http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Wed, 26 Oct 2005 22:03:11 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/26/220311.php JayMoo and StephoinThe Japanese just do things a little different than us Americans. For example - we eat with forks and they eat with sticks that are inefficient and yet, awesome. We make a radio, and they take that radio and put on lots of insane doohickies and thingamajiggers that we'll never figure out how to use and are also inefficient and yet, awesome. That is how I have felt about Japanese horror movies. When Americans make a horror movie, they take a concept they feel they can make scary. Then they figure out how they can make the movie understandable and plausible without having too much dialogue or story development. Then they deliver the horror and blood as quick and awesomely as possible. As an American, I agree with this technique. It is comfortible to me and feels like home. Evil Dead is a great example - it doesn't take long to set up that story, so 30 minutes into it you're ready for 50 minutes of blood and guts and screaming and gore and frights and crazy camera shots, etc.The Japanese, on the other hand, are less efficient. They actually take the time to prepare an entire plot for you with character background that is more than one dimensional. In fact, while watching, you might even think that you are seeing a nice foreign drama with a suspenseful undertone. Then, after you've had a solid feeding of plot, they deliver the blood. It happens slower, but it's great and often stylish. Once America gets ahold of a Japanese horror movie (Ring, Grudge, Dark Water), we speed it up and get the good stuff going quick. I can't tell you how much slower The Ring is, Japanese style, in comparison to the Americanized Ring. But both are effective in their own ways.With that said, Audition is a great movie. About one and a half hours into it, I was really starting to wonder if we were going to get any scary moments or if it was just "mood scary". Well, we got ours, oh man did we ever. The best part is that it actually has some depth because we just spent a looooong time with the characters. It has a lot to say about physical and emotional abuse and how we as the public (meaning men) contribute with our objectifying. The lead character, a movie director, auditions women (above) for a fake movie so he can choose one as a wife. Finding a very shy, quiet but beautiful woman, he courts her and sleeps with her - and then she is gone. As he begins to search for her, he discovers that this woman has a past of violence - having been abused by family and men throughout her life. This leads to a very rewarding scene of torture and mayhem. This scene is not easy to stomach, primarily because it isn't a bunch of gorey flashes done to meaningless characters - this is our lead character and it is slow, calculated, and ouchy.Why not a Dr. Pepper? Stephen and I discussed this movie later - and we are still finding some holes. I'm sure if we watched it again, then we would discover some things we missed. Equally, something might have been lost in translation. Regardless, there was a prolonged dream/fainting sequence that tried desparately to fill all the holes they had created in the first 85% of the movie. They got most of them, but not enough to really think, "wow, now that is a Dr. Pepper!" Instead, this movie is a solid Pad Thai.I think most people will like this movie. That's the benefit to the whole character development - its makes it a little more than just horror, and I think you will respect that. Plus there is a newness that you can appreciate. And, like in many horror movies, women kick some butt. I can't wait until America takes it, makes the blood squirt, and drops the depth for a few more scares. It'll feel like home. Ed/Pub:LisaM Video38579@blogcritics.org Wed, 26 Oct 2005 22:03:11 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/26/060751.php JayMoo and StephoinI've given this production of The Ladies of the Corridor the Shakespeare Card Rating: Queen - Catherine of Aragon, although it could almost could fall into the realm of Jack. This is not because of the play itself, by Dorothy Parker / Arnaud d' Usseau. While not an amazing play (probably a strong "average" queen rating in itself) there are enough good qualities to make it a decent piece of theatre - if done well. But yup, it's another queen rating. The "if done well" part is where this production by the Peccadillo Theatre Company falters. I was pretty disappointed in some of the actors. Outside of an amazing performance by the relatively unknown Peggy Cowles, the actors on stage seemed to be just going through the lines. Positive acknowledgement should also be given to Ron Bagden, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese and Libby George for taking it up a notch. However, the relationship between the main characters of Lulu Ames and Paul Osgood was not convincing, nor was Lulu's relationship with her good friend Connie Mercer genuine.But what really pushed this production down were the lackluster design choices by the scenic and lighting designers. Perhaps this is what comes when your scenic designer's credits include "The 2006 Shamu Show" at Sea World Adventure Park and "The Ultimate Holiday Wish List" on the Cartoon Network. Ok, that was mean, but the scenic design didn't do anything for the action onstage or even correlate with the feel of the show. The lighting design was bad. The lights created distracting shadows, poor indication of time of day and bad coloring. My favorite lighting boo boo was when character Mildred Tynan goes to jump out the window - she swings open the window in an intense scene and there is a big old blue gelled fresnel glaring at the audience. Very realistic. Ed/Pub:NB Culture38505@blogcritics.org Wed, 26 Oct 2005 06:07:51 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/06/160241.php JayMoo and StephoinBasket Case was our movie for Tuesday