This method is best for tiny, invisible splinters. The baking soda paste will cause the skin to swell and push the splinter out. It’s best used after other methods, since it will make the other methods (tape, tweezer, needle) more difficult because your skin will be swollen.

The next step is to make a paste using water and about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Put this paste on a bandage and apply the bandage to the affected area.

After 24 hours, remove the bandage. The splinter may be sticking out of the skin. If it’s visible, pick it off with tweezers. Rinse the skin gently (if the splinter is sticking out but not visible, this may wash it away). Repeat the method with new paste and another bandage every 24 hours until the splinter is gone.

Tips:
Don’t forget that most small splinters will work their way out of the skin on their own in a few days or a week. Sometimes it’s simpler and less harmful to just let your body heal itself. Watch for any sign of infection, though; while unlikely, it is possible.
To numb the site before pulling out the splinter, put ice around the splinter (but not on it) or briefly put the spot in ice water (but not long enough to make the skin wrinkly). Again, make sure the spot is dry; it’ll be harder to use some of the methods if the skin or splinter is moist.

Best,

Genuine First Aid

http://www.genuinefirstaid.com

(To read the rest of the article, click here.)

Fans of Splinter Cell will be happy to hear that Ubisoft have just announced a Limited Collectors Edition for Conviction,set to contain:

A Sam Fisher statue
Steel book case
Infiltration Mode: eliminate all enemies without being detected
Shadow Armour
Early access to 3 weapons: the sc300,SR2 and MP5
Splinter Cell Conviction soundtrack

So far pricing has not been mentioned,however it’s not going to be cheap considering the content.

Splinter Cell Conviction hit’s store shelves on 26th of Febuary.

My God but families can be frustrating.

Much as I’d like to discuss what’s currently coursing through my mind, the time is still not right for full disclosure (is it ever?). Suffice to say it involves an estranged uncle (with whom I could have spoken no more than thrice in the past decade) berating me via his 12 year old son over the internet regarding a most distressing matter, responsibility of which most certainly does not lie at my feet.

Hm. It seems that without specifics the audacity isn’t really very well expressed, so until it can be I’m afraid you’ll have to just take my word for it. He was -wildly- inappropriate, and I found the whole experience quite discomfiting. Last time I stayed with his sister she tried to beat me for calling my Mother, so it shouldn’t really have come as a surprise, fool that I am.

A transcript has, of course, been retained.

I marvel at the endless capacity for complete and utter lunacy that members of my family have. We have more factions and splinters than the IRA, and more plot twists and hidden truths than an episode of Dallas.

I’d thrill you with details but

a) That would be using up a rather ripe blog source rather early in the game.

and

b) I’m not sure how many of our skeletons are in the public domain yet.

Wouldn’t want citations from family solicitors now would we…

Currently watching the Jeremy Irons version of Lolita (nothing quite that extreme in the family so far as I know… but then that’s just so far as I know…). If it wasn’t for the fact that the Peter Sellers version was so outstanding it could be really quite notable… I think the Peter Sellers is a better film in it’s own right, with the Jeremy Irons being a better representation of the book. His performance here really is wonderful; understated, natural and glorious in it’s neuroses. Wonderful. The girls career’s gone steadily downhill since of course; peaked painfully early.

I wonder what’s preferable; producing a single, awe-inspiring piece of work and spending the rest of your life trying yet failing to replicate it… or steadily building something up; better and better, job by job, honing your skills and your craft, a constantly evolving career, but one that is doomed never to pass into greatness – one that will never hit the heights, and ultimately be remembered as little more than heightened mediocrity.

I think if you could come to terms with it (build a life around it, find other, more important things to satisfy you) the latter would be a far happier existence. If you could be satisfied with life and love and family and all that, learn to treat the craft as just a job you enjoy that makes all the rest of life possible, well then the latter would be a life charmed.

If, on the other hand, –

Wow. A duologue scene between Frank Langella and Jeremy Irons. Masterful. Check it out.

– If, on the other hand, –

Oh, it’s Frank Langella’s penis. And now he’s playing piano. Still recommended. What a death scene.

