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Current Music: Into The West // Annie Lennox

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intro post

[o, hay thar, peepz. lulz.]

.

Unlocked contents of this journal include:

- links ("clickies") posts
- list of books I've read, and occasional reviews (usually not much more than an "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" and a brief explanation of why)
- list of movies I've watched, and reviews (also "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" and a brief explanation of why)
- fanfiction (Formerly: Harry Potter, House, Firefly. Currently: BBC's Sherlock.)

So if all you're interested in is the stuff on that list -- the fandom-y stuff -- feel free to friend me without commenting here. You'll be able to read everything you want to read. But if you're interested in the personal stuff, you need to leave a comment to be added back. Here's some info on me so you can judge for yourself if you want to give the locked part of my journal a try.

( About Me )

And I think that's just about all anyone needs to know before deciding if they should friend me or not. If you're interested in all the boring crap with occasional moments of random drama thrown in, leave me a comment so I know to friend you back. :)

Also, some other places I can be found on LJ:

beforeyoubegin - My recipe journal. Because food is good.

macbean_nano - I tried to do NaNoWriMo in 2006 and 2007. I got nowhere to speak of. But I will continue to "participate" in NaNo in the future. I'll also work off-and-on with these characters during the rest of the year instead of just November. This is where all that stuff goes.

not_rushing - My place for posts specifically about my gender journey.

Current Mood: creative

Entry tags:

~* fanfic: sherlock

sherlock scenes

I've always liked prompt tables. They appeal to the list-lover in me. I have a problem with prompt comms and writing challenges, though. They make me feel pressured, which is not conducive to productive writing (for me). My favorite prompt comm ever is

50scenes, so I looked over their five table choices, picked fifteen prompts from each one, alphabetized them, and made my own table to work from.

So here's what you'll find here:

Fandom: BBC's Sherlock.

Characters: Any and all characters and pairings are possible.

Solid headvoices (at the time of writing this): John, Sherlock, Mycroft.
Burgeoning headvoices: Lestrade, Sarah, Harry Watson.
Headvoices I'd like to acquire: Mrs. Hudson, Donovan, Anthea, Clara.

I'd say Moriarty, but I really don't want him in here, thanks. I have a couple tricks I can use if I need him for a story. Same goes for Anderson. And Molly, to a much lesser degree. (I don't dislike her, she's just pretty much the anti-me, and it'd feel weird to have her in my head.)

Themes: Judging by the ideas that popped into my head as I was choosing the prompts, this table will probably mostly be genfic (expect a lot of sibling fic) with a little pre-slash thrown in there. There may be some actual smut but if that's mainly what you're looking for, I suggest you look elsewhere; I'm more interested in the characters' brains than their bits.

Format: All these stories will be at least 100 words but not more than 1,000 words. And they'll be scenes. Nothing deeply plotty. Moments of backstory, brief snippets of present-day conversation, characters making observations about other characters in their own heads, maybe even some speculation about the future...

I think I'm gonna have fun with this. :D

001.	Adoration.	002.	Alphabet.	003.	Androgyny.	004.	Apple.	005.	Banned.
006.	Benevolence.	007.	Birthmark.	008.	Blankets.	009.	Blossom.	010.	Burn.
011.	Calculate.	012.	Child.	013.	Church.	014.	Closer.	015.	Cold.
016.	Control.	017.	Cost.	018.	Cry.	019.	Decadence.	020.	Doll.
021.	Entwined.	022.	Epitome.	023.	Failure.	024.	Fever.	025.	Footsteps.
026.	Friction.	027.	Gasp.	028.	Grave.	029.	Half.	030.	Hands.
031.	Her.	032.	Hero.	033.	Ideal.	034.	Ignored.	035.	Imprint.
036.	Last.	037.	Leave.	038.	Love.	039.	Lullaby.	040.	Mask.
041.	Meditate.	042.	Melt.	043.	Mistake.	044.	Moonlight.	045.	Note.
046.	Passenger.	047.	Pixie.	048.	Poem.	049.	Raw.	050.	Redeemer.
051.	Relax.	052.	Rental.	053.	Sacrifice.	054.	Sand.	055.	Secrets.
056.	Shame.	057.	Sheep.	058.	Shy.	059.	Sing.	060.	Sleep.
061.	Special.	062.	Spiral.	063.	Sugar.	064.	Syringe.	065.	System.
066.	Temptation.	067.	Trickster.	068.	Turbulence.	069.	Use Me.	070.	Violence.
071.	Waves.	072.	Winter.	073.	Withdraw.	074.	Worms.	075.	Wrapper.

