update - June 29, 2009

Well, I was up all night editing my ‘Top Villains’ video because the Internet was so slow that it took forever to load pages and to covert YouTube players to Mp3 format. Then, I had to transfer the files off my laptop onto the desktop and then I had to sift through 4 different movies and then capture them on to the CPU!!!! All in all, I have #1, #2, #7 and #10 finished and it only took me 6 hours. I am excited though because by next week I will be finished and ready to upload.

So far, though, it is looking pretty sweet!!!!

Review - Signs (2002)

Finally, after an hour and 30 minutes of editing I finally got around to making my video review of the movie “Signs.” It took a while and had a lot of hard work put into it but I finally managed to pull through with a good movie review. Here are my initial thoughts on the movie that scared me so much as a kid.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

I found this movie that I made on my external hard drive and it was one of the first music videos that I did. I used Movie Maker and looking back on it… it kind of sucks. I used a camcorder that I held up to the computer monitor to record the actual footage and then I used screenshots of the movie for the rest. Hell, if you look hard enough you’ll notice the arrow on the computer monitor. If you have good ears you’ll hear my voice over the song. 

Drive-In: An American Past Time

Part I

Part II

Part III

I am so excited that I finally got my documentary up on YouTube. I made this film a while ago and it was my first attempt at a documentary. I was always a fan of drive-ins and they always were my favorite kind of theater seating. It was always about the atmosphere. I know this movie is littered with cheesy songs, choppy editing and everything but it was my FIRST attempt.

I also deticated a short little segment on the Cascade Drive-In in Chicago which is my favorite drive-in of all time and I am glad that they are still in business. I never really told them that I created a little documentary about them… maybe I should.

http://www.cascadedrivein.com/

28W741 North Ave, West Chicago, IL 60185

update - June 27, 2009

I have hade this idea in my head for a while now and when I get the time I am going to create a video version of the ‘Top 20 Horror Movie Villains.’ I will be using a remixed version of the song O Fortuna from the movie “Excalibur.” I will be using the list that that Geeks of Doom created for the foundation and when I get it done I will post it up on YouTube. 

Hopefully I will get it done ASAP... I am really excited for it. 

Stephen King's Favorite Horror Movies

Thought this was an interesting article especially since I am a huge Stephen King fan. There are still some of these movies that I have yet to see. 

Horrornews.net Lists - STEPHEN KING'S FAVOURITE HORROR MOVIES

Shared via AddThis

The Z Variable

Recently I came across an article from a medical magazine that gives an in-depth scientific explanation for why zombies act the way they act. It breaks down the brain into components and he explains how the mind works if it were dead then hypothetically brought back to life. It is actually a pretty good read and I found it very informing.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26373#more-26373

New Goosebumps Theme

This was a video that I made a long time ago and it was actually in respects to the ‘Goosebumps’ series that I grew up with. I was such a huge fan of the books and the TV show that I watched it over and over again when my dad taped the episodes for me. So I got to thinking, what if ‘Goosebumps’ featured real horror movies? So I got my editing system and I spliced some clips and this is what I came up with.

It took me a while to figure out how to matt and how to crop the clips and if you look carefully you’ll see the actual footage popping out from the edges of the matted clips. I also had to sift through several horror movies to see which clip matched with the actual ‘Goosebumps’ clip. 

When I debuted this on YouTube, it was a moderate success among those who viewed it and I thought that I should share this with the rest of the people. It is on my YouTube page.

Easy Listening

I hope that I am not the only one but there are some soundtracks that I sometimes use to fall asleep. They are so mellow, calm soft. I know most people would turn on regular music or soft rock or even the TV to try to fall asleep but I listen to horror movie scores. I know I’m weird.

Here are some of my favorite tracks:

1.     The Ring Suite

2.     End Credits (The Ring)

3.     Prologue: Welcome to Creepshow

4.     The Dead Suite (Day of the Dead)

5.     The Dead Walk (Day of the Dead)

6.     Pick Up At High Noon (Near Dark)

7.     Rain in the Third House (Near Dark)

8.     H3 –Season of the Witch

9.     Main Title (Nightmare on Elm Street)

10. Intro and Main Title (Phantasm)

11. Come to Me (Fright Night)

It's easy listening for the horror sect. 

