Archives: Movies

The Lego Movie = Magnificent

Disclaimer:  Some spoilers may lie herein.

My wife and I and a friend of ours went out last week to see the Lego Movie, as did much of the nerdier citizens across the nation.  Like most of these people I was completely blown away by the sheer magnitude of the film.  That sentence didn’t mean ANYTHING.  What I mean to say is that it was really, really good and there was seldom a point in the movie where I was not either laughing hysterically, or crying uncontrollably.

The Lego Movie touched on so many points for me (and, apparently, so many others who saw it) that were powerfully emotional.  From the deep loneliness of Emmet in his desire to find a friend, to the Father’s struggle with coming to terms with the fact that he was, in fact, the bad guy (realizing why Lord Business was always on stilts near this scene was also tear-inducing).  The jump that the writers make from a completely fantastical and child like world of make believe, to a very real (literally) and relatable story about father and son is , in a word, awesomely cool (that was two words).   All of these moments come together in one of the most heartwarming and touching stories I’ve seen from this kind of movie.

Which brings me to the production.  The sheer depth of this movie is shattering.  I mean the real world Lego City in the basement at the end was jarringly cool.  The fact that there was not a single piece of the animated parts of this movie that was NOT a Lego piece, was just bitchin’. My friend Nathan commented on the sea of Lego studs, which made me cringe at the thought of having to wrangle all of those pieces.  All of the different and unique Lego creations were really cool too.  SPACESHIP!!!!!!

To be fair, this is coming from a guy who kind of sucked at making cool Lego things and was always impressed/jealous of other people’s creations, which seemed so much cooler than my own.  The dinorobot that couldn’t walk, but had a swinging tail comes to mind.  It looked neither like a robot or a dinosaur but, as I said, the tail swung about vertically.  To be fair, I never had the GIANT TUB O’ LEGOS that just about everyone else I know seems to have had.  I had just one of those bucket-of-chicken sized lego sets and it was only ever half-full.  So there’s that.

Finally I have to talk about Liam Neeson.  Now, those of you who know me well enough know that I love Liam Neeson:  I kind of want him to be my dad.  That being said, he was easily the best and funniest part of this entire movie for me.  Bad Cop’s sinister Taken tones played in stark contrast to Good Cop’s lighthearted sweetness, which I have nothing to compare to, which was half of the cool.  I was so excited I could just throw a chair!

In short, the Lego movie was utterly magnificent and demands to be watched.  Liz and I agreed that we could have easily watched it again immediately after it was over (and that is a SUPER rare thing for me).  So don’t sit there reading my blog.  GO SEE THE LEGO MOVIE NOW!

What did you think of the Lego Movie?

What was your favorite part of the movie?  Did you see anything else this week that you think was as good or better?  Leave your answers in the comments below.  Thanks much for reading and please remember to have a wonderful day!

P.S.  EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!!!!

5 Horror Movies You Should Watch Right Now

Halloween is almost here and I thought I’d give you guys my top five list for scariest movies.  These are movies that scare the shit out of me and leave me feeling apprehensive and nervous for days after I watch them.  Some are classics, some are not as well known, but all are perfect for your scare fest for the season.  I’ll first say that almost all of them are supernatural horrors.  I don’t get scared at slasher movies because I FEAR NO MAN and torture porn just makes me sick to my stomach and makes me worry for the world as they seem to be so very popular.  No, all of the movies on my list are about shit being completely out of the average Joe’s understanding, let alone control.

5.  The Exorcist

I know what you’re thinking.  “The Exorcist?  Wtf?!?  This should be like number one on the list!”  Yeah, I agree that as far as supernatural horrors go, this is kind of the creme of the crop.  The problem is that I saw this one when I was 5 and then many,-MANY times thereafter, so some of the shock and creep is taken out of it for me at this point in my life.  As with most of the horror movies from this era, the scariest thing about them (for me at least) is the sound.  Not the sound track, but the actual SOUNDS.  The voice of the demon is terrifying to me.  The crab walk, not so much.

