Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hey KIDS! Guess who's started a second blog....? me.

Hello faithful readers. This is a heads up to a new blog I've been putting together and finally have announced today! It's actually a work in progess, something I've been doing for 10 years now. It's a permenant home for my online comic strip, 'Gregory: the really angry robot'. I started it back in 2001, on accident, and now it's over a 100 issues long. (not including spin-offs.) I have debated about coming back to it again, but recently felt inspired and have been working on it steadily since then. The project took shape in October and now that I've completed the site, I've already finished making 5 more issues. I plan on the first new issue to be released on December 14th, 2011. I do recommend that before you read the new issue, that you go back to the beginning and read from number 1 forward. There are issues that are tied together and a lot of characters that make mroe sense if you see there progression. The site is located at: http://gregoryrobot.blogspot.com/. Check it out and if you like it, sign up for the page and leave comments about issues you dig or things you might want to see or just general thoughts. That's it. That's my BIG news. I'm excited about it and happy to see Gregory back in the limelight. He's a special part of my life and now maybe he can be a special part of yours. (and yes, that's me as a character in the comic.... I'm still not sure how that happened.) ENJOY!

Friday, November 25, 2011

just in time for the Thanksgiving hangover....! episode 7 of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'.... and this one is a feast for the ears.

The 7th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages!

Last weeks episode wasn't the highlight of my podcasting career, but it got my feet wet and back in the game. This week is a different story. With a listener suggested topic, Thanksgiving chatter and a zombie finale.... all things are back to normal. All the music this week is tied together by a common thread. The main focus is on the new album coming from Superpowerless, but the other band played, with (basically) the same members, is Tetrastar. Therefore, all the music comes from one band or the other. It's sweeeeeet. Listed below are the songs played AND the list of movies I talked about, in case you wanted to check any of them out. Be warned.... they're not very good. Either way, ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) Such Great Heights by Tetrastar

2) Dark Knight by Superpowerless

3) Monsters by Superpowerless

4) Stomp This City by Superpowerless

5) Tragic But Magic by Superpowerless

6) Handlebars by Tetrastar

------------

Movies mentioned:

1) Die! You Zombie Bastards!

2) Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!

3) Zombie 5: Killing Birds

4) City of the Living Dead

5) Zombie Nightmare (MST3K)

6) Biker Zombies

7) Chopper Chicks in Zombietown

8) Severed: Forest of the Dead

9) DIEner (Get it?)

10) Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill

11) Hell of the Living Dead

12) Night of the Living Dead 3D

13) House of the Dead

14) House of the Dead 2

15) I Drink Your Blood

16) Children of the Living Dead (Tom Savini)

17) Dead and Buried

18) The Beyond

19) Pontypool

20) City of the Walking Dead aka Nightmare City

Not exactly zombies, but horrible none the less:

1) Mulberry St

2) The Crazies (1973)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

well, i'm back....! it's not the best show, but here we go: ep 6 of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'....!

The 6th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages!

After a two week-ish hiatus, I'm back again and ready to podcast. This isn't my best work, but I needed to get a show out there to let you know that I'm still around and still wanting to bring you new music. This week, I talk about my move from Colorado to Illinois. I also decided to feature the music of Shining Through. This one is fast and loose, so be ready for a very very laid back show. Or a big pile of crap? I haven't decided yet. ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) Circles For Miles by Shining Through

2) Neurons by Shining Through

3) Pills In Your Pocket by Shining Through

4) San Diego Summer by Shining Through

5) White Flag by Shining Through

6) Veronica Hates Me by Screeching Weasel

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

my very brief thoughts on.... 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait'

"The most accurate explanation of what really happened." - Gunnar 'Leatherface' Hansen

That's the quote on the movie poster for this documentary. If you've read anything about this horror film, then you probably already know all of the stories.... like the infamous dinner scene. But this was made in 1988 and if you've not an uber-fan of the film, then this was all new info back then. This is shot all on a higher quality VHS, so don't expect too much in that department. That doesn't mean that this isn't worth a watch. It's really made for the die hard fans though. I don't know if anyone who wasn't really into this film would be interested enough to watch the whole thing.... it's pretty dry. There are a few clips from the original film and a little bit of new footage and behind the scenes photos to keep your interest peaked. I found it kind of neat to hear the background story from the actors themselves. It also put a personality behind the characters and a reason why they played the characters they way they did. Some of them were more likable than others. (see: Edwin Neal 'The Hitchhiker')

