Castle Rock Cash In - Pet Sematary 2

My review of the first film can be found here.

The burial ground in Pet Sematary gets its hooks in whoever uses it, not just pulling them to bring back a dead loved one or pet, but also making sure they refer someone else to use it as well.  So it's a story that is almost calling out for a sequel, even if the book suggests that the chain may finally be broken.

 

This is a film that should absolutely be seen, if only for one reason: Clancy Brown. His stumbling performance as zombie!Gus is an absolute treasure as he's pathetically adorable one moment, crap-your-pants disturbing the next. And when he finally does flip and go after his own family, wow. Just wow. 

(read the rest of Noel's review here)

It's worth noting that I also watched this one, and I happen to disagree with Noel quite a bit.  I left my feelings in a comment on his post.  Feel free to chime in over there with your own thoughts as well.

Castle Rock Cash In - The Mangler Reborn

Of all the Stephen King adaptations to get a trilogy, I certainly never thought The Mangler would qualify as one of them.

My review of the first film is here, and Noel's review of the first sequel is here.

This is a pretty typical setup for a horror movie - cursed object turns someone into a serial killer - but the use of the Mr. Fixit handyman who turns on the people letting him into their homes is mildly compelling. In fact, one could almost consider this a loose, alternate adaptation of King's short story "The Lawnmower Man" in that, while they obviously can't make its specific scenario a scene here as those rights are owned elsewhere, it has the same air of an everyday stranger doing work on our homes who suddenly takes a turn to the nasty. 

...

Sadly, most of the film doesn't make use of this setup.

(read the rest of Noel's review here)

Castle Rock Companion - Pet Sematary

As is probably fitting for the subject matter, both of my cats have a proper cameo in this video.  I say proper because we all know they've made unofficial cameos in the past. :)

If you finish this video and want to read even more analysis of the book, I highly recommend checking out Shredded Cheddar's read along discussion from October 2012.  I contributed via the comments and it was one of the most enjoyable "book club" discussions I've ever had.

Bedtime for Bonzo

When I was young and it was time to go to sleep, my mom used to always say it was "bedtime for Bonzo."  Sometimes, she would even sing it in this simple sing-song kind of way.  At some point I got old enough for the curiosity to get to me, and I asked her just who Bonzo was anyway.  She explained that it was an old movie starring Ronald Reagan and a chimp.  "Ronald Reagan, our president?!" I exclaimed, like every other American kid in the 80s probably did at one time or another.

Fast forward many, many years later, and I decided to watch this film whose name I was so familiar with but otherwise knew nothing about.  Since films starring animals are always shaky ground, I really didn't expect too much from this film, and that may be why I enjoyed it.

The plot is a lot like a romantic screwball comedy, if you can blend those two.  Psychologist professor Peter Boyd, played by Reagan, is engaged to the daughter of the dean, whose main field of study is genetics.  When the dean finds out Peter's father was a criminal, he can no longer approve of their engagement.  So after helping to calm down the problem chimp in the psych department, Peter gets an idea - he'll bring it home and raise it in a normal family environment, to prove it's not your genetic makeup that makes you who you are, but the way you are raised.  Then the dean will change his mind and let him marry his daughter.  But in order to raise him in a normal family, he needs a mother as well, and instead of asking his fiancee for help, he hires a nanny, because his fiancee is rich, upper crust society and knows nothing about raising children.

That last part in particular dates this film a bit, putting it firmly in 1951 when it was made.  I was rolling my eyes when they set up that particular angle.  But of course it's needed to put the romantic angle in place, so I'm willing to overlook it even though I don't agree with it.  The other side of the plot, the classic nature vs. nurture debate, is one I've always been fascinated with though, and it was neat to see it brought up in a lighthearted film like this.  It grants it a bit of intelligence that comedies like this usually wouldn't have today.

