Sunday, August 19, 2012
THIS AINT NO GAME
Isn't it about time someone did a "gritty" film re-boot of Super Mario Bros.?? Think of the possibilities!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Possible Halloween Costume
Labels:
halloween,
halloween costume,
jaws,
quint,
robert shaw
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
My Brain Hurts: Dealing with Living Dead Press
In the last few months the internet has been exploding with stories about how Anthiny "Tony" Giangregori, "editor" and owner of Living Dead Press, is pretty much the most unprofessional small press owner in the history of planet earth.
Mandy DeGeit has an awesome piece about how Tony totally butchered her story, and then reacted like a complete tool when she questioned him about it. The post got so much attention that even super writer Neil Gaiman chimed in.
Since I feel it's important that writers stand up to Tony--who is a flat-out bully who threatens to beat people up if they talk bad about him--I figured it was time I share my own dealings with Living Dead Press.
A few years back, I had yet to be published--anywhere. I wanted nothing more than to have a piece published. So when I was put in contact with Tony Giangregori at Living Dead Press, I was overjoyed at the prospect of making it into a zombie anthology he was publishing. I knew nothing about Tony, or his seemingly endless (and terrible) zombie books. I was just happy for an opportunity.
But right from the start I noticed that Tony didn't seem "all there." First off, my full first name is Christopher, but I never go by that–I go by Chris, always. I signed my contract as “Chris”, I submitted the story under “Chris.”
Before the book went to publication, Tony sent me a proof and I saw my name listed as Christopher.
Now, obviously this isn't a huge deal, but the fact is that no one ever calls me "Christopher", and seeing my name like that sort of made it feel like it wasn't really MY story.
So I wrote Tony a very polite email saying essentially “If there is still time, could you possibly change my name to Chris? If not, no problem.”
He replied with an email in ALL CAPS, accusing me of not telling him beforehand I wanted to go by Chris and not Christopher–even though I had never used my full first name in any of our dealings. He seemed furious at me for even suggesting such a thing. I was about to respond and ask him just what the deal was, and then he sent another telling me it was fine and he fixed it.
I thought, "How odd." But I let it go.
Mandy DeGeit has an awesome piece about how Tony totally butchered her story, and then reacted like a complete tool when she questioned him about it. The post got so much attention that even super writer Neil Gaiman chimed in.
Since I feel it's important that writers stand up to Tony--who is a flat-out bully who threatens to beat people up if they talk bad about him--I figured it was time I share my own dealings with Living Dead Press.
A few years back, I had yet to be published--anywhere. I wanted nothing more than to have a piece published. So when I was put in contact with Tony Giangregori at Living Dead Press, I was overjoyed at the prospect of making it into a zombie anthology he was publishing. I knew nothing about Tony, or his seemingly endless (and terrible) zombie books. I was just happy for an opportunity.
But right from the start I noticed that Tony didn't seem "all there." First off, my full first name is Christopher, but I never go by that–I go by Chris, always. I signed my contract as “Chris”, I submitted the story under “Chris.”
Before the book went to publication, Tony sent me a proof and I saw my name listed as Christopher.
Now, obviously this isn't a huge deal, but the fact is that no one ever calls me "Christopher", and seeing my name like that sort of made it feel like it wasn't really MY story.
So I wrote Tony a very polite email saying essentially “If there is still time, could you possibly change my name to Chris? If not, no problem.”
He replied with an email in ALL CAPS, accusing me of not telling him beforehand I wanted to go by Chris and not Christopher–even though I had never used my full first name in any of our dealings. He seemed furious at me for even suggesting such a thing. I was about to respond and ask him just what the deal was, and then he sent another telling me it was fine and he fixed it.
I thought, "How odd." But I let it go.