( guide to finished fics )

Current Mood: curious

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(no subject)

Heeeyyyyy, guys. Is anyone still here?

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books 2013

2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012

2013 Goal: 50 books. I'd prefer them to be first-time books, but my goal is to read some longer things this year, and I'd like to do some re-reads. I'll keep track of first reads and re-reads in separate lists, but at the end of the year I'm going to count them all up together.

( First-Time Books )

Book Count: 54/50

( Re-reads )

Entry tags:

films,
my lists

movies 2013

.

This year I've decided also to keep track of movies I re-watch. First viewings will be identified by red numbers.

( 1-148 )

149.) The Last Enemy (2008), dir. Iain B. MacDonald
150.) The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (2013), dir. Peter Jackson
151.) Robot & Frank (2012), dir. Jake Schreier
152.) Compliance (2012), dir. Craig Zobel
153.) The Deep Blue Sea (2011), dir. Terence Davies
154.) The Purge (2013), dir. James DeMonaco
155.) A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson
156.) Arthur Christmas (2011), dir. Sarah Smith [Watch count: 2]
157.) 8 Women (2002), dir. François Ozon
158.) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), dir. Tomas Alfredson [Watch count: 2]

2010 || 2011 || 2012

Entry tags:

books 2012

2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011

2012 Goal: 50 new (to me) books. (No page goal; re-reads don't count.)
[Note: I have a goal of 75 books in 2012 on GoodReads, but re-reads do count for that.]

( First-Time Books )

Book Count: 69/50

( Re-reads )

Entry tags:

films,
my lists

movies 2012

.

An up-to-date list of the movies I watched for the first time in 2012:

( 1-59 )

060.) The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), dir. James Whale
061.) The Thing (1982), dir. John Carpenter
062.) The Thing (2011), dir. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
063.) The Woman in Black (2012), dir. James Watkins
064.) Pontypool (2008), dir. Bruce McDonald

2010 || 2011

Current Mood: pleased with my pillow purchase

Entry tags:

reviews

[golden fetching fish from the lake.]

Okay, so ... guys. This polar pillow? I love it. It might not be the best hundred bucks I've ever spent, but it's way up there on the list. A couple people expressed interest in a review, but I'm not sure exactly what you wanna know, so ... I'll share a couple observations/thoughts I had, and then you can comment and ask questions, if you have any?

- It weighs fifteen pounds, so you're not gonna be dragging it around with you if you're and toss-and-turner. However, I found I wasn't tossing and turning. I'm not sure if that was a one-night fluke or if it's because I'm that much more comfortable with a chilly pillow. I guess I'll be able to answer that after giving it another couple of days!

- It's also quite flat, so I had to put other pillows under it. And since it's so much heavier than normal pillows, it took some adjusting before I figured out how to arrange things so it didn't slip off the pile. But it was totally worth it because ...

- It really does stay cool. At first I slept with my arm under it, and that was really cold. It actually made my skin feel icy! But the part touching my face stayed pleasantly cool without giving me frostbite. XD When I woke up after a few hours, it was a little warm, but I'm pretty sure that was the pillowcase soaking up my body heat. I'm a very warm person; I fog up car windows just sitting still. It's kind of ridiculous.

So, that was what I thought was important, after one night of using my polar pillow. If there's anything specific you wanted to know about it, leave a comment. I might have to use the pillow with your question in mind before I can answer it, but I will get back to you!

Also, I'm leaving this post unlocked because I'm not 100% sure everyone from Twitter who asked for an opinion follows me on LJ.

Stupid History: President Lincoln has long been admired as a great and fair president. However, during the Civil War, Lincoln did a few things that would be considered downright un-American. In 1861, the Lincoln administration not only censored the news but also closed down publication of the New York News for anti-administration editorials. In 1863, they closed them down again for alleged spy activity. Lincoln liked a good joke -- he could apparently dish it out but he couldn't take it. When the New York World satirized Lincoln in 1863 he personally ordered the paper shut down and its editors arrested. How can anyone be expected to act civil during a war, anyhow?

