list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around 28 Days Later on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/28_Days_Later/218886/default.aspx Title: 28 Days Later
Year: 2003
Director: Danny Boyle
Plot: Animal rights activists free a group of infected chimpanzees to horrifying results in this speculative sci-fi horror effort from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle. Waking from a coma in a deserted London hospital 28 days later, bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) takes to the deserted city streets in a state of mystified confusion. Joining forces with another group of survivors following a terrifying encounter in a seemingly abandoned church, Jim soon learns the truth behind the deserted streets and the menacing creatures that lurk in the shadows. It's soon revealed that the chimpanzees had been harboring a deadly virus that sends its victims into a furious, murderous rage, and in the days following the initial exposure, the entire population was nearly wiped out due to the resulting homicidal rampage. Is there still a glimmer of hope for humanity -- or has the deadly "rage" virus found its way to foreign shores and infected the entire planet? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 179
Number of Lists: 148
Number of blog posts: 20
Number of discussion threads: 21
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:09:00 GMT28 Days Later2003Danny BoyleAnimal rights activists free a group of infected chimpanzees to horrifying results in this speculative sci-fi horror effort from <a href=/films/93107/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Trainspotting</a> director <a href="/players/P___188724/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Danny Boyle</a>. Waking from a coma in a deserted London hospital 28 days later, bicycle courier Jim (<a href="/players/P___271775/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cillian Murphy</a>) takes to the deserted city streets in a state of mystified confusion. Joining forces with another group of survivors following a terrifying encounter in a seemingly abandoned church, Jim soon learns the truth behind the deserted streets and the menacing creatures that lurk in the shadows. It's soon revealed that the chimpanzees had been harboring a deadly virus that sends its victims into a furious, murderous rage, and in the days following the initial exposure, the entire population was nearly wiped out due to the resulting homicidal rampage. Is there still a glimmer of hope for humanity -- or has the deadly "rage" virus found its way to foreign shores and infected the entire planet? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide179Tag Target (>10)14820213http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s218886.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/28_Days_Later/218886/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Zombie_Obsession/Re_Pontypool_IFC/329/43230/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: divinemsjunebug
Post To: Zombie Obsession
Post Date: 7/22/2009 3:09:00 PM
Body: That looks really good, I hadn't even heard of it before. I'm going to have to see if it's playing anywhere out here or may have to wait for it on Netflix. I am hoping to go to Edinburgh next year, not for the film festival but to visit and good friend who lives there and am even thinking about moving there some day with him, who knows. It's such a beautiful and historic city (and he is a very hot Scotsman, what more is there?) ANYWAY, I'd really like to see that movie, thanks for bringing that up! June [quote user="indieabby88"] I had the great opportunity while in Scotland this last month to check out "Pontypool" at the Edinburgh film festival. I know this movie only just opened in the states, and I'm pretty sure its release is fairly limited, but I wanted to know if anyone had seen this yet, or wants to, or has any thoughts about it. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of this movie and think everyone should go check it out. I think it's a really refreshing take on the conventions of the zombie genre, and probably my favorite new zombie movie (that I've seen) since "28 Days Later." Here's a link to the trailer [/quote]
]]>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:09:00 GMTdivinemsjunebugZombie Obsession7/22/2009 3:09:00 PMThat looks really good, I hadn't even heard of it before. I'm going to have to see if it's playing anywhere out here or may have to wait for it on Netflix. I am hoping to go to Edinburgh next year, not for the film festival but to visit and good friend who lives there and am even thinking about moving there some day with him, who knows. It's such a beautiful and historic city (and he is a very hot Scotsman, what more is there?) ANYWAY, I'd really like to see that movie, thanks for bringing that up! June [quote user="indieabby88"] I had the great opportunity while in Scotland this last month to check out "Pontypool" at the Edinburgh film festival. I know this movie only just opened in the states, and I'm pretty sure its release is fairly limited, but I wanted to know if anyone had seen this yet, or wants to, or has any thoughts about it. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of this movie and think everyone should go check it out. I think it's a really refreshing take on the conventions of the zombie genre, and probably my favorite new zombie movie (that I've seen) since "28 Days Later." Here's a link to the trailer [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/Zombie_Obsession/Pontypool_IFC/329/43040/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: indieabby88
Post To: Zombie Obsession
Post Date: 7/13/2009 9:59:23 PM
Body: I had the great opportunity while in Scotland this last month to check out "Pontypool" at the Edinburgh film festival. I know this movie only just opened in the states, and I'm pretty sure its release is fairly limited, but I wanted to know if anyone had seen this yet, or wants to, or has any thoughts about it. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of this movie and think everyone should go check it out. I think it's a really refreshing take on the conventions of the zombie genre, and probably my favorite new zombie movie (that I've seen) since "28 Days Later." Here's a link to the trailer
]]>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:59:23 GMTindieabby88Zombie Obsession7/13/2009 9:59:23 PMI had the great opportunity while in Scotland this last month to check out "Pontypool" at the Edinburgh film festival. I know this movie only just opened in the states, and I'm pretty sure its release is fairly limited, but I wanted to know if anyone had seen this yet, or wants to, or has any thoughts about it. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of this movie and think everyone should go check it out. I think it's a really refreshing take on the conventions of the zombie genre, and probably my favorite new zombie movie (that I've seen) since "28 Days Later." Here's a link to the trailer http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_June_22_The_Plague/625/42756/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 6/22/2009 2:12:54 PM
Body: Hey Y'all... Let's talk about plague movies. Everyone remembers Charlton and Yul in Celil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments or Bergman's The Seventh Seal which takes place during the bubonic plague of the 14th century. How about some more modern examples? 28 Days Later comes to mind. Plague of rage infested running zombies. Or how about Doomsday?.... I'm not sure what the hell that movie was all about but it was a hellova good time. Also, if you can find it, La Peste is a solid film that takes place during an outbreak of bubonic plague in some South American city... William Hurt & Robert Duvall are in it. I saw it on IFC a few years ago & missed the beginning, netflix doesn't seem to have it.
