I've Been Thinking About This For Awhile

I sometimes dread going into the Netflix documentary listings because of the number of food documentaries that are there.  Not that I have anything against food documentaries in general, but it's just that it seems like the goal of a lot of these filmmakers is just simply to bash the big business of food.  Whether it's over genetically modified food or fast food or whatever grievance they have about the food industry, it basically almost always ends with the same message -- either it's to just simply bash the industry or to get people to eat organic.

So far, the only real documentary that I've seen on the subject that I've liked is "Fat Head" (which I reviewed in my last post).  I watched "Supersize Me" when it came out on video, and thought it was entertaining enough as a piece of fiction.. Most of these documentaries I looked at the description adn it turned me off.

Penn and Teller have had some decent shows on the topic of food. The "Eat This!" episode tackles not only diets but also GM food and food snobbery.  And the "Organic Food" episode tackles the idea that organic food is better for us.

But all this talk about food and the politics behind it just got me thinking about doing my own documentary on the subject.  As much as I liked "Fat Head," it's still advocating a particular diet (something close to Atkins, which I plan on starting soon).  What I would like to look at is the industry of food politics. You have so many documentaries and shows on the subject, what is the ultimate goal? And are they really changing minds?

I think I would have to figure out financing on a project and resources before starting.  But it would be interesting.

"SuckerPunch"

New movie coming out March 2011.




Other than the fact that this trailer looks pretty cool, you want to know another reason why I'm highlighting this trailer?

Yeah, a fantasy film takes place in Brattleboro, Vermont, of all places. I had to rewind the video to make sure I read that right.

From what I read online, the movie takes place in the 1950s, and the Lennox House is possibly based loosely on the Brattleboro Retreat, which at one point was the Vermont Asylum.  I lived in Brattleboro from 3rd grade until Freshman year of high school, so I got a kick out of this.

Nostalgia Critic: "The Room"

There's a movie made by an unknown actor/director/writer/executive producer/producer (check the credits) named Tommy Wiseau that is considered one of the worst movies out there.  It's a little independent film he made based on his novel and screenplay called "The Room."  I have not seen it, but it is developing a cult following along the lines of "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

Well, last week the Nostalgia Critic (Doug Walker) gave a hilarious review of this film, even by the end of the review recommending it to people just so they could see how bad it is.  Before him, a newer reviewer going by the name Obscura Lupa had also done her own review of the film.

By this week, both reviews have been removed from the website.  Why?  Wiseau-Films made a copyright claim on the fact that they used footage from the film to make their point.

Well, at the moment Obscura Lupa's review is stil MIA, but the Nostalgia Critic's take is up at YouTube.








I'll talk a little more about this in the podcast this week, but just thought I would post this to give you guys a preview of at least one of the topics I'll be talking about this week.

Update: Fellow TGWTG contributor Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob) made his own contribution to the recent events.

"Let Me In" Trailer Released

For those who don't know, this is a remake of a Swedish film that came out in 2008 called "Let The Right One In," which is based on a book called "Let Me In." (You confused yet?)  The Swedish film got excellent reviews, so naturally Hollywood came calling.

If you don't recognize the actress right away, you might if you saw the recent film "Kick-Ass" -- that's Chloe Moretz, who plays "Hit Girl."

You Find the Weirdest Stuff When You Google Yourself

I was looking to see if any papers had any announcements from my graduation from Keene State College online, and after not having luck with my search string I just decided to put my maiden name in.

Some of the entries were from my days at The Citizen.  Others were when I was more active in the anti-Scientology movement in the 1990s.  And others were just from random boards I've been on over the years.

Then there was this entry.

It's an academic book on the history of erotic thrillers called The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema.  You can imagine my rather amused surprised when I discovered that she had footnoted a very brief review I wrote on IMDB for a direct to DVD film called Night Eyes 3.  My husband (then my boyfriend) had rented this movie one night, and I had almost forgotten about it until I saw that citation.

I thought that someday I might get cited in an academic book, but not for a movie THAT stupid. :-)

"Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010) Review

Not terrible, but it didn't give me any nightmares last night.

Teenagers in Springwood are getting killed off one by one by a mysterious killer by the name of Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), and it's up to Nancy (Rooney Mara) and her friend Quentin (Kyle Gallner) to stop him.  But can they survive the night?