Then there was an issue with my ending. My story involved zombie animals–feral cats to be precise. He wrote to me and said “I love the story but you need to add a HUMAN zombie at the end–people HATE animal zombie stories.” I wasn’t sure where he was getting that statistic from; I had never heard anything like that. A better way for him to phrase it would have been "I personally hate animal zombie stories." Instead he decided to make his opinion speak for the whole world. But at the time I was so excited and desperate to be published that I said “what the hell” and added a little extra bit to the end.
Next on the list of growing concerns was the total lack of publicity he generated for the book. Seeing as he was the publisher, and it was his publishing "house", it felt only natural that he should do some sort of publicity for the book--even if it meant sending free copies to horror review sites to see what they thought. He didn't do any of that. His attitude was "I have plenty of fans, and they will find my books."
Okay...fine. Whatever. I was still being published, and that was exciting!
Finally the day came. I got a copy of the book, and flipped to my story. The title wasn’t even centered on the page; it was clear someone had just hit “tab” a bunch of times rather than, you know, centering it.
And things just got worse as I read. There were grammar and spelling mistakes that I did NOT make in my submitted copy. And then at the very end I saw he had added a whole section I did NOT write. And not only that, but it was a really BAD section totally not fitting the tone of the story. He had written almost an entire passage that had no right being in my story. Don't get me wrong--the story I wrote wasn't exactly on the level of Raymond Carver. But for him to so blatantly add things to it without even asking me made the whole thing feel cheap and false.
I was hurt more than I was angry. Why would he do this? I considered emailing him, but I had had such awkward dealings with him in the past that I just let it go, and never dealt with Living Dead Press again.
Tony is still putting out his books. He's only gotten worse with time. Back when he published me, he actually paid me (a very small sum, of course) and gave me a free copy of the book. I hear he doesn't do either of those things anymore.
And he continues to attack people who question his skills--or lack thereof. Such threats also, for some strange reason, include his wife. He'll say things about how "My wife wants to have an angry talk with you!"
What the hell does his wife have anything to do with it? Why would SHE want to have an angry talk with someone? YOU'RE the one that screwed up.
So that is my little trip down memory lane. Since then I've been published in real publications, and the experiences have been rewarding. No one has added whole sections to my work, and no one has written back to me in an email in ALL CAPS.
So to those struggling writers out there: beware. It's very easy to get published by Living Dead Press. And that's because they're just not very good.
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Evil is Gone
Labels:
halloween,
halloween 2,
horror,
john carpenter,
michael myers
Monday, August 6, 2012
Review: A DANGEROUS METHOD
A Dangerous Method is Canadian Madman David Cronenberg's most recent film.
It tells the (mostly) true story of the birth of psychoanalysis, and the relationships between Carl Jung, Sigmund Frued and Sabina Spielrein. Also there’s a lot of stuff about sex, and there is spanking, so you know you’re in for a good time.
Michael Fassbender, who continues to be both awesome and in every single movie that comes out now, is great as Jung and Aragorn Mortensen is a real treat as Frued, who is constantly smoking a cigar and is constantly bearded.
But the real stand-out here is Keira Knightley, who is most famous for being the British version of Natalie Portman and also being a wet blanket in those stupid Pirate movies.
Knightley is fantastic here, playing Spielrein as a tortured animal of a woman, all jutting jaws and choked words. Also she looks really good getting spanked.
The film is based on a play, which means there’s not much action, just people sitting around talking. Thankfully what they are talking about is really interesting, and the actors doing the talking are all very good.
The only flaw is we don’t really learn anything about these people, with the exception of Spielrein. I guess since they were all REAL people we can just look them up on Wikipedia to find out what they were really like, but both Jung and Frued are sort of blank in this film, despite the good performances.
I love David Cronenberg and will continue to be excited for any movie he makes. However, there is a part of me that wishes he would get back to making the awesome monster porn movies of his glory days.
I give A Dangerous Method three and a half out of four Fassbender’s.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Review: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
"It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." -- Jim Gordon (by way of Charles Dickens).