Word of the Day: frog-march - v. : to seize from behind roughly and forcefully propel forward.

When the patron became loud and belligerent, a hulking bouncer swiftly pinned him in a half nelson and frog-marched him out the door.

There are a couple of variations of the "frog's march" used to carry away an unruly person. The first involves carrying the person face downward by the arms and legs; when this is done by four people each holding a limb, the person's body resembles a stretched-out frog. In another version the person is carried off by his collar and the seat of his pants, again giving the image of a frog but this time with limbs uselessly flailing about. These methods of moving a person gave us the verb "frog-march" in the late 19th century. The verb was also extended to cover more general, less froglike, methods of removal, such as forcing an intractable individual forward with arms held in back or at the sides.

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

films,
reviews

[REVIEWS] Films: Oscars Watch

And with this, I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the Oscars. Bring it on! \o/

Midnight in Paris (2011)

In this charming romantic comedy, legendary director Woody Allen focuses his lens on an engaged young couple whose experiences traveling together in Paris make them begin to question the kind of life they want to live.

Somewhere in Hell, winged pigs are having mid-air snowball fights. I liked a Woody Allen film. I'm sure at least a little part of it was the fact that I was expecting to despise it, so my expectations were extremely low, but ... I dunno. I really liked this. I also went into it with only the most basic knowledge of what it was about. The summary above was the most detailed thing I'd read/heard about the plot. Nobody told me about the fantasy element, which I found completely and utterly charming. I think it also helped that the cast was fantastic and did not actually include Woody Allen. (Although it's pretty clear that Woody Allen would have played the Owen Wilson part if he'd made this film two or three decades earlier.) Seriously, though, I am generally not a fan of romantic comedies, and I usually hate Woody Allen, and I still really loved this. So I recommend it to pretty much anyone. [Rating: 4 stars]

The Descendants (2011)

When his wife is killed in a Waikiki boating accident, distant father Matt King (George Clooney) begins an iffy journey to repair his fractured relationship with his two daughters. But he's also trying to decide whether to let go of some valuable family real estate. Judy Greer, Beau Bridges and Matthew Lillard co-star in this tragic-comic tale of legacy and unexpected loss based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Overall, I thought this movie was boring crap, which is what I was expecting. But George Clooney can render almost anything tolerable, so I wound up liking it more than I thought I would. I can't imagine ever seeking it out again myself, but if someone else wanted to watch it with me, I wouldn't be extremely opposed. And I did think Judy Greer was quite good. I feel that should be mentioned. ♥ [Rating: 3 stars]

The Help (2011)

In 1960s Jackson, Miss., aspiring writer Eugenia Phelan crosses taboo racial lines by conversing with Aibileen Clark about her life as a housekeeper, and their ensuing friendship upsets the fragile dynamic between the haves and the have-nots. When other long-silent black servants begin opening up to Eugenia, the disapproving conservative Southern town soon gets swept up in the turbulence of changing times.

There is so much that can be said about this movie and so much of it is negative. But I'm not going to talk about the negative things. If you don't know or can't figure out what might be problematic about a movie like The Help, google it. I'm sure you can easily find someone ranting about it much more eloquently than I could. Instead, I'm going to talk about why I gave a movie I didn't really like three stars. It mainly comes down to two things: Viola Davis deserves ALL THE AWARDS. And Sissy Spacek was brilliant. I mean, Allison Janney was in this film, and Sissy Spacek still managed to be my favorite. That's saying something. [Rating: 3 stars]

War Horse (2011)

Adapted from a novel by Michael Morpurgo, this majestic World War I drama centers on Devon lad Albert and his steadfast horse, Joey, whose faithful bond cannot be shaken -- even when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent off to France.

I'm generally not a Spielberg fan. But ... guys, I really love horses. I think I could have watched this movie with the sound off and been entertained by it. Actually, I might even have liked it better. I was quite impressed visually but I didn't really connect with any of the human characters (though I was very fond of Tom Hiddleston's character), so it felt like a less heartwarming rehash of Black Beauty. Only the horse was a war horse, rather than a cart horse. So if you like pretty movies or war movies or horses or anybody in the cast, I'd recommend this. If you want something new and are familiar with Black Beauty, give it a miss. [Rating: 3.5 stars]

Moneyball (2011)

An all-star cast brings to life the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a former jock turned general manager who uses unconventional methods to bring the best players to the Oakland A's, a major league baseball team struggling against financial hardship.

