Jeg var inde og se den fantastiske effektfulde film: 2012. Wow.

Så fik jeg ideen lige at lave en liste over fede katastrofe film. Der er naturligvis film som jeg har vurderet ikke hører til katastrofe film eller hvor katastrofen ikke er stor nok til at kvalificere sig til listen. Film beskrivelsen er hentet fra bloggen: Om livet i al almindelighed – the jules rules og fra Scope.

2012.

2012

Forskere opdager at jorden snart vil gå under, og klodens ledere lægger i al hemmelighed planer for at redde sig selv og så mange andre som muligt. Jackson er på ferie med sine to børn, da han tilfældigvis opdager sandheden om den forestående undergang, og inden han får set sig om, er den hyggelige ferie ændret til en kamp mod elementerne og egoistiske samfundsspidser.

Titanic

Titanic

James Camerons romantiske storfilm – der vandt 11 Oscars – om det unge par Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) og Rose (Kate Winslet), der trods forskellige baggrunde forelsker sig få dage inden Titanic synker.

Outbreak

Outbreak

Indbyggerne i den lille californske by, Ceder Creek, bliver syge unden varsel. Ramt af en virus, som er mere smitsom og dødelig end pest. I et hæsblæsende kapløb med tiden – og hans overordnede i militæret – kæmper Dr. Sam Daniels for at finde smittebæren – og modgiften. Med bl.a. Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman og Rene Russo.

Armageddon

Armageddon

En tidlig morgen forsvinder rumfartøjet Atlantis fra NASA´s skærme, og nogle få timer senere falder en meteorregn over jorden. Men det er desværre kun begyndelsen. Med en hastighed på 35.000 km/t er en gigantisk asteroide på størrelse med Texas på vej mod jorden. Rammer den, vil det betyde jordens undergang. Med bl.a. Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, ben Affleck og Billy Bob Thornton.

Deep Impact

Deep Impact

Hvad vil du gøre, hvis du vidste, at en gigantisk komet om få dage vil ramme jorden og hele menneskeheden blive udslettet?? Nedtællingen til dommedag er i gang i dette altødelæggende overraskende brag af en filmoplevelse. Mimi Leder intruerer en række stjerneskuespillere som Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell og Morgan Freeman.

Kina Syndromet

The China Syndrome (1979) – (Kinasyndromet)

Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda og Michael Douglas medvirkerii Kina Syndromet en uforglemmelig advarende thrilleriom faren ved atom spaltning og TV nyhedernes enorme magtfaktor.

The Day After Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Klimatologen Jack Hall´s research peger på, at den globale opvarmning kan udløse en pludselig og katastrofal ændring af Jordens klima. De iskerner, som han har boret ud af Antarktis beviser, at det er sket før, for ti tusinde år siden. Og nu advarer han myndighederne om, at det kan ske igen, hvis de ikke griber hurtigt ind. Men hans advarsel kommer for sent. (naturligvis, ellers var der jo ikke nogen film…) Dernæst følger en række stadigt alvorligere vejrkatastrofer rundt omkring på kloden: hagl på størrelse med grapefrugter hamrer ned over Tokyo; orkaner af hidtil usete vindstyrker hærger Hawaii; der falder sne i New Delhi, og så pisker en række alt ødelæggende tornadoer igennem Los Angeles. Snefri fra skole? Det tror jeg nok!

Independence Day

Independence Day

Den engelske forfatter H.G. Wells har ikke levet forgæves. Hans over 100 år gamle sci-fi roman Klodernes Kamp har tydeligvis dannet forbillede for denne opdaterede filmudgave, instrueret af Roland Emmerich. Verden står over for en trussel fra det ydre rum i form af en hær af gigantiske rumskibe fyldt med væmmelige, gopleagtige aliens, der bestemt ikke har gode hensigter. Will Smith og Jeff Goldblum er to barske gutter, der står klar til at tage den ulige kamp op. Og det gør de godt, hvis du spørger mig.

Dante's Peak

Dante’s Peak

I den fredsomlige by Dante´s Peak frygter ingen af indbyggerne at den store vulkan, som ligger tæt på byen, skal gå i udbrud. Videnskabsmanden Harry Dalton, som er på besøg i den smukke by, kan dog mærke, at noget er galt. Helt galt. Kommunekontoret nægter at hjælpe – en redningsaktion er for omkostningsfuld, siger de. Ingen lytter dog mere til Harry Dalton end den kvindelige borgmester, men snart får de dog meget andet at lytte efter – lyden af eksploderende lava! I rollen som manden der kæmper mod naturen og de forstokkede kommunalpolitikere, ses Pierce Brosnan. Den kvindelige borgmester, Rachel Wando, spilles af Linda Hamilton.

Twister

Twister

Huse bliver flået i tusinde stykker. En brølende ko kommer flyvende gennem luften. Traktorer falder som regndråber. En 8 tons tankvogn bliver en flyvende bombe. En kilometer bred og 300 km i timen hurtigløbende naturkraft af total og fuldstændig ødelæggelse kommer imod dig.Twister er på vej til dit hjem. Helen Hunt og Bill Paxton spiller to videnskabsfolk, der forfølger den mest destruktive naturkraft, der har hærget gennem Amerikas Midvesten i 50 år. Ved at udsætte en beholder fuld af små sensorer umiddelbart foran skypumperne, håber tonadojægerne at de bliver suget op, så man kan kortlægge skypumpernes anatomi. Men for at få placeret beholderen rigtigt, bliver de to tornadojægere nødt til at komme helt tæt på, så tæt at de næsten kan røre ved deres gigantiske og lumske modstandere.

Volcano

Volcano

Los Angeles. Hjemsted for de rige og berømte. Hele verdens underholdnings-hovedstad. Englenes by. Men underneden rumler et skoldhedt helvede – nu er det klar til at bryde ud. En sprække i jordens skorpe åbner for en altødelæggende kraft. En endeløs strøm af hvidglødende lava bliver til en flod af uundgåelig død, der nu begynder at strømme gennem verdens tættest trafikerede gader mens ildkuglerne regner ned fra oven. For byens katastrofechef er det hans værste mareridt, der er blevet til virkelighed. Han har ikke set det værste endnu! Med bl.a. Anne Heche, Tommy Lee Jones og John Corbett.

Poseidon

Poseidon

Nytårsaften bliver den gigantiske luksusliner Poseidon ramt af en flodbølge af de store og vender bunden i vejret. En lille gruppe overlevende bliver fanger dybt inde i skibet og må arbejde sammen for at slippe ud af skibsvraget, der langsomt fyldes med vand. Opgaven gøres ikke lettere af, at alt er smadret og vendt på hovedet.

war of the worlds

War of the Worlds

Filmen er endnu en moderne fortolkning af H.G. Wells’ klassiske science fiction-roman, der omhandler en fantastisk kamp for selve menneskehedens overlevelse, set gennem en ganske almindelig families optik. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) må flygte for at redde sig selv og sin familie fra en skræmmende hær af trebenede rumvæsener, der udsletter alt på deres vej. War of the Worlds er et actionspækket eventyr, der nærmest eksploderer med spektakulære specialeffekter! Men for mig bliver filmen noget ødelagt af ret dårligt skuespil og en meget irriterende hysterisk pige, der skriger hele filmen igennem. Ja, du er nok kun 10 år, men hold dog kæft, så de der rumvæsener ikke kan finde dig!!

The Towering Inferno

The Towering Inferno (1974) (Det tårnhøje helvede)

For at fejre opførelsen af verdens højeste skyskraper, holder holdet bag en fest på øverste etage. Desværre har elektrikeren brugt dårlige materialer for at spare penge. En kortslutning sætter ild til 85. etage og pludselig er festdeltagerne på 135. etage fanget. Brandmajor O’Hallorhan og arkitekt Roberts forsøger sammen at redde gæster fra ilden.

World Trade Center.

World Trade Center

Politimændene John McLoughlin og William Jimeno er på arbejde en stille dag i New York i september, da terrorister flyver to fly ind i Word Trade Center. Sammen med andre redningsfolk kommer betjentene de indespærrede til undsætning, men ender med selv at blive fanget under murbrokkerne. Chancerne for at overleve er ikke store, men John og William nægter at give op.

The Core.

The Core

Golden Gate broen styrter sammen. Pacemakeripatienter falder døde om, ingen ved hvorfor. Fuglene mister deres stedsans. Årsagen skal findes i jordens indre – kernen er holdt op med at rotere! Det har den skræmmende konsekvens, at det magnetiske felt, som jorden er omgivet af, er ved at gå i opløsning. Et hemmeligt sted i Utah arbejder en gruppe videnskabsfolk med tiden som deres værste fjende. De får kun 3 måneder til at bygge et fartøj, der skal kunne rejse ind til jordens kerne med en atombombe, som skal genstarte kernens rotation. Som astronauter- nu terranauter- er det den kvindelige Major Beck Childs (Hilary Swank), der skal styre besætningen sikkert ind til jordens kerne og tilbage igen.

Hard Rain

Hard Rain

Byen Huntingburg trues af en oversvømmelse. Sheriffen evakuerer befolkningen samtidig med at en havareret pengetransport bliver overfaldet af en røverbande. Men transportens chauffør, Tom, stikker af med pengene, forfulgt af banden og politiet, der ikke er så retskafne som de burde være. Undervejs får Tom uventet hjælp af Karen, der prøver at holde vandmasserne ude fra den kirke, hun er ved at restaurere. Men langsomt strammes nettet om de to unge…

Daylight.

Daylight

Den underjordiske tunnel mellem Manhattan og New Jersey styrter sammen. Nogle få overlevende finder sammen i tunnelens midtersektion, der endnu holdes oppe. Men hvordan skal de komme ud? Heldigvis er der en modig taxa-chauffør (Sylvester Stallone), der ved lidt om tunnelkatastrofer og ikke står tilbage for at tage på en redningsekspedition under jorden!

Cloverfield

Cloverfield

En hyggelig fest for at fejre Robs afrejse til et fedt job i Japan afbrydes pludseligt, da jorden i New York begynder at ryste. Forvirrede og bange styrter folk op på taget af bygningen, hvor de ser en ildkugle fare gennem luften. Så rystes bygningen igen, strømmen går, panikken bryder ud. Hud har fået til opgave at lave en videooptagelse som en farvelgave til Rob, og han lægger ikke kameraet. På den måde får vi et øjebliksbillede af, hvordan panikken breder sig, når husene rystes og gaderne fyldes af støvskyer, når skyskrabere synker i grus. Hud følger en lille gruppe på flugten, men da Rob over mobilen får fat i sin elskede Beth og hører, at hun ligger fastklemt i et af de sammenstyrtede huse, ændrer han retning. Mod bedre vidende går han mod centrum af Manhattan, hvor noget stort og dødbringende er på spil. Og mod al sund fornuft går Hud og et par af vennerne samme vej. Uhh!

Supernova

Supanova

En astrofysiker har opdaget, at verdens undergang er nært forestående. Solen vil snart eksplodere og Jorden vil gå under. Mens et hold af forskere kæmper mod tiden for at forhindre, at hans dommedagsprofeti skal gå i opfyldelse, forvandles verden til et sandt inferno. Med bl.a. Luke Perry og Tia Carrere.

Sunshine.

Sunshine

Solen er ved at dø og sker det, vil det selvsagt få katastrofale konsekvenser for jorden og menneskeheden. Det største rumskib der nogensinde er blevet bygget, ICARUS II, bliver derfor sendt ud i rummet med en enorm atom nyttelast ombord, hvis formål er at gendanne de dele af solen, der allerede er gået ud. Ombord på rumskibet er en besætning bestående af otte astronauter. De kommer alle til at stå ansigt til ansigt med deres værste frygt.Sandsynligheden for at missionen lykkes synes mere og mere usandsynlig som de langsomt nærmer sig den frygtindgydende og overvældende kraft fra universets største og mest imponerende enkelte objekt – solen!