The Dark Knight Rises is a beast of a movie. It had to be; they had no choice. After the phenomenal success that was The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan and co. couldn't very well go back and make a more subtle, character study type movie like they did with Batman Begins. This was, after all, the final film in the trilogy. It had to make the crowd go wild.
Here is what I love about Christopher Nolan's films: he tries REALLY HARD. Even if you don't like his movies, you have to admit that the man will go to whatever lengths necessary to tell the story he wants to tell. He has become the master of what could be considered "intelligent popcorn films"; that is, movies that have all the flash and bang of a summer blockbuster, but also take the time to focus on the drama at hand.
I purposely waited to write this review, because it's going to have spoilers, and I'm sure at this point everyone has seen the movie. And if not, you really should--in IMAX. More on that later...
The Dark Knight Rises picks up 8 years after the events of the Dark Knight. Gotham City is a peaceful place and Batman (and Bruce Wayne) have vanished from the public eye. Bruce Wayne limps around his mansion with a goatee and a lost look, channelling Howard Hughes at his craziest. But trouble is brewing in Gotham; beneath the exterior of peace and calm lies something more sinister.
Bruce Wayne is first snapped out of his seclusion by a cat burglar who has been robbing from the rich. She even rips off Wayne, posing as a maid to steal some pearls--and also Wayne's fingerprints.
Bruce does some fancy computer work and discovers the name of the cat burglar: Selina Kyle.
But Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman--although they never call her Catwoman in the movie) is small potatoes compared to what's really coming. A slimey Wayne Enterprises board member (which is a kind of employee Wayne Enterprises seems to hire a lot) named Dagget is trying to make a power grab of the floundering company. He's so determined to get what he wants that he's been bankrolling a group of mercenaries, led by the hulking, mysterious Bane.
Of course, none of this matters to Bane. He has his own agenda--he wants to destroy Gotham, and with it, Bruce Wayne.
Thrown into the mix is Commissioner Gordon, still struggling over the cover-up about Harvey Dent's death; Miranda Tate, a philanthropist trying to help Wayne Enterprises; and a young beat cop named John Blake, who, it turns out, is more important to the story than anyone could've guessed before hand.
I've seen The Dark Knight Rises twice so far--the first time in IMAX, the second in a "regular" theater. When I left the IMAX showing (opening night at midnight), I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was ready to proclaim "this is the best film of the trilogy!" It had totally blown me away.
But when I saw it a week later in a regular theater, my mood changed. I still loved the movie, but I was more perceptive to the flaws this time. With that in mind, I suggest anyone who is going to see this movie should plop down the extra bucks and see it in IMAX. Nolan shot over an hours worth of footage in IMAX, and it shows. You are complete engulfed into the world of the film; the soundtrack takes you over and for nearly three hours you are in a blissful, overwhelmed mood.
But, like I said, the Dark Knight Rises has flaws.
The film has been surprisingly divisive amongst fans of the franchise. Some hail it as a masterpiece, others hate its guts. It's a polarizing film. I guess that's to be expected. I'm pretty sure after the Dark Knight, the fans of this franchise all had their own ideas of what the third and final Bat-Film should be. And therein lies the problem.
The majority of complaints I've read about the film seem to be people complaining about not what was in the film, but what WASN'T. People are pissed they didn't get the movie THEY wanted. That's not how movies work, kids.
But again, there are those flaws I mentioned. For one thing, even at nearly 3 hours, the film feels rushed. This is a good thing in the sense that the film flies by; there's almost no down time, and you never get bored. But as a result it feels like they had to condense the plot to fit it all in there. I honestly could've watched another hour of the film and still been engrossed.
There are also some glaring editing mistakes that really should've been caught in a film this big. A scene in a court room involves Bane having one of his goons bring him Miranda Tate, but in the very next scene, she is fine and dandy and talking to Bruce. But then later we see that Bane is "holding her hostage" to get Batman to come to him. All Nolan and his editor had to do was simply move the scene with Bane calling Miranda over to a later position (or even cut that small scene entirely). Instead it's just there in your face, making you think "Why didn't they fix that?"