– ahem. IF, on the other hand, you are of the unfortunate bent of NEEDING the art, needing the knowledge that, even if it goes unappreciated and unrecognized by all around you, the knowledge that you have achieved a level of greatness, of something approaching mastery (even if just for a fleeting moment), that you have created some unique, immortal piece of genius, of Art… if you NEED that, and if that would make it all worthwhile… well then. Perhaps the former wouldn’t be so bad. It very much depends on the individual, and on what their motivations are.

I have a worrying idea which side of the fence I may be on… how about yourself?

Heh.

That said, right now I’d be happy to get offered either; late nights with laptops and old films are starting to wear thin…

-Brice out.

Fiber Glass

Fiber glass is made of very fine, flexible threads of glass, which can be spun and woven into cloth or used in many other ways.

Fiber glass is made from sand and other materials used to make ordinary glass.

The glass-maker first melts the glass materials and forms them into small glass marbles.  He then melts the glass marbles in a special electric furnace.

The melted glass runs down through tiny holes in the bottom of the furnace.  The hot strands are gathered on a spinning drum that stretches them into long, thin fibers and winds them on bobbins, like threads on spools.

In making fiber glass, a fiber nearly 90 miles long can be drawn from one marbles less than one inch wide!

The thin glass fibers do not crack or splinter, as you might think.

This is because the fibers are spun so fine that they become flexible, and may look and feel like silk.

Visual source:  easybizchina

Hi!

This week Kass has been working overtime to get all the confirmations of who’s going to be playing the first party. While she was working hard, I got busy to try leak the list out to you guys. So just quietly, here’s what I found to date…

• Ash le Rouge
• Dan de Caires
• Levins
• (TBC) Gaffy (live performance)
• Splinter, and
• (TBC) Gus Da Hoodrat with U-GO-B*

Keep posted for more news!

Peace. x

*Edit thanks to Spook.

After asking Luke about the compassionate and sentimental side of the story would be like, he gave me a list of relationships that will be the main focus of the movie. And wow, quite frankly saying there will be a lot just doesn’t come close:

Oroku Saki & Oroku Nagi

Oroku Saki & Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi & Tang Shen

Turtles & Splinter

Turtles & Turtles

Baxter & Wife/Daughter

^ Yes this is good, very good, finally some interaction between ‘each other’ in this movie. Honestly I’ve felt things grow cold between the turtles, and even between Splinter. While not all these relationships feature love and growth as a family (such as the turtles will have in the movie), each will have a unique theme from the other. Take Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi for example, it will be of conflict and how things turned for the worse between them. With some detailed information about these relationships we can clear your thoughts of doubts and idea’s you may think will be relevant to the purpose of each relationship, but for now, I’m afraid you’ll just have to keep those doubts and idea’s till the time that I do have the information XD.

- – - – - – - -

Well changing the subject, let’s talk about the turtles weapons and how the turtles weapons greatly match their personalities:

So where did they get their weapons, was Splinter involved?

As the person who trained the turtles and understands their abilities and character better than anyone, Splinter would have also decided who shall use which weapon. Ensuring the right turtle receives the right weapon is a huge responsibility. The sword is suited for a different personality than the sai, and only the right personality will bring out the weapon’s true potential. This is something only a ninja master would know, like Splinter.

So why were the turtles chosen to use their weapons?

The first thing that must be done is to analyze each weapon to better understand how they would compliment the user. The weapons in our vision are their own character and possess their own personality. In a sense, this allows us to create a relationship between each turtle and their weapon. The more they understand each other, the more powerful they will become together.

CONTINUE READING.

Truly, now that I’ve viewed that article, I can see why each weapon was chosen for each turtle. Now, if only I can see a REAL ninja turtle action scene, far more played out and detailed (I even hope to see some matrix styled action 83) then even the latest CGI-Film released back in 2007.

Okay guys, that’s it for now, stay tuned for the next update =D.

“Furbetti da quattro soldi, campioni di calci e pugni sono tornati a farvi male….”

Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo e Raffaello, ecco i noni delle leggendarie tartarughe ninja, molti conoscono la storia, quattro tartarughine cadono in una fogna di New York e vengono a contatto con uno strano liquido che ne aumenta le dimensioni e le capacità fisiche ed intellettuali, allenate dal loro maesto Splinter, un topo venuto dal lontano Giappone, diventano le quattro tartarughe ninja che difendono la terra.

