I could see my breath in a cloud of vapor last night. What does that mean? It means the season of big explosions and crappy taste is over! We find ourselves on the threshold of Fall, and a deliciously decadent feast of silver screen gold awaits us on the other side of 70* Fahrenheit.
My indulgence this season began recently with the new M. Night Shyamalan project "Devil". This is the first of a series he's calling the "Night Chronicles", where basically M.Night is passing his creepy ideas on to young writers and directors to create, instead of botching them himself. "Devil" is similar to the classic Agatha Christie mystery "Ten Little Indians" (aka And Then There Were None) in that there's a group of bad people stuck in one location and they start paying for their sins with their lives, one by one. As opposed to an island or mountain retreat however, these unfortunate sinners are trapped in an elevator, dangling twenty stories in the air.
Through the cryptic narration of a terrified religious (redundant, I know) security guard, we find out that one of the elevator occupants is the Devil in disguise, and he's going to have some sadistic fun with these trapped souls before he takes them all the way down. The fun of the movie is playing detective and trying to figure out which is the demon, but a predictable culprit, a saccharine redemption ending, and some lazy plot points hold it back from it's full terrifying potential. I think the claustrophobic tension more than makes up for any small problems though, and it had a group behind me whimpering and shaking our whole row of chairs with dread.
It's not the theology lesson Shyamalan wants it to be, but it's definitely an effective thriller. B.
Now, here are a few Fall movies releasing soon that I can't wait to see:
"The Town" - now playing - This Boston crime movie is written, directed, and starring Ben Affleck, and those who saw his last directorial effort "Gone Baby Gone" will know this is in fact a good thing. It co-stars Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, and Rebecca Hall, it's been destroying the box office for two weeks, and the general consensus holds that Affleck has created something tense, gritty, and altogether fantastic. Get some before it's gone.
"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" - now playing - In a time where we have less than 5-to-1 odds of a sequel even being watchable, I'd consider us lucky to have Oliver Stone at the helm with a cast like this. I also hear it's just as timely as the first. If you liked the original, why not?
"The Social Network" - Oct. 1st - This is the big one for me. Weeks before its release it has already garnered the elusive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it has drawn comparisons to classics such as Citizen Kane and The Godfather, and has been called an instant, decade defining classic the likes of The Matrix and Back to the Future. I would have seen it anyway just because it's a Fincher movie. Se7en & Fight Club, anyone? Sounds like a must-see.
"Let Me In" - Oct. 1st - An american remake of the incredible Swedish vampire movie "Let The Right One In", and "Twilight" it isn't. If it's anything like the original it'll be eerie, tender, violent, and romantic in all the ways "Twilight" tries and fails to achieve. See the original, then this one, then thank me on Monday.
"Black Swan" - Dec. 1st - This one is a little further down the line, but an intriguing one nonetheless. Supposedly it's a supernatural thriller set in the world of ultra-competitive ballet. Darren Aronofsky is one of the best in the business and has yet to make a bad movie going back through "Requiem For A Dream" and "Pi". There's not a whole lot I can say better than the trailer itself, so find one and watch it. Very weird.
-Dan
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
One Minute 1998 Flashback Review: Dark City
I've had this movie in my collection for years, but had never pulled it out to watch. I had heard so much about it since then, all good things, but had also heard it was a bit taxing on the cranium. Not that I had any reason to wait, but it was totally worth it.
Dark City is exactly what its name implies: it's dark. I would call it something of a retro sci-fi neo-noir horror movie, and it's night all the time. Literally. Our protagonist, one John Murdoch, abruptly wakes up in a hotel bathtub at midnight with a broken syringe on the floor and no conception of how he got there. He soon discovers he's being sought out by a detective on a murder investigation, a wife he can't remember, a probably-not-licensed-in-anything-legitimate doctor, and the large group of goblinesque "strangers" that run this particularly strange city. It's the kind of movie I love: at first it makes as much sense to us as the brain-scrambled Murdoch, and we discover along with him, one step at a time, what the hell is going on. If you haven't seen it, make a point to do so.
