Fool's Views (12/16 - 12/31)

"I can't feel my legs, my vision is blurry, and I can't use my words."
(Pause)
"Oh, that's right, it's January..."

And that, my friends, is that.

Ended the year in fine fashion, clocking an additional 25 films during the final two weeks, including bagging my last letter of the alphabet (“Y” for YellowBrickRoad) and the missing pieces in the chronology sweepstakes (1949, 1951, 1952, 1969, 1979), as well as a last-minute Share the Scare with the gang, adding another half-dozen flickers to the grand totals.

I won’t spend a lot of time chatting here – as per usual, it’s time to get to the Year-End Recap Madness – and as you’ll soon discover, you have some reading to do, Faithful AC-olytes! Let’s get to it, shall we?

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

Enjoy!

YELLOWBRICKROAD (2010) movie review

YellowBrickRoad (2010) d. Jesse Holland / Andy Mitton (USA)

The writing/directing team of Holland & Mitton conjure an incredibly rich scenario, then people it with an exemplary array of characters such that the first 45 minutes of this well-crafted yarn were literally spent on the edge of my seat. The wonderfully simple premise – a group of researchers seeking to unravel the mystery of a New Hampshire village’s population who, one quiet day in 1940, simply wandered out of town and disappeared forever – is so well cultivated, with creepy, organic atmosphere to spare, one feels like applauding each passing scene for its chutzpah and execution. (The high point is a mid-film gore set-piece aka “the leg scene” that had me squirming and muttering, “Holy crap, ain’t never seen that before... and I’m not sure I needed to.”)

Fool's Views (12/5 – 12/11)

Hey kids,

Huge week for movies as we head into the final stretch. This is when I start looking at the calendar and think to myself, “You know those movie projects you’ve been meaning to knock out before the end of the year? Yeah, need to get on that.” Of course, this is also just as Hollywood starts turning out its awards bait, and also when it occurs to me that I need to get in another Share the Scare or two before the end of the year… Bottom line, it means the Views start coming fast and furious - no rest for the wicked wickeds out there.

The good news is that I was able to further indulge in my Peter Jackson 2011 lovefest as well as making a sizable dent in Bob Clark’s filmography, as well as picking up three recent mainstream releases topped by a five-flick StS involving great friends, great chow and a variety of first time views seen in the company of fellow adventurous souls. Talking about you, David Schmidt, Adam Meredith, Sharon Gissy, Jason Coffman, Tery Gallagher, Dan Kiggins and Brian Kirst. Thanks for, well, Sharing the Scare – screaming is always better with company.

There’s plenty more to come, with an array of international horror on the horizon, so let’s get to the week that was. As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!