Cloverfield è un film del 2008 diretto da Matt Reeves, prodotto da JJ Abrams e scritto da Drew Goddard.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Matt Reeves | Michael Stahl-David | T.J. Miller | Jessica Lucas

Good morning.  Epix is about to take the stage at this the last day of Streaming Media West.  Watch the keynote live at:  www.livestream.com/streamingmedialive/beta. Presentations this weekend at streamingmedia.com/west.  We’ll be posting the remarks here along with a summary of what was said this week by other content distributors and producers:

Emil Rensing, Epix
Epix is a joint venture of Paramount/Lionsgate/MGM that launched three week ago as a FiOS Pay TV cable channel that for $10/month makes its content available to subscribers on any platform :  on TV, on demand, and online.  Epix owns the multiplatform rights for all their titles in the PayTV window of 9-10 months after theatrical release for at least 2y and doesn’t have restrictions on their content like legacy cable providers who signed deals 10 years ago and now have to renegotiate rights for TV Everywhere.   Currently offering 180 first run blockbuster movies and classics, Epix seeks to grow it’s library to 3,000 titles as well as offer outstanding original and event-based programming similar to the HBO, Starz, Showtime model.  Programming like Madonna and Kings of Leon concerts, Sam Shepard’s  Tough Trade and Charlize Theron’s Atlas Shrugged.  Seeking to become home to original storytellers….original programming builds brand for the network.  In terms of the size of the Epix acquisition budget, having just launched they are small now 62 staff, a third focused on digital, wondering whether sponsored star-studded sitcoms like Easy to Assemble and Justine Bateman’s FM78.tv then become an attractive option. Emil Rensing, founder of Next New Networks, shares space with Boxee in New York, is a digital guy agnostic about formats, hoping to see Epix on that toaster we’ve been talking about.  A media business, Epix is proud of its technology partners who provide a seamless playback experience: Akamai, Adobe, ClipSync. Amazing friending feature allows you to invite up to four friends to sit in a virtual screening room, watch the movie together, and chat via pop up speech bubbles.  The friends do not need to be an Epix subscriber. You can check out Epix this weekend.  Three day passes are available at www.epixhd.com/invite.   Watch Iron Man, Cloverfield, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, all four Indie Jones movies, even Scorsese’s Mick Jagger doc, Shine a Light.  Epix will be the first to run the Star Trek movie in the new year, so stay tuned.
(per SMW remarks)

Anthony Soohoo, CBS
CBS distribution strategy online, on mobile, in the connected home has been open, non-exclusive hyperdistribution to AOL, Yahoo!, Google, MSN. CBS.com watch full shows. TV.com nexgen navigation with integrated TiVo functionality and online personalized guide watchlists for the 20mm users of TV.com (2mm iPhone app downloads).  TV shows now, movies in the pipeline.  CBS Web Originals believes there are different ways to tell stories in terms of byte size text format, take about 3-4 different shows on a quarterly basis, on a project finance basis, find a sponsor working with the creators, then distribute across CBS properties and CBS Audience Network, bring expertise on sales side, largest video sales force out there, CBS Interactive is the 4th largest video player in the world, reach on a monthly basis 120mm.  Offer content creators sales and distribution piece mixed up with the TheInsider.com, TV.com, Chow.com, CBS.com.  300 syndicated partners.  A combination of having limited resources and it being early stage for the connected devices, focusing more on mobile right now.  TV Everywhere great for consumer, but only 52% of broadcast nets making content available, 10% cable nets, no economic model/measurement.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Tom Gorke, MTV
Tasked with monetizing content off owned and operated 300 websites worldwide, goal is multiplatform, to stay close to consumer, drive awareness and traffic.  MTV is the largest provider of content to Xbox and iTunes.  The biggest driver of paid download to own is the need for portability, take it with you on the flight.  The need to aggregate a library of content has matured.  Done well on Hulu, Fancast, Atom, GameTrailers, DailyMotion, Veoh.  MTV is all about automation, too much content, it wouldn’t scale if had to customize, even putting a flag in a feed is tough.  Have close relationship with syndication partners, provide exclusive one off promotional content, lots of assets, art work, graphics.  Syndication partners care most about reliability and regularity of delivery, and standards of quality of content.  FB pulls a lot of content from MTV.  Really saw the power of Twitter during the VMAs with Kanye West.  MTV integrates Twitter into sites, audience of engaged folks.  Leading provider of mobile content, sold over 1mm of the 16 iPhone apps, VCast.  Live streaming tentpoles like Kids Choice Awards, VMAs. Live streaming is completely different technology (Ustream, Justin.TV, Kyte, Livestream).  When Ashton Kutcher did his Fantasy Football Show on Ustream viewership went from 100,000 to 1mm viewers, it had a watercoolers effect and was played everywhere all at once.  For the experiment, bought ad unit and inserted Ustream player – was expensive.
(per SMW remarks)

Vanessa Pappas, Next New Networks
500mm streams online in 3 years, 30mm views/month, believe in super-syndication concept, be where the audience is.  Yahoo! has been great for family entertainment, long form does well on iTunes.  TubeMogul is integrated in content management system but do a manual refresh to optimize sites that perform for you.  Recently hired category manager from YouTube.  Know your syndicated partner’s audience.  On Twitter you can’t just post and pray, need to have dialogue with engaged community.  Share office with Boxee, getting on Boxee, Roku..
(per SMW remarks)

Brett Wislon, TubeMogul
Free supersyndication service to Blip.tv, Break, Brightcove, DailyMotion, eBaum’s World, Facebook, Graspr, Grind TV, Howcast, i2TV, Imeem, Metacafe, MSN Video, Myspace, Revver, Sclipo, Sevenload, Streetfire, Twitter, StupidVideos, Veoh, VideoJug, Y! Video, YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, 5min, Zoopy.  Best campaigns are hybrid like the recent intentionally lame Windows 7 videos.  Got 5.5mm views in September, impressive for a brand.  http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/video-windows-7-launch-party-parody-is-bleeping-genius/3.  Most have given up on trying to make money in online video.  Although YouTube is 50% of the game, study found that those that also syndicated to niche sites saw a 100x increase in viewership than those just on YouTube.  Greater success with vertical focus.  Analytics allow you to see where video is most embedded, can see if a specific mommy blog is an important outlet and starting feeding them exclusive content which they love because content drives traffic.  Moving from super-syndication (content everywhere blast) to hyper-syndication (content to engaged fans fast).  FB has no video strategy but is a top ten video site.  Study found most engaged viewers came from Twitter.
(per SMW remarks)

Brandon White, FUNimation
License anime content, aim to meet the needs of the licensors in Japan.  Syndicated via ad-supported video, iTunes, Xbox/Zune, PS3.  Use YouTube for fingerprinting.  Plan to syndicated across all CE devices – mobile, Blu-ray, web-enabled tvs.
(per SMW remarks)

Jim Louderback, Revision 3
Syndicates 20 shows including Diggnation broadly anywhere, anytime, any device, want to be where our audience millennial men live.  Auto-syndicates with Tubemogul but still need to manually refresh metadata at each site.
(per SMW remarks)

Dominik Rausch, Eleven Minutes Production, Easy To Assemble
EasytoAssembleSeries.com is a sponsored star-studded sitcom that has garnered 4.2mm+ views between its Season I & II on MyDamnChannel, YouTube, Ikeafans.com, KoldKastTV, Hulu.  Also distributed on iTunes.  In talks with DVD sales, releasing on hotel networks, subtitles for 10-15 additional countries in Europe & Asia.  Innovative series where in addition to celebrities like Illeana Douglas, Justine Bateman, Tom Arnold…IKEA is a co-star.  Web series same premium quality as film, all 10 episodes of second season strings together as a movie.  Production company is thinking of new ways to make content adapting to fragmented time-shifting society.  As traditional TV distribution disappears, new media will take over distribution for all platforms.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Brent Friedman, Electric Farm
Production budget for Crackle’s Woke Up Dead is over $1mm, high for a web production but has talent attached which attracted integrated sponsors like Kodak.   (Premise of show is friend trying to monetize fact that friend is a living zombie, sub-plot pitching to brands for sponsorship).  Sometimes you have to take a risk to get a bigger payoff just like more marketing dollars equals more views.  Kodak also cross-promoted on their own site which over a million monthly uniques.  Valemont is a success with an engaged community of 25,000.
(per SMW remarks)

Thom Woodley, Dinosuar Diorama
All-For-Nots co-produced with Eisner’s Vuguru.  Doesn’t like sponsor integration, hurts show creatively, prefer ad-insertion, and smaller more engaged audiences of 50-100,000, hasn’t quit his day job as ad agency exec yet. Show All’s Faire about the Renaissance Faire reaches 20,000 Renaissance Faire fans plus sci fi, comics and comedy buffs.
(per SMW remarks)

there was this dream i used to have.  it probably started when i was about 15 or 16 years old.  i used to yearn to leave the middle class/lower class divides of my midwestern city that resembled more of a county fair ground than a metropolis…i used to yearn to leave this place in search for that larger-than-life place that only existed in my favorite black and white films of yesteryear (yes, i used to love the true amc classics in my childhood…by the way, since when are the staple movies of the ’80s more classic than those of the generations before??  but i digress.).  i used to want so badly to understand ms. gabor’s stance on why the country life was not for her…why she started every episode of green acres singing, “darling i love you, but give me park avenue.”  i needed that sort of change.

once i finally got to be a senior in high school, i definitely continued my quest to get away from what i saw as a small city choking the life out of my opportunity at happiness.  had i ever lived in a large metropolis?  absolutely not! but i thought i could conquer anything, especially if it meant i would never have to come back home.  ahhh, the meanderings of a youthful mind.    senior year of high school inspired me so much that i began to request information from colleges and universities that existed virtually anywhere outside of my home state.  had my parents prepared me for going away to school?  no way!  had they created any amount of savings toward my education?  absolutely incorrect!  had my own college educated father at least showed me how to go about obtaining information on getting financial assistance in school???  hmmm, outlook not likely.   so, i was just attempting the impossible by thinking i would attend an academic institution without any money as far away from home as possible.  (again, isn’t the young naive mind cute?)

i recall finally obtaining an informational packet from columbia university (in nyc).  it was everything i had ever dreamed of.  it was the dream magnified by 60 times!  but something in me brought me down.  maybe it was the fact that i had no money, no financial support, or any sort of means to do what it takes to prepare for college, let alone enter college.  what do i mean by that?  well, i didn’t live with my parents when i was wrapping up high school (long story), but even if i had, my father had never intended on paying for my education.  there was no amount of money set aside for sat/act tests let alone application fees, tuition, room and board…nothing like that.  even though i knew that my parents could have at least afforded to help me, it was also known that it wouldn’t happen that way.  despite my long-standing 4.0 gpa, i still had to take standardized tests (which i only managed to take once due to lack of money) in order to prove how worthy i was to attend any school, let alone my dream school.  in short, i never went to nyc for college.  i stayed in my home state…i attended what is arguably the best academic institution in the state, but in my heart, it was never columbia university.

despite not attending undergrad in the city, i had my heart set on moving to new york, becoming a renowned singer/songwriter/novelist, and living that sex and the city life (without the sex, though).  i just thought it would be so splendid to live in a place where “the city never sleeps”.  i just thought it would be so wonderful to live a life with the lights of times square shining everyday.  now, mind you, this was all a fantasy.  i had never lived on the east coast of the country, let alone lived/visited/touched ground in new york city.  i had known people who loved it there, though.  i had built my own fantasy around their experiences.  for example, my high school boyfriend claimed he had family in new york.  anytime he’d get mad at me, he’d threaten that he’d just up and move to new york…”it’s so much better than here”…there was so much more to do in nyc.  his stories planted more of a reason to leave the cow-filled grasses that lined our state highways for a skyscraper infested big city.  then, in college, i met someone else who i eventually became rather close to.  he had literally lived in new york all of his life prior to college.  he talked about it all of the time.  again, planting the seeds that this new york place was somewhere i would have to be!

i had my small share of college buddies, but none of them really believed that i would ever relocate.  considering that my family still lived in the midwest and all i ever knew existed there, no one could ever believe that i, small town girl, would make it in a dog-eat-dog environment.  that was even more motivation to take my chance and move to the edge of the world (or at least the edge of the u.s.).  so finally, at the age of twenty-four, i did it.  i moved.  to brooklyn.    no, it wasn’t manhattan, but i loved brooklyn.  i had visited brooklyn once before; had visited manhattan twice before; had felt at home when i made my preliminary visits.  no one ever disclosed to me that there could be a very different perspective from visiting versus living in the city.

eventually, i had to make a non-fantasy-based decision.  i could no longer live in brooklyn and commute to manhattan for work.  i couldn’t afford it.  so i did the next best thing.  i moved to jersey!    now, you may be thinking, “why would you do that??”  well, let me tell you.  coming from the midwest, rent on a three bedroom townhouse may have cost $600 a month.  to relocate in the hopes of living that sex and the city lifestyle only to find that $600 a month won’t even be enough to get a studio apartment smaller than a university dorm room…jersey seems like a viable option.  i eventually ended up in a two bedroom with my then fiance.  we had the basement in what was something like a duplex home.  and even that cost over a grand per month.

anyhow, i still attempted to get a bit of the city action.  i lived less than 20 minutes away from nyc (at least when there was no traffic), so i tried to live it up as much as possible.  but then something came to my mind…i’m not really an extroverted person…never have been.  so the club scene wasn’t my thing.  also, i enjoy sleeping.  so if i had to work a nine-hour day in the office, i didn’t care to stay out late at night because i would be deprived of sleep (and what a commodity sleep is).  so instead of becoming the night owl that i fantasized i would become, i found my little jewels in the city during the day.  for example, even though i didn’t like coffee, i became a starbucks fiend.    i would travel to starbucks (typically in the morning) on my way to my lovely office job in order to insure that i would have a smile on my face even though i was so unhappy until 6pm (when my day at the office would be done).  another jewel i discovered was the virgin megastore.  the heart, soul, and pulse of times square (at least in my opinion), the virgin megastore was any media-obsessed person’s (such as myself) heaven.  if there was an album that i loved during my childhood (which would not have been released on cd originally, since wer’re talking about the ’80s), i could find it in the virgin store on cd!!!!!  maybe even on vinyl.  any television show, it could be found at the virgin store.  any movie or documentary (no matter how independent the film may have been), the virgin megastore had it!  i could find myself in there for long periods of time (partially because my then fiance was obsessed with various forms of media, too).  i would sneak off there during my lunch break or i would go there after work.  it was awesome.

there were so many things that i came to dislike about living there, though.  so many things that i depended on simple things to make life worth living on the east coast.  so naturally, i wanted to leave once the cloverfield monster attacked manhattan.  you may be thinking, “what the *$#! is she talking about?”  the cloverfield monster!  you know, the movie…cloverfield…you know.  the movie where this gross looking worse-than-godzilla-creature comes and squashes the city of new york and leaves it in ruins.  yeah, that happened in real life.  only in real life, the role of the cloverfield monster is played by the economy.  yeah.  so the freaking cloverfield monster decides to kill my dream.  he squashes the life out of new york city.  if that could happen in new york, it could happen anywhere essentially.  the virgin store is not even existent anymore.    it broke my heart to walk past the glass-front building and find it boarded up.  to be completely honest, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  that’s why i left nyc.