]]>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:12:54 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme6/22/2009 2:12:54 PMHey Y'all... Let's talk about plague movies. Everyone remembers Charlton and Yul in Celil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments or Bergman's The Seventh Seal which takes place during the bubonic plague of the 14th century. How about some more modern examples? 28 Days Later comes to mind. Plague of rage infested running zombies. Or how about Doomsday?.... I'm not sure what the hell that movie was all about but it was a hellova good time. Also, if you can find it, La Peste is a solid film that takes place during an outbreak of bubonic plague in some South American city... William Hurt &amp; Robert Duvall are in it. I saw it on IFC a few years ago &amp; missed the beginning, netflix doesn't seem to have it. http://www.spout.com/blogs/smooth_j/archive/2009/1/17/39619.aspx Post By: Smooth_J
Post To: Smooth_J Blog
Post Date: 1/17/2009 12:18:18 PM
Body: Over the past decade or so, the film community has watched a surge of independent directors make outstanding films that get absolutely no awards recognition except perhaps on the festival circuit. Some of these directors include David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan, and Danny Boyle. Their movies prior to this year's releases expressed their talent significantly, and yet have been largely ignored by most "major" organizations, most notably the Academy and the Golden Globes--however, they have received awards or nominations from several of the other prestigious associations: aside from various critics awards, Christopher Nolan has a DGA nomination under his belt for Memento; Danny Boyle has been praised and awarded multiple times in the UK, most notably the BAFTA awards; David Fincher, apart from critics awards, has won a DGA for commercials (of all things); and Darren Aronofsky has tragically been shut out of all major awards circles. And then there's this year. Christopher Nolan has another DGA nomination for The Dark Knight, and that along with the multitudes of accolades that the film's receiving, with the exception of the lack of love the Globes showed (cue self-indulgent and inevitable reference to Heath Ledger's Joker...); David Fincher now has a BAFTA nomination to brag about as well as two more DGA nominations (one for commercials), a Golden Globe nomination, and an NBR win--all for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Darren Aronofsky has directed one of the most acclaimed performances of the year in one of the most acclaimed films of the year (The Wrestler), although he has been mostly shut-out of recognition (his most well-known appearance has been flipping off Rourke); and Danny Boyle, a director no longer to be ignored, has been raking in endless attention, from a Golden Globe win, to a DGA nomination, to another BAFTA nomination, and all the way to what is shaping up to be a definite Oscar nomination, and if all goes well, a win. And now to the movie that is the catalyst of his exaltations: Slumdog Millionaire, a film about an Indian "slumdog" who is chosen to be a contestant on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? However, most people know almost everything there is to know about this movie already, so I won't continue to bombard you with the same synopsis and review. It's a terrific movie. It's interminably entertaining, with great performances and a love-story that can only be described by the film's overlying theme: destiny. The love between the two leads is not necessarily fully developed, but that's the point. Jamal knows he loves Latika, and would go to the end of the earth to be with her, but the viewer never receives much explanation. Because of this, the film is mystical; it's a seemingly doomed romance, pushing onwards against all odds, with nothing but fate to tie it together. Latika at first seems confused at Jamal's passion, as is the audience, but she is soon enveloped in it, realizing with maturity beyond her age that it will never work. But Jamal sticks with his belief in love and destiny, and that is what brings him to the final round of the show, and an ultimate reunion with his love, and a tragic sacrifice by his brother. Kevin Buist on Spoutblog referred to the film as "hectic and sloppy." I did not perceive that in the least. Slumdog Millionaire definitely has a frenetic, insatiable energy--but I saw it as the allure of youthfulness, which the characters all maintain despite their encounters with situations far beyond their levels of maturity. A particularly magnificent scene occurs when there is a montage of Jamal and Salim, his brother, hustling people on a train, with MIA's Paper Planes blaring on the soundtrack. It brings what I previously knew as a stoner tune, one to blast while driving down a college avenue in a shitty SUV, a whole new level of meaning; it was music and image meshed beautifully to form a scene of childlike wonder. Danny Boyle's masterful direction, as well as miraculously timed editing and grainy, dreamlike photography, allows the film to maintain the viewer's concentration, to captivate them, up to the final shot (of the story), where the magical realism of the film is summed up in a corny, cliched, and wonderful final exchange between lovers, including lines such as "It is destiny" and "Kiss Me." Needless to say, the Bollywood dance sequence slaps a huge goofy smile on your face, no matter what your feelings about the film are--an intoxicatingly happy ending, punctuated by a final tribute to the country that the film owes its liveliness. The film is becoming the subject of slight backlash, like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno before it--however, unlike those two films, I don't feel that Slumdog is deserving of the contrarian treatment. Crash began an era of awards contention is which films undeserving of major awards speculation are pushed to the top of year-end lists and critics awards. The awards season is driven not necessarily by quality of films but by the frenzied, rabid support that they draw from the louder patrons of Hollywood; Crash may not have even been nominated had it not been for an aggressive campaign strategy and an anti-Brokeback backlash. Crash was not a good film. It was an unsubtle, in-your-face anti-racism film--in other words, nothing but white noise. Little Miss Sunshine was a cute, entertaining little film that made it to the top through the support it gained at film festivals. Juno just rode the independent film wave, effortlessly driving its way to the top of contention despite it being corny fluff piece, a crowd pleaser that hid behind a too-hip-for-its-own-good script. Juno isn't necessarily a festival film even--it seemed to pretend it was, but it's my belief that it pretended to be to give it a lovable underdog status. I don't dislike any of the films I just mentioned (except Crash--Paul Haggis sucks). However, I agree with the cynics in that all of them were undeserving of the infinite praise that they received. Slumdog Millionaire is slightly different. It really is an underslumdog (I'm sorry) film--it was made with a low budget in the actual slums of Mumbai, with an entirely Indian cast and a British/Indian film crew. The only reason it is being recognized is because it is being loved consistently by (nearly) all that see it. It is incredible entertainment, a crowd-pleaser with timeless themes of love and destiny, as well as a genuine aesthetic achievement. Something about the film works in a way that none of the aforementioned films do--it is not in the least self-important, and despite its reliance on coincidence and fate, it never once feels forced. It flows, from the chase scene through the slums to the beautiful sequence on the train to the hokey Bollywood finale. It's escapism at its best. Although some Indians are claiming the film as their own with pride, others are denouncing the film for depicting India as a slum. The movie is called SLUMdog Millionaire. It's about a kid from a slum who makes it on a gameshow. It's not claiming to represent India as a whole. It's merely depicting the struggles someone from a slum in Mumbai may face. And do people really begrudge Danny Boyle the attention he's getting? The distinguished auteur behind Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Sunshine is getting his due for a film that almost no one had heard about less than a year ago. That's amazing. I'm not saying the film is perfect--it has its flaws. I would not call it the best film of the year--yet. The Dark Knight was magnificent, and Christopher Nolan is overdue for some attention (although he has an Oscar nomination for writing already), as was Benjamin Button, and David Fincher is aching for a statue with such an impressive repertoire (let's just forget Panic Room). I have yet to see The Wrestler, let alone most of the other films in contention. This year is going to be a tight race for the Oscars. I'm suggesting that people not focus on the mania behind films and actually watch the movies and make their own opinions about them. It isn't fair to renounce a movie just because of the attention it's getting; see the movie, and find out for yourself if it's deserving. Seeing movies with an open mind is the key to enjoying them, and fanatical incrimination of films prevents unbiased movie-watching from happening. It's a shame, because when it's time for a movie to receive its due, its achievements are often clouded by rancid smoke, expelled from the black and unwelcoming lungs of deliriously pretentious critics.
