPJvV5HfYJA1xASIivDPJj8/s1600-h/zombiesdf-spaceship.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKeg1jPYJvVtZxiNtenJlAg-MRDHAzu1tyoet4DfB3WMa2iWFEAnzCJWZpW42en7zgYgg1nLph_jMnlGwizMnN72xgQxCptVjbUjnu_aMdPjAGKxX1LEFPvPJvV5HfYJA1xASIivDPJj8/s320/zombiesdf-spaceship.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451011833987039874" border="0" /></a><br />As luck would have it, the Kibara platoon of the Japanese Self-Defense Force is in the forest already, on a "routine mission."<br /><br />When we meet them they're just arriving at a corpse hanging from a tree. They see the spaceship, but decide to take care of the body before heading out to the crash site. While they're digging a grave for her, the dead woman suddenly springs back to life as a green-skinned zombie.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXvJIuIucqJEnaLTzy55sFaaf5548E_ZqsO4mbyhBrmf5C0s4aPMg8qn8TUpP4FohJvIfmKXbsGkoCg3xQJ4z2z7PYmG8Yg5WsjrDVFzQ435zC6KbkVoKIpcFWaBHkpfJ7jkqJIbZ74wI/s1600-h/zombiesdf-greenskin.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXvJIuIucqJEnaLTzy55sFaaf5548E_ZqsO4mbyhBrmf5C0s4aPMg8qn8TUpP4FohJvIfmKXbsGkoCg3xQJ4z2z7PYmG8Yg5WsjrDVFzQ435zC6KbkVoKIpcFWaBHkpfJ7jkqJIbZ74wI/s320/zombiesdf-greenskin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451012557476161330" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Also we find out the forest is haunted by ghost soldiers...<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiRPMJNihXm31VV6k1RUctiJOXC9nHSCHALXmMeq0iJo_PwfxDmIrU-90ZYcdFrJPeauik927lCHRXQTP0J5a9fIHYDxCKbL2uCtOgu-9sqckgWxYUJYB5AqcIsNBFBoaqokovlLeB8WU/s1600-h/zombiesdf-ghostsoldier.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiRPMJNihXm31VV6k1RUctiJOXC9nHSCHALXmMeq0iJo_PwfxDmIrU-90ZYcdFrJPeauik927lCHRXQTP0J5a9fIHYDxCKbL2uCtOgu-9sqckgWxYUJYB5AqcIsNBFBoaqokovlLeB8WU/s320/zombiesdf-ghostsoldier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451012918413199554" border="0" /></a><br />Wow. Things are really picking up fast now, and it hardly ever slows down again. We get one ridiculously gory gag after another as we plod along a truly skeletal plot. Essentially if you were to take zombies, aliens, ghosts, robots, and volcano eruptions (and the rest of this post's tag list), and come up with some ridiculous way to string them all together and throw them on screen in the span of 45 minutes or so, then you'd pretty much have the plot of Zombie Self-Defense Force... so long as you sprinkled in a healthy dose of sword fighting and arterial spray. With that being said, this isn't exactly a plot-driven movie anyway. As a cheap romp through a sequence of sight-gags and gore effects, this is actually pretty entertaining.<br /><br />It's most easily compared to the scores of Troma films that follow about the same formula. While I personally don't mind some of Troma's more self-indulgent melon-crushing escapades, the quality bar's not set very high on a lot of those, and that's about what I was expecting going into Zombie Self-Defense Force. To my surprise, this actually turned out to actually be better than a lot of the Troma stuff.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here are some of the high points:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL-bWc5RCcCjHKvqrYD3js_jYypI26ZSFb9q0OOJu9qL_kRg0d1lPL8_CgVEIIPaiyvypvV3vruK2LeYjd_X_4xZHwteWNon3I9idjamFouQxzXLTrkzPtb5nRX1NiGDqjhtSwITK7QOQ/s1600-h/zombiesdf-propag.