Frustration and whole lot of code

So I am working on getting a website together for a person very special to me. I am really excited about it, I really enjoy doing website stuff ect ect...

Now I had an idea in mind, a layout, design, and I was determined to make a sample of it to show. All was going well and then I came across a problem, and it was very frustrating, and it seemed like no matter what I was doing, I couldn't fix the problem. I looked up the subject, and found some forums where people were posting for help on the same problem. I tried the solutions people had suggested and none of them worked. I was sitting and typing up the code and re typing code, trying all sorts of things. It got to the point where all I could see was code. I felt like I was in The Matrix. I know when you have to use code daily you probably get used to it, and like they say in The Matrix you don't see the code, you see what it represents. I was really feeling that, and I finally solved the problem I was having, and its all good.

After all that, I did get some good feedback that what I was working on was in the right direction of what was wanted with the site. So there is a LONG way to go, but I have a good feeling about this, and I am sure it will turn out great!

In other news, I have been battling a cold all damn week. This has kept me from doing other things I wanted to get done this week. This better clear up soon, going to be having a small meet up with some other people from the Empire Aus Forum tomorrow. Going to see TF2 at the IMAX, which should prove an interesting experience. With all the bad press I am actually even more eager to see it! I need to know just how bad it really is, and well just how hot Megan Fox looks on IMAX.

I also got a call on Wednesday about a job interview, after weeks of all the applying ect ect, I finally got a call. I had the interview yesterday morning in the city, and I have to say it did go rather well. I had to do a bunch of tests and my results were very good. Above average, which is very good, and my newly revised resume seemed to impress. I possibly will have another interview early next week, it will be an entry level position. Fingers crossed, this would be really good.

So yeah, quite a week, I got this website work and also the interview. I also watched a bit more of S7 of 24, and I am hooked. I am around half way through, I've managed to avoid spoilers thus far too. Next on the list to watch is to finish S2 of SeaQuest and The Wire, start True Blood as well. I have a lot of films to watch as well, I need to finish Outlander, I started it and I was liking it, but then I didn't finish it. I also want to check out the F13 remake. I did rewatch May and New Nightmare this week, both fantastic films.


In the world of my other interest, wrestling, WWE did the whole Donald Trump stunt and by the sounds of things, it didn't work out very well. Did they really get the ratings they reported? Raw pretty much is a mess of a show, the highlights are when they feature Smackdown storylines. ECW is pretty good too, but Smackdown is where it is at in the WWE. CM Punk is the Champ, feuding with Jeff Hardy. I am waiting for that full blown heel turn. TNA had their Slammiversary PPV and it was one of the best PPVs I've seen in awhile. Most of the matches were excellent, but some out comes were disappointing. Seriously, one of the Motorcity Machine Guns needed to win the X Div title! Bad mistake there! I knew either Angle or AJ would win the Worlds Title, and Angle won after Joe turned heel and joined the MEM. The Monters Ball match was awesome, Taylor and Daffney did such a fantastic job, and I can't believe Daffney and Raven both got the thumb tacks! I read Impact results, that should be interesting to watch too.

Well I have a book to finish reading, and I have the writers bug too. I have some great ideas swarming and I am going to get those down.

NOES 2 - Freddys Revenge Drinking Game

Well folks, one of my favourite websites Arrow In The Head, has started a podcast, and I really enjoyed it and I suggest to Ammon (who does the podcast) that perhaps having a Horror Movie Drinking Game on each show would be cool. He really dug the idea, and featured it on podcast no. 3 which you can check out by clicking here.

Anyway Ammon asked me what movies I had in mind, and he might use it. So I suggested one of my all time guilty pleasure films A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge. He used it for the podcast, which was awesome.

So folks this is the game, and please if you do go ahead and play it, play it responsibly.

Put the movie on, have some drinks handy (normally the rules of the game is to have shots, but you can have some bottles of beer ect...), so every time anything remotely gay (gay in the homosexual sense) happens, you have to drink. This film is filled with an insane amount of homosexual undertones, so just be aware of how much you drink haha. You also have to drink when you feel like this movie should be showing titties on screen and you don't get any! Lets face it, slasher films and titties go hand in hand, and when you don't see any you kind of feel robbed. You also have to drink if someone on screen drinks, there is a party scene in this film so keep an eye out.