…okay, okay, there were other reasons, too.  but that was a BIG reason for my leaving new york.    any questions?

Jahapp, då har även jag tagit ett steg in i framtiden och investerat i en BluRay spelare. Jag har letat länge efter ett billigt alternativ och det slutade med att införskaffa denna spelaren.

Sony BDP-S360

Absolut allt annat än en värstingspelare, men den har BD-Live och stödjer alla nödvändiga ljudformat som jag är ute efter. Dessutom var den under 2000kr och det var min maxbudget nu. Det är ju julafton runt hörnet och det är lika bra att köpa den nu så kan jag önska mig film i julklapp….nej, alltså jag menade ju såklart lika bra att köpa den nu innan jul eftersom man skall köpa julklappar, hehe.

Specifikation

- BD-ROM (BonusView, profil 1.1)
- BD-ROM (BD-Live, profil 2.0)
- 1080p-utgång (via HDMI)
- HD-uppskalning med Precision Cinema (DVD-uppskalning till 1080p)
- D/A-omvandlare för video: 12 bitar/148,5 MHz
- 24p True Cinema
- x.v. Colour
- Utgång för progressiv avsökning
- Precision Drive HD
- Deep Colour
- 8-kanals linjär PCM Bitstream-utgång
- Dolby TrueHD-avkodning
- Dolby TrueHD Bitstream-utgång
- DTS-HD Master Audio-avkodning
- DTS-HD Master Audio Bitstream-utgång
- D/A-omvandlare för ljud: 192 kHz/24 bitars

Utgångar

• 1x HDMI
• 1x Komponentvideoutgång
• 1x Composite-videoutgång
• 1x Digital koaxial ljudutgång
• 1x Digital Optisk ljudutgång
• 1x Analog stereoutgång
• 1x Ethernet

- Snabbstart: 6 sekunder
- XrossMediaBar^TM (GUI)
- BRAVIA Sync
- Uppdateringar av inbyggd programvara via Ethernet
- Skärmsläckare
- Strömförbrukning: 220-240 V
- Strömförbrukning (under drift): 22 W
- Strömförbrukning (i viloläge): 0,19 W (i normalt viloläge)
- Automatisk avstängning: 30 minuter
- Mått (BxHxD): 430 x 56 x 216 mm
- Vikt (kg): 2,1

+ andra onödiga spec´s som tex display på fronten, fjärrkontroll och massa annat självklart tjafs.

Pris: 1979.- inklusive frakt

Jag passade självklart även på att köpa på mig lite film så jag kan njuta av vår nya leksak direkt. Vi har iof 2st BD filmer sedan innan , Click & Terminator 2, men ändå, man vill ju ändå ha lite nytt när man ändå investerar eller hur?

Här är lilla listan på nyinköpta filmer, klicka på bilderna för att komma till beskrivningen av filmen om ni inte känner igen dem.

Transformers 1 & 2 – Mega Edition (4 disc), Rec, Cloverfield, Hellboy 2, Stargate, Inglourious Basterds

Tyvärr är det fortfarande för dyrt att köpa BluRay (BD) filmer till fullpris, speciellt boxar så som det ser ut nu får det bli att rota runt i billiglådorna och kika efter kampanjer ett tag till. Boxar får köpas på DVD så länge tills priserna sjunker. I stort sett alla filmer som jag köpte nu är på kampanj på cdon, men Inglourious Basterds vill jag ha direkt den kommer så den fick det snällt bli till fullpris. Transformers filmerna är dock ett måste så även den fick det bli köp på direkt, dock till ett lockande specialpris på 399.- Så från och med nu kommer jag inte bara tipsa om köpfilm på DVD utan även på BluRay.

Schutt und Asche.

Einen Monat bevor Roland Emmerichs bahnbrechendes Weltuntergangsszenario zum ersten Mal über die Leinwände flackerte und direkt am Startwochenende einen tsunamigleichen Geldstrom in die Kinokassen spülte, hatte Dr. David Morrison vom astrobiologischen Institut der NASA wenig Gutes über die viralen Marketingmaßnahmen zu sagen, mit denen man bei Sony vorab schon mal ein bisschen wohlige Panikstimmung aufkommen ließ.

InstituteforHumanContinuity.com hieß der Stein des Anstoßes, der für den Weltraumforscher eine Lawine ins Rollen brachte, die allerdings im direkten Vergleich mit den herabstürzenden Schneemassen in Emmerichs Film eher mikroskopische Ausmaße annahm. Bekanntlich ist das Internet ja bereits randvoll mit jeder Menge dubioser Sekten, weißgekleideter Gurus oder langhaariger Hobbypropheten, die vom nahen Ende künden und dazu in der Regel auch ziemlich genaue Daten vorlegen können (welche dann nach Ablauf der jeweiligen Frist – irren ist menschlich – eben nochmal nachgebessert werden müssen). Wen also soll da eine weitere pseudowissenschaftliche Organisation aus der Reserve locken, die für den Stichtag 21.12.2012 die immerhin 94-prozentige Chance einer Kollision des blauen Planeten mit einem anderen Himmelskörper vorausberechnet und Tickets für geheimnisvolle Überlebensarchen verlost? Niemanden. Niemanden jedenfalls, der nicht ohnehin schon vom Untergangsvirus infiziert ist und vielleicht bereits heimlich Plakate mit der Aufschrift „Das Ende naht“ in der Hinterhand hält. Konsequenterweise bedauert im Film selber, als schon die halbe Erdoberfläche in Schutt und Asche liegt, eine der Figuren am meisten die Tatsache, dass ausgerechnet „die Idioten mit den Schildern“ Recht behalten hätten. So kann man es natürlich auch sehen.

Doch Dr. Morrison würde hierüber vermutlich nur den Kopf schütteln. Dem „Independent“ berichtet er in einem Beitrag vom 17. Oktober über mehr als eintausend verängstigte Anfragen von Menschen, die befürchteten, die NASA halte Informationen zurück und helfe auf diese Weise, den Weltuntergang im Maya-Jahr zu vertuschen. Teenager gar habee es gegeben, die sich mit Suizid-Gedanken beschäftigten, weil sie nicht miterleben wollten, wie es mit Mutter Erde zuende geht. – Was einen da in erster Linie lehren sollte, seine Plattensammlung nach Alben von Morrissey oder Robert Smith zu durchsuchen und die aufgespürten Exemplare unauffindbar vor dem eigenen Nachwuchs zu verstecken, ist in Wahrheit (und da können sich alle mit der Erziehungsarbeit überforderten Eltern nach kurzem Aufschrecken wieder beruhigt zurücklehnen und weiter zappen) die Schuld der PR-Abteilung eines großen Hollywood-Studios ohne Moral und Gewissen – letzteres übrigens eine Tautologie.

Fake-Websites sind in der Vermarktungsmaschinerie für US-Blockbuster heute Standard und manchmal mindestens so unterhaltsam wie die beworbenen Filme selber. Auf den ersten Blick mag man sich täuschen lassen, doch bei genauerem Hinsehen wird in aller Regel ziemlich schnell klar, dass man es mit einer oftmals ziemlich kostspieligen Fiktion zu tun hat, die vor allem eines will – ein Produkt verkaufen. Was da unter dem Label „Virales Marketing“ verbucht wird, hat längst den Charakter von Online-Spielerei eingenommen. Filmcharaktere bekommen eigene MySpace-Profile und fiktive Firmen eine aufwendige Webpräsenz. Sogar ganze Wahlkampagnen finden mittlerweile im Netz statt, ohne dass der Kandidat, geschweige denn das Amt, für das er antritt, überhaupt existieren (so geschehen mit Harvey Dent aus „The Dark Knight“).

Im Fall von „2012“ rührten die virale Werbetrommel neben dem anstößigen „Institute for Human Continuity“ (wobei der Name selber ersichtlicherweise bereits der erste Witz der absurden Hoemepage ist) auch die Webpräsenz von „Farewell Atlantis“, dem erfolglosen Weltuntergangsroman von Hauptfigur Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), sowie der offizielle Blog von Charlie Frost (sehr lustig und vollkommen irre: Woody Harrelson), einem Verschwörungstheoretiker, der so ziemlich alles über die letzten Tage der Menschheit weiß und dies mithilfe von selbstgebastelten Flash-Animationen (quasi der dilettantische Gegenpol zu den perfekten CGI-Wundern des Films) an seine Leser weitergibt.

Farewellatlantis.com stellt mit einem downloadbaren Probekapitel und einem Original-Vorwort von Science-Fiction-Autor Nick Sagan (schrieb u.a. einige Episoden von „Star Trek Voyager“) dabei fast eine noch bessere Illusion dar als die umstrittene Instituts-Homepage. Ein Blog hingegen, wie ihn Charlie Frost führt (thisistheend.com), ist tatsächlich nur einer von vielen seiner Art – und bei den meisten weiß man viel weniger über deren Realitätsgehalt als in diesem unübersehbar fiktiven Fall. Dass alle drei Webpräsenzen übrigens deutlich als „Part of the 2012 Movie Experience“ gekennzeichnet sind, hebt sie deutlich von vergleichbaren früheren Maßnahmen im Umfeld von „Blair Witch Project“ bis „Cloverfield“ ab. Dr. Morrision darf sich also wieder beruhigen – sofern er nicht selber Bestandteil der Kampagne ist. Man weiß ja nie.

Im Hinblick auf Emmerichs Untergangsszenario hat das Spiel mit Fiktion und Realität natürlich seinen ganz eigenen Reiz. Während die Marketing-Abteilung bei Sony alles dransetzt, Elemente des Films in der virtuellen Umgebung des Internets mit möglichst vielen Realwerten aufzuladen, macht sich das Geschehen auf der Leinwand einen Spaß daraus, die Sache von der anderen Seite anzugehen. „2012“ spielt in gewissem Sinne in einer Art alternativer Gegenwart, komplett mit einem farbigen US-Präsidenten und einem Gouverneur aus Kalifornien, dessen Englisch mit unüberhörbar steierischem Akzent durchsetzt ist (und dessen Worten man selbstredend keinen Glauben schenken kann, denn, so stellt Jackson Curtis glasklar fest, der Mann ist Schauspieler, und was er sagt, liest er von Karten ab). Doch echte Originale gibt es praktisch keine, auch wenn Deutschland zum Zeitpunkt des Weltuntergangs von einer Frau regiert wird und der italienische Ministerpräsident zu borniert ist, um sich in Sicherheit zu bringen. Einzig die englische Queen hat es in Emmerichs Parallelwelt unbeschadet hinübergeschafft.

So sehr der Film aber auf allzu genaue Imitationen realer Vorbilder verzichtet, so präzise bildet er all das nach, was er in der Folge dann mit den aufwendigsten Zerstörungsmaßnahmen, die es je auf der Leinwand zu sehen gegeben hat, gnadenlos einreißt, umstürzt, dem Erdboden gleichmacht oder überflutet. Und das geschieht nicht nur überaus gründlich, sondern vor allem mit einem derart entfesselten Willen zur visuellen Überwältigung, dass es einen als Zuschauer vollkommen paralysiert. Nie zuvor hat irgendein menschliches Auge Vergleichbares wahrgenommen, und alles, was Emmerich bis dato gemacht hat, wirkt angesichts von „2012“ wie eine bloße Ansammlung von Fingerübungen. Kein Zweifel, der Mann aus Sindelfingen, der hierzulande ebenso gerne wie lange als bemühter aber untertalentierter Spielberg-Klon verlacht wurde, ist auf der Höhe seines Könnens angekommen.

Und das betrifft nicht nur die grandiosen CGIs. Gegen Ende der ersten Stunde nimmt der Film in einem Maße Fahrt auf, dass man es mit der Angst zu tun bekommen kann. Und wenn man sich von den unglaublichen Zerstörungsorgien erholt hat, muss man fast befürchten, dass alles Pulver, das Emmerich zur Verfügung steht, schon verschossen ist – so gewaltig erscheint das, was man da gerade zu sehen bekommen hat. Der erste Angriff der Aliens in „War of the Worlds“ verkommt zum Sandkastenspiel gegen das, was hier geboten wird. Und doch leiht sich der Film den entscheidenden dramaturgischen Trick ausgerechnet genau dort aus. Denn die Tatsache, dass die unfasslichen Bilder vom völligen Zusammenbruch aller Zivilisation (zunächst Los Angeles) nicht selbstzweckhaft abgebildet werden und zur reinen Show verkommen, wie es bei früheren Emmerich-Produktionen verstärkt der Fall war, sondern zumeist den Rahmen einer halsbrecherischen Flucht bilden, sorgt erst dafür, dass man dem Geschehen unabhängig von den Schauwerten folgt und „2012“ ganz nebenbei einige der atemberaubendsten und spannendsten Action-Sequenzen der letzten Kinojahre erhält.

