Goodbye 30 Rock... Hello Community!

SIGH

Last Thursday was the series finale of 30 Rock, and rather be sad that another very high quality show that I love, but very few other watched, has left the air, I am just going to be glad that I got 7 seasons of enjoyment.  Considering that it was so low rated for most of its run and was often up against the juggernaut CBS shows (either Survivor or Big Bang Theory, depending on the season), its a miracle that it lasted that long.  Well, not so much a miracle but rather the good fortune to be on during a period that NBC's ratings were in such dire straights that they had nothing else better to put on.  The fact that 30 Rock realized how low NBC was and constantly took shots at them was one of the things that I loved about that show.  They generally didn't give a fuck about biting the hand that fed them, mostly because their jabs at NBC were pretty spot on (and most often hilarious - my two favorites being MILF Island and America's Kidz Got Singing as terrible fictional NBC shows). 

The best part of 30 Rock, however, was the relationship between Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon.  Just about every TV show in history, when finding themselves with male-female leads that have tremendous chemistry, have tried to build a "will they or won't they" tension which, when ultimately resolved on the "will they" side, results in poorer stories.  Not 30 Rock.  They managed to resist that throughout the entire run (other than the periodic Joke from Jack about how unattractive he is by Liz).  That restraint in storytelling allowed Jack and Liz to develop one of the best friendships in TV history, allowing them to play off each other and grow more alike than either would have thought was possible at the beginning of the series.  I would hope that future shows would realize that they don't have to take the lazy way out and always force a relationship on their leads, but who am I kidding?  Not enough people watched this show to make a difference (even with all the Emmy wins). 

The only bight spot in 30 Rock leaving is that NBC has finally agreed to air the new season of Community in its place.  Community is even less watched than 30 Rock, so I have to believe this is the final season for that show as well (meaning in 6 weeks I'll probably be writing a "Goodbye Community" piece).  I want to be really excited for Community to be back, but since they are working with a brand new creative team, I am trying to temper that excitement.  Oh well, it still has to be better than that stupid "Whitney" show...

So, I say good bye to 30 Rock and  say thanks for all the laughs.  Here are some of my favorite Jack quotes (always the most consistent quote machine on the show even in down  episodes):

[to Liz] I like you. You have the boldness of a much younger woman

Jack: That's a sharp tie you've got there, Dennis. 
Dennis: That douchebag up front made me wear it. 
Jack: Does he know you're the Beeper King? 
Dennis: I don't think so.

Liz: Why are you wearing a tux? 
Jack: It's after six. What am I, a farmer?

Never go with a hippie to a second location.

[to his Mother] Are you sure that life is short?  Because yours seems ENDLESS.

Lemon, the grown-up dating world is like your haircut. Sometimes, awkward triangles occur.

You're Liz Lemon, damn it. In certain lights, you're an 8! Using East Coast, over-35 standards, excluding Miami.

Lemon, I want you to get better because, and I mean this, I’m tired of talking this much to a woman I’m not having sex with.

2012 Year in Review - TV Pt. 2

SIGH

I just had a huge error that erased this entire post.  I am not going to try and re-write it from memory, mostly because it is already January 7 and I want to get through these year end reviews and get to some different subjects.  Instead, I will just try and recover my thoughts on the top 5 only:

Drama

10. Downton Abbey
9. Sherlock
8. The Hour
7. Fringe
6.  The Walking Dead

5. Justified
  As I write this, I am one day away from the season 4 premiere, and I am incredibly fired up.  Raylan Givens is such a badass on this show, and Boyd Crowder is a tremendous foil for him.  Justified is a great modern western that makes me always want to drink bourbon and never visit Kentucky.

4. Boardwalk Empire
  I was very concerned with where this show was going to go after the way season 2 ended, but I should have known better.  Adding in Gyp Rosetti as the new bad guy, pitting him against Nucky in a season long mob war and bringing in Al Capone as Nucky's ace in the hole was a super winning formula.

3. Game of Thrones
  As good as the first 2 seasons of this show have been (and they have been fantastic), anyone that has ready the Song of Fire and Ice books knows how unbelievably ape-shit awesome this upcoming season is going to be...

2. Breaking Bad
  This continues to be the most intense show on TV, maybe of all time.  Watching more than one episode in a row actually takes something out of you and may actually shorten your life span a little. 

1. Mad Men
  Once again, Mad Men is the best written and best acted (from top to bottom) show on TV.  While Breaking Bad is has the intense drama covered, Mad Men manages to be more emotionally engaging while just being a frigging show about an ad agency!

Up next (hopefully this week) - my favorite music of the year!

2012 Year in Review - TV Pt. 1

I originally was going to just publish one combined top 10 list of my favorite TV shows of the year.  I thought, "I really don't watch that much current TV, and I don't think I will be able to come up with enough shows to fill two different lists."  Yeah... Once I started compiling the first run shows that I watched throughout the year, it became apparent that I watch way more TV than I thought and that there was more than enough to come up with both Comedy and Drama lists.

Comedy

10. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
     Having just completed it's 8th season, it's understandable that Sunny isn't as funny as it once was.  However, week in and week out, it's still pretty damn funny (and just as wrong as ever).  This last season was particularly good for long time fans as there were call backs to episodes from previous seasons (selling gas door to door, Maureen Ponderosa, faking cancer) that could have seemed like recycling of ideas but instead offered fresh takeson the story lines.

9. The Daily Show/The Colbert Report
   Normally, I would say it was a cheat to tie these two series together as one entry.  However, since Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teamed up on what was not only one of Colbert's funniest ongoing stories of the year but also perhaps the best journalistic expose (albeit in Colbert's signature over the top style) of how ludicrous our Super PAC regulations are, I am doing it.  Election years are always kind to both of these programs, and this time was no different. 

8. The League
  The League has taken the crown from Sunny as the show that makes me laugh the hardest each week at such wrong behavior.  Pretty much anything involving an appearance by Rafi is horrifying and hysterical at the same time, but the rest of the gang holds their own in that regard - the circumcision of poor Baby Chalupa Batman is a fine example. 

7. Eastbound & Down
  Other than an INCREDIBLY strange plot decision at the end of the finale, Eastbound seemed to be going out in a blaze of glory with a very funny concluding season.  However, in a very odd twist of its own, there will be more episodes to come.  I am not sure whether I think they should have left well enough alone or not.  I guess more Kenny F'n Powers can never be a bad thing.

6. Children's Hospital
  If you have never seen this show before on Adult Swim (which would be understandable as its on Thursdays at midnight, and only for 15 minutes), just describing the premise as "it's a spoof of hospital shows like Grey's Anatomy" doesn't nearly come close to conveying the show's lunacy to you.  For starters, they have done episodes about how it is really supposed to be a TV show, but all the actors on it aren't real either, and they also did a British version this season.  Trust me - just set your DVR and enjoy the insanity.

5. 30 Rock
  I can't believe that we are in the final episodes of this show, and that soon I will no longer have my weekly fix of Jack Donaghy wisdom.  I am sad just typing that.  To make it worse, this final season so far has been spectacular, highlighted with Liz' wedding (which was just as Liz Lemon-y as it should have been).   Really, I am now depressed.  I was barely able to drink my morning shower scotch today just thinking about it.  (I will probably do a blog after the 30 Rock finale that will consist of nothing by Jack quotes...)

4. Louie
  Louie is the comedy that really defies description.  Some weeks it is so funny that I am in tears.  Some weeks it doesn't contain a single laugh out loud moment but it is so heartwarming or heart wrenching.  Other weeks it is so (enjoyably) uncomfortable to watch that I almost want to hide my eyes.   Louis CK is not only the funniest dude on the planet right now, he is presenting a show that is unlike anything else on TV right now (and probably at anytime before it).  I am sad that he is taking all of 2013 off to recharge his batteries, but that just means that Louie will be that much better when it returns. 

