Sorry...

with Christmas coming up, not had time for torrenting and stuff this week

I'll try to put some up later this week if i can, but things will be busy so i'm not sure if i can... but we shall see


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BC

Torrent Picks 12/06/09

Ok so we're gonna go abit different ths week with my movie picks, for the first time, we're going to do all recent films, because i was recently told via email that I seem to only favor older films, and act as if modern film making doesn't really matter in my eyes, and though i was confused with this by the simple fact that my site states, and i many times have stated as well that i am the master of the grindhouse film, its not that i don't like modern films, I do, very much, but i always tried to keep this as older and rare as possible, but, just this once, I shall go against that rule and do a list of five modern recent films that i enjoy, and feel you all shall as well.

So, here we go....

Taking Woodstock: Set in 1969, the film follows the true story of Elliot Tiber, an aspiring Greenwich Village interior designer whose parents own the small dilapidated El Monaco Motel in White Lake, in the town of Bethel, New York. The hippie theater troupe The Earthlight Players rents the barn, but can hardly pay any rent. They sometimes run around naked outside, but are then chased back into the barn by Elliot's mother. Due to supposed financial trouble the motel may have to be closed, but Elliot assists in trying to avoid that. Elliot plans to hold a small musical festival, and has, for one dollar, obtained a permit from the town of Bethel. When he hears that the organizers of the Woodstock Festival face opposition against the originally planned location, he offers his permit and the motel accommodations. Max Yasgur provides his nearby farm land; first they agree on a fee of $ 5,000, but after realizing how many people will come Yasgur demands $75,000, which the organizers reluctantly accept. Elliot comes to agreement about the fee for the motel more smoothly. Initial objections by his mother quickly disappear when she sees the cash paid in advance. A veteran transvestite is hired as security guard. Elliot and Yasgur encounter a little bit of expected opposition. The local diner refuses to serve Elliot anymore, inspectors target the hotel (and only his) for building code violations, and some local boys paint a swastika and hate words on the hotel. However, these things are quickly squelched, and Yasgur doesn't care because he's gotten more politeness from everybody that came then he ever got from the locals who oppose it. The Tiber family works hard and makes much money. Elliot and the viewer do not see the musical performances; on his way to them Elliot makes an LSD-trip with a couple, in their Volkswagen Bus. When back Elliot suggests to his mother that they have now money to hire a worker, so that he can leave, but his greedy mother prefers Elliot's free services. However, it turns out that Elliot's mother secretly (without even her husband knowing) saved $ 97,000, so that even before the festival they were financially fine. Elliot hates it that his mother pretended financial trouble and requested him to help out. With his father's blessing he leaves to live his own life. This is one of those films that you just love, but gets overlooked by the masses, its kinda like the old tv show The Wonder Years, but just different enough to make you not think its based on that. Its a touching at times, funny at others hidden gem, that honestly, if you can, you should have a look at you won't regret it.

2012: In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley meets his friend, Doctor Santam Tsurutani, in India. Santam has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are acting as microwaves, causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase rapidly. Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser and US President Thomas Wilson that this will instigate a catastrophic chain of natural disasters. At the G8 summit in 2010, other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation. They begin a secret project intended to ensure humanity survives, choosing 400,000 people to board a series of gigantic ships to be constructed in the Himalayas. To help fund the venture, additional individuals are allowed to purchase tickets for one billion euros apiece. In 2012, Jackson Curtis is a writer in Los Angeles who works part-time as a limousine driver for wealthy Russian businessman Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate and their children Noah and Lily live with her boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon Silberman. Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, where they meet Charlie Frost, a conspiracy theorist living as a hermit and hosting a radio show from the park. Charlie believes a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012, and claims he has knowledge of a secret "space ship" project and possesses a map of their location. The family returns home as cracks develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in the San Francisco Bay area. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it collapses into the Pacific Ocean. As millions die in earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. The group narrowly escapes as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to broadcast the eruption, is killed by the blast. Learning the ships are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas, where they meet Yuri, his sons, girlfriend Tamara, and pilot Sasha. They join the group and secure an Antonov An-225, fleeing Las Vegas as it is destroyed. The group flies to China, passing Hawaii as it is obliterated by volcanic eruptions. Also bound for the ships aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Adrian, and First Daughter Laura Wilson. President Wilson chooses to remain in Washington D.C. to address the world about the coming disasters. After surviving the collapse of the Washington Monument, he is then killed by a giant tsunami that sends the USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President dead and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser appoints himself acting president. Arriving in China in a crash-landing that kills Sasha, Yuri and his sons are taken to the ships, stranding the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara, who do not possess tickets. The group is picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk. They sneak into an ark through its hydraulics chamber with the help of Nima's brother Tenzin, a welder for the ark project. Meanwhile, Satnam calls Adrian to inform him that an uncharted tsunami is engulfing India and heading towards the arks. Anheuser orders the arks sealed, trapping thousands outside. Adrian convinces the G8 leaders to let the remaining people board. As the ark's boarding gate is lowered and then raised, Yuri falls to his death getting his two sons aboard, and Gordon falls between the gears and dies. A large drill then falls and becomes lodged between the gears, preventing the gate from closing and rendering the ship unable to start its engines. The tsunami begins flooding the ark, drowning Tamara and setting the ark adrift. Jackson and Noah free the drill from the closing mechanism. The crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest. When the floodwater from the tsunamis recedes after 1 month and 27 days, satellite data shows that Africa rose in relation to sea level, and the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu Natal are now the highest on the planet. As three arks (ark 04, the American ark, 06 and 07) set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, Jackson reconciles with his family and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The movie ends with a view of the Earth and a geographically different landscape. Ok seriously this by far the hottest movie on the planet right now, and i gotta tell you, its well with it, sure the disaster film is a staple of the Grindhouse era, and it has risen out of it to become a staple of the blockbuster era, and though i don't agree with alot of them, i do agree with this film, well worth the look if you haven't seen it yet.

