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    <title>Saw IV's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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    <description>Recent community activity around Saw IV on Spout</description>
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      <title>Saw IV's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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      <title>Film:Saw IV</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/Saw_IV/298164/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
<td>
<strong>Title:</strong> Saw IV<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 2007<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> Darren Lynn Bousman<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> Just when audiences thought they'd heard the last of the demented killer Jigsaw (<a href="/players/P_____5147/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tobin Bell</a>), here comes Saw IV, continuing his trap-filled legacy -- this time, targeting the last remaining officer who has touched the case, SWAT Commander Rigg (<a href="/players/P___329639/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lyriq Bent</a>). As FBI agents Strahm (<a href="/players/P____55445/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Scott Patterson</a>) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) begin to dig through the remains of Jigsaw's crime-scene hideout, a new puzzle presents itself, with Rigg as the pawn in another deadly game filled with moral quandaries and torture-filled traps. Director <a href="/players/P___430163/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Darren Lynn Bousman</a> returns to the series after helming both <a href=/films/254875/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Saw II</a> and III, with a script penned by <a href=/films/263484/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Feast</a> writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 13<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 20<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 7<br/>
<strong>Number of discussion threads:</strong> 3<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 2<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:11:58 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>Saw IV</spout:Title><spout:Year>2007</spout:Year><spout:Director>Darren Lynn Bousman</spout:Director><spout:Plot>Just when audiences thought they'd heard the last of the demented killer Jigsaw (&lt;a href="/players/P_____5147/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Tobin Bell&lt;/a&gt;), here comes Saw IV, continuing his trap-filled legacy -- this time, targeting the last remaining officer who has touched the case, SWAT Commander Rigg (&lt;a href="/players/P___329639/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Lyriq Bent&lt;/a&gt;). As FBI agents Strahm (&lt;a href="/players/P____55445/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Scott Patterson&lt;/a&gt;) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) begin to dig through the remains of Jigsaw's crime-scene hideout, a new puzzle presents itself, with Rigg as the pawn in another deadly game filled with moral quandaries and torture-filled traps. Director &lt;a href="/players/P___430163/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Darren Lynn Bousman&lt;/a&gt; returns to the series after helming both &lt;a href=/films/254875/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Saw II&lt;/a&gt; and III, with a script penned by &lt;a href=/films/263484/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Feast&lt;/a&gt; writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>13</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Tag Target (&gt;10)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>20</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>7</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads>3</spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads><spout:SpoutRating>2</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/Saw_IV/298164/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re:This Group Needs a Picture</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Extreme_Cinema/Re_This_Group_Needs_a_Picture/641/36828/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/135195/default.aspx'>filmgal81</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Extreme_Cinema/641/discussions.aspx'>Extreme Cinema</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/30/2008 10:13:34 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> I second ( or third) the red X idea. I think that pretty much sums it up. My second vote would be the surgical utensils from the Saw cover. That's pretty extreme. [quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] What about a picture of an energy drink? those are EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] Haha. I like Christi's idea about a red letter X. It's short for extreme, it reminds us of X-rated cinema, and if you can find a red X you get the added benefit of the Scarlet Letter connotation.  [/quote]<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:13:34 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>filmgal81</spout:postby><spout:postto>Extreme Cinema</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/30/2008 10:13:34 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>I second ( or third) the red X idea. I think that pretty much sums it up. My second vote would be the surgical utensils from the Saw cover. That's pretty extreme. [quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] What about a picture of an energy drink? those are EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] Haha. I like Christi's idea about a red letter X. It's short for extreme, it reminds us of X-rated cinema, and if you can find a red X you get the added benefit of the Scarlet Letter connotation.  [/quote]</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re:Extreme Films</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Extreme_Cinema/Re_Extreme_Films/641/36825/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/135195/default.aspx'>filmgal81</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Extreme_Cinema/641/discussions.aspx'>Extreme Cinema</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/30/2008 9:47:48 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> When I think Extreme Films, the first thing to come to mind is totrure porn  films like Saw.  The original one is brutal- when they threaten to pull that woman's mouth apart from the corners...i shrudder just thinking about it. As the Voice put it in a brillant article on Rosemary's Baby, "Horror movies provide a snapshot of the zeitgeist" and today's horror films "reflect the age of "enhanced" interrogation techniques."   Happy Halloween.       [quote user="Dr_Gor"]    First off I would like to thank our host, Stinger839, for starting this most promising group!   The subject matter of  Extreme Cinema  has a lot of potential for some interesting conversations.   I think I will be here regularly talking about many movies that are near and dear to me!   So let's start this thing off with a 'bang', shall we?    Last night when my partner Phantasma-Gore-ia and I became the first people to join this group we quickly discovered that we were not able to list any films on the existing group list so I started my own list called  Extreme Films...   The first three movies I listed on here are legendary examples of Extreme Cinema.   First off,  Deliverance ...   John Boorman's take on the infamous James Dickey novel is a phenomenal film that deals with man's survival instincts in the face of overwhelming odds.   Although most people can not get past the homosexual rape scene and the subsequent murders and Burt Reynold's compound fracture of his thigh bone that would make ANYBODY wince!   Yeah, this movie is a little bit over-the-top...   Next on the list is  Mandingo .   This shocking story of slavery in the old South is nothing short of being  'politically incorrect' ...   Former heavy-weight boxing champion Ken Norton stars as 'Mede', a Mandingo warrior who is captured and sold to a wealthy southern family and is trained to be a "fightin' nigger" who is forced to fight against other slaves for the betting pleasure of his owner.   Sexual debauchery abounds in this perverse tale that ends with Mede being shot and boiled alive and 'pitchforked' to death! ...   