Coffin Joe
Wow! I saw a film by a Director (and actor) named Coffin Joe. Brazilian horror fr the 60's. Great stuff. Now I have to seek out more.
Freaks and Geeks is the greatest thing I have ever seen on TV, even moreso than Twin Peaks.
Speaking of Twin Peaks, this weekend I am going to a 26 hour Twin Peaks marathon. Every episode back to back. Yowza!

Good movie!
Saw the new Harry Potter tonight. Damn was it good. Way better than the first two. Much better direction, design, acting, and story. Granted, I do like that book better than the first two anyways, but they really pulled it off. Excellent.
I wanted to see The Day After Tomorrow, but it looks like that wont happen any time soon. Too many movies coming soon I want to see, and not enough funds. So there is no looking back. Later this month is Riddick, Faherenheit 911, and Spiderman 2. Need more money. Plus on Sunday we are doing the Deliverance Canoe Trip. Basically we get in canoes, canoe up the river about 5 miles, get out at the bank of the river, eat roasted pig and drink beer, and when the sun goes down, they put up their screen and we watch Deliverance. Awesome! I just hope we dont get rained out. Its been raining here every day. For more info check out www.drafthouse.com

Though I was gonna have to start missing wrestling on Mondays, because there is a new show coming on NBC called Next Action Star. Thought it came on Mondays, but it turns out it's n Tuesdays! On a regular basis, I wouldnt have thought twice about it. I havent missed wrestling in years, and I wouldnt start for that show. But a friend of ours is on that show, so I feel like I have to watch it. Besides, it will be kind of cool watching our friend on a reality show.

Oh, and I didnt win the lottery tonight. Bummer.

Wow, that didnt take long.
How quickly the movie/book blog fell by the wayside. Ive seen so many movies and read books that there is no way I can catch up now. Oh well. Maybe I'll just post on here whatever is going through my head at the moment. But right now it's late, and I just want to get something on here before I go to bed.
I turned 30 a week ago. Do I feel older? It would be silly to think that I do. But at the same time I do feel older, somewhat. I guess that once I hit a new decade, it kind of forced me to look back. Where am I now? How did I get here? And what is in the future? Oh well. The only thing to do really is keep being who I am, and not letting that go. Ahh, who knew I could be so damn sappy and semi inspirational at 3:30 in the morning.
And the new Beastie Boys album is pretty good. Ch-Check it out. (I couldn't resist that bit of cheeze.)
And one final thing before sleep. My prayers have been answered! There is now a Waffle House here in Austin! WHOOOPIE!!!

More movies
More catching up. I need to just start doing these the same day I watch the movie. Now I have 4 to do. And they will probably be quicky reviews. I'm not in the writing spirit at the moment. So here goes nothing.

Infernal Affairs

I wrote about the second one, which was a prequil, earlier. Seeing that one put me in the mood to see the first one again. So after waiting for way too long for someone to return it to Vulcan, I finally got my hands on a copy. The first thing I noticed was that the event in the prequil dont exactly match up with this one. But you know what? It doesn't really matter. This movie rocks. It rocks so much that Scorcese is wanting to direct the American version, with Brad Pitt starring.

Tony Leung stars as a cop who is deep undercover with the Triads. And Andy Lau is a member of the Triads who is deep undercover as a mole. The cops and the triads realise that they both have moles in their orginazations, and race to uncover the moles. The concept alone is perfect setting for edge of your seat drama, and it delivers. So go online and order a copy now. It's worth the purchase. 1-10: 9

Final Destination 2

I love this movie. It is cheezy, corney, over the top, and utter complete fun. Like I told my wife before we watched it, dont analyze it, just go with it. Let the movie become you. This movie is way better than the first one. And the main reason to watch this movie, of course, is the creative death scenes. The opening car crash scene is hands down one of the best ever. And all the other deaths are great because they always lead you one way, making you think they are going to die this way, then all of a sudden, BLAM, it is something completely different. Of all the modern teen horror films of the last several years, this one is up there for me.
1-10: 7

Alien / Aliens

My stepson hasn't seen either one, so one night we watched Alien, then the next we watched Aliens. I havent seen Alien in a long time, so it was a little fun to watch. It's good. The art design is great. It must have scared the hell out of people years ago, especially the breakfast scene. And I did like it. But I also had problems with it. First of all, it is slow. They spend way too much time setting everything up, that by the time the Alien is on the ship, the rest of the movie just zips by. Everyone just gets killed off one right after another. More of what I would expect from a slasher pic. But te slow moments are just that. Slow. Plus the sound sucked, and that really detracted for me. And the android going crazy just never made sense to me. Sure, keep the Alien alive at all costs, but why would that make him freak out, sweat milk, and convulse everywhere? I dont know. All I know is that Aliens is far superior.