Soundtracks - Creepshow (1982)

I am really happy because I finally got my “Creepshow” soundtrack in the mail today and I uploaded the tracks to my playlist. I am a huge fan of John Harrison, especially his work on ‘Day of the Dead.’ It is interesting because “Creepshow” is one of my favorite horror movie soundtracks, although on the track listed Until Next Time there are some points where it seemed a bit corny to have la-la-laing.

This soundtrack also had specific feel to it… not so much the main themes but rather the scores to each individual stories. The sound soundtracks sounded as though they were grindhouse/exploitation soundtracks. Funny enough, the track entitled Father’s Day was used for Eli Roth’s faux trailer “Thanksgiving.”

Like I said, the main problem that I had with this soundtrack was the la-la’s and what I mean by that is… for those who have this score… on Until Next Time around 2:24 and again around 3:20. For me, it just kind of breaks the mood but it is still a good track.

Tracklist:

1.     Prologue – Welcome to Creepshow

2.     Father’s Day

3.     The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill

4.     Something To Tide You Over

5.     The Crate

6.     They’re Creeping Up On You

7.     Epilogue

8.     Until The Next Time (End Titles)

Suites from ‘Tales from the Darkside’

9.     Satanic Piano

10. Everybody Needs a Little Love

11. Sorry Right Number

12. Overture (Mansions of the Moon)

From Shoobie Doobie Moon

13. Main Title Song

14. You Make Me Feel Like A Monster

1

New Webcam Video

My Problem with 'I Want to Believe'

I was watching the new “X-Files” movie… “I Want to Believe” again just to see if my feelings have changed but as far as I know, I still think that his movie was terrible. It was nice seeing Mulder and Scully meet up again and it was nice to finally see an ‘X-Files’ movie in the theater but it was a big disappointment.

I grew up watching and loving ‘The X-Files’ and for this movie to be that bad was just unacceptable. The whole movie had no real supernatural element to it at all… it was like that episode ‘Hell Money,’ but even that episode had something that this movie didn’t have: passion.

Although I am willing to look beyond this because I am hoping the Chris Carter will be doing an Mythology themed movie when 2012 moves around. That’s just my gripe about the new “X-Files” movie. Hopefully I am not the only person that feels this way. 

20 Scariest Horror Movie Killers

I found this list online that had the top 20 horror movie villains and I have to say that it is as close to a real list that I can find. Most people just do the top 5 and those that have top 10 lists only have villains that I never even heard of. Hell… one person’s list had Billy Loomis and Stu Machaur as the worst horror movie killers. I enjoyed this list and I have to say there are some things that I disagree with but it was a fun read.

I hope to, one day, make a video as a tribute to this list.

http://geeksofdoom.com/2006/10/17/the-20-scariest-horror-movie-killers/

YouTube Account

I have created another YouTube account after my previous 3 have been deleted. I am hoping to post some video reviews as well as some of my home videos that I made. 

My Magazines Arrived!!!!

I am so happy right now… my Ebay purchase finally came in the mail and now I own an original copy of the “Creepshow” magazine and a reprint of issue #1 of the ‘Tales from the Crypt’ magazine. Although, they are in pretty bad condition, I will have to put them in plastic or something.

But it is my “Creepshow” magazine that I am most proud about because now I can finally watch the movie and read the magazine… the only thing that I wish I had was the ads for the invisible coats, x-ray glasses and the voodoo doll.

Now that I own it, maybe I too can see The Creeper, I have so much to ask him. 

Review - Near Dark (1987)

On this post I would like to focus my topic on one of my favorite vampire movies. When I first saw it I did not know what to think but after watching it a few more times, I finally learned to love it. The movie is of course “Near Dark” and there are a number of things that I enjoyed about this movie. It veers away from your conventional vampire movie and it is a ghoulish blend of western films, road films and the vampire mythology.

Lets look at the technical aspect of this film. The tone of the films seems to only linger around contrasts of dark blue and orange, which could stand for the cold dark night vs. the hot sun of the day. Here is an example of how lighting heavily influences this movie. Whether this is lighting or not, there is a scene where Paxton’s character gets shredded with bullets and light beams are shining through the holes in his body. That was amazing.

There are numerous tributes to Western flicks: the setting, which is a small farming town; some of the costuming that the character wear; the standoff both in the bar and with the truck. It feels as though ‘Mad Max’ also heavily influenced it and since the whole movie is very dark and gloomy… you could almost think of this movie as a film noir movie. 

