Stuff I Got This Week

Stuff I Got This Week


Decided to spend Monday touring the Half Price Books outlets around Columbus and picked up a few things. Thought I'd tell y'all what I got with a little political commentary at the end.

1. Empire of Corpses - Total disappointment. A "steampunk" anime film about "necrotechnology" used to reanimate the dead and putting them to work. A young scientist on his quest for Victor Frankensteins' notes in the hopes of restoring souls to the dead.

Too many "zombies".

Two "deus ex machinas" show up with the "power" to stop the undead in their tracks with no explanation of how they came across such an ability.

Too many "zombies".

Great artwork and animation (In some parts.) but not much of a story. Turns out it all leads up to a plot to zombify the whole of humankind in order to relieve us of yearning, loneliness and hate. Buncha' crap!

Too many "zombies".

And, oh yes ... Too many frickin' "zombies".

2. Operation Chromite - A telling of South Korean operatives trying to get info on the mine layout of Inchon harbor in order to pave the way for General MacArthurs' famous back door invasion.

Was getting into it until the action scenes started. Choppy, epileptic, headache inducing editing of split second closeups and tight shots but no actual "scene".

Might as well take a bunch of still pictures and riffle them in front of the camera lense. Stopped watching partway through.

3. Experiment In Terror - A film that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid and still darn effective. Ross Martin stars as an asthmatic killer who terrorizes Lee Remick into sneaking a hundred grand out of the bank she works at.

Martin was so good in the role he got little work for quite a while until he landed the role of Artemus Gordon in The Wild Wild West TV series several years later.

4. Casanovas' Big Night - Hilarious Bob Hope classics wherein he plays a tailor forced to impersonate the worlds' greatest lover.

5. Night Breed - Young man framed for murder escapes into "another world" populated with partially and non-human freaks and monsters. Not a bad little horror flick.

6. To Catch a Thief - Cary Grant and Princess Grace in a suspense caper by Alfred Hatchplot. Grant plays a famous retired cat burglar being framed for a series of crimes bearing his trademarks. A bit disappointing as there's really not much suspense and tension. Gave this to a friend.

7. White Tiger - A white Panzer 6 (The "infamous" Tiger Tank of WW2 fame.) is becoming an ominous legend among Soviet tankers heading for Berlin. Seems the title vehicle is unstoppable and invincible as it ruthlessly eliminates one T-34 after another with its' fantastic rate of fire. A "mystical" survivor of a previous encounter is recruited to hunt down and destroy the phantom vehicle with a modified T-34.

Lotsa' T-34 fun footage of the many vehicles tearing up the landscape that makes up for what would be an otherwise lame movie. The title vehicle seems to be a tricked up T-34 as the turret is too far forward for it to be a Tiger. I guess one could suspend disbelief a bit and pretend it's a Porsche Tiger.

By the way, it's okay to like the Russians now in spite of what the coprophages and catamites of the Democrat party say. WW2 and the "Cold War" are long over and they did dump the socialist bullshit much beloved by our own homegrown reds composing the Dem party.

If what the damn Dems say is true (No proof of it though.), the Russians did help us out last November. It's not so much that the "Rooskies" leaked anything that's got the left so mad as much as it is that what was leaked in those e-mails is true.

How anyone can trust the Dem party anymore is beyond me.

Liberalism only makes sense if one thinks of it as a form of mental illness.

Jus' sayin' ...


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. Yer already there ifn' ya spots articles under this 'un.

Todays' Movies ... UNWATCHABLE GARBAGE

Todays' Movies ... UNWATCHABLE GARBAGE


I can't bring myself to go to the movies anymore. Aside from the fact they're usually being PC garbage doing a drive by on my sensibilities, there is something else.

The films are mostly UN-WATCHABLE.

Filmed in fish-eye tunnel vision and epilepticly edited.

