Quote of the Day - 8/16/10

Monsters in movies are us, always us, one way or the other. They're us with hats on. The zombies in George Romero's movies are us. They're hungry. Monsters are us, the dangerous parts of us. The part that wants to destroy. The part of us with the reptile brain. The part of us that's vicious and cruel.

 John Carpenter

Book Review - Tales of Woe by John Reed

(The following review was originally posted by The Mike at From Midnight, With Love.  It's being reposted here because a) I'm The Mike and I say it's OK; and b) if I'm getting something sent to me to review I'm gonna at least post it on both my blogs.)

When I was contacted about doing FMWL's first book review, I had some reservations.  The book? Tales of Woe, a collection of real stories about real events.  The common theme? Suffering and sadness.  Not necessarily my thing, but I was intrigued.  I'm a horror fan who grew up with true crime stories on TV (so much so that my sister made forensics her beloved profession), and that was enough to convince me that something about this book would be entertaining to me.

From the start, I severely underestimated John Reed's collection of emotionally destructive true stories.  I was sure I could find a way to enjoy what was spelled out within the pages of the book, which appeared to me as a small hardbound edition of black pages covered in white text, with some blood red print sprinkled in for effect.  I've watched enough tales of woe take place on movie and TV screens, surely I could manage about 150 pages of sad tales and 50 pages of illustration, right?  I picked up the book figuring I could power through it over the next 2-3 hours.

I ignored the warnings on the back cover which promised "Crushing Defeats. No Happy Endings.  Abject Misery. Pointless, Endless Grief.".  Another warning stated that there would be "No lessons of temperance or moderation".  I didn't think that possible to a jaded lover of dark cinema like myself.

As I said, I severely underestimated Mr. Reed's collection.  The early stories were easy to get through - a little sad, sure - but nothing that really hit me in the gut too hard.  As I passed the 60-70 page range, I started to get a little tired of the book, but my inner tough guy figured it was just the strain of trying to read the white and read text in my poorly lit apartment.  As I passed the 100 page mark, I realized that I really did need a break.

That old saying that us horror fans love to bring out warns about staring into the abyss, and that's exactly what I felt like I was doing as I read the stories collected here.  There was animal cruelty (both by and against humans), racial injustice, freak accidents, lewd sexual behavior, and more.  Some of the stories seemed too crazy to have actually happened.  Did a baboon really eat a baby's brain and then drop it from a telephone pole?  Could a female luchador really be a serial killer of epic proportions?  I wasn't quite buying into what the book was offering, but it was gazing back at me with an unflinching resolve. 

My pace slowed considerably as I continued to travel through the tragic scenes Reed and his artists painted for me.  By page 140, I gave up.  I was resigned to finish the book the next day.  In fact, I momentarily considered giving up on the book entirely.  Of course, that ended quickly, because there's no way would I slight my readers and the fine folks who offered me the chance to review this book.  But the fact that the book was getting to me enough to make me consider giving up was a scary thought.

I went on to finish the book the next evening.  There were more times when I had to put it down and shake my head in disbelief.  A late tale about a doomed mother and child had me begging the back cover was lying - that maybe there would be just one moment of divine intervention in the book.  I was completely broken down by the tales within this little black book.

The back of the book also made a claim that its purpose was Greek Catharsis, meaning that "You watch people suffer horribly, and then feel better about your own life."  In my case, it made me immediately want to partake in things I enjoy (In the interest of full disclosure, that included watching a video of my 18 month old niece, some music by Meat Loaf, and an ice cream bar).  I enjoyed these things a little more than usual, definitely, and I also found myself thinking a bit about the people in my life who I may unintentionally distance myself from at times.  I'm not sure I was left feeling better about my own life, but I was more grateful.

If that is its goal, then Tales of Woe is a depressing and harrowing success.  I'm glad that I've had the chance to experience these tales - from the silly ones (did we need so much emphasis on the evils of Sarah Palin?) to the destructive ones (I'll never look at the cupboards under my kitchen counter the same way), because they offered me something powerful and thought-provoking.  If you think you can find your way through them, John Reed's Tales of Woe will take you on a journey of suffering.  I must warn you, however.  Tread that road carefully.

