The Time Is Near, But Not Nearly Close Enough, Apparently

If you weren't already aware, there is very little as far as shopping goes in my crack of the butt. The closest mall is about an hour drive, so when ever my filet of solemate and I get the chance to make it to an area with a copious amount of shopping to do, it's somewhat of an exciting thing. This past weekend we went to an area with a lot of strip malls, as well as a regular mall, and I of course had one thing on my mind… 

I know for a fact that when I see a store of this size, with a sign made of dreams and wet butterfly kisses, I am in for a real treat. Deciding to save this behemoth for last was a good call since it would give us – well…me - something to look forward to after our adventures at the mall. However, nothing can take the gas right out of your ass quite like driving up, only to see a sign that says "Opens September 1st!" If you look at the date, like right now, it's not September 1st. Not even a little bit. This treat quickly turned into a trick right before my eyes, and to say all my dreams were suddenly crushed and pooped on would be an understatement.

However, there was a sliver of magical dust that was sprinkled on this darkened day, which came in the form of a Yankee Candle store that was located at the mall. After much deliberating - and sniffing - me lady and I decided that the scent of Farmer's Market would best suit the festivities known as fall. Seriously, it smells so incredible that I simply cannot get enough of it. I accidentally got some on my fingers and just couldn't hold back from smelling them constantly all day long afterwards. Imagine what the cashier at the gas station must've thought, especially since I was there to use the toilet.

To go with this candle of awesome - and after another majorly tough decision - I picked out this wonderful Flickering Haunted House Jar Shade. You can clearly tell that this thing is rad in the photo, but of course, there is not a photo that can truly capture just how great this thing looks when it's dark and it illuminates my surroundings with spooky specters and happy haunts. It's Halloween happiness in the purest form, and it should certainly hold me over until September 1st hits. 

A Guest Post From A Strange Kid

I just wanted to take a quick moment of your time to direct you to a little piece I wrote over at Strange Kid's Club. It's a look at The Contraption, a fantastic short horror film that came out in the late 70's and made more than a few appearances on the one time cable horror giant, the USA Network. So make sure you stop by and check out the short as well as my thoughts on it, you won't be disappointed. And I definitely want to thank the brains behind the Kid's Club, Rondal, for having me spew some of my useless ramblings on his site. UPDATE!!! Strange Kid’s Club is no more (which is sad) so enjoy this review right here in this very blog by clicking THIS LINK!!

On an even quicker side note, if for some awful reason you did not read my review of Moon, it was just recently republished over at the Movie Fan Fare sub-site of Movies Unlimited. So that's pretty cool.

Okay, that's it. 

Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party!: NEEEEEERDS! Edition!

I think most men (and some women) within my age range (late teens-to-early twenties) grew up huge fans of Revenge of the Nerds. I used to watch the first two films like it was going out of style, and much of the appeal to a young male such as myself was definitely the T&A and the toilet humor. What more does one need. Actually, there is something that is needed when enjoying a juvenile comedy with a heart of gold, and that's a musical number!   

Now, I haven't seen any of the Nerd films in a long time, but if I remember correctly, it is this performance that wins the nerd crew the talent show portion of some contest they had where they faced off against the oppressive jocks. This is the performance that won them their freedom.

The first thing I notice when watching this clip, is how funny Poindexter is. Seriously, he is definitely the dork of the group, so nerdy that he can't even make spiky hair and an electronic violin seem cool. Even if any girls were to actually get wet from seeing this epic nerd performance, I bet they all passed by Poindexter for Booger. His hip motions weren't helping his case any either. Still, nowadays he might be able to pass himself off as a hipster, so maybe P-Dex was really just ahead of his time.

Of course, how can I talk about this off the chain performance without bringing up the true star of the show, which comes in the form of hip-hop legend, Lamar Latrell. Dude breaks it down with style and deserves some credit for the flavor he brings to this other wise nerd-centric stage show. He also deserves some cred for being as gay as he was and not hanging around with a better looking group of cats. Maybe he did so just so he could be the one with the most styles perhaps. It's kind of like the pretty girl that hangs with a bunch of busted looking chicks, just so she can be the prettiest.

Anyway, this is a classic scene that simply bleeds 80's cheese, and it is definitely quite entertaining seeing it again, especially because I probably thought it was cool at some point.

