Random Thoughts

seems to be my normal state of mind of late. I’m not liking it very much and I’m tired of making my family and friends listen to me bitch about it. Grrr.

Tis February… and one of the “holiday”s that I don’t particularly celebrate. Except this year, I’m examining my personal definition of romance or love story… at least when it comes to movies. I have a few guidelines that I’m following for the movies I choose to include in this self challenge: 1) I need to be honest with myself, do I truly believe that the movie is romantic. 2) Can I argue my belief if necessary. 3) Would the movie be diminished significantly if the romantic plot points were removed? 4) Chemistry.

1. Hotel de Love – A guilty pleasure that is accepted as romantic in the traditional sense. I’ve enjoyed it since the first time I’d seen it on some late night television movie thingy.

2. Heathers – Again, an acceptable dark romantic comedy.

3) The Terminator – This has been one of my favorite romantic movies, yes, since the ’80s. Fits all of the above criteria. I can and have argued my firm belief that this is a romance.

4) Underworld – So many vampire movies are romantic. I think it’s because the original Dracula story is a romantic tragedy.

5) French Kiss – Another traditionally romantic movie. One that I quite enjoy, largely because Kevin Kline rarely disappoints.

6) Strictly Ballroom – LOVE this movie.

7) The Quiet Man- John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara … what chemistry!

Boy Eats Girl – In a small Irish town, first love gets complicated by a resurrection ritual gone wrong and becomes an outbreak of zombies! Zombies!

9) Phantom of the Opera – This movie is based on my most beloved opera and I’ve enjoyed every version of this story I’ve come across, save one, Dario Argento’s Opera. I like Argento’s movies as well as the stars, Asia Argento and Julian Sands, but for some reason it doesn’t click for me.

10) The Fifth Element – Without doubt one of the best contemporary movies ever made. And yes, the romance is integral to the entire movie.

11) The Princess Bride – Everything a romance should be… and more.

12) A Fish Called Wanda – It speaks for itself, in wonderful, sexy, sassy ways.

13) The Mummy – Ah, the things we do for love! The classics are the best love stories.

14) Dracula – Closely based upon the novel, a classic love tragedy.

15) Hitch – I don’t know why I have such a soft spot for Will Smith. Maybe because in some bizarre way, he reminds me of Craig and always has since his Fresh Prince days. The movie itself was decent… right up to the end when it became over the top cheesy and made squirm at the awkwardness.

16) Gone With The Wind – Yes, it is on the top 10 of both my favorite movies and favorite books lists. The greatest of love stories.

17) Unhitched (aka The Best Man)- Ugh, romance movies. Seth Green and the blonde from Shaun of the Dead made the movie worth watching. Once.

18) The Accidental Husband – I almost got dizzy rolling my eyes so much. How do chicks watch this stuff all the time?

19) Boomerang – Eartha Kitt, Jefferey Holder, & Grace Jones are just some of the sprinkle-y goodness of talent and comedic genius in this one.

20) Total Recall – I’m kind of on the fence about this one, but it falls so nicely into the formula: Boy meets girl, boy gets amnesia and wakes up married to psychotic blonde but still dreams about girl. Boy finds girl again and through a series of nigh heroic measures, including killing psychotic blonde wife, wins girl back.

21) Like Water for Chocolate – A story of forbidden love and its culinary outlet.

22) Blue Hawaii – Are all Elvis movies so riddled with inappropriately timed/themed music? The songs often didn’t match what was happening in the scenes. Yet, somehow, the damned movie is still charming. Odd.

23) Bikini Beach – A more innocent time? HA! All they do is treat each other like sex objects and make out.

24) The Big Hit – Okay so it’s Action/Romance, but it is definitely grooving the romance!

25) My Demon Lover – The 1980′s produced some silly fun films. I loved the dawn of the “straight to video” era.

26) Take Me Home Tonight – An 80′s flick not made in the 80′s.

27) Negative Happy Chain Saw Edge – Netflix tells me this is a romance, who am I to argue?

28) Support Your Local Gunfighter – Something fun.

29) Red Dust – A Pre-Code Hollywood gem. Given how influential film has become in our history & society, it makes a body wonder how different our society would be if certain topics hadn’t been made off limits.