To wit:

1. Shaky cam - The constant bobbing up and down of the picture because they decided to NOT put the camera on a dolly in an action scene. Or the slow vomit inducing weave and roll in slower scenes.

They say it's for the sake of "realism". I don't know about you, but when I'm running my vision is a lot steadier than that.

2. The camera is always "moving" - Okay ... I understand the cameraman has to move along with the subject when they're on the move. But does the cameraman have to constantly move closer then farther while doing this? Does he also have to repeatedly zoom in and out, do low angles and even do 360 degree circuits of the subjects? This is usually accompanied by

3. Shaky cam.

4. Why the incredible amount of tight shots and extreme close ups? I really don't care much for skin pores and nostril hairs. I know there's a place for these kind of shots in a film, like say 5% of the film, but for 50% plus? Come on!

It's not enough the actors are having a conversation, no, we have to see their faces up close ... REAL CLOSE. When one stops talking edit switches to another talking then another and another.

Good GOD! Just pull the camera back so we can see them all and let 'em talk!

5. Shaky cam.

6. Low light/no light/low contrast - Why can't they light a scene with more than just a 40 watt bulb? What is it they don't want us to see? Why is it they don't want us to see period?! TURN ON THE FREAKIN' LIGHTS SO WE CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON!

7. Shaky cam.

8. Red/green/blue/yellow/brown filters/tinting/gels - They say it's to set the mood. Yes ... It certainly does. IT PISSES ME OFF!

I have some older silent films (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferautu, etc.) that have this but they have decent lighting to go with it thus actually getting the desired effect. This however coupled with todays' nonexistant lighting makes the film even harder to watch.

9. Shaky cam.

10. Lens flares - You're not dazzling with brilliance. You're baffling with bullshit!

11. Shaky cam.

12. All that backlighting - Finally! You're actually using some light. Too bad it's only for doing "shadow puppets".

13. Shaky cam.

14. Mist and fog - Is this to set mood? I can understand it in an outdoor scene at night (Graveyards anyone?), but during the daytime ... and indoors? Oh ... I see ... It adds to the backlighting ... NOT!

15. Shaky cam.

16. Epileptic editing in action scenes - What happened? What did I just see? Did I see anything at all? Oh yeah ... I saw extreme close ups of ...

wingtips

explosions

screaming faces

running feet

jet exhaust

car wheels

more screaming faces

a fist or two

muzzle flashes

a tossed grenade

flashing sword

another screaming face

claws

etc.

etc.

etc. ...

Yeah ... I saw a lot ... of what?

A lot of almost literal snapshots of various objects, body parts, effects etc. but no action to speak of. Hardly an image registers in your mind when the picture switches to another shot of ... something. Nothing but one close up quick cut after quick cut after quick cut after quick cut after ...

I swear ... What the hell are you trying to do? Induce seizures?

And I didn't see any real action of any kind.

PULL THE FREAKIN' CAMERA BACK SO WE CAN SEE WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!

And of course along with it we have ...

17. Shaky cam.

Oh yes ... If I haven't mentioned it before, there's that especially annoying thing called ...

18. Shaky cam.

The various and sundry non-collages passing themselves off as films, and the poseurs who make them have pretty much kept me out of the theater and in my home where I can resort to my collection of real movies and films.

Movies today ... Nothing more than exercises in eye strain and motion sickness.

To hell with 'em.

Jus' sayin'.

Damn shaky cam ...


Go to Jays Tee Vee blog main page here. Any articles under this 'un means yer already there. And hold the damn camera steady for once!

13 Hours: A Most Accurate Film

"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!? IT WASN'T MY RESPONSIBILITY!
... VOTE FOR ME! ... GUN CONTROL! ... GUN CONTROL! ... "

13 Hours: A Most Accurate Film


I understand Michael Bays' upcoming film, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, to be a very accurate depiction of the events up to and including the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on 9-11-12.

How do I know this? The broad in the picture above doesn't appear in the movie either.

Benghazi was a much nicer place when Rommel, Monty and Graziani were running about.


