Monday, April 6, 2009
James Silva and Ska Studios
James Silva is the one-man gaming genius behind Ska Studios. Until Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was released on Xbox Live Arcade, James Silva was just like any other indie game developer: unnoticed by the general public. He put out some great home-made games like the Zombie Smashers series (which I highly recommend to fans of zombies, punk and ska music, and old-school brawlers) and a fantastic sandbox-style survival horror game Survival Crisis X. Both of these are PC exclusive and Survival Crisis X is now free under the game tab on his website skastudios.com. I must say that Survival Crisis X has some of the best ideas for a zombie game I've seen in a while. A sandbox zombie game is definately the way survival-horror should be played. It's like a mix of Diablo 2, Left 4 Dead, and Grand Theft Auto. If only a next-gen version would come out...anyway, I just wanted to give a shout-out to James Silva for making such fun, creative, and simplistic games. I mean really, what other game developers have made a game that has zombies, ninjas, mummies, nazis, punks, and rudeboys in it all at once?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Downfall of American Horror
Hank Brown
Period 1
The Downfall of American Horror Movies (FINAL VERSION)
This year on Halloween, I was staying over night at a friend’s house and we decided to watch “Saw 3” on TV. After watching it, I was disappointed. Not to say that I had high expectations, but this movie gave me a whole new insight on how ridiculously uncreative and dumbed-down horror movies have become. Excessive gore, excessive violence, excessive nudity; “Saw 3” was overflowing with unnecessary muck. This being a torture movie, I wasn’t surprised, but this was ridiculous. I feel as though there wasn’t any brainpower put into this movie or any other torture movie such as “Hostel.” I’m just hoping smart American-made horror movies will make a comeback, because it’s starting to look bleak for the American horror genre.
In my opinion, the 1970’s were the pinnacle of the horror genre. This decade produced classics like “The Exorcist,” “Alien,” and “Carrie,” not to mention George Romero’s classic “Dawn of the Dead.” This was a time period when horror films oozed creativity. Directors weren’t trying to out-gore each other; they were trying to out-smart each other. Many horror films of the 1970’s had all the right ingredients: scare factor, aesthetic appeal, and an underlying message or moral. Simple brilliance like the scene in “Dawn of the Dead” when the zombies are walking through the shopping mall like nothing has changed since their transformation is hilarious and smart and the same time.
The 1980’s through the 1990’s were decent, the 90’s being weaker as far as originality. The 80’s were more gore-oriented, but produced some stylish gems like “Manhunter” and “Videodrome,” and the 90’s were grittier with the classic “The Silence of the Lambs” and the slasher film parody, “Scream.” A lot of the horror films of the 90’s were terrible remakes and sequels of popular films of the 70’s and 80’s, for instance “Bride of Chucky”…*shudder*.
Finally, we arrive at the present. This is the point in time when the mainstream American horror film takes a nose-dive into the pavement. Torture porn: a perfect term for what American horror has turned into. We have become inured to violence because of movies like “Saw” and “Hostel.” Horror directors have thrown their creativity in the trash and are now just trying to make their films more gory then the last. Not to mention the negative effects CGI has put on the American horror genre. Directors are starting to use more and more special effects; turning horror movies into “Mission Impossible,” rather than something more home-made like George Romero’s films. The disappointing part is that we’re just driving the knife deeper by paying money to see these movies. I may just be a purist, but I am definitely not the only person who is bored of excessive torture and slimy little girls.
Fear not horror aficionados there is still hope for the genre. The Asian horror film industry is still pumping out some really solid films that have have been overlooked in the states. Japanese and Korean films are still some of the best, most creative, and scariest ones out there. Some highlights are “A Tale of Two Sisters,” “Oldboy,” and “Audition.” Without Asian horror, fans would be stuck with the trash that the American horror industry has been dishing out for almost ten years now.
Period 1
The Downfall of American Horror Movies (FINAL VERSION)
This year on Halloween, I was staying over night at a friend’s house and we decided to watch “Saw 3” on TV. After watching it, I was disappointed. Not to say that I had high expectations, but this movie gave me a whole new insight on how ridiculously uncreative and dumbed-down horror movies have become. Excessive gore, excessive violence, excessive nudity; “Saw 3” was overflowing with unnecessary muck. This being a torture movie, I wasn’t surprised, but this was ridiculous. I feel as though there wasn’t any brainpower put into this movie or any other torture movie such as “Hostel.” I’m just hoping smart American-made horror movies will make a comeback, because it’s starting to look bleak for the American horror genre.
In my opinion, the 1970’s were the pinnacle of the horror genre. This decade produced classics like “The Exorcist,” “Alien,” and “Carrie,” not to mention George Romero’s classic “Dawn of the Dead.” This was a time period when horror films oozed creativity. Directors weren’t trying to out-gore each other; they were trying to out-smart each other. Many horror films of the 1970’s had all the right ingredients: scare factor, aesthetic appeal, and an underlying message or moral. Simple brilliance like the scene in “Dawn of the Dead” when the zombies are walking through the shopping mall like nothing has changed since their transformation is hilarious and smart and the same time.
