24 May 2009
21 May 2009
20 May 2009
Five Hollywood Clichés: Romantic Comedies
1. The man and woman are an unlikely match and (at first) despise each other.
2. Friends are quirky and provide insight and/or comedic moments.
3. Couples get together because of a bet etc; this causes an inevitable break up, then subsequent make up.
4. The attempt to win someone back includes a frantic dash to somewhere like the airport.
5. Montages show happy moments (dates) and/or sad moments (break ups) and are often set to music.
2. Friends are quirky and provide insight and/or comedic moments.
3. Couples get together because of a bet etc; this causes an inevitable break up, then subsequent make up.
4. The attempt to win someone back includes a frantic dash to somewhere like the airport.
5. Montages show happy moments (dates) and/or sad moments (break ups) and are often set to music.
19 May 2009
Love Makes You Do The Wacky
Film and TV characters who are crazy in love (SPOILERS within):
Recently turned love enthusiast Erin "Silver" Silver (Jessica Stroup) decided to include footage of her and Dixon Wilson (Tristan Wilds) having sex in her film about love, and then screen it for her classmates and teacher in 90210. Following Dixon's negative reaction Silver set fire to the film in his garden and broke into her teacher's apartment, claiming he was responsible for her relationship problems with Dixon and demanding he fix them. Sex tapes, arson, breaking and entering; just another day at West Beverly Hills High!
Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) picked the wrong woman to have a weekend affair with in the form of Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction. When Alex refused to end their fling she became obsessed with Dan and started stalking him, constantly calling his office and home. She even tried to kill Dan's wife Beth Gallagher (Anne Archer) and boiled their daughter's pet rabbit on the stove, thereby giving birth to the term "bunny boiler".
After seeing Peyton Sawyer's (Hilarie Burton) podcasts, Ian Banks (Matt Barr) posed as her long lost half-brother Derek Sommers in One Tree Hill. "Derek" thought Peyton looked like his former girlfriend, who was killed when the car he was driving crashed. His obsession earned him the nickname Psycho Derek and resulted in Peyton and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) being held hostage by him on prom night.
Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg), Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield) found themselves competing for the affections of high school jock R.J. Brooks (Thad Luckinbill) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. R.J.'s magical Letterman jacket made him irresistible to the ladies and resulted in Dawn trying to kill herself by lying across train tracks, Buffy attempting to kill Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside), Willow wanting to use magic to change R.J.'s gender and Anya trying to rob a bank!
Recently turned love enthusiast Erin "Silver" Silver (Jessica Stroup) decided to include footage of her and Dixon Wilson (Tristan Wilds) having sex in her film about love, and then screen it for her classmates and teacher in 90210. Following Dixon's negative reaction Silver set fire to the film in his garden and broke into her teacher's apartment, claiming he was responsible for her relationship problems with Dixon and demanding he fix them. Sex tapes, arson, breaking and entering; just another day at West Beverly Hills High!
Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) picked the wrong woman to have a weekend affair with in the form of Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction. When Alex refused to end their fling she became obsessed with Dan and started stalking him, constantly calling his office and home. She even tried to kill Dan's wife Beth Gallagher (Anne Archer) and boiled their daughter's pet rabbit on the stove, thereby giving birth to the term "bunny boiler".
After seeing Peyton Sawyer's (Hilarie Burton) podcasts, Ian Banks (Matt Barr) posed as her long lost half-brother Derek Sommers in One Tree Hill. "Derek" thought Peyton looked like his former girlfriend, who was killed when the car he was driving crashed. His obsession earned him the nickname Psycho Derek and resulted in Peyton and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) being held hostage by him on prom night.
Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg), Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield) found themselves competing for the affections of high school jock R.J. Brooks (Thad Luckinbill) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. R.J.'s magical Letterman jacket made him irresistible to the ladies and resulted in Dawn trying to kill herself by lying across train tracks, Buffy attempting to kill Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside), Willow wanting to use magic to change R.J.'s gender and Anya trying to rob a bank!