Law Abiding Citizen: After a home invasion leaves his wife and daughter dead, engineer Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is told that one of the criminals responsible will not be convicted, as much of the evidence against that criminal was compromised by a bungled forensic investigation. Shelton pleads for the prosecutor, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), to take the case to court. However, Rice is mostly interested in maintaining his 96% conviction rate, and tells Shelton that it does not matter what is right, but what can be proven in court, stating that it's how the justice system works. Rice then makes a deal with Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte), the actual criminal who murdered Shelton's wife and daughter, for third-degree murder; his accomplice, Rupert Ames (Josh Stewart), is sent to death row on what is essentially a theft charge. Shelton later sees Rice shaking hands with Darby as if they had just finished a deal, feeling betrayed. Ten years later, Ames is executed by lethal injection; due to a chemical alteration, he dies an agonizing death. Initial evidence leads to Darby, who is alerted to the presence of police by a stranger who calls Darby's phone, helping him escape. The stranger orders Darby to throw away his gun and get in a cop car. He says that he will find a cop in the car sleeping. The caller tells Darby to make the cop drive to an abandoned warehouse. Once at the warehouse, Darby forces the cop out of the car and, with the cop's gun, gets ready to execute him. However, the cop is revealed to be Shelton in disguise, who reveals that he's also the stranger who called Darby in; when Darby attempts to shoot him, the gun handle injects him with tetrodotoxin, paralyzing him. Shelton proceeds to lead Darby into the warehouse, where he straps him to an operating table, confessing that he had caused the chemical alteration that killed Ames. At that point, Shelton systematically dismembers Darby alive in revenge of his family's demise. The police come upon Darby's remains, and they quickly arrest Shelton, who allows them to do so. Rice arrives to interrogate Shelton and congratulate him on removing Darby from society. While he's doing so, Shelton initially confesses to the crime, and Rice begins to depart, but Shelton points out that his statement is not legally admissible evidence. During this time, Rice's family, whom Rice cannot spend enough time with due to the nature of his work (for example, he is unable attend his daughter's cello recitals), receives a DVD of Shelton torturing Darby to his death. Shelton agrees to make a real confession in exchange for an expensive mattress in his prison cell. Rice agrees after his superior orders him to, as there is virtually no real evidence connecting Shelton to the murder. At his hearing, Shelton opposes Rice's motion to deny him bail, citing obscure legal precedents. After Judge Laura Burch (Annie Corley), who also presided at Darby's trial, agrees, Shelton begins a tirade, railing against the judge's myopia for the law versus justice, and is removed for contempt of court. Rice delivers Shelton's mattress and receives his confession of the murders of Darby and Ames. However, Shelton bargains to make another confession for the life of Bill Reynolds (Richard Portnow), Darby's attorney. Shelton claims that Reynolds is alive, and will give his location in exchange for an expensive steak dinner delivered at precisely 1 p.m., along with music from his iPod. Despite repeating that the time must be exact, Warden Inger (Gregory Itzin) forces multiple searches, resulting in Shelton receiving his lunch eight minutes late. After finally getting Reynolds' location, Rice and Detective Dunnigan (Colm Meaney) take a helicopter to it, only to find Reynolds buried alive and only minutes dead, with Inger's delay causing him to suffocate. Shelton, after finishing lunch and sharing with his cell mate, brutally murders him using the bone from the steak. Shelton is then put into a solitary confinement cell underground. After Rice's assistant, Sarah Lowell (Leslie Bibb), finds evidence of contract payments to Shelton from the Department of Defense, district attorney Jonas Cantrell (Bruce McGill) takes Rice to meet a CIA operative (Michael Kelly) who worked with Shelton. The operative tells them that Shelton was a "brain" for the CIA, working in a black ops think tank, that he was the best in the field until he retired, and that if Shelton wants them dead, he'll succeed in it unless they kill him first. The following day, Rice and Cantrell convince Judge Burch to sign an order restricting Shelton's privileges, despite the fact that this might violate his civil rights. Moments later, the judge answers her cell phone and is killed by a bomb placed in it. Rice confronts Shelton, who says the killings are not about revenge, but about the failure of the justice system, and Rice's personal failure to keep his word to place the criminals convicted in the first place. He then claims that, unless he is released with all charges dropped by 6 A.M., he will kill everyone in the DA's office. The office workers congregate at the prison, they once again to do not listen to Shelton and 6 A.M. pass by. Rice sends them all home to rest. As they enter their cars, bombs go off from underneath each vehicle, killing six, including Rice's protege Sarah. Realizing that Shelton is keeping good to his word, Rice becomes puzzled over Shelton's spree of murders on the outside while he's behind bars, leaving him to speculate that Shelton has an accomplice. At Sarah's funeral, a remote drone slaughters several attendees, including Cantrell. Rice is appointed acting DA by the mayor (Viola Davis), and a massive meeting is called to determine a way to remove Shelton. Rice, via Sarah's computer, receives some information that points to Shelton owning a garage right next to the prison. He and Dunnigan examine the garage, finding a tunnel system leading to every solitary cell underground, including Shelton's, which can explain how Shelton solely does his dirty work to commit the murders. Upon entering Shelton's cell, Rice finds it empty. Shelton, dressed as a custodian, plants a napalm bomb in City Hall, planning to kill the mayor and most of the senior staff of the Philadelphia emergency services as the final cog of his master plan; however, Rice finds it just in time. Upon his return to his cell, Shelton is confronted by Rice. Shelton offers one final deal which Rice refuses, stating that he no longer makes deals with murderers (the origin of Shelton's anger). Rice calmly tells Shelton that if he attempts to detonate the bomb, he'll have to live with the consequences of that action for the rest of his life. Shelton, after considering for a long moment, does so anyway, and Rice locks shut Shelton's cell, while Dunnigan locks his escape route. Shelton quickly realizes the bomb was placed under his cot, but nevertheless, doesn't care about that anymore, as he calmly looks at a bracelet made by his daughter just before the home invasion. At that time, the bomb goes off, killing Shelton and blowing part of the prison off. The film ends with Rice finally joining his wife for his daughter's recital. This is a modern take on the old school bad ass / revenge film concept, that genre that made people like Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris famous, and though most would argue this isn't the best recent example, but i rather enjoyed this film, and hopefully you will as well.

