movies | Rtm - Part 12

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halloween movie fest, 2014: nights 1-5.

By Scott • On 2014-10-18 • In another day. another movie., hmf '14, movies, scott, the last five movies • 3 min read

Night One: Freaks

“We accept you, one of us! Gooble gobble! Gooble gobble!”

Set in a circus, Freaks is a tragedy where greed and cruelty are the true deformities, but also, where people with physical deformities have some kind of weird code and they will fuck your shit up if you mess with one of them. So, you know, a laudable message wrapped in an antiquated way of dealing with different sorts of people.

In the execution of its drama, this film is as dated as one would expect. In the execution of its horror, albeit brief, this film is about as far ahead of its time as a movie can be. Unfortunately, it was so ahead of its time that people lost their shit and when the various censors were done with it a third of the movie had been chopped off. That thirty minutes of cut footage is now lost forever. The remaining film is a bit nonsensical in parts as a result, but is still impressively edgy.

I so wish I could see the original cut, especially the footage from the film’s climax that included more disturbing visuals, including implied castration… in 1932! Sadly, director Tod Browning’s career was derailed by the film’s controversy and resulting failure.

Will I ever watch it again? Probably not, unless someone unearths the lost footage.

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Night Two: Uzumaki

“Come into the spiral.”

Visually, it’s creepy and interesting. Uzumaki is imaginative and fresh. The film is also downright weird, both in ways that I enjoyed and in ways that were completely lost on me, but that could be a cultural thing.

To a certain degree it is like a David Lynch film, but it makes less sense. Yes, you read that right, it makes less sense than a David Lynch film. I think much of what made the film incoherent in most narrative aspects is a translation thing. Something got lost in the translation from the manga [by most accounts brilliant] to the screen, and something got lost in translation from Japanese to English.

So, while everything is tied together visually by the malevolent spirals, we are never sure why they are malevolent… aside from something about the words for mirror and serpent being pronounced the same way, and ancient mirrors being dredged up from the bottom of a lake. All of my confusion could be purely the result of a bad subtitle transcriber.

Will I ever watch it again? No, although I’d change my mind if it turns out there is a superior subtitle track a la Let the Right One In.

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Night Three: Sightseers

“The police announced today that they’re pursuing a ginger-faced man and an angry woman in connection with inquiries.”

A twisted comedy that succeeds because it delivers its insanity so subtly. The violence and comedy mix so well because each are played so straight. Lowe and Oram are brilliant (especially Lowe).

By today’s standards, the gore is fairly tame and the body count fairly low. The film is droll, but not over the top slapstick. So the tone of the violence needed to match the tone of the humor. One way they accomplished this was by making most of the murders take place in slow motion with no native audio, but a song playing over the scene, which somehow helped keep the tone even.

Will I ever watch it again? Not soon, but ask me again in a year or two.

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Night Four: The Blob (1958)

“Doctor, nothing will stop it!”

Oh, The Blob. Everything you expect from a B-Movie is here. Inept cinematography, strange pacing within scenes, confused acting from a silly script. Fantastic. This one also happened to launch a young Steve McQueen. So, on behalf of The Blob, you’re welcome, America.

My very favorite B-Movie trope on display here was the unintentionally hilarious dialogue. I’d share some of the lines with you, but they wouldn’t really land without the delivery by the actors in a given moment.

This one was a late addition to the list for HMF.

Will I ever watch it again? Maybe under some sort of influence and in the right company.

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Night Five: Carnival of Souls

“It’s funny… the world is so different in the daylight. In the dark, your fantasies get so out of hand. But in the daylight everything falls back into place again.”

If Uzumaki is a film I found harmed by its lack of narrative cohesion, Carnival of Souls is a film that is actually enhanced by it. It’s another film that is very Lynchian, although this one being a film that influenced Lynch instead of the other way around. In Carnival of Souls the loose narrative contributed to the nightmare feel of the film, constantly keeping the viewer off balance.

An independent film from 1962, some limitations are clear, especially in terms of the acting, and awkward editing and direction much of the time. I think there is a solid chance we see here the DNA that would later result in David Lynch fetishizing bad acting so often, especially as a way to add to a particular sort of creepy atmosphere.

