More movies, more books. A rush report - but I didn't want to get too much farther into NaNoWriMo without getting this out.
After the tension of Get Out we decided to relax a bit with Hot Fuzz, the second in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy by Edgar Wright. I love this movie. I always remember how funny and sweet it is - I never remember just how well it's made (or how gory it is). Now I may need to rewatch the whole trilogy (also includes Shaun of the Dead and The World's End).
Then it was Slither by James Gunn. Funnier than I expected - and more gory as well. Nathan Fillian was being Nathan Fillian but that's always a treat so who cares. And I could probably watch Elizabeth Banks in anything as well. This was just a perfect horror movie, it hit all its beats and had some fun surprises as well.
Next we saw Split by M. Night Shyamalan. Oooo, this was heartbreaking. Fascinating. Completely drew us in and had us talking about it for a while afterwards. And now I have to see Unbreakable.
One interesting aspect of watching this movie was how The Dude completely missed elements of Casey's story that I got immediately. I can't say anything without being spoilery but it reminded me how easy it is to not know things about our society if you don't have to know them. And yet other people are profoundly impacted by those things, so to not see them or deny them is another form of violence.
Then Alien 3 by David Fincher (remember that we saw Zodiac by him?) Visually arresting, but, eh.
Halloween II, written by John Carpenter but directed by Rick Rosenthal. Another meh, but now I've seen it and don't have to again.
Scream by Wes Craven. Okay, I know this was considered a big deal when it came out, one of the first horror movies to get all meta on itself and reinvigorating the genre, attracting female viewers in big numbers for the first time, etc., etc. So, from the point of view of knowing my horror movie history, fine. But it really disturbed me. I know it's satire, and you aren't supposed to take it seriously, but I just found it scary and unsettling and even more so because you're supposed to be laughing. At a woman being stalked and gas-lit by her boyfriend and his friend, who also killed other women including her own mother the year before. Plus lots of slut-shaming. No, thank you.
It Follows by David Robert Mitchell was next, brooding, atmospheric, interesting to think about. Almost a little quiet and slow at times, but perhaps we were just experiencing scary movie fatigue at this point.
And then, to finish the month, Psycho. Well. I will just say that I was probably not in the right mood for this one, probably because while the movie goes to some length at the end (though the voice of the psychiatrist) to emphasize that Norman isn't transsexual or a transvestite, it doesn't effing matter because what you see is a "psycho", dressed in women's clothing, with no nuance in that particular depiction at all*. And all the critical explaining away I've read doesn't do anything to change that initial impact. So again, no.
I've exhausted myself just thinking about these, I'll finish up with the books in another post. Thankfully I also read a lot of good spooky/scary books!
Worn out on scary so now we're binge-watching Shameless,
Annie
*As opposed to the same in Split, where McAvoy's female personalities are portrayed as convincingly as the male ones and not for shock value. Leaving aside the whole problematic portrayal of dissociative identity disorder in that movie, of course.
Showing posts with label Scary Movie Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scary Movie Month. Show all posts
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
It's The Return Of Scary Movie Month!
Marathon or no marathon, it's October and that means it's time for Scary Movie Month, where The Dude and I attempt to watch as many scary movies as we can possibly fit in.
This year I left the selection in The Dude's hands, I didn't much care what we watched - my mind was first taken up with the marathon and now with preparing for NaNoWriMo. Especially when we only ever see a fraction of what we want to anyway.
We always have some TV show as a fallback, for those nights when we sit down too late to watch a whole movie or one of us needs to go to bed early or when the movie up next isn't one we can reasonably split over two nights. This year that fallback is the third season of Buffy. I saw most of this season years ago by myself, up late with a colicky D, and once you get over the angst of the first few episodes it's one of my favorite seasons. So we've been working our way through that. Though I will say the older I get the less I enjoy it, I get too cranky about the immaturity on display.
Our first movie for the month was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, we try to get one Hitchcock in every year. A classic, of course. I last saw this decades ago on a small black-and-white set in our kitchen - I hadn't even realized this movie was in color. Watching it now I was struck by just how creepy it is, there's behavior that is portrayed as matter-of-fact for that time period that would have red flags going up all over the place now. Brrr. But watching this made me want to visit San Francisco, for sure.
Then, spread out over three nights, David Fincher's Zodiac. There's a great article here with more about the film and why it might be considered his masterpiece.I'll just say that it was really hard to stop watching each night - it's put together so well and the performances are so compelling. I almost feel ready to start watching it again.
We gave ourselves a night off after the marathon to watch the Bears lose to the Vikings, and then watched Jordan Peele's Get Out. I'm trying to think how to respond to it without cursing in appreciation. It is so scary - in so many ways - and so well made - and so interesting, especially from a horror movie perspective - I just feel kind of dumbfounded. And I don't want to say anything that would give anything away or that would discourage anyone from seeing it. So, see it! And then we can talk.
I've been using this month to work through my to-be-read list for fantasy as well. So far I've finished the first book of Zoraida Córdova's The Vicious Deep trilogy (and just got the next two in the mail), and am almost done with Nnedi Okorafor's Akaba Witch. In theory I'm also working on the 2nd and 3rd volumes of Stephen King's Dark Tower series as well, but I have no expectation that I will finish those this month. I'm finding that series interesting but not as compelling as other books I'm reading or even other Stephen King I've read, so they're out and at hand if I've got some time to read and don't want to pick up a book that will be hard to put down, but not my first choice if I'm settling down for the evening. I'll be happy if I get through them by the end of the year.
Loving the cooler weather and dark evenings -
Annie
This year I left the selection in The Dude's hands, I didn't much care what we watched - my mind was first taken up with the marathon and now with preparing for NaNoWriMo. Especially when we only ever see a fraction of what we want to anyway.
We always have some TV show as a fallback, for those nights when we sit down too late to watch a whole movie or one of us needs to go to bed early or when the movie up next isn't one we can reasonably split over two nights. This year that fallback is the third season of Buffy. I saw most of this season years ago by myself, up late with a colicky D, and once you get over the angst of the first few episodes it's one of my favorite seasons. So we've been working our way through that. Though I will say the older I get the less I enjoy it, I get too cranky about the immaturity on display.
Our first movie for the month was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, we try to get one Hitchcock in every year. A classic, of course. I last saw this decades ago on a small black-and-white set in our kitchen - I hadn't even realized this movie was in color. Watching it now I was struck by just how creepy it is, there's behavior that is portrayed as matter-of-fact for that time period that would have red flags going up all over the place now. Brrr. But watching this made me want to visit San Francisco, for sure.
Then, spread out over three nights, David Fincher's Zodiac. There's a great article here with more about the film and why it might be considered his masterpiece.I'll just say that it was really hard to stop watching each night - it's put together so well and the performances are so compelling. I almost feel ready to start watching it again.
We gave ourselves a night off after the marathon to watch the Bears lose to the Vikings, and then watched Jordan Peele's Get Out. I'm trying to think how to respond to it without cursing in appreciation. It is so scary - in so many ways - and so well made - and so interesting, especially from a horror movie perspective - I just feel kind of dumbfounded. And I don't want to say anything that would give anything away or that would discourage anyone from seeing it. So, see it! And then we can talk.
I've been using this month to work through my to-be-read list for fantasy as well. So far I've finished the first book of Zoraida Córdova's The Vicious Deep trilogy (and just got the next two in the mail), and am almost done with Nnedi Okorafor's Akaba Witch. In theory I'm also working on the 2nd and 3rd volumes of Stephen King's Dark Tower series as well, but I have no expectation that I will finish those this month. I'm finding that series interesting but not as compelling as other books I'm reading or even other Stephen King I've read, so they're out and at hand if I've got some time to read and don't want to pick up a book that will be hard to put down, but not my first choice if I'm settling down for the evening. I'll be happy if I get through them by the end of the year.
Loving the cooler weather and dark evenings -
Annie
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Scary Movie Month 2016 - #2
Well, Scary Movie Month is officially over for this year (although we have a couple of movies from Netflix still to watch and return).
No more Buffy - the few nights that were not about the Cubs were all about movies, since I very much wanted to fit a few more in.
Movies watched:
"Christine" (1983 - John Carpenter)
This was surprisingly good. I mean, it's about a possessed car, I wasn't expecting much. But it turned out to be much more about the car's effect on its owner and how he is changed. Hint: it's totally a metaphor for addiction.
"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956 - Alfred Hitchcock)
This is his remake of his own movie, with James Stewart (being very Jimmy Stewart) and Doris Day. Ooo, so suspenseful. Almost too much so - we had to break it up into two nights for length, and I very nearly didn't want to see the second half since it had had me so much on pins and needles. But I made it through. It is a movie very much of its time in regards to women and Muslims, so that was a little hard at first, but then the action moved back to London and Doris was on more equal footing so I could shut up the internal critic and just allow myself to get sucked in.
This wasn't my favorite of his movies but they're always worth watching.
"American Werewolf in London" (1981 - John Landis)
This was my third time watching it and it just keeps getting better and better. I still get scared at the same points but I see more and more with each viewing (how it's put together, what it's drawing from, that sort of thing). And heart-breaking, just like the original wolf man movie (it follows the same structure).
With the kids:
"Young Frankenstein" (1974 - Mel Brooks)
I love this movie - I just so enjoy the humor and the interplay between the actors - but the kids were not much impressed by it. It's also a bit baudy for their age, I was glad they couldn't follow along entirely.
"The Wolfman" (1941 - George Waggner)
I don't find this an easy movie to watch (I prefer "American Werewolf in London") - I don't like the Lon Chaney character at the beginning, and there just isn't any way out for the characters. We're meant to identify with the monster - the other characters are all rooting for the person who is the monster as well - and in the end the only possible way is to kill the monster. So then what? Just an ache.
I've had a couple of conversations this month with people who told me they can't watch anything scary. I have conversations like this every year. And what I tell people is that I can barely stand to watch scary things either. I spend a fair bit of this month every year with my hands in front of my eyes, listening for the musical cues to tell me when it's safe to look. But there's so much to these films that it's worth it. Many of the movies we see are excellent compared against anything else you might watch, and as a genre I find it fascinating to think about what each movie is telling us about society's fears at that time. And now that I've seen enough of them I can see the conversations happening in-between various movies, how one will quote another, or amplify it, or argue with it. I find this month more and more rewarding every year. Even when I can't actually look at the screen.
May your dreams be peaceful (not all of mine were this month!) and your nights undisturbed -
Annie
No more Buffy - the few nights that were not about the Cubs were all about movies, since I very much wanted to fit a few more in.
Movies watched:
"Christine" (1983 - John Carpenter)
This was surprisingly good. I mean, it's about a possessed car, I wasn't expecting much. But it turned out to be much more about the car's effect on its owner and how he is changed. Hint: it's totally a metaphor for addiction.