Moneyball. It's a baseball movie. If you don't like baseball movies, you probably won't like it. If you do like baseball movies ... you might like this one. I didn't think there was anything too special about it (except I've never liked Jonah Hill before and thought he/his character was adorable in this) but there wasn't anything wrong with it, either, and I like baseball, so ... it worked for me. Your mileage may vary. (How's that for an enthusiastic endorsement? -_-) [Rating: 3 stars]

Current Mood: rushed

Entry tags:

films,
reviews

[REVIEWS] Films: Oscars Watch

I'm making a last-minute dash to try to see as many Oscar-nominated movies before the ceremony tonight. ...Yeah, I waited a little too long. OH WELL. I'll see how far I can get, anyway.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

John Le Carré's classic thriller of Cold War espionage follows an English spy as he returns to MI-6 under a cloud of suspicion. In the years since he was sacked by the agency, some suspect he's become an operative for the Soviet Union.

I don't know if I can give much of a review of this movie. I'm a little biased. I thought it was basically perfect. I mean ... come on. THAT CAST. Despite the high rating it gets from me, it's not one I'd recommend to just anyone. I can see why American audiences and critics weren't as enthusiastic about it as British ones. It's very ... subtle. The writing, the acting, everything. Spy movies are supposed to be full of action and intrigue, right? Well, this one's got intrigue and a half, but not much in the way of action. This is not a Michael Bay film, kiddies. [Rating: 4.5 stars]

Hugo (2011)

When his father dies, 12-year-old orphan Hugo takes up residence behind the walls of a Parisian train station. There, he meets Isabelle, the daughter of filmmaker Georges Méliès, who holds the key to Hugo's destiny.

I wasn't too sure of this movie at first. I'd had pretty high expectations for it to begin with, and then everyone whose opinions of movies I take into serious consideration said it was absolutely amazing. With that in mind, Hugo was almost sure to fall short for me. It did start off somewhat shakily; I wasn't immediately sold. But by the end I was so thoroughly charmed that I couldn't remember exactly what I didn't adore about the beginning; I had only a vague memory of feeling slightly disappointed. ...The café owner's dachshund was my favorite character. But I kind of adored Isabelle, too. [Rating: 4 stars]

The Tree of Life (2011)

Brad Pitt and Sean Penn star in Terrence Malick's 1950s adventure about a confused man named Jack, who sets off on a journey to understand the true nature of the world. Growing up in the Midwest with two brothers, Jack has always been torn between his mother's guidance to approach everything he encounters with an open heart and his father's advice to look after his own interests. Now, Jack must find a way to regain purpose and perspective.

Everyone I know who's seen this movie either loved it or hated it. I think I'm the first person I know who had a "meh" reaction to it. Have you ever seen/heard an opera in its original language without familiarizing yourself with the story first? That's how I felt through a great deal of this movie. I didn't dislike it, and I was aware that I was watching something quite lovely, but I didn't exactly understand and couldn't connect emotionally at all. It felt to me as if about three movies were trying to be made and if they were separated I would have really liked at least two of them, but smooshed together as they were, they just confused me a little bit. [Rating: 3 stars]

The Artist (2011)

This modern-day silent film artfully recounts the poignant end of the silent-movie era in the late 1920s. The story contrasts the declining fortunes of a silent-screen superstar with his lover's rise to popularity as a darling of the "talkies."

So boring. It took me three tries to get through this one. I didn't even like the dog that much, and he was the second best thing about the movie. (The best thing was Bérénice Bejo's smile.) I wish I'd given this a miss and watched Singin' in the Rain and Chaplin instead. [Rating: 2 stars]

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

Believing that his father left him a message before dying in the September 11 attacks, young Oskar Schell embarks on an emotional odyssey through New York City to find the lock that matches a key he found among his father's belongings.

This movie had a great cast who gave incredible performances. I was especially fond of Thomas Horn and Max von Sydow, but it's really worth noting that this is one of Tom Hanks' few films where I actually liked him. Usually he just annoys the hell out of me. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the actors and several of the characters, I still didn't like the movie overall. I found it pretentious, sentimental in an unpleasant way, and emotionally manipulative. [Rating: 2.5 stars]

Entry tags:

films,
my lists

movies 2011

.

