Hello, and welcome back to Weekly Cinemeh. This week we dove into some comedies to lighten up our current trend of movies. It ended up having a couple other themes that were partially unintentional. First is the redeemable asshole theme, and second was Bill Murray. This was a fun week. To the list!
1: Groundhog Day
I love this movie, mostly because Bill Murray is great, but also because I like the base premise. A TV weatherman is stuck in an infinite loop of a location shoot for a Groundhog day festival. It has been described as the perfect Buddhist movie, and I can see why. A man continually relives the same day over and over again, constantly understanding the world more and more. The movie starts off with Bill Murray over-indulging in vices, but soon becomes bored with it and starts improving himself and acting for other's benefit until he breaks the cycle. Besides that kind of nifty (and according to IMDB unintentional) interpretation, it is just a fun movie. It makes the most of Murray's style of sarcastic humor really well, and shows off how this type of situation might actually play out. If you kept repeating the same day over and over again, would you try to become a master of everything you could? Its a delightful movie with a good cast (Andie MacDowell and Murray have some good chemistry) and a nifty message, check it out.
Eshi: Groundhog Day has everything that makes Bill Murray great; he's sharp, sarcastic, witty, cruel, touching, charming, crude. Its beautiful. One of the things that I particularly enjoyed, especially in the Buddhist context, is how at no point does Murray's character evolve on his own. Every moment of epiphany, from his initial hedonistic plunge to his inexorable enlightenment, is accompanied by the gentle guidance of Andie MacDowell's character. I really enjoy that his personal evolution only takes place because of other people. It has definitely earned its status.
2: Kingpin
Kingpin is another one of those stories where a disgraced sports hero helps a "young" talent make it to the big leagues. Where kingpin differs is that it doesn't treat the premise with any real sense of seriousness. This is a Farrelly brothers movie after all, and the sport is bowling, something that isn't considered a sport by most of the populace. A bunch of this particular movie trope popped up after this one, and while I know this wasn't the first to do it, I know that it was the first I saw that was done like this. I really liked Randy Quaid in this movie, though I think that Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson are far funnier than he is. Vanessa Angel's character kind of disappoints me a little. She basically disappears from the movie just as her plot starts to actually resolve until the end of the film, and I can kinda get why, but I think the relationship with Harrelson's character could have been explored more (two broken people forming a relationship via mutual understanding and support, but I don't think that's the point of the movie, so I see why the didn't). Its a fun movie, check it out.
Eshi: Oh Randy Quaid, what the fuck man. I'm not sure anyone else could have pulled off his character in this. I don't know what it is about being crazier than the bear that fucked the porcupine that lends itself so well to wide-eyed naiveté but it's the best. Brian is right, Vanessa Angel's role was a bit of a wasted opportunity. I like Woody Harrelson but I always have a hard time believing him as an asshole, I can't not see him as an affable stoner, but I guess thats more my fault than his. It's also pretty amazing how Bill Murray can always make a skeezy douchebag fun, even at his most hate-able he's still charming.
3: Caddyshack
Caddyshack is about a kid who wants to go to college, working though the summer at a golf course to pay for his education. That being said the movie changes gears constantly and that story falls by the wayside and the movie becomes more and more about the wacky people who populate the club. I think there is a good reason for this. The side characters have far more personality and charisma than the leading man, and are Chevey Chase, Bill Murray, and fucking Rodney Dangerfield. This is a movie I saw when I was probably too young, though that's the case with most movies I have seen, and rewatching it now was a little odd. It wasn't as funny as I remember it being, though the jokes I didn't get as a kid were far funnier now. Its an odd feeling, challenging nostalgia. That being said, its still a very funny movie and you should check it out.
Eshi: Caddyshack tells the story of a fuck-hungry young man that nobody gives a fuck about trying to schmooze his way into college. This is all about the big names. Rodney Dangerfeild is a dynamo, Chevey Chase is a dick, and Bill Murray proves his ability to straight up make a character pretty much just by showing up. It's a ball to watch, though I can understand how it might have diminished with time.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Zero Provocation
I have weird feelings about gaming journalism. On one hand we greatly enjoy the services, both journalistic and recreational, of folks like Jim Sterling, Laura Dale, and Yahtzee Croshaw. Jim Sterling in particular is an eloquent and earnest consumer advocate whom I greatly admire. On the other hand, a great deal of time and money has been dedicated to creating a powerful, public-facing back-feed loop in the area of games media. The sheer shameless, entitled corruption in mainstream gaming journalism has been so pervasive and so resented for so many years that it periodically gets tied to some asscheese's personal beef with someone in the industry by gossamer threads and we all go on a merry hatebinge for a week or so.