Matthew Modine's character, a cop named Foley, is completely useless. He's set up to sort of be the heir to Jim Gordon's job, and there's a scene near the end where Gordon chastises him to come out of hiding to fight Bane and his army. But other than that, the character is flat and serves almost no purpose, and then is killed off screen.
I love the ending--with Alfred spotting Bruce and Selina alive and well in a cafe; however, this scene was very heavy-handedly telegraphed at the beginning of the film. Alfred talks about how he always wanted to spot Bruce at this cafe, and know that Bruce had "finally made it" out of Gotham. They might as well have had the words FORESHADOWING flashing on the screen during this scene.
But the flaws in the film do not equal the sum of its parts. There is far more good than bad.
The film has a long list of "best things about this film" items, but at the top of that list is Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, who steals every scene she's in. For some reason when Hathaway was announced for the part, the fanboys were PISSED. I don't know why--I have nothing against Ms. Hathaway. I find her charming and attractive. But she apparently wasn't good enough for Catwoman. Then again, Heath Ledger, when announced, wasn't "good enough" to be the Joker, and we all know how that turned out.
Hathaway's Catwoman is the only character in the film who gets to have fun. Everything else is so dark and gloomy and hopeless, but Hathaway is clearly living it up. Every sly line, every seductive look, every smart ass remark rings true. If they made a spin-off movie about Hathaway's Catwoman, I'd be first in line.
While we're talking about performances, let's talk Tom Hardy's Bane. As soon as footage started to come out with Bane, there was concern over his voice. People were saying it was hard to understand, or just goofy. Honestly I never had a problem understanding a word he said in the film, but that's me.
Hardy is fantastic as Bane. He makes the character seem terrifying and brutal, and yet at the end, he even manages to make us feel a little sorry for the guy. Sure, he's a murderous, neck snapping, face smashing monster--but he also helped save a little girl from a prison full of lunatics! He even sheds a tear.
The voice Hardy chooses to use is indeed strange. But I think the fact that the voice is SO DAMN WEIRD makes the character even more interesting. Who the hell in the world can you think of who has a voice like that? No one. It's just too damn weird. And that's what makes it compelling
The always alluring Marion Cotillard is Miranda Tate, who is obviously Talia, Ra's al Ghuls daughter. I'm pretty sure as soon as she was cast in the film, every Batman fan knew exactly who she was. It wasn't surprising when she stabbed Batman in the back (literally). But when Cotillard finally goes "bad" at the end of the film, she brings a bitter iciness to the part that sells it and makes us overlook how obvious the twist is, and how underwritten the part was.
Then there's John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is just as much about him as it is about Batman. Not only is this about the Dark Knight rising, it's also about Blake's character rising up from just a beat cop to being something more. Gordon-Levitt does fine with the part, but like Miranda Tate, I did feel like he was a bit underwritten. The character could've used some fleshing out.
And then of course we have series regulars Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. Caine's Alfred is surprisingly absent for most of the film (I was not expecting that). Freeman doesn't have much to do, but he's always fun to watch. And Gary Oldman is, well, Gary Oldman. He's the coolest mother fucker on the planet and the best actor in the galaxy.
And last but certainly not least we come to Christian Bale. Yes, Batman still has that goofy voice (again, it doesn't bother me--but that's me). But this is easily Bale's best performance of all three films. Bruce Wayne goes through so much in this movie, and Bale sells it all completely. I think Bale is a fantastic actor, but in certain movies he seems to be taking things a little TOO seriously. Here, he breathes new life into the character he's played twice before, and you can tell he's loving every minute of it.
Hans Zimmer's music is incredible. The best of the trilogy. It's non-stop, churning, pounding music that refuses to let you catch your breath. Without it, the film wouldn't work nearly as well as it does.
