Chum on this!

I have a little different blog post this week. Usually, I just rant about something in the industry that I can't really control and leave it at that. But as I write this today, I'm not mad at anything. So, in place of a rant, I could give you pictures of cats or whatever Reddit thinks is cool today, but I'll spare you.

Instead I will give you my top five favorite movies, and/ or television shows. More specifically, the top five that influenced me to try my hand in this crazy industry…or, shall we say "chummed the waters…"

Wow. I crack myself up.

Right, moving on...

#1 - Jaws.

I firmly believe that there are few better scenes than Quint's Indianapolis monologue. Regardless of who you believe really wrote that scene (there have been numerous stories) it's my favorite all around scene from any movie -- ever. So, added into everything else about that movie that made it so great, it puts Jaws first on the list.

#2 - Lethal Weapon

When I think back, this was the first movie that really got me, as a kid, to attach to a character in a film. Say what you want about Mel, but I wanted to be Riggs, dammit. I felt for that guy and how he got screwed over with his wife and all that. And he was cool as hell. It was also the first buddy cop movie that hooked me.

#3 - The X-Files (Series)

This had me from the first episode I ever watched. I was in awe that somebody finally embraced the geeky, nerdy shit that I was into like UFO's and strange creatures. It was also, strangely enough, the first script that I ever looked at for a television show. We didn't get a lot of chances in small town Missouri, but the script came on some DVD-ROM PC program that I got. It was that moment that all writers have when I realized that writing scripts was a real job that people did. My first television pilot script was a direct result of this show. Chris Carter is actually the one guy I would love to meet, just to thank him.

#4 - Star Wars (cause that shit wasn't called "Episode IV" when I was little.)

Yep. I saw it. Original run in the theaters. Seven times. It was the first movie that actually transported me to somewhere else. Somewhere where everything was cool and they had freakin' lightsabers. LIGHTSABERS! Even at a very young age, I think I understood the strange attraction that movies on a big screen had. And it was before video, so the only way I could see it was in all it's theater glory. It was the first movie that really got me into the story.

#5 - Aliens

This one not only solidified my science fiction craze, but I sat in awe the first time I watched it. The idea of taking a scary-ass creature like the alien and putting it into a totally badass action movie blew me away. It really made me both want to be on LV-421 and not be there at the same time. Not to mention the fact that they had the most awesome, yet seemingly realistic, guns I had ever seen. And though it probably didn't register at the time, I know it led to me seeing (and ultimately using in several scripts) female heroes as action heroes.

So that's my list. There were others, with scenes I liked or characters, but these five did it with the whole package.

- Mike

The Bates Haunting Review

Full disclosure first - my old high school buddy Byron Turk made The Bates Haunting, and so some of you might think that makes me biased with my review. That just makes you dicks. Nothing would give me more pleasure than endlessly tormenting the poor guy if I thought the movie sucked, trust me. The guy gave me so much shit whenever WCW would beat WWF in the ratings. That was like a whole year.

But I didn't think it sucked. I actually thought it was pretty good. You win this round, Turk.

I've had to watch a lot of bad horror movies on streaming services as part of trying to get to 365 movies by the end of the year. The Bates Haunting is so ahead of the pack that it's not even funny - it has actual production value. For reals.

But yeah, don't go into it expecting SERIOUS BUSINESS. The Bates Haunting has more of a tone like the Hatchet movies - old school styled horror, can laugh at itself, and hits the ground running so you're never bored watching it. Kind of like Hobo with a Shotgun but not all "LOOK AT ME!!!" about everything.

I hate when movies are all "LOOK AT ME WE ARE SO IRONIC!" It's a crutch. It feels natural here.

What's worse than a boring horror movie? Nothing. Even that, that you're thinking right now as you're reading it. Trust me, I've seen a lot of boring horror movies. I'd rather sit through a movie and think it totally sucked than fall asleep watching it. At least it would engage my mind a bit. This is a FAST PACED film that gets shit done in an hour and seventeen minutes. No ponderous tracking shots or staring at empty rooms for ten minutes. People do that stuff.

