14 posts from May 2009

• 22:50 Actually being played at the Joe Louis Arena right now as the Red Wings get Game 1 of the Stanley Cup. 3 to go,... ♫ blip.fm/~7cqim #
• 23:04 I signed up somewhere that was tied to twitter, but I can't remember the site. Something about channels. #
• 23:50 @Crimsonmuse I'm not sure. #
• 23:51 @NatHistoryWhale Don't know, Big W. It's a strange world we live in. Here's hoping you and yours have a good night. *hugs* #
• 23:51 @rhonda416 Glad it was a good one. :) #
• 23:53 Watching the Happening. I know what Shyamalan was trying to do, but the acting in some places was very weird. Bleh. #
• 23:54 Hossa's good for the Wings, but they really need Datsyuk. He's their best scorer. #
• 23:59 @_cee Yes, it is. #
• 00:27 Whoo! And the hits keep on coming!!! :) 3-1 Red Wings!! :) #
• 00:29 I have to get a Red Wings Jersey, if only to remind me of how I'd like to see the Rangers play. #
• 13:06 Tonight is Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Detroit leads 1-0. #
• 14:58 Got thrown left curve with Driving Practice. Instead of my usual instructor, I had Danielle, who looks like Gabrielle Union. We drove on ... #
• 15:09 Heading to see "Drag me to Hell". #
• 15:23 Like Alex, she used to race. He was a tuner guy. She's into muscle cars at the moment, supposedly. #
• 16:14 Waiting for the 4:40 showing of Drag Me to Hell. Mental note: Find out showtime before going to Movie theatre. #
• 16:26 In seat, with hot dogs and drink, waiting for movie to start. :) #
• 16:31 The oldest pair of Ice Skates date back to 3000 B.C. and were found in the bottom of a lake in Switzerland. The movie trivia told me this. #
• 16:34 Sorry Sobe, no way am I drinking anything Lizards like. #
• 16:36 Okay, shutting down. Will be back after the movie. #
• 18:28 Just finished the movie. Some girl bolted out during the middle of the film crying with her hands over her face. Sweet. :) #
• 18:30 "Drag me to Hell" is also a really loud movie. I mean, you may find yourself covering your ears. :) I really should have seen this at Mi ... #
• 19:38 Writing a mini review on Drag me to Hell for Vox. #
• 20:23 @cosita I saw "Drag Me to Hell", by Sam Raimi. It was good, but a little loud. #
• 20:53 Damn, the Pengusins are swarming around the Red Wings. Not good. #
• 21:15 Vox post is up: bit.ly/T91cO #
• 21:16 @Crimsonmuse Happy Anniversary, you old guys. :) #
• 21:21 The Red Wings have tied it up! #
• 21:23 @stompthewalrus Boring how? #
• 21:37 Am having Orange Juice cravings, aw come on. I don't want to be sick. #
• 21:44 @annabdavid Yep, FB is moving like a snail. #
• 21:48 I'm hearing that Eminem got teabagged during a performance at the MTV Movie Awards. Some guy kind of fell on him. He was upset. #

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Dragmetohell

Sam Raimi must have really needed a break from Spider-Man, because "Drag Me to Hell" feels more like a labor of love than a film made to appease a production company. It's fast (running at about 96 minutes) , to the point and will probably have you covering your ears, eyes and mouth while watching.

"Drag Me to Hell" is the story of Christine Brown (Alison Lohman - "Big Fish"), a loan officer who is jockeying for a bigger position, but finds she has a co-worker competing with her. At the behest of her boss (David Paymer - "Ocean's Thirteen") to 'make the hard decisions', Christine decides to decline Mrs. Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver - Not sure where, really) an extension on her loan, even after the old lady begs her on her hands and knees.

And everything goes downhill from there as the old woman lays a curse on her in that 3 days, a demon will come for her and do her in (hence the title). The story is basically Christine trying to find a way to save herself before everything comes crashing to an end. The terror factor kind of depends on your mindset. If you’re deeply religious, this film could be a little offensive or more scary than it should be (Actually, it would work for a good lesson for bad kids if they don’t do right - “Be naughty and the Lamia will come looking for you.”). This film would probably freak my Aunts out (one Roman Catholic and the other Jewish).

