The Road From Madness » TV & Film http://www.roadfrommadness.com The life and crimes of the Nordström family Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:32:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 God’s horror! http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/13/gods-horror/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/13/gods-horror/#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:14:27 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/?p=449 2009-03-13mainThree 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.

]]> http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/13/gods-horror/feed/ 2 Videodrome http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/01/videodrome/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/01/videodrome/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:53:37 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/?p=415 2009-03-01g

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.

]]> http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2009/03/01/videodrome/feed/ 7 Bad boys http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2008/07/24/cops-true-bad-boys-bad-boys%e2%80%a6/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2008/07/24/cops-true-bad-boys-bad-boys%e2%80%a6/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:40:45 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/?p=121 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…

]]> http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2008/07/24/cops-true-bad-boys-bad-boys%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 Sympathy for the Devil… http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/12/23/sympathy-for-the-devil%e2%80%a6/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/12/23/sympathy-for-the-devil%e2%80%a6/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:42:54 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/wordpress/?p=60 2005-12-23I 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.

]]> http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/12/23/sympathy-for-the-devil%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 That was no joke! http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/10/28/that-was-no-joke/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/10/28/that-was-no-joke/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2005 20:17:29 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/wordpress/?p=46 2005-10-28I 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!

]]> http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/10/28/that-was-no-joke/feed/ 0 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… http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/08/07/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-%e2%80%93-sharp-or-not%e2%80%a6/ http://www.roadfrommadness.com/2005/08/07/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-%e2%80%93-sharp-or-not%e2%80%a6/#comments Sun, 07 Aug 2005 21:25:18 +0000 Anders http://www.roadfrommadness.com/wordpress/?p=25 2005-08-07I 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.

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