I had a longer post, but I accidently pressed the "turn off the computer" key on my computer (for the third time today, but the other times were because I was taking off the keys on my keyboard to thoroughly clean it) and I don't feel like retyping the preamble. To sum up in point form:
* nice, quiet Christmas
* tasty homemade treats
* Anna sent mom a letter about Grammie
* Mom cried
* I teared up
* I became sort of jealous of Anna (She remembers Grammie more vividly than I and she expressed her feelings in a well-written letter that I was jealous of as an aspiring writer)
* Lots of turkey to use up.
* Spent two days in a row in Pajama pants (ooooooooooooh, yeah)
Here's what I got for Christmas:
Corinthian Cream Wafers: Delicious treats in a nice can.
Terry's Chocolate Orange: A Christmas tradition.
Sniff tissues: It's a Christmas tradition (I had a really runny nose as a child).
An Ice Scraper: Mom, I love you but... the Hell?
Cartooning Kit: I got this last year. I really should use it.
Mouthwash pocket paks: I like 'em.
A Toothpaste and a Pen: I love getting a fresh new toothbrush and I like pens. But what sort of sick fuck thinks that they must be sold in the same package? Now, how about some panty hose and a spork? This is a product for crazy people, by crazy people.
Gorillaz - Demon Days: A sweet CD, but I haven't had time to listen to it all. Still, I really like a Gorillaz style of cross-genre tunes. Plus it's nice to know that comic artist Jamie Hewlitt is still getting work drawing the band.
Frank Black - Honeycomb: Not as sweet as some of his other stuff, but still really good.
Simpsons Mini-Calendar: It contains some classic Simpsons moments. Also, Smarch.
Sweater and Socks: Warm and fuzzy.
13 Hours of Noir: a cheap little DVD collection with 9 public domain noir flicks. They don't all look that great but there are some premises in there. I only watched "Detour" which had a great premise, but little pay-off.
Wolverine Action Figue: Damn cool. He's about to pounce on my Heap figure as we speak.
Shadow of the Collossus: I want to play this sooooo bad. Now I have to wait till the PS3 comes out, (assuming my budget will allow it). Or maybe see if Jordan would sell his PS2 after he gets his PS3. Come on Jordan, unless the PS3 decides not to have backwards compatibility with PS one, you won't need it. Do it! Do the deed- *ahem* sorry.
The Comic Book Encyclopedia: Really big and informative, though I have issues with the lengths of certain entries, plus there's way to much unimportant and uninteresting golden age info. Also, some of the info on certain recent projects seems unimportant enough to not be listed. Also ,some entries could have better pictures. And there's the occasional typo that is distracting but other than that it's pretty cool.
The Quitter: Harvey Pekar's (American Splendor) most personal work and first new work for DC. Looks like it's going to be a great read.
Superman: Secret Identity: Awesome! One of my favourite comics, this is the tale of a man named Clack Kent. As a boy, he hated being a Kansis farmboy named Clark Kent, mostly because the name and background is too similar to a certain fictional man of steel. Growing tired of nothing but Superman-related birthday gifts and stale jokes, he's sick do death of the character and his name. But while on a camping trip, Clark discovers that he has more in common with Superman than just a name. A great, touching story of gorwing up and growing old.
Vinamarama: I haven't got it yet, but I was told I would. I'm really looking forward to reading it. It's about an Indian 20-something who is engaged to be married to a girl he's never meet, must look after his young brother and must find away to save the world from being destroyed by an ancient force. A romantic comedy on the cusp of the apocalypse.
$40 gift certicate for Strange Adventures: I assume this is from the twins, but there was no identification oon either the envolope or the certificate. I used it to buy:
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 14: these things come out faster than I can by them. I love the book but please give me at minute! Stop being so prolific Bendis!
Doom Patrol: Down Paradise Way: Super-powered schizoids! Sentient transvetite streets with frilly gun shops! A fictional super-hero teaming up with a non-fictional fictional superhero team. This books like having David Lynch doing the Fantastic Four.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
Tippy Tippy Tay
Well, we had our final annual all night get together last Saturday/Sunday and the next day we had said had a going away party for the twins and frankly, I'm still a bit tuckered. I think I could use a break from my friends. But nonetheless, I had a great time. Here's a quick log of what happened in those three days.
Saturday, 1:34PM -Arrived at Jordan's late. It wasn't my fault, but I kind of wish it was, since Jordan being pissed off is hilarious. He was watching a poorly animated cartoon about pixies trying to become Christmas elves. So, does this mean that elf is a rank rather than a creature or are these guys just trying to change species? If these are different races and Santa only desires help from an elven race, does that make santa racist? And in what way where the species different. I was clearly way in over my head here. Clearly, this is a subject that Oliver Stone should handle in his next film. It would have to be better than that piece of shit Alexander film.
2:20ish PM - After we watched Jordan mess around with Katamari Damashi (or is it Damacy. For some reason I remember some un-Japanese like spelling) for a while, we played Mario Kart Double Dash. That game does not get old. Of course, then again, we don't play it that often, but I love it. There's something fun of the teamwork of the game, especially with Aiden. Now there's a teammate. Now don't get me wrong, I like Darcy and Jordan, but Jordan is the bossy type and Darcy... we'll it's not his playing so much as his personality. I can't put my finger on what it is about Darcy that doesn't make him my choice but I guess it's that. I like him and I have no problem with his personality (except when he smells or tries to dry hump me) but it doesn't seem appropriate for the game. I just don't feel that he wants to win. I know he'd like to win but he doesn't want it.
Jordan, on the other hand, has the "winning edge". That's the name of the switchblade he'll cut you with if he feels that, as a teammate, you impede his winning. I'd much rather be his hated enemy with than his hated teammate. After all, he makes a more than worthy opponent and I still have someone to fall back on.
Aiden makes a great other player because he knows how to support my so-so game playing and turn my second place into first. He found a way to take a seemingly shallow and empty supporting player role (on his insistence) in which he just shoots stuff, and made up for my weaknesses in cornering and trap evasion. Plus we were all about the blue sparks. Bravo Aiden. Even when we weren't number one... I wasn't on Jordan's team. Oh, and I felt like a winner or something.
6:00-ish PM- Dinner was good. I suck at old arcade games. I know that they're hard... but man do I suck.
7:30-ish PM - Jordan's a timewasting dick. Driving around with Trevor on top of us might seem fun to you, but the joke didn't really get any funnier. Strange how Trevor actually believed you when you said you were taking him to your place for, like, the third time. Some people never learn.
8:40-ish PM - We played Karaoke Revolution. It was awesome. None of us sang well, but half of us sang competently and used the right pitch that the game wanted, so good enough for me. The twins did well towards the end, but the problem is that they are even more shy than Jordan, and he aspires to be a recluse. The hardest parts were the bits of song no one seems to remember (I assumed that there was just mostly refrain in "Play that Funky Music.") I was the overall victor, but I think that Jordan was a damned good contender and even beat me in a song neither of us had heard of (probably because it was terrible). I think I did as well as I did because most of my song picks were eighties hits, and I have a thing for the music of the eighties. They have a certain melody that I follow better than generations of music. I think everyone wanted to play again, but Jordan didn't want to have his money wasted on board games.
12:50-ish PM - Pictionary. I really don't remember this game sucking as much as it did. It was cute for a half hour, but FOUR FUCKING HOURS OF THE GAME IS FUCKING ANNOYING. I also don't remember the terrible rule set. I hate the "all play" turns, which are seemingly all of them. I think it's dumb in principle cause often when we did simultaneous pictures, we'd would kinda point to the guy closest to the truth. I like idea of making crappy drawing and trying to get people to figure out what it means is fun. Unfortunately it doesn't last as long as the game thinks it should.
4:00 PM: Scattegories - This is a fun game. Unlike Pictionary and Taboo, which is about conveying a simple idea with limitations, it is more about trying to think of an original and less obvious answers with keeping in the guidelines. Still, I had issues about some player's choice of hero. I really don't know whose less of a hero: Kelsey Grammer or King Kong. Very depressing.
6:00 PM: Taboo - Great game. The last time we played this the best part was Darcy screwing up and saying things he specifically wasn't supposed to say. This time the best part was Jordan going psycho when his players couldn't figure his clues out. Oh, Jordan, you're hatred and your competitive nature are so entertaining.
Monday:
That was a pretty good time. Does anyone know how to light a stove anymore? Very informative... that's all I can think of.