(Tales of Woe is available as of August 17th from MTV Press.  Visit the official website for more information. For another take on the book, check out a review by Geof over at Enter The Man Cave!)

Comedy Corner - Steven Wright sings about Rachel

I Like It!!

Morning Music: Little Suzi

Let's all rock through Monday.  Sound good?

Artist: Tesla

Album: Mechanical Resonance

Quote of the Day - 8/15/10

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

I'm gonna be up front with you all.  Though I risk losing some e-credibility by speaking my mind on a movie that's become a uniting beacon of righteousness for self-proclaimed internet "nerds" everywhere; I have to say that there's something about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World that just didn't work for me.  My mind wants to blame Michael Cera, who's been playing the same Michael Cera since being birthed by Jason Bateman in the early part of the 21st Century.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm from Iowa, or the fact that I'm fat, or the fact that I don't wear faded t-shirts with logos on them, but there's just something about the guy that I can't really relate to at all.

But I don't think Cera's the entire problem I have with the film.  I've very much enjoyed Superbad, Arrested Developement, and Juno, and in each of those cases I felt Cera was essential to the material's success.  Seeing him pushed as a hero here doesn't work for me, but after pondering the film for a day I'm left thinking that he had less to do with that concern than I originally thought.  The more I think about the film, the more I realize the story - as adapted from a comic - comes off as another lazy love story that assumes that "quirky" characters don't need to be deep or interesting as individuals.

 Should I really be looking for something deeper in a Hot Topic-friendly comic adaptation?  Maybe not.  The story centers on apparently unemployed 22-year old Scott Pilgrim (Cera), who's part of a band and is dating a 17 year old Chinese girl (Ellen Wong, who seems to be having a ton of fun in one of the film's better roles).  He doesn't want to be dating her from the start, so when he sees Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party, he falls in love with her.  Apparently she's literally the girl of his dreams (there's a funny line about some kind of subconscious hallway that's never expanded on), so he begins that stalker love trend we've seen since John Cusack bought a boombox.  Ramona has her defenses set to receive, and thus they begin dating, only to find that Scott has to fight Ramona's 7 Evil Exes before he can date her.

It's a fun story, but people are reacting to these characters as if they're family members or loved ones, and I don't get why.  The side characters are pretty entertaining, but there's little aside from Scott's t-shirt collection and knowledge of music (a must for any prospective romantic stalker) and Ramona's changing hair colors that make their relationship any different from any other characters in teen films.  Director extraordinaire Edgar Wright does a fine job of blurring this dynamic with his skillful recreation of the hip/indie scene and video game love that was expected from the film, but after the film ended and I thought about it for a few hours, the underlying plot seemed like just another film in which infatuation is assumed to be synonymous with love.

From an entertainment standpoint, I wasn't disappointed with Scott Pilgrim as a film.  There's a lot of fun action, cool special effects, and some great moments where side characters steal the show.  Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, and Brandon Routh all bring laughs; and a cameo by one of my favorite dudes (I won't name names, but I've been saying that he makes every movie better since Deep Blue Sea) was the highlight of the film for me.

Maybe I'm just the jaded dude who's sick of Cera's shtick and lazy "romances".  I laughed at the film, I enjoyed Edgar Wright's direction (though the pacing seemed a bit slow at times), and admire the originality of it all.  But when the whole story is about a guy fighting for the woman he loves and we know next to nothing that makes the guy or the woman interesting, I start to wonder what people see that I don't.

Maybe Scott Pilgrim will become more likeable to me on repeat viewings - it definitely offered enough fun and originality for me to give it another chance - but for now I'm left feeling disconnected from that which is supposedly so incredibly cool.  I guess I really am from Iowa.

(P.S. - Yes, I'm aware there's an Iowan in the movie.  But he graduated from high school with more than 57 people and probably never fed a pig.)