Hard Revenge Milly: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Hard

Hard Revenge Milly (Hâdo ribenji, Mirî) is a Japanese action film that places its focus on Milly (Miki Mizuno), a young woman who is looking to take revenge on those that murdered her family and left her for dead. For the first half - of this very short 44 minute film – time is spent with Milly as she reflects on what happened to her and her family in a series of intercut flashbacks. All of this is happening while she is in the midst of taking her revenge, as she takes out one of her enemies, uses him as bait, then waits for the rest of his crew to show up so she can take care of them next.

Definitely targeted at Western audiences, Hard Revenge Milly is a mixed bag that works in a few ways, but fails in many others. Much like the new wave of over-the-top Japanese exploitation cinema of recent years, the film has some outlandish elements, but they really don’t fit in well with this film. Hard Revenge Milly is - for much of the short runtime - very serious in how it presents itself but trades in that tone in the second half for outlandish enemies and silly deaths that go way overboard.

Seeing as this is an action film - with a character that carries a samurai sword and has a shotgun embedded in her leg - the film goes about getting to the action at a dead snail's pace. When the viewer is first introduced to Milly, it is as she does an impressive and very bloody kill, then the movie goes back to what led her to that moment as we learn a little about her character. Now, the next action oriented moment doesn't happen until 12 minutes in, and it's the same one that the film opens with. Cool scene, but in a film this short, I expected a lot more to happen by that point.

No real action even happens until 20 or so minutes into the movie, which is half its length, but it is how this slow build up to the action is handled that would actually be the strength of Hard Revenge Milly. All of the focus is on Milly, who silently prepares and waits patiently for her targets to show so she can eradicate them. As she is preparing, Milly has her motivational flashback moments so the viewer can see just what put her in the place she's in now.

It is nice to have a movie such as this go a reflective route, but it also is all for not when things begin to get goofy. If you're doing a film like this, go all the way with the cartoonish elements or don't go at all. There could have been a solid little movie here if the tone had stayed serious. Director Takanori Tsujimoto definitely has talent which is displayed quite nicely in what is a very low budget film. With some great angles and use of space, the movie is nicely made overall and a bit reminiscent of the styling of an unpolished Ryuhei Kitamura.

While I generally prefer my Martial Arts styled action to be grand and very open in scope, Hard Revenge Milly goes the way of quick edited action sequences, but it is done most impressively with some great editing. The scenes are tight and most of the time the action was easy to follow and made sense in how it flowed. However, some of the action is taken down a notch with the abysmal CGI and practical make up. It's not all bad, but there are some awful moments that would seem completely out of place and really take away from the serious tone that the movie has at times.

Overall, Hard Revenge Milly is okay at best. It would've been nice if the filmmakers chose to go one way or the other - preferably the more serious tone - as I would really like to see what Takanori Tsujimoto is capable of as a patient storyteller. In addition, while I have enjoyed the insanity that has come out of Japan that is geared towards American audiences, it has all become a little tired and played out. I enjoyed the film just enough to want to check out the sequel, subtitled Blood Battles, but I hope it can step it up a bit as it does come in at 74 minutes, which may prove to be too much for a film of this ilk if some of these wrongs aren't at least somewhat righted.

The Horror Hangover

Here we are once again to bring you the best cure for a hangover - which is to just lay there crying and hoping for death while watching movies, essentially - and this day gives us a slew of worthwhile televised cinema to drool to throughout your painful afternoon. So, try and pull yourself together, go grab a cup of coffee, take a draught beer dump, wish for death, then sit that ass back down for The Horror Hangover.    

10:00 gets us started as AMC beats its own chest in the hopes of causing a wicked bruise when they show their Fear of Mark Wahlberg. Can you blame them, dude was down with the funky bunch for crying out loud. In all seriousness, I have always liked Fear, in the guiltiest of ways, naturally, but it is a fun rollercoaster of a ride that hopefully doesn't result in Wahlberg digging deep to Wild Horse for you.   

Next, we head over to IFC for a 10:30 showing of the supernatural thriller, Dark Mirror. I actually reviewed this film for Paracinema waaaay back before I had even the slightest grasp of grammar (like it's better now), and I found it to be a mediocre but worthwhile enough watch. It's a pretty low budget affair and, with its lead character being a woman under some sort of duress, Dark Mirror has a slight Lifetime quality to it. It does have some good moments as well as a few good ideas to boot, so I can give this a recommend to anyone that can barely handle the conscious world do to alcohol intake.  