I think Raimi (well, both Sam and Ivan, who wrote the film) meant this to be a homage to some of the older movies of the 70's and 80's. Indeed, both the opening and closing Universal credits are the ones used during that time frame (I laughed at seeing the old, 'When visiting Orlando, come to Universal studios." image at the end). It harkens back to just about everything Raimi did in the Evil Dead series, and if you’re a fan of any of those, this is definitely a must see. There are a few logistical blips (girl ends up covered in stuff, and then a moment later, she’s sparkly clean), but hey, I can forgive that after watching “The Happening” and “Mirrors”, which tried to be scary, but for me, kind of failed.

While the movie doesn’t contain too much blood, it does have a lot of fluid. I mean, I can’t remember the last movie I’ve seen with so much snot and spit. It comes across as being more gross than anything, really. For a PG-13 film, it’s pretty gooey. Like the Evil Dead, you may find yourself laughing through the jumps, as Raimi tends to make his horror a bit on the humorous side. Depending on your mindset, you may find yourself laughing at certain sequences.

My Audience’s reaction was pretty interesting. One girl ran out of the theatre mid-film, with her hands covering her face and crying. I never saw her come back. Another guy yelled…”It’s a demon, girl, run!”, but overall, there were a lot of moments where the audience gasped. Another element to this is the sound. There are quite a few times in DMtH, where you’ll wince just because someone decided to crank the decibel level up to Rock Concert type levels.

The Effects are by Greg Nicotero, the man responsible for “The Mist”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, along with others. There appear to be more practical effects than actual CGI in this film, really, which seems to work for that whole vintage feel.

If the movie has one glaring fault, it’s that it really puts the Romani culture in a bad light.  Gypsies in this film are portrayed as drunk, partying madmen or old crones with bad skin and drool. I don’t know how anyone of the ethnicity would take the film. Again, it’s a mindset thing. Personally, because Tropic Thunder was a comedy (and it takes a bit to really offend me), I didn’t have a problem with Robert Downey Jr. Playing “one dude playing another dude dressed up like one more dude”, but again, there maybe some sensitive parts there.

Drag Me to Hell also isn’t very kind to animals. It has to be seen, but if you’re an animal lover, you may not be too keen on seeing this one. Problem number 3 for me was Justin Long. I like the guy, but he’s a walking Mac commercial. I don’t think there was an office related scene where he wasn’t near an iMac or wasn’t using an iPhone. I’m not big on subliminal messages like that.

Overall, Drag Me to Hell’s a great movie. It’s very reminiscent of some of the best Tales from the Crypt/Darkside episodes and a real return to form for Sam Raimi. It may not win many awards outside of the Fangoria community, but it can show some of the newer horror directors how it’s done.

• 10:36 Late day today. Going over everything in my head. Here's hoping everyone's Monday is great. #
• 15:46 Lunchtime. Not sure what to get, though. Hope everyone's lunch is good. :) #
• 16:09 @cosita I had a cheeseburger outside a diner near work. #
• 20:49 Drat, my Xbox has died. Curse you E74 error! Will have to work with camera while plotting World Domination through Pop Culture, then. #
• 21:04 This Eleanor Rigby song still gives a pang of sadness when hearing it. The Beatles are weird. :) #
• 21:06 @walkingzero Yeah, it hurts, esp. with that new Batman game around the corner, but it'll free up time for other stuff, probably. #
• 21:13 @cosita Yep, there's a 3 year warranty. I send it to Microsoft. The fix it and add stuff to hypnotize players, and voila. Mind control t ... #
• 21:30 @crimsonmuse Yep, but I'm not getting another one. I've given my friends due notice that I'm sending it in. I've spent 900 bucks in xbox ... #
• 21:40 @crimsonmuse They can keep it. :) I figure, if I act now, I can break the addiction. It'll be like an episode of Intervention. #
• 21:47 Of course, all it takes is one good game to fall off the Wagon. #
• 21:48 @crimsonmuse Hope your dinner's great! :) #

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• 11:17 To the many Mommies of the world, Happy Mother's Day! :) #
• 11:21 I want to head back and see Star Trek again. #
• 13:21 @mafiafamily Happy Mothers Day! :) #
• 18:05 Hanging out with Jay's Family, eating cake and going over driving tips. #
• 18:44 @cosita I love pulpy Orange Juice!! :) #