La serie è stata creata da Kevin Eastman e Peter Laird, nel lontano 1984.
Tutto iniziò con un piccolo budget, per pubblicare il primo numero del fumetto, poi il successo lo tramutò nel fenomeno di massa che abbiamo conosciuto.
Negli anni ‘90 le tartarughe erano più famose di Gesù ed un solo grido inneggiava COWABONGA! Tutti i bambini si buttavano schiena a terra cercando di fare “la ruota della fortuna” le palestre di arti marziali, di qualsiasi disciplina erano prese d’ assalto, improvvisamente sapevamo cosa fossero i Bo, Nunchaku, Sai, Shuriken ed a pensarci bene è forse per questo motivo che molti come me si sono avvicinati al Giappone ed ai Manga.
Action figures, giocattoli vari, cartoni animati, su qualsiasi prodotto c’era il loro marchio o la loro immagine.
Oltre agli articoli per la scuola e le solite altre cose, c’ erano le scarpe, macchinette fotografiche e anche quei bracciali fatti con delle lamine di metallo imbarcate che colpendoli si arrotolavano attorno al polso (poche settimane dalla loro uscita fù vietata la vendita perche considerati pericolosi, in quanto spesso ci si graffiava sui polsi con i bordi taglienti, oggi son di nuovo in vendita, li trovate ad esempio da decatlon)
Ricordo perfino le patatine cric-croc al sapore di pizza che erano disgustose, ma te le mangiavi perche erano delle tartarughe ninja.

“Tartarughe ninja alla riscossa” nel 1990 però fu la vera miccia del successo, il primo film in live action non solo sbancò i botteghini, ma fece conoscere il fenomeno “Turtles” nel resto del mondo.
Successivamente ci furono altri due film, nel 1991 “Tartarughe Ninja II – Il segreto di Ooze” che racconta il lato oscuro della loro nascita e nel 1993 “Tartarughe ninja III” che racconta di un viaggio indietro nel tempo fino al Giappone feudale.
Nel 2007 invece esce nei cinema la versione in C.G., “T.M.N.T.” negli USA riscuote un grande successo, mentre da noi non viene neanche considerato, forse proprio a causa della nuova tecnologia.
Recentemente si è parlato del progetto di una nuova trilogia di film a partire da fine 2010, inizio 2011

Have You Seen Smallville: Season 5 Episode 7 – Splinter?

Episode Synopsis:

While visiting Lana in Metropolis, Clark opens a package addressed to Lana apparently sent by Lex Luthor and is wounded and infected by a splinter of silver kryptonite. This unusual piece of kryptonite causes Clark to have paranoid delusions, and he sees Chloe, Jonathan, Martha, Lana and Lex plotting against him. He defends himself against his “enemies”, jeopardizing the lives of his dearest friends and family. But eventually help comes from a most unlikely of source: Milton Fine.

So what do you think of this episode?

If you missed it, you can watch it here.

Ok, This is mines last post. If you have something to ask or just know something about Splinter Cell Chaos Theory game, just send me a message. And i am sorry about that the pictures aren’t pretty good but i think that the blog will help you out of some way.

THANK YOU!

Before I start, please note this is my opinion. Don’t start flaming if you don’t agree please, everyone has different opinions.

I was thinking about my favourite games from a lot of popular games series the other day, and I realised that a lot of them do not actually follow the normal opinions of an average gamer. Here they are:

Final Fantasy – IX

Always has been my favourite… well since it was released. The story, characters and world I found incredible. No doubt VII was awesome, but it really didn’t entertain me as much as IX! The soundtrack I loved, the cinematics were great… in fact its hard to find anything bad with the game at all. The character progression, especially that of Vivi’s, was nothing short of brilliant.

The Legend Of Zelda – Wind Waker

I don’t know why, but as soon as I picked this game up, I knew it was epic. The boat, the islands, the amount of secrets, and the general size of the game was incredible for its time. I enjoyed the new graphics.. so what if they were cartoony?? I had a lot of fun on the N64 with Ocarina of Time, but not on the scale of Wind Waker

. To be honest, I think I preferred Majora’s Mask to Ocarina of Time. It offered a new style of gameplay. Wind Waker was one of the only things Nintendo managed to do right on the Gamecube!

