Chucktober DVD Giveaway!

As I mentioned in my latest Dumpster Diving for Gold vlog post - which I fully expect you will watch at least ten more times… a day - I have picked up a few great films on DVD that I wanted to use as giveaways for my lovely readers. What sort of prompted me to do a giveaway at this time, right in the middle of Chucktober, was a little tweet I laid my eyes on the other day…

  

With this incredibly boner inducing news, I figured what better time to giveaway a copy of Undisputed III: Redemption than with a Scott Adkins tweet claiming that there is indeed a fourth Undisputed film in the works? However, there is one tiny little problem here. I must remind you that it is indeed Chucktober, and it's my vow to try my damnedest to keep all content this month horror related, and Undisputed III is certainly not a horror film (it's a Rom-com). That's where you, good reader, win BIG.

To make this shit Chucktober official, I am not only going to give one lucky winner a used copy of Undisputed III: Redemption, I will also throw in a used copy of Adam Green's fantastic Ski lift horror film, Frozen, just in time for winter!

And you know what, to sweeten the pot even more, I'll even toss in one back issue, of the winner's choice (so long as it's not sold out), of Paracinema Magazine (as well as a few other secret goodies!)!

Now, you're probably thinking, "Matt, this is totally radical, but what's the catch?" Well, it's actually quite simple. With only eight days left until Halloween (YIKES!), I would love if you'd share with me your favorite Halloween tradition. What do you love to do every year, more than anything, during the Halloween season? It can be anything whatsoever, and it doesn't have to be all that elaborate, either. Come up with an answer, leave it in the comments section of this post with your name and email address, and you will be entered, simple as that. The giveaway ends at midnight Friday, October 28th (Eastern Standard), so you have exactly one week from today to leave your answer. Soon afterwards, I will tally all the names of those who enter, drop them in a hat and announce the lucky winner in a vlog.

Two of my favorite movies of 2010, an issue of one of my favorite magazines (after Bear magazine, that is), and all for less than the price of a cup of coffee. What isn't great about that?!

Good luck, and I look forward to your answers!

Dumpster Diving for Gold 4: EVER

Hey, look at this… a brand spanking new episode of Dumpster Diving for Gold (that I recorded in September), all ready to make sweet ass love to your very being. Yeah, I know, that's kind of gross.

In any event, I tried using a different camera to record this one, and it sort of worked, though there are some odd auto focus issues that make this shit seem as the video is breathing. Like, you might have an acid flashback from watching this. Or, if you're sensitive to bright colors and flashing lights, you might get all seizure on me, which would not be good because I depend on you for support.

Enjoy.

Some post video thoughts:

More favorite?

The pressure got to me, and my Boyka imitation blew. Ma bad.

Boy, I sure don't shut up, huh?

My ability to read out loud is horrific.

CNAMB's Best Films of 2010

The big problem with doing these end of year lists is that I simply have not seen nearly every film that I wanted to see in 2010 (but I sure am trying to). It's just not possible for me to do so, but regardless, I'm comfortable in saying that I have seen many wonderful movies this past year. In fact, I've seen more than enough to make a list that I am completely happy with from top to bottom. If I watch three or four more films and find them to be best of the year material, I would simply add them to this list as opposed to removing a movie to make room for something else. And that's where I shall segue into how I'm doing this thing. As far as my picks go, I'm not doing a numerical list of 1-10, instead, I have what I consider my favorite movies of the year, in alphabetical order. Simple enough.

 

Amer

Touted as a Neo-Giallo, Amer is a film that I knew would be highly stylized, but I had no idea just how incredibly that style would be handled by co-writer/directors, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Amer takes the intricacies of the Italian Giallo film and displays a character's evolution using these tactics, but in a way unlike any Giallo film has really done. It's a movie that comes with very little dialogue or narrative, but the camera work, sound design, set design, editing and music are what drive a women's fantastical flowering (that's a creepy way to put it, right?). Amer is not the type of film everyone will enjoy. In fact, many will hate it, calling it pretentious. But that's a part of what makes art art, and that is exactly what Amer is. Art. Sometimes that can be a bit alienating to people. 

Amer Review

 

Best Worst Movie

My heart is, quite simply, fond of Troll 2, and finally getting to see the much anticipated documentary, Best Worst Movie, was like having that fondness coming together full circle. What makes Best Worst such a solid documentary is the fact that director (and Troll 2 star) Michael Paul Stephenson did much more than explore the odd impact that the film has had on so many random people. The cult of Troll 2 is the jumping off point for the film, but the events that unfold very much focus on fame and the positive and negative ways that it can affect someone's life. It's a film that shows the difference in people's varying perspective in what we individually consider entertainment. It's a film about happiness, sadness, fear of rejection and redemption. If you enjoy Troll 2, this a must, but seeing Troll 2 is not a must to enjoy Best Worst Movie. And that quite honestly says it all right there.