Next is  Pretty Baby ...  Brooke Shields  made her movie debut in this shocker about prostitution in New Orleans.   Susan Sarandon is a prostitute in a New Orleans brothel who becomes pregnant and decides to keep her child.   That child (Brooke Shields) is raised in the brothel until she becomes 12 and then her virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder.   About this time she becomes the obsession of a French photographer named Bellocq who is actually more interested in photographing he young girl than he is in touching her!   Although there is deffinately a physical relationship that is more hinted at than actually shown!   The thing is this...   12 year old Brooke Shields spends much of this movie running around naked!   This movie received a wide theatrical release back in the day and was a 'mainstream' movie!   Today this movie would be called 'kiddie-porn' and it would be illegal to even THINK about it!   That is pretty extreme in my book...    Obviously no list of 'extreme' films would not be complete without the scariest, most disturbing Horror movie ever made so I must go now and add  The Exorcist  to my list as well as  Nekromantik !                                                                   &lt; GOR &gt; [/quote]<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:47:48 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>filmgal81</spout:postby><spout:postto>Extreme Cinema</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/30/2008 9:47:48 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>When I think Extreme Films, the first thing to come to mind is totrure porn  films like Saw.  The original one is brutal- when they threaten to pull that woman's mouth apart from the corners...i shrudder just thinking about it. As the Voice put it in a brillant article on Rosemary's Baby, "Horror movies provide a snapshot of the zeitgeist" and today's horror films "reflect the age of "enhanced" interrogation techniques."   Happy Halloween.       [quote user="Dr_Gor"]    First off I would like to thank our host, Stinger839, for starting this most promising group!   The subject matter of  Extreme Cinema  has a lot of potential for some interesting conversations.   I think I will be here regularly talking about many movies that are near and dear to me!   So let's start this thing off with a 'bang', shall we?    Last night when my partner Phantasma-Gore-ia and I became the first people to join this group we quickly discovered that we were not able to list any films on the existing group list so I started my own list called  Extreme Films...   The first three movies I listed on here are legendary examples of Extreme Cinema.   First off,  Deliverance ...   John Boorman's take on the infamous James Dickey novel is a phenomenal film that deals with man's survival instincts in the face of overwhelming odds.   Although most people can not get past the homosexual rape scene and the subsequent murders and Burt Reynold's compound fracture of his thigh bone that would make ANYBODY wince!   Yeah, this movie is a little bit over-the-top...   Next on the list is  Mandingo .   This shocking story of slavery in the old South is nothing short of being  'politically incorrect' ...   Former heavy-weight boxing champion Ken Norton stars as 'Mede', a Mandingo warrior who is captured and sold to a wealthy southern family and is trained to be a "fightin' nigger" who is forced to fight against other slaves for the betting pleasure of his owner.   Sexual debauchery abounds in this perverse tale that ends with Mede being shot and boiled alive and 'pitchforked' to death! ...   Next is  Pretty Baby ...  Brooke Shields  made her movie debut in this shocker about prostitution in New Orleans.   Susan Sarandon is a prostitute in a New Orleans brothel who becomes pregnant and decides to keep her child.   That child (Brooke Shields) is raised in the brothel until she becomes 12 and then her virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder.   About this time she becomes the obsession of a French photographer named Bellocq who is actually more interested in photographing he young girl than he is in touching her!   Although there is deffinately a physical relationship that is more hinted at than actually shown!   The thing is this...   12 year old Brooke Shields spends much of this movie running around naked!   This movie received a wide theatrical release back in the day and was a 'mainstream' movie!   Today this movie would be called 'kiddie-porn' and it would be illegal to even THINK about it!   That is pretty extreme in my book...    Obviously no list of 'extreme' films would not be complete without the scariest, most disturbing Horror movie ever made so I must go now and add  The Exorcist  to my list as well as  Nekromantik !                                                                   &amp;lt; GOR &amp;gt; [/quote]</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Spout Mavens Disc #14, Part 11 of 13: Shorts! Volume 3 - Pretty Dead Girl (2003)</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/rik_tod/archive/2008/9/10/34966.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/65302/default.aspx'>rik_tod</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/rik_tod/default.aspx'>The Cinema 4 Pylon:  SpOutpost</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 9/10/2008 2:04:56 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Director: Shawn KuUS, 22 minutes, colorCinema 4 Rating: 5Despite a title sure to be at least partially tempting to any horror nut, Pretty Dead Girl: A Musical Necromance turns out to be rather tame. And if you could get the subject of necrophilia past the initial tsk-tsking of your grandma, there is a good chance that she would end up at film&rsquo;s end thinking the movie was rather sad and sweet, and would hardly take offense at all to what is being suggested by its potentially creepy premise.I first saw Pretty Dead Girl on some cable network sometime about a year ago. I am not sure if it was Sundance or IFC, but honestly, I mix those channels up so much that I am never able to check out any of their shows regularly. Of course, most of the shows I have seen on there are of the variety about which I don&rsquo;t give a rat&rsquo;s ass, except for the ones done by Henry Rollins and Jon Favreau, but honestly, even thinking really hard, I can&rsquo;t remember which one of the channels, Sundance or IFC, either show was actually on. I keep wanting to check out Live from Abbey Road &ndash; which is also on one of them -- but every time I flick over to it because someone I like &ndash; Muse, for instance &ndash; is on there, I end up having to sit through someone deplorable, like Josh Groban, Big and Rich or some Idol failure, to get to the good stuff, all of which seems to be interspersed with the horrendous. Can&rsquo;t they just concentrate on one artist for a show? And one of these channels shows a bunch of '70s horror flicks on Friday nights -- all of which I already own, but it's nice to have them at one's fingertips anyway -- and one of them shows a lot of Japanese samurai and gangster films from the &lsquo;50s and &lsquo;60s, so they have that going for them. Whichever channel they are.What does this have to do with Pretty Dead Girl? Well, nothing at all, but -&ndash; Hey! Maybe I saw this on one of the Showtime networks instead? All I know is that I had Pretty Dead Girl on my DVR queue for a good long while, meaning to show it to Jen, who has some measured interest in musical films, and musical theatre in general. I watched it and enjoyed it, whatever channel it was on, though I wasn&rsquo;t blown away it by it. This possibly had something to do with the musical episode from Buffy, titled Once More With Feeling, and how it seems, in my head at least, that any attempt to music up the horror or sci-fi genres should actually run through Mr. Whedon first. (Oh, if only Firefly had made it to that style of episode&hellip;) We are now in an age where, every time one turns around, it seems that another classic horror or science fiction film is being adapted into a musical (or opera &ndash; big difference there&hellip;) onstage. (Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Evil Dead, Carrie, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, etc.) Or, at least the notion gets raised that such-and-such (say, Chainsaw) would make a swell musical. I don&rsquo;t know why things are trending this way &ndash; perhaps because the horror genre itself has gotten more and more