The good works and great joy contributed by the bad-ass PCs mentioned previously give me something very much like hope. It could just be an erection, but I'm pretty sure hope is involved. It's hard not be jaded about it though. I've been gaming since my fingers were big enough to push the buttons, and for most of that time gamers have been losing some really important battles to corporate profits. We've seen a couple big wins over the years; the slow, steady grinds towards greater inclusion and acceptance, towards better transparency in the industry and towards gaming as a positive force in the world.
Unfortunately, we've also suffered some pretty heavy consumer defeats. The hype-machine of mainstream games journalism has contributed to the success of anti-consumer standards for years, they've been selling out and selling us out since the console wars.
So really, I guess I don't have weird feelings about games journalism. I have a deep love and appreciation for games journalists and the work they do on our behalf, and an articulated, slow-fucking hateboner for the corporate schills who've consistently collaborated with those who would do harm. So pretty much like regular journalism.
The good works and great joy contributed by the bad-ass PCs mentioned previously give me something very much like hope. It could just be an erection, but I'm pretty sure hope is involved. It's hard not be jaded about it though. I've been gaming since my fingers were big enough to push the buttons, and for most of that time gamers have been losing some really important battles to corporate profits. We've seen a couple big wins over the years; the slow, steady grinds towards greater inclusion and acceptance, towards better transparency in the industry and towards gaming as a positive force in the world.
Unfortunately, we've also suffered some pretty heavy consumer defeats. The hype-machine of mainstream games journalism has contributed to the success of anti-consumer standards for years, they've been selling out and selling us out since the console wars.
So really, I guess I don't have weird feelings about games journalism. I have a deep love and appreciation for games journalists and the work they do on our behalf, and an articulated, slow-fucking hateboner for the corporate schills who've consistently collaborated with those who would do harm. So pretty much like regular journalism.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Weekly Cinemeh
Hello and welcome back to Weekly Cinemeh. This week we have such sights to show you, with Hellraiser 1-3. This is another one of the catch up weeks. I had seen the first Hellraiser and one of the other ones (I thought it was 2, but I was wrong) and Eshi hadn't seen any. I have odd feelings about the series because I like this kind of gory body horror, but it gets very silly very quickly. I also know that there are 8 sequels, which might be too many. Anyway, to the list!
1: Hellraiser
Hellraiser is a movie written and directed by Clive Barker, and is a wonderful example of why body horror is great. This movie introduced the world to Cenobites, demons who used to be people who were transformed by an obsession with sensation. The story isn't super complex, but it sounds odd. Basically, there is a puzzle box that if you solve it, opens a gate to hell and a bunch of Cenobites come out and torture you to death. Hellraiser deals with a guy who accidentally escapes from this torture and convinces an old lover to kill people so he can be fully resurrected. Antics Ensue. For the time the effects are great and Andrew Robinson plays a great bad guy (he played Garak in DS9). Its a good movie if you like gore and creepy villains. Doug Bradley is also great as pinhead. There's a reason the character is so popular. Check it out if you like some good old fashioned body horror.
Eshi: I kinda feel like Hellraiser is inspired by the kind of porn watched by lovecraftian cultists. Pleasures man wasn't meant to know making monsters out of viscera and cum. Doug Bradley builds the character of Pinhead well, well enough to earn the cult following these films have gathered. Watching shitty person after shitty person get chain fucked into oblivion is a surprisingly resilient pleasure, as a full week of Hellraiser movies has attested to. The concept behind the Cenobites is joyous to me, both in their sensation seeking and in their relative neutrality. Hellraiser opens on the Cenobites being summoned by a willing (if ill-advised) man, torturing him for the psychedelic sadomasochistic pleasures of one and all, and then politely cleaning up after themselves and going back to hell. Those motherfuckers are classy, as movie monsters go.
