I am annoyed. I am tired. I am cranky. I hate the world today. I slept for shit last night. My downstairs neighbor(s) insists on using her/his bathroom fan and it is LOUD!!! Sounds like a helicopter is hovering above my bed. Last night it was on until like 1 in the morning and I could not sleep. I think I'm gonna slip a note under their door letting them know that it is a disturbance. I think I should email Steve about fixing it. All of them are extra loud and pretty damn useless.
I am really hating my coworkers today. I am hating work today. The system is down so we pretty much can't do anything. There are a bunch of douchebags running around in costumes or with pumpkin earrings and teeshirts and orange socks w/bats on them. These people make me hate Halloween. Next year, I ought to come dressed as a bloody gross zombie, except next year Halloween will be on a Sunday. But whatever.
I was gonna maybe go down to the 3Rock and check out Brad's thing tonight, but then Big Sis called asking to borrow money and that trumps beer. I am undecided. I might just stay in and watch some of my favorite horror movies while getting plastered alone. Or not getting plastered. I don't drink alone too well. It's too depressing.
I am pretty excited to watch flix. The only thing is my neighbors suck so hard, I don't know how peaceful my movie watch experience will be. Maybe some asshat will be throwing a party. God, I hope not. Please please please go out. And I don't expect any trick-or-treaters. The folks next door have a kid, but I'd hope they are dumb enough to bring their kid around begging for candy. They are the property managers and all.
What's the Halloween equivalent of a Scrooge? That's how I feel today. I barely even smiled at the curly-haired wee moppett in a bunny costume in the skyway. Barely. I think it's just sucky coworkers and a lack of a good night's sleep that's bringing me down.
So I'm not sure what I'll watch tonight. I just go The Girl Next Door from Netflix. I think it's supposed to be pretty gory. It can't possibly be worse than Inside. Holy Mother, was that bloody! But it was pretty awesome. So far the French horror films are two for two. That's two for three if one considers Irreversible a horror film which I don't. I could not get through the whole film. It wasn't because it was over-the-top violent or too realistic or the plot unwound backwards. I just couldn't get into the story. I found the two lead actors annoying and unsympathetic. By the time the awful rape scene occurred, I just had to bail. Anyway. I do own Haute Tension, but I have yet to view it. Maybe this weekend some time.
I might stick with the classics tonight. Perhaps my top 3 slashers: Halloween, Friday the 13th Pt. 2, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, and Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors. So many movies, so little time.
I am seriously considering dumping the cable. I think it cuts into my movie viewing time. I can watch half of what I want to see on the computer and the rest I don't really care that much about. Just need to figure out the internet thing and I think the fancy cable will be gone. Plus I'll get extra cool channels with my digital converter boxes, so it doesn't matter too much.
Okay, my lunch is almost over and I haven't even eaten anything or checked to see what's next in my Netflix queue. Later, gator.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Torturing myself
Right now, I am watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This show is the reason I should always leave my remote control across the room. These women are INSANE and GROSS! There are 5 of them and they're all married to or divorced or divorcing from NFL or NBA players. They live in ridiculously large houses and spend ridiculous amounts of money frivilously. Only one of them appears to have an actual job (she's a realtor). She shows a house to some "rap producer" named Jazze Pha (that's pronounced jazzy fay) who wears giant gold-rimmed glasses that make his nose look like it's disappearing into his fat face. Another is a successful, strong woman whose occupation seems to be divorcing some NFL dude and trying to finagle a seven figure divorce settlement from him...so that she can take care of her kids and maintain their lifestyle, of course. At one point, she sends her daughter off for her weekend with her dad and spends the rest of the day buying really expensive ugly-ass hooker shoes (patent leather peep toe shoeboots, anyone?) that her "shoe stylist" brought to her house. Another chick, who happens to look like New York's mom, is pissed at ShoeBitch because she invited NYMom to a party, then (purposely) left her off the guest list. There is one white chick who is constantly wearing tops that put her weird babies' heads boobs on display, even at her 11-year-old daughter's $18,000 birthday party. She also has hair extensions that make her look like she has Barbie hair. Jezebel best describes her: she looks like one of the Wayans in White Chicks. She gets "emotionally tax[ed]" over NYMom's birthday diss by ShoeBitch. You see, ShoeBitch wants to come to the $18,000 birthday party, but she is worried there will be "drama" (that word gets used a lot). Another has some type of foundation for teen girls and feels the need to hire a personal assistant (and gets pissy when she finds out interviewees didn't google her) and she also appears to actually parent her children (with help from a nanny) so I can't dog her out too much.
I really don't know why I do this to myself. Last night, I caught myself watching 17 Kids and Counting which is that stupid show about the Duggers and their gaggle of similarly-dressed GodBabies. For some reason they went to Guiliani's NY and were shocked SHOCKED at how different it was from Arkansas. As one of the GodBabies put it, "People in Arkansas stop and talk to you." That is such bullshit. I've been in small towns and people do not just randomly stop each other on the street to chitchat. And on the reverse, it isn't like people in NY are all solo zombies who never talk to other humans. AND AND AND, people are stopping and talking to them and taking pictures of them and their GodBabies. Which brings me to another bitch. The conceit on reality shows that the cameras aren't there and don't contribute to people actually talking to assholes. Would any woman really be vying for the affections of Chance and Real if not for cameras?. Would any of the grody inhabitants of the Real World houses be doing body shots off of Britney Spears-look-alikes if not for the crew with the bright lights and boom mikes tailing their ugly asses? Shortly after this statement the Duggers decided to go get a bite to eat. They then attempt to flag a cab for all 19 of them. I quit caring right about then.
Okay, this has been one big run-on rant and I really need to stop and change the channel. God damn trainwreck tv!
Random commercial curiosity: Bailey's with a hint of coffee? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
I really don't know why I do this to myself. Last night, I caught myself watching 17 Kids and Counting which is that stupid show about the Duggers and their gaggle of similarly-dressed GodBabies. For some reason they went to Guiliani's NY and were shocked SHOCKED at how different it was from Arkansas. As one of the GodBabies put it, "People in Arkansas stop and talk to you." That is such bullshit. I've been in small towns and people do not just randomly stop each other on the street to chitchat. And on the reverse, it isn't like people in NY are all solo zombies who never talk to other humans. AND AND AND, people are stopping and talking to them and taking pictures of them and their GodBabies. Which brings me to another bitch. The conceit on reality shows that the cameras aren't there and don't contribute to people actually talking to assholes. Would any woman really be vying for the affections of Chance and Real if not for cameras?. Would any of the grody inhabitants of the Real World houses be doing body shots off of Britney Spears-look-alikes if not for the crew with the bright lights and boom mikes tailing their ugly asses? Shortly after this statement the Duggers decided to go get a bite to eat. They then attempt to flag a cab for all 19 of them. I quit caring right about then.
Okay, this has been one big run-on rant and I really need to stop and change the channel. God damn trainwreck tv!
Random commercial curiosity: Bailey's with a hint of coffee? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Podcast Alley
You know earlier when I posted I had a specific topic in mind, but then I got all sidetracked and ended up talking about how lame my weekend was. I'm old, so my mind wanders.
My original intent was to go on about podcasts. As I mentioned before, they are my new(ish) favorite thing. I seem to be seeking out more and more all the time. I do have to take time out to complain about one podcast in particular though. The first one I started listening to was Night of the Living Podcast. As I said before, it’s a couple of couples and their gay friend who talk about horror movies. The problem is that they get so easily distracted by how freakin’ clever they think they are that the ‘casts become hard to listen to. They all (well, except Andy) talk and shout over each other with ‘witty’ comments and jokes, losing some of the reviews and movie talk in the smarminess. They swear a lot which you’d think wouldn’t bother me, but it really does because it comes off really crass and undereducated and well, since it's usually bleated at top volume (not fun with earbuds in), it's irritating. I tried listening to one of the interviews they did and could not get through it. It was like listening to the KDWB Morning Show, but they are all (except Andy) Steve-O whom I hate. I appreciate that they’re all there kickin’ back like old friends and having a good time, but that’s only sorta interesting to listen to when those old friends talk shit to each other all the time. I don’t expect them to be Tony and Ted (and Doug), but I would like for them to quit acting like ill-mannered 4th graders every time someone says something vaguely sexual and to shut up now and again when someone else is talking.
That said, I do like their movie talk (when you can hear it). One of the podcasts I listened to yesterday featured Andy (can you tell he’s my favorite?) reviewing a horror porn movie which was hilarious. Actually, most of what Andy says is hilarious because he has this quiet, deadpan voice that seriously sounds like Gary Spivey with a little less Paula Deen to it. I also like the straight-to-video (-DVD?) Russian roulette reviews. The feature talk can be fun although I think they’re a bit free with the spoilers. (One can still be horror fan and NOT run out to the theatre to see something. And Netflix queues can be very long affairs which prevent one from making it to a particularly movie immediately upon its DVD release.) All in all, not sure if this one will continue to take up GB space on my iPod. It may be relegated to a check in once in a while thing, but not a continuous subscription.
My original intent was to go on about podcasts. As I mentioned before, they are my new(ish) favorite thing. I seem to be seeking out more and more all the time. I do have to take time out to complain about one podcast in particular though. The first one I started listening to was Night of the Living Podcast. As I said before, it’s a couple of couples and their gay friend who talk about horror movies. The problem is that they get so easily distracted by how freakin’ clever they think they are that the ‘casts become hard to listen to. They all (well, except Andy) talk and shout over each other with ‘witty’ comments and jokes, losing some of the reviews and movie talk in the smarminess. They swear a lot which you’d think wouldn’t bother me, but it really does because it comes off really crass and undereducated and well, since it's usually bleated at top volume (not fun with earbuds in), it's irritating. I tried listening to one of the interviews they did and could not get through it. It was like listening to the KDWB Morning Show, but they are all (except Andy) Steve-O whom I hate. I appreciate that they’re all there kickin’ back like old friends and having a good time, but that’s only sorta interesting to listen to when those old friends talk shit to each other all the time. I don’t expect them to be Tony and Ted (and Doug), but I would like for them to quit acting like ill-mannered 4th graders every time someone says something vaguely sexual and to shut up now and again when someone else is talking.
That said, I do like their movie talk (when you can hear it). One of the podcasts I listened to yesterday featured Andy (can you tell he’s my favorite?) reviewing a horror porn movie which was hilarious. Actually, most of what Andy says is hilarious because he has this quiet, deadpan voice that seriously sounds like Gary Spivey with a little less Paula Deen to it. I also like the straight-to-video (-DVD?) Russian roulette reviews. The feature talk can be fun although I think they’re a bit free with the spoilers. (One can still be horror fan and NOT run out to the theatre to see something. And Netflix queues can be very long affairs which prevent one from making it to a particularly movie immediately upon its DVD release.) All in all, not sure if this one will continue to take up GB space on my iPod. It may be relegated to a check in once in a while thing, but not a continuous subscription.
