Rubber is a movie about a sentient tire with telekinetic powers that goes on a killing spree. It's also a commentary about the stupidity of a movie about a tire with telekinetic powers, and it's directed by a French guy and Fat Neil from Community is in it. I haven't decided if it's the dumbest thing I've ever seen or if it is the pinnacle of human existence....or maybe it's just a weird-ass movie....
B
Hellraiser II: Hellbound - It wasn't the worst movie about evil demons summoned by a puzzle box. Why the acting was almost adequate a time or two and the writing was merely boring and forced instead of wince-inducing.
D+
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Clean out the Netflix Queue: Leprechaun, Friday the 13th part 7: New Blood
Yes, I put a lot of horror movies on my netflix queue and they've been sitting there for a while now.
Leprechaun: I like to think of this movie more as the origin story of Rachel Greene than anything else. Jennifer Aniston is essentially playing an early version of the roll that would make her an A-list celebrity. The rest of the movie is complete and utter crap. They seem to be trying for a horror-comedy but all of the jokes fall flat and the acting is terrible. I don't understand how these movies get to so many sequels....
D-
Friday the 13, Part 7: New Blood - what a crappy film
worked more on this Haiku than
they did on the script
F
Leprechaun: I like to think of this movie more as the origin story of Rachel Greene than anything else. Jennifer Aniston is essentially playing an early version of the roll that would make her an A-list celebrity. The rest of the movie is complete and utter crap. They seem to be trying for a horror-comedy but all of the jokes fall flat and the acting is terrible. I don't understand how these movies get to so many sequels....
D-
Friday the 13, Part 7: New Blood - what a crappy film
worked more on this Haiku than
they did on the script
F
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Clean out the Netflix Queue: Hellraiser & Haunter
Part of what happens when you commit to watching everything on your netflix queue is that you immediately regret all the stupid crap you put on there. Case in Point: Hellraiser is a terrible, terrible movie. From what I've seen so far, this series is solely based on the fact the Pinhead is a really cool character design. Unfortunately, the guy has about 3 lines of dialogue in the whole movie. the other 89 minutes is filled with awful acting and people acting in ways that no human has acted ever. This is a movie where you can't wait for everyone to die just so the movie will be over.
F-
On the other hand, sometimes you find that you've put a truly hidden Gem on your list. Haunter is a fantastic ghost story from director Vincenzo Natali and starring Abigail Breslin. This movie has moved onto my top 10 horror movie list. I put it on with the idea that I would just have it on in the background, but I got sucked in very quick and soon I was jumping at every noise I heard. I'd love to tell you all about it, but I won't. Just search for it in Netflix and hit play.
A+
F-
On the other hand, sometimes you find that you've put a truly hidden Gem on your list. Haunter is a fantastic ghost story from director Vincenzo Natali and starring Abigail Breslin. This movie has moved onto my top 10 horror movie list. I put it on with the idea that I would just have it on in the background, but I got sucked in very quick and soon I was jumping at every noise I heard. I'd love to tell you all about it, but I won't. Just search for it in Netflix and hit play.
A+
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Clean out the netflix queue - a new project
I like projects with start and end goal, but after the last project, I've chosen one without a timeline. The goal? watch everything currently sitting in my netflix queue. Here are the rules:
1. Anytime I watch Netflix alone, I can ONLY choose a title from my list. I can watch other things, but I have to get it somewhere else.
2. My wife can watch whatever she wants, and I can join her, we just have to use her profile
3. For TV series, I only have to finish 6 episodes. I'm not going to watch all 260+ episodes of magnum PI
4. I cannot add any new titles until my list is empty.
The idea behind this stems from the 100 book project. I ended with a longer reading list than I started with. Since books or video games are a more substantial time investment, I thought I would pick something manageable, but not too restrictive. I want it to be fun after all.
With that out of the way, here is the first entry:
Nightmare on Elm St 2: Freddy's Revenge & Never Sleep Again:
These two fit hand in hand since Never Sleep Again turned out to be a 4 hour documentary chronicling the whole Nightmare on Elm st. series through Freddy vs. Jason. Nightmare 2 was terrible, but kind of charming in the way terrible movies are when you can tell that everyone involved was trying to make something good. It's also a not very subtle allegory for a young gay teen coming to terms with his sexuality. The documentary referred to it as the TOP GUN of 80s horror and pointed out that it was voted at the most unintentionally gay horror movie of all time. I didn't think it was that obvious until they showed all of the offending scenes in a montage. The documentary turned out to be very well done and is a good companion piece to anyone who was a fan of some of the movies. There are lots of great interviews with the actors and they spend plenty of time on each movie. It is put together with a lot of love, but it also acknowledges the series' shortcomings.
Never Sleep Again: A+
Nightmare 2: C-
1. Anytime I watch Netflix alone, I can ONLY choose a title from my list. I can watch other things, but I have to get it somewhere else.
2. My wife can watch whatever she wants, and I can join her, we just have to use her profile
3. For TV series, I only have to finish 6 episodes. I'm not going to watch all 260+ episodes of magnum PI
4. I cannot add any new titles until my list is empty.
The idea behind this stems from the 100 book project. I ended with a longer reading list than I started with. Since books or video games are a more substantial time investment, I thought I would pick something manageable, but not too restrictive. I want it to be fun after all.