The Dark Knight Trilogy is an amazing feat. It did the impossible: a good superhero trilogy. Most superhero films hit the "third movie curse", but Christopher Nolan and co. have avoided that but making the films bigger and more complex as they went along, but never losing sight of their original mission: to present Batman in a "realistic" world. It was a franchise full of amazing moments, and awful real-life tragedy.
As a Batman fan and as a film fan, I'm grateful to Christopher Nolan for taking the character seriously, and for doing what he does best: trying REALLY HARD.
I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Warner Brothers reboots the franchise. I highly doubt it will ever live up to what Nolan has created here with these three films.
The Dark Knight Rises is not a perfect film, but it is a perfect ending to the universe of these films. The characters get what they deserve this time--not what they need.
I, for one, am going to miss this franchise.
Final rating for the Dark Knight Rises: 9 out of 10 Bats.
Labels:
batman,
catwoman,
christian bale,
christopher nolan,
review,
the dark knight rises
Adaptable
Labels:
anne hathaway,
batman,
catwoman,
selina kyle,
the dark knight rises
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Review: I AM A GHOST
I Am a Ghost is one of those rare ghost stories that's told from the perspective of the one haunting the house, rather than those being haunted.
Anna Ishida is Emily, a woman from a seemingly Victorian time stuck in a loop. She keeps reliving the same random events every day, and she also finds herself communicating with a medium she can not see, named Sylvia.
Emily died in the house she haunts, and Sylvia is trying to get her to move on--but it's not quite working, and neither woman can figure out why.
To say any more would spoil the film, so that's all you need to know. The less you know, the more effective this film is.
I Am a Ghost is a slow-burn, reminiscent of Ti West's House of the Devil, which also features a female character trapped in a spooky old house, slowly building towards a frightening climax.
This is essentially a one-woman show, and Anna Ishida does a fine job of carrying the film. She's not as polished as a "Hollywood actress", but this helps with the out-of-time nature of the character.
Again, this is a slow-burn of a movie; some people may lose patience after seeing Emily cook the same two eggs for the fifth time, but the build up is worth it. When the horror finally kicks in, it's all the more effective.
It always helps to have a good setting for your film, especially if your film is of a lower-budget, and the old house in I Am a Ghost is perfect. It's clearly a real house--not a set--adding realism and a nicely preserved historical look. Director H.P. Mendoza employees a few nifty tricks to keep the mostly quiet movie engaging; for one thing, the film itself is presented in a frame reminiscent of an old photograph, with rounded edges. Split-screens and washed-out colors help with atmosphere and actually contribute to the film, rather than just feeling like they were added to "look cool."
If there's one complaint I have with the film, it's the (vocal) performance of Jeannie Barroga, as the psychic Sylvia. Never seen and only heard, Barroga's line-delivery feels very flat, almost as if she's just reading her lines off a piece of paper into a microphone, and not putting much feeling into them. But that's not enough of a problem to derail the movie.
At 74 minutes, I Am a Ghost never over-stays its welcome. It knows just when to end, and doesn't drag things out any further than necessary.
It may not be the slickest of ghost movies, but it's certainly one of the more effective, with a final act that will leave you chilled and disturbed.
Labels:
Anna Ishida,
film,
ghost,
ghost movie,
ghost story,
H.P. Mendoza,
horror,
i am a ghost,
indie horror,
movie,
movie review,
review,
spooky
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Review: LUNOPOLIS
I’ve watched Lunopolis twice now, and I feel like watching it a third time.
What a world this is where I want to watch a movie called Lunopolis three times!
This is the tagline of Lunopolis: There are people on the moon, they’re from the future, and they’re running our government.
Right away you want to throw this into the rubbish bin. But Lunopolis is a surprisingly fun movie about people who live on the moon and control our government. It seems really cheesy, and at times it is. But it’s also well done, and even creepy at times. Who knew a movie about Moon Men could be creepy? Not me, or Tom Hanks, who LOVES the moon, could have predicted such a thing.
The movie makes fun of Scientology and it has a fucking flying car in it. And a time machine. Also a moon rock.