Saturday, 1:34PM -Arrived at Jordan's late. It wasn't my fault, but I kind of wish it was, since Jordan being pissed off is hilarious. He was watching a poorly animated cartoon about pixies trying to become Christmas elves. So, does this mean that elf is a rank rather than a creature or are these guys just trying to change species? If these are different races and Santa only desires help from an elven race, does that make santa racist? And in what way where the species different. I was clearly way in over my head here. Clearly, this is a subject that Oliver Stone should handle in his next film. It would have to be better than that piece of shit Alexander film.
2:20ish PM - After we watched Jordan mess around with Katamari Damashi (or is it Damacy. For some reason I remember some un-Japanese like spelling) for a while, we played Mario Kart Double Dash. That game does not get old. Of course, then again, we don't play it that often, but I love it. There's something fun of the teamwork of the game, especially with Aiden. Now there's a teammate. Now don't get me wrong, I like Darcy and Jordan, but Jordan is the bossy type and Darcy... we'll it's not his playing so much as his personality. I can't put my finger on what it is about Darcy that doesn't make him my choice but I guess it's that. I like him and I have no problem with his personality (except when he smells or tries to dry hump me) but it doesn't seem appropriate for the game. I just don't feel that he wants to win. I know he'd like to win but he doesn't want it.
Jordan, on the other hand, has the "winning edge". That's the name of the switchblade he'll cut you with if he feels that, as a teammate, you impede his winning. I'd much rather be his hated enemy with than his hated teammate. After all, he makes a more than worthy opponent and I still have someone to fall back on.
Aiden makes a great other player because he knows how to support my so-so game playing and turn my second place into first. He found a way to take a seemingly shallow and empty supporting player role (on his insistence) in which he just shoots stuff, and made up for my weaknesses in cornering and trap evasion. Plus we were all about the blue sparks. Bravo Aiden. Even when we weren't number one... I wasn't on Jordan's team. Oh, and I felt like a winner or something.
6:00-ish PM- Dinner was good. I suck at old arcade games. I know that they're hard... but man do I suck.
7:30-ish PM - Jordan's a timewasting dick. Driving around with Trevor on top of us might seem fun to you, but the joke didn't really get any funnier. Strange how Trevor actually believed you when you said you were taking him to your place for, like, the third time. Some people never learn.
8:40-ish PM - We played Karaoke Revolution. It was awesome. None of us sang well, but half of us sang competently and used the right pitch that the game wanted, so good enough for me. The twins did well towards the end, but the problem is that they are even more shy than Jordan, and he aspires to be a recluse. The hardest parts were the bits of song no one seems to remember (I assumed that there was just mostly refrain in "Play that Funky Music.") I was the overall victor, but I think that Jordan was a damned good contender and even beat me in a song neither of us had heard of (probably because it was terrible). I think I did as well as I did because most of my song picks were eighties hits, and I have a thing for the music of the eighties. They have a certain melody that I follow better than generations of music. I think everyone wanted to play again, but Jordan didn't want to have his money wasted on board games.
12:50-ish PM - Pictionary. I really don't remember this game sucking as much as it did. It was cute for a half hour, but FOUR FUCKING HOURS OF THE GAME IS FUCKING ANNOYING. I also don't remember the terrible rule set. I hate the "all play" turns, which are seemingly all of them. I think it's dumb in principle cause often when we did simultaneous pictures, we'd would kinda point to the guy closest to the truth. I like idea of making crappy drawing and trying to get people to figure out what it means is fun. Unfortunately it doesn't last as long as the game thinks it should.
4:00 PM: Scattegories - This is a fun game. Unlike Pictionary and Taboo, which is about conveying a simple idea with limitations, it is more about trying to think of an original and less obvious answers with keeping in the guidelines. Still, I had issues about some player's choice of hero. I really don't know whose less of a hero: Kelsey Grammer or King Kong. Very depressing.
6:00 PM: Taboo - Great game. The last time we played this the best part was Darcy screwing up and saying things he specifically wasn't supposed to say. This time the best part was Jordan going psycho when his players couldn't figure his clues out. Oh, Jordan, you're hatred and your competitive nature are so entertaining.
Monday:
That was a pretty good time. Does anyone know how to light a stove anymore? Very informative... that's all I can think of.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
A serious post
You may not be interested in this post in that it deals with a personal loss. If you are looking for frivolity please wait until my next post. There might also be typos since I think the keyboard is rather insensitive.
My Grandmother had past away this past Monday. She will be missed by many just as she was loved by many.
Frankly, I haven't had a really good cry yet and the loss itself hasn't really sunk in. And it usually doesn't take much to make me cry. It just feels weird and I wan to cry but I could only cry for short intervals during the past week.
I found out on Monday night and on Tuesday I just went to work like nothing happened. I knew what had happened and I knew things were supposed to be different, but it didn't really feel that way.
I didn't cry really cry until I arrived in Moncton on Wednesday and even then I was only for a few short minutes. We went to the wake that day, which was rather uncomfortable. I spent a good amount of time in the coffee/tea room, drinking what can loosely be referred to as tea, but is in fact brown hot-sugar milk, since I felt like having a lot of sugar. The wake was not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be and there was as much laughter as there were tears. I guess I expected everyone to subdue any sort of joking but if anything, I think the loss and the need for comfort made us joke around more and made us feel a bit better. The funeral home was friendly and respectful, bu my one complain is seeing the body. Frankly, I though I would cry longer after seeing the body, bu I was more comfortable with it than I expected, but I had to comfort my mother, who began to cry loudly before the body. What was most discomforting about it was the fac had some imperfections removed, making it not look like a real body.
I actually perferred the wake to the funeral mass today. I wasn't uncomfortable or offended by the mass, but I felt that there was a bit more closure in the wake and the wake was a bit more personal. I also acted as a pallbearer (I don't remember or feel like looking up the actual spelling). This was my first funeral, and in my heart I wish it was my last, but we all know that's not true. I just though you should all know.
I'll most likely show up for anime Saturday night, but don't try to "act" natural, because there is nothing more unnatural than someone acting natural. Don't worry about me, I think I'll be normal, if a bit more soft spoken. Just warnin' ya that if I spotenious start crying (and I doubt I will), you'll know why.
My Grandmother had past away this past Monday. She will be missed by many just as she was loved by many.
Frankly, I haven't had a really good cry yet and the loss itself hasn't really sunk in. And it usually doesn't take much to make me cry. It just feels weird and I wan to cry but I could only cry for short intervals during the past week.
I found out on Monday night and on Tuesday I just went to work like nothing happened. I knew what had happened and I knew things were supposed to be different, but it didn't really feel that way.
I didn't cry really cry until I arrived in Moncton on Wednesday and even then I was only for a few short minutes. We went to the wake that day, which was rather uncomfortable. I spent a good amount of time in the coffee/tea room, drinking what can loosely be referred to as tea, but is in fact brown hot-sugar milk, since I felt like having a lot of sugar. The wake was not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be and there was as much laughter as there were tears. I guess I expected everyone to subdue any sort of joking but if anything, I think the loss and the need for comfort made us joke around more and made us feel a bit better. The funeral home was friendly and respectful, bu my one complain is seeing the body. Frankly, I though I would cry longer after seeing the body, bu I was more comfortable with it than I expected, but I had to comfort my mother, who began to cry loudly before the body. What was most discomforting about it was the fac had some imperfections removed, making it not look like a real body.
I actually perferred the wake to the funeral mass today. I wasn't uncomfortable or offended by the mass, but I felt that there was a bit more closure in the wake and the wake was a bit more personal. I also acted as a pallbearer (I don't remember or feel like looking up the actual spelling). This was my first funeral, and in my heart I wish it was my last, but we all know that's not true. I just though you should all know.
I'll most likely show up for anime Saturday night, but don't try to "act" natural, because there is nothing more unnatural than someone acting natural. Don't worry about me, I think I'll be normal, if a bit more soft spoken. Just warnin' ya that if I spotenious start crying (and I doubt I will), you'll know why.
Monday, November 28, 2005
I Feel So Good, But I Feel So Bad (But I'm Getting Better)
I meant to post this much sooner but I've been sick and working and shut up! I got some good news involving me, who is apparently awesome.
1. I will now be teaching two students each Saturday: an 11th grade student who needs help with his English class and a 7th grade student who needs help with English in general. Sure, both seem to speak fluent English, but so does Aden and just look at his spelling. So I got that going for me.
