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July 9th, 2009

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July 3rd, 2009

11:12 pm - It is far too hot... To be on my computer. That's all I go to say. x_x Current Mood: hot

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June 27th, 2009

06:15 pm - Obligatory Belated Michael Jackson Post When my aunt took me to Disneyland for the first time when I was five years old, I made her take me to see Captain Eo probably 23 times in a row, if not more. I think that explains a lot about me as a person. XD This inspired the Borg Queen in Star Trek First Contact, btw, which I've mentioned here before. It is still awesome. I'm hoping that his death coupled with a renewed interest the film industry is showing towards 3-D inspires a resurrection of Captain Eo, because the world could totally benefit from another generation raised on this. S'all I got to say. Current Mood: optimistic

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June 21st, 2009

01:50 pm - Movies, movies, movies... Drag Me To Hell - So there's this new Sam Raimi film out that has an unnaturally high rating on Rottentomatoes.com (horror movies usually get middling ratings even if they're decent, because a lot of critics seem to dislike genre films in general). Of course, this has been keeping me up at night, wondering how this movie could be getting so much appeal. Gwyn and I decided to see it yesterday so that the mystery could be solved. It was entertaining, and I think it did exactly what it was trying to do, but Raimi's repetitive gags fall flat with me after a point, and I've never been boners about excessive cheesy CGI effects in my horror. Much like with every single other Raimi film, I am slightly more underwhelmed than some of my peers. Don't get me wrong, I love predictable gross-out horror as much as the next gorehound, but I'm just not in love with predictable gross-out horror. So we're gonna have to just stay friends, I think. What this movie is, however, is a PG-13 horror film with enough bite that you could rent it for a gaggle of young teens for their Halloween slumber party without worrying that they'll call you weak sauce for doing so. This is an important category of film. When I worked at the video store, I was asked many times for suggestions in the horror genre that would fit two criteria: 1. I can let my kids watch it without having to screen it first for excessive gore, sex, nudity and other content that might make their friends' parents complain to me about it. and 2. The kids won't get bored with it. Predictable and cheesy this film may be, but it's not boring! And the gross-out gags will make for great party fodder. I was a little surprised at the language for a PG13 movie, but I do understand that certain words I wouldn't have said in adult company as a kid are commonplace on the television these days, and it wasn't excessive in the film. Totally watchable and fun, but I'd probably save this one for those slumber party rentals. 7/10 (with a bonus point given to it for actually having good scary effects without crossing the line into an R rating. If it had been a little bloodier and R, I think it would have been a 6 at best.) Let The Right One In - I finally got around to watching this Swedish vampire flick that's been sitting on my desk for months. I was afraid that the hype around this movie would end up causing disappointment, so I was kind of hesitating out of worry that it really wasn't all that poignant/dark/intelligent/great. But I couldn't just sit on it forever so... You know how it goes. At the risk of over-hyping, I thought this movie was beautiful. It's just about everything I could ask for in a vampire film. Poignant and dark, but certainly not consumed with its own pathos. It never feels particularly masturbatory or overwrought. The English dubbing is laughable, though, so I recommend watching it with the subtitles (if you can stand them) so that you actually take the movie seriously. Still, it does sadden me that they're already making a retitled American version of a film that really shouldn't be changed in any way, and it saddens me more that the profoundly less intelligent, overly trite vampire movies marketed to the masses these days will forever have the bigger following. But that's to be expected. If you like vampire movies and haven't seen this one yet, then get your hands on it. Don't wait for next year's remake (I'm guessing it'll be sub-par). If you don't like vampire movies but like a good, well-thought out horror film, get your hands on it. Much like anything else that's vampire-related, if it's recommended by me than it's got more to it than just the usual tropes. Even if you dislike the general direction this film takes, it's still interesting to see where it goes, and that's so much more than I can say for the average movie these days. 9/10 (Family&Friends: If you're keeping an eye out for gift ideas for Sarah, she wouldn't mind having this one in her collection. Seriously. Just saying.) Current Mood: good Tags: movie reviews

