Waiting for Guest

I'm a big Christopher Guest fan. I love his films, and he's a fantastic actor. From seeing him as the 6-fingered man in The Princess Bride when I was just a wee one, to Nigel Tuffnel in what was to become one of my favourite films, This is Spinal Tap. His group of actors that he uses for a lot of his films work perfectly together, and all classic comedians.

I'm watching Waiting for Guffman at the moment, hence this post. Also, I need an excuse to post Corky St. Clair's dance:


Yeahhh, this film is gold. I don't own it yet, and I know it's part of the Christopher Guest Collection, but well...I already have A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show is somewhere on DVD. Also, I want to wait until there's a mega-super-ultra collection to get. Oh, I do have plans. And I plan to see every Guest and company film he creates.

Reading the watchmen on red koi.

Well, I did it. I finally ordered two things I should have had a long while ago.

Watchmen and a yoga mat. I know, I know, I'm super late for both. I should have bought a mat months ago when I started this new yoga-sizing thing, but I just kept dragging my feet about it. Hoping I would be fine just doing yoga on the carpet. No such luck though, as I tend to slip a bit and I'm sure that's not good for my joints and makes it more difficult to get into poses.

The other...I know I should have bought this amazing comic book a long while ago, but I'm really such a newbie when it comes to owning English comics. I did want to buy it before the movie comes out, so at least I met that goal. I don't want to be met with a huge sudden rush of Watchmen fans, like what happened with The Dark Knight. While it's an excellent movie, which I enjoyed immensely, the giant and sudden "hipness" of Batman just hit too quickly. Yes, yes Batman is angsty and cool. Indeed, the Joker is a fabulous foe who represents what all of us would be like if we just let go of modern day ethos.

Anyhoo, I'm hoping Watchmen will be just as bloody amazing. The trailer at least brings hope:

Video Addiction

Thanks to YouTube, we have the ability to create and post personal videos online. This internet phenomenon has created several different types of video sharing sites. There are all kinds of websites devoted to the always intriguing internet voyeurism. While there are sites that will cater to you news, social, and naughty preference, there aren't really any out there that will reward you for posting.

Getting cash for videos is a dream come true for the viral poster. There's a bit of pride that comes with posting your own crummy video and finding out that 25 million people want to view it.

There is one site out there that strives to make the poster's and the viewers happy. Viddiction.com offers monthly competitions with cash prizes ranging from $50 - $500. Youtube doesn't offer that, neither does Google video. These competitions rely on video views to decide their winners, which means that the poster of a possible winning video must try their hardest to get a bunch of pageviews. Judging by how addicted we all are to personal videos, this shouldn't be a difficult task.

Viddiction's title in itself summerizes our attitude towards online video posting quite well. It is an addiction to web videos. We may not all admit it, but inside is a voyuer, wanting to peer into other people's lives without censorship or acknowledgement. Personal videos on social sites such as Viddiction provide that glimse into the real personalities behind a sea of faces all over the world.

Then again, websites like this could also be popular because watching a cat continunely flush a toilet is darn funny:

Beast With a Billion Backs

So, continuing with my love for all things Matt Groening, I'm excited for the upcoming DVD release of Futurama: Beast With A Billion Backs. Here's the trailer:



Yeeeppp, looks like it's gonna be fun on a bun! I've already pre-ordered my DVD!

...Okay, I'll admit that I've already seen it. But, I support Futurama and watched the movie with the full intent of purchasing the DVD. Futurama is one of the few series I own the entirety of on DVD, yes, I also have Bender's Big Score. The reason being, that all the television DVDs contain commentary that is as entertaining as the episodes themselves. I'm such a DVD nerd, I love audio commentary and I enjoy it even more when those commenting sound like they had a good time making the film/t.v. show. I think it enhances the viewing experience, and touches on things that the viewer may have missed. Thus, I love Futurama and its consistent DVD commentaries.

So, here's a short review of Beast With a Billion Backs (spoiler free):

It's....weird. Definitely one of the odder stories to take place in the Futurama universe. I do like it though, the story is just a bit different from other Futurama stories. Why? I suppose it's a little more of a horror story actually, while funny the plot is quite disturbing and could easily be turned into a Sci-fi thriller if you take away the comedy...and Bender. But where would Futurama be without lovable Bender and its witty comedy?

The jokes are still great, and I've read a few reviews of people who are hardcore Futurama fans who didn't like Bender's Big Score because they said the writing wasn't as good as the t.v. show. That's, frankly, bullshit. Considering that the show has the same staff of writers as the films, I don't see how it could be worse. In my mind, it's the same. In fact, a bit better. Longer "episodes" lead to longer jokes, giving them more time to grow and develop. Also, by crafting the movies around a DVD release, the writers are able to get away with material that Fox would otherwise turn down. Fox has such odd censor laws, I can't imagine what the Futurama movies would look like on that station. Good thing they've got a contract with Comedy Central, a more lenient station.