The score was brilliantly composed by Tangerine Dream and it retains that 80s techno sound, but at the same time it also sounds ‘epic’ in the sense of strong bass guitars, a synthesized choir, rapid beating drums and sound effects.

This movie will always be a key favorite of mine just for the technical aspect alone. As for the vampires, are they real vampires or are they just a group of mentally and physically ill people? But that is a question that will later be answered. 

Another Remake - Teen Wolf

So I found out that WB is doing a remake of one of my favorite Michael J. Fox flicks as well as one of my favorite movies as a kid. This being… “Teen Wolf,” which does not need to be remade, but given the trend that Hollywood follows; why not?

http://www.moviehole.net/200919534-exclusive-teen-wolf-howls-again

I’ll probably end up seeing it just to see how they went with it but I guarantee it won’t be anything special. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Part II

It’s that time of the week again… another edition of ‘Shameless Self-Promotion.”

You can follow me on my Twitter.

http://twitter.com/FreddysFingers

You can add me on MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/media_guy

Add me on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/srch.php?nm=Rick+Romanowski

Fourth down from the top.

Look for my reviews on http://www.imdb.com

Search for Jamhorner

I had a YouTube page until it got deleted… damn all of them.

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I also want to take this time to once again do my friend a favor and promote her as well since she also would like to meet new friends.

Follow her on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/NinjaBunny89

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Review - 2001 Maniacs (2005)

I had the… fun of watching a very campy movie known as “2001 Maniacs,” which I guess was a remake of the ’64 movie “Ten Thousand Maniacs.” It’s really about a group of college kids that travel to a small southern town for spring break only to find out that everybody that inhabits this town are psychopathic cannibals. I don’t know where to begin with this review.

First off, there were a lot of bloody effects and it was pretty gory. I enjoyed this, and some of the strategies used to ‘off’ the characters were pretty gruesome. The main problem that I had with this movie was that the horror and gore aspect of the film is overshadowed by the slapstick comedy, the crude redneck humor the terrible puns. Most people would find some of the puns funny but I found them campy and unnecessary and it was so over the top.

What I found a little displeasing was hw they viewed Southerners: there is a retarded kid that likes to kill cats, a young man who fucks sheep, inbred sisters, a dumbfounded black man and everybody seems talks in stereotypical southern lingo. I am from the south so I am a little iffy on that but I can overlook it.

This movie wants to be a horror comedy but it failed as a horror movie and I can only consider it as a comedy. Sure there is gore, some scares and a lot of deaths and cannibalism but I found myself laughing over ridiculous actions. The movie, of course for sex appeal, it littered with gorgeous girls who serve no purpose but as eye candy. 

I have not seen the original one, I might have to so that I can compare them… but I could still watch this movie again and find it appealing as a dark comedy, but I cannot say that this is everything a horror is. If you like “Dead Alive,” “The Frighteners” or even “Shaun of the Dead” then you might like this movie. 

Try As I Might, It'll Always be a Fright

“Leprechaun” is probably one of my favorite horror movies as a kid and maybe someday I will do a full out review of it but this post is to talk about something that has always freaked me out about this movie… and it still does. I hope that I am not the only one that thinks this way but it always freaked me out when he rhymed. It’s like he always knew what word rhymed with what and he always said it in that scary ass fairy book talk. 

“Try as they will, and try as the might, who steals me gold won’t live through the night.”

“This old Lep, he played one. He played pogo on his lung.”

“Curse this well that me soul shall dwell, till I find me magic that breaks me spell.”

That always freaked me out and I don’t know why. Only Warwick Davis could pull off a role like this but what made the movie bearable for me, back then, and what took my mind off of things was the fact that the leprechaun would stop his killing spree to shine shoes. That scene was always funny.

A review will be coming shortly for this movie. 

IMDb Profile Updates

Today, or should I say tonight, I updated my IMDb movie profile and added all the horror movies I have in my collection as well as all the horror movies that I wish to eventually buy. I have not yet created a list of all the ‘regular’ movies that I own. My main priority right now is my growing horror movie collection… and I would like to make it public just in case anybody has any suggestions to what I should watch or own.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=29608597

Aside from the usual horror movie, I am looking for hole-in-the-wall movies that nobody has heard of. I hope you enjoy it. 

