My Top 10 Halloween Movies

It's one of my favourite times of year again; Halloween. A time for sexy parties, casual drinks and of course, scary movies. There is no tradition I love more than watching some of my favourite horror films. I've decided to share with you my top 10 list of horror and Halloween themed movies. 

10. Saw (2004). This movie is one of the originators of the torture porn genre, but the first film in the series has quite a bit more substance to it than the sequels and genre siblings. With an original plot (at the time of release), this movie is a classic that features some of the most terrifying methods of murder in movie history.

9. Shaun of the Dead (2004). Another great release from 04, this movie is a zombie parody that launched the careers of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. An excellent change of pace during your horror marathons, this comedy features some clever jokes for any zombie lover. With a gory ending, it falls in line with my horror theme. 

8. The Shining (1980). A classic, what can I say about this movie that hadn't been already said and already said better. Kubrick brings Stephen King's novel to life and Jack Nicholson shows us the insanity of isolation.

7. The Exorcist (1973). Another timeless horror film, but I find that the scares show it's age, as almost everyone of my generation watched this film in their early teen years and no longer finds Friedkin's masterpiece truly horrifying. This movie almost invented the modern horror film and should still be viewed as a great piece of Halloween history.  

6. Psycho (1960). My favourite Hitchcock film, this movie is revolutionary. Featuring my all time horror performance, Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates, this movie still chills to the bone. We all know the story, and if you don't, you better watch this film. Packed with Hitchcock's trademark suspense, this movie still gets me on dark nights alone. 

5. Halloween (1978). The precursor to the slasher films of the 80s, this won't be the only John Carpenter film to appear on the list. This film spawned Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and many more not so good films. The tale of Michael Myers established an entire genre and its rules, it would also be the reason for the genre rebirth in the 90s through the Scream series. Still scary in its own right this movie, like many others on my list, has had a profound impact on horror films.

4. 28 Days Later (2002). My favourite zombie film, Danny Boyle's 2002 release features an isolated England and a man waking up from a coma to find his world at an end. Cillian Murphy, an actor I find to be underrated, stars as the hero, and we view the world through his eyes as he changes from bike currier to protector of the innocent. We see the horrors of humanity during the worst times, and how we continue to both fail ourselves and save ourselves, often within the same events. 

3. Alien (1979). In space no one can hear you scream, or so the saying goes. This film is fantastic. Combining sci-fi and horror makes a film that is easily sell able, and a film that is the best the series. While later iterations of the Aliens series would follow more of an action storyline, this film was all horror. Cramped inside a small ship, a group of cargo haulers fight isolation and rape allegories while creating a fine piece of film. 

2. The Thing (1982). John Carpenter's second film on the list, and definitely his best. As you can see I have a thing for isolation, and no movie does it better. A group of scientists in the antarctic find...a thing... that shapeshifts and must fight off their sense of abandonment and paranoia, not knowing who is alien and who is human. While the special effects aren't up to today's standards, the film's quality has not degraded. 

1. Trick 'R Treat (2007/2009). How did this movie sit on the shelves for 2 years, then not even get a theatrical release? A horror anthology in the vein of creep show, tales from the crypt, twilight zone and others, this movie captures what modern horror is to me; a scary movie full of homage to all its predecessors. This movie is fantastic, and I know that almost none of you have seen it, so buy it, rent it, torrent it, just watch it. 

Review: The Ides of March

Political thrillers and dramas have always been of interest to me. The Manchurian Candidate, Milk and others are films I find quite enjoyable. The Ides of March falls within this generic category and this is my review. Small spoilers are included with large spoilers after the header.

With the preface out of the way, let me say that I was very impressed with this film. Ryan Gosling commits himself to the role of Stephen Myers, the junior campaign manager for Clooney's Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Mike Morris. I felt as though he was the character, feeling and processing every internal struggle through both his body language, facial expression and tones. I've been a fan of his for quite a while and this movie again proved to me that he is one of the best actors of his generation.

Clooney provides solid supporting, as his usual charm and likability are visible throughout. The cast overall is good, with big names that I respect very much. Evan Rachel Wood was impressive as the intern, Molly, who stirs the conflict and drives the film.

Based on the play Farragut North (2008) written by Beau Willimon, the screenplay written by Clooney, Willimon and Grant Heslov. I thought the writing was good, not great. However, one scene blew me away.

SPOILER


The meeting between Myers (Gosling) and Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) is superb. Every word captures the audience and sucks them into the conversation, delivering powerful blow after blow. This is the scene that resonated most with me, and feel free to tell me otherwise, but I thought the intensity of the conversation at this pivotal moment of the film was fantastic.


END SPOILER

As always I wished I could view this multiple times in a row, then come back to it before writing my review, but with limited funds and time that seems unlikely. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and while some may argue that it does not accurately portray politics, it captures the audience for an entertaining ride and makes us follow the arc of Myers (Gosling) as he is exposed to the corruption of a system he believes in.

The ending is ambiguous, but this works perfectly for me. I like to decide what happens after the film ends. I like films that get people talking about the film and its themes, methods and everything involved.

