Stanley Kubrick is a director, whose works such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, cause divide amongst many people. Some like his films, others do not and much the same as any piece of artwork – very subjective and evokes a myriad of feeling through the heart and minds of people. My favorite Kubrick film is The Shining. Haunting, paralyzingly visual, and edged with creep – it is no wonder someone has finally labored a documentary which explores the film in depth.
In ROOM 237, we hear from people who believed they have decoded the far-reaching theories, hidden symbols and messages buried in the late director’s film. Carefully examining THE SHINING forwards and backwards, ROOM 237 is equal parts captivating, provocative and pure pleasure. A must see for movie buffs of all ages.
There are several movies celebrating anniversaries this year. Many theaters around the country, including one near you might be offering a heap of some classics, such as Poltergeist and Halloween.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Poltergeist.
Poltergeist is a movie that holds up well on the creep factor. The thing that distinguishes Poltergeist from many horror films is otherworldly, transient elemental danger expressed through every day objects, such as furniture, a television, a swimming pool, trees, etc. Poltergeist weaves in folklore and the paranormal to provide an eerie haunting of a family who have moved into a newly built subdivision.
This movie helped to perpetuate the universal belief that the dead will wander and seek revenge if they aren’t treated with respect. In some societies that respect is simply that the bodies aren’t to be disturbed, while other cultures feel a need to placate the dead through ritual and ceremonial celebrations. However, the result of disrespect is always the same – the dead come back into the world of the living and try to break bad on them.
One of the interesting aspects of this movie was the use of real skeletons on set. Apparently it was cheaper to buy real skeletons than fake ones. There are some that believe this resulted in a curse on those who worked on the film and subsequent sequels. See: http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/poltergeist.asp
Halloween is a low-budget, independent-horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut. Halloween is set in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. On Halloween 1963, six year old Michael Myers murders his older sister by stabbing her with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later, he escapes from a psychiatric hospital, returns home, and stalks teenager Laurie Strode and her friends. Michael’s psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis suspects Michael’s intentions, and follows him to Haddonfield to try to prevent him from killing more innocent people.
Halloween, like other slasher films, have been the subject of Academic criticism. Feminists believe that slasher films as debasing women in as decisive a manner as hard-core pornography. Other feminists believe that despite “the fact that Loomis saves Strode, Clover asserts that Halloween initiates the role of the ‘final girl’ who ultimately triumphs in the end. Strode herself fought back against Myers and severely wounds him.” More theme and analysis can be viewed on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_%281978_film%29#Themes_and_analysis
Check with your local theater to see if either are playing in your area.
I hope you all had a good weekend. My weekend involved a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity, which is like Apples-to-Apples but very politically incorrect, a party involving bocce ball in the dark with very little light and uncut grass, almost getting my nose broken in an excited group hug (my team came back from a significant deficit to win the game), and being lazy on Sunday. I honestly should have got more done with my weekend, but I need a break every now and again.
So what is happening the world of pop culture today?
Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are on board to play Bill & Ted in a new Bill & Ted Excellent Adventure movie. The film is to be directed by Galaxy Quest’s Dean Parisot. Although, it will sad not to have George Carlin involved. I wonder who they will get to fill the void left by the comedic legend.
There were several notable deaths recently: Director Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka), Writer David Rakoff, Special Effects Wizard Carlo Ramband Comic Book Legend Joe Kubert. RobotxRobot sends their condolences to their loved ones and fans. It’s sad to lose creativity and imagination.
Neo Geo is releasing a new handheld. It’s going to be less than the original price of $650. Exciting news!