Astro Boy: Astro Boy is a science fiction series set in a futuristic world wherein androids co-exist with humans. Its focus is on the adventures of the titular "Astro Boy" (sometimes called simply "Astro"), a powerful robot created by the head of the Ministry of Science, Doctor Tenma, to replace his son Tobio, who died in a car accident. Dr. Tenma built Astro in Tobio's image and treated him as lovingly as if he were the real Tobio, but soon realized that the little android could not fill the void of his lost son, especially given that Astro could not grow older or express human aesthetics (in one set of panels, Astro is shown preferring the mechanical shapes of cubes over the organic shapes of flowers). In the original 1960 edition, Tenma rejected Astro and sold him to a cruel circus owner, Hamegg. After some time, Professor Ochanomizu, the new head of the Ministry of Science, noticed Astro Boy performing in the circus and convinced Hamegg to turn Astro over to him. He then took Astro as his own and treated him gently and warmly, becoming his legal guardian. He soon realized that Astro was gifted with superior powers and skills, as well as the ability to experience human emotions. Astro then is shown fighting crime, evil, and injustice. Most of his enemies were robot-hating humans, robots gone berserk, or alien invaders. Almost every story included a battle involving Astro and other robots. This is a favorite of mine, I grew up watching the old dubbed version of Astro Boy, which I just loved so very very much, sure it was campy, sure it was silly, sure it didn't really have the same feel as other early anime, or even recent anime, but it doesn't matter, its astro boy, and thats all i care about honestly, the awesome that is nostalgia, plus its pretty cute over all, and we all need to stop and take a moment for cute at some point in our lives.


Samson And Delilah: Samson and Delilah is the first feature film directed by Warwick Thornton. It stars Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, both young first time actors. It was filmed in and around Alice Springs. Described as a “survival love story” by the director, the film depicts two indigenous Australian 14 year olds living in a remote Aboriginal community who steal a car and escape their difficult lives by going to Alice Springs.[1] The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival,[2] winning the Caméra d'Or ('Gold Camera Award' for best first feature film) at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4] Screen Australia anounced on 29 September 2009 that the film has been nominated as Australia's official entry in the Academy Awards best foreign language film category. This is one of the films that makes me question my love/hate with Aussie films honestly, the story is both fresh and new, and different, and the acting is actually alot better then you would expect from two unknowns that have never starred in so much as a tv add spot for anything, its a great film with a great story and a great great cast, and is truly a hidden gem that will get passed over by many sadly, so if you can, give it a look, you won't be let down at all.


Well thats it for this week, I hope all of you enjoy these as much as i do, and maybe i'll do a different theme next week, maybe foreign films, i'm not sure yet, but i'll think about it.

So until then, enjoy...


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BC

Wow, lucky 100.

