Welcome to the 311th Edition of my series and the last week for the
Madness. I have just finished SWEENEY TODD. I have really enjoyed
doing my first show in Portland, Indiana and playing the part of Beadle
Bamford. It was a good cast and good show and I am proud to have been
part of it. Next week will be my six year anniversary for this blog. I
will now get to my recommendations for the week.
The Haunted
World of El Superbeasto (2009): I start this week out with some Rob
Zombie which is based on a comic book that he writes. El Superbeasto,
voiced by Tom Papa, is a washed-up Luchadore wrestler who is out to
fight crime no matter how vulgar he might be. In this film, with his
sidekick Suzy X, he must take on a villain named Dr. Satan, played by
Paul Giamatti. This film is not for everyone but it is quite
entertaining and has some pretty funny moments. This is a very violent
film and very vulgar and is adult animation to the core. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
Paris Je T'Aime (2006): This is a
film taking place in Paris which have many different short stories
dealing with some type of love. Many directors like the Coen Brothers,
Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuaron, Gus Van Zant, and many others direct these
segments. Many actors like Steve Buscemi, Juliette Binoche, Willem
Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhall, Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman, and many others.
This is a very well done film dealing with multiple stories and showing
the beautiful town of Paris.
The Bye-Bye Sky High Murder Case
(1977): This is actually an episode of Columbo but it is over an hour
so I made the call to put it here and see below as to why I included
this movie. Peter Falk plays Columbo. In this one, Columbo must
investigate a Mensa type group where one of them came up murdered.
Columbo was a very popular detective who looks like a bum but knows
exactly how to solve a big murder. Look for a young Jamie Lee Curtis in
this show. This is available on Instant Netflix.
The Lion Tamer
(1934): This is my animated short for the week. This animated short
features the characters of Amos and Andy in which Andy is the title
character dealing with a fake lion. This was rather entertaining but
mostly for classic animation buffs. There are some rather racist
elements with these black characters but something more acceptable in
that time period.
Magic (1978): Long before we had that
murderous doll Chucky, we had Fats the dummy. Anthony Hopkins stars in
this film as Corky who is a magician and gets his first solo appearance
but it bombs. He is then given a ventriloquist puppet named Fats which
improves his act but Fats begins to form a mind of his own and controls
Corky in every way he can. Ann-Margret co-stars as an old friend Corky
is trying to reconnect with but does not become easy with Fats in the
picture. Hopkins in very good in this performance even doing some good
things with the puppet. Burgess Meredith co-stars as his agent. This
is a pretty unconventional and good horror film.
Green Lantern:
First Flight (2009): This is an DC animated film based on the origins
of the Green Lantern. LAW AND ORDER: SVU alum Christopher Meloni
voices cocky test pilot Hal Jordan and comes across a dying alien
accepting a ring. He is then recruited by the Green Lantern Corps but
must prove his worthiness. He is mentored by the leader Sinestro,
voiced by ALIAS alum Victor Barber, who Hal learns has his own agenda
and must stop him. Other actors like Michael Madsen, John Larroquette,
and Kurtwood Smith provide voices. I always like the DC animated movies
and I have not seen the live-action version. I also don't know much
about Green Lantern but found this to be quite enjoyable.
The
Road (2009): John Hillcoat directed this post-apocalyptic film which
stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee co-stars a father and son
trying to survive by any means possible. They are in search of a better
place but things seem to get worse. They also have to avoid some of
the cannibalistic people out there in this not-so-distant bleak future.
I watched this not really knowing what to expect but it became one of
those pleasant surprises for me. Mortensen and Smit-McPhee work very
well together and carry this film. It is also a very beautiful film
with these interactions of the leads. To add to that Nick Cave and
Warren Ellis, who also did the great score of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE
JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, wrote the music score to this film.
Charlize Theron co-stars in the flashback scenes and was evidently the
mother in the situation. Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce have good cameo
appearances. This is not the easiest film to watch but is very moving.
The
Face of Marble (1946): This is an older horror film I found that stars
John Carradine as Dr. Randolph. Randolph is kind of like a Dr.
Frankenstein in his obsession with life and death and does some
experiments with some very bad results like with a dog. This is more
for the classic horror buffs and good for the holiday. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
Curse of the Demon (1957): Dana
Andrews stars as Dr. John Holden who is quite the skeptic and he looks
to expose satanic cult leader Dr. Karswell. Holden does not believe
that he is a real cult leader but strange things begin to happen. This
is actually a well-written chiller with a pretty scary demon that came
into the picture. Andrews was very good as the cynical doctor who was
determined to prove that science can explain all the happenings.
Akira
(1988): I end this week with anime which is very iconic to the genre.