The purpose of this documentary, is to allow 4 of the leading actors in it to tell the behind the scenes story of the making of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. It features Edwin Neal 'The Hitchhiker', John Dugan 'Grandpa', Jim Siedow 'Old Man/Drayton Sawyer' and Gunnar Hansen 'Leatherface'. They each have a unique persepctive on what happened and the entire film making process. While it would have been nice to include Tobe Hooper, the director of the film, and Marilyn Burns 'Sally Hardesty'.... it ended up still being pretty comprehensive without them.I'm not the biggest fan in the world of the TCM franchise, however.... I own all but the third one and have seen them several times. I can see it's place in the horror film lexicon and enjoy them for what they are. This film is considered a cult classic and has some fans who are beyond fanatical about this. It has since spawned a remake and a prequel and tons and tons of merchandise. It's a very difficult film to watch and one that any horror fan should see. Once you've seen it, then check out this documentary. I give it 2 out of 5 stars. It's low budget and lack of excitement is a huge setback for this documentary. For something that's covering a fan favorite horror film and documenting everything that went on, there just isn't much.... joy? (is that the right word?) I don't know, I just wanted a little more from this.

If you haven't seen the original film, I recommend: 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974), 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2' and 'Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3'

(I couldn't find a trailer for this, so I put this link to the entire documentary. It's also available OnDemand from Netflix, if you prefer.)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

my thoughts on.... 'Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings'

Direct to DVD doesn't always mean a movie is going to be terrible, but more often than not.... it does. I don't know why they keep making these movies and I don't know why I keep watching them. The 2nd one was fun, I didn't like the first one and part 3 was terrible. This one, I was hoping would be more like number 2. However, as I started hearing more about it, I began to lose hope. Especially when I heard it was a prequel. Funny thing is, it starts out back in the 70's and tells about how the inbred mutants started, but then it fast forwards to 2003. Why 2003? Because it is the same year the first one takes place. That's what I've read anyway. I don't know enough about the 'Wrong Turn' timeline to dispute it. All I know is that no matter when it took place, this movie just didn't hold water. It was basically a movie for the sake of making a movie. Trying to cash in on a slowly dying franchise. We've all seen enough inbred mutant movies over the years, why make another one that is so similar to all the rest? I think the only thing that sets this apart from other slasher movies is the fact that it takes place in the winter, in the snow. That's not totally original, but it's used well in this movie. It serves as a way to keep the college kids trapped, while the inbred mutants are after them to kill them.

The plot, from Wiki: "The film opens in 1974 at the Glenville Sanatorium with Dr. Ryan (Arne McPherson) showing a local psychiatrist Dr. Ann McQuaid (Kristen Harris) around the psychiatric hospital. The cannibals from the previous films-One Eye, Three Finger, and Saw Tooth now are locked up in the institution as children. But the cannibals escapes and sets other insane patient free in the hospital. Then cannibals savagely murder an orderly, Guard, Dr. Ryan and Dr. McQuaid. The film then switches to present day where a group of college kids, Kenia (Jennifer Pudavick), lesbian couple Sara (Tenika Davis) and Bridget (Kaitlyn Wong), Lauren (Ali Tataryn), Jenna (Terra Vnesa), and Claire (Samantha Kendrick), along with their guy friends Kyle (Victor Zinck), Vincent (Sean Skene) and Daniel (Dean Armstrong) are going snowmobiling. They are heading to their friend Porter's cabin in the mountains. They get lost in a storm and seek refuge inside the now abandoned Glenville Sanatorium. Little do they know, the three now adult cannibals are hiding out in the sanatorium and murdering trespassers."

In hindsight, I was involved in the story for almost the entire movie. Despite how bad it was, I still wanted to see what happened. But when the big snowmobile chase ensued at the end and something awful occured that killed the two heroines in the movie.... I gave up. It was so stupid and impossible. It wasn't even fun. Perhaps if I was drunk and with friends? Even then, I still kind of doubt that I would've enjoyed myself. You just have to see it to believe it. I shouldn't complain too much though, it was a sequel to a movie that I really didn't like in the first place.

This is a 3 out of 5 star attempt. It was better than 3, but not better than 2 and not better than the first one. If you're a fan of the 'Wrong Turn' movies, then you should probably see this one too. If you're not a fan or haven't seen any of the other ones, there is no point in wasting your time on this one. There are so many other better movies in this sub-genre. That's all I have to say about that.

Perhaps, watch the other ones? I don't know. I'm at a loss here.

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Demons 2' aka 'Dèmoni 2: L'incubo ritorna'

I am going to keep this short, as this movie doesn't deserve many words.

I enjoyed the first 'Demons'. It was a fun little addition to the zombie sub-genre. That is the only reason I decided to watch this.... that and I enjoy Asia Argento's work. (I didn't realize she was only like 11 years old in this movie.) Anyway, this was terrible. I got so incredibly bored by the end that I didn't care about anyone in it. I didn't care who lived or who died. This gets 1 out of 5 stars. A sequel that never should have been made.

Instead of wasting an hour and a half on this, watch the original 'Demons' instead.