trapped in its current torture porn rut &ndash; but outside of an almost rubbernecking interest I have towards these things, since I like both musicals and horror films, I actually start to despise the gimmick after a short while. And then it affects my attitude when confronted with mildly ambitious little films like Pretty Dead Girl.It&rsquo;s not a fair comparison, though, because Pretty Dead Girl is not really in the horror genre; it merely teases the viewer with promises of sick glory via its title. Honestly, once I realized it was a musical, I started to imagine a remake of Return of the Living Dead 3 with that hot little zombie chick played to pierced goth glory by a smokin' Mindy Clarke. Now, that would be highly interesting (and also make RotLD3 a much better overall film.) Pretty Dead Girl doesn't even get near such possibilities, centering itself on all-out romantic tragedy instead. All told, it is no more offensive than any number of other Romeo and Juliet-style stories, where suicide is playfully dangled in the air due to the hopelessness of the romance. The title, though, implies so much more beyond a simple desperate love affair that it really is disappointing to see that all told, Pretty Dead Girl is nothing more than magic potion fluff, with a bottle of poison bringing on the appearance of suicide, but only if every single drop is gulped down the gullet (hence the magic part). Otherwise, it becomes a full-on suicide. That this storyline springs forth from the actions of a morgue techie (with a clearly misguided missile) who cavorts and dances about (always in a G-rated way) with the bodies of deceased hotties does make it seem potentially horrific at first, and one almost can&rsquo;t wait for the film to go all Re-Animator on us and suddenly we shall find torrents of blood gushing from the stumps from where the limbs of unsuspecting doctors have been ripped, and there shall then commence a rising bout of rampant cannibalism in the halls of the hospital, syringes stuck through eyeballs of screaming nurses, zombie fetuses that devour their mothers from the inside out, and, perhaps worst of all, an Alaskan governor will then get dangerously close to the White House. And then only one of those things happens&hellip; and it&rsquo;s not even in the movie.Unlike most of the examples listed two paragraphs above, the musical part in Pretty Dead Girl is not the gimmick. Instead, it is the false trappings of horror that are the actual gimmick, and it almost seems like a gimmick which has only been employed to get people to watch the film who are ultimately going to be disappointed once the film doesn&rsquo;t follow through on its sick promise. It certainly tricked me into watching it the first time. And instead of where I thought it was going, I got a nice &ndash; just nice &ndash; little musical instead, with a couple of catchy tunes (I have had that &ldquo;I have waited more than the better of my life&rdquo; melody ear-worming me for the past couple of weeks since I started watching the film again), a lot of leggy dames hoofin&rsquo; it in a dream sequence, a trio of well-turned (and well cast) performances in the main roles and&hellip; well, that&rsquo;s about it. It doesn&rsquo;t go beyond that for me. It&rsquo;s good, it's pleasant, and then I forget about it.When I first saved it on my DVR to show Jen, I never followed through. A couple of months later, as it sat there unwatched, I finally deleted it after convincing myself that she really wouldn&rsquo;t think that much of it. And then I forgot about it until I received the Shorts! Volume 3 collection from Spout Mavens. Now, with DVD in hand, I have once more sidled up to the &ldquo;should I show it to her?&rdquo; stage, and already I am convincing myself to the negative impulse again of not even showing it to her. The problem here is one of too much familiarity with the genre. The more experience or expertise one has in a certain genre, the more lesser items in that genre start to give way almost immediately to feelings of ennui. At least, that&rsquo;s the way it normally works. I know some people that are horror nuts &ndash; some even on this very website -- who unabashedly adore every single horror movie that comes out, practically carving little gory hearts with dripping arrows through them into the top of their computer desk while once more giving five stars to something like Saw IV. Sure, some are better than others, but still&hellip; horror is great! Isn&rsquo;t it? Aren&rsquo;t all horror movies, no matter how bad, instantly awesome and cool, just because they are horror movies? Well, no. Some just blankly suck outright, and some are just downright atrocious from every conceivable angle. The same with every genre.As I have said before, at least 75 percent of everything is garbage, no matter what form of media, no matter how much there is, and into this giant slice of pie, I heap mounds of the merely average. There is another slice of percentage, a chunk that perhaps appears as a normal slice of that pie, which accounts for the merely good. And finally, there is left a much thinner slice, the remainder, that denotes that which exists in the "very good to great" range. The continued and legendary greatness of certain entries in any genre make it increasingly harder, over time, to enjoy that category&rsquo;s far more noxious efforts. It is towards a target sublime to which artists, even popular artists, should aim their talents. Back to the point, because my girlfriend has a good deal of experience, and therefore opinion, regarding the musical genre, and is well versed in those films which serve as the pinnacles of the form, I know instinctively that it is going to take far more to impress her in this genre than it would, say, me.And I already think that Pretty Dead Girl is merely a good short musical film. Not fantastic, not knock your socks off, but just good. And so, for someone with the more than average eye for musicals in general, having seen the excellence which can be achieved in the genre, watching this is like seeing a dance sequence pop up in Ally McBeal. Sure, the actors might be giving it their all, but they are miles from being in the real thing. And, further discounting it for the gimmick factor of its fake fantasy horror trappings, Pretty Dead Girl can seem pretty dead from the beginning. And, if not dead, then just merely playing possum. And nicely at that.And, speaking for myself, though I liked it well enough, nice is not what most people who would be intrigued by such a title as Pretty Dead Girl are going to be expecting.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:04:56 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>rik_tod</spout:postby><spout:postto>The Cinema 4 Pylon:  SpOutpost</spout:postto><spout:postdate>9/10/2008 2:04:56 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Director: Shawn KuUS, 22 minutes, colorCinema 4 Rating: 5Despite a title sure to be at least partially tempting to any horror nut, Pretty Dead Girl: A Musical Necromance turns out to be rather tame. And if you could get the subject of necrophilia past the initial tsk-tsking of your grandma, there is a good chance that she would end up at film&amp;rsquo;s end thinking the movie was rather sad and sweet, and would hardly take offense at all to what is being suggested by its potentially creepy premise.I first saw Pretty Dead Girl on some cable network sometime about a year ago. I am not sure if it was Sundance or IFC, but honestly, I mix those channels up so much that I am never able to check out any of their shows regularly. Of course, most of the shows I have seen on there are of the variety about which I don&amp;rsquo;t give a rat&amp;rsquo;s ass, except for the ones done by Henry Rollins and Jon Favreau, but honestly, even thinking really hard, I can&amp;rsquo;t remember which one of the channels, Sundance or IFC, either show was actually on. I keep wanting to check out Live from Abbey Road &amp;ndash; which is also on one of them -- but every time I flick over to it because someone I like &amp;ndash; Muse, for instance &amp;ndash; is on there, I end up having to sit through someone deplorable, like Josh Groban, Big and Rich or some Idol failure, to get to the good stuff, all of which seems to be interspersed with the horrendous. Can&amp;rsquo;t they just concentrate on one artist for a show? And one of these channels shows a bunch of '70s horror flicks on Friday nights -- all of which I already own, but it's nice to have them at one's fingertips