Wikipedia article on film, 13 Hours here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. If ya' sees articles after this, former first harridan or no, then yer already there.

DUCKZILLA!

DUCKZILLA! Surging up from the depths of the sea on a tidal wave of terror!

DUCKZILLA!


"The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around."- Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa in, Godzilla (Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures, 2014).

No more is this brought home to me than when I'm at work and I see the ducks swimming in the fountain out front.

Stupid ducks.

Just sayin' ...

A Few Things Godzilla here.

The New Godzilla? Forget it! here.

Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. If there's a buncha' articles under this 'un, yer already there.

Washington D.C.: Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy

Washington D.C.: Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy


Stumbled on this "meme" the other day and thought I'd share this and a few others of the same. Sort of a "one stop shop" for it. Enjoy ...

I remember Star Wars the first film. It will always be Star Wars to me, NOT "Episode Four A New Hope". Saw it sixteen times in the theater back in '77. Saw the second, seven times. After that, I stopped caring. Even less now that it's a "cult", cg and all ...

When in doubt ... VOTE 'EM OUT!

Sir Alec did dabble in Sci Fi before. The Man In the White Suit comes to mind.

The one residing here will be out after 2016.
Ya'll make sure Hillary doesn't replace him.

Sort of a repeat but just as good.

I shouldn't be so ungrateful. They are here to "help" me after all ...

I did time in Jersey. No, I wasn't in prison ... I just did time there ...

Typical day in D.C.. Thought I'd throw this one in ... or out.

Star Wars: Star Worn Out here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. If there's a buncha' articles under this 'un, yer already there.

Son Of God: I'm Not Excited

Diogo Morgado in the title role. He must be the
real thing. He speaks with an English accent!

Son Of God: I'm Not Excited


A new Jesus movie is hitting the theaters and I'm not enthused. I mean, we've seen it before, right?

Let's see, oh yeah, a robed pretty boy in hairdo and beard shows up, spouts platitudes, performs miracles, ticks off the local civic/religious authorities and gets killed for his trouble. Oh yeah, he then returns from the dead ... Why? ... Because he's GOD!

Huh?

That's all I EVER got out of these flicks. People leave the theater just as much in the dark as when they went in.

NOTHING about as to what and why he went through what he did. Just a nice story about "a good man who died".

Maybe what I'm looking for is a cinematic Chick tract with a newsmans' five Ws' treatment and a so many step plan of salvation. You know ... WHY Jesus did what he did ... Where one stands with God (You're toast!) ... and how acknowledgement of the payment only HE could make can change that standing.

Only one "Jesus movie" ever made an impression on me.

The Passion of the Christ - Mel Gibsons' film about the events in the bogus arrest/prosecution of Jesus and the very REALISTIC portrayal of His crucifixion. This film is NOT pretty to say the least and I would not allow children to see it. My only problem is that it's lacking in the details of what the salvation He provides is.

Below are the details as to the what and why of salvation. Be sure to read the whole chapters they appear in for further clarification.


1. Romans 3:10 - As it is written, There is no one righteous, no, not one.

Psalm 14:3 -  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good.

Keep in mind, you're not good enough to get to Heaven on your own. No matter what you do, you're just not "good" enough.

2. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

You're under a penalty and will always fall short of being good enough for God on your own.

3. Romans 5:12 -  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

It's because of Adams' rebellion and act against God that we're under this hereditary condition of death and sin. It can't be "cured" by ones' own effort.

4. Romans 5:8 -  But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God, however, loves us and provides a way out from under this crushing penalty. His son, Jesus is the only one who can make the payment we ourselves can't.

5. Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our sinful condition can only result in eternal separation from God. But through Jesus Christ, eternal life can be gained.

6. Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Here's where it starts. He is waiting for you.

7. Revelation 3:20 -  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

He's calling you (And has probably for quite some time. You just won't bother to hear it.). All that's needed is for you to let him enter your life and take over.