There’s a scene where a character yells “You can stop the charade, we HAVE your moon rock!” and is being serious.
Also, everyone who was ever good at anything or famous, like Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, Hitler or Frankenstein was from the Moon.
Why aren’t you watching this right now? It’s on Netflix Instant. It has a really cool soundtrack that sounds a lot like Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai.
I give Lunopolis 4 out of 4 Moons.
Labels:
lunopolis,
moon rock,
movie review,
movies,
netflix instant,
review,
scientology,
the moon
Review: THE GREY
The Grey was a really poorly marketed film.
If you saw trailers or TV spots for the film, you probably got one thing out of it: LIAM NEESON FIGHTING FUCKING WOLVES OMG. HE MAKES “GLASS” KNUCKLES OUT OF TINY VODKA BOTTLES AND KILLS TEN THOUSAND WOLVES WHILE SCREAMING.
That is not at all what The Grey is like.
The Grey, believe it or not, is a surprisingly philosophical look at mortality and faith. Also it has killer wolves.
Liam Neeson stars as a sad, quiet, ass-kicking man named Ottway. He works for some oil company, where his job is to have a beard and also to shoot wolves and other animals so they wont eat the oil workers.
Ottway and the rest of the workers are flying back to Anchorage Alaska when their plane goes bonkers and crashes. A bunch-o-people die, and the survivors go about trying to…survive. Easier said than done, because besides the fact that it’s freezing cold and snowy wind keeps blowing everywhere, they happen to have crashed near the den of a pack of big ass cartoon wolves who want to eat their fucking faces off.
One by one, the men are picked off by wolves, while Ottway tries to lead them to safety.
The film was directed by Joe Carnahan, who made one good movie once, called Narc. Then everything he did after that was fucking awful. It’s nice to see he’s getting back into the “good movie” game. It looks like he’s been watching some Christopher Nolan films, because the film has a very Nolan-esq vibe to it.
It would have been VERY easy for The Grey to go wrong. I mean, just the premise alone—a bunch of guys fighting off wolves—screams B-MOVIE. But the script, by Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, goes above and beyond what is expected of it. Instead of just having the group of men be stereotypical, underdeveloped hard-asses, the script fleshes each character out, so that when they meet their wolfy demise, it actually is effective. We WANT these guys to survive. They don’t though…(SPOILERZ).
Liam Neeson is always good, even when he’s in garbage. But he does some of his best work in years in The Grey. He doesn’t feel like he’s collecting a paycheck—he feels like he’s embodying the character he’s playing.
It’s important to go into The Grey with a clear head, and NOT expecting it to be about LIAM NEESON: WOLF PUNCHER. It’s also important to go into the film realizing you’re going to walk out feeling really depressed.
A good alternate title for the film would be THE GREY: IS GOD REAL? NO HE’S NOT.
I give The Grey 4 Wolves out of 4.
Labels:
atheism,
film review,
liam neeson,
movie,
movie review,
review,
the grey,
wolf punching,
wolves
Review: EXIT HUMANITY
ZOMBIE MOVIES!
Are you sick of them yet? I sure as hell am.
There was a time when the prospect of new zombie films was very exciting. Now, there seems to be a new low-budget indie zombie movie hitting Redbox and Netflix every week.
In this day and age of zombie overload, Exit Humanity does the impossible and creates a pretty original and interesting zombie film.
Exit Humanity is set several years after the end of the Civil War. Edward Young (Mark Gibson) is a shell of a man, having lost both his wife and his son to the walking dead. Pretty much done with life, Edward sets off to do one final task: scatter his sons ashes at a waterfall that brought him peace during the war.
Along the way he blows away zombies, and runs into Issac, who also is pretty adept at zombie killing. Issac says that a crazy general (Bill Moseley) and his gang of crazy soldiers have kidnapped Issac's sister, along with a bunch of other people, in hopes of finding a "cure" to the zombie outbreak.
