There Heeere!!

I was talking via facebook with my evil stepmother the other day about horror movies.  She is not a fan.  In fact I don't think she has ever watched a horror movie or if she has it scarred her so much she didn't go back for seconds.  It seems to me this is the way of horror movies, you either love them or hate them.  I love them.

Thing is I used to be quite a scared kid.  I think it came from having such an overactive imagination.   I was terrified of the dark, I still remember watching Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Nightmare on Elm Street, and this show on the ABC about the Burko Brothers.  All if which I'm sure didn't help me sleep at night.  Then came Twin Peaks, which sent me into night terrors territory and that was the end of any scary movies for a long time.

In my late teens (or even early 20s) I let my love of Sci-Fi movies lead me down the inevitable path towards scary movies and I realised that the more I watched the less scared I was.  Most scary movies fall into a few simple categories and once you know what sort of film you're watching it becomes easier to recognise what's coming next.

Slasher - ie. Halloween, Scream.
Paranormal - ie. Poltergiest, The Ring
Torture - ie. Hellraiser, Saw
Sci-Fi - ie. Alien, Pitch Black
Monster - ie. Dawn of the Dead, The Thing.

(note: of course there are sub categories and categories like suspense thriller, which I don't include in the horror genre)

Once you have identified the type of horror you're watching it's much easier to not be scared.  The truth is that within each category most of the story lines are very similar.  Sure the jump moments change and the endings differ but mostly seen one slasher film and you've seen them all.

Anyway, Inge posed the question, what could possibly be entertaining about being scared out of your wits? and I just didn't have an answer.  The truth is these films rarely scare me while I am watching them, but some, stay with me and leap out at unexpected moments.

1.  Sometimes I still expect a little Japanese freaky girl from The Grudge to start meowing at me next to my bed.
2.  When the washing is blowing on the line as I go out to the loo at night I have a 28 Days Later moment.
3.  Any of the movies with creepy backwards talking, scary eyes, or that weird jittery movement (think the little girl from the ring) scare the bejeezus out of me for the rest of the night think Event Horizon
4. The dark corners of any room, when I'm feeling freaked out remind me of the B-Grade movie They.
5. When my stairs creak in the night and it sounds like someone walking up them even though there is no one in the house I'm in Paranormal Activity territory.
6.  Step over the huge gutter in front of our house in the middle of the night speaks for itself really (and IT also explains why clowns kind of freak me out)

So why watch?  Why enjoy the movie if it sticks like glue in my brain waiting for a weak moment to pop out and make me pull the bedcovers over my head?  I don't know? Maybe because once I have conquered my fear for the night I feel stronger, less like a victim.  Maybe because the more I learn to deal with these fears the less fearful I am of real life stuff.  I mean when I home alone I rarely find myself feeling spooked out about axe murderers.  Whereas even at the height of my Zombie fears, I can console myself with the idea that its all in my head.

And maybe, just maybe, I watch so that I know the rules to survive the zombie apocalypse, or the things that go bump in the night!

Watching - Halloween, Poltergeist, Angel Heart and about to really challenge myself with a japanese horror remake fest.

Reading - Just started a bit more of China Melvilles the City and the City

State of Mind - Sick of the rain, I want to finish painting already!!

Advent - Go to the pool (it raining), Have a picnic for dinner (its raining so we did it inside), Read Xmas stories at bedtime (couldn't find the book at the last minute so had to try and remember one).

Most Disturbing Kids Movies

Sometimes as I go to write a blog post about something specific I do a bit of searching I realise that someone has already written it.  Normally, I'm not in complete agreement with the other writer and I decide to write my own.  This time, I whole heartedly agree with the post.  (especially the note about Watership Down)

And although I may have left off Pans Labyrinth and added Jaws (cause lord knows most of us saw that WAY to young) I feel confident in sharing this and happy to save myself the time and effort of linking to all those youTube sites.  :)

So this link pretty much contains my thoughts on the most disturbing kids movies of all time.