On Haley's performance as Freddy -- there was something "off" that I couldn't place.  Which was surprising since I liked him in "Watchman" as Rorschach.  It was like he was holding back from the potential of being Freddy.  The new look for the character was interesting, since they were able to make him look more like a burn victim in this version with the help of CGI.  The teenagers were standard fare -- no one particularly stood out to me as far as performance.

1984

2010

The story itself could have been interesting with a better execution -- in this version, they have the kids who have been awake too long start hallucinating in "micro naps," so they can never really escape Freddy.  Plus they went back to Freddy's original roots of being a child molester (in the movies, he was a child killer).  And they did do a call back to some of the more memorable moments from the original, such as the death of Tina and the claw coming out of the bathtub.

Judging from the audience last night, the teenagers will be more likely to go for this one -- they are the ones who didn't see the original when it was first released, so they have no real history with the franchise.  Those of us who grew up with Freddy being the ultimate badass, however, will want to stay away.

For those interested in collecting items for your horror collection, here are a few items from Amazon.com on the 2010 version that you might be interested in.

"A Nightmare On Elm Street" -- A Look Back

I'm planning on seeing the new "Nightmare on Elm Street" this weekend, so I thought it would be fun to do a reflection on the original series of movies.

In 1984, a small studio called New Line Cinema released a film that would bring us one of our most enduring horror movie icons next to Jason Vorhees.  "A Nightmare On Elm Street" was released to big box office and would put New Line Cinema on the map (earning the nickname "The House that Freddy Built").

Watching the first film today, you can see why -- the acting was above average for this genre of films, you had a really scary monster at the heart of the story, and you wonder how the kids are going to survive.  It follow the rules for a great "Monster In The House" film: It's got its "monster" (Freddy Krueger), it's "house" (the dream world of the kids from Springwood), and the "sin" that brought the monster to them (the parents burning him alive in his home).

(By the way, since I recently purchased one of the greatest screenwriting books ever -- "Save The Cat" by the late Blake Snyder -- you'll see me using terms now such as "Monster in the House" more often in my reviews)

The story is very simple -- kids are haunted by the same monster, not understanding how it's happening or how they can stop it.  Robert Englund (who starred in "V" prior to this and has made a name for himself in starring and directing horror movies) really makes you scared of Freddy Krueger as you're watching it.

After this, there wouldn't be a really decent "Nightmare" film for awhile (although on its own level part 3 is pretty fun to watch), with filmmakers making Freddy a horrible stand up comedian in later films.  Wes Craven would finally come back to the series and direct "New Nightmare," where the film would break the fourth wall and have the makers of the "Nigthmare on Elm Street" crew be stalked by their own creation.

"Freddy Vs. Jason," a film that was a long time in coming, basically played on the arguments that I would have with friends in the schoolyard of who would win in a fight.  The bulk of the film was standard slasher fare, but I did enjoy the final fight at the end between the two characters.  I'm still hoping that at some point they make the movie version of "Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash."

So what am I hoping for from the new version?  That they kept true to the original ideals from the original film, for starters.  Although I do know of some anticipated changes that they're planning on making between the two versions, such as having Freddy be an actual child molester in this film (or is he? -- one of the themes is the incidents that lead Craven to change Freddy from a molester to a child killer for fear of exploiting the child center molestation hysteria going on at the time), I really hope that the film is still scary and that any updates enhance the film over ruining it.

Things aren't looking good at the moment for the new version (Roger Ebert already gave the film 1 star, but then again he gave "Kick-Ass" 1 star a couple of weeks ago). But I will bring back my review once I see it tonight or tomorrow.

I Need Some Honest To Goodness Opinions On A Personal Writing Project

I have been working on this script for awhile (since Junior year of my undergrad -- around 2004) on and off when I could find time for it.  I finally finished something resembling a draft, but I need some help with it.  I am hoping you out in the reading audience can help me with this.

The name of the script is called "ZombieMart."  It takes place in a Wal-Mart type store (it's written in the script as Wal-Mart just as a placeholder for the time being), and is basically a zombie movie.  Except that our heroine has watched enough zombie movies to know what to do and how to guide her comrades to safety -- if they would only listen to her.

