Well It's Halloween Season...

...and I'm as happy as a little boy (who is running from a faceless demon).

I love Halloween. The horror flick genre and all of its wonderful subcategories (supernatural thriller, sci-fi horror, slasher, monster, etc.) are what makes getting under a warm blanket with your sweetie in (finally) chilly October. If after watching a horror flick you catch your imagination going above and beyond when the lights are out, then the movie maker has done their job.

The Best at What They Do:

Here are some horror flick genre specialists worth watching...

John Carpenter - The master. Well, anything he made before 1982. Important films made by John Carpenter (written or directed) include: THE FOG, HALLOWEEN, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, THE THING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. Only "Escape..." hasn't been remade. That is the sign of a Genre Genius. When your creations are remade or updated it is an homage to your talent.

The Fog


What is it about horror flicks involving demons and the battle between good and evil? It gets me every time. The obvious choices in this genre are THE EXORCIST, THE OMEN and CARRIE (her mom was super religious).

The Omen


I would be totally out of line if I didn't offer up the slasher genre. Remember...I only write about originals. I don't care too much about remakes. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PHANTASM and FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH.

Phantasm


I hope you enjoy this Halloween season the way it should be. Get freaked out, baby! Try something new. Watch a horror flick that is so bad it's good.

Peace!

Speilberg + Abrams = FUN!!!

I am pretty sure (after some quick research on www.imdb.com) Super 8 is the first major collaboration of Steven Speilberg (producer) and J.J. Abrams (director) on any film. Let's hope they continue this amazing relationship.

Super 8 was absolutely amazing! I mean it. If you were to look up the definition of 'absolutely' and 'amazing' you could say I literally mean what I say. This movie lived up to its' billing, its' hype, and its' teaser trailers.

A) It's a sci-fi movie involving the government and some unknown entity within a secretive train.
B) Whatever is in that train has the ability to harm citizens.
C) A bunch of rag-tag 13 and 14 year olds are the ones making a difference.
D) It takes place in the late 70s.
E) The special effects are off the freaking chart (case in point: the train wreck!!!)

I could keep going but you can already see the perfect recipe for an amazing film.

Six kids set out in the middle of the night to film their zombie movie on their Super 8 mm camera. All of a sudden a train is coming down the track. "Production value!" shouts the director. Little do they know that what is on that train and what is about to happen will change their lives forever!

Come on! How awesome is that?!? And...btw...BEST CRASH SCENE EVER!!! Name a crash scene and this one tops it. I can't wait to buy this movie and crank up that scene on my surround sound. It will be legendary.

I'm not sure how long this clip will stay on YouTube because it looks to be pirated. But it is so awesome! I couldn't resist.

Do yourself a favor and see this movie at least twice. It has everything: action, love interests (on a teenage level), comedy, loyalty, family, ...everything!

Enough said.

Gary Oldman...Enough Said

There are a select few actors who will be remembered for all time. Those actors join the ranks of James Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Gregory Peck. Without fail the actors who will join those ranks will be Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, and Gary Oldman.

Gary Oldman knows how to steal the screen. He has done it quietly. However, he has more memorably stolen a screen with very alive and wild characters. I'm thinking of his performances in Dracula (1992,) True Romance (1993), The Fifth Element (1997), The Professional (1994), and my most recent find State of Grace (1990).

The Professional - Great Scene!!!

Netflix describes State of Grace as most Irish mob or Italian mob movies. There is an undercover cop who was once friends with everyone in his old neighborhood. Things are happening behind the scene that even the mob bosses aren't aware of. And there is a wild card or loose cannon in the group. This is where Gary Oldman's character enters the scene as a part of the Irish mob family.

Bram Stoker's Dracula - Dracula Himself

Gary is so crazy and wild it's scary. He makes you feel as though any conversation with this guy may or may not be awkward. You could be put into a situation you don't want to be in and yet you can't help but want to hang out with him just to see what he will do next. Every character Gary plays is so believable it's palpable!!!

Crazy Scene from State of Grace


Gary Oldman will continue to do amazing roles no matter what. It could be a low-key role (Batman Begins & Dark Knight). Or it will be a crazy, roller coaster character who could be either in the same minute. Either way I will watch every movie Gary Oldman is in. One thing will be certain. Gary will outperform everyone.

Great Performances Years Apart

Christian Bale is simply magnificent in The Fighter. The character actor within Christian has come back. A young 13 year old boy puts forth an amazing performance in Empire of the Son in 1987. That same amazing actor has returned in 2011 at the age of 41 to become one of the most well-rounded actors of our time.

