Happy Hunting

(2017)***1/2

A badass alcoholic drifter stumbles into a weird remote dessert town while on the run from murderous colleagues. He finds himself smack in the middle of their annual hunting festival where, I know you saw this coming, he is one of the prey. The victims are released in the salt flats while a band of hunters vie for the honor of top hunter. 

As man hunt films go this one is pretty top notch. It has all the elements that make for an entertaining 90 minutes. Our guy is a resourceful dude with MacGyver like skills but the catch is he's detoxing cold turkey so he's not so right on his game. The townsfolk are not over the top hillbilly but each brings their own unique character into the game. Their are definite shades of light humor but more for entertainment value and certainly not near enough to make the film campy. The setting is tense as the open salt flats leave very little place for a person to hide. 

On a side note:

Horrorthon is something I look forward to every year. In some past years I've had oodles of time on my hands which enabled me in crunching in as many horror flicks as were humanly possible. I believe I still hold the record at 110 film watched & reviewed in a single season back in 2008 (I had no life). As the years have progressed I've become more selective in my film, far less in quantity but far better in quality. I have no plans, no themes this year and hope to put my best foot forward in adding to the monster list. Glad to see reviews popping up, let's make it a good year!

Horrorthon!

Please stand by!

Yo yo yo! Happy October!  Mad props to the Horrorthonners who are throwing down already.

I'm gonna do H-thon stuff, but not until next week.  I've been in a deep dive Lego building frenzy to make cool shit for BrickCon in Seattle, which I'm leaving for in six and a half hours.  Woo!

Stay scary, folks!  See you here next week!

American Horror Story: Season One

Hello everyone!
So, I jumped into this not realizing that there are many episodes in this series. I will review them per season to give myself a break-after all, I can't go to sleep at midnight, every night!

American Horror Story:Season One
****

In my opinion, I was very confused if certain people were real or imaginary. It wasn't until the last two episodes that I understood much better.
The Harmons move into a "murder house", thinking that they can move on from the husbands infidelity. They have uninvited guests that just show up and a maid that has always worked there. Things seem to be getting better for Dr. Ben and Vivian Harmon until their daughter, Violet has issues being the new girl at school. Ben sees their new maid as a hot piece of candy even though she's just an old maid...
Their neighbor Constance has a daughter Adelaide, who keeps breaking into the Harmon's house because she wants to visit her "friends". A man with half a burnt face keeps showing up demanding money from Ben. A teenager named Tate keeps breaking into the house and falls in love with Violet.
Dr. Ben is a psychiatrist who treats Tate in the house among a few other clients. He comes to realize Tate has too many issues for him to treat and recommends another doctor. Tate refuses, but keeps dating Violet.
Rant- I'm not a fan of Dylan McDermott even though we see his naked buns. Later in the season we see Mena Suvari play as The Black Dahlia, but I can't stop staring at her huge forehead!
After 12 episodes I understand the desire to see more, as the house has many unanswered questions.
I definitely recommend watching this series if you have a lot of time.

Death Note (Netflix Original) - The Sober Review

Crystal, you are far too lenient on this movie.

............Also I see why I ranted about this movie to my D&D friends for three hours at only 20 minutes in. My old review rating still stands, this gets no stars. I would rather watch a Syfy Saturday movie made for drunk and stoned people.

Death Note (2006) vs Death Note (Netflix Original - 2017) - The DRUNK REVIEWS

Death Note (2006) - Nippon Television Network (NTV), Warner Brothers

**** 

 AKA, the one I WANTED instead of getting L:Change the World, but that I had to go through all my other stuff to...not find and so I have to go online to find it. *cries*

Anyway...