Killing Myself to Live
I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired. I really wish I did not have to work a second job. I guess if I were actually seeing real benefits from doing so I wouldn’t feel so bad. Then again I probably wouldn’t feel so bad if I were, say, 27 instead of 37. It just seems like the extra paycheck isn’t making my debt any less. I am constantly doing a lot of boring from Peter to pay Paul. This month I decided to pay my rent late so as to pay SOME of my credit card debt. Those constant phone calls every day get really annoying. It’s too the point now where the only phone calls I ever get are from bill collectors. Booo!
All this working and not paying bills has limited my precious free time. It seems I blink and my weekend in is over. I make all kinds of plans to read books and listen to podcasts and watch movies and before I know it, I am bitching about football pushing The Amazing Race and Cold Case back 45 minutes, which makes me have to miss parts of Property Virgins and My First Place. It’s not like I go out and DO things. Well, sometimes, like going apple picking with Bean last weekend which was actually pretty fun, even though we got rained on. We didn’t walk through the very expensive ($10!) corn maze, but since I think we walked through the entire goddamn orchard looking for sweet 16 apples (thwarted), I don’t think we missed much.
This past weekend I spent my Friday night having over-priced PBRs with Rebecca at Gringo’s. There were a shit-ton of younguns running around and there was a cute boy sitting next to us, but he was interested in Rebecca and she was not interested in him. And then we were called lesbians because we weren’t smiling and we didn’t want to talk to the guy wearing WAAAAAAAY too much Axe! Yes, sir. Only women who are into women would not smile at your over-dressed-for-this-dive-bar, drenched-in-teenaged-boy-cologne suaveness. Then Christine (Kristine? Who cares.) showed up and it was ripe time for me to leave because I still think she sucks and the two of them together is a loud, over-talker marathon nightmare. I got home and watched about 10 minutes of the Rock Ballads infomercial (featuring Kevin Whathisface from REO Speedwagon looking like someone’s grandma) and ¼ of Frankenstein before deciding to hit the rack.
On Saturday, I was gonna go to Michaels and pick up yarn for my other sweater that I’m gonna make (aside: I sewed the side panels on to the front part of my sweater last night. Now I just need to sew them to the back, figure out what to do about the shoulders and sleeves, and I am done.), but my coupon wasn’t good until Sunday and since I didn’t have anything else to do in Richfield, I decided to do the SLP buffet which is way cooler on Sundays when they have the tasty prawns, but is also $8 more expensive. I stuffed my face and went back home and decided that I would straighten my hair…with a relaxer. Yes, after I don’t know how many years now (4 at least) I have given up on the ‘fro. Regrets? A little bit. Maybe I should have gone with locs, but it’s too late for that now. Sometimes I wish I wore makeup so I could just shave it.
Anyhoo, I figured I had a little money and didn’t know what my finances would look like the next weekend (current prognosis: bleak), so I should check out the Hostages show at the Nomad. This weekend was the Zombie Bar Crawl, so went with my “Subway” shirt instead of make-up. The place was totally nuts. So much so that they completely gave up on trying to collect a cover and they ran out of like, 5 types of beer including my delicious hipster staple PBR (which I only recently learned it part of some sort of hipster chic; I only started drinking it because Luce had freakin’ $2 tallboys). At some point ended up with a $5 24 oz St. Pauli Girl. Woohoo!
But the boys put on a fun show and the No-No’s (it was their CD release gig) are actually good. I even liked a bit of Pretty/Ugly even though they’re fans all seemed to equate zombie with afro wig. Idiots. I managed to mooch a ride home with Ian and some friend of his who happens to also be a bit of a horror geek which made him totally cute in my book. That, and the fact that the shirt he was wearing was very Freddie Krueger.
Sunday was yarn day. I made my way to Michaels and bought all the black Wool-Ease yarn they had (9 skeins) plus picked up another skein of glow-in-the-dark yarn (now only $1.99 on clearance). I had Sunday buffet at my usual buffet (I love their salt & pepper shrimps) and came home. Since I was down to like 3 pairs of socks and my previous-sized underwear I decided to cross my fingers and pray that I could get at least one machine in the laundry room on a Sunday afternoon at 3. To my utter surprise I got all four and was able to do a good portion of my laundry (still not cold enough for me to worry about those sweaters that have been piled up since March) in just about 2.5 hours. I was feeling mildly energetic, so I decided to whip up some spinach-stuffed manicotti which turned out good, but I won’t be making manicotti again anytime soon because it is a bitch too stuff.
At some point I finished watching Frankenstein (aside: This movie is awesome. Much more so, IMHO, than Bride of Frankenstein which people seem to love. Some of the funny is good, but mostly it’s annoying—looking at you, Minnie—and unnecessary. I also thought the story in the original was more frightening, perhaps because the monster doesn’t speak.) and started both The Devil’s Backbone and Inside, but because I was back and forth from laundry room to kitchen and both have subtitles I didn’t think I should watch them yet. Plus I was worried about getting grossed out by the latter.
Oh, I also watched about ½ of the original Tales from the Darkside movie (circa 1972) while conditioning my hair on Saturday. I love the instant-watch feature of Netflix. So deliciously convenient. Anyway, it was a cool, 70s-spooky way to deep condition my hair for an hour.
So then it was time for me to go to bed and my weekend was suddenly over and I still hadn’t watched movies or read much of my book (already saw The Ruins and know the big surprise twist, but I am still digging the book). I was gonna watch one of my movies last night, but I had to go to the store after work and then make dinner which pushed me into the 8 o’clock hour and I was eating so again, no Inside. So I watched the first part of The Power of Nightmares which is a BBC documentary which juxtaposes the history of the neo-conservative movement with the growth of extremist Muslims. Scary stuff.
Now I’m back at work, not doing work and bored to tears.
All this working and not paying bills has limited my precious free time. It seems I blink and my weekend in is over. I make all kinds of plans to read books and listen to podcasts and watch movies and before I know it, I am bitching about football pushing The Amazing Race and Cold Case back 45 minutes, which makes me have to miss parts of Property Virgins and My First Place. It’s not like I go out and DO things. Well, sometimes, like going apple picking with Bean last weekend which was actually pretty fun, even though we got rained on. We didn’t walk through the very expensive ($10!) corn maze, but since I think we walked through the entire goddamn orchard looking for sweet 16 apples (thwarted), I don’t think we missed much.
This past weekend I spent my Friday night having over-priced PBRs with Rebecca at Gringo’s. There were a shit-ton of younguns running around and there was a cute boy sitting next to us, but he was interested in Rebecca and she was not interested in him. And then we were called lesbians because we weren’t smiling and we didn’t want to talk to the guy wearing WAAAAAAAY too much Axe! Yes, sir. Only women who are into women would not smile at your over-dressed-for-this-dive-bar, drenched-in-teenaged-boy-cologne suaveness. Then Christine (Kristine? Who cares.) showed up and it was ripe time for me to leave because I still think she sucks and the two of them together is a loud, over-talker marathon nightmare. I got home and watched about 10 minutes of the Rock Ballads infomercial (featuring Kevin Whathisface from REO Speedwagon looking like someone’s grandma) and ¼ of Frankenstein before deciding to hit the rack.
On Saturday, I was gonna go to Michaels and pick up yarn for my other sweater that I’m gonna make (aside: I sewed the side panels on to the front part of my sweater last night. Now I just need to sew them to the back, figure out what to do about the shoulders and sleeves, and I am done.), but my coupon wasn’t good until Sunday and since I didn’t have anything else to do in Richfield, I decided to do the SLP buffet which is way cooler on Sundays when they have the tasty prawns, but is also $8 more expensive. I stuffed my face and went back home and decided that I would straighten my hair…with a relaxer. Yes, after I don’t know how many years now (4 at least) I have given up on the ‘fro. Regrets? A little bit. Maybe I should have gone with locs, but it’s too late for that now. Sometimes I wish I wore makeup so I could just shave it.
Anyhoo, I figured I had a little money and didn’t know what my finances would look like the next weekend (current prognosis: bleak), so I should check out the Hostages show at the Nomad. This weekend was the Zombie Bar Crawl, so went with my “Subway” shirt instead of make-up. The place was totally nuts. So much so that they completely gave up on trying to collect a cover and they ran out of like, 5 types of beer including my delicious hipster staple PBR (which I only recently learned it part of some sort of hipster chic; I only started drinking it because Luce had freakin’ $2 tallboys). At some point ended up with a $5 24 oz St. Pauli Girl. Woohoo!
But the boys put on a fun show and the No-No’s (it was their CD release gig) are actually good. I even liked a bit of Pretty/Ugly even though they’re fans all seemed to equate zombie with afro wig. Idiots. I managed to mooch a ride home with Ian and some friend of his who happens to also be a bit of a horror geek which made him totally cute in my book. That, and the fact that the shirt he was wearing was very Freddie Krueger.
Sunday was yarn day. I made my way to Michaels and bought all the black Wool-Ease yarn they had (9 skeins) plus picked up another skein of glow-in-the-dark yarn (now only $1.99 on clearance). I had Sunday buffet at my usual buffet (I love their salt & pepper shrimps) and came home. Since I was down to like 3 pairs of socks and my previous-sized underwear I decided to cross my fingers and pray that I could get at least one machine in the laundry room on a Sunday afternoon at 3. To my utter surprise I got all four and was able to do a good portion of my laundry (still not cold enough for me to worry about those sweaters that have been piled up since March) in just about 2.5 hours. I was feeling mildly energetic, so I decided to whip up some spinach-stuffed manicotti which turned out good, but I won’t be making manicotti again anytime soon because it is a bitch too stuff.
At some point I finished watching Frankenstein (aside: This movie is awesome. Much more so, IMHO, than Bride of Frankenstein which people seem to love. Some of the funny is good, but mostly it’s annoying—looking at you, Minnie—and unnecessary. I also thought the story in the original was more frightening, perhaps because the monster doesn’t speak.) and started both The Devil’s Backbone and Inside, but because I was back and forth from laundry room to kitchen and both have subtitles I didn’t think I should watch them yet. Plus I was worried about getting grossed out by the latter.
Oh, I also watched about ½ of the original Tales from the Darkside movie (circa 1972) while conditioning my hair on Saturday. I love the instant-watch feature of Netflix. So deliciously convenient. Anyway, it was a cool, 70s-spooky way to deep condition my hair for an hour.
So then it was time for me to go to bed and my weekend was suddenly over and I still hadn’t watched movies or read much of my book (already saw The Ruins and know the big surprise twist, but I am still digging the book). I was gonna watch one of my movies last night, but I had to go to the store after work and then make dinner which pushed me into the 8 o’clock hour and I was eating so again, no Inside. So I watched the first part of The Power of Nightmares which is a BBC documentary which juxtaposes the history of the neo-conservative movement with the growth of extremist Muslims. Scary stuff.