I can't really believe something I started as a small thing to keep me out of bordom and allow me to express thoughs and views on things in a way one can only express on the internet, has gotten this far in just afew months time. I honestly didn't think much about keeping this up so long, i figured i'd get bored with it like i did my music blog i never update, but I was wrong, i never did get bored with this, and i don't see myself doing so either.

Its been fun so far, in my almost one year of doing this, I've gotten alot of encouragement from friends, and discovered that apparently, alot more people come looking for the ramblings of a crazy man that lives in the woods then I had ever thought would, I guess good promotion and word of mouth through friends who encourage and believe in what you do helps alot.

And to all of you who have helped me make it this far, thank you, and I hope to continue with your support in the future, cuz we aint' see nothing yet...


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BC

What I Have Learned From Movies Pt. 1

As I'm sure you're all aware, I have watched alot of movies in my lifetime, and as you would expect, I've learned a great deal from the myriad of film viewing I have done, some good, some bad, some completely strange, and I felt for the run of it, i would share with you all, some of the many nuggets of wisdom I have garnered, in hopes that maybe it can teach all of you somethings you didn't know, and thus, spreading my knowledge unto the world... So with out any more delay, here we go...

What I have Learned From A Lifetime Of Watching Movies Pt. 1:

The Ravings Of A Mind Raised On Cinema. 

1. If you travel back in time in a 1981 Delorean to get away from rocket launcher packing Libyans in a VW Bus, that negates the butterfly effect rule of time travel, and you can do anything, even take your mom's virginity and it doesn't effect anything.

2. Hitting mentally challenged bald men with lead pipes do not cause them any harm at all.

3. Growing mysterious venus flytrap looking plants that magically appear during total eclipse of the sun or thunderstorms always leads to trouble.

4. Every detective in the 1970s ended a case by sitting alone in a hot tub with 10 superfly 1970s style honeys, two of which will always have a giant afro, there is no exceptions to this rule.

5. Killer Whales are smart enough to understand the concepts of vengeance, revenge, and that if you take out the supports of a dock, you will kill more humans in less time.

6. If you drop toxic waist in their habitat, frogs will turn against humans and try and kill us all.

7. only the nerdy virgin and the uptight hot girl survive summer camp rampages, they then fall in love after having bonded over running for their lives as they left their friends to die at the hands of a hockey mask wearing mental case.

8. Snowmen have DNA

9. You can build a complicated computer powered time machine out of a steam powered locomotive using 1885 tech and parts.

10. Coco Cola fixes everything. EVERYTHING.

11. If you are stuck in a Zombie Epidemic, the strong, protective and kind member of your group will be the first one of you to fall to the zombie horde.

12. If a woman grows to 50 Feet tall, all she will want is sex

13. There are Teenagers on Uranus, and at any time, they will come to earth looking for hep cats and groovy chicks to teach them how to swing like they do on earth.

14. If a man gets turned into Raquel Welch, he must go completely insane, and forcefully rape a male doctor while laughing evilly.

15. Godzilla is both man's greatest line of defense, and its worst threat to life

16. The best way to deal with a high school bully is to bring a gun to school and start to slaughter his followers with out remorse or quarter.

17. Somewhere out in space, is a giant transforming planet that eats other planets and has a mouth that looks alot like an anus.

18. flying around a sun and slingshotting around the back of it at warp 9.9 will allow you to travel back in time to the very year and date you wanted with out any careful calibration or thought on the matter.

19. Greek gods have nothing better to do with their time then to come to earth and use their powers to help create roller discos 5 years after the roller disco craze ended.

20. Never piss off Mieko Kaji, she will kill you in very horrible ways.

21. Wizards are jerks.

22. David Bowie's package is the scariest thing known to creation.

23. If you haven't seen Dennis Hopper clearly drugged out of his mind, waving around two long chainsaws and screaming bible verses, then you haven't truly lived.

24. Apparently, Christopher Lee is Dracula

25. Every movie made before 1940 was about a prostitute or a mobster or a prostitute mobster.

26. Never, ever, under any circumstances, get off the boat.

27. The entire US Marine Corps is made up of clones of John Wayne, R. Lee Ermy and Steve McQueen.

28. The 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback has 14 hubcaps.

29. Patrick Stewart really is Professor Charles Xavier.

30. In 1980 summer camp trips consisted of the following activities; having teenage sex, drinking and then having teenage sex, getting high on pot then having teenage sex, drinking, getting high on pot and having teenage sex, running for your life from the large undead man with the machete who wants to kill you for no real reason other then to kill you, then having teenage sex. And if you were the nerdiest of the nerd kids, you ended up having teenage sex with either the hottest girl at camp, the hottest female councilor at camp, or both.

31. the only way to kill a zombie is to blast its motherf---ing head off.... baby.

32. Steve Martin is not funny.

33. Will Smith can play a convincing white man in Men in Black, but Nick Cage plays a horrible black man in World Trade Center.

34. Very unsettling things happened in british movie theaters in the late 1960s.

35. Apparently, Ray Leota can cast magic.

36. putting a banana in the tailpipe of a car will foil drug smugglers.