2. I will be writing comic reviews for a webzine called PopMatters, which I'm looking forward to since it brings me just a little closer to legitimacy. The e-mail I got from them said that they liked my reviews and I just have to send at least one comic review every 2 weeks and that they may send me free books. The only problem is they said they like my reviews of Infinite Crisis and Loveless... neither of which I have never read, let alone reviewed. Then they sent me a letter of apology for that mistake and said all the other information still stands. Yay me.
3. My comic book radio show (Four Color Sound, which airs every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. and Mondays at 6 a.m.) had its first interview with Gibson Twist, a local writer whose work has appeared in 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005. 24 Hour Comics Day is an event started by Scott McCloud in which comic creators from all over the world must complete a 24 page comic within 24 hours. Crazy! Gibson only got 10 pages in, but the story actually feels pretty complete, and the comic was actually good enough to merit one his comic being put into the Highlights book. Gibson turned out to be a really nice guy and a catchy pen name and really enjoyed doing the interview. he had done Morningside earlier in the month, but that was only about 5 minutes. We gave him a full forty, plus co-hosting duties. Sweet. That broadcast will also be the first one we PodCast. It's probably best to start with a big name. Well, a name anyway. Shut up, I think he's cool.
So lots of nice things happening lately. But I've also been sick and feeling like crap. The sickness comes in ebbs and flows but now I'm feeling mostly better and not shitty. Lets just see how long that lasts.
Thing I'm obsessed with at the moment:
All-Star Superman: This is easily the best Superman comic to come out since "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" (though if you want to debate it go ahead). The only thing that comes close is Superman: Secret Identity, but to be fair, that was a Superman comic without Superman in it. Sort of. It's complicated.
Anyway, All-Star Superman is a new series designed to tell stories featuring "classic" Superman, who isn't married, hasn't died and isn't bogged down in continuity. The only Super-knowledge you need to know the common knowledge sort of stuff: Superman good and can do anything. Lex Luthor is bad. Lois Lane is a spunky journalist. She puts up with Clark and loves Superman. Who is Clark. Nice and simple.
With the first issue, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely make Superman better than he's been in years. They now making a good Superman story is now to try and make Superman "cool," but rather having him being an epic, awe-inspiring but gentle figure who can tear the Earth in two but just wants to help people. They know how to make Lex Luthor into a brilliant villain who is so smart that he knows how to take care of the man who can do anything. And Lois... Well, as long as you remember to make her feisty, just and turned off by naivete without being a bitch then you've got her right.
The book begins with Superman saving a spacecraft that is trying to "steal fire from the sun" in order to study it. Unfortunately Lex Luthor has sabotaged the mission with a human bomb and Superman has to stop it. Superman does (cause he's Superman) with the help of new superpowers he acquired from the sun (Superman's powers stem from the radiation of Earth's sun on his alien biology). Unfortunately the benevolent scientist named Quintam (who planned the mission to the sun) tells Superman that he has sucked in so much solar energy that his cells are bursting that the seems and he only has a short time to live. Now Superman faces his final mission: saying goodbye to the world he once protected and doing everything that needs to be done.
Awesome book! Luthor has never been more nasty. For example: Luthor, being taken away by the police after tricking Superman into flying into the sun and causing his inevitable death says "Yes, take me away boys. I know it's for my own good. Take me away... before I do something really terrible to Superman." Man, that guy is fucking EVIL!
1. I will now be teaching two students each Saturday: an 11th grade student who needs help with his English class and a 7th grade student who needs help with English in general. Sure, both seem to speak fluent English, but so does Aden and just look at his spelling. So I got that going for me.
2. I will be writing comic reviews for a webzine called PopMatters, which I'm looking forward to since it brings me just a little closer to legitimacy. The e-mail I got from them said that they liked my reviews and I just have to send at least one comic review every 2 weeks and that they may send me free books. The only problem is they said they like my reviews of Infinite Crisis and Loveless... neither of which I have never read, let alone reviewed. Then they sent me a letter of apology for that mistake and said all the other information still stands. Yay me.
3. My comic book radio show (Four Color Sound, which airs every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. and Mondays at 6 a.m.) had its first interview with Gibson Twist, a local writer whose work has appeared in 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005. 24 Hour Comics Day is an event started by Scott McCloud in which comic creators from all over the world must complete a 24 page comic within 24 hours. Crazy! Gibson only got 10 pages in, but the story actually feels pretty complete, and the comic was actually good enough to merit one his comic being put into the Highlights book. Gibson turned out to be a really nice guy and a catchy pen name and really enjoyed doing the interview. he had done Morningside earlier in the month, but that was only about 5 minutes. We gave him a full forty, plus co-hosting duties. Sweet. That broadcast will also be the first one we PodCast. It's probably best to start with a big name. Well, a name anyway. Shut up, I think he's cool.
So lots of nice things happening lately. But I've also been sick and feeling like crap. The sickness comes in ebbs and flows but now I'm feeling mostly better and not shitty. Lets just see how long that lasts.
Thing I'm obsessed with at the moment:
All-Star Superman: This is easily the best Superman comic to come out since "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" (though if you want to debate it go ahead). The only thing that comes close is Superman: Secret Identity, but to be fair, that was a Superman comic without Superman in it. Sort of. It's complicated.
Anyway, All-Star Superman is a new series designed to tell stories featuring "classic" Superman, who isn't married, hasn't died and isn't bogged down in continuity. The only Super-knowledge you need to know the common knowledge sort of stuff: Superman good and can do anything. Lex Luthor is bad. Lois Lane is a spunky journalist. She puts up with Clark and loves Superman. Who is Clark. Nice and simple.
With the first issue, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely make Superman better than he's been in years. They now making a good Superman story is now to try and make Superman "cool," but rather having him being an epic, awe-inspiring but gentle figure who can tear the Earth in two but just wants to help people. They know how to make Lex Luthor into a brilliant villain who is so smart that he knows how to take care of the man who can do anything. And Lois... Well, as long as you remember to make her feisty, just and turned off by naivete without being a bitch then you've got her right.
The book begins with Superman saving a spacecraft that is trying to "steal fire from the sun" in order to study it. Unfortunately Lex Luthor has sabotaged the mission with a human bomb and Superman has to stop it. Superman does (cause he's Superman) with the help of new superpowers he acquired from the sun (Superman's powers stem from the radiation of Earth's sun on his alien biology). Unfortunately the benevolent scientist named Quintam (who planned the mission to the sun) tells Superman that he has sucked in so much solar energy that his cells are bursting that the seems and he only has a short time to live. Now Superman faces his final mission: saying goodbye to the world he once protected and doing everything that needs to be done.
Awesome book! Luthor has never been more nasty. For example: Luthor, being taken away by the police after tricking Superman into flying into the sun and causing his inevitable death says "Yes, take me away boys. I know it's for my own good. Take me away... before I do something really terrible to Superman." Man, that guy is fucking EVIL!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Things I've Seen
Just a quick overview of things I've seen and read lately:
The Warriors: I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't really all the great either. The premise is that in New York City, a man named Cyrus wants to unite all the gangs against the police. All of the gangs attend without fighting or maiming each other until (in film cliche fashion) he is shot and killed. A poor small gang called the warriors are blamed and now it turn out all of the gangs are united... against them. Can our anti-heroes make it home in one piece?
The idea is fun, and I like that the gangs are often strange and ridiculous (a gang of baseball fans called the Baseball Furies and a gang of mimes called the highhats for example), but the movie itself is lacking. There is a lot of potential for this to be both a kick-ass action flick or a suspenseful edge of your seat thriller, but the fact is the audience can see the traps coming from a mile away (most notably a painfully long seen in which half of the group is partying with the Lizzies) and the suspense and action scenes are not all that suspenseful or action packed. Not a bad movie, but it had a lot of wasted potential. Especially disappointing is the finale in which the Warriors face of against the Rogues, who are easily the least intimidating gang in the film.
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory: I saw this with my parents the other night when we were looking for something to cheer my parents up. Frankly I wanted to see this for a while since it was one of my favourite books as a child and I never really like the 70's adaptation (Gene Wilder's great potrayal as Wonka aside), so I was interested in seeing this version. While this this film takes some unnecessary liberties (Wonka's childhood), I was pleased with the final result, though I was hoping it, like the book, would feel a little more fucked up (sure you got near deaths and singing migdets, but it should feel like you won't know whether the kids are a live or not until the end).