anyway -- and one of them shows a lot of Japanese samurai and gangster films from the &amp;lsquo;50s and &amp;lsquo;60s, so they have that going for them. Whichever channel they are.What does this have to do with Pretty Dead Girl? Well, nothing at all, but -&amp;ndash; Hey! Maybe I saw this on one of the Showtime networks instead? All I know is that I had Pretty Dead Girl on my DVR queue for a good long while, meaning to show it to Jen, who has some measured interest in musical films, and musical theatre in general. I watched it and enjoyed it, whatever channel it was on, though I wasn&amp;rsquo;t blown away it by it. This possibly had something to do with the musical episode from Buffy, titled Once More With Feeling, and how it seems, in my head at least, that any attempt to music up the horror or sci-fi genres should actually run through Mr. Whedon first. (Oh, if only Firefly had made it to that style of episode&amp;hellip;) We are now in an age where, every time one turns around, it seems that another classic horror or science fiction film is being adapted into a musical (or opera &amp;ndash; big difference there&amp;hellip;) onstage. (Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Evil Dead, Carrie, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, etc.) Or, at least the notion gets raised that such-and-such (say, Chainsaw) would make a swell musical. I don&amp;rsquo;t know why things are trending this way &amp;ndash; perhaps because the horror genre itself has gotten more and more trapped in its current torture porn rut &amp;ndash; but outside of an almost rubbernecking interest I have towards these things, since I like both musicals and horror films, I actually start to despise the gimmick after a short while. And then it affects my attitude when confronted with mildly ambitious little films like Pretty Dead Girl.It&amp;rsquo;s not a fair comparison, though, because Pretty Dead Girl is not really in the horror genre; it merely teases the viewer with promises of sick glory via its title. Honestly, once I realized it was a musical, I started to imagine a remake of Return of the Living Dead 3 with that hot little zombie chick played to pierced goth glory by a smokin' Mindy Clarke. Now, that would be highly interesting (and also make RotLD3 a much better overall film.) Pretty Dead Girl doesn't even get near such possibilities, centering itself on all-out romantic tragedy instead. All told, it is no more offensive than any number of other Romeo and Juliet-style stories, where suicide is playfully dangled in the air due to the hopelessness of the romance. The title, though, implies so much more beyond a simple desperate love affair that it really is disappointing to see that all told, Pretty Dead Girl is nothing more than magic potion fluff, with a bottle of poison bringing on the appearance of suicide, but only if every single drop is gulped down the gullet (hence the magic part). Otherwise, it becomes a full-on suicide. That this storyline springs forth from the actions of a morgue techie (with a clearly misguided missile) who cavorts and dances about (always in a G-rated way) with the bodies of deceased hotties does make it seem potentially horrific at first, and one almost can&amp;rsquo;t wait for the film to go all Re-Animator on us and suddenly we shall find torrents of blood gushing from the stumps from where the limbs of unsuspecting doctors have been ripped, and there shall then commence a rising bout of rampant cannibalism in the halls of the hospital, syringes stuck through eyeballs of screaming nurses, zombie fetuses that devour their mothers from the inside out, and, perhaps worst of all, an Alaskan governor will then get dangerously close to the White House. And then only one of those things happens&amp;hellip; and it&amp;rsquo;s not even in the movie.Unlike most of the examples listed two paragraphs above, the musical part in Pretty Dead Girl is not the gimmick. Instead, it is the false trappings of horror that are the actual gimmick, and it almost seems like a gimmick which has only been employed to get people to watch the film who are ultimately going to be disappointed once the film doesn&amp;rsquo;t follow through on its sick promise. It certainly tricked me into watching it the first time. And instead of where I thought it was going, I got a nice &amp;ndash; just nice &amp;ndash; little musical instead, with a couple of catchy tunes (I have had that &amp;ldquo;I have waited more than the better of my life&amp;rdquo; melody ear-worming me for the past couple of weeks since I started watching the film again), a lot of leggy dames hoofin&amp;rsquo; it in a dream sequence, a trio of well-turned (and well cast) performances in the main roles and&amp;hellip; well, that&amp;rsquo;s about it. It doesn&amp;rsquo;t go beyond that for me. It&amp;rsquo;s good, it's pleasant, and then I forget about it.When I first saved it on my DVR to show Jen, I never followed through. A couple of months later, as it sat there unwatched, I finally deleted it after convincing myself that she really wouldn&amp;rsquo;t think that much of it. And then I forgot about it until I received the Shorts! Volume 3 collection from Spout Mavens. Now, with DVD in hand, I have once more sidled up to the &amp;ldquo;should I show it to her?&amp;rdquo; stage, and already I am convincing myself to the negative impulse again of not even showing it to her. The problem here is one of too much familiarity with the genre. The more experience or expertise one has in a certain genre, the more lesser items in that genre start to give way almost immediately to feelings of ennui. At least, that&amp;rsquo;s the way it normally works. I know some people that are horror nuts &amp;ndash; some even on this very website -- who unabashedly adore every single horror movie that comes out, practically carving little gory hearts with dripping arrows through them into the top of their computer desk while once more giving five stars to something like Saw IV. Sure, some are better than others, but still&amp;hellip; horror is great! Isn&amp;rsquo;t it? Aren&amp;rsquo;t all horror movies, no matter how bad, instantly awesome and cool, just because they are horror movies? Well, no. Some just blankly suck outright, and some are just downright atrocious from every conceivable angle. The same with every genre.As I have said before, at least 75 percent of everything is garbage, no matter what form of media, no matter how much there is, and into this giant slice of pie, I heap mounds of the merely average. There is another slice of percentage, a chunk that perhaps appears as a normal slice of that pie, which accounts for the merely good. And finally, there is left a much thinner slice, the remainder, that denotes that which exists in the "very good to great" range. The continued and legendary greatness of certain entries in any genre make it increasingly harder, over time, to enjoy that category&amp;rsquo;s far more noxious efforts. It is towards a target sublime to which artists, even popular artists, should aim their talents. Back to the point, because my girlfriend has a good deal of experience, and therefore opinion, regarding the musical genre, and is well versed in those films which serve as the pinnacles of the form, I know instinctively that it is going to take far more to impress her in this genre than it would, say, me.And I already think that Pretty Dead Girl is merely a good short musical film. Not fantastic, not knock your socks off, but just good. And so, for someone with the more than average eye for musicals in general, having seen the excellence which can be achieved in the genre, watching this is like seeing a dance sequence pop up in Ally McBeal. Sure, the actors might be giving it their all, but they are miles from being in the real thing. And, further discounting it for the gimmick factor of its fake fantasy horror trappings, Pretty Dead Girl can seem pretty dead from the beginning. And, if not dead, then just merely playing possum. And nicely at that.And, speaking for myself, though I liked it well enough, nice is not what most people who would be intrigued by such a title as Pretty Dead Girl are going to be expecting.</spout:body></item>
