WAS1 Productions

Originally Written 07/02/07

I saw 1408 on Friday night too. I was curious how that would work, and it turned out to be one of the few decent adaptations of a Stephen King work, and I think it might actually be better than the original. I listened to the audio-book version of the story and it didn’t do a lot for me. The idea was interesting, but since it was more an non-descript evil presence in the room, rather than it being haunted, it didn’t quite work for me. Some of things that happened in the room were too absurd and I couldn’t take it seriously, which is too bad, since many times King can make even odd-sounding things scary, but Everything’s Eventual was an uneven book of stories.

The film still had it’s goofy as well absurd moments, and there were times when the audience was laughing at it. However, they gave some personification to the presence in the room, to make it easier to relate to, and that worked fairly well. John Cusack was also a perfect choice for the jaded writer who’s fallen from grace and who gets his world view shaken by the events in the room. He’s starting to show his age, but he still has grace and charm and he was the right age for this part. The movie also expanded upon the character’s back-story from the book, which made it more interesting. Finally, Samuel L. Jackson was great as the hotel manager. He was only in a few scenes, but he had a great and entertaining presence when he was on-screen. The film isn’t perfect, and it’s not the best, but certainly better than a lot of the other Stephen King adaptations. I’d say it made for an okay Shining lite.

Originally Written 07/02/07

I saw Ratatouille. It was a really cute and fun movie. Besides the odd design of their noses, I liked the look of the rats. They did a couple of fun gags with their fur puffing out too. I liked how Remmy switched between scampering like a real rat, to walking on two legs and using his hand like an anthro. I was also amused that geeky and sarcastic comedian Patton Oswald is the voice of Remmy.

As other people have noted, the story is all about art and the joy and drive of creative expression. I really appreciated that and there were a couple of scenes early on which reminded me of ideas I’d used for the story of my screenplay project for Script Frenzy, The Colors of my Dreams.

Originally Written 04/14/07

I went to see Grindhouse tonight and it pretty much rocked! If not for the stain of Quentin Tarentino it would’ve been nigh perfect, but even so it was two-thirds of the way to being the best movie ever. I’d been looking forward to this for awhile, and the first half of the double feature didn’t disappoint me. It opened up with a trailer to a non-existent Mexican exploitation flick, Machete. That dripped of the 70s, including using one of the classic voice-over narrators.

The genre love continued with Robert Rodriguez’s bio-zombie fest, Planet Terror. That managed to combined gritty action with dark humor and clever satire. It also had a lot of cameos by famous actors, and it was fun watching everyone enjoy playing out their roles. They kind of overdid some of the aging effects they did to make the film look worn out. The scratches weren’t bad, but some of the blurriness and color shifting got a little distracting.

Most times it worked at giving the feel of a double feature in a sleazy movie house, but there were a couple of instances where I thought it could’ve been toned down. Otherwise it was great. The effects and gore were well done and it was a fun film. Plus, with an ex go-go dancer taking out zombies with her machine-gun leg, it had something for everyone.

The other fake trailers during the intermission were also a hoot. Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the S.S. was amusing, and the short project suited his editing style; as one critic put it, it wasn’t long enough for him to suck. The second one, Don’t was another spoof of a very specific trailer style that can’t really be described. The best one though was Eli Roth’s Friday the 13th spoof, Thanksgiving.

Then came Quentin Tarentino’s half of the project, Death Proof. He’d shown up in Planet Terror and also had a cameo in this film. He got killed in the first movie, which was some satisfaction, but his insertion into the movies was the least of his sins. He’s done that before, and while his presence here was less effective than in earlier films, it was tolerable.

Unfortunately, his love for wacky dialog and discussions of obscure Americana dialog weighted the movie down like an anchor. That technique worked in Pulp Fiction, but it was mostly boring here. I kept on waiting for something interesting to happen.

Kurt Russell was wonderful in his role, but the two fast sections of the film were interspersed with dull bits of characters yammering at each other. The good news though is that once the second action scene hit, it had some great payoff.  It’s all the car chase and action sequences from every single 70s movie rolled together.

I had a good time. Even with the dull bits in the second movie, it was still a fun experience and a great recreation and tribute to genre films. I’ll probably get the DVD when it comes out, and just fast-forward through Tarentino’s over-indulgent masturbations.

Originally Written 10/14/06

I also saw Martin Scorsese’s movie, The Departed, last night. I’d been very curious about that, since I’d seen the Hong Kong film which is was based on, Infernal Affairs. I couldn’t remember all of the story, since the original film was convoluted, which is no surprise for HK cinema, but from what I remembered, it was very faithful to the story, and even made some improvements on it.

It was a great movie and very entertaining. I liked how unabashedly gritty it was, mixing black comedy with the action and violence. It was great to see it set and shot in Boston. There were a lot of landmarks I recognized, and they handled the Southie accents and local color quite well. There was lots of great acting here, from Jack Nicholson of course and Mark Walberg, who were wonderfully entertaining, as well as Matt Damon and even Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s grown beyond the pretty-boy roles he used to play. For those who like crime dramas, it was a real treat to watch.

Originally Written 08/27/06

I heard this story on an NPR podcast yesterday and was able to find a link to the story on their website. It’s a short interview with Shari Caudron about her book Who Are You People: A Personal Journey into the Heart of Fantatical Passions in America. In it she follows people of various fandoms, avid Barbie collectors, devotees of Andy Griffith’s Mayberry and yes, even furries.

Given the usual media treatment of the fandom, it was nice to see something more fair and balanced. She agreed that walking into a furry con was pretty bizarre at first, but got a sense of what the appeal was for people. She also appreciated the strong bonds of community and acceptance.

That sounds like it’s a running theme through her book. She talks about the Barbie fans coming to the aid of a woman who lost her son, and it really shows how people in these fandoms take care of each other. Overall it’s a sweet little piece.