Tim Burton's films can be really hit (Ed Wood, Big Fish) or miss (Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes), and this film was a hit, albeit a flawed one. I love the overall style of the film and the set, for the most part, are outstanding, particularly the first room of the tour. The Oompah Loopmahs are a lot less creepy this time around (which is funny, because the actor who potrays them all, Deep Roy, is one creepy looking midget). The musical numbers are all distinct adn catchy (especially "Augustus Gloop"), the kids are all suitably nasty and Johnny Depp is great as the socially awkward and funloving-yet-bitter Willy Wonka. I really like Depp as a character actor, as evidenced in film like Ed Wood, and I am very much looking forward to the Libertine
Still, the film falters a bit when it's trying to be touching, though thankfully it is not a painfully saccharine as some other family films. I mean, as much as I loved Elf, the last 15 minutes really sucked! Also, Charlie, the title character, is given surprisingly little to do during the famous tour despite being the title character. Anyhoo, the point is the film is a good family film, despiute it's many faults.
Paul Moves Out: This is a very generic feeling semi-autobiographical "graphic novel," but despite that it is actually pretty good. Probably because it has a certain sweetness to it that I like. There isn't really one story or a real point to the narrative except having the creator capture fond and painful memories artistically. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but it is a nice sweet book from Drawn & Quarterly, who tend to bring out my favourite indie books.
The Warriors: I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't really all the great either. The premise is that in New York City, a man named Cyrus wants to unite all the gangs against the police. All of the gangs attend without fighting or maiming each other until (in film cliche fashion) he is shot and killed. A poor small gang called the warriors are blamed and now it turn out all of the gangs are united... against them. Can our anti-heroes make it home in one piece?
The idea is fun, and I like that the gangs are often strange and ridiculous (a gang of baseball fans called the Baseball Furies and a gang of mimes called the highhats for example), but the movie itself is lacking. There is a lot of potential for this to be both a kick-ass action flick or a suspenseful edge of your seat thriller, but the fact is the audience can see the traps coming from a mile away (most notably a painfully long seen in which half of the group is partying with the Lizzies) and the suspense and action scenes are not all that suspenseful or action packed. Not a bad movie, but it had a lot of wasted potential. Especially disappointing is the finale in which the Warriors face of against the Rogues, who are easily the least intimidating gang in the film.
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory: I saw this with my parents the other night when we were looking for something to cheer my parents up. Frankly I wanted to see this for a while since it was one of my favourite books as a child and I never really like the 70's adaptation (Gene Wilder's great potrayal as Wonka aside), so I was interested in seeing this version. While this this film takes some unnecessary liberties (Wonka's childhood), I was pleased with the final result, though I was hoping it, like the book, would feel a little more fucked up (sure you got near deaths and singing migdets, but it should feel like you won't know whether the kids are a live or not until the end).
Tim Burton's films can be really hit (Ed Wood, Big Fish) or miss (Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes), and this film was a hit, albeit a flawed one. I love the overall style of the film and the set, for the most part, are outstanding, particularly the first room of the tour. The Oompah Loopmahs are a lot less creepy this time around (which is funny, because the actor who potrays them all, Deep Roy, is one creepy looking midget). The musical numbers are all distinct adn catchy (especially "Augustus Gloop"), the kids are all suitably nasty and Johnny Depp is great as the socially awkward and funloving-yet-bitter Willy Wonka. I really like Depp as a character actor, as evidenced in film like Ed Wood, and I am very much looking forward to the Libertine
Still, the film falters a bit when it's trying to be touching, though thankfully it is not a painfully saccharine as some other family films. I mean, as much as I loved Elf, the last 15 minutes really sucked! Also, Charlie, the title character, is given surprisingly little to do during the famous tour despite being the title character. Anyhoo, the point is the film is a good family film, despiute it's many faults.
Paul Moves Out: This is a very generic feeling semi-autobiographical "graphic novel," but despite that it is actually pretty good. Probably because it has a certain sweetness to it that I like. There isn't really one story or a real point to the narrative except having the creator capture fond and painful memories artistically. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but it is a nice sweet book from Drawn & Quarterly, who tend to bring out my favourite indie books.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Shakespeare Legends
Jordan, Aiden and I beat X-Men Legends, and while it was a fun game it was heavily flawed. The story was really pitiful and the levels tended to get really repetitive after a while. Not only that, but I felt that Jordan's insane need to destroy everything took a lot of the fun out of the destructable environments. Dude, even if there is a health packet hidden in the very hard to reach pipes, its not going to be worth the effort. The cut scenes were also horrible, featuring a very goofy looking team of X-Men (especially Wolverine). The game also had a lack of boss battles and several scenes where villains pop up to taunt our heroes, then run away (a scene with the Blob jumping of an aircraft carrier was particularly perplexing).
Still, there's nothing like the terrifying feeling of fighting an army of giant sentinels or beating up non-generic mutants. Good stuff. Possibly my favourite part of the game was the Skirmish, which turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. Still, the problem with having other characters wail on each other is that you can't do it with your own character's build (lame) and if characters are mismatched, it can be a long boring fight to the finish.
Looking forward to X-Men Legends 2 though. There seem to be a lot of improvements (most notably the cut scenes, which now look much better) and a lot of fun characters to mess around with (yay, Scarlet Witch!). I'm hoping the stories a little better and the villains more interesting (and with more variety), but as I understand it, a lot of the generic bad guys are still monotonous. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it.
I also started tutoring a teenager named Jun Park. He is close to fluent in English, but he still needs help with a many words. I'm helping him with his work on Romeo and Juliet (which would definitely give anyone trouble if English isn't there first language) and teaching him a few new words along the way. It's pretty enjoyable, though a bit awkward since the mother was in the same room reading out newspaper, circling words she's trying to learn. Luckily, she wasn't intrusive in anyway and both mother and son seem rather nice. Looks like I'll be making an extra $10-$20 a week.
Still, there's nothing like the terrifying feeling of fighting an army of giant sentinels or beating up non-generic mutants. Good stuff. Possibly my favourite part of the game was the Skirmish, which turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. Still, the problem with having other characters wail on each other is that you can't do it with your own character's build (lame) and if characters are mismatched, it can be a long boring fight to the finish.
Looking forward to X-Men Legends 2 though. There seem to be a lot of improvements (most notably the cut scenes, which now look much better) and a lot of fun characters to mess around with (yay, Scarlet Witch!). I'm hoping the stories a little better and the villains more interesting (and with more variety), but as I understand it, a lot of the generic bad guys are still monotonous. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it.
I also started tutoring a teenager named Jun Park. He is close to fluent in English, but he still needs help with a many words. I'm helping him with his work on Romeo and Juliet (which would definitely give anyone trouble if English isn't there first language) and teaching him a few new words along the way. It's pretty enjoyable, though a bit awkward since the mother was in the same room reading out newspaper, circling words she's trying to learn. Luckily, she wasn't intrusive in anyway and both mother and son seem rather nice. Looks like I'll be making an extra $10-$20 a week.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Post-Halloween Post
OK, I plan to update more often than that, so apologies to the two, maybe one person who checks this blog (you know who you are). I just didn't have anything interesting in my life to talk about and until such time will simply review comics and whatever. And since it was Halloween, I thought I should review the films I watched for Halloween, which were all pretty good. So in no particular order:
The Crazies
I watched this film last, but in retrospect I sort of wish I watched it first simply because it is the least scary. In fact, this isn't so much a horror film as it is a really depressing and violent drama (in my opinion). But that's not to say that it is a bad film, it just didn't feel as Halloween appropriate as the other films I watched this year.
The premise of this 1973 George Romero picture is that a small town is quarantined after a biological weapon is accidentally released into the water supply. The weapon is a virus that causes people to become insane, often violently so, and is highly contagious. The town is put under martial law as the government sends soldiers in containment suits and gasmasks to round up civilians and force them into the high school gymnasium to make sure they don't get out, inadvertently creating a dangerous powder keg. Meanwhile, a firefighter, his pregnant fiance and three others try to make their way out of the city, unsure if it is safe to remain in the city.