The story plays out as you might expect, where the nanny shows up and helps him out, and of course she's a young beautiful woman.  They determine they must use affectionate names for each other and act like a happy couple in order for Bonzo to grow up in a stable environment, and the young woman, Jane, ends up developing feelings for Peter.  For him it's all science at first, but he eventually realizes he cares about her too.  The chimp gets into a lot of antics along the way, but does learn manners and cares for his "parents" over time.

The chimp they used is well trained, and there aren't too many obvious tricks being deployed to get him to do what they want.  The only obvious thing I noticed was when he goes to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, they used slow motion, I guess because he wouldn't actually do that one trick.  But otherwise he's very good and absolutely adorable.  The one thing that's a little annoying is they seemed to be dubbing a voice for him at times, making him whimper and such.  I don't really know that that was necessary at all.

While the ending may be obvious, this is still a well done film in the execution.  Peter admits to his fiancee what's going on earlier than you would expect, and there's a lot of twists and turns in the middle related to the fact that Bonzo has an attraction to shiny objects.  Maybe it's just my own personal fondness for chimps and other primates, but I found myself emotionally invested in Bonzo's journey as he became a member of their little family.  While he gets into a lot of trouble in the beginning, the slower pacing, lack of whacky music, and less exaggerated reactions from his human co-stars made this so much better than say Beethoven or Dunston Checks In.  It's not a masterpiece of film-making but it is downright charming.

Being my first time seeing Reagan playing a lead role, I'd call him fairly average for the era.  He's not too charming, but his character is meant to be a bit distant.  I think the biggest thing for me is that his voice doesn't sound anything like the soothing old man voice I'm used to hearing from him in my youth.  But if you're curious just what kind of actor our former president used to be, this wouldn't be a bad film to check out.

As for me, I'll probably be saying it's bedtime for Bonzo when it's time to go to sleep for the rest of my life, and now I know there's a charming little movie to go along with my childhood memories.

Horrible dream

So I know I said this blog was mostly for positive things, but I can’t help but to write about the way my brain managed to horrify me last night.

I was somewhere, and for whatever reason a bunch of girls I had gone to elementary and high school with were also there, and we were all wearing these evening gowns with satin gloves and high heels, all the same color and design.  The girls were being paraded out one by one, and eventually my friend Melanie, who died on her 16th birthday, was among them.  She gave me her normal small smile when she saw me, and then kept going.  She was sort of limping as she walked, but I chalked it up to the fact that she wasn’t used to wearing high heels and let her go on.

A little time passes and my friend Nicki has this panicked look on her face, and is gesturing ahead.  In my mind, I knew what she was referring to without her saying anything.  We were caught in some kind of time loop, and Melanie was about to die again.  I broke into a run, and of course it was that special dream form of running where it’s slow motion and it’s like you’re trying to run under water, gravity is too heavy and you can’t go as fast as you want. Other people were streaming past me, all of us trying to reach her.

But we were too late.  There she was, lying on her back, arms splayed out, dead, in that same evening gown.  I screamed a high pitched scream and was able to move at normal speed again, and I cradled her head in my lap and cried.  “Too late!  We were too late again!”

Mind you, Melanie died in a car crash, and she was dressed in her normal clothes at the time.  It wasn’t a drunk driving scenario, just a guy who lost control of the car while driving in the rain.  No one could have predicted it happening, and there wasn’t any way we could have prevented it.  But damn if that dream didn’t feel real at the time.

I’ve had dreams with her in them before, but they are usually much more peaceful, just situations where we’re hanging out again and everything is as it was.  I’d like to have those kinds of dreams again, please.

Castle Rock Cash In - The Mangler 2

If you missed my review of the insanity that is The Mangler, you can view that here.

Noel tells me these sequels go into even crazier territory, and I'm kind of afraid to find out how.  But he's going to tell us all about them.

"...she goes to one of her hacker websites where she finds the Mangler Virus, which she uploads into the school's computer system. The Mangler (who often proudly stamps "You've Been Mangled" on monitors) is of course a sentient force bent on destruction, so it's not only after our group of prefects, but what little of the hapless staff is left on campus.
 This movie blows."