Now we can go right ahead and spend the rest of the day with the ever so reliable SyFy. We'll start with an 11:00 showing of Timber Falls, a film I have never seen, but it looks decent enough and the reviews aren't too bad. So it may not be the worst way to spend your afternoon.

After Timber falls, SyFy kicks the map in a creek and ends up taking an unfortunate Wrong Turn at 1:00. Wrong Turn is a solid horror flick with a pretty strong cast, even with Eliza Dushku acting like a dude. Yeah we get it, you're tough because you put your foot up on a log and cross your arms on your knee with an intense look in your eye. Great look, honey. 

Finishing off the day, SyFy follows up Wrong Turn with its sequel, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, at 3:00. This is a sequel that has shown up on more than one Hangover, and I had not seen it any of those previous times. However, after a $5 purchase from the bargain bin at a soulless superstore, I have finally seen this much applauded sequel and thought it was good…enough. Maybe not as great as everyone claims, but for a direct-to-DVD sequel, it is certainly a solid and enjoyable horror film. However, I am sure everyone that loves the film had shit expectations, were very surprised by it not sucking, then told me so, thus giving me some smidgen of expectation (none of that made sense, did it?). Let me put it this way, I don't regret buying it, especially for the price I paid.

And after all that nonsensical gibberish our day is done, so thanks again for stopping by, and I'll see you next week.

Jan Terri's Friday Night Dance Party!

What up all you hopping hepcats! I'm simply thrilled to see you've taken time out of your day to join me for another edition of Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party, but as the title would suggest, it is once again being hijacked. But who dare hijack such a well respected weekly event such as this? Well, there is only one person capable of doing so and that is the DIY diva herself, Jan Terri! The past few Dance Parties have been pretty good but there seemed to be something missing, so I thought it would be a swell idea to have my good friend Jan (not short for January, despite what many claim) come in and show us how to do something we all may have forgotten how to do…have fun.

I know I know, that is a whole lot of Miss Terri to be seen in one sitting but much like a bag of Lays, you can't watch just one (that makes absolutely no sense). Seriously, this woman is gold incarnate - I can sit here all night long just watching her sway back and forth with every movement simply mesmerizing me, calling me to get behind and wrap my arms around her waist, joining her in the off-beat rhythm as she sings into my eager ear. What I would give to be a pair of leather pants after seeing that Losing You video…that bitch can stretch me as tight as she wants.

While this isn't the usual Dance Party material, there is a connection, in a way, and that is Jan made these videos herself, on VHS no less. I think anyone that grew up in the VHS era can really appreciate what this broad brought to the table. Sex appeal, a voice, style, sass, beauty, moves that will make your privates sweat and all of it captured on a camera bigger than my car. Most people used video cameras to make home movie of their asshole kids eating dirt, or to record some lame soccer game, or maybe even to make an awful Zombie movie. But not Jan, oh hell no, that mother put on a real show with each incredible song brought to life using a multitude of genres. She is an inspiration as well as a goddess, and I am so excited to have had such a presence with us tonight. She is a true VHS Vixen, and a dear friend.

House of Wax

As the summer heat beats intensely pounding fiercely on my back, I hope and pray that the season will soon end – it's as simple as that. While darkness and chill slowly fill the air, I stroll up the walkway - with a bit less despair. The cold breeze is strong and digs deep inside my lung, I then soon realize that the time has nearly come. With each little step I take I have absolutely no clue, just what waits for me up ahead - oh whoopee doo. I reach inside a box of gold plated metal, but did not find bills, junk nor my Netflix copy of Barbra Streisand's Yentl. Instead I felt the full color pages of something great, something grand, something I find impossible to hate. All my humid summer woes were suddenly fast forgot, as I quickly entered my darkened home – without even the slightest of thought. The time has finally come and it's nearly too exciting for me to handle, as I opened up the 2010 Halloween edition of - Yankee Candle.      

The Horror Hangover

Hey hey hangers, it's time to gear up for another day of wondering how you got home last night - why is there a mixture of apple sauce and angel hair all over your kitchen floor - and who the hell are those people in your bed?! Well, now is not the time to answer these burning questions, as I think it would just be easier to let that shit play out on its own. Kick back, get comfy and prepare once again, for The Horror Hangover. Presented by Taco Bell's Über Taco Nacho Fiesta Torpedo.

