Seeing Dr. Satan in this film would be like seeing Chewbacca in Bonnie and Clyde
*thanks to everyone for coming out on Saturday Night, hope everyone had a good time, positive that Train and Dude did...(still got that $1 Train?)...and thanks Mr. Goose for making the big haul up from the F-Dub...MCP, a couple good movie posts and who knows? maybe you can tend bar at the next one....
*Cheers to the 'Hawks for what I think was the best game they've played all season...1st quarter they were still riding the Giants game...lost it in the 2nd and 3rd w/ a wierd decision to play zone against an all-pro qb and then played like a conference leader in the 4th to secure the game...this was the trip-up game...Tennessee has some good young talent, and exposed the Hawks on D, but unlike years past...the Hawks stepped up and closed the door and increased the destiny glare coming off the their beak's
*Jeers to Bledsoe, Parcell and what apparently was an extremely overmatched Cowboy team...making me reconsider the Q-tip days...I tried taping the game and playing it in double speed everytime Bledsoe was in the pocket and it still didn't look any faster than a Dick Bennett set offense...so here's to winning out in Charlotte and back home against Lambs...there's no room for 1-1 here boys...
And now w/o further ado I present a film devoid of any social, moral or redeeming quality's:
So Dude asked me last week..."so let me know what you think of this film"..."I said, sure I'll get around to it..." last night sat down and was prepared to turn it off half-way and give the same review I gave this film , because same director, same cast...can't be that much better right?
Before we continue, I found out a lot about myself from this film...I consider myself a guy that enjoy's the fine art of sophisticated film such as this , but after watching The Devil's Reject's last night...I'm convinced that I have very little natural sophistication...if any at all....
So let's break it down: technically a sequel to the very rough debut from Mr. Zombie, House of 1K Corpses or HO1KC...we follow three members of the Firefly family as they escape a sheriff's raid on their "farmhouse compount" --and that's really the plot...here's the point that I think/hope Zombie is trying to make: Horror Films need not have a plot, it really just interferes with a bit of the ol' Ultra-Violence, which is actually toned down from a 12 in HO1KC to about an 8 with DR...Zombie still has a way to go as a writer, however there actually is character development associated with this film, but still not much more than you would see in a normal Joe 2.0 post...as far as the art of directing is concerned, Zombie has made the Sophmore leap...apparently creating the ultimate 70's Chop House Homage film combined with a Western-style cinematography, Zombie has made a flick worthy of reference(whether good or bad, your call)
Here's what to like:
The Three Reject's of the Firefly Clan:
*Sid Haig reprising the roll of Cpt Spaulding, or Shakes the Clown on PCP...he's the personality of the film, if anything creates the purpose for the evil of Firefly clan, its the Captain...Zombie, apparently remember one of the cardinal rules about a good horror character...they must be a clown...literally* Bill Moseley as Otis...quite an upgrade from the same character in HO1KC...Zombie added some wit along with the psychotic glare and personality...plus this is the part that I'm sure Zombie wrote for himself if he was an actor...Otis definitely drives the first part of the film ..plus Moseley the actor was once friends with the late LSD-pioneer Timothy Leary, bonus points there
*Sheri-Moon Zombie as Baby...and you know what no-one does to Baby right?...exactly, especially when its a fine piece of ass that wields a shotgun, knife and has lesbian tendencies...this might be the single smartest thing that Zombie did in this film..."hey, my wife's really hot...she likes psychotic horror right?..." anyway, thank's Rob for that one, we all appreciate it...and it's best that her speaking roles we're limited
Everyone Else:
* William Forsythe (can you believe that photo, that might be the best IMDB shot ever) good job as the only other actor outside of Haig invovled in this film...is the only part of the plot that has purpose behind it, and also a great scene with him and a film critic and Elvis...also bonus point for the good looking fu...haven't liked him in a film this much since Out For Justice where he gave creedence to the statement..."anybody here seen Richie...I'm gonna keep coming back until anyone here remembers seeing Richie"
*Tiny & Clevon ...yeah it's not a good Horror flick w/o the Giant from Big Fish and the Face from the Hills Have Eyes...oh yeah and a great scene with Clevon and an Inbred Chicken Farmer
*This guy from just about everything as a poor travelling musician that runs into some good luck, its fair to say that this guy has never taken anything off the table, but never brought anything either, his table has been empty for going on 40 years of acting
*The totally awesome Danny Trejo and some wrestling guy who can barely read the script...you know a movie is morally backwards when Trejo isn't playing one of the bad guys...this goes against everything you learn in film school
Bottom Line:
The Motion Picture Association of America advises that this film is Rated R for sadistic violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use. If that doesn't wet your palet than check out some of these memorable quotes:
--Why? Don't we make ya laugh? Aren't we f'n' funny? You best come up with an answer, cos I'm gonna come back here and check on you and your momma and if you ain't got a reason why you hate clowns, I'm gonna kill your whole f'n family.