Aber auch sonst sind einige Parallelen zu Spielbergs Apokalypse-Variante nicht von der Hand zu weisen und klar intendiert. Am deutlichsten wird dies in der Konstellation, mit der die Hauptfigur in Gang gesetzt wird. Denn die Zerstörung der Menschheit soll für den durchschnittlichen US-Zuschauer vor allem lesbar sein als Makrokosmos-Variante zerrütteter Familienverhältnisse. Und so bildet folgerichtig die Keimzelle der Gesellschaft denjenigen Ort, der gerettet werden muss, wenn die ganze Rasse überleben soll. John Cusack übernimmt den Part von Tom Cruise und dekliniert ihn nach allen Regeln der Kunst durch. Warum machen Emmerich und sein erneuter Co-Autor Harald Kloser das? Weil es funktioniert.

Doch das Ensemble an Figuren hat noch weitaus mehr zu bieten, und auch hier ist ein entscheidender Unterschied zu früheren Filmen des erfolgreichsten deutschen Kinomachers in Hollywood spürbar. Wo sonst oft eine gewisse Eindimensionalität der Charaktere vorherrschte, entfaltet sich hier eine ganze Handvoll sehenswerter Sympathieträger, die aber immer noch so nah am Rande der gewohnten Klischees entlang balancieren, dass sie für das breite Publikum, wie es ein fast 300 Millionen Dollar teurer Spielfilm braucht, problemlos konsumierbar bleiben. Das ist Emmerich zuvor nur selten, und wenn, dann nur in Ansätzen so trefflich gelungen wie hier. Besonders bemerkenswert ist dabei, dass selbst Figuren, die zunächst nur Abziehbilder zu sein scheinen, nach und nach mehr Tiefe offenbaren dürfen, als man auf den ersten Anschein vermuten würde, und die Darsteller tragen das Ihre dazu bei.

„2012“ ist selbstverständlich nicht frei von gnadenlosen Übertreibungen, unglaublichen Zufällen und hier und da einer gehörigen Portion Pathos. Dagegen ist nichts einzuwenden, denn an anderer Stelle gelingen dem Film dafür auch einige ungewöhnlich stille Momente, die der ganzen Sache zu einem bemerkenswert breiten emotionalen Spektrum verhelfen. Dass im letzten Drittel einiges an Zugeständnissen notwendig wird, um die Spannung aufrecht zu erhalten, ist das Ergebnis einer dramaturgischen Technik, die bereits die meisten Bond-Filme mit Roger Moore vorangetrieben hat – nur dass Emmerich und Kloser noch gehörig eins draufsetzen. Aber wer will ihnen das vorwerfen, wenn man sich schweißgebadet am Sitz festkrallt angesichts der ständigen Knappheit, mit der die Figuren immer wieder so gerade noch dem sicheren Tod von der Klinge springen?

Genau 12.012 Jahre früher reichte dem Urzeitkriegers D´Leh noch ein einziger Speer, um einer fehlgeleiteten Kultur ein Ende zu bereiten, zwölf Jahrtausende später müssen sich schon die Erdplatten verschieben, um die Dinge wieder zurecht zu rücken. Und das ist alleine optisch schon die bessere Variante. The End of the World is a helluva ride.

Artikel © 2009 Thomas Lenz. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Filmplakat / Fotos: Sony Pictures Releasing GmbH

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Martian 8 - A personal project of creature/character designer Neville Page. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Like many Sci-Fi fans, creature/character designer Neville Page sat in a darkened movie theater when he was a child and watched in anticipation as the opening credits for the original Star Wars feature film began to roll. Having seen the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca, his mind wandered in a direction that would forever change his life.

“I began to wonder what people did in order to make a movie like that,” recalls Page. “I didn’t understand that they went to school to learn how to be creature designers, sculptors or artists for that matter, and could then go work in films. Then, however, I began to collect all sorts of Star Wars magazines – I was really addicted to the film – and in one of the magazines there was this article on [make-up artist] Rick Baker. When I saw a picture of him with a lump of clay and a sculpting tool, it suddenly occurred to me that, ‘OK, people actually do this stuff,’ and that’s where my interest [in the craft] first began.”

When he was 17, Page moved to Hollywood and, after trying his hand at acting and stand-up comedy, enrolled in the Art Center College of Design where he studied industrial design. “I did that for several years, but all along I craved to work in films,” says the designer. “The more seasoned I became as an industrial designer, it became more apparent that if I wanted to make monsters and do animatronics, it would require a huge career and lifestyle change.

“At that point I thought, ‘Well, that dream is dead,’ but the very next day, literally, something happened that changed my mind. Colleen Atwood, who’s a major costume designer, was working next door to my studio on the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report. A buddy of mine had left his keys there and she stopped by my studio to drop them off. Colleen noticed that my business partner, Scott Robertson, and I do industrial design, including helmets, and she needed a helmet for a police costume. That’s when she asked, ‘Hey, do you guys want to work on some film stuff?’ and I haven’t stopped since. You can’t plan something like that. It’s like sitting at a cafe and being ‘discovered.’ You can only hope you’re in the right place at the right time, and mine was my buddy forgetting his keys.

Squidleyflat - a personal project of Neville Page. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

X2, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, The Hulk, Cloverfield and James Cameron’s Avatar are just a few of the big screen projects that Page has worked on. “With Avatar I was kind of stretching my skills at creature design,” he says. “James Cameron is a very specific guy and you can just imagine how many portfolios were being thrown his way when it came to his movie. Four people were selected, myself being one of them, and I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s a mistake here, because I don’t have much of a portfolio.’ I had a lot of industrial design stuff, but I guess that’s what Jim wanted. He wanted a very different take on a creature design and I’ve told him many times since then how incredibly grateful and indebted I am to him because he allowed me almost a year to become educated in what he needed to be the best, well-thought out creatures in film. So he afforded us the time to really do it right.

“I’m a huge fan of doing the research and understanding the subject matter, which includes buying animal bones and things of that nature to better understand a creatures’ physiology, and Jim really dug that we were coming in fully armed with all this knowledge. You can’t pull the wool over his eyes. He’s bright on all levels, and it was our goal to help crack the design nut. There were occasions where I would present an anatomical solution to a problem that would genuinely impress Jim. That’s a good day at work! Jim is a strong man who knows what he wants, and if you’re strong enough to survive that, you come out a better person and definitely a better designer, that’s for sure.”

While still working on Avatar, the designer took on yet another new creature challenge in J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield. “When I met with [producers] J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles to discuss Cloverfield, I knew nothing about the project other than J.J. said, ‘I want to make a monster movie,’” says Page. “They explained to me that this film was a big experiment as far as how they were going to shoot  it, with handheld cameras and not a whole bunch of other cameras set up for secondary or tertiary shots. They also explained that the overall budget was next to nothing.

“For whatever reason, J.J. won me over because of his passion for the work and his loveable personality. I thought, ‘I don’t know quite what it [the film] is either, J.J., but sign me up.’ The hardest part of  Cloverfield, though, was that I was also in my last five or six months of Avatar, and the last months of any project are the toughest because you have to deliver all the final elements. I told myself, ‘I’m working with James Cameron and J.J. Abrams simultaneously. Am I the luckiest man in the world or what? You’ve got to make this work, Neville, no matter what.’”

Up close and personal with the Cloverfield creature. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Another angle of the Cloverfield creature. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Clearly, Abrams was pleased with Page’s contribution to Cloverfield because he subsequently asked him to provide creature effects and much more for the new Star Trek film. “I was tasked with two creatures right out of the gate, which were the ones on the ice planet Delta Vega,” notes the designer. “J.J. was very specific about what he wanted; he wanted one of the creatures to be red because it would look cool and be a great contrast to the white snow. The second thing he wanted was for it to have several eyes just so it was kind of freaky and scary. J.J. also wanted the creature to have a month that was extremely off-putting, not because you’d be afraid of being bitten by it, but that it might touch or dribble on you.

“If you study enough about biology and animals you can kind of reverse engineer a number of things into a plausible organism. That’s where it’s helpful to have a pretty broad understanding of several different animals as well as zoology and physics, because you’ll be able to take some really wacky concept and make it work by having all these other reference points. So I didn’t have much trouble with the color of the red creature because there are plenty of things in the ocean that are red, such as crabs, lobsters and the Humboldt squid. The creature is actually a cross between a crab and a squid, and it wasn’t necessarily that I thought of that as a means to hybridize something, but this thing just evolved to a point where it started to look like that. So I thought, ‘I can reference those two animals and tap into a little bit more of their physiology.’

“There are those who question the red color, but the important thing to remember is that this creature is most comfortable in the water, much like a squid would be. It only breaks through the ice for the occasional desperate feeding. That was my rationale, and it actually does make sense; animals do occasionally breach or leave their normal habitat when they’re incredibly hungry. However, there have been a lot of fans of the film that really objected to the fact that it was red, but when you know what its origins are, then it potentially makes sense.

“The fact that this creature doesn’t have fur is also another [deliberate] choice. A lot of whales don’t have fur, but rather excess blubber. It might sound as if I’m justifying things, but I’m trying to explain the fact that it’s an alien planet, so anything should go. But we have a critical Earth audience looking at the movie, some of whom saying, ‘I don’t know if I’d buy that [creature] because it’s red, doesn’t have fur and it’s skinny.’ Well, crabs somehow get away with it, and so do lobsters. There’s no fur on a lobster, so who’s to say that this creature isn’t some sort of hybrid endo-exo-skeletal thing. The most important thing for J.J. is that he just wants it to be cool for the moment so people enjoy the ride. My job is to make sure that it [the creature] is viable enough so fans and other people who may scrutinize it don’t feel insulted or gypped. But I must ask, why does no one question the survivability of the passengers on a ship that leaps instantly to warp speed? It’s all simply entertainment.”

The Polarilla creature from Star Trek XI. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Those who saw the Star Trek film and also, coincidentally, have an aversion to insects, probably had to look away when Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) is tortured for tactical data by Captain Nero (Eric Bana) of the Romulan mining ship Narada, and forced to swallow the mind-controlling bug. Page was the brains behind the look of that particular creepy crawly.

“That little bug was kind of an homage to the earwig that was in [the second Star Trek film] The Wrath of Khan, in that something bug-like is being put inside you that’s going to mess with your mind,” he says. “I felt it would have been far creepier to put it into an orifice that you wouldn’t normally put something in, but we were limited to orifices that were PG [rated],” jokes Page. “So ears and nostrils would have been it. I just thought that putting it in the mouth was, maybe, more like eating it, and not as unnerving.

“We did our level best to make it look upsetting, but I think most people are so bug-phobic that just having a bug near someone’s mouth was frightening enough. I really did want this one to be more like an earwig, which is why I made the tail earwig-like. J.J. was very specific, though, about wanting these claws and little tentacles that would make it look as if it has the capacity, once inside the body, to engage with the spinal cord or lower brainstem.

“So the design challenge was partially just arriving at the appropriate esthetic, but on top of that, we knew that we didn’t have the funds to do a full digital effect and that it had to be a practical on-set one. That meant we had to have something we could actually control animatronically, and that dictated a certain kind of body mass to fit the electronics into. A Japanese gentleman, in fact, made a robot that was tiny enough, or should I say microscopic enough, to go inside a rubber version of our bug. That’s what you see on-screen, this little remote-controlled bug on the end of barbecue tongs. It was quite incredible.”

Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation are well aware that its Klingons as well as Romulans looked very different from those seen in the classic Star Trek series. An effort was made in Star Trek: Enterprise to explain the change in the Klingons’ appearance, and the same thing was done in the new Star Trek movie with regard to the Romulans, including Eric Bana’s Nero.

“The Next Generation Romulans had the V-shaped prosthetic on their forehead, but in the original show, they had absolutely no prosthetics,” explains Page. “So we had to come up with a way to justify how it is that over time, some of them developed the V and others did not. For that, I worked with Joel Harlow, who did a lot of the make-up for Pirates of the Caribbean, and was the head make-up artist for the Romulans specifically. The idea I had involved a bald head and therefore shaving it completely, but in order to convince Eric Bana of this, we needed to do a make-up test first. We didn’t have the budget to hire another actor or a model for this, so I ‘donated’ my head to the cause. We would shave my head, Joel would then do the make-up test on me, and if J.J. liked it, we would move forward and create the look for Eric.

“As far as the concept of getting that V-shape to work, I went with tribal scarification,” continues the designer. “If you scar yourself over and over again in the same place, over time it turns into a keloid mass. I thought it would be interesting if we could use that to create the natural V justification. So we put together an array of designs that Harlow sculpted to replicate that look, and we had a number of tattoo and hair ideas as well. In the end, what you see in the movie is not unlike the basic concept that I wore in our presentation to J.J. The final design, however, has more character nuances in it; there’s a scar on Nero’s face, because I always liked the idea of chopping his ear off to make it look like he’s even half of the Romulan he used to be. Ultimately, J.J. decided to make it more of a bite that Nero probably got while he was imprisoned with the Klingons.”

The original scarring went through a bit of a metamorphosis before filming began, but Abrams liked the design that Page first tested, so much so that he asked him if he would like to play a Romulan in the film. The designer wasted no time in accepting the offer. “I joke with people that that was my plan all along as a child, that I wanted to be a movie star. However, I had a whole different way of achieving that. It would be through the backdoor. I’d study design for years and work and work and then finally get my break while testing the make-up. It was a very strategic and circuitous path,” he says with a laugh, “but now that I am a huge celebrity, wasn’t it all worth it? Although J.J. did say, ‘Keep your day job.’ What could he have meant?

