[Every Monday, I'm going to be counting down my 52 favorite musical numbers from musical movies and TV shows. I might not like the full movie/show, but the number makes the list for various reasons: 1) I have to like the song, 2) the visual of how the number is performed is most likely unique or fun, 3) both song and visual mixes well to create an exciting or powerful number. So let's get to the next on the list.]
This is a movie that's kind of "in between" for me. It's a 'modernized' version of Romeo and Juliet, and it's alright on the whole. It's very cheesy and whatnot, but considering it's also R&J, that does make sense. There are plenty of good songs in the film, too, but there's one that I always seem to go back to. This is a song I'll randomly start singing if something reminds me of it. It's probably one of the most famous songs in the movie. It was most notably used as a big joke in Adam Sandler's Anger Management with Jack Nicholson. And the song? "I Feel Pretty."
2.13.2011
Random Ramblings of a Demented DoorVlog S2.11 + S2.12 Promo.
Here's episode S2.11.
This episode pretty much is just setting up for the big finale next week.
Last time on The Vlog: DPR, who is now just Nick because he sent the other Nick into the past to become DPR (confused yet?), had originally hired a super-hacker named Dylan to find out information about Jason Soto and his plans. Dylan has been giving him information little by little. Meanwhile, DPR had to deal with magical issues that Jason was somehow inflicting upon them, and he got a little help from a witch known only as RT (who ended up sending them the time travel device to send Nick back in time in the first place). He still doesn't know Jason's ultimate plan--Plan 9--but he's got to find out soon... and do something about it.
Having already finished the Season 2 Finale by this point, this was the last episode I needed to film. I've officially wrapped on the season! Hooray! And man, did I try to make it a long one. The original cut was over 7 minutes long, and not all of that was plot. I had to cut two segments (a One Sentence Review and a bit where I'm just regular Vlogging for once) for time sake. This episode will also feature the last Completely Random Movie Comparison. There are two versions of it--maybe some day you'll get to see the alternate take. And I'm going to say now... this episode includes my favorite line I've ever written for this show thus far, and it's made even better by the person who performed it. That's all I'll say.
Anywho... enjoy!
Also! In honor of next weekend's Season 2 Finale, I've put together a promo trailer for the episode. I quite like it, myself. Anyway, the promo includes a lot of footage from previous episodes (including today's), but it also includes some never-before-seen footage from the upcoming finale. So without further ado, here it is:
This episode pretty much is just setting up for the big finale next week.
Last time on The Vlog: DPR, who is now just Nick because he sent the other Nick into the past to become DPR (confused yet?), had originally hired a super-hacker named Dylan to find out information about Jason Soto and his plans. Dylan has been giving him information little by little. Meanwhile, DPR had to deal with magical issues that Jason was somehow inflicting upon them, and he got a little help from a witch known only as RT (who ended up sending them the time travel device to send Nick back in time in the first place). He still doesn't know Jason's ultimate plan--Plan 9--but he's got to find out soon... and do something about it.
Having already finished the Season 2 Finale by this point, this was the last episode I needed to film. I've officially wrapped on the season! Hooray! And man, did I try to make it a long one. The original cut was over 7 minutes long, and not all of that was plot. I had to cut two segments (a One Sentence Review and a bit where I'm just regular Vlogging for once) for time sake. This episode will also feature the last Completely Random Movie Comparison. There are two versions of it--maybe some day you'll get to see the alternate take. And I'm going to say now... this episode includes my favorite line I've ever written for this show thus far, and it's made even better by the person who performed it. That's all I'll say.
Anywho... enjoy!
Also! In honor of next weekend's Season 2 Finale, I've put together a promo trailer for the episode. I quite like it, myself. Anyway, the promo includes a lot of footage from previous episodes (including today's), but it also includes some never-before-seen footage from the upcoming finale. So without further ado, here it is:
2.11.2011
WTF Did I Just Watch: Deadgirl.


This post is the true story of "why not."
A lot of you might know Jason's love/hate relationship with the French horror film Martyrs. I'm going to start off this review by saying... this is my Martyrs.