Pokemon – Silver

Not too controversial. Many people usually say Red/Blue. I liked Silver. I’m not afraid to say it. The map was bigger, the number of creatures and bigger, and it was in colour. How can people say it wasn’t a better game, when it pretty much had the old game on it anyway!

Halo – 1 (Combat Evolved)

Forget the Multiplayer… it bores me. Story, you could not beat Halo: Combat Evolved. It had something Halo 2 and 3 didn’t, and I just don’t know what it was. It was something new. Exciting, and hadn’t been done before. The expectations for 2 and 3 were just so high that it was ruined for me. I would easily put Halo Wars, and ODST before 2 and 3. There are very few games that can call themselves system sellers, but Halo: Combat Evolved was one of them.

Grand Theft Auto – Vice City

If I’m being honest, I’m not a huge fan of GTA at all. I think the series is overhyped completely, as proven by GTA4. Vice City entertained me the longest out of all in the series, but it was by no means “epic”.

Super Mario – Sunshine

Call me crazy, but I loved Sunshine. Mario 64 was a great game, no doubt, but there was something about Sunshine. They new FLUDD machine fitted into the game great, as did the characters and enemies. I like the “Summery” feel to it… too many games these days are dark. If I’m being honest, I hated Mario Galaxy. I completed it, and did not feel compelled at all to go around and get all the stars after. The story didn’t deliver, neither did the new style of game play.

Mario Kart – Double Dash

Most people will say Wii, SNES or N64, I say Double Dash. It added a new element, a co-op experience to the game, which I liked. It never lost its single player appeal either though.

Call of Duty – 4: Modern Warfare

Surely this one is not controversial!! First, let me say that I have pretty much loved all games in the CoD series… even WaW. A lot of people criticise WaW for it’s slacky campaign, but I loved it. The problem was, it was never going to beat CoD4. Put it against the likes of other WW2 games, and it easily beats them. CoD4 was not over-hyped, so when it arrived, it was a huge surprise of just how good it was. The multiplayer offered a lot. The single player story was mint.

Tony Hawks – Pro Skater 3

One of my first PS2 games. Everything about this game kept me playing until the release of the 360. The soundtrack. The maps. And the different tasks. I loved it!

Splinter Cell – The Original

All Splinter Cells, after the original one were a let down. I’m hoping that Conviction will change this.

Mario Party – 2

This game entertained me for hours, and was the first true game that I could simultaneously have fun with 3 other friends. The mini-games were entertaining, and even with better graphics, newer Mario Party’s just have not appealed to me like 2 did.

Super Smash Bros. – 64

This game was so good, that I still play it even today. I own Super Smash Bros on the Gamecube and Wii, but there is one thing that makes this game better than them. Hyrule Castle! I loved that level, just not the remakes of it. The game is also a lot less complicated that it is today. The amount of characters on the Wii and Gamecube versions just simply clutter the screen. Simple is better!

Resident Evil – 4

This game truly showed the meaning of horror. Resident Evil 5 might be a good game, but there is no real fear in it. It’s predecessors were good games as well.

FIFA – 10

Before 09, I would have said 2003. But in the past couple of years, FIFA has upped its game (excuse the pun). The realism now is amazing. Online play is great, and there is nothing better than getting a load of mates around to have a tournament.

Star Wars – Rogue Squadron

I used to love this. I thought I was an X-Wing fighter pilot!! Not really, but it was that good. The missions were meaningful. The graphics were good. It took you into major battles in the Star Wars series. One of the best games of the N64.

Need for Speed – Underground 2

One of the best ever PS2 games, Underground 2 brought a new, fantastic free-roam to the NFS franchise. Recent Need for Speed games, in my opinion, just have not lived up to the experience I got from this game.

Guitar Hero – 3

This game has the best soundtrack out of all of them. There was nothing much new added to the game really. Guitar Hero is Guitar Hero after all.

Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise from The Mirage Group / 4Kids Entertainment for roughly $60 million. Nickelodeon also announced plans to develop a new CG-animated television series based on the popular superhero franchise, anticipated to premiere in 2012. Additionally, in partnership with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, a release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film is also planned for 2012. New Line previously released the originally three live-action TMNT films and Warner Brothers released the recent CGI movie from 2007.

The new live-action TMNT movie it’s supposed to be a Batman Begins-like look at the origin of the Turtles…at least that is the main rumour at this time.

