Movies – Page 6 – An Unorthodox Halloween

Where have you been?

Go away a few days, and folks start asking “what happened to ya?”

Well, see, all this Halloween all the time stuff comes at a cost. And, to keep the boss happy, seems I have to make a little offering of remodeling the entire upstairs.

But, you can see more about that over at the boss’s place.

One thing I do enjoy about construction work is the quite time to think. (cause swinging hammers is quiet time and all, right?) And, in between some coats of paint this evening, I actually had a whole hour to sit down and wait.

With summer TV suckage, I popped in The Lion King.

Man, is this thing a great film. Halloween inspiration all over the place.

Great ideas for use of fog, lighting, and assorted other possible projects.

Why, those dancing skeletal shadows should be possible with a proper scrim, even…

And, responding to a request, I’ve managed to slow down the slideshows on the side there. Too slow? Still too fast? Let me know.

Cloverfield

I remember the first trailer coming out in the theater. No title. Just an ominous date.

I immediately pegged it as a Godzilla remake/clone, and mentally tagged it as a ‘must see’. And, when word of the shaky camera work got out, that changed to a “must wait till DVD”. In the meantime, I have avoided all comments and reviews of the thing. Just knew it was filmed with a handheld camera, and that is all.

So, it was a very rare moment when I put Alec to bed, had Kyle ‘sneak upstairs’ (Alec does not do well with scary movies), and we set down to watch this thing this weekend. No predisposed knowledge or opinions on it. No searching it for inspiration, just sitting back and enjoying.

Spoilers ahoy!

It was 9:30ish when we started watching. About 10:00ish, both Kyle and I were nearly asleep on the couch when blissfully the action started. Earthquake, power flicker, run to the roof, see the fireball in the distance. Hey, finally got to the trailer!

Run down to the street, and there comes the head of the Statue of Liberty, where the trailer part ends. Oh, we’re into it now. A little while later, they start crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. I look over at Kyle:

“Oh, that bridge is going DOWN.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll bet you, that bridge is going to be attacked.”

“Why?”

They walk around and pause, and it’s all normal just long enough for him to say

“See, it’s not crashing.”

BANG goes the…err, whatever it is. Crushing one of the characters and suddenly they’re running back off the bridge.

Now there is panic in the streets, and a scene with the camera running I couldn’t watch even on the small screen. Glad we didn’t go to the theaters.

It was the scene here that it finally clicked in my head. They show the thing from the news copters, and little doodads are falling off it and attacking people. Wait a minute…I’ve SEEN THIS BEFORE!!!

The movie was most enjoyable, really. Shaky camera aside, that is. It’s a rare one where they know when NOT to show you something, and leave you with questions unanswered.

What was it? What happens to people who are bitten? Did they kill it?

The whole handheld camera thing wasn’t so bad. Only twice did I have to stop watching or get sick. Still, it was mostly unneeded. I do want to know where the hell I can get one of those cameras though. The battery lasts forever, it’s got lights, night vision, and takes one hell of a beating, not to mention that SD card sure held a good chunk of video…How much one of those go for, you think?

As the movie ends, abruptly, Kyle sat there wide-eyed. Yeah, he’s not sleeping…So, I had to break out and show him where the movie seems to have come from. As I said, seen it before. Happens to be a Playstation 2 GAME.

Final Fantasy X:
Opens in a nice crowded city, a sports arena. You see these fireballs coming and hit the building, and you run down to the street.

Cloverfield:
NYC. Fireballs come, striking the buildings, making it not safe, they run to the street.

Final Fantasy X:
Getting to the street, we’re presented with an ominous face of a broken statue.

Cloverfield:
Statue of Liberty’s head comes screeching to a hault right in front of the camera.

Final Fantasy X: running across a crowded bridge, it’s suddenly attacked.

Cloverfield: Calmly walking across the bridge, it’s suddenly attacked, killing one of the ‘main’ characters up to that point.

Final Fantasy X: Little scale shaped things break off big bad monster, open up to look remarkably similar to the cloverfield things (but have wings) and start attacking.

Cloverfield: Little things that look like the bugs from Starship Troopers fall off the big bad monster and start attacking.

Coincidence? Possibly, I suppose. Or is it just so cliche a storyline at this point? Also possible.

It’s a little 5-10 minute opening segment of the Final Fantasy game. But the resemblence was striking once it ‘clicked’. Does make for a good movie when all dramatized and following a couple of people try to survive it for 90 minutes, I’ll admit.

Explaining the resemblence put Kyle at ease, at any rate.