3. Community
 That Community has fallen from its position as my second favorite (and, depending on the episode, tied for first favorite) comedy is not so much a result of a drop in quality last season as it is due to the next show on the list.  Community continues to week in and week out push the boundaries of how you can use different pop culture references to tell stories that have real heart.  While I am sad that this upcoming fourth season will probably be the last, the fact that we got 4 seasons of a show this quirky, funny and enjoyable that no one is watching is was an accomplishment.
  
2. Archer
  Archer is probably the most consistently funny show on TV right now, but it doesn't get the top spot (see below).  Rather than go into all the reasons why this show rules, I will just tell you to watch the new season premiere in January and you will learn. 

1. Parks & Recreation
  Once again, Parks & Rec remains my favorite comedy on TV.  Its not just because it is fucking hilarious every week (it is).  It's not because it has some of the greatest characters of any comedy (it does - everyone that has seen this show knows how awesome Ron Swanson is, but seriously they all are fantastic, from Andy to Tom all the way down to the random crazies of Pawnee that pop up).  It's because it takes these characters, tells incredibly funny stories about them and makes me care about what happens to them at the same time.  Seriously, the episode where Ben proposed to Leslie was so amazing and emotional.  No other show on TV makes me just feel good and happy after watching it than Parks does.  That's why its the best. 

Coming soon... Pt.2, Dramas!

Year End and New Beginings

Looking at my blog archives, it has been almost an entire year since my last blog post (it was a February 8 post of a review of an episode of "Justified").  That is unacceptable, especially when I have been feeling the need for a creative outlet a lot lately. 

To resolve this situation, I am going to post a few year end lists - favorite CD's, TV, other stuff - over the next week or so just to get back into the swing.  After that, I will try to get back on a regular posting schedule.  I think my problem previously has been that trying to write up TV reviews on a weekly basis (which was all I was doing) was seeming too much like work.  I took a look back at my blog history and see what I was posting back when I was really enjoying what I was doing, I was just writing about whatever topic came to mind.  In 2013, I am really trying to get back to that. 

So, consider this a preview of what I hope is a ton of posts to come (which of course no one will read).

Up next... Favorite TB shows of 2012!

Tues TV Roundup - February 7: Justified

I want to expand my TV reviews beyond just Thursday nights going forward (and get back in the groove so I stop skipping Thursdays too) .  The reason for this is that Justified is on Tuesdays, and the badassery of that show definitely needs to be discussed.  Once The Walking Dead gets back, I'll add that one too (mostly to get into the habit of writing about a Sunday show for when Mad Men returns in March).  Since I didn't get around to doing Justified earlier, I am doing a comprehensive review of the first 4 episodes this week, and hope to pick up episode 5 next week.  

Episode 1 - Jan. 17I am sooooo glad this show is back.  This season has a lot to live up to.  Season 2 was a fantastic mix of great stories and compelling characters -Mags Bennett is one of the all time great TV villains.  Mags left some big shoes to fill, and it looks like Season 3 has decided to compensate by upping the number of bad guys.  Between what happened this week and what I read about the next episode, there will be 2 (and maybe 3, depending on how big a roll Wynn Duffy ends up playing) major baddies that Raylan will have to deal with.  Add in that he still has issues with Boyd Crowder (and whatever trouble his gang - which includes Raylan's own father - gets into while Boyd is in jail), its not a good time for Raylan to be at less than tip top shape.  Unfortunately, he's still feeling the effects of his gun shot wound from Season 2's finale.  Luckily for him, he still has hits wits to rely on, which serve him well in a superbly tense final scene involving a showdown with an assassin sent by the Dixie Mafia to take him out.

This was a really good start to the season.  It set a lot of pieces in motion for the season, while still being an action packed, intense episode on its own, with some fantastic dialogue (my favorite verbal exchanges were with Raylan and Boyd in the Marshal's office and between Raylan and Wynn outside his trailer).  This episode had everything I expect from Justified and it seems like we are once again in for a hell of a ride this season.

Grade -> A-

Episode 1 - Jan.24A big deal was made this week that Carla Gugino was appearing in this episode as essentially Karen Sisco (without being able to be called that due to rights issues), the character from Elmore Leonard's novel that she played on a previous, little watched TV series.  Since I have never read one of Leonard's novels, nor watched an episode of that show, it wasn't a big deal to me.  However, she meshed so well in this episode that I hope she shows up again in the future.  Its always good to learn about Raylan's time spent away from Kentucky, and it was also nice to find out that he was previously involved with a woman that could hold her own on the job right along side him. 

However, this episode really belonged to Raylan's boss, Art.  Art has constantly been on Raylan's case about the methods he uses in the course of his job.  That's pretty much a given for any action-oriented cop show/movie: the hardcase boss.  However, I don't think I have every seen a show actually explain to you why the boss is like that they way this episode does for Art.  It turns out that back in is earlier days as a Marshall, Raylan's way of doing things was not so uncommon, and Art was no stranger to that behavior.  It's just that now he knows better.  His old school interrogation of the Witness Protection turncoat (its always good to see the guy who played Bill Guarnere in Band of Brothers getting work) was fantastic.

Much like the first episode, this one was a really good standalone story, while at the same time nicely putting the pieces into play for the overall season story.  This time, we get introduced to Big Bad #2, Limehouse, in a really well done short scene that lets you know exactly what type of formidable foe he might be for Raylan.  Plus, we also get a little more info as to what Boyd is up to in jail (turns out he is after Dickie for money, not revenge).

Grade -> A-

Episode 3 - Jan. 31
Three episodes to start the season, three really, really good ones.  This week's episode is less standalone and more about the overall story.  We learn a little bit more about Quarles (Neal McDonough) and what he is planning.  Specifically, we find out his dad used to make him watch Taxi Driver as a young kid (that's fucked up) and that he wants to turn Harlan County into a pill factory.  We find out that Limehouse is involved in drugs, in addition to his role as safekeeper of the Bennett family's ill gotten gains.  Lastly, we see what Boyd plans now that he is out of jail - he wants his gang to run all the crime in Harlan County. 

All the forces on the other side of Raylan are starting to establish themselves, and it remains to be seen whether he will have to deal with all these threats one at a time, or if he will find himself besieged at on all sides by the end of the season.  Based on how things have transpired the last 2 seasons, I am betting in the latter.  Even if it does turn out the way I expect, I have utter faith that it will be a thrilling ride to get there.

Grade -> A-


Episode 4 - Feb. 7
I thought this episode was just a tiny step down from the first 3.  That's not surprising in that the previous episodes have been excellent, but its a little surprising since it  prominently featured Jeremy Davies' Dickie Bennett - a character and an actor that I really like.  Davies plays "squirelly" better than just about anyone else out there today.  I still really enjoyed the episode, but it really didn't move the Season 3 plot forward much.  Boyd is still sitting in his brother's bar, hatching his schemes, although the gang is now down 1 member.  I am sad to see Devil go - I am currently working my way through Friday Night Lights, and the actor who played Devil was really good as Jason Street's buddy Herc.  We also don't have much more going on with Limehouse, other than that we learn he doesn't have as much of Mags' money left as everyone thinks, and that there is a brief bit of history between he and Raylan (specifically with Raylan's dad, Arlo).  And there was no sign of Quarles at all.