How To Avoid A Killer

You know what I have noticed in most of these slasher movies? Whenever the main character is trying to run away from the killer, the killer always manages to catch up to him or her even though he is walking behind them and not running. It kind of helps the idea that these killers are pretty much super humans. So, how do you effectively get away from a killer in the movies? You walk, not run and you’ll eventually get away from the killer.

On a side note, Tony Moran (the guy who played Myers in the 78’ movie) based his cold, stiff, robotic walk of Mike Myers off of Yul Brynner’s performance as The Gunslinger in Westworld; in which the character was a robot.

Yul Brynner lives on!!!!

Trailer - Orphan (2009)

I went to go see a movie called “The Hangover” today and while I was viewing the upcoming attractions I saw a trailer for a new thriller/horror movies called “Orphan.” This is a movie about a sweet little orphan girl who turns out to be a serial killer or a psychotic or something… but the trailer made it look like it was good. I don’t know about this movie, it looks like its going to be a rip off of “Bad Seed” or “The Good Son” or even “Joshua,” and although the trailer looks appealing, I think it’s going to be awful.

My first impression on this trailer was: wow, I can’t believe they are going to make another child killer movie, because we don’t have enough as it is.  But, by the looks of it, the little girl who plays Esther seems like she will be having a great performance, which usually is the case. The movie may suck but her acting won’t.

Those are my first impressions. 

Review - Virus (1999)

I had the extreme pleasure of watching the movie “Virus” for the second time and after watching it this time, I really liked this movie. The story is based off of a Dark Horse comic of the same name and it’s essentially about an electronic alien life form that inhabits a ship and controls the robots in it. It was my surprise that Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin were in this movie but then again, it was a good movie.

What I liked about it was the whole premise of a life form that lives within computers and attack using robots and fusing machines with real people. I don’t know why but it reminded me of “TerrorVision” because the idea is the same… and alien that tries to invade Earth via satellite.

I think what I really enjoyed about this movie was the unexpected amount of gore. Throughout the movie, and especially near the end, there are graphic scenes of robots fusing robotic ars and legs on disemboweled torsos and heads. There are scenes where there are spilled intestines and skin peeling when the crew captures one of the cyborgs and decides to pick it apart.

Not much else can be said about the movie, the acting was good and the visual effects were astonishing for 1999 and it should be… it was directed by special effects guru John Bruno and you can definitely see his influence.

Soundtracks - My Bloody Valentine (1981)

I figure since I am on the topic of “My Bloody Valentine” I might as well talk about the song that was in the original movie. The song is entitled The Ballad of Harry Warden, which was composed by Paul Zaza and it was song by popular Canadian singer/songwriter John McDermott. This was a song that I actually enjoyed and it was very different from most theme songs for horror movies; this one is a lot more mellow and calm. But why is this? We have to take a look into the movie’s setting.

The movie takes place in a small mining town of Valentine Bluffs (Harmony in the 2009 remake), in which everybody knows everybody, where everything is rural and rustic looking and where true American and Main Street USA can be found. This is a town that is average and very homey until the Henniger murders. This song reflects this. Every town has it’s folklore and legends and that’s what this song’s lyrics are about… the legend and curse of Harry Warden.  Like a ballad, the song is sung soft and its played in acoustics. It sounds just like a folk song and in a way it sounds just like the kind of song sung while visiting the Heartland.

This is something that I think that the remake lacked, this feeling of having a small quiet innocent town become sour after a horrific tragedy. Hell, the lyrics can be considered as a stand-alone poem about a legendary killer.

That’s what I love about the original movie. 

Review - My Bloody Valentine (1981) (2009)

This has got to be one of the best remakes of a classic slasher movie that I have seen, even thought it is in 3-D. I saw in the theater but I bought it about a few days ago and I was thoroughly entertained. This movie that I am talking about is of course “My Bloody Valentine 3-D.” But there was something about the original that I enjoyed that the remake tried to duplicate but just couldn’t. Let’s review the remake first.

The remake was very satisfying and I am usually biased towards any kind of remake. In 3-D it was great and there were some scenes where I actually jumped out of my seat and screamed. I loved the idea of having a killer dress up like a miner and I am depressed that this killer really didn’t take off like some of the others. The movie was also really brutal and very unforgiving. It had gore and it had plenty of great kills involving a pickaxe. The story was solid and it did a great job of tweaking the original movie but still keeping its moxie.