This is one of those films that people will point out is "still relevant today," mostly because it is about the US government's extremely poor handling of a dangerous and volatile situation (this film having been made during that whole Vietnam thing). In this film, the government basically forces one of the creators of the virus onto a plane into the town without any real resources, despite his argument that he would accomplish very little just by being on the scene. The meanwhile, the sergeant on the scene knows that he really doesn't know how to handle the situation but tries doing the best he can after being thrown into a frustrating situation. He realizes that the government completely screwed up the situation and that his presence accomplishes very little. The government (represented by a room of generals and scientists) in a detached, bored and uncaring manner discuss simply destroying the town while eating sandwiches and oranges. The films satire is definitely not subtle but it gets the point across that its easier for a government to completely blunder something if they allow themselves to be so far removed from the event.
This was all well and good, but the aspect of the film that I really liked was the story of the group of five trying to escape as they slowly go insane. One thing I notice when George A Romero films are reviewed is that no one comments on his well crafted characters. Frankly there always people I would find very uninteresting in a normal situation but in the face of tragedy and death are compelling. For example, I loved the characters in the Dawn of the Dead because they were normal people deciding what to do in a world where there was no more normalcy. The scene where a dying man asks his friend to kill him if he turns (both to save themselves and out of fear of becoming "one of those things) is powerful engaging stuff. This film is no different: a father notices that his daughter is the first in the group to go crazy, though it seems to be a sad gentle sort of crazy. She the only thing left in his world after his wife dies and he still wants to protect her, even if she is a threat to the rest of the group. The father soon starts going insane and confusing his paternal feelings for her with romantic ones. Then there's the man who realizes that he's going insane and is trying his hardest to keep his head together in the face of violent urges (although it seems he might have been a violent gun nut before his insanity kicked in). I just like the fact that Romero can add some genuine emotion in what could have just been a thriller about a town of crazy people. It really makes you care what happens to the characters.
The Crazies is a very 70's movie. It's also a compelling look into what people do in a completely doomed situation. It's interesting that despite the title, the crazies don't show up that often in the film (though we see almost everyone is crazy by the end) and the main threat for out heroes are the usually faceless soldiers who themselves don't really understand the situation except to shoot or capture "the crazies." The fact that their in white containment suit with gasmasks give the soldiers an appropriately ominous (and anonymous) look to them. We get the feeling that these guys don't really know what their doing and that the situation is driving them a little nutty too (we see that a either several soldiers or one recurring one are/is stealing other people's property as they raid houses) and that the whole damned situation is insane. While this film isn't nearly as strong as Dawn of the Dead, it's still an often ignored gem worth checking out.
My Little Eye
I've seen this in Blockbuster before but I assumed it would be simply another forgettable direct-to-video thriller. But last year My Little Eye was a film that was featured on a film prof's Halloween marathon that Aiden and I attended (though we only saw the first two films). While there are countless variations on the idea of thrillers involving reality TV (I'm actually more sick of the commentary than reality TV itself), there was something about this one that sounded really interesting. Five people are get on a reality webcast in which they can each win a million dollars as long as they all stay within a house four six months strait. They may exit the house but they cannot leave the property and must be in before curfew. There are also camera's everywhere, so there isn't much they can do that isn't scene on camera. Every week they are given packages containing food and supplies and they have a few luxuries (video games, books) from home, but no access to TV, the internet or telephones.
Time goes by and everyone gets along rather well (even with Rex, the usual "jerk" that ends up on these shows), but on day the weekly package arrives carrying only bricks and a small letter. It states that the grandfather of one of the residents has died and a funeral will take place in a few days. The other residents argue over whether they should convince him to stay or not and if they do how can they convince him. Soon, other things start happening that make the players think that all is not right with the game. The furnace stops working (in the dead of winter), a package is received containing a gun and five bullets and the characters suspect that there is someone waiting on the outside property at night. Even stranger, it seems that some of these things allude to some of the more unpleasant aspects of the residents' histories. While some think that this is simply an attempt by the company to spice things up. But when a man comes in from the cold claiming that he's never heard of them, they get concerned. At first they think maybe it's just that the internet is a big place and they're easy to miss, but they soon begin to wonder who exactly is watching them... and why.
This is one of those films you might think has a big twist at the end, but it doesn't. The answer is given right before the final act and while it isn't surprising, it is satisfying and intriguing and makes the characters realize the situation their in. They characters themselves aren't that interesting, but it is interesting to watch their situation progress as they are put under progressively increasing duress. Rex shows that he is more than just the jerk and seems to realize before anyone else that something is wrong, but convinces others to stay. I also get the impression that Rex really needs that money but there is really never an explanation given as too why (though, apparently, the test screening version was 4 hours, so maybe that explain some things).
Some plot elements didn't really work for me (Rex hoarding food and cigarettes, the thankless and forgettable character of Danny and generally anything he did), but the real strength of the film is the sense of isolation and paranoia. Even when the characters aren't paranoid, there's a generally uneasy feeling from the camera's POV that occurs throughout much of the film. We hear lots of whirring and what sound like scrambled staticy voices (a need DVD extra is that you can watch the film with the voices unscrambled, which gives viewers a better idea of what happened when, and make the continuity feel a bit more well constructed). And as I said, while the ending isn't surprising, it is still fairly good, and there is one nice twist that I didn't see coming separate from the revelation of what the game really is.
I'm a sucker for horror and suspense films that deal with isolated characters: John Carpenter's The Thing, Duel (I'm counting lonely empty highways), and Cube. I prefer my thrillers to have a small tightly knit cast, so that when someone dies, it means something. Too many horror films where characters are fodder for the big bad, I like films where the characters are in situations in which they need to rely on wits, and trust in order to face the threat. Also, when you focus on a small cast, the audience is given a chance to see them fleshed out more and how they handle a seemingly impossible situation.
My Little Eye is a great thriller despite using a reality show as a plot device. The pace is decent and the progression and end are satisfying, making this a fun and creepy little horror flick.
Creepshow
This is probably the film I enjoyed the most of the three, despite the fact that it's not really as good as the other two. Some of the stories are not that strong and can be quite predictable, but what it lacks in brains, it makes up for in heart.
Sure, you might not think a horror anthology called Creepshow might not have a heart, but it does, albeit a warped on. The film is a loving homage to EC Comics, a horror comics company in the fifties that was known for it's great art and literate (if formulaic) stories. The most popular comics include Tales from the Crypt (later turned into the acclaimed TV series), Haunt of Fear and Mad (later changed into Mad Magazine. Yep, that Mad Magazine). The company was pretty much destroyed, unfortunately by McCarthyism and the dreaded Comics Code. Basically Frederic Wertham wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent (which sounds like a direct-to-video erotic thriller) in which he claims comics are corrupting America's Youth.
With comics under fire and targeted by the House of Un-American Activities, several comic companies teamed up to create the Comics Code (which was enforced by the government), which would regulate all comics and comic companies. EC bravely said no, so the other companies put them out of business with silly rules such as saying that crime can never pay or be made to look enjoyable, that the undead cannot appear in any comics and that the words like "horror" cannot be used in the title. EC tanked and DC ended up buying Mad, which was republished as Mad Magazine (magazines don't have to worry about the Comic's code). Still, though there were around for about only 10 years, EC comics had a huge effect on writers and artists of the time.
Creepshow is an anthology directed by George Romero (him again) and written by Stephen King that pays homage to the great horror comics of yesteryear. The film begins as a father yells at his son and slaps him for reading "shit," namely a comic book called Creepshow. He throws the comic in the trash and we are shown the stories within:
The first story is Father's Day, which is the weakest of the lot. Basically an old murdered father wakes up 7 years after his death to reclaim his Father's Day cake that was denied to him on the day of his death. Clearly, he's an incompetent zombie because he mistakes his bickering nieces head for a cake and pouts frosting and candles on it. According to one article, Stephen King admitted that Creepshow was supposed to be an anthology with stories that were about 5 minutes each, rather than 15-25 minutes like they are in the film. His description was "Dad comes from the grave, chases his bickering family around, kills them, the end." Not much really changed, except it's longer than it needed to be and isn't really too interesting.
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrell is a much better story and is surprisingly funny at times (and keep in mind all of these stories are pretty tongue in cheek), mostly because of the bearable and somewhat funny performance of writer Stephen King as a backwoods hick. Said hick finds a meteor in his backyard and decides to sell it to the university (which leads into a humourous dream sequence in which he takes it to the Dept. Of Meteors at the university and gets a whopping $200 dollars for it!) but when he tries to cool it down it breaks in two. Jordy, deciding that the university wouldn't pay for a broken meteor tries to fix it, only to get a mysterious ooze on his hands. He tries to wash it off, but a few hours later a strange grass-like substance starts to grow on his hands. This one is grimly funny and somewhat madcap and while not perfect is still fun.