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      <title>Spout Post: Saw IV (2007)</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/jj79/archive/2008/6/6/30727.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/16043/default.aspx'>JJ79</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/jj79/default.aspx'>JJ79 Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 6/6/2008 3:52:24 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> If it&acute;s Halloween, it must be "Saw." Alright, so I stole that line from the advertising for one of the earlier movies in the horror series, but it still fits. The weekend before Halloween, without fail, Lionsgate unveils the newest entry in the franchise. It doesn&acute;t get screened for critics. The ones that do plunk down their own money to watch the carnage hate it all the while the public eats it up. Rinse. Repeat. The same thing has happened this year with "Saw IV," the newest installment. And with the news both "Saw V" and "Saw VI" are going into production, I&acute;ll go out on a limb the same pattern is going to hold for the next two years. "Saw IV" opens with an autopsy. Jigsaw&acute;s autopsy, since the character died at the end of the previous entry. In his stomach is an audio tape covered in wax (to help in swallowing, of course). While listening to the recording, Agent Straham relives his encounter with the master genius, including the revelation Eric Matthews (from previous films) is being held by&hellip;someone. When a SWAT officer obsessed with the case investigates on his own, it becomes clear the games are not over. There is a snitch inside the police department, an ex-wife who can shed more light on John/Jigsaw and a revelation that will bring a smile to the face of any fan. Up until the last fifteen minutes, I wasn&acute;t finding much to like about " Saw IV." It seemed as through the events of the last film had been thrown by the wayside in favor of rebooting the franchise, so to speak. New characters, new storylines and a decidedly less grotesque set of tests. It&acute;s almost as if this entry is meant to serve as the prologue to a new trilogy. After all, to find a connection between the new characters and the originals, you have to use flowcharts and stick notes by this point. Because we don&acute;t know any of these people--except Jigsaw in flashbacks--the action feels lethargic, almost as if the script is marking time until the big continuity reveal can be thrust upon the audience. Straham and Detective Hoffman continually confused me as to who was who, which I attributed to the fact the actors (Scott Patterson and Costas Mandylor) looking alike. The "new" characters, SWAT officer Rigg, for instance, are nearly one dimensional plot devices designed to move the story along with no real personality. Fine in a run of the mill horror movie, but this is "Saw." For whatever reason, we except just a bit more. (It doesn&acute;t help that Rigg feels like an invention of "Saw IV," yet was present in the last two sequels as Matthews&acute; partner. Under that backdrop, he at least has motivation.) One of the missteps the movie makes is making Jigsaw a sympathetic character, giving him a backstory which explains the lessons he tries to teach. It&acute;s almost as if the writers had the idea of making "Saw IV" a prequel, noticed how poorly the new "Halloween" movie performed and vanquished the thought of a using the prequel moniker. In any event, this is a prequel, at least in part. One of the great joys in the series thus far has been to watch minor characters come to the forefront. It speaks to the tight plotting and continuity of the franchise that the internal story holds together so well. Remember that ending montage in "Saw III" which more or less connected all the dots for the audience? That&acute;s the kind of thing I&acute;m talking about. At one point in the film, a reference is made to a missing doctor. Could that be Lynn, the woman who had her head blown off in the last film? Could be. Remember the note which Amanda read, causing her to break down? It&acute;s not from John, in case you were wondering. Even the final twist-not much of a twist, just the last piece of the continuity puzzle-has been meticulously plotted. It&acute;s a scene which crystallizes how the last two films (and by extension all of them) fit together. Remarkably, "Saw III" takes place at the same time as the flashback portion of "Saw IV," an idea I had never entertained as I wondered where Jeff disappeared to. Lost in my wonder over the script is the gore. The first film was exciting, the second an expansion on the creativity, the third throwing blood around for the heck of it&hellip;and the fourth an afterthought. There&acute;s not a lot of creativity or sly humor in any of them. Instead, they&acute;re more perfunctory, as if someone reminded the writers they were writing a horror movie, not a sprawling drama. Yes, there are gallons of blood and knives, screaming, fighting, explosions, impalements and all the other things we expect in a "Saw" film. I suspect the writers know what the audience is expecting and that the audience is becoming desensitized to graphic violence and mixed up the formula for that reason. Maybe I&acute;m giving them a bit too much credit and this is just a bad outing. As we&acute;ve also come to expect, "Saw IV" is a slick production. One set in particular--the electrocution room, for lack of a better term--stands out. It&acute;s an industrial-looking room, bathed in green light from the ceiling and two blue instruments standing out amongst them. Lights streams in through the wall fan, around the blades, providing an ominous shadow on the right hand side. I don&acute;t recall any shot which caught my attention quite like this one. "Saw IV" is critic proof. I could have spent the last 900-odd words saying it&acute;s an abomination, sacrilegious, despicable filmmaking (basically what the major critics are saying) and it would still rule the box office on its opening weekend. But I&acute;m not going to say any of those things. If anything, "Saw IV" shows a maturing the of the franchise. The movie understands an audience can&acute;t live on blood for its entire life and needs to morph into something different. More power to it. This film rates a 7 out of 10.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:52:24 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>JJ79</spout:postby><spout:postto>JJ79 Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>6/6/2008 3:52:24 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>If it&amp;acute;s Halloween, it must be "Saw." Alright, so I stole that line from the advertising for one of the earlier movies in the horror series, but it still fits. The weekend before Halloween, without fail, Lionsgate unveils the newest entry in the franchise. It doesn&amp;acute;t get screened for critics. The ones that do plunk down their own money to watch the carnage hate it all the while the public eats it up. Rinse. Repeat. The same thing has happened this year with "Saw IV," the newest installment. And with the news both "Saw V" and "Saw VI" are going into production, I&amp;acute;ll go out on a limb the same pattern is going to hold for the next two years. "Saw IV" opens with an autopsy. Jigsaw&amp;acute;s autopsy, since the character died at the end of the previous entry. In his stomach is an audio tape covered in wax (to help in swallowing, of course). While listening to the recording, Agent Straham relives his encounter with the master genius, including the revelation Eric Matthews (from previous films) is being held by&amp;hellip;someone. When a SWAT officer obsessed with the case investigates on his own, it becomes clear the games are not over. There is a snitch inside the police department, an ex-wife who can shed more light on John/Jigsaw and a revelation that will bring a smile to the face of any fan. Up until the last fifteen minutes, I wasn&amp;acute;t finding much to like about " Saw IV." It seemed as through the events of the last film had been thrown by the wayside in favor of rebooting the franchise, so to speak. New characters, new storylines and a decidedly less grotesque set of tests. It&amp;acute;s almost as if this entry is meant to serve as the prologue to a new trilogy. After all, to find a connection between the new characters and the originals, you have to use flowcharts and stick notes by this point. Because we don&amp;acute;t know any of these people--except Jigsaw in flashbacks--the action feels lethargic, almost as if the script is marking time until the big continuity reveal can be thrust upon the audience. Straham and Detective Hoffman continually confused me as to who was who, which I attributed to the fact the actors (Scott Patterson and Costas Mandylor) looking alike. The "new" characters, SWAT officer Rigg, for