Great Theme Songs

I was watching a new episode of True Blood the other day and I was reminded of how great the theme song is.  The mood so perfectly matches the dark grimy and sometimes a bit backwards nature of the show.  It got me thinking about theme songs.  Back when I was a kid a lot of the shows had theme songs that explained the idea behind the show in no uncertain terms;


"Here's a story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls, all of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls" (The Brady Bunch)


"Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away, on my way to where the air is clean, can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street"(Sesame Street)


"Sunday Monday, Happy days, Tuesday Wednesday, Happy days, Thursday, Friday, Happy days, Saturday, what a day, groovin all week with you" (Happy Days)


These days they are not so blatant about the topic of the show with the theme song but they do try and capture the nature and feel of the show. Both have their ups and downs. Some of the old themes have lasted the test of time.  I wonder if some of the newer ones will as well.


So here are my picks, some old favourites, some new and some we would all rather forget. 


Great Theme Songs 
+ Monkey Magic - Once you get past the over use of synthesizer it's actually still a pretty groovy theme.  Albeit slightly weird ... but then it matches the show quiet perfectly.
+ X-Files - You just couldn't get a creepier theme song if you tried.  Although I have never heard it go on for 3 minutes and if you listen to the whole thing by the end you're no longer creeped out, your just bored. (Once again we have an outrageous use of synthesizer)
+ The Soprano's - Sometimes it's just all about grabbing the perfect song for the job.
+ Fraggle Rock -  I can't quiet figure out if I think this has survived the test of time, because I love it.  Or if it is actually just a fantastic theme song.  My kids and I both get up and dance whenever we hear it.  
+ Doctor Who - I loved most versions except the latest, which even Jack mentioned he didn't like as much.
+ Battlestar Gallactica - Oh My God.  This is absolutely one of my favourites.  I think that not only it is a beautiful piece of music it also perfectly captures the feeling of the show.  In fact I loved all of the backing sounds (what's the proper word for that again) from BSG.  From gun fire to the sounds of the ships, truly magnificent.
+ Dexter - I think that part of why I think this is a great theme is that the opening credits are a masterpiece.  
+ True Blood - As I mentioned before, it is just a great pick of song to accompany a show about vampires.


Honorable mentions; Law and Order, Gilmore Girls, 21 Jump Street, The Addams Family


Dodgy Theme Songs - So many of the songs on this list actually started as ones that I thought were great but on an re-listen I was so very wrong.
+ The Muppets - This is one of those that I gave a listen to thinking it might be in the top but it was not to be. 
+ The 4400 - Ok so this show was terrible, and the credits and music meant it never had a chance.
+ Twin Peaks - Yet another that I thought was awesome but isn't.  In fact that whole opening credits are super dull and weird and leave you wondering 'whats the point?'.  Typical David Lynch I suppose.
+ The Simpsons - If you take away the cute cartoon and wondering what's going to happen when they reach the lounge room, this is actually a boring (albeit extremely recognisable) piece .
+ The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Another example of why you don't need to tell the whole shows premise in the theme song.


Dishonorable mentions are; The Benny Hill Show, The Love Boat, MASH ... and I could go on and on.


Ohh I'm sure there are more I could happily pick for both list, but these were the ones that came about in my searching and thinking today.  I wonder, what are your picks? 

Kids Moving Pictures

A few months ago I decided to get the movie Spirited Away for the kids.   I had heard a lot about it and I had always enjoyed Japanese animation, even if I did find it a bit off kooky.  So I figured what the heck, six movies for $6 lets give it a go.  I loved it and in spite of the fact that it flowed differently to the sorts of movies the boys normally enjoy they seemed to enjoy it very much.

Slowly over the next month or so we made out way through the other movies made by Studio Ghibli and so far all of them have been hits, especially with Hamish.  The latest one we got out proved to me just how much Hamish enjoys anything Ghibli.