Excited?…we´re ready to sing and Dance the Ninja Rap again! GO NINJA GO NINJA GO!

A bonus for the old times:

via first showing

Splinter (dir: Toby Wilkins, 2008)

DIRECTOR: Toby Wilkins

REPARTO: Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Wagner, Rachel Kerbs, Laurel Whitsett

Como muchos sabréis, América es un gran país, con sitios recónditos para que nuestros directores de películas de terror se inspiren en estos lugares. Uno de estos directores (Toby Wilkins) tuvo la gran idea de hacer un film ambientado en una de esas gasolineras que solo la encuentras cada 25 km y con un nivel muy bajo de civilización alrededor de esta.

La historia comienza ahí. Vemos un trabajador holgazaneando mientras espera a uno de sus diez clientes diarios. Esperando sentado, escucha un ruido detrás suyo… ya os podéis imaginar como termina nuestro amigo “la curiosidad mato al gato”, típico de las películas de terror.

Por otro lado vemos como una pareja intenta disfrutar un fin de semana romántico acampando lejos de la civilización. Cosa que a Seth (Paulo Costanzo) no le agrada la idea hasta que consigue convencer a su novia Polly (Jill Wagner) de que lo mejor es ir a un motel.

Damos otro salto y el director nos presenta a otra pareja, que a diferencia de la anterior, estos están intentando escapar hacia México, típico de los delincuentes de USA, que de momento  no nos explican nada de los motivos de la fuga. En estos pocos minutos donde nos presentan a esta peculiar pareja nos demuestra de que Lacey (Rachel Kerbs) es una persona totalmente pasiva que hará caso todo lo que diga Dennis (Shea Whigham).

Por desgracia su coche les deja tirados en la cuenta y tendrán que recurrir a la pareja feliz para intentar llegar a su destino, lo cual destroza todos los planes románticos de estos.

Retorciéndose en el WC

Durante el trayecto el coche sufre un inesperado accidente con un “perro”, lo cual hace que reviente la rueda (un perro con pinchos? Raro, raro) y el deposito de gasolina queda bastante tocado, cosa que nuestros protagonistas no saben. Mientras sustituyen el neumático, Lacey y Seth descubren que el animalito que han atropellado no esta “muerto”, es más, tampoco está vivo. La imagen grotesca hace que nuestra amiga vaya gimiendo de terror y escapando de ese lugar sin antes recibir un pinchazo en el dedo nuestro amigo Dennis mientras cambiaba el neumático. Esta picada repercutirá en una de las escenas más sangrientas del film.

Como he dicho antes, el depósito de gasolina a causa del accidente, pierde todo el combustible. Su siguiente misión es encontrar un área de servicio lo antes posible. Y por suerte la encuentran…

La trama de la película se basara al completo en la supervivencia de los protagonistas en el interior de la gasolinera y en como Seth, que es un magnifico biólogo se da cuenta de los puntos débiles del enemigo, que no desvelaremos para no estropear el film a nuestros lectores.

La idea del director sobre la creación de su Némesis mutante ha sido brillante. Han sido varias películas sobre catástrofes relacionadas por virus creados por el humano o venidos del espacio, pero esta me ha dejado realmente maravillado al ver como ese ser parasitario intenta sobrevivir a base de todo ser viviente de forma tan escabrosa, violenta, sangrienta y las ganas de vivir y de consumir seres vivos que le hace ser realmente insaciable, imparable y invencible.

Púas, púas, púas y más púas!

Las escenas de casquería son muy abundantes en este film, sobre todo porque el parasito hace que todo el que consuma se le retuerza todos sus miembros como si fueran de papel: Dedos retorcidos de forma inimaginable, brazos partidos, bueno… Un despiporre del dolor extremo. Podemos ver en algunas escenas en como el ser intenta destrozar la mampara con su cabeza con tal violencia que la sangre llegaría al sitio mas civilizado del país.

También habrá cuerpos mutilados muy seriamente y incluso una operación improvisada para que uno de nuestros protagonistas sobreviva, realmente educativo.
Otro de sus puntos positivos, al menos para mi, son los momentos de tensión-risa. ¿Qué es un momento de tensión-risa?. Bueno, es aquel momento en que sabes que el protagonista esta realmente jodido y que dices “Coño!! Hazlo ya!!” y a la vez te ríes de su sufrimiento. En este film hay un gran momento que cuando lo veáis, sabréis a que me estaba refiriendo. A parte del gran momento “Familia Addams”, que bueno, ahí realmente me reía porque me hacia gracia la situación.