The creepiness they were able to create with such limited resources is impressive. Along with the fun little winks and metaphors that are never oversold, but are left subtle. Too often storytellers are worried you’ll miss a symbol so they beat you over the head with it, Carnival of Souls just leaves it there for those with eyes to see.

The strengths and weaknesses both make it obvious why this is a cult favorite. It’s tailor-made.

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before midnight.

By Scott • On 2014-10-08 • In movies, my favorite, scott • 1 min read

I’m pretty sure the trilogy of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight is the greatest love story ever told in film. I would need to think about this for a while to confirm I’m not forgetting about some glaring omission, but at the moment, that’s my opinion on the matter.

It’s just so real, so brilliant, and cuts so closely to the heart of romantic love and what it really means to be a person in the world. I think what I love the most about these films is that it is first and foremost about being human, about all of our own ideas and doubts and passions and contradictions. The love story is central, but somehow also very secondary. First comes each of these characters as fully realized individuals, then comes their relationship.

These are interesting characters in their own right who also happen to come into one another’s lives. They make each other better, with the way they encourage and challenge one another. Yet, they are two people who choose to share some of their life with the other, not one weird amalgam where neither can be fully herself/himself and both are sucked into a weird enmeshed rat king.

I wish there were more relationships like this in media, instead of the plethora of nauseating variations of unhealthy nonsense that normally gets perpetuated as true love, but is really just some degree of either naive wish-fulfillment or poorly disguised cynicism pretending to be a family sitcom.

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birdman. [trailer park.]

By Scott • On 2014-06-13 • In movies, scott, trailer park • 1 min read

Yup.

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five and five. [five things i’ve been enjoying and five things i hope to enjoy very soon]

By Scott • On 2014-06-08 • In books, fictionista, five things, gaming, invasion/visitation movies, movies, nerd candy, scott, seattle, sports, television • 4 min read

I’ve been in the mood to do this again. I’d like to do it as consistently as I used to, but needs must and whatnot. Maybe my schedule will allow it, maybe it won’t.

For my first post back in a while I decided to share five things I’ve been enjoying, along with five things I still really want to try soon.

Five Things I’ve Been Enjoying

1. Kurt Vonnegut.

Loving a writer like Vonnegut is pretty obvious, especially for someone with my particular sensibility. Still, before this year I had only read Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death. As some of you know, this year my goal was to read every Vonnegut novel. I’m through six, and he is everything I’d hoped he would be and more.

I expected the gallows humor, the irony, the cleverness, and the imagination that he is known for. What I didn’t expect was the beautiful tenderness in his writing. Sure, the writing is darkly hilarious and honestly realistic about the world, but for all Vonnegut’s ability to see humans for the absurd beings we really are, he also seemed to love us in spite of it all.

Vonnegut’s work is hopeful, but in an eyes-wide-open way that results in the only hope that’s worth a damn.

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2. Justified

The contemporary western series based on characters created by Elmore Leonard is one of my favorite things of late. I’ve been careful not to start episodes most days because it too often results in binge watching multiple episodes in a row.

I only just finished the second season and it was outstanding. What could easily be a purely formulaic affair is elevated by great camerawork, satisfying and thrilling season-long story arcs, phenomenal acting by recurring players, and two of my very favorite characters on television in Raylan Givens [Timothy Olyphant] and Boyd Crowder [Walton Goggins]. Like Eastwood’s various protagonists, these characters give us those moments of delightful badassery, complete with smart-ass one-liners and love/hate banter.

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3. Silicon Valley

I started watching because it was created by Mike Judge and Kumail Nanjiani is in it. I kept watching it because of how great it is.

Relevant, original, hilarious, and smart. This and True Detective are the best examples of why HBO is still in the company of Netflix, et. al. as the future of serial storytelling.

Also, the eureka moment in the series finale is probably my favorite ever, but I won’t explain why and spoil anything.

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4. Seattle Sounders

The trick with sports is that your team is going to have a season that ends in defeat significantly more often than in victory. Being a sports fan, even a relatively realistic and rational sports fan like myself, is often a painful affair.

Thus, the Sounders could break my heart sooner rather than later.

Right now, though, it sure is fun to be a Sounders fan! In the 15 games before the break they are literally running away with the entire league. Hopefully after the World Cup break the boys in Rave Green will get right back to providing a non-stop highlight reel.

