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thehefnerWow, I've been so stressed and freaking out over getting the new script done, I've barely posted at all recently. Oh, how you all must have missed your bi-daily doses of pop culture geekery and general Hefnerian goodness!
Well, I'm back, in rather better spirits, with a superior script at least halfway finished. I dare say I've earned myself a break to hit LJ with a movie megapost.
New poster for THE DARK KNIGHT. Two comments: 1.) Wow, even the silly Robo-Bat costume looks badass, and 2.) ooooooooooooooooo.
The AV Club writes a fascinating retrospective appreciation for THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (even likening it to Sartre's NO EXIT). The best thing I can say about this article is that it actually makes me want to watch the film again for the first time in nine years. I suppose I bought into the vehement backlash that swept the country and film communities, turning this mini-phenomenon into a little dated shame that everyone would rather forget. But now I'd rather like to watch it again with adult eyes to see how well it holds up.
"But Heffie," I hear you ask, "What films have you actually seen lately?" Oh, a handful, there and there.
I finally managed to catch CRANK, which I daresay actually outbugfuck-crazy-ed the delightful Paul Walker epic RUNNING SCARED. For those who can appreciate such things, CRANK was pure giddy ridiculous magnificent movie goodness, the cinematic equivalent of a banging a vampire cheerleader while eating a deep-friend philly cheesesteak wrapped in bacon. Not for all tastes, and certainly not for everyday consumption, but oh, I just wish I could have seen it in a packed movie house, GRINDHOUSE style.
I cannot wait for the sequel, CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE. The plot is that Jason Statham's heart is stolen. Yes, you read that right, replaced with a mechanical heart. But here's the catch: the mechanical heart needs frequent jolts of electricity to keep working. That's right, he's going to be sticking his fingers in light sockets just to keep going. Cannot. Wait. You guys.
It may shock you to know that I'd never seen THE GODFATHER PART II until a few days ago. Just never got around to it. Well, I dare say it just barely lived up to expectations, which had been raised impossibly high, and taken with the first GODFATHER, I do agree it's a magnificent masterpiece.
That said, I think I honestly still prefer Sergio Leone's Jewish mafia epic ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. I think it makes even bolder risks. Or at least, they still feel bold today, whereas THE GODFATHER I and II have become so ingrained in our culture since that it's hard to truly appreciate it for the impact it had at the time, y'know?
I'm still befuddled by the ending of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, but god damn if the rest of the film isn't one of the greatest little-seen cinematic epics of all goddamn time.
They were right. The black and white cut of THE MIST is truly something to behold.
Not that I've seen it in color, but I can already tell, wow, black and white honestly makes this film fifteen million times better. I was truly awe-struck by the black and white footage of the giant Lovecraftian horror set to Dead Can Dance's "Host of the Seraphim."
That said, I'm still not sure how I feel about the film itself. There's an awful lot there to love, but the biggest flaw has to be every single thing about and related to Mrs. Carmody, played by Marcia Gay Harden. Without her, you could have had a masterful bit of zombie-apocalypse-style human tension, made all the scarier because of how believable these people could be. As it is, Mrs. Carmody is a fucking cartoon, sucking the realism straight out of exactly where the film needs realism.
Man, that ending is fucked up. Makes you feel like Burgess Meredith's nebbish book-lover in that TWILIGHT ZONE episode got off easy. Yipes.
Interestingly, my ex-girlfriend Misty hated THE MIST, and actually laughed at the ending, thus proving herself to be a horrible, evil human being. No wonder I fell in love with her.
C.H.U.D., motherfuckers. Not my favorite website of joyless geek bastards, I'm talking the original Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers facing off against hippie Daniel Stern. I'd been needing to see it for years, but when I read Robert Downey Jr. somewhat-guiltily express his love for it in an interview for IRON MAN, I knew seeing this film was a must.
All I'm gonna say is that I need to watch it all over again, with commentary by the director, writer, and all three stars.
Pure glorious self-aware 80's horror fun. Yay, yay, yay.
Finally, I'm curious if anyone will get what's happening in my icon.