"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956 - Alfred Hitchcock)
This is his remake of his own movie, with James Stewart (being very Jimmy Stewart) and Doris Day. Ooo, so suspenseful. Almost too much so - we had to break it up into two nights for length, and I very nearly didn't want to see the second half since it had had me so much on pins and needles. But I made it through. It is a movie very much of its time in regards to women and Muslims, so that was a little hard at first, but then the action moved back to London and Doris was on more equal footing so I could shut up the internal critic and just allow myself to get sucked in.
This wasn't my favorite of his movies but they're always worth watching.
"American Werewolf in London" (1981 - John Landis)
This was my third time watching it and it just keeps getting better and better. I still get scared at the same points but I see more and more with each viewing (how it's put together, what it's drawing from, that sort of thing). And heart-breaking, just like the original wolf man movie (it follows the same structure).
With the kids:
"Young Frankenstein" (1974 - Mel Brooks)
I love this movie - I just so enjoy the humor and the interplay between the actors - but the kids were not much impressed by it. It's also a bit baudy for their age, I was glad they couldn't follow along entirely.
"The Wolfman" (1941 - George Waggner)
I don't find this an easy movie to watch (I prefer "American Werewolf in London") - I don't like the Lon Chaney character at the beginning, and there just isn't any way out for the characters. We're meant to identify with the monster - the other characters are all rooting for the person who is the monster as well - and in the end the only possible way is to kill the monster. So then what? Just an ache.
I've had a couple of conversations this month with people who told me they can't watch anything scary. I have conversations like this every year. And what I tell people is that I can barely stand to watch scary things either. I spend a fair bit of this month every year with my hands in front of my eyes, listening for the musical cues to tell me when it's safe to look. But there's so much to these films that it's worth it. Many of the movies we see are excellent compared against anything else you might watch, and as a genre I find it fascinating to think about what each movie is telling us about society's fears at that time. And now that I've seen enough of them I can see the conversations happening in-between various movies, how one will quote another, or amplify it, or argue with it. I find this month more and more rewarding every year. Even when I can't actually look at the screen.
May your dreams be peaceful (not all of mine were this month!) and your nights undisturbed -
Annie
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Scary Movie Month 2016 - #1
Regardless of whatever else I might want to post about, I would be remiss if I didn't report on this year's Scary Movie Month.
It's been a bit of a slow month this year. Playoff games have gotten in the way (Go Cubs!) and other days we've just been tired. The kids have gotten into it this year, though, so all of their movies have been "scary".
Movies seen:
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (original movie 1992 - Joss Whedon)
A great way to start off the month. There's so much to love about this as long as you keep in mind that it should not be compared with the TV series - they are completely different beasts. One of my favorite details - she knows the vampires are around because she gets wicked cramps.
"Cooties" (2015 - Jonathan Millot)
Gross. Blood-thirsty zombie children terrorize their teachers. Hard to get excited about children (even zombie children) being killed in gross ways. Peter Jackson got away with this in "Dead Alive" because the zombie babies were so clearly just puppets (I'm not even sure that they died, either.)
"A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987 - Chuck Russell)
Okay, I actually liked this. The children of the people who killed Freddy Krueger are being haunted (and killed) by him through their dreams. Creepy and disturbing, but as much for how the children are treated/believed by the adults around them as for the actual haunting. A good horror movie should always make you think about more than just the story being presented, and this one did.
Dawn of the Dead (2004 - Zack Snyder)
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, so scary. And so good. I've seen the original and liked it but I thought this one was much more serious and immediate.
"House" (1977 - Nobuhiko Obayashi)
This was apparently a cult hit in Japan at the time. Schoolgirls go to visit an long-estranged relative and get eaten by the house. Visually there was a lot of interesting stuff going on, so I enjoyed that. Overall it didn't seem to cohere as a story, though I'm sure I lost a lot in translation.
Movies partially seen:
"Scanners" (1981 - David Cronenberg)
Significant to The Dude because there's a scene where someone's head explodes (from psychic waves) that has been referenced in numerous ways. Once we saw this part, though, it failed to keep our interest, mostly because none of the characters were particularly sympathetic or interesting.
"Monolith Monsters" (1957 - John Sherwood)
This was a Svengoolie movie. To be honest, I don't know the last time I saw a Svengoolie movie all the way through. The commercials and endless schtick wear me out, and then most of the time The Dude wants to see the opening monologue for Saturday Night Live so we end up switching over then if not just turning it off before. I think I'd be a lot more likely to see these if I could just watch them straight through.
Movies seen with the kids:
"Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993 - David Selick, Tim Burton)
A perennial favorite. And now the music is stuck in all of our heads.
"ParaNorman" (2012 - Chris Butler)
A Laika production (they also produced this summer's "Kubo and the Two Strings" which was magnificant). Some great little tributes to classic horror movies which are nice to catch. But mostly, this is a really moving movie. I can't not cry.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003 - Gore Verbinski)
Surprisingly good, given that the core concept is an amusement park ride. Long, though, and after a while I stopped trying to keep track of what was going on. The kids loved it (except for the one kiss - ewwww!)
"Corpse Bride" (2005 - Tim Burton)
I liked this (especially the musical/dance numbers), but it's a bit slow to start, and I had to keep pausing to explain certain things to the kids.
"E.T. The Extra-Terrestial" (1982 - Steven Spielberg)
The kids claimed this was not scary but their behavior belied this. Just as good as the last time I saw it... and the time before...
So how have we been making up for our lack of movies? Buffy! The TV series, that is. We meant to watch our "missing season" (Season 3 - missing because I mostly watched this on my own during late night colic sessions when D was an infant). But it's been so long since we've seen this that we decided to go ahead and start again from the beginning. It's perfect for those nights when we want to watch something "scary" but don't want to stay up as late or split a movie in half. And well, it's just Buffy. What can I say?
I've also been reading some stuff fitting to the season but I'll write about those another time.
Happy Halloween!
Annie
It's been a bit of a slow month this year. Playoff games have gotten in the way (Go Cubs!) and other days we've just been tired. The kids have gotten into it this year, though, so all of their movies have been "scary".
Movies seen:
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (original movie 1992 - Joss Whedon)
A great way to start off the month. There's so much to love about this as long as you keep in mind that it should not be compared with the TV series - they are completely different beasts. One of my favorite details - she knows the vampires are around because she gets wicked cramps.
"Cooties" (2015 - Jonathan Millot)
Gross. Blood-thirsty zombie children terrorize their teachers. Hard to get excited about children (even zombie children) being killed in gross ways. Peter Jackson got away with this in "Dead Alive" because the zombie babies were so clearly just puppets (I'm not even sure that they died, either.)
"A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987 - Chuck Russell)
Okay, I actually liked this. The children of the people who killed Freddy Krueger are being haunted (and killed) by him through their dreams. Creepy and disturbing, but as much for how the children are treated/believed by the adults around them as for the actual haunting. A good horror movie should always make you think about more than just the story being presented, and this one did.
Dawn of the Dead (2004 - Zack Snyder)
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, so scary. And so good. I've seen the original and liked it but I thought this one was much more serious and immediate.
"House" (1977 - Nobuhiko Obayashi)
This was apparently a cult hit in Japan at the time. Schoolgirls go to visit an long-estranged relative and get eaten by the house. Visually there was a lot of interesting stuff going on, so I enjoyed that. Overall it didn't seem to cohere as a story, though I'm sure I lost a lot in translation.
Movies partially seen:
"Scanners" (1981 - David Cronenberg)
Significant to The Dude because there's a scene where someone's head explodes (from psychic waves) that has been referenced in numerous ways. Once we saw this part, though, it failed to keep our interest, mostly because none of the characters were particularly sympathetic or interesting.
"Monolith Monsters" (1957 - John Sherwood)
This was a Svengoolie movie. To be honest, I don't know the last time I saw a Svengoolie movie all the way through. The commercials and endless schtick wear me out, and then most of the time The Dude wants to see the opening monologue for Saturday Night Live so we end up switching over then if not just turning it off before. I think I'd be a lot more likely to see these if I could just watch them straight through.
Movies seen with the kids:
"Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993 - David Selick, Tim Burton)
A perennial favorite. And now the music is stuck in all of our heads.
"ParaNorman" (2012 - Chris Butler)
A Laika production (they also produced this summer's "Kubo and the Two Strings" which was magnificant). Some great little tributes to classic horror movies which are nice to catch. But mostly, this is a really moving movie. I can't not cry.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003 - Gore Verbinski)
Surprisingly good, given that the core concept is an amusement park ride. Long, though, and after a while I stopped trying to keep track of what was going on. The kids loved it (except for the one kiss - ewwww!)
"Corpse Bride" (2005 - Tim Burton)
I liked this (especially the musical/dance numbers), but it's a bit slow to start, and I had to keep pausing to explain certain things to the kids.
"E.T. The Extra-Terrestial" (1982 - Steven Spielberg)
The kids claimed this was not scary but their behavior belied this. Just as good as the last time I saw it... and the time before...
So how have we been making up for our lack of movies? Buffy! The TV series, that is. We meant to watch our "missing season" (Season 3 - missing because I mostly watched this on my own during late night colic sessions when D was an infant). But it's been so long since we've seen this that we decided to go ahead and start again from the beginning. It's perfect for those nights when we want to watch something "scary" but don't want to stay up as late or split a movie in half. And well, it's just Buffy. What can I say?
I've also been reading some stuff fitting to the season but I'll write about those another time.
Happy Halloween!
Annie
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Some Leftovers
And, as mentioned, we managed to get in a couple more movies before declaring Scary Movie Month officially over...
House on Haunted Hill (William Castle - 1959, with Vincent Price)
Funny, both of our last two movies centered around a group of people stuck together somewhere - no way in, no way out - and then people start to die... This one was nicely creepy with some scares without being too disturbing.
Identity (James Mangold - 2003, with John Cusazk, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet)
We watched this based on a recommendation from my aunt, and for the first half hour we were united in thinking that we wouldn't be taking her advice again any time soon! It just didn't seem to make any sense and there were so many characters. And then it started to get a little more interesting... and then a lot more... and then super creepy. And that character count went steadily down... Unlike House on Haunted Hill, however, this one was disturbing and stayed with me into the night (and the next morning). A good one to go out on!
And some scary books this month too!
Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon
Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot
And I'm currently reading Stacia Kane's Sacrificial Magic, Book 4 in her Downside Ghosts Series.
I don't bother finishing books I don't like (unlike movies) so these all get my recommendation.
I'm particularly interested to see what Nnedi Okorafor does next in her adult fiction (prior to this one she wrote for young adults) - I read her Who Fears Death first, and then this one, in opposite order from how they were written, and could quite clearly see that her writing was more sophisticated in the second book. Both books struggled with the pacing, I think, and both had endings that surprised me and tore at my heart and stayed with me. So I'm eager to see how her writing develops if she continues to write for adults.
