Monthly Archives: February 2012
SCREAM QUEEN of the Month-March 2012-Emma Stone and Amanda Seyfried
EMMA STONE
Emma Stone-March 2012 Co-Scream Queen of the Month
Amanda Seyfried-March 2012 Co-Scream Queen of the Month
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- Amanda Seyfried Has A Taxidermy Collection (buzzfeed.com)
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TAXI DRIVER: An appreciation for God’s Lonely Man
TAXI DRIVER: An appreciation for God‘s LonelyMan
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle
Jodie Foster as Iris
Albert Brooks as Tom
Harvey Keitel (l) as Sport
Leonard Harris as Charles Palantine
Peter Boyle (c) as Wizard
Cybill Shepherd as Betsy
This is a question for my blogger friends. Why do you write a blog? What is that drives you to put words onto the brightness of your computer screen? I know why I do it. I do it because I want to feel as if I am a part of something that is bigger than me. I admit that I get a little rush when I read a favorable comment or when someone likes a review I’ve written. I feel good when I check my page view count for the day and I’ve had a few hundred visitors. That means that all the times that I have sat alone in a dark room watching movie after movie has not been in vain. When I sit at my computer racking my brain for the right words to say I know that someone, somewhere will read what I have written and will appreciate it in some way or another. I am alone as I sit and type, but I am not lonely.
In Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle is always alone. Even in scenes where he is surrounded by other people, he is ultimately and painfully alone. In the scene in the diner with his co-workers he is off to one side of the table, slightly separate from the rest. Again, in the diner, this time with Iris, the young prostitute that he feels a need to save, he is still alone. Why? Because his ideas, his way of thinking is so out of tune with hers that they are two people on separate sides of a desert island; always knowing that the other exists, but never making that connection.
The saddest and most heart wrenching scene in the film comes when Travis, after taking Betsy to a pornographic movie on their first date together, is on the phone in a lonely hallway pleading with her to give him another chance. As we listen the camera pans away from him. We don’t know whether to console him or put him down like a dog to ease his misery. Travis is so far out of touch with the rest of the world. He is never alone, yet he is lonely; and he is alone and he is lonely. By its own design, the job of a taxi driver is one of the loneliest jobs on the planet. A cabbie is continually in a situation where he is with people and yet they are all rank strangers to him. For the brief time that they are in his cab, they are a part of Travis’ world, but at no point in time is he ever a part of theirs. Travis Bickle truly is God’s Lonely Man.
Again, I will ask you; why do you do what you do?
TRIVIA
Related articles
- When did I become a Taxi Driver? (motherhoodmania.wordpress.com)
- 2 arrested in 2010 shooting death of Cobb taxi driver (ajc.com)
- Script To Screen: “Taxi Driver” (gointothestory.blcklst.com)
- Mean Streets: The Landscape of New York in Taxi Driver (kubrickontheguillotine.com)
Lord. I was born a Random Ramblings Man!!
Adolf Hitler’s long-lost collection of paintings discovered
I wonder if there were any paintings of happy little trees.
Matt Kenseth wins Daytona 500 after fire and rain
He turned left much faster and more times than anyone else.
So, they built this really awesome waterfall at the hospital where I work. The water goes over these rocks and it just flows and flows and…would you excuse me? I have to go pee.
1 in 3 Kids Drink Too Much Juice
It’s the 2 kids that put gin in their juice that I’m worried about.
Banker’s Insulting Waitress Tip Incites Class Warfare Between the 1% and the 99%
$1.33 on a $134.00 and some change meal. If foresight were 20/20 that was one huge lugie in that guys food.
Couple Lets Facebook Poll Decide Their Baby’s Name
I knew some folks that did that a few years ago. I heard that Doggystyle Anal Jones III is doing great.
Kim Dotcom to learn bail fate tomorrow
I really could care less. What I want to know is whether he was pissed that the moniker Kim Possible was taken.