Something to Tide You Over... is, in my opinion, the best segment thanks to both the writing and the performance of Leslie Nelson as the despicable villain. A rich man named Richard(Nelson)'s wife is cheating on him so Richard visits the other man(Ted Danson). The other man apologizes but the Richard doesn't care about that, but rather that someone took something that was "his" and now they both must pay. Richard concocts a ghoulish plan to make them pay but Richard soon finds that he's about to get a taste of his own medicine.
The Crate is a fairly standard monster story in which a university professor discovers that a monster hidden in a crate might be the best way to deal with his drunk domineering wife (played by Adrianne Barbeau).
And They're Creeping Up on You finds E.G. Marshal as an evil tycoon (is there any other kind) in a sterile, germfree apartment who finds that his apartment is under attack by cockroaches.
In the end, we see a couple of garbage men examining the comic and notice that someone sent away for a free voodoo doll...
This was such a fun movie, even though it has a lot of problems. But the sheer enthusiasm of the film for it's material more than make up for it. Many scenes have a crazy comic book style to them (including some scenes made to look like comic panels) and an intentionally goofy feel that captures the spirit of the old comics well. It also follows (for the most part) the basic formula: bad things happening to bad people. What I love about the old comics is there sense of poetic justice in which we see a horrible person (usually pretty normal but still evil) facing a cruel and unusual punishment. There is a sense of karma in those books and in the end, the bad guys get what they deserve. Admittedly, some get worse than they deserve (such as Jordy Verrel and the Drunk Wife), but man is it satisfying and relieving to see Leslie Nelson and E.G. Marshal get what they deserve.
Creepshow is far from perfect, but it was clearly made with a lot of love and it was just so much fun I can forgive it's misgivings. Good show.
There, so from now on I'll try to post more often, OK?
The Crazies
I watched this film last, but in retrospect I sort of wish I watched it first simply because it is the least scary. In fact, this isn't so much a horror film as it is a really depressing and violent drama (in my opinion). But that's not to say that it is a bad film, it just didn't feel as Halloween appropriate as the other films I watched this year.
The premise of this 1973 George Romero picture is that a small town is quarantined after a biological weapon is accidentally released into the water supply. The weapon is a virus that causes people to become insane, often violently so, and is highly contagious. The town is put under martial law as the government sends soldiers in containment suits and gasmasks to round up civilians and force them into the high school gymnasium to make sure they don't get out, inadvertently creating a dangerous powder keg. Meanwhile, a firefighter, his pregnant fiance and three others try to make their way out of the city, unsure if it is safe to remain in the city.
This is one of those films that people will point out is "still relevant today," mostly because it is about the US government's extremely poor handling of a dangerous and volatile situation (this film having been made during that whole Vietnam thing). In this film, the government basically forces one of the creators of the virus onto a plane into the town without any real resources, despite his argument that he would accomplish very little just by being on the scene. The meanwhile, the sergeant on the scene knows that he really doesn't know how to handle the situation but tries doing the best he can after being thrown into a frustrating situation. He realizes that the government completely screwed up the situation and that his presence accomplishes very little. The government (represented by a room of generals and scientists) in a detached, bored and uncaring manner discuss simply destroying the town while eating sandwiches and oranges. The films satire is definitely not subtle but it gets the point across that its easier for a government to completely blunder something if they allow themselves to be so far removed from the event.
This was all well and good, but the aspect of the film that I really liked was the story of the group of five trying to escape as they slowly go insane. One thing I notice when George A Romero films are reviewed is that no one comments on his well crafted characters. Frankly there always people I would find very uninteresting in a normal situation but in the face of tragedy and death are compelling. For example, I loved the characters in the Dawn of the Dead because they were normal people deciding what to do in a world where there was no more normalcy. The scene where a dying man asks his friend to kill him if he turns (both to save themselves and out of fear of becoming "one of those things) is powerful engaging stuff. This film is no different: a father notices that his daughter is the first in the group to go crazy, though it seems to be a sad gentle sort of crazy. She the only thing left in his world after his wife dies and he still wants to protect her, even if she is a threat to the rest of the group. The father soon starts going insane and confusing his paternal feelings for her with romantic ones. Then there's the man who realizes that he's going insane and is trying his hardest to keep his head together in the face of violent urges (although it seems he might have been a violent gun nut before his insanity kicked in). I just like the fact that Romero can add some genuine emotion in what could have just been a thriller about a town of crazy people. It really makes you care what happens to the characters.
The Crazies is a very 70's movie. It's also a compelling look into what people do in a completely doomed situation. It's interesting that despite the title, the crazies don't show up that often in the film (though we see almost everyone is crazy by the end) and the main threat for out heroes are the usually faceless soldiers who themselves don't really understand the situation except to shoot or capture "the crazies." The fact that their in white containment suit with gasmasks give the soldiers an appropriately ominous (and anonymous) look to them. We get the feeling that these guys don't really know what their doing and that the situation is driving them a little nutty too (we see that a either several soldiers or one recurring one are/is stealing other people's property as they raid houses) and that the whole damned situation is insane. While this film isn't nearly as strong as Dawn of the Dead, it's still an often ignored gem worth checking out.
My Little Eye
I've seen this in Blockbuster before but I assumed it would be simply another forgettable direct-to-video thriller. But last year My Little Eye was a film that was featured on a film prof's Halloween marathon that Aiden and I attended (though we only saw the first two films). While there are countless variations on the idea of thrillers involving reality TV (I'm actually more sick of the commentary than reality TV itself), there was something about this one that sounded really interesting. Five people are get on a reality webcast in which they can each win a million dollars as long as they all stay within a house four six months strait. They may exit the house but they cannot leave the property and must be in before curfew. There are also camera's everywhere, so there isn't much they can do that isn't scene on camera. Every week they are given packages containing food and supplies and they have a few luxuries (video games, books) from home, but no access to TV, the internet or telephones.
Time goes by and everyone gets along rather well (even with Rex, the usual "jerk" that ends up on these shows), but on day the weekly package arrives carrying only bricks and a small letter. It states that the grandfather of one of the residents has died and a funeral will take place in a few days. The other residents argue over whether they should convince him to stay or not and if they do how can they convince him. Soon, other things start happening that make the players think that all is not right with the game. The furnace stops working (in the dead of winter), a package is received containing a gun and five bullets and the characters suspect that there is someone waiting on the outside property at night. Even stranger, it seems that some of these things allude to some of the more unpleasant aspects of the residents' histories. While some think that this is simply an attempt by the company to spice things up. But when a man comes in from the cold claiming that he's never heard of them, they get concerned. At first they think maybe it's just that the internet is a big place and they're easy to miss, but they soon begin to wonder who exactly is watching them... and why.
This is one of those films you might think has a big twist at the end, but it doesn't. The answer is given right before the final act and while it isn't surprising, it is satisfying and intriguing and makes the characters realize the situation their in. They characters themselves aren't that interesting, but it is interesting to watch their situation progress as they are put under progressively increasing duress. Rex shows that he is more than just the jerk and seems to realize before anyone else that something is wrong, but convinces others to stay. I also get the impression that Rex really needs that money but there is really never an explanation given as too why (though, apparently, the test screening version was 4 hours, so maybe that explain some things).
Some plot elements didn't really work for me (Rex hoarding food and cigarettes, the thankless and forgettable character of Danny and generally anything he did), but the real strength of the film is the sense of isolation and paranoia. Even when the characters aren't paranoid, there's a generally uneasy feeling from the camera's POV that occurs throughout much of the film. We hear lots of whirring and what sound like scrambled staticy voices (a need DVD extra is that you can watch the film with the voices unscrambled, which gives viewers a better idea of what happened when, and make the continuity feel a bit more well constructed). And as I said, while the ending isn't surprising, it is still fairly good, and there is one nice twist that I didn't see coming separate from the revelation of what the game really is.
I'm a sucker for horror and suspense films that deal with isolated characters: John Carpenter's The Thing, Duel (I'm counting lonely empty highways), and Cube. I prefer my thrillers to have a small tightly knit cast, so that when someone dies, it means something. Too many horror films where characters are fodder for the big bad, I like films where the characters are in situations in which they need to rely on wits, and trust in order to face the threat. Also, when you focus on a small cast, the audience is given a chance to see them fleshed out more and how they handle a seemingly impossible situation.
My Little Eye is a great thriller despite using a reality show as a plot device. The pace is decent and the progression and end are satisfying, making this a fun and creepy little horror flick.