However, even without much forward momentum, there were a lot of the things I love about Justified.  The dialogue was as snappy as ever, with the highlight being the confrontation between Raylan/Rachel and Limehouse.  That interrogation soon devolves into a discussion between Limehouse and Rachel about her upbringing, and then quickly transforms into Raylan and Rachel discussing which southern colleges have the best looking women.  There was also some very good action.  Raylan continues to find ways to use his wits instead of his gun to get himself out of scrapes - this time he simply runs over a guy (TWICE) trying to shoot him instead of pulling his own weapon.  

Grade -> B+

Favorite Albums of 2011

(Here is the link to the previous post where I listed my favorite CD's from the first half of 2011).

I know its a little late for this kind of 2011 retrospective, but if they can stretch the college bowl games out until January 9th, I can do a year end music review on January 3rd.

Here are my favorite CDs from the second half of 2011(these are records that were released from July 1 - November 30 or that were from earlier on the year, but I didn't get them until after I already composed the earlier list).  Since 11/30 is always the cutoff date that I use in order to give me time to come up with the list, The Black Keys' El Camino and The Roots' Undun both are missing.  They will be on the 2012 list (which is a guarantee because both are fantastic).  I know my early 2011 list had 15 discs, but there were more records from that part of the year that I liked than there were in the 2nd half, so I am sticking with 10 this time. 

10.) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
9.) Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness
8.) Low - C'mon
7.) Wilco - The Whole Love
6.) Yuck - Yuck
5.) The Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
4.) Loney, Dear - Hall Music
3.) Fruit Bats - Tripper
2.) Feist - Metals
1.) Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

The last few times I have tried to write a post on music rankings, I have had a pretty hard time, and I think its because I am just not very good at articulating my music critiquing.  Everything comes out as "This was really good" or "I just didn't care for this" - I know what I like, but have a hard time coming up with words to describe WHY I like it.  So, I think I am just going to stop (surprisingly, I have a much easier time critiquing movies and TV, so I will keep up with that).  I believe that is one of the reasons that posts related to music take me so long to put together, and then I fall behind on what I want to write about.  Going forward, I am going to limit my music related posts to, "Ok, HERE is some music I like", and maybe throw in a few anecdotes or personal experiences related to whatever music I am writing about and leave it at that. 

Here is my overall Top 10 album list for 2011:
10.) The Raveonettes - Raven In the Grave
9.) Vivian Girls - Share the Joy
8.) Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
7.) Loney, Dear - Hall Music
6.) Fruit Bats - Tripper
5.) Wye Oak - Civilian
4.) Feist - Metals
3.) PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2.) TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
1.) Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

THERE!  That closes the book on 2011.  I had thought about also writing a year end TV recap like I did last year, but I really don't watch that many current TV series, so a Top 10 list would pretty much just be the shows I watch regularly.  I don't really watch any shows that are only ok  - ALL my shows are good and I  believe are the top shows of the year.  So, I think instead I will be expanding my weekly TV reviews beyond just Thursday night.  I will definitely add recaps for Justified and Mad Men when they premier, plus anything else I like that is coming back soon. (I am also going to make a real effort to come up with more posts that are not just reviews, like I did back when I started this blog, but I may have made that promise before, so we'll see). 

Top 25 Favorite Songs of 2011

This was an incredible hard list to put together.  I had already decided on my top album list for the year before I attempted this list, and that was so much easier on which to decide.  I guess that means that I loved a lot more individual songs this year than I loved albums that I heard.  I had originally only wanted to pick 20 for the list, but after agonizing just to get it down to 25, I couldn't find 5 more songs that I could eliminate.  So, I decided to just say screw it and stick with 25.  Also, other than the top 3, I am not actually ranking the songs - I had a hard enough time just coming up with these songs, let alone ranking them.  Away we go!

1.) Jay-Z and Kanye West - "That's My Bitch"
  The best song from one of the best hip hop albums I have heard in along time (granted I don't listen to a lot of new hip hop, but still) - even better than Kanye's record from last year.  I could have probably put 2/3 of the songs from Watch The Throne on this list if I wanted to.

2.) TV on the Radio - "Repetition"
  TV on the Radio continues to be one of the most unique sounding bands out there.  This song is rocking and funky all at the same time.

3.) PJ Harvey - "The Words That Maketh Murder"
  This CD came out in the early part of 2011 and it remained one of my favorites all year.  This is another disc that could have the majority of its songs on this list.

Here are the rest (in alphabetical order) with occasional thoughts:

Beastie Boys -"Long Burn The Fire"
  While "Make Some Noise" was the song from Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 that got the Beasties the most notice this year (and rightfully so for its epic, 30 minute video), this is the best song from that CD.  It has a great grinding kind of beat and it's amazing that these guys are still doing it like this in 2011.

Beirut - "Vagabond"

Bon Iver - "Towers"
  Yes, "Holocene" from this record earned Bon Iver a Grammy nomination.  And that is a very good song, but I just like this one better.  "Holocene" almost made this list as well, but it was a last minute cut (and will be on my "Honorable Mention" list.


British Sea Power - "Living Is So Easy"

Death Cab For Cutie - "Doors Unlocked & Open"


The Decemberists - "Dear Avery", "January Hymn", "Rox in the Box"
  I said earlier that I could have put multiple selection on this list from Jay-Z & Kanye and PJ Harvey, but I was able to limit myself to 1 song each since the 2 I selected were far and away the top songs on those discs.  That was not the case with The King Is Dead by The Decemberists.  When I got down to these 3 songs, I couldn't see eliminating any of them, so I just kept all 3.  Hell of a comeback year for The Decemberists after how crappy The Crane Wife was.

Destroyer - "Chinatown"

Feist - "Anti-Pioneer"

The Fruit Bats - "You're Too Weird"

Kurt Vile - "Jesus Fever"

Loney, Dear - "What Have I Become?"

Low - "Especially Me"

My Morning Jacket - "Holdin' On To Black Metal"

The Mountain Goats - "Age of Kings", "Beautiful Gas Mask"
  This was another case where I couldn't see picking one song over the other, so I didn't.  Maybe I need to be more decisive next year, but if I did that this year, this post would be coming out in January...

The Raveonettes - "Forget That You're Young"

Vivian Girls - "I Heard You Say"

Wilco - "I Might"

Wye Oak - "Holy Holy"

Yuck- "Get Away"

Since I can post an actual playlist from Spotify to go along with this blog, I decided not to say something about each song in an effort to get this damn post finished.  If you are curious about any of these songs, they'll be on the playlist that I am posting on Facebook.

Coming Soon: I will post an "Honerable Mention" playlist of the songs that just didn't quite make the cut.  Then, more year end blogs, including the top albums of the 2nd half of 2011 and the overall album list.

Thursday Night TV Roundup 12/1/11

After a few weeks off, the return of the Thursday night TV reviews!

Community
Community has really been on a roll the last half of the season, which means it is really hitting it's stride just as it will be going off the air for an indefinite amount of time (expect next week's TV Roundup to be almost entirely about Community).  Since it was announced that it was going on hiatus 2 weeks ago, the show's ratings have been slowly going up, which I hope is a good sign for when it returns.  New (or returning) viewers were treated to a very funny episode last night, and one of the few this year to make really good use of Shirley.  Pairing her with Jeff in the foosball plot made for some hilarious situations, from their frenzied game that transformed into anime to they way they showed up the crazily over the top (ind crazily funny) German foosball fanatics.  The anime sequence showed that Community can still have their bits of pop culture lunacy in the course of a "normal" episode without devoting the whole thing to the subject.