An up-to-date list of the movies I watched for the first time in 2011:

( 1-74 )

075.) The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), dir. Brian Henson
076.) 50/50 (2011), dir. Jonathan Levine
077.) Slither (2006), dir. James Gunn
078.) Grace (2009), dir. Paul Solet
079.) The Holiday (2006), dir. Nancy Meyers

2010

Entry tags:

books 2011

2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 || 2010

2011 Goal: 50 new (to me) books. (No page goal; re-reads don't count.)
[Note: I have a goal of 75 books in 2011 on GoodReads, but re-reads do count for that.]

( First-Time Books )

Book Count: 100/50

( Re-reads )

Current Mood: full

Entry tags:

clickies

[clickies]

A collection of links I bookmarked ages ago, never got around to looking at, and am still interested in checking out in more detail:

- The Best LGBT Books of All Time
- Six Word Story Every Day
- Improbable Research: Ig Nobel Winners
- Drew's Script-O-Rama
- The Pendle Witches
- Historic Werewolves and Vampires
- What the Law Says About Selling Haunted Houses
- Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Impudent Scholars

- Superfast Appetizers
- 101 Healthy Soup Recipes
- Homemade Sorbet Recipes

-----------------------------------

Numbered Lists:

- 40 Celebrities Who Are Republicans
- 15 Great Jingles Written for Fake Brands
- 11 Classic Album Cover Stories
- 11 Ironic and Puzzling eBooks
- 11 Visual Clichés You Never See in Real Life
- 11 Things You Might Like to Know Aout Reindeer
- 11 Christmas Songs That Never Really Took Off
- 11 Examples of 'Perfect Strangers' Fan Art (Made. My. Day.)
- 7 Hotly Debated Movie Questions That Totally Have Answers
- 6 Amazing Facts About Dicks

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

films,
reviews

[REVIEWS] Films: Horror

October is over but I'm still pluggin' along with the horror reviews. I had a couple more sets started when November showed up, so I might as well finish them!

The Final Destination (2009)

Young Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) thinks he's cheated death when he keeps a grisly premonition from becoming reality, saving his friends and himself from being crushed in a catastrophic accident -- but the survivors soon realize that fate has other plans. Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb and Nick Zano also star in this fourth installment of the Final Destination franchise, the first film in the series to be lensed in 3D.

Will they ever stop making these movies so I can stop watching them? I feel that going into this with that attitude worked to my advantage. I was feeling skeptical and cynical and critical, so I wound up liking it more than I expected to. I still only really like the first Final Destination. But this one only runs for about 80 minutes and I didn't once check to see how much longer I had before it was over. And while I don't have anything especially good to say about it, I also don't have anything especially bad. Well... Except that it was filmed for 3D. I really don't like 3D; it makes me feel queasy and if you watch the films in 2D, it's almost obnoxiously obvious that lots of things were added specifically for the 3D gimmick. [Rating: 3 stars]

In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

When popular horror writer Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, his publisher hires investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) to find him. Trent tracks Cane to a small New England town, which is filled with nightmare scenes right out of the author's books. Encountering one gruesome scene after another, Trent wonders if Cane's fans have gone psychotic and begun imitating his writings, or his "novels" are really nonfiction. John Carpenter directs.

This film felt like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Bentley Little raised a baby together, and that baby grew up to write a mediocre movie script, which was passed off to a very good director. I loved it. The end. [Rating: 3.5 stars]

Mimic (1997)

In this cinematic kissing cousin to the giant-radioactive-ant flick Them, etymologist Mira Sorvino eradicates disease-carrying cockroaches only to create a new breed of lethal, man-sized insect in the sewer systems of New York City. Co-starring Charles S. Dutton, Jeremy Northam and a nest of creepy, computer-generated bugs, Mimic will send you running for the Raid.

