Ok, let me make one thing clear from the start - certain things just seem odd in Bangalore. I should not be able to get a better Cheese Steak sandwich in Bangalore than Indiana - but I can. Indian 20-somethings should not know all the words to popular Queen, Rush, Hendrix, and Pink Floyd songs (when my own teenager doesn't) - but they do. And Bangalore should not put on a very good Oktoberfest - but it did. Now, it was not perfect - some Indians seemed to confuse Oktoberfest and Halloween (or maybe the merging was intentional). Also, the Indian organizer seemed to have a misconception about what constitutes fun at Oktoberfest - 4 pages of speech is NOT what the revelers wanted. Other than that, it was an interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable night.
Oh, pet peeve time. Why would any semi-intelligent adult think that bringing children (ranging from infants up to about 12) to an Oktoberfest party would be a good idea? There may be people in the US who would do this as well, but I don't know any. Maybe I am just sheltered.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Horror flicks - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Over the weekend, I watched three (relatively) recent "horror" films. What struck me as interesting was the juxtaposition of THESE particular 3. They have nothing in common, except I happened to watch them all in the same weekend. And that they reminded me of an excellent Spaghetti Western.
1) The Good.
El Orfanato (The Orphanage), from 2007, was the first truly creepy film I have seen in quite a while. It surpassed my expectations, which were modest I admit. I later found out that it was produced by Guillermo Del Toro, who gave us the wonderful "Pan's Labrynth", and the underrated "Cronos". Even so, this is a directorial debut of Juan Antonio Bayona, so I didn't expect much. Boy, was I surprised. The entire atmosphere is creepy, the story is solid and intelligent, and it is scary without resorting to "jump scares" and gore. Check this one out. If you don't read subtitles - get over it, and watch it anyway.
2) The Bad.
Ok, I watched "Lesbian Vampire Killers" expecting a ripoff of "Shaun of the Dead" (one of my favorite films, btw). It was a rip-off, alright - I will never get those 86 minutes of my life back. Seriously, if you have the right group of friends, in the right frame of mind, this might be an OK horror-comedy. But I can think of 3 better ones without straining myself ("House", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Shaun of the Dead"), so I wouldn't go out of my way to find this movie.
3) The Ugly.
I watched "The Haunting in Connecticut" last. I should have waited even longer. The acting was not the problem, the STORY was the problem. See, I know a little bit about the story of the Snedeker family - Wikipedia has some information that clearly disputes the "Based on the true story" claims. The director must have seen the same movies I did - The jump scares were coming fast and furious. But someone needs to tell him that "Scared" and "Startled" are not the same, that "scaring" someone takes patience and a deft touch, while "startling" someone just means lulling them to sleep, then jumping out and shouting "Boo!".
Ok, enough for now. I hope to see a few more truly scary movies between now and Halloween.
1) The Good.
El Orfanato (The Orphanage), from 2007, was the first truly creepy film I have seen in quite a while. It surpassed my expectations, which were modest I admit. I later found out that it was produced by Guillermo Del Toro, who gave us the wonderful "Pan's Labrynth", and the underrated "Cronos". Even so, this is a directorial debut of Juan Antonio Bayona, so I didn't expect much. Boy, was I surprised. The entire atmosphere is creepy, the story is solid and intelligent, and it is scary without resorting to "jump scares" and gore. Check this one out. If you don't read subtitles - get over it, and watch it anyway.
2) The Bad.
Ok, I watched "Lesbian Vampire Killers" expecting a ripoff of "Shaun of the Dead" (one of my favorite films, btw). It was a rip-off, alright - I will never get those 86 minutes of my life back. Seriously, if you have the right group of friends, in the right frame of mind, this might be an OK horror-comedy. But I can think of 3 better ones without straining myself ("House", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Shaun of the Dead"), so I wouldn't go out of my way to find this movie.
3) The Ugly.
I watched "The Haunting in Connecticut" last. I should have waited even longer. The acting was not the problem, the STORY was the problem. See, I know a little bit about the story of the Snedeker family - Wikipedia has some information that clearly disputes the "Based on the true story" claims. The director must have seen the same movies I did - The jump scares were coming fast and furious. But someone needs to tell him that "Scared" and "Startled" are not the same, that "scaring" someone takes patience and a deft touch, while "startling" someone just means lulling them to sleep, then jumping out and shouting "Boo!".
Ok, enough for now. I hope to see a few more truly scary movies between now and Halloween.
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