OK, I'm not making this up. They see the dead-to-dying body of a girl long forgotten in this decrepit building. J.T.'s first response? Essentially "Dude, let's fuck her. A lot." No joke. Of course, Rickie wants none of this and leaves. He does try to call the cops, but his mom's drunk boyfriend shows up and distracts him by giving him good life advice. Rickie yells at him and acts like a dick for reasons we're never really given except that he drinks beer. I guess that's really the sign of a douchebag in this movie.
We also discover not long after that Rickie is in love with some girl JoAnn, who he apparently had a chance with when they were in Jr. High, but now that time has past because she's turned into a bitch who will only date jocks or something. Anyway, we're also introduced to another friend of Rickie and J.T., a stoner named Wheeler.

Rickie, having nightmares about the deadgirl, decides to go back and confront J.T. and do something about her. Unfortunately, he arrives only to discover Wheeler down there fucking the shit out of her while J.T. watches, despite Rickie and J.T. saying they weren't going to tell anybody. After this, they all promise each other never to tell anyone. J.T. never seems to leave the place, deciding he wants to fuck her 12 ways from Sunday. This includes, I kid you not, them discussing fucking the pus-oozing gunshot holes in her torso, because, hey, "it's warm."
And the movie hasn't even gotten interesting yet, folks.

There's more necrophilia-esque rape. There's also a scene somewhere in here where the dog comes to attack J.T. again. It hops up onto the table over the deadgirl, and J.T. thinks he's screwed. But then deadgirl attacks the dog and bites it apart, splattering blood and guts everywhere. Anyway, there are more school interactions between Rickie, JoAnn, JoAnn's boyfriend Johnny, and Wheeler. We never find out what the hell happened between them that makes it too late for them to hook up. Anyway, Johnny and his jock friend Dwyer beat the crap out of Rickie for talking to JoAnn (he also asks her out at one point, and she's kind of a bitch in response). They also beat the crap out of Wheeler.



Then we fade away and see the deadgirl making her escape to freedom. After that, Rickie is walking around town super cheery and whatever. He then goes down into the asylum basement where we see JoAnn all dolled up in a white dress, tied to the table, clearly showing that Rickie decided to make her the new deadgirl so that he can fuck her whenever he wants. The end.
So, what did we learn from this, boys and girls? If you believe that if you came across a naked, tied down zombie girl and immediately thought "eh... I'd fuck her," then this movie is for you! Seriously, this was one bizarre, fucked up movie. I can't even get into the visual style of the film, which makes it even darker, dirtier, and more disturbing than I describe. The deadgirl herself is freaky/scary as hell (the makeup crew did well). After the first 10-15 minutes, the quality of the overall film gets better. The acting gets a bit better (though I swear J.T. goes in and out of some totally weird southern accent). The visuals are disturbing. The whole movie is just fucked up. I can't describe it any different. The first 40 minutes or so start to get very redundant and are kinda dull. But I suppose about the halfway point, the movie makes an interesting shift and starts to get at least somewhat creative. You're not sure up until that point if she's immortal or a zombie or what. I think it's a creative take on a zombie story, despite the film itself being really messed up. I suppose, at the very least, it's original? Though I'm not sure this is the film all you people bitching about not having original concepts these days were asking for.
Do I recommend this film? No. It's not a poorly made film or anything, in all honesty. But like Jason with Martyrs, I can't in good faith go around telling people they need to see this movie. So I'll leave it at this review. If you've read this and think you'd still like to check it out... please leave me your name so I know who to keep an eye on. Otherwise... enjoy? I guess? Whatever.

WTF
2.10.2011
THE KING'S SPEECH.

