Suspiria

I realize Suspiria is a highly regarded classic in the horror movie genre. The film has an amazing score, brilliant cinematography and a legendary director. But it is one of the most boring movies I've ever watched.

10 DVDs every collection should have

My ten:

The Godfather
The Ten Commandments
Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
The Color Purple
The Shawshank Redemption
Full Metal Jacket
Reservoir Dogs
Star Wars
Monty Python & The Holy Grail

Hollywood 2k

A lot of modern Hollywood films (from 2k on) seem to share several common factors: Gross over use of CGI, lack of compelling storytelling, little or no character development, massive plot holes (tied to bad storytelling). Hollywood is now creating film for the least common denominator among cinema fans. The people who aren't intellectually capable of following more intricately crafted storylines and who only go for big explosions and big effects.

My Favorite Child Actors

The following is a list of my personal favorite child actors. They may not be the best in your opinion, but they were always the kids I most enjoyed watching on the big screen. I've added the film I most remember them for beside their names.

1. Sean Astin (The Goonies)
2. Cory Haim (Lucas)
3. Cory Feldman (The Lost Boys)
4. Christinna Ricci (The Addams Family)
5. Elijah Wood (The Good Son)
6. Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me)
7. Winona Ryder (Heathers)
8. Meredith Salenger (The Advs of Natty Gann)
9. Rory Culkin (Signs)
10. River Phoenix (Stand By Me)

* honorable mention

Fairuza Balk (Return to Oz)

My Top 10 Comic Book Superhero Movies

Top 10 Superhero Movies

1. Batman: The Dark Knight
2. Hellboy
3. Blade
4. Batman Begins
5. Unbreakable
6. Iron Man
7. Spider-Man
8. Iron Man 2
9. Captain America
10. Thor

The Fog (2005) DVD

Firstly let me agree with everyone that John Carpenter's original "The Fog" was a horror masterpiece. I saw it as a kid when it was a new film and it scared the crap out of me. Let me also agree with the majority that The Fog really didn't need a "remake". The film stands the test of time well. It's just as scary today as ever. However, let me disagree that the remake was a complete disaster. No, it wasn't as good as the original. The CGI ghosts do look like rejects from Disney's Haunted Mansion. But the film does deliver a couple of good jumps, and it does manage to brew up a creepy atmosphere in certain spots. Also, the acting wasn't horrendous. Tom Welling, Maggie Grace and Selma Blair turn in "ok" performances. Oscar worthy, no. But this is a horror film. And a 2k horror film at that. The Fog remake gets a seriously bad rap in online forums and by film critics. But not by me. It's an enjoyable scare flick for a lazy evening. two and a half out of five stars. And the DVD only cost me $3 at Big Lots. All in all. Score for me.

8 Random Thoughts at 3:12 a.m.

* I miss when TV stations went off the air at 2 a.m. and would bid you goodnight and a good morning before playing the Star Spangled Banner.
* I could live the rest of my life perfectly happy if I had enough cash to live in a modest little home in some rural setting and spend my days gardening and tending to rabbits in a hutch or sitting on my porch and listening to the radio or reading my Bible. I'd only need to go into town for groceries.
* I really love to read, but reading puts me to sleep anymore. More than one or two chapters and I'm dozing like a baby full of mother's milk.
* I've always wanted one room of the apartment I live in to be a personal library or movie room. But I've never had enough money or an extra room to do that. Maybe one of these days.
* I wish I had the heavy old quilt my dad used to have when I was a kid. It had been in the family for so many years. But after he died, relatives swarmed his house like vultures and most of his things I never saw again.
* I miss my mom's homemade biscuits and skillet gravy for breakfast.
* I found out my grandpa passed away last year. Nobody bothered to tell me until recently. I hadn't seen him since 1985, when he and my mom had their falling out and he left California. I really miss him. He was a cool old guy. A spikey haired, blue eyed little Irishman who always had a song, a joke or an observation about life to share. And a quick temper you really didn't want to be on the other side of. I'm sorry I never managed to see you again, Pappy. I never knew where you went to until now. I passed near to Oklahoma so many times in the years between the late 80s and your passing, never knowing you were there.
* I also found out my Uncle Monroe died. Again, the family didn't see fit to tell me until so many years after it happened. Thanks for being kind to a little boy going through a hard time in his life and taking me hunting on the bayou. Although we werent blood kin, you were more family to me than the people I shared DNA with. Made me proud of my Creole half, by telling me all those great stories. Goodbye Unc. 

