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‘Paranormal Activity’ Becomes Most Profitable Movie Ever

MSB

ScreenRant tells us that Ridley Scott has finally divulged some info about his upcoming Alien prequel. I am extremely excited about this project because, as many of you know, Alien was the first horror movie I ever watched (unbeknownst to my parents, of course). In the article, Scott talks about how the prequel will be set 30 years prior to the events in the first movie; I have to wonder though, if the fact that the Corporation knew about the alien creatures way back in the Alien vs. Predator-movie days will be brought into focus…?

Secondly, the world can rest easy now: there WILL be a fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams are both involved, although it’s doubtful that Abrams will direct. After the gut-wrenching, emotional roller-coaster that Ethan Hunt was forced to endure in the third movie, I can’t wait to see what they put him through in this one.

Topless Robot shows us 10 Star Wars Toys That Look Like Celebrities. Folks, this isn’t a very complimentary list, either. My favorites are how the Slave Leia action figure looks like Christian Bale, and how bounty-hunter Dengar resembles Johnny Cash.

And finally, on the zombie front, the first Zombie Romance Anthology is about to be published. Romance with zombies? Really? Yup, looks like it. I mean, the living dead need love, too, right? I love the title of the book; take a peek and let me know if it makes you smile.

With Halloween being tomorrow, make sure you’re paying careful attention when you’re driving. Keep an eye out for the little ones while they’re raking in the candy; it’s a good bet their attention is going to be focused on how quickly their bags are filling up, and not your car as it zooms down the street.

Have a happy (and safe) Halloween.

MSB

Good grief…how much rain can one section of this state produce? It’s yet another dreary, drizzly day here in Northwest Arkansas. I guess I really shouldn’t ask that question, though…I might actually have the displeasure of finding out the answer!

Anyway, just a couple of quick tidbits for you today:

One of my new favorite websites, Screenrant.com, tells us about a Conan remake that is due to start shooting soon. The article describes the characters that are thought to be in the reboot, as well as a brief description of what the actor/actress should look like. This is interesting to me, because it lets ME pick the cast before Hollywood does. Not that they will listen, but…

Secondly, there is a new version of Frank Herbert’s Dune in the works. This excites me GREATLY because I am a HUGE fan of this book. The 1984 David Lynch version of the movie was ok, but way off base from the book in certain aspects. On the other hand, the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel version was more true to the story in the book, but so infused with CGI that it left me wanting something more. Hopefully Hollywood can learn from these two priors and put together an excellent rendition of Herbert’s vision.

And finally, the folks over at io9 give us a lesson in Lovecraft 101. This, of course, is an overview of H.P. Lovecraft and his work. I personally enjoy his dark, gruesome imagination and revel in the chance to lose myself in his stories. At the Mountains of Madness and Call of Cthulhu are two of my favorites. If you’ve never read anything by Lovecraft, you should certainly give him a shot. Just don’t blame me if you have trouble sleeping afterwards.

That’s it for now. Feel free to discuss anything mentioned…let’s get some conversation going!

MSB

I knew it was inevitable, but had no idea it would happen so fast.

The Brits are doing their own version of Paranormal Activity.

As discussed in the article, the film is titled The Possession of David O’Reilly. And it sounds just like Paranormal Activity. I wouldn’t be surprised if the camera angles and still-shots were the same as well.

I’m not going to turn this into a rant about originality and how film studios only want to copy each other to try and ride the coat-tails of others’ success. And I’m not going to say that the British version of our movie will suck, either. Who knows? It might actually trump PA.

But I hope that I’m not alone when I say I’m tired of all the copycatting. I hope there are enough free-thinkers in the film industry to help usher in a new era of films. It seems like for every awesome idea that comes along, there are 15,000,000 copycats riding along right behind it.

Perfect example: My wife and I were in Hastings the other day, perusing the new releases. She picked up a particular DVD, rolled her eyes, and handed it to me. I studied the cover and then had to suppress a rage-blackout that threatened to overtake me. On the cover was a giant robot tearing through a burning city. The title of the movie? Transmorphers.

Why did this anger me so? Well, because the title is very similar to a Michael Bay blockbuster from a couple of years ago. And secondly because the cover-art is deceptive. I wonder how many people have rented this movie by mistake, thinking it was Transformers?

Don’t believe me? Take a look:

Argh.

In other news, I am excited to hear about this: a new action-thriller called The Fallout is due to start filming in February of 2010. According to the article, The Fallout is set in post-apocalyptic New York and is billed as “a thriller that combines elements of Assault on Precinct 13 with Lord of the Flies in a story of survival.”

I’ve heard a lot about the director of this pic, Xavier Gens, and am therefore interested in seeing what he can bring to this one. Gens is the guy that did Hitman, which I discussed here in a previous post.