The original one was also very entertaining and sometimes scary. It wasn’t as gory as the remake but it had a sort of hitchcockian flare to it that made it worth watching. The story of this slasher movie was centered on a good ol’ American town, Main Street USA, gone horribly bad how the town is trying to move on. This is what the remake lacked that the original had: the idea that this is a small town and that it is a very rural and rustic place that has it’s own folklore. I will get into that when I review the song. Every small town as it’s superstitions, and that’s what I like about the first one.

The downside: they are making a sequel to the remake. 

Soundtracks - Re-Animator (1985)

After re-watching “Re-Animator” I finally realized why the beginning theme to the movie sounds so familiar. The entire piece, which was composed by Richard Band, is identical to that of the ‘Psycho Suite’ by Bernard Herrmann. Although the only things that are identical in the “Re-Animator” theme is the beginning notes and the beginning notes of the bridge of the theme, the rest is very original but still sounds like it was taken from something else. I don’t want to say that it is a rip-off, because I don’t know what the history behind the theme but I will say that it should have been revised.

Even though the theme is similar I still enjoyed the movie and the theme really worked with the movie. It’s very tedious and a bit nerve racking, which compliments the movie. The theme is played over the opening credits in which several multicolored diagrams of the human mind are layered over each other.

Perhaps, in some way, “Re-Animator” was inspired by “Psycho” but I can’t see how. 

Update - June 10, 2009

So, I updated my blog back to the way that I like it and I added some new features that might be easier to navigate my blog once I start using it a lot. I have started advertising on it as well and I hope to make some money, even if it's a little. I also started a list of my favorite horror movies that will continue to grow but for now its just basic, more movies will come once I think of them. 

I have been linking my blogs all over the place including Facebook and MySpace and IMDb. 

Here is the link to my other blog: http://tropicalrepublics.blogspot.com/

This is an alternative blog where all I do is just ramble on about my daily life and post some of my rants. Hopefully I'll get some followers. 

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Constellation Trouble

It just came to me today, after taking astronomy… some of the constellations are so bizarre and ‘out there’ that they don’t even make sense. How is The Big Dipper supposed to resemble a bear when it looks like a spoon? The way that I see it, they are just stars and you can join them up anyway you wanted and get whatever you want. Hell, you can even join stars from many other constellations to make something bigger. Take for example Virgo: to me it does not look like a woman, far from it, it looks more like a giant satellite dish.  The constellation for Cancer does not look anything like a crab.

Maybe it’s just me, but I see them as just stars on a giant plane and nothing more. Although, it is fun to spot them, read about them and the mythology behind them. I just don’t see how people way back when saw the pictures in them. 

DVD Hunting

 Today was a bust, I was looking around for the VHS copy of a movie called “The Video Dead” so I decided to go to Goodwill to see if they have it… they should have since most of the tapes they have there are terrible. Instead I found “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “Army of Darkness” and “Fright Night.” Alas, no “Video Dead.” I also wanted to check to see if they had ‘World War Z,’ but again they had nothing. I left in shame and in defeat.

Although, today I did manage to pick up “The Terminator” and “My Bloody Valentine 3D” so I am excited to watch them. I also had the extreme pleasure of picking up a copy of ‘Zombie Survival Guide,’ so I am even more excited. Although I wanted to also buy a book that analyzed ‘Videodrom’ and how zombies became a part of pop culture around the world but stupid Borders wants me to buy $150 worth of stuff so that I can get $5 off my next purchase.

I think that is kind of a rip off. 

Review - Dressed to Kill (1980)

This is movie was a wonderful horror/thriller in the style of Hitchcockian storytelling and even, in some way, is a tribute to Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” That’s why I think that “Dressed to Kill” is one of De Palma’s best works of modern horror but why is it that this movie was so controversial and gained so much critical response?

This movie is a dark look into human sexuality, where few people are what they seem and the movie is driven by erotic visuals and sexual violence. It is because of these themes this movie was subject to much ridicule and criticism especially from Feminists. This is one of the first mainstream erotic thriller movies to have been such a blockbuster success and what’s interesting enough is how acclaimed it later was considering how risky it was for its time.

The acting in the movie was so-so but what made this movie so memorable was the technical aspect and the ‘interesting’ character development. From a cinematic standpoint, De Palma uses a wide variety of techniques that he used in his early work such as split screens, sound layering, voyeuristic and canted camera angles all of which are used to manipulate the audience. What we get in the end is a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

There are so many themes of sexuality, gender roles and stereotypes/profiling to fit into one review although what I can say, without hesitation, is that this movie is one of De Palma’s best work. 

