Attack of

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would take this time to pay homage to my favorite movies: B-movies--particularly B-horror movies. B-horror movies from the 1950s and 1960s are pure camp. The acting, the dialog, and special effects are always abominable. The plot is always some variation of people getting stuck in a remote location with a mad-scientist. But for me, there is nothing better then curling up with my popcorn cart (!), a blanket, and a stack of B-movies.

Here are some of my favorites:

The Manster

"When a reporter (Peter Dyneley) is injected with an experimental serum by a crazed Japanese scientist (Tetsu Nakamura), he sprouts a second head and begins terrorizing the streets of Tokyo. Can the police -- or the mad scientist -- stop him before it's too late? Or has an irreversible new phase in human evolution begun? Directed by George Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane, this campy horror flick also stars Jane Hylton and Jerry Ito." - Netflix

Best scene: a three-way tie between the geisha party, when the eye sprouts on the reporter's shoulder, and the volcano scene

Bottom line: If you are only going to see one B-movie from this list, make it The Manster. He's half man, half monster!



The Attack of the Killer Shrews - also know as The Killer Shrews

"Like your horror mixed with camp? . . . Go to an isolated island where a mad scientist (Baruch Lumet) has created giant shrews with gnashing teeth -- and they're out for human blood." - Netflix

Best scene: when you get your first good look at the "Killer Shrews" and realize they are just dogs in costumes

Bottom line: This is the quintessential "Attack of" movie.



The Terror

"Lt. Andre Duvalier (played by a very young Jack Nicholson) is an officer in Napoleon's army. When he pursues a mysterious woman into the castle of an elderly baron (Boris Karloff), he uncovers a bizarre plot: A witch (Dorothy Neumann) is planning to drive the baron to suicide. Duvalier soon finds himself in a world of supernatural treachery where nothing is what it seems in this thriller shot in just three days by B movie king Roger Corman." - Netflix

Good to know: Francis Ford Coppola shot the second unit footage of this movie. Is there anyone in Hollywood who didn't get there start with Roger Corman?

Bottom line: The king of B-movies - Roger Corman - pairs up with Jack Nicholson for some delightful camp!



Attack of the Puppet People

"Deranged puppet maker Franz (John Hoyt) is terrified of being abandoned, so he invents a machine to shrink humans down to doll size. By kidnapping people and turning the machine on them, he soon gathers a troupe of shrunken prisoners to keep him company. But when he shrinks his lovely secretary (June Kenney) and her fiancé (John Agar), they're determined to find a way to stop the crazy puppeteerb." - Netflix

Best scene: the "scientific"explanation of how the puppet maker is able to shrink people

Bottom line: A man shrinks people into puppets - what more do you need to see this movie?


Many of these movies were featured on the popular show Mystery Science Theater 3000. They are also widely available on Netflix or at Half Price Books. Happy Halloween!

Oscar Nomination Predictions

Here are my predictions for the 2009 Oscar nominations that will be announced in January. Note that I have seen only one of the films listed here (UP) so this is based on pure buzz. There could be a lot of potential to make fun of me come January! But for those of you looking for some good flicks, most of these will be released in theatres during the next 2 months.

Best Picture
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up in the Air
3. Nine
4. Inviotus
5. Precious
6. Up
7. An Education
8. A Serious Man
9. Bright Star
10. A Prophet

Other Contenders:
Where the Wild Things Are
The Informant
Star Trek
Inglorious Basterds
A Single Man


Best Actor
1. Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
2. Colin Firth - A Single Man
3. George Clooney - Up in the Air
4. Matt Damon - The Informant
5. Morgan Freeman - Inviotus

Other Contenders:
Nicolas Cage (Honestly!) - Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine


Best Actress
1. Hillary Swank - Amelia
2. Marion Cotillard - Nine
3. Carey Mulligan - An Education
4. Abbie Cornish - Bright Star
5. Vera Farminga - Up in the Air

Other Contenders:
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
Gabby Sidibe - Precious
Helen Mirren - The Last Station


What about you? What would you like to see nominated this year? Do you try to see Oscar nominated films?