Stars to celebrate Johnny Cash‘s 80th with concert
All joking aside, the man was, is and will always be a true legend.
Miranda Lambert questions Chris Brown performances at the Grammys
Miranda, I looked it up and found out that February 12, 2012 was Bring a Woman Beating Piece of Crap to the Grammy Awards day.
and finally…
JERSEY DEVIL finally captured in the Pine Barrens after nearly 300 years. See photo below. (Warning: Not suitable for children)
Take care and stay scared, everybody!
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- Chris Brown vs. Miranda Lambert (?) (stupidentertainmentcrap.wordpress.com)
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BROKEN
BROKEN-United Kingdom-2006
Nadja Brand as Hope
Abbey Stirling as Holly
Written and Directed by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes
I’m not sure how to say this in a delicate manner, so I’ll just say it. I refuse to waste time reviewing this misogynistic piece of garbage. 90 minutes of my life was wasted watching this pile of excrement. You want my review? That’s my review. I have more respect for women in my little finger than the makers of this film have in their entire bodies. This may not be a popular post and it may not get me a whole bunch of page views; but instead of a review I am including a list of links to organizations that help in the fight against rape and domestic violence. I’m sorry this isn’t my usual happy go lucky humorous review. This is a matter I feel strongly about; so maybe next time, folks.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Organization for Women
Rape Abuse and Incest National Network
Center Against Domestic Violence
The sites I have listed are just for starters. Each one will have information that will help you should you decide to become involved or if you need help in any way.
Oh yeah, no blood drops. Enough said.
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- Domestic violence to be criminal offence (nation.com.pk)
- The Inner Pain of Domestic Violence (carolynhennecy.com)
- Domestic Violence and Social Media (from the Health Is Social Blog) (jflahiff.wordpress.com)
- Salon Uses Domestic Violence Imagery to Advertise (bellasugar.com)
- ‘Domestic violence not criminalised by Senate’ (nation.com.pk)
PIRANHA (2010)
PIRANHA -United States-2010
Elisabeth Shue as Julie Forester
Adam Scott as Novak
Jerry O'Connell as Derrick Jones
Ving Rhames as Deputy Fallon
Jessica Szohr as Kelly
Steven R. McQueen as Jake Forester
Christopher Lloyd as Mr. Goodman
Richard Dreyfus as Matt Boyd
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg
Authors’ note- The following commentary is a dramatization. I am going to be 50 soon, and that much is true. However, I am a happily married man and have never had opportunity or the need to watch a GGW video. This was all just a way of saying that I wish the director would have made up his mind. Boobs or blood, Mr. Aja, what’s it going to be?
I’m going to be 50 years old in a little under 2 weeks. Having never seen a Girls Gone Wild video in its entirety, I thought now would be as good a time as any. I went to the video store and I got this one that had this hot babe sunbathing on a red raft on what appears to be a peaceful lake. She’s all kicked back with her barely there bikini and her dark sunglasses covering her eyes. I took it home and I popped the disc in my trusty player and sat back to enjoy the bouncing hooters and gyrating buttocks. This one was a really good one! Woo hoo! It had a little something for everybody! There’s Kelly Brook and Riley Steele cavorting naked underwater like dolphins. There’s Jessica Sour looking all cute so that the younger male viewers can be happy. There’s even Elisabeth Shue in the film for the older viewers such as myself. It’s funny, though; they have her dressed as a sheriff in this one. But still, she’s really hot! It must have been some sort of role playing thing.
So, I’m enjoying all this girly action and all of a sudden these really mean fish with obscenely large teeth commence to chewing up and spitting out all the bodacious babes and voluptuous beauties. Pretty soon the whole thing breaks down in a shower of guts and gore. It’s not just the boobies that suffer; this one guy suffers such an emasculating injury before being chewed to pieces I can’t even mention it without wincing.