Good show, gets alot right. Let’s hope they do some better camerawork (less bouncing around, please?) for the sequel.

In search of Titans.

A while back, I had been reminded of a favorite movie from my childhood. There was a discussion about how to make a halloween scene out of some statues and I immediately recalled Clash of the Titans, and the wonderfull Medusa scene. It’s been kicking around my brain since then, and while it was completely unrealistic for me to attempt to make such at thing, it restirred a desire to see this film again, for I hadn’t seen it since I was about 12 or so. I have one bizaar memory of the movie.

I recall having the toy of Calibos, and of Perseus. Must have been around the time it came out. And, I slept over at my Grandma’s (a rarity). Her not having a shower, I had to take a bath (even bigger rarity, always showered). And, I was allowed to play with these Clash of the Titans toys in the tub. (Only time I ever recall having toys in the tub) I immediately set out to recreate the fight in the swamp.

So, there was a strong sentimental urge for me to find this movie.

An internet search let me know it was on DVD. What’s more, it’s even being remade. The internet also informed me that the local Best Buy and Circuit City did not have any copies. So, I began calling around.

And I was greated with a number of young kids who have never heard of the thing.

“Yes, hi, I’m calling to ask if you have a copy of Clash of the Titans.”

“Let me check” on hold…

“You mean the football movie, right? We have that both used and new”

“No, that would be ‘REMEMBER the Titans’, I’m looking for ‘CLASH of the Titans’, should be under action.”

“Never heard of it. I’ll check”

I did eventually find a used copy at F.Y.E. for $5 and immediately set out to get it. And then subjected the boys to an immediate watching of the thing.

And, for the second time in recent months, I had to sit and wonder what to do. Here was yet another early 80’s movie, rated PG that shows quite a bit more nudity than I expect from the rating. In front of my 9 year old. Ah well, at least this time it was just some breast feeding, and not a pod person thing bouncing naked as she chased the last remaining human, nothing he’s not going to see in the documentaries I tend to watch anyway.

What surprised me is back when originally formulating the whole idea of the yard, I must have somewhere deep down been chanelling a part of this movie. Calibos’s lair just happens to be surrounded by skulls up on poles and torches.

Cool….

My heavens, the people even got the el cheapo black fake fir with a lazy hole cut in the middle like I did the first year!

The ORIGINAL idea for the yard was to feature a growing collection of differing skulls, just like this…

Clearly, I have been reunited with a subconscious influence

Crappy Movie Mega Marathon

What a weekend for the crappy movie!

First, we had the traditional AMC crappy movie night, with a surprisingly good (relative to the standard anyway)night, featuring Christine. I had actually never seen it, so it was a pleasure to actually get to watch something new. Even if I’m not a particular fan of Steven King movies, this one was most pleasantly humorous.

Then, TNT got into the act by airing AVP: Alien vs Predator. Alright, I have this general rule. Any movie that has a “vs” in the title will be utter trash. But, I also have a very special place in my heart for Alien.

There were 3 movies that stand out as scaring the holy hell out of me as a kid. The Birds, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Alien. I LOVED Alien. Or rather, I cowered in fear whenever I was NEAR Alien, and I loved it. I recall when Aliens was coming out. I “knew” I wouldn’t be scared this time because as the commercials were showing, the marines were going in to kick butt! It was going to end my fear of the thing the moment it hit theaters. (hey, I was young) Yeah…that worked. Add to that the fact my mom was working cleaning a local theater at the time, and us kids would tag along to help…so there we were in the dark theater with promo items of aliens all over.

It was about this time Maniac Manor, a local Haunted House, also decided to run with the Alien theme. The last room exitting the place was all catwalks and marines yelling at you to run as the yellow lights spun overhead and fog blasted out of piping in the wall. This Alien pops out of the piping and I totally and utterly lose all semblence of rational thought and RAN out of the place. Only time I’ve ever been scared into running from a haunt to this day, and I did not stop, did not look back till I reached the car.

LOVED Alien so much I even read some of the comics that came out. Alien vs Superman being wonderfully hilarious.

So, I just couldn’t pass up the TNT showing. And I sat there, calmly working on my own molds as the show played. Much to my surprise, I actually rather enjoyed the film. I was vaguely aware of Aliens Vs Predator comics and video games, but really never got into them, not being a big Predator fan. But, this movie, while horrible from a more rational perspective, recaptured a piece of that old Alien magic for me. Not that I was scared these days, but more that I sat with a kind of giddy joy watching the aliens make mince meat out of the Predators, and KNOWING how it would end, with the alien coming out of the surviving Predator, as the clues were abundant throughout the movie.