I’m going to go ahead and commit to the idea that putting together a list of my favorite books will be easier than a list of favorite movies. So here goes, in no particular order:

1. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (I recommend this series frequently and there’s too many to list individually.)
2. The Princess Bride by Willam Goldberg
3. Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (There isn’t a book in this series I wouldn’t recommend and there’s too many to list individually.)
4. The Talisman by Stephen King
5. The Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix
6. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton
8. Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K Hamilton
9. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
10. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
11. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (I honestly don’t think there is a book in the Dresden Files series I wouldn’t recommend and there’s too many to list individually.)
12. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
13. Running With the Demon by Terry Brooks
14. The Giant Jam Sandwich
15. Monster Museum
16. I Lost My Bear

Okay, I was wrong, it’s actually more difficult to put together a list of favorite books. I’ll keep updating his post until I’m satisfied.

I’ve been making a list of my favorite movies, which is way harder than I thought it would be. So, here are my “top 10″ in no particular order and no particular reason.

1. Jaws
2. The Princess Bride
3. Silence of the Lambs
4. Big Trouble in Little China
5. The Gods Must be Crazy 2
6. The Fifth Element
7. Star Trek
8. Evil Dead 2 (okay, let’s just lump the whole trilogy here)
9. Gone With the Wind
10. Aliens

The rest of the movies on the list… again in no particular order or reason:

11. French Kiss
12. Fright Night (original & remake)
13. The Pirate Movie
14. Feast
15. Repo! The Genetic Opera
16. Hudson Hawk
17. Blade Runner
18. Robin Hood: Men in Tights
19. Spaceballs
20. Nightmare on Elm Street
21. Indiana Jones (franchise)
22. Star Wars (franchise)
23. Tank Girl
24. Nightbreed
25. Benny & Joon
26. True Romance
27. Yellowbeard
28. Shaun of the Dead
29. Phantom of the Opera
30. Best in Show
31. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
32. Highlander
33. The Big Lebowski
34. Romancing the Stone
35. Terminator
36. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
37. The Blues Brothers
38. The Expendables
39. Conan the Barbarian
40. Red Sonja
41. Wild Orchid
42. The Shrimp on the Barbie
43. American Ninja
44. My Demon Lover
45. Band of the Hand
46. White Nights
47. Rear Window
48. Clue
49. Undead
50. Tremors (franchise)
51. Bloodsport
52. Beastmaster
53. Sheena
54. Clash of the Titans (original)
55. The Bride
56. Willow
57. Love at First Bite
58. Mister Roberts
59. They Live
60. Dead & Breakfast
61. Re-Animator (franchise)
62. The Convent
63. A Fish Called Wanda
64. Dead Alive
65. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
66. Iron Man
67. X-Men
68. Critters
69. Bio-Zombie
70. The Puppet Master (franchise)
71. Stargate
72. Superman 2
73. Night Shift
74. High Road to China
75. Saw
76. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
77. Night of the Living Dead
78. Serenity
79. The Goonies
80. Susperia
81. Singing in the Rain
82. Leon
83. Heathers
84. Bad Taste
85. Cool Hand Luke
86. The Sixth Sense
87. The Crow
88. The Usual Suspects
89. Natural Born Killers
90. The Lost Boys
91. Men in Black
92. The Dirty Dozen
93. The Incredible Mr. Limpet
94. The Paleface
95. The Outlaw Jose Wales
96. The Dark Crystal
97. Full Metal Jacket
98. Reservoir Dogs
99. Back to the Future
100. Friday the 13th

I so completely enjoyed the 31 Days of Horror challenge from the Oshkosh Horror Film Festival, I’m considering doing a few self challenges here. Partly to get me thinking about why I like certain movies and just how much I like them.

I think that between now and Dec 1st, I shall compile a list of what I think are my favorite movies. I’ll experiment with different ways of ordering my list (potentially lists if I separate each genre).