-Dan
Dark City is exactly what its name implies: it's dark. I would call it something of a retro sci-fi neo-noir horror movie, and it's night all the time. Literally. Our protagonist, one John Murdoch, abruptly wakes up in a hotel bathtub at midnight with a broken syringe on the floor and no conception of how he got there. He soon discovers he's being sought out by a detective on a murder investigation, a wife he can't remember, a probably-not-licensed-in-anything-legitimate doctor, and the large group of goblinesque "strangers" that run this particularly strange city. It's the kind of movie I love: at first it makes as much sense to us as the brain-scrambled Murdoch, and we discover along with him, one step at a time, what the hell is going on. If you haven't seen it, make a point to do so.
-Dan
Monday, September 27, 2010
Busy Busy Busy!
Hello readers, it has been another couple weeks just jam-packed with goodness, but last weekend was actually the BEST WEEKEND EVER. No jokes, it was absolutely incredible, I had the most fun jammed into one weekend as I've ever seen, and it was all orchestrated by the lovely and talented Nicole Kirch! My 24th birthday was this past Monday the 20th, and for the weekend before, Nicole planned a whole weekend extravaganza (with extra ganza). Pictures have not yet been posted, but will be shortly.
It all started Friday the 17th, I got in the car with no conception of where we were headed. We drove north for a couple hours and ended up on Lake Erie, at the dock of the Jet Express, "the fastest way to Put-in-Bay!" I hadn't been to the tiny tourist island in many years, and the giant speedboat got us there in no time flat, by way of Kelley's Island. Once we got there we rented a golf cart and took off! Stopping by the Heineman Winery, the Chocolate Cafe & Museum, Cpt. Perry themed mini-golf ( I thought I knew everything about the good commodore from drinking Great Lakes brews. I was wrong), several restaurants, candy shops, and the Put-in-Bay Brewing Co, where we tried a delicious Watermelon Wheat beer and some amazing pizza. Good stuff.
We concluded that night at the Breakers Express, a Cedar point resort hotel. For those in-the-know, whoever stays at a Cedar Point hotel gets to enter the park an hour before the general public, and we took full advantage! We made sure to hit the Raptor and (my personal fave) the Millennium Force before the masses clogged the ride lines with slow-moving line cutters and skinny guys in tiny shorts (blessing and a curse that I didn't snap that picture). My apparent old age, a slight hangover from the previous night's events, and some rockin' coasters kept me off balance for most of the day, but it wasn't anything a giant pretzel couldn't fix. Being the first weekend of Hallow-Weekends, a lot of the seasonal festivities didn't kick in until dark, and by that time we were exhausted. It took us a smidge longer to get home than anticipated (apparently my phone GPS can't find satellites in the boonies) but got home safe and sound, with no mutant hobo encounters to speak of.
Despite the dangerous amount of fun crammed into one weekend, we still got a chance to chill and relax Saturday night and Sunday, before heading over to a surprise party at Dave & Buster's! Josh, Trevor, Angela, Matt, and Monica all showed up and tasty food ensued. We shot up some zombies before heading back home for a relaxing evening before the grind on Monday.
I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank Nicole for making my 24th the happiest birthday I've ever had. Also, for proving that when she says something, she means it! Last year around this time she vowed that my next birthday would be way better, and she didn't disappoint.
More recent happenings coming soon, including a trip to Solon, drum battles, flashback review "Dark City", real review "Devil", a life-changing career/relationship/personality consultation, football news, and future plans for a Thornville bonfire. Stay tuned!
It all started Friday the 17th, I got in the car with no conception of where we were headed. We drove north for a couple hours and ended up on Lake Erie, at the dock of the Jet Express, "the fastest way to Put-in-Bay!" I hadn't been to the tiny tourist island in many years, and the giant speedboat got us there in no time flat, by way of Kelley's Island. Once we got there we rented a golf cart and took off! Stopping by the Heineman Winery, the Chocolate Cafe & Museum, Cpt. Perry themed mini-golf ( I thought I knew everything about the good commodore from drinking Great Lakes brews. I was wrong), several restaurants, candy shops, and the Put-in-Bay Brewing Co, where we tried a delicious Watermelon Wheat beer and some amazing pizza. Good stuff.