Aliens had everything Alien didn't. Action, suspense, horror. The pacing was perfect. Everything was set up perfectly, and made complete sense. The characters had more personality and were more memorable. there is not a slow moment in that movie. It just starts, and keeps on moving until the final credits roll. In my opinion, Aliens is the best piece of work James Cameron has put on film. There is only one piece of criticism I have about it. Newt. That little girl drove me crazy. I wish that she would have been mute the entire time, because every time she opened her mouth, the most unconvincing dialogue would emit from it. But that is only one complaint in an otherwise perfect movie.
Alien 1-10: 6
Aliens 1-10: 10

Just a final note. After we finished watching Aliens, I told Christian that he need not bother with another Alien movie. They totally ruin everything about the first two, and just all around suck. You would think that I would be happy that they killed off Newt in the opening credits of Alien 3, but then they had to go and kill off Hicks also. Bastards!

Holy Cow I am behind!
I am so far behind, I'm gonna have to just leave quick comments on everything so far. Hopefully I can remember everything. Here goes nothing. Books first.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Cute fun little book. Artemis Fowl is a rich 12 year old boy who plots to steal gold from leprechauns. But he bites off more than he can chew. Faerys and Leprechauns are more updated and sophisticated now, with modern gadgetry. So when Short, the first female leprechaun police officer, gets kidnapped by Artemis and held for ransom, the leprechaun equivelant of a SWAt team is sent to rescue her.

Yes, Artemis is the villian. But we do see some humanity in him. He lost his dad, and his mom has lost her mom. And it hurts him deeply that his mom doesn't remember who he is half the time. And it does upset him just a little that he may be seen as beig evil. He prefers to believe he is a genius. But it was a short read. Not bad at all. It's the first part of a trilogy, but works as a stand alone book. But was it good enough to get me to read the other two? I don't think so. But we'll see.

Journals by Kurt Cobain

I was curious, so I had to give it a look. Pretty much a grab bag of sorts. You got letters to friends, lyrics and band marketing ideas, lists of songs that were either influences or mixed tape tracks (or both), crazy ramblings and manifestos. The constant theme thruought was to infiltrate the system from within and corrupt the machine from the inside. man, that just makes me wonder what his journals would look like if he were alive and writing them today, with all the bubble gum pop and corporate punk. But you kind of get an idea of what made him tick reading this, if, that is, it hasn't been craftily edited and many things left out. Does it give any insight into why he killed himself? Not really. Not that I really care at this point, and it's not even the point of reading this. What I did get from this, man, he loved the Melvins.

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman

This was a side story from Sandman comics, which I will review later this year. Death is the sister of the Sandman, Lord of Dream. She is the happy goth girl that everyone loves. Ironic that she is Death, the thing everyone fears. Also Ironic is that of all her brothers and sisters fo the Endless, she is the most alive. She just makes you think, maybe death isn't so bad. She's just so happy and free spirited, how can you not love her.

But once every century, Death has to spend a day as a mortal, so she can understand the importance of her job. Ind this is that story.She meets up with a suicidal teen, and takes him out and about for the night, where they get into all kinds of crazy situations. But basically, Death kind of shows the kid the importance of life. What I particularly liked about it was the appearance of Hazel and Foxglove, a lesbian couple who we already know from and earlier Sandman story, A Game of You. Now Foxglove is about to play her first gig at a club, and Hazel is still pregnant. But it was kind of cool, like catching up with old friends. And if you can't get enough of Hazel and Foxglove you can get a lot more of them in.....

Death: The Time of your Life by Neil Gaiman

Another Death miniseries. This one takes place a few years after the first miniseries. The main characters of this one are Hazel and Foxglove. Hazel has had their baby. Foxglove is now a bonafide folk superstar. They are rich, and not altogether happy anymore. Hazel is lonely and tired of sharing her Foxglove with the world. Foxglove is forced to be in the closet, but is about to be outed by a woman she had an affair with during a tour. But after the sudden death of her manager, she tries to get back to Hazel. But Hazel's son has died, and now she is wandering in the world between the living and the dead with Death, because she made a bargain with Death to try to save her son. So Foxglove follows her into the Shadow Lands, where a final confrontation awaits.

