9.08.2014
8.13.2014
8.12.2014
7.12.2014
7.11.2014
1980s Bullies Plus A Monster Hole Equals THE PIT
The 80s definitely had a different type of bully then what kids are use to in this day and age.
This film drove home that point in the first five minutes. In this movie cyber bullies are replaced by dudes that punch you dead in the face while little girls laugh hysterically.
In director Lew Lehman's movie 'The Pit', Jamie Benjamin (played by child actor Sammy Snyder) is a kid that is not only bullied but basically harassed, talked down to, and hated by the whole neighborhood.
I can't really tell you why either. The movie somehow attempts to get you to believe the kid is weird but he only really did one odd thing in the entire film.
Well, besides feeding his tormentors to prehistoric creatures in a pit in the woods. My point is he is weird but he doesn't do anything that justifies everyone hating him so much.
This is 1981, so bullies have to be over the top and the adults have to be just as nutty and verbally abusive. There is no, "Oh, what about the children? Won't somebody please think about the children!" They could give a good got damn about this kid. I guess that step in me realizing I'm in for yet another cult film.
This is a straight creature feature. Only thing is the way the script, by writer Ian A. Stuart, is written I could swear they want us to root for the creatures in the hole. Everyone in this film is so unlikable that I found myself anticipating their demise. I think the only one I could halfway stomach was the babysitter. Again, I said halfway.
Alfred Hitchock once said, "Putting two people at a table and having a bomb explodes is not suspense. Putting two people at a table with a ticking time bomb beneath it, is suspense." I'm paraphrasing, but you get the drift. The point is, this movie for all of its cheese factor put the ticking time bomb under the table a lot.
You can see the pit. You know what is inside the pit. The characters in the movie don't know about the pit so every time anyone gets close it plays on that. What kills it is the death start to happen way too quickly. They went from looking a bit like
cleverly set up accidents to just push them in the hole.
While this film is a bit on the long side it was worth it to stay until the very end. That ending was actually more satisfying than a lot of endings in big budget movies today. That alone bumps this movie up a chair at the cult film table with a 3 and 1/2 popcorns.
THE PIT (Lew Lehman, 1981) Trailer from Jon Dieringer on Vimeo.
Night Of The Creeps Still A Classic?
For the first time this week I sat down and actually watched the 80's cult hit 'Night of the Creeps' as an adult.What surprised me the most about it was how funny it still is. Actually it's more funny to me as an adult. The film is also just as creepy.The movie which starts out in a nice cheesy flashback of some 1950's collage kids complete with a breakup backstory. The film then throws two different genres at us. Space alien pod crash landing on earth is repping the science fiction part. An ax wielding mental patient gives us our horror fix.
What a glorious mashup this is! Yes, glorious! In a modern world where reviewers love to say stuff like, "This movie doesn't know what it wants to be." I bring you a movie that off the top hits you over the head with a mashup. One could argue that the rest of the film fits in the horror sub-genre of zombie flicks. You could also argue it's more in the family of scifi pod people madness. Either way it would be hard to argue against this feeling like a love letter to early drive-in movies.
The film then fast forwards to 1986. Oh, this was great! Get out your eighties movie checklist for this part. Dumb jock? Check! Evil frat dude? Check! Geeky outcasts? Check! Sweater vests? Check! Collage party? Check! Blown out hair and acid washed jean skirts? Check and check! I think we are ready to go.
The core of the story is that a couple of college kids attempt (emphasis on attempt) to impress some other collage kids by stealing a dead body from a science lab. Only the body has invaders from, well, I'll let you figure it out. These invaders quickly take over everything from a dog to a bus full of dead frat boys.
So what is so great about that you ask? Aliens are making dead things come back to life no matter how long the've been rotting. That alone equals a large Coke and popcorn with M&Ms sprinkled in it. No, peanut M&Ms sprinkled in it.
When that once wide eyed come from the 50s opening shows up as a jaded cop delivering hilarious lines with a straight face I knew a I was moving into cult classic territory. Thrill me (If you got that, you’re a fan.)!
I also knew what was coming next. My memory kicked into high gear at this point. I tensed up! Why? I was remembering just what freaked me out about this movie as a child too young to be watching it. The cops backstory which served only to bring this lovely special effect to my screen.