2: Hellbound: Hellraiser II
I like when sequels show off how the first movie impacted the world, and also add some context for the events of the first movie. In this case Hellraiser II shows the mental damage that the events of the first movie had on the heroine while also showing us the backstory of Pinhead and how Cenobites are made. It also includes a Doctor that had been obsessed with the puzzle boxes and cenobites and uses his influence to get all of the victims he can so that he can research them. Its a take on the Cthulian cultist and it makes him a very fun character to watch. Its not as good as the first movie but it gives you more of an interesting world, and fills in some interesting mythology. Its a fun movie, check it out.
Eshi: Hellbound strengthened all of my lovecraftian theories about the series. A trend to continue (spoilers). There is a moment in the film that, to me, perfectly encompasses the moment when an investigator becomes a cultist. It's beautiful. I'm not super keen on any of the cast in this one except Doug Bradley, so he ends up carrying the film despite his relative lack of screen time. Really, the world building makes this one, and makes it one of the better attempts.
3: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
I have a feeling that this movie is where the series started to tailspin. An investigative reporter starts looking into the death of a person due to hooked chains. This event causes her to become embroiled in a plan Pinhead has to break into reality permanently. The movie started out very similarly to the first two but goes out of fucking control when an army of cenobites start fucking shit up in the real world. Terry Farrel, who was also in DS9 as Jadzia Dax, plays Joey, the investigative journalist, is a competent actress and this movie throws a lot of shit at her character which she handles well. Pinhead is really good in this movie, as both his pre and post cenobiting incarnations, and kind of made watching the movie worth it. Its an interesting film, but the flood of silly cenobites made the ending a little laughable. Check it out if you saw the first two, but don't expect to much.
Eshi: There is a Cenobite that is also a robotic cd player, and that is probably the most indicative thing I can say about Hell on Earth.
1: Hellraiser
Hellraiser is a movie written and directed by Clive Barker, and is a wonderful example of why body horror is great. This movie introduced the world to Cenobites, demons who used to be people who were transformed by an obsession with sensation. The story isn't super complex, but it sounds odd. Basically, there is a puzzle box that if you solve it, opens a gate to hell and a bunch of Cenobites come out and torture you to death. Hellraiser deals with a guy who accidentally escapes from this torture and convinces an old lover to kill people so he can be fully resurrected. Antics Ensue. For the time the effects are great and Andrew Robinson plays a great bad guy (he played Garak in DS9). Its a good movie if you like gore and creepy villains. Doug Bradley is also great as pinhead. There's a reason the character is so popular. Check it out if you like some good old fashioned body horror.
Eshi: I kinda feel like Hellraiser is inspired by the kind of porn watched by lovecraftian cultists. Pleasures man wasn't meant to know making monsters out of viscera and cum. Doug Bradley builds the character of Pinhead well, well enough to earn the cult following these films have gathered. Watching shitty person after shitty person get chain fucked into oblivion is a surprisingly resilient pleasure, as a full week of Hellraiser movies has attested to. The concept behind the Cenobites is joyous to me, both in their sensation seeking and in their relative neutrality. Hellraiser opens on the Cenobites being summoned by a willing (if ill-advised) man, torturing him for the psychedelic sadomasochistic pleasures of one and all, and then politely cleaning up after themselves and going back to hell. Those motherfuckers are classy, as movie monsters go.
2: Hellbound: Hellraiser II
I like when sequels show off how the first movie impacted the world, and also add some context for the events of the first movie. In this case Hellraiser II shows the mental damage that the events of the first movie had on the heroine while also showing us the backstory of Pinhead and how Cenobites are made. It also includes a Doctor that had been obsessed with the puzzle boxes and cenobites and uses his influence to get all of the victims he can so that he can research them. Its a take on the Cthulian cultist and it makes him a very fun character to watch. Its not as good as the first movie but it gives you more of an interesting world, and fills in some interesting mythology. Its a fun movie, check it out.
Eshi: Hellbound strengthened all of my lovecraftian theories about the series. A trend to continue (spoilers). There is a moment in the film that, to me, perfectly encompasses the moment when an investigator becomes a cultist. It's beautiful. I'm not super keen on any of the cast in this one except Doug Bradley, so he ends up carrying the film despite his relative lack of screen time. Really, the world building makes this one, and makes it one of the better attempts.