I think I liked this one better tan the first one. It had a more straightforward story, and didn't have any of the false alarms/easy escapes the first one did. But it was odd to see Death actually making a deal with mortals, even if she was a little more fond of them. But they were both still really good reads.

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman

This was just Neil Gaiman month. Wolves in the Walls is a childrens picture book, with are by Dave McKean, who does all the Sandman covers. Gaiman and McKean go together like penut butter and jelly. And it's always great to see a book filled with McKeans brilliant work. This is their second collaberation on a childrens book. But the story is about a girl who hears wolves in her walls, but no one believes her. Until the wolves do come out of the walls, that is. Now what is her family to do. It was a cute little tale, but like I said before, the real joy in this was a book full of are by Dave McKean. Yippie!

OK, that's it for books (I think). I promise, next month there will be non Gaiman stuff (I think).

Off to the movies!

Capturing the Friedmans

What a messed up documentary this was! First of all, this family, the Friedmans, came off weird to me from the get-go. They film and tape EVERYTHING. So there is a lot of footage of them fighting, and this was the most uncumfortable documentary for me to watch because it made me feel more like a vouyer than any other movie I have seen before. But basically the cops bust the father, Arnold, because he has some child porn maazines. Then they do some investigating, and bust him and his son for molesting children at a computer class they taught. Then the whole bust seems really shifty. Then you realise that Armold was really a big molesting pervert, but did the computer class thing really happen? And was his son really involved? And how messed up is the legal system? Like I said, this whole movie was crazy. It deserves the Oscar nod. But on a personal note, I don't think the computer allegations are true. Why? Because they videotape everything, and there was never any footage found. 1-10: 8

The Office: The Complete First Season

Not a movie, but I rented it nonetheless. Six brillianly funny episodes of the British comedy. Not just funny, but more of that uncufortable funny, that kind of makes you squirm. if you work in an office, this may hit too close to home. But Ive just sen six episodes, and I love all thease characters. And not it that platonic way. I want to have sex with them all. 1-10:9

Street Trash

Bad flick from the early 80's. Bums drinking some booze discovered hidden away in a liquor store basement called "Vipor". When someone drinks it, they melt away in grusome death scenes. And I think there was a plot in there somewhere involving a crazy Vietnam vet bum, and a cop who looked constipated. But I couldn't make it out, and I dont think it was important anyway. But what did this sick movie not have? Pissing on people, vomit, melting on people, rape, murder, necrophelia, and a game of keepaway with a severed penis. I can't believe that Tromadidn't put out this movie. But it was terrible, heinous and just aweful. But like my wife said when it was over, "It was terrible, but oddly satisfying." Couldn't have said it better myself. 1-10:4

I think that's all for now, and I'm all caught up, but I cant help but feel that I forgot a movie. If I did, I guess I'll just get it later. By the way, XM Radio just added an awesome punk channel (on the way to work this morning, I heard All, Jawbreaker, and Pinhead Gunpowder) and they went completely commercial free on all their channels. I'm telling you (voices in my head that I write to), get it now. Make sure they dont cancel my service because they dont have enough subscribers. OK, gotta go to bed.

Night

One more before bed
Just finished watching Adaptation. I wanted to see it since it came out, but never got a chance to. I heard it was good, and I loved Being Jon Malkovich, so yeah, I wanted to see it. So what did I think? I'm still not sure. I mean, I liked it, a lot, but man it was crazy. The star of the movie is the screenwriter himself, Charles Kaufman, played by Nicholas Cage. The story is about him trying to adapt The Orchid Theif into a movie. He's stumped on how to do it, since it's not easy movie material anyway. Eventually he winds up writing himself into the script. And this is the movie we're watching.
At one point in this movie, Kaufman says that he is an uraboros, the snake that eats it's own tail, in the way he is writing himself into the script. And thats how I feel about this whole movie. The movie is intercut with Kaufman trying to write the script, and the story of the Orchis Theif, and when and how it was written. This is what essentialy Kauffman is writing as a movie (before he puts himself in it). And at one point, when Kaufman has run out of the original material and doesn't know how to end it, he goes against his own standards and goes to a screenwriting siminar that his twin brother attended. It is a basic formulaic type of screenwriting class. And then in the last act of the movie, you can see this screenwriting style come into play. It's just too crazy.
If you are into head trip kind of movies, check it out, along with other ones like the afore mentioned Being John Malkovich, or the previously reviewed Donnie Darko. Watch it.
1-10: 8