4. Session 9

Session 9 is a movie I found all on my own one day when I was around 17 years old.  This was again one of those films where the voices or sounds of the movie scared me more then what was actually happening.  The voice on the tape terrifies me and we still aren’t sure what it is.  The relatively mundane tone of the film at its beginning coupled with the idea that this could have easily been me (I used to do a lot of contract/painting and the like in my youth), made for an atmosphere that was all too frighteningly familiar.  Session 9 also leaves the watcher feeling not just scared, but really sort of depressed and worried about their state of mind.  Plus, it was before David Caruso wore cool sunglasses, so there wasn’t even any comic relief.

3. Phantasm

Ah, this one is easily my favorite.  I saw Phantasm before I could form words, I think.  This movie has solidly the most memorable main title theme in a horror movie ever.  Just hearing the theme can make my hairs stand on end.  I’m listening to it now and…eep, there they go.  The Tall Man, the Dwarves, the portal to fucking Mars it seems, the silver death balls, THE FUCKING BEE MONSTER AT THE END!!  All of these things come together to craft a solid B horror title that never ceases to terrify me.  Fun fact:  I met Angus Scrimm when I was 8 at a convention with my dad and sister.  He was VERY nice and took a pic with us all.  He even called me BOY!  Another fun fact:  My Dad kind of looks/looked like Angus Scrimm and was also fond of calling me BOY!  I had an exciting childhood.

2.  The Shining

I don’t think any list of good horror films could be complete without at least mentioning The Shining.  Jack Nicholson has arguably never been scarier in anything else.  Jack’s slow decent into total madness and Danny’s creepiness (yes, Danny was a creepy little kid, I said it) made the atmosphere oppressive to say the least.  The thing that always got to me, though, you know, aside from the evil twins, bear costume weirdness and psycho with an axe, was how sweet Shelly Duvall was in this movie.  More than many a damsel in distress, I really felt for her in this movie.  She was just always so sweet, which made the idea of harm coming to her more terrifying.  These days, you can’t wait for someone to die in a horror movie, because everyone is always so mean or asinine.  More than anything though, room 237 lives in my memory and my nightmares.

1.  The Haunting

The Haunting is hands down the most terrifying movie I’ve ever watched.  Once again one I saw, or rather, was forced to watch it when I was very young.  With relatively few true special effects, The Haunting scares the viewer with strange cinematography, a dark and oppressive setting and one damned creepy actress.  This movie scared me more with a close-up of a small section of wallpaper and some weird sounds in the background than most movies can with all the bloody make-up they can muster.  Anytime I’m thinking of scary movies, I think of the Haunting.  There are so many solid scenes that could be considered the scariest in the movie, I can’t really choose one.  If you are a horror movie fan and haven’t seen this one, you OWE it to yourself to watch it alone in the dark.

What horror movies should I watch Right Now?

What horror movies do you watch? What do you love about them? Is there one I should drop everything to watch right now? Let me know in the comments and have a nice, spooky day.

A Writing Soundtrack

I need to listen to some kind of music when I am writing, though sometimes when I’m really engrossed, the  music shuts off I don’t even realize it.  To get started though, I need some kind of immediate inspiration.  I tend to listen only to instrumentals while I am writing directly, as lyrics can distract me from the story at hand with whatever concepts are being expressed in a song.  I really like any form of electronica, but while writing there is nothing better than a good ambient track to put me in the mood and keep me in the mood.  Through the Ergosphere by Simon Wilkenson was of particular help to me while writing White Wolf for it’s eerie atmospheric tone and dark resonance.

Sometimes, for specific characters, I do have songs that I think express a character’s personality or actions.  I’ll usually listen to these songs just before I start writing a chapter about the character, to get myself revved up.  Fury Oh Fury by Nico Vega immediately struck a cord with me in reference to Asala the first time I heard it.  Its her ass whoopin’ song for sure.  For the character of King I often think of softer Johnny Cash songs like Help Me, which could not express that character’s struggles more.