Anyway, there are aspects of the script that are conservative in nature -- I actually wrote the whole thing based around one scene involving the dilemma in the Sportswear Department (you'll have to read it to see what I mean -- I don't want to give any spoilers).

My problem is that in order for this to be a movie script, it has to be at least 120 pages (a minute a page), and currently it's only 69.  I don't know what to add to it other than a few more zombie attacks.  I was thinking of adding some more moments between our lead Simone and her manager/stepfather Richard, but I painted myself into a corner with that relationship when I had him practically in a coma once he gets bitten early on.  And if there are other changes you can suggest that would be great, as well.

So, here's the script.  Let me know what you folks think in the comments or at scooppc11 at yahoo dot com.

Review: "Kick-Ass"

In his review, Roger Ebert gave "Kick-Ass" one star, saying that the film was "morally reprehensible" because of scenes involving the character Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz).

He has to lighten up a bit. Especially since Hit-Girl was one of the best characters in the film. But more about her later.

But the movie isn't really about her, anyway. It's about our hero Dave Liszenski (newcomer Aaron Johnson), a high school kid who idolizes the superheroes he reads about in comic books. After he and his friends get mugged while someone watches helplessly, Dave decides that he's going to be a superhero. Donning a green scuba outfit, he disguises himself as "Kick-Ass." After his first attempt fails (and his classmates start to think he's gay because he was allegedly found naked when the paramedics found him), he dons the costume again and manages to save a man from some thugs. The melee gets filmed and put up on YouTube, getting the attention of everyone in the city, and inspires other people to be costumed superheroes. It also attracts the attention of Hit-Girl and her father Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage), who are "real" superheroes.

To address one of the major controversies started by the Red Band trailer for this film -- yes, Hit-Girl uses language in this film that no 11 year old should use (at least tell that to the parents in my neighborhood, where I hear this kind of language from kids YOUNGER than 11 who shout it in the street all the time). And yes, her fight scenes are pretty violent (one killing in particular got gasps from the audience when I went to see it -- this one is also in the Red Band trailer). In recent interviews, Moretz said that she was looking forward to playing Hit-Girl again, despite all the violence and language she was allegedly exposed to in the filming of the movie (according ot Wikipedia, in regards to the language, after reading the script she told director Matthew Vaughn that there wasn't anything in the script she hadn't heard before because she had four older brothers). You need an actress who is very mature for her age to pull off a part like this and not have it affect her. And considering that Moretz has been in at least one horror film prior to this that no one had an issue with (the Amityville Horror remake a few years back), I don't see what the issue is.

On top of that, Moretz does an incredibly good job with the part -- her performance suggests a girl wise way beyond her years. And as violent as her scenes tend to get, they're also pretty well done.

In fact, the whole cast does a great job. Johnson plays Kick-Ass/Dave as kind of wimpy but with a good heart. Cage seems to be channeling William Shatner in his delivery when he's costumed superhero "Big Daddy." Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who plays friend/rival Red Mist, captures the dual nature of the character -- someone who wants to expose Kick-Ass's real identity, but at the same time doesn't want to see him get hurt in the process.

As far as the violence goes -- it gets a wee bit much in parts, but overall it's about at par with a typical Tarantino film, only played a lot more for laughs.

As a final warning, this is NOT for the kids (which I reiterated with my husband when I got home and my 12 year old stepdaughter was there). There's very strong language, there's extreme violence, and there's a few sexual situations thrown in (one scene has Dave in a back alley with a girl having "clothed" sex with her).

But it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Why Are We Talking About "RapeLay" Again?

Thanks to Equality Now, "RapeLay" is in the news again. They're calling on the Japanese government to ban hentai games where women and children are sexually assaulted or raped within the game. This is because of a rise in people seeking out the game online for download since the initial controversy.

Brent Bozell from Newsbusters wrote a piece that was put up today on the continuing controversy over the game. Although I agree with him on certain aspects of what he's saying, the first paragraph annoyed the hell out of me.

Many -- too many -- red-blooded American boys grow up on Japanese video-game systems from Sony and Nintendo. Their cultural interests can extend into Japanese cartoons ("anime") and some even discover Japanese pornographic cartoons ("hentai"). How so? Boys play games and watch cartoons like the "Dragon Ball Z" series, but can quickly surf the Web and find related cartoon titles like "Dragonball X," only to learn they are hard-core porn.