(read the rest of the insane plot summary and Noel's thorough explanation of just why this movie is so bad over at his blog.)

Castle Rock Cash In - Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe's War

Did you think it was never going to show up?  Sometimes sequels get delayed, but Hollywood can't resist the chance to make a quick buck, and Noel can't resist the chance to defend an often maligned film!

The method will be changing a little - Noel will be doing purely written reviews on these, and the full review will be hosted over at his own blog.  I will be providing you with a teaser in the hopes that you will head on over and check them out.  You really should.

In case you never watched Noel and I review the first film, you can find that here.

 

 "I like this movie. No, seriously, I do. I know it's an easy movie for people to dump on, and many have without even watching it just because it looks silly, but I think it holds up as one of the better cyberpunk films about social decay and virtual reality to come out of the 90s..."

(read the rest of Noel's review here)

Castle Rock Companion - The Shining part 2

If you missed part 1, you can view it here 

Castle Rock Companion - The Shining part 1

Finding passion

We had the full blown seminar yesterday for those strengths I posted about last month.  Obviously the main focus was about thinking about those things you're good at and being proud of them and also putting them to the best use.  It's also supposed to be helpful for managers because it shows them how you work and how to relate to you, as well as how to group people together to make sure you've got all the bases covered, so to speak.

He mentioned near the beginning that a lot of us go about trying to be someone else, or trying to be what other people want us to be.  While I've never tried to explicitly copy others, the latter is definitely true for me.  When I was really little I wanted to be a teacher, and by the time I hit 13 I really wanted to be a writer.  Everyone in my family tried to discourage me from both of those things as often as they possibly could.  Teachers' salaries are abysmal and fiction writers don't make anything unless you're really lucky.

"You can do whatever you want, but it's really a good idea to go for a major that will guarantee you a job out of college" is what my dad said to me over and over again.  I love my dad and I respect him and I wanted to make him proud of me.  While there was a point where I considered going for psychology, I was once again told that the only way to make money from that was to be a psychiatrist, and the fact of the matter is that I hated school.  I was always good at it, but I hated it.  Learning has always been fun to me, but testing not so much.  The thought of going through that many years of school was not appealing to me at all.

So I went with business, because business was the easiest way to get a job out of college.  Nearly everyone in my family did something business related, so surely I must be good at it.  I took BA 1000 and the only topic amongst management, marketing, finance, and accounting that made sense was accounting.  Plain and simple numbers and reporting.  I was always good at math.  So I focused on that, and sure enough I was good at it.

I got to my senior year of college and found I truly hated it.  I looked around me, baffled at the people who seemed to actually be energized about this stuff.  It's just numbers, I thought.  How can they truly give a damn about it?  With the typical ignorance of a 21 year old who thinks they know everything, it never struck me that maybe I was the one with the problem.

When you combine my social anxiety with the fact that I didn't truly give a damn about the subject, it's no surprise that I couldn't get hired at any of the accounting firms I interviewed with.  I signed up for an accounting temp agency, but of course everyone wanted someone with previous experience, so they passed me off to their general office temp staff instead.  After a couple quick data entry jobs I got a temp to hire clerical job which landed me at this company.  I've since been promoted to a job that combines both clerical and accounting work, so I'm at least using my degree in some form.

There's also no denying I'm good at it.  I get glowing performance reviews every year.  My boss, a bit of a perfectionist, trusts me implicitly to do my job right.  He jokes that I have all 500 of our property IDs memorized, but that's not true.  I only know the ones for the leased properties since I make the payments for them every month.  Much like school, I know my job inside and out, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.

