I'm taking part in the Reddit October Horror Movie Challenge and as part of that, there is a checklist of various types of movies to watch. I wanted to try something different for the Sasquatch. Thus, I looked on Netflix and found Assault of the Sasquatch. Wow, I was pleasantly surprised by this!
It's a cheap movie, I'm not going to lie. Some of the graphics are cheesy, and the acting isn't stellar. There are a lot of gorey death scenes (Sasquatch rams his fist through someone's head and it's spectacular!). Yet keeping in mind that it's a low-budget movie, I think it did very well for what it was given. They did an interesting thing where they used CGI to manipulate Sasquatch's face so it looks as if it's movie and not just a mask, which I thought was perfect! You look at the body and it looks like rubber, yet the face looks close to real.
They threw in some comedy with Don and Murphy, a duo who are members of the Sasquatch Society and spend most of the movie in the background trying to get film footage of Sasquatch. The dole out fast dialogue between each other with Don, who is obese, claiming he is God's gift to women and wished they would realize it.
One thing that was a neat touch was adding in flashbacks to something completely unrelated to Sasquatch to give reason why two characters should have a lot of tension between each other. It worked and wasn't too annoying a deviation.
The main thing I didn't enjoy was how fuzzy/dark the film quality was. They used color highlights a lot of the time which distracted me from time to time.
Overall, if you go in expecting a cheesy movie, you will be pleasantly surprised with it not being ALL that horrible.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Movie Reviews - Dustin Wayde Mills marathon: Easter Casket, Bath Salt Zombies, and Night of the Tentacles
One of my friends is friends with Dustin Wayde Mills and he introduced me to Mills' movies. Before tonight, I had already watched Puppet Monster Massacre and Zombie A-Hole and thought they were both great and campy. I was in a horror mood tonight and wanted to watch these before watching the movies I got yesterday (bunch of potentially cruddy movies, I made a post about it last night here). So I spent the night watching Easter Casket, Bath Salt Zombies, and Night of the Tentacles. They're no budget/low budget films and for being made on just a couple thousand dollars they're pretty great!
Easter Casket basically is about the Easter Bunny getting pissed the Catholics want to get rid of him so he goes on a mission to destroy a group voting to oust him, while Father Asher is sent to destroy the Easter Bunny.
Bath Salt Zombies is based on the outbreak of "zombies" in the US after a few people consumed the drug bath salts and went a bit crazy and cannibalistic. In the movie, a scientist (portrayed by Dustin Mills himself) creates a new high dose formula to get an edge on other drug dealers in the area and the main character gets addicted. After consuming one dose, obviously you go crazy and become a cannibal for a short period of time with increased strength, then wake up with no memory. As this is going on, a DEA agent is trying to crack down on the distribution of the drugs that culminates in a standoff with the other main character.
Night of the Tentacles is about a guy who has a heart attack while jerking off to the girl in the apartment below him masturbating. Then he sells his soul to the Devil for a new heart, which is now located in a box that he keeps in his room. As long as the heart is treated right, he'll live forever. Thus, he is forced to feed the heart some meat to keep it satisfied. Hijinks ensue as he has to find things to feed it without having to resort to humans all the while creating a relationship with his neighbor downstairs. It's a play on Faust (included his new heart being referenced to as FAUSTHEART 2.0 in the contract the main character doesn't get to read). And I have to say, I love the line "you blasphemy a lot for an atheist."
I like to think of Dustin Wayde Mills as the Kevin Smith of horror. He's chunk and bearded like Smith. He's incredibly vulgar but with very realistic dialogue. He makes sure he has a bit role in each of his movies (in Zombie A-Hole he was a hilarious voodoo doctor). The one area that he differs from Smith is that his movies are filmed on a small percentage of what Smith had originally and whereas Smith talked about nudity, Mills includes loads of nudity.