What the hell is this movie?!? I thought for sure I’d picked up a Girls Gone Wild video. I hit pause and picked up the DVD case to examine it more closely. What do you know? My hand had covered up the cover earlier. There it was in big red letters-PIRANHA. I flipped the cover over and read the description. Oh, so this is supposed to be a horror film? In fact, it’s supposed to be a remake of the Joe Dante B-movie classic; which itself was a parody of Jaws. According to the credits, this one was directed by Alexandre Aja. Oh yeah, I thought, he directed High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes remake and they were really good. I don’t really know what to say about Piranha, though. Two things come to mind:
- For a Girls Gone Wild movie, Alexandre Aja has made a pretty decent horror film.
- For a horror film, Alexandre Aja has made a pretty decent Girls Gone Wild movie.
I guess it’s all in how you look at it.
TRIVIA
Related articles
- Inside Horror: Episode 5 – Alexandre Aja Talks Maniac Remake and So Much More! (dreadcentral.com)
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- PIRANHA 3DD – 2 International Posters (geektyrant.com)
- Filmmakers and Cast Debut Gruesome New Footage for PIRANHA 3D; Recap Along with Highlights From Q&A (collider.com)
THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE
THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE-Mexico/Spain-2001
Eduardo Noriega as Jacinto
Marisa Paredes (w/Federico Luppi) as Carmen
Federico Luppi as Dr. Casares
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Written by Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras and David Muñoz
The entire time that I was watching The Devil’s Backbone I kept thinking to myself ‘I know there’s a metaphor for war in there somewhere.’ I mean, a movie that features a dropped-from-the-sky-unexploded-in-the-middle-of-an-orpahanage-courtyard bomb has got to be making some kind of statement about war, right? The only thing is that I am one of the most metaphorically challenged people on the planet. I’ll get it eventually; just not at the moment.
So, I figured the best way to approach the movie was from the point of view of it being quite a frightening little ghost story. Bingo! Guillermo del Toro’s tale of a young boy and a vengeful ghost set in an orphanage in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War is as downright scary a film as you are ever likely to see. The best thing is that Del Toro layers the suspense on slowly; taking his time and allowing us to digest each scene and each scare as an individual moment instead of a bombardment of jump scenes. There is a style to this film that is unlike any that I’ve seen in quite some time. The only other movie that comes to mind that features such a slow build of frights is Takashi Miike’s disturbing ode to a woman scorned, Audition.
Guillermo del Toro has stated that The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth are of a male and female companion piece to one another. I’ve never watched the latter film; but if it is anywhere near as satisfying as The Devil’s Backbone, then I cannot wait.
TRIVIA
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- Guillermo del Toro Officially Directing Emma Watson in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (geektyrant.com)
- Guillermo del Toro Takes on Beauty and the Beast (dreadcentral.com)
- Guillermo del Toro to Direct ‘Beauty & the Beast’ Retelling with Emma Watson (screenrant.com)
- ‘Pacific Rim’ Production Update From Guillermo del Toro (screenrant.com)
THE CHANGELING
THE CHANGELING-CANADA-1980
George C. Scott as John Russell
Trish Van Devere as Claire Norman
Melvyn Douglas as Senator Joe Carmichael
Directed by Peter Medak
Story by Russell Hunter
Screenplay by William Gray and Diana Maddox
The Changeling is a suspenseful, intelligent ghost story and that is really all I know to say about it. It was released in 1980 and of course it has become somewhat dated. When was the last time you saw a fully enclosed phone booth? But that’s nitpicking of the smallest order. The film is actually quite good and while watching I kept asking myself why I avoided it for so many years.
The plot of the film revolves around George C. Scott’s character and of the ghost of a child who is, in Scott’s own words, “trying desperately to communicate with me.” The film has all the things that a good ghost story should have; a haunted house, a séance, ghostly visions and mysterious whisperings; and of course it has a ghost. Scott and his co-star Trish Van Devere mesh very well in their time together on screen. But of course this may be due to the fact that the two had been happily married since 1972.