Hope you're ready for the insanity of an all Lifetime/SyFy afternoon. To some, that's what life is all about, to others, it's time to head for the hills, even if they do have eyes. Wherever you may fall, the SyFy/Lifetime combo is a lethal one indeed, one that calls for a mixture of hair pulling, CGI monsters, torn women, bad medieval accents and of course, pure gold. Oh, and a fantastic chance that Capser Van Dien may show up somewhere. Or so we hope. 

Where should we start…okay, we'll get rolling with SyFy for an early showing of Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God at 9:30. This is actually a direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2000 D&D film, one that I admittedly have an incredible soft spot for. So I would probably give this a shot if it's on TV and I have nothing else to do, like wash my hair, or feed my cat, or maybe clip my toenails.

Up next, SyFy keeps it moving with Dark Relic at noon. And no, it's not about George Hamilton…he has more of a golden complexion as opposed to dark. Dark Relic is another movie set in the middle ages but with a touch of horror added for fun. From what I read about it, the acting is pretty good, the story is decent, but the film is not the best. But really, what can you expect when there is no Van Dien around?  

At 2:00 SyFy keeps with its Medieval theme with Witchville, witch has a TV Guide description of: A prince returns home and finds that his father is dead and the kingdom has been overrun by witches. Sold.

Finishing off the day for SyFy is In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale at 4:00. Now, I am already tired of this genre just typing about it, but this Uwe Boll film is so entertaining for many reasons. Two of them being Mathew Lillard and Ray Liotta's intense performances. It is pretty terrible, but I have grown to enjoy Boll's films over the years. He makes true modern B-Movies without even trying.    

Boy, this Hangover just got really long all of the sudden, but luckily Lifetime isn't as bulbous as SyFy today, so why don't we head on over there for the last few films of the afternoon. First up comes Devil in the Flesh 2: The Fleshinator at 1:00. Okay, maybe it's not The Fleshinator, but I would imagine that there was a point in time when the thought crossed someone's mind in the marketing department. I can't imagine this one won't be solid – just look at the DVD artwork. 

And finally, our last film of the day, Wicked, comes to us at 3:00. Wicked stars Julia Stiles in one of her earlier roles, and out of everything on today's Hangover, this one seems to be the most interesting, as it is about a young girl that wants to be "with" her dad, and no one will stand in her way, not even her own mother. Kind of gross, but it makes for a perfect Lifetime movie and the perfect ending to this week's Hangover.

Jason's Friday Night Dance Party!

After a full year of dance parties presented by the son of a hundred maniacs, it's about damn time good old Jason got a little love around here, and what better time than on Friday the 13th? The answer is…there is no better time than Friday the 13th to show some respect for one of cinemas finest Slahser veterans, Jason M. Voorhees. Actually, I don't think he has a known middle initial, but it just sounded better. You know, more official. So, whether it be Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, Steve Daskawisz, Richard Brooker, Ted White, Tom Morga, C. J. Graham, Dan Bradley, Kane Hodder (!), Ken Kirzinger, Derek Mears or whomever The Man Behind the Mask may be in any given film, Jason is a horror icon that is rivaled by few, and I am happy to dedicate this party to that mongoloid maggot-faced sonuvabitch, on this - his special day.    

Written by Kane Roberts, Tom Kelly and performer Alice Cooper, He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) appeared on the Constrictor album but is best known as the theme song for 1986's Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. The song was written as a sort of celebration for the return of Jason Voorhees after his annoying hiatus in A New Beginning, where Jason turned out to not actually be Jason, in a Friday movie that turned out not to be a good Friday movie. So you can guess that Jason's return was worth celebrating. 

Now, we all know that Freddy ruled the roost when it came to awesome music videos and song dedications, but He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) is as good as anything from the Freddy camp, and it's unfortunate that there weren't a few more quality songs and videos like it for the Friday series. The song is incredibly catchy with an infectious chorus, and the use of ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma-ma simply brings a smile to my rotted face, though I am wearing a mask, so you can't tell. It's certainly great that the song is brought to life by Alice Cooper, someone that has always been so heavily influenced by horror and all things wicked in his music and Grand-Guignolesque stage act. Plus, he is Freddy's pops, so there is that whole connection there too.

