Only the Candy was Hard...

*Spoiler Alert*

I don't remember when I first heard about the movie Hard Candy.  But somewhere along the way, it attained an almost mythical status in my mind.  It became completely necessary for me to see this film.  Looking back on it, I think I first came across it while browsing the local Movie Gallery (rest in peace) during a date.  Yes, that's it.  It was a little over a year ago.  I was on my first date with the girl I've been dating for 11 months now.  As we walked the aisles examining the walls for that perfect movie that might ignite the flame of a love connection, a certain DVD caught my eye.  It was Hard Candy.  I picked it up, read the description on the back of the box, and immediately knew that it wasn't right for the date.  We went with Blades of Glory that night, and while it might not have been the best choice, love could not be stifled by yet another Will Ferrell sports comedy.

From that day on, Hard Candy haunted my dreams.  Something about that description on the back of the box stuck with me.  I don't even remember what it said.  But it changed me.  I couldn't forget this image:

It was during the past year that movie nights at Wesley's house became a regular occurrence.  I honestly can't comprehend how my life was ever happy before these little events.  Wesley always picks amazing movies to watch, and there's so much candy.  All the effin candy I could ever want.  Wesley's house means a guaranteed good movie and an unending orgy of candy.  I've made myself sick a few times.  I've seen a damn good movie every time.  Anyways, each time a Caldwell movie night would take place, a ritual began to play out.  Wesley, every time without fail, would stand before the group gathered in his playroom and give us choices for which movie would be viewed.  And every time without fail, my eyes would be mystically drawn to his copy of Hard Candy, tucked away in the shelf to the left of the TV.  When Wesley asked the inevitable question, "So what do yall want to watch?" I yelled out with great enthusiasm, "Wesley, let's watch Hard Candy!"  Before he could protest, I just repeated the title of the film over and over until he explained that it wasn't appropriate for mixed company.  Later, I would ask him in private why he wouldn't allow us to watch the movie I so desperately wanted to see.  Each time, he would explain that it was just too "intense" and far too "uncomfortable" for a group viewing.  This scenario played out each and every time we watch a movie at Wesley's.

After so many rejections, I had honestly reached a point where I believed that I would never see the film.  I had given up.  But I was pretty okay with that.  Then, in one of the greatest surprises of my life, Wesley finally spoke the words, "Zach, let's watch Hard Candy."  It happened this past Friday, August 29, 2008.  I almost had to change my shorts when he spoke those words.  And to my delight, a small group of guys from the dorm wanted to watch it too.  My wildest dreams were coming true.  I was ready to see this "intense" and "uncomfortable" film.  It was finally going to happen.

Let me say this next - things don't make me uncomfortable.  "Intense" usually doesn't bother me.  But for anyone who hasn't seen Hard Candy, let me assure you, it's a whole new ball game.  This movie is in a league of its own.

I haven't seen Juno, so my only previous experience with Ellen Page was from her role in X-Men 3, which sucked hard.  But she played a pretty insignificant role in that, so I've never held it against her.  So basically, I went into watching this film with no preconceived notions about the leading actress.  In addition, I had never previously seen a film featuring Patrick Wilson. This was the perfect set-up for Hard Candy to blow me away and change my life for the better.  The legendary status that this movie had reached in my head had somehow led me to expect it to be the greatest thing I had ever seen.  Being told no by Wesley so many times had made me want to see it just that much more.  But now, I realize that watching Hard Candy was a total mistake.

It wasn't a mistake because it was a bad movie.  In fact, both Page and Wilson gave pretty strong performances in my opinion.  Ellen Page was extremely convincing as the absolutely insane, violent, and retribution-minded Hayley.  Patrick Wilson's depiction of Jeff was equally skilled, as he managed to make me feel sorry for a pedophile.  This isn't normal.  I should have wanted him to be tortured.  But the extremely psychological nature of the film kept me second guessing myself and constantly wondering if Hayley was just out her mind and whether Jeff was actually guilty or not.  This complicated and thought-provoking aspect of the plot adds to its strength.  The lighting in the film was also really spot-on.  The mood created was really creepy - it felt like at any moment that all hell was going to break loose.  Someone was going to snap; someone was going to end up dead.  Hard Candy was definitely suspenseful.

Now that I've admitted that Hard Candy is a good flick, you might be asking, so why was it a mistake?  I'll tell you why.  It was painful to watch.  So damn painful.  I've never squirmed so much while viewing any movie.  I've seen cannonballs shear off legs, heads explode, and aliens rip through someone's chest.  But none of that phased me.  In comparison, I think Page's character almost made me cry.  I don't want to give too much away, but I'll just throw a word out there:  castration.

As I stated after the movie was over, the character of Hayley made me fear all women.  Now I know what they are capable of.  Now I trust no one.  Now I can't see women in the same light.  I'm afraid that I'll say something wrong.  I'm afraid that my girlfriend will find that Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition stashed under my mattress and she'll go crazy.  I'm afraid I'll end up drugged and tied to a chair.  I'm afraid I'll lose my balls.  I hope this isn't going too far, but Hard Candy gave me an anti-boner.  A big one.

Hard Candy was a good movie.  It was well made.  The actors gave great performances.  But I never want to see a movie like that again.  I am permanently scarred.  I regret picking up that DVD and becoming so intrigued with it that fateful night.  I regret asking Wesley so many times to watch it.  Thank God I didn't choose to watch it on that date.  I would have ruined a very good thing.  Surely a second date would have never happened.  But when I think about it, Hard Candy ruined it anyway, it just waited a while.  I may have a lovely girlfriend who treats me well, but who knows what she's capable of?  At any moment, she could snap, and go all Hayley on me.  I'm no pedophile, but I'm terrified regardless.  Why?  Because every man fears that crazy bitch hellbent on revenge who wants to cut off his balls.  That's why.  Ellen Page has earned herself a permanent place in my nightmares.

