Coraline

I liiiiiiiive!

You didn't think I was going to miss this would you? How could I not ressurect myself from the styggian abyss for the most wonderful time of the year? Coraline, a movie I could have sworn came out much earlier than 2009 and frankly I haven't seen it again in almost 15 years time (moving swiftly on from that fact), so how does it hold up? I truthfully feel this is the new stop motion cult classic focused on more spooky things, I mean Nightmare Before Christmas is waaaay too recognizable in this day and age to be a cult film anymore, and I really have not heard or seen anybody talk about this film at great length since it premiered. Oh it has a good standing and rightfully so, concerning a young pre-teen girl who after moving to a new house and finding not much to do or attention as well discovers a portal to a world where everything she wants happens buuut there's a catch to it all. It's kinda brilliant how the story takes on a straight up Grimm's Fairy Tales style with a central moral to the story but be made so recently and by Neil Gaiman no less! I'll admit I haven't read the source material so I can't fairly judge it as an adaptation, but as a film it's pretty dang good! This is the same animation studio that gave us Paranorman and Kubo And The Two Strings, and even back then Laika was delivering truly impressive and fantastic stop motion. The expressions, the environments, the movements all look superb and gives it a look no other film has. Dakota Fanning I feel didn't have to act all that much in this seeing as she was around the age of Coraline, she's got the attitude and personality and you really do get where she's coming from easily. As an only child myself it was easier to slip into a world all of my own too. I gotta give big time props to Teri Hatcher here, cause it didn't immediately click for me that she plays two roles, Coraline's mom and the perfect world mom, so she has quite a lot to play with and gets that dichotomy of overworked boring mom and affectionate magical mom, and I'll admit the origins of the perfect world do stir my imagination in part due to this character. Wasn't really expecting to see Keith David as a talking cat but hey this job surprises you often. Actually that's another thing entirely, I really did not remember a lot of the details about this movie since watching it as a young teen, I remembered Coraline with her blue hair, the magic garden, the buttons for eyes, but that was about it so it was close to watching the movie brand new again. And while the film only dips it's toes into the scary stuff it still kinda works effectively, it's not in your face horror from the word go but implied horror or for lack of a better term what I would call aftermath horror. Where you see the result or the after effects of something bad that happened, Aliens does this, certain modern horror games do this like Dead Space or Doom, and it's the imagination that you put into it that makes it scary. So it doesn't pull any punches but neither will it traumatize kids. It's a very fine balance between family film and scary movie which makes it perfect for this week. It's a very imaginative, creative, creepy, solidly good film that does deserve some more attention. I feel it's more a movie you hear in passing rather than focused on so I'm happy I could write a little about it. Give it a shot if you haven't already! I give it 3 stars, 8/10, and I will see you tomorrow for an even lesser known film.

The Thing (1982)

Well we already did a funny John Carpenter movie with Kurt Russell so why not a deathly serious one?

You know, rewatching The Thing has really reminded me why it's such a great sci-fi horror movie. The story follows a research team in Antartica who after investigating a Norwegian base close by them discover that an alien organism who can assimilate and copy another organism's likeness may have infiltrated their base. So the chase is on to destroy this creature before it can reach civilization and assimilate the entire base. What I love most about the film and the most prominent factor is the atmosphere. You believe the sense of isolation and deathly freezing weather in this movie, there are many shots of just empty rooms and hallways really showing how little life there is and several stated facts from the characters how dangerous the climate is at their south pole base. I'm serious I was freezing when I was watching this movie and I do not keep it seriously cold in my house. The music by Ennio Morricone is just friggin' creepy as hell, I mean you just have to listen to the main theme and you get freaked out. The characters are pretty good in this movie and the sheer paranoia and fear they have towards this thing is actually quite affecting, like I did not even want to touch my own hands after this movie it got to me that bad, just the thought of a malicious alien being who could take over your body at a mere touch is very unsettling. The acting is damn good in this movie, this is exactly how people would react to a situation like this, and everyone does a good job at keeping you guessing who's human and who's not. The film is very good at hiding who is the thing, because you can't tell at all until the horrifying transformations take place, and yeah the special effects are freaking unnerving and spectacularly shocking. The first transformation scene doesn't even happen until thirty minutes in giving lots of time to build atmosphere and characters, and the first time you see it your jaw will drop. This movie is awesome and a true science fiction classic if I have ever seen one. You have got to see this movie if you are a science fiction or horror movie fan. You will not be disappointed at all, unlike that BS remake/prequel movie they made in 2011! But I digress. Just watch this one.

They Live

Recently I saw a very touching tribute to famous wrestler Roddy Piper and one of the short clips they used was his performance from the cult film They Live, and I wish to dedicate this review to his memory.

They Live is a fantastic science fiction movie directed by John Carpenter and starring Roddy Piper and Keith David. The story follows a drifter played by Piper as he moves to the west coast looking for work, he meets a construction worker played by Keith David who takes him into a shantytown where they both live. While there, several strange things happen that make Piper's character investigate a small church where there are dozens and dozens of cardboard boxes filled with nothing but mysterious sunglasses, he tries them on while walking through the city and soon discovers that an alien race has been slowly pushing the human race into conformity. So Roddy Piper and Keith David join the hunt to liberate humanity from the alien menace. To be honest this is a bit of a satire as well as a science fiction movie, since the film was made in the late 80's it takes a jab at Reagan era economics and how everyone and everything was selling out for a quick buck. But there is a hell of a lot more to the movie then just a punch at commercialism, the characters are normal everyday people who just try to rebel against something they just learned was real two days ago, Roddy Piper is the true star playing a wordly, strong, and a bit of a wise ass guy who is coping with the fact that aliens are treating the human race like cattle and it doesn't take him long to start kicking some ass. Keith David is a damn good actor, and this movie is no exception and the most memorable scene in the movie where he gets in a fistfight with Roddy Piper in an alley for six minutes, and seriously for six minutes the fight is insanely long and really funny at just how long it goes on is only just one highlight of the film. Not many people would fully understand the movie and it has grown a significant cult following in over 20 years, and I quite enjoyed it. It's a really good science fiction movie that has a lot of wit and cynacism to it. I would definitely say you should view it at least once in your life just to experience it. Give it a watch, and see what you think.