(P.P.S. - One last serious question: Is the music Scott and his band "play" really supposed to be "good"?)

We're going to Disneyland!

Well...when I say Disneyland, I mean Disney World.  And when I say we, I mean Narcosleepy and The H-Bomb.  Not The Mike, of course.  Who else is gonna hold the internet down?

So, the married half of (O)PP's staff are gone away for a week, leaving myself and our mysterious fourth blogger to take the steering wheel of this site and drive it straight into your hearts.  Like a stake, only of happiness. 

The duo will be checking in from time to time (I won't drop names, but one of them already texted me to say "There are huge boobs everywhere at disney."), but you might expect a bit less from us over the next week.  Between last week's craziness and this week's vacation, we've all been a little swamped.

In the meantime, I want to take care of some housekeeping duties.  Big thanks to Zach of ZforZombies.com and Morgan of The Kid in the Hall for spreading some love to (O)PP during our first few weeks.  Your support is greatly appreciated!

So, since I'm running this mofo at present, do y'all have anything you want from (O)PP?  More movies, more music, less videos, etc.?  Please let us know (like, you could even use the comments below or the facebook or the twitter!), so we can keep having fun and rocking your universe!

(For example, I'll be giving y'all my controversial review of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World tonight!  BEWARE!)

In music news......

It was recently announced that the title of the new Weezer album is going to be Hurley, paying homage to the character on Lost. And who will be gracing the cover of the new album, but Jorge Garcia! Here is what Jorge had to say:

"How awesome is that! It totally put a smile on my face, to say the least. It ranks right up there with getting my own action figure."

Jorge also gave some insight as to how this all happened. He met Rivers Cuomo backstage at the George Lopez Show and asked if he could take a picture with him. Jorge added:

“And then two months later I get an email from my manager saying, ‘Listen, Weezer contacted us and they want you to be on the cover of their new CD…I thought that was really cool.”

Super Cool!! Here is the cover:

Quote of the Day

I tend to think of action movies as exuberant morality plays in which good triumphs over evil.

Sylvester Stallone

Quote of the Day

The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.

Britney Spears

Morning Music: Diamond Eyes

THE DAY IS HERE! Let us begin with The Expendables' theme song...and some Rambo action. BOOM.

Artist: Shinedown

Album: The Expendables Motion Picture Soundtrack (?)

Quote of the Day

My boss seems to think that my hair is gonna fall off & go into the ice cream. This hair ain’t movin’ my dude. 150mph on the highway on a street bike… it doesn’t move! What makes you think it’s gonna move in a gelato shop?

-Pauly D

10 Year Old Singing Sensation!!!!

I Don't Understand Sometimes

There are a few things I understand on this planet. I understand how to be a student as I have been a college student for around a decade now. I am sittin here, right now as I type, watching Jersey Shore. I just don't understand why in the world I love this show. I am breakin' down laughing so hard at these cats.

In any given night this show is on, you can guarantee the words grenade, land mine, situation, gym, tan, and laundry. Also, you can count on a vicious fight between an on and off again couple. This is classy TV. One person calls the other word the b-bomb (or biatch), then the other person leaves cuz they are extremely sad and pouty. Following this barrage of swearing, booze is sipped and dancing is exchanged...As I am watching now, the words "Bronx Zoo and hyena" were just used as they are tossing around a fake boob that reminded one of them of a "chicken cutlet." I frickin love this show, for the shear mindlessness that it produces. As I am sitting here giving you a play by play of the action, I don't really have to even think about what to write about.

So, in honor of the Awesomeness of Jersey Shore and delinquent behavior...I am giving myself a nickname. I am thinking "The Exclamation." I'm that long extended line with a dot under it that makes any statement scream with both meaning and enthusiasm. I am the same level of the punctuation you need to use when you want to yell. If you want to really scream via typing...you can type in all caps and have many exclamations...like so...BOOOOYYYYYYAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Notice me...all those exclamation points after booya...notice how I am putting the awe in awesome. I am the grammatical tool you use to proclaim all that is righteous and "bangin."