I've read a sampling of Neil Gaiman's works over the years, mostly some of his graphic novels and then works for children. I find his "allusiveness" in the graphic novels a little overwhelming (this was a new word for me, it means the degree to which he alludes to other sources, in his case mostly fairy tales and myths from a variety of cultures plus classic British literature), which is why I've stayed away from his longer novels. But after reading The Ocean..., which had a very clear writing style and had me believing in his characters, I think I might be interested in reading more.
In between working my way through Stephen King, that is. I have no interest in reading everything by him (unlike my husband who is an SK completist), and in fact take a fair bit of time in deciding which ones I'm willing to read - with the result that everything I do read of his, I love. Plus I love his writing about himself. He is definitely on my list of people I would invite to a dinner party. Except in my experience of dinner parties you never get enough time with each person and I think I would be too intimidated to meet with him one-on-one.
And the Stacia Kane is just spooky sexy fun with some very deep ideas anchoring all the shouting and witchcraft and kissing.
And now into November,
Annie
House on Haunted Hill (William Castle - 1959, with Vincent Price)
Funny, both of our last two movies centered around a group of people stuck together somewhere - no way in, no way out - and then people start to die... This one was nicely creepy with some scares without being too disturbing.
Identity (James Mangold - 2003, with John Cusazk, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet)
We watched this based on a recommendation from my aunt, and for the first half hour we were united in thinking that we wouldn't be taking her advice again any time soon! It just didn't seem to make any sense and there were so many characters. And then it started to get a little more interesting... and then a lot more... and then super creepy. And that character count went steadily down... Unlike House on Haunted Hill, however, this one was disturbing and stayed with me into the night (and the next morning). A good one to go out on!
And some scary books this month too!
Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon
Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot
And I'm currently reading Stacia Kane's Sacrificial Magic, Book 4 in her Downside Ghosts Series.
I don't bother finishing books I don't like (unlike movies) so these all get my recommendation.
I'm particularly interested to see what Nnedi Okorafor does next in her adult fiction (prior to this one she wrote for young adults) - I read her Who Fears Death first, and then this one, in opposite order from how they were written, and could quite clearly see that her writing was more sophisticated in the second book. Both books struggled with the pacing, I think, and both had endings that surprised me and tore at my heart and stayed with me. So I'm eager to see how her writing develops if she continues to write for adults.
I've read a sampling of Neil Gaiman's works over the years, mostly some of his graphic novels and then works for children. I find his "allusiveness" in the graphic novels a little overwhelming (this was a new word for me, it means the degree to which he alludes to other sources, in his case mostly fairy tales and myths from a variety of cultures plus classic British literature), which is why I've stayed away from his longer novels. But after reading The Ocean..., which had a very clear writing style and had me believing in his characters, I think I might be interested in reading more.
In between working my way through Stephen King, that is. I have no interest in reading everything by him (unlike my husband who is an SK completist), and in fact take a fair bit of time in deciding which ones I'm willing to read - with the result that everything I do read of his, I love. Plus I love his writing about himself. He is definitely on my list of people I would invite to a dinner party. Except in my experience of dinner parties you never get enough time with each person and I think I would be too intimidated to meet with him one-on-one.
And the Stacia Kane is just spooky sexy fun with some very deep ideas anchoring all the shouting and witchcraft and kissing.
And now into November,
Annie
Friday, October 30, 2015
Scary Movie Month 2015
I'm amazed at all we managed to view during Scary Movie Month this year, despite my marathon plans and The Dude's work commitments. Oh yes, and the Cubs were in the playoffs! That probably put the biggest crimp in our movie watching, at least for that week. But truly I'm amazed at how many movies we managed to see (and there are still a couple of nights available to us...)
I think we made such an effort in part because it was a hard month, and it was something we could look forward to together. Plus I didn't have to get up so early in the mornings any more... I'm kind of looking forward to being done with all these late nights, though.
There are so many I'm not feeling compelled to write in detail about all of these. Plus I never like to write too much in case someone wants to watch these --- I would hate to give away any plot-related spoilers. So not reviews so much as random thoughts.
Carrie (Brian de Palma - 1976)
Previously viewed in 2008.
Blood, blood, and more blood. And this time The Dude got surprised and jumped at the end (I was anticipating it). I've been reading a bunch of Stephen King lately, so it was kind of neat to see this movie again. It's short and tight and good.
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii - 1995)
Partial viewing.
We liked this... but were tired... and the music was kind of mesmerizing... so we called it off rather than fall asleep on the couch. I'm glad to hear that Scarlett Johansson will be playing the lead in a live-action version of this, perhaps I'll manage to see it all the way through then. Also we couldn't quite follow what was going on... all that mesmerizing music, perhaps.
Sin City (Robert Rodriguez - 2005)
Previously viewed in the theater. Partial viewing.
I like this movie. Really, I do. It just got late and it's got quite a distinctive visual style which can be a little wearying so we only watched two of the three stories (it's composed of overlapping characters). I meant to pick it up again as the last story is my favorite of the three, but in the end other movies competed for our viewing time and won.
Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright - 2004)
Previously viewed in 2005.
What can I say, I love this movie. I wouldn't go so far as to say I would watch it once a month (as The Dude claimed), but certainly once a year. See it!
Monster House (Gil Kenan - 2006)
Previously viewed in 2007. Partial viewing (I was making dinner too).
I wish I could have seen the whole thing! We own it, though, so I suspect I will get other chances. The kids were a little unhappy to realize that it wasn't about a house full of monsters but rather a house that was a monster, they found that way creepier (I concur). They talked about that for a number of days afterwards. This is the first year that we made a point of watching a scary kids movie every week and I think they liked being part of our tradition.
Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock - 1943)
We're working our way through Hitchcock. Again, what can I say... he's a master. I can't think of anything I can complain about (well, the main female character, but she's of a certain type that just sets my teeth on edge so that's not a complaint about the movie). And some seriously scary moments, some subtle... lots of them subtle... and some just grip-the-pillow scary.
Firestarter (Mark Lester - 1984)
Very partial viewing.
The Dude reread this book recently and after watching Carrie I thought it was time to see this. I also recall wanting to see how Drew Barrymore was in it. But it just fell flat, I can't remember why now. After fifteen minutes I decided I would just rather reread the book myself again.
Simpson's Treehouse of Horror I (1990)
In the final days before the marathon and I wanted to get to bed early. This was a treat from years past.
It Came from Outer Space (Jack Arnold - 1953, from a story by Ray Bradbury)
A Svengoolie feature. Partial viewing.
We were enjoying this and I hated to cut it short, but the marathon called... Maybe another time.
Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box & Nick Park - 2005, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter & Ralph Fiennes)
Previously viewed in 2006.
Post-marathon viewing! It was the day afterwards and I was home with the kids since it was a school holiday. I almost never get to watch the whole movie with them (since I'm always making dinner at that time) but I made a point of it with this one. Good thing, too, since G got a little freaked out. He made it further than D did on his first time watching it, though. This is so fun.
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson - 2008)
Previously viewed in 2009.
This is beautiful and haunting and your heart breaks multiple times watching it. When you're not being horrified by what you're seeing, of course. One of my favorites and an owner.
The Innkeepers (Ti West - 2011)
A Svengoolie feature.
I love watching Svengoolie movies (Saturday night special at our house) but often don't make it past the first hour... and it's not the movie or the commentary that kills it for me but the commercials. So I fought to make it all the way through but I wanted to see this one, goshdarnit. Bob Hope was a blast and I wanted to be sure our leading lady didn't die (or get declared insane). And who was behind it all? Made it through, well satisfied, and then crawled up to bed.
All Cheerleaders Die (Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson - 2013)
Awesome campy teenage witch revenge movie. At the end they hint at a second one to come but that hasn't happened yet. Interesting to see how the world has evolved too... a more contemporary look at rape and violence against women then we usually see in horror movies.
Terror Train (Roger Spottiswood - 1980, with Jamie Lee Curtis & David Copperfield)
Bwahahaha... Classic slasher film, before they got completely formulaic. The Dude picked this one up at our local thrift store so I suspect this will move into regular rotation. But nothing compares to the one that birthed them all... John Carpenter's Halloween.
Dial M for Murder (Alfred Hitchcock - 1954, with Grace Kelly)
Another Hitchcock. We picked this one out thinking my parents (who are with us for part of the month) might like to watch it, but they found other things to do. We enjoyed it nonetheless.
Hotel Transylvania (Genndy Tartakovsky - 2012, voiced by Adam Sandler among others)
Previously viewed in 2013.
Oh, this one is just fun. Fun, fun, fun. A little too hip with their musical sequences (those often don't age well, especially when heavy on the Auto-Tune), but I'll see it again. (And most likely, again, and again, and again.)
The Haunting (Robert Wise - 1963)
The Dude found this truly scary. I didn't, but it was certainly interesting enough. By now I've read enough references to the book this was based on, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, that I kind of feel I need to read that... except I don't. My love of Stephen King aside I don't ever set out to read scary books, it's just that some of them end up being that way...
Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon - 1985)
Oh, so gross. I covered my face a lot with this one. Apparently a cult classic. But I'd rather just watch Peter Jackson's Dead Alive again.
Vampires (John Carpenter - 1998)
We're also working our way through John Carpenter's movies. I've been reading Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot so I watched this with that in mind (also Buffy: Vampire Slayer, it had a very Buffy feel to it). I wouldn't say this was a must-see, and certainly not in my top-five John Carpenter list, but enjoyable.
We've got two more nights to go and lots and lots of choices...
Spookily yours,
Annie
I think we made such an effort in part because it was a hard month, and it was something we could look forward to together. Plus I didn't have to get up so early in the mornings any more... I'm kind of looking forward to being done with all these late nights, though.
There are so many I'm not feeling compelled to write in detail about all of these. Plus I never like to write too much in case someone wants to watch these --- I would hate to give away any plot-related spoilers. So not reviews so much as random thoughts.
Carrie (Brian de Palma - 1976)
Previously viewed in 2008.
Blood, blood, and more blood. And this time The Dude got surprised and jumped at the end (I was anticipating it). I've been reading a bunch of Stephen King lately, so it was kind of neat to see this movie again. It's short and tight and good.
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii - 1995)
Partial viewing.
We liked this... but were tired... and the music was kind of mesmerizing... so we called it off rather than fall asleep on the couch. I'm glad to hear that Scarlett Johansson will be playing the lead in a live-action version of this, perhaps I'll manage to see it all the way through then. Also we couldn't quite follow what was going on... all that mesmerizing music, perhaps.
Sin City (Robert Rodriguez - 2005)
Previously viewed in the theater. Partial viewing.
I like this movie. Really, I do. It just got late and it's got quite a distinctive visual style which can be a little wearying so we only watched two of the three stories (it's composed of overlapping characters). I meant to pick it up again as the last story is my favorite of the three, but in the end other movies competed for our viewing time and won.
Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright - 2004)
Previously viewed in 2005.
What can I say, I love this movie. I wouldn't go so far as to say I would watch it once a month (as The Dude claimed), but certainly once a year. See it!
Monster House (Gil Kenan - 2006)
Previously viewed in 2007. Partial viewing (I was making dinner too).
I wish I could have seen the whole thing! We own it, though, so I suspect I will get other chances. The kids were a little unhappy to realize that it wasn't about a house full of monsters but rather a house that was a monster, they found that way creepier (I concur). They talked about that for a number of days afterwards. This is the first year that we made a point of watching a scary kids movie every week and I think they liked being part of our tradition.
Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock - 1943)
We're working our way through Hitchcock. Again, what can I say... he's a master. I can't think of anything I can complain about (well, the main female character, but she's of a certain type that just sets my teeth on edge so that's not a complaint about the movie). And some seriously scary moments, some subtle... lots of them subtle... and some just grip-the-pillow scary.
Firestarter (Mark Lester - 1984)
Very partial viewing.
The Dude reread this book recently and after watching Carrie I thought it was time to see this. I also recall wanting to see how Drew Barrymore was in it. But it just fell flat, I can't remember why now. After fifteen minutes I decided I would just rather reread the book myself again.
Simpson's Treehouse of Horror I (1990)
In the final days before the marathon and I wanted to get to bed early. This was a treat from years past.
It Came from Outer Space (Jack Arnold - 1953, from a story by Ray Bradbury)
A Svengoolie feature. Partial viewing.
We were enjoying this and I hated to cut it short, but the marathon called... Maybe another time.
Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box & Nick Park - 2005, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter & Ralph Fiennes)
Previously viewed in 2006.
Post-marathon viewing! It was the day afterwards and I was home with the kids since it was a school holiday. I almost never get to watch the whole movie with them (since I'm always making dinner at that time) but I made a point of it with this one. Good thing, too, since G got a little freaked out. He made it further than D did on his first time watching it, though. This is so fun.
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson - 2008)
Previously viewed in 2009.
This is beautiful and haunting and your heart breaks multiple times watching it. When you're not being horrified by what you're seeing, of course. One of my favorites and an owner.
The Innkeepers (Ti West - 2011)
Nice haunted house/hotel story! Lots of creeps without being too graphic. We ended up breaking this into two nights which is always dangerous, especially with a quiet movie like this one, but the characters felt so real we wanted to see how they would handle things. We'll make a point of looking up his other work now.
The Cat and the Canary (directed by Elliot Nugent, starring Bob Hope - 1939)A Svengoolie feature.
I love watching Svengoolie movies (Saturday night special at our house) but often don't make it past the first hour... and it's not the movie or the commentary that kills it for me but the commercials. So I fought to make it all the way through but I wanted to see this one, goshdarnit. Bob Hope was a blast and I wanted to be sure our leading lady didn't die (or get declared insane). And who was behind it all? Made it through, well satisfied, and then crawled up to bed.
All Cheerleaders Die (Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson - 2013)
Awesome campy teenage witch revenge movie. At the end they hint at a second one to come but that hasn't happened yet. Interesting to see how the world has evolved too... a more contemporary look at rape and violence against women then we usually see in horror movies.
Terror Train (Roger Spottiswood - 1980, with Jamie Lee Curtis & David Copperfield)
Bwahahaha... Classic slasher film, before they got completely formulaic. The Dude picked this one up at our local thrift store so I suspect this will move into regular rotation. But nothing compares to the one that birthed them all... John Carpenter's Halloween.
Dial M for Murder (Alfred Hitchcock - 1954, with Grace Kelly)
Another Hitchcock. We picked this one out thinking my parents (who are with us for part of the month) might like to watch it, but they found other things to do. We enjoyed it nonetheless.
Hotel Transylvania (Genndy Tartakovsky - 2012, voiced by Adam Sandler among others)
Previously viewed in 2013.
Oh, this one is just fun. Fun, fun, fun. A little too hip with their musical sequences (those often don't age well, especially when heavy on the Auto-Tune), but I'll see it again. (And most likely, again, and again, and again.)
The Haunting (Robert Wise - 1963)
The Dude found this truly scary. I didn't, but it was certainly interesting enough. By now I've read enough references to the book this was based on, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, that I kind of feel I need to read that... except I don't. My love of Stephen King aside I don't ever set out to read scary books, it's just that some of them end up being that way...
Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon - 1985)
Oh, so gross. I covered my face a lot with this one. Apparently a cult classic. But I'd rather just watch Peter Jackson's Dead Alive again.
Vampires (John Carpenter - 1998)
We're also working our way through John Carpenter's movies. I've been reading Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot so I watched this with that in mind (also Buffy: Vampire Slayer, it had a very Buffy feel to it). I wouldn't say this was a must-see, and certainly not in my top-five John Carpenter list, but enjoyable.
We've got two more nights to go and lots and lots of choices...
Spookily yours,
Annie
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Scary Movie Month 2014
Despite all the work we were doing on the house in October to get it "viewing-ready" (for our annual Halloween party), we did make sure to celebrate Scary Movie Month with a good share of movies. To make it a little easier on ourselves we chose a number of well-loved ones and also split a number of them into two days viewing. And promised ourselves no movies about haunted houses, since we're still getting used to living in one. A house, that is, I don't have any reason to believe it may be haunted.
The Fog (John Carpenter - 1980)
Previously viewed in 2009
A classic, and scarier than I remembered. Lots of jumps! Of course we watched this in an old creaky house that is not familiar to us so we did have some "What is that?" moments after seeing this film.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957 - on Svengoolie)
This was a Svengoolie movie (a Chicago area horror movie host who shows on Saturday nights). Frequently I only make it through an hour or so of his selections but this one had us sticking through the awful low-budget commericials. If we'd been able to watch this straight through we might have been able to make it to the end as it was interesting, but in the end time was against us and we went to bed. Don't tell me the ending if you know it - I might want to watch it again some day.
American Werewolf in London (John Landis - 1981)
Previously viewed in 2005
The Host (Joon-ho Bong - 2006)
Previously viewed in 2006 (in the theater)
Creepshow (directed by George A. Romero, written by Steven King - 1982)
The Fog (John Carpenter - 1980)
Previously viewed in 2009
A classic, and scarier than I remembered. Lots of jumps! Of course we watched this in an old creaky house that is not familiar to us so we did have some "What is that?" moments after seeing this film.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957 - on Svengoolie)
This was a Svengoolie movie (a Chicago area horror movie host who shows on Saturday nights). Frequently I only make it through an hour or so of his selections but this one had us sticking through the awful low-budget commericials. If we'd been able to watch this straight through we might have been able to make it to the end as it was interesting, but in the end time was against us and we went to bed. Don't tell me the ending if you know it - I might want to watch it again some day.
American Werewolf in London (John Landis - 1981)
Previously viewed in 2005
One of the first scary movies I ever saw with The Dude, and again, better than I remembered it. Certainly funnier, and scarier to boot. And also just interesting. I love how these late 70s / early 80s movies could just take their time setting up the atmosphere.
The Host (Joon-ho Bong - 2006)
Previously viewed in 2006 (in the theater)
One of my favorite monster movies ever. And I love that it gives me a view into another culture as well. For me this is up there with Gojira (the original Japanese movie that was cut up and added to to make Godzilla) and I could watch these both every year.
Coraline (Henry Selick - 2009)
Previously viewed in 2009
If you have kids, be afraid, very afraid. When you're not busy being enchanted, that is. And do not let your children see this until they're at least eight.
Evil Dead 2 (directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell - 1987)
Previously viewed in 2006
Another one where I forgot how scary it is (and gross). Really I should have known better since I had the same experience with another Sam Raimi movie last year (Drag Me to Hell). Why do I only ever remember the funny bits of his movies?
Another one where I forgot how scary it is (and gross). Really I should have known better since I had the same experience with another Sam Raimi movie last year (Drag Me to Hell). Why do I only ever remember the funny bits of his movies?
Rope (directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart - 1948)
We're working our way through Hitchcock, a new one every year. This one was a little tedious - it was adapted from a stage play and felt very "stagy" - it was also very much of its time and class and I had little sympathy for the characters (elite New York socialites / upper crust). But it was nicely suspenseful to watch the characters break down and it was nicely satisfying in its ending. Thank you, James Stewart, for making this worth our time after all.
Bloodlust! (1961 - on Mystery Science Theater 3000)
This would have been entertaining (not great, but entertaining) without all the interruptions. (Mystery Science Theater 3000 was another TV show that showed horror movies - but only B movies - and with ongoing commentary). It made me appreciate Svengoolie all the more, since he comments on the movie at set times but not all the way through. In the end I couldn't finish it. The best part was the opening feature, some promotional film from the National Dairy Council from the 60s. With that the constant snarky commentary amused me and improved on the film. But the nonstop chatter just took away from any suspense there might have been in the main feature, or any opportunity to build sympathy for the characters.
Creepshow (directed by George A. Romero, written by Steven King - 1982)
Previously viewed in 2008
A collection of five short films, paying homage to the classic horror book series. These didn't creep me out as much as when I saw it before (even the bug one), I think I've gotten used to a certain level of grossness. Instead they were weirdly familiar and comforting. It was good to have this to watch while we assembled more Ikea furniture, in our last push to get ready before our Halloween party.
Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero - 1978)
This was one of the few movies this year we watched all the way through in one night. Our party was past, and we could fully commit to Scary Movie Month. A good movie, and neat to think of it as a precursor to the many zombie movies that have since followed. And also to think back on its predecessor, Night of the Living Dead, and to see how this built on that one (and how times had changed in the ten years separating the two).
The Omen (directed by Richard Donner, starring Gregory Peck - 1976)
The Omen (directed by Richard Donner, starring Gregory Peck - 1976)
Two of my least favorite tropes in horror movies - demonic possession and children - combined in one movie! And yet it didn't feel real to me in the way The Exorcist did, and therefore not all that scary. Maybe because the child in this movie really just felt like a prop and not a real child? I didn't feel anything for him or have any good sense of the different relationships - so then who cares about the rest of it? This was a lesson that a truly scary movie also needs to be a good movie on its own. It did make me want to watch Firestarter to see if my theory about good child actors making a significant difference holds true.
My Name Is Bruce (Bruce Campbell - 2007)
Last one of the month. Halloween night. Something lighter to balance out the last two. But I still expected something better than what we got - maybe another Bubba Ho-Tep? Bruce has it in him to be good and this could have been an intersting reflection on what it means to be a B-list actor in some very good movies. Instead he was just a joke. Lesson from this one - the director matters. Bruce should not be directing himself.
So many movies I would have liked to have seen. But oh well. There's always next year!