-- Jesus Christ, what a f'n mess. There must be 100 yards of bloody asphalt and corpse chunks.
-- I think I smell your wife's p*** juice on my gun... hope it doesn't rust the barrel.
ahhh...if that isn't sophistication I don't know what is...watch for my next review of "Glitter"
posted by Jimbo at 1:02 PM
26 Comments:
Did the Dude ask you to see "Glitter" also?
I might have to watch this movie but Jayne says it is horrible... so who should I go with?
I'll add it to my queue.
I think the book's still out on Jayne's taste in movie's...I've come to the conclusion after Devil's Rejects, that I have no taste in movies anymore...of course you may not like it Train, because the title isn't "Project X", "Monkey Shines", "Congo", etc...
and Joe 2.0, out of anyone in the Lodge I would suspect either you or the Dude as the one's who have seen "Glitter"...
... and you would be wrong.
Let me tell you a little something about Jayne's taste in movies. Jayne's taste in movies is not good.
It's not great.
Not amazing.
Jayne's taste in movies is EPIC!!!!
I may recommend films that are on the challenging side. They may not be for everyone, and you may not get them, but they won't be the schlockey waste of 90 minutes that Devil's Rejects was.
I love horror films. Hell, I even love bad horror films. But the first 2 Rob Zombie works are just painful to watch.
I'm getting to the point, where I want to kidnap Mr. Zombie, strap him in a chair and hold open his eyelids ala Clockwork Orange and subject him to a Gigli marathon for 12 hours, followed by 3 days of intensive study of actual good films, in my hope that I can flush the crap out of his mind and inject him with one or 2 good ideas of how to actually film a movie.
And if that doesn't work, I'm digging up his dead grandmother and holding her ransom. If he's going to insist on continuing to make crap, than I'll have no choice but to hand her over to the first necrophile I can find to have his way with her.
much like my failing to see through certain aspects of "Audition"...I'm intrigued about how you could not like this film?...if you say you're a fan of pointless F-Horror films...then what's the hold up?
I tend to think that Jayne has left the world of good taste and entered the upper stratoshpere of elitism...perhaps Necrophilia doesn't do it for you anymore?...do you need the envelope pushed further?
I don't think Jayne and I will ever be able to watch a film together without the possibility of a Tweek vs. Craig smackdown...its too bad, there's a good film critic somewhere in that black heart of his...
I get it...the comic aspect...or lack there of...never did I say that the writing was the next Resevoir Dogs, hell...it was only slightly better than Attack of the Clones, but I guess all I need is a nice ass and some kicking late 70's rock and I'm in like Flynn...
I'm feeling a third person riff coming on....
>ahem<
Jayne's here to tell what Jayne thinks about the situation put before Jayne:
There is a difference between pointless violence and a poorly made film. At his core, Rob Zombie is not a very good film maker. He knows how to make things look cool, but that's about it.
He doesn't understand characters/plot/story. More importantly, he doesn't understand how to express those things in a medium like film.