Now I’m back at work, not doing work and bored to tears.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Battle Blog: American Werewolf in London vs. TheHowling Pt. 3 Synopsis
Awesome, right? Totally! Both movies are just full of fun stuff. American Werewolf in London has a bit more comedy with cute scenes of little kids at the hospital and wacky orderlies and cheeky nurses, while The Howling’s humor is more clever with scenes that feature werewolf movies and cartoons in the background plus there is the use of B-movie staples like Roger Corman and Kevin McCarthy here and there throughout the film. However, neither of them gets too bogged down in it. The plots of both are pretty sharp and get to the good stuff pretty quickly. I am still confused as to why David stays in London after his friend is chewed to death and why his family doesn’t beat feet to London to be by his side after his attack. Jenny was sweet and pretty and all, but their relationship seemed a bit disingenuous and certainly not enough to hold him there. But whatever. That’s a little quibble.
I like the idea behind The Howling’s Colony. Werewolves would have a tough go of just randomly killing people all over the country, so they would want to integrate and be like everyone else. I didn’t see too many plot holes and there wasn’t much to get all “but, wait” about it.
I didn’t remember either movie being terribly frightening, but each provided moments that made little me want to leave the light on for a while at bedtime. In AWiL, David has a series of strange dreams and in one of them, an army of creatures storms into his family’s house and murders everyone with machine guns in front of David’s eyes while a knife is held to his throat. The creatures them torch the place before slitting David’s throat. I found it particularly disturbing when they shot his little brother and sister. I was like 10 and I still wanted to believe bad stuff like that didn’t happen to little kids, especially not while they watched The Muppet Show.
I also remember being freaked out by a moment during the London mayhem scene. The beastie escapes and all hell is breaking loose. People are running all over the place and cars and buses are crashing. It’s like a scene out of a Lethal Weapon movie and it seems a little out of place, but it still makes sense although too many people seemed to be running towards the beast instead of away. Anyhoodlidoo, at one point a motorcyclists gets thrown off his bike and lands in the street only to be run over by a car. The sound still gives me goose bumps.
The Howling had some equally disturbing images, like the early scene in the grungy porno theater. It’s just so creepy and gross even though you haven’t seen a beastie yet. I was also bugged out by Terry’s encounter with Eddie in the doc’s office.
But what these movies are really all about are the transformations and boy, are they awesome. As we all know, back in the day dudes just fell asleep in a chair and grew hair in patches. The modern werewolf’s change is a quite painful experience. In David’s transformation, we see a mixture of agony and angst. Too many modern films try to make being a werewolf (or a vampire, especially a vampire) out to be this cool, sexy desirable thing. I can’t imagine anyone would want to endure what David goes through by choice. Another American Werewolf in London scene that sticks in my head is the shot of David’s hand stretching. I always involuntarily crack my knuckles and cringe when I see that scene. I just cracked my knuckles just typing about it, but that might be because I’m…typing.
The Howling’s transformations are similarly terrifying, if not quite as affecting. There doesn’t seem to be much pain or misery involved in changing. In fact, one (ridiculous) scene has werewolves changing in the erotic throes of lovemaking. Eddie’s transformation is the best with his skin boiling and bubbling up and again we get a creepy hand scene with his claws sprouting out from his fingertips. Eech!
The end results however are a little different. I was not all that pleased with American Werewolf in London’s final monster. I don’t think there was ever a good honest look at the whole thing, but what I saw looked a bit too much like my neighbors’ big old dog (known to me only as Big Dawg) with a fur coat on. The Howling’s beasts were these towering fiends with big claws and fangs and they looked truly intimidating and powerful. Well, most of them anyway. Dee Wallace (Stone) looked like a freakin’ Pekinese or something.
Best Transformation Scene Award goes to…………………………..American Werewolf in London! Maybe I’m biased by the Thriller connection, but that scene is still amazing and a great big F---K YOU to the hated CGI.
Overall, both films still hold up pretty well over 20 years later. Neither film feels terribly dumb or dated, and each can still put a fright into someone who is only half as jaded as I am.
I like the idea behind The Howling’s Colony. Werewolves would have a tough go of just randomly killing people all over the country, so they would want to integrate and be like everyone else. I didn’t see too many plot holes and there wasn’t much to get all “but, wait” about it.
I didn’t remember either movie being terribly frightening, but each provided moments that made little me want to leave the light on for a while at bedtime. In AWiL, David has a series of strange dreams and in one of them, an army of creatures storms into his family’s house and murders everyone with machine guns in front of David’s eyes while a knife is held to his throat. The creatures them torch the place before slitting David’s throat. I found it particularly disturbing when they shot his little brother and sister. I was like 10 and I still wanted to believe bad stuff like that didn’t happen to little kids, especially not while they watched The Muppet Show.
I also remember being freaked out by a moment during the London mayhem scene. The beastie escapes and all hell is breaking loose. People are running all over the place and cars and buses are crashing. It’s like a scene out of a Lethal Weapon movie and it seems a little out of place, but it still makes sense although too many people seemed to be running towards the beast instead of away. Anyhoodlidoo, at one point a motorcyclists gets thrown off his bike and lands in the street only to be run over by a car. The sound still gives me goose bumps.
The Howling had some equally disturbing images, like the early scene in the grungy porno theater. It’s just so creepy and gross even though you haven’t seen a beastie yet. I was also bugged out by Terry’s encounter with Eddie in the doc’s office.
But what these movies are really all about are the transformations and boy, are they awesome. As we all know, back in the day dudes just fell asleep in a chair and grew hair in patches. The modern werewolf’s change is a quite painful experience. In David’s transformation, we see a mixture of agony and angst. Too many modern films try to make being a werewolf (or a vampire, especially a vampire) out to be this cool, sexy desirable thing. I can’t imagine anyone would want to endure what David goes through by choice. Another American Werewolf in London scene that sticks in my head is the shot of David’s hand stretching. I always involuntarily crack my knuckles and cringe when I see that scene. I just cracked my knuckles just typing about it, but that might be because I’m…typing.
The Howling’s transformations are similarly terrifying, if not quite as affecting. There doesn’t seem to be much pain or misery involved in changing. In fact, one (ridiculous) scene has werewolves changing in the erotic throes of lovemaking. Eddie’s transformation is the best with his skin boiling and bubbling up and again we get a creepy hand scene with his claws sprouting out from his fingertips. Eech!
The end results however are a little different. I was not all that pleased with American Werewolf in London’s final monster. I don’t think there was ever a good honest look at the whole thing, but what I saw looked a bit too much like my neighbors’ big old dog (known to me only as Big Dawg) with a fur coat on. The Howling’s beasts were these towering fiends with big claws and fangs and they looked truly intimidating and powerful. Well, most of them anyway. Dee Wallace (Stone) looked like a freakin’ Pekinese or something.
Best Transformation Scene Award goes to…………………………..American Werewolf in London! Maybe I’m biased by the Thriller connection, but that scene is still amazing and a great big F---K YOU to the hated CGI.
Overall, both films still hold up pretty well over 20 years later. Neither film feels terribly dumb or dated, and each can still put a fright into someone who is only half as jaded as I am.
Battle Blog: American Werewolf in London vs. TheHowling Pt. 2
Next is The Howling which you may not be as familiar with. I think this film has more of a cult following while AWiL is more mainstream. I’m too lazy to do any research on how much money each made, but I’m willing to bet that AWiL made more and it did have a bigger name director I think, but I don’t know. I vaguely remember commercials for AWiL, but not as many for The Howling and I would have seen them because I watched all sorts of stuff I “shouldn’t have” when I was little. (Dude, I saw The Exorcist when I was at the oldest 8.) Plus there was that whole Thriller connection that American Werewolf in London had. Okay, they weren’t so much connected except they were both directed by John Landis and used make-up artist Rick Baker, but I think a lot of people who loved “Thriller” (the long form video, not just the album or the song) decided to check out the film that Michael Jackson based his video on. I’m just guessing though.
But anyway, so yeah, The Howling. Here, a Los Angeles news reporter Karen White (played by horror icon Dee Wallace, Dee Wallace Stone at the time) agrees to meet a serial killer, Eddie Quist, who’s been terrorizing the city at a porno theater. She is being tailed by police and a news crew from her station, but they briefly lose her. At the theater, the serial killer smooth talks her from behind before his voice changes and he orders her to look at him. She freaks out when she does, but suddenly the cops burst in and shoot dude dead. They haul the shocked Karen out who claims she doesn’t remember any of what happened.
Over the course of the next few (days? weeks?), Karen experiences weird nightmares and has intimacy difficulties with her husband, Bill Neil. She tries returning to work, but freezes in front of the camera. A doctor whom she had worked with during the Quist investigation suggests she come to his retreat called the Colony to work on getting her memory back. She’s reluctant, but her husband and a couple of her co-workers, Chris and Terry, convince her to go.
At the Colony, she and Bill mingle with some of the other Colonists at a cookout/bonfire. Bill encounters Marsha who gives him the hairy eyeball while Karen is off talking with another couple. After they go to bed, Karen hears howling out in the woods. When she goes to the window to listen closer, she sees a large animal-like figure standing outside her window. When she wakes Bill to check it out, the figure is gone.
Back in L.A., Chris and Terry are doing further investigation into Eddie Quist. They visit his apartment where they find articles on the serial killings as well as drawings of werewolf-like people and a photo of a lake. They also visit the morgue where it is discovered that Eddie’s body has disappeared. Later, they head to a book store which has everything from books on the occult to silver bullets someone ordered but never picked up. They pick up a couple of books on werewolf lore.
At the Colony, Karen and Bill are hanging out separately with their fellow Colonists. Bill, who was established earlier as a vegetarian, goes off hunting with a bunch of the men. He kills a rabbit with his first shot and goes over to Marsha’s to have it cooked and cleaned. Not surprisingly, she hits on him (it was also established that she’s a “nymphomaniac”). He gives in for a minute, but then pushes her away and leaves.
While Bill is off hunting, Karen takes a stroll with another woman. They hear weird animal noises and find a mangled cow carcass before being startled by the sheriff and his deputy. The sheriff says another cow was found a ways away. He offers to take the two frightened women back to the camp.
On his way back to his and Karen’s cabin, Bill is attacked and bitten by an animal. He makes it back to the cabin and is later treated by doc. Karen wants to leave, but the doctor quickly tells her it isn’t good for Bill to travel with his wound. So Karen calls up Terry and Chris who agree to come up to ease Karen’s mind.
The next day, the two couples are having a little ocean-side picnic. Terry realizes she hasn’t brought any vegetables and apologizes to Bill, but he dismisses it as he practically gnaws at the bone of some hunk of meat. (My theory is most vegetarians really just need a good slab or two of bacon to turn them around. Kidding!)
That night, Karen wakes from a bad dream to find Bill’s half of the bed empty. Bill it seems has headed out for a midnight booty call with Marsha. The two make whoopee by a fire and change into werewolves during the act. Terry is woken up by their howls and leaps up to record the sounds.