This takes place post-apocalyptic Tokyo and centers around a couple
bikers named Kaneda and Tetsuo. Tetsuo gets abducted by the government
and the experiments done on him turn him crazy. Kaneda does what he can
to save him but runs into a lot of corrupt people in his quest to save
Tetsuo. This is a pretty bleak film that has lots of violence but also
moves very well. All anime fans should check this one out.
Well
that is it for this week, continue to read for the last week of The
Madness. Stay tuned for my six year anniversary which so far includes
Nicole Kidman, Mickey Rourke, and many others
THE MADNESS: HACK AND SLASH EDITION: WEEK 4
BETSY PALMER
1.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) 666: Here is my one slasher for the
series. This gets extra points for a boob shot, and "I'll be right
back" and a specific day being Friday the 13th. 87 points, 5 points.
COMIC BOOK MOVIES
1.
Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) 666: The live-action film counts
so I feel this one should as well. Good animated action. 75 minutes, 2
points
2. Thor (2011) 666 1/2: This film counts because it was
on Elizabeth's note for new releases that count. A very good adaptation
on the god of Thunder and good Marvel film. 115 minutes, 2 points.
DEE WALLACE
1.
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009) 666: This movie would
likely count either way but no explanation needed with wild card Dee
Wallace who has a voice in the movie. There are some animated boob
shots that should give one more point. 77 minutes, 3 points
HALLOWEEN SPECIALS
1.
Beavis and Butthead: Werewolves of Highland, Crying (2011) 666 1/2:
In the return of the icons, this takes place in Halloween and Beavis and
Butthead see that chicks dig vampires and werewolves so they look to
become one of the two in order to score. It is so good to see my
friends back. 30 minutes, .5 points
JAMIE LEE CURTIS
1.
Columbo: the Bye-Bye Story High I.Q. Murder Case (1977) 666: This will
likely be my annual loophole as I used this show for Kevin McCarthy
last year. Jamie Lee makes a small appearance as a waitress. Too bad
she did not get killed so that I could get my bonus points. 75 minutes,
2 points.
MAD SCIENTISTS
1. The Face of Marble (1946) 66 1/2:
This is a classic horror film that with a doctor obsessed with life
and death with disasterous results. 75 minutes 2 points.
MURDERING PUPPETS
1.
Magic (1978) 666: This is an early horror film starring Anthony
Hopkins who is a ventriloquist whose dummy has a mind of its own. 107
minutes, 2 points.
POST APOCALYPSE
1. The Road (2009) 666 1/2:
This is a post-apocalypse film and shows some cannibals. As I said
above, this pleasantly surprised me. 111 minutes, 2 points.
2.
Akira (1988) 666: This is anime and post-apocalypse so should count for
the contest. I should also get points for it being in Japan and an
animated boob shot. 124 minutes, 4 points.
RUTGER HAUER
1.
Sin City (2005) 666 1/2: This is another that should count either way
with a serial killer but I don't have to justify this with wild card
Rutger Hauer. There are a couple good boob shots that should get me
another point. 124 minutes, 3 points.
SATANIC CULTS
1. Curse
of the Demon (1957) 666: This is about a doctor investigating a satanic
cult leader and does not believe they are a cult or that type of thing
is real. This was done in Britain so gets another point. 95 minutes, 3
points.
SCI-FI HORROR
1. Alien 3 (1992) 66: I feel this
should count with the viciousness of the alien. Ripley lands on another
planet and must once again contend with her rival. This has nothing on
the first two films. 114 minutes, 2 points.
WALT DISNEY
1.
Hocus Pocus (1993) 66 1/2: This is good family entertainment dealing
with witchcraft with three witches executed are brought back to the
modern day. Doug Jones is very amusing as Billy Butcherson who shows
his talent with prosthetic make-up. This should get me an extra point
for taking place on Halloween. This is an amusing live-action Disney
film. 96 minutes, 3 points.
2. The Haunted Mansion (2003) 66:
This is based on the same thing at Disney World. This is a mansion
haunted by a lot of ghosts. 99 minutes, 2 points.
WEREWOLVES
1.
The Wolfman (2010) 66: This is that remake of the Lon Chaney Jr.
classic and with all the money and special effects you just cannot match
the original. Benicio Del Toro plays Laurence Talbot and Anthony
Hopkins is his father. I did not like the way they made the father all
villainous and even Laurence is not that likeable like Chaney was. 103
minutes, 2 points.
WES CRAVEN
1. Paris Je T'Aime (2006) 666: I
thought that this would just be a wild card with Wes Craven being one
of the directors but there is a vampire segment that he did not even
direct. This gets an extra point for being done in France. 120
minutes, 3 points.
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