8. Romans 10:9 and 10 -  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
                                   -  For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

If you believe from within that He rose from the dead, so will you one day. If you tell others that He runs your life as well, you are destined for Heaven (Providing, of course, that He actually IS in charge of your life!).

9. John 3:16 -  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That last verse pretty much settles that!

Movies are fine but as they say, "It's not like the book". Read the book first.

Just sayin' ...

Wikipedia article on Son of God film here.

Wikipedia article on Mel Gibsons' The Passion of the Christ film here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

Young Guns: One I Didn't Bother With

L-R: Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips
Emilio Estevez, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko.

Young Guns: One I Didn't Bother With


When the film came out, I made it a point NOT to see it. The above photo put me off from it.

Why? Just look at 'em. They look like a bunch of armed metrosexuals trying to look tough. So I passed it by.

Yeah, I know, "Don't judge a book by its' cover.". Sad ... I really like these guys as actors too.


Wikipedia Young Guns article here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

Spirited Away: Giving It Another Shot

An Alice In Wonderland-like scene from Spirited Away. L-R No-Face,
Chihiro Ogino, Zeniba, & (on table) Boh with friend.

Spirited Away: Giving It Another Shot


A few years back I saw Hayao Miyazakis' anime-ted film Spirited Away ... on Cartoon Network ... AND HATED IT.

It was too darn long. Too darn weird even for a fantasy. And Puke-Faces' ... er ... uh ... No-Faces' puke fest didn't help at all. I don't know why I wasted over three hours viewing that mess. And it was a mess. Though at the time I knew why ... commercials ... stretching  a 2 hr, 5 min. film into three long agonizing hours.

I was a 'victim' of one of TV programmings' not so subtle little tricks: Show the first 20+ minutes of a flick to get you hooked then slog through commercial breaks every 10 minutes or less. Unless it's commercial free, the vast majority of films are unsuited for TV. Spirited Away is no exception.

I knew eventually I would have to give this movie another chance. Cartoon Networks' handling of it left such a bad taste, I kept putting it off for several years. Finally the taste went away & I got to thinking seriously of another try. So it was with some reluctance I scored a copy at Half Price Books & popped it in the disc machine.

BIG DIFFERENCE! The film didn't drag this time. The weirdness was more enjoyable without the latest must-have piece of junk being shoved at me. No-Faces' vomit party was only a few minutes long (I'm sure there were TWO{!} commercial breaks during that sequence when it aired!). I STILL think it's a bit on the long side (I'm a 90 minute man.) but it being a Miyazaki flick & all that goes with it, more than makes up for it.

I think I'll keep this one.


Wikipedia article on Spirited Away here.

Wikipedia article on Hayao Miyazaki here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

Casting Call, NOT QUITE!

Casting Call, NOT QUITE!

Was in the local hobby shop talking to the proprietor about my disatisfaction with The Whisperer In Darkness (To be addressed in a later blog post!) when he mentioned something that piqued my interest.

There was going to be a casting call at the very place in about less than an hour. A small horror film was in the making & they were looking for actors. As it was an open call & being a frustrated actor, I decided to attend. After a stop at a local fast food joint, I went back.

The call was already in session, & I was told he was already talking to a couple of rather attractive young ladies. Going to the back, I leaned in a corner & listened as the fellow explained some of the plot/storyline to the two.

Seems there was an incest/pregnancy subplot though nothing "overt" was to be shown. OK. He then said the film would involve a group of "religious" people who killed off dysfunctional families as what's "broken" stays "broken". That's when I left.

Even though I heard VERY little, I figured "religious" meant "Christian". Hollywood Christian. Meaning a bunch of violent low-grades spouting out of context verse & acting worse than the "heathen" they profess to be against. I may be wrong about what he meant by religious but I doubt it would be Kirk Cameron material.