3: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
I have a feeling that this movie is where the series started to tailspin. An investigative reporter starts looking into the death of a person due to hooked chains. This event causes her to become embroiled in a plan Pinhead has to break into reality permanently. The movie started out very similarly to the first two but goes out of fucking control when an army of cenobites start fucking shit up in the real world. Terry Farrel, who was also in DS9 as Jadzia Dax, plays Joey, the investigative journalist, is a competent actress and this movie throws a lot of shit at her character which she handles well. Pinhead is really good in this movie, as both his pre and post cenobiting incarnations, and kind of made watching the movie worth it. Its an interesting film, but the flood of silly cenobites made the ending a little laughable. Check it out if you saw the first two, but don't expect to much.
Eshi: There is a Cenobite that is also a robotic cd player, and that is probably the most indicative thing I can say about Hell on Earth.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Getting The Poison Out
Last week was slow, sorry about that. Just one of those weeks where there aren't any fucks to spare. We'll see if this week manages to surpass the legacy of the last one.
I'm bad at finishing things. Pretty much always have been. I think its a weird side effect of a deep and formative abandonment complex. I can hardly bare to read a book all the way through for feeling like I'm losing something. It's probably got something to do with a more than healthy sense of sloth too, but it's not just that. I feel like finishing something is putting it behind you in a way I'm uncomfortable with. Like you're putting aside something that you've given a bit of yourself to. I don't know, it's strange to write about.
When I take on a project; a story, designing a game, running a campaign, I feel fantastic. I love the idea of creating something, leaving even a small good thing in the world. But then there comes a point where I can see the end of the thing and I shut down. I don't know how to just let a thing be done and move on with my life, so I get all fuckheaded and lose the vision. Even if I do manage to finish a project of any consequence it falls apart at the end because I'm too messed up by then to wrap it up elegantly. I'm working on it but the more I explore the anxiety, the more things it seems to tie to. It's disheartening to see how much of my life, how many people I care about, have been affected by my panicked death grip on the objects of my affection. The terrible fear that the things I love will leave me.
I hate that last sentence. It's been slowly ruining my life since I was a child. Writing it makes my heart drop. Because its a self-fulfilling prophesy. I can't stand to finish a project and be done with something I've invested myself in, so I poison my own projects. I'm so terrified of losing the people I care about I freak out and risk driving them away. I feel like its getting better but the more I work on it the bigger it seems, hopefully attention bias. I know this is kind of a masturbatory post, but this is where I write things I'm thinking about. I don't know, fuck it.
I'm bad at finishing things. Pretty much always have been. I think its a weird side effect of a deep and formative abandonment complex. I can hardly bare to read a book all the way through for feeling like I'm losing something. It's probably got something to do with a more than healthy sense of sloth too, but it's not just that. I feel like finishing something is putting it behind you in a way I'm uncomfortable with. Like you're putting aside something that you've given a bit of yourself to. I don't know, it's strange to write about.
When I take on a project; a story, designing a game, running a campaign, I feel fantastic. I love the idea of creating something, leaving even a small good thing in the world. But then there comes a point where I can see the end of the thing and I shut down. I don't know how to just let a thing be done and move on with my life, so I get all fuckheaded and lose the vision. Even if I do manage to finish a project of any consequence it falls apart at the end because I'm too messed up by then to wrap it up elegantly. I'm working on it but the more I explore the anxiety, the more things it seems to tie to. It's disheartening to see how much of my life, how many people I care about, have been affected by my panicked death grip on the objects of my affection. The terrible fear that the things I love will leave me.
I hate that last sentence. It's been slowly ruining my life since I was a child. Writing it makes my heart drop. Because its a self-fulfilling prophesy. I can't stand to finish a project and be done with something I've invested myself in, so I poison my own projects. I'm so terrified of losing the people I care about I freak out and risk driving them away. I feel like its getting better but the more I work on it the bigger it seems, hopefully attention bias. I know this is kind of a masturbatory post, but this is where I write things I'm thinking about. I don't know, fuck it.
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