37. Every villain monologues just before the hero kicks their ass.

38. Rabbits live complicated lives.

39. If a robotic war mech is hit with lightening, it will gain self awareness and then discover a wise cracking sarcastic personality, which will then end Steve Gotenberg's career, what little there was of that to begin with.

40. if you're going to die in a gunfight, atleast look cool as you do it.

41. You can beat Dracula with the power of lucha libre style wrestling

well thats it for part one, i'll come up with more later... enjoy!


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BC

Torrent Picks 11/29/09

Well its that time of the week again, time for us to dive head first into the deep end of the ocean that is the world of cinema and see what interesting little treasures we can find. So with out any farther delay, here we go...

Oh and just like last week, i'm feeling my roots, we're totally going Grindhouse.... 


Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The film opens with a scroll dictating that, when Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963) was released, audiences laughed at the notion of birds revolting against humanity, but when an attack perpetrated by birds occurred in 1975, no one laughed. This is followed by a pre-credits sequence of a tomato rising out of a woman's garbage disposal unit. Her puzzlement turns into terror as the tomato draws her into a corner. Following the credits, we see the police investigating her death. One officer discovers that the red substance she is covered with is not blood, but tomato juice. A series of attacks perpetrated by tomatoes occur (including a man dying by drinking tomato juice made from a killer tomato and a sequence where the tomatoes attack innocent swimmers, in a parody of Jaws). While the President's press secretary Jim Richardson tries to convince the public that there is no credible threat, the president puts together a team of specialists to stop the tomatoes led by a man named Mason Dixon. Dixon's team includes Sam Smith, an African-American disguise expert who is seen at various points dressed as, among other things, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and even Adolf Hitler; Navy diver Greg Colburn; Russian Olympic swimmer Gretta Attenbaum; and parachute-toting Wilbur Finletter. Smith is sent out to infiltrate the tomatoes, eventually blowing his cover when he asks if anyone could "pass the ketchup." Colburn and Gretta are sent to sectors, and Finletter stays with Mason. Meanwhile, the president sends Richardson to the fictitious ad agency "Mind Makers," where executive Ted Swan spends huge amounts of money to develop virtually worthless ploys including a bumper sticker with "STP" for "Stop Tomato Plants" on it, a satirical reference to the real "whip inflation now" campaign and its widely ridiculed "WIN" slogan. It is revealed that a human is also plotting to stop Dixon when a masked assassin attempts to shoot him, but misses. A senate subcommittee meeting is held where one secret pamphlet is leaked to a newspaper editor who sends Lois Fairchild on the story. While she tails Finletter, he mistakes her to be a spy and trashes a hotel room attempting to kill her. He then chases the assassin as the masked man fails again to kill Dixon, but loses him. Gretta is killed and further regression has led leaders to bring in tanks and soldiers to the west coast in a battle that leaves the American forces in shambles. Dixon, walking among the rubble, sees a trail of tomato juice and decides to investigate. He ends up being chased by a killer tomato to an apartment where an oblivious child is listening to the radio. The tomato is about to kill Dixon but suddenly flies out the window. Dixon peers out to see if it has died when he spots the assassin hijacking his car. He chases the assassin until he is knocked out when it is revealed that Richardson is behind the tomatoes. He is about to reveal his secret of control when Finletter charges in and runs him through. Dixon, picking up some strewn records, realizes that both times the tomatoes left him the new hit song "Puberty Love" had been on the radio. He orders Finletter to gather all remaining people and bring them to the stadium, which is soon attacked by the tomatoes. The tomatoes are cornered in a stadium. "Puberty Love" is played over the loudspeaker, causing the tomatoes to shrink and allowing the various people at the stadium to squash them by stomping on them repeatedly. Fairchild, meanwhile, is cornered by a giant tomato wearing earmuffs. Dixon saves her by showing the tomato the sheet music to "Puberty Love." He professes his love to her, in song. The film ends by showing a carrot that rises from the Earth and says "All right, you guys. They're gone.". This is BY FAR one of the best of the Grindhouse genre has to offer, in many ways its the definition of what Grindhouse is all about, low budgets, absurd plots with enough cheese and shock to keep you sitting in your seat at the drive in or the old dollar theater on a saturday afternoon or night, the movie is redunkulusly bad, but thats the fun of it really, you get to laugh at the completely off the wall out there story, and thrill as the humans run away from killer tomatoes, its just so delightfully cheese.

The Cars That Ate Paris: A small town in rural Australia (Paris) makes its living by causing car accidents and salvaging any valuables from the wrecks. Into this town come brothers Arthur and George. George is killed when the Parisians cause their car to crash, but Arthur survives and is brought into the community as an orderly at the hospital. But Paris is not problem free. Not only do the Parisians have to be careful of outsiders (such as insurance investigators), but they also have to cope with the young people of the town who are dissatisfied with the status quo. Now this film is one of my favorites in whats called "Carsploitation" which during the heyday of Grindhouse was very popular at drive ins, go figure right? movies about cars, popular at a place you sit in your car and watch a film, who'd have guessed. This is one of those cool ones that didn't just put big fancy bad ass muscle cars or sleek imports on camera and let people tool around in them, this one actually built and costumed up some great cars, most noted is the Volkswagen Beatle thats covered completely in spikes, that has become the iconic image from the film, and from what i understand is in an Aussie museum of movie and television, but I'm not really sure on that honestly. Its still a fun campy ride through international grindhouse, should definitely check it out.

