Hello one and all. Yes again delayed. I realize that I have not truely kept my goal of two posts a week. If I keep pointing this out at one point it may change.
The Brewers are on their way to the playoffs. Hasn't happened since I was 7. I believe they played the Cardinals for the pennant. I could be wrong. I do remember being a highly involved baseball fan as a young Mark. I have some good memories of going to County Stadium to watch the Crew who had the likes of Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and "Da Coop" in the club. The night the brewers won I remember making a sign with the brewer mitt hitting a cardinal. Then Dad actually drove us down town to cruise WIsconsin Ave with the rest of our fellow fans honking horns and yelling. It was a very fond memory and one of the betters ones I have of baseball. I don't think too much of baseball now, probably because I no longer reside in Milwaukee. Still good times.
I have been playing a lot of Lego Batman lately. All I can say it rocks and the fact they Picked Danny Elfmans score definitely puts it in the plus column.
We went to the Wilderness waterpark this past weekend in the WIsconsin Dells. It was actually three different hotels connected together. There were three indoor water parks which were fun. In two of them there was a huge bucket at the top of the play area and when it would fill with water enough it would drop hunderds of gallons of water...ya I stood under it atleast a couple times. There was also an arcade of course. I miss the old days when you could spend a couple hours in an arcade playing your favorite vid games where the games cost only a quarter. Now adays you are lucky if you do find a game for 25 cents. Nevermind the classic video games and pinballs have now all been replaced with machines of chance where you win just enough tickets to buy a bunch of cheap plastic crap that cost a fraction of what was spent getting the tickets. Needless to say much money was spent and the kids came away with some okay prizes. Top of the prize was the goo in a cup that makes farting noises and two plastic samurai swords with shiny foil sheaths.
You know an indoor water park was definitely made a man in a cold weather state like wisconsin. How else are you going to be able to see women in Bikini's all year long when you live in a state that is covered in snow or ice 7 months out of the year.
But on to todays Movie review. The Mountain of the Cannibal God.
With honorable mention of Suspiria
I Have been on an Italian Horror trip as of late. I was surprised by both movies but for different reasons. Suspiria was a bit of a dissappointment unfortunately. I had seen many fellow B- horror movies fans rave about this film but perhaps I have seen so many of its imitators that the original came of less than spectacular. IT does bring the creepy and the maggots were a great surprise but on the whole I though it was average. Again maybe so many movies have copied this film that it ruined it a bit for me. Just like Vampiros Lesbos...but that is another story.
The Mountain of the Cannibal God was alot better than expected. It stars Mike Hammer, ok Stacy Keach but Mike Hammer sounds better, And Honey Ryder the Bond girl who set the standards for all those after her, aka Ursual Andress. This movie was handled alot better stylistically then most of your run of the mill Cannibal Movies from the period. It had better direction, a solid plot and pleanty of gore. THere is alot of real animal killing in the film so be warned PETA members. THe first two thirds of the film play out similar to a regular mainstream film. The last third is just one wild ride. Especially as things build up to the climatic ending where our heros battle the most pathetic excuse for native warriors.
There is lots of gore and a fully naked Ursula which alone is a plus. She had a body in her 40's that could put some of todays female sex symbols to shame. This movie has it all for you b-horror movie, sexploitation gore whores out there.
We have (this is the unrated version of course)
5 breast shots
1 Completely nude ursula
1 female native masturbations scene that boarders on porn
1 beheading
1 death by animal trap
1 naked native sex scene
1 Native On Boar hot sex action ( Brings new meaning to the term Makin Bacon
Top it all off one On Screen Death Lorraina Bobbit style, with every gruesome second and a half shown on screen
So if you are looking for a better quality Italian Cannibal horror film I definitely would recommend this film. If you prefer the creepy thriller then Suspiria is more up your alley, though that had two gruesome deaths in it so be warned.
Go Brewers.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Good , The Bad, The Atomic Drop
So I realized that I really am bad at keeping up with the blogging but things as of late have been more stressful than usual so that has distracted me. The world is in dire straits mud being slung so much in the campaign I have to wear boots everywhere I go and the economy tanking has distracted me from what I enjoy doing. So to distract myself from My Distraction I popped in my latest netflix rental.
WRESTLEMANIAC
Oh yeah baby. Slasher movies come to Wrestling...or more appropriately a Wrestler comes to Slasher movies. Nothing more entertaining than a man in a luchedore mask going around killing people. This movie was a very pleasent surprise and I enjoyed it more than I probably should. IF you were wondering where Rey Mesterio Senior has been, Apparently locked away in some remote mexican town going ape shit crazy. This movie has it all, suspense, thrills, crazy old guy, hot women wearing next to nothing and gore.
