A Tale of Two Movies
I've been so busy with work writing and NaNo writing and pretending to be a comic-er...whatever you call someone who arts comics, that I haven't been watching any new movies. I like to sit down and enjoy a movie every week. Now that I'm caught up on a few things, I thought it would be cool to watch 2 movies over the weekend.
Cabin in the Woods. Really? This is the movie you people have been blathering about since mid-summer? Let me see if I can set up my review as a cutaway: Remember that Family Guy episode where Peter says he hated The Godfather? And the family is shocked and demands that he justify it? Peter says simply, It insists upon itself. I've pondered that ever since. Peter has a point. I still love GF and GF2, but that criticism stuck with me. Last weekend, when I watched CitW, I realized that it totally insisted upon itself--and everything that came before it.
I get it. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Guy wants us all to know that he's got horror cred. Sure, he came up with something vaguely different. He mocked the genre while simultaneously paying homage to it. Whoopie freakin' do. Horror has been doing essentially that for decades. Creepshow? Return of the Living Dead? Trick R Treat? Rise of Leslie Vernon? And, a new twist on an old theme is not necessarily an indication of greatness. Check out Halloween Six sometime, or Jason X, or that wretched NotLD remake with the white Ben.
CitW was fine, but certainly not worth the worship it received over the summer. The people who keep telling me how great it is are not actually horror fans in the way that I am a horror fan. I mentioned this on Facebook, and was asked what I think a horror fan is. Please preface my response with the usual preemptive BS about exclusionary attitudes within fandoms and blah blah elitist blah. I'm not an elitist. I just think we should all be honest with ourselves about who we are and what we expect from our horror.
Horror is many things to many people, and several different kind of fans. There are even Twilight fans who think they are horror fans because the main Twilight guy calls himself a vampire (even though he loves an afternoon game of baseball). That's why PG13 horror exists. There are people who say they aren't horror fans even though they love books/films like Misery and Silence of the Lambs and The Lovely Bones and One Hour Photo.
Big business horror is about catering to markets--especially teenagers, and squeezing as much profit out of a franchise as possible. It's the White Castle of horror. I admit, I dig White Castle, but it's not really the same as a 1/4 of grilled Angus. People eat White Castles while stoned with their buddies over the weekend. They snicker at PG13 horror because it's so damn ridiculous, even as it is iconic. Because so much horror is marketed to teenagers, grown-up horror is often marketed as Drama or Suspense...as if these two things aren't crucial elements of horror.
I talk about horror often in this here blog. To sum up, horror is about man's internal struggles, confronting our limits, our own darkness, and what we might do when placed in extreme situations. It's about humanity, and sometimes society (though that's more of a SciFi thing) and the root of what leads humans to do the things they do. It's a visceral, vital genre that everyone should explore. Good horror requires a certain level of introspection on the part of the viewer to get the full effect. People who are resistive to this are the first ones to tell you that they "don't like horror." They're ascared of it, ascared of its power.
I think the people who are digging CitW are fans of that first type of horror. The mainstream, relatively tame (in terms of confrontational themes, not necessarily in terms of violence), plentiful horror full of iconic monsters and new Halloween costumes. Especially for![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groovesinorbit, I'll issue on exception for huge fans of Whedon. I'm sure there are plenty of tropes in the movie that I'm not getting because I'm not a part of the Whedonverse.
That said, Cabin in the Woods was not challenging. The characters were not particularly compelling IMO, save for the stoner and the black Company Man who ended up getting eaten by zombies. With regard to the stoner, I was fully prepared for him to live and be the virgin. Having a girl who was obviously NOT a virgin be the virgin is just dumb. So yeah, I get it...but meh. Or as that sexpot Jeff Goldblum once said: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
I will give credit where credit is due: Sigourney Weaver is remarkable in absolutely everything she does. Even Avatar. Short-haired Thor motorcycling into the electrified giant chicken-wire fence? Wow! And, Ha! Merman...
The Muppets. On Sunday afternoon, I finally checked out that Muppet movie that came out last year. I'd had it on the DVR for a while, and grew tired of waiting for H to be in the mood to watch it. Man, it was fantastic. Fun, inspiring, incredibly moving. I'm exactly the right age to appreciate the intense nostalgia, and the sadness of Fozzie Bear having to endure the drumming of Dave Grohl. Ba-ZING. Just joshing, Grohlly ol' chap!
If I ever meet Jason Segel, I'm just going to hug him and thank him for The Muppets. Chris Cooper was delightful as Tex Richman. I wanted more cameos, but there were a bunch of cool ones anyway. The songs were good, the story was classic, and I swear, I cried through half the movie.
Everyone should watch it, but be ready to be made aware of just how old you fucking are.
If I may issue a plea to some of you's: The Finster Effect is in great need of reviews and good buzz. If you've read it, please leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. If you'd like to review it and can't afford to buy a digital copy, hit me up privately, and we'll arrange some kind of barter for sexual favors, or cookies. ;-] If you're famous, please blurb it.
Three cheers, as Resilient Brainforest #4 is out. This is a FREE pdf comic collection from people who don't normally make comics. You will find crude drawings and photos, sexy talk, drug references, and #3 of Stig and the Puppetman, my delightful comic about mismatched serial killers who are also roommates. Every issue has a theme, and this months theme is "WANT." Know what *I* want? I want you to download it. We are looking for contributors, so ask me for details if you'd like to be a joiner. (Psst. Be a joiner. It's ridiculous that I know so many people yet haven't brought anyone in to this thing!)
