Fool's Views (8/1 – 8/31)

As July rolled around, I found myself totally overwhelmed with my NASM personal training certification studies, trying in vain to memorize muscular insertion points (no, that’s not a euphemism) and which amino acids were essential and which weren’t. I finally had to call for reinforcements.

For the first time in the history of the H101 blog, other people's names were on the byline for the reviews, but happily those names were none other than Matt Wedge and Jason Coffman, two of the wickedest scribblers to be found, both of whom happen to live in my own darn zip code. (insert obligatory “Chicago’s horror community rocks” shout-out here.) My load was lightened, my personal views ebbed slightly, the reviews slowed to a trickle and then….

I passed that f*****g test. And life got a little better. I mean, I had to start memorizing lines for Greenbrier Valley Theatre’s production of Hamlet the next day, but I could actually justify watching a few movies JUST FOR FUN. Like, you know, BATMAN and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and MISSION-FRICKING-IMPOSSIBLE.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Some people never go anywhere without their HORROR 101. These people usually die before the credits.

Fool's Views (4/7 – 4/13)

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

Howdy folks,

Well, thanks to the deliciousness that was Movieside’s Sci-Fi Spectacular and the arrival of some potentially interesting genre films hitting theaters – Devil’s Due, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, and I, Frankenstein just weren’t hooking me – I finally made it out to the cinema, sextupling my 2014 theatrical intake in one short week.

Seeing a giant, magic-berry-juice-drinking ape duking it out with Japan’s favorite radioactive lizard on the big screen with a near-capacity crowd in attendance is as close to achieving total consciousness as I ever hope to get (so I've got that going for me, which is nice), and Pan’s Labyrinth was just as rewarding as it was the first time. I also went 4-for-4 with my multiplex excursions, although seriously, AMC, those animated red dots and the little pre-film dumbshows have GOT TO GO. Sooooooooo terrible.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

UNDER THE SKIN (2013) movie review

Under the Skin (2013) d. Jonathan Glazer (UK)

With buzz growing since its UK release, this screen adaptation of Michael Faber’s novel arrived fully onto my radar via the announcement that it would be gracing the cover of Fangoria magazine’s May issue #332. Now, granted, editor-in-chief Chris Alexander has made some odd choices during his four-year tenure (Nicholas Cage? Gene Simmons?), but knowing that this was “Fango-approved” definitely heightened my interest. However, it also provoked expectations, which can be the enemy of many a filmgoing experience.