I grabbed it off the shelf in a rush.  Normally I read the back to see if I think its appropriate and if its the sort of movie that the kids will like.  This time I was in a hurry, and the back had pictures of weird cats on it so I figured, what the heck.  Its studio Ghibli, it looks a bit weird.  It may be called Whisper of the Heart but they all have fairly odd names.  They'll love it.

We had had it a few days.  It was pretty obvious that Jack wasn't into it but Hamish was loving it.  Over the week if it was his turn to pick something to watch he would choose Whisper of the Heart.  


I finally sat down to watch it with him while he was sick on Wednesday.  It turns out that its about a young girl who is falling in love with a boy and the way she tries to process it.  During it she makes up a story about a cat statue that she sees in an antique store.  Now don't get me wrong, the movie had nothing to do with her story.  It was all about these two 15 year old falling in love. No weird cats, nothing freaky or action packed at all.

It surprised me and it also made me realise how much Hamish loves these Japanese cartoons.  It doesn't matter to him what the movie is about.  He seems to love something about them that is more than just the storyline.  Almost all of the lead characters are these strong brave and outspoken girls.  Almost all of them have some musical component.  And good always seems to win out.  Even the bad things usually turn out to be good by the end as well.

So if you are looking for something to watch, check them out.  So far our family favourites are;

+ Ponyo
+ Spirited Away
+ Howl's Moving Castle
+ The Cat Returns
+ Laputa - Castle in the Sun
+ Nausicaa of the Valley of Winds
+ My neighbour Totoro
+ Kikis Delivery Service

And as an adult, I have also loved Princess Mononoke

Lets Talk About Sex ... Baby!

I was reading a friends blog recently and she posted about a character in a show that is being called a 'slut'. I'm not going to mention what show because some of what was talked about hasn't aired in Australia yet. But after reading her blog, the comments, and the article and then watching the show in question it made me wonder about women and their sexuality.

They had the character do three things that I can see caused the outcry.

1. She wore a police woman uniform and was a kiss-a-gram.
2. She didn't avert her eyes when a male got undressed.
3. She made very forward sexual advances towards that male character.

Really!! That's it and for this she is spread over the daily rag as being a slut?

Are we so afraid of women who are sexuality forward?

In movies and TV shows all over the place men do similar things often much more openly than she did.

Why is it ok for men to gawk at/proposition a woman but when she does the same things it causes a stir?

Then today I was flicking channels on TV and found a talk show that was focusing on X-rated movies and women. Not just the women who are in the movies but also the women who watch them.

Apparently (according to the talk show I watched) women are responsible for 30% of X-rated movie sales and 50% of X-rated toy sales. And women centred X-rated parafinalia and movies are the fastest growing section of the market. Female X-rated movie stars earn 3 times more on average than the males in the same industry. It also mentioned that 1 in 3 women look at porn on occasion. That's right 1 in 3!!

Most women I know enjoy sex and most of the men I know, like women who know what they want. But apparently this doesn't always mean they (men and women) want to see their leading ladies being sexuality aggressive.

It makes me wonder about the people who commented on my friend blog and those who wrote the article chastising this woman for being forward about what she wants. Have we gained nothing from feminism in this sense? Do we still want women who are pussy cats in public but tigresses behind closed doors? Have we learnt nothing from sex in the city?

Listen, Watch, Read

I often feel that I am behind the eight ball when it comes to pop culture. I blame this on motherhood most of the time, but really I didn't give these things a lot of time even before kids. I'd like to though.

But where to start when your this far behind? Where do the people in the know get their know?

Today I decide to blog about what I am currently reading watching and listening to but please note I am, as usual, behind the eight ball.