We concluded that night at the Breakers Express, a Cedar point resort hotel. For those in-the-know, whoever stays at a Cedar Point hotel gets to enter the park an hour before the general public, and we took full advantage! We made sure to hit the Raptor and (my personal fave) the Millennium Force before the masses clogged the ride lines with slow-moving line cutters and skinny guys in tiny shorts (blessing and a curse that I didn't snap that picture). My apparent old age, a slight hangover from the previous night's events, and some rockin' coasters kept me off balance for most of the day, but it wasn't anything a giant pretzel couldn't fix. Being the first weekend of Hallow-Weekends, a lot of the seasonal festivities didn't kick in until dark, and by that time we were exhausted. It took us a smidge longer to get home than anticipated (apparently my phone GPS can't find satellites in the boonies) but got home safe and sound, with no mutant hobo encounters to speak of.
Despite the dangerous amount of fun crammed into one weekend, we still got a chance to chill and relax Saturday night and Sunday, before heading over to a surprise party at Dave & Buster's! Josh, Trevor, Angela, Matt, and Monica all showed up and tasty food ensued. We shot up some zombies before heading back home for a relaxing evening before the grind on Monday.
I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank Nicole for making my 24th the happiest birthday I've ever had. Also, for proving that when she says something, she means it! Last year around this time she vowed that my next birthday would be way better, and she didn't disappoint.
More recent happenings coming soon, including a trip to Solon, drum battles, flashback review "Dark City", real review "Devil", a life-changing career/relationship/personality consultation, football news, and future plans for a Thornville bonfire. Stay tuned!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
What Happened?
Well, it's been almost five months since there were any updates. I'm not sure what the future holds for this blog, or whether Nicole will be contributing going forward. She's been extremely busy at the Brain Injury Assoc, but that doesn't mean I can't at least keep you guys updated with recent happenings, including some news about various cool things and the usual movie reviews.
We've taken a couple of amazing trips since we posted last. The first of which was a trip over to Boston to see the sights and catch my sister's Senior Recital. She was a music major (drum set performance) so this was a kind of final exam show that she organized herself. Here is a link to the photo album on Nicole's Facebook where she posted a ton of phenomenal pictures of the concert, the historic sights, and an amazing aquarium.
Most recently we took a trip to Pittsburgh. I was born there and have spent a lot of time in the area, but Nicole hadn't and I wanted to show her the sights! Needless to say she was impressed. We crammed a lot into two days, including a rib fest at Heinz Field, PPG Place, Primanti Bros (both the Market Sq. and Strip District locations), the Duquesne Incline, a riverboat tour, and even had dinner with Nana at Pasta Too! It definitely made the short list of my favorite places in the world a long time ago. Here are some pictures, the majority taken by the lovely and talented Nicole Kirch. As she put it, "Yeah, Pittsburgh really is this great!"
Often movies will generate a lot of buzz way way before they come out, whether it be from aggressive early advertising (Inception), revolutionary technology (Avatar), or just really weird trailers. Black Swan is firmly in the latter category. This film is the latest from one of my favorite film makers, Darren Aronofsky, and definitely looks to be the most interesting movie about ballet I've ever seen.
When I first heard about it a few months ago, I assumed it was an adapted version of a very interesting looking book my Dad recommended about the fallacy and uselessness of commonly accepted methods of predicting future events. After seeing the movie's trailer, it's obvious they are completely unrelated. What little information is available about the movie can be found easily online, but I recommend an unbiased peak at the trailer before you look into it. Oh and save your judgment for the end, it gets a LOT weirder in the last 5 seconds.
That's all for today, I'll be sure to post another update soon. However, football season has just begun and the Buckeyes are making a title run, so you may not hear from us again for another five months ;-)
-Dan
In The Meantime....