That’s it from me for now.

MSB

When did it become illegal in this country to be a zombie? Sure, sure…it’s illegal to attack people, maim them, and/or try to eat their brains. But what if you’re just a placid, docile zombie, shuffling around aimlessly, not really trying to hurt anyone?

The reason I bring this up is because of an article I read on FoxNews.com yesterday:

Man Punches Another He Accuses of Being a ‘Zombie’

It seems a man was ordering food in an Iowa City restaurant, when another man approached him, accused him of being a zombie, and then punched him in the eye. But wait…the scene isn’t over. When the victim tried to call the police on his cell phone, the assailant punched him again, this time breaking his nose!

My first thought after reading this was, “What the…?”

Is this guy stupid? You NEVER try and take down a zombie with your fists, unless you can punch straight through its head. EVERYBODY (I would say the majority of the adult population in the U.S., anyway) knows how you take down zombies…and pansy-assing around with punches is not the way to do it!

You go for the head…and you smash that sucker in good!

I guess this guy didn’t get the memo, though. He was probably too busy getting instructions from his dog or something. Or maybe he did get the memo, but was delusional and thought he could do more damage with his fists instead of, say, a crowbar or tire-iron or something.

Geesh.

Seriously, people…the zombie apocalypse could happen at anytime…but I’m sure we’ll be able to easily tell the zombies from the living. A guy ordering food in a restaurant doesn’t really portray a living-dead image, as far as I can tell. We’ve got to be vigilant…but let’s not get ridiculous. My buddy Hayes gave me a good laugh when he said, “This guy was just being proactive.”

This, I suppose, is a good thing…but let’s make sure we can tell the living from the dead, otherwise we’ll have more chaos than when the Z.A. actually does happen!

Your thoughts?

MSB

Dead Tauntaun Wedding Cake

We have yet another dreary day here in Northwest Arkansas. I swear…at this rate, it’ll be Spring again before I can mow my yard again! What’s the deal with that? Oh…it’s Fall, you say? I guess that would make sense.

I was able to drag my wife to see ‘Paranormal Activity’ this weekend. I loved it just as much as when I saw it Thursday night. Even though I knew what was coming, I was STILL creeped out! My wife liked it and was scared a couple of times, however I had hyped it up so much for her that she was actually kinda let down after the movie was over. I learned a valuable lesson about her as a result: I need to keep my mouth shut in the future when I want her to watch a movie!

I then sat down, late Saturday night, and watched a movie called Infestation. This hokey, low-budget schlock was a big disappointment. It stars Chris Marquette as Cooper, a slacker extraordinaire who awakens in an office building to find he is cocooned in some sort of webbing. After tearing free, he encounters the bug responsible for his cocooning: a four-foot long beetle. After a semi-humorous fight, in which the hard-shelled beastie is eventually crushed, Cooper begins to revive others in the office.

Once several folks have been released, Cooper heads outside. A quick investigation reveals the entire city has been overrun by giant bugs. Cooper, who then becomes the somewhat reluctant leader for his rag-tag group of survivors, wants to discover the fate of his father and begins a trek across town to find him.

Along the way, the group runs into roving groups of giant bugs (along with their flying companions, which resembly giant dragonflies with stingers), a psychotic hillbilly family, and even a new creature: a zombie-spider. It appears that, for some reason never explained in the film, the flying insects secrete an unknown substance into their victim’s bloodstreams when they sting them. The substance instigates a change within the victim, which eventually zombifies them…and then causes them to sprout eight huge spider-legs.

Unfortunately, the originality of this single creature is lost in the overall lameness of the film. The best scenes in the movie (as far as gore, creepiness, and even humor are concerned) can be seen in the trailer. I wanted to like this movie more than I did, but the fact of the matter is that it was just too boring to ever catch my full interest.

Other than the two movies mentioned above, my weekend was pretty quiet.

Did you see any movies this weekend? If so, do share…

MSB

Have you ever been so scared, so absolutely terrified, that you can literally feel yourself trembling?

Have you ever seen something that haunts your thoughts and lingers in your memory like a bad taste in your mouth, for days and days afterward?

Have you ever experienced true, mind-numbing horror?

Well, my friends, I can now say ‘Yes’ to all three of the above statements. That’s right: last night, I saw Paranormal Activity. No, wait, that’s not quite right…I didn’t see the movie…I experienced it.

This film can be summed up in one word: astonishing!

Now, folks, I don’t scare easily. You’re talking to a guy that saw his first horror movie when he was 10 years-old (the movie was Alien…I snuck into the living room while Mom and Dad were watching it). Then I followed that up with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre a couple of years later…when I was living in the panhandle of Texas! So, all in all, I’m pretty desensitized to horror films as a whole.