YDKS Movies Gets a Guest Writer

So, I'm sure you've all read Jason's comeback post from earlier tonight. It is good to have him back and well, I've never really gone anywhere but, the fact is, we are both getting very busy. Jason is off in Starkville trying to make a life for himself and I'm back in college and spending most of my days reading text books. This first week has been pretty ridiculous- I've basically had 50 pages of text to read assigned per class (that's not really an exaggeration either). To make things worse, it's mostly 50 pages of crap that I honestly don't have any interest in. Seriously, this is some of the most boring material that I've ever subjected myself to. Earlier today, I think I pretty much reached a point of a breakdown while trying to read about different kinds of personal essays as my mom's bread machine was buzzing in the background and my sister kept trying to get my advice on what kind of dress to wear to Homecoming (luckily, I've decided to put my books down for a while and get back to watching Season 2 of Dexter). 

Anyways, the point is- we're busy. And we're just going to keep getting more busy. Despite the fact that I have managed to get a post up per day this week with all the school work I've had (with the exception of yesterday- I figured a man night filled with Sal and Mookie's Pizza and a viewing of Hard Candy was something I could use as opposed to a post), this is probably going to get harder and harder in the future. So, Jason and I have decided to bring in a guest writer to help with our slack. That guest writer is my friend and blogger Zach Osborn.

Zach has been mentioned on the site more than a few times. I've mentioned him in my Sunshine review, my YDKS Covers The Dark Knight Midnight Show topic (in which he is featured in a few pictures), Speech of the Week #1, 200th post, etc. Zach has been asking me to let him write for the site for quite a while now and, since we are getting bogged down with work lately, I figured- why not? After all, Zach has blogged before in the past (Demand Pop Justice, Me Loves This), has a pretty good taste in film (though I cannot say much for his music taste... nothing personal man), and is naturally very funny.

So, with all that said, expect to see various guest articles from Zach in the next few weeks. I'm sure they will be entertaining to say the least. Also, Austin did a quick art piece for this topic, as you can see above. I have already stated Zach's fascination with Independence Day in Speech of the Week #1 so we decided to make his first art piece here ID4 themed. It's all in good fun. 

10 Things Better Than Going to the Movies This Weekend (Or the Next...)

First, let me just say that if feels good to be writing again. It has been about 2 weeks since my last post, and there are already readers calling for my head and offering to replace me. Well dear friends, this is not going to happen. What IS happening is that YDKS has become a force to be reckoned with in Cyberspace, and people are trying to jump on the bandwagon. This is not another Caleb situation guys, and I, Jason, am here to stay.

Now onto the article. This weekend and next weekend are bringing 3 of the most lazy releases we have seen in a long time with Babylon A.D. and Disaster Movie released yesterday and Bangkok Dangerous (*ahem* Nicholas "Bear Suit" Cage *ahem*) being released September 5th. So I have compiled a list of things you can do other than go to the movies this weekend.



Watch College Football

We nerds like sports too, and the Holy Grail of all sports is making its debut this weekend. Now we will finally have some highlights on ESPN other than outfielders making diving catches while running into walls and each other. I believe once the NFL starts (I have a pretty awesome fantasy team this year by the way), there will be football on TV almost everyday of the week.



Watch Freaks and Geeks

The fact that Freaks and Geeks only lasted one glorious season is one of the worst tragedies in television history. This show is perfect in every way and me and my roommate just finished watching the series. Find it, watch it, rejoice that we got what we got.



Read/Re-read Watchmen

I just read Watchmen for the first time in preparation for the upcoming film version in 2009. It is as amazing as the world and its fan base have said it is. And, quite frankly, I have to agree with Alan Moore in that I don't know how they are going to pull this off as a film. And there were points during my reading where I was sad that Zack Snyder and Co. were actually making a film out of it. Watchmen is so involved, multi-layered and complex that people have actually criticized it for "taking the fun out of comics" in general. The only way to make the film is to rape novel, and that is sad. Unless what Kevin Smith said was true. Let's hope it is.



Have a Double Feature of your Favorite Movies

Wesley's recent Double Feature with a couple of John Carpenter movies inspired this list item, and I can think of no better way to spend one night, or a couple nights of the weekend than renting and watching two group movies surrounded by your favorite friends.


Watch The Line and/or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Hulu

I discovered The Line through Slash Film's Video of the Day column, and you already know how I feel about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Both are Internet-based "shows" that do a great job of exploiting the medium. Watch them here and here.



Go to Chuck E. Cheese

I know from experience there is one in Jackson for our dear readers down south. The ticket jackpots are enormous on the weekends, and you will find that your hand-eye coordination has improved since the last time you had your birthday party there. 10 bucks gets you plenty of tokens. And you can eat there. And you ca...I better stop now.



Eat the Never Ending Pasta Bowl at Olive Garden

This promotion is going on right now, and trust me, it is worth it. You will eat so much that there won't be room for any other plans.



Play Type Racer

Type Racer is a fun Internet-based game that lets you test your typing speed against other people as you all race to type movie, book, and song quotes the fastest. This will keep you busy for hours.



Watch The Dark Knight for the 5th time

Ok, I know what the title of this post says. But seriously, would you ever want to waste an opportunity to watch this one in theaters again. I don't think so.



Read YDKS Movies

Oh wait. You mean you already do this anyway? That is awesome, and smarter than going to the movies too!


Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. And for those of you out there trying to take over for me here at YDKS, stop it. You know who you are.

Austin's John Carpenter Double Feature Artwork

Click to enlarge.

Okay, this doesn't really have anything to do with YDKS Movies per say but I thought it looked pretty cool so check it out.

This is a John Carpenter Double Feature Poster that Austin made for me for a movie night that I'm going to be having in the next week or so (depending on people and their availability). As you can tell, the double feature will be Christine and The Thing. I'm pretty excited about it as I've been wanting to have a double feature at my house for quite a while now and because I cannot think of a more awesome double feature to have than one that is John Carpenter themed. It's going to be pretty awesome.