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5. Last Week Tonight

The first two or three episodes were good. Certainly good enough to keep me coming back. Yet, as the show hit its stride it became downright brilliant. The writing is improving every week, and Oliver continues to get his legs doing a job he’s done before but never in this context.

At this rate, Last Week Tonight, a show that in its initial episode looked to be merely clever and funny, will become one of the more important weekly events on television. John Oliver’s rants smack of a special kind of truth-telling this world needs a shit-ton more of.

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Five Things I Hope to Enjoy Soon

1. Child of Light

A video game that follows a young girl who finds herself unable to awaken in her real world, but is instead trapped in a dark world where the sun, moon and stars have been stolen by the Queen of the Night.

From what I’ve read, which isn’t much because I don’t want everything spoiled for me, the game uses the fairy tale structure to engage deeper themes of sadness, isolation, connection, and hope. So, basically, the description you’d give if you were trying to catch me hook, line, and sinker.

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2. The Edge of Tomorrow

So far this weekend, people aren’t going to see this. However, I hope that before the week is out I can be one of the few who have bought a ticket. The premise looks exciting and fresh, Tom Cruise continues to make entertaining movies even if he is apparently a psycho IRL, and critical reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

Oh yeah, and Emily Blunt.

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3. Her

I’ve already seen it, but it becomes available as a Netflix mailer on Tuesday and I can’t wait to enjoy it again. So far, Her is my favorite of the films I’ve seen this year.

I am still baffled that one of the storytellers I cherish the most for his insight, tenderness, and honesty helped create Jackass. Oh, Spike Jonze, you beautiful enigma.

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4. Chef

I’ll actually be seeing this later today, so, WIN!

It’s good to see Favs writing something smaller again. Did I mention some friends and I used to watch Swingers once a week in freshman and sophomore years of college? Occasionally we would take breaks and watch Made once a week instead.

Plus, the cast looks fantastic. I really wish there were more Bobby Cannavale performances in the world.

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5. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Technically, I’ve already started enjoying this because I’m 50 pages in. I hope to have time to enjoy the other 650something pages later this week, because so far it seems to be exactly the kind of book I want to be reading right now.

Lynch’s first novel, and the first book in the ‘Gentleman Bastard’ series (which is up to three books thus far), is apparently a well-written crime caper in a beautifully realized fantasy setting. So far, I agree with the consensus assessment that the book is awesome. I can’t wait to get back to it!

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just in case you missed it. [five things, 2.21.14]

By Scott • On 2014-02-21 • In five things, movies, scott, trailer park • 3 min read

I’m in Portland on a writing retreat that so far has been an abysmal failure. The goal was to be here for five days, the first four alone, in a place where I was comfortable but had no responsibilities, connections, etc, where I could just plant myself in various coffee houses and bars and write as a voluntary captive. This was largely to force myself to do the very hardest part of writing fiction: staring at a blank page/screen and trying to conjure a narrative of some sort. When I get into a rhythm things go pretty well with writing, and after a long period of inactivity this was my attempt to kick off a new rhythm. The reason the trip has been a failure so far is that within an hour after arriving I got some sort of terrible food poisoning or gastroenteritis. Thus, this is the third day of my trip and I am just now, at 3:48 in the afternoon, sitting down to write for the first time. Not what I had hoped for when I’d been planning this trip for the last few months. On the bright side, at least I am sitting down to write for the first time at heart, and they are playing Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange in its entirety.

Anyway, to get the writing juices flowing, I am starting with a blog post instead of fiction writing. It is part cop out, part dipping my toe in the water, and part reminder of how on earth to string sentences together in semi-coherent thoughts.

As a result of numerous conversations lately where people have asked me for recommendations, I’m offering some to the entire internet. This time, for movies. Perhaps you’ve already seen some/all of these, but they are some of the best movies I’ve seen in the last few months and in conversations I’ve had, too few folks have given them a try.

I’ve kept all the descriptions brief.

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1. Headhunters (Hodejegerne)

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, better known as Jaime Lannister, co-stars in this Norwegian film about a man employed as a corporate recruiter by day, and self-employed as an art thief by night. When it appears he has stolen from the wrong man, things get crazy in this well-executed thriller filled with strong performances that add to the narrative to create surprising depth.