Yes, I knew this was to be a "horror" film. I knew it would not be the kind you would show to your congregation. If it was to be a simple little fright flick (AND if I might be what they were looking for.) I wouldn't mind being in it.  But ... At the same time there's more than enough anti-Christian films out there giving a false impression of the Lord & believers. Of course many so-called followers & other Westboro Baptist types have been NO help at all in fostering such an image for others to pick up on.

What would Jesus do in regard to people broken by abuse of any kind? Including the abusers? I doubt he would advocate killing them. The fact the world in general & people in particlar are broken (Romans 5:12) is why he gave of himself, paying the penalty of the sinful state the world & individuals are in (Romans 6:23 & 5:8).

Hmmm ... why not a "horror" film based on John 8:3-11, wherin the "good" vigilanties are forced into examining themselves? Or a "political thriller" following the storyline of  2nd Samuel Chapts. 11 to 19: A Godly man in high position goes wrong, is forgiven, but must still pay the penalty(s) & unintended consequences. You get the idea. By the way, look up the above passages.

I guess I should be heartened by the fact that the technology to "bypass" Hollywood is more than in the reach of those of limited means. A shame so many feel the need to emulate Tinsletown. There's so much good material out there (A lot not even in the Bible.) that could be used to uplift/promote good.


How Do We Get to Heaven? here.

What Will Heaven Be Like? here.

God & Science web site here.

On the Rapture, Third Impact, Armageddon & All That here.

Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

VHS Vignette

                                                                  VHS Vignette

                                                                          by

                                                                            Jay Agan

     I remember Media Play. Back in the heyday of VHS tapes, it was THE place in central Ohio to go for movies. The three branch stores in Columbus had a fantastic selection of flicks as well as books & CDs. If they hadn't closed down a few years back one could only imagine what they would be like now.

     One day, in my late 30s, I'm rooting around the bargain rack of the west end store when a fit of "depression" hit me. I was not the success I wanted to be & the prospects of romance seemed quite dim.

     I'm thinking, "here I am in my thirties, not even married, blah, blah, blah. Geez. I'm such a loser, etc."

     I dwelt on this for a few minutes, the melancholy making me feel lower by the second. Just as I was about to "down" myself for the umpteenth time, a young couple walked by.

     She: "We always get what you wanna watch! We never get anything I like!"

     He: "All right ----it! We'll get something you wanna watch!"

     The two continued past in sullen silence, not even looking at one another.

     I stopped feeling down on myself for quite some time after.

                                                  Article copyright © Jay Agan

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I Meet Someone Famous

                            

Ray Harryhausen contemplates skeleton model for his film,
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Columbia Pictures, 1958.

                                           I Meet Someone Famous

                                                             by

                                                                Jay Agan

      
      It happened to me during MARCON at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio last Memorial Day weekend. He was attending the H.P. Lovecraft seminar. Most of the seminar went by interestingly enough before I noticed him. The presentation/discussion drifted to the authors' well known love of cats.

      Across the aisle, to my right a few rows ahead, a very distinctive voice made some comments. My mind went into overdrive (transmission slipping, gears grinding) trying to place it. It resolved itself as I remembered those stentorian tones from interviews on various dvds.

      He worked from behind the camera. Many of you have seen his films. Though he wasn't producer/director he might as well have been as his works were the center of the films they appeared in. He's still active today in regard to the marketing and enhancement of his & others movies. I had to meet this guy!

      The seminar over, I approached. As I did so, I heard a couple others mention his name. He was sitting there reading, as I introduced myself.

      "Excuse me sir." He looked up. "You have a very distinctive voice," I paused and, "are you who I think you are?"

      I then noticed his name tag to bear a different moniker.

      "I'm sorry. I see by your tag you're not the one I thought you were."

      "Actually, I am someone else," he replied in that unforgettable voice.

      "I understand sir. It was good to meet you." I left the room. He wanted his privacy. I can respect that.

      I don't think he had an event or seminar at the con. Was he in central Ohio on business? Visiting relatives? Who knows? Outside, I ran into one of the seminars' speakers.