I can go on and on about The Bates Haunting and why you should watch it, and in turn, bore you out of watching it. I'm not gonna do that! I can boil everything down into one line that will make or break you wanting to watch:

TWO PEOPLE GET EATEN BY A COMBINE HARVESTER.

If you can't appreciate that, what are you doing reading reviews about horror movies? I have a feeling I know my audience and they'd be running to see the movie because of that alone.

You can see it on iTunes or Amazon Instant Video right now. If you've got prime, it's free.

-Casey

The Solar Winds of Change

Did you know that the sun, that great ball of life giving fire, reverses its magnetic poles every eleven years or so? I didn't. But in my mind anything with the phrase "reverses its poles" means that the shit is on and the world is coming to an end! Well, apparently this doesn't happen. I don't know that science shit behind it, but it just equalizes things inside the star.

So why I am I telling you this? Because Hollywood also has a "magnetic north" of sorts. It goes by a few different names: quadrant, demographic, audience, etc., but it all means the same thing. We define how are stories are told by the audience we are attempting to engage. Like the sun, finding this "magnetic north" benefits us.

And as storytellers, we've been doing this for millennia. Long ago, storytellers used their craft to pass on knowledge and to entertain. And they found that this sharing was much more efficient if the audience could relate to the story being told. Successful storytellers (meaning those who would tell stories for food, coin, or whatever they needed) would, out of necessity, craft different versions of the same story for different audiences. Let's face it, you told a story much differently to the commoner than you did to the King.

So why the history lesson? Well, it pertains to Hollywood now, I think. For the past, fifty years or so, we've crafted our stories mainly for one audience - teenagers. The demographic has varied slightly over the years, but it's basically males between 12 and 25. But why is that? Well, it stems from the fact that in the 1960's teenagers began to work. But they always worked, didn't they? Yes. But before the boom of the 1950's and 1960's, they worked for the betterment of the family. When the boom hit, they began to have their own disposable incomes. And they used it on entertainment.

So, as our storyteller forefathers did, we crafted stories for the audience that had the money.

Now, I've told you all that boring shit to tell you this: maybe, like the sun, it's time our magnetic north shifted.

I know, I can hear it now: "You're out of your tiny little mind."

Probably. But that doesn't change a simple fact: our intended demographic is running low on cash. Two statistics jump out really quick in our modern economy. The first is that currently only around 25% of teenagers have jobs. I don't remember where I heard that, so I don't have a source. That cuts into the cash flow of the bottom of that demographic.

But, just a severe, recent college grads are struggling to find jobs, or at least jobs that pay decently. So that cuts into the disposable income of the upper part of the demographic.

Now I'm not saying that this cause is having an effect, but it's been a pretty shaky summer for a lot of movies aimed at our loyal 12 to 25 demographic.

"So, Mr. Know-it-all, what do you suggest we do?"

Well, maybe we shift a little towards the demographic that has some money: the baby boomers. I know, it sounds crazy, but the generation that is now in their fifties and sixties were the movie generation that we once catered to. Maybe we shoot a few movies their way, and not just dramas.

What about horror movies? I'm pretty sure they are still scared of shit. Comedies? Yep, they still laugh at shit. Science Fiction? Same there. Hell, even action movies.

At the end of the day, all I'm saying is that maybe we try telling a few of the same stories to a different audience. I'm not saying target everything to just baby boomers. That would be crazy. But I've heard a lot of them say "why don't they make movies for us?"

Sounds like a market asking to be served.

But what do I know? I'm just a jester.

Let's Get Weird!!!

Check out this article first.

So...what exactly does it mean?

Well, it could be a couple of things.