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2. The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)

This Academy Award winning Argentinian film spans decades as a retiring criminal investigator decides to write a novel to help exorcise the demons he can’t shake, namely, an unsolved rape and murder and a love he never acted on. As far as his job goes, I’m not exactly sure how the details of the Argentinian judicial system work, it basically seemed like he was a detective who worked for a judge.

Set against the rich and troubling backdrop of the Argentinian government of the 60’s and 70’s which can only be appropriately described as evil, the story works beautifully as both a mystery thriller and a love story. So great!

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3. Perfect Sense

An original take on the apocalypse film, Perfect Sense stars Ewan McGregor and Eva Green. The story begins as an epidemiologist begins struggling to understand an outbreak with no apparent cause where people become temporarily overcome with profound sadness, then recover quickly but without their sense of smell. Said scientist meets a womanizing, profoundly talented chef, and from there they must navigate the strange and terrifying times that just keep getting worse.

The film is quiet, poetic, and beautiful. Underrated and seen by far too few.

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4. Mud

There has been much written about Matthew McConaughey’s remarkable rise from that pot head who played himself in a bunch of romantic comedies to remarkable actor who brings profound depth to every performance and an electric charisma to the screen with each line. An underrepresented (albeit universally acclaimed) part of that rise was Mud, Jeff Nichols follow-up to Take Shelter (one of my absolute favorite films from recent years, which I have already gone on about here).

Two teenage boys encounter a charismatic and mysterious fugitive near their homes along the Mississippi River, forming a bond with him as they attempt to help him escape justice. Nichols is a master of subdued, beautifully shot scenes, of creating rich emotional moments that feel authentic as opposed to melodramatic, and of capturing subtle and nuanced performances from everyone he directs.

Currently Nichols is filming Midnight Special, about a dad who goes on the run with his son after discovering the boy has special powers. He’s said that while it seems counterintuitive, Midnight Special is actually a more grounded story than Mud. Color me excited!

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5. Kings of Summer

Frustrated by his relationship with his father, while both craving and fearing adulthood, Joe Toy convinces his best friend Patrick (and an accidental tagalong weirdo Biaggio) to run away and build a house in the woods where they can truly be in charge of their lives. What could easily be a formulaic coming of age story is much, much more than that because of a tight and energetic screenplay, wonderful direction, and amazing performances by the likes of Nick Offerman, Nick Robinson, Megan Mullally, Allison Brie, Gabriel Basso, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and more. Also, newcomer Moses Arias as Biaggio is one of the most delightfully entertaining onscreen characters I’ve ever had the joy of watching.

Kings of Summer strikes a perfect balance between sarcasm and tenderness.

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guardians of the galaxy. [trailer park.]

By Scott • On 2014-02-19 • In movies, movies in space, nerd candy, scott, trailer park • 1 min read

It’s been a while since I posted, but I HAD to share this. HAD to.

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my year in movies, 2013.

By Scott • On 2014-01-01 • In 2013, movies • 2 min read

2013 was a really low year for me in movie watching, which fits with the trend of the year. I will return in 2014!!

The key is mostly the same as always:
(#) Movie I saw in the theater.
[#] Movie I saw for the first time.
E# Movies I watched with Emily.
Favorites (These underlined films cannot be movies I saw this year for the first time, or movies I have only seen once, they have to be movies that have been able to stand up viewing after viewing, and still keep me coming back for more.)
*Best movies I’d never seen before. (It doesn’t matter when these movies came out, I saw them for the first time this year, and they were awesome. I was probably too liberal with my asterisks, I just couldn’t help myself.)
Halloween Movie Fest.

*1. Les Misérables [1] (1) E1
2. Trouble with the Curve [2] E2
3. The Avengers
4. The Dark Knight Rises – E3
5. Jeff, Who Lives At Home [3]
*6. Django Unchained [4] (2)
7. Life of Pi
8. Dredd [6]
9. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
10. I Love You, Man
*11. Pitch Perfect [7] E4
*12. Your Sister’s Sister [8] E5
13. The Pirates! Band of Misfits [9] E6
14. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story [10]
15. El ángel exterminador [11]
*16. Safety Not Guaranteed [12] E7
17. Chicago [13]
18. Thor
19. F for Fake [14]
20. Death Wish [15]
21. The Virgin Suicides [16]
*22. Argo [17] E8
*23. Silver Linings Playbook [18] E9