Soundtracks - The Terminator (1984) / The Terminator 2 (1991)

This theme, in my opinion, is one of the best sci-fi themes that have been written. Composer Brad Fiedel compliments this movies technological overtone with his electronic synthesized score, which signatures the clanking metal of the Terminator itself. It gives the audience a sense of danger and horror and forebodes an unknown menace.  It also creates the sensation and essence of science fiction, machinery and a post apocalyptic atmosphere. Overall, compared to the “Terminator 2” theme, this score is a lot more ominous and threatening.

When “Terminator 2” came out, it redefined the entire theme from the original. What we got was an orchestral theme played in D minor, which creates a very desperate, mournful and melancholy tone. It captures the sense of destiny and loss, which is exactly what the movie is – their destiny is to destroy Skynet and save the world from total destruction, yet John Connor looses the Terminator, his only father figure. It overwhelms the audience with an array of emotions; both fear and hopeful at the same time. Then, ultimately at the end, rather then just fading out, it suddenly stops with a loud metallic sound… which in the end is very dramatic.

What we can also compare is the relationship between the theme and the Terminator. The first theme was stiff, electronic and very almost monotone much like the first Terminator; he was just an emotionless mindless killing machine. When “Judgment Day” was written, the score was more orchestrated and it had personality, it changed and sounded less computerized like the T-1000; he changed from just a machine to something more and he had some understanding of human emotions and in some way, he was a lot more human. 

Review - Alien (1979)

“Alien”… a space odyssey of a completely different game. Usually considered a sci-fi or an action flick but I see it more as a slasher flick that takes place on a spaceship. Think about it: there are characters with a strong female lead, the killer lurks around corridors and tight spaces and kills off the character individually and you hardly even see what the ‘killer’ looks like. There are ‘jump out’ scary scenes. Although, what I have noticed is that “Alien,” considering that it is a Ridley Scott picture, is a very feministic movie.  Lets break it down.

1. Ripley is a very strong lead character who is determined, shows signs of excellent leadership, is on a ship manned by mostly men, can get cocky and in your face and she single handedly defeats the Xenomorph.
   
2. The beginning scene shows all the crew members in a white, clean, sterile room with sleeping pods that resemble fertilized eggs. The alien ship is very twisted, raw, and falling apart and the central room has a structure that looks like a giant dick.
   
3. The Nostromos is also called “Mother,” and the alien ship could be implied as the father.
4. The Facehugger ‘impregnates’ one of the crewmembers by a long prehensile appendage through his mouth.
5. The android attacks Ripley in such a way that resembles rape and domestic abuse. Then, using a pornographic magazine, he tries to kill her by shoving it down her throat, resembling…
   
6. When the android gets pissed at Ripley, he stares at her and thinks about hurting her and then he starts to secrete a white liquidly substance.
   
7. When Ripley is in her underwear and getting into the space suit, the Xenomorph’s second prehensile mouth extends out of its mouth almost as though she was arousing it.
   
8. In the end, Ripley cares for Jonesy and while the Nostromo explodes, Ripley takes on the weight of becoming a mother to the cat. 

I love “Alien” and H.R. Gigers brilliant Xenomorph and atmospheric designs only helps this movie seem so surreal and wonderful. I think that it is, with out a doubt, one of the best science fiction/horror movies made to this day. 

A Funny Observation

You know its funny… something that I have noticed after years and years of observing the people around me. If you are a girl, you have no worries and not finding anybody because guys are so desperate for a girlfriend or a wife that they will start looking for similarities that you both share. Either that or they will think that they are in love when they truly aren’t, they are pressured into it and that’s the only reason why they are so desperate.

If you’re a guy waiting for a girl to find you, you’re in no luck because they won’t. Most women/girls are not pursuing a man, they want the man to come for them and then they are picky about what kind of man they want and you’ll never meet that expectation. You have to be lucky to find somebody like that… it’s a sad fact but it’s very true.

It’s funny how this sort of thing works, but it’s the way the world works.

Review - Re-Animator (1985)

So, after a year of waiting, I finally saw “Re-Animator,” by Stuart Gordon. I had previously saw this movie once but fell asleep watching it about 15 or 20 minutes into it. So, when I picked it up I thought that it would bore me to death like it did the first time. How wonderfully wrong my assumption was.