Quick movie remarks
Infernal Affairs 2
The first Infernal Affairs won the Hong Kong Best Picture last year, and rightfully so. It was a cop/triad flick about a mole for the cops in the triad, and a mole for the triads in the police department. And their paths are starting to come together. A superb flick. Infernal Affairs 2 is actually a prequel. It tells how the two became moles, and also the war in the triads that left one man in power. I was afraid it would just be a quick cash in after the success of the first one, but wound up loving it almost as much as I loved the first one. The story is great and the acting is superb. Now I just need to wait for the third one. 1-10: 9

Kids in the Hall: Same Guys Different Dresses
The Kids in the Hall have always been my favorite comedy troupe. I have heard naysayers say they are nothing but a Monty Python ripoff. And while I do like Python, I like KITH more. This documentary followed the troupe on their reunion tour. It's not a concert movie, but more of a backstage movie with some performances in between. I'm glad they decided to go that route, because the performances are for the most part their most popular characters from their show. And while I would have loved to go to the reunion show, I am glad to be able to see something different. They realize they are older and better tempered, but still have the occasional mild squabble. Like everyone freaking out that Dave Foley was going to have lazer eye surgery the morning before a show, and forcing him to postpone it. And there is some funny moments like Scott Thopmson and his robot dog delemma. Overall it was entertaining and fun to watch. 1-10: 7

Donnie Darko
I love this movie and have seen it many times, but since I am mentioning every movie.... I have been meaning to show this movie to my stepson for a while. I fugured that he would like it. Oh and he did like it. He just didn't quite understand all of it. I can understand that, since it is a pretty crazy story. So I told him there was a director commentary on the DVD that shed some light on it. So while I was asleep, he stayed up late at night watching it again with the comentary. The next day he was the Donnie Darko expert. Any question could be answered by him. He has a supreme love for that movie, and how could you not? If you haven't seen it or heard of it, go find it now. It is brilliant, fresh, original, all those great adjetives. The story is about a teenage kid in the 80's named Donnie Darko. He lives in the suburbs and doesn't quite fit in. Oh, and he talks to a rabbit named Frank that tells him when the end of the world is coming. Sounds strange? Don't let it put you off. There's a lot more to it than that, but I can't go any more into the plot without mucking it up, so I won't bother. Just go find it!
1-10: 10 (and you will see, I don't give out 10's often)

Swimmimg Pool
Apparently all the reviewers liked this. Great suspense! That's what I figured it would be. Well, this a story of a mystery writer who just can't seem to come up with anything. So her publisher sends her out to his giant house in the countryside to just get away from it all. She finds peace and happiness there, and starts writing. But soon the publisher's daughter shows up, and disturbs the writers peace. The daughter is messy, loud, and screwing every man in the nearby village. But things go wrong, a murder is committed and covered up, and a twist is thrown in there at the end. I did not like this movie at all. It was way too slow. I didn't feel any tension at all. It felt like they were trying to build up tension towards this murder, but it felt flat, like a soda that has been sitting out all night. And the twist did nothing for me. If anything, it confused me, then when I got it, it just made the whole movie seem worse for me. I think the only reason this movie got great reviews was because most of those reviewers were men, and there were a lot of boobies. But it wasn't an exploitation or horror flick, so they could love the movie without being laughed at by their peers. BORING! 1-10: 3 (Bonus point for all the boobies. Hey, I am a guy after all!)