Pogo (aka put out a new video with a Wizard of Oz theme and put himself in the video
For Parks and Recreation fans, Lucy Lawless will romance Ron Swanson next season. (Pop Candy)
There is a rumor that Michael J. Fox is planning a return to series TV. He’s such a sweetheart, and I would totally watch him. (AP)
Jodie Foster has pinned an editorial on the life of youth in Hollywood and comes to Kristen Stewart’s defense. Read here. (Daily Beast)
Abby Elliott won’t be returning to Saturday Night Live next season. (Hollywood Reporter)
The Monkees Sell Out East Coast Shows in 1 Day. Sorry for anyone who wanted a ticket and didn’t get one. I was hoping they would be playing closer to my city, but alas, no. (Hollywood Reporter)
Zoe Saldana to play singer Nina Simone in biopic. No offense to Zoe, but Nina was not always miss slim and trim. Is she going to gain weight for the role? Something that I always get a little peeved about Hollywood is the authenticity of it’s casting. Too much of the time, you get pretty people playing pretty people. What I mean is, you don’t get realism. Nina was beautiful. However, she wasn’t the conventional beautiful. Her beauty blossomed within and spread out and enveloped her. Also, Nina was chiseled from a soulful piece medium – a depth only beauty could dare aspire to.
Robocop is a transformer who fights Al-Qaeda now. “Up until recently, it seemed like MGM’s Robocop remake was making all the right moves. They hired Elite Squad 2‘s Jose Padilha to direct. Jackie Earle Haley, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael K. Williams (Omar from The Wire) joined the cast. But according to HitFix’s Drew McWeeny (who generally hasn’t decent taste and isn’t a retarded fanboy), it has one major liability: the script. Drew got his hands on the Joshua Zetumer and Nick Schenk script, and said, among other things (before we get to the more spoilery revelations), that ‘When this thing hits theaters, people are going to call up Len Wiseman’s “Total Recall” on the phone and apologize for being so mean.’” (Read More at FilmDrunk).
Another 4 contestants were eliminated on an all new episode of So You Think You Can Dance! We say goodbye to Amelia Lowe, Janelle Issis, Dareian Kujawa and Matthew Kazmierczak. I am excited that Cole is still in the running as well as Cyrus. They are fabulous! For a good breakdown of the performances, head over to MTV.com.
One of my most favorite favorite on-line stores is Think Geek! They have such awesome goodies. Well, Think Geek has issued a program to encourage geeky shoppers to pitch ideas to Think Geek and get paid for it. Check out this new program: here
Lastly, PBS and MelodySheep have put out a new video that remixes Julia Child. Now I am hungry!
I have to say that I am not entirely surprised by this mashup gone viral. It definitely expresses the love-hate nature of Star Wars. My friends dearly love Star Wars, but I have always been more of a Star Trek girl, for better or worse. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the first 3 movies. The newer Star Wars are ruinous. At least even with the worst of the Star Trek movies, the acting was not as felonious and hokey if not downright abominable. I know, I am not going to make some Star Wars fans happy by saying that or maybe they will agree. Well, at least we have first three and the new three have given us such humorous things like this mashup. I wonder if Gotye thought his music would just take off like it has.
Set in the strange and oppressive emotional landscape of the year 1983, BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW is a Reagan-era fever dream inspired by hazy childhood memories of midnight movies and Saturday morning cartoons. Cosmatos was born in Rome in 1974 to the late Greek movie director (George Cosmatos) and a Swedish experimental artist mother. He spent his early formative years traveling all over the globe before settling in Canada. In 1981, the family lived for a year in Mexico where exposure to the strange local interpretations of American pop culture had a profound and lasting effect on his creative life. Growing up in the isolated suburbs of Vancouver Island during the 80s, he obsessed over the minutiae of heavy metal, fantasy art, and science fiction horror films, which he still does to this day. He then immersed himself in the underground art and music scenes making short films, album covers and music videos with a burgeoning group of influential and groundbreaking artists. Panos currently lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia.
One of my favorite movies that ranks high on my list of I watch way too much is Blade Runner. Now, you can view the sketchbook (as it now been released free of copyright) online for free. for Blade Runner on-line at ISSUU. Just visit this link: http://issuu.com/futurenoir/docs/bladerunner_sketchbook
Spork is a quirky, offbeat comedy that debuted in 2010.