Listening:
My external hard drive died a week or so ago so at the moment I am stuck listening to the few things that I popped on my iPod pre its death. Luckily they were my all time favourites and the few new albums I downloaded recently
- Portishead, Dummy
- Kate Miller-Heidke, Curiouser
- The Cure, Greatest Hits
- Clouds, Octopus
- Emilana Torrini, Fisherman's Woman
- Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Live Art

Watching:
The one good thing about the death of the external hard drive is that the kids movies are also currently unavailable. This means that we are both having to watch less kids TV but also looking at the video store again for kids movies and therefore adult movies/shows as well.
- House (Season 3), the first two episodes were fresh but I have to wonder if that was all the new stuff the show had for us this season.
- Howl's Moving Castle & Spirited Away, these are both brilliant and I'm loving how much both of the kids are loving them as well.
- Buffy (Season 7), an oldie but a goodie I love having something light, trashy and familiar to watch after I have woken up
- Dollshouse (Season 2), I lost the first few episodes that I had downloaded in the hard drive crash of 2010 but luckily it is playing on Foxtel.
-The Vampire Diaries, as with Dollshouse I have lost a few episodes but I'm now back up to where I was thanks to Foxtel
- 10,000 BC, so crap I turned it off after 1/2 hour cause I just didn't care.
- Big Love (Season 3)
- Lastly I have Defying Gravity and some Mystery Theatre 2000 to watch when times are tight. I'm so excited to watch them but I really need some quiet kid free time so I can pay attention to them.

Reading:
I am trying some new things this year. Firstly I'm trying to catch up on some classics. Secondly I'm trying to get into some of the comics I have been wondering about. Both of which are lots of fun. The following are just the books I currently have on my bedside table.
- Sandman comics
- The Books of Magic comics
- Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monster
- Wonders of a Godless World
- We Need to Talk about Kevin
- American Gods

So that's my last week in a very large nutshell. What are you L/W/R? Anything your loving that I don't know about? Come on people in the know, share the knowing :)

Embracing the Penny

Ok its time for So You Think You Can Dance again, and this year I am slightly underwhelmed.  I just dont think it has the bang of last season.  There are a few highlights though and a couple of great dancers one of them is the previous cheerleader Penny hence the title of this post, a couple of memorable routines and I though the top 100 week was totally worth watching

One of the best parts about any dance show is watching it with the kids, they often spend most of the show copying the steps or showing us their own choreography, which normally includes putting their head on the floor, a leg in the air and spinning around.

I love their confidence with dancing, Hamish has no doubt that what he is doing is right and beautiful and Jack is so sure that he is a skilled dancer that when I told him his friends were doing dance classes (wondering if he would like to do some as well) and he said 'but mummy, they could just come here and i could teach them' ..... you've got to love the belief that kids have in their own capabilities

Faun Hate?

Ok is it just me or is there something wrong with the new Dominos ad's.  Firstly why does the faun want pizza with extra faun? Since when are faun's cannibals? It certainly puts Mr Tutmus from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in a whole new light.  And secondly why is the pizza guy so angry at the faun? I need some back story, is he faun prejudiced? Has the faun been pestering the pizza guy for ages? What's with the faun hate man, he looks like a fairly nice faun, if only he could curb his cannibalism.

The 12 Movies of Christmas

There are a million movies about Christmas, some of which I like to watch every year around now. So here is my list of the top 12 movies of Christmas, in no particular order


If you haven't seen Trapped in Paradise, go get it out. Its my favourite Christmas movie. Basically its about 3 brothers who go to rob a bank in the sweetest town on earth and have a life changing experience. I know, sounds like 1 of a million movies but this one has John Lovitz and Dana Carvey to crack you up.

This is my second pick actually and again i say if you haven't seen it go and get it. If you don't like Dennis Leary, you may well not like this film but he is cast perfectly as the burglar and Kevin Spacey and Julie Davis are awesome as the bickering couple.

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a big sook and that's why I like Serendipity (it was a last pick though) two star crossed lovers meet, Kate Beckinsale writes her name on a $5 note and tells John Cusack if they are meant to be together he will find the $5 note again one day. Yadda Yadda Yadda soppy love movie ..... love it

Ahh the ole romantic rears her ugly head again, this is a wonderful cast and nice intertwined story line. Basically it follows 7 or so different story lines about different sorts of love. Its cute and happy and a tear jerker.