Well with those rules, you might be really off your face 30mins in, so again take it easy haha! And enjoy!!

Why I like horror films

I often get asked why I like horror films and what enjoyment I get out of them. Horror seems to be a very misunderstood genre, and especially in films there are many different types of horror.

So why do I like horror films? That is a tough one to answer, so I think it is time to tackle that one. Firstly as I stated above there are many different types of horror, you have horror/comedy such as Re-Animator or Evil Dead II. You have the slasher horror such as Friday the 13th and its sequels. You have brutal horror such as Last House On The Left or I Spit On Your Grave. You then have Vampire horror, Werewolf horror, and so forth. Yes, many, many different types and for the most part I am a fan of all the different types of horror.

The horror/comedy does not always work, so sometimes that can be a big fail. I believe a perfect example of a horror/comedy that works is Re-Animator, and for anyone that knows me I classify Re-Animator as my favourite horror film. The film works on so many levels, the acting is great, the script is sharp, and it is just a lot of fun. If you check out the unrated version is it rather gorey, I know people can't handle that, but I can and you know what, I get a kick out of it. There is a scene in particular where someone gets their head cut off, and it actually works in a rather amusing way because the head and the body both get re-animated and walked around and cause trouble. Just read that if you haven't seen the film you're either thinking, no I will pass or hell yeah gimme gimme! Its funny, its bloody, its good fun.

Moving to the slasher genre, again it is hit and miss, you either want to have characters you care about and when they bite the dust it hurts. Or you want a really groovy bad character, with idiot minor characters who you want to see get sliced up. Now either one, when done well, works. Sometimes they are done so bad that they are just really funny and you still enjoy them. Others just make you wish the badie would end it for you, so you don't have to watch such rubbish. Theres something sickly fun about rooting for the badie, maybe its because deep down theres some pleasure to be had in seeing people you can't stand get it in brutal ways? A great example for me was The Tripper which was written and directed by David Arquette. The Tripper is about a bunch of hippies who get targeted by a Ronald Reagen masked killer. I found the hippies to be so damn annoying, I wanted them to get it. The actual back story to the killer worked well too, and he really did me a favour by offing the hippies. I had a lot of fun with the film, and that folks was David's intention. A slasher film where I acually scared for the characters was actually the originally April Fools Day, I honestly didn't really want to see anyone go. The fantastic surprise ending (I wont spoil) almost gave me a heart attack! Those feelings however are good to have, and in the end I enjoyed the film and I felt everything was done perfectly.

I'll move on to more brutal horror films, which is probably a lot more difficult to explain. What pleasure does one get out of a film like that? Well you know what, there isn't a lot, and films like this remind you that life isn't always peachy keen, unfortunately there are bad people out there and bad things happen to all of us. In the case of Last House On The Left (original), it is brutal, it isn't easy to watch. Two innocent teenage girls meet the wrong group of people, these people know they are sick, and even their behaviour I believe made them sick. For their thrills, they torture and kill these two girls. The scenes are not always easy to watch, it is brutal and raw and it does remind you things like this happen (Think of the Manson Family murders), but these guys do not get away with it. Revenge happens, and there is a bit of satisfaction to be had there, but was it worth it? All this leaves it open for debate and it makes you think. And that is what I want in a film too, I want it to make me think about it afterwards, I want to feel conflicted about it. Last House works in that way, and yes I do think if the bumbling cops were left out or handled differently the film would be more brutal. The same can be said about I Spit On Your Grave, another very brutal film, hard to watch at times and again it has the revenge theme in it. Another seemingly innocent women gets brutally attacked and raped by some men, and one by one she gets them back. As a woman, I felt those pigs had what was coming to them, the brutality of what they did to her, I mean you felt it was warrented. I know people who agree and disagree, and again it is what I want out of a film, discussion, thinking and all the rest. Listening to the directors commentary really opens up about what ideas he had about the film, and how he had found a rape victim and agains my feelings about the film got stronger. It is another reminder that we live in a messed up world, and if put in the situation of the main character would we do the same thing? I am a fan of the revenge film, we all feel like getting revenge one time or another and ones like this I think really make you think, and feel things. The more brutal, the more harsh they are, the more affect they can actually have (Whether that brutally is shown on screen or not).