      "Do you know who that was you were talking to a few rows back?"

      "No, who?" Replying with some concern.

      "--- -----------."

      "Really? You sure?"

      Another attendee walked up confirming what I said. She recalled he was sitting behind her when the speaker mentioned some work in a Lovecraft related film wasn't as good as --- ------------s. She said she heard him say, "Oh, he gave me a plug."

      I really wish I could tell you who he was. Yeah, frustrating. For all you know, I'm just making this up and I don't blame you for thinking so. At best, you're thinking he was mistaken for someone else. If it wasn't him, it had to have been his twin.

      He wanted his privacy & to be left alone. I have to leave it at that.

                                                Article copyright © Jay Agan


Addendum: As he passed away on May 7, 2013, I can now reveal that it may have been Ray Harryhausen I had inadvertantly met. If it wasn't, it sure looked & sounded like him! Needless to say, I find it interesting that he may have been an H.P. Lovecraft fan.

Photo & links added 5-9-13


Ray Harryhausen: Farewell To A Master here.

Night At The Drive In (One Million Years BC) here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.　

Some Bad Movie Experiences

Some Bad Movie Experiences
     
by
             
Jay Agan


Military school, late 60s, rec hall, Wednesday night. Don't let nuns pick your movies! This one was particularly cruel & unusual. Carusel turned me off to musicals forever. We had a choice either watching this ultra-turkey or study hall. Should have taken study hall. (Sing & dance! Dance & sing! la la la la laaaah! Diddley dee! diddley doe! La la la la laaaah! Aaaaargh!) All that krap and hardly a story to be found.

Another military school vignette. This time the Vatican I types scored right but I only came to appreciate this flick later in life. AIPs' Pit & the Pendulum. It moved kinda slow for me until "Uncle Vince" and the gang disinterr the corpse. Hit me like a ton of plutonium bricks! Later that night & early morning, I'm surrounded by a hundred other snoozing cadets & I can't sleep! I KNEW Elizabeth was waiting out in the dark to get me!

High School Social(ist) Studies assignment: Watch West Side Story tonight. For some reason our educators & zampolits had the idea this would raise our conciousness about inner city "culture". From the moment of the first pirouette in the first "fairy fight", I knew something was terribly wrong with this movie. I was actually grateful for the commercial interruptions as I could take frequent bathroom breaks. This garbage had me going at both ends. (Leonard Bernstien, I absolutely loathe you. Tonight! Tonight! Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah! Tonight! Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah! Waah! Waah! Waah! Waaaah! Tonite!Toooooniiiiite! TOOOONIIIIITE! Geeze! Holy stinkin' krud!)

Bad movie experience: Seeing a scary movie with a certain girlfriend. Fun movie experience: The same scary movie with that same certain girlfriend. 1979. Had been going with this young lady a few weeks. It didn't even cross my mind how she would react to a horror flick.

Phantasm. Right arm around her ladyship. Everything smooth sailing. Until the floating, bladed, steel ball smacks into the hapless extras' face & starts drilling, blood shooting out the back.

Pain. Deep, dull/sharp, shooting, excriuciating agony in my right shoulder. Through my watering eyes I could see she had rammed her forehead into my shoulder in an effort to look away from the screen. Kid had a head like a rock! Strong too. Try as I might, I couldn't pry her noggin off. If it weren't for the sensation of needing some bones set, I would've enjoyed this. Shoulder hurt for over a week. I think this is why I have arthritis in that shoulder today.

On later outings, she knew not to react so violently. She'd strain the movies through her hands over her face. Said she hated these films but always insisted on seeing them.

I remember an epic arguement we had over a flick that wasn't so much a horror film as it was a horror. I had seen Cruising with a friend the week before. She to had already seen it & insisted on seeing it again. No way. There are some things I won't do for love.

I really miss her.


Article copyright © Jay Agan

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