Okay, a couple of things you need to know: Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors of all time, and I am extremely phobic when it comes to creepy crawlies. So pretty much from start to finish, this movie scared and delighted me at the same time. It even made me laugh a few times. That's about the most fun I can have while wearing pants! I have to admit it took me about half the movie before I stopped thinking of Mira Sorvino as Romy White, but that's more a comment on my viewing (in)abilities than anyone's acting or directing or writing. XD [Rating: 3.5 stars]

Saw VII (2010)

Insane, intense cruelty is the calling card of the Jigsaw killer, whose twisted spirit and terrifying human traps are recalled in horrific flashbacks by Jigsaw's past victims, led by survivor Bobby Dagen.

Like with the first film in this review set, I went into this thinking, "When will they stop making these movies so I can stop watching them?" Well, in this case, the answer is "Now. For now." The movie was marketed as The Final Chapter and the guys in charge of the franchise said that there won't be any more Saw movies very soon but that it's too popular to go away forever. Anyway, even going into it with a bad attitude, I kinda liked this movie. I definitely think it's the best "part 7" ever. It was shot for 3D and probably the thing that impressed me the most was that, watching it in 2D, there were only two instances where I thought "That shot was especially for 3D." Thinking back afterward, I thought of several more spots that would've been 3D-licious but it was only annoyingly blatant to this 2D-viewer twice. Anyway, other than that, I just have to say I still really like Costas Mandylor's face, I remember Chad Donella from the episode of The X-Files he was in and I love him, and I gave the film an extra half a star because it included bare-chested Patrick Sean Flanery. Yeah, sometimes I'm that shallow. stfu. XD [Rating: 3 stars]

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

A malign and murderous spirit continues to dwell within a San Diego home in this second creepy sequel to 2007's chilling Paranormal Activity. Hoping to catch photo evidence of Bloody Mary, the residents soon become victims in their own horror film.

As a reminder, the first Paranormal Activity is one of my favorite horror films, and I liked the second one almost as much. Actually, what I said about the second one was that it didn't scare me as much as the first but that I loved getting more backstory and that I was looking forward to the next installment. That's ... basically how I feel about this one! A bit less scary but awesome backstory and I want more. Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it wasn't exactly less scary. It was just a different kind of scary. My heart wasn't pounding and I wasn't nervous about walking through my house but I felt such sympathy for the poor terrorized characters. I mean, the Bloody Mary scene? I wanted to hug them. Also, there was some great acting in that scene in particular. [Rating: 3.5 stars]

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

films,
reviews

[REVIEWS] Films: Horror

So, uh... This was the first set of reviews I started this month. Just so you know, that's why it's Halloween and the first review talks about kicking off my October movie watching. ...Yeah. XD

Nosferatu (1929)

Many horror-film fanatics call F.W. Murnau's silent German classic starring Max Schreck -- who sports grotesque makeup that transforms him into a symbol of pestilence and decay -- the scariest Dracula adaptation ever. The chilling tale kicks off when a real estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) begins conducting business with eerie Count Orlok (Schreck), who goes on a rampage when he becomes obsessed with the man's comely wife (Greta Schröder).

So I decided to kick off my October movie watching with one that doesn't count toward my list, because I've seen it before. This is one of those movies that everyone pretty much knows if they want to see it or not, so very little that I could say would change anyone's mind. I love it, and have since I was quite small. If you're a movie geek, a horror buff, or a vampire fan and you haven't seen this ... why not? Look at your life. Look at your choices. And then go find a copy of Nosferatu. Max Schreck is awesome. [Rating: 4 stars]

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

A wicked movie about the making of the 1922 silent-film classic Nosferatu, Shadow of the Vampire features Willem Dafoe's Oscar-nominated performance. Director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) yearns to create the most terrifying vampire tale imaginable. Unknown actor Max Schreck (Dafoe), cast as the vampire Count Orlock, makes an impressive debut as filming begins, even as he hides an unearthly secret.

I have some pretty mixed feelings about this film. It was technically very good. I loved looking at it, and the cast was great. I liked the story, too, but ... I don't know. It never actually bored me but it didn't exactly captivate me, either. I was left with a pretty "meh" feeling at the end, despite being glad I finally got to see it. (I'd wanted to since it was in theaters.) [Rating: 3 stars]

Stake Land (2010)

This genre-bending thriller combines vampires, religious fanatics and post-apocalyptic horrors with a coming-of-age tale that finds drifter Mister (Nick Damici) training young Martin (Connor Paolo) to survive the nightmare that has become America as they journey to New Eden. While they combat the mutated bloodsuckers and vicious humans seeking to rule the land, Mister and Martin rescue other wanderers and become a tightly knit family of warriors.