The next day, Chris has to return to the city. Terry decides to do a bit of sightseeing (snooping). While taking pictures she notices the view from a particular shot is the same as the picture she found at Eddie’s apartment. She wanders further into the woods and finds Marsha’s cabin. Nosy Parker that she is, she goes in and starts poking around. She sees many drawings similar to those from Eddie’s apartment. She’s snapping pictures when she hears animal noises from behind a door. She runs out of the room, closing the door behind her. As the thing tries to break through that door, she leaps from the window and grabs a nearby hatchet. She goes to hide under the porch, but the beast busts through and grabs at her. She manages to wriggle away and hack half its arm off. As the arm changes back to a human hand, she freaks out and runs from under the porch to doc’s office.
Over at Karen and Bill’s, Karen wakes up late and asks Bill where he was last night. He changes his shirt as he tells her he just went for a walk. Karen notices scratches on his back and Bill blames them on the attack the previous night. Karen points out that they were not there the night before. Bill accuses her of being paranoid and Karen accuses him of being a cheat at which point Bill slaps her. He tries to apologize, but Karen shirks him off and tells him she’s going to get Terry and she is going have Chris drive them out of there.
Terry reaches doc’s place and immediately phones Chris. She tells him about the photo and the pictures she saw at the cabin. She also tells him she thinks the doctor is in on it. Chris asks her to look for Eddie’s file. Terry finds not only Eddie Quist, but also Marsha and SomeOtherDude Quist, but before she can elaborate the file is taken from her hand by a giant mangy dog standing on its hind legs. The dog smacks her across the face sending her, the phone, and the files flying while Chris calls her name over the phone line. Terry desperately tries to elude the creature, but it ultimately grabs her, lifts her up, and takes a bite out of her neck, killing her.
Chris rushes to her aid. He goes to the book shop and buys the silver bullets and heads up to the Colony. Meanwhile, Karen and her bags storm into doc’s office to call Chris. She finds the place in shambles and when she pulls back the sheet on a nearby gurney, she finds Terry’s body. Karen then goes to make a phone call, but is startled by a noise or something. She backs into the gurney and up jumps Eddie. He makes threat-noises to Karen about how she betrayed him and then starts to transform in front of her. Karen stands there gawking at him till he’s practically totally wolfy and about to pounce, then she throws acid in his face and hauls it out of there.
She runs out to a car and tries to start it before a couple of Colonists grab her and take her over to a big barn. The rest of the Colonists are there and they have Terry’s body splayed out on some kind of altar and it appears they’ve been feeding off her. The doc walks in and Karen runs to him for help, but he gently pushes her away letting her know he’s one of THEM. The Colonists and the doc get into an argument about disposing of Karen. Seems the doc has been trying to teach the Colonists how to fit into society and feed off cattle. Marsha and a few of the others want to go back to being separate and hunting humans for food. Doc tries to make them see it his way, but Marsha claws his face and tells him Karen is theirs for the feeding. Someone else points out that Karen’s high-profile would draw attention to the Colony. So they decide to cover up her and Terry’s deaths with a staged auto accident.
During this time, Chris reaches the Colony. He goes over to doc’s office where he finds the mess. He hears howling and backs up to the door where burn-face Eddie punches through the glass and grabs Chris’ shotgun. Eddie plays a tape of Terry’s death and taunts Chris for coming to “save” Terry. He then gives him back the shotgun and challenges him to take his best shot. He then begins to transform again, but Chris shoots him in the throat and Eddie is surprised to actually be dying from this. Chris then books it out of there over to the barn.
He arrives just in time to confront the other Colonists before they kill Karen. He orders them to let her go and warns them about his silver bullets. The doc advances on him and he shoots and kills him. Next, SomeOtherDude Quist (who is now one handed thanks to Terry) starts at him, but he gets shot and dies much to the surprise of the others. One guy decides to shoot Chris, but Chris gets off his shot first. He forces the others to retreat into the barn where he and Karen lock them in. They (well, HE, since Karen is just a useless ball of tears) pour gasoline around the whole building and set it ablaze. Werewolves howl and whine and die.
They head off down the road out of there, but see that the sheriff has blocked the road up ahead. Karen is at first relieved to see him, but then the sheriff raises his gun and begins firing on their car. Chris manages to shoot him and hustle Karen over to the police car. They hop in but are quickly surrounded by other werewolves. Chris has trouble starting the car at first and one werewolf manages to punch through the back window and bite Karen before she is able to shoot him. When she turns to see the creature, she discovers that it was Bill. She tells Chris they have to warn people and make them believe what they experienced. The werewolves stand in the road and bay at the moon.
Some time later, Karen back at work. Because of her earlier breakdown everyone is fawning over her, but Karen assures them she’s fine. Chris doesn’t want her to go through with it, but she firmly tells them they have to. The news starts and Karen is introduced as doing a special segment about the Quist investigation. She freaks her coworkers out when she starts reciting stuff about the animal in all of us and making everyone believe that isn’t on the teleprompter. They try to cut her off, but Chris orders them to leave it. Karen starts to tremble and shake, then she lets out a loud scream and we see she is beginning to change. We see different people reacting to the broadcast before Chris shoots her and they cut to a commercial. At a local bar a couple of guys debate whether what they saw was real. Another guy comes in and orders a pepper steak for himself and a burger for his ladyfriend who happens to be…Marsha. The End.
But anyway, so yeah, The Howling. Here, a Los Angeles news reporter Karen White (played by horror icon Dee Wallace, Dee Wallace Stone at the time) agrees to meet a serial killer, Eddie Quist, who’s been terrorizing the city at a porno theater. She is being tailed by police and a news crew from her station, but they briefly lose her. At the theater, the serial killer smooth talks her from behind before his voice changes and he orders her to look at him. She freaks out when she does, but suddenly the cops burst in and shoot dude dead. They haul the shocked Karen out who claims she doesn’t remember any of what happened.
Over the course of the next few (days? weeks?), Karen experiences weird nightmares and has intimacy difficulties with her husband, Bill Neil. She tries returning to work, but freezes in front of the camera. A doctor whom she had worked with during the Quist investigation suggests she come to his retreat called the Colony to work on getting her memory back. She’s reluctant, but her husband and a couple of her co-workers, Chris and Terry, convince her to go.
At the Colony, she and Bill mingle with some of the other Colonists at a cookout/bonfire. Bill encounters Marsha who gives him the hairy eyeball while Karen is off talking with another couple. After they go to bed, Karen hears howling out in the woods. When she goes to the window to listen closer, she sees a large animal-like figure standing outside her window. When she wakes Bill to check it out, the figure is gone.
Back in L.A., Chris and Terry are doing further investigation into Eddie Quist. They visit his apartment where they find articles on the serial killings as well as drawings of werewolf-like people and a photo of a lake. They also visit the morgue where it is discovered that Eddie’s body has disappeared. Later, they head to a book store which has everything from books on the occult to silver bullets someone ordered but never picked up. They pick up a couple of books on werewolf lore.
At the Colony, Karen and Bill are hanging out separately with their fellow Colonists. Bill, who was established earlier as a vegetarian, goes off hunting with a bunch of the men. He kills a rabbit with his first shot and goes over to Marsha’s to have it cooked and cleaned. Not surprisingly, she hits on him (it was also established that she’s a “nymphomaniac”). He gives in for a minute, but then pushes her away and leaves.
While Bill is off hunting, Karen takes a stroll with another woman. They hear weird animal noises and find a mangled cow carcass before being startled by the sheriff and his deputy. The sheriff says another cow was found a ways away. He offers to take the two frightened women back to the camp.
On his way back to his and Karen’s cabin, Bill is attacked and bitten by an animal. He makes it back to the cabin and is later treated by doc. Karen wants to leave, but the doctor quickly tells her it isn’t good for Bill to travel with his wound. So Karen calls up Terry and Chris who agree to come up to ease Karen’s mind.
The next day, the two couples are having a little ocean-side picnic. Terry realizes she hasn’t brought any vegetables and apologizes to Bill, but he dismisses it as he practically gnaws at the bone of some hunk of meat. (My theory is most vegetarians really just need a good slab or two of bacon to turn them around. Kidding!)
That night, Karen wakes from a bad dream to find Bill’s half of the bed empty. Bill it seems has headed out for a midnight booty call with Marsha. The two make whoopee by a fire and change into werewolves during the act. Terry is woken up by their howls and leaps up to record the sounds.
The next day, Chris has to return to the city. Terry decides to do a bit of sightseeing (snooping). While taking pictures she notices the view from a particular shot is the same as the picture she found at Eddie’s apartment. She wanders further into the woods and finds Marsha’s cabin. Nosy Parker that she is, she goes in and starts poking around. She sees many drawings similar to those from Eddie’s apartment. She’s snapping pictures when she hears animal noises from behind a door. She runs out of the room, closing the door behind her. As the thing tries to break through that door, she leaps from the window and grabs a nearby hatchet. She goes to hide under the porch, but the beast busts through and grabs at her. She manages to wriggle away and hack half its arm off. As the arm changes back to a human hand, she freaks out and runs from under the porch to doc’s office.
Over at Karen and Bill’s, Karen wakes up late and asks Bill where he was last night. He changes his shirt as he tells her he just went for a walk. Karen notices scratches on his back and Bill blames them on the attack the previous night. Karen points out that they were not there the night before. Bill accuses her of being paranoid and Karen accuses him of being a cheat at which point Bill slaps her. He tries to apologize, but Karen shirks him off and tells him she’s going to get Terry and she is going have Chris drive them out of there.
Terry reaches doc’s place and immediately phones Chris. She tells him about the photo and the pictures she saw at the cabin. She also tells him she thinks the doctor is in on it. Chris asks her to look for Eddie’s file. Terry finds not only Eddie Quist, but also Marsha and SomeOtherDude Quist, but before she can elaborate the file is taken from her hand by a giant mangy dog standing on its hind legs. The dog smacks her across the face sending her, the phone, and the files flying while Chris calls her name over the phone line. Terry desperately tries to elude the creature, but it ultimately grabs her, lifts her up, and takes a bite out of her neck, killing her.
Chris rushes to her aid. He goes to the book shop and buys the silver bullets and heads up to the Colony. Meanwhile, Karen and her bags storm into doc’s office to call Chris. She finds the place in shambles and when she pulls back the sheet on a nearby gurney, she finds Terry’s body. Karen then goes to make a phone call, but is startled by a noise or something. She backs into the gurney and up jumps Eddie. He makes threat-noises to Karen about how she betrayed him and then starts to transform in front of her. Karen stands there gawking at him till he’s practically totally wolfy and about to pounce, then she throws acid in his face and hauls it out of there.