Things that annoyed me:

1) Bozell makes the assumption that watching anime will lead to watching the hentai version of said shows. Being an anime fan, I have never been tempted to watch hentai, parody or otherwise.

2) There is plenty of family friendly anime out there. Films released by Hayao Miyazaki, for example, are a great way to introduce children to anime.

3) Being a stepparent/parent who is an anime fan, I can best monitor what is appropriate for my stepchildren as well as my son because it's an interest that I have.

4) The kids have to know what they are looking for. Simple solution: don't use the word "hentai" in front of your kids, and they won't know what it is and what to look for.

He goes on about the critics and those who are willing to defend the game. I'm not willing to defend it, but I realize it's a different cultural standard over there that allows hentai games like this to thrive over there. Japan has always been a very patriarchal society, with no real history of feminism.

In an interview on CNN, Cheryl Olson, who co-wrote the book "Grand Theft Childhood," told the interviewer that, basically, kids don't try to get their hands on games like this until there's a controversy surrounding it. She cited the "Hot Coffee" controversy involving "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," where spikes in downloading the mod for the game went up after politicians started making such a big deal about it.

And people who talk about this controversy forget one thing -- the game was not available for sale in the United States. It was only sold in Japan. Those who got copies here in the United States downloaded pirated "fansubs" of the game that, in some cases, contained viruses that crashed computers. The CNN stories talk about it being "pulled off the shelves," giving the person the impression that it was sold on store shelves here.

Bozell's final point in the article I can agree with -- parents need to be aware of what's out there. But we also have to be careful about demonizing an entire country's culture over a controversy that involves different cultures in two very different countries.

I Would Rather Watch A Good Foreign Film Than a Bad American One

It's another post on "Death Note," this time on the three movies that were released a few years ago.

The trailers and the scenes that I saw online didn't do the films justice. They were really well done, and I was highly impressed with the work behind it.

The first two movies dealt with the actual "Death Note" storyline from the manga and anime. The shimigamis were all done as CGI characters, and were very well done. The acting was very well done, and we got to explore different elements of the story with the two films that we weren't able to with either the manga or anime. The director wisely took out the inner monologues from the manga to allow the audience to guess for themselves what the characters are thinking. And the title of the post is a little bit misleading -- although all the action takes place in Japan, it feels like a very American movie in its storytelling.

The third film was a side story that starts out with the end of the BB murder case, leads in to the Death Note case, and ends with L's last day on Earth before he dies. Although the story itself isn't supernatural (it involves a biological virus), it shows a side of L that we don't see in the other two films -- a more human side to the character.

If you can't find a good American movie to rent, check out these films -- they're not rated, but I would probably give them a PG-13 for some mild violence (most of the deaths are due to heart attacks), themes, and language (a thief in the first film in the beginning uses the "f" word a couple of times while running from police). It's probably one of the better anime/manga live action adaptations out there.

Speaking of First Amendment...

Apparently Austrailian officials don't know the meaning fo the term "free speech."

There's been a battle going on there for awhile between officials and gamers because of a lack of a R18+ rating. The gamers want the rating, the officials there don't. Well, I should say one official doesn't want it -- South Austrailian Attorney General Michael Atkinson has put the kibosh on the rating with no signs of budging in an attempt to "protect the children."

Well, South Austrailia has decided to do the same thing for films, as well. According to Gizmodo (h/t GamePolitics) any film rated R18+ will be displayed in any establishment that deals with mixed rated movies as if it were porn. By law, R18+ movies will be in their own section with little advertising and a sign stating that the material may cause "offence" in video stores and places like Blockbuster and Target, while in theaters trailers for R18+ movies will no longer be shown and posters no longer featured in the lobby alongside other films.

If this happened here in the US, the proposal of this would be an outrage. However, it somehow managed to slip under the radar there. Many retailers and theaters were not aware of the new rules until they went in to effect.

Thsi is why I don't trust the government. Ever.

Anime, Manga, Etc: "Death Note"

I had bought the first two volumes of this manga series for my 15 year old stepson for Christmas called "Death Note." After reading the back of the books (and seeing that it was rated for older teens) I thought it sounded like an interesting story, and was something that my stepson could handle (mangas and animes I kind of keep an eye out for because there's a lot that are really aimed at adults).