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting from Stake Land but it wasn't what I got. What I got was a damn good movie, not "for horror" but for any genre. There was a fair amount of gore but it never felt gratuitous. It wasn't full of cheap jump scares and one-dimensional characters; Dread Central's Serena Whitney called it "a script full of substance, character development, and meaningful social commentary lacking in so many horror films today" and I really agree. [Rating: 4 stars]

Splice (2009)

Ignoring instructions from the pharmaceutical company that funds their research, groundbreaking genetic scientists Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrien Brody) continue with an unorthodox experiment to create a human-animal hybrid, a new life form they dub "Dren" (Delphine Chanéac). When they see their fantastical creation, Clive warns that it should be destroyed, but Elsa refuses -- a decision she'll regret when Dren makes deadly plans of her own.

I liked ... some things. But not the overall product. Adrien Brody's nose was good, as usual. And I really liked the creature design. That was about it, though. I really wanted to like it because it's very Frankenstein-esque, only with more likeable scientists, but I just ... didn't. [Rating: 2 stars]

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, a tough-as-nails warrant officer who stares down one of the most terrifying movie monsters of all time: a bloodthirsty alien that stalks and eviscerates its prey. As the deadly creature winds its way through the air shafts of the spacecraft Nostramo, the crew members consider deploying the ship's escape shuttle … but there's only room for four people.

I don't know how I went this long without seeing this entire movie. I'd seen bits and pieces of it, but never all at once or in order. So I knew I'd like it, since I liked it in chunks. I had no idea I was going to adore it, though. It's held up so well over time. The only thing I can think to complain about is how it irritated me a bit when Veronica Cartwright's character freaked out. Even so, I could watch this movie just about forever. The only thing scarier than H. R. Giger's designs is his face. ♥ [Rating: 5 stars]

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

clickies

[clickies]

Okay, this clickies post will be comprised of all the numbered lists I have (that aren't taken from mental_floss's Morning Cup of Links) that aren't lists of ten. Then I'll do one with just the tens. And then I'll get to the miscellaneous stuff from mental_floss. WOO, I HAVE A PLAN. \o/

First, I have to do a little themed mini-section. HATS:

- 18 Awesome Hats at the Royal Wedding
- 30 Outrageous Hats Designed By The Guy Who Made Princess Beatrice's Hat
- 20 Ridiculous Hats From The 2011 Kentucky Derby

And now on to ... everything else:

- 59 Unique Umbrella Designs
- 40 Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes (FORTY!)
- 21 Best Beards & Moustaches at the 2011 World Beards & Moustaches World Championships
- 17 Baby Armadillos
- 15 Best Bedrooms on Film
- 13 Awesome Miniatures
- 11 Fictional Family Trees
- 8 Coolest Miniature Animals (INCLUDING MICRO-PIGS)
- 7 Crazy Reasons Why Famous Books Were Rejected by Publishers
- 6 Bizarre Perception Syndromes (I have two of these!)
- 5 Great Movies You Will Never Get To See & Why
- 5 Rarest Eye Colors in Humans
- 5 Badass Gods

Entry tags:

clickies

[clickies]

This morning I started going through the months' worth of links I have saved up. So have a handful of lists! I'm starting to fizzle out now, though, so there are just ten at the moment. But you can expect more soon, I think!

- 20 Inappropriate Songs Used in Commercials
- 18 Horrifying Movie Dystopias
- 11 Bad-Good Horror Movies You Need To See
- 10 Vampiric Creatures (Warning: Lots of bugs and assorted creepy-crawlies. With pictures.)
- 10 Hybrid Animals
- 10 Elements of the Intellectual Thriller
- 10 Child Stars Whose Lives Were Not Ruined By Fame
- 10 Extreme Noses
- 8 Creepy Video Game Urban Legends (That Happen to Be True)
- 6 Parodies That Succeeded Because Nobody Got the Joke

Current Mood: determined

Entry tags:

films,
reviews

[REVIEWS] Films: Horror

I am way behind on my October movie-watching goal. This isn't the first review set I've started, but it's the first one I finished, and I should be working on my fourth one by now. OOPS. Gonna have to seriously step it up here.