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry: a cult 1974 car chase film starring Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, and Vic Morrow. The film was directed by John Hough. The music score contains no incidental music, apart from the theme song over the opening and closing titles, and a small amount of music heard over the radio. The story deals with two would-be NASCAR hopefuls; the driver, Larry (Peter Fonda), and his mechanic, Deke (Adam Roarke), who successfully execute a supermarket heist to finance their jump into the big-time auto racing world, extorting $150,000 in cash from the supermarket manager (Roddy McDowall in an uncredited role) by holding his wife and daughter hostage. In making their escape, they are confronted by Larry's one-night stand, Mary (Susan George), who convinces them to take her along for the ride (under the threat of her blowing the whistle on them both). After the heist is reported to the Sheriff, Captain Franklin (Vic Morrow) obsessively sets out to capture the trio in a dragnet, only to find his patrol cars woefully inadequate to catch Larry, Mary and Deke in a high-performance 1969 Dodge Charger. The trio evades several patrol cars, a high-performance police interceptor, and even Captain Franklin himself in a Bell JetRanger helicopter, but finally colliding with a small freight train, in one of the most shocking (and now legendary) movie endings of all time. This is another of those awesome race chase movies that ruled the drive ins of the grindhouse era, and where the foundation for many of the action films you see today, only these had plots, but this film has everything, car chases, awesome stunts, a brilliant climatic scene that if it were made today would have been surely done by Micheal Bay the master of the explosion, its just so awesomely done. Plus its one of the few Peter Fonda films that I can sit and watch with out feeling kind o sick inside, which is always a plus. The film is also abit of a hidden easter egg in many things, its been seen on movie and tv screens in various movies and tv shows, and the train scene was used in the opening sequence of the craptacular 1980s television series The Fall Guy, which starred Lee Majors. Thankfully though, this film is loads better.

Dr. Goldfoot And The Bikini Machine: Price plays the titular mad scientist who, with the questionable assistance of his resurrected flunky Mullaney, builds a gang of female robots who are then dispatched to seduce and rob wealthy men. (Goldfoot's name reflects his and his robots' choice in footwear.) Avalon and Hickman play the bumbling heroes who attempt to thwart Goldfoot's scheme. The film's climax is an extended car–bike–cable car–boat-on-wheels chase through the streets of San Francisco. This is one of those films that you read about, and think "nah, they couldn't have made this.. its too crazy to be real" kind of like my favorite "Candy" from 1968, and more so, the fact it has horror master Vince Price, in the most completely absurd and arguably the most embarrassing role of his career, though if you were to ask Price about his years of playing Dr. Goldfoot in both films in the series, he would fondly and jokingly talk of how much fun it was to play the role, and how he would continue to play the insane Doctor Goldfoot to the day he died if he could, kind of like his role as Egghead on the old Batman show in the 1960s. Plus, with all the awesome that is Horror Master Vincent Price over acting to comedicly embarrassing levels, but also, you have 1950s singer turned horrible actor Franky Avalon as the heroic lead, you can't make up stuff this bad in your worst nightmares. But seriously, have a look cuz its so hilariously bad.

The Fearless Vampire Killers: This film takes us into the heart of Transylvania where Professor Abronsius, of the University of Königsberg, and his apprentice Alfred are on the hunt for vampires. Abronsius is old and withering and barely able to survive the cold ride through the wintry forests. Alfred is bumbling and introverted. The hunters come to a small Central European town seemingly at the end of a long search for signs of vampires. The two stay at a local inn, full of angst-ridden townspeople who perform strange rituals to fend off an unseen evil. Whilst staying at the inn, Alfred develops a fondness for Sarah, the daughter of the tavern keeper Yoine Shagal. After witnessing Sarah being kidnapped by the vampire, Count von Krolock, the two follow his snow trail, leading them to Krolock's ominous castle in the snow-blanketed hills nearby. They break in to the castle, but are trapped by the Count's hunchback servant, Koukol. Upon being taken to see the count, he affects an air of aristocratic dignity whilst he cleverly questions Abronsius about his interest in bats and why he has come to the castle. They also encounter the Count's son, the foppish (and homosexual) Herbert. Meanwhile, Shagal himself has been vampirized and sets on his plan to turn Magda, the tavern's beautiful maidservant, into his vampire bride. Despite misgivings, Abronsius and Alfred accept the Count's invitation to stay in his ramshackle gothic castle, where Alfred spends the night fitfully. The next morning, Abronsius plans to find the castle crypt and kill the Count, seemingly forgetting about the fate of Sarah. The crypt is guarded by the hunchback, so after some wandering they climb in through a roof window. However, Abronsius gets stuck in the window and it is up to Alfred to kill the Count, which he feels unable to do. He has to go back outside to free Abronsius, on the way coming upon Sarah having a bath in her room. She seems oblivious to her danger when he pleads for her to come away with him. After freeing Abronsius, who is half frozen, they re-enter the castle. Alfred again seeks Sarah but meets Herbert instead, who first attempts to seduce him and then, after Alfred realizes that Herbert's reflection does not show in the mirror, reveals his vampire nature and attempts to bite him. Abronsius and Alfred flee from Herbert through a dark stairway to safety, only to be trapped behind a locked door. They also realise night is falling. As they watch horrified, the gravestones below open up and they see that there are many vampires at the castle. The Count appears, mocking them and tells them their fate is sealed. He leaves them to attend a dance, where Sarah will be presented as the next vampire victim. However, the hunters escape by boiling water in a cannon and blowing off the door, and come to the dance in disguise, where they grab Sarah and flee. Escaping by horse carriage, they are now unaware that it is too late for Sarah, who bites Alfred, thus allowing vampires to be released into the world. Outside of Hammer Studios, this film is one of the few that truly catches the truest feel of what a vampire movie is ment to be in the era of Grindhouse, its just camp enough to make you laugh, its just bad enough to make you feel ashamed to admit you watched it and enjoyed it, and its just horror enough to scare you slightly. Plus, its a Roman Palanski movie which is pretty awesome regardless of what you think of the man and his, strange, personal lifestyle, and also its got Sharon Tate, which is also pretty incredible, given how little movies she actually was in before she was killed. Its a ridiculously bad, and thats what makes it so damn funny.