The first of two movies based on the anime and manga sensation, Death Note (2006) does a wonderful job of setting things up, showing you all that is going on and giving you a fairly good retelling. Light and L are aged up - mostly noticeably Light, who is now a college student - due to casting, and the tone of mystery, wonder over what's really going on, and the tense atmosphere (only partly failing because acting out death-by-heat attack is VERY SILLY) and actually does a good job of showing both the good and bad of Kira and his motivations. The changes to the original story work as far as how some adaptations should be - they can't give you everything, and the small changes only add to this Light's actions, motivations, and how he acts and reacts. I love both L and Light in this, and the movie does a good job of setting up the cat-and-mouse game that will be a major part of the second movie. It also does a great job of characterizing Light and L, and the main connection the two have - Light's father, who is not only tasked with finding Kira and thus helps L in his search, but also works to try to keep his family, specifically Light, safe as evidence mounts that he cannot ignore which ties his son to the killings.
I do like that early on, there is a bit of the moral, given by the movie-only addition of Shiroi, Light's girlfriend - "There's a limit to everything." Even Kira will one day reach his limit - how far he'll go while being 'good', how far he'll take his choice to become the God of Justice, or even just the God, of the world he creates. The limit of what the Japanese system could do (and this is a system that has a 99% conviction rate, as this video on the tv-series kill-rate will show) is what drives this Light, and what I honestly like how things are laid out. It sets up the universe that this new Light will inhabit, where he becomes disillusioned with the law enough to pick up the Death Note after throwing away his contrasting white-colored "Compendium of the Law". His choice for the first death is also different, but as I said, the changes for the movie, especially due to the limits of budget and because this is a movie made pretty much solely in Japan, with only a small budget in comparison, and with a primarily all-Japanese cast. Though it takes away from the worldwide impact of it that is seen in the original series and manga, it still works at giving us Light's reactions, at Light realizing the power and what he can use the Death Note for, and at creating a fake but still-intimidating Ryuk.
Seriously, I like the reaction they pulled out of the main actor, Tatsuya Fujiwara, acting against possibly a random actor or even just a tennis ball for "this is where his face is". There's some bit of overacting at the beginning, sure (ok, if you were faced with Death Incarnate, you might laugh a bit too at seeing it......but you might not suddenly quiz it on what happens if you give the book back and get it's NAME) but overall the buildup in the beginning, showing Light's early time as Kira, and even how he starts down that road, and leading up to the cliffhanger ending, of Light and L beginning their chessmatch completely, is wonderful.
...and because I had to mention it...
Light, reading Nietzsche, you obviously deep fellow...also please don't say that you'd kill a woman's fiancee immediately after meeting him, you ass. Your pure-as-fresh-snow-girlfriend is...you know what, never mind, you only turn decent in the second movie, I can't say anything right now.
Now, go eat potato chips in your room.
Also - RHCP "Dany California" is a great ending song.


Now -

Ok, let's see how good this Netflix one is...Because that last one was fun! I mean, they couldn't mess it up THAT BAD COULD THEY?

Death Note (2017) - Netflix Original

1/1000
(this is lower than Stonehenge Apocalypse, I'll explain)

For a funnier review, see CrystalMath's review. But for mine....
--

ok, to be fair, the first beer would be from just the intro and music. and I was half-invested and playing D&D while I watched this.

My actual talk while playing D&D-

me: I am legit more invested in what you're saying in D&D then this, I'm 2 minutes in, and I'm DRUNK
friends: *laugh*

(keep in mind I don't listen to this friend in ANYTHING D&D related)

--

I have yet to watch something that makes me say to people that I want to "legit stab" someone, but this movie makes me want to stab someone.

Seriously, I was playing D&D with friends, we stopped because I was like "I will take anything over this movie." That included: Stabbing someone, stabbing her teammates, stabbing anyone.

I've gotten to where the GM and one other person in the group is just listening to me rant. I'm at the 4 minute mark.

Oh goddess, I only find the principal believable because of the news about the girls who got put out for random clothing, but I want Light to die. horribly. in a ditch. why does he have an apple? Why are the rules written like this? your laws suck. what the hell? you have the 40-second rule and suck at it. I like that there are more names in the first but at the same time stop trying to scare me with marbles. I watch youtubers fight Mickey-Mouse versions of Evil, this is not scary.

friend: *posts pictures of corgis*

me: it is the 8-minute mark and I want to kill EVERYONE. I am only ranting while the DM changes our map

DM: don't bring me into this

me: THEN CHANGE IT SO I CAN STOP WATCHING THIS!!

a minute later

me: I wanna kill ryuk
DM: That's a litch so...
me: I'm not gonna kill a litch just because I hate this movie.

DM: Well, I mean...

me: FINE, sure, let's gain XP from my character STABBING A LICTH IN THE EYE BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH I HATE THIS MOVIE.
DM:..................................
Other player:.......................
me: I'm a bit upset.
DM & other Player: NOOOOOOO, really?
me: I am 9 and half minute in.
DM&friend: YOU'VE BEEN RANTING FOR 3 HOURS. Your mike now wants to you stop.
Me: -_- you're not the boss of me.
Mike: *dies*

Me: *curses, continues to watch*

I don't like this movie, and I manged to make it through Stonehenge Apocalypse. I agree with Crystal, the music isn't great and if I wanted random Final Destination deaths, I'd watch Final Destination.

Also, you know what would've made this awesome? If Light had done a Sailor-Moon Style attack. Like, Exploding chest-bursting Heart Attack!

I made it twenty minutes in and failed to continue. I called out "RED" and just ended my pain. At RYUK'S design when I saw him sitting on the bed.

*sigh*

ok, I will try for a sober review. later. but I doubt it'll be much better. on the plus side I managed to entertain my two d&d buddies for three hours so points.

Death Note (Netflix Original)

(2017)
*** 1/2

There once was a kid named Light
Who wrote a bully’s name in his Death Note for spite
L, Ryuk et al are in tact
Doesn’t make up for the fact
The 80’s song choices don't make this remake right.

Horrorthon!

Hello, I'm back!