However, I am not sure that any episode that involves Abed, dressed as Batman, using a grappling hook (a Christmas present from Troy, of course) to repel out the window to confront the landlord.  This plot, while silly, was worth it alone just for the return of Abed's "Christian Bale" voice, and the debut of Annie's (which was excellent).  I can't believe there is only one more episode left...
Grade -> A-

Parks & Rec
This was such a fantastic episode, full of so many great little bits, that I didn't even miss that Adam Scott was only in it a little bit (I really like his character a lot on this show, but, honestly I love all of them).  I love the episodes where the whole staff rally together to help Leslie out for whatever reason.  It usually allows to them to do something good, while at the same time being their usual insane selves, and most of the insanity revolved around their testimony at the trial.  Ron was hilarious in his attempts to not have his cabin's location entered into the record.  April of course acted just like Janet Snakehole as she accused the stenographer (Ethel Beavers from the 4th floor!) of being guilty.  And, of course, poor Jerry, who it turns out is really named Gary. 

We finally got closure on the storyline that has been going on since last season - Leslie and Ben can now be together without getting in trouble.  I am looking forward as to what new job opportunities they will come up with for Ben - my vote is for shoeshine partner with Andy...
Grade -> A


The Office
SIGH.  I have resigned myself now to the fact that the best I can hope for in an episode of The Office are a few scenes to make me laugh amidst a mediocre episode.  This episode wasn't the worst, I just expected more than they gave guest star Maura Tierney as Mrs. California.  She proved on NewsRadio that she can do comedy very well, she just wasn't given much to work with.   Thinking back on last night, there were things that I enjoyed - Robert's frantic order not Andy not to hire his wife and his profane outburst when Andy spilled those beans to his wife.  Jim's rolling away exit.  Dwight thinking that Darryl wants to impress Val Kilmer (silly but made me laugh).  On a whole, though, just another bland episode.
Grade -> C

It's Always Sunny
This has been a very up and down season of Sunny.  Any season with both the Chardee MacDennis episode and the episode with Frank's brother can't be described any other way.  Last night's episode was somewhere in the middle.  It wasn't the funniest this season, but there was a lot that I did like.  I especially enjoyed the continuation of the subplot that Dennis is basically a rapist.  I also liked Frank trying to explain the gang's shenanigans to the horrified tourists.  Although, I think my favorite scene involved Mac and the motorcycle.  Anytime a character encounters a motorcycle in an action film, they automatically know how to ride it.  Not poor Mac (I also enjoyed that he continued to wear the helmet long after he had to abandon the bike). 
Grade -> B

Beavis & Butthead
There were 2 episodes last night!  And they were both were very funny.  B&B episodes really don't lend themselves well to analysis, as they are basically made up of the boys wandering around and saying funny things.   Needless, to say, I enjoyed their antics last night.  I especially enjoyed the new segment where they acted like Siskel & Ebert and analyzed The Human Centipede.  I hope that segment comes back, as it was well done. 
Grade -> B+

The Winner of the Night... Parks & Rec!

Winter Beers

Ok, after a nice little break to get over my blog fatigue brought on by my Halloween horror movie insanity, I decided to come back and write about something I don't think I have written about yet: BEER!  Winter beers to be exact.  Much like the Christmas holiday season, winter beers seem to show up on the scene earlier every year.  However, unlike the seething rage I experience whenever I first see the Christmas decorations at Target in the next aisle over from the Halloween decorations, the appearance of the first winter beers in October this year brought me joy.  Here are a couple of my favorite winter beers.  This is by no means an all-inclusive list - they are just the beers that I have already had this year that came to mind when I decided to write this post.

Columbus Winter Warmer
Lets start things of with a local brew from the Columbus brewing company.  This beer is an English style winter warmer with caramel malts, ginger and cinnamon. The best winter warmers do exactly that - on a cold night the spices help warm you up from the inside out, and this is a pretty good warmer.  The best part is that it is usually only $8.99 a six pack, and you can find it in most stores. 

Goose Island Mild Winter/ Christmas Ale
Goose Island is one of the few breweries that does more than one winter beer each year.  The Mild Winter is, unsurprisingly, an American mild ale.  It's in the lighter side of medium bodied, which helps mellow out the rye spices a little bit.  Mild Winter is a good starter winter ale for people who are not quite sure they can handle the spices that are in most winter beers. 

The Goose Island Christmas Ale follows a tradition used by many brewers with their holiday beers - they change the recipe up every year.  Goose Island always brews a brown ale, but they use different hops and spices each year.  With the 2011 version, you get hints of molasses, brown sugar and gingerbread, but not too overpowering.  I found this year's offering to be pretty tasty.

Bell's Winter White/Christmas Ale
Like Goose Island, Bell's Brewery has 2 winter offerings.  However, unlike Goose Island, whose 2 beers are similar in style, Bell's brews two radically different beer styles.  The Winter White is a Belgian style white ale, very light in color and lower in alcohol (5%).  While they do not use any actual spices, it still has a nice clove flavor that reminds you it is a winter beer.  Incredibly flavorful.

Bell's Christmas Ale also does not have any spices.  They instead opt for a toffee-like flavor and a toasted barley hint that add up to a delicious combination.  Bell's is one of my favorite breweries and I really like the direction they went with their 2 seasonal offerings to set them apart from most other winter beers.

Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale
Anchor is another brewery that changes the formula of their Christmas Ale (also called "Our Special Ale") every year.  However, unlike most breweries that have been playing with their formulas for just a few years, Anchor is on their thirty-seventh different version!  I discovered their Christmas Ale in 2009 I learned that many people cellar this beer to compare the different vintages.  I made sure to set some aside each year since, so this Christmas, I will be able to compare the 2009 and 2010 to the excellent 2011.  This year's version tastes of dark fruit (cherries and raisin I think) and there is also some nice piney flavors from the hops.  Absolutely delicious.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Finally, for this part of the country, we have the Holy Grail of winter beers.  As in, good luck finding much of it.   The demand for it is so high that there is little chance you will find any of this in the stores (although some places will have it on tap longer) much past the beginning of December (unless you are like me and you buy and extra sixer of it as soon as you see it and sit on it until Christmas). Great Lakes' beer is the same formula every year - its a winter warmer style brewed with honey, cinnamon and ginger.  Now, I think this beer is pretty damn good, but the hype for it has gotten out of control: some stores are limiting you to 1 six pack at a time.  Luckily, like I said, I have a sixer in the cellar for Christmas day.

Thursday Night TV Roundup 11/3/11

One day late but better than never...

Community
While not quite as good as the last 2 stellar episodes, this was still very funny.  I always appreciate when they give Chevy Chase the spotlight, and he doesn't disappoint.  His condemning, then embracing, then condemning of the gay popularity of his family's Hawthorne wipes was hilarious.  Probably my favorite Pierce line of the night came when he was asked by the organizers of the Greendale "Gay Bash" what kind of cookies he wanted (chocolate chip or peanut butter) and he responded, "Rainbow, bitches!"

I also really liked the subplot with Troy and John Goodman's air conditioner repair school dean.  I had a feeling that Goodman was going to reappear once Sweeps month started.  The air conditioning initiation ceremony was as ridiculous as you would expect from Greendale.  I hope that Troy and the Vice Dean's cat and mouse game continues the rest of the season.

Overall, my two favorite moments were both Troy and Abed related: when they did impersonations of each other and the credits scene where they were attacking Jeff as Inspector Spacetime characters (I love that they continue to be obsessed with that show).
Grade -> B+

Parks & Rec
I love episodes of Community that showcase how insane most of the town is.  Throw in an off the hook final Tom and Jean Ralphio party and you have a very funny episode.  I will miss Entertainment 720, but I am sure they will find other ways to allow Tom to showcase his ridiculous party sensibility. 