Anyways, enjoy the poster artwork above and feel free to use it to advertise your own John Carpenter Double Feature Movie Night in the future. After all, everyone should have one at least once in their life.

There Will Be a Facebook Movie

Yep.

According writer Aaron Sorkin, this is what's going on (note: he wrote this on his Facebook page... I mean, where else?):

I’ve just agreed to write a movie for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about how Facebook was invented. I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I’ve started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she’s been dead for 33 years.

I honestly don’t know how this works, which is why I’m here. If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer them as best I can. If anyone has any comments I’m glad to listen. And if anyone has any Facebook stories I think they might be helpful.

I would try to say something clever here... but I got nothing. I mean, everyone on the web knows that this is a dumb idea and has been panning this story like there's no tomorrow already anyway. I just wanted to put it out there and let it stand. I'm just reporting, you know? After all, there is worse stuff out there. You know, they're making a Monopoly movie as well. Yeah, a Monopoly movie. 

Well... maybe that's not as bad as a Facebook movie but... ah whatever. I really don't care. I'm gonna go do some homework. You guys just take this news however you want to.

Source: Filmdrunk

Wesley's F-ed Up Movie of the Week #3

Let's face it: there are a lot of really messed up, crazy, and insane movies out there. For some reason or another, I've seen a lot of them. After all, I tend to watch lots of movies and all different kinds of them. I'm not really sure what makes me rent these kinds of films but I usually manage to watch them all the way through. So, forever how long I can do it, I'm going to post this column once a week (not necessarily on Tuesday- unlike Speech of the Week, this column will not be day specific) and focus on some of the more obscured and messed up films that I've seen in my twenty-one years of life. Here it is folks: Wesley's F-ed Up Movie of the Week.

This week's f-ed up movie is from 1997 and is entitled In the Company of Men. Here's a good synopsis from Netflix:

"Two corporate middle-managers (Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy), exiled to a branch office for 6 weeks, come up with a way to kill time: Find an insecure woman, independently romance her and then simultaneously dump her. Director Neil LaBute's powerful, amoral look at office politics and sexual gamesmanship is guaranteed to push buttons with its searing, cruel candor."

In the Company of Men is definitely no where near as disturbing as my previous entries in this column (Happiness and River's Edge) but you gotta admit that it's main concept is pretty messed up. Two bored business men decide to romance a vulnerable woman and then throw the fact that it was all a ruse right back in her face. And did I mention that the woman that the two men end up choosing is deaf and dumb? Yeah, that's pretty messed up. In case that doesn't sum this movie up for you (along with the summary I got from Netflix), be sure to check out the trailer below.

In the Company of Men was basically the start of a series of films by director Neil LaBute that dealt with destructive and often manipulative human relationships and that aspect of human nature (the other films are Your Friends and Neighbors and The Shape of Things). For some reason or another, LaBute ended up losing his touch somewhere along the way and ended up directing the hilariously bad Nic Cage remake of The Wicker Man. However, before he got to that stage, he was really capable of directing some pretty hard-hitting and provocative films.

In the Company of Men is one of those films. As messed up as its concept is, one cannot help but be strangely enthralled by it and how far the two men will take the elaborate and assuredly destructive prank. At first, it just seems like something you would talk about with one of your friends on a very late night when you are exhausted and your mind is just rambling. However, as the film goes on and the two begin to engage in the horrendous prank, the viewer really finds themselves invested in what is occurring and can't help but put themselves right into the shoes of the characters.

As the film progresses, Howard (Matt Mallory), who was basically cajoled into the prank, finds himself slowly falling in love with Christine (Stacy Edwards) while Chad (Aaron Eckhart) seems only bent on destruction. As the film winds down to it's climax, some truly awful things occur and some scary truths about the viciousness of certain human beings is put on the screen for the viewer to deal with.

One of the main appeals of this film is the acting. For me, I saw this movie because I heard how good Aaron Eckhart's performance as Chad was. How good was it, you may ask? Pretty amazing if you ask me. Eckhart manages to be one of the most charismatic and downright soulless people I've ever seen on film. It was weird to see this and then see him playing Harvey Dent (who was such a good guy... well, at first) in The Dark Knight a month later. The guy obviously knows that the movie is basically his and he owns it from start to finish. Matt Mallory also gives a great performance as Howard, the relatable business man with kind of a conscious... but not exactly. Stacey Edwards also does a great job with the vulnerable character of Christine and is able to display not only the character's disability but the vast range of emotions she goes through quite well. 

Despite going on to direct the terrible remake of the Wicker Man, Neil LaBute offers some strong direction in this film. LaBute directs the film like a play- there is not a strong visual style per say as there is a strong emphasis on the acting of the great ensemble of actors that he has at his hands. LaBute offers up a lot of long shots to showcase this great acting- my favorite of which involves Eckhart and Mallory standing on the roof of their business building discussing the ongoing prank. 

In the end, In the Company of Men is not a movie for everyone. While it isn't nearly as messed up as the previous entries on this column, the concept of two men using a handicapped woman for their own entertainment is pretty disturbing and cynical. The commentary that LaBute is trying to make on the nature of some human beings, particularly jaded businessmen, is strong and effective. Still, the film is surprisingly funny at times, especially the boardroom sequence in which Eckhart basically admits to hating everyone. I have to admit that I liked the movie for the most part, mostly due to the LaBute's strong direction and the great acting, especially that of Aaron Eckhart. Man, he was a terrible person in this movie. 

Babylon A.D. Joins the List of Movies Getting the Shaft

Just yesterday, I did a post about how The Midnight Meat Train got screwed over by Lionsgate Studios by being dumped in only 100 one dollar theaters on August 1st. Vin Diesel's latest Sci-Fi film Babylon A.D. can join the list of films such as the aforementioned The Midnight Meat Train and Punisher: War Zone that are being mistreated and re-tooled for the worst by their studios. 

