Saturday, July 16, 2011

Film Review: Season of the Witch

Film Review: Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch

This is George A. Romero's third film about something different than zombies but with a common house wife whom becomes involved with witchcraft in her neighborhood. Her husband spends time away from home on buisness trips weekly and leaves his wife, Joan at home bored and lonely. She meets a new neighbor with friends for a tarot card reading. Well the neighbor is a witch and causes an avanlanche of drama in the neighborhood which leaves Joan lonely in the end. I found the movie to be interesting and enjoyed the the film stock of the 70s. That gave it that grainey type feel. I would rent it before having thoughts of purchasing it. It does have an amazing soundtrack though!
An amazing soundtrack of psychedelic surreal rock music that would put Jim Morrison in a trance. Trolling the net for a copy of it on vinyl.


2 out of 4 stars.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Film Review:Troll Hunter

Film Review:Troll Hunter

Troll HUnter

A Norwegian horror film directed and written by André Øvredal. Takes place in the Western forest and hills of Norway. This film will make you believe that the children story of Billy Goat's Gruff was based on real events. The film is shot in a moc-documentary type style which adds to the realism of the whole Troll life. A group of students find interest in documenting random bear poaches in the forest which leads them to find Hans. Attempting to follow and interview him they discover what he really does and the cause to the random findings of bears being mutilated. Trolls.. Not the small the type that are seen in past films but ones that are the size of four story buildings. They follow him in his journeys across Norway investigating why the Trolls are going mad and why the government is covering up the whole thing. It's been going on for a long time. The scene with Hans wearing a metal suit of armor coaxing a troll from under neath a bridge with three goats is reference to Billy Goat's Gruff which adds to the dark comedy of the film. The animation of the many trolls lurking in the forest at night is believable. The film is well written and directed. The cinematography is simply amazing of the lush hills and waterfalls of Norway to the snowy ending with a hum of ambiance. This is film will leave you at the edge of your seat in amazement and can't wait to own it on video. Looking forward to more film in this genre from the Netherlands. They seriously know what they are doing. Sad to say that someone already bought the rights in America for a remake. Can't you come up with your own ideas Hollywood???

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 4.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Interview with Ben Snakepit

Ben Snakepit Interview

Photobucket

Took a minute to have a chat with former Manager of I Love Video about the video rental industry. One of my favorite places to rent films and television stuff from. One of my favorite pass times is renting films and just being a film nerd. Been renting movies since 92 and maybe earlier. It deeply saddens me to see the Video Empire slowly crumple into a Cat5 cable to your computer or a Video box rental from the grocery store. Here's his thoughts on things.

How long did you work in the video rental industry and where did you work?

My first Video Rental job was at Tower Video in Richmond VA in 1997. After I moved to Texas I got hired at I Luv Video. I worked in the industry from then until the end of 2010. 

How did you get your start and what was it like to work at the beginning?

When I first started, DVDs had just come out. At the time, they were the most expensive, top-of-the-line media you could get. It was sorta like when CDs replaced tapes... At first you would only get really awesome movies on DVD, and regular stuff on VHS because it was cost-effective. Over time as VHS phased out, DVDs took over. The industry tried to do it again with the HD/Blu-Ray battle of the early 00's, and while Blu-Ray "won", it never really caught on.

What were some signs you noticed in the decline in sales in the video industry?

There were two huge glaring signs that the end was near... First, all of my friends that had previously always bugged me for free movie rentals stopped coming in to the store altogether once Netflix streaming started. Second, I knew it was over when a customer requested a certain rare title and I found it was ONLY available on Netflix streaming. I realized this was quickly going to become the rule, rather than the exception.

What are your thoughts on Net Flicks and the sudden rise of Video rental box units around town?

The Redboxes are stupid. They're intended for John Q. Popcorn to watch summer blockbusters on the DVD players in their SUVs. Nobody that actually enjoys movies uses Redbox. Netflix streaming is the future. All the movies you can watch, unlimited for ten bucks. No late fees, you don't even have to put on pants. Some people may argue that Netflix doesn't have everything, and those people are correct. Unfortunately, nobody has everything. Even Scarecrow Video in Seattle (the world's largest video store) doesn't have everything. I can assure you though, as a movie buff who's seen thousands and thousands of films, there is never a time where I can't find something I want to watch on Netflix. 


How are things changing that you noticed in the past time that you were working to now?

Something I noticed working in video rental was that ten years ago, a lot of people preferred to purchase and own movies rather than rent. I think the biggest reason for this was that a lot of people didn't feel comfortable leaving their credit card info in the hands of underpaid, unappreciated teenage video clerks. Also, many video stores deliberately make their late fee policies as confusing as possible, to trick customers into paying more than they need to. Nowadays, with almost everything readily available on the internet, there's no need to even go into a video store anymore, and I don't ever see things going back to the way they used to be. 

What are some other side projects that you enjoy?

I play in bands, hang out and get drunk, etc.

Who is your favorite film monster?

Jerkbeast!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Mario on Paper

Check out my latest creation in the "On Paper" series!  MARIO!
 Also, a VERY special announcement follows the short concerning my recent project: raising the funds for my very first feature length animated film!!!  Take a watch and help spread the word.


To view my kickstarter page click here: Kickstarter
To view my original Path of Blood short click here: Path of Blood