She runs out to a car and tries to start it before a couple of Colonists grab her and take her over to a big barn. The rest of the Colonists are there and they have Terry’s body splayed out on some kind of altar and it appears they’ve been feeding off her. The doc walks in and Karen runs to him for help, but he gently pushes her away letting her know he’s one of THEM. The Colonists and the doc get into an argument about disposing of Karen. Seems the doc has been trying to teach the Colonists how to fit into society and feed off cattle. Marsha and a few of the others want to go back to being separate and hunting humans for food. Doc tries to make them see it his way, but Marsha claws his face and tells him Karen is theirs for the feeding. Someone else points out that Karen’s high-profile would draw attention to the Colony. So they decide to cover up her and Terry’s deaths with a staged auto accident.
During this time, Chris reaches the Colony. He goes over to doc’s office where he finds the mess. He hears howling and backs up to the door where burn-face Eddie punches through the glass and grabs Chris’ shotgun. Eddie plays a tape of Terry’s death and taunts Chris for coming to “save” Terry. He then gives him back the shotgun and challenges him to take his best shot. He then begins to transform again, but Chris shoots him in the throat and Eddie is surprised to actually be dying from this. Chris then books it out of there over to the barn.
He arrives just in time to confront the other Colonists before they kill Karen. He orders them to let her go and warns them about his silver bullets. The doc advances on him and he shoots and kills him. Next, SomeOtherDude Quist (who is now one handed thanks to Terry) starts at him, but he gets shot and dies much to the surprise of the others. One guy decides to shoot Chris, but Chris gets off his shot first. He forces the others to retreat into the barn where he and Karen lock them in. They (well, HE, since Karen is just a useless ball of tears) pour gasoline around the whole building and set it ablaze. Werewolves howl and whine and die.
They head off down the road out of there, but see that the sheriff has blocked the road up ahead. Karen is at first relieved to see him, but then the sheriff raises his gun and begins firing on their car. Chris manages to shoot him and hustle Karen over to the police car. They hop in but are quickly surrounded by other werewolves. Chris has trouble starting the car at first and one werewolf manages to punch through the back window and bite Karen before she is able to shoot him. When she turns to see the creature, she discovers that it was Bill. She tells Chris they have to warn people and make them believe what they experienced. The werewolves stand in the road and bay at the moon.
Some time later, Karen back at work. Because of her earlier breakdown everyone is fawning over her, but Karen assures them she’s fine. Chris doesn’t want her to go through with it, but she firmly tells them they have to. The news starts and Karen is introduced as doing a special segment about the Quist investigation. She freaks her coworkers out when she starts reciting stuff about the animal in all of us and making everyone believe that isn’t on the teleprompter. They try to cut her off, but Chris orders them to leave it. Karen starts to tremble and shake, then she lets out a loud scream and we see she is beginning to change. We see different people reacting to the broadcast before Chris shoots her and they cut to a commercial. At a local bar a couple of guys debate whether what they saw was real. Another guy comes in and orders a pepper steak for himself and a burger for his ladyfriend who happens to be…Marsha. The End.
Battle Blog: American Werewolf in London vs. TheHowling Pt. 1
So I finally got around to re-viewing my two horror movies yesterday (sadly, I skipped Silver Bullet). I own these (on DVD and VHS in fact) and probably watch each at least once a year (usually about this time). Although I knew I was watching them for different reasons, I probably could have paid closer attention and all that. You will have to forgive me, but I am thiiiiiiiis close to finishing my first ever crocheted sweater, so my concentration was split a little.
As I mentioned earlier, I love both these movies for different reasons. I was pretty young when I saw them both, probably in my preteens, and even though neither kept me awake at night, each had stuff that made me want to leave the lights on just for a little while.
I’ll start with American Werewolf in London (aka AWiL). We begin with two young American college students, David (David “Makin’ It” Naughton) and Jack (Griffin “Sorry, I can’t think of a snarky nickname” Dunne) backpacking through Europe. They have made it to northern England by hitchhiking with a sheepherder. Unsure where to go next they head to a local pub called the Slaughtered Lamb where are not exactly warmly welcomed. After being denied food, they get some tea and listen to a bad joke. Jack notices a pentagram on the wall and decides to ask about it which causes everyone in the room to fall silent. They are then essentially booted out into the night with warnings to stick to the road, steer clear of the moors, and “beware the moon”. As they walk they veer off the road and proceed to get lost on the moors. They decide to try to find the road again, but then they start hearing odd animal howls. They then decide to head back to the Slaughtered Lamb but they discover that whatever is making those noises is circling them. They head in a different direction and Jack trips and falls. When David moves to help him up he’s knocked down by some type of animal which then attacks Jack. David freaks out and bails while Jack screams for help. David snaps out of his fear response and heads back to help his friend, but it’s too late. Jack is all torn up. David is then attacked and bitten before those pub locals show up and shoot the animal down. David looks over and sees a naked bleeding man before he passes out.
David is unconscious for a while, but when he wakes up, he’s surprised to learn that the officials believe he and Jack were attacked by a madman, that the attack was witnessed by two others, and that they aren’t interested in investigating his story any further. David insists it was an animal but his weird dreams and a visit from his dead friend Jack, who urges him to kill himself, make him think he’s going crazy. His story piques the interest of one of the nurses, Jenny and the doctor taking care of him. Jenny develops feelings for him and upon his release, she offers to let him stay at her place. Mmmmm-hmmm. The doctor decides to do a bit of investigating.
He heads out to the pub to question the locals about what happened. He quickly realizes they have lied and one guilt-riddled local warns him that David is in trouble, that he will change and hurt others before another scares him off. Meanwhile, David and Jenny enjoy each other’s company. Afterwards, David gets another visit from an increasingly decaying Jack warning him that he will change and he needs to kill himself before it is too late. He tells Jenny about the visit but she just blows him off and drags him back to bed. The next day, Jenny heads off to work reluctantly leaving David alone at her place. He gets locked out and has to climb back in through the window. He then spends the day restlessly wandering her apartment with no appetite. At nightfall, he suddenly screams, rips off his clothes, and agonizingly turns into a beastie!
He kills a couple on their way to a dinner party, 3 homeless men on a dock, and a young man in the subway. The next day he wakes up naked in the wolves’ cage at the zoo with no memory of the previous night. He steals a coat and heads back to Jenny’s place. She, meanwhile, has been nervously waiting for him. The doctor has called and ordered her to bring David in right away because he’s concerned about him. When he comes back, the couple grabs a taxi to the doctor’s. In the cab David learns of the previous night’s murders. He leaps from the cab and tries to get arrested, sure that he’s responsible for the attacks, but the police take him for a prankster. Jenny tries to get him to go to the doctor’s but he runs away, afraid he’ll hurt her.
He later calls his family before he spots decrepit Jack at a porno theater. He goes in and meets Jack and his other victims. They all try to convince him to kill himself before he kills others, but David’s too afraid. Meanwhile, the doctor is trying to convince police to help him look for David who maybe in trouble. Later, he changes in the theater and attacks other patrons. The police are alerted and the theater is closed off, but the beast burst through and terrorizes the streets of London.
He ultimately gets trapped in an alley where the nurse begs him to let her help. He moves to attack her and is shot dead by police. (Oh, yeah. Spoiler alert.)
To be continued...
As I mentioned earlier, I love both these movies for different reasons. I was pretty young when I saw them both, probably in my preteens, and even though neither kept me awake at night, each had stuff that made me want to leave the lights on just for a little while.
I’ll start with American Werewolf in London (aka AWiL). We begin with two young American college students, David (David “Makin’ It” Naughton) and Jack (Griffin “Sorry, I can’t think of a snarky nickname” Dunne) backpacking through Europe. They have made it to northern England by hitchhiking with a sheepherder. Unsure where to go next they head to a local pub called the Slaughtered Lamb where are not exactly warmly welcomed. After being denied food, they get some tea and listen to a bad joke. Jack notices a pentagram on the wall and decides to ask about it which causes everyone in the room to fall silent. They are then essentially booted out into the night with warnings to stick to the road, steer clear of the moors, and “beware the moon”. As they walk they veer off the road and proceed to get lost on the moors. They decide to try to find the road again, but then they start hearing odd animal howls. They then decide to head back to the Slaughtered Lamb but they discover that whatever is making those noises is circling them. They head in a different direction and Jack trips and falls. When David moves to help him up he’s knocked down by some type of animal which then attacks Jack. David freaks out and bails while Jack screams for help. David snaps out of his fear response and heads back to help his friend, but it’s too late. Jack is all torn up. David is then attacked and bitten before those pub locals show up and shoot the animal down. David looks over and sees a naked bleeding man before he passes out.
David is unconscious for a while, but when he wakes up, he’s surprised to learn that the officials believe he and Jack were attacked by a madman, that the attack was witnessed by two others, and that they aren’t interested in investigating his story any further. David insists it was an animal but his weird dreams and a visit from his dead friend Jack, who urges him to kill himself, make him think he’s going crazy. His story piques the interest of one of the nurses, Jenny and the doctor taking care of him. Jenny develops feelings for him and upon his release, she offers to let him stay at her place. Mmmmm-hmmm. The doctor decides to do a bit of investigating.
He heads out to the pub to question the locals about what happened. He quickly realizes they have lied and one guilt-riddled local warns him that David is in trouble, that he will change and hurt others before another scares him off. Meanwhile, David and Jenny enjoy each other’s company. Afterwards, David gets another visit from an increasingly decaying Jack warning him that he will change and he needs to kill himself before it is too late. He tells Jenny about the visit but she just blows him off and drags him back to bed. The next day, Jenny heads off to work reluctantly leaving David alone at her place. He gets locked out and has to climb back in through the window. He then spends the day restlessly wandering her apartment with no appetite. At nightfall, he suddenly screams, rips off his clothes, and agonizingly turns into a beastie!
He kills a couple on their way to a dinner party, 3 homeless men on a dock, and a young man in the subway. The next day he wakes up naked in the wolves’ cage at the zoo with no memory of the previous night. He steals a coat and heads back to Jenny’s place. She, meanwhile, has been nervously waiting for him. The doctor has called and ordered her to bring David in right away because he’s concerned about him. When he comes back, the couple grabs a taxi to the doctor’s. In the cab David learns of the previous night’s murders. He leaps from the cab and tries to get arrested, sure that he’s responsible for the attacks, but the police take him for a prankster. Jenny tries to get him to go to the doctor’s but he runs away, afraid he’ll hurt her.
He later calls his family before he spots decrepit Jack at a porno theater. He goes in and meets Jack and his other victims. They all try to convince him to kill himself before he kills others, but David’s too afraid. Meanwhile, the doctor is trying to convince police to help him look for David who maybe in trouble. Later, he changes in the theater and attacks other patrons. The police are alerted and the theater is closed off, but the beast burst through and terrorizes the streets of London.
He ultimately gets trapped in an alley where the nurse begs him to let her help. He moves to attack her and is shot dead by police. (Oh, yeah. Spoiler alert.)
To be continued...