Anyways, fantastic video, and I hope it starts your Friday spent with Jason films off on the right foot. Enjoy your Friday the 13th everyone, before you lack the blood and innards to do so.  

Dumpster Diving For Gold: Freddy Krueger Stick-up

I love going to garage sales - I find them interesting and oddly fun, plus, you can find some really cool shit at them from time-to-time. My main drive is always seeing what I can find that is movie related, namely VHS tapes and maybe even some decent DVDs if I'm lucky. This past weekend brought us to a vast quantity of garage sales, with one of them being located in a parking lot with about 15-20 individual set-ups of sellers just selling their dusty lives away for a quarter.

We had looked at a ton of shit and found very little to be excited about, and I saw absolutely nothing movie wise that was worth more than a glance, which is rare as well as unfortunate. As I went in to one tent, I noticed some pretty hefty prices right off the bat. I looked at my traveling partner/lover and said: "are these dudes on crack?" only to quickly realize that most of what we were looking at was collectable stuff, much of it being old toys and an assortment of neat movie and TV memorabilia. All of this stuff was pretty awesome to look at – nothing that I would actually buy mind you but cool nonetheless.

That is when I spotted the twinkling eye of a familiar face looking back at me from his hiding spot in a far corner behind some random M*A*S*H toys. My eyes widened as he tipped his hat to me, knowing I was smitten by him from the moment our eyes met. As I reached over to pick him up, it was as if we were two lovers meeting at a train station after being separated for nearly a decade. We embraced, I squealed like a little girl, and I looked at the price - which was $8 bucks but I worked that ass for $5 – I paid the loud and wicked tan lady her cash, and off we went into the sunset…Freddy and I.             

So what exactly is it that I found? It's the Freddy Krueger Stick-up, a "Horribly Authentic" toy (?) that has a suction cup making it perfect for sticking anywhere you please (no, not there!), thus the stick-up aspect. It's from 1988, which would pair it up with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master as well as the height of Freddy's mainstream popularity.

Here are a few incredibly detailed and focused pictures I snapped so you could check out this fine piece of movie memorabilia…   

Sure, it's totally cheesy, but that is totally why I love it and had to have it. Seeing something like this while journeying about garage sales is such a score, and I definitely would have paid more than the $5 dollars that I did for it. This is some serious evidence as to the power of marketing and the insane popularity of Freddy Krueger, which is what really makes this thing so great. It's the lamest toy I have ever seen, but it says a whole lot about an era where pop culture was ruled by Freddy Krueger, so I am nothing short of ecstatic to own this thing.  I think I might stick it up on my ceiling, just so I can go to sleep looking at it every night. Come to think of it, that might not be such a good idea unless I snatch some Hypnocil from Nancy's purse.  

Moon: You Saw Me Standing Alone

Duncan Jones nostalgic sci-fi space romp, Moon, is a mostly well known film in certain circles, with those circles mainly consisting of people who are passionate fans of cinema in one form or another. Outside of those too cool for film-school film fans, Moon is not a recognizable name (unless you're talking New Moon, of course), and the general public has little to no clue about the movie. At least that is what I assume but my assumption is more than likely spot on.

That alone somewhat speaks for how the film was completely neglected by the Academy this year - in a ceremony that applauded ten films instead of five - so they could make room for movies more along the lines of the summer blockbuster. Or, to put it in simpler terms, make room for films that the general public know about, thus, drumming up better ratings from the "average person." Basically, popularity over substance becomes even more prevalent.

Most passionate film buffs that have seen Moon have applauded actor Sam Rockwells' performance as Sam Bell, often saying he was criminally snubbed by the Academy. After finally seeing the film for myself - with abnormal expectations mind you - I could not agree any more. Rockwell's performance is a multilayered one, and his range makes him more than capable of pulling off such a complex and well written character. If he couldn't, the film would falter greatly.

Sam Bell is a character that faces tough questions about his actual being and is forced to do so with only himself to try and answer them. He is incredibly sad in many ways, and the bleakness that comes from ones questioning of their own existence when one lacks that existence is more than simple food for thought. However, the average moviegoer would prefer comfort food as opposed to something made with a complex recipe and foreign ingredients. Not that there's anything wrong with a little comfort food, but a good and healthy diet it certainly does not make when that is all that one consumes.