Whenever I write typical or high fantasy, which I often do, I tend to like inspiring epic tracks like Over the Misty Mountains Cold from The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey (I’m a much bigger Hobbit fan the LotR, from an early age), or perhaps the Pirates of The Caribbean theme from Curse of the Black Pearl.  Adventure movies almost always have soundtracks that inspire.  Classics like Star Wars and Indiana Jones are always good for getting the wheels turning in an exciting way.

And, of course, I am often inspired by the music from video games I play.  Dragonborn from Skyrim is fucking AWESOME and always makes me want to fight something big, and I mean that.  The entire sound track from the Mass Effect Trilogy is just so gods-blessed good I can’t stand it.  Vigil always gives me chills.  It makes me think of how important Earth is and why we need to protect it, but the best part is that I have no idea why.

I’m also heavily influenced and inspired by super hero themes.  The intro to Batman: The Animated Series, in particular, made a 5-year-old me button the top button of his dad’s long coat around his neck and leap off the porch in search of criminals…..that same boy very promptly landed RIGHT on his face and busted his lip open, but it is the intent that counts!  Remember that, folks.

 

What’s your soundtrack?

What’s your favorite adventure music?  Shit, what’s your favorite music?  Let me know in the comments.  Once again, thanks for reading and please, have a wonderful day.

Not-So-Rainy Day Movie

I’ve been asked recently what my favorite “Rainy Day” movie is. The funny thing is that I don’t really have “Rainy Day” movies, or any other specific activities associated with it being cold and wet outdoors. I’m a rare, strange breed that not only isn’t affected by what a lot of people refer to as Bad Weather, I am bolstered and strengthened by it. For me, there is nothing better than walking in the rain in October, wearing shorts. I admit I’m abnormal, but so are most good things in life.

For me, Bad Weather is when it’s any temperature over 75 degrees and there is not a cloud in the sky. I hate the sun and the heat of summer and always have since I was little. So I don’t have a “Rainy Day” movie. I have an “It’s too fucking hot outside and I am not going out in it, except to get a Diet Dr. Pepper, damn it – Day” movie. Or, as I like to call it, June through mid-September movie. So it is during these summer months that I watch movies that make me feel cold, or at least cool.

My favorite “ It’s too fucking hot outside and I am not going out in it, except to get a Diet Dr. Pepper, damn it – Day” movie is Blade Runner. The dark, moody atmosphere of the Ridley Scott classic never fails to chill and temper my burning heart. I love the wide shots that just show the rainy city and the people getting along in it. I lived in Baltimore for most of my life and I used to love strolling through the city when it rained at night, my trench coat resting lightly on my shoulders. It was at these times that I felt most alive and in touch with the city.

There is something very calming about light in the rain. Some of the shots where the sun is just barely peaking through the clouds just makes me feel….calm, at peace, for lack of a better expression. There are so many beautiful shots in that movie. The entire scene where Deckard is interviewing Rachael has some of the coolest atmospheric lighting ever.

I also have a sordid love affair with the gun from Blade Runner. One of the most exciting moments for me in the game Fallout: New Vegas is when you find “That Gun” randomly in a store. I used almost no other weapons for the rest of the game.

The movie has one of the most relaxing and mood setting soundtracks ever. It is both calming and engaging and makes me want to live in that world of light stick umbrellas and strange hats.

Sometimes, when it rains, I’ll go outside and stand in it and let myself get drenched. It’s an immediate antidepressant for me and I almost always come away from the experience feeling better. In fact, the only problem I tend to have in the rain is coming in out of it. Sometimes I think about Roy Batty as the water courses over me, lowering my body temperature and clearing my thoughts and I wonder if my own moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.

How about your movie loves?

What’s your favorite “It’s too fucking hot outside”/”Rainy Day” movie? Leave comment about it below and share your awesomeness with all of us! Thanks for the memories and have a wonderful day!