Well thats it for this week, i hope you all enjoy these films as much as i enjoy sharing them with you. So until next week, i hope you all enjoy your little adventures in Professor Collins Film Study Class.


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BC

Some Thanksgiving Comedy...

I can't take credit for this, I got it out of Wired Magazine, but I feot it was both truthful and funny enough to share with all of you, plus its thanksgiving here in the states and the bloggings is abit slow and slim pickens, so much so that it allowed me to make a refernce to the guy that rode the bomb in Doctor Strangelove and not have to force it just then.. Anyway here we go...

Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn From Twilight

1. If a boy is aloof, stand-offish, ignores you or is just plain rude, it is because he is secretly in love with you — and you are the point of his existence.

2. Secrets are good — especially life-threatening ones.

3. It’s OK for a potential romantic interest to be dimwitted, violent and vengeful — as long as he has great abs.

4. If a boy tells you to stay away from him because he is dangerous and may even kill you, he must be the love of your life. You should stay with him since he will keep you safe forever.

5. If a boy leaves you, especially suddenly (while telling you he will never see you again), it is because he loves you so much he will suffer just to keep you safe.

6. When a boy leaves you, going into shock, losing all your friends and enduring night terrors are completely acceptable occurrences — as long as you keep your grades up.

7. It is extremely romantic to put yourself in dangerous situations in order to see your ex-boyfriend again. It’s even more romantic to remember the sound of his voice when he yelled at you.

8. Boys who leave you always come back.

9. Because they come back, you should hold out, waiting for them for months, even when completely acceptable and less-abusive alternative males present themselves.

10. Even though you have no intention of dating an alternative male who expresses interest in you, it is fine to string the young man along for months. Also, you should use him to fix things for you. Maybe he’ll even buy you something.

11. You should use said male to fix things because girls are incapable of anything mechanical or technical.

12. Lying to your parents is fine. Lying to your parents while you run away to save your suicidal boyfriend is an extremely good idea that shows your strength and maturity. Also, it is what you must do.

13. Car theft in the service of love is acceptable.

14. If the boy you are in love with causes you (even indirectly) to be so badly beaten you end up in the hospital, you should tell the doctors and your family that you “fell down the steps” because you are such a silly, clumsy girl. That false explanation always works well for abused women.

15. Men can be changed for the better if you sacrifice everything you are and devote yourself to their need for change.

16. Young women should make no effort to improve their social skills or emotional state. Instead, they should seek out potential mates that share their morose deficiencies and emotional illnesses.

17. Girls shouldn’t always read a book series just because everyone else has.

18. When writing a book series, it’s acceptable to lift seminal source material and bastardize it with tired, overwrought teenage angst.

19. When making or watching a major feature film, you should gleefully embrace the 20 minutes of plot it provides in between extended segments of vacant-eyed silence and self-indulgent, moaning banter.

20. Vampires — once among the great villains of literature and motion pictures — are no longer scary. In fact, they’re every bit as whiny, self-absorbed and impotent as any human being.


hehe... I hope all of you have a great and safe thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and to those who don't, well, more turkey for me!


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BC

Torrent Picks 11/22/09

Well its that time of the week once again, where i sit here and internally argue over which 5 movies I should put out for you all to give a look too and see if you enjoy them as much as I do, and hope that maybe, you'll grow to love them and share them with your friends...

Anyway, lets get into this shall we?