“Seriously, the best part about doing it was two-fold. I had to go through the make-up process many times, including having to wear full scleral contact lenses. They aren’t just the small lenses that cover the iris, but the ones that extend over the eye in all directions. I can’t stand the idea of contact lenses, but I thought, ‘If I’m going to be designing this stuff for people, I should at least know what I’m asking them to subject themselves to.’

“So seeing the sculptors interpreting my designs and then seeing the make-up applied step-by-step was, for me, not only fun, but also a wonderful education in the hope that I do more work like it. The other get part was getting to be on the other side of the camera. I’ve been around long enough to know what that’s like as a designer, but being ‘an actor’ on-set and watching them direct me and everyone else was another amazing learning experience.”

Caudal luring - a personal project of Neville Page. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Carnivor glow - a Mattel concept illustration. Photo courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page

Besides Star Trek, Page’s other recent work includes Watchmen and Tron 2.0, the sequel to the 1982 Sci-Fi film Tron. “I started off designing a bit of everything [for Tron 2.0] with everyone else, but I quickly gravitated towards the costumes,” he says. “From there, I ended up moving from the art department to costumes and developing the hero and specialty costumes. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but it’s a hard thing to break into because it’s a totally different department.

“I recently came back from Vancouver where I watched some of the shooting [for Tron 2.0] and, my God, it looks really good. From the last script I read, I think it’s going to be an interesting film with some neat twists, and aesthetically it’s looking phenomenal. It’s right up there with James Cameron’s Avatar in terms of delivering really fresh and new imagery on-screen. If you watch the original Tron now, it’s important to note what a major achievement that it was then, and at the helm of it all was Steve Lisberger. He was the original director and conceiver of Tron and one of the producers for the new movie. Lisberger is very involved in the production and it was cool to see him and the new director, Joe Kosinski, brainstorming. It’s one of the more exciting projects I’ve ever been on.”

While some people who work in film and/or TV might take it for granted, Page sees his involvement in the business as very much the opposite. He is also happy for the chance to give back something to audiences. “When I sat watching Star Wars as a kid, my parents were going through a divorce, and the movie was an amazing escape for me,” he says. “It’s sad to say that R2D2 was my therapist at age 12. Having said that, whenever I meet someone who is moved by something I’ve done in the same way I was moved by Joe Johnston [Star Wars effects illustrator/designer] and Ralph McQuarrie [Star Wars production illustrator], that’s when it really hits home that what you do is relevant. And it’s such a priviledge to be able to do that.”

Steve Eramo

As noted above, all photos courtesy of and copyright of Neville Page, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Cloverfield is a 2008 American monster movie directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.

Before the film’s release, Paramount Pictures carried out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film which included viral tie-ins similar to Lost Experience.[4] The film follows five young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city. First publicized within a teaser trailer in screenings of Transformers, the film was released on January 17 in New Zealand and Australia, on January 18 in North America, on January 24 in South Korea, on January 25 in Taiwan, on January 31 in Germany and on February 1 in Ireland, in the United Kingdom and in Italy. In Japan, the film was released on April 5. This film has been nominated for a UL Media Award for “Best Dramatic Film.”

VFX and CGI were performed by effects studios Double Negative and Tippett Studio.

Directed by Matt Reeves
Produced by J. J. Abrams
Bryan Burk
Written by Drew Goddard
Starring Michael Stahl-David
T. J. Miller
Jessica Lucas
Odette Yustman
Lizzy Caplan
Mike Vogel
Music by Michael Giacchino
Cinematography Michael Bonvillain
Editing by Kevin Stitt
Studio Bad Robot Productions
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) January 18, 2008
Running time 84 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million
Gross revenue $198,602,318

Da wir jetzt schon Mitte November haben und ich zu nichts komme, handele ich die zahlreichen Oktoberfilme jetzt mal knapp ab. Einmal Kino und einige DVDs gab es:

Carriers

Memento

Cloverfield

Wall-E

Elizabethtown

Carriers @ UFA Palast Stuttgart

Ausgangssituation bei Carriers: Ein Virus hat große Teile der Menschheit ausgerottet, nur wenige Überlebende kämpfen um ihr leben. Einer Gruppe von Überlebenden folgt man in Carriers. Diese besteht aus einem Liebespaar, dem Bruder der männlichen Hälfte aus diesem und einer Freundin. Zusammen wollen sie die Küste erreichen, um dort in Ruhe die Ruhe zu Ende erleben zu können. In einer Struktur mit Elementen aus Roadmovie und Episodenfilm entspinnt sich eine nette Schocker-bisschen-Psychohorror-Geschichte mit guten Momenten, den erwarteten Problemen  à la “helfen wir dem kleinen, infizierten Mädchen?”, “was wenn sich einer von uns infiziert?” und so weiter. Reiht sich gut in das Genre ein, wird nicht langweilig, ohne dabei etwas besonderes zu sein und bekommt

7/10 Punkte

Memento @ DVD

Was machst du, wenn du dich an jemandem per Mord rächen willst, aber kein Kurzzeitgedächtnis hast? Du schreibst dir alles auf, machst Fotos und so weiter. So macht das auch der Hauptcharakter hier, er hat ein ausgeklügeltes System aus Zetteln, Fotos, Tatoos und dem unbedingten Willen nach Vergeltung aufgebaut, um sein Ziel zu erreichen. Dabei gibt es dann noch ein paar mysteriöse Personen, von denen man nie so recht weiß, was sie denn wollen: helfen oder schaden?

Memento ist etwas anstrengend zu schauen, das liegt an der unkonventionellen Erzählstruktur: Das Geschehen wird rückwärts erzählt. Nichts für nebenbei also. Wer dran bleibt, wird aber mit einer interessanten Geschichte und einem Nolan’schen Übertwist zum Ende belohnt. Und diese Belohnung ist es echt wert!

9/10

Cloverfield @ DVD

Cloverfield war für mich sehr erfrischend. Keine RomCom, keine Endzeitaction, kein Polizeithriller. Ein Monsterfilm! So richtig mit Stadtzerstörung und allem! Ui, der Kopf der Freiheitsstatue fliegt in den Häuserblock! Das alles gefilmt aus der Sicht einer wackeligen Handkamera aus der Sicht eines etwas wackeligen Trottels. Recht nette Charaktere, deren Hintergrundgeschichte sie noch sympathischer erscheinen lässt. Beklemmende Atmosphäre = klasse Atmosphäre. Hints zu den Hintergründen der Katastrophe im Film. Alles das ist toll, und dann noch dieses Monster! Geiler Film, die ersten zwanzig Minuten könnten eher langweilen, danach werden aber wohl nur Steine ungerührt auf dem Stuhl sitzen, äh liegen bleiben.

9/10

Wall-E

Ein Pixar-Film, entsprechend hohe Erwartungen hatte ich an Wall-E.  Ich könnte hier ewig schwärmen, aber mal nur so viel:

Allein die Anfangssequenz, die ohne Dialoge auskommt, ist grandios, als Eva, Roboter Nummer 2, auftaucht wird es nur noch besser. Alles ist zuckersüß, also nichts für die “Zeichentrick, Pixar und so ist scheiße”-Leute. Die Musik von Michael Giacchino ist genial. Grandiose satirische Kritik an den faulen, bequemlichen Säcken unserer Gesellschaft. Tausend Kleinigkeiten und Details, die alles abrunden.

Leider ist die Story an sich meiner Meinung nach nicht ganz auf dem Niveau von Ratatouille oder Oben, aber die Optik und allgemeine Stimmung bringt Wall-E noch auf das Niveau von Ratatouille, und das sind

9/10 Punkte

Elizabethtown

Eine der romantischen Komödien die ich mag: Verrückte Nebencharaktere, liebenswerte Hauptdarsteller, am Ende geht alles ein wenig over the top. Orlando Bloom’s Charakter versaut sein erstes eigenes Schuhdesign, wird gefeuert und muss seinen Vater in seiner Heimatstadt beerdigen. Im “geht’s aber gut”. Im Flugzeug lernt er die Frohnatur Kirsten Dunst kennen, und los geht’s. Wirklich verrückte Situationen, ein ewiges Telefongespräch mit Sonennaufgangstreff, Lnyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird im Regen und ein Raodtrip zum Glück mit der roten Kappe haben mich voll überzeugt. Schöner Film, und Orlando Bloom ist hier sooo toll! Gott ich hör mich an wie ein Mädchen…mh…okay: Kirsten Dunst sieht gut aus mit dem roten Käppchen, Jungs

8/10

HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY!! I want to take a minute right now and let all the vetaran’s out there know just how much I appreciate that you have done for our country.  I know and understand that all veterans of this country have made the ultimate sacrifice of giving your life on the line that I may have my freedom.  I respect and hold a high respect for all of you no matter what war you have fought in and in what way you fought.   You ARE the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Okay, so I had a day off from work today and I made as much use of that as I could.  I got up around eight o’clock this morning because Tara kept coming in and annoying Heather and I till we finally woke up.  I got up and headed downstairs along with Heather.  She worked on some jackets for Marsha and I worked on music videos for my classroom.  I continued to do that while I watched “The Early Show”, “Dr. Phil”, and two episodes of “Frasier”.  I got done with that and went upstairs to take a shower.  After my shower, I came back downstairs and did some work on my clone helmet and did more work on the music videos.  I got done with that and Heather and I ate some lunch together.  She got the kids ready for the Veteran’s Day Parade and I then went downstairs and did some more work.  They left for the parade and I took a nap and then watched the movie “Cloverfield”.

On that subject, I really did NOT like the movie “Cloverfield”.  It was an ineresting concept having the movie shot from the angle of the victims in a situation like that.  However, I did not enjoy the movie that much.  The camera angles were annoying, it made you sea sick with the camera moving around as much as it did, and then the ending.  I HATED the way it ended.  Let me rephrase that, the movie didn’t end!  It just stopped.  Horrible!  NEVER go see this movie.  You will want your two hours back!

Okay, so I got done watching “Cloverfield” and Heather came home.  We then went out to Aldi’s to get some things for dinner and came home.  I went to the basement and worked on this blog for about two hours (had a LOT to get caught up) and then ate dinner with the family.  I worked a majority of the night on the blog taking an occasional break to play “Call of Duty 4″ on the PS3.  Once my usual T.V. shows came on, I started watching those including “Garry Unmarried”, “Glee”, and “CSI NY”.  I then went to bed with Heather.

Okay, so let’s talk about Part 1 of Chapter 15 of “Star Wars – Medstar I:  Battle Surgeons,  A Clone Wars Novel” by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry…..Chapter 15 (Part 1):  Getting rid of a body on a Medstar would have been easy.  Split the body up into pieces using a vibroblade, put it into a liquid-proof bag, and then put it into the trash that would eventually end up in space.  But Bleyd kenw the Black Sun would automatically point fingers at him, and rightfully so.  Bleyd was stuck though because he coulnd’t ask for help from anyone because they were either agents of The Republic or were not able to be trusted.  He had to do this himself.  But he ahd to come up with a plan in advance.  He treated the wounds that he received because Mathal nailed him with the knife.  He had two long cuts on his right forearm, but with the application of some synthflesh, he was able to partially heal it.  Then Bleyd put Mathal’s body into a carbon freezing chamber and marked the block as carrying harvesting enzyme converters.  He then moved the entire block to the aft cargo hold’s trash lock.  He could’ve sen the body to a chemical storage warehouse, but the body was of no consequence.  Instead, he had to focus on the cover story and that was the concept that the agent left his ship voluntarily and then was attacked in space and had his ship blown apart.  But the next part of his plan required him to disguise himself because everyone knew who Admiral Bleyd was no his own ship.  he had considered this and headed back to his quarters.  He put on a long white robe that had a veil that completely covered his face.  His robe was identical to those of a group on every large ship called The Silent that helped to aid the sick and injured.  A few days ago, Bleyd had put microtransmitters into the flood fo the other members of the Silent on his ship so he could track them to make sure he did not run into them…..

La publicidad viral o marketing viral es una nueva forma publicitaria que intenta explotar redes sociales y otros medios electrónicos para producir incrementos exponenciales en “renombre de marca” (Brand Awareness), mediante procesos de autorreplicación viral análogos a la expansión de un virus informático.

Se trata de uno de los sistemas más jóvenes de publicidad, que ha experimentado un crecimiento exponencial desde su creación. El mundo del cine no ha permanecido ajeno a esta nueva tendencia, y son muchas las películas que han utilizado el marketing viral para promocionarse. Vamos a repasar los dos ejemplos más significativos.

Cloverfield

La película Cloverfield es seguramente el mejor ejemplo de la promoción de una película mediante publicidad viral. Durante meses, una imagen de la Estatua de la libertad sin cabeza recorrió Internet. Se generó una increíble expectación, y poco a poco se fue sabiendo su relación con esta (pésima, por cierto) película.

Más información

The Dark Knight

El caballero oscuro, amén de por la polémica muerte de Heath Ledher, creó una gran expectación por la estupenda campaña del marketing viral con la que fue promocionada. En los anuncios que circulaban por la Red se podía ver a Harvey Dent, que hacía, como si fuese un político real, campaña electoral por Internet. Pero, en una segunda fase de la campaña, los anuncios y web promocionales de Dent eran saboteados por el Joker, de nuevo como si se tratara de una campaña real.

Más información

I was going to hold off on seeing Paranormal Activity until it came out on DVD, but I’ve been reading a few reviews about it saying that the only way to see it is on the big screen and not to even bother when it comes out on DVD. So I decided I’d go check it out. First off, I have to agree with that statement, you need to see this on the big screen. It just won’t be the same at home.

With so many other great documentary style horror movies (The Last Broadcast, Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Diary Of The Dead, etc) in the last tenish years, I wasn’t really sure that there was room for another, but there is. Ghost/haunting/whatever movies aren’t usually that interesting to me, but I liked this one a lot. It stayed interesting without getting too ridiculous. My only real complaint with it was the last couple seconds. I think they could have been left out for a better ending.

Rating: B

A little fun with some old clips. Cloverfield style editing

- Diary of Dead – 2009 – ♥♥♥ e 1\2 -

di

George A. Romero

Non era di certo difficile pensare che la nostra “gloriosa” distribuzione cinematografica italiana facesse giungere l’ ultimo Horror di Romero in così pochi cinema (si possono contare sul palmo di una mano). Perchè non si tratta solo di Horror ma di “political horror” decisamente poco “politically correct”. Diary of Dead utilizzando il punto di vista esclusivo di due videocamere utilizzate dagli stessi protagonisti del film, di telecamere di sorveglianza e videocamere di telefonini è un apologo politico sulla società americana e la sua paura del terrorismo. Un terrore che non viene da fuori ma che è nascosto dentro di noi, in ogni luogo. Infatti nel film chiunque muore è destinato a risvegliarsi e diventare uno zombie “mangia umani”. Ma ancor prima è un film sull’ informazione che ci circonda oggi: quella falsa data dai media a confronto con quella libera su internet che però spesso è eccessiva e confusionaria. E non è quindi difficile pensare ai perchè in un paese come il nostro, che al momento vive proprio questo dilemma informatico un film come questo sia stato così ampiamente censurato dalla distribuzione. La visione in soggettiva ricorda i precedenti REC e Cloverfield, tra i quali il film di Romero si pone esattamente al centro avendo sia la critica verso l’ ossessione delle persone di riprendere tutto (Cloverfield) sia l’ angoscia provocata dalle claustrofobiche riprese in presa diretta che accrescono la suspence (REC). Il voyerismo al quale oggi tutti noi siamo sottoposti trova il suo massimo sfogo nella pellicola horror di Romero nel quale i protagonisti sono del tutto assuefatti dagli orrori della morte e incuranti del rischio preferiscono continuare a riprendere quasi compulsivamente che scappare. Ciò che sicuramente c’è da dire è che il film di Romero è sostanzialmente  un film indipendente che è prodotto con un budget limitato (nonostante l’ ottima fattura del trucco artigianale sembrerebbe non far pensare lo stesso) e che critica fortemente gli attuali teen horror che pur vantando di finanziamenti ben superiori finiscono per riproporre sempre i medesimi format comunicativi del cinema horror standard. In Diary of Dead c’è invece una voglia di evoluzione e di innovazione: la dimensione inscatolata che relegava i protagonisti in un’ unica location che poteva essere una casa, una soffitta o un supermercato qui trova sfogo in un on the road movie che fa attraversare ai suoi personaggi una Pennsylvania colma di svariati quanto differenti microcosmi rurali. L’ unico rammarico resta quello di non vedere mai decollare il quinto film della saga dei morti viventi di Romero. Ci scorre davanti gli occhi quasi come fosse un telegiornale, del quale passivi non possiamo che essere spettatori, anche se non sempre coinvolti emotivamente. La natura umana per Romero non è poi così differente da quella dei suoi zombies. Ognuno è comunque ossessionato da qualcosa. Chi spinto dall’ istinto di uccidere e mordere i vivi. Chi invece è maniacalmente preso dal documentare tutto, anche la morte.

(Riprendere tutto...anche poco prima di morire)

(Zombie artigianali ma verosimili)

For the first time in a long while, Halloween was a real event at Shades of Caruso HQ. Sure, we’ve had pumpkins and decorations before, which were fun, and absolutely no Trick-or-Treaters, which was even better, but this year I was hit with the sense that the day was imbued with some kind of unholy significance, far more so than usual. A pumpkin was carved…

…and horror movies were watched. Twitter greatly helped. Scary videos, photos of costumes, and blog articles celebrating Samhain were linked to, creating a real sense of event. Twitter does a few things really well, and being a sort of mini-aggregator of topical observations and relevant information is top of that list. It really tied the night together.

The one thing that let the whole experience down were the movies we decided to watch, which were either thoroughly awful or distractingly inconsistent. The best of them was the insane mega-hit Paranormal Activity, which has become the most profitable movie of all time after grossing $85m on a $15000 budget. It’s a terribly flawed movie, filled with banal dialogue and repetitive arguments, not to mention tortuous plot contrivances that keep the conceit floating. Some of the best moments are punctured by the behaviour of Micah, whose defiantly obnoxious confidence — a plot requisite, sadly — doesn’t sit well with the really quite terrifying events surrounding him. Special mention here to the amusement he greets an EVP recording of his girlfriend’s demon. As someone who has long been utterly terrified of the sound of unearthly events captured on tape (this book fucked me up as a kid), the moment should have been chilling, but having this doofy jerkbag giggling and goading the demon on ruined the moment.

And yet, and yet… Let’s just say that there are several moments in the film that gave me the fear, and one in particular nearly made me give up on the film entirely, it was so scary. Writer-director Oren Peli has hit on a magic formula that is effective and durable enough to survive the distracting necessities of the plot mechanics that hobble the movie, with help from committed performers Katie Featherston (this year’s Scream Queen for sure) and Micah Sloat. Who cares about the contrivance, or the unpleasant behaviour of Micah, or the late-movie YouTube exorcism silliness that complicates the hair-thin plot? None of that matters. When Micah’s camera switches on at night, and the creaking starts, you forget every annoying thing that you had to go through to get there, and you instantly put yourself in their position. You’re going to be asleep later, and you’re going to be unaware of what’s going on. The scares in the movie — manifested with absolute mastery of the craft — are one thing. What makes the movie so terrifying is knowing that you are going to bed later. It’s impossible not to imagine yourself in the same situation, and that’s the scariest thing of all.

Luckily for my sanity, the resolution of the film is more mundane than the build-up, which blunted the effect of the film. For most of the running time we can’t understand the motives of the demon haunting Katie. Terrorising her from childhood is one thing, and the thought that Katie will never be able to escape her psychic torture is more upsetting than the actual resolution, but as this is a movie with a finite running time, we have to have a resolution. I’m not sure what Peli could have done to fix this problem, and the fact that the movie has three different endings suggests he wasn’t sure either. A disappointment, then, but a disappointment that touches greatness at times, and lingers in the mind far longer than you would like.

Though Paranormal Activity invites comparison with 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, it’s still very much of its time. When considered alongside Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield and Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s magnificent [Rec], this kind of faux-subjective horror — with the line between onscreen participant and viewer blurred — has become one of the most significant innovations in horror cinema of the past twenty years, and has surprisingly been used rarely enough to still feel fresh. Certainly, though the genre seemed to be in a rut during that period, Blair Witch and [Rec] are two of the most effective horror movies around, arguably more so than almost all others, and have revitalised the traditional horror sub-genres (ghost story, zombie movie, monster attack).

That’s not to say the genre has been completely moribund. The other horror movies that have stood out – certainly in my view — are partially most effective for playing off real-world fears that have been ignored by numerous tedious slasher films, remakes of Japanese techno-ghost stories or “torture” movies. In a world where increasing automation and computerised interaction has made us less likely to wander out of our comfort zones, the best horror movies of recent times have worked on our fear of other people, where stressful situations make us turn on each other. While a lot of horror concerns the Fear of the Other, as the groups we ally ourselves with shrink in size we find The Other is not that alien any more. The Descent, The Ruins and The Mist all feature characters trapped in horrific environments, surrounded by unthinkable horror, but ultimately these movies are upsetting because of the way the protagonists react to these threats. In all three the most dangerous thing you can encounter is the person standing next to you, who is probably someone you have known all your life.

The thought that it is not the Other that could provide the horror, but maybe even you yourself if pushed the wrong way — by betrayal in the case of The Descent, politics and religious intolerance in The Mist, and allegorical Idiocracy-style selfishness and ignorance in The Ruins — is where the real horror lies. My other favourite horror movie of the past few years — James Watkins’ gut-wrenching Eden Lake — is as topical as The Ruins or The Mist, with two well-to-do UK city-folk undone by their inability to respect their countrified brethren. Their fate is sealed when they antagonise some children — The Other — but protagonist Jenny’s ultimate doom is provided by people who should be on her side. Hell really is other people. As we increasingly use the Internet to interact, and often realise that being physically present with other people is a mixed blessing, it’s tempting to think that the current popularity of the zombie genre is down to the cathartic pleasure of seeing hordes of “people” mown down. It’s the most misanthropic of horror sub-genres, and increasingly the one where the appeal of it seems to be watching the violence we can perpetrate upon surrogate humans without worrying about morality getting in the way as much as it is the thrill of being menaced by something unpleasant.

During our weekend of horror we also watched some endearing throwbacks to previous horror eras, though sadly they left us even more cold. Ti West’s House of The Devil has been attracting attention and rave reviews for its intentionally retrograde approach. Set in the 80s, West fills his movie with period detail: feathered haircuts, synth soundtrack, clunky Walkman etc. He also spends much time setting up an atmosphere instead of throwing a bunch of youngsters into a rusty basement to have their teeth pulled out. About 75% of the movie shows college student Samantha (played by Saffron Burrows lookalike Jocelyn Donahue) walking around a creepily deserted campus and an even creepier isolated house, as she babysits an old woman for Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov. We’re talking about half an hour of walking around a campus, and then half an hour of walking around a house, with as little plot as a short movie expanded to feature length.

Though I certainly didn’t take against West’s movie, and though it had several pleasurable things to recommend it (casting Noonan and Woronov certainly makes up for a lot of the movie’s flaws), I suspect a lot of the praise heaped on House of the Devil is for what it isn’t, rather than for what it is. It’s not torture porn. It’s not a shitty remake of a slasher classic. It’s not edited into an incomprehensible, staccato mess. It generates atmosphere instead of relying too much on turning the volume up to jolt the viewer. It’s paying its respects to the horror movies adored by a certain sub-set of movie critics. It has charm and is made with reverent love, and never once feels like a cheap cash-in. For those reasons, it is to be applauded.

For the most part there is little dialogue and a couple of shock jump moments (in their defence, they’re earned), but also lots and lots of longueurs. West goes the extra mile in setting up an atmosphere of eerie stillness before things kick off in the final act, but as with a lot of average horror movies from the past, that involves having very little happen very slowly. The 95 minute running time feels a lot longer, and by the time the scares arrive, there’s a good chance you’ll be bored. Is this a result of eroded attention spans? Or has West balanced the film wrong? It doesn’t help that the finale is overplayed to the point of not being that scary after all, shooting past “effectively scary” to settle at the total opposite end of the horror spectrum.

As for West’s influences, sometimes they seem to have inspired him too literally. Like the runty child of Rosemary’s Baby and The Dunwich Horror (with a pinch of The Medusa Touch), it serves up something we’ve seen a million times before which, after the long wait to get there, is just not enough. I’d even argue that it’s got its eras mixed up. While the film goes out of its way to add 80s period details, the pace and subject matter of the movie feel more suited to the 70s, like something Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff would have made before The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came along and changed the rules of the genre. 80s horror movies were pacier and often sillier than this, and if you’re going to pay homage to that era, you need to have more going on.

As in Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat, which was a proper 80s horror homage right down to its bones. Ostensibly an anthology of tales linked by a couple of common threads, Dougherty pays tribute to numerous horror classics while playfully subverting expectations. Hoary horror conventions that are given a sprucing up include the sexuality of the vampire, the vulnerability of young virgins, townsfolk trying to kill a group of undesirables who then come back from the grave, the pillar of the community who has a terrible secret, the Bad Seed, and the unstoppable killing machine seemingly intent on enforcing some bizarre rules. By the end of the film, the nods to other films were keeping me more entertained than the narrative tricks or the lacklustre scares: The Howling, The Thing, Fright Night, Pumpkinhead, The Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street 1 and 2, Creepshow, Pet Sematery, The Company of Wolves, Halloween (obviously)… There’s almost too many to count. While House of the Devil serves up the familiar and hopes it will still scare us, here Dougherty simply tries to pay respectful homage.

This approach has its pros and cons. On the plus side Dougherty captures the look of 80s cinema with images full of rich golds, reds and oranges, not to mention leaf-strewn suburban streets, Bacchanalian fire-lit orgies of violence, and use of the frame that calls to mind vintage Carpenter and Dante. It’s a gorgeous movie, despite its low-budget, but as with House of the Devil it’s low on scares. The balance of the movie falls too heavily on the lighter side, which wouldn’t really be a problem at any other time of the year, but after seeing something as soil-yourself-scary as Paranormal Activity it couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a letdown. While the intertwined stories and narrative surprises are cleverly unravelled by the end, all four tales (and the two linking arcs) feel underdeveloped, even taking into account the bigger picture. It’s Love Actually Syndrome. Four two-act tales linked together do not replace one tale with three acts. As much fun as Trick ‘R Treat is (and it is a lot of fun), it can leave the viewer unsatisfied. Consider it recommended, however, especially if you grew up loving any of the movies listed above.