“Spork” happens to be the name of the film and it is the nickname of it’s main character: a 14-year old intersex (i.e. hermaphrodite) teenager, who identifies as a girl. She is poor, unpopular, mistreated, and very soft-spoken. She sort of looks like she could be Pigpen’s (from The Peanuts) sister. Her hair is a rat’s nest. She can’t afford a new book bag, which has definitely seen better days and contains awful, crude insults. She has no friends. Her sole companions are her taxidermied pet dog, Buster, and a worn out VHS copy of The Wiz.
After suffering the torment of the majority of the student body, including a popular bunch of Britney Spears/Lisa Frank Gone Wrong/Bad Hair wannabes, Spork receives attention from another social misfit who calls himself Chang. Spork decides to take Chang’s advice and he socks one the Britneys in the nose with a basketball. It’s a game changer for Spork and gets the attention of her neighbor, affectionately nicknamed, Tootsie Roll.
Tootsie Roll dishes the dirt with Spork and informs her that she is planning on entering the school Dance Off to win $236 with which she would use to go visit her dad in prison. Spork relates to Tootsie’s love for her parent as she lost her mom quite some time ago, and it is a gap that had never been able to be filled by anything.
Sadly, Tootsie-Roll injures her ankle and can no longer compete and it is up to Spork to win the Dance-Off.
The film explores grave social topics issues such as racism, stereotypes, sexism, class warfare, homophobia, and gender roles. Despite the serious undertones, the film still keeps it’s comedic sensibilities.
The exact time-period that this movie is based in is confusing as there are events and trends out of place in another time period. There is a special word for this anachronism. For example, Spork and her friends are listening to hip-hop songs from the early 90s and wearing 90s funky fresh gear, while the antagonist, Betsy Biotch, and her crew are wearing 80s garb, listening to 80s music, and worshiping Britney Spears. Another example, if it is the 1990s, why is Spork into 1978 film, the Wiz? why is Tootsie Roll into using Afro Sheen**? Why is Charlie (a young man being raised by two dads; Spork’s future ??? interest) wearing 80s garb and have 80s teen magazine Chad Allen pictures/posters all of his walls.
Afro Sheen was a hair care product invented by George Ellis Johnson, Sr., a black entrepreneur, in the 1960s but became very popular, especially through the advent of the Afro and advertising by Soul Train during the 1970s and 1980s. Mr. Johnson was born in 1927 and he is stilling living today.
The Female Napoleon Dynamite?
Upon watching the trailer, it would probably be an easy choice to label this film the female version of Napoleon Dynamite. However, I think while there are similarities, this movie has better pacing and it deals with more controversial issues than Napoleon. The bullying that takes place in the film is visceral or rather, crude. This might turn some people of to the film. However, the fact of the matter is we know that children have the propensity to be vicious as well as adults.
One of the things I enjoy about this film is how issues are confronted in the film. I especially applaud the filmmaker for talking about gender roles and intersexuality. We see films that have been tackling the struggle against homophobia, but I don’t know about too many films that deal with intersexuality. In fact, until this movie, I didn’t know the word intersex or intersexuality. I am more familiar with the term hermaphrodite.
A person’s teenage years are confusing enough but to have to deal with how society deals with gender roles and conditions that are unique rather than the typical is important to talk about.
I think the underpinning of this movie is moving society towards acceptance of what is not typical. Just because you are different doesn’t mean something is wrong with you or there is nothing special or something worth celebrating. We have potential that only requires a little coaxing to be realized. Society should encourage itself to grow. Bullying is wrong, and I happy for campaigns like It Gets Better exist.
One of my favorite 80s movies and fantasy films is The Princess Bride. What is not to love about about this clever fantasy-comedy. It’s well written, witty, is funny, has a great cast of characters, and the movie was cast with perfection from Peter Falk to Peter Cook.
It is a movie that is intensely memorable for many of its lines. It has spawned lots of fan love and merchandise.
For a limited time, Alamo Drafthouse and The Princess Wine are sponsoring a limited edition wine called ….a Bottle of Wits. Also, at specific Alamo Drafthouse locations you can get tickets for a Princess Bride Quote-A-Long & Feast.