Fox Studios, which has been on a real negativity run lately (the Watchmen law suit; the Wolverine sabotage), changed the movie so much that even its director Mathieu Kassovitz thinks it sucks.

“I should have chosen a studio that has guts,” Kassovitz told AMC. “Fox was just trying to get a PG-13 movie. I’m ready to go to war against them, but I can’t because they don’t give a sh*t. …I don’t see how people who went through all these amazing blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Iron Man this summer will take [Babylon A.D.].”

When reached for a comment on the film, Vin Diesel stated:

“Am I even in the movie any more, or am I on the cutting room floor?” the actor joked.

Nice job, Fox. What exactly was the point of all this? I've seen pretty much zero advertising for this movie (and what little I have seen is awful) and even the director and lead actor have come out and said that the film is a train wreck. Oh yeah, and it's sitting at 0% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. I just don't get it. 

I stated that Fox was my least favorite studio at the moment in my Wolverine Might Suck article but this news only confirms it. No, I wasn't exactly looking forward to this movie or anything but it really is sickening to read news of someone's vision and talent being cut down by a studio that obviously doesn't care about anything logical or beneficial anymore.

Source: /Film

The Midnight Meat Train Gets the Shaft

Back when a couple of friends of mine and I went to see Rambo in the theaters, we were surprised by a certain trailer for a movie called The Midnight Meat Train. The trailer was strange, creepy and quite engaging. However, when the title of The Midnight Meat Train hit the big screen, literally everyone in the audience burst into laughter. Even after Rambo ended, all we could talk about was The Midnight Meat Train and how it sounded like the title for a bad porno movie. The fact that this was the title for a horror movie that was coming out was pretty much hilarious. Based on the title alone, we swore to come together again when it was released and see it.

Well, as it turns out, Lionsgate released The Midnight Meat Train on August 1st in a limited release. How limited, you ask? It was only released in 100 locations, all of which were run down one dollar theaters. Not only did this occur but the theaters were no where near large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, etc. 

According to Cinematical, Clive Barker, the writer of The Midnight Meat Train and creator of Hellraiser is pissed about the whole snubbing and politics of the whole release:

When the limited release strategy became known, Clive Barker, who wrote the story upon which Ryuhei Kitamura's film is based, expressed his support for a fan-made viral campaign to get a wider release. Now that the limited release has come and gone, he told MTV News of his displeasure toward "small-minded" Lionsgate president Joe Drake. Barker believes that Drake shortchanged MMT to avoid competition with The Strangers, on which Drake had a producing credit. "You don't have to sh-- on somebody else's work to advance your own material," Barker said.

Barker feels that Kitamura made "a beautifully stylish, scary movie." He's convinced that "people will find it, and whether they find it in midnight shows or they find it on DVD, they'll find it, and in the end the Joe Drakes of the world will disappear."

Well, that sucks because, from all that I've heard, it actually turned out to be a good horror film. Sure, when I first saw the trailer all I could think about was its ridiculous porno-like title and how much of a B-movie it could be. However, knowing now that it actually could be really good, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. Lionsgate has been failing big time when it comes to movies lately. Right now, there's the whole thing about them firing director Lexi Alexander and making Punisher: War Zone Pg-13 instead of R (something that I could honestly care less about but none-the-less) and now this. 

Epic fail, guys. You really should start focusing on all the good horror out there and stop banking everything on the Saw series... something that should have stopped three movies ago.

Mostly I'm just depressed that I won't be able to go to the movies with my friends and say "One for The Midnight Meat Train," with a silly grin on my face. That's the real travesty here.

Source: Cinematical

Speech of the Week #5

Hey guys, welcome to a new column here on YDKS Movies entitled Speech of the Week! For now on, every Monday I will post a new scene from a movie that features a speech of some sort being given. After all, there are a lot of famous scenes in film where characters give an influential speech of some sort. Then again, there are also a lot of scenes where characters give a speech and it just comes off cheesy and lame. In this section, you will see both kinds. That's right, people, I'm giving you the good and bad of film speeches all wrapped up in one great big package. I hope you all enjoy.

This week's speech definitely falls into the bad movie category. However, I'm felling sick today so I need something like this to cheer me up. Deep Blue Sea is a terrible movie. On the other hand, it is also one of the most entertaining movies you'll see. Let's face it- this thing is pretty much hilarious. It's a B-movie and it definitely does not try to hide it.

In this scene, Samuel L. Jackson gives an epic, moving speech only to be eaten by a giant, fake looking shark right in the middle of it. Nope, I'm not making that up- it actually happens. And it's awesome. Enjoy below.

How great was that? Here's a full transcript of the speech for your full enjoyment:

"Enough! That's enough now, from all of you! You think water's fast? You should see ice. It moves like it has a mind. Like it knows it killed the world once -- it got a taste for murder. When the avalanche came, it took us a week to climb out. And somewhere, we lost hope. Now I don't know exactly when we turned on each other, I just know that seven of us survived the slide... and only five made it out. Now we took an oath that I'm breaking now. Swore that we said 'twas the snow that killed the other two. But it wasn't. Nature can be lethal, but it doesn't hold a candle to man. Now you've seen how bad things can get and how quick they can get that way. Well, they can get a whole lot worse! So we're not going to fight anymore! We're going to pull together and we're going to find a way to get outta here! First, we're gonna seal off this--") - after which he was shockingly grabbed, crunched, and split in half by a superintelligent shark

Austin's 200th Post Artwork

Click to enlarge.

Even though our 200th post was yesterday, Austin decided to go ahead and do us a new art piece just for the event even though it has already occurred. Check it out above and be sure to click on it to see it in its full quality. As with all of Austin's YDKS Movies artwork, it is pretty epic. In fact, this piece is pretty transcendent as well. I really like it. It's definitely a lot different than any of the pieces that he has done for us so far. Of course, it's always good to see me portrayed in that red hoody once again. And I agree with the text at the bottom; 200 is just the start.