18 May 2009
17 May 2009
12 May 2009
Five Reasons To Watch May
1. It's written and directed by Lucky McKee, who also directed The Woods and the Masters of Horror episode "Sick Girl".
2. Angela Bettis is perfectly cast as the title character.
3. It has a great supporting cast including Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris and James Duval.
4. The soundtrack features songs by The Breeders and The Kelley Deal 6000.
5. Roger Ebert gave it four stars!
2. Angela Bettis is perfectly cast as the title character.
3. It has a great supporting cast including Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris and James Duval.
4. The soundtrack features songs by The Breeders and The Kelley Deal 6000.
5. Roger Ebert gave it four stars!
10 May 2009
She's A Man-Eater
Five reasons I want to see the upcoming horror film Jennifer's Body:
1. It's written by former-stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, who also wrote the fantastic (and very funny) Juno.
2. It's about a recently possessed cheerleader who has to eat the flesh of her male classmates in order to stay alive!
3. Megan Fox stars as the man-eating cheerleader, while Amanda Seyfried plays her best friend.
4. According to CHUD it's "a very Whedon-esque horror/comedy". (I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
5. It's been described as being similar in tone to 80s teen satire Heathers.
1. It's written by former-stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, who also wrote the fantastic (and very funny) Juno.
2. It's about a recently possessed cheerleader who has to eat the flesh of her male classmates in order to stay alive!
3. Megan Fox stars as the man-eating cheerleader, while Amanda Seyfried plays her best friend.
4. According to CHUD it's "a very Whedon-esque horror/comedy". (I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
5. It's been described as being similar in tone to 80s teen satire Heathers.
08 May 2009
Urban Myths, Hollywood-style
The Wizard of Oz has many myths surrounding it, one of which is that a Munchkin's suicide was captured on film in the scene just after Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) and The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) meet The Tin Man (Jack Haley). As they set off down the yellow brick road something can be seen moving in the distance behind the trees. People thought it was one of the dwarf actors committing suicide by hanging himself, however, "the hanging Munchkin" is, in fact, a large bird stretching its wings, one of many birds which were used to give the outdoor scenes a more realistic feel.
It was widely believed that the ghost of a young boy can be seen in Three Men and a Baby during the scene where Jack Holden (Ted Danson) is talking to his mother (Celeste Holm). People thought the figure, which can be seen in the background, was the ghost of a 9-year-old boy who had died in the apartment in which the scene was filmed. In reality Three Men and a Baby was shot on a soundstage and the "ghost" was a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Ted Danson's character.
Following the release of Back to the Future Part II in 1989 rumours circulated that the Hoverboards seen in the film were real, with director Robert Zemeckis (jokingly) claiming that Hoverboards had "been around for years". Further reports suggested toy manufacturer Mattel were planning to release them in shops but their plans were held up by parental concerns over safety. The rumours were, in fact, false. The Hoverboards were basically wooden props and the hovering was the result of special effects wizardry.
It was widely believed that the ghost of a young boy can be seen in Three Men and a Baby during the scene where Jack Holden (Ted Danson) is talking to his mother (Celeste Holm). People thought the figure, which can be seen in the background, was the ghost of a 9-year-old boy who had died in the apartment in which the scene was filmed. In reality Three Men and a Baby was shot on a soundstage and the "ghost" was a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Ted Danson's character.
Following the release of Back to the Future Part II in 1989 rumours circulated that the Hoverboards seen in the film were real, with director Robert Zemeckis (jokingly) claiming that Hoverboards had "been around for years". Further reports suggested toy manufacturer Mattel were planning to release them in shops but their plans were held up by parental concerns over safety. The rumours were, in fact, false. The Hoverboards were basically wooden props and the hovering was the result of special effects wizardry.
07 May 2009
Five Word Film Review: Let The Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In)
Original, atmospheric horror/love story.
05 May 2009
Five Hollywood Clichés: Action Films
1. Guns have an endless supply of bullets.
2. Explosions occur in slow motion.
3. Bombs are disarmed with only seconds to spare (you don't even have to be an expert to disarm them).
4. Cops are either divorced or have marital problems.
5. The hero never dies... but sidekicks are expendable.
2. Explosions occur in slow motion.
3. Bombs are disarmed with only seconds to spare (you don't even have to be an expert to disarm them).
4. Cops are either divorced or have marital problems.
5. The hero never dies... but sidekicks are expendable.
29 April 2009
Five Word Film Review: A Tale Of Two Sisters (Janghwa, Hongryeon)
Effectively creepy but confusingly executed.