Since the crazy Reasonableist cult (followers of Zorp, who was coming back to melt their faces off) was proclaiming doomsday, the Parks characters spent a lot of time contemplating the end of the world even if they knew the cult was wrong (they make a habit of this every few months).  The best was Andy, who decided to do everything on his bucket list in one night.  The 2 highlights: his chance to be an action hero in his own home (with the expected appearance of Burt Macklin, FBI and Janet Snakehole, and the unexpected appearance of Jerry!) and, upon arriving at the Grand Canyon, Andy remarks "Where all all the faces?  You know, the presidents?"  Classic Andy...
Grade -> B+

The Office
There were things about The Office that I liked, and things that I didn't.  I guess at this point that is about all I can hope for at this point.  The things I liked: once again, pretty much everything involving Robert California, the staff's struggle not too make any mistakes (and the way that Erin marked off each mistake with an "X" on her desk, Jim's futile attempts to play squash.  The things I didn't like: the whole idea of Dwight's "doomsday" device (why would Andy ever agree to that?  why would Dwight want everyone to get fired, including himself? - he loves working at Dunder-Mifflin), how ridiculously stupid they made Kevin seem once again (really? he thinks paper is made by the man trees and their penises?  SIGH).
Grade -> C+

It's Always Sunny
The return of Dr. Mantis Toboggan!  Even if it was only for a second or two, that was a nice call back to the "D.E.N.N.I.S System".  I didn't enjoy this episode as much as last weeks, but I think "Chardee MacDennis" may have been one of the all time classics, so that's no knock against this episode.  Frank's inability to grasp that the Gang wanted to make a viral video and not a virus video was really funny, as was Dennis and Charlie's half of the quest to find the shusher.  Mac and Dee's half of the quest wasn't as funny, but it still had its moments (Mac's attempts to find out the right "Ex-Girlfriend" porn site and the revelation that Dee has sent her hair to  man online who turned out to be a woman were both highlights).
Grade -> B+

Beavis & Butthead
I enjoyed the season premiere more than this episode, as I thought it was more consistently funny.  This was still a good episode though.  I particularly enjoyed B&B's takedowns of "16 and Pregnant" and whatever that other show was involving the "psychic".  I continue to be surprised how MTV allows this show to so savagely mock its other programming.  Maybe the network executives actually have a sense of humor (unlike at the E! Network, where Joel McHale is expressly forbidden to make fun of Kim Kardashian's sex tape on The Soup, although maybe that will change now...).
Grade -> B

New feature - The Winner of the Night (I will pick which show was my overall favorite):

Based on how much I had to say about it compared to the rest, the winner is... Community!

2011 Horrorfest - The Finale

In order to get this wrapped up today, I am just going to list out the remaining movies about which I had not written in order to get to the finale:
Claw of Terror (1973), Madhouse (1974), Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), Unhinged (1982), Dementia 13 (1963), Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), Mark of the Devil (1970).

As usual, I stuck to classic films for the finale:


The Wolf Man (1941)
I have seen this film a few times - I thought it would be good to start off the day with a classic black and white monster film.  The one thing I can never figure out - why did Lon Chaney, Jr.'s character always change his clothes into the same outfit before he became the werewolf?



Creepshow (1982)
It has been a long time since I have seen this.  The mix of horror and humor still holds up pretty well after all these years, in 3 out of the 5 segments at least.  "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verril" and "They're Creeping Up On You!" both still aren't very good, but I liked the other segments.  The particular highlight is Leslie Nielsen's portrayal as the psychopath in "Something To Tide You Over".



Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
This is the most disturbing film I have ever seen.  I expected that going in, as this is one of the most notorious horror films of all time (the director was arrested after its release, as it was thought this was an actual snuff film).  However, it wasn't any of the human violence depicted that disturbed me so much (I have become pretty desensitized to that in movies).  It was the fact that they actually kill several animals in the film (the giant turtle was the worst) that bothered me so much.  This was a film that I felt I had to see as a film buff, but I will never watch it again.



Suspiria (1977)
After about 40 minutes, the disc wouldn't play anymore (it was scratched all to hell).  Thankfully I have already seen this great film.  I should probably look into get my own copy.  To fill the whole in  my schedule, I decided to watch 3 episodes of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror: season 2, 3 and 5.  All classics (I needed to make up for how bad this season's episode was).



Alien (1979)
I have of course seen this film many times, but for this viewing I chose the 2003 Director's Cut, which  hadn't watched since I bought the blu ray earlier in the year (by the way,  the blu ray for this and Aliens looks FANTASTIC!).  The main difference with the Director's Cut is the inclusion of a new scene where Ripley stumbles upon two of the characters cocooned by the alien on her way to the escape shuttle (which was something that we originally didn't learn they do until the sequel).  One of the all time great horror films.




Night of the Living Dead (1968)
After watching 2 of Romero's later zombie films, Survival of the Dead and Land of the Dead, I decided it was time to rewatch the original.  I started this one right after Trick r Treating was done.  It was a good choice.



Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The almost silly way Freddy was portrayed in the later Nightmare movies (he even did a rap song with The Fat Boys, for god's sakes) has obscured for a lot of people just how great and creepy he was in his original appearance.  Freddy was truly scary.



Halloween (1978)
The best of them all...





And... we're done.  That was a lot of horror films over the last month.  Time for a break...

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 11

Land of the Dead (2005)
This was so much better than Survival of the Dead. The story was much better, there was much more zombie action, and the use of CGI didn't stand out as badly as it did in Survival.  Plus it had Dennis Hopper!  I still have one more Romero zombie film to check out - the middle film of his second trilogy, Diary of the Dead - and I hope it leans more towards this one than Survival. 



Dead Men Walk (1943)
It wasn't until I was halfway through this movie that I realized I had already seen it. Oh well.  It is a nice little twist on a vampire story - an evil man is murdered by his twin brother, but, because of his involvement in the occult, he finds a way to be resurrected as a vampire-type creature to get his revenge.  The effects at the end when the twins are fighting are kind of bad, but the rest of the film was decent, if not anything outstanding.



Blood and Lace (1971)
Until the very end of this movie, there was nothing about good that even comes close to recommending it, other than the fact that it stars Uncle Leo from Seinfeld!  ("Jerry!  Hello!"). This was supposed to be a slasher-type flick, but honestly not a whole lot was going on.   HOWEVER, the last 5 minutes are so batshit crazy insane that I was laughing out loud at the utter ridiculousness of it.  Totally made the whole movie for me.



Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009)
This is the ultimate bad movie for a "Bad Movie Night".  The acting by the cast, including the "Electric Youth" herself, Deborah Gibson, is terrible.  The sets are cheap.  The special effects are laughable.  Yet, I still enjoyed it.  It contains one of the most ludicrous scenes I have ever seen - the mega shark jumps out of the water and attacks an airliner.  It is fantastically bad.

(Instead of a trailer, I am posting that scene, as it is awesome...)


Hands of the Ripper (1971)
This is a Hammer film, one of the few that I have seen that didn't involve vampires, mummies, Frankenstein or werewolves.  I enjoyed this film a lot.   Its about Jack the Ripper's daughter who is possessed by his spirit after his death.  Whenever someone tries to kiss her, his possession of her is triggered and she kills.  The film was pretty gory for the seventies, and had a nicely tense climax.

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 10 (including the Thursday night shows from 10/27)

Since it is October 28 already, and I way behind on writing up these films (with plenty more films still to watch), I need to pick up the pace.  So, I am probably going to have to limit myself to a quick blurb on each of these films...