The nudity isn't even needed half the time but he makes sure to get a dose in each movie. I briefly listened to the commentary on Bath Salt Zombies and in one scene, he specifically said "this scene is here for more nudity" lol! Granted, it was worth it because it's of the incredibly hot actress Erin R. Ryan (who is now a celebrity crush of mine because her involvement in Easter Casket and Bath Salt Zombies). I had a friend check out Zombie A-Hole and he commented how the movie would be at least 10 minutes shorter if the nudity wasn't as gratuitous as it was. Sometimes it is a bit weird and out of place (such as in Bath Salt Zombies where a girl is randomly stripping while the main character is taking the new form of bath salts). I'm not really complaining, just commenting on it. It definitely lives up to a classic horror standard of lots of bloodiness, cussing, and nudity.
Now one thing you have to keep in mind before watching the films is that they're ultra-low budget so don't expect a masterpiece. You are in for a good ride, that's for sure. Yet the computer graphics are sometimes exaggerated as if it were a comic book/anime movie. Some of the real special effects aren't perfect (Night of the Tentacles had the main character ejaculates on the floor and it looks like they simply spilled milk instead of trying to create something close to jism; Bath Salt Zombies had a character start bludgeoning someone in the face with a rock yet the rock was obviously 6 inches away from the face). I also had a lot of problems with the sound quality on Bath Salt Zombies, where it would constantly fluctuate. I was watching on my computer and had to have the sound go from a 12 to a 100 throughout the movie because some scenes were too soft whereas others were too loud.
Overall though, the movies are very worth it to watch. Mills reuses a lot of his cast again in the movies so it's fun to see the characters have completely different roles. The writing is fantastic, it is very fluid and has a real world feel to it.
Easter Casket basically is about the Easter Bunny getting pissed the Catholics want to get rid of him so he goes on a mission to destroy a group voting to oust him, while Father Asher is sent to destroy the Easter Bunny.
Bath Salt Zombies is based on the outbreak of "zombies" in the US after a few people consumed the drug bath salts and went a bit crazy and cannibalistic. In the movie, a scientist (portrayed by Dustin Mills himself) creates a new high dose formula to get an edge on other drug dealers in the area and the main character gets addicted. After consuming one dose, obviously you go crazy and become a cannibal for a short period of time with increased strength, then wake up with no memory. As this is going on, a DEA agent is trying to crack down on the distribution of the drugs that culminates in a standoff with the other main character.
Night of the Tentacles is about a guy who has a heart attack while jerking off to the girl in the apartment below him masturbating. Then he sells his soul to the Devil for a new heart, which is now located in a box that he keeps in his room. As long as the heart is treated right, he'll live forever. Thus, he is forced to feed the heart some meat to keep it satisfied. Hijinks ensue as he has to find things to feed it without having to resort to humans all the while creating a relationship with his neighbor downstairs. It's a play on Faust (included his new heart being referenced to as FAUSTHEART 2.0 in the contract the main character doesn't get to read). And I have to say, I love the line "you blasphemy a lot for an atheist."
I like to think of Dustin Wayde Mills as the Kevin Smith of horror. He's chunk and bearded like Smith. He's incredibly vulgar but with very realistic dialogue. He makes sure he has a bit role in each of his movies (in Zombie A-Hole he was a hilarious voodoo doctor). The one area that he differs from Smith is that his movies are filmed on a small percentage of what Smith had originally and whereas Smith talked about nudity, Mills includes loads of nudity.
The nudity isn't even needed half the time but he makes sure to get a dose in each movie. I briefly listened to the commentary on Bath Salt Zombies and in one scene, he specifically said "this scene is here for more nudity" lol! Granted, it was worth it because it's of the incredibly hot actress Erin R. Ryan (who is now a celebrity crush of mine because her involvement in Easter Casket and Bath Salt Zombies). I had a friend check out Zombie A-Hole and he commented how the movie would be at least 10 minutes shorter if the nudity wasn't as gratuitous as it was. Sometimes it is a bit weird and out of place (such as in Bath Salt Zombies where a girl is randomly stripping while the main character is taking the new form of bath salts). I'm not really complaining, just commenting on it. It definitely lives up to a classic horror standard of lots of bloodiness, cussing, and nudity.