instance, are nearly one dimensional plot devices designed to move the story along with no real personality. Fine in a run of the mill horror movie, but this is "Saw." For whatever reason, we except just a bit more. (It doesn&amp;acute;t help that Rigg feels like an invention of "Saw IV," yet was present in the last two sequels as Matthews&amp;acute; partner. Under that backdrop, he at least has motivation.) One of the missteps the movie makes is making Jigsaw a sympathetic character, giving him a backstory which explains the lessons he tries to teach. It&amp;acute;s almost as if the writers had the idea of making "Saw IV" a prequel, noticed how poorly the new "Halloween" movie performed and vanquished the thought of a using the prequel moniker. In any event, this is a prequel, at least in part. One of the great joys in the series thus far has been to watch minor characters come to the forefront. It speaks to the tight plotting and continuity of the franchise that the internal story holds together so well. Remember that ending montage in "Saw III" which more or less connected all the dots for the audience? That&amp;acute;s the kind of thing I&amp;acute;m talking about. At one point in the film, a reference is made to a missing doctor. Could that be Lynn, the woman who had her head blown off in the last film? Could be. Remember the note which Amanda read, causing her to break down? It&amp;acute;s not from John, in case you were wondering. Even the final twist-not much of a twist, just the last piece of the continuity puzzle-has been meticulously plotted. It&amp;acute;s a scene which crystallizes how the last two films (and by extension all of them) fit together. Remarkably, "Saw III" takes place at the same time as the flashback portion of "Saw IV," an idea I had never entertained as I wondered where Jeff disappeared to. Lost in my wonder over the script is the gore. The first film was exciting, the second an expansion on the creativity, the third throwing blood around for the heck of it&amp;hellip;and the fourth an afterthought. There&amp;acute;s not a lot of creativity or sly humor in any of them. Instead, they&amp;acute;re more perfunctory, as if someone reminded the writers they were writing a horror movie, not a sprawling drama. Yes, there are gallons of blood and knives, screaming, fighting, explosions, impalements and all the other things we expect in a "Saw" film. I suspect the writers know what the audience is expecting and that the audience is becoming desensitized to graphic violence and mixed up the formula for that reason. Maybe I&amp;acute;m giving them a bit too much credit and this is just a bad outing. As we&amp;acute;ve also come to expect, "Saw IV" is a slick production. One set in particular--the electrocution room, for lack of a better term--stands out. It&amp;acute;s an industrial-looking room, bathed in green light from the ceiling and two blue instruments standing out amongst them. Lights streams in through the wall fan, around the blades, providing an ominous shadow on the right hand side. I don&amp;acute;t recall any shot which caught my attention quite like this one. "Saw IV" is critic proof. I could have spent the last 900-odd words saying it&amp;acute;s an abomination, sacrilegious, despicable filmmaking (basically what the major critics are saying) and it would still rule the box office on its opening weekend. But I&amp;acute;m not going to say any of those things. If anything, "Saw IV" shows a maturing the of the franchise. The movie understands an audience can&amp;acute;t live on blood for its entire life and needs to morph into something different. More power to it. This film rates a 7 out of 10.</spout:body></item>
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      <title>Spout Post: American Gangster Saw Darjeeling Limited</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/archive/2007/11/20/21853.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/17539/default.aspx'>dibot</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/default.aspx'>dibot Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 11/20/2007 10:37:00 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> American Gangster is a semi-epic about the rise of heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington, &quot;Deja Vu&quot;) and the cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, &quot;3:10 to Yuma&quot;) who&#39;s determined to bring him down. The movie cuts back and forth between the two men, leading us into their lives and work. Lucas is charismatic and ruthless. Roberts is determined, honest and sometimes lost in his personal life. I found his story to be much more engaging. Crowe is very restrained in the role and seems more like a real person. Washington is just too smooth. Based on actual events, the film covers many years and much information. But it seemed so slow in many parts. I found myself checking my watch. Also, Crowe and Washington only have about five minutes of shared screen time, a bit of a disappointment. It&#39;s impossible to make a movie like this and not be compared to The Godfather. There&#39;s at least one scene that, to me, seemed like a straight rip off. But maybe director Ridley Scott (&quot;A Good Year&quot;) was trying for homage. Still good, but not great.Saw IV is another chapter in the bloodbath franchise. Much of it is gross and painful. The timeline is a bit confusing. I kind of fell asleep for like 15 minutes, so maybe something really good happened then. All I can say is that I give it props for having Luke (Scott Patterson) from Gilmore Girls in a starring role.I&#39;ll say up front that I love Wes Anderson (&quot;The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou&quot;) and all things he touches, so take that into consideration when viewing my rating for The Darjeeling Limited. Though I didn&#39;t feel as much emotional attachment to these characters as I sometimes do in Anderson films, I still found them fascinating. Owen Wilson (&quot;Night at the Museum&quot;), Adrien Brody (&quot;Hollywoodland&quot;) and Jason Schwartzman (&quot;Marie Antoinette&quot;) star as three brothers who haven&#39;t seen each other in the year since their father passed away. They reunite for a spiritual train voyage across India. Most of this is quirky if not downright absurd, but it&#39;s gorgeous to look at. My husband said that he would be like Brody&#39;s character and I would be like Wilson&#39;s character. Who wants soup? Raise your hand.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:37:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>dibot</spout:postby><spout:postto>dibot Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>11/20/2007 10:37:00 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>American Gangster is a semi-epic about the rise of heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington, &amp;quot;Deja Vu&amp;quot;) and the cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, &amp;quot;3:10 to Yuma&amp;quot;) who&amp;#39;s determined to bring him down. The movie cuts back and forth between the two men, leading us into their lives and work. Lucas is charismatic and ruthless. Roberts is determined, honest and sometimes lost in his personal life. I found his story to be much more engaging. Crowe is very restrained in the role and seems more like a real person. Washington is just too smooth. Based on actual events, the film covers many years and much information. But it seemed so slow in many parts. I found myself checking my watch. Also, Crowe and Washington only have about five minutes of shared screen time, a bit of a disappointment. It&amp;#39;s impossible to make a movie like this and not be compared to The Godfather. There&amp;#39;s at least one scene that, to me, seemed like a straight rip off. But maybe director Ridley Scott (&amp;quot;A Good Year&amp;quot;) was trying for homage. Still good, but not great.Saw IV is another chapter in the bloodbath franchise. Much of it is gross and painful. The timeline is a bit confusing. I kind of fell asleep for like 15 minutes, so maybe something really good happened then. All I can say is that I give it props for having Luke (Scott Patterson) from Gilmore Girls in a starring role.I&amp;#39;ll say up front that I love Wes Anderson (&amp;quot;The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou&amp;quot;) and all things he touches, so take that into consideration when viewing my rating for The Darjeeling Limited. Though I didn&amp;#39;t feel as much emotional attachment to these characters as I sometimes do in Anderson films, I still found them fascinating. Owen Wilson (&amp;quot;Night at the Museum&amp;quot;), Adrien Brody (&amp;quot;Hollywoodland&amp;quot;) and Jason Schwartzman (&amp;quot;Marie Antoinette&amp;quot;) star as three brothers who haven&amp;#39;t seen each other in the year since their father passed away. They reunite for a spiritual train voyage across India. Most of this is quirky if not downright absurd, but it&amp;#39;s gorgeous to look at. My husband said that he would be like Brody&amp;#39;s character and I would be like Wilson&amp;#39;s character. Who wants soup? Raise your hand.</spout:body></item>
