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Movie Review: Evil Dead 2 Dead by Dawn (1987) (series, #2)
Summary:
Ash either inexplicably completely forgot about the first evil dead incident or is having some sort of alternate version of his life presented. Either way, he returns to the same cabin from Evil Dead with his girlfriend, oblivious of any evil occurrences. Within about 5 minutes, he plays the tape that raises the demons. It immediately possesses his girlfriend. The professor’s daughter and some hillbillies stop by, adding to the possible body count. Can they survive until dawn?
Review:
I kind of love the fact that this is a sequel that isn’t so much a sequel as a reimagining of the first Evil Dead. What if Ash arrived with just one other person? What if the main problem wasn’t being infected by wood but instead a possessed dismembered hand running around?
Evil Dead 2 doesn’t mess around. It gets right to the gore, and it does so completely tongue-in-cheek. As opposed to the early tree porn in Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 has chainsaw dismemberment within the first 10 minutes.
However, don’t get me wrong. This movie is a delicious combination of horror and humor, mainly due to Ash’s dismembered hand. It becomes possessed and the man chops it off with a chainsaw, and then it becomes a nemesis throughout the movie. A nemesis he partly fights with the chainsaw he tied to his arm to replace said hand. Yeah, that’s right. You get a chainsaw for a limb in this movie. Really truly badass! The humor also is derived from the hillbilly couple who show up with the professor’s daughter and her boyfriend, as well as great sight gags. The movie knows it’s B horror, and it thrives on it.
For once I can say, this is a sequel that is just as worth watching as the original.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Previous Movies in Series:
The Evil Dead (1981), review
Movie Review: The Evil Dead (1981)
Summary:
A group of five 20-somethings head for a long weekend in a cabin in the woods. In the basement, they find an old tape recorded by the previous resident–a professor. This professor reads passages from The Book of the Dead that he’s been studying. Playing the tape accidentally raises demons, and the group are left fighting against possession and for survival throughout the night.
Review:
This low-budget B movie is the quintessential cabin in the woods horror movie. Written and directed by Sam Raimi who went on to direct the Spider-man movies and more recently Drag Me To Hell, it pits these 20-somethings against an evil force that infects them as opposed to a serial killer.
You guys, I absolutely loved this movie. I already have a weakness for low-budget horror movies, as I love a good chuckle with my jumps, but there is so much more awesome to this movie than the summaries out there tell you. They tell you this is a zombie movie. Zombie movie is so not the right definition. This is an evil trees movie.
In the first half an hour, there is motherfucking tree porn. What’s tree porn, you ask? It’s tentacle porn, only with tree branches. The girl who gets raped by the tree is now infected, and the infection gets spread via wood. The infection makes them mindless attacking machines, but they do not eat flesh. They just chant “JOIN US!” Even more awesome is the fact that when their limbs etc… get cut off not only blood but tree semen comes out of them.
Adding to the awesomeness that is the tree venereal disease is the stop-motion special effects. They give such a different vibe than cgi and are truly well-done.
There are also your typical B-movie, chuckle-worthy lines. Plus if there’s nothing too horrifying going on on the screen, you can always watch Bruce Campbell’s chin. I dubbed him “Cro-Magnon Man.” His face is just that awesome. Plus he has a faint unibrow.
If you want a creative twist on a typical horror set-up, definitely check out The Evil Dead. I mean, you’ve at last gotta watch the first half hour for the tree porn.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Friday Fun! (Happy 2010!)
Sorry for the hiatus last week, guys. I was recovering from my New Year’s Eve fun. For New Year’s Eve I acquired First Night buttons so I could go see the Kaiju Big Battel (sic) taking place in Boston. (Side-note: I cannot for the life of me understand why it’s called First Night and not Last Night. It’s the last night of 2009, not the first night of 2010! Ideas?!) I happened to catch some crazy Middle Eastern dancing that was occurring on a stage nearby while I was waiting. I have no idea what kind of dancing it was. It wasn’t bellydancing, and they hopped around waving their arms and fake swords a lot. Anyway, so Kaiju Big Battel is essentially WWE only the wrestlers are wearing monster costumes ala Godzilla and the stage has miniature buildings set up that they also smash. Two of my favorite characters of the night were Plantain and Dusto Bunny. Dusto Bunny was actually dusty! (Sorry I have no pictures of Kaiju to show you. I have yet to upload them from my camera). Anyway, then I met up with friends in the Common to see the ice sculptures and rang in the new decade on the Esplanade. It was definitely a fun night!