I've lost that loving feeling
I have a new obsession now. I am listening to horror-related podcasts. I was made aware of these because of my MySpace/Facebook pal TVan, but I never thought to download any until recently. I went for broadcast of radio serials and language learning podcasts initially, but this being my favorite season which always puts me in mind of horror movies, I thought I’d poke around on the web and see what was out there.
I’ve discovered a few really good ones. My favorite so far is the HorrorEtc podcast hosted by a couple (sometimes three) nutty Canadian horror fans. Listening to them is like listening to OtherScott because they are just so deeply in love with these movies. It’s really fun and I might have an ear-crush (no idea what he looks like) on Ted because he seems to think like me (yes, the Christmas season does suck) and I totally dig on his accent.
Another that I’ve enjoyed is Night of the Living Podcast. This one is hosted by a couple of couples and a gay dude from Cincinnati. There’s was actually the first one I started listening to. I enjoy it, but there are parts that could be improved. For one thing, they go off on non-related tangents that get really annoying sometimes. Another is that they seem to get distracted by the number of people present. Honestly, Andy (the gay dude, who happens to sound a little like Gary Spivey) doesn’t get to say enough, at least not in the episodes I’ve listened to. I also am disappointed that I can’t access older episodes, but that’s my fault for jumping on this bandwagon too late.
Another good one is Bloody Good Horror. This one features three guys from around the country which brings me to my first complaint. The varying audio sounds can be a bit off-putting. I’ve listened to a couple and one of the guys (forgive me, for I don’t know names or locations) is barely audible sometimes. Overall though, these guys are fun to listen to on a lame day at work.
You know what all this podcast-listening has made me realize though? I realized I have become a totally bitter and jaded horror fan. I don’t just relax and enjoy horror movies any more. I posted a similar complaint about myself once before, but it still holds true. In my youth I could go to the movies (or the video store) and still find something enjoyable in the experience no matter how lame or cheesy. Now maybe it’s because movies aren’t as cheap as they used to be and the movie going experience isn’t as cool but that’s no excuse for when I Netflix something and can’t make it through it.
And you know what else? I don’t get scared any more. I mean, I don’t really remember the last time I jumped watching a film. Okay, I think I jumped at some point during The Strangers, but I mostly smacked my head (dude, Best Man, SAY SOMETHING!). Granted, so many movies have used lame jump-scares so often that you get desensitized after a while, but I don’t even get the thrill of anticipating a lame jump-scare. That’s not cool.
I’m not at a total lost because I do still experience that horror-joy when watching some of the old stuff. I had a great time watching American Werewolf in London and The Howling last week. Part of it is nostalgia, but nostalgia works in two ways. There’s good nostalgia like my feelings about old episodes of Good Times (pre-Keith) and The Cosby Show (pre-Elvin). You feel all excited and gooey inside when you remember those or come across one of those old episodes. Then there’s bad nostalgia like my feelings about that one episode of Mr. Belvidere I watched or the Nancy Reagan episode of Diff’rent Strokes. It’s like recalling a trainwreck you couldn’t look away from.
Anyway.
I’ve said it before and I’m gonna say it again. I want my horror innocence back! I’m gonna work on this. No more bitching and complaining about the latest remake! I will suck it up because they are not going away. I am going to fill my Netflix queue with all those horror movies I rolled my eyes at and vowed never to see. I will never see Juno (I REFUSE! No comments on this please! Let it go.), but I might just check out The Eye. And I can justify that goddammit because I’m a horror fan. (At random: it’s like 60 degrees and raining out, yet bitches are still wearing flip-flops.)
So I am gonna honestly try to watch more horror. This may be accomplished as I think I’m gonna be saying bye-bye to my cable pretty soon here.
I gotta get back to work.
I’ve discovered a few really good ones. My favorite so far is the HorrorEtc podcast hosted by a couple (sometimes three) nutty Canadian horror fans. Listening to them is like listening to OtherScott because they are just so deeply in love with these movies. It’s really fun and I might have an ear-crush (no idea what he looks like) on Ted because he seems to think like me (yes, the Christmas season does suck) and I totally dig on his accent.
Another that I’ve enjoyed is Night of the Living Podcast. This one is hosted by a couple of couples and a gay dude from Cincinnati. There’s was actually the first one I started listening to. I enjoy it, but there are parts that could be improved. For one thing, they go off on non-related tangents that get really annoying sometimes. Another is that they seem to get distracted by the number of people present. Honestly, Andy (the gay dude, who happens to sound a little like Gary Spivey) doesn’t get to say enough, at least not in the episodes I’ve listened to. I also am disappointed that I can’t access older episodes, but that’s my fault for jumping on this bandwagon too late.
Another good one is Bloody Good Horror. This one features three guys from around the country which brings me to my first complaint. The varying audio sounds can be a bit off-putting. I’ve listened to a couple and one of the guys (forgive me, for I don’t know names or locations) is barely audible sometimes. Overall though, these guys are fun to listen to on a lame day at work.
You know what all this podcast-listening has made me realize though? I realized I have become a totally bitter and jaded horror fan. I don’t just relax and enjoy horror movies any more. I posted a similar complaint about myself once before, but it still holds true. In my youth I could go to the movies (or the video store) and still find something enjoyable in the experience no matter how lame or cheesy. Now maybe it’s because movies aren’t as cheap as they used to be and the movie going experience isn’t as cool but that’s no excuse for when I Netflix something and can’t make it through it.
And you know what else? I don’t get scared any more. I mean, I don’t really remember the last time I jumped watching a film. Okay, I think I jumped at some point during The Strangers, but I mostly smacked my head (dude, Best Man, SAY SOMETHING!). Granted, so many movies have used lame jump-scares so often that you get desensitized after a while, but I don’t even get the thrill of anticipating a lame jump-scare. That’s not cool.
I’m not at a total lost because I do still experience that horror-joy when watching some of the old stuff. I had a great time watching American Werewolf in London and The Howling last week. Part of it is nostalgia, but nostalgia works in two ways. There’s good nostalgia like my feelings about old episodes of Good Times (pre-Keith) and The Cosby Show (pre-Elvin). You feel all excited and gooey inside when you remember those or come across one of those old episodes. Then there’s bad nostalgia like my feelings about that one episode of Mr. Belvidere I watched or the Nancy Reagan episode of Diff’rent Strokes. It’s like recalling a trainwreck you couldn’t look away from.
Anyway.
I’ve said it before and I’m gonna say it again. I want my horror innocence back! I’m gonna work on this. No more bitching and complaining about the latest remake! I will suck it up because they are not going away. I am going to fill my Netflix queue with all those horror movies I rolled my eyes at and vowed never to see. I will never see Juno (I REFUSE! No comments on this please! Let it go.), but I might just check out The Eye. And I can justify that goddammit because I’m a horror fan. (At random: it’s like 60 degrees and raining out, yet bitches are still wearing flip-flops.)
So I am gonna honestly try to watch more horror. This may be accomplished as I think I’m gonna be saying bye-bye to my cable pretty soon here.
I gotta get back to work.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Dirty little secrets
Chung-chung!!!
Hello, MY FRIENDS! Well, as some of you know, the networks were taken over by a Night of the Living Dead remake last night. Once again, a handsome black man valiantly battled a creepy zombie. Let's hope Obama's (Microsoft Word spellchecker thinks that should be Osama…it is totally, like, from northern Florida) battle ends better than Dwayne Jones, eh? Since MY FRIEND McScary pre-empted fresh SVU (and since I wrote this last week but never posted it) here's a recap of last week's episode for you.
This show is like watching a live-action re-enactment of the worst stories in the Enquirer. Tuesday's episode seemed to want to deal with the issue of what to do about budding pedophiles. I recall the Sunday Times magazine had such a story some months ago (can't find the link). This show didn't read that story.
So all the detectives are milling about the squad along with annoying new ADA chick (yes, she is pretty, but she's as horrible an actress as Diane Neal. Would it really kill them to hire a dude once in a while?). Munch is counseling some woman to leave her abusive husband. Fin interviews the husband who actually spits in his face!!! I mean it's all stuck on his little mustache and everything. Fin just casually walks out. Ice-T, how far you've fallen. I can't believe the guy who is man enough to allow the world to see him getting his hair permed in Pimps Up, Hos Down would allow a scene in which someone spits in his face.
Anyway, everyone else seems really bored and hoping for some hot sex crime action. In walks a teenage boy who wants to report some naughty deeds. Liv pounces on this and sits the kid down to talk (at her desk in the middle of the squad which seems a bit inappropriate). The kid admits that he's been having impure thoughts about his little stepbrother. Liv? Didn't see that coming…because she doesn't read the Excite TV listings which totally gave that bit away.
The detectives decide that he is lying when he says he never touched his little brother and now they need to PROVE that the little guy was a victim. Naturally, they go to freak out his parents. Stepdad is not happy to hear that his son may have been touched. Mom freaks out at the idea that her son might be a pedophile. Liv and Elliot really don't help matters much. They search the house and find a semen-stained sweatshirt in a hamper.
They take the little kid for an exam where the doc tells them there are no signs of physical abuse. Liv rains on the parents' parade by telling them that the poor kid's assault could have been oral. She and El then go back to the squad to grill the older boy. He swears he didn't hurt his brother and claims he wants help. He's a weeping, snot-running mess and I have to say I believe him. Elliot does his usually get-right-in-your-face-and-sexy-whisper-about-your-perversion thing, but the kid doesn't break. He tells them he goes to a website that allows him to "look but not touch". And the DNA from the sweatshirt turns out to be Dad's. Fin and Munch attack him at work where he reveals that he used that shirt to clean up after a little self-lovin' session. I wonder what kind of father uses his own kid's clothes to wipe up after. Maybe not a pedophile, but still a big fat jerk!
Off they go to visit the website's guru. WebGuru explains that he puts up non-pornographic pictures and offers "counseling" to help others like him control their urges. If they cross the line, they pay a price, he explains as he TESTS HIS GLUCOSE (psst! That's a plot point). Elliot doesn't buy it, but they can't arrest him because it isn't technically kiddie porn and they've no proof he's done anything wrong (yet).
Meanwhile, Older Bro has been released because the little stepbrother has denied any abuse and there aren't any treatment programs for pedophiles who haven't offended yet. (Shake you head at the pathos.) The little guy is later interviewed by a psychologist while Liv, El, and not-Casey observe. The doc asks if anyone has hurt the kid and the kid shoves a crayon up a doll's butt. Not-Casey is totally convinced now and ready to throw the older brother under a jail (did I mention that the older boy is 17?). Not so fast, says the Doc. He believes the boy has been coached and doesn't display any other signs of having been abused. Not-Casey doesn't want to hear it, but Liv and Elliot are sorta starting to see the light. She thinks Angry Dad might have put his kid up to this to keep the older boy away from his son. Not-Casey doesn't really care but wants some evidence to book Older Bro.