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      <title>Spout Post: The Saw franchise remains strong</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/dejavecu/archive/2007/10/29/21281.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/91114/default.aspx'>DejaVecu</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/dejavecu/default.aspx'>DejaVecu Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/29/2007 11:53:52 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> While not the strongest entry in the series, Saw IV was still a well thought out movie.  Expect some more inventive &quot;games,&quot; a fairly interesting (if a bit drawn out &quot;enough already&quot; Jigsaw backstory), and enough gore to satisfy you (if you like that sort of thing).  By film&#39;s end, you know they can keep going, although I&#39;d hope they&#39;ll slow down because one a year is definitely straining the writing a bit.Also, (and I don&#39;t feel this is a spoiler) be prepared to see prior Saw series events in a new light and expect to be a bit flexible on your chronology for the franchise.  If this is a spoiler, I apologize, but it seems to me that it pays to see these new games as taking place simultaneously with the games in Saw III...you&#39;ll see what I mean when you watch. (There may still be a few flaws here, hence my plea to slow down the annual releases.)<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:53:52 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>DejaVecu</spout:postby><spout:postto>DejaVecu Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/29/2007 11:53:52 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>While not the strongest entry in the series, Saw IV was still a well thought out movie.  Expect some more inventive &amp;quot;games,&amp;quot; a fairly interesting (if a bit drawn out &amp;quot;enough already&amp;quot; Jigsaw backstory), and enough gore to satisfy you (if you like that sort of thing).  By film&amp;#39;s end, you know they can keep going, although I&amp;#39;d hope they&amp;#39;ll slow down because one a year is definitely straining the writing a bit.Also, (and I don&amp;#39;t feel this is a spoiler) be prepared to see prior Saw series events in a new light and expect to be a bit flexible on your chronology for the franchise.  If this is a spoiler, I apologize, but it seems to me that it pays to see these new games as taking place simultaneously with the games in Saw III...you&amp;#39;ll see what I mean when you watch. (There may still be a few flaws here, hence my plea to slow down the annual releases.)</spout:body></item>
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      <title>Spout Post: New Releases: Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/10/26/21210.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/26/2007 1:01:00 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Several movies that we’ve covered previously on SpoutBlog are opening in theaters today:

 Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, starring Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman, has been widely hailed as a “return to form” for director Sidney Lumet. That’s probably not inaccurate, but the last thing Devil feels like is the work of an old man recycling old tricks. Ballsy and occasionally incredulous in its illustration of extreme, self-manufactured desperation, Devil’s not exactly a masterpiece, but if can roll with its plot contortions, it’s a deeply satisfying bit of pulp melodrama. And it’s got the opening sex scene to end all opening sex scenes. Read my NYFF review here, and listen to Lumet talk about his late-career embrace of digital video here.
The Darjeeling Limited expands yet again this weekend, but the real news is the theatrical unveiling of Hotel Chevalier. See a review of the feature here, and coverage of Wes Anderson’s short here, here and here.
Saw IV’s opening box office has been positioned as a test of the lasting allure of the torture porn genre. But it’s also a test of the power of sex to sell blood.

 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:01:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/26/2007 1:01:00 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Several movies that we’ve covered previously on SpoutBlog are opening in theaters today:

 Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, starring Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman, has been widely hailed as a “return to form” for director Sidney Lumet. That’s probably not inaccurate, but the last thing Devil feels like is the work of an old man recycling old tricks. Ballsy and occasionally incredulous in its illustration of extreme, self-manufactured desperation, Devil’s not exactly a masterpiece, but if can roll with its plot contortions, it’s a deeply satisfying bit of pulp melodrama. And it’s got the opening sex scene to end all opening sex scenes. Read my NYFF review here, and listen to Lumet talk about his late-career embrace of digital video here.
The Darjeeling Limited expands yet again this weekend, but the real news is the theatrical unveiling of Hotel Chevalier. See a review of the feature here, and coverage of Wes Anderson’s short here, here and here.
Saw IV’s opening box office has been positioned as a test of the lasting allure of the torture porn genre. But it’s also a test of the power of sex to sell blood.

 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: The Return of Torture: Trade Roughage 10/26/07</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/10/26/21204.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/26/2007 9:01:36 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
The Hollywood Reporter predicts Saw IV will open huge this weekend, and Variety concurs. The Variety story is a bit more skeptical as to whether or not this latest installment in “the flagship hardcore horror franchise” can reverse the course on the torture porn down-turn, but THR is looking at the bigger question of “whether the gore-filled sequel can pump some blood into a recently lifeless fall theatrical season.”
Variety’s headline says there’s “new life” in pre-strike talks between the WGA and the AMPTP, but the story reads like you literally couldn’t pay the Writer’s Guild not to strike. The Reporter’s headline seems more accurate: “WGA seems unimpressed with new AMPTP proposals.”
Kurt & Courtney director Nick Broomfield has hopped from the William Morris Agency to ICM. Broomfield is looking for North American distribution for his second narrative feature in two years, Battle for Haditha, and his new agency has been tasked with aiding that cause.
Reason #907 why this Taking of Pelham 123 remake seems like a bad idea: John Travolta.

 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:01:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/26/2007 9:01:36 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
The Hollywood Reporter predicts Saw IV will open huge this weekend, and Variety concurs. The Variety story is a bit more skeptical as to whether or not this latest installment in “the flagship hardcore horror franchise” can reverse the course on the torture porn down-turn, but THR is looking at the bigger question of “whether the gore-filled sequel can pump some blood into a recently lifeless fall theatrical season.”
Variety’s headline says there’s “new life” in pre-strike talks between the WGA and the AMPTP, but the story reads like you literally couldn’t pay the Writer’s Guild not to strike. The Reporter’s headline seems more accurate: “WGA seems unimpressed with new AMPTP proposals.”
Kurt &amp; Courtney director Nick Broomfield has hopped from the William Morris Agency to ICM. Broomfield is looking for North American distribution for his second narrative feature in two years, Battle for Haditha, and his new agency has been tasked with aiding that cause.