All in all, The Changeling is an entertaining way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon curled up on the couch with your significant other. Pop some popcorn and enjoy. Oh, and don’t forget to turn off the lights.
TRIVIA
Was the first film to win best picture in the Canadian Film Awards after its name was changed to the Genie Awards.
The movie is based on events which supposedly took place at a house in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s. The Chessman Park neighborhood in the movie is a reference to Cheesman Park in Denver, where the original haunting transpired.
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PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE-United States-2002
Adam Sandler as Barry Egan
Emily Watson as Lena Leonard
Luis Guzman as Lance
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Dean Trumbell
Have you ever been in love? Have you ever felt what it’s like to have love truly wrap its arms around you and squeeze the life out of you? I’m here to tell you that I have been in love. I am here to tell you that I am indeed in love. I am in love with the greatest woman on the planet. She is my lover, she is my confidant, she is my muse, my inspiration and she is my all-time greatest friend. Above all these things she is my wife. That last thing alone is the hardest job on the planet. I am by no means an easy man to love. I am temperamental, I am angry and at times I am a complete and utter with a capital ‘A’ asshole. But before I met my wife I was a lonely man. I would go to the movies and I would see all these people holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes and I would be so damned jealous. I wanted that so badly but there was that one thing that held me back and that one thing was me. I allowed myself to believe that there was no way anyone would love me. There was no way anyone would want to be with me. Me? I’m too fucking weird to be loved. I’m too fucking angry to be loved. Who in their right mind would want to love a guy like me? The answer is very simple. My wife, that’s who.
I love Punch-Drunk Love for one very simple reason; I can identify one hundred per cent with the character of Barry Egan. Barry is an emotional wreck of a man who is letting everyone hold him back from the one thing that he has always wanted but has never had: true love. But then one day Barry meets Lena and all bets are off. Nothing is going to stop Barry Egan from finding love. Not family, not work, not phone sex, nothing. I love this movie undeniably and unconditionally. I believe it is one of the greatest love stories ever filmed and I believe it is inarguably the best performance of Adam Sandler’s career. Punch-Drunk Love is not a conventional love story by any means. It is a love story that only Paul Thomas Anderson could tell and he tells it with a style that is one hundred per cent his own.
So, on this most romantic of all days I want you to take your lover by the hand and I want you to look deep into their eyes and I want you to say ‘That’s very food.’
From all of me here at Written in Blood, Happy Valentine’s Day.
TRIVIA
The film was inspired by an article in ‘Time’ magazine about David Phillips, a University of California civil engineer who stumbled upon a lucrative frequent-flyer promotion. By purchasing 12,150 cups of Healthy Choice pudding for just $3,000, he accumulated 1.25 million air-miles.
During the scene where Barry is at the supermarket looking for the cheapest Healthy Choice food item, he is being followed by an out-of-focus character in a red outfit. It’sEmily Watson’s character, before they’ve been introduced.
When Barry says, “That’s very food,” it was actually just a typo that the director decided to keep.
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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER-United States-2011
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips
Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull
But enough about the others, I’m here to tell you what I think about Captain America. I can sum it up in one word. Eh. There are some moments in the film that should have been amazing to watch, but they were just…there. I believe that Chris Evans was a good physical fit as the good Captain, but I really didn’t find his screen presence to be all that great. To be honest, I had more fun watching Hugo Weaving chew the scenery as Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull than I did Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America. But, I digress. I don’t lay the blame squarely on Evan’s shoulders. I lay the blame solely on one person and that person is director Joe Johnston. Up to and including Captain America, I have yet to see a motion picture from Johnston that wasn’t half-ass. Jumanji-boring. Jurassic Park III-worst of the series. The Wolfman-not bad, not good, just there.
That’s the way I feel about Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s just there, that’s all.