Liv heads over to their house where you could cut the tension with a knife. Mom is still in disbelief and says she wants nothing else to do with Older Boy and doesn't know where he is. Dad wants nothing more to do with her son or her and orders her to get out. Liv actually looks a little humble. Blink and you miss it though. She thinks mom is hiding her kid, but mom swears she isn't.
Back at the squad, they are analyzing the contents of the Guru's website when El sees a particular pic that interests him. He gets those crazy eyes (Oz fans might recognize them as Chris Keller's I'ma-kill-you eyes) and sketchily works his way out of the squad while everyone else is trying to find Older Bro.
Liv and Fin go back to Mom and Dad's as she's packing to leave. Liv thinks Dad might have done something to the kid, but he swears he didn't and storms off. Then she asks mom if she's helping him hide. Mom again claims she wants nothing to do with him. They leave and set up surveillance outside their domicile. Back at the squad, Munch saunters into Captain Cragen's and tells him they might have a "situation." It seems one of the pics the Guru had on his site, the one that made Elliot go all Keller-eyes was one of Elliot's many daughters when she was younger. Cragen, who knows what brand of crazy his squad breeds, grabs his gun and orders Munch to call in Liv and Fin.
We head over to WebGuru's with Elliot who does that door-kick thing he just LOVES to do and we cut away. Once the other detectives arrive, we find the guru's joint all torn up, the guru beaten and bloody on the floor, and Elliot furiously attempting to delete his daughter's picture from the site. Guru bleats that he wants El arrested, but they make him delete whatsherface's picture first.
I had to check out House Hunters, so I missed a bit here, but Elliot is being chewed out by the captain FINALLY! He yells at him for putting his fellow officers' jobs on the line. He takes Elliot's gun and his badge and for the second time in this episode, one of the Dynamic Duo looks humble. Cragen dismisses him and Elliot goes out where everyone looks at him sort of forlornly, then he just leaves...without an apology or anything. Aren't we supposed to be cheering for these guys?
Later, Fin and Liv are back on surveillance. Fin says something to Liv about her partner going off half-cocked (remember how Fin told Elliot off at the end of last season and then put in for a transfer that isn't gonna happen), but admits Elliot used restraint because Fin would have wasted the guy. Big talk, spitface! Liv drinks coffee and arches her eyebrow but says nothing. Then, she and Fin see Mom packing one box into her car. They figure this isn't part of her moving so they follow her. They wind up at some kind of loft and at the door they hear a blood-curdling scream. They bust in and find Mom cradling her very bloody, very dead son. Fin pulls her off and Liv looks weirded out.
Mom is now in a squad car being questioned by Liv. She says she wasn't helping her son and didn't know where he was until last night when he left a message saying he wanted to come home. She went to take him his stuff and tell him she never wanted to see him again. Liv looks sorry for her and says she might not get in trouble for helping a fugitive.
Later, the ME informs the gang that Older Bro was sodomized with a homemade baseball bat before he was killed. She kindly shows them the splinters she removed to prove her point. Ouch! Now everyone is trying to figure out whodunit. They send the ME off to run tests on the blood found at the scene, while Liv zeros in on Angry Dad whom she figures heard the message and went to exact some revenge even though everyone is now pretty sure the little kid was not assaulted. They pick him up and hustle him into an interrogation room. He finally admits to bat-raping the kid, but won't cop to killing him.
The ME shows up and says DNA at the scene wasn't Angry Dad's, offers the clue that the killer was diabetic! Well, who did we see checking his blood sugar earlier in the episode? I can't seem to recall…oh, that's right. It was WebGuru. They head back to his place and arrest him and destroy his computer or something. He gets all sanctimonious claiming Older Bro finally confessed to having assaulted some kid and had to pay for breaking the rules. But mostly, he sounds bitter and angry that Older Bro got to touch and he didn't. He's arrested and hauled away.
The episode ends again with everyone (except Elliot) sitting around the squad morosely wondering how they will find Older Bro's victim. Then that chick Munch was talking to at the beginning comes in even MORE beat up than she was earlier. She tells Munch she loves her husband, but she doesn't want to die and we go to credits on that frighteningly sad note.
But this episode kind of pissed me off and I'll tell you why. There were too many cop-outs. Elliot blatantly broke the rules for personal reasons for the 15 millionth time and appeared to be suffering consequences, but he is ultimately absolved when it turns out WebGuru is the murderer. Dick Wolf says Elliot broke the rules, but WebGuru deserved it. Older Bro's murder seems to be an easy way to not deal with how society should handle young people who express violent sexual behaviors. I think even making the kid 17 was a cop-out. Heavenforfend we really have to think about what to do when faced with a 13 or 14 year old who expresses sexual interest in young kids. I also didn't like that the detectives were so quick to believe WebGuru when he told them that the kid had confessed to him. He's a MURDERER! And making Older Bro a perp also seems like a way for everyone to walk away with clean hands.
This isn't as convoluted plot-wise as some of last season's episodes, but it's still not exactly up there with the stuff from seasons 2 – 4.
Hello, MY FRIENDS! Well, as some of you know, the networks were taken over by a Night of the Living Dead remake last night. Once again, a handsome black man valiantly battled a creepy zombie. Let's hope Obama's (Microsoft Word spellchecker thinks that should be Osama…it is totally, like, from northern Florida) battle ends better than Dwayne Jones, eh? Since MY FRIEND McScary pre-empted fresh SVU (and since I wrote this last week but never posted it) here's a recap of last week's episode for you.
This show is like watching a live-action re-enactment of the worst stories in the Enquirer. Tuesday's episode seemed to want to deal with the issue of what to do about budding pedophiles. I recall the Sunday Times magazine had such a story some months ago (can't find the link). This show didn't read that story.
So all the detectives are milling about the squad along with annoying new ADA chick (yes, she is pretty, but she's as horrible an actress as Diane Neal. Would it really kill them to hire a dude once in a while?). Munch is counseling some woman to leave her abusive husband. Fin interviews the husband who actually spits in his face!!! I mean it's all stuck on his little mustache and everything. Fin just casually walks out. Ice-T, how far you've fallen. I can't believe the guy who is man enough to allow the world to see him getting his hair permed in Pimps Up, Hos Down would allow a scene in which someone spits in his face.
Anyway, everyone else seems really bored and hoping for some hot sex crime action. In walks a teenage boy who wants to report some naughty deeds. Liv pounces on this and sits the kid down to talk (at her desk in the middle of the squad which seems a bit inappropriate). The kid admits that he's been having impure thoughts about his little stepbrother. Liv? Didn't see that coming…because she doesn't read the Excite TV listings which totally gave that bit away.
The detectives decide that he is lying when he says he never touched his little brother and now they need to PROVE that the little guy was a victim. Naturally, they go to freak out his parents. Stepdad is not happy to hear that his son may have been touched. Mom freaks out at the idea that her son might be a pedophile. Liv and Elliot really don't help matters much. They search the house and find a semen-stained sweatshirt in a hamper.
They take the little kid for an exam where the doc tells them there are no signs of physical abuse. Liv rains on the parents' parade by telling them that the poor kid's assault could have been oral. She and El then go back to the squad to grill the older boy. He swears he didn't hurt his brother and claims he wants help. He's a weeping, snot-running mess and I have to say I believe him. Elliot does his usually get-right-in-your-face-and-sexy-whisper-about-your-perversion thing, but the kid doesn't break. He tells them he goes to a website that allows him to "look but not touch". And the DNA from the sweatshirt turns out to be Dad's. Fin and Munch attack him at work where he reveals that he used that shirt to clean up after a little self-lovin' session. I wonder what kind of father uses his own kid's clothes to wipe up after. Maybe not a pedophile, but still a big fat jerk!
Off they go to visit the website's guru. WebGuru explains that he puts up non-pornographic pictures and offers "counseling" to help others like him control their urges. If they cross the line, they pay a price, he explains as he TESTS HIS GLUCOSE (psst! That's a plot point). Elliot doesn't buy it, but they can't arrest him because it isn't technically kiddie porn and they've no proof he's done anything wrong (yet).
Meanwhile, Older Bro has been released because the little stepbrother has denied any abuse and there aren't any treatment programs for pedophiles who haven't offended yet. (Shake you head at the pathos.) The little guy is later interviewed by a psychologist while Liv, El, and not-Casey observe. The doc asks if anyone has hurt the kid and the kid shoves a crayon up a doll's butt. Not-Casey is totally convinced now and ready to throw the older brother under a jail (did I mention that the older boy is 17?). Not so fast, says the Doc. He believes the boy has been coached and doesn't display any other signs of having been abused. Not-Casey doesn't want to hear it, but Liv and Elliot are sorta starting to see the light. She thinks Angry Dad might have put his kid up to this to keep the older boy away from his son. Not-Casey doesn't really care but wants some evidence to book Older Bro.
Liv heads over to their house where you could cut the tension with a knife. Mom is still in disbelief and says she wants nothing else to do with Older Boy and doesn't know where he is. Dad wants nothing more to do with her son or her and orders her to get out. Liv actually looks a little humble. Blink and you miss it though. She thinks mom is hiding her kid, but mom swears she isn't.
Back at the squad, they are analyzing the contents of the Guru's website when El sees a particular pic that interests him. He gets those crazy eyes (Oz fans might recognize them as Chris Keller's I'ma-kill-you eyes) and sketchily works his way out of the squad while everyone else is trying to find Older Bro.
Liv and Fin go back to Mom and Dad's as she's packing to leave. Liv thinks Dad might have done something to the kid, but he swears he didn't and storms off. Then she asks mom if she's helping him hide. Mom again claims she wants nothing to do with him. They leave and set up surveillance outside their domicile. Back at the squad, Munch saunters into Captain Cragen's and tells him they might have a "situation." It seems one of the pics the Guru had on his site, the one that made Elliot go all Keller-eyes was one of Elliot's many daughters when she was younger. Cragen, who knows what brand of crazy his squad breeds, grabs his gun and orders Munch to call in Liv and Fin.
We head over to WebGuru's with Elliot who does that door-kick thing he just LOVES to do and we cut away. Once the other detectives arrive, we find the guru's joint all torn up, the guru beaten and bloody on the floor, and Elliot furiously attempting to delete his daughter's picture from the site. Guru bleats that he wants El arrested, but they make him delete whatsherface's picture first.
I had to check out House Hunters, so I missed a bit here, but Elliot is being chewed out by the captain FINALLY! He yells at him for putting his fellow officers' jobs on the line. He takes Elliot's gun and his badge and for the second time in this episode, one of the Dynamic Duo looks humble. Cragen dismisses him and Elliot goes out where everyone looks at him sort of forlornly, then he just leaves...without an apology or anything. Aren't we supposed to be cheering for these guys?