Zombieland

On Saturday, I saw Zombieland with the in-laws. In the movie, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is making his way from Texas to Ohio to find his family. His progress is severly impeded due to the fact that nearly everyone in America has turned into a human-eating zombie. Columbus has managed to survive because he follows simple rules such as "Always check the back seat," and "Do cardio" (so you can outrun zombies).

Columbus meets Tallahasee (Woody Harrelson), and they team up. Tallahassee loves to kill zombies in inventive ways. With car doors. Banjos. Hedge Trimmers. You name it. Tallahassee and Columbus meet Witichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) while searching a grocery store for twinkies. After some initial skirmishes, the four of them decide to head to Pacific Playland, a fictional amusement park in California, where rumor has it, there are no zombies.

On paper, the movie should have the perfect movie for me: comed;, stylized, gratuitous violence; and cameo by Bill Murray. But frankly, I was disappointed. It was good, but I had heard that the movie had the biggest laugh of the whole year. "The biggest laugh!" I thought. "The whole year." "How exciting!" "Even bigger than the Hangover?" "Maybe Abigail Breslin will dance with Bill Murray to Superfreak!" But alas, there was no Superfreak. The big moment turned out to be something that my sister had already told me about. So I probably ruined it for myself by knowing too much about the movie beforehand.

But that is not the only reason I was disappointed. I found the ending unsatisfying. The group of misfits had found a family in this zombie land: each other. Aww how cute. But hadn't they all been friends for the majority of the movie? Was there ever any doubt?

I also found the line "It's time to nut up or shut up!" distracting. This line was the catch phrase of Tallahassee and repeated throughout the movie. But every time we heard the line, the flow of the movie was interuppted so that Woody Harrelson could deliver another sound bite for commercials and trailers. Two years ago one of my friends tried to make the phrase "nut up" common parlance. He even made a fake wikipedia article about the origins of the phrase. It never caught on in the group, and I doubt it will catch on after Zombieland. Overall, the movie was worth seeing, but not purchase-worthy.

Real or Fake? Spot the Direct-to-DVD Imposters

This goes out to all of you who read this blog while proscrastinating at work:
http://www.virginmedia.com/movies/movieextras/top10s/real-or-fake.php

And this little gem can take up an hour of your time! Try to spot the 50 horror movies hidden in the picture:
http://www.mms.com/us/fungames/games/50darkmovies/

Favorite Movie Viewing Experience

Whether in a sold-out theater on the opening day of a new summer blockbuster or crowded around a small computer in a college dorm room, I believe that movies are meant to be viewed en masse. Similar to live theater where actors depend on the audience reactions in delivering their performance, I depend on my fellow viewers when watching a movie. I loved when everyone broke into applause when Commissioner Gordon reappeared in The Dark Knight and I happily joined in. And I gasped with everyone else when Nemo was separated from his father in Finding Nemo. Would the quality of these movies been any less if I had seen them by myself. Certainly not. But would I have remembered seeing the movie if I hadn't seen it with a large group? No.

My all-time favorite movie experience was when I when I was taking a film class in Paris during June 2005. The syllabus was rigorous and the class met 2-3 times a day to watch movies at theaters around Paris. We saw everything from Old Hollywood Westerns to the newest French flick. After awhile, I couldn't keep track of what the next feature presentation was going to be and I would show up, take my seat, and let myself be surprised.

Most of the theaters we visited were tiny, single screen theaters. There was no concession stands (except you could always buy a coffee from the ticket seller!) and no lobbies. As my favorite food is popcorn, I begin to deeply miss the mega-plexes of the US. Finally one afternoon, I showed up at the address of the theater listed on my syllabus and I was delighted to see a giant concession stand selling Popcorn!!!! I bought the extra large size for myself, took my seat in the theater, and chomped loudly on the buttery goodness in my lap.