Just a few I know will be on said list(s)
Jaws
The Princess Bride
Dead Alive
Re-Animator
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
The Evil Dead
and many more…

The conclusion of my 31 days of horror was harder to do than expected. Suddenly, I had this need to watch comic book movies. When you’re craving a super hero, it’s hard to get in the mood for serious horror. But I managed it… saving my favorites for absolute last. I managed to watch 15 out of 32 new (to me) movies, about half.

Movie #20 The Ward (2010)*
-John Carpenter reminding us just how good he really is.

Movie #21 Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993)
-H.P. Lovecraft played by Jeffrey Combs, I love watching someone who believes in his work.

Movie #22 Evil (2005)
-Greek zombies done well. Someday I’ll get my hands on the sequel.

Movie #23 The Last Exorcism (2010)*
-Freaking creepy.

Movie #24 Bio Zombie (1998)
-A Japanese version of Mallrats… with zombies.

Movie #25 The Guardian (1990)
-Not bad, not great.

Movie #26 Red State (2011)*
-More thriller than horror, but it stars Michael Parks. He and John Goodman make this worth watching.

Movie #27 One-Eyed Monster (2008)*
-If you read the description and still choose to watch it, you’ll enjoy it.

Movie #28 Hisss (2010)*
-An Hindi myth/legend done Bollywood style. I was glad to see the minimization of Americanization of this story.

Movie #29 Vampyr (1932)*
-How did I manage to not see this before?

Movie #30 The Evil Dead (1981)
-The best for last.

Movie #31 Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
-”Groovy”

Gratuitous Movie #32 (just because) Bruce Campbell vs The Army of Darkness (1992)
-”Klaatu Barada N… Necktie… Neckturn… Nickel… It’s an “N” word, it’s definitely an “N” word! Klaatu… Barada… N…”

* indicates that this was the first time I’ve seen these movies.

So, The Oshkosh Horror Festival did a 31 Days of Horror for the month of October, leading up to their annual Film Festival and through Halloween. I’m a little more than halfway through my month and I’ve watched some oldies, goodies and one I really wished I would have skipped, but they were all worth the experience.

The deal is, I need to write a 3 line review with each movie, which largely I’ve done as I’ve posted the IMDb link on the face thingy. I’ve decided to do a more orderly list here.

Movie #1: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)
-I’ve got to say, for an extremely dated, low production value movie, I still enjoy it for the absolute absurdity of it. Bad voice overs, cheezy “special” effects, the song & dance numbers… these people knew what they were making and ran with it.

Movie #2 Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988)
-This one completely moves away from anything even remotely resembling horror, not that the first was particularly horrific. With John Astin as the villain, George Clooney as the sidekick and a Fuzzy Tomato as the budding hero, it’s an over the top style comedy.

Movie #3 Inferno(1980)*
-A true master of horror. I always find Argento’s horror’s to be rather classy. Violent, suspenseful and terrifying… but somehow classy. Also, I really enjoy the soundtracks in his movies.

Movie #4 The Beast of Bray Road (2005)*
-Wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be offended. It’s amazing how southern California looks absolutely nothing like the Wisconsin north woods. Ah, Asylum pictures, you wacky studio!

Movie #5 The Manster (1959)*
-Set in Japan, a journalist becomes the subject of an experiment by a Japanese scientist. Kind of Jekyll and Hyde, but instead a whole separate being is created out of one body. I couldn’t help wondering if the idea for Ash/Evil Ash from Army of Darkness originated with this movie.

Movie #6 Red Dragon (2002)
-Yes, this is technically a thriller. I actually had a lovely little thread on the face space about the difference between horror and thriller. This is my least favorite of the 5 Hannibal Lechter movies and it’s still really good. (Silence of the Lambs is my favorite movie adaptation, Hannibal is my favorite book.)

Movie #7 Doghouse (2009)*
-It’s Micky… er Mikey! There is a scene where they’re looking for weapons in a toy store… and battling zombies with a plastic light saber. How fun is that!! Not sure I liked the rather abrupt ending.

Movie #8 Feast (2005)
-Take what you think you know about movie formula and pitch it out the window for this one and it’s sequels. More than once I stopped and said “did they really just go there?” only to be forced to answer… “why, yes they did!”