Quite frankly, watching a Rob Zombie movie is like watching somebody's student film.
There are plenty of super-violent, minimal story films out there that do a great job (Cabin Fever immediately jumps to mind) House of 1000 corpses and the Devil's Rejects just aren't two of them.
And there's a difference between elitism and understanding a medium. But comparing this film to real horror films is like a teeny bopper comparing Justin Timberlake to Marvin Gaye.
I need to add a chees to Jimbos post
Cheers to Darell Armstrong. My new favorite NBA player
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2264894
Associated Press
DALLAS -- Mavericks guard Darrell Armstrong was so happy his beloved Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys that he grabbed a microphone before Sunday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and hollered, "How 'bout those Redskins!"
Armstrong
It's going to cost him $1,000.
Dallas coach Avery Johnson announced the fine during his postgame news conference and team owner Mark Cuban later verified it was legit, much to the chagrin of a disbelieving Armstrong. The money will all go to charity, with Johnson saying the Cowboys would decide the recipient.
The Redskins wrapped up a 35-7 victory over the Cowboys shortly before the Mavericks left the locker room to play the Timberwolves.
As part of the pregame ceremonies, guard Devin Harris wished the crowd a happy holiday. Then Armstrong, who wasn't scheduled to speak, asked for the microphone. He added his holiday wishes, then made his fine-inducing proclamation, a twist on a famous line by former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson.
A mixture of laughter and boos followed, even from German import Dirk Nowitzki. Cuban laughed, too, and joked with Armstrong about it when he returned to the bench.
MCP. Does it hurt your back back twisting around and kissing your own ass? Anyone who describe his taste as EPIC needs to attend the Joe 2.0 School of Humility.
EPIC is a term that can be used by others to describe you. The minute you use it on yourself...you sound like and ass. (Joe. You know what that is like)
But you bring it! And thats what matters.
You really can't underestimate the power of the word "Epic".
It's a word that is so beautiful it makes angels (and train) weep.
Goose, when are you going to fix your photo next to your name?
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Its not my fault the refering website keeps screwing up.
Is this better? (This is a cheesy way to get the comment record) Crap about my picture. At least im not such a snob that I put a picture of myself. (Like Joe)
MCP...I guess we're just going to have to use the old phrase..."when in rome"...at no point did I say the plot/character/story was anything over a 3rd grade reading level...but, the ability to make things look cool sometimes is the story...and Zombie is "kind of a big deal"...
But even bad movies, have some understanding. Without some kind of a story you just have a string of scenes that have no real relation to each other.
That's what's so frustrating about Zombie. He hasn't yet grasped (and honestly he's getting better) the most basic pieces of story telling.
It's like he's trying to bake a cake. Sure he's got some kick ass frosting whipped up, but he's still trying to figure out what the deal is with the flour and the eggs.
I love "Evil Dead" (who doesn't), but anyone with eyes can see that it's terrible amateurish. It's a terribly simple concept: A bunch of kids go to a cabin and get killed off by an evil spirit. It's not Shakespeare, but it's a solid skeleton on which to build off of. And it's done effectively. The film has a rythym which ironically is something Zombie is unable to give his films.
And really...I just think these are to terribly stupid, moronic movies. I have a group of friends that I get together with once in a while for the exclusive purpose of being exposed to new horror films. Devil's rejects is the only one we unanimously hated. But...we could be wrong, after all, we liked "Audition".
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Set the trap and take the bait...I'm glad my ploy worked, and MCP I like with this debate and despite what Train may tell you I respect your opinion, I just don't think its right...
I understand that you see probably (rough estimate) 10 films for every 1 film that I see...there are details of films that I probably can't see because of lack of exposure, this is why you're a member of the Lodge...that's what you bring to the table...now, having said that
I still can't understand your argument when you're basing it off of Evil Dead (which I happen to love also)...you use a apple/orange argument when it really is a granny smith/red delicious argument with those two films...there was as much skeleton in HO1KC as there was in Evil Dead...furthermore, DR builds and grows...and incorporates what I consider far better directing and film development....