Creepshow
This is probably the film I enjoyed the most of the three, despite the fact that it's not really as good as the other two. Some of the stories are not that strong and can be quite predictable, but what it lacks in brains, it makes up for in heart.
Sure, you might not think a horror anthology called Creepshow might not have a heart, but it does, albeit a warped on. The film is a loving homage to EC Comics, a horror comics company in the fifties that was known for it's great art and literate (if formulaic) stories. The most popular comics include Tales from the Crypt (later turned into the acclaimed TV series), Haunt of Fear and Mad (later changed into Mad Magazine. Yep, that Mad Magazine). The company was pretty much destroyed, unfortunately by McCarthyism and the dreaded Comics Code. Basically Frederic Wertham wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent (which sounds like a direct-to-video erotic thriller) in which he claims comics are corrupting America's Youth.
With comics under fire and targeted by the House of Un-American Activities, several comic companies teamed up to create the Comics Code (which was enforced by the government), which would regulate all comics and comic companies. EC bravely said no, so the other companies put them out of business with silly rules such as saying that crime can never pay or be made to look enjoyable, that the undead cannot appear in any comics and that the words like "horror" cannot be used in the title. EC tanked and DC ended up buying Mad, which was republished as Mad Magazine (magazines don't have to worry about the Comic's code). Still, though there were around for about only 10 years, EC comics had a huge effect on writers and artists of the time.
Creepshow is an anthology directed by George Romero (him again) and written by Stephen King that pays homage to the great horror comics of yesteryear. The film begins as a father yells at his son and slaps him for reading "shit," namely a comic book called Creepshow. He throws the comic in the trash and we are shown the stories within:
The first story is Father's Day, which is the weakest of the lot. Basically an old murdered father wakes up 7 years after his death to reclaim his Father's Day cake that was denied to him on the day of his death. Clearly, he's an incompetent zombie because he mistakes his bickering nieces head for a cake and pouts frosting and candles on it. According to one article, Stephen King admitted that Creepshow was supposed to be an anthology with stories that were about 5 minutes each, rather than 15-25 minutes like they are in the film. His description was "Dad comes from the grave, chases his bickering family around, kills them, the end." Not much really changed, except it's longer than it needed to be and isn't really too interesting.
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrell is a much better story and is surprisingly funny at times (and keep in mind all of these stories are pretty tongue in cheek), mostly because of the bearable and somewhat funny performance of writer Stephen King as a backwoods hick. Said hick finds a meteor in his backyard and decides to sell it to the university (which leads into a humourous dream sequence in which he takes it to the Dept. Of Meteors at the university and gets a whopping $200 dollars for it!) but when he tries to cool it down it breaks in two. Jordy, deciding that the university wouldn't pay for a broken meteor tries to fix it, only to get a mysterious ooze on his hands. He tries to wash it off, but a few hours later a strange grass-like substance starts to grow on his hands. This one is grimly funny and somewhat madcap and while not perfect is still fun.
Something to Tide You Over... is, in my opinion, the best segment thanks to both the writing and the performance of Leslie Nelson as the despicable villain. A rich man named Richard(Nelson)'s wife is cheating on him so Richard visits the other man(Ted Danson). The other man apologizes but the Richard doesn't care about that, but rather that someone took something that was "his" and now they both must pay. Richard concocts a ghoulish plan to make them pay but Richard soon finds that he's about to get a taste of his own medicine.
The Crate is a fairly standard monster story in which a university professor discovers that a monster hidden in a crate might be the best way to deal with his drunk domineering wife (played by Adrianne Barbeau).
And They're Creeping Up on You finds E.G. Marshal as an evil tycoon (is there any other kind) in a sterile, germfree apartment who finds that his apartment is under attack by cockroaches.
In the end, we see a couple of garbage men examining the comic and notice that someone sent away for a free voodoo doll...
This was such a fun movie, even though it has a lot of problems. But the sheer enthusiasm of the film for it's material more than make up for it. Many scenes have a crazy comic book style to them (including some scenes made to look like comic panels) and an intentionally goofy feel that captures the spirit of the old comics well. It also follows (for the most part) the basic formula: bad things happening to bad people. What I love about the old comics is there sense of poetic justice in which we see a horrible person (usually pretty normal but still evil) facing a cruel and unusual punishment. There is a sense of karma in those books and in the end, the bad guys get what they deserve. Admittedly, some get worse than they deserve (such as Jordy Verrel and the Drunk Wife), but man is it satisfying and relieving to see Leslie Nelson and E.G. Marshal get what they deserve.
Creepshow is far from perfect, but it was clearly made with a lot of love and it was just so much fun I can forgive it's misgivings. Good show.
There, so from now on I'll try to post more often, OK?
Monday, October 10, 2005
Rue Britainnia
Yay! Slightly damaged merchandise! Strange has been selling slightly damaged (fringed spines slightly dog-eared covers) and previously read comic trades.
And now I will review them. My segue ways need work.
Wolverine: Blood Hungry
This is a little easy to miss book for a number of reasons:
1) There are already tons of Wolverine books out there so this one is easy to miss.
2) It never really made much of an impression on readers and the only thing really worth noting for continuity freaks is the introduction of the forgotten villain Cyber.
3) It was originally published in the late eighties in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents, a book which wasn't really known for it's quality stories.
Still, I'm glad that they published this little forgotten story because it is a fun and quirky story featuring Peter David (Hulk, Spider-Man, countless Star Trek novels) and Sam Keith (The MAXX, Four Women, Zero Girl) before they hit it big. The art's somewhat ugly and the story uses the oldest Wolverine cliche of all (Wolverine confronts an old friend/enemy from his past who tries to kill him), but otherwise the story is fun and the book is cheap.
Wolverine, who is in the criminally run nation of Madripoor hanging out with his oddly-named girlfriend/gangster Tyger Tiger, catches wind of a familiar sent that frightens sends chills up his spine. When Tyger asks Wolverine to spy on her competition, one General Coy, only to find that yet another of Wolverine's old nemeses is there on business. And he happens to be the only one Wolverine's afraid of.
Much of this story takes place in a weird quasi-flashback where Wolverine remembers Cyber through a Freudian metaphorical dream in which Wolverine is a high school student and Cyber is the gym coach who takes his gal. Sam Keith's creepy yet slightly cartoony art is more suited to this part of the story more than the lackluster fight scenes near the beginning and in the climax. Keith's art is more acquired to his surreal thrillers rather than super-hero comics, but he still does a good job here. I mentioned that the art is ugly, which it is, but it is an appropriate and well-crafted kind of ugly. Still the subpar coloring doesn't make it look as good as his later work.
For those who have read the MAXX (or have seen the series), they'd know that Sam Keith can handle weird dreams and surreal situations, which makes him well-suited to the hallucinations in the book, but it probably would have been better if he handled that aspect and some other artist did the reality aspect of the book. As I said the fights are pretty weak, but the dreams look great. The visuals are both humourous and creepy, such as Wolverine being sliced to pieces by Cyber, and the exaggerated style is well suited to this aspect of the book.
Still, the real strength of the book is David's writing, who manages to take a very generic Wolverine story and make it clever and funny. Cyber is a generic looking and acting villain, but David gives him all the best dialogue in the book (General Coy: "Greetings. I am Coy." Cyber: "I myself am painfully shy.") and is charming enough to be interesting. There is also an amusing series of scenes in which General Coy and Tyger Tiger are discussing how to deal with the whole Cyber debacle. They eventually hammer out a deal in which they don't kill each other and decide to blame aliens for what may be interpreted as weakness on their parts.
While it isn't the most noteworthy Wolverine comic out there but it is a fun short and relatively cheap read.
3 out of 5 Stars
Captain Britain
Like the previous book, this one is also a relatively easy to miss trade featuring two popular creators before they hit it big: Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Promethea, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and Alan Davis (X-Men). It's hardly surprising that this book is relatively forgotten despite being Alan Moore's only book for Marvel. This is because the book was originally published exclusively in the UK and Captain Britain has never been a popular character in any country.
Captain Britain begins with the Captain trapped in an alternate universe where super-heroes are hunted down by the government. Being the last hero on the planet, the Captain's plans are to fight the power, but when he has to face the Fury ("It kills super-heroes") and its omnipotent creator, the Captain just wants to run before he's killed. Will he survive? Uh... no. No, he won't.