Definitely made for the wrestling fan in mind the movie opens with shots of classic Luche wrestling from mexico. Whats funny is that the moves they were doing in the footage are nearly the same moves show in today mainstream wrasslin. The actors in this movie do well to keep the film entertaining , even in its slow spots. There is humor and the pacing over all of the movie is handled well. What thought was a nice touch was the fact that you don't actually get to see what the killer looks like until the third kill and fourth kill. Thats something a number of B-horror movies or just horror movies in general seem to forget about doing. They show what the villian looks like on the first shot or even in the trailers. I think you lose your suspense when that is done. There are exceptions to this of course but I always liked it when you weren't shown right away the evil in the movie. working up to the complete image makes it extra creepy.
THis is how you make a b-horror film. They do quite a bit with the small cast and limited budget. The last horror movie I saw with a wrestler in it was See No Evil with Kane. Kane was not a westler in it but probably should have been. IT would have made the movie more entertaining. I actually enjoyed Wrestlemaniac more than See No Evil. I highly recomend it for fans of B-horror and especially for fans of wrestling and for anyone just looking for some decent horror.
WRESTLEMANIAC
Oh yeah baby. Slasher movies come to Wrestling...or more appropriately a Wrestler comes to Slasher movies. Nothing more entertaining than a man in a luchedore mask going around killing people. This movie was a very pleasent surprise and I enjoyed it more than I probably should. IF you were wondering where Rey Mesterio Senior has been, Apparently locked away in some remote mexican town going ape shit crazy. This movie has it all, suspense, thrills, crazy old guy, hot women wearing next to nothing and gore.
Definitely made for the wrestling fan in mind the movie opens with shots of classic Luche wrestling from mexico. Whats funny is that the moves they were doing in the footage are nearly the same moves show in today mainstream wrasslin. The actors in this movie do well to keep the film entertaining , even in its slow spots. There is humor and the pacing over all of the movie is handled well. What thought was a nice touch was the fact that you don't actually get to see what the killer looks like until the third kill and fourth kill. Thats something a number of B-horror movies or just horror movies in general seem to forget about doing. They show what the villian looks like on the first shot or even in the trailers. I think you lose your suspense when that is done. There are exceptions to this of course but I always liked it when you weren't shown right away the evil in the movie. working up to the complete image makes it extra creepy.
THis is how you make a b-horror film. They do quite a bit with the small cast and limited budget. The last horror movie I saw with a wrestler in it was See No Evil with Kane. Kane was not a westler in it but probably should have been. IT would have made the movie more entertaining. I actually enjoyed Wrestlemaniac more than See No Evil. I highly recomend it for fans of B-horror and especially for fans of wrestling and for anyone just looking for some decent horror.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Clowns to the Left of Me...Jokers to the Right...Here I am
Up until recently I have never been that political in my thinking nor did I pay much attention to things like conventions, speeches, or basically anything involving politics. Sure I voted the last two times it has come up but I hate to admit I was not really an informed or "smart" voter. I just went with my guy. That is until this election year. But I am sure I am not the only one who can say that.
We are being bombarded from the left wing and the right wing about the candidates running for office and it is overwhelming at times.
I would like to say that I am not referring to the Candidates themselves as Clowns and Jokers. I have respect for both groups fighting for what has to be the toughest and shittiest job in the world. I am talking about the left and right wing media. Not just video, which is my favorite being a movie fanatic and all, but all forms of media. CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. I really feel like they and not the candidates are controlling this election.
The ones most influential of the forms is of course TV. Why? Simple. Its Visual. Its flashy and it is more fitting for the ADHD society which I have to admit I am at times apart of. We are attacked visually with graphics runnin across the screen, catchy titles for segments of programs, and over course very animate people speaking. We also take what the people are speaking for granted mostly because they are "news people" and there fore must a) know what they are talking about and b) Are telling us the truth. The fact of the matter is that MOST of them are more careless than ever in presenting fact-checked stories.
Its not all their fault though. We are the ones that flock to the source that will give us the news the quickest and also the juiciest. To stay competitive these agencies try to increase the turn around time of information which causes details to fall through the cracks. This can cause the viewers to believe items that either are misinterrpreted or inncorrect all together. Depending on the subject it can deeply influence someones opinion about the matter.