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• 22:26 Star Trek in 5 minutes. #
• 00:44 Just finished Star Trek. Had fun, but there were some serious holes here. It was worth seeing Rachel Nichols (Alias - the other spy) in ... #
• 01:17 Star Trek was fun, very much so, but it needed something. Begs to be seen in IMAX, though. #
• 01:32 Wow, CSI Miami is right where I left it, e hours ago. #
• 12:11 Road test set for Tuesday. Another lesson today and some "cramming" (driving with Jay) to prepare. #
• 12:12 Hope everyone's enjoying their Saturday! :) #
• 12:25 Hmm. The media makes it sound like Chris Pine's brand new. Didn't anyone see Smoking Aces? He was the guy who "spoke" for Ben Affleck's ... #
• 13:38 @Oliviamunn It's Saturday, Olivia. #
• 13:55 Finished the final lesson before the test. I think I'm ready. I hope I am, anyway. #
• 14:23 @walkingzero That's what Skywalker said when he left Dagobah the first time. It cost him his hand and a lightsaber. :) Still, I believe ... #
• 14:29 @Oliviamunn Oh! Didn't know about said Time Machine. Okay, am jealous now. :) #
• 14:30 @cosita Indeed I will, Cam. I'm all for Positive Thinking. :) Parking's my only big issue, and I think I squared that away today. #
• 14:57 @annabdavid Tell them they didn't have a full batch available and you took what they had a reduced price. :) #
• 15:21 @stopthewalrus Thanks for that childhood inducing time warp. :) #
• 15:24 @cosita Can you run maybe a shorter distance if it does rain? #
• 15:29 @stompthewalrus Thanks for that childhood inducing time warp. :) #
• 15:29 @cosita Aw, crap. Can't be avoided then. :( Hopefully it will clear up. #
• 15:31 Blackberry battery almost dead. That's what I get for writing a multipage Vox post. Why can't my BB battery be like my Camera battery? N ... #
• 15:33 Mental note: Charge BB on Jay's PS3. #
• 15:37 With my fat quasi shaved head and glasses, I look like Morpheus from the Matrix (after winning the war and retiring with a bucket O'wings). #
• 15:50 @msredpen Why , thank you! That's very kind of you. :) If my skin tone allowed for it, you'd see me blush. #

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The Short of It:

Overall, I really liked Star Trek (or at least the first two thirds of it. The final act could have been better. The soundtrack was nice, but annoying after a while, and the effects were sweet. Definitely begs to be seen in IMAX.

The Long Drawn Out Version:

• 08:46 Didn't see Star Trek last night. Went home and straight to bed. Today, though, I get off work at 5, so I can see the film at 7 or so. #
• 08:46 Happy Today's Friday, but it still feels like Wednesday to me. #
• 08:55 @mafiafamily Good Morning and Happy Friday! :) #
• 13:32 Picked up "Rapt" by Winifred Gallagher. I was thinking Winifred Burkle, but I know that's not right. :) #
• 20:14 Home to shower, make boom boom, have dinner, shave and change. Then out to see Star Trek at my local theatre. Not all in that order or a ... #
• 20:15 @oliviamunn Watch out! All that bullemic gacking makes your teeth rot! #
• 20:26 Haha! There's a Decepticon in the new Transformers movie named "Sideways". Now I'm going to laugh whenever I see that. #

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• 10:23 @mafiafamily Happy Thursday!! :) #
• 10:25 Commute starts right now. First thing I do? Read the funnies in the newspaper. I leave everything else alone, for the most part. #
• 19:11 @msredpen Still? Yikes! I hope you feel better soon. #
• 21:05 Am thinking I could catch 10pm showing for Star Trek and be home by 1am. #
• 21:06 Then again, I can see it Sunday Morning. I'm going home. #
• 21:10 I think of my cousin, who nearly a decade younger than me, should be the one doing things like this. Really got to get that girl out of ... #
• 21:17 The more I walk down 8th ave, the more I want to turn around and head back. #

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• 14:22 @james_gunn I think Highlander 2 was the worst. #
• 22:01 @cosita Sleep Well, Cam! #

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• 22:19 @crimsonmuse I liked it. It wasn't as strong as X-Men 2 though. #
• 22:58 @crimsonmuse I'm not as well read on Wolvie. You'll have to let me know where they went wrong. Wow. :) #
• 22:59 @crimsonmuse They didn't concentrate enough on his childhood, though. The comic did have a lot on that, that I do recall. #
• 11:00 I think I may close the book on MySpace today. I've got too many Socials I'm signed up, and honestly, I never touch the thing. #
• 11:07 @cosita I think you're right, about Scotties. :) #
• 11:14 @cosita That begs the question: What were you sneezing into before? :) #
• 11:17 @cosita Well, at least it's not that Industrial Strength paper we have at work. I think they use that to sand down metal here. #
• 15:18 Is watching "Meet the Robinsons". #

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