What's your favorite scary movie (doesn't need to be horror)?
Still working through the Halloween candy -
Annie
So many movies I would have liked to have seen. But oh well. There's always next year!
What's your favorite scary movie (doesn't need to be horror)?
Still working through the Halloween candy -
Annie
Friday, November 1, 2013
Scary Movie Month - The End
Yes! We did it. Ten years since the show came to its network conclusion (as opposed to its ongoing life in graphic novels), and five years since we started watching it, we finally managed to finish Buffy Vampire Slayer. Now to knock Angel out...
Frankenweenie (Tim Burton - 2012)
If you've watched a lot of Tim Burton, as we have, then there's a lot about this movie that is awfully familiar, almost a bit too familiar. But we liked it anyway. I was really taken by how lovingly and carefully the dog was depicted, in all its very dogginess. And then we enjoyed all the shoutouts to different monster movies from the past. Not one for the boy though, not yet, anyway. (He's been busy watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as often as he can get us to let him.)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Another classic, but this one is a goodie as well as an oldie. Creepy and interesting and moving. Perhaps the best of all the Universal monster movies (though I still need to see "Creature from the Black Lagoon").
And then finally...
Halloween (John Carpenter - 1978)
One of his best. A perfect way to go out. (Aside from watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with the kidlets.)
And we are done. So done. We had contemplated seeing some others over the next weeks, but not anymore. Time to get caught up on some other movies, time to get caught up on sleep.
Yours sleepily,
Annie
Frankenweenie (Tim Burton - 2012)
If you've watched a lot of Tim Burton, as we have, then there's a lot about this movie that is awfully familiar, almost a bit too familiar. But we liked it anyway. I was really taken by how lovingly and carefully the dog was depicted, in all its very dogginess. And then we enjoyed all the shoutouts to different monster movies from the past. Not one for the boy though, not yet, anyway. (He's been busy watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as often as he can get us to let him.)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Another classic, but this one is a goodie as well as an oldie. Creepy and interesting and moving. Perhaps the best of all the Universal monster movies (though I still need to see "Creature from the Black Lagoon").
And then finally...
Halloween (John Carpenter - 1978)
One of his best. A perfect way to go out. (Aside from watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with the kidlets.)
And we are done. So done. We had contemplated seeing some others over the next weeks, but not anymore. Time to get caught up on some other movies, time to get caught up on sleep.
Yours sleepily,
Annie
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Scary Movie Month - Part 2
And then after the marathon was over we could really settle ourselves down and get in some serious viewing...
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002 with Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis)
This may be one of my favorite movies ever. Elvis in a nursing home, a soul-sucking mummy, and JFK somehow put into the body of a black man, now elderly as well. And yet it is one of the most moving films I've ever seen about aging, regrets, family, and what makes a life well lived. Plus some kick-assery by the elderly Elvis and JFK, working as a team.
Dark Star (John Carpenter & Dan O'Bannon - 1974)
Not scary, but the first effort by two men who went on to make horrifically scary movies, so we watched out of historic interest. I was falling asleep so I missed the last twenty minutes but I wish I'd managed to stay up for it all. Atmospheric and interesting, if perhaps not as funny as they'd hoped.
The Hand (1981 with Michael Caine)
Caine was good in this, but then I felt the ending threw all that good work away. We did get some good conversation throughout about the characters, though, so the experience of watching it was fun, even if in the end it was disappointing.
The Wolf Man (1941 with Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney)
A classic. And it's a sign of how much Scary Movie Month has become part of my life that I actually watched this one on my own. I've seen the beginning of this at least three times (and then fallen asleep), so I was determined to make it through this time. I dozed off a little here and there but made it to the end! And then realized that I hadn't missed all that much of it before - it's just a short movie, and the end, when it comes, happens pretty quickly. So this was more about filling in my monster movie gaps than being particularly engaged with it. A good choice for solo viewing.
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock - 1963)
Oh, fantastic. A pleasure to watch, to think about, to wonder at, and then to be scared by. No false notes here.
Gojira (1954)
Another one I watched on my own, but this time because I really like it. A movie to be savored, thought about, and listened to (the music and the sound effects are well worth paying close attention to). I had forgotten enough about how it was structured to be surprised, especially once Gojira is on the streets attacking the city. So much to think about with this one. What would it have been like to see this in 1950s Japan? How very different from the bowlderized American version that was made.
In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter - 1994)
Oh, I wanted this to be better than it was. It had such promise at the beginning. What I would change? The actress, the ending.
And then heading into the last weekend, and determined to finish out Buffy...
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002 with Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis)
This may be one of my favorite movies ever. Elvis in a nursing home, a soul-sucking mummy, and JFK somehow put into the body of a black man, now elderly as well. And yet it is one of the most moving films I've ever seen about aging, regrets, family, and what makes a life well lived. Plus some kick-assery by the elderly Elvis and JFK, working as a team.
Dark Star (John Carpenter & Dan O'Bannon - 1974)
Not scary, but the first effort by two men who went on to make horrifically scary movies, so we watched out of historic interest. I was falling asleep so I missed the last twenty minutes but I wish I'd managed to stay up for it all. Atmospheric and interesting, if perhaps not as funny as they'd hoped.
The Hand (1981 with Michael Caine)
Caine was good in this, but then I felt the ending threw all that good work away. We did get some good conversation throughout about the characters, though, so the experience of watching it was fun, even if in the end it was disappointing.
The Wolf Man (1941 with Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney)
A classic. And it's a sign of how much Scary Movie Month has become part of my life that I actually watched this one on my own. I've seen the beginning of this at least three times (and then fallen asleep), so I was determined to make it through this time. I dozed off a little here and there but made it to the end! And then realized that I hadn't missed all that much of it before - it's just a short movie, and the end, when it comes, happens pretty quickly. So this was more about filling in my monster movie gaps than being particularly engaged with it. A good choice for solo viewing.
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock - 1963)
Oh, fantastic. A pleasure to watch, to think about, to wonder at, and then to be scared by. No false notes here.
Gojira (1954)
Another one I watched on my own, but this time because I really like it. A movie to be savored, thought about, and listened to (the music and the sound effects are well worth paying close attention to). I had forgotten enough about how it was structured to be surprised, especially once Gojira is on the streets attacking the city. So much to think about with this one. What would it have been like to see this in 1950s Japan? How very different from the bowlderized American version that was made.
In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter - 1994)
Oh, I wanted this to be better than it was. It had such promise at the beginning. What I would change? The actress, the ending.
And then heading into the last weekend, and determined to finish out Buffy...
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Scary Movie Month - Part 1
You wouldn't know it by my posting, but I have been watching scary movies all month long. This may even be the most movies in a single month that I've ever seen. I suspect if I tried to give a full report on every movie the way I have in some years I would never finish, so here's the short version. This post covers everything we watched up until the marathon (Oct. 13).
ParaNorman (Christ Butler - 2012)
Very sweet. And smart. And spooky. Some big themes and ways of handling them - if this had been live-action it certainly would have been for adults. Chris Butler worked on Coraline (one of our faves) and Corpse Bride so he certainly cut his teeth on some good stuff. A great start to the month.
Dreamscape (1984 with Dennis Quaid, Max van Sydow, and Christopher Plummer)
As my cousin put it (we were debating this one on Facebook): "It hasn't aged very well but chock full of great ideas! A solid B movie, ripe for a remake! I mean, dream therapy, dream assassins, that boy and his monster, so much to love!!!" Exactly.
The Gate (1987)
Some good classic scary bits, lots of silly stuff, lots that doesn't really hold together from a character or a story perspective. Probably ultimately forgettable.
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Nothing scary here, but very enjoyable and surprisingly sweet. Lots of SNL alums involved: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Robert Smigel, Molly Shannon, etc. My only criticism here is one I have of a number of kids' movies - using "popular" actors and music will date it more than necessary, and there is no need for a big musical production at the end. My oldest wanted to watch it again immediately after finishing it and I suspect we'll end up owning it.
Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raini - 2009)
Oh, what was I thinking? I forgot how scary (and gross) this can be. I think I was only remembering the funny bits. (Time spent under the blanket hiding my eyes - 30%?)
And then lots of single episodes of the last season of Buffy, since we were determined to finish it finally. Started off the month with 12 episodes remaining...
ParaNorman (Christ Butler - 2012)
Very sweet. And smart. And spooky. Some big themes and ways of handling them - if this had been live-action it certainly would have been for adults. Chris Butler worked on Coraline (one of our faves) and Corpse Bride so he certainly cut his teeth on some good stuff. A great start to the month.
Dreamscape (1984 with Dennis Quaid, Max van Sydow, and Christopher Plummer)
As my cousin put it (we were debating this one on Facebook): "It hasn't aged very well but chock full of great ideas! A solid B movie, ripe for a remake! I mean, dream therapy, dream assassins, that boy and his monster, so much to love!!!" Exactly.
The Gate (1987)
Some good classic scary bits, lots of silly stuff, lots that doesn't really hold together from a character or a story perspective. Probably ultimately forgettable.
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Nothing scary here, but very enjoyable and surprisingly sweet. Lots of SNL alums involved: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Robert Smigel, Molly Shannon, etc. My only criticism here is one I have of a number of kids' movies - using "popular" actors and music will date it more than necessary, and there is no need for a big musical production at the end. My oldest wanted to watch it again immediately after finishing it and I suspect we'll end up owning it.
Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raini - 2009)
Oh, what was I thinking? I forgot how scary (and gross) this can be. I think I was only remembering the funny bits. (Time spent under the blanket hiding my eyes - 30%?)
And then lots of single episodes of the last season of Buffy, since we were determined to finish it finally. Started off the month with 12 episodes remaining...
Saturday, November 3, 2012
One Last Movie - And A Race
So, we ended up sneaking in another movie last night, even though my plan was to go to bed early (again - I am always trying to go to bed early and I so rarely succeed), because, really, this is not a high-stakes race tomorrow and I am not a professional athlete and my running needs to support me and my life and not be my life. And this movie came in the mail today.
Troll Hunter (2010)
A Norwegian movie, shot cinema-verite style, about students who start off investigating mysterious bear deaths and end up following (and filming) a troll hunter. Way more fun than you'd think it should be. Too tired now to think what else to say about it.
Oh yes, I have this race tomorrow. The Hot Chocolate 15k. This race that I trained all season for... only to have my training go off the track two months ago, never to really return. This race that I want to love (because I did so much my first year)... but am so disgusted with the race organizers, and have been, year after year, that I just get angry thinking about it, and have no confidence that it will be well run tomorrow. This race I have planned for so seriously all year... only to realize that I need to radically rethink how I go about my training and my racing so that, as I wrote above, my running supports my life rather than being my life.