There's really nothing to say about this film that hasn't already been said or inferred. The rumor mills have been spinning that it's gonna make a sweep at the Oscars. It's definitely the front runner over the previously established front-runner, The Social Network. At the very least, Colin Firth has Best Actor in the bag. So let's start there.
The acting is, obviously, brilliant. Firth does magnificently in the role, emoting the pain and struggle of not only living with a stutter, but having to be this perfect figure of authority at the same time. There's a lot of emotion displayed, most of it through his facial expressions. Bonham Carter also does well as his wife, and it's pleasant to see her not doing something bizarre. But my favorite of the bunch is Geoffrey Rush, who was outstanding as Lionel Logue. He was funny, charming, and just a bit odd. He was certainly my favorite character in the film.
The visuals of the film were also gorgeous. The camera work and cinematography worked together beautifully. There were some angles and positions that were really inspiring, and working together with what we were seeing truly pulled it together. There's a scene really early on with a car going through the fog, which was probably one of my favorite shots in the entire movie.
The only thing working against the film--for me--is that it really is Oscar-bait. As such, I found myself checking my watch rather frequently (as Oscar-bait films aren't exactly my thing, as it were). Though it wasn't particularly boring, either, thanks to the relationship and chemistry between Firth and Rush. Will I go out and buy it when it hits the shelves? Probably not, but that has nothing to do with its quality. So do I recommend it? Definitely. It's a fantastic film all around: the acting, the visuals, the music... it's all superb, and I totally agree with the accolades it has been receiving.

Royale With Cheese
(P.S. That rating is more on scale of the quality. I wouldn't even give it a Whoa, as it's definitely a 5-star film. It's going back to that difference between favorite and best. So now we wait for Anonymous to comment.)
2.09.2011
60/60 Review #14: Harvey.

In the first 20 minutes or so, I was so horribly bored. The interactions between Veta and Myrtle were so dull, and they just go on way too long. I couldn't tell if the direction wanted them to be horrible over-actors or if that was just one of those "of-the-times" kinda things. It makes me wonder because the other secondary characters are fine. Jesse White is kinda over-the-top as Wilson, but the two doctors and the nurse are decent. And dear God, Peggy Dow as the nurse (Miss Kelly) was one of the most gorgeous actresses I've ever seen.
Then there's James Stewart. To the shock of people everywhere, I've only ever seen one other James Stewart film (It's A Wonderful Life), which I haven't seen since I was a wee lad. James Stewart was fantastic in this role, and he's the only reason I stayed glued to this movie. Every scene he was in was magical, and every scene he wasn't in was... not that great. And surprisingly, there are quite a few he's not in. His little character quirks and how he portrays them are both endearing and hilarious. The way he uses his charm against his pursuers, making them believe him and distract them from what they're doing is truly fascinating.
Strangely, I can relate to those characters that were enchanted by Elwood. Random backstory time: my first girlfriend had some (self-proclaimed) issues. She's gotten better since and has apologized for what happened... but let's just say that she believed some stuff that didn't actually exist and had enough charm and charisma to make others (particularly me) believe it. I won't get into details here, but let's just say it was even more strange than a large, invisible bunny. So anyway, the point of this random aside is that I could see how these other characters were drawn in by Elwood and didn't see it as ridiculous or stretched that it could actually happen.
There was an interesting transformation I had throughout watching the film, going from bored silly at the beginning to totally engrossed by the end. By the time they were talking about injecting Elwood with the serum, my stomach was in knots and my heart was tight in my chest. I knew that the possibility of Elwood being injected was symbolic of the possible loss of imagination, friendship, and innocence. It was the threat of losing that childlike wonder and being forced into the evils of adulthood. The speech the cab driver makes when he hears what's going on and how he's always brought people up to the place and how they're different going to and come from is heartbreaking, especially when you think about what's going on at that moment.
Overall, the film is kind of uneven for me. Everything with James Stewart is phenomenal (and makes me even more excited--if that's possible--for Hitchcock Month later on). But all the stuff without him isn't all that hot, especially if it's his sister and/or niece. The dialogue is fun between the characters and how everyone gets mixed up. It's almost as if they were aiming at making a more sophisticated screwball comedy. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it was a miss, but the majority of it was really good. And the film leaves you guessing whether or not Harvey is real or imaginary, which is pretty cool. So I guess my final verdict is that I liked it, but it could have been stronger (at least to me). That being said, let me give you my card...