TRIVIA
Jon Favreau was originally chosen by Marvel Studios to direct this film (which he intended to make as a buddy comedy), but he chose to direct Iron Man. Nick Cassavetes, was also considered to direct this film, and had been set as a director forIron Man in December 2004.
Louis Leterrier viewed some of the concept art for the film, and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel Studios turned him down. However, his film The Incredible Hulk features a small appearance by Captain America: a deleted scene set in the Arctic features his body hidden in a slab of ice.
Hugo Weaving based the Red Skull’s accent on renowned German filmmakers Werner Herzog and Klaus Maria Brandauer.
- No ‘Avengers’ For ‘Captain America’ Actress (splashpage.mtv.com)
- ‘Captain America’ Co-Creator Joe Simon Dies (splashpage.mtv.com)
- “The Avengers” told from the perspective of Captain America, Joss Whedon says (inquisitr.com)
This is something I don’t usually do; but it has been brought to my attention that I may have been a bit harsh in my critcism of Chris Evans in his role as Captain America. I admit that my review was based on having the film upon it’s release and was therefore based in turn on memory. I re-watched the film last night and I am not afraid to admit that I was wrong. Evans does a highly credible job in the role and should be commended. I still stand by my criticism of director Joe Johnston. My rating for the film now moves up from a 2 blood drop rating to 3.
HORROR OF DRACULA
HORROR OF DRACULA-United Kingdom-1958
Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing
Michael Gough as Arthur
Melissa Stribling (w/Michal Gough and Peter Cushing) as Mina Holmwood
Carol Marsh as Lucy Holmwood
Christopher Lee as Dracula
Directed by Terence Fisher
Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker
For my money, Christopher Lee was the greatest Dracula of all time. If you don’t believe me, just watch his performance in Hammer Films re-telling of the classic novel by Bram Stoker. Lee has less than 15 lines and he only speaks to one person throughout the entire film; yet his presence onscreen is so commanding there is no way you can tear your eyes away from him. In several scenes, Lee need merely stand as still as a statue and he still manages to evoke a feeling of dread. With Lee’s portrayal, the greatest literary villain of all time becomes the greatest cinematic villain of all time.
Now of course every great villain must do battle with a great hero; and that is where Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing comes in. Cushing was the perfect foil to Lee’s mesmerizing and terrifying Dracula. As much as Lee commanded a sense of dread in the role of Dracula, thus did Cushing command a sense of decency? Cushing would continue to do battle with the Count in subsequent films in the series; The Brides of Dracula (1960), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and finally 1973′s The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
While Horror of Dracula may not be a faithful adaptation of Stoker’s novel, it is by all accounts an entertaining one. Lee and Cushing bring all of their acting chops to the forefront and you never get the feeling that they are acting in ‘just a horror film’. The film may be over 50 years old, but it was fun to watch as any of the films that are being produced today within the horror genre. Finally, watching Horror of Dracula for the first time in nearly 25 years I found myself reminded of why I love horror films in the first place. It’s not about the gore; it’s all about the frights.
TRIVIA
On several occasions, Christopher Lee complained about the contact lenses he had to wear for the shock scenes. Not only they were quite painful, but he could not see a thing. While running towards the vampire woman for instance, he even ran too far past the camera on the first take.
Christopher Lee has only thirteen lines in this film.
The cape worn by Christopher Lee was discovered in 2007 in a London costume shop during its annual inventory-taking. It had been missing for 30 years, and is believed to be worth around $50,000 (US$). Lee was contacted to verify its authenticity.
Related articles
- DRACULA YEAR ZERO to be Directed by Gary Shore (geektyrant.com)
- Dracula by Bram Stoker- The Best Vampire Book Ever! (dysfunctionalliteracy.com)
- Hammer Makes ‘The Woman in Black’ With Daniel Radcliffe (nytimes.com)
- Book Review: The Hammer Vault by Marcus Hearn (blogcritics.org)
