Showing posts with label guilty pleasures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guilty pleasures. Show all posts

Monday, October 13, 2008

Malathionman's Horror Holiday Picks

I don’t know why I never did this before, post Malathionman’s Halloween Movie picks! Who better to know about horror than the evil mutant Malathionman?

When I sat down to think about my recommendations it occurred to me that I could categorize this list in many ways. Vampires (Bram Stoker’s Dracula), werewolves (
Dog Soldiers), and chick flicks (Steel Magnolias) are types of horror movies.

I tried to be less specific.

FOREIGN.
You may have noticed that I have recommended some foreign movies on the sidebar. I like foreign movies. If I can watch an entire movie in subtitles and enjoy it, it has to be a darn good movie. I do not watch the dubbed versions. Here three of my selections.

Ringu (Japan). Ringu was remade in the U.S. as The Ring, which wasn’t a bad movie. Ringu was a little darker, a little creepier, and no blood, just a good scary movie. It is a little dated with that whole videotape thing. Subtitles.

The Orphanage (Spain). This is probably still a new release in most of your video stores. 30 years later, a woman comes back to the orphanage that she once lived at as a young girl. With her husband and adopted son, she wants to run her own orphanage for special needs children. Like Ringu, this movie has no blood; it’s just a really good ghost story. Subtitles.

Dead Alive (New Zealand). Before there was Lord of the Rings, there was Dead Alive. I think this was Peter Jackson’s second feature film. The blood and guts that are missing in the above movies are in this one, 10 fold. This zombie comedy is one of my favorites. One of my favorite scenes is when the zombies come knocking at the church’s door. The local priest answers and decides to take the Lord’s work into his own hands and feet. He then proceeds to kung fu on hordes of zombies exclaiming, “ I kick-ass for the Lord!”
No subtitles, English.

COMEDY/HORROR
This is my preferred “Halloween” type movie. Dead Alive definitely falls into this category, but it fit nicely into that foreign film slot. I think horror is better if there is some comedy mixed in to take the edge off; it also makes the comedy funnier, even it isn’t that funny.

Evil Dead 2. This is actually a remake of Evil Dead. Evil Dead wasn’t a bad movie, it was just more of a traditional horror movie. Director Sam Raimi remade Evil Dead with laughs in mind. It has lots of blood and gore, and that famous flying eyeball scene. It also has Bruce Campbell; he appears in many of Rami’s films, very funny guy. Check it out; it makes many must see lists for this genre.

Re-Animator. This is not a movie for everyone, but if you like Dead Alive or Evil Dead 2, you’ll probably like this too. It’s just your typical mad scientist movie. Geeky guy discovers a way to bring dead things back to life. Decapitated and reanimated evil doctor’s body walks around carrying his own head so he can kiss the girl he likes. Great
stuff.

American Werewolf in London. This movie has genuine scares and laughs. The hospital dream sequence scared the you know what out of me. This movie won an Oscar for make up effects. Still one of the best werewolf transformation scenes and baddest looking werewolves to date.

REASONABLY KID SAFE
I tried most of those movies above on my kids and I can safely say yours won’t like them. Here are some movies that most elementary age kids won’t get too freaked out by watching.

Ghostbusters. Classic 80’s movie period.

The Monster Squad. A boys club team up with Frankenstein to battle Dracula, Wolfman, the Mummy, and Gill-Man.

Gremlins. More 80’s more fun. I think monster movies were friendlier in the 80’s. Everything today seems to be pretty shocking.


Unfortunately
Bleak Future doesn’t make my list recommendations, but you can rent it! I am a member of Blockbuster Online. While looking for something to rent I was shocked to come across Bleak Future. I am even listed in the cast. So if you are feeling brave, check it out and see the Malathionman in action.

Feel free to throw any of your Halloween favorites my way. Chances are I've seen it and have an opinion on it.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Its (I'm) Not Unusual

All of us have them, guilty pleasures. Guilty pleasures are things we like to eat, watch, listen to, or do, that may not be considered mainstream. Something you may not share with someone until you get to know him or her better. I have lots of them. And as I get older I have come to realize that it is silly not to share fun, quirky, things about yourself, it makes you more enjoyable to be around. Who really likes that quiet dude that just keeps to himself? Sure there may be some laughs at your expense, but it will pay dividends in the end.

Today I am going to share one of my guilty pleasures. In the future I may share some more. Feel free to make fun or share.

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. There was a lot of great music in the 70’s and 80’s, or at least I think so. But there is one guy I secretly listen to. Tom Jones. I actually have a Tom Jones play list in my Rhapsody library.

When I was a kid I remember my mom watching This Is Tom Jones every week. I think this show was so hilarious, the Vegas-style singing, the ladies throwing under garments on stage, cheesy skits; it was total 70’s. Only Tom Jones could pull that routine off and get away with it.

I dig that even today he is doing the same thing he did back then. I also think it is cool that many younger artist have done work with him. It’s a sign of respect for the work that has done in the past, and proof that he is still cool.

One of my favorite Tom Jones appearances is in the movie Mars Attacks. It is a small cameo towards the end and I believe he has the final scene. I really liked Mars Attacks; it’s not a movie people mention when they talk about Tim Burton films.

So there it is; I have a man crush on Tom Jones, not Tommy Lee Jones, whom I think is cool too, and if you think about it he does have the same name.

Hopefully you are reading this from Wear Gloves and Protective Eyewear, and not from your Google Reader, so that you can enjoy the macho goodness that is Tom Jones.