Since I bought him those two books, he now owns the entire 12 volume series. And my 12 year old stepdaughter has started getting into them. And he's started watching the anime series online (which I didn't know until this weekend, but I'll get to that in a minute).

My curiousity about these books got piqued online because of a show that I watch over at the website That Guy With The Glasses called "Anime News Editorial." This week it was on how animes coming into the US right now all seem to feature high school or middle school students, which the host, MarzGurl, has no interest in. Someone in the comments mentioned "Death Note," so I decided to check it out online.

A little history on this one: it started as a series in the manga magazine Shonen Jump from 2003 to 2006. The story is about a high school student named Light Yagami who finds a special notebook called a Death Note that allows the user to kill people by writing their names into the notebook. He decides to use the notebook to get rid of criminals and create a perfect society with him as its God. He's followed around by a Shimigami named Ryuk (who dropped the notebook into the Human World because he was "bored"), and is soon involved in a cat and mouse game with a detective who only goes by the name "L."

The manga has been praised, but it's also garnered some controversy, as well. It's banned in many places in China because of kids making their notebooks look like Death Notes. There have been a few stories here in the United States, too, about students who had read the manga or saw the anime making their own "Death Note" and bringing it to school. In the US, there have been four cases of kids doing this. A case in Belgium has the body of a Caucasian male found in a park with the words "Watashi wa Kira dess" (misspelling of "desu") -- "I am Kira (killer)" in Japanese, the name that the lead ends up adopting as an alias.

I didn't realize how popular this particular manga was until I asked my stepson how he liked the books. When I looked it up on Wikipedia, I discovered that the manga was so popular that there was an anime made from it, three live action films based on the story (two directly on the manga, one a separate story about "L"), and a live action American remake is slated to be released in 2011. Plus there was a separate manga written based on an early case that "L" worked on a year before the "Kira" case.

So, naturally, I had to check out at least the anime. Luckily Hulu.com has the show in subtitles, while a site that my stepson pointed to, Justdubs.net, has a dubbed version.

Verdict: It's a good story with great characters.

The main theme I would describe as "idealism." Yagami wants to create a perfect world with no crime, but his methods are suspect. Ryku tells him on a couple of occassions that nothing ever good comes of those humans who possess the Death Note, but Yagami thinks he can out think the police and "L" forever. He thinks he's created his perfect society, but in reality he's created a society based on fear. He's become a God to those who thought his methods were right, but to others he's become as bad as the criminals he's killed, not knowing if he's going to strike them down next because they didn't agree with him.

"L" is an interesting character. He starts out as this mysterious figure, but quickly reveals himself to the police once he feels he's safe. He's not what they expect a detective to look like -- always clad in a white shirt with jeans, "L" is a very smart guy who hates to lose and is a worthy adversary to Yagami. He has a quirk where he has a very strong sweet tooth, and is always seen with candy or cake or some kind of sweet in front of him. He also sits in his chair in a way that makes him look like an owl on its perch, constantly watching.

The story itself is told in three parts. The first part is when Yagami is in high school and discovers the Death Note on the ground, and starts the planning for his perfect world. In the second part, Yagami is at university the next year, and a second Kira has emerged -- a pop star (think Britney Spears) by the name of Misa Agame has possession of a Death Note. In the third part, Yagami is now on the task force to find Kira. But he now has a worthy adversary in the head of an American task force headed by a potential "L" successor named Near. The way the story is told is a perfect trilogy, with logical start and end points to each part.

If there is a plan for the American remake, I really hope that they do this as three movies -- it's the most logical way to do it. Either way, I can't wait to see what they do with it.

"Kick-Ass"

It's another comic book movie with an adult edge called "Kick-Ass." The story: a high school kid decides to become a costumed superhero, and finds himself teaming up with former cop Big Daddy and his 12 year old daughter Hit Girl along with another costumed hero called Red Mist. The movie is slated to be rated R. This is the initial trailer.