Thursday Night Shows
Three of the shows last night did Halloween episodes, so it is alright to save even more time by including my thoughts on them in this post.
Community - Another episode that told 7 different variations of the same type of story (just like last episode).  While not was funny as the multiple timeline craziness, it was pretty damn funny.  Grade: B+

Parks & Rec - I really enjoyed both storylines in this episode.  Tom's efforts to hijack Leslie's meeting were hilarious (I loved that he had his face plastered everywhere).  I will be sad to see "Entertainment 720" goingt away, as Tom and Jean Ralphio's extravagance were always a great source of comedy (like Tom's hot tub Hummer limo this week).  Andy and April's Halloween party was a blast as well.  Grade: B+

The Office - This episode was made by Robert California.  The way he creepily hovered around the whole party, then turned everyone's fears into a cohesive Halloween story was enjoyable.  I also liked Gabe's crazy video that they showed in order to make the party more adult.  Grade: B

Its Always Sunny - Not a Halloween episode unfortunately, but it would have been hard to top last season's (when the gang tried to figure out the father of Sweet Dee's baby).  What we did get last night, though, was HILARIOUS!  The "Chardee MacDennis " game was as ridiculous (and alcohol-fueled) as you would expect from the Gang.  Whenever the Paddy's crew is in a situation where they are in direct competition (as happens quite often because they are terrible people), the results are usually great, and this episode was no exception.  Grade: A-

Beavis & Butthead - OH MY GOD ITS FINALLY BACK!!!!!  After all the teasing, Beavis & Butthead are finally back on the air.  Since I had seen an extended trailer a few months ago and laughed my ass off at it, I was pretty sure that the new episodes would be able to stand up to the original run, but there was still a small part of me that was nervous.  Thankfully, I can say that I was worried for no reason.  The first episode was very funny.  Grade: B+

Ringu (1998)
I had seen the American remake when it was released, but had never seen the original until now.  Its been so long since I saw the remake, so I don't really remember a lot about it other than the fact that I liked it, making it hard to compare the two.  I really enjoyed the Japanese version.  It built the tension nicely all the way up until the incredibly creepy climax. 



The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)
This is a Spanish horror film that had a lot of things that I liked about it, but they didn't add up to a great film, merely a good one.  Its the story of a new bride, taken to her husband's ancestral home to live, where she falls under the sway of a female vampire (ultimately revealed to be an ancestor of the husband).  The setting is fantastic - I am not sure where exactly it was shot but the house and the surrounding area give a really nice atmosphere.  Its the plot, though, where the movie ultimately comes up short (the scene where they find the vampire buried in the sand and everything after that are particularly stupid).

(I couldn't find a trailer showing any of the actual film that I could use, but this trailer is FANTASTIC)



Who Saw Her Die? (1972)
This an Italian film revolving around a subject that even most horror films shy away from - child killing.  After 2 similar looking children are killed, the parents of the second victim begin their own investigation.  Unfortunately, each new suspect they turn up is then eliminated by the real killer.  This was a pretty good film - anyone who is a fan of 70's Italian horror should check it out.

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 9

Splinter (2008)
Splinter was a nice variation on the zombie film.  Instead of a virus, or radiation, or just some unknown cause, the driving force in this film is a living mold or fungus that kills people off by feeding on their blood after infection and reanimates their corpses to search for more blood.  This film has a small cast, and the action is confined to one location for the most part, so that allows the tension to build in a way that overcomes its lower budget.  What money they did have, they wisely spent on the creature effects, which I thought were pretty well done.  All in all, I really enjoyed this inventive twist on a movie type that is getting pretty played out these days.



Horror of Dracula (1958)
I had already seen this film before (and I am making an effort to stay away from Hammer Films this year because I watched so many of them last year), but my brother had never seen it, so I watched it again.  A classic - the best Christopher Lee Dracula performance. I will probably have to add this to the regular yearly rotation.



House on Haunted Hill (1959)
I had never seen this film before, but I had seen the terrible remake in the theater in 1999.  God, that movie stinks.

This is a good old-fashioned cheesy haunted haunted house movie.  The plot has been copied and parodied to death since this film was released - a disparate group of strangers are all invited to spend the night in a haunted house in order to earn a large sum of money.  Of course, at various points the characters are separated and subjected to various scares.  It goes without saying that the ghosts and spooks are all pretty fake looking, but that just adds to the fun of the film.  House is one of William Castle's famous films that had a gimmick in the theater - at a crucial scene near the end, a skeleton on a wire would fly around.  This film made so much money from its cheap thrills that Alfred Hitchcock was inspired to make his own low budget scarefest - Psycho. 



976-Evil (1989)
This film was only made 22 years ago, but how many young people that would watch this today would have no idea what a "976" number is?  SIGH - I am old.

I only somewhat remember this film from back in the late 80s, and what I do remember revolves around the fact that it stars the hyper kid from the original Fright Night (it is a shame that I had to make that qualifier, but that is a rant that I am tired of giving).  It turns out that it was directed by Freddy Krueger, himself, Robert England! And, not surprisingly, other than a few episodes of "Freddy's Nightmares" the following year, he didn't direct another film for 20 years.  This is not a very good movie - it has pretty low budget effects and the acting is awful.  However, add that with how campy it is, and you have a pretty good formula for a good "bad" movie.  It at least has an interesting plot - the phone number in the title is a "horror-scope" line that will eventually possess you as it makes your fortunes come true. I'd rather watch a movie with an original idea that at least appears to be trying than a boring film any day.

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 8

May (2002)
Other than the main character having a weird fixation with a doll, the first 3/4 of this film don't quite seem like a horror film.  You might think its just the story of a very awkward woman who is having trouble forming and keeping relationships with the people around her because of how weird she is.  THEN, that last 15-20 minutes of the movie kick in, and you realize that the entire film was just a slow build to the craziness at the end.  Taken as a whole, I thought this was a very well done film (one scene near the very end actually creeped me out, which doesn't happen very often in horror films, as I am usually impervious to that type of stuff). Angela Bettis gives a fantastic performance as the main character - she is so strange and unnerving. 



The Walking Dead
Last week was the season 2 premiere of the AMC show.  Most of the critics I read were high on the beginning and end of the 1st season, and not so happy with the middle episodes.  I, on the other hand, was pretty happy with the entire season.  I am not going to say much about the premiere, as I will probably write a post on the season as a whole at the end (much like I still plan on doing with Breaking Bad at some point).  However, since it is a zombie show, I felt I should include it.  The first episode was very well done, with the opening sequence being incredibly tense.  A good start to a show that had a lot of turmoil behind the scenes between the seasons.

Castle of the Walking Dead (1967)
After watching the premiere of The Walking Dead, I was looking for one more horror movie to watch before bed, and I thought that the title of this one was fitting.  I should have been a little more discerning in my choice.  It stars the fantastic Christopher Lee, so I thought I was in for a treat.  However, this film was fairly boring.  Lee plays a vampire type character who returns decades after being drawn and quartered (which I will admit was a way of killing villains you don't normally see in a horror film) to get his revenge.  In fact, I thought the entire opening sequence was pretty cool.  Too bad it was such a snoozer from there on out.
(The trailer is in German, and was the only one I could find...)



Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
I have stated many times that the original Halloween is not only my favorite horror film, it is also one of my favorite movies of all time.  I have seen sequels 4, 5, and 6 many times - not because they are good movies, but because it seems AMC shows them nonstop every year during their Fear Fest (and prior to that, USA Network used to show them all the time I think).  Somehow, though, I had never seen either of the later sequels that finally brought back Jamie Lee Curtis.  This is the 1st of those 2 sequels, and I thought it was a much better film than any of the previous sequels other than Halloween II.  The plot completely ignores the non-Curtis films (probably a good idea as, by the time they got to 6, the story was completely bogged down with elements of devil worship and cults and evil spirits that a clean slate was needed).