Moving to horror involving mythical creatures such as werewolves and vampires, why are they appealing? Well I find them interesting, how the myth has evolved over time, and how the films have changed since the 30's. Personally one of my favourite horror films with vampires is Near Dark. What I liked about it, is a lot of 'hollywood' mythos are gone, no bs with garlic, no bs with crosses, its straight to the point. Avoid the sun, and feed. And it works, fantastic characters, mixed in with a love story that works (They dont always work and these two had great chemistry). Another film where there is a good conflict, for me I didn't really feel the vampires were bad, they were doing what they had to do, to survive. And the introduction of a new person can certainly ruin a good thing. The themes are clear in the film, and you know its a good ride. It has its gorey moments and the way in which they are done are actually quite well and fitting, it felt justified. You have films that use excess gore just to shock, but it does work when fitting. For me its a great and enjoyable film and I think the situation works with or without vampires.

Hopefully I've offered some insight to a very misunderstood genre. I am sure I'll get asked why I like something so sick as Hostel, but again it relates to what I discussed about the brutal horror film. While things are very excessive in Hostel, I think it works for the film. I don't think it worked so much with Saw, but I am not a huge fan of Saw having only seen the first two.

Well folks until next time....

Oh and if you want to further your horror reading, check out Arrow in the Head, via JoBlo.com, I am proud to say I am mentioned in the AITH's latest podcast, a big thanks there :)

Watchmen pic

This picture came out yesterday and it looks soooo fucking fantastic!




We get our first official glimpse of Rorschach (There was that one test frame hidden in the unrated 300 trailer), and it looks soooooooooooooo good! This really seems like it has been faithful to the graphic novel, hopefully this wont disappoint, but yikes we're still over a year away from a release. And please....no delays! So pissed still over Star Trek getting delayed by months!

The Lookout

4 / 5

Surprising movie, I wasn't really expecting much, it had a good trailer and I thought surely the movie wouldn't end up being very good. But as I said surprising, it really was quite good! Basically the story of a young guy Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets in a bad car accident and gets injured and isn't quite the same again. He lives with a Lewis (Jeff Daniels) a blind man, and attends classes, sees a case worker and does night shift at a bank. He then meets Gary (Matthew Goode), who basically befriends him, puts ideas in his head to get Chris to do what he wants. I suppose it helps through Gary he meets Luvlee (Isla Fisher), Chris fancies her ect... I wont give any more away, as the movie progresses it gets more interesting and intense. Scott Frank, makes his directortial debut and I think he did a really good job, this held my interest from start to finish. All the performances are really good, Joseph Gordon-Levitt can do no wrong. Matthew Goode was surprising as Gary, I think he gave off all the right vibes. Jeff Daniels walked through this, and he did it well. Isla Fisher can play an air head, a cute air head really well. This is definitely a movie I'd recommend.

Next

2.5 / 5

Pretty average movie, silly concept, but if you go with it, it kind of works. Nic Cage was better in this then he was in Ghost Rider, but his hair was just appauling and such a distraction. Julianne Moore who I adore, can do so much better. Jessica Biel was fine, and well lets face it, shes hot. It was going alright until the ending, which ruined it. The action scenes are good, over the top but still good.

Zodiac

4.5 / 5

I've been hanging to see this for so long I really expected that I was going to be let down, but nope! I thought this was excellent, just everything about it, I loved. For me this didn't drag at all and it certainly didn't feel like it was almost 3 hours long. Having read up about the Zodiac case many times, I was interested to see a film about it. Going with the people who were involved with it, and became obsessed with it, having it taking over their lives, it was just so intense to watch. It didn't really stray away from the Zodiac either, which I really liked (A problem that I had with The Black Dahlia, the characters just weren't that interesting, and the case was) and in this they kept up with the case. You could see how it affected the characters, and what toll it took on them, without going too much into it. Performance wise everyone was just spot on, and its always great to see Elias Koteas on screen. Anthony Edwards who usually annoys me, didn't in this, I actually thought he was good. Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr were excellent, probably the stand outs. Jake was good too, the only issue, so many years past and he hadn't really aged. I'd highly recommend this to fans of the genre, you wont be disappointed.