Thanks again to Austin for designing a new art piece for us. I look forward to seeing more pieces from him as our time on YDKS Movies continues. 

Superman Reboot Happening

If you were waiting for Bryan Singer's follow-up to Superman Returns entitled Superman: Man of Steel... well, you were going to be sorely dissappointed by this news. According to Jeff Robinov of Warner Bros., the Superman franchise is yet again undergoing a massive reboot:

“Superman [Returns] didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to,” said Robinov. “It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned. Had Superman worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”

“We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he said.

So basically that means that they are starting over from stratch and that Superman Returns doesn't count. I know that a lot people are happy about that but, honestly, I really liked Superman Returns and still don't get all the hate that the film has garnered since it was released. I mean, what's the big deal? Why do you people not like this movie? It was well-made, acted, and directed and offered a reasonable sequel to Richard Donner's first one and a half Superman films. It was nostalgic but not to the nauseating point that most say it is. I really saw the film as a breath of fresh air and, at the time, it was one of my favorite superhero films. Sure, it had it's flaws here and there (lack of action every now and then; the whole Superman having a son thing- that's still kind of weird now that I think about it) but, for the most part, it was better than most of the superhero films out at the time. For example, think about how much care and skill went into the making of it compared to superhero films like The Punisher and X-Men: The Last Stand. See, it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was pretty good.

I wish they went with Bryan Singer's initial idea for Superman: Man of Steel which dealt with Superman being more of an angry God... whatever that means. I mean, it sounds cool I guess. 

As for this reboot being on the darker side of things, I have to say that I disagree with that. I know that The Dark Knight made lots of money and was great and all but that was Batman. Batman is supposed to be dark. Superman is the polar opposite of Batman- it's not really dark at all. Forcing a dark theme on Superman would just be... forced... and awkward. Richard Donner and Bryan Singer got the theme and feel of Superman just right, much like Chris Nolan got the theme and feel of Batman just right. Taking that darker tone of Batman and putting it into Superman just won't work. I just feel like every movie is trying to be like The Dark Knight these days. That's were they are going wrong- the reason The Dark Knight worked so well is that Chris Nolan and company went all out on doing something different and original. These movies such as the Superman reboot are going to have to do something that is true to the source material and something that is unique as well.

Now that that is all out of the way... yeah, I gotta say, I'm up for a new Superman movie. I'm bummed that it won't be a follow-up to Superman Returns but... oh well. I just hope that they do something true to the character. I mean, it's Superman, people. And who doesn't want to see another Superman movie on the big screen?

Source: /Film

YDKS Movies Reaches 200 Posts!

So here's the deal- I've been looking for a picture of the number 200 for five minutes now and well, believe it or not, I haven't been able to find one. Crazy, isn't? So, instead, to celebrate YDKS Movies reaching 200 posts, I've decided to post some pictures of Scarlet Johanson.

Let me explain- my friend Zach has been wanting me to do a post on Scarlet Johanson ever since I did my Naomi Watts post a few weeks ago so, to please him and all of our other loyal YDKS fans, I've decided that she would be perfect to announce us reaching 200 posts.

I'll be honest, it's pretty crazy that we've made it this far. Last year around May, Jason and I were ready to hang the site up. Caleb had stopped posting and, due to school, my posts were few and far in between. Jason was beginning to refer to the site as a "failed experiment."

However, as summer started, I began honing my writing skills and posting as much as possible. Soon, Jason began to join me. It's been a long summer of writing about nothing but movies, our love for them, and our disgust of crappy Hollywood films. Over that summer, we have re-vamped the site, gained a lot of loyal readers, and had a lot of fun.

So if you've ever supported us or visited the site, we thank you very much. It really has been a lot of fun. The school year is about to start for me (I moved in yesterday) but I promise that I will not let that get in the way of my YDKS articles. This is my home, after all.

So thanks to: Jason for keeping the faith in the site, putting us out there, and writing; Austin for all the awesome artwork and Revolution propaganda; Blossom for being loyal for all this time; Zach, Daniel, Preston, Guy, Dantom, and all our awesome readers that keep coming back for more at each breaking day; and Scarlet, for letting me post her image on this post.

Guys, it's been nothing but fun so far. Here's looking forward to another 200 posts.

Super Fast Post of the Week #2: Viva La Vida Song and Video Suck

I take way too long to write posts. Usually, I take between thirty minutes to about three hours... depending on what I'm writing about and the size of the post. So, tonight, I'm going to try something new: The Super Fast Post of the Week. Similar to Jason's Two Minute Reviews that he used to do, I'm going to give myself a total of ten minutes (not counting the time I give myself to revise my spelling errors, look up pictures and videos, etc.) to write a post on anything movie related... or maybe even not that. Mostly, I just wanna get something down as fast as I can to see how it turns out. 

Tonight's post doesn't really have that much to do with movies per say... well, it kind of does. Mostly it has to do with music and a very special music video (i.e. film). 

Believe it or not, I'm not really a Coldplay hater. This is surprising because it seems like one of their songs are played at every function my college seems to hold and the fact that they are more popular than they should be. To be honest, I really liked the album Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head. When X & Y came out, I didn't really feel the need to buy it. Eventually my brother did and I give it a listen. It wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't anything special. For the most part, all the songs seemed to blend into each other and there wasn't really anything particularly special or standout about it. 

When Viva la Vida came out earlier this summer, I didn't have much of any desire to listen or buy it. When I finally heard the title track Viva la Vida, I have to admit, I was pretty surprised- this song is terrible.

Let's face it, people- this isn't really even a song. It barely has much of a beat or rhythm. It doesn't even really feel like a song. It just feels like like they put a bunch of random soft sounds together with Chris Martin singing in the background. It's just incredibly bland and well, boring. Absolutely nothing stands out about it. 