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL-bWc5RCcCjHKvqrYD3js_jYypI26ZSFb9q0OOJu9qL_kRg0d1lPL8_CgVEIIPaiyvypvV3vruK2LeYjd_X_4xZHwteWNon3I9idjamFouQxzXLTrkzPtb5nRX1NiGDqjhtSwITK7QOQ/s320/zombiesdf-propag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451022089067295938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Long, weird, but interesting opening propaganda spiel about why the U.S. government and its military actions are bad, but hamburgers and George Romero are good.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOxqeuKkNrHq4Nd6EZpVrRKkSKJNvfXI-TdRv0mj9p7nBS1ErBpwL8VTbm0H_hLV63yHrEICULhI75brv9KA0By-gozANbTS2HZNYoSJP6waJsRPRPJZCU_PiilHxoXnfnOCfUtyRgKOH/s1600-h/zombiesdf-fetus.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOxqeuKkNrHq4Nd6EZpVrRKkSKJNvfXI-TdRv0mj9p7nBS1ErBpwL8VTbm0H_hLV63yHrEICULhI75brv9KA0By-gozANbTS2HZNYoSJP6waJsRPRPJZCU_PiilHxoXnfnOCfUtyRgKOH/s320/zombiesdf-fetus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451018939438500002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">A flying zombie fetus that explodes from the womb of a dead, but pregnant, zombie...<br /><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxEOBtOh0fzVxcpRdhZdjgqkpPVbZ46pgS7BvsOX44VdcyH_HAjO7jFKXf1YDYqTvsJBBschmaJ-BzV-UOEN7ZDvYgZlhdrQkdsNekXGmDYDhpseY_mcF9tTFai-dAUoiY6SXVvyQlgrW/s1600-h/zombiesdf-blankafacecomp.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 65px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxEOBtOh0fzVxcpRdhZdjgqkpPVbZ46pgS7BvsOX44VdcyH_HAjO7jFKXf1YDYqTvsJBBschmaJ-BzV-UOEN7ZDvYgZlhdrQkdsNekXGmDYDhpseY_mcF9tTFai-dAUoiY6SXVvyQlgrW/s320/zombiesdf-blankafacecomp.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451019287479279890" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">... which then immediately lassos the innkeeper with his umbilical cord and goes Blanka on the innkeeper's face.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiQp1pfDKwbjT7M_sVbQAonPY274qM53v5SkUDLo4biD5NAChPyieE3duwCL6ZQgwmZtHPnokUjSrsnGCFoZ5MajOT1BcYths5CfehyphenhypheniGZUesx-GNRP08MUYT0Ts_2PDVsKSN0YiqcTpx/s1600-h/zombiedf-alien.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiQp1pfDKwbjT7M_sVbQAonPY274qM53v5SkUDLo4biD5NAChPyieE3duwCL6ZQgwmZtHPnokUjSrsnGCFoZ5MajOT1BcYths5CfehyphenhypheniGZUesx-GNRP08MUYT0Ts_2PDVsKSN0YiqcTpx/s320/zombiedf-alien.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451020015342723426" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">We eventually meet the aliens that are causing all of these problems... this is what they look like. As it turns out they're not built for dealing with robots + swords.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Zs7uvAeWcT1L2lrvSkcGirdboEOfOaKoO5KV_tHlixf2kUuFcE-P_lvmZNy-9MmR2FGh5It9hkKr_1k2KgoiQ6-jlO986AHnv4yspVx39BDcVyZDXiBajqebvd0ovLGE35UZBbrRYnj4/s1600-h/zombiesdf-finalbattle.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Zs7uvAeWcT1L2lrvSkcGirdboEOfOaKoO5KV_tHlixf2kUuFcE-P_lvmZNy-9MmR2FGh5It9hkKr_1k2KgoiQ6-jlO986AHnv4yspVx39BDcVyZDXiBajqebvd0ovLGE35UZBbrRYnj4/s320/zombiesdf-finalbattle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451022778427789394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The final showdown between robot-lady and ghost-man. Same as all the other fights, but with even <span style="font-style: italic;">more</span> sparks and hilariously inappropriate sound-effects than usual to indicate how <span style="font-style: italic;">epic</span> it is.</span><br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yfoD-Qkw_ts&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yfoD-Qkw_ts&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /></div>Hhhhhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05646466488248975018noreply@blogger.com1