I don't get this "spoof movie" craze. More accurately, I don't understand how these movies are so successful. My friends can attest that I enjoy lowbrow humour, but these movies (Epic Movie, Scary Movie and a bunch of others) take comedy to the lowest level possible.
Most recently, ads for "Meet The Spartans" have been popping up like genital warts (or so I hear). Every time I see these ads, I just shake my head and ask myself (or my wife) how can people find this funny?
One TV ads for Meet The Spartans really makes me laugh…of course, not at the movie, but at the absurdity of the "humour" in the scene:
Spoof "Rambo" says "Say Hello to my little friend:", which is a parody of Scarface, then, when Rambo moves out of the way, there is a "mini-Rambo" behind him, which is a spoof of Austin Powers/Mini Me. 3 spoofs in one 6 second clip, not to mention the fact that the whole mini-me Austin Powers thing has been done to death.
Sanjaya or whatever his name yelling "I'm not gay" and falling into the pit from "300," "Donald Trump", "firing" Spiderman and then losing his hair…talk about hilarity!
The formula is simple. Take cartoonish pop culture figures and juxtapose them into other scenes from movies/tv/pop culture and hilarity ensues. Meet The Spartans is going to make HUGE money at the box office.
Maybe I will take a stab at writing one of these films. It will be called "Oh no you didn't??!?!" and spoof slasher horror movies and Barbershop/Beautyshop (sequal to Barbershop, in case you couldn't figure that one out).
"What's that Michael Myers? You killed my best friend at the BARBERSHOP! OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!"…I think I could be on to something here.
Speaking of horror movies…
Cloverfield
So, I went to see it on Sunday and I am happy to report that there were no cell phone or laser pointer toting punks in the crowd. Maybe 12:45 on a Sunday is the best time to see a new release movie! While I didn't love the film, I did enjoy myself tremendously. It was a fun-filled, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride for 90 minutes. Apparently Cloverfield only cost $30 million to make and it already has pulled in $41 million in its first week of domestic release, so I wouldn't at all be surprised to see some type of prequel/sequel made. I wonder how many times New York City has taken a beating in movies?
What I didn't like:
- The acting was SO cheesy, especially "Rob"
- some of the decisions made by the characters to be questionable at best. Would one really try to walk across town, through the path of a gigantic monster to find someone when the entire city is being destroyed? 3 out of the 4 of us who went to see the film said no chance in hell!
- It took a bit too long to get to the Monster trashing city part, although the music in the party scene was pretty good.
- Where do you buy a video camera that has a light, night vision capabilities and can take a beating like the camera in Cloverfield?
What I liked:
- The way that it was shot. The filmmakers really did a great job of putting you in heat of the action.
- The Monster. It was kick ass, from all angles. My favourite shot was when Hud is capturing the carnage from the helicopter and it really puts the monster in perspective, along with the destruction that it is creating.
- The fact that the film doesn't let tell you everything. Not enough films do this, or leave things up to your imagination.
Here are my Random Thoughts ™ for the week:
- Oranges. Florida Oranges are great this time of year. Sweet and delicious. I've had 3 in the last 24 hours. No scurvy for me!
- Semi Pro. Saw a preview before Cloverfield. Looks great. Also proof that I enjoy lowbrow humour! Here is the "R" rated trailer. Love that Will Farrell:
- Blogging. Turns out there is lots of cool things that you can add to your blog, like the poll on the side of the screen. Help me settle a bet with some of my friends by voting in the poll!
- Slash. I am enjoying his autobiography. The guy was (and still is) an animal! Here is a classic GNR clip from 1988, about where I am in the book...I bet he was really high when he was playing Rocket Queen, one of my favourite GNR songs of all time.
- Superbowl. Man, I can't believe that Favre and the Packers blew it, leaving us with a less than desirable matchup and likely a 19-0 Patriots team.
- PS2 Upconverted to HD - I bought a $12 PS2 component cable and I can not believe how much better PS2 looks on my HDTV. If you have an HD and a PS2, you should definitely order it. I got my cord here:
- Bad Fight Scenes. YouTube is a wonderful place. Especially for wonderful for things like this amazing fight scene:
Well, that's it for Blog #2. Let me know what you think. Sorry for wasting your time!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
New Years Resolutions
So this year, I made three resolutions for the New Year;
1 - Read more books.
Taking the TTC everyday gives me the opportunity, but since I subscribe to Sports Illustrated and my ride to work is about 15 minutes, it usually would take me about 3 or 4 days worth of rides to get through a magazine. I decided not to renew my subscription and have started reading more books. Currently reading "Slash" (hey, I said books, not necessarily GOOD books). Very fun and interesting read, though.
2 - Drink more Scotch.
Yup. It's going to be a tough resolution. I've got a pretty good collection (about 7 bottles), but only ever seem to crack any bottles when certain friends are over. Time to get drinkin'!