Warmed up last night, rewatching Babadook..dook..dook. Only passed out 3 times so far!
Lets see if I can make it through one movie a few nights a week. So, does American Horror Story count? I'm thinking of starting the month off with that series. I'm not picking a theme this year, but I hope to find a gem. I recently saw the remake of IT twice last month, maybe again this month to write a review on it. I highly suggest going to see it-I would love to read everyone's opinions on it!

RIP George Romero, 1940-2017

Greetings, Horrorthonners. For weeks I've been meaning to throw something down here as a beginning to a pre-Horrorthon ramp-up, probably something quick with a promise of more action later. I still haven't seen Get Out, so I still haven't chimed in on Crystal's review. I think the break has been a good thing, and one of my favorite Lego blogs just emerged from a similar hiatus and it's going strong, so I'm excited to restart the engines for October.

BUT, here we are on a bummer day, and I figured George Romero's passing demanded some immediate attention.  Not the reintroduction I would hope for, but that's death (or undeath) for you.

Here's some official words from Tre'vell Anderson at the LA Times:

"Legendary filmmaker George A. Romero, father of the modern movie zombie and creator of the groundbreaking “Night of the Living Dead” franchise, has died at 77, his family said.

Romero died Sunday in his sleep following a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” according to a statement to The Times provided by his longtime producing partner, Peter Grunwald. Romero died while listening to the score of one his favorite films, 1952’s “The Quiet Man,” with his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero, at his side, the family said.

Romero jump-started the zombie genre as the co-writer (with John A. Russo) and director of the 1968 movie “Night of the Living Dead,” which went to show future generations of filmmakers such as Tobe Hooper and John Carpenter that generating big scares didn’t require big budgets. “Living Dead” spawned an entire school of zombie knockoffs, and Romero’s sequels included 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead,” 1985’s “Day of the Dead,” 1990’s “Land of the Dead,” 2007’s “Diary of the Dead” and 2009’s “George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead.”

The original film, since colorized, has become a Halloween TV staple. It also has earned socio-political points for the casting of a black actor in the lead role.

Romero wrote or directed projects outside of the “Living Dead” franchise too, including 1973’s “The Crazies,” 1981’s “Knightriders” and episodes of the 1970s TV documentary “The Winners.” His last credit as a writer was for his characters’ appearance in 2017’s “Day of the Dead” from director Hèctor Hernández Vicens."

So how about it folks?  What's your favorite Romero moment?  Pay tribute in the comments, I've missed you guys.

Off-season horror review, anyone?

Has anyone seen -- and planning on reviewing -- Get Out? It seems my corner of the internet, consisting of NPR and Slate articles, has all but exploded with analyses of the film since it was released back in February.

Get Out seems an invaluable piece of pop culture criticism of the hero-villian dichotomy, not exclusive to the horror movie genre. Jordan Peele of Comedy Central's "Key and Peele" is the brain-child behind the writing and directing of this unique feature. He admittedly labels his film being more of a "psychological thriller" than straight up horror, but conceding with this New Yorker article that the African-American experience can be "a horrific one." David Edelstein's NPR review highlights an awkward first meeting between protagonist Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and girlfriend Rose's (Allison Williams) parents. Aisha Harris' Slate article discusses the relevance of Get Out to the race discussion [that isn't happening on a national scale in my opinion], while also acknowledging the horror film's influences from Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives.

I normally avoid reading too many reviews that "unpack" a film's nuances and relevance if I really want to see it, but I broke that rule namely because newborn babies are a 24-hour job and there seemed to be so many articles out there eager to jump on the popularity of Get Out, which reached #1 on its opening weekend.

As a Horrorthon reviewer, I have always tried looking for something more in my movie reviews, whether it is a critique on feminism through my review of Martyrs or the prison industrial complex with The Human Centipede 3: Final Sequence (har, har). I'm looking forward to October for reviewing Get Out and others, for whatever social commentary they might offer (or not).

Bullets have a beauty and I don't know why

Hey it's the new song I can't keep out of my head!  I learned about it from this trailer for Cyberpunk 2077, an exciting video game that doesn't exist yet.  If you'd like to hear the whole song, check it out below.

Buh-bye 2016!

Even though traffic on the blog has been super sparse, I wanted to wish everyone a very happy new year.  On my end, 2016 has had quite a blend of highs and lows in almost every arena of life, and I get the feeling I'm not alone in that. Highs included some great moments with friends and family, an academic promotion, some wonderful concerts and comedy shows, and getting to see dress rehearsal of SNL (bucket list!). The lows have included world events, too many celebrity deaths, too much work and work-related stress, family drama, and some recent but hopefully temporary health challenges (or in other words, real life). For 2017 want to put my energy towards the things that matter most to me, and that includes this blog community, however it may morph.

Would love to hear even a micro life update from whoever is still reading... miss you and love you! Happy New Year!