28 April 2009
Ridiculous And Bizarre Death Scenes
Ridiculous and/or bizarre deaths in horror films (SPOILERS within):
• Psychotic camp counsellor Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen) killed Ally Burgess (Valerie Hartman) by drowning her in an outhouse full of leeches (among other things) in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers.
• Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) decapitated a man with just one punch in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
• Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) replaced Debbie Stevens’ (Brooke Theiss) arms with insect feelers and chased her into a roach motel, she then turned into a giant cockroach and was squashed by Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
• A demonically possessed industrial laundry press, fuelled by the blood of virgins, killed workers at the Blue Ribbon Laundry in The Mangler.
• Mary Brady (Alice Krige) killed a police officer by stabbing him in the back with a baked corn on the cob in Sleepwalkers.
• Psychotic camp counsellor Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen) killed Ally Burgess (Valerie Hartman) by drowning her in an outhouse full of leeches (among other things) in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers.
• Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) decapitated a man with just one punch in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
• Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) replaced Debbie Stevens’ (Brooke Theiss) arms with insect feelers and chased her into a roach motel, she then turned into a giant cockroach and was squashed by Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
• A demonically possessed industrial laundry press, fuelled by the blood of virgins, killed workers at the Blue Ribbon Laundry in The Mangler.
• Mary Brady (Alice Krige) killed a police officer by stabbing him in the back with a baked corn on the cob in Sleepwalkers.
27 April 2009
19 April 2009
15 April 2009
A Different Kind Of Love Story
Unconventional films about love:
Secretary is about an emotionally unstable young woman named Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is employed by E. Edward Grey (James Spader), an eccentric lawyer who Lee falls in love with after they mix work with pleasure by engaging in an S&M relationship.
Twin Falls Idaho follows the relationship that develops between conjoined twins Blake and Francis Falls (Mark and Michael Polish) and a prostitute named Penny (Michele Hicks), who is hired by Francis as a gift for his brother on their birthday.
Kissed is about a necrophiliac named Sandra Larson (Molly Parker) who begins working at a funeral home. Sandra has always been fascinated by death and feels by touching the dead she is helping them spiritually. When she meets Matt (Peter Outerbridge), he develops feelings for her only to discover he is competing with dead bodies.
Secretary is about an emotionally unstable young woman named Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is employed by E. Edward Grey (James Spader), an eccentric lawyer who Lee falls in love with after they mix work with pleasure by engaging in an S&M relationship.
Twin Falls Idaho follows the relationship that develops between conjoined twins Blake and Francis Falls (Mark and Michael Polish) and a prostitute named Penny (Michele Hicks), who is hired by Francis as a gift for his brother on their birthday.
Kissed is about a necrophiliac named Sandra Larson (Molly Parker) who begins working at a funeral home. Sandra has always been fascinated by death and feels by touching the dead she is helping them spiritually. When she meets Matt (Peter Outerbridge), he develops feelings for her only to discover he is competing with dead bodies.
14 April 2009
12 April 2009
Banned Film Posters
The Motion Picture Association of America thought the dismembered fingers on this poster for Saw II were unacceptable under Advertising Administration standards.
This poster for Dying Breed was banned from bus shelters in Australia as it was considered too gruesome.
After it was banned in the UK, the image on this poster for The Devil's Rejects was only used for online promotions.
This poster for Dying Breed was banned from bus shelters in Australia as it was considered too gruesome.
After it was banned in the UK, the image on this poster for The Devil's Rejects was only used for online promotions.
09 April 2009
08 April 2009
Five Reasons To Watch Shaun Of The Dead
1. It's written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and won a British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay in 2004.
2. It also won Best British Film at the 2005 Empire Film Awards.
3. It's a great send-up of zombie films.
4. The "Don't Stop Me Now" scene is brilliant.
5. It's "A romantic comedy. With zombies"!
2. It also won Best British Film at the 2005 Empire Film Awards.
3. It's a great send-up of zombie films.
4. The "Don't Stop Me Now" scene is brilliant.
5. It's "A romantic comedy. With zombies"!
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