Sorry it's been so long, and that will definitely be touched on in my next post. These are the blog updates we intended to post from our Boston trip, but after the internet situation got a little unreliable, we decided to just save them. Unfortunately, we then forgot about them. Here they are, found, restored, and posted for your stalking pleasure.
4/29/10 4:30pm
Hey blog! We're in the airport waiting for the plane to leave, and we've got about a half hour until they start boarding. We just ate arby's. Dan had a roast burger (bacon & cheddar) with curly fries and I had an arbys patty melt. This airport is great - the people are very friendly and helpful and it's very empty. We were just informed that our flight is completely booked, but no worries- Dan and I reserved seats on the side for two so we don't have to share our space. :)
TO BOSTON!
-Dan & Nicole
4/30/10 1:30pm
I'm writing from our second day in Boston. After our cab ride from the airport yesterday, we arrived at the Courtyard Marriot on Exeter St. For our first night, we were sharing a room with 2 queen beds with Adam and Jen, but we've just moved into our own room for the night; one big king bed! Plus, a rather oversized TV if you ask me.
Anyway, after we got here, we met up with Mom, Dad, Adam, Jen, and Kristen at this amazing pizza place called The Upper Crust. We got a buffalo chicken pizza with onions and bleu cheese. Delicious! Afterwards, we headed over to Berklee for a performance by my sister and the Tower of Power ensemble. We ran into Grant and Famous there, but couldn't hang out with them long before we went to an Irish Pub near our hotel called SOLAS. Expensive drinks, but good times. And lots of shots. We passed out shortly thereafter.
Today we got up and hit the mall real quick before hopping onto a Duck Tour. Basically, these things are giant steel amphibious busses that drive around the city, then drive into the Charles River and turn into a boat. Nicole and I both got to drive once we got in the water! It was a blast, in no small part to our tour guide Jailbird George who reminded us of a comic from the Funny Bone. Lots of pictures and more entries to come!
-Dan
5/1/10 7:30pm
I'm on a plane! Not quite as gangsta as being on a boat, but it moves a lot faster. We're on our way back to the Akron/Canton airport after a wonderful vacation in Boston. It was our first time there and it didn't disappoint!
-Dan & Nicole
4/29/10 4:30pm
Hey blog! We're in the airport waiting for the plane to leave, and we've got about a half hour until they start boarding. We just ate arby's. Dan had a roast burger (bacon & cheddar) with curly fries and I had an arbys patty melt. This airport is great - the people are very friendly and helpful and it's very empty. We were just informed that our flight is completely booked, but no worries- Dan and I reserved seats on the side for two so we don't have to share our space. :)
TO BOSTON!
-Dan & Nicole
4/30/10 1:30pm
I'm writing from our second day in Boston. After our cab ride from the airport yesterday, we arrived at the Courtyard Marriot on Exeter St. For our first night, we were sharing a room with 2 queen beds with Adam and Jen, but we've just moved into our own room for the night; one big king bed! Plus, a rather oversized TV if you ask me.
Anyway, after we got here, we met up with Mom, Dad, Adam, Jen, and Kristen at this amazing pizza place called The Upper Crust. We got a buffalo chicken pizza with onions and bleu cheese. Delicious! Afterwards, we headed over to Berklee for a performance by my sister and the Tower of Power ensemble. We ran into Grant and Famous there, but couldn't hang out with them long before we went to an Irish Pub near our hotel called SOLAS. Expensive drinks, but good times. And lots of shots. We passed out shortly thereafter.
Today we got up and hit the mall real quick before hopping onto a Duck Tour. Basically, these things are giant steel amphibious busses that drive around the city, then drive into the Charles River and turn into a boat. Nicole and I both got to drive once we got in the water! It was a blast, in no small part to our tour guide Jailbird George who reminded us of a comic from the Funny Bone. Lots of pictures and more entries to come!
-Dan
5/1/10 7:30pm
I'm on a plane! Not quite as gangsta as being on a boat, but it moves a lot faster. We're on our way back to the Akron/Canton airport after a wonderful vacation in Boston. It was our first time there and it didn't disappoint!
-Dan & Nicole
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)