Cabin Fever
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this movie. I saw this a few months before it came out at SXSW film fest, and instantly fell in love. I ranted and raved for a long time, then when it came out, everyone was either like "it was OK" or "It sucked donkey balls". Screw them all! This movie had everything I could want in a horror movie. Except there is one thing about this movie. It's not scary. It's funny as hell, but it's not scary. It has more of the BOO! kind of shock scares. But it wasn't scary. It was bloody. I was surprised that it got off with an R rating. The supporting characters were awesome. I loved that you could see the inspiration for this film. The songs from Last House on the Left, the camera shots from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the oertones of John Carpenters The Thing (my favorite film of all time). You just know that Eli Roth is a horror fan. I could go on forever about this film, and I have. Wrote a review for it over at AICN, but don't have a link. If you don't know what it's about, a group of friends who just finished their finals and go to spend the weekend together at a cabin in the woods. One of them gets exposed to a flesh eating virus, and all hell breaks loose. The DVD is great. It has "Chick Vision", where a couple of hands block the screen during the gory moments, and also a family friendly version, so you can gather the kids and watch the 1 minute version of the movie. I'm glad that I own it now so I can watch it over and over and over and over....
1-10: 9

Time and Tide
Hong Kong action flick. A favorite of mine and my wifes. I don't know why we don't own it. Great story and acting. The plot is a little complex, but in no way confusing. And the action scenes are great. Some times jaw dropping great. I am totally surprised that this movie isn't as popular as it should be. Also, in a time where so many Asian films are being bought up to be remade, I'm surprised nobody has picked up this one. Columbia has it now, but only for the video release that is out now. Which means thatanyone can rent it. Blockbuster should have it. Go rent it. If I have any complaint, it would be the acting and dialogue of the english speaking bad guy. Pretty bad. But overall, great movie. 1-10: 8

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Saw this one a long time ago, several months before it came out at a test screening. Actually, I was probably the first person to ever get a review for that movie up. But I liked it then. And I liked it again about 4 hours ago. I didn't think it was near as good as El Mariachi or Desperado, but it was still good. Great? No. Just good. Rodriguez tried to do more with the story, a much broader scope. More characters. More complex plot. And oddly enough, less Antonio Banderas. The real star of this installment was Johnny Depp. He made this movie. He had all the best lines and scenes. And by the end of the movie, I was hoping that there would be an Agent Sands spinoff movie. The Blind Gunman movie. But take out Depp, and you get an OK movie that tried to do more than it accomplished. And some things just feel out of place or extremely cheezy. Like the flamethrower and remote control bomb guitar cases. But the movie is still a pretty fun one. Worth a rental. 1-10:7

Thats all for now. On the book front, I gave up Quicksilver. After reading it for several days, I realised that perhaps it wasnt for me. So I read some reader reviews on Amazon, and was sure that it wasn't for me. So that's two books I've quit on this year. But I did read the two Akira books, and will write up on them when I finish the whole six part series. So I have moved on to Artemus Fowl, and am also reading the Kurt Cobain Journals at the same time. We'll see which one I finish first.

Tomorrow is the WWE Royal Rumble. I hope like hell that Goldberg doesn't win. I never did like the guy. I was watching WCW when he debuted and instantly recognized him for what he was. WCW's attempt at their own Steve Austin. But he has no history in wrestling. He looks like shit in the ring. He doesn't sell anything. He is totally sloppy. All of you wondering if Brett Hart will wrestle again, from what I remember it was Goldberg that took him out. And years later, he's just the same old Goldberg. The person that should win Royal Rumble is Chris Jericho, who I think should then go to Wrestlemania and win the title. Of course that will never happen. Just like my Canadian stable consisting of Jericho, Christian, Lance Storm, and the returning Chris Benoit to go head to head with Evolution. Never happen. They will never allow a stable of better wrestlers than Evolution. But what do I know? I'm not a booker.
Until later....

I'm a slacker
I did something the other day that I rarely do. I quit reading a book about 100 pages into it. I saw it in the library on my way out and picked it up. It's Make Your Own Damn Movie by Lloyd Kaufman. I love Lloyd. If you don't know who he is, he is one of the founders of Troma Pictures. If you don't know what Troma is, it is a film studio ran out of New York, that has brought us such movie greats as the Toxic Avenger series, Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, Class of Nuke 'Em High, Surf Nazis Must Die, Tromeo and Juliet, Terror Firmer, and the list goes on and on. They are very low budget schlock, and make no bones about it. And I love these movies.