 

Exit Through the Gift Shop

First of all, being a fan of graffiti and street art for many years, I simply enjoyed this film on the level of watching the "street artists" do their thing, as well as seeing the pieces themselves. But where Exit Through the Gift Shop makes me sit back and take notice most, is just how perfectly it exposes the average consumer for being so easily swayed. With the rise in popularity with this form of "vandalism" in the mainstream over the years, what Banksy - the film's director and prolific street artist - did, was take the piss right out of it all. Basically making the art form almost null and void as a marketing tool. Anti-cool, even. It's a commentary about the value of what is considered art, which is essentially something that is irrelevant within the confines of subjectivity. It's the cinematic equivalent of blinding people with a clear plastic bag, which is exactly what makes it so smart and such an enjoyable watch.

 

Frozen

I had been pretty high on Adam Green (he's coated in THC. I know, weird, right?) after being greatly surprised by his co-directorial effort with 2007's psych-thriller, Spiral, a film that showed he was a filmmaker that could craft serious thought provoking horror, as well as a mindless gorefest. Falling on the former side of the equation, Frozen is a film that places its characters in a situation where options outside of death aren't exactly abound. One of Frozen's strengths comes from Green taking a one-note, basic premise and being able to keep the pacing tight, fast and the overall feeling very tense. Also, the characters themselves were wonderfully written, with a true attention to realistic human emotion. Something that is missed in far too many horror films graced with a youthful cast.

Frozen Review  

 

Inception

I don't think the conditions in which I viewed Christopher Nolan's Inception were the best for a movie of its magnitude. My lady and I actually went and saw it at the drive-in, which I believe may be the exact opposite of an IMAX, and still - while not being able to even make out the first five or ten minutes and sitting in the sweltering heat - I walked away (well, drove away, to be precise) knowing that I had seen something incredible. Most will call it a smart and complicated film, but I believe it to be very simple idea wise but complicated in its execution. Inception overloads the viewer with a massive amount of information all at once, specifically in that last hour, and that's where the movie shows its smarts. Beside the great acting, special effects, action set pieces, you get the drift, Nolan pieced together three different vignettes with the dream levels, and keeps them linked, coherent and nicely balanced while being completely different from one another on an aesthetic and narrative level. To be able to pull all of this off, and make it look fabulous, is truly the brain power behind Inception.

 

The Last Exorcism

In what is certainly my most divisive pick amongst horror fans, The Last Exorcism has a lot of elements that worked in drastically both directions for those who saw it. It's handheld, it's done in a mockumentary style that focuses on a specific character, and it has a bat shit crazy and completely off base ending. It is all of these things that, for me, made The Last Exorcism work as a refreshingly solid horror film. Spending time with the wonderfully written Cotton character gives the viewer time to get to know him, and serves as a great way to give him a little more value than the average protagonist. By time the horror elements come into play, there is some investment, which also carries over quite well to the other characters, namely the exorcist recipient, Nell, who is played fantastically by Ashley Bell. The verity styled camera work is effective and tense when needed and the it never feels as if it's being forced. Most importantly, while I think the ending is ridiculous, I cannot help but love it for just how out there it is. It, as well as House of the Devil, have endings that just go for it, which is something that was more of a staple in horror films from the 70's.

 

The Town

I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed 2007's fantastic crime drama, Gone Baby Gone, so when I started seeing trailers for Affleck's sophomore effort, The Town, I instantly knew that it was a must see. Granted, being a born and raised Masshole plays a part in that, and I simply love this sort of new wave of Boston based crime cinema that has become prevalent over the past five plus years. What I found to be the core strength of The Town is the focus throughout, and until the finale, is kept solely on the conflict found within Doug MacRay, not the struggle between him and his surrounding characters. Which is exactly where I thought the film would have gone with its seemingly predictable, but still great, first half. The acting is incredible all around, with another prize worthy performance from Jeremy Renner, and Affleck does a fantastic job playing both sides of the camera. But all of that aside, having a heist scene and eventual shootout set in, as Fergus 'Fergie' Colm describes it, the cathedral of Boston, is such an awesome payoff!