24. To Have and Have Not [19]
25. Premium Rush [20]
26. Lincoln [21] E10
27. Crash
*28. The Interrupters [22] E11
29. The Guns of Navarone [23]
30. Cabaret [24]
31. Last of the Mohicans [25]
32. CQ [26]
33. Moonrise Kingdom – E12
*34. Zero Dark Thirty [27] E13
35. Before Sunrise – E14
36. Killer Joe [28]
*37. Before Sunset [29] E15

38. Amour [30] E16
39. Paper Moon [31]
40. The Dark Knight Returns: Part II [32]
41. Les amours imaginaires [33]
42. Phantom of the Opera (1925) [34]
*43. The Perks of Being a Wallflower [35] E17
*44. Persona [36]
45. The Master [37]
46. The Man Who Knew Too Much [38]
47. Bronson [39]
*48. Gaslight [40]
49. Deliverance [41]
50. Metropolitan [42]
*51. Blue Velvet [43]

52. Get Carter (1971) [44]
53. Barry Lyndon [45]
54. Robot & Frank [46] E18
*55. Body Heat [47]
*56. Warrior [48]
57. The Thing From Another World [49]
*58. Suspicion [50]
*59. La grande illusion [51]
60. The Warriors [52]
61. The Man with the Iron Fists [53]
*62. The China Syndrome [54] E18
63. Fatal Attraction [55]
*64. Urbanized [56] E19
65. The Poseidon Adventure [57]
*66. Do-Deca-Pentathlon [58]
67. Killing Them Softly [59]
68. Hitchcock [60]
69. Oblivion [61] (4)
*70. Snabba Cash [62]

71. This is 40 [63] E20
72. Hit and Run [64]
73. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) [65]
74. Rushmore [Criterion Commentary]
75. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies [66]
76. The Rocky Horror Picture Show [67] E21
*77. Thelma & Louise [68]
78. Safe House [69]
*79. Iron Man 3 [70] (5) E22
*80. Pitch Perfect – E23

81. Pusher [71]
82. The Man Who Fell to Earth [72]
83. Westworld [73]
84. Barbarella [74]
85. Election [75]
86. Jack Reacher [76] E24
*87. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane [77]
*88. Star Trek Into Darkness [78] (6) E25
89. Broken City [79]
90. To the Wonder [80]
91. Romance with a Double Bass [81]
92. Hard Boiled [82]
*93. Django Unchained
94. Coffee and Cigarettes
95. Casa de mi Padre [83]
96. Beasts of the Southern Wild
97. Warm Bodies [84] E26
98. Frankie Go Boom [85]
99. The Omen [86]
100. A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III [87]
*101. 24-Hour Party People [88] 102. Inception – E27
103. Man of Steel [89] (7)
104. Pacific Rim [90] (8) E28
*105. The Gruffalo [91] E29
106. Ironweed [92]
107. This is the End [93] (9)
108. You Instead [94]
109. The Bourne Legacy [95] E30
110. Knuckleball! [96]
*111. The 400 Blows [97]
112. Cold Comfort Farm [98]
*113. Flight [99] E31

114. Hellboy: Blood and Iron [100]
*115. Shoot the Piano Player [101]
116. Despicable Me 2 [102] (10) E32
117, The Sapphires [103] E33
*118. No [104]

119. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World [105]
120. Rise of the Guardians [106] E34
121. 42 [107] E35
122. Spring Breakers [108]
123. Welcome to the Punch [109]
*124. The Central Park Five [110] E36
125. Cape Fear (1962) [111]
126. Trance [112]
127. Somebody Up There Likes Me [113]
128. Croupier [114]
*129. Mud [115]
*130. Kings of Summer [116]

