Random Thoughts for November 2015

Whew took a whole month off of Random Thoughts and boy do I have plenty stored up. So let's do this…

"Crimson Summer" has been completed. Yes, I have finished with my edit on it and no, I have no idea when it will be released. Now enters the process of seeing whether it will be accepted for publishing or if I'll have to finance that endeavor myself. If it does get picked up (which I'm hoping for, but understand the content is a little dark and may not allow that option) then that will be all in the publisher's hands. If I end up having to do it myself then it'll be out this Spring. Either way, I hope you pick up a copy and more importantly, enjoy the story.

31 Days of Halloween was a moderate success. It's funny, I had one fan who would consistently comment on the videos within an hour or two of them being posted with nearly EVERY video. It pretty much consistently made my day and was a good confidence boost and helped me push on. 33 videos in a month wasn't easy but I think I really go the hang of it in the end. I was surprised by the amount of support I got in some places, and lack of support in others. It ultimately led me to a tough decision…

I no longer work for WIGS. That's a pretty big change since I was doing pop culture related stuff quite often and it took up a good amount of time. But ultimately I didn't feel like it was really going anywhere. Getting a driven, hardworking writing staff together is a difficult task and one that ultimately proved too much. Still, I have a lot of great content housed over there, and hope they continue on with their pop culture crusade. (Just, uh, you know, actually start putting out content again.)

Damn does it suck that Rousey lost. I don't like MMA and she brought me to it enough to watch that entire PPV. After a really crappy card (loved that Co-Main Event though) I had high expectations for Rousey and she just got pummeled. I don't know enough about the sport to give any technical opinion. I don't know what happened, I just know she didn't look good. Hopefully she rebuilds and comes back for that championship.

I really dug Shia's art project. For those unaware. LeBeouf decided to hold a viewing of all his films in reverse chronological order, with a camera transfixed and watching him the whole time. It sounds crazy at first but think about the vulnerability of it. I find it commendable that he'd put himself out there like that, and as weird as some may view it, I think it's an interesting insight into the psyche of an actor going on a journey through their films--something that is an emotional rollercoaster in and of itself. Add to that, that Shia started in film at such a young age and it's not just him looking back on his career, it's him looking back on his life. All live streamed on the Internet for microscopic criticism. Pretty commendable if you ask me. But yeah, art is weird so we better just go back to making fun of Shia.

Pixar's Inside Out may be the best of the year. Every single part of that movie is just perfect. Amy Poehler was meant to voice animated characters with her bubbly voice and infectious persona. I loved the plot of the film for so many reasons because it can speak to different age groups on so many levels. I think it is going to end up being the quintessential movie for a lot of young kids from this generation.

It's weird how little I've purchased in the last year. I've been exclusively writing for pennies and so I barely have enough to survive, let alone buy fun stuff. I used to collect DVD's then comics but collecting anything is just too expensive for my pockets. It's tough though because while I don't care so much about not getting stuff myself (we do live in the day and age of the internet), it's a little more difficult when it comes to showing appreciation for others with a gift. Other people don't really understand it. Thankfully I have a brother that likes the same stuff as me, so I just take his stuff a lot (Helloooo XBOX One/Netflix/WWE Network accounts). I am a pre-teen.

Fallout 4 is just incredible. As someone who has never gotten into the Fallout series, I wasn’t expecting much but wow. Just wow. I've dropped many hours into this game already. It's the first game in a long time that I've found myself just being completely lost in. Video Games had become more of a chore in some regards and this game has taken that all away and made me feel like a kid again.

I really hate Superman but American Alien is great. It shouldn't be surprising given that it's written by Max Landis, but it really is the best. The idea of presenting seven unique Clark Kent stories throughout different periods of his life is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if that final issue is a little too "out there" for me given how Landis works, but I still look forward to going through the run.