Night Horror Fest, and man were we in for a treat. When I say treat, I mean crappy treat...not delicious peanut butter cup cookie treat. This movie aptly earned its Poo rating for several reasons that need to be explained. The film follows Duane, a boy from upstate New York who comes to Manhattan to find and kill the doctors who separated his Siamese twin Belial from him. Belial, who is a mutated little stump of flesh and face, survived the operation and Duane has kept him hidden from the world in a large wicker basket. The two are inseparable and communicate through telepathy, until a woman gets in the way and they both fall in love with her - leading to a sibling rivalry of the ages.First, I think I should point out its strengths: The worst writing ever which for us in the audience was a bonus because it was just plain campy and laughable. This includes lines such as "Take me now Duane" and "I'm not running a hotel, I'm running a nut house." Awesome New York shots in the late '70s early '80s...man Times Square was so much more crack ho-ish back then. Cheesy special effects that were ridiculous beyond reason - also laughable.That is about it. Please note that two of those are only strengths because they were so over the top that it made us crack up. Otherwise, they would be considered weaknesses. This movie falls under the horror category of "the un-natural" which preys on the human fear of anything gross or abnormal. Basket packs 1/10 of the punch that other movies like Shivers (1975) or Frankenstein (1931) were able to accomplish. The fact is, there is no meat on the bones of this basic and un-inventive gore fest.The part that gets me is that this film is loved by many people on IMDB and Rotten Tomatos as an "all time classic horror movie." As a horror movie purist, I really feel that the film has to enlighten us as to the root of human fear and/or evil. I guess on a level of just blood lovers and cheesy dialogue seekers, then yes this is a great horror movie for them. In a way I feel that Basket Case is to Evil Dead (1982) what Logan's Run (1976) is to Star Wars (1977). Both came out less than a year before the more amazing film that followed it. Both are in the same genre. Both added very little to the genre in terms of effects, cinematography, writing, or creativity. Evil Dead is also a low budget, gore-riffic movie full of campy humor and '80s special effects. The difference is that E.D. brought a new intelligence to horror films, one that required inventive camera work and a brilliant use of sound and light - and with half the budget of Basket Case. It delves much deeper into the human need to protect one's own life at all costs and the struggle of friends in peril vs. personal safety.On a final level, I cannot in good conscience recommend Basket Case to anyone. We had a great time laughing at this movie and relishing in its stop animation violence - until an explicit and pointless scene which ruined the movie. Without this scene I may have given it a good ol' fashioned Mass Attack Rating of Brussel Sprout, as any lover of the genre would probably get a kick out of it. Sadly, you'll just have to take our word that this movie isn't worth your time (as it is Poo). If you've seen the movie, or agree/disagree with my comments - let it out in the comments section and teach me a lesson or two.Ed/Pub:LisaM Video37518@blogcritics.org Thu, 6 Oct 2005 16:02:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/03/161233.php JayMoo and StephoinIn preparation for Halloween, my friends and I are watching a weekly horror movie. This week we watched Carnival of Souls (1962), directed by Herk Harvey. As a Mormon from Salt Lake City, this film is even closer to my heart as it takes place in my hometown. Watching Carnival of Souls last night for maybe the fourth time, I had the opportunity to really just sit and think about this film. Carnival was made in roughly three weeks by Herk Harvey, who was inspired by seeing Salt Air in Utah as he drove across the country. His story takes the concept of the living dead and puts a twist on it - how meaningless is life in a world that you don't really LIVE in? The film follows our lead actress to Salt Lake City where she has been hired to play the organ in a local Protestant type church ("Oh sure, we are not the largest church in the area obviously" quips the minister with a slight jab at the Mormon population) after a near fatal car crash in her home town of Kansas. It is here that she is haunted by the large building in the desert, its haunted and lifeless carnival atmosphere, and particularly by one dead individual who stalks her wherever she goes.Although this film is not really scary per se, it has some very haunting visuals and music. Additionally, the underbelly of Carnival is disturbing as we all agreed that the main character will end up in hell due to her lack of love, charity, humility and care for other people. The film drives home that a person without feeling or love is dead already - and there are few differences between that life and the hell that awaits them.I give this film a Jeff's Mind Rating of Pad Thai because despite its low budget looks and audio, it achieves a goal that big budget horror movies often completely miss: it roots its horror in the real human fear of losing human connectivity and feeling which, in this case, is the loss of sanity, life and love. I give it a Mass Attack Rating of Brussel Sprouts because I don't feel many people can get past the black & white, poor production quality of the film. You need to go into this one ready to disregard its problems and look for its many successes. On the other hand, everyone will enjoy watching the star lean on Temple Square for support and be relieved from her dream spells every time she approaches the temple. Classic.If you've seen the film please feel free to contradict, agree with, or just share your thoughts on Carnival of Souls. Video37318@blogcritics.org Mon, 3 Oct 2005 16:12:33 EDT