So Edward agrees to help Issac, and before long, Edward, Issac and Issac's sister Emma are hiding out with a woman named Eve (played by the mom from E.T., aka Dee Wallace). Eve is thought of as a witch, and she has a few secrets she's not very proud of.
Meanwhile, the general and his men are out for blood, and chaos ensues.
Exit Humanity has a very simple story, and the whole "crazy evil army people looking for a cure" story-line is a nice little nod to Day of the Dead, but what drives the film is its competent production values. This is clearly a low budget film, but director John Geddes does a great job of not letting you realize that. The film looks gorgeous, and Geddes applies a neat little trick: whenever he has a scene that would require a bigger budget, it's presented as an animation, which ties into the sketches that Edward Young makes in his journal.
Also adding greatly to the film is Brian Cox, who narrates the story with Terrence Malick-esqe prose.
But Exit Humanity is not without its flaws. The biggest is that the movie feels way too long. It starts to lag in the middle, and it's clear that a lot of padding is going on to stretch things out. Trimmed of about ten to twenty minutes, the film would be much tighter.
I love Bill Moseley; he is of course a genre favorite. But he's pretty terrible in the movie. The rest of the cast does a fantastic job, which causes Moseley to stand out like a sore thumb as he chews the scenery and yells and knocks things over trying to act crazy. The movie also loses some points for totally wasting awesome character actor Stephen McHattie in a pretty thankless, nothing role. Things would have been better suited if Moseley and McHattie had switched characters.
This may seem a bit nit-picky since this is a low-budget film, but the zombie make-up is inconsistent and distracting. At times, it looks really good--creepy and effective. At others it looks like total crap--like people with white goop smeared on their faces.
But overall, Exit Humanity does a pretty good job of injecting some life into the zombie genre.
The music is very good, as is the costume design; these things are important. A good soundtrack and good costumes can make your low budget schlock look like a million bucks.
The zombie genre may be beating an undead horse (see what I did there??), but Exit Humanity takes it into a different direction, and succeeds where so many others have failed.
Labels:
brian cox,
civil war,
exit humanity,
horror,
horror movies,
movie review,
review,
zombies
Cannibal Corpse - I Cum Blood (Metal Spoken Word)
Labels:
cannibal corpse,
funny,
metal spoken word
Friday, July 27, 2012
If I lose the light
"If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will write in blood on forgotten walls. I will write always. I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you."
Henry Rollins
Labels:
henry rollins,
light,
writing
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
July
July is almost over. Ever closer to autumn.
Explosions pillaging the night
From the fireworks on the fourth of July
It's just my lady, our friends, and I
Smoking cigars and yelling at cars as they drive by
We scaled a ladder ascending to the roof
While five years ago I weeped and no one knew
Holding my guitar, I strummed a tune
I sang "I love you but I have to cut you loose"
As the neighbor lights off the small bombs we watch
from the rooftop... safely, so safely
If I had never let go, then only God knows where I would be know
I made a bridge between us then I slowly burned it
Five years ago, in my backyard I sang love away
Little did I know that real love had not quite yet found me
Explosions pillaging the night
From the fireworks on the fourth of July
It's just my lady, our friends, and I
Smoking cigars and yelling at cars as they drive by
We scaled a ladder ascending to the roof
While five years ago I weeped and no one knew
Holding my guitar, I strummed a tune
I sang "I love you but I have to cut you loose"
As the neighbor lights off the small bombs we watch
from the rooftop... safely, so safely
If I had never let go, then only God knows where I would be know
I made a bridge between us then I slowly burned it
Five years ago, in my backyard I sang love away
Little did I know that real love had not quite yet found me
Labels:
blood,
fireworks,
july,
music,
music video,
video,
youth lagoon
Monday, July 23, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
EXCERPTS FROM THE HAUNTED HOUSE BUYER’S MARKET
Due to laws passed requiring realtors to
provide full disclosure on their properties, we are obligated to tell you if a
house might be traditionally referred to/believed to be “haunted.” To help
reduce the amount of inquirers, we have compiled a listing of the following
properties.