We pick things up 20 years after the events of the first 2 films.  Michael Myers hasn't been seen in all that time, but he eventually tracks his sister down in her new life (with a new identity) and the killings begin anew.  The film is a taut, exciting thrill ride (it only clocks in at 86 minutes, so there is not a lot of filler), packed with lots of little nods to the original (bits of dialog, repeated scenarios, etc.).  Its also helped along by having a few actors in early supporting roles that are really good at what they do - like Michelle Williams and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (unfortunately, Josh Hartnett in his first role is as wooden as ever).  This film even features an ending that would have been a great capper to the Halloween films and should have ended things on a high note.



Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Unfortunately, they didn't end things with H2O.  UGH.  This film is terrible.  First, they knock-off Jamie Lee Curtis in the first 10 minutes of the film in order to shift focus to a whole new set of characters. As for the new characters: Busta Rhymes - YAY! Katie Sackhoff (from Battlestar Galactica) - SUPER YAY! That boring guy in American Pie who was Tara Reid's boyfriend - meh. Tyra Banks - BOOOOOOO!  The plot revolves around an Internet reality show based in the Myers house on Halloween night, which of course attracts Michael Myers, but who cares.  This film is not good and the less said about it the better.

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 7

Session 9 (2001)
I am not sure where I came across this movie, whether I read about it on Ain't It Cool or if I just stumbled upon it on Netflix.  At any rate, I am glad I did - I really enjoyed this film.  It is a nice psychological horror film about 5 men (including David Caruso just prior to taking on his starring role in CSI: Miami) working on removing the asbestos from an incredibly creepy old insane asylum.  The place begins to affect the workers in different ways leading to a very bloody and creepy finale.  The setting goes along way towards building the atmosphere of the film.  My advice is - no matter how good the money, maybe its not a good idea to work in an old asylum.



Subspecies (1991)
This is an incredibly bland vampire film that has nothing to recommend it other than that it was shot on location on Romania.  The sets are incredibly cool looking and give the film an authentic look and adds some creepiness to the film that might otherwise be lacking.  Unfortunately, the plot is pedestrian, the acting is not very good, and i found the voice of the main vampire, Radu, to be incredibly annoying.  There is nothing to really recommend this film. 



It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)
This is just a good old fashioned 50's rubber suit monster movie.  Its a pretty basic story - a mission to space accidentally picks up an alien creature that proceeds to pick off the crew 1 by 1 as all attempts to kill the creature prove futile.  Wikipedia says that this film was a big influence on Ridley Scott's Alien.  While you have to take any thing you read on Wikipedia with a grain of salt, I can definitely see a lot of similarities, right down to the way they actually dispatch with the alien at the end.  While definitely no where near being in Alien's class when it comes to terror, its still an enjoyable movie for fans of those old, slightly cheesy, creature films. 



Demonic Toys (1992)
This film is pretty much a ripoff of Puppet Master - it was even made by the same producer, so there isn't a whole lot to say about it.  The main difference is that in this film, the possessed toys are accidentally brought to life, rather than being controlled by someone else.  It's pretty bad.  It was enjoyable to watch in "OMG, this is SUCH a bad movie" fun kind of way, but it wasn't scary or suspenseful at all.  A good choice to check out if you are ever having a Bad Movie Night. 



The Uninvited (1944)
The Uninvited is a good old-fashioned tale of a ghost that won't leave the earthly plane that I liked, but didn't necessarily love.   I think I would have liked it a lot more if they didn't play up the romance part between Ray Milland and Gail Russell so much, as it wasn't very believable (there was WAY too much of an age difference between them).  Milland and his sister purchase a house possessed by spirits that have a terrible effect on Russell (the granddaughter of the man who previously owned the house).  The film does a nice job setting up a creepy atmosphere at the haunted beach house and there is a real sense of dread whenever Russell is being menaced. 

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 6

Time for another theme post.  This time I decided to go with all zombie films.  I picked a selection from many different eras to show the different ways zombies have been depicted  through the years.

White Zombie (1935)
This was the first full length zombie film.   The zombies in this film are created the way most zombies were in films before Night of the Living Dead - voodoo.  Bela Lugosi actually plays a roll other than a vampire this time.  Instead, he plays an evil plantation owner who is also the zombie master.  However, other than his mustache, he pretty much looks and acts like Dracula throughout.  He spends the entire film staring menacingly (especially on the scenes where they focus on his eyes to show he us controlling the zombies), but since he is so good at it, I enjoyed it.  The rest of the acting in the film was pretty bad, but the film is nice and creepy looking (its very atmospheric, and the use of sets from other Universal horror films give it a nice gothic look).



Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
Here the zombies are the result of medical experiments involving a South American poison.  However, the zombies don't do much of anything in this movie as most of the plot revolves around the doctor in the title trying to keep his experiments from being discovered.   Its actually kind of boring, and not scary or gross or suspenseful at all.  Definitely one that can be avoided. 




Sugar Hill (1974)
This is one of the few zombies released after Night of the Living Dead that still relied on voodoo for the zombies.  Fortunately, this film also has something that very few zombie films (or other horror films for that matter) have - BLAXPLOITATION!  That's right - this film is pretty much zombies + Shaft, which means a lot of use of "honky" and all the bad guys are racist. The main character, Sugar Hill, uses zombies raised by Baron Samedi himself to avenge the death of her boyfriend, which was ordered by the standard blaxploitation type white gangster/ ruthless businessman.  Its ridiculously over the top, and I enjoyed every crazy second of it. 



The Video Dead (1987)
This a low budget, direct to video stinker from the 80's.  Its trying for more of a horror-comedy vibe, but doesn't really pull it off.  Comedy bits really just come off as cheesy, and not really in an enjoyable way, either.  The zombies in this film are of the Romero type - slow, shambling, crawled out of their grave, mindless creatures.  The twist in this one is that they are unleashed from a haunted TV (yes, really).  Once unleashed, they go on their killing spree, but it is combined to an area around the houses of the main characters (most likely due to budget), so that takes some of the scare out of the zombie threat (one of the main things that is so terrifying about zombies is that they spread and are almost impossible to contain).  Extra points to this film for the novel idea on how the zombies are unleashed, but that's about it.



Survival of the Dead (2009)
This the third of George Romero's newer slate of zombie films.  I had yet to see any of them, but I had read very mixed reviews of them, and especially no good ones for this film.  The reviews were on.  This film isn't very good.  Like the other Romero films, there really is no explanation for the zombie outbreak - it just happens and the film deals with the fallout.  This time around, the action settles around an island of the coast of Delaware where the inhabitants have closed themselves off and have decided to try and rehabilitate the zombies by trying to teach them to not eat humans.  Its about as exciting as it sounds.  There isn't nearly enough zombie action in this film.  Also, there is way too much CGI used for the blood effects.  A big disappointment.  I also currently have Land of the Dead, Romero's 1st zombie film (as director) after his original trilogy.  Hopefully it is better than this one. 

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 5

As I mentioned in a previous post, I may decide to group some movies together with a common theme.  This group contains all "classic" horror films:

Freaks (1932)
If you boil this film down to the basic elements of its plot, it doesn't really sound like a horror film at all - a woman is attempting to marry a man that she doesn't love just to get his inheritance and his friends are the only ones that can see her plan.  It sounds more like a crime thriller or film noir.  However, if you make the setting a circus, the woman a trapeze artist, the man a dwarf, and most of their friends real life circus side show performers, the creepiness factor goes through the roof.