The movie was really good. From what I heard, it was one of the most accurate adaptations of Lovecraft’s stories and now after viewing this movie, it makes me want to read the story it was based off of. There was plenty of gore and great creature/zombie effects and some amazing puppetry. The acting was so-so, but that wasn’t why I watching it. It was also pretty campy in the style of “Evil Dead;” combining spoofy humor and real drama along with its overall horror atmosphere. There were points where I was laughing but also disgusted at the same time.

What I especially love is how much it compares to Frankenstein and how it completely reworks the entire ‘mad scientist’ character arc. West is a very brilliant and very driven man whose intentions are for a good purpose but his work has driven him to become unstable, his sanity is diminishing and he lacks any respect for life and death, so is he an anti-hero, hero or villain?

It came to my attention that when I first tried to watching this movie, it was around 3am and I was very tired. It would make sense because movies like this don’t usually put me to sleep.

Review - Drag Me To Hell (2009)

After a huge disappointment we had with the apartment Frank, Joe and I decided to go see the new movie “Drag Me To Hell.” They had seen it before me but they were willing to see it again… they apparently liked it. Here is what I thought:

For a Sam and Ivan Raimi flick, it was pretty cool!!!! I was very surprised to see that there were so many great ‘jump-out’ scary scenes for a PG-13 and there were some great make-up effects too. There were points where the movie scared the shit out of me and I would jump back or scream out obscenities.

For those who know the Raimi bros and their unique style of horror, you’d know that there would be some pretty funny moments in any of their horror movies. This movie isn’t an exception. There were several subtle humor points throughout the movie and I really enjoyed the scene with the goat (It’s not that kind of scene) and the scene where the old lady attacks the young woman both alive and dead. There were some points where it was so sick and gross that it was funny.  Overall it was pretty scary and pretty funny at the same time.

I am not going to go into a full movie review; it would be way too long to read. What I also found out is that Raimi is making a 4^th “Evil Dead” movie as well as an “Evil Dead” remake. Word around the camp fir is that “Drag Me To Hell” is going to be connected with the 4^th “Evil Dead” installment. Justin Long’s character, after the end scene, would go to the cabin that he was talking about and there would start the next “ED” movie. Plus, there were several nods to “Evil Dead” in this movie like ancient demons, the fast tracking camera work, the opening credits that were over a book that resembled the Book of the Dead.

What I can’t understand is, poor Bruce Campbell is getting old and I don’t know if he would be able to do another “Evil Dead” movie by 2012. Although he has proven that he is still kicking with his new movie and TV show. 

Apartment Finding

Me and my buddies, Frank and Ben, want to move into an apartment in Chicago for some time now although we haven’t been able to locate the right apartment in the right neighborhood. We found several good ones in Humboldt Park, but it’s Humboldt Park. So we found just the right apartment in Wicker Park near the Blue Line and it was perfect for us. Here is the rundown:

$1300/month for 3 bedrooms and includes heating – able to talk down to $1200

Laundry on-site

Electricity/gas/cable is separate

Move in date is June 15^th

First month you pay full rent

July you only pay half of the rent

1 ½ security deposit of $600 per person

$400 fee to get it off the market

Fee can go towards first months rent

It sees like the perfect apartment. I called to see if my mom was okay to co-sign it and she reviewed the information and she said it sounds like a cool apartment and that she would be able to do it… until I mentioned the move in date. I have summer classes that would conflict with the date and I am not going to commute back and forth from Chicago to Naperville for early morning school.

I guess, now, we are at square one…  again. 

Twitter

So my friend and I finally got Twitter account and my friend is very excited about having one. Although, I am not a fan of Twitter I have had an account for a while. I joined and I never used it because I never really like how they have their things set up. But, my friend persuaded me to start ‘tweeting’ about random things so I figured: why not?

She asked me to advertise for her Twitter. So, here is the link and it would be much appreciated if you would follow her.

http://twitter.com/NinjaBunny89

This is my link:

http://twitter.com/FreddysFingers

WARNING: I make a lot of random posts on there so that includes movie references and conversations that I have back and forth with my friend. 

Publish Post

Soundtracks - The Fly (1986)

Howard Shore has always been a favorite of mine. He has done some truly memorable scores to such movies as “Silence of the Lambs,” “Ed Wood,” “Crash,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Panic Room,” “Aviator” and “The Departed.” Although he has been a long time music collaborator with David Cronenberg and he has composed several of his movies. The one in particular that I want to quickly talk about is his 1986 feature: “The Fly.”