I Am McLovin!
(P.S. That's a really strong McLovin. I was tempted to give it a Whoa, but I really didn't care for the non-Stewart scenes, and there were way too many of those. Sorry.)
Labels:
60 weeks 60 movies,
harvey,
james stewart,
movie review
2.08.2011
60/60 Extra: The Sting.

This one is about Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), a rookie con man looking for revenge after a close friend and partner is killed. He seeks out Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), a skilled grifter who used to work with the man that had been killed. Together they plan on pulling the perfect job, one to get some revenge and quite a bit of money off Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Helping out are other grifters like J.J. (Ray Walston) and Twist (Harold Gould). But they have to stay careful, as a detective named Snyder (Charles Durning) is after Hooker, too.
I'd like to say straight-up that, while I was told the chemistry between the two leads was even stronger in this film, I have to disagree. I felt their bond was stronger in Butch Cassidy. However, I'm not saying that's a negative or a detractor from this film at all. The acting was still very strong in this film. Though I think it's particularly funny that, in the aforementioned western, Newman was the good looking charmer and Redford was the gruffer one. Here, they've switched that around. Redford is the charmer, and Newman is much more gruff.
I really liked how the whole film was edited into chapters like a book. Every section told its own part of the job, letting the audience know what was happening, step-by-step. I just thought that was a fun and creative way to organize the film.
The tone of the film kind of bounces between lighter fair (as it is labeled a comedy) and some darker bits that involve hitmen and death and all sorts of stuff. It really worked, keeping you on your toes. It was never something like an Oceans film, where you knew it was all part of the job and they would somehow come out on top. There was this more gritty element that really left you feeling uncomfortable in the sense that anything could really go wrong... but what if this is all part of the plan? That's something I loved about the movie. It kept me guessing.
The job itself was very layered, giving us multiple steps to get through to get it done. Like I said before, it was hard to figure out if what was going on was true or just part of the scam. There were double and even triple crosses going on. And although I know nothing about racetrack betting (which the scam centers around), I was easily able to follow the film, as the job wasn't so much about the details of the horse races as it was the scam itself. It allowed me to follow along easily.
Before I start sounding redundant, I'm just gonna end it there. I've seen plenty of heist and/or con artist films, but this one was damn near perfect. The acting is great. The story is great. The job itself is great. The way the film is edited together is great. There are plenty of nice twists and turns. And, of course, the final payoff makes it all worth it. This was such a fantastic film, and I'm so glad it was recommended to me.

