THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS - DAY 3: FRANKENSTEIN VS. SANTA

It's time to say those two little words that will most likely cause at least half of you to immediately run screaming for the hills. It's time to we said... Prog Rock!

For those of you who stuck around, I'm sure you noticed the strains of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel sneaking in there at some point. You know, most people can toss off the first verse of that old carol with no problem. Usually by the third verse, though, it's a good idea to have a hymnal around or someone's bound to get completely lost. It goes like this:

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny

From depths of hell Thy people save

And give them victory o'er the grave

Rod of Jesse is something of an obscure reference. It comes from older translations of Isaiah 11:1 where it states, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root." The verse is referring to a savior who will come from the line of Jesse, the man who would go on to father King David. From there, it doesn't take much to connect the dots from David to Jesus. So, basically, the Rod of Jesse is a reference that draws attention to how Jesus, through his family tree, fulfilled yet another Old Testament prophecy.

What does any of that have to do with Santa fighting Frankenstein to the strains of Prog Rock? Absolutely nothing that I know of. But hey, when you listen to Prog Rock, the mind, much like the music, tends to wander, so cut me some slack.

PODCAST 288: The Rapture & We Are What We Are [The God Stuff Edition]

This week the Horror Duo end the year strong with one final pair of family oriented yet very bleak films featuring stories who's characters inevitably question their faith. Forest shares his thoughts on the little talked about film The Rapture. Cory recommends a re-make that is actually worth checking out, and that is the very cannibal We Are What We Are.

CONTINUE READING

Pottersville (2017)

I think we can all agree that Michael Shannon is pretty awesome and I, like many others, would watch anything with him. Even if that means watching a movie with a weird-looking poster such as Pottersville. 

The poster though isn't the only weird thing about this film as the plots revolves around Maynard Greiger (Michael Shannon), a beloved local businessman who, after walking in on his wife (Christina Hendricks) cheating on him with the sheriff (Ron Perlman) -- they are wearing animal costumes and rubbing each other --, gets drunk, goes through town wearing a gorilla costume and is mistaken for Bigfoot. This sets off a huge media spectacle, brings a lot of tourists in town and a host of a monster-hunting show (Thomas Lennon) shows up to catch him.

The plot is extremely thin, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere until we get to the heart-warming, cheesy and predictable ending, and it's utterly stupid. 

Not to mention how unfunny it is. And that's a bad, very bad thing considering Pottersville is supposed to be a comedy. Other than a few chuckles here and there, there's nothing funny in the film. There's absolutely no humour and the situations that are supposed to be funny are not funny as they are overlong.

Echo Bridge

The characters are on the same level. They are your typical small town people, very stereotyped and, those who got some, with very exaggerated personalities. And they are forgettable, to say the least. There's one exception though, it's Brock Masterson, the over-the-top monster hunter who is a poor imitation of Bear Grills but still manages to make you chuckle a couple of times. 

Thank goodness there was the Michael Shannon, otherwise, this film would have been completely unbearable. He is completely wasted in such a role, especially since Maynard is a very taciturn man, but it's still delightful to watch him do whatever it is he does here. 

I have to admit though that Pottersville could have turned into something decent if executed properly. 

Fitzcarraldo Movie Review

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Rent Fitzcarraldo on Amazon Video
Written by: Werner Herzog
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy
Rated: PG

Plot
The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, known as Fitzcarraldo, an extremely determined man who wants to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.

Verdict
It's an incredible movie about determination and folly. What can a man accomplish through sheer will? Fitzcarraldo plans to pull a steam boat over a mountain, and as crazy as that is he convinces people to help him. It's part metaphor and part spectacle. The amazing thing is the movie production crew legitimately did exactly that without any special effects.
Watch it.

Review
A man wants to build an opera house in the middle of the jungle mainly because he likes opera. Fitzcarraldo is bidding nature to do his will, and it's all folly. He's trying to conquer nature, putting an opera house where no one will hear it. That's also the point, man destroys nature for folly.