31 Days of Halloween

So if you keep up with what I do at Wolf In A Gorilla Suit, I'm sure you're aware what I'm about to talk about but I still wanted to let people know about it, for those that just stumble across my site. I decided to do a video series for the website called "31 Days of Halloween" and it featured 33 videos (31 movies, 1 intro, 1 summary). It's full of a bunch of horror movies, and hopefully opens up your eyes to some you haven't seen. I've embedded all the videos below, so have a look and let me know what you think.

31 Days of Horror - Day 31 "Ash vs. The Evil Dead"

Ash vs. The Evil Dead (2015)

Yessssssss, it's finally here! I can't tell you how many times I saw news on an "Evil Dead 4" and just rolled my eyes. There was no way it was going to happen and people just needed to accept that. Then they announced a new TV show.

This show is everything you could possibly want from an Evil Dead TV series. It's Ash-centric with some truly imaginative demonic scenes. There's plenty of gruesome bits, and also that trademark dark humor. And it does a great job of introducing new characters fluidly into the pre-established world without hiccups. I love just how much of an asshole Ash is. I mean, the Deadites are released again because Ash got high and some girl wanted to hear poetry so he read from the book of the dead. How ridiculously awesome is that?

I get the same type of vibe from this TV show that I did from the "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash" comic series. It's pretty gory, with a high body count, but with Ash going through hell to ultimately save the day. I expect this show to follow a similar path and some of the side characters could easily be getting the shaft toward season's end. Either way, I'm on for the long haul and can't wait to see where the series goes from here.

31 Days of Horror - Day 30 "Halloween"

Halloween (1978)

As much as I wanted Halloween to be the Day 31 movie, I figured that'd just be too predictable. And hell, it's not like I won't be watching it again on this day (as is tradition) but I wanted to switch this up by not having Halloween be Day 31.

I like to view both taste and personality as a spectrum, where while we have the same range of things we like, we prefer a certain style depending on the time of the year. I say this because I'd be hard pressed to find a film I enjoy in the month of October more than Halloween. During these 31 days, it is my absolute favorite film and one I'm always itching to watch. It's how I always end up watching it at least three or four times.

And just what's so fantastic about it? Everything.

It's hard not to appreciate every aspect, given the low budget, and that they're able to make Southern California look like Illinois in the Fall (not an easy task). And the number of long takes, with full competence all around, is commendable. I can only imagine how difficult this shoot must have been, but I'm grateful for what ended up on screen. We'll go back to ignoring the remake now...

31 Days of Halloween - Day 29 "Saw II"

Saw II (2005)

I have such vivid memories of seeing this in theater. I'm not sure if it was the first horror film I saw in theaters, but it was pretty damn close. My father was nice enough to take me and a group of friends to see it as part of my annual Halloween party. Looking back on it, and his taste in movies, I'm sure he didn't particularly enjoy the experience but I thought it was a blast. I remember being totally blown away by that ending.

Now that I'm a tad more mature, the greatness of the Saw series has waned a bit. I understand the schlockiness of it and just how much has to go right for the twists to actually play out how Jigsaw plans, but that's really all the fun of it. Last year I binged all 7 movies in one night. Yeah, don't ask me how or why but it happened. In that process, I remember not taking too kindly to the second film. Not sure why, but something didn't sit right with me. This viewing, I loved it all over again, although that may have been due to my nostalgia goggles.

It's hard not to enjoy a film that I treasured as a teen. It's one of the reasons I think I'll always have a soft spot for the Saw series (except for The Final Chapter, that movie can go fuck itself). As needlessly brutal as it can be, the twists are fun, and it at least TRIES to spout out moral lessons, even if they don't always make sense.

31 Days of Horror - Day 28 "Trick R Treat"

Trick R Treat (2007)

I had planned on this being one of my Halloween movies but I just couldn't wait any longer. There's nothing quite like a horror film that completely envelops itself in Halloween. And this film does that and more. Better yet, the entire film is about punishing those that don't treat the holiday with respect. Want to take your decorations down early? Ya dead. Want to pull a prank rather than paying respects to the dead? Well guess what, you're dead. Want to knock pumpkins around and be an asshole-- okay, you get the picture.