Movie #9 Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)*
-I’ll always love the original. Englund was a snarky Krueger. I’m a fan of snarky. But Haley made you really hate and fear Kruger rather than secretly cheer for him. Haley was really good and even with the muppet make-up, he brought Kruger’s creep factor up a few levels.

Movie #10 Voodoo Moon (2006)*
-I could hardly believe the cast! The story was better than meh. The cast was awesome, and Jeffrey Combs was in it.

Movie #11 Hair Extensions (2007)*
-Weird. Creepy. You’ve got a cargo box full of hair extensions and a corpse. You’ve got an odd guy who works in the morgue who is obsessed with hair who falls in love/obsession with the corpse and takes it home with him. A pretty hair stylist and her niece come to the attention of odd guy and creepiness ensues.

Movie #12 Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds (2008)
-What I said for the first Feast movie… only more so. It was like a competition to see who could be the most vile.

Movie #13 Underworld (2003)
-This series is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s goth and romance and supernatural and, oh, the violence and still mainstream. Very pretty, high production and get’s to do what most of what I watch only tries and wishes for.

Movie #14 The Convent (2000)
-The first time I saw this, I described it as “waiting in line for the Batman ride at Great America.” With all the black light effects and such. I still think it’s one of the most fun movies I’ve ever seen.

Movie #15 Head of the Family (1996)*
-If you like your creepy mixed up with a lot of simulated sex, this might be for you. The “head” of an oddball, very rich family finds itself being blackmailed by a backwater diner owner who is having an affair with the wife of a controlling allegedly abusive man. A good chunk of the dialogue takes place during the sex scenes or while in varying state of undress.

Movie #16 The First Power (1990)
-This is one of those movies that consistently freaks me out. I love Jeff Kober’s voice, he always makes a wonderfully effective villain.

Movie #17 Shark Attack in the Mediterranean (2004)*
-I thought this was going to be a part of the Shark Attack series. Not so much. A low budget German film set on the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists trying to cure cancer via genetically modified sharks. I’ll give them credit for effort, but that’s about it.

Movie #18 Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
-An early love of mine from the monster movies. Maybe it was because of watching so much Scooby Doo when I was young. I love that the classic black and white movies were, if not well written, at least well executed.

Movie #19 Re-Animator (1985)
-In a word, brilliant.

* indicates that this was the first time I’ve seen these movies.

Oh, Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be superior to my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit will come to you
without shame.

Four Elements Medicine Wheel Prayer

O Great Spirit of the East,
radiance of the rising Sun,
spirit of new beginnings
O Grandfather Fire,
great nuclear fire of the Sun.
From you comes life-energy,
vital spark, power to see far,
and to envision with boldness;
with you we can purify the senses,
our hearts and our minds.
We pray that we may be aligned with you,
so that your energies may flow through us,
and be expressed by us,
for the good of this planet Earth,
and all living beings upon it.

O Great Spirit of the South,
protector of the fruitful land,
and of all green and growing things,
the noble trees and grasses.
Grandmother Earth, Soul of Nature,
great power of the receptive,
of nurturance and endurance,
of bringing forth and growing,
flowers of the field,
fruits of the garden.
We pray that we may be aligned with you,
so that your powers may flow through us,
and be expressed by us,
for the good of this planet Earth,
and all living beings upon it.

O Great Spirit of the West,
spirit of the great waters,
of rain and rivers, lakes and springs;
O Grandmother Ocean,
deepest matrix, womb of all life.
With you comes the dissolving
of boundaries and holdings,
the power to taste and to feel,
to cleanse and to heal.
Great blissful darkness of peace.
WE pray that we may be aligned with you,
so that your powers may flow through us,
and be expressed by us,
for the good of this planet Earth,
and all living beings upon it.

O Great Spirit of the North,
invisible spirits of the air,
and of the fresh, cool winds;
O vast and boundless Grandfather Sky,
your living breath animates all life.
From you comes clarity and strength,
and the power to hear inner sounds,
to seep out old patterns,
and bring challenge and change.
The ecstasy of movement and the dance.
We pray that we may be aligned with you,
so that your powers may flow through us,
and be expressed by us,
for the good of this planet Earth,
and all living beings upon it.

“You work with your females, arm them, force them to wear clothing. Sickening!”