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Zombie Apocalypse' (2011)

Ving Rhames has become the 'go-to guy' for zombie movies lately. Sadly, his choice in movies has been getting worse and worse. I'm all for him starring in zombie kill fests, but this one was pretty horrible. Also, Taryn Manning.... nuff' said. Ick. Anyway, I'm going to handle this review a little different than my other ones. The reason? As I was watching this, I was taking notes. I don't ever do that with movies, as it distracts me from the plot. This one, is an exception. Probably because it was a SyFy original. Onward to the 'review':

1) The takes place 6 months after a zombie outbreak. 6 months later, everything is STILL on fire. Buildings are burning. Wouldn't that only last for the initial outbreak, as all hell was breaking loose? Terrible.

2) I already mentioned this, but Ving Rhames in another zombie flick that makes 3 now.

3) If you've seen enough zombie films, you know that they rarely use the term 'zombie'. Like in 'The Walking Dead' TV series, they call them 'walkers'. That has a nice ring to it and describes them perfectly. In this movie, they call the walking dead 'zombies' constantly. It sounds weird, all of them calling them zombies.... it really sounds strange. If you've never seen it done, check this out just for that. It's distracting.

4) One of the things about this movie that was worth the time to watch it was the explanation of why some zombies are fast and some are slow. The newer the zombie, the faster it is, the older it is.... the slower it is. It makes perfect sense and makes both zombies a reality in this movie. This isn't the first time this explanation has been used, but I think it's the first time I've seen it explained in an actual zombie movie.

5) In a stranger moment, one of the actors threw an ice skate into a zombies head! HA! Terrible.

6) All in all, I was okay with this movie.... until.... the ZOMBIE TIGER....?!?! What the hell was that about? I don't know what kind of crap they were smoking when they wrote that part. I don't know who thought that was a good idea. It is just the dumbest thing I think I've ever seen in a movie like this. Well, maybe not the dumbest, but pretty close. It makes the zombie vs. shark sequence in 'Zombi' look cool! (see the image below for verification of the scene.)I gave this a final rating of 2 out of 5 stars. It isn't the worst zombie movie I've ever seen, but it's still pretty terrible. For a SyFy movie, it's better than most of the ones they crank out. If you're home sick on a rainy day and it's one.... maybe take the time to watch it. Just close your eyes whenever Taryn Manning is on the screen. She has some serious anti-charisma. That is all!

Something better to watch with Ving Rhames vs. zombies?: 'Dawn of the Dead' (2004), 'Day of the Dead' (2008) and 'The Tournament' (2009) (not a zombie movie, but a damn cool flick that you should really watch!)

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis' and 'Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave To The Grave'

When, New Zealand born, Ellory Elkayem made the cult classic 'Eight Legged Freaks'.... he showed potential. What followed, was three crap-tacular failures. These are two of them. Now, 'Return of the Living Dead' 1 through 3 are all pretty good movies. They aren't going to re-invent the zombie genre, but they're entertaining and pretty fun. Part 1 is by far the best. Part 2 uses some of the same actors, but doesn't quite have the same charm. Part 3, goes in a different direction and for some reason it still works. Perhaps it's because it was directed by Brian Yuzna? Perhaps. But when I heard they were making 2 more back to back sequels, I had my doubts. I had good reason to doubt them, these movies are awful. They are boring to watch and the little bit of action in them, is slow paced and not very exciting. I don't feel that they're even part of the franchise. Ah well....

In 'Necropolis', zombies come back due to an accident with the Trioxin containers. Sound familiar? It's what happened in the past movies. In 'Rave to the Grave', it happens a 5th time! At this point, the storyline is a bit tired and over done. I'm not sure why they couldn't come up with something new or original, kind of like the plot in part 3. It's like Ellory Elkayem just made them to use the name.I don't know how many of you have seen the original movies. In them, they re-use some of the same actors and oddly enough.... it works. They don't play the same characters and that makes it that much stranger.... but again, it works. In parts 4 and 5, they try the same thing. They actually use almost the entire same cast for both movies. It is confusing, pointless and a terrible pseudo-tribute to the originals. Also, the zombies still chant "Brains!" throughout the whole movie, but there is no satire or any type of comedy. That's a bit of what the charm was in the first 3. They injected a little bit of humor every so often, to break things up. It worked really well and carried the movies. Also, the zombies in part 4 are all dressed the same(they're test subjects) and it's distracting. (I'm nitpicking now.)

Anyway, both of these are 2 out of 5 star, at best. I don't need to see them again and I'm still wondering why I watched the 5th after finishing the 4th. They're on Comcast OnDemand right now, if you're brave enough to watch them. I strongly advise against it, even for the die hard zombie fans. Stay away and maybe watch the first 3 again, instead.

What to watch instead: 'Return of the Living Dead', 'Return of the Living Dead part 2' and 'Return of the Living Dead 3'

(the trailer for 'Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis')

(the trailer for 'Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave')