A month of horror! (march 2010)

Of course there are many ways of growing. Firstly there is the physical way of growing (Elin being pregnant and me being, uhm “large”). This way had us siting on the couch for months while waiting for the baby. Then there is also spiritual growth, and what better way to expand your ghostly senses than to watch some good old horror flicks? I mean, we were bound to sit there anyway.

These are the first of a lot of films we watched these last weeks. Though I’d throw out a few words.

Poltergeist (1982)

Director: Tobe Hooper / Starring: JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke, Craig T. Nelson

The television people (no, not the evangelists) are talking to Carol Anne through the static when shows end. Everyone knows the film cover which is a great one and it kind of says it all. There’s good acting and the effects are sweet in a 1982-way (the good way) but there’s also something to the film which I never thought. It bares a lot of the Spielbergesque correctness to it – yes, he is the producer – and if one would think that Tobe Hooper who also directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would manage to slash that away then there can only be surprise if not disappointment.

Believe me or not but I had never seen Poltergeist before and smack my ass and call me Judy, but I may have had too high expectations. This is horror the way Disney would make it. Horror for family friday.

The Exorcist (1973)

Director: William Friedkin / Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair

Elin had yet to see it and I never saw the Director’s Cut so while at the hospital (this was actually after the delivery) with Inez in our room we decided to watch The Exorcist about the possession of Regan (Linda Blair).

“A man has been called for as a last resort to try and save her. That man is The Exorcist.” It’s both simple and complex. Simple in the storyline and the basic struggle between good and evil. Complex in it’s way of raising a handful of existential questions and in the end you’re still sitting there with the question that is as old as history itself: Why evil?

The Exorcist could possibly be the best horror film of all times. And the big question goes unanswered.

The Box (2009)

Director: Richard Kelly / Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella

I believe that The Box is based on a short story called “Button, button” which was also the basis for an old Twilight Zone episode. I haven’t seen the episode, nor have I read the short story, but it sure does feel like that would be a suiting fit. Synopsis: Push a button, get a million dollars, someone dies but not someone you know, or something like that.

I think the storyline is enough for a short story or a 45-minute tv show but it soon got boring as a feature film. The one thing I did like though was that it was set in the 1970′s which gave the film a fine edge.

Moon (2009)

Director: Duncan Jones / Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)

Usually the films about solitude and cosmic dread turn out to be good ones, like 2001: A Space Odessey (1968) or Alien (1979). I am right, right?

Well, Moon is not any different from that. It is cold, lonely and has a lot to say and ask about what it is that makes us human. It’s not very sci-fi so don’t let that get in the way. Also, Sam Rockwell does an amazing job playing both his character and his character.

Orphan (2009)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra / Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman

I must say I am more than a little tired by these monster-kid-flicks. Village of the Damned (1960), El Orfanato (2007), The Omen (1976) and Pet Sematary (1989) will kick your momma’s buttocks back to mars but the evil-children-movies of today are usually not that clever. But my wife has a fetisch for just weird kids so we usually give these films a try. This one actually comes highly recommended but I think it was a bit too long and I don’t care for Isabelle Fuhrman’s acting much. It has a cool twist though and a punchline that rocks heavy.

God’s horror!

Three weeks ago I interviewed film critic Dave Canfield in Chicago, IL. Today the newspaper Dagen published the article which was a little bit more progressive before they decided to shorten it a bit. Hence, Dave’s comments on beheading girlfriends with shovels (Evil Dead II) and other people with weed wackers (Friday the 13th) were left out. Instead they found another dude, from Sweden, who also lectures in film and he had some oppinions on the matter.

All in all it was a good twist I think, still due to that they had to leave out some great pictures so I decided to throw some of them out here.

Videodrome

Videodrome (1983)

Director: David Cronenberg / Starring: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry

Elin and I ended up watching David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983) tonight. A superb film about a porn peddelin’ dude and an S/M chick. 25+ years old it has a lot to say about our desire (or even need) to tv-comsume.

What is moral or immoral to watch? And who is to decide? You?

I must admit that David Cronenburg is one of the great filmmakers of our time. I remember seeing Re-Animator on Super 8 projection at the Arvika Festival a long time ago. Between this and that I guess maybe I have seen six, seven of his films but I really should dig deeper.

Bad boys

Just got back from Belgium. I’m sick as a dog like always after travelling. I’ve been listening to Radio For Peace International at work today and they are bashing Obama for not being progressive enough and I got home at around six. Started cooking pasta for Elin while reading an interview with Monty Colvin (once of Galactic Cowboys). Inbetween this and that I had 15 mins over and sat down by the TV. The american show COPS was on. Man! What a piece of crap show it is. This particular episode featured a buff cop arresting a prostitute on crack. During the arrest the viewers learn that she is the mother of nine children, she is currently on a high and that she got beat up recently. This very sad, but we know that it is real. It is the sad truth that is a lot of people’s lives.

What is unreal to me is that this in some twisted way is supposed to be entertainment – watching a condescending, patronizing cop spewing better-knowing on this poor woman, telling her that she is a bad role-model for her kids and making all the calls he needs to bring her to jail. Myself, I’m trying my best not to cry. Now, tell me why this is 7 o’clock entertainment on public television?

Bad boys, bad boys…

Sympathy for the Devil…

I watched Der Untergang yesterday. It tells the story of the last weeks of the most recognized madman of the 20th century. As the final hour draws close the Führer makes clear that compassion is not in the human nature.

Maybe he is right. Do you pity the fate of Mrs Goebles – shot by her husband – an hour after they killed their six children? Or Göring and Himmler who killed himselves? Given that every man and woman has the choice to do what is good or what is not, I think I do pity them. And if indeed Hitler alone can be to blame for WW2 then I pity him – and him more than others. WW2 spared all but 50.000.000 lives. I hope there is forgiveness from man and God for deeds such as his. I point my finger and judge, but I have sympathy for the devil. And compassion for the one without.

As Hitler draws his final breath – and russian artilery is grinding Berlin – the people of the administration surrender to insanity and throw a party. Germany surrendered the same day. Some hangover the day after I would imagine.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve – when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace… not the God of War.

That was no joke!

I totally had it coming. After seeing Land of the Dead I was saying that it didn’t freak me out and that I was longing for movies that affect me more and deeper and y’know. I guess I got what I asked for this time.

Funny Games (1997)

Director: Michael Hanneke / Starring: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch

I spent last night watching movies with some guys here and Dave (film critic, film lover, funny guy, good friend) suggested we’d see a german movie called Funny Games.

Man! That was something else. It was very good and so real (and unreal too for that matter!) that I almost swallowed my knees and barfed them out through my ears. I can’t remember feeling this emotional about a movie since “Requiem for a Dream”. We had a great talk about the movie afterwards and it really added a lot to the experience. I’d had a rough week and my stressful mood reacted very strongly with the agony of some of the people in the movie. I was truly horrified at times, but after all – isn’t that what a good horror movie should do? It made me think and I often feel refreshed after seeing a scary piece. I’m glad we saw it! Movies are great!

When P. T. Anderson-like drama goes TV and it is so good you just want to stab yourself in the heart with any object – sharp or not…

I do remember the last time. It was when watching P. T. Anderson’s Magnolia with a good friend at University. That epic masterpiece has a 20-30 minute something scene that just left us gasping. In truth, we felt run over by the empathy steamroller and it left us breathless for the better part of the evening.
To believe such a concept would make it in a TV-format would be like believing Tom Selleck is ever gonna shave off that mustasch. But he could still – and yes, it (the concept) could actually, to my big surprise, make the transition. It just did.

Today I watched the 8th episode of the 2nd season of Nip/Tuck. The show has been great up until this point. It is now heavenly.

Sean: “Please. I need to believe in something.”
Woman: “No. Don’t you get it? There is nothing to believe in anymore.”

I now ask two things of you:

1) Get me the soundtrack to this episode – there isn’t any, I know… make one!
2) Explain to me why the same TV rapes our minds with reality shows.