As familiar as I was with the Alien species, I also knew a sequal would deal with the predator version of the Alien, for they take on the characteristics of whoever they pop out of chest wise.

Enjoying the first, I couldn’t pass up the pay-per-view copy of AVP Requiem the following night. Sitting at the table, making shrunken heads, watching a most spectacularly bad movie. Yet, one that surprisingly stayed very true to the Aliens I had known. I was a little nervous of this, as a co-worker had told me it went into them creating genetic crossbreads. Turns out she was just unaware that Aliens take on the characteristics of whoever they burst out of.

A little disappointed that the Aliens didn’t go nearly as full bore as they SHOULD. Let’s see, we crash land in a forest near a town, bunch of aliens escape, tip for the screenwriters: Aliens don’t only target humans. All life in the forest would have been transformed into copies of aliens. (like the dog alien in Alien 3) But, I guess it just wasn’t as ‘scary’ as them going after just the town.

Unfortunately, this movie more seemed a showcase of the Predator than the former one. Still was a jolly romp down memory lane for me.

The Crystal Skull review.

Spoilers ahoy.

I am an unabashed Indiana Jones fan. And, as spoken of earlier, Temple of Doom was my favorite among them. After seeing Crystal Skull, Temple of Doom is in no threat of being replaced. In fact, I’ld go so far as to say Crystal Skull is my least favorite of Jones movies.

That is not to say it is bad. Just, that where the previous films are held as the epitome of action movies, Crystal Skull falls to a level more closely resembling recent competition.

There are 2 distinct areas I think that Crystal Skull falls a little behind the former Jones movies.

First, the villains.

Raiders even gives us the great Beloq. The image of him holding up the idol and maniacally laughing as the Hovitos chase Jones through the jungle is a villain at his best.

Temple of Doom gave us Mola Ram. Let’s face it. It’s hard to top a picture of evil than that of Mola Ram holding up the beating heart of a poor sap being lowered into a pit of lava.

Crusade left us with a lot of villains, but none that truly have a great moment of villainy. At the least, we are presented with the eternal icon of evil in the hordes of Nazis.

Crystal Skull gives us Irina Spalko, the Russian super agent. Cold and calculating, never once losing her cool in a given situation, she is on the cusp of being a real badass. Quite arguably, the villain with the most potential of any of the Jones movies yet. Somehow, she never quite achieves that, and never gets her moment of high villainy, something sorely lacking. I would have loved to see her triumphently standing over the defeated heros in villainous glory. But, it was not to be. The rest of the villains are faceless soldiers we are told are evil Russians. While fitting to the film’s story, they are just not as iconic an evil as the Nazis.

The second area Crystal Skull falls flat, is in the ancient traps and puzzles.

Or, rather, lack thereof.

In Raiders, we got the whole “stay out of the light”, floor traps firing poison darts, pits, boulders, snakes…

Temple of Doom, we got the whole “WE. ARE. GOING. TO. DIE!” room of spikes.

Crusades had the Breath of God, Word of God, and the Leap from the Lions Mouth. Not to mention choosing poorly.

Crystal Skull…well…um…there was some quicksand. Completely unrelated to the quest/temple/anything. At one point, you see Dr Jones scanning the floor looking for clues/traps/something. I was SURE Mutt would trigger something accidentally there…nope. Nothing there to trigger. There wasn’t even the satisfaction of watching them struggle to figure out the clues to open a door, as all the figuring has already happened. We’re just carrying out the motions.

So, there is the disappointments.

It’s an enjoyable film in it’s own right. Indy seems to have wisened with age, and become a more wily fighter in the process. Seems to hold his own a bit better than previous iterations at the fisticuffs. Yet, is not quite as limber at some of the acrobatics. Mutt has potential. It’s nice to see Marion.

I see a lot of complaining about the CGI in reviews. As with I am Legend, I really don’t think there’s much to complain about. Doesn’t look perfect, doesn’t look BAD. I honestly don’t get what people expect from effects these days…

If you like Indiana Jones, and adventure films such as Sahara, National Treasure, etc, it’s sure worth a viewing. For me, it just doesn’t quite live up to the former ones. And that may well be due to my having them on too high a pedestal.

Now, as for Halloween potential. There wasn’t a whole lot to draw on here. The Mayan were pretty cool, but not quite as memorable as the Hovitos. The rest of it was pretty standard from a Halloween prop point of view.