3 - Start writing a blog.
Why the hell not? It's a good excuse to write/talk about things. Whether or not anyone reads it or cares is another matter altogether, but since I do enjoy writing and have been waking up early lately (more on that in a later blog), let's give it a crack. Who know's how often I will write something. I am going to try for once a week. Expect bad grammar, poor taste, classlessness and spelling errors!
Here are my random thoughts of the week:
- Kings of Leon. How come nobody told me about this band a long time ago? I find their two earlier albums to sound a lot like The Strokes (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), on their latest album "Because of the Times" they find their own sound and are definitely on to something. It's worth a listen!
- Raccoon Poo. Yes, Raccoon poo. As in "oh my god, is that racoon poo right by the back door of my apartment." At least I really hope that it was racoon poo and not Hobo poo. It's gone now. I think that I can add photos on this blog thingie. Too late for the racoon poo, but I will keep this in mind, moving forward. - Cloverfield. OK, Monster destroys city is a concept that has been beaten to death, but this time it looks different. Hopefully. The delivery of the concept is what will make the movie good. Hopefully. I am going to see the movie on Sunday and, hopefully, there won't be a lot of cell phone-toting, laser pointer pointing punks in the movie theatre. Hopefully, it will be better than the last monster movie that I saw opening weekend. I actually fell asleep during Godzilla. It may have been an alcohaul induced sleep, but it was sleep nonetheless!
- High Definition Television. Welcome to 2005, Dave! Finally, I have HDTV capabilities of my own and I honestly can say that I don't know I watched TV in regular def for so long. Night and day. Sports especially look great. You've probably already heard this, but its really cool.
- Dexter. Just finished watching season one. It took about 3 episodes to get me hooked, but once that happened, it was quite addictive. Well written, acted and VERY creepy. The Ice Truck Killer story was so good.
http://www.icetruck.tv/ - a cool viral video promoting season two (which I am very excited to start watching!)
So that's it for blog number one. Any suggestions for further blogs, other than to stop writing them?
Sorry for wasting your time!
1 - Read more books.
Taking the TTC everyday gives me the opportunity, but since I subscribe to Sports Illustrated and my ride to work is about 15 minutes, it usually would take me about 3 or 4 days worth of rides to get through a magazine. I decided not to renew my subscription and have started reading more books. Currently reading "Slash" (hey, I said books, not necessarily GOOD books). Very fun and interesting read, though.
2 - Drink more Scotch.
Yup. It's going to be a tough resolution. I've got a pretty good collection (about 7 bottles), but only ever seem to crack any bottles when certain friends are over. Time to get drinkin'!
3 - Start writing a blog.
Why the hell not? It's a good excuse to write/talk about things. Whether or not anyone reads it or cares is another matter altogether, but since I do enjoy writing and have been waking up early lately (more on that in a later blog), let's give it a crack. Who know's how often I will write something. I am going to try for once a week. Expect bad grammar, poor taste, classlessness and spelling errors!
Here are my random thoughts of the week:
- Kings of Leon. How come nobody told me about this band a long time ago? I find their two earlier albums to sound a lot like The Strokes (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), on their latest album "Because of the Times" they find their own sound and are definitely on to something. It's worth a listen!
http://www.kingsofleon.com/ - Standout tracks include "Charmer", "Ragoo", "Arizona"
- Raccoon Poo. Yes, Raccoon poo. As in "oh my god, is that racoon poo right by the back door of my apartment." At least I really hope that it was racoon poo and not Hobo poo. It's gone now. I think that I can add photos on this blog thingie. Too late for the racoon poo, but I will keep this in mind, moving forward. - Cloverfield. OK, Monster destroys city is a concept that has been beaten to death, but this time it looks different. Hopefully. The delivery of the concept is what will make the movie good. Hopefully. I am going to see the movie on Sunday and, hopefully, there won't be a lot of cell phone-toting, laser pointer pointing punks in the movie theatre. Hopefully, it will be better than the last monster movie that I saw opening weekend. I actually fell asleep during Godzilla. It may have been an alcohaul induced sleep, but it was sleep nonetheless!
http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/ - Good non-spoiler "hype-site"
- High Definition Television. Welcome to 2005, Dave! Finally, I have HDTV capabilities of my own and I honestly can say that I don't know I watched TV in regular def for so long. Night and day. Sports especially look great. You've probably already heard this, but its really cool.
- Dexter. Just finished watching season one. It took about 3 episodes to get me hooked, but once that happened, it was quite addictive. Well written, acted and VERY creepy. The Ice Truck Killer story was so good.
http://www.icetruck.tv/ - a cool viral video promoting season two (which I am very excited to start watching!)
So that's it for blog number one. Any suggestions for further blogs, other than to stop writing them?
Sorry for wasting your time!
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