The Cry (2007)

Director Bernadine Santistevan's supernatural chiller explores the Latino fable of La Llorena, a tortured spirit who roams New York City's Central Park seeking revenge and causing young mother Maria (Adriana Domínguez) to fall under her fateful spell. When children begin disappearing, the desperate Maria tries to convince police detectives that La Llorona is real -- and that there's only one way to stop her. Christian Camargo also stars.

This movie had so much potential. La Llorona is a great (read: sad and/or disturbing) legend. But the film fell short in its execution. I was so bored I dozed off at one point and had to go back and try again. For the first twenty minutes of the film, I felt like half the time was dominated by pointless fly-over shots of NYC. Now, I love the city, but ... come on. We understand where it's taking place! Stop showing it! And, actually, that brings up another good point. La Lorona is from Mexico. What's she doing in Central Park? I'd also like to take a minute to gripe about the painfully boring one-dimensional characters. It was just ... bad. [Rating: 1 star]

The Woods (2005)

Set in 1965 in the buttoned-up world of an all-girls private boarding school, this horrifying tale features the acting chops of Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, who appears as the chilly headmistress. Based on the nightmarish visions she's been having since her arrival, new student Heather (Agnes Bruckner) knows that the woods surrounding the school aren't normal. And when her classmates begin disappearing, she has no choice but to investigate.

There was some really good acting here, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I was also pleasantly surprised by Bruce Campbell's small role! He was my favorite! There were a lot of problems with this movie -- plot holes, uneven pacing (nice and steady through most of it, and then so fast as to be slightly confusing), characters that could/should have been developed a little more... But I was interested as I watched and while I didn't love the ending, I also didn't feel disappointed by it. [Rating: 3 stars]

Splinter (2008)

Kidnapped by an escaped convict (Shea Whigham) and his young accomplice (Rachel Kerbs), Seth Belzer (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly Watt (Jill Wagner) are thrust into the fight of their lives when the four of them become the prey of a bloodthirsty splinter parasite. Trapped inside an abandoned gas station, the foursome is forced to band together to thwart the monster's vicious attacks and make it out alive.

This movie was way better than I was expecting it to be. My only complaint is DOESN'T ANYBODY USE STEADYCAM ANYMORE? But other than that, I found Splinter ... rather delightful. Good acting, great chemistry between the actors, interesting characters who actually develop (individually and together), fantastic creature effects (the way it moves, ohmygod)... It was suspenseful and freaked me out while I was watching, but didn't leave any lasting psychological damage. XD It was just ... the perfect monster movie, really. I truly loved it. [Rating: 4 stars]

Trick 'r Treat (2008)

In writer-director Michael Dougherty's fright fest, Halloween's usually boisterous traditions turn deadly, and everyone in a small town tries to survive one night in pure hell … but who will still be alive in the morning? Several stories weave together, including a loner fending off a demented trick-or-treater's attacks; kids uncovering a freaky secret; a school principal -- who moonlights as a serial killer -- poisoning his candy; and more.

I'd heard so many good things about this movie that I made myself go into it with some skepticism. It's always so disappointing when movies don't live up to their hype. I needn't have worried about this one, though. When you get down to it, there's really nothing very special about Trick 'r Treat. It's half anthology and half interlocking puzzle, with stories overlapping but still standing perfectly well on their own. None of the stories are anything new; they're all tried and true genre tropes. There isn't even much of a new twist to any of them. They're just ... unapologetically what they are, and they're done well. The music is great, which definitely adds something, and the acting is good, too. Dylan Baker made me laugh a lot, but I have to admit my very favorite thing was when Britt McKillip's character went trick-or-treating at Christine Willes's character's house. Mini Dead Like Me reunion! :D [Rating: 4 stars]

Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)

Tomas Milian and Barbara Bouchet star in one of director Lucio Fulci's most disturbing horror films. In rural Sicily, Italy, a psychotic killer is on the rampage, performing a series of shocking child murders for which there are many suspects. Among the potential culprits are a gypsy, a prostitute and a priest, but despite the plethora of possible perpetrators, the gruesome case proves baffling.

Every now and then I feel the need to watch a little giallo to make sure I still don't really like it. And ... yep. I still don't really like it. The first twenty minutes of this film were confusing, the next hour was boring, and the last twenty minutes were good. [Rating: 2 stars]