So this was a book about how to make a movie the Troma way. And my love for Troma is why I picked up this book in the first place. The book was alright, with the trademark Troma humor, and many stories. But about 100 pages into it, I realised that I just wasn't getting into it. I wasn't using any and all of my free time and staying up late at night reading it. And I now know why. I do not want to make my own damn movie. I did at one point. Like 10 years ago. But not really anymore. I like to watch them. I don't need to make them. And to make a movie, you need a script. To make a script, you need an idea. I do not have an idea. I have fragments of scenes in my head ever once in a while, but nothing to connect them. More like bits of a dream, and you can't remember the rest. And plus this book wasn't as good or inspiring as Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without a Crew. After I read that, I was ready to go shoot anything, idea or no. That was a great book that I recommend to anyone remotely interested in film or film production. And not even really how to make it, but more like what he went through to make one. Like I said, amazing story.

I did read two more volumes of the Sandman series. Only five more to go. Then once that is done, I will write up more on it. I did start another book. Quicksilver by Neil Stephenson. It's a long one. Nine hundred plus pages. So it will probably be a while before I write another book review. After that, I'll probably read Akira, then maybe Artemis Fowl. That could change also. If I can find a copy of Battle Royale at the library anytime soon, then that might come up. Also the 4th volume of George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series is supposed to come out mid-year, so I will probably be re-reading those sometime. And those aren't quickies either. But some of my favorite books are the long ones. Imajica by Clive Barker and Shogun by James Clavelle to name a couple.

As far as movies go, I'm a bit behind. Nothing new, just more DVD's. I'l probably write them up tomorrow night since it's late now, and even when I say it will be a short review, I usually get long winded about it. So tomorrow night I will write about: Infernal Affairs 2, Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, Diferent Dresses, Donie Darko, Swimming Pool, and Cabin Fever. Maybe later this week I will finally get a new movie in. I think I'll take in the Butterfly Effect. Early word (that I semi-trust) seems to be good, saying it is better than the trailer looks. That's good because I thought the trailer looked pretty silly.

Today at work, we are still going through orientation, and as a kind of 'getting to know each other' type thing, they made us each take a card and write three things that were true about us, and one thing that was not true. We then had to guess who the card belonged to, then figure out which one was the false statement. My four things were:
1) The first time I ever drove a car I rolled it over.
2) I used to play in some punk bands.
3)My uncle is the mayor of Truth Or Consequences, NM
4) I was almost crushed by a car at a homecoming parade.
Which 3 are true, and which one is false?

Couple 'o moobies
Q The Winged Serpent

Here in Austin resides the greatest theater on earth. The Alamo Drafthouse. I wont go into details about how awesome it is, but check out www.drafthouse.com for details. But every Wednsday at midnight they have "Something Weird Wednsday". It usually is some old obscure movie that most people havent seen or heard of. Movies that usually wind up to be so bad that they are fun to watch. And sometimes they wind up being genuinly good movies. The beauty of it is, you never know what to expect. Oh yeah, and it's free.

Last night was Q The Winged Serpent. Now this movie I remember, and compared to most Weird Wed movies, pretty well known. I remember watching it when I was a kid. So I made my way to a packed house (how can people turn down a free movie?), and settled in.

This was a good one. And when I say good I mean very very bad. So bad you couldn't like it. And it was pretty damn weird, also. The "Q" in question is Quetzalcoatl, the sun god from Aztec culture, I believe. A giand, feathered flying lizard dragon thing. And it is attacking New York City!

At the same time, brutal murders are being investigated by the police. The victims a being found skinned alive. Through some investigation, policeman David Carradine pieces together that these are ritual murders of sacrafice to Quetzalcoatl. So these murders and the people missing from rooftops and eyewitness accounts of a flying lizard are conected. But the other cops think he's an idiot for thinking that.

But a smalltime crook played by Michael Moriarty stumbles upon Q's nest in the very top of the Chrisler building after a botched robbery. Moriarty is so over the top kooky in this movie, he's straight out of Bizarro land. He holds back nothing. So he makes a deal with the police. Give him a million bucks, immunity, and photo and film rights, and he will tell him where the nest is. And finally we have a very Harryhausen battle between the cops and Q.

Very wacky and fun. Now with these kind of movies, I know from experience that sometimes it's all about the atmosphere you see them also. Some of these bad movies I've watched again at home by myself. Not quite as fun. Unless you're drunk, that is. But sometimes they are still pretty good. Q is out on DVD, so rent at your own risk. But it helps if you watch with someone with an appreciation of bad movies.
1-10: 2 because it was bad, and 8 because it was fun. Make sense?