First, I was like OH MAN DR. STRANGE RIDE. This could happen, and if I could pick from any of the possibilities, it's the one I'd want to see the most. It'd also HAVE to be in Disneyland, because Florida can't have Marvel stuff in the parks due to Universal still having the rights to all the Marvel characters for all theme parks east of the Mississippi River FOREVER (or until Marvel/Disney fork over enough to buy them out which hasn't happened yet).

Or it could be just a comic book tying into a Disney concept. What's the concept?

MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD.

The Haunted Mansion was planned out for quite some time before the ride came out, and one of the original concepts was a walk through "Museum of the Weird" where you'd see a bunch of stand alone exhibits that would display some crazy special effects/ghost stuff, then go to the next exhibit. It was a cool idea with some cool designs - some of which, like the demonic clock actually pictured on the poster, made it into the Haunted Mansion in an altered form.

You can read more about that stuff here, or check out Jason Surrell's amazing book on the Haunted Mansion - here's an amazon link.

Now, this concept is old as dirt, they wouldn't possibly think of revisiting it, right?

Well, they basically opened it in Hong Kong earlier this year as the "Mystic Manor"

Here's a video of it. Kind of a cross between the Museum of the Weird and the Haunted Mansion.



Not saying Dr. Strange couldn't be involved, and I hope he is, but I think a comic based on that concept is a bit more likely- I hope I'm wrong. Dr. Strange could be added to the Museum of the Weird concept quite easily, and it'd work great. Plus I'm a huge fan of the Doc. -Casey

Lucha Libre masks on Olvera Street

In this post, I talked about finding the bronze Bruce Lee statue in LA's Chinatown.

Another stop along the red line subway is actually its final stop - Union Station. Across the street is Olvera Street, one of the oldest parts of LA and is basically a tribute to Mexican culture.



One of my favorite things to do here is scope out all the lucha libre masks for sale; I'm a huge fan of Mexican wrestling, and the masks that the wrestlers wear. Each of these masks you're going to see belongs to a distinct character with a history behind them- I tend to buy the ones of the wrestlers I like other than just going for the coolest looking masks, but they're sometimes one in the same.

Keep in mind that the ones you find here aren't the highest quality- they're fan masks, and will set you back about $15 each, with fancier masks sometimes costing a bit more.



You'll see masks at various stands, but there's another stand smack dab in the center that's the hotbed of lucha masks and has the best selection.



Once you see this guy, you're close.



You'll see a stand completely covered in masks- this is where I usually buy from. The masks are the same price at whatever stand you go to, but these guys have the best ones.

-Casey

Casey's Movie Quest - Part 3

You can read the first part of my movie quest, and background on how this stuff works, here. Click on the movie quest tag to see the rest.

Now we're up to 11-15.

11. Warlock - This one was one of my favorites as a kid renting videos from the local Blockbuster. Sadly, it doesn't hold up as much as I thought it would. I don't mind something being unrelentingly dated - I usually enjoy that; I just can't figure out what my problem with it is, just that the enjoyment was gone during this viewing.

12. DC Cab OH GOD FUCK THIS MOVIE. It has Mr. T in it but this was a chore to get through.

13. Dead Heat I hadn't ever seen this before, and it's actually a pretty funny, good movie that nobody will watch because it stars Joe Piscopo. Look past that. Watch this. Trust me. It has zombies.

14. Slither James Gunn can't do any wrong in my eyes, and this one is no different. This movie is downright fun to watch, and is like a new version of the 80s body horror movies like Reanimator and From Beyond mixed with a Tremors sort of vibe. Check it out.

15. Candyman: The David Klein story Serial killer doc recommended because I liked Cropsy. Cropsy is awesome- this is just kind of hard to get through, though it is a look into a mind of a really deranged dude who wrote everything down - so you're hearing about how crazy this guy is from his own words.

I'd say this set is 2 for 5, with the two being Dead Heat and Slither.

Next time, we're going to see a really weird group of movies to put together - and more James Gunn!