Yes, that should give you pleasant dreams. Honestly, everyone who worked on the SFX for this film deserves the utmost respect. Heads splitting open or catching on fire? Probably didn't have too many takes for that.
The movie was not very long and quite frankly it didn't need to be. What it did need was a sequel though. The many alternate endings alone screamed for it. The best thing about it was that they tied it up so well at the end that you don't even need the original actors to do a sequel. Time isn't even a factor to make it happen now if they chose to. Hell, the movie jumped from the 50s to the 80s. That can be done again.
Overall I'd say if you are a fan of cult movies or want a break from CG horror you're going to like this. I give it 4 out of 5 popcorns.
7.09.2014
7.07.2014
2NE1 Next To Blow Up?
I hesitated to write this simply because it's never been done before. An all girls Korean pop group crossing over? Could it be? I've known about k-pop (Korean popular music) since about 2008 but was never into it. Nothing ever caught my ear, or made me think,"Damn, I can bump that in the car!" I was shown different artists through the years by people who were die hard fans here in the US but I still could care less.
That is until about July of this year. I was actually watching a hair tutorial. I went to their related video and this chick (who normally does tutorials) started talking K-Pop. I thought, here we go again. But she was so enthusiastic, and I was so bored on a Saturday night that I decided to look up the first group she talked about which was Big Bang.
Long story short, Big Bang lead me to a whole list of artists on YouTube that had released hot tracks during 2011-2012. One that stuck out in my mind and stayed with me for a minute was 2NE1 (also pronounced 21). Now I have a rule. If you are stuck in my head for more than a week you normally end up blowing up. Well, they stayed in my head for about a month.
There is defiantly something about them that cannot be explained. It's that it factor. There are a lot of singers and dancers in this world but they don't have that special thing.
Now understand, I'm not a die hard K-Pop fan. I don't know everything there is to know about the genre. I'm also picky as hell about music. If I don't think you have what it takes there ain't no changing my mind. But let me be clear, 2NE1 has what it takes to be successful in the West.
The climate is right for them too. The west, particularly the US, has thirst for groups. Hell we have resorted to importing them from Europe now. Both The Wanted and X Factor UK made group One Direction were nominated for US MTV awards, and one group won twice. Any producer in America who doesn't see the writing on the wall should be fired. Boy bands and girl groups ARE NOT a thing of the past.
So what made me choose 2NE1 out of all the girl groups pumped out yearly by Korea?
- Most of them speak English (though I suspect ALL of them understand it).
- Talent
- Their style. Not feeling groups that dress exactly alike unless your name is Wonder Girls. It helps that Jeromy Scott loves to dress them. People adore his stuff here. But basically their look is forever changing. We love artists who can fully reinvent themselves at will here.
- Their chemistry together. It helps to not have a group ready to kill each other.
- Their stage presence. This is a BIGGIE! Being an Asian group is much like being a black, girls group in the 60s. You're an outsider, so you have to be 10x better than anyone else to make it in the US.They've got that in spades!
- Musically they are extremely versatile from rock, to R&B, to pop. This helps gain lots of collabs.
- As quiet as it is kept, a good portion of American music producers adore them (and Big Bang). All 300 million Americans don't know them, but in the industry they are known as well as Katy Perry. But most importantly they are LOVED by industry pros.
- They have merchandising written all over them. When I look at them I see dolls, lunch boxes, bed sheets, games, t-shirts, clothing lines, key chains, you name it.
- Miss A
- 4 Minute
- Brown Eyed Girls
No Wonder Girls?
They've already done it, don't need to dwell on them.
What about Girls Generation?
A wild card that is going to depend on their agency to make a sacrifice. You can't make it in the US by doing 2 appearances.
Let me repeat that.
You... can't... make it... in America... by doing 2 appearances. We have 300 million people. You have to make a choice. Stay in Korea and tour Japan, or come to the west and put in work! They have a freak'n 9 member group, they can't pull a PSY. Gee was a bit of a viral video here in the US but did you see it on Billboard? Hell to the no!
The truth... my senses tell me GG can be like the Pussycat Dolls on acid. People will be fascinated by the sheer number of them able to sing and dance perfectly organized. Honestly they should have crossed over years ago. Or at least made sure more than two of them learned English, damn.
My honest opinion is if they don't do it by 2014 then hang it up. Stay in Korea and keep it moving. My sixth sense says that is their final window of opportunity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)