The 1980’s through the 1990’s were decent, the 90’s being weaker as far as originality. The 80’s were more gore-oriented, but produced some stylish gems like “Manhunter” and “Videodrome,” and the 90’s were grittier with the classic “The Silence of the Lambs” and the slasher film parody, “Scream.” A lot of the horror films of the 90’s were terrible remakes and sequels of popular films of the 70’s and 80’s, for instance “Bride of Chucky”…*shudder*.
Finally, we arrive at the present. This is the point in time when the mainstream American horror film takes a nose-dive into the pavement. Torture porn: a perfect term for what American horror has turned into. We have become inured to violence because of movies like “Saw” and “Hostel.” Horror directors have thrown their creativity in the trash and are now just trying to make their films more gory then the last. Not to mention the negative effects CGI has put on the American horror genre. Directors are starting to use more and more special effects; turning horror movies into “Mission Impossible,” rather than something more home-made like George Romero’s films. The disappointing part is that we’re just driving the knife deeper by paying money to see these movies. I may just be a purist, but I am definitely not the only person who is bored of excessive torture and slimy little girls.
Fear not horror aficionados there is still hope for the genre. The Asian horror film industry is still pumping out some really solid films that have have been overlooked in the states. Japanese and Korean films are still some of the best, most creative, and scariest ones out there. Some highlights are “A Tale of Two Sisters,” “Oldboy,” and “Audition.” Without Asian horror, fans would be stuck with the trash that the American horror industry has been dishing out for almost ten years now.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I watched this movie
Full Metal Jacket-Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick films are always entertaining so I decided to pick this one up. I'm sure alot of you have already seen it, but I just want to point out that it's definitely worth watching. What's truly great about this movie is how it shows the horrors of war. It's by all means an anti-war movie. It shows the mental transformation that soldiers go through when going into battle; they cease to be men and become beasts of war. The story follows a young recruit immediately nicknamed, "Joker" through boot camp and eventually the heat of battle. He originally goes to Vietnam as a "combat journalist" you could say, but he gets more than he bargained for. Every character is unique, for example, "Animal Mother" is the bloodthirsty gunner who's just in it for the killing. Nevertheless, it's also a great Vietnam movie, but I've heard that it's not quite as good as Apocalypse Now. I'll probably be posting a comparison soon.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Three Hitmen and One Angry Miner
OK so I saw three movies this weekend, two of them very entertaining, and one not so much. The movies were In Bruges, Crank, and My Bloody Valentine 3D.
In Bruges (Colin Ferrell) was, despite all of the gore and such, surprisingly funny and sweet. I definitely recommend it especially since Collin Ferrell won a Golden Globe award for it. It's also a great addition to the "hitman" genre. OK, a one sentence summary. Two hitmen go to Bruges, Belgium for an assignment, but it turns out the assignment was to give Colin Ferrell a nice vacation before the other hitman eventually is assigned to kill him. The problem is, they become friends. I won't give anything else away. I already spoiled the whole twist of the movie.
Crank was, well, another movie where Jason Statham hits a bunch of thugs in the face with inanimate objects but nevertheless was extremely entertaining. I'm going to summarize the movie in one really long sentence. It's about a hitman who chooses not to kill some triad gang boss, so his boss gets really pissed and gives him some Chinese drug which makes his heart slow down, so basically he has to keep his adrenaline up while he goes and kicks his boss's ass. There's a lot of really fast driving and chugging of insane amounts of Red Bull, so I highly recommend it. A sequel for it is coming out soon so get on it! It's great fun for a Sunday afternoon and don't listen to the video store guy because he'll say it sucks. The thing is, there's so little to the movie that it can't possibly suck so just ignore him and rent it.
My Bloody Valentine 3D was ridiculously bad. I mean, some of the 3D parts were fun but it was utter trash. I know it's not supposed to be quality film making but evidently the original is quite good (as far as slasher flicks go) so this one must be a major disappointment. I really tried to make it work; I went with a bunch of friends, there were teenage girls in the audience, a perfect formula for seeing a horror movie. But nooooooo, a four year-old could've made a scarier movie. I believe I jumped once. The worst part was that every "scary" scene was directly borrowed from other movies. And I mean verbatim. The best part of the movie was a tie between the scene were the fully naked blonde chick is running away from the old miner for at least four minutes through a motel, or when the retired cop gets his jaw ripped out with a pick-axe. Yep, pretty creative.