I'm glad I bought Bender's Big Score, the DVD extras were plentiful and amusing. While the full-length Hypnotoad episode was a little wearing (of course it was, it's Hypnotoad, there isn't much more to elaborate on), the science lecture was quite entertaining and of course, the commentary was right on par with the t.v. DVDs. Looking at The Beast With A Billion Backs, the extras should be just as good.

There are two more Futurama films coming out after Beast, you can be damn sure I'll be watching them.

Go something something

Yay! I found the video that contains one of my most favourite bits of The Simpsons, from Treehouse of Horror V:


via videosift.com

hee hee hee, awesome.

On the Frontier of New Horror

Bloodlust, it's a trait that is present in every animal's soul. Humans, especially, have a taste for it, even if all of us may not openly admit it. If something particullary violent occurs, all of us will feel at least a little pang of curiosity. This simple fact is why we still produce and watch horror films.

I'm not a huge horror fan, mostly because I dislike movies that take themselves too seriously, but I do love my guts-n-gore. I'm no expert on the subject, but I have seen my fair share of horror flicks. It seems like films made in the United States have a different aesthetic from those made in Europe or Asia. In terms of pacing, Asian horror movies move far slower than our American gorefests. European ones tend to have their own, somewhat more fascinating, subtle take on the subject. However, since pretty much every horror film tries to build off of others we get an entire amalgam of features now, where it doesn't matter what country they were produced in.

Bah, I'm babbling. Like I said, I haven't seen enough horror films to really be a great critic but I do know what I like!

A new foreign horror flick is going to be released this Friday that I am curious to see because it's a decidley European take on the genre, Frontier(s). This film carries a bit of controversy with it as it was supposed to be released along After Dark's annual 8 Films to Die For for Horrorfest 2007, but due to its MPAA rating of NC-17 (i.e., the rating that all films fear but audiences look forward too), it was held back and is now being released in select American theatres under "unrated".

You can view the uncensored trailer on the official Frontier(s) website, along with other little clips to get your bloody palate salivating. It does look like quite an interesting film, as it involves great horror/thriller staples:

1.crappy, tenuius relationships
2. hicks
3. a group of shady 20-something kids
4. Neo-Nazis

Sounds like a proper horror film to me! I do want to check out all 8 films to die for anyway, and Frontier(s) is on that list.

Along with checking the select theater listings for Frontier(s), be aware that the DVD will be released on May 13th, so you won't miss out because you're local theatre isn't playing it.

Is there anything more satisfying than watching people get brutally murdered over ~2 hours? Why, yes, yes there is. For one, you could do it yourself. However, due to our basic moral standards, most of us will not decide to go down that path. For good reason, this is not a socially acceptable option as most of us don't want to go through all of that gorey mumbo jumbo. We do have video games! Like the great Silent Hill series...ooo yeah, nothing like staying up all night watching horror films interlaced with horror games!

For other general horror film news, the website Bloody Disgusting looks like a great source for reviews and information regarding all things horror. Just don't visit if you have a weak stomach and can't handle a whole lotta' gore at once.

The Simpsons make it all better.

Mhm...it's the little things in life that make me happy. Knowing my schedule for next quarter is one of them, another is watching fabulous Simpsons episodes.

I've watched all of Series 4 a few times and it's definitely up there among my favourite seasons of The Simpsons.
Here's one of the great Treehouse of Horror episodes. The Simpsons 405 Treehouse of Horror III

Hosted by the wonderful, Watch The Simpsons Online, the best website I've found to find streaming videos of all of The Simpsons episodes.

Oh, also, this isn't from Season 4, but it's probably my favourite Treehouse of Horror story:



Homer: No Beer and T.V. make Homer go...something...something...
Marge: Go Crazy?
Homer: DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!BBWWAFDAKJKJKLDAHK

See more awesome random screencaps at the LiveJournal community, Simpsons Fix

$240 worth of pudding

So, I think I'm going to start featuring clips of shows that I partically enjoy and wish to share. Last post I shared the cutlery barn sketch from The State, a sketch show that had a lot of great comedians on it.

Well, here's another clip from the show where Barry and Levon do a sexy little dance with ...well...you'll figure it out.



I don't remember ever watching this show when it came out in 1993 on MTV, but I love Stella and Reno 911!, so naturally The State is right up my alley.

There's something endearing about silly sketch shows. Odd humour is what draws me in, surreal humour is even better.

The State: Season 1 is supposed to be out on DVD any time now, but it's mysteriously absent. Oh well. Until then, I'll always have Wet Hot American Summer

I was just at the Cutlery Barn...

I've become addicted to finding weird comedy shows. So far I've developed quite a collection of British funnies, and recently I happened upon the old Ben Stiller Show and The State, which has several members of Reno 911 and Stella! in it.

I leave you now with one of the weirder skits from The State. Simply titled "Cutlery Barn". See if you can spot Lt. Jim Dangle and Deputy Trudy Wiegel!

Cutlery Barn