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June 19th, 2009

01:57 pm - Psst.... We're doing a Dethklok Summer Holiday Event over on IJ! All submissions are welcome - art, drabbles, ficlets, icons, whathaveyou. Everything's due on the 23rd of July. (Pass it on.) Current Mood: busy Tags: dethklok, fandom

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June 13th, 2009

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May 19th, 2009

07:27 pm - Update. Good news: I got paid today! XD Bad news: Didn't make much. Though, let's face facts... I only work a couple of days a week until we get more kids enrolled. At least I'm technically employed. It means that the government knows about me and is kicking me a little extra "holy crap you are SO UNBELIEVABLY POOR" money along with my tax return. Not a lot, but enough to buy pants. I really need pants. You have no idea. Current Mood: tired and kinda pathetic

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May 14th, 2009

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May 9th, 2009

07:24 pm - Star Trek I am not really fond of the show, Lost, and really, really disliked some of the previews, which make it out to be flash actiony/Star Wars Prequelesque, and I will totally admit that I was bemoaning the new Trek movie ever since I heard rumors about it being in pre-production. It's going to suck, I said. It's going to be as bad as Nemesis if we're lucky, I said. However, then it came out and everyone on my friends list saw it and loved it. Michelle actually went so far as to say I'd love it, too, which was REALLY BALLSY OF HER considering how picky I can be. So Andy and I decided to go see it today because the not knowing was eating me up inside. ( It was better than Nemesis. Spoilers and geekery beyond this point. ) Current Mood: dorky Tags: movie reviews

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May 4th, 2009

11:49 am As of this morning, the cough has gone into the realm of nearly constant hacking up of stuff that I cannot properly describe because it, frankly, grosses me out. You know the "romantic" cough, that the love interests often do in movies when they're about to die of consumption? "Akeh, akeh..." and then there are five spots of blood on the handkerchief? Fade to black and the next scene is the funeral, everyone cries? Yeah, this isn't that cough. This is more like Kapali's hacking when he's doing the hairball thing. The results are too similar for my comfort. In conclusion, I am not dying of consumption, but I may have hairballs! Ugh. Current Mood: sick

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April 28th, 2009

08:11 pm - That Animation Meme. Animation Meme [X] what you saw [ ] what you haven't finished [/] saw sizable portions Bold what you loved Strike for what you disliked/hated Leave unchanged if neutral ( I like cartoons. I added several to this, as well. ) Still sick, but I worked a full shift today! Gonna nap, now. Current Mood: bored Tags: meme

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April 26th, 2009

11:54 pm - Sick. I am once again sick. Like, having trouble staying vertical sick. Cannot compute horizontally, so am not responsive as I'd like to be, in the virtual sense. I would blame the kidlets, but I didn't start feeling the grim onset of sick until yesterday, and haven't seen them since Tuesday, so it would probably be unfair. I'm blaming Kapali, because he has been acting in a sickly fashion as well*. It's even less likely I caught sick from the cat, but at least he doesn't care that I'm blaming him. Andy made me tea, so he gets no blame. I watched a marathon of Food Networks Last Cake Standing challenge today. I am not so sick that I cannot appreciate cake-themed television, at least. *This could just be hairballs, on the part of the cat. I was not present for the event. We are watching him for other signs, but he mostly just wants to go out on the balcony and chase insects right now as far as I can tell. Current Location: not actually at the toilet pictured, which is in Turlock. Current Mood: nauseated Current Music: bleh

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April 14th, 2009

07:36 pm - ... My cat, Kapali, (the one in the icon) is terrified... of bubbles. The spastic, neurotic, hairless cat that Gwyn owns is not terrified of bubbles. Just my normally lazy lump of a cat. This is not really of any import to anyone but me, but it does mean that a $.98 bottle of bubble fluid can provide loads of entertainment, and much-needed exercise to a normally sloth-like kitty. As a side note: Almost all children under the age of five are fascinated with bubbles. It was the only surefire way we had of calming a room full of crying babies in the wobbler room. Current Mood: amused