This is your true kids Christmas movie. Tim Allen accidentally kills Santa, puts on his suit and voila he has to be Santa. While he gets used to the idea and his kid gets all excited about the fact that daddy is Santa they teach everyone that the true spirit of Christmas is about believing in Santa.

There was a lot of hype about this movie and to be honest I don't know what it was all about. The reason it is on the list though is that because its dark and a bit scary my boys like it. Its about a boy who doesn't believe in Santa, he gets on the train with lots of other children who are coming of age and finds that Santa is real, again as long as you believe in him. Last year Jack watched it a lot and asked for a sleigh bell from Santa for Christmas. It was an interesting process to get one sent out from the USA because any true sleigh bells were not allowed to be shipped over in case they were contaminated with horse flu.

Tim Burton at his best in this stop motion movie about Jack Skellington, who opens a portal between Halloween town and Christmas town and then decides that he wants to take over Santa Claus's job.

OK so its mostly not about Christmas but its set at Christmas time and that's good enough for me. Basic plot is, boy buys strange pet (but doesn't listen to instructions on how to look after him) pet runs a muck, has babies that try and take over the world ..... whats not to like :)

So its another 'not really a Christmas movie' but it is a blockbuster about an ex cop who goes to his ex wife Christmas party but the party gets taken hostage by a madman and carnage explosions and wise cracks ensues. Standard 80s action flick

I cant stand Will Ferral and almost didn't watch this movie, but I'm glad I did. It has some funny lines and unless your very Bah Humbug who doesn't enjoy a cheesy Christmas movie. The idea behind the movie is that the Christmas elves adopt a human child and when he finds out he is adopted he goes to NY to find his father. As with all cheesy Christmas movies along the way he teaches everyone that the spirit of Christmas relies on everyone believing in Santa

Anyone from my generation and older will remember these classic films. Personally i always loved Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer but there was also Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It just doesn't feel as much like Christmas these days without these made for TV mini movies but they don't seem to show them so much anymore.

Truth is i was getting desperate and it was between this and a Muppet Christmas. I'm not a huge fan of this movie but what the heck its cool to have an evil Santa in the mix. I'm NOT recommending this movie ..... the list just made more sense with 12 movies of Christmas

Top 7 TV series I regret getting into

In no particular order

1. Models Inc - this was the first show that I was ever a fan of (come on I was 14) that was cancelled with a cliff hanger, I was devastated.

2. Jericho - another show that was brought out and never satisfactory wrapped up, due to poor ratings

3. Lost - to me this show is just too slow to survive the writers strike. I have promised myself that I will grab it on DVD once its released, but Lost seems to be more work than its worth

4. Surface - yes, it was a crappy B rated show, but I decided to watch it and got caught up. It finished on a major cliff hanger, the whole town covered in water, and blue whale sized sea monsters swimming down the street, but it didn't rate well and so they didn't make a season 2. So we are left with the picture of these sea monsters swimming past church steeples never find out what happens next

5. Californication - I just don't think that this show will go far, I know that there is a season two in the works but I just have a feeling you know?

6. Firefly - even though I chose to get into this show knowing it was cancelled half way through the first season, its the only show on the list that I think is brilliant and I am still annoyed that the networks didn't give this show a chance to kick arse

7. Threshold - I have no real idea about what happened to this show, I read about it but I still don't have a clue. It looks like they filmed more than they aired and that they are planning on making another show using the same story line but with a different name !!!

I'm sure there are others, but my brain can't locate those files at the moment.

A special thanks goes out to Wikipedia for this post, without you I'm sure that i wouldn't have been able to find much, if anything on Models Inc, i know that if i was writing anything substantial I'm would not be allowed to use you as a reference but seeing that I'm only writing a blog, who's going to tell me off :)