Cabin in the Woods. Really? This is the movie you people have been blathering about since mid-summer? Let me see if I can set up my review as a cutaway: Remember that Family Guy episode where Peter says he hated The Godfather? And the family is shocked and demands that he justify it? Peter says simply, It insists upon itself. I've pondered that ever since. Peter has a point. I still love GF and GF2, but that criticism stuck with me. Last weekend, when I watched CitW, I realized that it totally insisted upon itself--and everything that came before it.
I get it. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Guy wants us all to know that he's got horror cred. Sure, he came up with something vaguely different. He mocked the genre while simultaneously paying homage to it. Whoopie freakin' do. Horror has been doing essentially that for decades. Creepshow? Return of the Living Dead? Trick R Treat? Rise of Leslie Vernon? And, a new twist on an old theme is not necessarily an indication of greatness. Check out Halloween Six sometime, or Jason X, or that wretched NotLD remake with the white Ben.
CitW was fine, but certainly not worth the worship it received over the summer. The people who keep telling me how great it is are not actually horror fans in the way that I am a horror fan. I mentioned this on Facebook, and was asked what I think a horror fan is. Please preface my response with the usual preemptive BS about exclusionary attitudes within fandoms and blah blah elitist blah. I'm not an elitist. I just think we should all be honest with ourselves about who we are and what we expect from our horror.
Horror is many things to many people, and several different kind of fans. There are even Twilight fans who think they are horror fans because the main Twilight guy calls himself a vampire (even though he loves an afternoon game of baseball). That's why PG13 horror exists. There are people who say they aren't horror fans even though they love books/films like Misery and Silence of the Lambs and The Lovely Bones and One Hour Photo.
Big business horror is about catering to markets--especially teenagers, and squeezing as much profit out of a franchise as possible. It's the White Castle of horror. I admit, I dig White Castle, but it's not really the same as a 1/4 of grilled Angus. People eat White Castles while stoned with their buddies over the weekend. They snicker at PG13 horror because it's so damn ridiculous, even as it is iconic. Because so much horror is marketed to teenagers, grown-up horror is often marketed as Drama or Suspense...as if these two things aren't crucial elements of horror.
I talk about horror often in this here blog. To sum up, horror is about man's internal struggles, confronting our limits, our own darkness, and what we might do when placed in extreme situations. It's about humanity, and sometimes society (though that's more of a SciFi thing) and the root of what leads humans to do the things they do. It's a visceral, vital genre that everyone should explore. Good horror requires a certain level of introspection on the part of the viewer to get the full effect. People who are resistive to this are the first ones to tell you that they "don't like horror." They're ascared of it, ascared of its power.
I think the people who are digging CitW are fans of that first type of horror. The mainstream, relatively tame (in terms of confrontational themes, not necessarily in terms of violence), plentiful horror full of iconic monsters and new Halloween costumes. Especially for
groovesinorbit, I'll issue on exception for huge fans of Whedon. I'm sure there are plenty of tropes in the movie that I'm not getting because I'm not a part of the Whedonverse.That said, Cabin in the Woods was not challenging. The characters were not particularly compelling IMO, save for the stoner and the black Company Man who ended up getting eaten by zombies. With regard to the stoner, I was fully prepared for him to live and be the virgin. Having a girl who was obviously NOT a virgin be the virgin is just dumb. So yeah, I get it...but meh. Or as that sexpot Jeff Goldblum once said: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
I will give credit where credit is due: Sigourney Weaver is remarkable in absolutely everything she does. Even Avatar. Short-haired Thor motorcycling into the electrified giant chicken-wire fence? Wow! And, Ha! Merman...
The Muppets. On Sunday afternoon, I finally checked out that Muppet movie that came out last year. I'd had it on the DVR for a while, and grew tired of waiting for H to be in the mood to watch it. Man, it was fantastic. Fun, inspiring, incredibly moving. I'm exactly the right age to appreciate the intense nostalgia, and the sadness of Fozzie Bear having to endure the drumming of Dave Grohl. Ba-ZING. Just joshing, Grohlly ol' chap!
If I ever meet Jason Segel, I'm just going to hug him and thank him for The Muppets. Chris Cooper was delightful as Tex Richman. I wanted more cameos, but there were a bunch of cool ones anyway. The songs were good, the story was classic, and I swear, I cried through half the movie.
Everyone should watch it, but be ready to be made aware of just how old you fucking are.
If I may issue a plea to some of you's: The Finster Effect is in great need of reviews and good buzz. If you've read it, please leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. If you'd like to review it and can't afford to buy a digital copy, hit me up privately, and we'll arrange some kind of barter for sexual favors, or cookies. ;-] If you're famous, please blurb it.
Three cheers, as Resilient Brainforest #4 is out. This is a FREE pdf comic collection from people who don't normally make comics. You will find crude drawings and photos, sexy talk, drug references, and #3 of Stig and the Puppetman, my delightful comic about mismatched serial killers who are also roommates. Every issue has a theme, and this months theme is "WANT." Know what *I* want? I want you to download it. We are looking for contributors, so ask me for details if you'd like to be a joiner. (Psst. Be a joiner. It's ridiculous that I know so many people yet haven't brought anyone in to this thing!)
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