 

True Grit

Outside of being a film filled with some of the year's best performances, the Coen brothers' True Grit takes a refreshingly classic look at the western film and does so perfectly. It's a slow riding character driven drama that keeps from going too far with its action, which means a lot in a time when the average moviegoer has little to no patience. Where I believe this film soared highest is with its independently motivated female character, Mattie Ross, who (despite being played by a criminally non-marquee sharing Hailee Steinfeld) is clearly the star of the show and most certainly the character that the title True Grit stems from. The western film is often a boys club, but here is a film where it's a strong and intelligent young woman who stands out for being just that, strong and intelligent.

Winter's Grit: These Boots Are Made For Walking

 

Undisputed III: Redemption

Sure, it seems crazy to have a third entry in a franchise where I have yet to even see the second film. Even more crazy is seeing a film like Undisputed III: Redemption on any best of the year list. Crazy as it sounds, I absolutely loved this film and I did so because it is quite frankly the baddest mother fucking movie of the year. And when I say baddest, I mean it in the Michael Jackson way. This film has some of the best action choreography I have seen in years. It's fresh, hard hitting and filled with an individual style. Director Isaac Florentine crafts his incredible fight scenes with a mixture of slow-down to normal speed and a multitude of angles and camera movement that all come together cohesively, as well as brilliantly. But what really gets me doing push-ups is Redemption truly captures everything that one can love about the 80's action film. This is Bloodsport for a new generation. In a year where The Expendables promised a return to the lost art of the American action movie, and came pretty close to delivering it, it's Undisputed III: Redemption that truly delivered the all mighty punch that the genre needs most.   

 

Winter’s Bone

Every so often there is that rare film that comes out and just hits hard with a realistic subtlety that's as jarring as it is fascinating. A long and hard look into the lives of people we don't know but, in some ways, can relate to or at least understand due to the always lingering struggle known as life. Debra Granik's Winter's Bone sits silently with all the windows open so every little breath of this dark, broken and often saddening world can be taken in to its fullest. The characters that fill in the the story are all struggling in some way, and how they deal with it is what determines the path in which they are heading or have already gone. It's a dark place where many find themselves, trapped by drugs and violence, but it is the tenacity of one young woman that shines a light of hope for the ones that mean the most. The innocents. The young children that cannot fend for themselves and deserve nothing more that just a simple chance to live at least a decent life. What Jennifer Lawrence's character, Ree, brings is a woman that will fight tooth and nail to protect that innocence, because she still has hope, but more importantly, she has strength.

Winter's Grit: These Boots Are Made For Walking

 

 

I also wanted to give a quick shout out to a few documentaries that weren't necessarily the types of documentaries that can fit in on a film list, but I still feel that I should mention them both. Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape and Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, both of which are wonderful looks into a specific piece of cult cinema history that I really and truly enjoyed. Specifically with Never Sleep Again, which was a doc I had been burning to see forever, and boy was it far from a disappointment.

Quick Honorable mentions

Burning Bright - Cropsey - Ip Man - Lake Mungo - Raging Phoenix - Splice - The Social Network – Shutter Island

And that's that's a wrap. I've gone on long enough now, but I would be more than ecstatic if you all shared your thoughts about my list and whatever films made your 2010 all the better. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope to see you on the other side!

Frozen: Cool Party

While it can often instantly tap into certain fears that many people already harbor, having a film set in a singular location is like walking a tightrope past the initial setup. Does a film set in, say, a coffin, have enough meat to it to keep the audience interested in the story being told for a feature length runtime? There are plenty of situational films such as this, horror or not, and many of them can bring out an automatic fear with the premise and setting alone, whether it's people being trapped in the middle of the ocean with no rescue in sight, or, being stuck in a tightly confined elevator that has lost all power. If you're claustrophobic, have a fear of water (or in my case, sharks), the filmmaker's battle is already half won, but to win the war with the moviegoer, the situation must stay captivating, the characters plight realistic and felt by the viewer, and the film needs the right tempo from start to finish.

Adam Green's Frozen has just the setting that automatically induces anxiety for many people, with a group of three friends  - Parker, her boyfriend Dan and his best friend Lynch (Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers and Shawn Ashmore…wait, Iceman?!) - finding themselves accidentally trapped on a chairlift at Mount Holliston after everyone has gone home for the night. Trapped in the frigid Massachusetts winter with no place to go but down, 50ft to the snow covered ground. There are very few things that are more uncomfortable than being cold, let alone freezing cold and not having the means to do anything about it but to try and deal with it the best you mentally can. Mixing the fear of heights, the frostbite causing winter chill, and the chances that there is no rescue in sight, Frozen has the perfect recipe for a terrible situation for its characters to be in. But does the film do what is necessary to make it past the premise?