I know its not very nice to say this, because these were real people, but GOOD LORD were the sideshow people unnerving to look at.  Just having them as characters in the film sets up an uncomfortable atmosphere while you are watching the movie that really pays off in the climax.  After Hans (the dwarf) goes through with the marriage to Cleopatra (the trapeze artist), he eventually comes to realize that she is planning to kill him for his money.  Eventually, there is a confrontation involving the 2 of them, her real boyfriend (the circus strongman) and the rest of the freaks in a rain storm that is truly full of tension that builds fantastically to the end.  It is one of the great finales in horror history, and I don't think it would have been nearly as effective if regular actors had been used.    Apparently, the film was too much for people at the time and it bombed, effectively killing off the career of director Tod Browning, who had also directed Dracula.  A shame, as both of these films are about as good as it gets in classic horror.



Mark of the Vampire (1935)
This is another film directed by Tod Browning, but I did not like it as much as I liked Freaks or Dracula.  Once again, Bela Lugosi is playing a vampire, this time named Count Mora.  Lugosi spends the majority of his screen time standing around looking silently menacing, which he excels at.  However, the plot of this film is just way too outlandish to swallow.  The entire movie is spent making you believe that Count Mora and his daughter (a vampire too) have come back to claim the daughter of a man that was killed at the beginning of the film by having hos blood mysteriously drained.  However, it turns out the whole vampire thing is an elaborate hoax put on to flush out the real killer and to get him to confess how he committed the murder.  That plan is just way too ridiculous and involves way too many people to ever have been successful (I realize that I am saying that if Count Mora and his daughter actually were vampires that it would have been MORE believable than what actually happened - horror films get a suspension of belief from me that normal films don't get).  The film had a good look to it, but in the end, the big reveal was just too much for me. 




Werewolf of London (1935)
It goes without saying that the whole time I was watching this film, I had Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" stuck in my head (I kept waiting for the werewolf to get a  big dish of beef chow mein, but it never happened).

Apparently, this was the first mainstream Hollywood werewolf film, preceding Lon Chaney's The Wolf Man by 6 years.  It has the plot template that is pretty much the basis for every werewolf film next.  The main character is attacked at night by a strange, fur covered creature, and upon the next full moon, people are mysteriously attacked before the main guy realizes that he is the cause.  Eventually, his crimes are discovered, and the werewolf is killed, but he is grateful for the release of his curse.  I enjoyed this film, but it is not nearly as good as The Wolf Man.  Most of that is due to the fact that Lon Chaney, Jr. owns as the werewolf, where Henry Hull (this film's werewolf) is only passable.  I was glad that I watched this for its historical significance, but in the future, when I want to see a classic werewolf film, its Chaney all the way.



The Thing From Another World (1951)
I have seen John Carpenter's remake many times, but I have never seen the original before now (the only bits of it I have seen at all are the clips that Carpenter has playing on the TV in the background in a few scenes in Halloween.  While I definitely prefer the remake, it is very different type of film.  The Thing has a different type of tension as you don't have any idea in which character the monster is hiding.  Also, there is a much better use of the overbearing isolation of the surroundings (having less characters helps).  In The Thing From Another World, the main sense of tension for the characters (and the viewer) is driven by the fear that they won't be able to find some way to kill the monster before he kills them.  The remake has that too, but when added to the other driving forces of tension I just mentioned, it is a far scarier film than the original. 

2011 Horrorfest Pt. 4

Basket Case (1982)
This is another cult classic from the 80s, similar to The Re-Animator, well regarded for the sheer over-the-top insanity of it.  Although, this film is decidedly much lower budget than The Re-Animator.  Its the story of a naive-looking young man who comes to the city with a giant basket with a lock on it.  The basket contains Bilal - his half-formed, deranged separated conjoined twin.  The two have arrived to have their revenge on the doctors who separated them by tracking them all down and killing them.  Bilal also gets rid of anyone who gets in their way or gets too close to his brother.  Usually in fairly gruesome ways.  The effects are really cheap (most of the shots of Bilal doing anything are just arms reaching in from offscreen.  However, this movie is fantastic if you like that kind of slightly campy, goofy low budget horror.  Its just sheer insanity for most of the film.




Pumpkinhead (1988)
I am pretty sure I had seen this movie back in the late 80s or early 90s when I was renting horror films every weekend, but I didn't remember a whole lot about it going in.  Turns out there isn't much to the plot to remember; its pretty straight forward:a grieving father unleashes a killer demon to get revenge on a bunch of teens who accidentally killed his son.  The majority of the movie consists of Pumpkinhead stalking its victims through the woods at night.  Thats not to say that I didn't enjoy it.   A film doesn't have to be more complex than that for me to like it.  I liked the effects on the Pumpkinhead creature, and the setting in the misty woods at night is nicely creepy.  Add in the fact that the father is played by Lance Henrikson, who rules in every part he plays, and the result is an enjoyable monster flick



Night of the Demons (1988)
This is the original version of the remake I watched in Pt. 1. I had definitely seen this film a few times back in the early 90s, but after watching the remake, I decided to give the original another go. 

Just like the remake, the story involves a party on Halloween that inadvertently releases a demon (or demons - this one isn't as clear as to if it is one demon or several like in the sequel) to predictable deadly results.   The acting is pretty terrible, and there is an attempt to make a few of the characters "punk" without coming close to pulling it off (movies almost always fail at this).  BUT, I enjoyed the demon effects and the the film is nicely gory, so that made up for the film's shortcomings. 

Envelope, Blueprint, Icebird & RJD2 @ Skully's 10/8/2011

My brother and I took in a fantastic locally flavored hip hop show at Skully's last night.There was a decent sized crowd and everyone was really into the show - it was a great atmosphere.

Up first was Envelope.  He is a Columbus rapper, who I have seen a few times, most recently this summer at Comfest.  I really like him for a few reasons - he has an unorthodox rapping style, which is a nice change from most rap acts; his between song banter is usually pretty amusing; and he really knows how to get the crowd involved in his show (last night, he unleashed a ton of balloons with glow sticks in them for the crowd to either toss the balloons around, or pop the balloons and wave the glow sticks around).  As usual, his set was a lot of fun - including an appearance by a dude dressed up as a cat (which I unfortunately did not get a picture of).

The second act was Blueprint.  He is another Columbus rapper, but he has more of a national presence than Envelope, as he is signed to the Rhymesayers label.  I like Blueprint, and I have a few of his CDs, but he was SO MUCH better live last night that I anticipated (I saw him and RJD2 together a few years ago, and that was a great show, but last night he was amazing).  In addition to his DJ working the beats, Blueprint also had a guy playing bass guitar.  He also occasionally pulled out the keytar(!) to mix things up.  This combination of instruments allowed them to deliver some amazing beats to go with Blueprint's stellar raps.  GREAT set.

Next up was Icebird.  They are RJD2's side project that involves him playing keyboard for a full band.  This was the only low point of the night for me. Its not that these guys were bad, it's just that they really didn't do anything for me.  Their songs are all over the place.  Some songs sound like they are trying for an old school R&B sound, others like they are a 70s prog rock act (including one sound where RJ came out from behind the keyboard to play guitar, giving them 3 guitars and a bass).  Whichever sound they were going for, none of it clicked for me.

Then came the finale - RJD2 doing his set.  His equipment set up was amazing - 4 turntables, 2 drum machines, a laptop and also a live drummer.  As you can guess from having that amount of stuff to manage, RJ doesn't sit still for 1 second - I had a hard time getting any pics of him that were not blurry as he was flying back and forth between the turntables and his record crate.  His whole set was amazing - from starting off with the Mad Men theme (that's his song), to eventually inviting Blueprint on stage to do a few of their Soul Position songs, he had the crowd into it from start to finish.  A great end to a fantastic night of music.