Anyways, last week, when I was having trouble catching any sleep once-so-ever, I was lying in my bed at about 2 am when VH1 started playing music videos (that's right- VH1 does in fact still play music videos... but only starting at 2 am... it's ridiculous). One of the first videos played was Viva la Vida. Talk about a terrible, cheesy, and uninspired video.

I couldn't believe how bad and unprofessional this video was. It seriously felt like it was right of the 1980's... and not in the clever or intentional way. I can see where they were going for in the video with the whole existing in a painting vibe but... it just looks really fake and lame. It's just bad. Seriously, watch it below if you want to. I wouldn't recommend it though.

I'm running out of time. This post isn't particularly fun to write to be honest. I don't really have much to say other than Coldplay's new single and the music video for that single are both equally bad. That's about it. I can't be clever about it or anything- I'm just say that I really don't like the song or the video. And if you do like the song and video... well good for you. 

... Actually, no, not good for you. They both suck. Really, they do.

But yeah, this hasn't been a fun subject to really write about. Maybe it's because I'm really tired right now. I don't know. I blame Coldplay. I mean, who really wants to write an article about Coldplay anyway? I had so much more fun writing about Naomi Watts and how hot she was last week. That was the way to go. In fact... how about a bonus picture of her just for fun?

Yeah, that's more like it. 

A Review of Frank Miller Robocop

We normally don't do non-movie reviews here at YDKS Movies but, considering Robocop and the story behind this book are a big part of film history, I figured it would be appropriate to post this review here.

For those who do not know, Frank Miller, the graphic artist of works such as Sin City and 300, was approached by producer Jon Davis to write a sequel to Robocop back in the 1980's following the success of his gritty and futuristic take on Batman via the classic graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Miller turned in a screenplay that was full of the same dark humor, action sequences, and extreme violence that made the original film a success. However, despite the praise his screenplay garnered, it soon became dubbed by Hollywood as "unfilmable," which is the kiss of death for any screenplay going through the motions. Miller was heartbroken to see his screenplay undergo massive re-writes, the final product being a mere shell of his original script. When Robocop 2 was released in 1990, the film was trashed by critics and audiences alike. Even those involved in the project, such as actors Peter Weller and Nancy Allen, were very unhappy with the production of the film and the final product. Frank Miller was said to be horrified by the final product which, despite having his name attached to it, had pretty much nothing to do with his story. Despite his heartbreak, Miller agreed to help pen the screenplay for Robocop 3 with director Fred Dekker, something else which would undergo heavy changes before hitting the screen.

Devastated that his visions never came close to reaching the big screen, Miller wrote off Hollywood, swearing to never work in the business again. He kept his graphic novels close, not signing off the rights for years. Finally, Robert Rodriguez came around, talking Miller into adapting Sin City and even offering him a co-directing position in the production.

Miller's experience with the filming of Sin City was a very healthy one and, ever since then, he has been very involved in the world of Hollywood (although something tells me that that is going to stop when The Spirit is released... things are looking quite grim). 

For years, people always wondered what happened with Frank Miller's unfilmable Robocop 2 screenplay. As time went by, the script gained a mythical status as the lost work of a master storyteller. Finally, in 2003, Avatar Press aquired the comic book rights to Robocop and contacted Miller to see if he wanted to put his now legendary screenplay into a graphic novel. Miller agreed but, due to scheduling conflicts, could not do the artwork for the series. This task went to artist Juan Jose Ryp, best known for illustrating Alan Moore's Another Suburban Romance for Avatar.

 

So, now that I've finally read Frank Miller's epic and once lost vision of Robocop 2, is it everything that I thought it could be? Well, not exactly. However, I am glad that I finally got around to reading it to finally see how much of Miller's vision was neutered and just how drastic the changes to the screenplay really were (how drastic, you ask? Really freaking drastic).

Although the film was completely butchered by critics and fans alike upon release, I happened to really enjoy Robocop 2 and it has definitely grown on me pretty strongly throughout the years (it was one of those childhood movies for me... despite it's extremely mean-spirited graphic violence). So when asked what version of the sequel of Robocop I preferred (comparing the existing film version and Miller's original vision), I think that I had have to go with the film version of Robocop 2 that we ended up getting. It wasn't great but, in the end, it worked better on film and was more coherent than Miller's epic vision ended up being.

Let me explain. The best way to describe Miller's vision of Robocop 2 is that it is Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight but without the strong story and emotion. Much like The Dark Knight, Frank Miller Robocop is a vast and epic story that is seemingly in a constant state of climax. After reading the first few pages of the novel, I became very aware of why the script was originally deemed "unfilmable." There is so much going on and so much destruction occurring that it would be pretty much impossible to film in a coherent fashion. Considering that the screenplay was written in the late 1980's, I'm not sure that they would have had the money or special effects to pull off what Miller put down on paper. 

Along with being an unfilmable, climax-heavy piece, Frank Miller Robocop was definitely the most graphically violent graphic novel or any piece of literature for that matter that I've ever read. Pretty much every page featured someone getting completely taken to pieces- body parts exploding like grape fruits and blood splattering everywhere. Robocop was always notorious for it's graphic but meaningful violence (it was a commentary of the desensitizing media violence of the 1980's) but I think it would be pretty impossible to film what Miller had in mind and get away with it. It feels like thousands of people were killed in this book and all in the most gory fashion possible. 