Robbed of an Oscar nod, sure, but Rockwell is not the only crater on Moon's surface that was more than deserving of some golden love, and I'm not talking about the R. Kelley kind. Moon is astonishingly made on every technical level with an eye pleasing 'aged future' set design that harkened back to the Science Fiction cinema of yore – the smooth and engulfing emptiness that is captured by the film's DP, Gary Shaw, is top notch – and the story, originally written by Jones, has the capability to rope in the viewer, giving just enough slack so that the narrative remains captivating until the film's reveal and ultimate conclusion. And all of these things were achieved with a $5 million dollar budget?! Wow, who would have thought that a wonderful film could be made for less than $50 million dollars. But it wasn't about the money (what?!), instead, it was about using the muscle in most everyone's head (neglected or not), the brain, to transcend budgetary restraints.

If you ask me, and you did by reading this, Moon - based off the other films that I have seen that also were awarded the prestige of being recognized by the Academy - was deserving of a Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Director and Picture nomination. Shit, the very subdued but powerful score by Clint Mansell may even be worth at least a thought for Best Score. Getting back to the "big award," though, I just don't understand how with ten spots for Best Picture, there is no room for a film like Moon? I mean, it was smile inducing to see District 9 on there - it was a great movie, and I, as most were, was surprised by the nod it received for best picture. But was it better than Moon? Not at all.

The general audience might not get it and while that can be frustrating since it is they that determine what the Hollywood machine cranks out…they don't know any better. They are mindless cattle that would rather go and see a film to have something to do, like text and giggle at shit on the screen. On the other hand, the Academy of ARTS and SCIENCE, a group that is meant to honor the BEST that cinema has to offer, most certainly should know better. Shame on them for ignoring such a fantastic film, but kudos to Duncan Jones for making one.

The Horror Hangover

Now, THIS is a serious Horror Hangover I have going for you all this Sunday. And boy do you need it, especially after what you were up to last night…singing along to songs from Grease thinking that the girls you were singing along with would ever think about boning you afterwards – taking body shots off of that girl with the bumpy neck – eating bar peanuts…that were on the ground. In the bathroom! So, lucky for you, this hangover is Epic like Faith No More. 

We'll start off with the random stuff to get you rolling nice and smooth. AMC gets us going with Virus at 11:00, a movie that I saw in theaters and hated so much that I never would dare to return. Now, sometimes I wonder if I would possibly find something to enjoy about a film I hated back when I was younger, but I do know I was incredibly disappointed back when it came out. I am curious as to what others think about the film, though.

Next up, the Horror Hangover gets mad funky, with the Martial Arts film, Iron Monkey. At 2:15 on IFC (I didn't want to mess up that flow). I can't recommend Iron Monkey enough, and unless you do not have IFC, you have no reason not to give this high-flying action film a view. For the last random movie of the day, FX does us all right with Doomsday at 4:30. I haven't watched Doomsday since I saw it at the movies, but I did enjoy it and would like to revisit it again at some point, even though that one chick couldn't keep her gonorrhea covered tongue in her mouth for more than ten seconds. Seriously, we get it, you're down with the sickness.

Alrighty, getting into the group rate portion of the hangover, TNT shows its power load with a double dose of revenge action when The Bride tries her damndest to Kill Bill at 2:00, followed by a second attempt at 4:15. I love the Kill Bill films quite a bit and Vol. 1 was on my top 25 of the decade, so no more shall be said.

To finish things off for today, I have a slew of SyFy cinema that is sure to keep you slightly distracted from the stench of your own vodka ridden breath (maybe if you flick your tongue the smell won't be so bad?). Things start off at 10:00 with Boogeyman, followed by Skinwalkers - a film I believe no one has actually seen - at 12:00. Things pick up at 2:00 with The Prestige, only to drop back down at 4:30 with the mediocre and totally disappointing Ultraviolet to finish off the day.

And that does it for this long ass and tiring edition of The Horror Hangover…see you next week ghoulies. 

Faces Of Vengeance

While award memes are going around like warts, there is yet another fun little meme making the rounds, one that involves a little creativity. The point of this little art project is to take any certain theme of your choice and use screen shots from films to project that specific theme. For example, BJ-C from Day of the Women - the woman who kindly tagged me for this, went with images of smiling in horror films. I have decided to focus on film characters that are seeking and/or taking revenge on another character or characters, which I have dubbed, Faces Of Vengeance.

