House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Campy with the right amount of creepiness + Vincent Price hamming it up = Pure horror classic delight!

I'm telling you now, you may or may not (depending on your preferences) like this film. Some may complain that it's corny, not scary, and a total waste of time. Others may insist that it's a genre-defining horror classic that's both spooky and atmospheric, which, its huge success has inspired Alfred Hitchcock to create his own little horror picture - Psycho. And then haters will retort that one should NOT EVER compare Psycho with this campy "horror" film.

Well I say, it's all a mix of everything. And to each his own. :)

But before I tell you what I think, here's a bit of info about House on Haunted Hill.

A millionaire offers ten thousand dollars to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.

Directed by: William Castle
Written by: Robb White
Cinematography by: Carl E. Guthrie
Running Time: 75 mins
Watch it here  (YT)

Why THE SADIST is the best torture you can experience

Don't mind the fact that this is a low-budget film made in 1963. Or that Arch Hall Jr. has a cheesy filmography to boast (or not) about. The Sadist is one of those B-movies that stands the test of time and deserves every bit of recognition it could get. The only thing that's dated in this film, aside from the clothes, is the Coca-Cola bottle. 

It's seriously one of the most tension-filled movie I've seen from start to finish - especially that climax! Modern film makers could learn a thing or two from this little black & white exploitation movie that's unfortunately, undeservingly buried in obscurity - unbeknownst to most people. I haven't even heard about this film before. Thank god for Timeless Classic Movies in Youtube!

So what makes this under-appreciated gem a timeless classic? Before I start my nonsense, here's a short info about the movie.

The Sadist is loosely based from the murder spree of serial killer, Charles Starkweather, and his 14-year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, which other movies such as Badlands (1973), Kalifornia (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Starkweather (2004) were also based from.

"Three people driving into Los Angeles for a Dodgers game have car trouble and pull off into an old wrecking yard where they are held at bay by a bloodthirsty psycho and his crazy girlfriend."

Also known as Profile of Terror, and Sweet Baby Charlie
Written & Directed by:  James Landis
Cinematography by: William Zsigmond
Starring:  Arch Hall Jr., Richard Alden,
Marilyn Manning, Don Russell, Helen Hovey
Running Time:  95 mins.
Watch it on YT here

(Back 2 Back) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: Oplev's or Fincher's?

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker.

          (2009) Directed by:  Niels Arden Oplev                              (2011) Directed by:  David Fincher
        Starring:  Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace                        Starring:  Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara
                  Running Time: 152 mins.                                                         Running Time:  158 mins.

It's rare to find a movie adaptation that is as good as the book, or better. What's even rarer? A Hollywood remake that is as good as the original film, or better. I'm actually already partial to the film adaptations even before seeing them since I was mildly disappointed with Larsson's novel (or the translated one). While its plot was intriguing and the context & themes explored provocative, somehow the manner it was written was at times off-putting. Here's my book review, if anyone's interested.

Now let's talk about the movies! 


Michael Nyqvist vs. Daniel Craig:  Who's the real Millenium's Don Juan?  

Gravity (2013)

"Clear skies with a chance of satellite debris"

What makes Gravity one of the best in the history of space exploration-themed sci-fi movies? It pulls you in. The visuals will enrapture you, the score will mesmerize you, and aside from that, there's an emotional pull - you're not just feeling the action, but you're also feeling the terror & threat that Bullock is experiencing. At last, a space movie that deserves to be recognized for its grandeur alongside Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I won't compare the two because that's not fair, all I'm saying is that after all these years, finally we have a movie in this era that has a vision pretty much like what Kubrick did in 1968. And I'm so happy I have witnessed this in the cinema (and in IMAX). I thought it's gonna be a sucky movie experience because behind me, there were three girls with foreigner boyfriends chatting non-stop, and passing the vinegar (yes! you heard me!) for their isaw (chicken intestines) or chicharon (I'm not even kidding), but when the movie started - complete silence. And not another word about the damn vinegar all throughout the film. That's how powerful the opening sequence was. It makes you forget about vinegar.

A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

Directed by:  Alfonso Cuaron

Written by: Alfonso Cuaron and his son Jonas 

Music by:  Steven Price

Cinematography by:  Emmanuel Lubezki

Starring:  Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Running Time:  91 minutes

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of iniquity and corruption.

Author: Stieg Larsson

Country:  Sweden (2005)

Published in English: 2008, translated by Reg Keeland

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Series:  #1 of the Millenium Series

Pages:  590

"It was uneven stylistically, and in places the writing was actually rather poor - there had been no time for any fine polishing - but the book was animated by a fury that no reader could help but notice." -(Berger, describing Blomkvist's book)

Maybe it's the translator's fault, I don't know, but that quote above is how I will describe Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Now, now, before you flare up and start to defend this book like how I would defend my secret stash of Twix candy bars - Battle Royale style - I'm not saying this book is not good. It is. But it's overrated. In my opinion, it really is. While reading, once or twice I said to myself, "Surely, the film versions are better than this. Hopefully." (I haven't watched its film adaptations yet)

Pitch Perfect (2013)

Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.

Directed by:  Jason Moore (his debut film)

Screenplay by:  Kay Cannon 

Starring:  Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Britanny Snow, Skylar Astin

Running Time:  112 minutes

"Get Pitch-Slapped"

This is Glee... in college. I won't say more on that subject.

Forget about the story - it's typical.

Forget about the song choices - it's average, and it seems they blindly picked songs from the Billboard 100 or whatever you call it. Okay, they added some 80's flavor (which I love), so, good move!

Forget about the performances - because they are, again, average at best. Although that last perfomance of The Bellas entertained me a lot.

But, I kinda liked the movie.

Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much before pressing PLAY. But seriously,