Later, Fin and Liv are back on surveillance. Fin says something to Liv about her partner going off half-cocked (remember how Fin told Elliot off at the end of last season and then put in for a transfer that isn't gonna happen), but admits Elliot used restraint because Fin would have wasted the guy. Big talk, spitface! Liv drinks coffee and arches her eyebrow but says nothing. Then, she and Fin see Mom packing one box into her car. They figure this isn't part of her moving so they follow her. They wind up at some kind of loft and at the door they hear a blood-curdling scream. They bust in and find Mom cradling her very bloody, very dead son. Fin pulls her off and Liv looks weirded out.
Mom is now in a squad car being questioned by Liv. She says she wasn't helping her son and didn't know where he was until last night when he left a message saying he wanted to come home. She went to take him his stuff and tell him she never wanted to see him again. Liv looks sorry for her and says she might not get in trouble for helping a fugitive.
Later, the ME informs the gang that Older Bro was sodomized with a homemade baseball bat before he was killed. She kindly shows them the splinters she removed to prove her point. Ouch! Now everyone is trying to figure out whodunit. They send the ME off to run tests on the blood found at the scene, while Liv zeros in on Angry Dad whom she figures heard the message and went to exact some revenge even though everyone is now pretty sure the little kid was not assaulted. They pick him up and hustle him into an interrogation room. He finally admits to bat-raping the kid, but won't cop to killing him.
The ME shows up and says DNA at the scene wasn't Angry Dad's, offers the clue that the killer was diabetic! Well, who did we see checking his blood sugar earlier in the episode? I can't seem to recall…oh, that's right. It was WebGuru. They head back to his place and arrest him and destroy his computer or something. He gets all sanctimonious claiming Older Bro finally confessed to having assaulted some kid and had to pay for breaking the rules. But mostly, he sounds bitter and angry that Older Bro got to touch and he didn't. He's arrested and hauled away.
The episode ends again with everyone (except Elliot) sitting around the squad morosely wondering how they will find Older Bro's victim. Then that chick Munch was talking to at the beginning comes in even MORE beat up than she was earlier. She tells Munch she loves her husband, but she doesn't want to die and we go to credits on that frighteningly sad note.
But this episode kind of pissed me off and I'll tell you why. There were too many cop-outs. Elliot blatantly broke the rules for personal reasons for the 15 millionth time and appeared to be suffering consequences, but he is ultimately absolved when it turns out WebGuru is the murderer. Dick Wolf says Elliot broke the rules, but WebGuru deserved it. Older Bro's murder seems to be an easy way to not deal with how society should handle young people who express violent sexual behaviors. I think even making the kid 17 was a cop-out. Heavenforfend we really have to think about what to do when faced with a 13 or 14 year old who expresses sexual interest in young kids. I also didn't like that the detectives were so quick to believe WebGuru when he told them that the kid had confessed to him. He's a MURDERER! And making Older Bro a perp also seems like a way for everyone to walk away with clean hands.
This isn't as convoluted plot-wise as some of last season's episodes, but it's still not exactly up there with the stuff from seasons 2 – 4.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Sad
Did you hear about the guy who died after NYPD tased him and he fell off a ledge? Well, that story just got a bit sadder because the lieutenant who ordered the tasing killed himself. Now we don't know for sure that this is specifically the reason he did this, but I can't imagine it was easy for him knowing he was responsible for this man's death. On top of that, everyone labeled him the villain and he was booted from his job. Some of the commentors on this story scare the crap out of me saying he deserved it, but there are also too many people making excuses for the officer's decision to tase a naked man ON A LEDGE!!! It always fascinates me that the response to someone threatening her/his own life is for the police to threaten that person's life. Is there some weird religous thinking behind that? I mean, in Silver Bullet the werewolf kills people who have committed sins in order to save their souls. Is that what cops are doing? Do they think it's better to be killed by someone else than it is to take one's own life? Are police ever trained to shoot to disarm? Did HIV make cops stop attempting to physically take down suspects? I know some people intentionally put themselves in positions to be killed by the police (suicide by cop), but perhaps if our nation's police forces weren't so notoriously quick on the draw, fewer people would do shit like this.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Am I evil? Not comparatively
You know, sometimes I catch myself thinking I'm a bad person. Like this morning, I walked in between two people talking in our breakroom without saying "excuse me." Granted, these two people were standing right by the entrance in front of the microwave and made no effort to move when they say me approaching with food in hand. Or yesterday, when this chick sat next to me on the bus and was all hurrumphing because I had the window cracked. I was hot and the chick in front of me wreaked of cigarette smoke. Suck it up or move (she moved eventually).
Yes, I may occasionally behave badly, but I'm not really evil. Evil is John McCain. NPR played a portion of an interview they did with him this morning. This man has no qualms about being a lying douchebag. The interviewer asked about Palin's assertion that visual proximity to Alaska equals foreign policy experience. McCain hemmed and hawed that that wasn't her only qualification and said a lot of who-shot-John about her dealings with energy companies. When asked if he would feel confident going to Palin for advice on a foreign policy issue, he could barely say anything positive about her (he has gone to her for advice before for...something), but instead railed against Biden and Obama for being "wrong". Cluelessness over cleverness.
My favorite part was when he was asked if he ever saw a negative ad with his endorsement and just went to his people and told them to stop it. He was given the example of the ad about Obama promoting comprehensive sex ed to kindergartners which the interviewer pointed out was proven to be a LIE. McCain claims the ad was actually true and says you can see why at his website. He went on to claim that the reason his ads have been so negative is because Obama didn't agree to participate in some series of town hall meetings. Basically, "If he's just done what we wanted, we wouldn't be some mean to him." John McCain is a Mean Girl. And a dick!
Later, Mid-Morning had on a couple of writers who did profiles on Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. Now, I haven't read either yet, but I found some of the stuff about Cindy totally fascinating...and disturbing. The author talked about how Cindy seems to like to surprise her husband with things she's done like learning to fly or race car driving or adopting a baby. He described it as "acting out" which is interesting considering she's, well, not a teenager. He also sorta defended her against people attacking her pill addiction.
You know, I once got into a disagreement with someone about whether McCain's mental health record should be made public. As someone whose family has a history of mental health issues, I get nervous at the idea of someone's mental health record being used against them. Remember when that woman accused Kobe Bryant of rape and then his lawyer came out saying, "Oh, but she had attempted suicide once and went to a shrink" like that somehow made it impossible for her to know when she had been raped. I don't like that.
HOWEVER, I have to rethink my position a bit because I seriously wonder just how crazy John McCain might be. I think his wife's "acting out" might be a reaction to being married to an insane, controlling bastard. I think there is some real, live insanity boiling under the surface of those crazy eyes. We already know that he's a narcissistic prick who left his devoted first wife for a new chippy, but he also seems really aloof and distant from her and his family. He doesn't come across as a feeling person. Even the automoton Ronald Reagan seemed to have a real affection for "Mommy". Heck, Bill Clinton at least seems to admire Hillary if he isn't still in love with her. McCain comes across like he doesn't even like his wife. I think if her coffers weren't so deep he'd find himself another younger woman (who has a thing for old men with goiters), hopefully with a little extra cash in the attic.
I have to get back to work since the Man is totally spying on our usage of the Internets lately.
Edited to add:
Now, this isn't me saying that those records should in fact be made public. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma in this country associated with mental health issues. Getting help for depression or anxiety or OCD or anger issues makes you "unstable" in the eyes of many. They might feign understanding, but they are secretly asking what's wrong with you. Are you gonna snap or go on a murderous rampage? If they don't see you as blatantly "crazy" and Ted Bundy-esque, then you're just a self-involved whiner (if you're a woman) or pansy-assed wuss (if you're a man) who just can't hack living in the real world.
Still, some of Mr. Maverick's behavior, picking the inexperienced and bubble-brained Sarah Palin as a running mate for example, make one wonder just how right-in-the-head he is (or isn't).
Yes, I may occasionally behave badly, but I'm not really evil. Evil is John McCain. NPR played a portion of an interview they did with him this morning. This man has no qualms about being a lying douchebag. The interviewer asked about Palin's assertion that visual proximity to Alaska equals foreign policy experience. McCain hemmed and hawed that that wasn't her only qualification and said a lot of who-shot-John about her dealings with energy companies. When asked if he would feel confident going to Palin for advice on a foreign policy issue, he could barely say anything positive about her (he has gone to her for advice before for...something), but instead railed against Biden and Obama for being "wrong". Cluelessness over cleverness.
My favorite part was when he was asked if he ever saw a negative ad with his endorsement and just went to his people and told them to stop it. He was given the example of the ad about Obama promoting comprehensive sex ed to kindergartners which the interviewer pointed out was proven to be a LIE. McCain claims the ad was actually true and says you can see why at his website. He went on to claim that the reason his ads have been so negative is because Obama didn't agree to participate in some series of town hall meetings. Basically, "If he's just done what we wanted, we wouldn't be some mean to him." John McCain is a Mean Girl. And a dick!
Later, Mid-Morning had on a couple of writers who did profiles on Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. Now, I haven't read either yet, but I found some of the stuff about Cindy totally fascinating...and disturbing. The author talked about how Cindy seems to like to surprise her husband with things she's done like learning to fly or race car driving or adopting a baby. He described it as "acting out" which is interesting considering she's, well, not a teenager. He also sorta defended her against people attacking her pill addiction.
You know, I once got into a disagreement with someone about whether McCain's mental health record should be made public. As someone whose family has a history of mental health issues, I get nervous at the idea of someone's mental health record being used against them. Remember when that woman accused Kobe Bryant of rape and then his lawyer came out saying, "Oh, but she had attempted suicide once and went to a shrink" like that somehow made it impossible for her to know when she had been raped. I don't like that.
HOWEVER, I have to rethink my position a bit because I seriously wonder just how crazy John McCain might be. I think his wife's "acting out" might be a reaction to being married to an insane, controlling bastard. I think there is some real, live insanity boiling under the surface of those crazy eyes. We already know that he's a narcissistic prick who left his devoted first wife for a new chippy, but he also seems really aloof and distant from her and his family. He doesn't come across as a feeling person. Even the automoton Ronald Reagan seemed to have a real affection for "Mommy". Heck, Bill Clinton at least seems to admire Hillary if he isn't still in love with her. McCain comes across like he doesn't even like his wife. I think if her coffers weren't so deep he'd find himself another younger woman (who has a thing for old men with goiters), hopefully with a little extra cash in the attic.
I have to get back to work since the Man is totally spying on our usage of the Internets lately.
Edited to add:
Now, this isn't me saying that those records should in fact be made public. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma in this country associated with mental health issues. Getting help for depression or anxiety or OCD or anger issues makes you "unstable" in the eyes of many. They might feign understanding, but they are secretly asking what's wrong with you. Are you gonna snap or go on a murderous rampage? If they don't see you as blatantly "crazy" and Ted Bundy-esque, then you're just a self-involved whiner (if you're a woman) or pansy-assed wuss (if you're a man) who just can't hack living in the real world.
Still, some of Mr. Maverick's behavior, picking the inexperienced and bubble-brained Sarah Palin as a running mate for example, make one wonder just how right-in-the-head he is (or isn't).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