Royale With Cheese
2.07.2011
Musical Monday: Annie - Tomorrow (#47).
[Every Monday, I'm going to be counting down my 52 favorite musical numbers from musical movies and TV shows. I might not like the full movie/show, but the number makes the list for various reasons: 1) I have to like the song, 2) the visual of how the number is performed is most likely unique or fun, 3) both song and visual mixes well to create an exciting or powerful number. So let's get to the next on the list.]
I keep forgetting about these! Sorry about that. Anyway, this is the first movie on the list that will actually have more than one song on the list. Coming from a big music family, I was raised on musicals, and Annie is one of the musicals I grew up with. First up is one of its two most famous songs--Tomorrow. It's a song of optimism, to never get down because it'll just be a new day soon. It's also one that I can't hear the word "tomorrow" without automatically thinking of this song. Now, I couldn't find the original movie version of this song on YouTube, but I did find a damn good elementary school (it seems) performance. Check it out.
I keep forgetting about these! Sorry about that. Anyway, this is the first movie on the list that will actually have more than one song on the list. Coming from a big music family, I was raised on musicals, and Annie is one of the musicals I grew up with. First up is one of its two most famous songs--Tomorrow. It's a song of optimism, to never get down because it'll just be a new day soon. It's also one that I can't hear the word "tomorrow" without automatically thinking of this song. Now, I couldn't find the original movie version of this song on YouTube, but I did find a damn good elementary school (it seems) performance. Check it out.
2.06.2011
Random Ramblings of a Demented DoorVlog S2.10.
Note: If you missed the post, I just put up The Demented Podcast #8 a few hours ago, right below this post. Check it out!
---------------------------------
Here's episode S2.10.
This episode finally gives us an explanation for the Season 2 LOST opening.
Last time on The Vlog: The season opened with the opening of an eye. "Nick" looked around, confused, and without memory. He had no idea how he got there. He had something around his neck, his glasses on his chest, and "JS" written on his hand. Everything else was a blur. He ends up becoming Dramatic Post Reader. Fast forward and we have DPR contacting a witch who goes by RT to help them by giving them a time travel device. She didn't want to do it, but she did. And now Nick and DPR are awaiting her package.
This particular episode was a bitch to make... and you'll understand why when you see it. It's totally necessary to the plot, of course, but actually making it took a while. I even almost ran out of battery (I got down to about 2 minutes or so). And then editing it took a few hours, something that's never happened before. So the episode is a couple minutes longer than the limit, but I hope you can forgive me on that. I didn't want to cut anything, as the plot stuff is vital and the random stuff is (mostly) thematic. So I hope y'all like it. Oh, and randomly, I tried saving the video in a different format than usual to see if that helps boost the quality. We'll see if that works.
Anywho... enjoy!
---------------------------------
Here's episode S2.10.
This episode finally gives us an explanation for the Season 2 LOST opening.
Last time on The Vlog: The season opened with the opening of an eye. "Nick" looked around, confused, and without memory. He had no idea how he got there. He had something around his neck, his glasses on his chest, and "JS" written on his hand. Everything else was a blur. He ends up becoming Dramatic Post Reader. Fast forward and we have DPR contacting a witch who goes by RT to help them by giving them a time travel device. She didn't want to do it, but she did. And now Nick and DPR are awaiting her package.
This particular episode was a bitch to make... and you'll understand why when you see it. It's totally necessary to the plot, of course, but actually making it took a while. I even almost ran out of battery (I got down to about 2 minutes or so). And then editing it took a few hours, something that's never happened before. So the episode is a couple minutes longer than the limit, but I hope you can forgive me on that. I didn't want to cut anything, as the plot stuff is vital and the random stuff is (mostly) thematic. So I hope y'all like it. Oh, and randomly, I tried saving the video in a different format than usual to see if that helps boost the quality. We'll see if that works.
Anywho... enjoy!
2.05.2011
The Demented Podcast #8 - Demented Cabins.
This has been a long-time coming, but I finally managed to wrangle Dylan Fields of Blog Cabins onto the show. We kick off with some feedback and then get into a "The Challenge" that is so outrageous, it was very difficult to edit. We were making ourselves laugh so hard we could barely get through the scene. I tried to edit out most of the laughing, but you might still hear tinges of it here and there.
From there, we get into our main topic. Dylan had us discussing films that aren't musicals but could be. Each of us came prepared with 3 films, gave them composers and songs--some titled--and explained where they would be in the film and who would sing them. Let's just say we start with The Room and True Romance, and it only gets better from there.
Then Dylan takes on The Tower. Not only does he have his eye on Rachel's #1 spot, much like many others, but he might just have the ability to pull it off. Does he do it? Listen and find out!
Current Leaderboard (The Demented Tower):
1) Rachel - 179 Points
2) James - 135 Points
3) Hatter - 131 Points
4) Jess - 95 Points
5) Tom - 92.5 Points
6) Jason - 33 Points
7) Travis - 32.5 Points
You can listen to this episode on the player below or by subscribing through iTunes.
That being said, enjoy! Thanks goes out to Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website for great, royalty-free music. And thanks to Google for helping me find a website that will give me free video game audio samples.
From there, we get into our main topic. Dylan had us discussing films that aren't musicals but could be. Each of us came prepared with 3 films, gave them composers and songs--some titled--and explained where they would be in the film and who would sing them. Let's just say we start with The Room and True Romance, and it only gets better from there.
Then Dylan takes on The Tower. Not only does he have his eye on Rachel's #1 spot, much like many others, but he might just have the ability to pull it off. Does he do it? Listen and find out!
Current Leaderboard (The Demented Tower):
1) Rachel - 179 Points
2) James - 135 Points
3) Hatter - 131 Points
4) Jess - 95 Points
5) Tom - 92.5 Points
6) Jason - 33 Points
7) Travis - 32.5 Points
You can listen to this episode on the player below or by subscribing through iTunes.
That being said, enjoy! Thanks goes out to Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website for great, royalty-free music. And thanks to Google for helping me find a website that will give me free video game audio samples.
2.02.2011
60/60 Review #13: The Kentucky Fried Movie.