I have gone back and forth on whether to even do this all week, and if so, how. (In the end I am doing it because I regretted so much not running the Chicago Half after all, and I don't want to repeat that experience.) My original goal was 1:30 or less (basically a 9:40 pace). I am very dubious about my ability to pull that off, though I am willing to try. My first time at this race was in 2009, and it was my first long race since Buddy was born. I ran it in 1:39:26 (10:41 pace). I am in much better shape now than I was then, so I fully expect to do better than that.
My second time was in 2010, after running the marathon three weeks before. I ran it in 1:32:30 (9:56 pace). I don't have the endurance that I did back then, but I am actually faster. So I think it's possible to run it this year faster than that, and I guess, in the end, that's what I'm shooting for. I've loaded up my iPod with inspiring music (I don't usually do races with music but I'll take whatever help I can get), I'm heading to bed soon, happy to take advantage of daylight sayings time, and I'll put my best game face on tomorrow and not let myself get upset by the surroundings.
Troll Hunter (2010)
A Norwegian movie, shot cinema-verite style, about students who start off investigating mysterious bear deaths and end up following (and filming) a troll hunter. Way more fun than you'd think it should be. Too tired now to think what else to say about it.
Oh yes, I have this race tomorrow. The Hot Chocolate 15k. This race that I trained all season for... only to have my training go off the track two months ago, never to really return. This race that I want to love (because I did so much my first year)... but am so disgusted with the race organizers, and have been, year after year, that I just get angry thinking about it, and have no confidence that it will be well run tomorrow. This race I have planned for so seriously all year... only to realize that I need to radically rethink how I go about my training and my racing so that, as I wrote above, my running supports my life rather than being my life.
I have gone back and forth on whether to even do this all week, and if so, how. (In the end I am doing it because I regretted so much not running the Chicago Half after all, and I don't want to repeat that experience.) My original goal was 1:30 or less (basically a 9:40 pace). I am very dubious about my ability to pull that off, though I am willing to try. My first time at this race was in 2009, and it was my first long race since Buddy was born. I ran it in 1:39:26 (10:41 pace). I am in much better shape now than I was then, so I fully expect to do better than that.
My second time was in 2010, after running the marathon three weeks before. I ran it in 1:32:30 (9:56 pace). I don't have the endurance that I did back then, but I am actually faster. So I think it's possible to run it this year faster than that, and I guess, in the end, that's what I'm shooting for. I've loaded up my iPod with inspiring music (I don't usually do races with music but I'll take whatever help I can get), I'm heading to bed soon, happy to take advantage of daylight sayings time, and I'll put my best game face on tomorrow and not let myself get upset by the surroundings.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Scary Movie Month - The End
Well, Scary Movie Month kind of went out with a whimper this year, which has been pretty much been the case since we had kids. Oh well. The Dude had his gig Halloween night so had to cut out right after dinner, I spent the rest of the evening staying up WAY too late, eating candy and reading. (Not even scary stuff but the latest Sports Illustrated and Jonathan Kozol's new book, "Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America". Well, maybe that last one was a little scary.)
BUT we had a lovely Halloween night anyway, we picked up the boys at school and trick-or-treated on the way home, and then Buddy got to have some candy and he and The Dude watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" while I got the baby to bed and dinner ready.
And now it's November and time to plan Thanksgiving!
BUT we had a lovely Halloween night anyway, we picked up the boys at school and trick-or-treated on the way home, and then Buddy got to have some candy and he and The Dude watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" while I got the baby to bed and dinner ready.
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| This was in the morning, before the addition of his Capt. Hook mustache. |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Scary Movie Month - Week 4 - Tuesday
So... our awesome, exciting plans for tonight have been changed, turns out some folks want The Dude's band to play this really awesome gig tonight so he'll be heading out to do that tonight, rather than tucking in cosily at home.
Bah.
Just as well, I suppose, since I really should be resting for Sunday's race, getting as much sleep as I can possibly can, rather than staying up late to watch scary movies and then staying up later still so I don't go to sleep thinking about those movies.
Well, because I am mostly a good sport (and because I should really be going to bed early), we have created new exciting plans for tonight and then for later this week. Both involving kidlets and therefore taking place earlier in the evening. I'll report back on those once they actually happen.
Yesterday, however, we kept to the original plan which meant watching this soul-sucker:
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
After we finished watching this, we listened to a bit of commentary and were astounded to realize that this was evidently some kind of cult classic. And even more surprised to go online and find out that there were another three, yes three, sequels. Well, I won't give away the twist ending, but will just say that this movie was not scary, not funny, and not enjoyable. And that it is clearly a product of its time (early 80s), so some of its premises were not amusing to me at all. Overall... meh.
I understand that the exact reasons I disliked it are why some people enjoy this type of movie, that it is a type (bad 80's teen slasher movie), and to be enjoyed as camp, as fodder for ridicule, in comparison to others of its type, and so on. I'm just not the right audience for it then. I take my movies too seriously to enjoy watching something just to make fun of it (hence my inability to enjoy "Plan 9 From Outer Space") and yet not seriously enough to dig down into what makes this one better/worse/different from others like it. Oh well. The Dude insists on one teen slasher movie each year (I thought "The Cabin In The Woods" was enough of that trope to count for this year's but I guess not) and so this year "Sleepaway Camp" was it.
Bah.
Just as well, I suppose, since I really should be resting for Sunday's race, getting as much sleep as I can possibly can, rather than staying up late to watch scary movies and then staying up later still so I don't go to sleep thinking about those movies.
Well, because I am mostly a good sport (and because I should really be going to bed early), we have created new exciting plans for tonight and then for later this week. Both involving kidlets and therefore taking place earlier in the evening. I'll report back on those once they actually happen.
Yesterday, however, we kept to the original plan which meant watching this soul-sucker:
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
After we finished watching this, we listened to a bit of commentary and were astounded to realize that this was evidently some kind of cult classic. And even more surprised to go online and find out that there were another three, yes three, sequels. Well, I won't give away the twist ending, but will just say that this movie was not scary, not funny, and not enjoyable. And that it is clearly a product of its time (early 80s), so some of its premises were not amusing to me at all. Overall... meh.
I understand that the exact reasons I disliked it are why some people enjoy this type of movie, that it is a type (bad 80's teen slasher movie), and to be enjoyed as camp, as fodder for ridicule, in comparison to others of its type, and so on. I'm just not the right audience for it then. I take my movies too seriously to enjoy watching something just to make fun of it (hence my inability to enjoy "Plan 9 From Outer Space") and yet not seriously enough to dig down into what makes this one better/worse/different from others like it. Oh well. The Dude insists on one teen slasher movie each year (I thought "The Cabin In The Woods" was enough of that trope to count for this year's but I guess not) and so this year "Sleepaway Camp" was it.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Scary Movie Month - Week 4 Countdown - Sunday & Monday
After the last batch of disappointing movies (and the last couple of weeks' movie viewing being disrupted by illness, kids, work, or rehearsals), we determined to end the month with selections we knew would be satisfying. Plus a special surprise for Halloween night itself!
Sleepy Hollow (1999 - Tim Burton)
Oh, Tim Burton. We can always count on you for a visual treat. And oh, Johnny Depp. We can always count on you for, well, we can just count on you*. This was beautiful to watch, plus funny, interesting, moving, and scary but not that much. My only quibble is that Christina Ricci kind of breaks the mood when she first speaks but that eases as the movie goes on. Don't know that I'd want to own this but I would certainly watch it again.
Spirited Away (2001 - Hayao Miyazaki)
Somehow it got really late in the evening before we were even ready to begin watching (and this is a long one), but I had a taste for a beautiful Japanese ghost story and so we plunged in. I love this movie. I love pretty much all the Studio Ghibli movies, though I'm behind in my viewing. Though after this The Dude and I thought we might just immerse ourselves in Japanese animation for a while. The last time I watched this was before we had kids, so it was interesting to watch it both from the perspective of a parent and with a child's sensibility in mind.
And for those who might say this doesn't count as a scary movie, I would say that any movie that features vomiting ghosts, bleeding serpents, attacking paper birds, the possibility of parents being eaten, and a ferocious witch, counts as scary in my book.
For tonight it's either a teenage slasher movie (since we haven't had one this year so far), or, if it doesn't come in today's mail, one from our growing collection of scary movies. I was joking with The Dude that at this point we have enough to stock a whole month's worth. Maybe some year we'll get rid of Netflix and just watch what we own.
*2019 update: Well, no, not any more. Boo to you.
Sleepy Hollow (1999 - Tim Burton)
Oh, Tim Burton. We can always count on you for a visual treat. And oh, Johnny Depp. We can always count on you for, well, we can just count on you*. This was beautiful to watch, plus funny, interesting, moving, and scary but not that much. My only quibble is that Christina Ricci kind of breaks the mood when she first speaks but that eases as the movie goes on. Don't know that I'd want to own this but I would certainly watch it again.
Spirited Away (2001 - Hayao Miyazaki)
Somehow it got really late in the evening before we were even ready to begin watching (and this is a long one), but I had a taste for a beautiful Japanese ghost story and so we plunged in. I love this movie. I love pretty much all the Studio Ghibli movies, though I'm behind in my viewing. Though after this The Dude and I thought we might just immerse ourselves in Japanese animation for a while. The last time I watched this was before we had kids, so it was interesting to watch it both from the perspective of a parent and with a child's sensibility in mind.
And for those who might say this doesn't count as a scary movie, I would say that any movie that features vomiting ghosts, bleeding serpents, attacking paper birds, the possibility of parents being eaten, and a ferocious witch, counts as scary in my book.
For tonight it's either a teenage slasher movie (since we haven't had one this year so far), or, if it doesn't come in today's mail, one from our growing collection of scary movies. I was joking with The Dude that at this point we have enough to stock a whole month's worth. Maybe some year we'll get rid of Netflix and just watch what we own.
*2019 update: Well, no, not any more. Boo to you.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Scary Movie Month - Weeks #2 & 3
We've moved into the last week of Scary Movie Month which means I need to get on the ball with my movie notes! We had a couple of, mmm, odd weeks... nothing that really hit right. But we made up for it with Buffy watching - we are finally moving through the last season!
Here's what we did watch:
Fright Night (2011 version)
Oh, what a disappointment. I'm not going to do a side-by-side comparison with the 1985 version, in part because it just fell through on pretty much everything but production values and visuals and also because I'm just not that much of a geek. But it wasn't as funny or as moving, and it gave its scares away too soon. Part of the enjoyment of the original is the "is he or isn't he" suspense. There was no suspense in this version. I thought it picked up at the end when we got to see more David Tennant, and I think there was some good visual stuff that stayed with me afterwards, but otherwise I would give it a pass.
Dead Alive (1992 - Peter Jackson - originally released as Braindead)
Whoa. Absolutely the most disgusting movie I have ever seen. Also incredibly funny. I would totally watch it again. Thankfully the gore is all pre-CGI so it's clearly fake and over-the-top. Otherwise I probably would have thrown up instead of just thinking I was going to. There's so much fantastic about this I don't know what to single out except maybe... zombie baby.