I just think it’s interesting that both the beginning titles and the end titles of the movie are very cinematic and operatic, almost as thought the movie was an opera and a romantic love story, which it its. The movie is played out like an opera and the score is its music. You can also look at as though each stage in which Brundle becomes a fly is like a different act to the play. The score is very orchestrated and during the scenes in which you see Brundle transform into a fly its very epic, so to speak, and the other scenes have just a regular movie score.

 

Too bad the sequel ruined it. Nobody should make sequels to Cronenberg films no matter how much of a cliffhanger it leave or how much it sets up for another movie. 

Soundtracks - The Shining (1980)

So lately I have been on a huge horror movie soundtrack craze. I have downloaded the soundtracks for “Signs,” “Dreamcatcher,” “28 Weeks Later,” “Zombie,” “Suspiria,” “Candyman,” “The Fog,” “The Shining,” “The Video Dead,” “Cannibal Holocaust” and “Creepshow.”  What I find interesting is the theme to the movie “The Shining” by Wendy Carlos. The score itself was based on Hector Berlioz’ Dies Irae and Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Ronde du Sabbat. Its funny because Die Irae is a Latin hymn that deals with the Day of Judgment and the trumpet summoning the souls from God to deliver the good to the gates of Heaven the bad to eternal flame. Essentially, in “The Shining”  it is exactly that, the conflict between good and evil which is Danny and Jack Torrence. And in the end, Danny and his mom leave the hotel and Jack becomes part of the inferno.

The fifth movement of the Symphonie Fantastique deals with a gathering of hideous monsters and sorcerers who have come together for the characters funeral. I guess in a way, the Overlook Hotel is this gather of monsters, demons and witches considering that the hotel was built on an Indian burial ground. The bell tolls and the witches dance around a bubbly cauldron and the character joins the diabolical orgy of monsters… referencing how Jack has now become one with the Overlook and has taken his rightful place again as the caretaker. Even his reincarnation can’t escape it.

It’s funny since Kubrick has always been a fan of classical music… one can find that out by his earlier work. Although, for me, what makes this music so brilliantly done is the overlaying background chants which reinforces the notion that the Overlook is built on an Indian burial ground.

I guess, for me, I look way too deep into the scores of these movies. But its what I do. This is just my opinion on the score and out of all the other scores that I have, this one seems, to me, more influential and symbolic of the movies theme and setting. Kubrick was an amazing director. 

Introduction

This is a brief introduction to my new blog. My first blog was on MySpace and it never caught on… after a while, because of some copywrite infringement my account was deleted along with my blog. But, it was an experimental blog and I was writing with a different alias and age. I guess that’s why it never caught on. Also, I am not in the Hollywood Hills, I wish I was, but I am located in ChiTown.

Me In A Nutshell

Like the description says, I am a closet horror fan (I guess not anymore) and I am trying to build up a collection of horror movies and collectables. Ever since I can remember I was a horror fan, starting with all those nights I watched ‘Tales From the Crypt’ with my grandma. I began reading and watching ‘Goosebumps’ until I realized it wasn’t scary anymore… so I began watching ‘The X-Files.’ It terrified me. I really got into horror when I tried watching “The Thing” (1982) and “The Blob” (1988) and I couldn’t so I settled with PG-13. Years later, I would become the horror geek that I am today.

I am also an armature student screenwriter and director. I written 2 stupid movie screenplays (Warrior Wars I and II), several short films and a film that my buddies and me are working on called “Masquerade.” I hope to eventually become a moviemaker, producer and writer but for now my concentration is editing.

I have written numerous movie reviews for IMDb, though my reviews are not professional or professionally published its still fun to write them. I have written 7 movie reviews for my high school’s weekly newspaper and that’s pretty much it. I used to write reviews for a horror forum, which will remain nameless, until I stopped because nobody was paying attention. So, I will let all you guys suffer by reading my reviews.

Other then that, I am pretty much average. I read a few magazines, notably MAD Magazine. I still watch TV here and there and I still watch reruns of my favorite shows. I am a hardcore X-Phile and a loyal ParrotHead. I love any and all 80s music, if there is a song that was in the 80s… I probably have it. I love any kind of rock music ranging from 1950 to 2008. I watching a lot of movies and I love cats. That is pretty much me in a nut shell.