]]>Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:18:18 GMTSmooth_JSmooth_J Blog1/17/2009 12:18:18 PMOver the past decade or so, the film community has watched a surge of independent directors make outstanding films that get absolutely no awards recognition except perhaps on the festival circuit. Some of these directors include David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan, and Danny Boyle. Their movies prior to this year's releases expressed their talent significantly, and yet have been largely ignored by most "major" organizations, most notably the Academy and the Golden Globes--however, they have received awards or nominations from several of the other prestigious associations: aside from various critics awards, Christopher Nolan has a DGA nomination under his belt for Memento; Danny Boyle has been praised and awarded multiple times in the UK, most notably the BAFTA awards; David Fincher, apart from critics awards, has won a DGA for commercials (of all things); and Darren Aronofsky has tragically been shut out of all major awards circles. And then there's this year. Christopher Nolan has another DGA nomination for The Dark Knight, and that along with the multitudes of accolades that the film's receiving, with the exception of the lack of love the Globes showed (cue self-indulgent and inevitable reference to Heath Ledger's Joker...); David Fincher now has a BAFTA nomination to brag about as well as two more DGA nominations (one for commercials), a Golden Globe nomination, and an NBR win--all for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Darren Aronofsky has directed one of the most acclaimed performances of the year in one of the most acclaimed films of the year (The Wrestler), although he has been mostly shut-out of recognition (his most well-known appearance has been flipping off Rourke); and Danny Boyle, a director no longer to be ignored, has been raking in endless attention, from a Golden Globe win, to a DGA nomination, to another BAFTA nomination, and all the way to what is shaping up to be a definite Oscar nomination, and if all goes well, a win. And now to the movie that is the catalyst of his exaltations: Slumdog Millionaire, a film about an Indian "slumdog" who is chosen to be a contestant on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? However, most people know almost everything there is to know about this movie already, so I won't continue to bombard you with the same synopsis and review. It's a terrific movie. It's interminably entertaining, with great performances and a love-story that can only be described by the film's overlying theme: destiny. The love between the two leads is not necessarily fully developed, but that's the point. Jamal knows he loves Latika, and would go to the end of the earth to be with her, but the viewer never receives much explanation. Because of this, the film is mystical; it's a seemingly doomed romance, pushing onwards against all odds, with nothing but fate to tie it together. Latika at first seems confused at Jamal's passion, as is the audience, but she is soon enveloped in it, realizing with maturity beyond her age that it will never work. But Jamal sticks with his belief in love and destiny, and that is what brings him to the final round of the show, and an ultimate reunion with his love, and a tragic sacrifice by his brother. Kevin Buist on Spoutblog referred to the film as "hectic and sloppy." I did not perceive that in the least. Slumdog Millionaire definitely has a frenetic, insatiable energy--but I saw it as the allure of youthfulness, which the characters all maintain despite their encounters with situations far beyond their levels of maturity. A particularly magnificent scene occurs when there is a montage of Jamal and Salim, his brother, hustling people on a train, with MIA's Paper Planes blaring on the soundtrack. It brings what I previously knew as a stoner tune, one to blast while driving down a college avenue in a shitty SUV, a whole new level of meaning; it was music and image meshed beautifully to form a scene of childlike wonder. Danny Boyle's masterful direction, as well as miraculously timed editing and grainy, dreamlike photography, allows the film to maintain the viewer's concentration, to captivate them, up to the final shot (of the story), where the magical realism of the film is summed up in a corny, cliched, and wonderful final exchange between lovers, including lines such as "It is destiny" and "Kiss Me." Needless to say, the Bollywood dance sequence slaps a huge goofy smile on your face, no matter what your feelings about the film are--an intoxicatingly happy ending, punctuated by a final tribute to the country that the film owes its liveliness. The film is becoming the subject of slight backlash, like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno before it--however, unlike those two films, I don't feel that Slumdog is deserving of the contrarian treatment. Crash began an era of awards contention is which films undeserving of major awards speculation are pushed to the top of year-end lists and critics awards. The awards season is driven not necessarily by quality of films but by the frenzied, rabid support that they draw from the louder patrons of Hollywood; Crash may not have even been nominated had it not been for an aggressive campaign strategy and an anti-Brokeback backlash. Crash was not a good film. It was an unsubtle, in-your-face anti-racism film--in other words, nothing but white noise. Little Miss Sunshine was a cute, entertaining little film that made it to the top through the support it gained at film festivals. Juno just rode the independent film wave, effortlessly driving its way to the top of contention despite it being corny fluff piece, a crowd pleaser that hid behind a too-hip-for-its-own-good script. Juno isn't necessarily a festival film even--it seemed to pretend it was, but it's my belief that it pretended to be to give it a lovable underdog status. I don't dislike any of the films I just mentioned (except Crash--Paul Haggis sucks). However, I agree with the cynics in that all of them were undeserving of the infinite praise that they received. Slumdog Millionaire is slightly different. It really is an underslumdog (I'm sorry) film--it was made with a low budget in the actual slums of Mumbai, with an entirely Indian cast and a British/Indian film crew. The only reason it is being recognized is because it is being loved consistently by (nearly) all that see it. It is incredible entertainment, a crowd-pleaser with timeless themes of love and destiny, as well as a genuine aesthetic achievement. Something about the film works in a way that none of the aforementioned films do--it is not in the least self-important, and despite its reliance on coincidence and fate, it never once feels forced. It flows, from the chase scene through the slums to the beautiful sequence on the train to the hokey Bollywood finale. It's escapism at its best. Although some Indians are claiming the film as their own with pride, others are denouncing the film for depicting India as a slum. The movie is called SLUMdog Millionaire. It's about a kid from a slum who makes it on a gameshow. It's not claiming to represent India as a whole. It's merely depicting the struggles someone from a slum in Mumbai may face. And do people really begrudge Danny Boyle the attention he's getting? The distinguished auteur behind Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Sunshine is getting his due for a film that almost no one had heard about less than a year ago. That's amazing. I'm not saying the film is perfect--it has its flaws. I would not call it the best film of the year--yet. The Dark Knight was magnificent, and Christopher Nolan is overdue for some attention (although he has an Oscar nomination for writing already), as was Benjamin Button, and David Fincher is aching for a statue with such an impressive repertoire (let's just forget Panic Room). I have yet to see The Wrestler, let alone most of the other films in contention. This year is going to be a tight race for the Oscars. I'm suggesting that people not focus on the mania behind films and actually watch the movies and make their own opinions about them. It isn't fair to renounce a movie just because of the attention it's getting; see the movie, and find out for yourself if it's deserving. Seeing movies with an open mind is the key to enjoying them, and fanatical incrimination of films prevents unbiased movie-watching from happening. It's a shame, because when it's time for a movie to receive its due, its achievements are often clouded by rancid smoke, expelled from the black and unwelcoming lungs of deliriously pretentious critics. http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/Re_Best_Movie_Lists_DVD_giveaway/563/39342/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: myrdynn
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 1/10/2009 8:29:43 AM
Body: Horror Movies for the Horror Challenged 28 Days Later 30 Days of Night Alien Resurrection Blood & Donuts Invasion of the Body Snatchers Night of the Living Dead Shaun of the Dead The Day the Earth Stood Still Salem's Lot
]]>Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:29:43 GMTmyrdynnFilmgaming1/10/2009 8:29:43 AMHorror Movies for the Horror Challenged 28 Days Later 30 Days of Night Alien Resurrection Blood &amp; Donuts Invasion of the Body Snatchers Night of the Living Dead Shaun of the Dead The Day the Earth Stood Still Salem's Lot http://www.spout.com/groups/DOOMSDAY/Re_Disaster_Most_Likely_to_End_the_World/612/39167/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: indieabby88
Post To: DOOMSDAY
Post Date: 1/6/2009 6:56:05 PM
Body: I've got three plausible scenarios: 1. 28 Days Later: Disease epidemics seem like they could easily wipe out the population (see: The Black Plague) and the way Danny Boyle handles the situation seems pretty much like the way it might happen in real life, 28 Weeks Later even more so (although I say it's a far inferior movie). Plus, if you want the world to end in horrible disaster, you want it to go out like a badass. Rage-infected zombies: totally badass. 2. Sunshine: I dunno...it sounds possible. 3. Wall-e: I know it's not really a "disaster" movie, but doesn't our rampant consumerism and wastefulness seem like it might cause the world to become a barren junkyard wasteland? I think it does.