The Village (2004 - M. Night Shyamalan)
Another disappointment. This time because there was so much potential... great actors, beautifully shot, grand music, interesting ideas... and then it fell off the rails, storywise. And the problem with that in a suspense movie is that you then walk away thinking less of it as time goes on, instead of admiring it more and more as you think about it. There were hints to its flaws early on... we talk when watching movies at home and I asked about a couple of things that just didn't feel right... but I didn't realize it was going to fail itself as epically as it did. Sigh.
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959 - Ed Wood)
This one is often viewed as one of the worst movies ever. I think we thought that the kitschiness might make it amusing. Alas, no. Boring, yes. I kept falling asleep and finally gave up and went to bed. The Dude started practicing guitar and lost track of what was going on. And it was only 80 minutes long!
Thankfully things have started picking up again... full report after Halloween!
Here's what we did watch:
Fright Night (2011 version)
Oh, what a disappointment. I'm not going to do a side-by-side comparison with the 1985 version, in part because it just fell through on pretty much everything but production values and visuals and also because I'm just not that much of a geek. But it wasn't as funny or as moving, and it gave its scares away too soon. Part of the enjoyment of the original is the "is he or isn't he" suspense. There was no suspense in this version. I thought it picked up at the end when we got to see more David Tennant, and I think there was some good visual stuff that stayed with me afterwards, but otherwise I would give it a pass.
Dead Alive (1992 - Peter Jackson - originally released as Braindead)
Whoa. Absolutely the most disgusting movie I have ever seen. Also incredibly funny. I would totally watch it again. Thankfully the gore is all pre-CGI so it's clearly fake and over-the-top. Otherwise I probably would have thrown up instead of just thinking I was going to. There's so much fantastic about this I don't know what to single out except maybe... zombie baby.
The Village (2004 - M. Night Shyamalan)
Another disappointment. This time because there was so much potential... great actors, beautifully shot, grand music, interesting ideas... and then it fell off the rails, storywise. And the problem with that in a suspense movie is that you then walk away thinking less of it as time goes on, instead of admiring it more and more as you think about it. There were hints to its flaws early on... we talk when watching movies at home and I asked about a couple of things that just didn't feel right... but I didn't realize it was going to fail itself as epically as it did. Sigh.
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959 - Ed Wood)
This one is often viewed as one of the worst movies ever. I think we thought that the kitschiness might make it amusing. Alas, no. Boring, yes. I kept falling asleep and finally gave up and went to bed. The Dude started practicing guitar and lost track of what was going on. And it was only 80 minutes long!
Thankfully things have started picking up again... full report after Halloween!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Scary Movie Month - Week 1
I've never had to worry about spoilers with my Scary Movie Month reports in the past, because the movies we were seeing were typically already many years out of the theaters (and because I report more on my response to them rather than details about them). But last weekend we saw two that were released fairly recently, with plot points that could, if known about in advance, perhaps lessen one's enjoyment of them. Just possibly. Not for someone like me, of course, who frequently skips to the end of books, but for someone like The Dude, who will avoid reading reviews of movies he's interested in so as not to sully his viewing experience. So I will be careful in this post.
The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2011)
Classic Joss Whedon. (Yes, it was directed by Goddard, but Whedon co-wrote it and it has Whedon stamped all over it.) Scary, interesting, sad, funny, disturbing. A treat to see so many familar actors used in very different ways. This is one that will stick with me... and that I had no immediate desire to see again. Because, in the end, I was left with such a feeling of sadness.
Except... as one reviewer writes about it (on IMDB):
Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011)
Fantastic. Aliens attack. Home is threatened. Unexpected alliances are formed, an unexpected hero rises to the occasion. All classic alien-movie tropes, always satisfying if done well enough. But wait! Home is British council-housing, the hero is a thug. Not so easy to root for?
I think what I liked best about this movie is the richness to the characters (and the housing estate is itself a character). Not sterotypes, not easy to sum up. Lots to think about. And then just the pleasure in watching, a visceral satisfaction that I think we then go to great lengths to try to explain, but really can come down to a bodily pleasure. This is one that we will likely own someday.
Looking forward to this weekend's viewing! And in the meantime, we've gone back to Buffy, and our seemingly never-ending quest to actually finish the whole thing. We are finally in the seventh season, and things have finally gotten good. (Though I cringed through all of the episode last night, and didn't start enjoying it until the last third. That's what fast-forward is for.)
The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2011)
Classic Joss Whedon. (Yes, it was directed by Goddard, but Whedon co-wrote it and it has Whedon stamped all over it.) Scary, interesting, sad, funny, disturbing. A treat to see so many familar actors used in very different ways. This is one that will stick with me... and that I had no immediate desire to see again. Because, in the end, I was left with such a feeling of sadness.
Except... as one reviewer writes about it (on IMDB):
The resolution. The end. The explanation to everything that's been going on, and also possibly the greatest 20 minutes ever shown in horror movie history. This is the part where the audience is silent and speechless as every die-hard horror fan's dream is realized on screen. All your dedication, love, and sacrifice for this genre is justified. The credits roll, you walk out of the theater saying to yourself, "Did that just happen?" - and then you buy another ticket and watch it again.Yes. If you have any love of horror, you should see this movie. And yes, I will probably watch it again, avidly.
Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011)
Fantastic. Aliens attack. Home is threatened. Unexpected alliances are formed, an unexpected hero rises to the occasion. All classic alien-movie tropes, always satisfying if done well enough. But wait! Home is British council-housing, the hero is a thug. Not so easy to root for?
I think what I liked best about this movie is the richness to the characters (and the housing estate is itself a character). Not sterotypes, not easy to sum up. Lots to think about. And then just the pleasure in watching, a visceral satisfaction that I think we then go to great lengths to try to explain, but really can come down to a bodily pleasure. This is one that we will likely own someday.
Looking forward to this weekend's viewing! And in the meantime, we've gone back to Buffy, and our seemingly never-ending quest to actually finish the whole thing. We are finally in the seventh season, and things have finally gotten good. (Though I cringed through all of the episode last night, and didn't start enjoying it until the last third. That's what fast-forward is for.)
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Scary Movie Month Begins!
Last night. The Manchurian Candidate (1962). With Angela Lansbury and Frank Sinatra. And really good India Brown Ale and homemade pumpkin bread.
Very interesting ( I managed to stay up for the whole thing despite being desperately tired), and deliciously creepy in some key places. Not super scary, more thrilling, but I have to work up to the scare each year.
We've got a pretty packed schedule this month so it will be lighter on movies than some other years - all the more reason to really savor the ones we do get to watch.
Let the chills (and squeals) begin!
Very interesting ( I managed to stay up for the whole thing despite being desperately tired), and deliciously creepy in some key places. Not super scary, more thrilling, but I have to work up to the scare each year.
We've got a pretty packed schedule this month so it will be lighter on movies than some other years - all the more reason to really savor the ones we do get to watch.
Let the chills (and squeals) begin!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Wrap Up
Well, I was going to break down the rest of our viewing into a couple of different posts, but frankly, I'm tired (and sick) and unsure of how much time I've got before Champ makes his way into the world (and a pretty big list of things to do before then, crossing my fingers).
Was Halloween really just last night? (Clearly I started this post a while ago.) We had saved "Something Wicked This Way Comes" to watch on Halloween, after having rented it last year and not gotten to it, but by the time we got Buddy inside from trick-or-treating and to bed, we were too pooped to pop. Just as well, since he then remained up for another 45 minutes. Singing. Loudly. Which is what I told him to do if he couldn't fall asleep, as it beats having him holler for us, but it definitely impacts our ability to concentrate on any kind of "serious" viewing. We watched past episodes of "Community" instead, and planned to put "SWTWC" first on our viewing list for next year, to make sure we actually watch it.
Other movies seen this year...
Prince of Darkness
(1987 - directed by John Carpenter)
Oh, scary, scary. It seems there's a lot of contention around this movie, just among John Carpenter fans --- folks who don't find it scary find it silly, and folks who do find it scary find it really scary. Whatever pushes your particular fear buttons, I suppose. I don't even have any real belief in an embodied Satan, but this one got under my skin. And I love the goofy-looking special effects, they are so pre-CGI and so funny looking and yet still manage to be deeply disturbing. Truly, John Carpenter is a master.
From Hell
(2001 - directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, starring Johnny Depp, from the Alan Moore comic)
Ahhh... I liked this, even when it got stupid at the end and kind of petered out. I liked seeing Johnny Depp in this, I liked seeing him with Robbie Coltrane, I liked the visuals and the editing. (I didn't like Heather Graham.) I liked the depiction of Victorian London (I didn't like the overly complex conspiracy stuff). But overall, not the most satisfying movie --- mostly made me want to see the new Sherlock Holmes one coming out next month, or to reread Gail Carriger's steampunk series.
Prom Night
(1980 - starring Jamie Lee Curtis)
1. Jamie Lee Curtis has a magnetism that shines through whatever dreck may surround her. 2. The last scenes are actually pretty cool. 3. Lots of McGuffins. 4. But basically a stupid movie.
Would I watch it again? Probably, especially if enough beer were involved.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974 - directed by Tobe Hooper)
I started having my doubts about this movie when, a hour or so before watching it, I found out there was a character named "Leatherface" who wears a mask of human skin. That is, that this character is featured enough to have both a name and a description.
My one consistent thought while watching was, "Why, with all the real atrocities happening in the world, am I watching this?"
It turned out the The Dude was also not enjoying himself, so we fast-forwarded (slowly) through the rest of movie, thereby avoiding the sound and the visceral sense of outrage, while still getting to find out what happened. Which had been our main goal in seeing it in the first place. But my question has also led to a decision for future Scary Movie Months: to add a category called "Real Life Horror." Not true crime, but movies (fiction) that deal with truly horrifying realities. Movies like "Hotel Rwanda". "Blood Diamonds". "Traffic." "The Whistleblower". All the movies that are about things I'm willing to read about and want to know more about, but that I can't usually make myself watch. If not during Scary Movie Month, then when?
The Day the Earth Stood Still
(1951 - directed by Robert Wise)
This ended up being our last movie for Scary Movie Month 2011, and I think I kind of knew it at the time, because as tired as I was, I made a super special effort to stay up and finish it. It helped that it's a short movie, and that it was interesting: an alien spaceship shows up to deliver the message that Earth needs to not extend its aggression against other planets (though if we feel like killing ourselves off that's perfectly fine, of course), otherwise, be prepared to face extermination ourselves. Message brought to us from a "peace-loving" federation of planets. Huh. There are some inconsistencies in the final arguments of the alien visitor, though, as he himself says, their particular mode of peace-making is imperfect. But obviously it got us thinking, about war, about peace-making, about whether any kind of superior robot (their police force) could actually be trusted to in the end decide for humans (see Isaac Asimov's "Robot" series and their laws of robotics). Some of the "futuristic" effects used in this movie, from 60 years ago, don't seem all that strange now, and the increasing abilities of robots make some of these questions more pertinent than one would think (or would like to think). So, a good movie to go out on.