With that out of the way, here is the first entry:
Nightmare on Elm St 2: Freddy's Revenge & Never Sleep Again:
These two fit hand in hand since Never Sleep Again turned out to be a 4 hour documentary chronicling the whole Nightmare on Elm st. series through Freddy vs. Jason. Nightmare 2 was terrible, but kind of charming in the way terrible movies are when you can tell that everyone involved was trying to make something good. It's also a not very subtle allegory for a young gay teen coming to terms with his sexuality. The documentary referred to it as the TOP GUN of 80s horror and pointed out that it was voted at the most unintentionally gay horror movie of all time. I didn't think it was that obvious until they showed all of the offending scenes in a montage. The documentary turned out to be very well done and is a good companion piece to anyone who was a fan of some of the movies. There are lots of great interviews with the actors and they spend plenty of time on each movie. It is put together with a lot of love, but it also acknowledges the series' shortcomings.
Never Sleep Again: A+
Nightmare 2: C-
Friday, October 10, 2014
100 by 30 - Wrap up
So I've taken a few weeks off since completing my 100 book project. It's the busiest time of year for my day job and I've needed to take a little break. But I'm back with a couple of planned posts about the project and what's next. So here's a few things I learned during this project:
100 books is lot: well duh. But I was surprised at how many books that actually is when you try to read them with a time limit
But 100 books isn't THAT many: As any avid reader can tell you, you will never really be able to shrink your reading list. After reading 100 books, I took a look at the books I want to read and I think it's gotten bigger.
I'm not a speed reader: I've always thought I was a pretty quick reader, but I quickly found out that I'm not that fast. With the time commitment needed to stay on schedule, combined with my other responsibilities/interests, I grew to resent this project from time to time....
But you can get faster with practice: One of the biggest surprises to me was that reading is like a muscle, and if you exercise it, you will get better.
My book tastes are very nerdy: When you condense reading into a time limit, you need to pick books that will hold your interest so you can keep the momentum and enjoy yourself. I assumed that I would be picking all different kinds of books, but I quickly got into a rhythm of sticking to stories in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I think it all comes down to the fact that their is enough stress and drama in the real world that if I'm gonna sit down to read, I want to be transported to somewhere else.
Teen/young adult books are awesome: While I read a few stinkers, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality books available to kids and teens. While I love a good long book for adults, Teen/YA fiction seems to have a better sense of story structure. Plots and Character development always seem to be moving forward at a nice pace and there is less filler. They also tend to keep the gorier/more extreme elements just off the page, which makes them feel more effective to me. If you hint at something horrific and let me fill in the blanks rather than going into extreme detail, I promise you what I'm imagining is worse (unless you're George RR Martin)
Graphic Novels deserve more credit: Holy cow you guys, there are some fantastic stories being told in the graphic novel format right now. I was continually surprised at the level of depth and nuance you can find in this format.
I didn't get to read things I've been looking forward to: My post-project reading list is filled with 600-900 pages epic novels and non-fiction history books that I've had to avoid due to time constraints. These are the kinds of books that require a time commitment that didn't really work with staying on a reading schedule.
Lastly, I was reminded that I really love reading: While I'm very excited to be done, I'm also really excited for all the new books I have to look forward to. I've started the Wheel of Time saga, and I've got several other books started as well... and the best part is that I will finish them whenever the heck I feel like it. I've also started listening to audiobooks again to help speed things along. The audio format had been a great help in moving forward in the first wheel of time book as it has proven to be a very slow burn. With the audiobook, I can get chores done or take the dog for a walk while the book moves forward anyway and I can use my reading time for books that move a little faster.
100 books is lot: well duh. But I was surprised at how many books that actually is when you try to read them with a time limit
But 100 books isn't THAT many: As any avid reader can tell you, you will never really be able to shrink your reading list. After reading 100 books, I took a look at the books I want to read and I think it's gotten bigger.
I'm not a speed reader: I've always thought I was a pretty quick reader, but I quickly found out that I'm not that fast. With the time commitment needed to stay on schedule, combined with my other responsibilities/interests, I grew to resent this project from time to time....
But you can get faster with practice: One of the biggest surprises to me was that reading is like a muscle, and if you exercise it, you will get better.
My book tastes are very nerdy: When you condense reading into a time limit, you need to pick books that will hold your interest so you can keep the momentum and enjoy yourself. I assumed that I would be picking all different kinds of books, but I quickly got into a rhythm of sticking to stories in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I think it all comes down to the fact that their is enough stress and drama in the real world that if I'm gonna sit down to read, I want to be transported to somewhere else.
Teen/young adult books are awesome: While I read a few stinkers, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality books available to kids and teens. While I love a good long book for adults, Teen/YA fiction seems to have a better sense of story structure. Plots and Character development always seem to be moving forward at a nice pace and there is less filler. They also tend to keep the gorier/more extreme elements just off the page, which makes them feel more effective to me. If you hint at something horrific and let me fill in the blanks rather than going into extreme detail, I promise you what I'm imagining is worse (unless you're George RR Martin)
Graphic Novels deserve more credit: Holy cow you guys, there are some fantastic stories being told in the graphic novel format right now. I was continually surprised at the level of depth and nuance you can find in this format.
I didn't get to read things I've been looking forward to: My post-project reading list is filled with 600-900 pages epic novels and non-fiction history books that I've had to avoid due to time constraints. These are the kinds of books that require a time commitment that didn't really work with staying on a reading schedule.
Lastly, I was reminded that I really love reading: While I'm very excited to be done, I'm also really excited for all the new books I have to look forward to. I've started the Wheel of Time saga, and I've got several other books started as well... and the best part is that I will finish them whenever the heck I feel like it. I've also started listening to audiobooks again to help speed things along. The audio format had been a great help in moving forward in the first wheel of time book as it has proven to be a very slow burn. With the audiobook, I can get chores done or take the dog for a walk while the book moves forward anyway and I can use my reading time for books that move a little faster.
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