]]>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:56:05 GMTindieabby88DOOMSDAY1/6/2009 6:56:05 PMI've got three plausible scenarios: 1. 28 Days Later: Disease epidemics seem like they could easily wipe out the population (see: The Black Plague) and the way Danny Boyle handles the situation seems pretty much like the way it might happen in real life, 28 Weeks Later even more so (although I say it's a far inferior movie). Plus, if you want the world to end in horrible disaster, you want it to go out like a badass. Rage-infected zombies: totally badass. 2. Sunshine: I dunno...it sounds possible. 3. Wall-e: I know it's not really a "disaster" movie, but doesn't our rampant consumerism and wastefulness seem like it might cause the world to become a barren junkyard wasteland? I think it does. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/26/37694.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/26/2008 5:01:30 PM
Body: Black Friday is a scary time for shoppers in any given year. The crowds, the lines, the difficulty finding parking — all these and more are common annoyances on the day after Thanksgiving, as millions upon millions of Americans begin the Christmas season by making a run for the shopping malls and department stores in hopes of finding the best bargains. This year, of course, the economic downturn will make the day even worse than usual. The stores may be desperately holding the biggest sales we’ll ever witness, but lowest prices aren’t quite low enough for those who are broke or bankrupt. So, you may stay home this Friday. Perhaps you’ll at least make some minor online purchases, because you’re a patriotic, consuming American and it’s kind of like an unofficial holiday in our capitalist democracy. But don’t not go out to the mall simply because of the craziness potentially happening on its many floors of fashion and furnishings. You mustn’t be frightened of the crowds. Just recall any or all of the following ten movie scenes and by comparison you’ll think your Black Friday errands are like a stroll in the park. 10. Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Sinbad in Jingle All the Way (1996) Maybe in the past there were physical fights for Cabbage Patch Kids or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but in the age of the Internet, there are easier ways of tracking down hot items on your kid’s wish list. So, while this sequence depicting two fathers’ desperate attempts to locate a Turbo Man toy is ridiculously exaggerated and despicably malicious for its time, it’s now even farther from likelihood and even less possible to sympathize with or relate to. 9. Beethoven shops for keyboards, Genghis Khan tries out baseball bats and other historical figures experience 1980s mall culture in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1988) Obviously you don’t think you’ll be running into such oldies as Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc or Billy the Kid, but there could be some relatively ancient folks out and about Friday. And they may not be familiar with such newfangled presents as iPods and Blu-ray. But give the Grannies a break, because they haven’t yet mastered Amazon.com and its not like they’re causing too much ruckus. Unlike Joan and Genghis. 8. Madison learns English at Bloomingdales in Splash (1984) Maybe it is plausible for a mermaid to pick up the local language by watching a few hours of television. How are we to prove otherwise? But wouldn’t she have some kind of an accent if she were used to communicating with high-pitched shrieks? Whatever, it’s obviously not the movie for such questions regarding believabilty. Here’s the more important thing to consider: of all the yelling and screaming going on at the shops this Friday, nothing will be as bad as Madison’s pronunciation of her real name. Also, I bet modern TV screens aren’t as easily shattered. 7. Neo-Nazi salesman at the Army Surplus store in Falling Down (1993) It’s true that many salespersons and cashiers are slow, rude, incompetent or all of the above. But thank goodness there aren’t actually a lot of sexist, homophobic neo-Nazis helping you as you buy shoes. As much as you think you’ve experienced the worst employee ever hired by a retail chain, chances are it wasn’t as much of an inconvenience as it was for William Foster (Michael Douglas) to have to deal with this “sick asshole.” 6. Technicolor fashion show in The Women (1939) This scene is so unnecessary to the film’s plot that it was easily removed for some modern screenings. Mostly it seems just to serve as a showcase for costume designer Adrian, whose fashions are displayed in Technicolor, while the rest of the film is presented in black and white. For the film’s characters to wear any of those outfits, they would have appeared too bold and sexy for their time (it would be like in Pleasantville). Imagine shopping in a store where the clothes aren’t even in the same color spectrum as the world you live in? Okay, in some stores it does seem like that’s the case, but nowhere near as bad as this. 5. Bizarre fashion show in True Stories (1986) And despite its dismissal of physics, the parade in The Women is nowhere near as bad as the fashion show in this bizarre film from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. There’s not even anything that can be said for this scene other than that we should all be thankful the kids aren’t wearing anything quite so ridiculous. Even some of the stuff at Hot Topic seems more normal in comparison. 4. After hours shopping spree in Modern Times (1936) One great fantasy for all good, consumerist Americans is the empty-store scenario. Whether it’s the end of the world (a la Night of the Comet and 28 Days Later) or simply after hours (Mannequin; El Crimen Ferpecto), the dream is somewhat the same: free reign on all the goods in the store, from food to fashion to roller skates. And for a poor little gamin in Modern Times, it’s like a heavenly shopping spree, even if none of the items are to leave the department store when the fun is over. However, as much as you might hope you had the stores all to yourself on Friday, be thankful that you’re obeying the rules and laws and therefore won’t be arrested when the shopping’s done. 3. Mall car chase in The Blues Brothers (1980) Good thing there’s a quick shot of a Toys “R” Us customer asking a cashier for a Miss Piggy doll or this scene wouldn’t really have anything to do with shopping. It would just simply be a chaotic car chase through a shopping mall. Of course, the destruction could still read as a destroying of the idea of capitalism, just as a similar reading is made about the mall fight in Jackie Chan’s Police Story, as well as any other such mall-set action scene, of which there seemed to be plenty in the materialistic 1980s. As fun as it seems, and as frustrated you might get on Friday, please don’t drive your car into any stores. 2. Zombies go shopping in Dawn of the Dead (1978) This movie is not just some horror flick about people trapped in a mall, threatened by a terrorizing enemy. That’s Chopping Mall. Or the Dawn of the Dead remake. No, this is a satire of consumerism, and all those zombies are representative of the folks you’ll be encountering on Black Friday. But at least they won’t try and eat you. Probably. 1. Richard Pryor is reduced to property in The Toy (1982) Kids are really spoiled these days, even more than they were twenty-six years ago, but no matter how hard it is to imagine what to get the boy who has everything, don’t even think of asking an African-American man if you can buy him for your son. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:01:30 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/26/2008 5:01:30 PMBlack Friday is a scary time for shoppers in any given year. The crowds, the lines, the difficulty finding parking — all these and more are common annoyances on the day after Thanksgiving, as millions upon millions of Americans begin the Christmas season by making a run for the shopping malls and department stores in hopes of finding the best bargains. This year, of course, the economic downturn will make the day even worse than usual. The stores may be desperately holding the biggest sales we’ll ever witness, but lowest prices aren’t quite low enough for those who are broke or bankrupt. So, you may stay home this Friday. Perhaps you’ll at least make some minor online purchases, because you’re a patriotic, consuming American and it’s kind of like an unofficial holiday in our capitalist democracy. But don’t not go out to the mall simply because of the craziness potentially happening on its many floors of fashion and furnishings. You mustn’t be frightened of the crowds. Just recall any or all of the following ten movie scenes and by comparison you’ll think your Black Friday errands are like a stroll in the park. 10. Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Sinbad in Jingle All the Way (1996) Maybe in the past there were physical fights for Cabbage Patch Kids or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but in the age of the Internet, there are easier ways of tracking down hot items on your kid’s wish list. So, while this sequence depicting two fathers’ desperate attempts to locate a Turbo Man toy is ridiculously exaggerated and despicably malicious for its time, it’s now even farther from likelihood and even less possible to sympathize with or relate to. 9. Beethoven shops for keyboards, Genghis Khan tries out baseball bats and other historical figures experience 1980s mall culture in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1988) Obviously you don’t think you’ll be running into such oldies as Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc or Billy the Kid, but there could be some relatively ancient folks out and about Friday. And they may not be familiar with such newfangled presents as iPods and Blu-ray. But give the Grannies a break, because they haven’t yet mastered Amazon.com and its not like they’re causing too much ruckus. Unlike Joan and Genghis. 