So that's it for this year! We've so enjoyed the practice of watching movies we wouldn't have otherwise (because too scary or too intense or too difficult) that we're going to start a monthly "Classic Movie Night" --- one night each month to watch a "classic" (along the lines of "I can't believe you haven't seen this!"). I'm looking forward to putting together our list.
Any scary movies you've especially liked this year? Any classics you'd recommend?
Was Halloween really just last night? (Clearly I started this post a while ago.) We had saved "Something Wicked This Way Comes" to watch on Halloween, after having rented it last year and not gotten to it, but by the time we got Buddy inside from trick-or-treating and to bed, we were too pooped to pop. Just as well, since he then remained up for another 45 minutes. Singing. Loudly. Which is what I told him to do if he couldn't fall asleep, as it beats having him holler for us, but it definitely impacts our ability to concentrate on any kind of "serious" viewing. We watched past episodes of "Community" instead, and planned to put "SWTWC" first on our viewing list for next year, to make sure we actually watch it.
Other movies seen this year...
Prince of Darkness
(1987 - directed by John Carpenter)
Oh, scary, scary. It seems there's a lot of contention around this movie, just among John Carpenter fans --- folks who don't find it scary find it silly, and folks who do find it scary find it really scary. Whatever pushes your particular fear buttons, I suppose. I don't even have any real belief in an embodied Satan, but this one got under my skin. And I love the goofy-looking special effects, they are so pre-CGI and so funny looking and yet still manage to be deeply disturbing. Truly, John Carpenter is a master.
From Hell
(2001 - directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, starring Johnny Depp, from the Alan Moore comic)
Ahhh... I liked this, even when it got stupid at the end and kind of petered out. I liked seeing Johnny Depp in this, I liked seeing him with Robbie Coltrane, I liked the visuals and the editing. (I didn't like Heather Graham.) I liked the depiction of Victorian London (I didn't like the overly complex conspiracy stuff). But overall, not the most satisfying movie --- mostly made me want to see the new Sherlock Holmes one coming out next month, or to reread Gail Carriger's steampunk series.
Prom Night
(1980 - starring Jamie Lee Curtis)
1. Jamie Lee Curtis has a magnetism that shines through whatever dreck may surround her. 2. The last scenes are actually pretty cool. 3. Lots of McGuffins. 4. But basically a stupid movie.
Would I watch it again? Probably, especially if enough beer were involved.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974 - directed by Tobe Hooper)
I started having my doubts about this movie when, a hour or so before watching it, I found out there was a character named "Leatherface" who wears a mask of human skin. That is, that this character is featured enough to have both a name and a description.
My one consistent thought while watching was, "Why, with all the real atrocities happening in the world, am I watching this?"
It turned out the The Dude was also not enjoying himself, so we fast-forwarded (slowly) through the rest of movie, thereby avoiding the sound and the visceral sense of outrage, while still getting to find out what happened. Which had been our main goal in seeing it in the first place. But my question has also led to a decision for future Scary Movie Months: to add a category called "Real Life Horror." Not true crime, but movies (fiction) that deal with truly horrifying realities. Movies like "Hotel Rwanda". "Blood Diamonds". "Traffic." "The Whistleblower". All the movies that are about things I'm willing to read about and want to know more about, but that I can't usually make myself watch. If not during Scary Movie Month, then when?
The Day the Earth Stood Still
(1951 - directed by Robert Wise)
This ended up being our last movie for Scary Movie Month 2011, and I think I kind of knew it at the time, because as tired as I was, I made a super special effort to stay up and finish it. It helped that it's a short movie, and that it was interesting: an alien spaceship shows up to deliver the message that Earth needs to not extend its aggression against other planets (though if we feel like killing ourselves off that's perfectly fine, of course), otherwise, be prepared to face extermination ourselves. Message brought to us from a "peace-loving" federation of planets. Huh. There are some inconsistencies in the final arguments of the alien visitor, though, as he himself says, their particular mode of peace-making is imperfect. But obviously it got us thinking, about war, about peace-making, about whether any kind of superior robot (their police force) could actually be trusted to in the end decide for humans (see Isaac Asimov's "Robot" series and their laws of robotics). Some of the "futuristic" effects used in this movie, from 60 years ago, don't seem all that strange now, and the increasing abilities of robots make some of these questions more pertinent than one would think (or would like to think). So, a good movie to go out on.
So that's it for this year! We've so enjoyed the practice of watching movies we wouldn't have otherwise (because too scary or too intense or too difficult) that we're going to start a monthly "Classic Movie Night" --- one night each month to watch a "classic" (along the lines of "I can't believe you haven't seen this!"). I'm looking forward to putting together our list.
Any scary movies you've especially liked this year? Any classics you'd recommend?
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Part 2
The next week's movies were not as satisfying but still had some good moments.
Once Bitten
(1985 - starring Lauren Hutton and Jim Carrey)
The movie started, and right away we knew it was going to be awful, stupid and aggravatingly 80's, with caricatures instead of characters. Five minutes later we turned it off. Not worth anyone's time.
28 Weeks Later
(2007 - starring Jeremy Renner (sigh) and Rose Byrne)
Oh, so much better. Interesting, thrilling, scary, heartbreaking --- everything what you want in a scary movie. I did watch significant chunks of it with my head turned and my hands up before the screen so I couldn't see the most disgusting bits. A friend of mine at work laughs that I love scary movies but hate gore. On thinking about this, though, I've decided that I don't mind gore so much as I dislike seeing pain, either in the moment it's inflicted or as people are suffering from it. A bloody, disemboweled dead body lying in gore or a quick bloody death --- no problem. But ongoing suffering --- can't watch it. None of these so-called "torture porn" movies for me.
Friday the 13th
(the original 1980 version)
Boring, ho-hum, thought I would fall asleep, only good for the opportunity to mock ("Who's going to die next?" "Oh, she just said/did something sexual, guess it's her turn.") because really, as a nearly middle-aged mom I have no patience for watching teenagers behaving badly --- and then, boom, totally got frightened silly. The Dude says it was worth sitting through it just for that, he kept plying me with sugar so that I would stay awake long enough for the big scare. It worked.
Once Bitten
(1985 - starring Lauren Hutton and Jim Carrey)
The movie started, and right away we knew it was going to be awful, stupid and aggravatingly 80's, with caricatures instead of characters. Five minutes later we turned it off. Not worth anyone's time.
28 Weeks Later
(2007 - starring Jeremy Renner (sigh) and Rose Byrne)
Oh, so much better. Interesting, thrilling, scary, heartbreaking --- everything what you want in a scary movie. I did watch significant chunks of it with my head turned and my hands up before the screen so I couldn't see the most disgusting bits. A friend of mine at work laughs that I love scary movies but hate gore. On thinking about this, though, I've decided that I don't mind gore so much as I dislike seeing pain, either in the moment it's inflicted or as people are suffering from it. A bloody, disemboweled dead body lying in gore or a quick bloody death --- no problem. But ongoing suffering --- can't watch it. None of these so-called "torture porn" movies for me.
Friday the 13th
(the original 1980 version)
Boring, ho-hum, thought I would fall asleep, only good for the opportunity to mock ("Who's going to die next?" "Oh, she just said/did something sexual, guess it's her turn.") because really, as a nearly middle-aged mom I have no patience for watching teenagers behaving badly --- and then, boom, totally got frightened silly. The Dude says it was worth sitting through it just for that, he kept plying me with sugar so that I would stay awake long enough for the big scare. It worked.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Part 1
Well, while I haven't managed to stay on top of writing about Scary Movie Month, we've definitely been managing to stay on top of our viewing! (More impressively, I've managed to stay on top of baking for it, as we like our snacks for SMM, and I've been avoiding buying chocolate this year.)
Here's the first week's worth of movies.
The Frighteners
(1996 - directed by Peter Jackson, starring Michael J. Fox)
Enjoyed this while watching, but then five days later couldn't remember that I'd seen it. That either doesn't say good things about the movie, or should just be chalked up to late pregnancy. I'm inclined now to say the latter, as I've been talking about it with people about it since, and have found more and more that I enjoyed about it, though my main complaint remains the same (the romance is accelerated to an insane degree to forward the plot). Also an interesting movie to view given where it fits into the Peter Jackson catalog (between Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Rings) - it's certainly more Hollywood and big budget than Heavenly Creatures but I never would have predicted his ability to do LOTR based on this movie.
Rear Window
(1954 - directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly)
Not really scary, but filled out our Hitchcock viewing. Most of our discussion afterwards (and during - this was the year we talked through every single movie we saw...) centered around changing experiences of neighborhoods and neighbors, and changing expectations of marriage. This really isn't one to critique - it is a classic, after all.
The Mist
(2007 - from a Stephen King novella, with a disturbing performance by Marcia Gay Harden)
Oh, scary, scary, and so sad. I get sad just thinking about it. I don't think we did much talking during this one, except maybe to make predictions about who was going to die next. I do remember a couple of breaks for extra snacks/bathroom - probably to break the tension of all that scary sadness.
I hope to get caught up by the end of the week! Only eight more to go before this last weekend's worth.
Here's the first week's worth of movies.
The Frighteners
(1996 - directed by Peter Jackson, starring Michael J. Fox)
Enjoyed this while watching, but then five days later couldn't remember that I'd seen it. That either doesn't say good things about the movie, or should just be chalked up to late pregnancy. I'm inclined now to say the latter, as I've been talking about it with people about it since, and have found more and more that I enjoyed about it, though my main complaint remains the same (the romance is accelerated to an insane degree to forward the plot). Also an interesting movie to view given where it fits into the Peter Jackson catalog (between Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Rings) - it's certainly more Hollywood and big budget than Heavenly Creatures but I never would have predicted his ability to do LOTR based on this movie.
Rear Window
(1954 - directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly)
Not really scary, but filled out our Hitchcock viewing. Most of our discussion afterwards (and during - this was the year we talked through every single movie we saw...) centered around changing experiences of neighborhoods and neighbors, and changing expectations of marriage. This really isn't one to critique - it is a classic, after all.
The Mist
(2007 - from a Stephen King novella, with a disturbing performance by Marcia Gay Harden)
Oh, scary, scary, and so sad. I get sad just thinking about it. I don't think we did much talking during this one, except maybe to make predictions about who was going to die next. I do remember a couple of breaks for extra snacks/bathroom - probably to break the tension of all that scary sadness.
I hope to get caught up by the end of the week! Only eight more to go before this last weekend's worth.
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