The story, I think we both agree that it is sub-par...but, to say it ranks on the bottom of the barrell in the genre is a little extreme, I'd like to see a list of films you felt supercede it...
to be cont...(meeting)
For the record...I haven't seen Glitter...
Devil's Rejects...awesome movie...something about bein' a Zombie fan and then seein' his films. I not lookin' for a great movie, I was lookin' for lots of violence and not much of a story plot...it's great!!! Perhaps the great thing about a story is there is no story!!!
Testimonial like that is priceless...it appears there is two-sides of the fence on the DR issue...
just wanted to continue my earlier thought (meeting is delayed a couple of minutes)...here's the comparison that I wanted to make...take two movies: Natural Born Killers vs. DR:
*both demonstrate extreme acts of the ol' ultra-violenct
*one tries not to justify it, just take the random images and forget them later...there's no point to random violence is my take
*the other, tries to deem society, media, family everything else as the motive for violence
-I think the two films compare a lot in the method and film techniques that we're used to tell a graphic/wester/road story...the only difference was the love story that was mixed in w/ NBK
-the difference? Zombie made a horror film, which by all definition shouldn't have much of a plot and should utilize a combination of classic and new camera techniques to emphasis the fear and violence...Stone made a commentary film that got bogged down in its own graphic nature to tell anything of value...I look at NBK as probably the worst film ever made for that exact purpose...
-Random Violence and Horror is best when there is very little plot or meaning...why is it that Lynch get's off the hook for films like Lost Highway when it comes to story telling...artistic narrative?...I'm probably the 2nd or 3rd place Lynch fan in the Lodge, but I don't think that critizing plot development in a horror film is a valid critique...
Camera lenses, editing, awesome soundtrack...I'm not going to give, and the more I think about it the better it sits...when in rome though MCP...you're still the Lodge Film Guru...
For the record...I have seen glitter. I'm not proud, but in my defense, it was a part of my job at the time.
The comparison I was trying to make w/Evil Dead was that it was also a first time filmaker making a very simple, schlocky horror film. They both put more emphasis on gore/scares than anything else and neither is anything resembling a main stream movie.
So why is one considered one of the great horror classics while the other one has a whopping 14% rating on rotten tomatoes?
Well there's a couple of school's of thought. Here's one.
Sam Raimi really had an understanding for atmosphere, that Rob Zombie lacks. Hitchcock talked a lot about what makes something scary, isn't the act itself. It's the scene or the shot before the scare. It's about making you cringe in your seat in anticipation before letting loose with the scare.
Zombie doesn't really do that effectively. In fact, probably the biggest problem with HO1KC was the complete lack of tension. If you're just going to start throwing gore and scares in someone's face without the build up, the audience really isn't going to care all that much.
Horror is a lot like comedy in that respect. It's 100% about the timing.
And that's something that I think sets Zombie's work apart from other bad horror. At least in most crappy horror movies (Alone in the dark comes to mind...probably the WORST HORROR FILM EVER!!!) the filmaker tries (and often fails) to build tension. I don't get the impression that Zombie has much interest in that. Which is fine, I suppose. It's just not my cup of tea.
Now I should also point out that most of my wrath is aimed toward Hourse of 1000 corpses, a film I truly HATED with a passion. Devil's Rejects was just a film that I really didn't like, but I can fully admit that it's an improvement of leaps and bounds over it's predecessor.
Kids lets put this post to bed.
I'm impressed & saddened at the same time that our longest comment thread to date has been about "The Devils Rejects".
Wow...just wow.
alright we'll finish with 25 comments on the DR...I do think that its been the best back and forth dialogue yet on the Lodge...MCP, you bring up a great point about tension, and I agree HO1KC severely lacked anything that resembled tension...instead just going for pure gore....end of line
bonus points: 25 will be topped...we had our record last week and a new one this week...when in the Lodge...never uderestimate the passion behind a mediocre/good chop-flick....
26...couldn't help it.
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