8. Madison learns English at Bloomingdales in Splash (1984) Maybe it is plausible for a mermaid to pick up the local language by watching a few hours of television. How are we to prove otherwise? But wouldn’t she have some kind of an accent if she were used to communicating with high-pitched shrieks? Whatever, it’s obviously not the movie for such questions regarding believabilty. Here’s the more important thing to consider: of all the yelling and screaming going on at the shops this Friday, nothing will be as bad as Madison’s pronunciation of her real name. Also, I bet modern TV screens aren’t as easily shattered. 7. Neo-Nazi salesman at the Army Surplus store in Falling Down (1993) It’s true that many salespersons and cashiers are slow, rude, incompetent or all of the above. But thank goodness there aren’t actually a lot of sexist, homophobic neo-Nazis helping you as you buy shoes. As much as you think you’ve experienced the worst employee ever hired by a retail chain, chances are it wasn’t as much of an inconvenience as it was for William Foster (Michael Douglas) to have to deal with this “sick asshole.” 6. Technicolor fashion show in The Women (1939) This scene is so unnecessary to the film’s plot that it was easily removed for some modern screenings. Mostly it seems just to serve as a showcase for costume designer Adrian, whose fashions are displayed in Technicolor, while the rest of the film is presented in black and white. For the film’s characters to wear any of those outfits, they would have appeared too bold and sexy for their time (it would be like in Pleasantville). Imagine shopping in a store where the clothes aren’t even in the same color spectrum as the world you live in? Okay, in some stores it does seem like that’s the case, but nowhere near as bad as this. 5. Bizarre fashion show in True Stories (1986) And despite its dismissal of physics, the parade in The Women is nowhere near as bad as the fashion show in this bizarre film from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. There’s not even anything that can be said for this scene other than that we should all be thankful the kids aren’t wearing anything quite so ridiculous. Even some of the stuff at Hot Topic seems more normal in comparison. 4. After hours shopping spree in Modern Times (1936) One great fantasy for all good, consumerist Americans is the empty-store scenario. Whether it’s the end of the world (a la Night of the Comet and 28 Days Later) or simply after hours (Mannequin; El Crimen Ferpecto), the dream is somewhat the same: free reign on all the goods in the store, from food to fashion to roller skates. And for a poor little gamin in Modern Times, it’s like a heavenly shopping spree, even if none of the items are to leave the department store when the fun is over. However, as much as you might hope you had the stores all to yourself on Friday, be thankful that you’re obeying the rules and laws and therefore won’t be arrested when the shopping’s done. 3. Mall car chase in The Blues Brothers (1980) Good thing there’s a quick shot of a Toys “R” Us customer asking a cashier for a Miss Piggy doll or this scene wouldn’t really have anything to do with shopping. It would just simply be a chaotic car chase through a shopping mall. Of course, the destruction could still read as a destroying of the idea of capitalism, just as a similar reading is made about the mall fight in Jackie Chan’s Police Story, as well as any other such mall-set action scene, of which there seemed to be plenty in the materialistic 1980s. As fun as it seems, and as frustrated you might get on Friday, please don’t drive your car into any stores. 2. Zombies go shopping in Dawn of the Dead (1978) This movie is not just some horror flick about people trapped in a mall, threatened by a terrorizing enemy. That’s Chopping Mall. Or the Dawn of the Dead remake. No, this is a satire of consumerism, and all those zombies are representative of the folks you’ll be encountering on Black Friday. But at least they won’t try and eat you. Probably. 1. Richard Pryor is reduced to property in The Toy (1982) Kids are really spoiled these days, even more than they were twenty-six years ago, but no matter how hard it is to imagine what to get the boy who has everything, don’t even think of asking an African-American man if you can buy him for your son. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/12/37265.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/12/2008 6:01:07 PM
Body: Money makes the world go round, and it also drives the plot most of the films of Danny Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire, as you can guess by the title, is no different. It greases the wheels of Boyle’s plots, and forces characters to do things they wouldn’t otherwise even consider. Unfortunately cash doesn’t really play a part in 28 Days Later or Sunshine, probably because zombies don’t really shop that often, and the Sun doesn’t take credit cards, but every one of his other films has a pile of money at the heart of the story. Shallow Grave This intense thriller wouldn’t have existed without a mysterious tenant who turns up dead, and who happens to have a ton of cash in his room. Three normal people then slowly become dangerously unhinged and obsessed with protecting the haul and figuring out what to do with it. Although this movie was Ewan McGregor’s breakout role, it’s poor Christopher Eccleston who really transforms in this movie from quiet nebbish to complete psychopath. Note to self: do not store enormous amounts of cash in the attic cistern. That really limits your escape options. Trainspotting This movie is about heroin, to be sure, but it takes dough to buy the stuff, which is why Mark Renton and his friends are perpetually broke and stealing odds and ends to scrape enough together for their next fix. When Renton finally gets out of the rut and goes straight, his old friends pull him right back in. When he eventually finds himself in the middle of a deal to sell cocaine for cash, Renton turns his back on his friends and walks off with the cash while they sleep. Note to self: never make friends with anyone named “Begbie.” A Life Less Ordinary Probably Boyle’s wackiest film to date, and so far his last collaboration with Ewan McGregor. McGregor plays a janitor who is writing a trash novel, and when he gets laid off because robots are replacing his job, he snaps and kidnaps his rich boss’ daughter (Cameron Diaz) in the hopes of scoring a large ransom. Then two angels step in and it becomes a movie about love and change and… what about the money?! At least he finds love. And yes, money. But which one is more important? Note to self: Don’t let Cameron Diaz attempt to shoot fruit off of my head. The Beach Leonardo DiCaprio’s first film after Titanic ended up being The Beach, and while the novel is much, much better than the movie, I still find myself always getting stuck on the film when I flip past it on cable. While money isn’t central to the story, per se, the massive farm full of marijuana on a protected island preserve probably makes a few bucks. It’s the lure of the paradise versus the pollution of the outside world, and that cash crop ends up complicating things when the thugs decide to kick everyone out. Note to self: don’t like on utopic island populated by drug-runners. Millions In the days before the the Bank of England switched to Euros, two boys find a bag bursting at the seams with wads of cash. They only have a few days to spend it, and they split into two opposite paths: the older brother spends the money on material things and trying to impress his friends at school, while the younger brother wants to use it to help people. This is probably Boyle’s sweetest film to date, but it does it without being sappy or talking down to the audience. Note to self: Alex Etel might not be a great investment banker, but he’d probably find the most humanitarian way to spend your dough. Plus he’s just one damn cute kid. Slumdog Millionaire Spout’s other Kevin didn’t like this movie, but I imagine that Danny Boyle probably owes him some cash, so he thought he’d stiff him on the review. I really loved this movie, and Danny doesn’t owe me a dime. He even picked up the tab for the tea when I interviewed him in Toronto. Which means… wait a minute. Did he buy a favorable review by getting me a cup of tea? Maybe money is central to everything. Very clever, Mr. Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire opens this week, so get out there and spend your own cash and see what you think. Note to self: next time hold out for a steak dinner. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:01:07 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/12/2008 6:01:07 PMMoney makes the world go round, and it also drives the plot most of the films of Danny Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire, as you can guess by the title, is no different. It greases the wheels of Boyle’s plots, and forces characters to do things they wouldn’t otherwise even consider. Unfortunately cash doesn’t really play a part in 28 Days Later or Sunshine, probably because zombies don’t really shop that often, and the Sun doesn’t take credit cards, but every one of his other films has a pile of money at the heart of the story. Shallow Grave This intense thriller wouldn’t have existed without a mysterious tenant who turns up dead, and who happens to have a ton of cash in his room. Three normal people then slowly become dangerously unhinged and obsessed with protecting the haul and figuring out what to do with it. Although this movie was Ewan McGregor’s breakout role, it’s poor Christopher Eccleston who really transforms in this movie from quiet nebbish to complete psychopath. Note to self: do not store enormous amounts of cash in the attic cistern. That really limits your escape options. Trainspotting This movie is about heroin, to be sure, but it takes dough to buy the stuff, which is why Mark Renton and his friends are perpetually broke and stealing odds and ends to scrape enough together for their next fix. When Renton finally gets out of the rut and goes straight, his old friends pull him right back in. When he eventually finds himself in the middle of a deal to sell cocaine for cash, Renton turns his back on his friends and walks off with the cash while they sleep. Note to self: never make friends with anyone named “Begbie.” A Life Less Ordinary Probably Boyle’s wackiest film to date, and so far his last collaboration with Ewan McGregor. McGregor plays a janitor who is writing a trash novel, and when he gets laid off because robots are replacing his job, he snaps and kidnaps his rich boss’ daughter (Cameron Diaz) in the hopes of scoring a large ransom. Then two angels step in and it becomes a movie about love and change and… what about the money?! At least he finds love. And yes, money. But which one is more important? Note to self: Don’t let Cameron Diaz attempt to shoot fruit off of my head. The Beach Leonardo DiCaprio’s first film after Titanic ended up being The Beach, and while the novel is much, much better than the movie, I still find myself always getting stuck on the film when I flip past it on cable. While money isn’t central to the story, per se, the massive farm full of marijuana on a protected island preserve probably makes a few bucks. It’s the lure of the paradise versus the pollution of the outside world, and that cash crop ends up complicating things when the thugs decide to kick everyone out. Note to self: don’t like on utopic island populated by drug-runners. Millions In the days before the the Bank of England switched to Euros, two boys find a bag bursting at the seams with wads of cash. They only have a few days to spend it, and they split into two opposite paths: the older brother spends the money on material things and trying to impress his friends at school, while the younger brother wants to use it to help people. This is probably Boyle’s sweetest film to date, but it does it without being sappy or talking down to the audience. Note to self: Alex Etel might not be a great investment banker, but he’d probably find the most humanitarian way to spend your dough. Plus he’s just one damn cute kid. Slumdog Millionaire Spout’s other Kevin didn’t like this movie, but I imagine that Danny Boyle probably owes him some cash, so he thought he’d stiff him on the review. I really loved this movie, and Danny doesn’t owe me a dime. He even picked up the tab for the tea when I interviewed him in Toronto. Which means… wait a minute. Did he buy a favorable review by getting me a cup of tea? Maybe money is central to everything. Very clever, Mr. Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire opens this week, so get out there and spend your own cash and see what you think. Note to self: next time hold out for a steak dinner. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/21/36548.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/21/2008 2:00:49 PM
Body: People often say that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. But what if the government, along with a vast majority of the population, were suddenly obliterated? What are the certainties of life in a post-apocalyptic world? Death keeps its hold, but in a desert world scorched by nuclear holocaust or a zombie plague, death has a new partner in inevitability: sex. Sure, sex is already as ubiquitous as taxes, but plenty of post-apocalyptic movies point out that sex gains a renewed importance in a world devoid of order. Even in films that are not specifically about sexuality after the implosion of society, sex is still an important linchpin. In the modern-day zombie classic 28 Days Later (mild spoilers follow), our heroes-on-the-run, Jim, Selena, and Hannah, find relative safety in a mansion fortified by a small band of soldiers. Before long, the all male band of troops begin making not-so-subtle overtures to the two young women. Their captain, in a futile attempt to persuade Jim to disregard the well-being of his friends, pleads, “But I promised them women!” Jim’s refusal to condone this flesh trade nearly gets him killed, but the potency of the zombie plague has a poetic way of enacting revenge on his behalf. After the jump, “carnal desire” gains a whole new meaning… The soldiers’ demand for sexual favors as payment for protection does a lot more than simply set up a situation in which Jim swoops in as the knight in shining armor. It illustrates that in a world with no real economy, the flesh trade quickly fills the void. A more recent example of this is Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness (more mild spoilers ahead). A global outbreak of contagious blindness all but destroys civilization. The first to be infected are rounded up and locked in an abandoned asylum, where their attempts to self-govern grow increasingly bleak. Eventually a band of men seize all incoming food shipments, demanding sexual favors from the women of the other groups. It’s a truly gut-wrenching scene when the men eventually comply, and allow the female volunteers, many of them wives and girlfriends, to take part in the demeaning trade. The scene that follows is extremely hard to watch, partly due to the sexual violence that’s depicted, but mostly due to the verisimilitude of the whole situation. What the film (and the book before it) reveals is that humanity, when pushed to the brink, will negotiate even its most sacred and personal aspects for survival. The film is not saying that blindness causes depravity, as some groups have suggested, but rather that a relatively small change, like the loss of sight, can unleash a depravity that’s always been lurking just beneath the surface. It’s also worth pointing out that the portrait of post-apocalyptic sex painted by 28 Days Later and Blindness can be critiqued in a number of ways. For one, the idea that the male protagonists in each film are faced with the “choice” of whether to “give up their women” is extremely patriarchal. While in Blindness the dilemma is handled in a slightly more even-handed way, Selena in 28 Days Later seems to go from ass-kicking zombie-killer to damsel-in-distress as soon as she’s forced to put on a dress. Am I the only one who wanted to see her fight her way out of that situation on her own, without the aid of Jim? The other critique of these two examples is that they’re altogether too negative. A post-apocalyptic world is a world without authority, an anarchy where desires can be fulfilled by those brave enough to take charge, a playground for the id, if you will. The best example of this model is the 1975 film A Boy and His Dog, starring Don Jonson (spoilers follow). Set in a typical post-nuclear wasteland, Vic is a young man on a quest for sex. Lucky for him, he has Blood, a sentient dog with whom he can communicate telepathically. Blood can sense whenever a young woman is in the area, and he tells Vic, who in turn makes sure the dog stays well fed. Vic’s first conquest reveals that he is essentially a serial rapist. But his encounter with beautiful young Quilla June is halted by an angry mob. They team up to defeat the intruders, defending their underground hiding spot. A bond is forged, and they make sweet love multiple times as consenting young adults. Quilla June, sure she has found true love, brings Vic back to her home, a vast underground vault modeled after an idealized version of the Antebellum South, with a Colonel Sanders-like dictator played by Jason Robards. Things don’t go well. Vic is strapped to a machine that systematically pumps his sperm, which is needed to impregnate the women of the vault, because the men have become sterile after decades of living underground. The young lovers break away from this creepy cult of sexual repression and escape to the surface. Vic smells the freedom of anarchy once more when they emerge from the vault, but Quilla wants him to settle down into a quiet family life. Also, upon release from vault Vic is reunited with Blood, who was waiting for him on the surface. The poor hound has nearly starved to death without he and Vic’s usual sexual-partners-for-food arrangement. Vic is presented with a choice, settle down with his woman or keep rambling with his dog. In the end he kills two birds with one stone, (I’m not making this up) by killing Quilla June, providing he and Blood with both freedom and a substantial meal. A Boy and His Dog is clearly a farce, but it still points out important truths about sex. When humanity is faced with despair and possible extinction, sex illustrates both our highest and our lowest goals. The connection between two lovers is a beautiful expression of what it means to be human. The act of procreation is in both practical and symbolic terms our most essential function. On the other hand, sex can represent the surrender of oneself to carnal desires. The only goals in an anarchy are self-preservation, followed by self-fulfillment. A world without structure is the impetus for the ultimate sexual revolution, for better or worse. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:00:49 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/21/2008 2:00:49 PMPeople often say that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. But what if the government, along with a vast majority of the population, were suddenly obliterated? What are the certainties of life in a post-apocalyptic world? Death keeps its hold, but in a desert world scorched by nuclear holocaust or a zombie plague, death has a new partner in inevitability: sex. Sure, sex is already as ubiquitous as taxes, but plenty of post-apocalyptic movies point out that sex gains a renewed importance in a world devoid of order. Even in films that are not specifically about sexuality after the implosion of society, sex is still an important linchpin. In the modern-day zombie classic 28 Days Later (mild spoilers follow), our heroes-on-the-run, Jim, Selena, and Hannah, find relative safety in a mansion fortified by a small band of soldiers. Before long, the all male band of troops begin making not-so-subtle overtures to the two young women. Their captain, in a futile attempt to persuade Jim to disregard the well-being of his friends, pleads, “But I promised them women!” Jim’s refusal to condone this flesh trade nearly gets him killed, but the potency of the zombie plague has a poetic way of enacting revenge on his behalf. After the jump, “carnal desire” gains a whole new meaning… The soldiers’ demand for sexual favors as payment for protection does a lot more than simply set up a situation in which Jim swoops in as the knight in shining armor. It illustrates that in a world with no real economy, the flesh trade quickly fills the void. A more recent example of this is Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness (more mild spoilers ahead). A global outbreak of contagious blindness all but destroys civilization. The first to be infected are rounded up and locked in an abandoned asylum, where their attempts to self-govern grow increasingly bleak. Eventually a band of men seize all incoming food shipments, demanding sexual favors from the women of the other groups. It’s a truly gut-wrenching scene when the men eventually comply, and allow the female volunteers, many of them wives and girlfriends, to take part in the demeaning trade. The scene that follows is extremely hard to watch, partly due to the sexual violence that’s depicted, but mostly due to the verisimilitude of the whole situation. What the film (and the book before it) reveals is that humanity, when pushed to the brink, will negotiate even its most sacred and personal aspects for survival. The film is not saying that blindness causes depravity, as some groups have suggested, but rather that a relatively small change, like the loss of sight, can unleash a depravity that’s always been lurking just beneath the surface. It’s also worth pointing out that the portrait of post-apocalyptic sex painted by 28 Days Later and Blindness can be critiqued in a number of ways. For one, the idea that the male protagonists in each film are faced with the “choice” of whether to “give up their women” is extremely patriarchal. While in Blindness the dilemma is handled in a slightly more even-handed way, Selena in 28 Days Later seems to go from ass-kicking zombie-killer to damsel-in-distress as soon as she’s forced to put on a dress. Am I the only one who wanted to see her fight her way out of that situation on her own, without the aid of Jim? The other critique of these two examples is that they’re altogether too negative. A post-apocalyptic world is a world without authority, an anarchy where desires can be fulfilled by those brave enough to take charge, a playground for the id, if you will. The best example of this model is the 1975 film A Boy and His Dog, starring Don Jonson (spoilers follow). Set in a typical post-nuclear wasteland, Vic is a young man on a quest for sex. Lucky for him, he has Blood, a sentient dog with whom he can communicate telepathically. Blood can sense whenever a young woman is in the area, and he tells Vic, who in turn makes sure the dog stays well fed. Vic’s first conquest reveals that he is essentially a serial rapist. But his encounter with beautiful young Quilla June is halted by an angry mob. They team up to defeat the intruders, defending their underground hiding spot. A bond is forged, and they make sweet love multiple times as consenting young adults. Quilla June, sure she has found true love, brings Vic back to her home, a vast underground vault modeled after an idealized version of the Antebellum South, with a Colonel Sanders-like dictator played by Jason Robards. Things don’t go well. Vic is strapped to a machine that systematically pumps his sperm, which is needed to impregnate the women of the vault, because the men have become sterile after decades of living underground. The young lovers break away from this creepy cult of sexual repression and escape to the surface. Vic smells the freedom of anarchy once more when they emerge from the vault, but Quilla wants him to settle down into a quiet family life. Also, upon release from vault Vic is reunited with Blood, who was waiting for him on the surface. The poor hound has nearly starved to death without he and Vic’s usual sexual-partners-for-food arrangement. Vic is presented with a choice, settle down with his woman or keep rambling with his dog. In the end he kills two birds with one stone, (I’m not making this up) by killing Quilla June, providing he and Blood with both freedom and a substantial meal. A Boy and His Dog is clearly a farce, but it still points out important truths about sex. When humanity is faced with despair and possible extinction, sex illustrates both our highest and our lowest goals. The connection between two lovers is a beautiful expression of what it means to be human. The act of procreation is in both practical and symbolic terms our most essential function. On the other hand, sex can represent the surrender of oneself to carnal desires. The only goals in an anarchy are self-preservation, followed by self-fulfillment. A world without structure is the impetus for the ultimate sexual revolution, for better or worse. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/14/36287.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/14/2008 1:01:06 PM
Body: Two weeks ago I wrote a list of five doomsday films ranked by plausibility. The response to this piece made me realize that I overlooked the most pressing apocalyptic threat of all: zombies. The onslaught of the living dead has been a mainstay of horror cinema for decades, beginning with the Bela Lugosi vehicle White Zombie in 1932. Over the following years zombies popped up in movies as one of many monstrous villains, often filling the minion role. It wasn’t until George Romero’s groundbreaking 1968 film Night of the Living Dead that the idea of a zombie apocalypse was introduced. Romero’s cannibalistic zombies have since become the archetype used in countless films, books, and video games. The cause of the virulent plague of the walking dead varies, however. Everything from spiritual curses, viruses, chemical weapons, and alien microorganisms have been used to explain the origin of zombies. Below the jump we examine the real-world evidence behind some of these threats, and which ones you should be most worried about. Much of the popular lore surrounding zombies can be traced back to Haitian Voodoo. Sorcerers, known as bokors, are said to be able to animate the dead, forcing them to work as their slaves or warriors. This is more or less what Bela Lugosi was up to in White Zombie, except that he was a wealthy white plantation owner who used zombie slaves to work his sugar mill. It was all just business until he tried to use his power to improve his ailing love life; then things got wacky. In the 1980s, Harvard ethnobiologist Wade Davis went to Haiti to try to track down a physiological basis for Voodoo zombification. He discovered that the bokors used a special “zombie powder” to induce trances in victims, which could apparently last for years. The powder contains a poison known as tetrodotoxin, or TTX. Davis wrote a best-selling book about his research adventure, The Serpent and the Rainbow. The problem with Davis’ theory is that the powder, while it does contain decaying human flesh and God knows what else, has only a very small amount of tetrodotoxin. Even if it did contain more, it would only slur your speech, stifle your breathing, and possibly kill you, but it wouldn’t turn you into a sugar plantation zombie slave. If the bokors get technical and decide to weaponize zombie powder, then we could have a real apocalyptic threat on our hands. But it would be more like an old-fashioned chemical weapons attack, not a true zombie plague. For the walking dead to go from being a mere nuisance to a force capable of ending humanity, the affliction really needs to be contagious. In Night of the Living Dead, those killed by zombies soon rise to join their ranks, thereby growing the undead horde at an exponential rate. This model has been used in countless films since, with varying explanations about the nature of the zombie plague. In Romero’s classic, a reporter says something about a probe returning from Venus having exploded in Earth’s atmosphere. While it’s possible to imagine that a virus from an alien world could do just about anything, including raising the dead, other zombie movies have searched for terrestrial origins for zombification. One idea is that rather than zombies being reanimated corpses, they’re living people afflicted by a really nasty form of rabies. I Am Legend and 28 Days Later can both be read in this way. While the rabies model does account for altered behavior, and transmission through biting, there’s something about the voracity and speed of a rabid being that just isn’t quite zombie-like. The afflicted hordes in both films move much faster than Romero’s zombies, which would serve to spread the infection at an accelerated rate. As much as I love 28 Days Later, slow moving zombies are scarier, even if they’re a little easier to fend off. Either way, if scientists were ever to alter the rabies virus to have an extremely short incubation period and heightened symptoms, we could have a whole lot of very crazy people with the ability to infect more. The Return of the Living Dead, released in 1985, added a key element to zombie mythology: brains. Where Romero’s ghouls wanted to eat all human flesh, Dan O’Bannon’s zombies hungered specifically for human brains. In Return the cause of zombification was a bungled military experiment involving a poison called trioxin, which is a real chemical, but thankfully it does not cause people to become nearly indestructible walking corpses. Eating the brains of the dead, however, can have some horrifying real-world consequences. In the 1950s an American physician and researcher discovered a troubling disease affecting the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. They called it kuru, which means “trembling with fear.” The neurological disease caused patients to shake uncontrollably and burst out in maniacal laughter before dropping dead. On a cellular level, the condition is not unlike Mad Cow Disease, and if you know anything about how that is spread, you probably know where this is going. It turns out the Fore people had rather strange funeral practices, which involved eating the bodies of the deceased. Kuru was more prevalent among women and children, because they ate the brains of the dead, while the men dined on the rest of the body. The disease itself does not make people more likely to hunger for brains, but the story does drive home a disturbing point: Not only will people eat one another if their wagon train gets stranded in a mountain pass, they will also consume their kin due to cultural forces alone. In other words, peer pressure. Combine a global food shortage with some charismatic and insane leaders, you’ve got yourself a zombie apocalypse. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:01:06 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/14/2008 1:01:06 PM Two weeks ago I wrote a list of five doomsday films ranked by plausibility. The response to this piece made me realize that I overlooked the most pressing apocalyptic threat of all: zombies. The onslaught of the living dead has been a mainstay of horror cinema for decades, beginning with the Bela Lugosi vehicle White Zombie in 1932. Over the following years zombies popped up in movies as one of many monstrous villains, often filling the minion role. It wasn’t until George Romero’s groundbreaking 1968 film Night of the Living Dead that the idea of a zombie apocalypse was introduced. Romero’s cannibalistic zombies have since become the archetype used in countless films, books, and video games. The cause of the virulent plague of the walking dead varies, however. Everything from spiritual curses, viruses, chemical weapons, and alien microorganisms have been used to explain the origin of zombies. Below the jump we examine the real-world evidence behind some of these threats, and which ones you should be most worried about. Much of the popular lore surrounding zombies can be traced back to Haitian Voodoo. Sorcerers, known as bokors, are said to be able to animate the dead, forcing them to work as their slaves or warriors. This is more or less what Bela Lugosi was up to in White Zombie, except that he was a wealthy white plantation owner who used zombie slaves to work his sugar mill. It was all just business until he tried to use his power to improve his ailing love life; then things got wacky. In the 1980s, Harvard ethnobiologist Wade Davis went to Haiti to try to track down a physiological basis for Voodoo zombification. He discovered that the bokors used a special “zombie powder” to induce trances in victims, which could apparently last for years. The powder contains a poison known as tetrodotoxin, or TTX. Davis wrote a best-selling book about his research adventure, The Serpent and the Rainbow. The problem with Davis’ theory is that the powder, while it does contain decaying human flesh and God knows what else, has only a very small amount of tetrodotoxin. Even if it did contain more, it would only slur your speech, stifle your breathing, and possibly kill you, but it wouldn’t turn you into a sugar plantation zombie slave. If the bokors get technical and decide to weaponize zombie powder, then we could have a real apocalyptic threat on our hands. But it would be more like an old-fashioned chemical weapons attack, not a true zombie plague. For the walking dead to go from being a mere nuisance to a force capable of ending humanity, the affliction really needs to be contagious. In Night of the Living Dead, those killed by zombies soon rise to join their ranks, thereby growing the undead horde at an exponential rate. This model has been used in countless films since, with varying explanations about the nature of the zombie plague. In Romero’s classic, a reporter says something about a probe returning from Venus having exploded in Earth’s atmosphere. While it’s possible to imagine that a virus from an alien world could do just about anything, including raising the dead, other zombie movies have searched for terrestrial origins for zombification. One idea is that rather than zombies being reanimated corpses, they’re living people afflicted by a really nasty form of rabies. I Am Legend and 28 Days Later can both be read in this way. While the rabies model does account for altered behavior, and transmission through biting, there’s something about the voracity and speed of a rabid being that just isn’t quite zombie-like. The afflicted hordes in both films move much faster than Romero’s zombies, which would serve to spread the infection at an accelerated rate. As much as I love 28 Days Later, slow moving zombies are scarier, even if they’re a little easier to fend off. Either way, if scientists were ever to alter the rabies virus to have an extremely short incubation period and heightened symptoms, we could have a whole lot of very crazy people with the ability to infect more. The Return of the Living Dead, released in 1985, added a key element to zombie mythology: brains. Where Romero’s ghouls wanted to eat all human flesh, Dan O’Bannon’s zombies hungered specifically for human brains. In Return the cause of zombification was a bungled military experiment involving a poison called trioxin, which is a real chemical, but thankfully it does not cause people to become nearly indestructible walking corpses. Eating the brains of the dead, however, can have some horrifying real-world consequences. In the 1950s an American physician and researcher discovered a troubling disease affecting the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. They called it kuru, which means “trembling with fear.” The neurological disease caused patients to shake uncontrollably and burst out in maniacal laughter before dropping dead. On a cellular level, the condition is not unlike Mad Cow Disease, and if you know anything about how that is spread, you probably know where this is going. It turns out the Fore people had rather strange funeral practices, which involved eating the bodies of the deceased. Kuru was more prevalent among women and children, because they ate the brains of the dead, while the men dined on the rest of the body. The disease itself does not make people more likely to hunger for brains, but the story does drive home a disturbing point: Not only will people eat one another if their wagon train gets stranded in a mountain pass, they will also consume their kin due to cultural forces alone. In other words, peer pressure. Combine a global food shortage with some charismatic and insane leaders, you’ve got yourself a zombie apocalypse. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/awesome/MemberTagFilms.aspxawesome
Number of films tagged: 187

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]]>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:23:33 GMT187158291Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspxmurder
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]]>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:42:29 GMT8748157831Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/fun/MemberTagFilms.aspxfun
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]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:27:13 GMT4306140526Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/horror/MemberTagFilms.aspxhorror
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]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:29 GMT261109347Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/drama/MemberTagFilms.aspxdrama
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]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:29 GMT527102627Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sci-fi/MemberTagFilms.aspxsci-fi
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]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:33:53 GMT217102375Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Cool/MemberTagFilms.aspxCool
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]]>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:20:50 GMT10397188Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Creepy/MemberTagFilms.aspxCreepy
Number of films tagged: 170

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]]>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:55:54 GMT17081211Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/suicide/MemberTagFilms.aspxsuicide
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]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:40:50 GMT182880185Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/british/MemberTagFilms.aspxbritish
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]]>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:53:04 GMT61075264Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/thriller/MemberTagFilms.aspxthriller
Number of films tagged: 201

Number of people who tagged: 74

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]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:30 GMT20174247Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/surreal/MemberTagFilms.aspxsurreal
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]]>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:29:29 GMT7373134Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/zombie/MemberTagFilms.aspxzombie
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]]>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:55:30 GMT44965152Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/blood/MemberTagFilms.aspxblood
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