In Bruges (Colin Ferrell) was, despite all of the gore and such, surprisingly funny and sweet. I definitely recommend it especially since Collin Ferrell won a Golden Globe award for it. It's also a great addition to the "hitman" genre. OK, a one sentence summary. Two hitmen go to Bruges, Belgium for an assignment, but it turns out the assignment was to give Colin Ferrell a nice vacation before the other hitman eventually is assigned to kill him. The problem is, they become friends. I won't give anything else away. I already spoiled the whole twist of the movie.
Crank was, well, another movie where Jason Statham hits a bunch of thugs in the face with inanimate objects but nevertheless was extremely entertaining. I'm going to summarize the movie in one really long sentence. It's about a hitman who chooses not to kill some triad gang boss, so his boss gets really pissed and gives him some Chinese drug which makes his heart slow down, so basically he has to keep his adrenaline up while he goes and kicks his boss's ass. There's a lot of really fast driving and chugging of insane amounts of Red Bull, so I highly recommend it. A sequel for it is coming out soon so get on it! It's great fun for a Sunday afternoon and don't listen to the video store guy because he'll say it sucks. The thing is, there's so little to the movie that it can't possibly suck so just ignore him and rent it.
My Bloody Valentine 3D was ridiculously bad. I mean, some of the 3D parts were fun but it was utter trash. I know it's not supposed to be quality film making but evidently the original is quite good (as far as slasher flicks go) so this one must be a major disappointment. I really tried to make it work; I went with a bunch of friends, there were teenage girls in the audience, a perfect formula for seeing a horror movie. But nooooooo, a four year-old could've made a scarier movie. I believe I jumped once. The worst part was that every "scary" scene was directly borrowed from other movies. And I mean verbatim. The best part of the movie was a tie between the scene were the fully naked blonde chick is running away from the old miner for at least four minutes through a motel, or when the retired cop gets his jaw ripped out with a pick-axe. Yep, pretty creative.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Album I'm Listening to at this Moment
Massive Attack- Mezzannine
This album is the ultimate chill-out album (besides 40oz to Freedom by Sublime). Massive Attack is, besides Portishead, one of the best Trip-Hop bands in my opinion. Mixing jazz, rock, reggae, electronica, dub, and even a little industrial, Massive Attack has something for everyone. Massive Attack also spawned Tricky, a popular Trip-Hop artist. Not to mention Liz Fraser, the lead singer of the Cocteau Twins, lends her angelic voice to multiple songs on this record. Standout tracks are "Angel," "Teardrop," and "Man Next Door." All three lay down some sick beats and vocals. Please buy now.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Don't Bother
Eagle Eye
Worth it: Video Games
The Thief Series by Eidos
What do you get when you combine zombies, robots, a bad-ass thief, secret societies, squatters, magical forests, a medieval setting, and plenty of sneaking? The "Thief" series of course! This series is basically the grandaddy of the stealth-action genre. Yes it's quite dated now but you can grab the newest one Thief: Deadly Shadows on PC and Xbox original. I'm not quite sure if it's compatible with Xbox 360 but if you have a decent PC you'll be able to run it. Unfortunately Thief I&II most likely won't run on newer computers unless there is some patch that I'm unaware of. I definately recommend Thief II in particular mainly because Thief I feels REALLY dated. Plus it's great game. If you enjoy stealth-based video games, then put down Splinter Cell, and pick up one of these babies.
Worth it: Movies
Rob Zombie's Halloween
I know this is a real groaner to non-horror lovers so I'll say sorry ahead of time. For fans of the original, this is a must-see. Then again, if you're squeemish, you should probably just stop reading. Usually remakes are horrible, but this one stands far-far away from the pack. Rob Zombie has a great eye for filmmaking and should deserve to be noticed more than he already is. In case you didn't know, his other movies are House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects. Yes, cheesy names but great movies nevertheless. Anyway, Zombie takes the original Halloween and gives it a back story which is really great. In the first movie there was really no explanation for why ol' Michael Myers went around stabbing attractive teenage girls. I'm not gonna spoil any of the story so go and pick it up if you're into horror films.
Worth it: Music
F***ed Up-The Chemistry of Common Life
Ok...I know some of you are already turned-off by the band's name but c'mon! They're a hardcore punk band from Toronto! Whether you're into punk, or even rock in general, The Chemistry of Common Life is an album that really shoudn't be missed. They almost have a east-coast hardcore feel like Agnostic Front and Murphy's Law. A couple tracks that you should check out are--"Magic Word" and "Son the Father." These should give you a taste of F***ed Up. You can probably listen to these at playlist.com.
Ok...I know some of you are already turned-off by the band's name but c'mon! They're a hardcore punk band from Toronto! Whether you're into punk, or even rock in general, The Chemistry of Common Life is an album that really shoudn't be missed. They almost have a east-coast hardcore feel like Agnostic Front and Murphy's Law. A couple tracks that you should check out are--"Magic Word" and "Son the Father." These should give you a taste of F***ed Up. You can probably listen to these at playlist.com.
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