Now one thing you have to keep in mind before watching the films is that they're ultra-low budget so don't expect a masterpiece. You are in for a good ride, that's for sure. Yet the computer graphics are sometimes exaggerated as if it were a comic book/anime movie. Some of the real special effects aren't perfect (Night of the Tentacles had the main character ejaculates on the floor and it looks like they simply spilled milk instead of trying to create something close to jism; Bath Salt Zombies had a character start bludgeoning someone in the face with a rock yet the rock was obviously 6 inches away from the face). I also had a lot of problems with the sound quality on Bath Salt Zombies, where it would constantly fluctuate. I was watching on my computer and had to have the sound go from a 12 to a 100 throughout the movie because some scenes were too soft whereas others were too loud.
Overall though, the movies are very worth it to watch. Mills reuses a lot of his cast again in the movies so it's fun to see the characters have completely different roles. The writing is fantastic, it is very fluid and has a real world feel to it.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Movie Review - About Time
I was able to get a pass to the preview of About Time (thanks to my awesome roommate!). I arrived early since these things always sell out and there was a nice crowd 45 minutes before the movie began. More and more people began streaming in but the house wasn't completely full, I'd say at 75% capacity. Those 25% definitely missed out!
About Time is the best movie I've seen in 2013. And I've seen a lot, about 50+ in theatres! I am so very glad I didn't have to wait another month to see this, it lived and exceeded expectations.
The premise is pretty straight forward: the men in the Lake family are able to travel through time but only to events they personally visited. The main character is Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) and his father (Bill Nighy) introduces him to the concept, saying you couldn't kill Hitler or shag famous people from centuries ago. The relationship between these two is breathtaking, you actually begin to believe they are father and son in real life based on how well they mesh together on screen. Tim's love interest is Mary (Rachel McAdams) and he makes use of his time travel ability copiously to make sure their relationship happens and works. Tim's mother (Lindsay Duncan) and sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) are both fantastic additions as well, with Kit Kat playing an important role later in the film as she finds herself in relationship trouble.
I don't want to give away too many plot points as the whole movie was brilliantly done. It felt like The Time Traveler's Wife done right, with a perfect balance of comedy, drama, and romance. The filmmakers want you to cry while laughing in some scenes, and they definitely accomplish that. I felt the problem with TTTW is that it was too far on the drama side with not enough comedy or "normal" events, which pushes it into a depressing feel at times. About Time did not have any of those problems, the emotional ride was perfect.
Bill Nighy steals every scene he is in. He plays a very aloof and carefree character, perfectly capturing the mannerisms of someone who knows how to enjoy life. Then again, I am a bit biased as there hasn't been a Bill Nighy movie that has disappointed me! Lindsay Duncan was perfect as his wife, even though it wasn't shown as much I think their chemistry was very nice.
Domhnall Gleeson, best known for me as Bill Weasley from Harry Potter, was perfect as a lead actor. Rachel McAdams was able to easily portray her character's insecurities in the beginning of the relationship and you could see how she became more of a comfortable-in-her-skin character as time went on. It is weird that this is the second time travel romantic drama (or dramedy in this case) that Rachel McAdams has starred in (the previous, of course, being The Time Traveler's Wife).
There were a few scenes where the camera was randomly shakey, as if someone just walked off a small ledge and wasn't expecting it. Most people likely wouldn't even notice that so it's nothing major.
Another problem is that some of the time travel rules can be confusing until you really think about it. I have read some people get annoyed or confused by the ending, saying that it logically couldn't be done based on the conversation Tim had with his father about time travel. I honestly am not sure whether it could or couldn't happen (again, difficult to talk about without spoiling the scene). Only reason I can think is that it was something so small, an event that wouldn't have changed anything, that they felt the risk was worth it and it paid off. Time travel movies can definitely be confusing if you think too much about the rules because it can often distract you from the movie.