The Sensation of Sight: This one's abit special, but before I explain that, here is the plot synopsis: A fusion of dream/reality, this off-beat drama about man’s search for meaning amidst the ache of despair chronicles Finn, a middle-aged English teacher, as he enters a mid-life crisis impelled by a recent tragedy. As he sets afoot selling encyclopedias to the town locals, encounters ensue and sales are made, but Finn’s anxieties begin to consume him as he finds himself pursued by an unrelenting ghost. Circling through sleepless nights and desperate days, The Sensation of Sight intertwines lives of loneliness and disconnection, fatefully leading Finn toward an unexpected and sublime awakening. Now, this is truly a great mostly overlooked gem, which is a serious contender for my movie of the year given its recent small theatrical release to art house theaters, but more so then its brilliance, its amazing because it was filmed here in the town i live in, it was filmed over a summer and every single location, every house, every interior of a house, every outdoor scene, every building, all of that, all is shot here in town, afew scenes are even right across the street from where i live, so its got a special meaning for me, it just happens that also, its a brilliant and very deep film to boot. Which is good, cuz, well, the last film they shot here, The Legend of Lucy Keyes, not such a great film... and is best left forgotten. So yeah seriously give this one a shot.. you'll enjoy it immensely.

Birth Of A Nation: This is an odd choice, but I think in terms of historial value, both as a timecapsule of what people honestly were like in post civil war america, and also for the fact this is the first "blockbuster" film, and its impact on cinema in general, I felt I should give it some love just once, though in all honesty, i find it both sickening and compelling, and i guess thats about all one can do with this film really, kind a strange respective medium. here is a shortened version of the plot: Two brothers, Phil and Ted Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, taking out the fact this film is basically racist propaganda, and that all the black people are actually white people in blackface, this film is probably best seen the way nazi made propaganda films are, where you have to take completely out of context that it was made to farther a hatred or misguided belief. When you take that out in your mind, its actually not a bad film, its quiet brilliant really once you take that out, plus it was the film tht lead to D. W Griffith's masterwork, Intolerance.

Chasing Amy: Holden McNeil falls hard for Alyssa Jones, only to find that she plays for the other team. But their connection persists, and he pursues, and all of a sudden unspoken passion gives way to a budding relationship. Threatened by Alyssa’s intrusion, Holden’s friend, roommate and comic book co-creator Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) digs up some dirt that may bring the whole thing to an end. Holden must learn to deal with Alyssa’s checkered past and come to terms with his own feelings on the relationship while simultaneously straightening out his wounded friendship—but confronting the ugly truths of life is easier said than done. This is one of those movies that is incredible in the fact that it ensured its target demographic 100% but also was able to reach out of it, and eventually solidify Kevin Smith's status as a geek hero and cult director, and the movie that solidified his jerseyverse series of films, which went on to define his career. This is notable too in the fact its actually got the most lines spoken by Smith's character of Silent Bob, which among fans of his movies is pretty important.

A Clockwork Orange: Set in a dystopic England of the future where gangs roam the streets, do drugs, and speak a slang language based on Russian, it follows the story of young delinquent Alex (Malcolm McDowell). Alex's love for cruelty and rape is only overshadowed by his love of classical music. After committing a terrible crime he is sent to a detention facility where he is subjected to a new technique for rehabilitating criminals. This technique involves forcing the subjects to watch films of violence while under the influence of drugs that cause pain. This technique creates an association in the subject between violence and pain and essentially cures Alex of his violent impulses. Unfortunately, the soundtracks of these films is the same classical music Alex once loved, and he necessarily comes to associate this music with extreme physical pain as well. After his release from the hospital, he wanders the streets and is beaten by his former friends, as he is now physically incapable of defending himself. He returns to the scene of the crime that got him arrested, where the husband of the woman he killed tortures him by forcing him to listen to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Alex attempts suicide by jumping out of a window, but survives. After some time in the hospital he returns to normal and is seduced into joining the current political administration, in order to repair the damage to their reputation caused by his attempted suicide. He is happily a violent delinquent again, this time in the pay of the government. This is one of the best films ever made, so much so its a definitive work of the british cinema, and though some can argue the violence and nudity is, questionable to some.

Good Night, And Good Luck: Based on the treacherous times of the 1950's when the Communist scare was sweeping around the country. A CBS news anchor Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) along with his director Fred Friendly (George Clooney) takes on the US Government and Senator Joseph McCarthy when they run a story about a member of the Air Force that was dismissed because of suspected ties to Communism. What results is a war of words and accusations that make the CBS Network President William Paley (Frank Langella) nervous and could lead to lasting effects for both Murrow and his crew. This film went mostly over looked when it was release not many years ago, but I feel it tells a story of importance and tells of the closest thing we will find to witch trials in modern day history, the communist trails of Senator Joe McCarthy, who ruined many a life with his misappropriations and paranoia during the cold war, a shameful time in American history which though looked back on in disgust and shame, but can still teach us alot and be used as a great background for other stories. Too often in american culture the 1950s are seen as a time of great joy and innocence, when really all that was, was how television was back then, in the real world, it wasn't like that at all.

Well, thats it for this week, i hope all of you have a great and safe holiday, and I will be back later this week wtih more...


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BC