In closing, I have no idea why or how I even like Jersey Shore...but Damn it is hilarious.



Narcosleepy Out

Movie of the Day: The Trigger Effect

If you follow the news and/or weather at all, you probably saw some stories about "Historic Flooding" in Iowa today.  The majority of that flooding occurred in the city where 75% of this blog's staff lives; Ames, Iowa.  As far as I know, the three of us are alive and well, and didn't face too much damage from the runaway water.  If we know what's good for us, we won't be drinking tap water for some time (Thanks a bunch, broken water main!), but we're going to live on despite the inconveniences to our daily routines.

As the events of the day in Ames unfolded - and as I worked to deal with a myriad of transportation, sanitation, evacuation, and problems during a 13+ hour shift at work - I was reminded of the society-gone-astray thriller The Trigger Effect.  It's a movie that landed on my radar back in the summer of 1996 (Which is completely my favorite year, but that's a different story for a different time) thanks to the presence of my beloved Elisabeth Shue and a mixed review from Siskel & Ebert that got me interested in the idea of the film.

Written and Directed by David Koepp, The Trigger Effect opens with a wonderful tracking shot that shows how easily anger can be transferred from person to person in a populated setting.  A waiter trips over a cord, spills on a man who doesn't speak English, who then bumps into someone else, who then argues with someone else, and so on.  It's all simple human frustration; the kind of thing that happens every day.  But it's something we rarely stop to witness, and Koepp's camera does a fine job of pointing out the ease with which our frustrations can boil into aggression.

What happens when we let these frustrations gain momentum?  What if we always take the easy way out and avoid them?  Those are the questions raised as The Trigger Effect moves on to its setting event, a blackout that shutsdown large portions of L.A. and its subrubs and leaves a married couple (Kyle Maclachlan and Shue), their sick daughter, and a family friend (Dermot Mulroney) fighting for their survival against a sea of troubles.  The movie references predators that feed on the weak in early scenes where we see coyotes eating dead animals and get a quick glance at George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (another film in which normal people let their frustrations boil over while facing a change in their reality), but shocks us by making the human condition the host of predatory behavior.

And that's what made me think of The Trigger Effect today.  As the river banks rose and conveniences that we take for granted disappeared, rumors spread throughout the town.  People took to the streets in search of safe water, and I'm sure more than a few people cursed their neighbor in frustration.  While I have faith in my town to not reach the extremes of The Trigger Effect - which definitely has its characters act in a highly metaphorical and illogical manner - I think the message the film sends rings true for Ames today.

In extreme conditions, we have to remember that most everyone is having a bad day.  We seem to lose sight of that too often.  We point fingers at others and believe that everyone's out to get us, but deep down inside we're all just fighting to survive and trying to feel like we still have some control over our lives when the things we thought were certain suddenly become variable. 

The Trigger Effect never quite understands these facts entirely, the same way most people - including myself -  don't understand them entirely.  But I like where its heart is.

Also, I love Elisabeth Shue SOOOOOOOO MUCH.

Quote of the Day

“The only thing that stops God from sending another flood is that the first one was useless.”

Chamfort

Morning Music: Over the Hills and Far Away

And now, the oddity that is/was Nightwish.

 

Artist: Nightwish 

Album: Over The Hills and Far Away

Quote of the Day

Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.

Alec Baldwin

Trailer Alert! The Avengers (Premake Edition!)

A while back, a really cool trailer - pieced together from a bunch of '50s films - showed us what The Empire Strikes Back would have looked like in the 1950s.  Now, with The Avengers movie coming our way in just under two years, a "premake" of that film has a trailer online!

Feel like you didn't get everything in that video?  Didn't catch the significance of Uatu the Watcher, or know why Yul Brynner looks like Charles Xavier?  This version of the video comes with some notes that spell out all the Marvel action at play in the video!

 

Awesome, right?