131. Frankenweenie [117] E37
132. The Descent [118]
133. Re-Animator [119]
134. American Football [120] (11) E38
135. Les diaboliques [120]
*136. Peeping Tom [121]
*137. Braindead (Dead Alive) [122]
138. Citadel [123]
139. The Awakening [124]
140. Mama [125]
141. Pontypool
*142. Shotgun Stories [126]
*143. Gravity [127] (12)
*144. Thor: The Dark World [128] (13) E39
*145. Monsters University [129] E40
*146. The Grey [130]
*147. Much Ado About Nothing (2012) [131] E40 148. Ender’s Game [132] E41 (14)
149. Intermission [133]
*150. The Day of the Doctor [134] E42
*151. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [135] (15) E43
152. The Look of Love [136]
153. Idiots and Angels [137]
154. The Great Gatsby [138] E44
155. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans [139]
156. Pain & Gain [140]
*157. Frozen [141] (16) E45
*158. The Way Way Back [142] E46
*159. Withnail & I [143]
160. World War Z [144]
161. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues [145] (17) E47
162. Die Hard
163. Elysium [146]
*164. American Hustle [147] (18) E48
*165. Prince Avalanche [148]

166. The To-Do List [149] E49
167. 2 Guns [150] E50

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grand budapest hotel gets another trailer.

By Scott • On 2013-12-20 • In movies, scott, trailer park, Uncategorized • 1 min read

I want to watch this movie right this second!

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halloween movie fest, 2013: nights 6-10.

By Scott • On 2013-11-01 • In another day. another movie., movies, nerd candy, scott, zombies • 2 min read

Night Six: Dead Alive

“Your mother ate my dog!”

“Not all of it.”

Oh, what a ridiculous movie. So over the top gory, but in the most cartoonish way imaginable… like a Loony Tunes short from hell. This isn’t just the bloodiest movie I’ve ever seen, based on the amount of movie blood used, it is actually the bloodiest movie of all time. Although, since blood is all CGI now, that stat means less and less.

There is no doubt whatsoever that this film is played for laughs. Jackson & Co. are trying to get you to either bust a gut or empty your guts… or both. This movie is insane. I actually kind of liked a lot of it.

Highly influential on zombie films since. The lawnmower scene is essential viewing for the cinematic history of zombie carnage.

Will I Ever Watch It Again? This falls into the “high, and with a group of people” category.

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Night Seven: Citadel

“If you don’t wanna get dead, hold my hand.”

At times it transcends its small budget, decent tension occasionally, strong performance by the leading man. Otherwise, underwhelming. There are a few legitimately creepy moments I enjoyed, but they never coalesce into anything satisfying. I think this needed a few more treatments before it was ready.

Will I Ever Watch It Again? Probably not.

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Night Eight: The Awakening

“It’s never darker than when we close our eyes, and yet we keep them shut.”

Mediocre, with a cheap twist, but the film was worth my time because there are some winning moments, some genuinely eerie tension at times, and a few wonderfully creepy scenes (like the second dollhouse scene).

Will I Ever Watch It Again? Nope, but I don’t regret watching it once.

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Night Nine: Mama

“Daddy, look! There’s a woman outside the window. And she’s not touching the floor.”

Even after watching a few more HMF13 films in November, this will stand as the biggest disappointment for me from this year’s list. I looked forward to it for so many reasons: I love good ghost stories, Guillermo del Toro produced it, Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are in it. Alas, my hopes were dashed.

For one, the film isn’t scary or creepy like a good ghost film should be. The titular entity was CGI and looked downright silly instead of scary, absurd more than anything else. She was kind of like the silly (awesome) ghosts from The Frighteners, but played straight, that doesn’t work.

Much of the film was insensible, with that common problem horror films run into where people do stupid shit for no reason other than that it creates scarier atmosphere. Why is some guy investigating a house out in the woods in the middle of the night when he could easily have gone in the afternoon? Even if he didn’t believe a ghost haunted it, it’s stupid from a sheer practicality standpoint, but they wanted to create an underwhelming photo flash set piece for a ghost encounter, and alas, inexplicable decisions are made.

The end was also infuriating, but that could just be me.

Will I Ever Watch It Again? Absolutely not.

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Night Ten: Pontypool

“For your safety, please avoid contact with close family members, and refrain from the following: all terms of endearment, such as ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’; baby talk with young children; and rhetorical discourse. For greater safety, please avoid the English language.

Do not translate this message.”

And on Halloween night, I finally reached #10. The Halloween tradition for the last five years is to watch a movie that we already know and love, instead of trying a new one.

What else can I say about Pontypool that I haven’t already said here, and here? I’ve been telling you to watch this movie, and you probably still haven’t. Your loss… loser.

Will I Ever Watch It Again? I’ve seen it four times now, I will watch it at least four more.

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