Fitzcarraldo puts people in harms way for his own gain. You could call him a fool just as the people convinced to follow him are fools. His passion won them over, and that's a scenario that plays out in the real world time and again.

I assumed pulling the boat over the mountain was typical film production and not a feat actually accomplished, but when the boat is later in rapids, striking the rocks it looked too real. I had to look it up. The most violent rapids scenes were filmed with a model, but the film crew really did pull a 320-ton steam ship over a mountain with the help of the indigenous people. No special effects were used, and that's just crazy. Herzog believed no one had ever performed a similar feat.

Kinski wasn't the first choice for the role of Fitzcarraldo. He's known for his tantrums, and he has a  tumultuous working relationship with Herzog. The indigenous people acting in the film were so upset by Kinski's on set behavior that a chief offered to kill Kinski for Herzog. Herzog declined, stating he needed Kinski to finish filming.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

I had no interest whatsoever in watching The Greatest Showman since I'm not that big of a fan of musicals, but I had no plans for yesterday, Christmas day, so I decided to spend the afternoon in the theatre and I picked this one because of the cast. I didn't have high expectations or anything, I was just hoping to be entertained that's what musicals are supposed to do, in my opinion. And, in spite of its flaws, that's what it did.

The story is that of PT. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), an ambitious and visionary showman who, after his initial idea of opening a museum turned out to be a fiasco, had the idea of creating a new form of entertainment involving peculiar individuals, in other words, modern-day circus.

And that's the problem with The Greatest Showman, the story. First of all, the plot is rather thin and the development leaves a lot to be desired. The subplots are a mess and that's for two reasons, they are clichéed and they aren't explored at all (the romance between Philipp Carlyle, a rich white man, and Anne Wheeler, a black trapezist, deserved a lot more, and that predictable love triangle was pathetic). 

Then, there's too much dramatization. I didn't know the story prior seeing this so I don't know how accurate and faithful the film was (apparently, it's a very loose adaptation) but I could sense things weren't portrayed as they were. It seemed as if it was all roses and the problems and conflicts were solved way too easily.

The characters are another weak element. Just like the plot, they aren't given a proper development. Actually, most of them have no development at all. And no characterization whatsoever. They are physically unique but they don't have a personality and we get to know absolutely nothing about them. However, they are very likeable and the credits for that entirely go to the cast who does wonders as most give energetic and effective performances (Michelle Williams who plays Barnum's wife was forgettable though, and Rebecca Ferguson, well, I don't get why she was cast since she didn't even do her own singing). 

20th Century Fox

The performances aren't the only great thing about The Greatest Showman. The film is also visually stunning. It's shot very well and it's very colourful but the costumes and sets make the greatest visual impact. 

And at last my favourite thing about this film, the hypnotic musical numbers. The dancing is wonderfully choreographed, and the songs are great and beautifully performed (Hugh Jackman is great, but the standout was Keala Settle as the bearded lady for me) and they are the soul of the movie. It's through them that the film conveys all of its emotions and messages (like a clichéed and yet great message of accepting yourself for who you are). This is what makes the film entertaining and what filled me with joy.

Dark Season 1 Review

Dark (2017-)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2017)
Watch Dark Season 1 on Netflix

In this German language series, a family mystery saga with a supernatural twist unfolds, taking the story back to 1986. Two missing children connect four families as they search for the kids in the present day.The question isn't who kidnapped the children, but when. The years 2019, 1986, and 1953 are somehow linked.

Ward: Watch it.

El Camino Christmas Review

El Camino Christmas (2017)
Watch El Camino Christmas on Netflix

The story follows a young man searching for his father, and through no fault of his own, ends up barricaded in a liquor store with five other people on Christmas Eve. A drifter, a drunk, a deputy, a reporter, and a single mom are about to experience a wild Christmas they never saw coming.  

Ward: It depends