-Casey

Instant Watch Wednesdays!

We're back for another Instant Watch Wednesdays, where we each suggest a title available on Netflix Instant for you to enjoy.

Casey's Pick-



Event Horizon

CREEPY mix of sci-fi and horror. There's some dated/bad CGI in the beginning but ignore that and you'll see one of the great unsung horror movies. Most people I know who have seen this love it- it's just not a lot of people have seen it.

Queue It!

Mike's Pick-



Identity

Does an excellent job of weaving all the characters into the hero's story line. Also shows how each character is a facet of the hero in some way -- literally.

Queue It!

The Heroes We Want? Maybe Not.

I’m not sure where I was when I heard it, or what I was doing. Hell, I don’t remember what I did yesterday, let alone all the way back to Comic Con. I just remember hearing the news:

“A Superman / Batman movie!”

Now, in the interests of fairness, I think I should mention that I’ve had “issues” with Batman movies over the last few years. And, I’ve had “opinions” about Superman movies, as well. But I love superheroes. I always have. I have always been attracted to what superheroes stand for. And, for the most part, I love superhero movies. But the news of a Superman / Batman movie didn’t brighten my day.

Why not? Simple: fatigue.

I’m tired of Batman. I’m tired of Superman. I’m tired of Spider-man. I’m getting tired of the Avengers characters, though not as much...yet. But I can feel it coming.

In Hollywood, we’ve taken the phrase “beating a dead horse” a little to literally. In fact, we now beat the horse to death, and then keep beating it. Yes, it’s always been that way, since the idea of sequels really took off. But I can’t remember a time when we were so quick to re-imagine characters. And I believe that’s the problem.

It was only a brief span of time between Spider-man 3 and the announcement of Amazing Spider-man, a re-imaging of the character. Only a few years between Superman Returns and the announcement of Man of Steel. What about the X-men reboot? We just finished the Dark Knight trilogy and before the Blu-rays were even cold, we were hearing of a new Batman alongside Superman in a movie.

Maybe it’s just me, but don’t we have anymore characters to work with? Or are we just content to keep re-writing the same stories over and over. Sure, this new movie might not be a re-imaging, per say, but maybe we can let this horse rest a little before we start beating it?

Look, there are a multitude of comics out there that have never been mined for cinema. I, for one, would love to see a Transmetropolitan movie, or (and I know I’ll catch shit for this) an Aquaman movie.

Or, and I shudder to mention this, maybe some...original characters? After all, wasn’t it Joss Wheden who said:

“I do feel like we are in desperate need of new content. Pop culture is eating itself at a rate that is going to be dangerous. Too many narratives are built on the resonance of recognition. That’s going to become really problematic. Even though it’s enormous fun to work on something I read as a child, I think it’s important for us to step back from that and create new universes, new messages, and new icons … so that 10 years from now we can reboot those.”

Batman and Superman may be the heroes that Hollywood needs, but are they really the heroes we want?

-Mike

How to find the Bruce Lee statue in Chinatown

I'm a huge Bruce Lee fan, from his movies to his philosophy, and when I heard that they put a seven foot tall bronze statue of the guy in Chinatown (This is the Los Angeles Chinatown, not the San Francisco one, FYI), I had to see it.

Part of the trip is taking the red line, the subway that goes from North Hollywood to Union Station in LA. You can get an all day pass for $5, which will take you to Union Station, where you can go to a few cool places, a couple of which I'll highlight on this blog. This $5 day pass is way less than you'll pay for parking at any of those places.

Once you get to Union Station, you take the gold line over to Chinatown. It's one stop and included in the day pass.

Once you get to Chinatown, you want to find THIS:



This is Chinatown's central plaza, which is located near the intersection of N. Broadway and W. College.

Enter the plaza and turn left immediately. There's Bruce.



There's also a pretty sweet wishing fountain, which you can see above.

-Casey