Alan Davis art isn't as strong as it is later in his career but he does a decent job, especially with the weird goofy alien stuff, the reality-warping stuff and the Fury (who is a really creepy villain), but he really isn't my cup of tea in this book. Good stuff but far from the top of his game.
Same goes for Alan Moore, who tells a good story, but one full of holes. First of all, the book only collects the stories more has worked on, so when the book begins it is clearly in the middle of a storyline and who the characters are is sort of unclear. Then there is the introduction of the villain Arcade who shows up to promise to help one of the villains kill Cap bur then never shows up again. I don't know if they left a non-Alan Moore issue out that explains what happens with that story, but it seems like a plot thread that goes no where. The book also moves ahead to several months in the future in a really jarring fashion which kind of bugs me.
Still Alan Moore adds some humour to the book, which is already fairly silly in principle. One scene has Captain Britain fighting an alternate universe-version of himself (Captain Englande) who asks if he knows what he's getting into. Britain responds: "Of course I know what I'm getting into. I'm in a parallel universe fighting an alternate version of myself alongside a group of parahuman mercenaries who want me to help the wrongly accused majestrix of... Do you ever get through a sentence and find yourself unable to believe your actually saying it?" Englande answers no and beats Britain with a stick.
The villains Jim Jaspers and the Fury are actually rather scary bad guys, which is hard to do in comics. Both are seemingly unkillable, but at the same time, they are a lot more competant and dangerous than the usual lumbering unbeatable forces found in comics. In fact when the two villains battle eachother in the climax, it is a battle that ends up spanning space, time and reality, making for a strange epic battle.
Still the book doesn't really add much to the super-hero genre and its easy to see why this is Alan Moore's more forgotten work (with the exception that it named the Marvel universe Earth 616, which is a term still used by fans today). Still I like the idea of Captain Britain from countless alternate universe (such as Captain Empire, Kommandant Englander, and Captain Airstrip-One) , but a lot of this stuff feels like a warm up for similar ideas that Alan Moore accomplishes better in his later works. Still it is well worth picking up for Alan Moore fans who are looking for some of his more obscure work.
Three out of Five Stars
And now I will review them. My segue ways need work.
Wolverine: Blood Hungry
This is a little easy to miss book for a number of reasons:
1) There are already tons of Wolverine books out there so this one is easy to miss.
2) It never really made much of an impression on readers and the only thing really worth noting for continuity freaks is the introduction of the forgotten villain Cyber.
3) It was originally published in the late eighties in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents, a book which wasn't really known for it's quality stories.
Still, I'm glad that they published this little forgotten story because it is a fun and quirky story featuring Peter David (Hulk, Spider-Man, countless Star Trek novels) and Sam Keith (The MAXX, Four Women, Zero Girl) before they hit it big. The art's somewhat ugly and the story uses the oldest Wolverine cliche of all (Wolverine confronts an old friend/enemy from his past who tries to kill him), but otherwise the story is fun and the book is cheap.
Wolverine, who is in the criminally run nation of Madripoor hanging out with his oddly-named girlfriend/gangster Tyger Tiger, catches wind of a familiar sent that frightens sends chills up his spine. When Tyger asks Wolverine to spy on her competition, one General Coy, only to find that yet another of Wolverine's old nemeses is there on business. And he happens to be the only one Wolverine's afraid of.
Much of this story takes place in a weird quasi-flashback where Wolverine remembers Cyber through a Freudian metaphorical dream in which Wolverine is a high school student and Cyber is the gym coach who takes his gal. Sam Keith's creepy yet slightly cartoony art is more suited to this part of the story more than the lackluster fight scenes near the beginning and in the climax. Keith's art is more acquired to his surreal thrillers rather than super-hero comics, but he still does a good job here. I mentioned that the art is ugly, which it is, but it is an appropriate and well-crafted kind of ugly. Still the subpar coloring doesn't make it look as good as his later work.
For those who have read the MAXX (or have seen the series), they'd know that Sam Keith can handle weird dreams and surreal situations, which makes him well-suited to the hallucinations in the book, but it probably would have been better if he handled that aspect and some other artist did the reality aspect of the book. As I said the fights are pretty weak, but the dreams look great. The visuals are both humourous and creepy, such as Wolverine being sliced to pieces by Cyber, and the exaggerated style is well suited to this aspect of the book.
Still, the real strength of the book is David's writing, who manages to take a very generic Wolverine story and make it clever and funny. Cyber is a generic looking and acting villain, but David gives him all the best dialogue in the book (General Coy: "Greetings. I am Coy." Cyber: "I myself am painfully shy.") and is charming enough to be interesting. There is also an amusing series of scenes in which General Coy and Tyger Tiger are discussing how to deal with the whole Cyber debacle. They eventually hammer out a deal in which they don't kill each other and decide to blame aliens for what may be interpreted as weakness on their parts.
While it isn't the most noteworthy Wolverine comic out there but it is a fun short and relatively cheap read.
3 out of 5 Stars
Captain Britain
Like the previous book, this one is also a relatively easy to miss trade featuring two popular creators before they hit it big: Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Promethea, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and Alan Davis (X-Men). It's hardly surprising that this book is relatively forgotten despite being Alan Moore's only book for Marvel. This is because the book was originally published exclusively in the UK and Captain Britain has never been a popular character in any country.
Captain Britain begins with the Captain trapped in an alternate universe where super-heroes are hunted down by the government. Being the last hero on the planet, the Captain's plans are to fight the power, but when he has to face the Fury ("It kills super-heroes") and its omnipotent creator, the Captain just wants to run before he's killed. Will he survive? Uh... no. No, he won't.
Alan Davis art isn't as strong as it is later in his career but he does a decent job, especially with the weird goofy alien stuff, the reality-warping stuff and the Fury (who is a really creepy villain), but he really isn't my cup of tea in this book. Good stuff but far from the top of his game.
Same goes for Alan Moore, who tells a good story, but one full of holes. First of all, the book only collects the stories more has worked on, so when the book begins it is clearly in the middle of a storyline and who the characters are is sort of unclear. Then there is the introduction of the villain Arcade who shows up to promise to help one of the villains kill Cap bur then never shows up again. I don't know if they left a non-Alan Moore issue out that explains what happens with that story, but it seems like a plot thread that goes no where. The book also moves ahead to several months in the future in a really jarring fashion which kind of bugs me.
Still Alan Moore adds some humour to the book, which is already fairly silly in principle. One scene has Captain Britain fighting an alternate universe-version of himself (Captain Englande) who asks if he knows what he's getting into. Britain responds: "Of course I know what I'm getting into. I'm in a parallel universe fighting an alternate version of myself alongside a group of parahuman mercenaries who want me to help the wrongly accused majestrix of... Do you ever get through a sentence and find yourself unable to believe your actually saying it?" Englande answers no and beats Britain with a stick.
The villains Jim Jaspers and the Fury are actually rather scary bad guys, which is hard to do in comics. Both are seemingly unkillable, but at the same time, they are a lot more competant and dangerous than the usual lumbering unbeatable forces found in comics. In fact when the two villains battle eachother in the climax, it is a battle that ends up spanning space, time and reality, making for a strange epic battle.
Still the book doesn't really add much to the super-hero genre and its easy to see why this is Alan Moore's more forgotten work (with the exception that it named the Marvel universe Earth 616, which is a term still used by fans today). Still I like the idea of Captain Britain from countless alternate universe (such as Captain Empire, Kommandant Englander, and Captain Airstrip-One) , but a lot of this stuff feels like a warm up for similar ideas that Alan Moore accomplishes better in his later works. Still it is well worth picking up for Alan Moore fans who are looking for some of his more obscure work.
Three out of Five Stars
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Everyone else was doing it
I think this is proof that I'll easly jump on a bandwagon I was once disgusted by if people I like do it. After all, I spontaneously decided to set up my own web log (or blog) about a month after Jordan and Aiden started their own blogs (or web logs) and have no idea if I'll update regularly or say anything of interest or importance. Next thing you know I'll get a cellphone with a ringtone, a sure sign of madness.
Anyhoo, the point is basically to get things off my chest and share my own thoughts, as well as talk about comics, movies, TV, books and anything that distracts me from real life. I plan to post once every three days or so or whenever there is something interesting for me to comment on.
Anyhoo, the point is basically to get things off my chest and share my own thoughts, as well as talk about comics, movies, TV, books and anything that distracts me from real life. I plan to post once every three days or so or whenever there is something interesting for me to comment on.
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