En definitiva, un buen film para pasar la noche y disfrutar de una original carnicería, digo original porque hacia tiempo que no veía un hueso retorcerse de tal manera en una película. Recomendada al 100% para todos aquellos que disfrutéis con virus y demás índole que produce estados alterados y desastrosos para todo aquel que se infecte. Realmente original.

By LoscoJones.

13ª Participación para el concurso del DVD de Payasos Asesinos (Killer Klowns from Outer Space). Gracias LoscoJones por tu interés, esperemos que el nº 13 te traiga buena suerte!

Y para el resto acordaros que este viernes se realizará el sorteo!

A entrega do Scream Awards 2009, teve algumas surpresas, e reconhecimentos, True Blood, Watchmen  e Star Trek merecidamente.

Para quem não sabe o Scream Awars, é a premiação mais famosa voltada a SCI-Fi, filmes de terror, Quadrinhos e Fantasia.

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM (Melhor Filme)

Arraste-me para o Inferno
Deixe Ela Entrar
Star Trek
Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados
Crepúsculo
Up

melhor filme de fantasia
“Coraline”
“Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe”
“Crepúsculo”
“Up”
“Watchmen”
“X-Men Origens: Wolverine”

melhor filme de horror
“Dead Snow”
“Arraste-me para o Inferno”
“Sexta-Feira 13″
“Deixe ela entrar”
“Dia dos Namorados Macabro 3D”
“Splinter”

melhor série
Battlestar Gallactica
Dexter
Fringe
Lost
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
True Blood

melhor atriz em filme ou série de ficção científica
Moon Bloodgood; “Exterminador do Futuro 4: A Salvação”
Eliza Dushku; “Dollhouse”
Megan Fox; “Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados”
Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
Katee Sackhoff; “Battlestar Galactica”
Zoe Saldana; “Star Trek”

Melhor ator em filme ou série de terror
Bruce Campbell; “My Name is Bruce”
Michael C. Hall; “Dexter”
Kre Hedebrant; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Justin Long; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Ryan Kwanten; “True Blood”
Stephen Moyer; “True Blood”

 melhor atriz em filme ou série de terror
Jennifer Carpenter; “Quarentena”
Jaime King; “Dia dos Namorados Macabro 3D”
Lina Leandersson; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Alison Lohman; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Anna Paquin; “True Blood”
Monica Potter; “The Last House on the Left”

melhor ator revelação
Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Taylor Lautner (Twilight)
Robert Pattinson (Twilight)
Chris Pine (Star Trek)
Will.I.Am (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation)

melhor atriz
revelação
Anna Torv (Fringe)
Zoe Saldana (Star Trek)
Lorna Raver (Drag Me to Hell)
Isabel Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Lina Leandersson (Let the Right One In) 
 Malin Akerman (Watchmen)

melhor roteirista de quadrinhos
Brian Michael Bendis (Dark Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man)
Joe Hill (Locke & Key)
Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Batman and Final Crisis)
Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Justice Society of America)
Mark Millar (Wolverine: Old Man Logan,  Kick-Ass)
Brian K. Vaughan (Ex Machina)

melhor filme baseado em quadrinhos
“Dragonball Evolution”
“Punisher: War Zone”
“The Spirit”
“Watchmen”
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

melhor diretor
J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”
Tomas Alfredson; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Michael Bay; “Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados”
Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”
Duncan Jones; “Moon”
Sam Raimi; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”

melhor vilão
Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”
Cam Gigandet as James; “Crepúsculo”
Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men Origens: Wolverine”
Alexander Skarsgrd como Eric Northman; “True Blood”

Toby Wilkins’ Splinter was a very well done film. The plot line, character development and visuals all helped to make this movie great. Wilkins co-wrote the script as well as directed the film. He’s directed a number of films, most recently The Grudge 3.