Reason #907 why this Taking of Pelham 123 remake seems like a bad idea: John Travolta.

 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re: Re-makes.......</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_Re_makes/222/19397/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/15345/default.aspx'>notkevinbacon</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/222/discussions.aspx'>HORROR MOVIES 101</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 9/5/2007 6:26:37 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> I agree that a majority of remakes suffer from uninspired thinking and lack of creativity. With horror movies (see also sci-fi, action, comedy) there is the abilty to create a brand. Brands in dramas are rarer but they exist (i.e. Godfather Trilogy)  Most of these remakes we see now  I can only assume were brewed in some cavernous boardroom with movie producers bargaining and bidding on horses named "Texas Chainsaw Franchise"and "Halloween Money Machine." It becomes soley a business deal. They are buying likeliness and iconic horror villians with familar stories.  Now, for me to say that this is an unethical practice that rips the artistic rug out from beneath fright flicks would be ridiculous. Even though they aren&#39;t all winners I love the Friday the 13th movies (OK, well Part 8 and Jason X are both hard to watch because they&#39;re just awful), same goes for Nightmare on Elm street, Hellraiser, etc. Even though I am not the biggest fan of the Saw franchise... I saw a preview the other day that said "If it&#39;s Halloween, it&#39;s gotta be Saw"       I like that.           It reminds me of those days in the 80s when horror franchises were everywhere... and ate them up as a young (very young) dude       .  Remakes tend to be unremarkable. But if you get a talented, dedicated and visionary director sometimes it gels so perfectly. Every story can be told a million ways and it just depends on who&#39;s telling it. I just saw (suffered through) the Halloween remake yesterday... if I got anything from that movie I was reminded how talented Carpenter really can be. It just solidifed that the most effective and frightening horrors are the unknown and that demistifying the myths can really be a risky, clumsy move in a less than talented directors hand. The original&#39;s restraint and genuinely forboding atmosphere makes it one of the finest slashers ever, period.  Hope this made sense. I am leaving work and rushing. Hehe     <br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:26:37 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>notkevinbacon</spout:postby><spout:postto>HORROR MOVIES 101</spout:postto><spout:postdate>9/5/2007 6:26:37 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>I agree that a majority of remakes suffer from uninspired thinking and lack of creativity. With horror movies (see also sci-fi, action, comedy) there is the abilty to create a brand. Brands in dramas are rarer but they exist (i.e. Godfather Trilogy)  Most of these remakes we see now  I can only assume were brewed in some cavernous boardroom with movie producers bargaining and bidding on horses named "Texas Chainsaw Franchise"and "Halloween Money Machine." It becomes soley a business deal. They are buying likeliness and iconic horror villians with familar stories.  Now, for me to say that this is an unethical practice that rips the artistic rug out from beneath fright flicks would be ridiculous. Even though they aren&amp;#39;t all winners I love the Friday the 13th movies (OK, well Part 8 and Jason X are both hard to watch because they&amp;#39;re just awful), same goes for Nightmare on Elm street, Hellraiser, etc. Even though I am not the biggest fan of the Saw franchise... I saw a preview the other day that said "If it&amp;#39;s Halloween, it&amp;#39;s gotta be Saw"       I like that.           It reminds me of those days in the 80s when horror franchises were everywhere... and ate them up as a young (very young) dude       .  Remakes tend to be unremarkable. But if you get a talented, dedicated and visionary director sometimes it gels so perfectly. Every story can be told a million ways and it just depends on who&amp;#39;s telling it. I just saw (suffered through) the Halloween remake yesterday... if I got anything from that movie I was reminded how talented Carpenter really can be. It just solidifed that the most effective and frightening horrors are the unknown and that demistifying the myths can really be a risky, clumsy move in a less than talented directors hand. The original&amp;#39;s restraint and genuinely forboding atmosphere makes it one of the finest slashers ever, period.  Hope this made sense. I am leaving work and rushing. Hehe     </spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: How bad is this movie going to be ?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/alienlazer/archive/2007/6/12/10910.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s298164.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/19564/default.aspx'>AlienLazer</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/alienlazer/default.aspx'>AlienLazer Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 6/12/2007 12:40:59 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> I can&#39;t believe they are actually putting out a forth one.  I mean, the third one did such a wonderful job at conclueding these movies.  Who are they going to use now and how will they top the previous movie?  That&#39;s just crazy...<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:40:59 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>AlienLazer</spout:postby><spout:postto>AlienLazer Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>6/12/2007 12:40:59 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>I can&amp;#39;t believe they are actually putting out a forth one.  I mean, the third one did such a wonderful job at conclueding these movies.  Who are they going to use now and how will they top the previous movie?  That&amp;#39;s just crazy...</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:murder</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>murder</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 8748</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 157</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 830</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:57:25 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>8748</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>157</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>830</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
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      <title>Spout Tag:death</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/death/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/death/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>death</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 4306</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 140</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 526</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:27:13 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>4306</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>140</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>526</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:gore</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/gore/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/gore/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>gore</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 246</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 50</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 136</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:53:52 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>246</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>50</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>136</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
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      <title>Spout Tag:sequel</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sequel/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sequel/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sequel</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 126</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 46</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 171</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:25:48 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>126</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>46</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>171</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:torture</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/torture/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/torture/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>torture</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 571</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 43</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 104</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:51:19 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>571</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>43</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>104</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:twist</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/twist/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/twist/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>twist</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 32</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 43</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 54</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:08:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>32</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>43</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>54</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:serialkiller</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/serialkiller/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/serialkiller/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>serialkiller</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 996</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 32</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 64</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:03:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>996</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>32</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>64</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:despair</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/despair/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/despair/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>despair</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 69</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 20</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 23</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:44:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>69</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>20</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>23</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:game</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/game/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/game/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>game</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 354</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 20</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 28</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:02:27 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>354</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>20</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>28</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:morality</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/morality/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/morality/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>morality</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 277</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 15</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 25</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:40:47 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>277</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>15</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>25</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:non-linear</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/non-linear/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/non-linear/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>non-linear</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 10</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 13</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 20</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:43:52 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>10</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>13</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>20</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:salvation</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/salvation/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/salvation/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>salvation</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 76</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 7</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 11</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:30:58 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>76</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>7</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>11</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:saw</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/saw/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/saw/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>saw</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 7</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 7</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 7</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:56:33 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>7</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>7</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>7</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:sadism</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sadism/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sadism/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sadism</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 27</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 6</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 29</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:40:25 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>27</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>6</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>29</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:trap</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/trap/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/trap/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>trap</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 51</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 6</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 12</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:02:37 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>51</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>6</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>12</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
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