mciocco

Member since 11/2/2008, last signed in awhile ago.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Crime, Horror, Science & Technology, Science Fiction, Spy Film, Thriller, War

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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Re:Weekly Theme for July 20: Te ...
By mciocco in Weekly Theme
"A few come to mind: Network - At the time, Paddy Chayefsky tried to imagine the most ridiculous and absurd things that could happen on TV news... Frighteningly, it doesn't seem as ridiculous or absurd these days. Groundhog Day - TV weatherman caught in a space/time loop. Great movie. The Truman Show - Jim Carrey in a semi-serious role? Decent movie, though I'm not sure it's aged that well... The Insider - Or, how everyone lost faith in 60 Minutes. Anchorman - I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. And some horror TV films: Poltergeist, Ringu, and Videodrome " [More]

The Usual Suspects

Re:Weekly Theme for July 13: Wh ...
By mciocco in Weekly Theme
"The whodunit appears to have morphed into about 30 or 40 different police procedurals on TV. Between the million CSI and Law & Order variants, you could find yourself watching a whodunit for just about every waking hour of the week. In terms of movies, you've hit most of the ones that immediately jump to mind. A couple of others: The Name of the Rose - I haven't seen this in years, so maybe it doesn't hold up, but this adaptation of an Umberto Eco novel was pretty good. The Usual Suspects - Perhaps not a pure whodunit, I think this still works Seven - Again, probably not a pure whodunit, but it kinda works A lot of slasher movies could arguably be whodunits. My Bloody Valentine and Sleepaway Camp spring immediately to mind (heck, even Friday the 13th Part V might work, though it's pretty inept). " [More]

Re:Drag Me to Hell
By mciocco in HORROR MOVIES 101
"I'm pretty much in agreement with everything there. There are definitely some things I loved about the movie, but there were a couple of things that bothered me. The obviousness of the whole envelope switcheroo being one of them (but then again, even when you predict it, it can be somewhat satisfying, depending on whether or not you like the main character). But I loved the "hankerchief as recurring villain" bits, and of course my favorite part of the movie was the fact that there was an anvil hanging in the shed. I was laughing hysterically when I noticed that, to the point where I think I was making other people in the theater nervous. Ultimately, it's a fun little horror movie that doesn't try to be any more than what it is, and it works really well on that level. It's not quite up there with Evil Dead II or anything, but still a fun time. Definitely worth a rental if you get a chance... " [More]

I Am Legend

Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: Th ...
By mciocco in Weekly Theme
"Every example I'm coming up with seems to be a borderline case. Most are not about a plague proper, but have elements of plague type stories. The best example I can think of is the original The Andromeda Strain. (Incidentally, the 2008 miniseries sucks!) Serenity references many elements of plague, even though it probably wouldn't be considered a plague movie. I'm a big fan of the novel, but the I Am Legend movie isn't nearly as good... Still, some of those scenes of an empty NY hit home... 12 Monkeys is another that doesn't really hit the plague head on, but plague features in the story... The Stand mini-series isn't that great overall (another movie overshadowed by the book), but the first 2 hour episode is pretty great, and that's the part when the plague spreads... There are probably a million zombie movies that would qualify, but I'll leave that open for others:) ~Mark " [More]

Playing Columbine

Playing Columbine
By mciocco in mciocco Blog
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"A few years ago, student filmmaker Danny Ledonne discovered a computer program called RPG Maker (which provides an easy way to create a video game without having to learn programming) and decided to make a game that would explore issues important to him. As a high school student in Colorado at the time of the Columbine shooting, he found that event to be particularly important in his life. He recognized himself in the shooters and wanted to make a game that explored that concept as well as the idea that video games were themselves responsible for the tragedy. So he made a game called Super Columbine Massacre RPG! where you play Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and act out the massacre, following events on the day of the shootings and continuing after their suicide into hell (where they fight creatures from the video game Doom). In 2005 he (anonymously) made the game available for free on the internet. He didn't do much in the way of promotion for the game, but it almost immediately st ... " [More]