 

Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell

*

 

Ms. 45

*

Carrie

*

Sex &Fury

*

The Professional

*

 

The Last House On the Left

*

Cape Fear '91

*

Inglourious Basterds

*

 

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance

*

 

I Spit On Your Grave

*

Death Wish

*

So now I am supposed to pass this thing along, and the blogs I picked I did so because I think that if they do decide to participate, they would do something rad. Yeah, I said rad.

 

Behind the Couch

The Death Rattle

From Beyond Depraved

Planet of Terror

The Cheap Bin

iZombie-Lover

Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party!: A Fistful of Glow Sticks Edition!

Taking a vastly different route from the usual dance party antics that can be found here every Friday night, this week I am showing some love for one of cinema's greatest contributors, Ennio Morricone. The man's work is vast and he has done many memorable scores, but I have a personal favorite that I will be focusing on this evening, which comes to us from 1971's Duck, You Sucker aka A Fistful of Dynamite.

What sets this party apart from most is the fact that I will be providing an entire sequence from the film, but it is a sequence that encapsulates why Morricone and Duck's director, Sergio Leone, worked so brilliantly together. It's also my favorite part of the film, so it's a no-brainer. The scene in question is the siege on the Mesa Verde bank, where Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) believes he is robbing a bank, but instead, he is actually releasing political prisoners of the Mexican revolution, making him a great hero.    

This segment starts with a little sampling of the Duck,You Sucker title theme, Invention for John, and sets up the entire segment in a nice way. After a little chit-chat, thing really gets going at the 3:05 mark when the song March of the Beggars begins to make its presence known and then plays throughout the rest of the sequence. What I love about this section of the film is how it shows what music can add to a film, as the music simply compliments everything that is happening on screen - which is essentially the point of a score - but this is a perfect example of it being done right.

Before I send you off, I should note that the 6 and 7 minute marks are SOOOO GOOD!! Sorry, I could resist.

Alright, this party's about to "blow up," shun (shun-shun-shun)!

Totally Tubular Trailers

I have had all of these trailers just sitting her collecting dust for some time, which is quite shameful, because they certainly need to be shared with you all. Old-ish or not, chances are you might have missed them, so hopefully they are new to you, which is all that matters.

I'll start us out with the trailer for Verbo, a Spanish horror/adventure film directed by Eduardo Chapero-Jackson. Verbo is about a young girl (Alba Garcia) that goes on a quest to find herself and to understand the meaning of the world that surrounds her, even if it means many dangers will be faced. I really dig the vibe of this trailer, and I'm always down for a dark fantasy/adventure film. Garcia appears to have a good look to play a character that is driven by inquisitiveness and innocence and that may be one of the big factors for this film's success. 

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Man, it doesn't get any more exciting than the most recent trailer for Kim Ji-Woon’s I Saw the Devil. The first trailer for this one showed up on a previous 3T (that's hip-hop slang for Totally Tubular Trailers…kind of like KFC) and this one only adds to my anticipation for what promises to be one of the year's best. I Saw the Devil pits a psychopathic serial killer (played by Choi Min-shik) up against as a special agent (Lee Byung-hun) whose fiancée becomes one of the killers unfortunate victims. With the tag team of these two great actors and one of the best directors working, this film is sure to be incredible. If you aren't sure for yourself, check out the trailer.

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Next up is the upcoming documentary titled, The Splat Pack, which should kind of be self explanatory. It focuses on the new wave of directors that made a huge splash on the horror genre in the early 2000's with movies that brought gruesome life back to a mostly stale genre. I love me a film focused documentary and even if it seems a little soon for a retrospective, It is nice to put some perspective on the most recent era of horror cinema (even if it's still somewhat going on). The interview line-up is tight, and I can only guess there will be some very interesting anecdotes to be shared with us horror fans. 

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Coming to us from Germany, our last trailer for the day is for the Post-Apocalyptic Martial Arts film Straight Blast. The movie is a production in the works and - in true grassroots fashion - is being shot as the money comes in to fund this incredibly ambitious project. Written and directed by Ulrik Bruchholz, with collaborator Mike Möller doing the fight choreography, Straight Blast looks straight dope with fight scenes that appear to be quite promising and a quirky style with heavy influence from Apocalyptic cinema of the 80's. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this one and you have got to check out the trailer as it is quite the doozy indeed. You will be impressed by time it's all over.