But WOW…this movie SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! Don’t get me wrong…I loved it! But I kid you not…I actually had trouble sleeping last night!

Here’s the plot: (WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead)

A young couple, Katie and Micah (pronounced Mee-ka), move into a house and start hearing noises at night; they also start noticing things being moved around and put in places they shouldn’t be. Micah brings home a video camera and sets it up in their bedroom to try and get a glimpse of what could be happening while they sleep.

But what they see on the camera every morning is not something that logic can explain or justify.

The “occurrences” that are recorded start out simple: a door opening and closing by itself, random banging noises, moving shadows, etc. But the events quickly escalate. Soon, the camera starts showing Katie and Micah things beyond comprehension.

And that’s when the real terror begins.

The budget for the movie is rumored to be only about $11,000 dollars. (Yes, that’s right…$11 THOUSAND dollars…a price unheard of for today’s theatrical releases). And a lot of people are wanting to compare this to The Blair Witch Project from about 10 years ago…but don’t worry: Like my buddy Hayes says:

“It is not a total letdown like TBWP was. This movie is great and actually lives up to its hype. If you haven’t seen it yet, please, do yourself a favor and go see this movie right now! And remember, don’t forget to breathe!”

Well said, Hayes. Strong words from someone who has seen it twice now…and STILL got scared the second time! LOL (He was with me last night at the theater, so I can say that out loud!)

The movie had such a profound effect on me that I only have two Sci-Fi tidbits for you today:

First, SciFi Squad lists The Top 10 Sci-Fi Robots for Boys. I have to commend them for listing the Iron Giant as #1. My family and I love that movie and we would even like to see a sequel.

And secondly, Screen Rant lists Horror Movie Animals from the Past Five Decades. I love the picture of the kitten with the sniper-rifle. Two titles on this list stick out as classics for me: Jaws and Piranha. But after seeing the covers for movies like Strays, I don’t think I can take the list seriously anymore.

That’s it for me. I’m going to go find a priest to follow me home now.

Later.

MSB

I’m really busy today with a variety of projects therefore here is a single list for your dwelling pleasure: The Top Five ‘Hunk of Junk’ Spaceships.

I thought this was a ‘dis, aimed toward all the Old School spaceships out in Sci-Fi land, but its actually a complimentary list. I was very pleased with the #1 choice however I have to say that the #2 pick and #3 pick need to be swapped.

Oh, and I hate the author of the list and think he should be flogged for referring to Chewbacca as Han’s ‘Wookie life-partner’. Dude, seriously? Are you trying to force me into a rage-blackout?

I’ll have more tomorrow (or later if I get caught up).

MSB

Ok…so I’m standing in line at Subway yesterday afternoon, watching as the girl behind the counter cuts up the meat for my salad. Yes, you read that right: I ordered a salad…with extra meat. What can I say? I love veggies and meat together…it’s just a thing with me.

Anyway, the girl finishes the meat, dumps it into the bowl, and then slides it down the line. As she does, the gentleman in line behind me steps up to the glass case and glances down at my future-meal. He doesn’t say anything, but out of the corner of my eye I can see him nod with approval. It was weird, but just one of those passing things you catch on to every now and then.

A second employee asks me what I want on my salad, aside from the obvious (lettuce and meat). I say, “Let’s do olives, tomatoes, and the shredded cheddar cheese…heavy on the cheese, please.” The girl complies and starts piling everything on. Again, this gets a complimentary nod from the guy behind me.

“And what kind of dressing?” the girl asks.

I quickly glance over my options.

“Ranch,” I reply. “Lots of Ranch.”

The girl grabs the bottle and dumps a generous portion of Ranch all over my salad. She looks at me questioningly.

“Just a little more,” I say.

Suddenly, the guy behind me gasps.

“Oh my gosh!” he blurts out, incredulously. “You just ruined that salad!”

I glance over at him. The guy is about my age, but shorter, with thinning hair. He’s wearing a wind-suit that screams Coach for some reason. I grin and say “It’s not ruined…it’s perfect. I eat salads for the taste, not the health benefits.”

The guy doesn’t even look at me, but just turns away without saying a word.

My eyes go wide.

Are you freaking kidding me, I almost ask. Anger begins to boil up inside of me. ‘Don’t you turn your back on me, son’, my mind starts in…’you don’t dis’ a man’s salad and then buck up when an explanation is coming! I’ll kick your teeth in!’

Just as a rage-blackout is close to overtaking my consciousness, I snatch up my salad and Coke cup, and then walk off. Life is too short to deal with stupid people, I reason. And besides…I did myself a favor by not saying or doing anything. If I could have reached over the counter, that poor idiot would have left the store with a Ranch bottle sticking out of his rectum. The police would probably find that funny…and would laugh as they hauled me away.

What do you think? Did I overreact?

MSB