As I stated earlier, my biggest problem with the book is that there really is not that much in terms of story and emotion. Unlike the first Robocop film, the characters of Robocop and his partner Anne Lewis do not really go through much of a character arc at all. In fact, for most of the book, Robocop just seems to go around blasting everyone he comes into contact with to bits. One could argue that the characters do not undergo much more of an arc in the film version of Robocop 2 (in fact this is one of the biggest complaints of the film other than it's brutality factor) but for some reason or another I felt like that had a more realistic relationship than they did in this book. They don't really share any scenes together in the graphic novel and when they finally come together at the end they have an exchange that I'm not exactly sure if I buy or not. It just seemed out of nowhere and uncharacteristic of Murphy (then again, that was probably the point) but... I dunno... I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. And as for story, man, I'm not really sure what was going on. From what I picked up on, OCP was doing very bad things (such as demolishing homes to make room for Delta City- something that made up most of the plot of Robocop 3) and was becoming more corrupt by hiring psychiatrist Dr. Love, who takes a particular interest in Robocop. Along with corrupting and re-wiring Robocop's system (something that actually made it into the Robocop 2 film), Dr. Love also begins construction of a Robocop 2- a machine that, unlike Murphy, will be conscious free. 

Did all that synopsis sound confusing? Good, because that's really how the story works in this book. Most of the time I was completely lost on what was really going on but, for the most part, it didn't really seem important because every segment tended to end with Robocop coming in and blowing everyone away anyway. Another thing that made the book even more confusing was Juan Jose Ryp's artwork. Now, don't get me wrong, Ryp's artwork was pretty good and well-drawn out but there was so much going on in his panels that I honestly could not really tell what was going on for the most part. As I stated before, Miller packed in some massive battles between Robocop and his foes and there was so much going on in these battles that it's hard to tell what's going on. I literally had to re-scan the pages of action sequences multiple times just to tell what was really going on because Ryp's artwork was so overwhelming at times.

Another thing that a lot of people have complained about in regards to the graphic novel is the manner in which women are drawn and depicted. Just look at the picture above. Dr. Love, Anne Lewis, and pretty much every other woman that appears in the graphic novel looks like she's straight out of a Hustler magazine. Normally something like this wouldn't really stand out to me but it's just so blatant at times that it almost seems tacky. For example, every time Lewis gets into any kind of combat, her shirt conveniently comes undone, exposing her bra and cleavage for the remaining frames. This happens literally every time she is engaged in any kind of action sequence. It just felt unprofessional.

There are other complaints I had with the book (lack of a strong villain, the killing of Sergeant Reed, etc.) but, despite all of these, I still was able to enjoy the graphic novel for the most part. Sure, I was overwhelmed by Miller's erratic script and Ryp's overbearing artwork but it was still fun to read. After all, it's Frank Miller's lost Robocop 2 script. I mean, how cool is that? Sure, it's not perfect by any means but it's still Frank Miller which means it's still very engaging. One thing I've learned that, no matter if Miller does something great or not so great, it's pretty much guaranteed to be engaging no matter what. Although the story isn't any thing special, the book flows pretty well and always manages to keep the reader interested. Miller definitely gets the dark humor of the first Robocop film and employs it quite well at various times (the talk shows were my favorite aspect, along with the use of the electric anti-car jack system- something else that made it into Robocop 2, though in a much different and less-creative manner). Lastly, Miller definitely had an epic vision in mind and to finally see that in a graphic novel of all means is really refreshing even if it isn't the best thing in the world.

So in the end, Frank Miller Robocop is very flawed epic. The scale of Miller's vision is staggering... so much that the emotion of the piece suffers. It was obvious Miller wanted to do something really special with this Robocop sequel. However, it would have been pretty much impossible for him to do that on film. The technology and money wasn't there. Even if it was there, I'm still not sure if it would work- after all, it barely works as a graphic novel. Still, despite all of its flaws, the book manages to be engaging and interesting throughout. Although I cannot see this book working at all for casual fans, if you are a big Frank Miller and Robocop fan, I'd recommend it. It's confusing, overwhelming, and kind of a mess.... but, in the end, it's kind of fun too.

7/10

Wolverine Might Suck

I remember thinking that the Wolverine teaser trailer released from Comic-Con was pretty fun last month, even if it did contain a lot of cheesy moments and an over-abundance of cameos from other Marvel characters (The Blob, Deadpool, Gambit, Emma Frost...). However, if the rumor that has been released today is true, well, the movie could be X-Men: The Last Stand lame. 

I remember being in the /Filmcast a month ago and Peter Sciretta saying that he and other online journalists all knew something very negative about this movie but were not allowed to comment on it as of yet. Well, after Jeff Wells reported on it earlier today on Hollywood Elsewhere, Peter decided to offer up this tidbit on /Film:

"The basic gist is that Fox co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman has been going around director Gavin Hood in an attempt to make X-Men Origins: Wolverine a more kid-friendly film. Wells’ source claims that when Hood left a set which was being prepped for a “dark, dinghy and somber” look, only to return to something much brighter and totally different than he had planned.

I’m not sure this story is true, but it wouldn’t surprise me considering all the behind-the-scenes bickering that has been rumored. For instance, in March, Dark Horizons reported that Richard Donner had been put on set as “some sort of directing consultant”. Fox later downplayed the rumor claiming that Donner also was on set for the X-Men films. I’m sure this rumor will also be denied."

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, Fox. It's not like more dark, adult-oriented comic book films don't make any money these days anyway. I mean, that Dark Knight movie? Man, did that bomb. So, yeah, good job on going for a more kid-friendly film. I'm sure everyone will love it and it will be even more profitable. Yeah...

I don't know about you guys, but Fox is definitely my least favorite studio right now. The superhero films they have released lately (X-Men: The Last Stand, Fantastic Four films) have all sucked, they usually completely ruin their franchises (Alien vs. Predator anyone?), and plus they are suing Warner Bros. over the rights to Watchmen, which could possibly delay the release of that film. I mean, it's not like it's a movie me and everyone else in the world is really looking forward to or anything. Not at all. Way to go, Fox... Way to be incredibly lame.

And as for Richard Donner over-seeing another director, does anyone else find that very ironic? I mean, the whole thing basically ended up happening to him on Superman: The Movie / Superman II. In fact, after he filmed half of Superman II, they fired him and replaced him with another director. Man, how people change with time. Come on, Richard, you're supposed to be fighting the man, not helping him.