There's really not anything I can say plot-wise... because there isn't one. If you've never seen the movie, it's basically a string of skits. It's made by the same people as Airplane!, so it's that type of goofy comedy. The closest it gets to a full-length film is the second "act"--or the middle 30 minutes--which is a parody of Enter the Dragon.
To me, the gags were hit or miss. The majority of the film was fun, and none of it was really bad--just a different brand of humor. I honestly don't have too much to discuss about this film. Honestly, what can you say about a skit film? So I'm gonna talk about my five favorite skits. But before I do that, I just wanna discuss A Fistful of Yen: Despite this lasting the longest of all the skits (slightly over 30 minutes), it wasn't super fascinating. I've seen Enter the Dragon, so I knew the jokes. The action was fun, as it should be. The best part is probably the middle, but the skit as a whole isn't very cohesive. It also starts to sink a bit at the end when it goes into parodying The Wizard of Oz. Overall, it was good, but it wasn't my favorite. That being said, these were (in order):
5) A.M. Today (6min 5sec): This began a running gag about people getting hit with a random arrow that went throughout the whole film. The rest of the skit is OK, particularly the animal segment, but the set-up of that arrow gag is the best part.
4) United Appeal For The Dead (1min 42sec): This was a very bizarre and dry comedy skit. It was basically a commercial for how death didn't have to be the end. This family brings their dead son home and takes him to different events, despite him being a rotting corpse. There's a lot of visual humor here, but the best part is the very dry narration of the commercial host (Henry Gibson).
3) The Wonderful World Of Sex (4min 55sec): This has a couple on a date putting on a record after finishing their meal, and the record starts narrating exactly what they need to be doing sex-wise and, thus, becoming a very meta, self-fulfilling prophecy. And as most of you probably know, I like meta stuff, so this was a really fun segment for me.
2) Feel-A-Round (4min 52sec): This was probably one of my favorite skits. It involves a man going into a theater to watch a movie, and he's warned that the film is in "Feel-A-Round." He starts watching the film as an usher stands behind him, and depending on what the actor or actress says on the movie depends on what the usher does. For instance, if the actor gets something spilled on him, the usher will spill something on the guy. I found this segment particularly noteworthy because of the massive trend of 3D lately and how we're even getting into 4D Motion Boxes or whatever they call them. It probably wasn't social commentary back when they made it, but it totally is now, and that was really good and funny.
1) Courtroom (7min 37sec): This is in two parts, but I'm talking about both here, which is why I combined the times. These segments are actually the ones with the most simple humor, but the humor that made me laugh the most. There's a trial going on for a car wreck and somebody is being prosecuted. The type of humor here is the type where a guy can tell the witness to follow him across the room, and the other lawyer will say "Objection, he's leading the witness!" Or one lawyer asks the witness what his shirt is made of, and the other says "Objection, his shirt is immaterial." In other words... puns. I know a lot of people hate them, but I think--if done right--they can be hilarious. And these were.
Anyway, that will probably about do it for this review. On the whole, the movie was entertaining. Like I said, it's pretty hit or miss depending on what kind of humor you like. It's very silly, which is sometimes good and sometimes not. It hasn't been my favorite of the list, but it also hasn't been my least favorite. So to that I say... Jason, you've redeemed yourself.

I Am McLovin!
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