We are only human and do not like to think of ourselves as wrong, especially when its something we have determined is right. So If we are fed the wrong information and develop a personal belief based off of this information. It will be hard if not impossible for us to accept anything else to be true. Even if we are way off base in our belief it is hard to change that belief.
This is what is so scary about this election. The news agencies we have always trusted to bring us unbiased, equal opportunity information so that we can make our own minds have now brought us fair and balanced information. The two are not the same. Yet most us believe it to be so. Folks we have got to be smarter than ever before on our decision on who will be in the next president.
Now I am not here to pursuade you one way or the other like the media does either directly or indirectly. What I am asking for people to do is be a Smart voter not just a voter. We have to look at the very large picture of things in our decision, not just one piece. I have heard many people say...well I am voting for this person cause they are Republican or Democrat or cause shes a woman or cause his skin is the same color as mine or well his farts don't smell and neither do mine so I am voting for him. Ok the last one I made up but you get the point.
It would be like interviewing for a job you absolutely know you are qualified for and the person hiring you knows your qualified for plus you got along great in the interview but as you left they saw you were wearing striped socks. The person hiring is a solid socks person so they decided not to hire you.
We cannot afford to be petty in our decision folks. Our lives for the next four years -- hell the next decade -- depend on how we vote this year. The world is also watching and the sharks in the water circling. They smell Blood in the water and cannot wait to take abite our of the Once great Super Power.
I guess my main point on this is PLEASE ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE. Get all the facts you can. The internet can be a good source for information but you have to tread lightly and makes sure you are getting your information about the candidates from a credible source and not just some Jo Blo who decides to post his opinion on a Blog...oh wait.
Anyway with that said on to the movie review .. The Devils Backbone.
Guillermo del Torro does not disappoint in making entertaining, thought provoking, films. He wrote and directed this little piece of cinema about a boy left at an orphanage who comes across a ghost of a boy looking for revenge.
The premise may not be exactly original but it is set against the backdrop of the last days of the Spanish Civil war which helps give the movie is own identity. While there is a great special effect with the Ghost Child Santi the movies strength are its characters. They make you care for them or dispise them as you are supposed to. The script is well written and has you wondering through a good part of it, "who dunnit" and why is the boys spirit not at piece. The main character is a child and , like in Pans Labyrinth , helps move the events along. del Torro reall does well in making you care about the characters and at times makes the threat of the war reaching the orphange more supsensful and scary than Santi. He has not done a large number of movies but the ones I have seen I have liked. The first Hellboy was the weakest for me but he made up with the second one.
He also is unflinching in using children as characters in the films and also in having bad things happen to the kids. The first movie of his I saw was Mimic. He caught me off guard when he showed on film a child dying. This is does not happen often in horror movies at the time. Child characters have died but usually its off camera or mentioned in passing.
There is child deaths , obviously, in Devils Backbone so if that type of graphic visual is not to your liking I would not suggest you watch the film. If you are a fan of Pans Labrynth or just looking for a good piece of cinema to watch, I recommend this movie. I know subtitles are not to everyone's liking but I also suggest watching it in its native language with english subtitles. The dubbing is not the best and distracts you from some brilliant performances
We are being bombarded from the left wing and the right wing about the candidates running for office and it is overwhelming at times.
I would like to say that I am not referring to the Candidates themselves as Clowns and Jokers. I have respect for both groups fighting for what has to be the toughest and shittiest job in the world. I am talking about the left and right wing media. Not just video, which is my favorite being a movie fanatic and all, but all forms of media. CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. I really feel like they and not the candidates are controlling this election.
The ones most influential of the forms is of course TV. Why? Simple. Its Visual. Its flashy and it is more fitting for the ADHD society which I have to admit I am at times apart of. We are attacked visually with graphics runnin across the screen, catchy titles for segments of programs, and over course very animate people speaking. We also take what the people are speaking for granted mostly because they are "news people" and there fore must a) know what they are talking about and b) Are telling us the truth. The fact of the matter is that MOST of them are more careless than ever in presenting fact-checked stories.
Its not all their fault though. We are the ones that flock to the source that will give us the news the quickest and also the juiciest. To stay competitive these agencies try to increase the turn around time of information which causes details to fall through the cracks. This can cause the viewers to believe items that either are misinterrpreted or inncorrect all together. Depending on the subject it can deeply influence someones opinion about the matter.
We are only human and do not like to think of ourselves as wrong, especially when its something we have determined is right. So If we are fed the wrong information and develop a personal belief based off of this information. It will be hard if not impossible for us to accept anything else to be true. Even if we are way off base in our belief it is hard to change that belief.