Childhood Memories

I really miss Drive-In movie theaters. The beginning of Spring always reminds me of the late 70's and going to the Sunset Drive-In on Whitesbridge Avenue in Fresno. From March through October every year, you could see some really great movies (back before Cable TV and VCRs/DVDs were in every house).
We'd always arrive about an hour before dusk, because their was a playground at the foot of the big screen. Swings, slides, monkey bars. There'd be tons of kids running between cars. People crowding around the snack bar (I recall they made a really excellent Pepperoni pizza that you could order by the slice with a big paper cup of Pepsi with ice - good eats).
Mom and sister would take the front seats of the car, while my older brother would spread a blanket on the roof where he and I would stretch out and watch the movie. Unless it was a horror flick, then chicken little me would take a spot between mom and sissy in the car.
At night the wind blew through the tall palm trees that lined three sides of the theater. Some nights the legions of stray cats that lived and bred around the theater would yowl and fight. It was an eerie sound, but it was part of what made Sunset Theater unique. It was a rural drive-in, unlike most of Fresno's other drive-ins.
I drove past the old Sunset Drive-In last summer. It's long gone, of course. All that remained there was a field of rusted junk machinery, old cars and badly overgrown weeds poking up through the crumbled concrete where we used to park to watch movies. All the speaker poles are gone. No signs of stray cats. Even the big palms were gone. Sad day.

They Killed Off Shane

What the @$%!# Walking Dead?
How can you kill off the only rational person in the entire group?
Sure Shane was a jerk and he was jealous of Rick's family. But he always had the right plans and ideas to move forward and keep the group safe, while Rick fumbled around second guessing himself, having battles of conscious and trying to find some sort of order in a world gone mad. Shane was the Yin to Rick's Yang. You can't have the show without both of them (and stick the comic series in your left ear fanboys, this is about the TV show). Dale yes. Kill Dale. He was annoying. Even worse than Rick with his preachy kumbaya touchy feely crap. But Shane? You make him go psychotic and then kill him off. Twice! You just offed your entire tv series, whether you realize it yet or not. Stupid, Stupid, STUPID.

St. Jude

Donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital about an hour ago. I love kids. Always have. Sort of ironic that I'll probably never have any of my own I guess. Anyone reading my blog, if you have time please visit the St. Jude website and consider donating to a worthy cause. These kids need a lot of help. And trust me, you'll feel great for helping.

14 Random Thoughts at 1:07 a.m.

* Julie Newmar was the best Catwoman ever.
* 1985 was a great year for pop music.
* I really miss drive-in movies.
* Comic books were better when they were 35 cents and drawn on simple newsprint.
* Marvel was better than DC when I was a kid.
* Phil Collins isn't the only one depressed about the state of the music industry.
* I'm listening to Phil Collins at the moment - "Two Hearts".
* I wish I could be with the person I love, but I can't and never will be.
* I change my desktop image constantly.
* I dreamed my cat was trying to fight a white tiger in the backyard... I never stopped to wonder why a massive billabong was in my tiny, shoebox sized yard, much less why an albino tiger was swimming around in it . I was too concerned with getting the cat inside the house before it became the tiger's breakfast.
* I don't feel good. I may have a fever. I'm not sure. I've never been able to check myself for that without a thermometer.
* Am I just getting old, or do movies, music, comics and most everything in general truly suck in the 2010s? Was this what it was like for dad in the 80s when he bashed my favorite movies, music and etc?
* I've never been a really good Christian. I've lost count of the times I've decided to buckle down and try my best to "get it right this time". Well, I'm trying to get it right again.
* Three restless nights in a row. Starting to make an impact. I wouldn't wish insomnia on my worst enemy. Especially when it tag teams with a possible head cold and mild depression. I'm in for a long night.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi there. Welcome to my blog. At this point, the blog is more for me than anyone else. It's just a little hole in the wall of cyberspace for me to waste some time and ramble on about whatever is on my mind at the moment. Typically I expect my blog posts to consist mainly of my musings on movies, books, the Internet, comics, food, and my personal life. So follow me if you like, or don't. As I said, this is mostly an online journal for me. But comments are still welcome.