This strength finder exercise has shed a lot of light on that fact.  Input means I like to learn, and after 7 years in this position, there isn't anything new to pick up on.  Intellection means I like to think things through, debate them, discuss them.. but there's not a whole lot to discuss.  Consistency means I want fairness, but I deal with landlords who are trying to cheat you out of money and tenants who can't be bothered to pay their rent on time.  Restorative means I want to solve problems, and while that does occasionally come up, most of the time it's pretty smooth sailing around here.  We have our processes and we stick to them.

Meanwhile, I see a lot of my strengths related to the reviews I work on in my free time.  I don't just read a book, watch a movie, play a game, whatever.  I head to Wikipedia, imdb, etc. to research it, find out what's going on behind the scenes, what went into making it.  I think about what the work is trying to convey.  I try to explain why others should also appreciate it, why even things with a bad reputation deserve attention, what we can learn from things that go wrong and sometimes even suggest ways in which faulty works could be fixed.  I love storytelling in all its forms, and my reviews allow me a way to work through them.  Doing the podcast with Bethany or the MMME  with Noel and Jak adds another great layer, because I get to hear the opinions of others and interact with them about these things that I feel so passionate about.  Sometimes people comment and it continues like that.  I love it, I get a charge from it, and it truly makes me happy.

The problem is that today's technology allows anyone with a computer and internet to write blogs, anyone with a microphone and recording software to make a podcast, and anyone with a camera and editing software to make videos.  So a lot of people do.  Supply is much greater than demand and so the pay for such things is minimal.  People who have amassed a following I would kill to have are complaining about how the average person uses ad block software to cut through their means of income.  I can't entirely blame them, because no one likes ads.  We only tolerate them when we have to, and it's natural that only a small portion of your customer base is going to be the type willing to sit through them so you can make money off them.

I've been doing reviews in one form or another since 2009, and I've yet to earn anything off of them.  I have ads running on my blog and through both my youtube and blip accounts, and the earnings are so tiny that at this point I don't expect to ever get a pay out from any of them.  To do otherwise would be madness.

Another part of the session yesterday was telling us not to quit and not give up hope, that you can follow your dreams at any age.  He gave us a lot of examples of people who failed when they first started, but went on to be extremely successful.  I have no intention of quitting.  Working on my reviews, analyzing and discussing and writing about fiction is basically the only thing that keeps me sane at this point.

But I find it hard to see how I'm ever going to make a living off it, and as long as I still have to work this job, I'm still going to be dissatisfied with it and be one of those disengaged employees they don't want to have.  Switching jobs seems like a huge gamble, as it basically means losing the benefits I've earned after being here so long and possibly still being dissatisfied.  I also think it would basically be impossible for me to go back to school now.  I certainly couldn't do it while I was working here without imploding from stress, and I don't have the luxury some people do of having a spouse support them while they stop working to go back.  And what would I go back for?

I do still have an interest in psychology, but I'm not sure it's enough to work in the field.  It seems like it has the potential to be a really stressful job, and I have to admit that any time I try to give friends or loved ones advice I feel like I don't sound confident enough to help them.  Or worse yet I get impatient with them.  I would imagine they help you with those things, but once again, that's a lot of school that I currently don't have the time to go back for.

I don't really have the interest in teaching that I used to have.  I think it was something I thought about when I was little because that was what I was surrounded with.  When I got a little older I still thought it possible because that's what Stephen King did until he got big, but seeing as how I've lost the drive to write fiction anymore I can't see that happening.

That loss is another huge part of it.  For a really long time I had this dream in the back of my mind, but then I actually sat down and started writing it and I found it tedious.  Perhaps the biggest problem was that I made an open ended story, something designed to go on indefinitely, and the weight of that started to get me down.  But I also haven't had any new ideas for stories in a long time, and my focus shifted to doing the reviews because I was getting more enjoyment out of it.  But I can't say I have a dream to be known as a famous critic like Roger Ebert or someone like that.  So I kind of feel like I have no dream at all.

Perhaps I am just in between dreams, but this has been ongoing for six months to a year now.  How long am I supposed to wait until I find that new thing?