I don't think it looks too bad. But if you saw the red band trailer, I think the impression would be that the movie is about Hit Girl. (NSFW) Allahpundit at Hot Air decided to write a post about the red band trailer, calling the movie "Hit Girl" in the headline, and so far people in the comments are not thrilled with a 12 year old swearing and killing people.



To me, it's very cartoony. Believe it or not, I hear the kids in my neighborhood use worse language than this at a much younger age (which is sad, really). I can understand their point of view, but for me it's just one big adult cartoon.

On a Much Lighter Note...

Despite the past couple of days, we still cover entertainment here, as well. So here are a few random tidbits to keep in mind.

-- If you're like me and my husband and love "Doctor Who," chances are you might download it before it reaches the SyFy channel here in the States. This past week, "The Waters of Mars" aired overseas. Great episode, and a fantastic setup for what's coming up -- it's the beginning of the end for David Tennant's Doctor (he's leaving the show), so his last two episodes will be starting on Christmas Day.

Matt Smith, the youngest Doctor at 27, will be taking over the role in Spring 2010. One hint that I kind of suspected was that they were going to be bringing back the character River Song, who was featured in the two part episode where the Doctor and Donna were in the library with the black killer microbes. When I heard who they hired, I thought they might be bringing her back at some point during his run because of something that the character had said to The Doctor when they met in the library -- that when she met The Doctor, he was "younger."

-- Tonight is the last "South Park" for the season (on in 20 minutes, but I'll be watching it tomorrow). The episode is titled "Pee." Yeah, I know, but you shouldn't expect any less from "South Park." You gotta love the show, though -- this half of the season they've had some great episodes.

-- My husband has now added the Lady Gaga song "Pokerface" to his playlist. Now everytime I hear it, it gets stuck in my head for several hours afterwards.

-- I can't believe "Dollhouse" is no more after January! What does Fox have against Joss Whedon? They're playing out the last of the show, and I hope that Fox will allow him to at least do a movie to close out the story or something.

First Official Look: "The A Team"

How freakin' cool is this picture?

I grew up watching "The A-Team" every week, so having other actors playing the iconic ones is still a little weird to me. But this picture gives me some hope as to how this may turn out.

If you don't know who's in the picture, from left to right it's Bradley Cooper as Templeton "faceman" Peck, Quinton Jackson as B.A. Baracus, Shalto Copley as "Howling Mad" Murdock, and Liam Neeson as Colonel Hannibal Smith.

Jessica Biehl is also in the film. The story is she's going to be playing an FBI agent pursuing our heroes, or she's Face's ex-girlfriend. We'll see when the film is released.

In the meantime, I'm going to reserve judgement until the trailer is released.

Trailer Sunday Has Been Moved

Trailer Sunday has been moved to its own site: trailersunday.blogspot.com.

It has now been turned into a web show!

Check it out.

Trailer Sunday is REALLY Late Today...

Sorry, but there were other newsy things going on today.

So first up: a man who loses his wife and daughter in a hold up gets his revenge on the criminals who did it as well as the lawyer who brokered their deal in "Law Abiding Citizen."



The world of advertising gets another look, this time at the people who created the most popular ads in pop culture history in "Art and Copy."



A woman who has bad luck with romance decides to take some coins out of the Fountain of Love, and finds that she's inexplicably gotten the bearers of the coins to fall in love with her in "When In Rome."



A couple on the brink of divorce are forced to spend time in the Witness Relocation Program together after witnessing a murder in "Did You Hear About The Morgans?"



If you have an idea for a trailer to put up here, let me know in the comments.

Didn't They Already Do A Remake in the 1980s?

Rob Zombie is about to tackle one of the classic Z-movies from the 1950s -- "The Blob."

Which was remade in 1988 starring Kevin Dillon and directed by Chuck Russell.

I'm wondering what Kate Phillips' family thinks of the idea.

It's Trailer Sunday!

Sorry I skipped last week. But I'm making up for it this week with some awesome trailers.

First up: the red band trailer for the upcoming film "Legion." (NSFW)



Next: Another Roald Dahl adaptation, "Fantastic Mr. Fox."



This is a bad copy, but thought I would present it, anyway. New Sandra Bullock movie about an eccentric who chases the man of her dreams in "All About Steve."



A Romantic Comedy with an Asian perspective: "White On Rice."



Know of a trailer that should be featured here? Let me know in the comments!