All three movies feel like throwbacks in one way or another (if you’re ungenerous and take Paranormal Activity to be a straight rip of Blair Witch), but the fourth movie we watched over the Halloween weekend was very much a modern mainstream horror movie. Jaume Collet-Serra’s demented Orphan was probably more thriller than horror movie, but with the various Catholic orphanages, wintery settings, bloody carnage and concerned nuns — not to mention that it is a Dark Castle Entertainment picture — it felt very much of a piece with everything else we had seen. Except terrible. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard (resembling a pudgy, effeminate Keifer Sutherland with a bad case of narcolepsy) adopt a Russian child after Farmiga’s third pregnancy ends in disaster. Haunted by this, a previous alcohol dependence, and an accident that left her second child deaf, Farmiga puts all her hopes of recovering from her past on the new child, who sadly turns out to be a murderous psychopath who tears the family apart with psychological games, a can of lighter fluid, and a big hammer.

The movie starts unpleasant and stupid, and gets more unpleasant and stupid than you can possibly imagine. During its initial theatrical release, an internet meme appeared that claimed the murderous child (Esther, played with astonishing eerie skill by 12-year old Isabelle Fuhrman) was actually a Lithuanian hooker born with dwarfism. This rendered the movie impossible to take seriously, though the actual reveal at the end is just as silly and possibly even tackier, especially when taken with some absurd third-act loose-end-tying of breathtaking clunkiness (I’m thinking of the frozen pond, here).

It certainly seems odd… nay, depressing that something this catastrophic and tasteless can be made with a cast of talented actors such as Farmiga, Sarsgaard (in a career-worst performance filled with drowsy histrionics), Margo Martindale and poor CCH Pounder. What’s worse is that a far superior movie with a similar plot was released in 2007 to massive indifference. George Ratliff’s Joshua starred Hott Sam Rockwell and Farmiga as — again — parents dealing with the psychological manipulations of a devious child, and again hamstrung by their inability to deal with this threat due to the perceived vulnerability of their nemesis (echoes of Watkins’ Eden Lake there). Ratliff created an atmospheric and disturbing tale with almost no tricksiness, relying instead on talented actors portraying people at the end of their tether. Collet-Serra — who, let us not forget, is part of the Pointless Remake Brigade thanks to his astonishingly tedious Paris Hilton vehicle House of Wax — has no interest in creating something as challenging as this, despite his excellent cast, relying instead on cheap shock tricks, over-direction, gothic lighting and unsubtle musical cues. Luckily, it’s hilariously wrong, and littered with bizarre tonal and directorial mistakes. It’s not quite a failure along the lines of, say, Shyamalan’s The Happening, but it’s damn close.

When critics praise House of the Devil for being a breath of fresh air, it is garish, tawdry nonsense like Orphan that they’re comparing it to. After seeing it the other movies of the weekend seemed much better by comparison. It was particularly amusing to note that the frenetically edited Orphan generated not even a fraction of the tension created by Paranormal Activity which contains hardly any cuts at all, in defiance of Hitchcock’s theories on editing. Sadly none of these Halloween movies thrilled me as much as the movies I linked to a horror renaissance in this post (scroll down). Pastiche can be fun, but unless it has something else there, it can be little more than an empty exercise in playing off nostalgic feelings, and suggests a lack of imagination in the filmmaker. A working knowledge of the various developmental stages of a genre, allied with a vivid imagination, can give us something as respectfully constructed as Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Orphanage – which is a classic ghost story in the mold of The Haunting and The Innocents that pays homage to its forebears and then becomes its own thing — or something that bursts conventions like Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In. This year, pastiche had its pleasures, but didn’t take the next step. The closest we got was seeing Sam Raimi return to what he does best with Drag Me To Hell. It was pure joy, yet another wonderful amalgam of disturbing comedy and silly horror from the man who gave us Evil Dead II. Of course, when you’re making a pastiche of a sub-sub-genre of horror that you yourself invented, it’s going to be hard to fuck it up.

So is there cause for concern? I’d argue no. This year the only completely satisfying straight horror movie I’ve experienced is Lars Von Trier’s harrowing Antichrist, which is one of the most astonishing sensory assaults in recent memory. Doused in unpleasant atmosphere and featuring imagery that will probably haunt me for years to come, even if Von Trier’s intent was not to make a great horror movie — he’s more interested in parsing his recent depression, and exploring recurrent themes like violent misogyny and humanity’s destructive urges — he managed to create something that disturbs more than anything else released this year. That’s not just because of the now-notorious genital mutilation scene. That one moment — which is utterly horrifying but not exploitative — would not be anywhere near as effective if it were not for Von Trier’s command of mood up to that point.

While it certainly doesn’t look or feel like anything in the mainstream of the genre, there’s the hope that other filmmakers will see what Von Trier has done with the conventions of the genre, mixing fairy tale imagery, nightmarish atmospherics a la David Lynch, sustained suspense, extreme body horror, and an oppressive, Hideo-Nakata-esque dread to create something new, something chilling and unforgettable. Maybe Von Trier, who operates outside the sometimes claustrophobic and relentlessly self-referential confines of the world of horror cinema, will accidentally influence other horror filmmakers and bring about another evolution in the genre. It’s that or someone very very smart comes up with a new approach, just like Carpenter once did with Halloween. One can only hope.

Note: This blogpost was not written in an attempt to exorcise the memory of Paranormal Activity from my branes so I can get a decent night’s sleep. Anyone suggesting this is the case is dead wrong. ::whimpers::

A new game on Facebook called 221b takes players through the events leading to the first scene in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr. It is a two player game in which one person plays as Holmes and the other as Watson. Players work together to sift through evidence about a crimes and solve the mysteries. You have to register to play on the 221b homepage which first shows the trailer of the film.

screen shot from the game

This marketing technique is similar to one used for Batman: The Dark Knight, which ultimately grossed over $500 million in the domestic box office.  TDK also used a viral game in which players would put together clues from websites in order to view scenes or stills from the film.

Other internet marketing techniques for films have included the “demand it” feature for Paranormal Activity and the Slusho campaign for the film Cloverfield. Interesting little tidbit: Cloverfield’s producer J.J. Abrams has used Slusho in nearly every project he’s done since Cloverfield, including Star Trek and the TV show “Fringe”. As I wrote in an earlier post,  Weinstein Films kept a twitter page for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

Will we be seeing an increase of viral marketing in the future? What do you think?

From Overture Films Press Release

On behalf of Overture Films, we are excited to announce that principal photography began today on LET ME IN, writer/director Matt Reeves’ adaptation of Let the Right One In, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reeves (Cloverfield) and young stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Moretz ((500) Days of Summer) were among those on-set as filming commenced on the Hammer Films production at Albuquerque Studios. Filming will also take place in various other locations in New Mexico before returning to Albuquerque to wrap in January.

In the haunting and provocative LET ME IN, an alienated 12-year-old boy (Smit-McPhee) befriends a mysterious young newcomer (Moretz) in his small New Mexico town and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood. The film is based on the bestselling vampire novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, and is an English-language remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film of the same name.

Cara Buono

The filmmakers note that while the new film will pay respect to the original Swedish version, they intend to forge a unique identity for LET ME IN, placing it firmly in an American context.

“This project is very personal to Matt as it is to the many passionate fans of the original story,” said Simon Oakes, President and CEO of Hammer Films. “The brilliance of that story deserves to be seen by audiences on a wide scale and we are excited that the pieces are in place to make that a reality.”

Updates to the cast list include Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) as the policeman, Cara Buono (“The Sopranos”) as Owen’s mother and Sasha Barrese (The Hangover) as “Virginia.” It was previously announced that Smit-McPhee and Moretz would play the leads “Owen” and “Abby” respectively and Oscar®-nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) would play the guardian of “Abby”.

   Hammer Films acquired the remake rights to Let the Right One In at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival where the film took home the Founders Award® for Best Narrative Feature. The production is scheduled for a 2010 release in the U.S. by Overture Films. Exclusive Film Distribution is handling worldwide sales and distribution of the film.

Producing the film are Hammer’s Oakes, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, along with Oscar®-winner Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in Love). Hammer’s Alex Brunner and Tobin Armbrust will executive produce along with John Ptak, Philip Elway and Fredrik Malmberg. Overture’s Robert Kessel, EVP Production & Acquisitions, will oversee production for the studio. Swedish producers John Nordling and Carl Molinder, who produced the original film, are also involved as producers on this remake.

Sasha Barrese

LET ME IN is the first film in a two-picture co-production, financing and distribution agreement between Overture Films and Exclusive Media Group, the parent company of Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures.

Be sure to visit LET ME IN on Facebook and Twitter:

www.twitter.com/letmeinthemovie
www.facebook.com/letmein

ABOUT HAMMER

Hammer is the legendary British film brand, which was originally launched in 1934 and delivered a hugely successful run of films in the 1950s including Gothic classics “Dracula” and “The Curse of Frankenstein” and Sci-Fi picture “The Quatermass Xperiment.” Hammer’s reputation became branded worldwide as ‘Hammer House of Horror.’ In the 1960s Hammer struck distribution deals with Universal, Warner Brothers, Fox and Columbia. Hammer went on to produce a huge volume of films which included such titles as “The Plague of the Zombies,” “The Nanny,” “Quatermass and the Pit,” “The Devil Rides Out” and “One Million Years B.C.”

Not in production since the 1980s, the company’s brand is now being aggressively reinvigorated by Exclusive Media Group through new investment in the development and production of film, television and digital-platform content.

Hammer’s return to horror was heralded by interactive web serial “Beyond the Rave,” which was broadcast by MySpace in 13 territories in 2008. Today, Hammer has an active development slate totaling more than 25 projects across diverse genres sourced out of both Europe and the United States. Hammer recently wrapped production on “The Resident,” which stars two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee and is directed by Antti Jokinen.

ABOUT EXCLUSIVE MEDIA GROUP (EMG)

Formed by strategic investment group Cyrte Investments in May 2008, Exclusive Media Group (EMG) (www.exclusivemedia.com) is the parent company of Spitfire Pictures and the legendary British studio, Hammer, which now has a combined share holder equity and bank facility in excess of $100 million. The company is run by Nigel Sinclair, Guy East and Simon Oakes, with Sinclair and Oakes serving as co-chairmen and co-CEOs (out of Los Angeles and London respectively). East is president of EMG and chairman of Exclusive Film Distribution (EFD).

Under EMG, Spitfire and Hammer operate as two separate production entities with offices both in London and Los Angeles. EMG aims to produce 6-8 films per year and to acquire additional pictures for worldwide distribution through EFD, its London based subsidiary responsible for worldwide sales and distribution. The group also develops projects for television and digital platforms.

EMG has over 300 titles in the combined Hammer and Spitfire libraries and pursues an aggressive library acquisition policy. The Hammer library is noted for its remake potential and the company is in discussions with A-list writers and directors to revive and re-imagine some of its highly touted titles.

Cyrte Investments is part of Delta Lloyd Asset Management, one of the Netherlands major asset managers, which in turn is majority-owned by London Stock Exchange listed Aviva plc, one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

ABOUT OVERTURE FILMS

Overture Films (www.overturefilms.net) develops, produces, acquires, and distributes feature length, theatrical motion pictures worldwide. The studio is a wholly owned unit of Starz Media, a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group. Its affiliated companies, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment, make the films available domestically to viewers via home video, premium television, Internet and other outlets.

Amazon Specials!

One of the convenient parts about movies is that they allow stuff to happen that otherwise couldn’t be done in real life.  Very rarely do we ever get a film that feels like it’s abiding by what could or would actually occur but this is part of why certain films are fun to watch (they help you take your mind out of reality for some fun).  However, there are certain scenes that push the idea of plausibility to the point that it’s either just plain silly or simply annoying.  So I’m here to give you ten of the most implausible movie scenes that I’ve ever come across.

10. That’s One Fast Train and Signal-The Fast and the Furious

It’s not like The Fast and the Furious had realism on its side in the first place.  Just about anyone who knows cars well enough should know that an Eclipse with $10,000 worth of upgrades shouldn’t be able to clear a quarter mile in 10 seconds (even with NOS).  However, one scene that I recently noted as being particularly odd is at the end when Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are racing head-to-head in a Supra and Charger, respectively.  However, after they’ve already started racing for the finish line (aka the train tracks) we see that the signal goes down and they narrowly avoid getting crashed (well, one of them does).  But since these are supposed to be ten second cars, that means the train which they just narrowly avoided came within less than 10 seconds with no warning until after they headed off.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall the last time a train signal was that slow or a train came that abruptly.

9. No One Sees the Monster-Cloverfield

It’s pretty tough to find little details in Cloverfield since for just about all of the action scenes the camera is shaking around like crazy but it is possible to find little pieces.  And perhaps the most abrupt part of the film is it’s ending, which you need to look in the background to see why they picked it.  Essentially we can see what’s supposedly the monster falling from the sky and into the ocean.  Yet if the bulk of the film itself is of any indication, apparently no one saw the monster go into the ocean.  This is very unlikely since the film takes place in a present setting so there obviously must have been reports of the monster.  Additionally, I find it very unlikely that not a single person who could do or say anything didn’t see the monster crash into the water.  While it can be argued that we don’t see or hear enough in the film itself to confirm this, until we get more background with a follow-up it’s still highly improbable.

