I do so love conventions of the horror/sci-fi/comic kind. When my schedule permits, I will gather friends and accomplices to join me in my nerdly pursuits. This past Saturday (5/3/08) Chiller was on my calendar. Oh what fun Dominar Stark, Master Virage and I would have. It would also allow me to catch up with my buddy, indie horror film maker SV Bell (and person I lent my voice talents to for his film Rise of the Ghosts).
The gang and I donned our more tame fetish attire and met up for breakfast at the best Jersey diner/pancake house The Brownstone. We needed pancakes! Like usual, the pancakes were fucking fabulous & the perpetual cups of black gold kept me spry. After we polished off the meal and we were thoroughly caffinated, we piled into Master Virage's car and headed off to beautiful Parsippany NJ. The leisurely ride soon turned into a frenzied dash for the hotel. The coffee hit and it hit our collective bladders hard. But we got to the hotel quickly with no leaks or wet spots and our sighs of relief gave way to gasps of horror. The lot was full. I mean really really full. Not a good sign. We ended up parking far far away and on the other side of the hotel.
We hobbled as quickly as we could into the back entrance (lest one of us pop) and into the nearest rest rooms. One male. One female and 1 patron at a time. Lucky us, no tp. None. Neither the men's nor woman's had tp, just cheap abrasive feels like tree bark paper towels. Apparently I was luckier than Dominar Stark. His latrine had a shit monument in the corner. Someone was non too happy with the lack of tp, used the paper towels instead and then piled the shitiful towels in the corner. This begged the question Was this shittter human or hamster (hamsters and the like pile feces in a corner to keep it away from other things)? These were all terrible signs. Horrid bathrooms and lousy parking all point in one direction, an overly crowded Chiller. By the time we found the entrance/ticket area to Chiller, there was a line out the door and around. So our choices were 1.stand all day on line or 2.leave and go see Iron Man.
Look for my up coming review of Iron Man.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Harold & Kumar
Last weekend I grabbed a bunch of friends and made haste to my local theatre in Bayridge. My Goddess I was frothing at the bit to see the sequel to Harold and Kumar go to White Castle as it is one of my fave comedies and quotable films. The characters of Harold and Kumar are reminiscent of the traditional comedy duos of straight man and comedic foil. Though Harold and Kumar have a 420 bent, they are less like Cheech and Chong and more like Abbot and Costello. Who's on first base anyone?
With a sequel there is always one of three possibilities. 1. film can be as good as the original (Austin Powers 2). 2. film can be better than original (Prophecy 2 & 3). 3. or a film sequel can be so bad we pretend only the first one exists and we disown and disavow all that came after (Matrix 2&3, Highlander 2,3,etc).
So where does Harold and Kumar Escape from Gitmo land? Let's see.
This incarnation of the super comedic duo finds them starting where they left off in the first one, on their way to Amsterdam. Gosh I like it when a film doesn't forget that the audience still remembers what happened in the first one no matter how much 420 was smoked. So far so good. The characters true to themselves quickly get into hijinx as soon as they get to the airport and all their good plans go out to pasture. Many new characters get introduced (including the current prez with much comedic aplomb) but old characters are not forgotten. Lots of references from the duos last journey are called back and so are old characters. In fact, we even get Neil Patrick Harris back with more screen time and every frame fucking funny.
The writers never pull punches. Of course there is the pro-marijuana agenda that is always a consistent theme as well as the anti redneck/racist/hater/thought zombie . Hell, they even make a political statement swathed in hilarity (how else could they possibly tackle the current regime). Totally sweet.
The cast is superb and on pointe. From the main characters to bit players, each line is delivered with care for maximum funny. The joy these actors take in delivering their lines is obvious so there are no throwaways or phoned in performances. The reactions and silences are just as witty and well delivered as the lines themselves.
In the end, both Harold and Kumar get the girl, get the weed, get to share a fat spliff with Dubya, make racists, government toads look like the duchebags they are and even get the vacation in Amsterdam. Happy ending. What's not to love? So I have no choice to rate this at least as good as the original. When is comes out on DVD I will own this badboy. Hell I'll even pay for it.
With a sequel there is always one of three possibilities. 1. film can be as good as the original (Austin Powers 2). 2. film can be better than original (Prophecy 2 & 3). 3. or a film sequel can be so bad we pretend only the first one exists and we disown and disavow all that came after (Matrix 2&3, Highlander 2,3,etc).
So where does Harold and Kumar Escape from Gitmo land? Let's see.
This incarnation of the super comedic duo finds them starting where they left off in the first one, on their way to Amsterdam. Gosh I like it when a film doesn't forget that the audience still remembers what happened in the first one no matter how much 420 was smoked. So far so good. The characters true to themselves quickly get into hijinx as soon as they get to the airport and all their good plans go out to pasture. Many new characters get introduced (including the current prez with much comedic aplomb) but old characters are not forgotten. Lots of references from the duos last journey are called back and so are old characters. In fact, we even get Neil Patrick Harris back with more screen time and every frame fucking funny.
The writers never pull punches. Of course there is the pro-marijuana agenda that is always a consistent theme as well as the anti redneck/racist/hater/thought zombie . Hell, they even make a political statement swathed in hilarity (how else could they possibly tackle the current regime). Totally sweet.
The cast is superb and on pointe. From the main characters to bit players, each line is delivered with care for maximum funny. The joy these actors take in delivering their lines is obvious so there are no throwaways or phoned in performances. The reactions and silences are just as witty and well delivered as the lines themselves.
In the end, both Harold and Kumar get the girl, get the weed, get to share a fat spliff with Dubya, make racists, government toads look like the duchebags they are and even get the vacation in Amsterdam. Happy ending. What's not to love? So I have no choice to rate this at least as good as the original. When is comes out on DVD I will own this badboy. Hell I'll even pay for it.
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