No compromise

So, KG and I just got home from seeing Watchmen.

Well done, Mr. Snyder. Yeah, there was stuff missing. Yeah, some things were changed. But I really don't think we could have gotten a better movie than this. I'm very pleased.

I'm sure I'll have more to say at a later date. For no, suffice to say I give it a big thumbs up.

Wall E

So today I took TKJr to see Wall E. Partly because I thought it would be fun to do something, just the two of us. And, partly because I really wanted to see it.

What a great movie. Most of the reviews I had read were right on the mark. Beautiful to look at, touching and lots of fun. The complaints over the depiction of humans: unmerited. I felt that humans were shown as victims themselves, and displayed an almost immediate desire to live as shown as the option was available.

I really, really enjoyed it. Pixar usually does a great job, and this is hands down their most stunning achievement. Go see it.

Best Fan Film. Ever.

My cousin Mat is back from boot camp . He's a private 2nd Class, United States Army, now. He's a good kid, and still a kid at heart even at 21. My aunt and uncle had a cookout, and Mat assured there was a huge inflatable bouncing house (shaped like a purple dragon).

TKJr spent the entire day in there, jumping to his content. Let me tell you, his content is HUGE. He requested that I join him several times. I reluctantly agreed. At one point, I had 4 little kids shooting me and blasting me with Force powers to knock me over so they could pig pile me.

It turns out Star Wars is popular with the youngins. I didn't bring it up, nor was I wearing a SW T shirt today. I was pleasantly surprised, and delighted to join in and try to convince them that the Jedi are the bad guys.

Had I know, I would have brought my armor.

At any rate, TKJr had a blast, and wore himself out jumping all day. Isabel entertained herself with my cousins' 2 cats and dog. She loves puppies.

Last night I watched Rob Zombie's Halloween. I was a tad closed minded going in, I must admit. Some movies can stand a remake. Some, however, are damn near perfect the first time around and don't need to be retold. Halloween was perfect. It stands the test of time. It's unsettling and frightening in it's simplicity. The Shape: Heartless, remorseless, relentless. A blank face with no eyes that just did not stop.

His origin was disturbing because of it's simplicity. Just the notion that some generic middle class suburban family could produce a sociopath of such monstrous proportion out of thin air was scary. That one night he unleashed his demon, and then quietly brooded for fifteen years before unleashing it again.

Zombie went in a different direction. He lowered the tax bracket of the Myers family, and spent the first third of the movie humanizing Michael. You get to know the boy. You begin to feel for him a bit, though you're shown pretty damn quick what a monster he already is.

Rob then quickly blows through the rest of the movie, dispensing with most of, if not all, the character development of the original. Sadly, he also dispenses with everything that made the original scary. There's no fear to be had here, just the thrill of watching a madman go to work.

Not that that is without it's charms. I'm just saying.

What am I saying? I didn't dislike it. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It was engaging, well executed, and I liked it. Most importantly, it didn't shit on the original. Zombie took his favorite movie and put his own stamp on it. I'm cool with that.

La noche del terror ciego

KG bought me the Book of the Dead: the Complete History of Zombie Cinema for Christmas. It's a good read, and one of the most comprehensive tomes I've come across.

I decided, though I doubt I'll stick with it, to try and watch every zombie movie available. No small task, for sure.

Anyhow, last night I watched the first installment in the Blind Monks series, La Noche Del Terror Ciego. It's a Spanish zombie film from 1971 about a sect of Templar monks who return from the dead to feast on the living.

Not so good. The zombie monks were actually pretty creepy. But the plot was spotty, the acting was subpar and it was short on gore or genuine scares. I'd also like to mention that technically, they weren't zombies. The monks discovered the secret to immortality. They were executed, and rise from their graves. So, either they are ghosts, or they're vampires. Not zombies.

Worth viewing if you're a hardcore horror/zombie fan, but if you're a casual viewer, I'd suggest giving this one a pass.

Horror done right

I watched Descent the other night. I'm pleased to report that it was a satisfying film. You have 6 women spelunking in an unexplored cave. They get trapped and attacked by a bunch of mutant, Gollum like creatures.

I was pleased that someone could make a horror movie that starred 6 women and managed to avoid both gratuitous nudity and the stereotypical chick banter. These were fully realized women, they were tough and adventerous. It was a nice change. Add in the claustrophobic setting and some geniunely creepy creatures, and all in all you have a pretty decent movie.

I strongly suggest watching the original, unedited version. It has a different ending than the American release, and it's much better.

A Man Called Horse

So, last night I sat down and watched A Man Called Horse. My stepfather has been going on for years about how this was one of his favorite movies. The man has questionable taste, but I was intrigued.

All in all, not a bad movie. It's one of those early 70's revisionist films, depicted a more "realistic" side of Native Americans. The story itself is engaging, and Richard Harris is excellent. The scene where he takes the Sun Bow and is suspended by 2 hooks from his chest is harrowing. Over all, though, I thought the cinematography and editing was poor, and the direction lacked focus. Worth watching, for sure.

179/1000 BLU Vol 2

So, I decided I might as well attempt to do an occasional review of music, movies or books that I ingest. Partly as filler and time killer, partly because I'm always looking to infect new people wth my esoteric taste.

My latest acquisition is The Residents "Best Left Unspoken Volume 2." This is the second of 3 collections of instrumental songs from B sides, out takes and limited releases long out of print.

The first 6 tracks are from "High Horses", an EP of demented carousel music. I'm lucky enough to have the original EP, so this wasn't new to me. None the less, it's great stuff. Best listened to with a decent pair of headphones.

The other stand outs, in my opinion, are "Prelude for a Toddler" and "Bijou." Prelude was included on a previous compliation album, which I also have ( and incidently was my first Residents album), but I'm happy to hear it again. Creepy. "Bijou" is new to me. It's a strange and intersting track, and thankfully defies description.

Anyhow, it's a limited release, and only available from Ralph America. If you have any interest in The Residents, I'd suggest picking it up.