If you have not seen The Fighter and would enjoy a true life story about a struggle for life, respect, and the love of a family then you would love this movie. Let's not overshadow Mark Wahlberg's performance just because the Golden Globes and Oscars snubbed him. He lands every line and emotion the same way his character lands his punches.

Better yet is the transformation of Melissa Leo in her role as Micky and Dicky's mom. Wow! In reality Melissa is only 11 years older than Christian. The make-up, wardrobe, and the way she just absolutely delivers makes you suspend your disbelief. Fantastic!

In comparison, Christian's characters in both The Fighter and Empire of the Sun are emotional about their family, they both are imprisoned, and they both transform from what they were at the beginning of the film to the end result. If you haven't seen Empire of the Sun, then you are missing out on a Spielberg film that brings out the best in a child actor. Amazing film! Quite frankly I don't understand why I don't own it. Here I come Amazon.com!

Minus some off camera "explosions" Christian Bale has become one of the most well respected actors. I'm a fan!

2056 Rated ...

I have rated 2056 movies on Netflix so far. Sometimes I find myself addicted to rating movies on Netflix. One of the main reasons I do this is to get the best recommendations from the Netflix system. I'm not sure how accurate that system is. But hey...what are you going to do?

There have been quite a few movies that I have either watched at home, in the theatre or via Instant Netflix. The most recent movie I watched on Instant Netflix was This Is England. This Is England is about 1983 England. According to some other reviewers it is a very accurate depiction of early 80s England. My opinion...stylistic and beautifully filmed! An instant classic.

An 11 year old boy, Sean, is being picked on every day during and after school. He lost his father in the Falkland war and has been living with his mom ever since. One day Sean is taken in by a group of skinheads. But this isn't the skinheads we know about in America. These are more or less punks with short hair who joined up to create a gang of kids who don't belong and like to do their own thing. That is until one of their former members gets out of prison. His views as a skinhead are quite a bit more racist than his former friends.


Unfortunately, the good and the bad are influencing a young Sean.

The acting is great. I love the storyline. The characters are so real and believable. By the end of this movie you will feel quite a bit of emotion for Sean and his friends. If anything else this movie shows how important is to be a part of our kids' lives.

Here Come the Reviews pt. 1

I have decided to start reviewing the movies I own. This could take a while. I own a ton of moview. My collection is probably nowhere near a lot of other people's collection. However, I do not buy movies I have never seen. Also, I will not buy a movie I can't see myself watching multiple times.

There are many directors and writers that have been imitated but never duplicated. Alfred Hitchcock comes to mind. I have a few Hitchcock movies on hand as should everyone else.

Rear Window has one of Hitchcock's go-to boys, James Stewart, starring along side the beautiful Grace Kelly. The set was amazing. If you haven't seen the film it involves a photo journalist who injured his leg in an accident while photographing formula one racing. With his leg broken and in a cast he is forced to stay at home looking out his window into his Greenwhich Village apartment complex. The set was three levels, which meant they had to remove the floor and use the basement on the set. Stewart's character is visited by his physical therapist/nurse as well as his girlfriend (played by Grace).

One would think that one set along with a handful of characters would be boring. That one person has obviously never seen a classic Hitchcock film. Among the neighbors is a ballerina, a pianist, a lonely old lady, a newly-wed couple, and older couple with a dog, and a nosy woman. So there is a lot going on. Yet, there is another couple who seem to not get along too well. This is where it gets interesting.


What Hitchcock plays upon is our human need to be voyers. Because let's face it. There is a lot of voyerism going on in this film. And Stewart's character has brought in both of his skeptics and made them both voyers with him. This movie is one of the most intense movies along with a great set a cool costumes (by Edith Head).

Subspecies: The Case of the Teething Vampire

It's almost Halloween. We all know what that means. Now is the time to watch as many cheesy (a.k.a. B-movie) horror flicks. What an interesting genre. You get so much from so little.

Some of the movies I have watched this Halloween season include: Warlock, Fright Night, Phantasm, and Subspecies.

Subspecies is about a couple of vampire brothers. One is really evil looking and drools constantly. The other is half human and cannot believe his older, nasty looking brother killed their father for what is called a bloodstone.

Interestingly enough, the plot lot isn't bad. The bloodstone is a constant flow of blood from saints (don't ask). This way they didn't have to feed from humans. The setting is awesome, shot within ancient Romanian castles. Yes, they are really in Romania. The older brother gets hooked on the bloodstone like it's crack. And he wants more so he goes out and starts to feed on three visiting, female doctoral students. Naturally.

You will enjoy the silly ending as the demons, created from the older brothers Nosforatu fingertips (again...don't ask), take the head (still alive) of the older brother away. Gee, I wonder what is going to happen next. You guessed it. Subspecies Two. You gotta love it. Right?