One thing that I had failed to realize in my past viewings is just how layered the film is. You can hear the "Disney Princess" girls wooing, as they drive past in the beginning of the film, we hear the werewolves howl before knowing of their presence, and are given a good looparound back to the beginning of the film (the most obvious of them all). I can only imagine what the writing process of this must have been like, what with the intricacies of the stories at play here.

It's really a shame that we never got a sequel, although I have the comic that was just released pulled up on my Kindle right now, so we'll see if that lives up to the story.

31 Days of Horror - Day 27 "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Producer's Cut)"

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers: Producer's Cut (1995)

It's crazy that I've finally seen this movie. I used to be a regular at the horror forums at Joblo.com during my teens and this film always came up in discussion. Bootleg versions of the Producer's Cut were always being talked about, especially how superior they were to the theatrical. This was easy to believe given the shittiness of the first, but I never managed to get a copy. Thankfully, executives have seen the money in releasing a legitimate copy, so I've finally been able to see it. And in HD no less!

I'm so glad that this film lived up to expectations. Sure, it's not some amazing film, but it's actually competent, which is a nice change. The Halloween series is so hit or miss, it's nice to see one of the lesser films be given a better treatment. There's a lot less gore in this cut, which you think would be a problem, but I actually preferred it. The death's that remain are still creative enough, whereas the gorier ones were a tad exploitative anyhow.

The entire film seems much more coherent and like an actual horror film. Only a few days ago, I had watched the theatrical cut again since it was on Netflix. I couldn't believe how much I disliked it. Everything about it just screamed troubled production. And after years of disliking the Thorn cult on paper, I actually really enjoyed it, put to action. It added a layer to Michael that I didn't mind -- especially after seeing Zombie's terrible attempt at an origin story.

I'm glad that I was finally able to see it, especially since it may have swayed me a little more with the Halloween series. Or maybe I'm just talking crazy. Yeah, probably that.

31 Days of Horror - Day 26 "Halloween II"

Halloween II (2009)

Holy balls this movie is bad. I remember really hating it, but I didn't realize what a poorly made film it is. There are a lot of choices that make me question if any executive's actually gave this movie a look before Zombie gave them a cut. Because the writing is on the wall with every shot. There's a particular scene towards the end of the film that feels like it was edited in Power Point. And yes, I'm aware of what Power Point can do. That's the joke.

There's an Academy Award Winner in this film (Viola Davis) and she screams like she's in a Key and Peele sketch. So you can only imagine how much the rest of the cast stacks up. Scout Taylor Compton gives one of the worst performances I've seen in a movie. While I didn't have much of an opinion of her in the first film, this whole "broken Laurie" angle that Zombie was going for doesn't work when the actress is so unbelievable when she's hysterical.

And you've got to love how Zombie totally negates both his first film, and even the first twenty minutes of this film. What do I mean by that? Well two of the characters that you see die horribly in the first, are suddenly alive and kicking in this one... only to be killed off again. So what was the point? It's not like they were essential to the plot, quite the opposite in fact. Then there's the weird instance of the beginning of the film just being one giant dream sequence. So there's no reason to actually be invested in anything happening during the hospital sequence, which oddly enough is actually the best part of the movie, just adding fuel to the fire of hate.

If you like this movie, then I'm sorry but you have no taste. I really don't say that lightly, and usually just view film as such a subjective medium. But no, this movie is objectively bad. It's poorly edited, acted, plotted, and even shot. This was clearly made by someone that just wasn't told "no" enough and was the last straw for me as a viewer. I haven't seen a Rob Zombie film since Halloween II and have no intention to. If his track record is any indication, it'll just be tasteless smut.