Now I may be bold in these predictions, but I think I've got a good idea how the Academy works. This is early, and I haven't seen as many movies as I should have, but I'll throw Gosling out for Best Actor, the screenplay for Best Adapted, and the film for Best Picture. These are just nomination predictions, but it makes sense to me right now.

Captivating and full of twists, this political thriller is a must see for anyone interested in being taken on a character driven story that straddles the grays of morality.

8/10 (if I have to give a score)
Good, but not great, an above average film with some strong components.

The Faults of Advertising.

God are some ads just brutal to watch. I know you all feel the same, (Thanks @Devon__Taylor and @CASEYinRealLife for the tweets). Tim Horton's, Rogers, Dairy Queen, Boston Pizza, Bell, and many more are all companies that struggle with their advertising, attempting to use humour and failing.

Like we've seen with many a Wayans brother movie, humour, when done poorly, usually achieves the opposite effect, often disgusting the viewer. All of these companies and their ads have that gag reflex on me. Tim's with their silly workplace antics, DQ with their Old Spice rip offs, BP with nibs and nubs, Rogers with toe fingers. It all tries to be too hard, and like the boy who begs for a date, either annoys you at best or disgusts you at worst.

This is not how companies should advertise. If a company is relying on ads their should generally take a firms advice. Having friends who work in the industry and are creative, I know that clients often turn down brilliant ideas, an often dictate what they want done (or at least that's my understanding).

Instead these companies should focus on the product and let the creative people do their work. Don't be afraid to be original in ads, it worked for Old Spice. Instead you come off as an unoriginal company that is behind the times in ads and therefore behind in brand image.

Doug out

NHL and Don Cherry (Class Blog 3)

So Don Cherry, where do I begin? Aside from being what I think is Canada's most prominent personality (sorry to the PMs, news anchors and others who should be on this list but none of you stand out like this man), he is also an arrogant, pompous, dinosaur who's views are as outdated as Leafs fans hopes of winning a cup (stop telling me how you really feel that this is the year for you guys and that Kessel can score 50 in his sleep, and Dion's a natural leader, and that blah blah blah. If they can lose and make money why bother winning?).

Now obviously Don is a very controversial person, and he has consistently said things that prove he has antiquated views (pinkos, commies, and other Cold War era jargon that no one who was born after the advent of television would ever use in public). But his most recent statement, calling three former NHL enforcers pukes and hypocrites has drawn a lot of attention from sports media. I clearly don't agree with him on this issue, as I don't believe fighting in hockey is part of the game. They don't fight during playoffs, good players rarely fight, and no other league allows it (aside from the AHL, which is generally considered THE fighting league). Other leagues and sports kick you out and ban you for fighting (ala Ron Artest and the Pacers).

However, fighting is not the issue here for me (at least not for this blog). The issue is Cherry's half-assed apology (Seriously Cherry, the only time I've seen something more half-assed is in my first-year university papers). Don attempted to clarify that his "pukes" statement was inappropriate because kids watch his show, but never stated that he was sorry or that perhaps his views are outdated.

CBC has stepped up and stated that his views do not correlate with their own, and in so have distanced themselves from Don. However, they have not forced him to apologize. Can they? Should they? Probably, but we all know Don and that he doesn't apologize and that he doesn't believe he's wrong. But clearly CBC does. Now we've got a PR nightmare, what with the lawsuit threats and bloggers and writers stating that he must apologize.

I don't think CBC can fire him if he doesn't apologize, and I don't think he will. If they fire him, they lose all the loyal Cherry followers who believe Cherry knows all with regards to hockey. And if they fire him, TSN will for sure hire him, and then you lose Coach's Corner (or at least why people watch it, I'm not sure about trademarks). CBC is already hurting for hockey, and if they lose Cherry then they lose hockey. CBC is in a tough situation because of Cherry, but can they really reprimand him?

Hank Williams Jr and MNF (Class Blog 2)

Hank Williams Jr, a man that seems to have been cashing in on his father's name, did something disgusting, but somewhat unsurprising. Making yet another comparison of how Obama is like Hitler, Williams stated that the golf game between Obama and house leader John Boehner would be like a game between Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

First off, this statement is utterly ridiculous. I don't see eye-to-eye with most of my friends, but we can still play golf or go for a drink. Just because you don't agree on some issues, doesn't mean you can't play a professional round of golf together. Why is this pairing so ridiculous? Only in the ignorant, bi-partisan, us vs. you, USA can two professionals playing golf be viewed as ridiculous based on a difference of opinion.

ESPN in turn, removed Williams Jr.'s song from their Monday Night Football introduction. Good move ESPN. Putting distance between your company and brand, and that of an ignorant and ill-formed hillbilly is one of  the best decisions that the best known name in sports has ever done. Their brand, while not necessarily standing for inclusion, is definitely a family oriented brand and the distancing of ESPN and such an anti-American sentiment continues their alignment with family values.

Disgusting actions like this always need an immediate response, and ESPN did the right thing removing his song. Now make sure he never gets played again.