Sinister

Sinister is one of those movies that received a lot of negative reviews for predictable reasons. It is too reliant on horror tropes and jump-scares, tries to give the movie gravitas by using a snuff-movie aesthetic, and the characters are not particulary well-rounded or likable. And while these criticisms hold up, as a fan of horror movies I can still say I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Warts and all, Sinister does something that less and less movies do these days: it scared the crap out of me. And beyond that, it did it without resorting to the usual fare of extreme violence and cynicism, while still maintaining an extremely brutal and grisly atmosphere.

Consumerism: a Good Thing!

I felt like writing today, but haven't seen any movies recently I want to write about, so I am going to give some thoughts on consumerism. After my rather negative article on the internet from two weeks ago, I felt like writing something more positive. Something positive about something that so many people talk so negatively about. It bores me. I am talking about consumerism.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2

I watched this movie not because I really wanted to. I watched it because I am a bit of a masochist who likes to get angry about bad movies with even worse messages and then hate myself for doing so. Having now watched all the Twilight movies, I can honestly say I have witnessed some of the worst movie moments in history, some of the worst acting in a series that functions on blockbuster budgets (worse than the prequels, worse than the Transformers movies, worse than most low-budget schlock movies I watch even), and some of the most nonsensical plots ever devised. I have gotten angry at the misogynistic, hyper-conservative anti-abortion, pro-abstinence message so many times before, making me mad at the movies not just because they were bad, but because they propagated a horribly out-dated, anti-women message that would piss me off beyond belief. Twilight, and its ridiculous success, is what helped contribute to me becoming the cynical asshole that I am today.

Skyfall (filled with spoilers)

Skyfall is the type of movie that works on so many levels that it is a movie that will be remembered for ages to come. Probably the best Bond movie of the past 20 years, Skyfall is filled with great action set pieces, marvelous acting, impeccable cinematography, a sublime soundtrack and one of the more memorable Bond villains in ages. Filled with clever nods to the series, Skyfall is a marvelous movie to behold, and ranks among the best with Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldeneye and Casino Royale.

Monologue I've been working on

Some stuff I've wrote out of boredom, but it could be a story, I thought I would share it with whoever still reads this;

"It all started when reason and rationality slowly but surely faded into the background, replaced by reactionary rhetoric and populist politics. In the end, it all devolved into a shouting match between religious factions. Christians called atheists fascists, atheists called christians cavemen, and eventually all respect got lost.

Populist, Islamophobic parties took over Europe, ultraconservatives swept America, and content-free politics reigned supreme.

And as their shouting matches continued, totalitarian regimes governed by religious zealots saw this as an incentive to start an all-out war. World War 3 had commenced. And while rational minds screamed for damage control, realizing there would be no real winner, the leaders of the free world were blinded by vengeance, seeking nothing but retribution from a people that were already devoid of freedom, wealth or happiness. And as the war raged on for a decade, society collapsed."

Curious? comment and maybe I'll release some more sound bites here and there!

God Bless America looks, if nothing else, completely insane

Get out of my brain movie...
funny, I had a very similar, but more dutch-themed idea for a movie months back. It's nice to see I'm not the only one getting pissed off at reality tv and all the evil that it reaped.... Although I don't think I would kill over it....

Santorum out of the race

As a progressive I am nothing but glad that the horrendous ultra-conservative Rick Santorum has dropped his presidential bid. Not because he looks like a horrible person, no, I am sure he is a wonderful father and a pleasant man, but because he brings with him the kind of populist rhetoric that is destroying politics. See, when Santorum thinks something has to happen, he does not say it because it fits within a set of overarching principles loosely based on an idealized version of Ronald Reagan, but because Jesus told him to. And he is not alone in behaving this way.

after a long absence

So after a long absence I decided to start blogging again.