All right, I think I need a beer, and then it's back to the old scriptin' board. Plus marketing fun fun FUN for Orlando and DC Fringes, plus the Seattle show. Kill me now.
Well, I'm back, in rather better spirits, with a superior script at least halfway finished. I dare say I've earned myself a break to hit LJ with a movie megapost.
New poster for THE DARK KNIGHT. Two comments: 1.) Wow, even the silly Robo-Bat costume looks badass, and 2.) ooooooooooooooooo.
The AV Club writes a fascinating retrospective appreciation for THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (even likening it to Sartre's NO EXIT). The best thing I can say about this article is that it actually makes me want to watch the film again for the first time in nine years. I suppose I bought into the vehement backlash that swept the country and film communities, turning this mini-phenomenon into a little dated shame that everyone would rather forget. But now I'd rather like to watch it again with adult eyes to see how well it holds up.
"But Heffie," I hear you ask, "What films have you actually seen lately?" Oh, a handful, there and there.
I finally managed to catch CRANK, which I daresay actually outbugfuck-crazy-ed the delightful Paul Walker epic RUNNING SCARED. For those who can appreciate such things, CRANK was pure giddy ridiculous magnificent movie goodness, the cinematic equivalent of a banging a vampire cheerleader while eating a deep-friend philly cheesesteak wrapped in bacon. Not for all tastes, and certainly not for everyday consumption, but oh, I just wish I could have seen it in a packed movie house, GRINDHOUSE style.
I cannot wait for the sequel, CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE. The plot is that Jason Statham's heart is stolen. Yes, you read that right, replaced with a mechanical heart. But here's the catch: the mechanical heart needs frequent jolts of electricity to keep working. That's right, he's going to be sticking his fingers in light sockets just to keep going. Cannot. Wait. You guys.
It may shock you to know that I'd never seen THE GODFATHER PART II until a few days ago. Just never got around to it. Well, I dare say it just barely lived up to expectations, which had been raised impossibly high, and taken with the first GODFATHER, I do agree it's a magnificent masterpiece.
That said, I think I honestly still prefer Sergio Leone's Jewish mafia epic ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. I think it makes even bolder risks. Or at least, they still feel bold today, whereas THE GODFATHER I and II have become so ingrained in our culture since that it's hard to truly appreciate it for the impact it had at the time, y'know?
I'm still befuddled by the ending of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, but god damn if the rest of the film isn't one of the greatest little-seen cinematic epics of all goddamn time.
They were right. The black and white cut of THE MIST is truly something to behold.
Not that I've seen it in color, but I can already tell, wow, black and white honestly makes this film fifteen million times better. I was truly awe-struck by the black and white footage of the giant Lovecraftian horror set to Dead Can Dance's "Host of the Seraphim."
That said, I'm still not sure how I feel about the film itself. There's an awful lot there to love, but the biggest flaw has to be every single thing about and related to Mrs. Carmody, played by Marcia Gay Harden. Without her, you could have had a masterful bit of zombie-apocalypse-style human tension, made all the scarier because of how believable these people could be. As it is, Mrs. Carmody is a fucking cartoon, sucking the realism straight out of exactly where the film needs realism.
Man, that ending is fucked up. Makes you feel like Burgess Meredith's nebbish book-lover in that TWILIGHT ZONE episode got off easy. Yipes.
Interestingly, my ex-girlfriend Misty hated THE MIST, and actually laughed at the ending, thus proving herself to be a horrible, evil human being. No wonder I fell in love with her.
C.H.U.D., motherfuckers. Not my favorite website of joyless geek bastards, I'm talking the original Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers facing off against hippie Daniel Stern. I'd been needing to see it for years, but when I read Robert Downey Jr. somewhat-guiltily express his love for it in an interview for IRON MAN, I knew seeing this film was a must.
All I'm gonna say is that I need to watch it all over again, with commentary by the director, writer, and all three stars.
Pure glorious self-aware 80's horror fun. Yay, yay, yay.
Finally, I'm curious if anyone will get what's happening in my icon.
All right, I think I need a beer, and then it's back to the old scriptin' board. Plus marketing fun fun FUN for Orlando and DC Fringes, plus the Seattle show. Kill me now.