Yet those were really the only things wrong with the movie. The writing and directing was perfect. Towards the end things got a bit emotional and it was so perfect that I almost burst out crying, I had to bite my lip to stop from sobbing in the middle of the theatre! You get so drawn into the movie by the great blend of everything that it can overload you and make you believe it's real life.
Even small things such as choice of music was perfect. The music chosen to play over the montage of Tim and Mary's budding romance fit perfectly, even synching up to the events on screen. The scenery was beautiful and makes me really wish I had the spare money to travel there.
I absolutely positively loved this movie. I urge everyone to see it when it comes out in November, you won't be sorry!
About Time is the best movie I've seen in 2013. And I've seen a lot, about 50+ in theatres! I am so very glad I didn't have to wait another month to see this, it lived and exceeded expectations.
The premise is pretty straight forward: the men in the Lake family are able to travel through time but only to events they personally visited. The main character is Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) and his father (Bill Nighy) introduces him to the concept, saying you couldn't kill Hitler or shag famous people from centuries ago. The relationship between these two is breathtaking, you actually begin to believe they are father and son in real life based on how well they mesh together on screen. Tim's love interest is Mary (Rachel McAdams) and he makes use of his time travel ability copiously to make sure their relationship happens and works. Tim's mother (Lindsay Duncan) and sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) are both fantastic additions as well, with Kit Kat playing an important role later in the film as she finds herself in relationship trouble.
I don't want to give away too many plot points as the whole movie was brilliantly done. It felt like The Time Traveler's Wife done right, with a perfect balance of comedy, drama, and romance. The filmmakers want you to cry while laughing in some scenes, and they definitely accomplish that. I felt the problem with TTTW is that it was too far on the drama side with not enough comedy or "normal" events, which pushes it into a depressing feel at times. About Time did not have any of those problems, the emotional ride was perfect.
Bill Nighy steals every scene he is in. He plays a very aloof and carefree character, perfectly capturing the mannerisms of someone who knows how to enjoy life. Then again, I am a bit biased as there hasn't been a Bill Nighy movie that has disappointed me! Lindsay Duncan was perfect as his wife, even though it wasn't shown as much I think their chemistry was very nice.
Domhnall Gleeson, best known for me as Bill Weasley from Harry Potter, was perfect as a lead actor. Rachel McAdams was able to easily portray her character's insecurities in the beginning of the relationship and you could see how she became more of a comfortable-in-her-skin character as time went on. It is weird that this is the second time travel romantic drama (or dramedy in this case) that Rachel McAdams has starred in (the previous, of course, being The Time Traveler's Wife).
There were a few scenes where the camera was randomly shakey, as if someone just walked off a small ledge and wasn't expecting it. Most people likely wouldn't even notice that so it's nothing major.
Another problem is that some of the time travel rules can be confusing until you really think about it. I have read some people get annoyed or confused by the ending, saying that it logically couldn't be done based on the conversation Tim had with his father about time travel. I honestly am not sure whether it could or couldn't happen (again, difficult to talk about without spoiling the scene). Only reason I can think is that it was something so small, an event that wouldn't have changed anything, that they felt the risk was worth it and it paid off. Time travel movies can definitely be confusing if you think too much about the rules because it can often distract you from the movie.
Yet those were really the only things wrong with the movie. The writing and directing was perfect. Towards the end things got a bit emotional and it was so perfect that I almost burst out crying, I had to bite my lip to stop from sobbing in the middle of the theatre! You get so drawn into the movie by the great blend of everything that it can overload you and make you believe it's real life.
Even small things such as choice of music was perfect. The music chosen to play over the montage of Tim and Mary's budding romance fit perfectly, even synching up to the events on screen. The scenery was beautiful and makes me really wish I had the spare money to travel there.
I absolutely positively loved this movie. I urge everyone to see it when it comes out in November, you won't be sorry!
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