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April 7th, 2009

02:57 am Happy Birthday honeychan! And tetrabella! Because God knows I will not be remembering any birthdays tomorrow. XD Also, this thing has been going around my Flist again, so. Here ya go: 01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? 02) What was your dream growing up? 03) What talent do you wish you had? 04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? 05) Favorite vegetable? 06) What was the last book you read? 07) What zodiac sign are you? 08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. 09) Worst Habit? 10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? 11) What is your favorite sport? 12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? 13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? 14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? 15) Tell me one weird fact about you. 16) Do you have any pets? 17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? 18) What was your first impression of me? 19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? 20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? 21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? 22) What color eyes do you have? 23) Ever been arrested? 24) Bottle or can soda? 25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? 26) What's your favorite place to hang out? 27) Do you believe in ghosts? 28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? 29) Do you swear a lot? 30) Biggest pet peeve? 31) In one word, how would you describe yourself? 32) Do you believe in/appreciate romance? 33) Favourite and least favourite food? 34) Do you believe in God? 35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? Stricken 'cuz I do not care. Current Mood: sleepy Tags: meme

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March 22nd, 2009

12:33 pm - Movies! Watchmen: I liked it about as much as I liked the comic. They were both entertaining and did what they set out to do, and there were parts in both that could have been edited down as far as I'm concerned, but then I'm kinda like that. Still, enjoyed it, and I'm not sure why some people are claiming that Malin Akerman is like the worst actress ever. I thought she did fine? It's not like she wrote the script, sheesh, people. Quarantine: I haven't seen REC, so I can't compare it as a remake, but I liked this quite a bit. I love Jennifer Carpenter's ability to play awkward and pull truly horrified facial expressions. My biggest complaint would be for the marketing team. You spend the whole movie waiting for the scene that's shown in the previews, expecting it, so when it comes it's more of a now the movie can end moment than a final scare. :( I dig the basic premise, though. Found footage is a genre I tend to like, and combining that with super diseases can't really go wrong for me. (That said, if you are not into Jennifer Carpenter, found footage or super diseases, this is not the film for you!) Video Violence 1: This movie sounded decent on paper. It was pitched to me as a "goofy, low-budget 80's flick", which is a genre I tend to like. The premise is about a video store employee who uncovers a community's obsession with gore and snuff films. Also good. Then you sit down and are confronted with this movie's execution. Don't get me wrong, I can handle B (and C and the occasional D) movies, and I handled this just fine. We didn't fast forward. We didn't skip any scenes. The sound mixing on the dvd was so bad that we did have to play volume rollercoaster a bit, and the score was so bad that we were unable to make jokes about it after the first ten minutes or so. Actors' performances ranged from daytime theater to gradeschool level play, with one character - Eli, played by a man named Uke - standing out as particularly grating. Though, if you're really drunk or really high, you might find him hilarious (we had to mute a couple of his scenes, but we were sober). A couple of the other actors (the video store owner and his wife) seemed to be trying really hard, but could only do so much with the script that they were given. The gal really tried to utter lines like "This is getting creepy!" (in response to a video tape of their employee getting murdered being slipped into her purse at a deli) with a straight face. This movie wasn't as bad as Beyond the Wall of Sleep or anything by Ulli Lommel, but I'm definitely going to pass on Video Violence 2. Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood - This is the second of the Guinea Pig films. It's a very short mock-up of a snuff film. Dude in a Samurai helmet dismembers a girl. There is really no point to it, but it is gross, and if you're viewing it for the artistry of the gore effects, it's really amazing. I can totally see why people - especially at the time it came out - were afraid that it was real. There was a gag involving the removal of an eyeball that I honestly wasn't sure how they did. My advice is to watch the making of on the disk first, though, and then watch the actual short film. The filmmakers are all very geeky and charming, and everyone is laughing and having a good time, which makes the film itself less unsettling for being, essentially, torture porn. Actually, my advice probably is to skip this one entirely unless you are really into gore for the sheer sake of gore, as that's all it is. Eden Lake - This film did exactly what it was trying to do, but I'm not so sure that was a good thing. Basically, if you watched Wolf Creek and thought it was too lighthearted and funny, or Mean Creek and wished that the kids were more brutal and never received any comeuppance, then this is the film for you! It's an unrelenting, terribly frustrating and uncomfortable film about a couple who go camping by a lake and end up getting terrorized by wayward teens. Everyone in the film pretty much sucks, the situation sucks, and if you're anything like me you'll be spending 90 percent of the movie growling in irritation at pretty much every decision made by the main characters. Nothing good happens to anyone in this film, and while there's a resolution, there is no emotional closure. The movie doesn't let up, which mostly makes it tiring. Still, it wasn't bad. Just aggravating. And British. Very British. There you go. EDIT: Dance of the Dead - Zombies at the prom. This movie is pretty much exactly what you want it to be. Nothing new, but it's lighthearted and funny. If you're a fan of the zombie genre and want to see zombies at a high school prom, this will scratch that itch. A totally enjoyable waste of time with plenty of heart (if not braaains) to go around. I have two more Guinea Pig films to watch (Mermaid in a Manhole and He Never Dies), Let the Right One In (the Swedish film about vampires I've been waiting for), and Ogre, which is a 1996 film starring John Malkovich set in WWII. But for now I'm going to go back to trashy television for a while. XD Current Mood: calm Tags: movie reviews