Unfortunately, the movie turned out to be a silent film, with a live accompanist improvising a score on a grand piano. And not just any silent film; it was Battleship Potemkin. Battleship Potemkin is a 1925 Russian film depicting the oppression of czarist Russia. In one poignant scene, civilians are massacred by the government. And here I am crunching on my popcorn. But I couldn't help it! After almost a month popcorn-free, I wasn't going to let manners prevent my indulgence!

After the movie, a French man turned around and ranted at me about my noisy chewing. I asked "English?" in reply, and he stomped off in a huff. I understood him just fine, and so did my professor and classmates. We burst out laughing and finished off my popcorn together. It was a great ending to a great movie!

I want to hear about your favorite movie viewing experience. What memory stands out in your mind?

By the way, MPR recently did an hour-long program on this very subject. To listen, you can download the podcast here: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/25/midmorning2/

Summer Movie Wrap-Up

Now that summer is officially over, I will take the opportunity to look back at the movies I saw. Unfortunately, because I was studying for the bar exam and unemployed, I missed out on a lot of summer flicks.

Best Summer Blockbuster

Star Trek - What a delightful surprise this was! It was full of action, adventure, cameos, and zippy one-liners - everything that a summer blockbuster requires. This movie starts from the very beginning of the Star Trek story, making this saga accessible to a new generation of viewers.

Biggest Disappointment

Up - I think this movie was technically perfect and the characters intriguing and well-developed. However, I thought the talking dogs were cheesy and a cheap laugh (In the movie, an old man lives in a blimp with dozens of dogs. The old man invented a talking collar so that his pets can talk to him). I also found it creepy that the old man lived with so many dogs. I must be the only person in the planet who didn't leave the movie with a big smile on my face, but I just couldn't get past the creepy dogs. After hearing that this was the best Pixar movie yet, I couldn't have been more disappointed.

Biggest Surprise

The Hangover - Hilarious! The story follows a bachelor party in Las Vegas gone awry. I wasn't familiar with any of the actors so I wasn't expecting very much, but it was a riot from start to finish.

Guilty Pleasure

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - I watched this on a rainy afternoon in Madison just to kill some time. For those of you who remember the t.v. show or original animated movie, this movie is everything you could want in a G.I. Joe Flick. Terrible Acting. Cheesy Dialog. Far-fetched Plot. Sub par special effects. A random character screaming out "Go Joe!" Enough said.

Best Movie of the Summer

Inglorious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino's latest film does not disappoint. This movie was as suspenseful as any Alfred Hitchcock film, although slightly more bloody! Although I always enjoy looking at Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz playing Col. Hans Landa, a Nazi, stole every scene. I wouldn't be surprised if he is nominated for an Oscar. For those of you who listen to podcasts, I recommend listening to this interview Quentin did on NPR for some insight to the movie. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112286584

What about you? What movie will you remember most from this summer?

3-D Follow Up

I couldn't resist following up my previous post after I read Roger Ebert's review of "The Hole" at the Toronto International Film Festival. It sums up my views exactly!

"The Hole." Now forgive me if I bring up once again the tiresome subject of 3-D. Of the content of Joe Dante's new horror film I will write nothing until it opens. Of the choice to use 3-D, you can't stop me. The 3-D process in this film is the best I've seen in live action, and that includes the preview footage of "Avatar." It's technically impeccable. It makes no contribution to the overall experience.

Now that I've see live action 3-D done as well as it's likely to be done for some time. I realize more than ever this truth: The 2-D process creates a perfect illusion of depth. The 3-D process interferes with that achievement by adding additional information that reduces the illusion of depth, creating distinct planes within the image which our minds are forced to recognize and process. If there is a future for 3-D, and I hope there isn't, it's in animation, which isn't supposed to look real in the first place, and not in live action, where it's a distracting abomination. If you're a director with something to say, don't let your process interfere.