Freddy vs Jason

I could write many many paragraphs about how I love horror, grew up on Freddy and Jason, and how the first 4 Friday's are some fo my favorite movies ever. How Freddy lamed out after the third movie and became a stand up comedian. But I think you get the idea from those 2 sentences right there. Besides, It is late and I have to work in the morning. Maybe I'll write my horror thesis later this year. Or if you really want to discuss horror you could email me at dalynmcdougle@lycos.com.

So if you couldn't tell by the slightly biased paragraph, I'm a Jason fan. But going into this movie, I knew it wouldn't be great, but I had to see how they did this. And yes, I was a little excited. So I went to the premier (the Camp Hacknslash that is featured in the exteas on the DVD, and was it a blast!) and just decided to let it in. And I loved it. In retrospect, I was drunk, and the picture on the screen was dark and hard to see at times. So I went and saw it again. And I still loved it, although a little less. So I bought the DVD and watched it again tonight.

I gotta say, this movie is pretty bad. Oh so bad. The story sucks. The acting is terrible. The characters are annoying. You could crive a tank through the plot holes. Like I said, it's bad. AND I STILL LIKED IT! I didn't go for the story or the kids. I went to see Freddy vs Jason. The rest of the shit was filler, as far as I'm concerned. And all the elements of the horror movies were there. The previously mentioned bad acting, plot, and story. There's T&A (and I dont mean Test and Albert, wrestling folks), blood galore, and a really fun battle. And I was loving every second of the fighet scenes. Although there was one scene that I did not like, that being Freddy bumping Jason aroung the boiler room like a pinball. Over the top cheeze. Reminded me too much of the later Freddy movies, and the stupid death scenes. But every other moment of the fights were a blast.

Another particular thing that I didn't like was the very last shot in the movie. Freddy winking his eye at the camera. Oh my God I hated that! It was pointless, unless to say,"look everyone, neither truly lost. So if you were rooting for Freddy, well, he's not dead. Love us, please." And it made no sense at all, it being the real world, and not the dream world. But I'm not going to go into the science of Freddy vs Jason. That's going to far. I'm not the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, I'm just talking about what I liked and didn't like.

So in the end, I liked it. It was nowhere near the first 4 Fridays. Hell, they don't even feel like those movies anymore. It's more like Jason X. A concept movie, putting this character in different situations. Which I think actually started with Jason Takes Manhatten, followed by Jason Goes to Hell. And Freddy, I lost interest in him a long time ago. I'm not into comedian Freddy at all. Although I did like A New Nightmare. That was a fresh, original take on a stale series. And get the DVD, and watch the Camp Hacknslash feature. It's short, and I'm not in it, but you can see what fun times we had. 1-10: 6

Holy cow! I just saw the video for Motley Crue's Smokin in the Boys Room on VH! Classics, and Michael Barryman was in it. If you don't know who he is, you would probably recognize him. Big, tall bald guy. Buggy eyes and a kind of point head. Well, he was in The Hills Have Eyes, a Wes Craven movie (director of Nightmare on Elm Street). Talk about a cheezy video! But when I was a kid, it was totally bad ass. When that song became a hit, I was in the 4th grade, and my dad took me to their concert. It was my first concert and I was stoked. Man, times change. Rediculously bad video, as most are on this channel. I loved them then, and now I still love them for a different reason. But I guess that's how it goes with this whole retro thing.

But you wont find me spending like 10 or 20 buck on a mesh truckers cap. That is rediculous. If you really want a trucker hat, go to a truck stop and pick one up for a lot cheaper. I don't even see what the big deal about them is. Ashton Kutcher wears them, so now we must all, or we may find ourselves Punk'd? Sometimes I feel like I'm already turning into that old man who yells at the kids to get off his lawn, and Im only 29!

And once again, get XM Radio. Whatever you like, it's on there. And without commercials starting Feb 1. And even now there's hardly any commercials. And not too many repeats of songs either. I was listening to the college/indie rock station tonight, and a show started. They said they were going to be playing Rye Coalition, the Liars, and Drive Like Jehu, three bands I love that they don't play on FM radio. Have you heard of them? If you're not the voices in my head that I keep tis journal for, and just a stray passer, you probably haven't. But whatever you do like, they probably have a station for it. Unless it's polka. I don't think there's a polka channel yet. And why am I mentioning it again, and probably will again in the future? Because I don't want them to go out of business. Ever. Like I said, I'm in love. OK, enough stream of thought ramblings. I have to work in the morning.