The answer is a resounding yes, and even if the situation can be picked apart and looked at as less than plausible by folks that are looking just to do so, this is a movie that makes the best use of the bad situation in which the characters are faced. The setting alone is very intimidating in how it's brought to life, with the uneasy creaking metal of the ski lift as it dangles so high above the ground, surrounded by intense winds and an everlasting world of emptiness. An emptiness that seems so confining, while being so vast as they are trapped on such a small ski lift that is located in such a huge - yet vacant - surrounding. As they slowly realize how dire a situation they are in, the more extreme their fear becomes, knowing there are very few options out of this steel trap high above the frigid earth below.

With the realization that the mountain will be closed until the following Friday - and it's only Sunday - some sort of action has to be taken. The only other option is to wait out the week, which in the middle of a New England winter, 50ft in the air with no food or water, is not an option in the least. Usually a big problem with a movie set in one place like Frozen is, it can be difficult to fill in 90 some odd minutes of time without having to stretch things out in certain areas. Frozen has a brisk pace, and there is hardly a dull moment as events unfold in a timely manner, which shows just how much can be done with such a seemingly one-note situation if things are put together properly.

Okay, so moving forward I'm afraid I am going to have to get into wicked *SPOLIER* territory, so if you have not yet seen Frozen, please do not read any further. I loved it, so go and check it out (it's ten bucks at Wal-Fart), then come back and finish. I'll be here, arms open. Maybe thighs too, if you're lucky. 

Frozen works past the usual horror fair by giving the viewer some incredible reveals. One simple, but nicely pulled off moment is when Parker awakens - and in her groggy state - she looks down to her bare hand that is tightly gripping the metal safety bar on the ski lift. It's very simplistic, but knowing how awful it is for her to have her hand frozen stuck only makes the overall situation that much more devastating to watch. Another major moment is when Dan – who made the bold leap to the ground, breaking both of his legs in the process -  is confronted by a wolf, which is quickly frightened away by a snowboard being thrown down by one of the other characters from up above. As soon as that wolf is out of sight, it lets off this howl, a frightening howl that you know is only meant for one thing…to call in the rest of his pack for a quick bite to eat.

The moment before the viewer knows that there is anything wrong and that Dan is going to be attacked, you see an odd reaction from Lynch, who - at that moment - was trying to get to another chair by pulling himself across the razor sharp ski lift cable. As Lynch crosses, he suddenly looks down and quickly moves back to the chair as fast as he can, with no indication as to why or what is happening down below. It isn't revealed until Dan himself looks up to see a wolf right in his face, with the rest of the pack now surrounding him, ready to feast on the wounded prey. The scene is only made better by how realistic it is, in fact, the wolf scenes in general are shot so perfectly that not once - even for a second - did it appear that the wolves were not right there, enjoying themselves a midnight human snack. It's very impressive, and the restraint Green shows with the scene makes it all the more impactful. 

Outside of the horror of being trapped on a ski lift and all the terrible things that come along with it, the character's reactions to the situation(s) at certain points are handled quite well. One of the key moments in Frozen that won me over was when Parker starts freaking out about what is happening to them. But instead of focusing on her own well being and safety, she talks about how her new puppy will be home all alone, with no one to take care of it. She claims that the puppy doesn't know that Parker is trapped on a ski lift and will die thinking it's been abandoned. She then goes on to simply say that she misses her mom and dad as she knows she will more than likely never see them again.   

People faced with any sort of life threatening situation will - at a certain point - begin to think less about themselves and start to focus their fear on how their impending death will affect others. Namely, the people in their life that they care about most. Instead of crying about not wanting to die, appreciation for the important things in life come bubbling to the surface, and there's a sort of selfless realization that life isn't the only thing that can be lost in one's own passing. This type of emotional honesty is rarely seen in horror films, and to have something so true to human reaction happen in Frozen was a nice and very much appreciated surprise for me.

It is all of these little things that come together and really make a horror movie great beyond its hook. Realistic emotions, dimensional characters that aren't completely selfish, a film that is simply well made technically, and a level of complexity in how many events can come up in a situation that is simply, simple. The attention to making this film as real as possible as far as feeling as if you are up there on that ski lift with the characters is so important, and Green has done so with great horror tactics and characters that aren't there to simply look nice.

In the future, Frozen will be Final Girl's Film Club Pick, so if you just read this, head over HERE to read some more thoughts on this fine film! Do it, I say!