Overall, lame news.

Source: /Film

Owned on Film #1

Today's been kind of a stressful day so, to make myself feel better, I've been watching a lot of random stuff on YouTube. As I was doing that, I somehow stumbled upon this clip and got the idea for a new weekly column: Owned on Film.

Similar to my Top Ten Beat-downs in Film List I did a few months ago, this little column will showcase some kind of clip from a movie, television show, etc. of someone... well... getting owned. It's juvenile but, for some reason, it's fun as well.

This first clip comes from a TV show called Wild About Hammer. Honestly, I've never seen or heard of the show before but, I gotta say, this clip is hilarious. I don't know why but it's been making me laugh. Maybe it's because the beat-down feels so extreme and unnecessary. Also the line at the end is great. "What made her faint?" "She heard Moonlighting wasn't a re-run tonight." Nice cover. 

Enjoy.

Wesley's F-ed Up Movie of the Week #2

Let's face it: there are a lot of really messed up, crazy, and insane movies out there. For some reason or another, I've seen a lot of them. After all, I tend to watch lots of movies and all different kinds of them. I'm not really sure what makes me rent these kinds of films but I usually manage to watch them all the way through. So, forever how long I can do it, I'm going to post this column once a week (not necessarily on Tuesday- unlike Speech of the Week, this column will not be day specific) and focus on some of the more obscured and messed up films that I've seen in my twenty-one years of life. Here it is folks: Wesley's F-ed Up Movie of the Week.

This week's f-ed up movie is a little cult film from 1986 called River's Edge. Here's a pretty good synopsis from Netflix:

"A troubled high school slacker, Samson (Daniel Roebuck), kills his girlfriend for no particular reason and shows off her dead body to his friends Layne (Crispin Glover) and Matt (Keanu Reeves), whose reactions vary about whether to involve the police. Based on a real incident, the story is most disturbing because of the students' ambiguous reaction to the crime. Dennis Hopper plays the creepy Feck, with whom Samson hides out for a time."

I had planned on talking about a different movie this week (I guess it will have to be delayed until next week) but, since I watched this film just last night and it's fresh on my mind, I decided to go with this one instead.

Although I would say that River's Edge is no where near as messed up and disturbing as last week's entry Happiness, it definitely was a pretty screwed up movie that was pretty troubling to watch.

As the synopsis from Netflix comments on, the most disturbing part of this film is the kids' pretty lax reactions to finding the dead body of their murdered friend. At first, no one is really disturbed by what has happened or the fact that one of their friends is now dead. As the film continues, this type of apathy is continued as most of the kids in the high school display a sense of not really caring about what happened, much to the horror and confusion of teachers, police officers, etc. 

Eventually, the murder of Jamie finally starts to get to Matt (Keanu Reeves) and Clarissa (Ione Skye) and they try to figure out what to do about the entire situation. This all occurs while Matt's evil little brother Tim (Joshua Miller) and his friend reek havoc around town as they try to find a gun to kill Matt with, who Tim believes has narced on Samson for the murder. Layne (Crispin Glover) also takes it upon himself to do everything possible to save his friend Samson, even if it means hiding the body and getting his friend out of the state personally.

If you ever hear anybody talk about this movie, the one thing they are most likely to mention is Crispin Glover and his bizzarre acting choices in this film. In fact, I was actually first exposed to this film from a clip of Glover's acting (featured below) on Filmdrunk because it was just such a strange acting job. For those of you not familiar with Glover, he played Marty McFly's father in Back to the Future and was in the Willard remake. He is also the same guy that got banned from David Letterman for years after attempting to kick Letterman in the head during a bizarre interview and also the same guy that threatened to murder Steven Spielberg (who was a producer) for using footage of him from the first Back to the Future in Back to the Future: Part II without his permission. Needless to say, Glover is one screwed up but very fascinating guy. All of this shows in his unnatural acting job in River's Edge. Honestly, I don't really know how to describe it. Glover plays Layne, who becomes obsessed with saving his friend Samson from imprisonment after learning about his murder of Jamie. Glover plays Layne as a strange, almost girly stoner who seems to be fueled by random ideas that come into his head. Honestly, I don't know how else to describe it. A lot of people say that his acting job was terrible in the movie but there are a lot of others that say they actually knew a guy like this. Personally, I enjoyed it because it was just so bizarre. Watch a clip of it below.

Another stange but strong performance in the movie comes from Dennis Hooper, who plays Feck, the local paranoid drug dealer who claims to be hiding out from the police due to a murder he committed years ago. The scene he shares with Samson on the river's edge next to where the murder took place at night was probably the most disturbing scene in the entire film. The reason the scene is so troubling is that Hooper actually becomes disturbed and depressed as he learns that Samson doesn't really seem to know why he even killed the girl and that he didn't even love her (which is a big contrast to the murder Hooper committed- he claims that he killed the love of his life and for a good reason). 

Even though the film is pretty troubling, it does have some good moments of humor. My favorite bit was the fight between Matt and his stepfather. In the verbal fight, Matt claims that, "You just stay around here to f*ck my mother and eat our food! Motherf*cker.....Food-eater!" Hilarious stuff. You can see that scene here.

Overall, River's Edge is a pretty well-made and engaging movie, even if it pretty disturbing as well. The acting is pretty good (and pretty bizarre) and the story manages to always keep you nervous as to what is going to happen next. The film definitely manages to explore and comment on the apathy and desensitization of the youth of the late 1980's (particularly the slacker / stoner crowd) but it also manages to offer a slight glimpse of hope with it's fairly emotional climax. The movie definitely bothered me but I would have to say that I liked it for the most part. I just don't see myself re-watching it anytime soon is all. 

Also, as a bonus, here's another Crispin Glover acting scene above. Have fun.