8. Burt Is Alive!-Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Tremors are definitely one of the series of films that you take your mind out of and can easily enjoy.  While the films are genuinely fun and great watches (the first two anyways), there is a scene in the third installment that’s just, well, ridiculous.  Fans of the series can instantly identify the one constant character: Burt Gummer.  There’s one scene in the film where the most infamous creature of the series (graboid) gets and eats him…only somehow he’s still alive inside the monster and is able to clearly communicate to someone simultaneously.  While we have heard a character or two in previous installments scream while being dragged into the ground, Burt, on the other hand, is inside the graboid and comes out without seeming all that affected.  Similar could also be said about how Tommy Lee Jones from Men in Black is able to survive as long as he does inside an alien but since Burt manages to multitask while inside and manage to break clearly, this gets the edge.

7. The Bus Jump-Speed

This scene is what actually gave me the inspiration to do a list of implausible movie scenes.  And of course the one scene that I can never be convinced of is the fifty foot jump across an unfinished bridge.  While Keanu Reeves says there might be an incline and we do see one for the shot the bus apparently lifts, we clearly see in other shots that there’s no such incline on either side of the bridge.  There’s also the bus landing which is less convincing if anything.  For the shot we see of the bus landing on the other side it looks like it’s coming down smoothly from a high area.  And of course they manage to keep it going over 50 MPH even with the landing the bus likely hitting no higher than 80 MPH when hitting the jump.  The film is a fun watch, but some of the scenes take me out too much.  This is the big one.

6. The Sharp Landing Turn-Air Force One

Here’s another film that tests its realism in a number of scenes but for the most part these aren’t to the point that Speed hits.  Yet one scene that I always say “they’d be so dead right there” is after the plane lands during the Russian takeover scene.  There’s a part where we see the plane take a rather abrupt and sharp turn that causes the left side to come very close to the ground.  This is where my belief ran out the window.  A plane such as Air Force One has to weigh several tons and making a turn as nasty as that would definitely make the left wing/engines scrap the ground from the weight transfer and cause a nasty incident (to say the least).  Wolfgang Peterson’s a great director and I love him for bringing us Das Boot, but that scene can never convince me.

*Skip to about 5:50*

After hearing about Epix for weeks now from Curt Marvis at Lionsgate at both #DH09 and #DMWC, I was psyched to hear this morning that they were giving away 72 hour passes to the EpixHD site this weekend.  Click here to get yours.  Great news for those of us who don’t have FiOS and want another Hulu on the scene.  Epix is a free streaming movie site stocked with the libraries of Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM – from blockbusters to classics to original programming.  Not sure what type of access any of us will have after the weekend, but hopefully we’re looking at another distribution partner for features and webisodes.  Launching with a beautifully clean interface, available to watch right now for free is Cloverfield, GI Joe, Iron Man, Spiderwick Chronicles, Flash Gordon, Love Guru, Madonna, Eat Drink Man Woman, Everybody Wants To Be Italian, Romance & Cigarettes, Dead Again, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Purple Rose of Cairo, Annie Hall, Stepford Wives, Godfather, Box of Moonlight and more.  Better selection than Fancast (Chaplin, Google Me, Hair, MacHeads, Meet the Mobsters, RIP Remix Manifesto, Supersize Me, Slacker…), Sling (Fiddler On The Roof, Heidi, Thief of Bagdad, Birth of a Nation…), Joost (Road to Bali, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Primal Fear, His Girl Friday…), and Crackle (Johnny Mnemonic, People v Larry Flynt, Shampoo, SLC Punk, Wolf..) combined.  Actually, now that I’ve taken a second look, I’m pretty impressed with their interfaces and selections too. Enjoy!

1. Se vcs assistirem Paixão de Cristo de trás pra frente, o filme conta a história de um bando de fanáticos religiosos que pegam um cara morto, colocam numa cruz e revivem ele num ritual sangrento. Então esse zumbi começa a falar com pessoas boas, contaminá-las com doenças horríveis, transforma vinho em água, deixa um cara cego e transforma as pessoas em pagãos materialistas.

2. Se vc assistir Cloverfield de trás pra frente, o filme conta a história de um monstro criado pelas forças armadas dos EUA que anda por aí consertando a cidade, construindo prédios, etc. Então o mostro resolve dar um mergulho, o pessoal faz uma festa e vai dormir.

3. Se vc assistir Pinóquio ao contrário, é sobre um menino que se transforma em um boneco de madeira.

4. Se vc assistir Matrix de trás pra frente, é sobre um cara que vive no mundo real combatendo máquinas e lutando kung fu, mas descobre que existe um mundo virtual onde ele pode trabalhar numa empresa de programação e vender programas ilegais. Então ele combate vários agentes, dá um pé na bunda em sua namorada, usa um computador para esquecer tudo que sabe de kung fu, e tem ajuda de um negro para entrar nesse mundo virtual.

5. Se vc assistir um dos Star Wars ao contrário, é sobre um jovem que descobre que um homem vestido de preto é seu pai. E passa a vida toda tentando matá-lo por isso. Outro Star Wars conta a história de um jovem que descobre que uma mina é sua irmã, mas ele quer dormir com ela mesmo assim.

6. Se vc assistir O Exterminador do Futuro 2 ao contrário, o filme conta a história de uma poça de metal derretido que dá origem a dois robôs. Então esses robôs vivem reconstruindo um ao outro para que eles possam ficar pelados e voltarem para o futuro.

7. Se vc assistir o filme Alien ao contrário, é sobre um monstro que diminui de tamanho e acaba entrando na barriga de um homem enquanto acalma a tripulação.

8. Se vc assistir Sexta Feira 13 ao contrário, é sobre um cara legal que cura aleijados com uma serra elétrica para que eles possam acampar no verão.

9. Se vc assistir O Resgate do Soldado Ryan ao contrário, é sobre um soldado que se junta a outros para executar o plano do Dia-D: o dia em que tropas inglesas e americanas escaparam da frança pela normândia, levando vários zumbis consigo.

10. Se vc assistir Tubarão ao contrário, é sobre um tubarão que vomita várias pessoas até que elas decidam se reunir em uma praia.

11. Se vc assistir O Curioso caso de Benjamin Button ao contrário, é sobre uma criança que cresce, fica velho e morre. (O Curioso Caso de Todo Mundo Menos Benjamin Button)

12. Se vc assistir Scarface ao contrário, é sobre um cara que larga o vício de cocaína e larga a vida do crime para seguir seu sonho de virar um trabalhador honesto e conseguir dinheiro para visitar Cuba.

13. Se vc assistir O Poderoso Chefão ao contrário, é sobre um cara que fica ordenando que seus capangas tragam as pessoas de volta a vida.

14. Se vc assistir Pimp my Ride ao contrário, é sobre um cara que pegar carros tunados de pessoas felizes e devolve o carro todo acabado.

15. Se vc assistir Super Size Me ao contrário, é sobre um cara que vomita McDonalds durante um mês até perder 20kg e ficar saudável.

16. Se vc assistir Karatê Kid ao contrário, é sobre um campeão de karatê que depois de um duro treinamento consegue virar um zero à esquerda e vai pra Jersey.

17. Se vc assistir Torres Gêmeas ao contrário, é sobre um prédio que se ergue do chão para que um monte de gente suba para construir dois aviões.

18. Se vc assistir Homem Aranha ao contrário, é sobre um cara numa fantasia que solta criminosos em Nova York, porém ele perde sua namorada e resolve virar um nerd excluído. Então um dia, ele é picado por uma aranha, que tira seus poderes.

19. Se voce assistir Titanic, é sobre pessoas que surgem da água, construem duas metades de um navio, que se juntam para quebrar um iceberg e ir para a terra

20. Se vc assistir kill bill ao contrário é sobre uma mocinha que revive muita gente e depois se casa no final

21. Se você assistir O Náufrago ao contrário, é sobre um homem que é deixado sozinho numa ilha em sua jangada por um navio. Ao chegar lá ele desmonta sua jangada. Com o tempo ele começa a cansar de viver em cavernas, entra em desespero, vai morar perto da praia, joga uns pacotes no mar e subitamente um avião que sai do fundo do mar pega o homem e o leva pra terra firme.

“Where there is no imagination, there is no horror” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Paranormal Activity is a Blair Witch style, shot on handicam horror movie. While the film certainly had several startling moments, I’m not sure how it would hold up upon repeat viewings (much like Blair Witch, Cloverfield, etc).  I do however, have to give a great deal of credit to the film makers for presenting the supernatural in a way that is very much akin to what you might see on a show such as Ghost Hunters.

Although some of the demonology references and the interactions with the psychic character came off as a little hokey, the depictions of the couples’ personal experiences with the entity are shown in a manner that is pretty damn convincing.  The film features only four actors, and all put in serviceable performances, and you actually find yourself caring about what happens to them, unlike the obnoxious sniveling whiners in Blair Witch. It is presented with minimal credits, further lending itself to the idea that this is a depiction of actual events.

As someone who has always been interested in the paranormal and the unexplained, it is cool to see Hollywood tackle this subject in a more “realistic” manner. This is probably one of those movies that will fall under the “love it or hate it” category, as some people will be willing to enjoy it for what it is and go along for the ride, while other with less open mind will leave the theater saying “duh… that was gay… duh, duh…”.

 Those who are willing to suspend disbelief and allow themselves to get caught up in the story are likely to find themselves terrified by some of the “footage”. There are definitely some scenes which I like to refer to as “Oh shit” moments. Of course, this film also taps into what I consider a problem with average moviegoer, the total lack of imagination and unwillingness to suspend the aforementioned disbelief. People demand to be constantly dazzled and are unwilling to meet filmmakers halfway, resulting in not being scared, startled or moved in any way by this or any other movie that attempts to do a lot with a little. During the golden age of film, particularly for the horror/thriller genres, things that happened off camera, and an atmosphere of tension and suspense were two of the most important keys to creating a successful viewing experience.  Unfortunately, those elements are largely (if not completely) lost on today’s audience.

Now I’m not trying to claim that Paranormal Activity is some sort of minimalist high art, that’s not the point at all.  It is simply a fun, scary movie, and unfortunately most people that go to the movies aren’t willing to let go and have fun.

Nonetheless, the way in which the film builds suspense, tension, dread and anticipation of the absolute worst is quite impressive for something that was probably shot with the motivation of turning a quick buck for the Halloween season, based on the Blair Witch template and a shoe-string budget. Whether or not the majority of people who go and see the film will have any sort of appreciation for this is another story.

I don’t want to give anything away for you, but I’d definitely recommend checking out Paranormal Activity over any of the tired Saw/Final Destination/etc horseshit Hollywood is clogging the theaters with during the Halloween season. Experience the film for yourself and let me know what you think.

For a measly $11,000, this indie horror film was made and finally distributed to a worldwide audience. It’s reputation was similiar to that of “The Blair Witch Project” in that it was produced independently, it was made on a shoestring budget and the word-of-mouth on it was through the roof. So…what was my opinion of it? Was it worth all the hype? And my opinion is…no.

Not to say this film doesn’t have some pretty interesting & somewhat scary moments. But overall, as a complete film, I was pretty bored by most of it. Here’s the jest…2 lovebirds have moved in together and weird things have been waking them at night. Scratching noises, squeaking steps, etc. So the guy goes out and buys a video camera to document the happenings. Is it a ghost? Or a jealous demon there to wreck havoc on their lives? The idea was a good one and so with that I imagined there would be all kinds of scary stuff going down. And eventually things do happen. But it takes FOREVER to get to the point where I actually felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and by then it was too late. I had grown tired of this movie and all of the bad acting.

For the record, I really liked “Blair Witch” and I absolutely loved “Cloverfield” (which also used the handheld camera trick) as full length feature films. This movie could have been cut in half and I would have been okay with it and the handheld camera effect loses its luster eventually because the girlfriend keeps asking him to turn it off…over & over & over again. I didn’t really get the 2 characters. Sure, they are a couple dealing with supernatural things, but it takes so long for me to get interested in either of them that I finally almost fell asleep. But it’s when THEY go to sleep when the cool stuff happens. So I had to stay awake for THOSE sequences and toward the end of the movie they really deliver! I won’t tell you what happens but it is at the end when the scary “camera locked down and shooting all night” effect really works. But, in its defense, the ending rivals that of the ending of Blair Witch…and is more satisfying. But I don’t know if it’s worth the admission cost and the time spent to get there…

Overall Rating: C-

Well, I am all caught up on the movies I have seen so far this year.  So I thought I would take a look back at the movies I saw last year and post up some of those reviews.  The first movie for my look back is one of the first to come out in 2008, Cloverfield.

I really liked this movie. I went in skeptical because of all the hype surrounding it, but it really pulled me in. It was just… awesome. The Blair Witch project with a budget, however with this movie you actually care about the characters. Their personalities and relationships are introduced through a party at the beginning which works really well. I got so involved with what was going on I forgot it was a monster movie for a while until the first big blackout.

This was a very effective way to tell the story, from the viewpoint of the innocent bystanders. Seeing what was happening in bits and pieces gave everything a sense of realism and a strange sort of excitement. And because we do grow to care for the characters, extra weight is added to very tiny moments such as when Rob answers the phone “hi mom.” This movie captivated me from beginning to end. Awesome.

9/10