Re:WATCHMEN Poll: Raddest chara ...
By mciocco in sci-fi
"[quote user="SkyPilot"] My favorite Rorschach moment comes when his brainstorming gets increasingly wacky, and he's like, "All this Egyptian imagery is making my logic fuzzy..." [/quote] My favorite Rorschach moment comes when he's in prison and a prisoner tries to stab him in the cafeteria. He throws a bowl of boiling cooking oil on the prisoner and shouts "None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me." Badass. " [More]

The Road Warrior

Re:Weekly Theme for March 3: Mo ...
By mciocco in Weekly Theme
"I'll register my love for the Mad Max movies. The first Mad Max is an odd duck. A little uneven, but riveting stuff. Mad Max 2, or The Road Warrior as it's known here in the states, is one of those odd sequels that at least rivals the original... perhaps even surpasses it (incidentally, I just got the Blu-Ray and the picture is gorgeous!) Of course, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a distinct step down in quality, but I still have an affinity for it and some of it's more memorable creations (i.e. the titular Thunderdome and it's primary rule: "Two men enter, one man leaves." and of course, Master Blaster). I remember watching these movies as a youngin and being thrilled by the car chases. Low angles, cool cars and lots of revving. Awesome stuff. " [More]

Airplane!

Re:Weekly Theme for February 9: ...
By mciocco in Weekly Theme
"Do airplanes count? Airplane! is pretty darn funny:p These are probably more about road trips in general than public transportation, but Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Midnight Run might count, right? Transsiberian is a recent thriller on a train. Didn't love it, but a lot of people seemed to think it was pretty good. Another recent horror movie on a train is Midnight Meat Train. Again, not especially groundbreaking stuff, but somewhat entertaining. I keep feeling like I'm really missing something obvious. Grrr. A lot of what I'm thinking of are just road trip movies, or movies that feature scenes on public transit... (like Dogma, which I'm not sure qualifies) " [More]

Re:STAR WARS vs STAR TREK: The ...
By mciocco in Filmgaming
"But we're talking about a barroom brawl here, not a pitched battle in space or on open ground. Mostly hand to hand combat in close quarters. Ok, so I can maybe see Picard giving Boba Fett a run for his money. I still think Fett would win, but I can at least understand the inclination. But Spock over Darth Maul? No way! There are a couple other Trekkies who could take their opponent on the list, but the only real sure thing in my mind is that Worf would annihilate Lando. " [More]

Re:STAR WARS vs STAR TREK: The ...
By mciocco in Filmgaming
"I think Star Wars is going to come out on top here. Star Wars is much more of an Action/Adventure series, which puts the more intellectual Star Trek at a disadvantage. I mean, the humans in Star Trek are all enlightened and diplomatic and stuff. Badassery displayed by a Trek character usually comes in the form of a gutsy strategic or diplomatic maneuver. Pitting such characters in a one on one fight with folks who are known for their physical badassery is generally a losing battle. " [More]

Happy Gilmore

Ping Pong Playa'
By mciocco in mciocco Blog
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"It's like Happy Gilmore, but with Asians, Basketball, and Ping Pong instead of Sandlers, Hockey, and Golf. In all seriousness, this movie probably has a little more heart than Gilmore, but the laughs are, well, different. The main character, Christopher "C-dub" Wang, is simultaneously more ridiculous and yet more realistic than Mr. Happy Gilmore. The movie has its flaws, but it's an enjoyable experience and rather funny too. " [More]

Ping Pong Playa'

Requiem for a Dream

The Wrestler
By mciocco in mciocco Blog
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"The Wrestler: When I was in high school, I joined the wrestling team. Now, amateur wrestling of the sort I was participating in is not the same thing you see on TV. That wrestling is usually called "professional" wrestling. Both sports have some things in common, but amateur wrestling is much closer to other martial arts while the professional variety is closer to the theatrical arts. Thus professional wrestling is usually referred to as "fake" wrestling... and no one was more guilty of that than us "real" wrestlers. Of course, in some ways, our griping was justified, but on the other hand, we were also rather ignorant of the realities of professional wrestling. There is still quite a bit of physicality involved in the sport, and over time, it can certainly take quite a toll. Bill Simmons gives an excellent description of this in his review: Pro wrestling chews up and spits out its athletes with grueling schedules, brutal physical punishment and a tacit understanding that performan ... " [More]