This is what is so scary about this election. The news agencies we have always trusted to bring us unbiased, equal opportunity information so that we can make our own minds have now brought us fair and balanced information. The two are not the same. Yet most us believe it to be so. Folks we have got to be smarter than ever before on our decision on who will be in the next president.
Now I am not here to pursuade you one way or the other like the media does either directly or indirectly. What I am asking for people to do is be a Smart voter not just a voter. We have to look at the very large picture of things in our decision, not just one piece. I have heard many people say...well I am voting for this person cause they are Republican or Democrat or cause shes a woman or cause his skin is the same color as mine or well his farts don't smell and neither do mine so I am voting for him. Ok the last one I made up but you get the point.
It would be like interviewing for a job you absolutely know you are qualified for and the person hiring you knows your qualified for plus you got along great in the interview but as you left they saw you were wearing striped socks. The person hiring is a solid socks person so they decided not to hire you.
We cannot afford to be petty in our decision folks. Our lives for the next four years -- hell the next decade -- depend on how we vote this year. The world is also watching and the sharks in the water circling. They smell Blood in the water and cannot wait to take abite our of the Once great Super Power.
I guess my main point on this is PLEASE ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE. Get all the facts you can. The internet can be a good source for information but you have to tread lightly and makes sure you are getting your information about the candidates from a credible source and not just some Jo Blo who decides to post his opinion on a Blog...oh wait.
Anyway with that said on to the movie review .. The Devils Backbone.
Guillermo del Torro does not disappoint in making entertaining, thought provoking, films. He wrote and directed this little piece of cinema about a boy left at an orphanage who comes across a ghost of a boy looking for revenge.
The premise may not be exactly original but it is set against the backdrop of the last days of the Spanish Civil war which helps give the movie is own identity. While there is a great special effect with the Ghost Child Santi the movies strength are its characters. They make you care for them or dispise them as you are supposed to. The script is well written and has you wondering through a good part of it, "who dunnit" and why is the boys spirit not at piece. The main character is a child and , like in Pans Labyrinth , helps move the events along. del Torro reall does well in making you care about the characters and at times makes the threat of the war reaching the orphange more supsensful and scary than Santi. He has not done a large number of movies but the ones I have seen I have liked. The first Hellboy was the weakest for me but he made up with the second one.
He also is unflinching in using children as characters in the films and also in having bad things happen to the kids. The first movie of his I saw was Mimic. He caught me off guard when he showed on film a child dying. This is does not happen often in horror movies at the time. Child characters have died but usually its off camera or mentioned in passing.
There is child deaths , obviously, in Devils Backbone so if that type of graphic visual is not to your liking I would not suggest you watch the film. If you are a fan of Pans Labrynth or just looking for a good piece of cinema to watch, I recommend this movie. I know subtitles are not to everyone's liking but I also suggest watching it in its native language with english subtitles. The dubbing is not the best and distracts you from some brilliant performances
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
September...wait wasn't it just May
My How time flies. Kinda of a funny saying time flies but it does.I look back at the last three months and wonder where they went. Obviously the universe has not change as at least I perceive it unless I am an unknowning victim of some Dalek plot to jump people through time. Yet it seems like the summer came and went faster than Britney Spears career. I try to think back about what I did this summer with the family and it was not as much as I hoped. Somewhere someone stole hours from me. Why does that happen? Time going faster than expected. Is it because we ask too much of ourselves and so we never have a feeling of accomplishment. Do we spend too much time Plowing through our lives to the next event or thing to do that we simply lose track of when or where we are in time.
I think of the hours that I have played video games and wonder ..."Did I just waste that time?" when in truth I didn't if I was doing something I enjoyed. I think it is that we are plowing through life faster than we like and not realizing it. Then if we do stop to take time to pay attention we realize that we just went through three months of our lives in a blink of an eye. Since our minds are always focused on "what will be" its harder to think of "what was" and that is what I think causes time to fly. Its the simple fact is its harder to recall what we did then what we are or will do. This can cause gaps in the memory and at least for me the feeling I missed something. Not sure where I was going with this sorry oh wait yes ...
I am going to try and blog more ...this is my official official declaration...this time I mean it. Blogging will I think help me recall the things I have done and also reduce that feeling of time flying.
I am making progress on a number of projects and this has me happy. For some reason I was hitting a wall that was stopping me from doing the things I enjoy. I have been chipping away at the wall and it is paying off. I plan to start doing my Wii work out plan this week and try to lose some poundage by christmas. The hardest part will be curbing my Dew Addiction. I have made progress on the story "Fae'th in Time" and , with the help of my friend Jim, I have some footage shot for my "Weird AL" video Idea I came up with only 2 years ago....man how time flies. Anyway on to a Movie review.