Night

The Kingmaker by Brian Haig
I read all kind of books. General fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, uh...um... OK, I guess I don't read all kinds. I tend to skip the romance, mystery, a bit of non-fiction, military fiction and legal thrillers. If it says Robert Ludlam, John Grisham, or Tom Clancy on the cover, I usually skip it. I tried Tom Clancy once (The Client) and didn't like it. But then again, this was at a time when I was reading a lot of Vonnugut and Tom Robbins, and being a literary snob. Which happened to be the same time I was a movie snob. Go figure. But I have long since changed my stuck up ways. Although I still haven't picked up another Grisham novel. And I fear Clancy because I'm not up on my military lingo.

But this year I plan to change! In my quest to read as much as I can, I also plan to expand my horizons, and try stuff I wouldn't have before. So thanks to the previously mentioned Lance Storm book club, Book Marks (I have added a link), I took that first step a few days ago. And not only is it a legal thriller, it is a POLITICAL legal thriller. So I guess I'm killing two birds with one book.

The book is The Kingmaker, by Brian Haig. And I had a great time reading it. In a few words, a military general is accused of treason, and our narrator, Major Sean Drummond, is the lawyer called in with the impossible task of defending him. All the odds are against him. There is tons and tons of evidence against him, he wasn't the kindest fellow in the military, and the prosecuting attorney is the military's "Golden Boy", who never loses a case. And on top of that, they have had a majr head start, and are holding all the key evidence. So just what the hell is Drummond to do?

Drummond is an instantly likable guy. He's a wise ass with a witty sense of humor. A class clown kind of character, who knows just how to get under the skin of his superiors (and pretty much anybody else). And he has his flaws. He tends to think with the wrong head at times, and it can and does affect his judgment. But all in all, he's the kind of guy you'd like to have as a drinking buddy.

But tipped off by his client, he follows a lead that get's him into deeper waters than he realizes. He may be a good lawyer, but is he cut out for the world of spies and double agents? Of course, he thinks he is. Sure he can handle it. He's seen all the spy movies, right? Well, he bit off more than he can chew, because he has to deal with Russians, assassins, Russian Assassins, and the pesky FBI and CIA. And even though he can't stand his client, he will give his all to prove his innocence. But is he innocent? Even Drummond isn't sure.

The pacing of this book is great. Haig kept on giving me a little more here, and a little more there, and I just couldn't put it down. And when I thought I knew what exactly was going on and had everything figured out, I would be spun around and realize, whoops, maybe this book isn't as predictable as I thought it would be. I hate predictable books.

I also liked the fact that it didn't have your traditional Hollywood movie ending. Drummond mentions a few times in the book that in a perfect Hollywood world, this would happen. But this isn't a Hollywood world, and things don't happen that way. But of course I was thinking, "Yeah right. It's still a pretty mainstream book (is that the old snob in me trying to dig itself out) and will have a happy ending. It will be in court and the verdict will come out Not Guilty, or some such." Well, it did have a happy ending I guess, but in no way I would have expected.

Although if there is one complaint I had about the book, it was the ultra generic character of his hired assistant, Katrina. She's young, hot, spunky, sassy, indipendent, nosering, sassy clothes, and very smart. In no way am I saying that I don't like strong intelligent women, but this one was way too generic. Every steriotype I can think of for this kind of character was there. And for me that brought this down from being a great book to being a very good book.

But I can say that I liked the book enough that you may see another couple of Brian Haig books featuring Sean Drummond on here this year. And, hell, now you may see some Ludlom, Grisham, and even Clancy here also, now that I am getting pver my fear of military jargon. We'll see.

A couple of more things. You may be seeing updates less often than this last week. I just started my new job yesterday, so my reading time will be cut down. This last week I took off betwen jobs, so I got a lot read. But there will probably more movie posts, and maybe whatever else comes to mind.

And the last thing, you may be wondering who I am talking to when I mention "you" or "our", as in "you may be seeing fewer posts" and "our narrator". I am of course speaking to the voices in my head, since I know that nobody is reading this journal. But if anyone happens to stumble on it, like a message in a bottle hidden under the sand, feel free to make any comments or drop me a line at dalynmcdougle@lycos.com. And until then, I'll just keep talking to the voices. Next book: Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Films' Make Your Own Damn Movie.