- - - - - - - - - -
34 Weetamoe Rd
Center Ossipee, NH 03814
Year round home
on Ossipee lake with spectacular views of lake and mountains. Beds: 2. Baths:
1. Sqft: 572. Year built: 1940
Original owner,
Carter Boggs, murdered his entire family on Christmas Eve, cutting off their
heads and decorating his Christmas tree with their entrails. He then sat down
for a quiet Christmas dinner.
Subsequent
residents have reported hearing strange noises in the bedroom where Boggs
killed his family. Occasionally, lights flicker on and off; no electrical
problems have been found. On Christmas Eve every year, horrible blood-piercing
shrieks sound all around the house. Blood-like substance (possibly blood) leeks
from faucets.
Great value at
$279,000!
- - - - - - - - - -
77 Starboard Ln UNIT 1
Moultonborough, NH 03254
Rare end unit
with attached garage. Close to heated pool and your own private 26' deep water
dock. Beds: 3. Baths: 3. Sqft: 2,552. Year built: 1975.
A previous
occupant was an occultist who conducted black masses in basement, sacrificing
several animals. The family who lived in the house most recently reports that
low, horrible animal-like sounds come from the floorboards. A
"demonic" (source required) face was spotted in the bathroom mirror,
speaking Latin.
A steal at
$439,000.
- - - - - - - - - -
13 Natalie’s Way
Gilford, NH 03249
Bank Owned
Serene and
elegant, this private Governor's Island home is a dream. Set on almost 4
beautifully landscaped acres with westerly mountain and lake views. Beds: 3.
Baths: 3. Sqft: 3,483 Year built: 1932.
Former tenants
found several wasp nests in the attic. After calling an exterminator to gas the
wasps, the wasps returned every night around midnight, screaming human-like
screams. Human remains found walled-up in closet. Entire family reported vivid,
murder-filled nightmares.
$432,299.
- - - - - - - - - -
299 Linden St
Exeter, NH 03833
Victorian with
3 yr. old heating system, new side stairs, fresh paint on exterior trim and
porches and many interior improvements. Beds: 4. Baths: 4. Sqft: 2,404. Year
built: 1890.
House built on
former Native American burial ground by Dr. Robert Tweed, who was known as the
Butcher of Exeter, due to his infamous, unnecessary surgeries on unsuspecting
young women. Many occupants have reported that the house "moves";
they claim that looking out the window, they would no longer see their yard or
front street, but a swirling black void. Upstairs windows will not open,
despite frequent attempts to pry them.
Pregnant women
reportedly miscarry while dwelling or even visiting the house. A dog-like
creature prowls the yard during heavy rainfalls, his eyes glowing red. Dr.
Tweed himself has been spotted standing on the roof, naked, laughing maniacally
before vanishing into thin air.
Price heavily
reduced due to lengthy time on the market.
$80,000 or best
offer!
Labels:
by me,
fiction,
ghosts,
haunted house,
horror,
short story,
story,
writing,
written by me
RISE
I really want to write a review of the Dark Knight Rises, but I think I need to see it again to get all of the details right.
For now I'll just say that I loved it. It was a perfect conclusion to the trilogy, with incredible action and emotion. Anne Hathaway totally knocked it out of the park as Catwoman, and Tom Hardy was brutal and terrifying as Bane.
Again, I need to watch it again before I form a "final opinion", but right now I think I honestly like this one the most of all three films.
For now I'll just say that I loved it. It was a perfect conclusion to the trilogy, with incredible action and emotion. Anne Hathaway totally knocked it out of the park as Catwoman, and Tom Hardy was brutal and terrifying as Bane.
Again, I need to watch it again before I form a "final opinion", but right now I think I honestly like this one the most of all three films.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sharp
Labels:
black and white,
blades,
knife,
knives,
vintage
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