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March 20th, 2009

12:15 pm - For my birthday, I'm taking an E-Break. XD I won't be online much (if at all) today. I'm going to celebrate being older with bad movies and cake! But, I still love you guys. You are all awesome. If I could invite you to my apartment to watch bad movies and eat cake with me, I would. But, you know... small apartment. And most of you live out of state... if not out of country. In other news, chellealistic sent me a present!!! In the mail! I got mail! THANK YOU, MICHELLE!!! Current Mood: excited

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March 17th, 2009

05:24 pm - Pfft, headaches. I'm in a grumpy mood today due to a nasty headache (still sick). However, it is St. Patrick's Day! Which is awesome. Not only because of the Dethklok St. Patrick's Event on IJ (thanks you guys for making that successful!), but also because it means that there is a marathon of Leprechaun movies on Sci-Fi. I watch them every year. XD Current Mood: sore

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March 11th, 2009

03:07 pm Glitter Text Generator I already talked to her twice on the phone, but it is my mother's (dinahdork) birthday today. I think she's 28. ^.~ (Coincidentally, I'll be turning 28 on March 20th. So now we're the same age!) Current Mood: nostalgic

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March 5th, 2009

09:17 pm - Quick Book Review I just finished Bottomfeeder by B.H. Fingerman. This is hands down one of the best vampire books I've ever read. It may be my favorite book on the subject, bar none. It's gritty, humorous, and completely unpretentious. It's also somewhat homoerotic, even though the main character constantly insists that he isn't gay and does go on occasionally about how he likes to bang women (even if he has trouble getting any). Primary male character discontent with his lot in eternal life whose only real relationships are with other male characters? Check. Yet somehow there isn't so much as a hint of the overwrought (vaguely nauseating) prose and unrelenting angst that seems to drip from the pages of almost every other vampire novel I've ever read! Yay! It's a fresh and fairly believable take on the subject. Being a vampire does not make you emo or sparkly or wealthy or smooth, necessarily. It may just mean you have to hold down shit jobs to keep a shit apartment for a few decades longer than you otherwise would... and of course kill the occasional homeless person to stay alive. The author does misuse the word "bemuse", but seriously, I won't hold it against him (he's a comic writer, and I believe that this was his first full-length novel). I found the book highly entertaining and well worth my time. If you have a chance to pick it up, it's a solid, good read... whether or not you like vampires in your fiction (I don't, Gwyn does, and we both loved this book). In Other News: Got hired today. :D Current Mood: thirsty

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