Lets talk Japanese Gore movies. The types of movies that inspired the Kill Bill "Crazy 8's" battle. The blood spurting like a water fountain down town. Gore so over the top it is more humorous than sick. Case in Point "The Machine Girl."
Its a lovely family romp about a robotic girl who strives to be more like her human counterparts and in the end both the robot girl and the girl who owns her learn how to be more human...NAH!! I am just kidding. Its actually about this girl Ami whos brother gets involved with a local Yakuza gang. After he is killed, Ami seeks revenge for his death and ends up with her Arm being sliced off and a Shower of blood that reselmbled water from a fire hose. Man I tell you the Japanese have some serious Blood pressure.
Ok the story is good, direction of the movie is well done and over all the fights kick ass. There is pleanty of gory, bloody fights that at times are more comical than shocking. In the behind the scenes you learn its the girl playing Ami is doing her first real action film and first time acting. She does excellent as the machine gun armed Ami. She really pulls off the Pissed off School girl look well. Some weapons too note, The 8 Barrel Machine gun arm Rocks, the drill bra is definitely something different, a Flying Gullotine is something you just have to see, and the Chainsaw arm which has to be an ode to Ash. Groovy. If you do not mind over the top gore and some blood drinking this film is definitely for you. You also have to watch it in the native language with English subtitles to really appreciate the performances in the picture. Gore Whores definitely put this one on your list of must haves. The same crew who did this one will also be releaseing a movie soon called Tokyo Gore Police which looks to be along the same lines as The Machine Girl, A kick ass, fun, bloody good time.
I think of the hours that I have played video games and wonder ..."Did I just waste that time?" when in truth I didn't if I was doing something I enjoyed. I think it is that we are plowing through life faster than we like and not realizing it. Then if we do stop to take time to pay attention we realize that we just went through three months of our lives in a blink of an eye. Since our minds are always focused on "what will be" its harder to think of "what was" and that is what I think causes time to fly. Its the simple fact is its harder to recall what we did then what we are or will do. This can cause gaps in the memory and at least for me the feeling I missed something. Not sure where I was going with this sorry oh wait yes ...
I am going to try and blog more ...this is my official official declaration...this time I mean it. Blogging will I think help me recall the things I have done and also reduce that feeling of time flying.
I am making progress on a number of projects and this has me happy. For some reason I was hitting a wall that was stopping me from doing the things I enjoy. I have been chipping away at the wall and it is paying off. I plan to start doing my Wii work out plan this week and try to lose some poundage by christmas. The hardest part will be curbing my Dew Addiction. I have made progress on the story "Fae'th in Time" and , with the help of my friend Jim, I have some footage shot for my "Weird AL" video Idea I came up with only 2 years ago....man how time flies. Anyway on to a Movie review.
Lets talk Japanese Gore movies. The types of movies that inspired the Kill Bill "Crazy 8's" battle. The blood spurting like a water fountain down town. Gore so over the top it is more humorous than sick. Case in Point "The Machine Girl."
Its a lovely family romp about a robotic girl who strives to be more like her human counterparts and in the end both the robot girl and the girl who owns her learn how to be more human...NAH!! I am just kidding. Its actually about this girl Ami whos brother gets involved with a local Yakuza gang. After he is killed, Ami seeks revenge for his death and ends up with her Arm being sliced off and a Shower of blood that reselmbled water from a fire hose. Man I tell you the Japanese have some serious Blood pressure.
Ok the story is good, direction of the movie is well done and over all the fights kick ass. There is pleanty of gory, bloody fights that at times are more comical than shocking. In the behind the scenes you learn its the girl playing Ami is doing her first real action film and first time acting. She does excellent as the machine gun armed Ami. She really pulls off the Pissed off School girl look well. Some weapons too note, The 8 Barrel Machine gun arm Rocks, the drill bra is definitely something different, a Flying Gullotine is something you just have to see, and the Chainsaw arm which has to be an ode to Ash. Groovy. If you do not mind over the top gore and some blood drinking this film is definitely for you. You also have to watch it in the native language with English subtitles to really appreciate the performances in the picture. Gore Whores definitely put this one on your list of must haves. The same crew who did this one will also be releaseing a movie soon called Tokyo Gore Police which looks to be along the same lines as The Machine Girl, A kick ass, fun, bloody good time.
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