The movie opens with a lonely gas station clerk getting attacked by a creature of sorts. All the viewer gets to see are quick glimpses of a dog-like animal with large black splinters all over. The suspense and intrigue are great at this point because of how little the viewer actually gets to see. Then the movie moves to criminals Lacey and Dennis, whose truck breaks down. At the same time couple Polly and Seth are celebrating their anniversary by camping in the woods. Their tents breaks so they decide to go to a motel. While on the road they are stopped by Lacey and Dennis and become hostages. The movie begins to get much stranger at this point.

They run over something on the road, and it turns out to be the splinter creature. They stop at a gas station, where Lacey runs into the original gas station clerk. The splinters have taken over his body and feed off of him. He infects Lacey and the three remaining characters are left inside the store fending for their lives.

It’s an interesting dynamic between Seth, Polly and Dennis. Dennis is a jerk at the beginning because of being a criminal but we eventually find out his acts are out of kindness – stealing so he can provide for others. By the end of the movie the viewer has sympathy for Dennis. The characters actually begin to work together as a team to survive and cease to be hostages. I really liked how the film depended on character interaction as the main drive. There were only three main characters so it forced the movie to focus on their relationships instead of relying on action.

The imagery in this film was great. The way the splinter parasite takes over the body was so neat to watch. It really made my skin crawl. The production value was great.

The cast was also great – Shea Whigham, who plays Dennis, has been in a slew of movies, such as Lords of Dogtown and Wristcutters: A Love Story. The geeky Paulo Costanzo plays Seth. He’s recognizable from the T.V. show “Joey” and movies like 40 Days and 40 Nights and Road Trip. The two female actresses Rachel Kerbs and Jill Wagner are lessen known.

Haz click en la imagen para verla al detalle

Esta cinta de Toby Wilkins utiliza uno de los clichés más viejos del cine de terror: una pareja decide pasar una temporada romántica en el campo, sólo para encontrarse con un prófugo y su novia, que comienzan a acosarlos. El mérito de esta cinta es que no se limita en cuanto al manejo de las escenas, lo que lo hace coquetear con el gore, aunque no llega a ser suficiente como para que sea realmente notable. Es una cinta para los fans del género, o para una tarde cuando no hay nada mejor que hacer.

As the Day of the Dead descends upon us, we here at the Lowell Film Collaborative are giggling with an evil grin, as we have had a frightfully fantastic Halloween season over the past few weeks. It all started with a hugely successful Mill City Mayhem event at Second Wind Cafe on October 24. Then, this past Thursday, we were invited by our friend Nancye Tuttle to be guest speakers at her “Film, Video and Society” class as Middlesex Community College. The lecture was on nothing other than one of our favorite subjects – horror films, and it was an absolute joy to share our passion with a group of (mostly) interested students. On Thursday night, we ventured up to Litchfield, New Hampshire to brave the seven haunted houses of Nightmare New England. And we finished everything off with a Halloween night screening of the horror classic The Exorcist last night at The Music Hall in Portsmouth.

In between these events, we managed to stockpile our Netflix DVD queue with new and classic films that celebrate the season:

• The Black Cat – Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi classic with plenty of meaty lines for both of them to chew on!
• The Innocents – one of our favorite classic horror films of all time with a brilliant performance by star Deborah Kerr
• The Children – creepy new British thriller about children who turn on their parents after catching a mysterious virus
• Dead End – clever and gory film from a few years ago about a family who get lost when they take a new route to visit their relatives
• Splinter – indie film with an original premise about a shape-shifting viral host that traps two couples in a gas station
• Fear(s) of the Dark – brilliant French b/w animated anthology film that delves into our deepest, darkest fear(s)
• Wendigo – Larry Fessenden film about a vacationing family terrorized by a psychotic local and a deep, dark secret
• Long Weekend – 70’s Australian thriller about a camping couple who break some eco-friendly rules, then become victims of Mother Nature’s revenge
• American Zombie – horror comedy mockumentary that examines a time when zombies have been fully integrated into society

It seemed only fitting that the apex of this wonderful season was last night’s screening. As we sat in the theater of the Music Hall watching a film that absolutely scarred me as a child when watching it on television with my parents at six or seven years old, I felt a sense of reluctance even as an adult when watching it – it is truly that terrifying. Brilliant performances by all the actors, especially young Linda Blair as the possessed child, coupled with the fear not only of the unknown but something that challenges the religious beliefs of our society, make The Exorcist a film that can never be rivaled in the frights it evokes. Happy Day of the Dead!