This week has been busy busy busy at work. They’re renovating my library (again). Currently all of us are crammed in one room while they work on the rest of it, but the exciting part, you guys, is I’m going to go from having a cubicle to an almost office! It’s pretty much an office minus a door, but I’ll have a divider up in lieu of a door. Plus they’re building me bookshelves, and I’m getting a brand new wood desk! I’m excited to move into my new office. It’s going to make me feel much more part of the team, since currently I’m the only one without an office.
In cooking this week, I tried out making gnocchi from scratch for the first time using sweet potatoes. It’s pretty simple, actually. You just cook the potatoes, pass them through a sieve, then combine it with spices, egg, and flour. The tricky part, I discovered, is adding just the right amount of flour. The consensus upon eating it was that it was neither good nor bad. A bit too floury. However, on reheating the leftovers, it went to good. I’m thinking maybe I just didn’t cook them long enough? I’ll definitely try it again. I think it’s one of those recipes you improve with over time. Kind of like pizza dough.
Oh, also, I’m all caught up in Lost now, so I’m totally ready for the new season. Bring. It. On!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Book Review: The Creation of Psychopharmacology By David Healy
Summary:
A historical look at the emergence and development of psychopharmacology (psychiatric drugs) from the earliest time of psychiatry to the end of the 20th century. Particular attention is paid to the impact psychiatric societies, economic systems, cultures, and drug companies have had on psychopharmacology. Psychiatric drugs explored in-depth include chlorpromazine and SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors aka antidepressants).
Review:
I was quite excited to learn about the topic of this book, as psychopharmacology is one of the key aspects of psychiatric treatment. It is therefore unfortunate that the author, Healy, allows his own biases to get in the way of presenting factual information.
The first portion of the book that discusses asylums and the original drugs discovered by scientists to work on psychoses does present the facts in an unbiased manner. Unfortunately, Healy could not possibly write in a much more boring manner. I have never in my life read a text that is so stale, and I do read scientific nonfiction for work on a fairly steady basis, so this is not a bias of my own against scientific writing. The man just drones on and on.
The larger problem arises in the second half of the book when Healy arrives in the 20th century. Healy’s obvious anti-drug and anti-psychiatry bias emerges. He flat-out gets facts wrong and displays paranoia, ranging from the typical conspiracy theory that the mental health community is in league with the drug companies to the more extreme idea that depression shouldn’t be treated because then there would be no more art or spirituality. He also claims that personality disorders should not be treated, comparing such treatment to cosmetic surgery. This claim is offensive and harmful to people who wish to become higher functioning, happier individuals.
Healy goes on to offer predictions as to the direction psychology and psychiatry will take in the 21st century. Now that we are a decade in to that century, I can definitively tell you his predictions are wrong. He argues that an increasing number of drugs will be used to remove most individuality and that therapy will continue to fall by the wayside. In fact, the first decade of the 21st century saw a new movement toward CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), which are all about helping an individual change their harmful behaviors, thoughts, and tendencies purely through therapeutic techniques. Healy is attempting to fear-monger his readers into believing psychiatry and psychology wish to drug us all up, when in fact the mental health community wants to use what works best in each situation. Contrary to his claims, there are in fact biological bases for some mental health issues.
Although his facts are accurate in the earlier history of psychopharmacology, the second half of the book presents false facts and harmful ideas. Due to this fact, I cannot recommend this book. For an educated look at mental health and drugs, take a look at the DSMIV and the PDR.
1 out of 5 stars
Source: Library
Movie Review: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Summary:
Aspiring writer and kept man Paul moves into a new apartment building where he meets quirky Holly Golightly. Holly pays her bills by going on dates with wealthy men and sneaking off with the $50 they give her for the power room. The two start to entwine into each other’s lives, and Paul discovers there’s more to Holly than meets the eye.
Review:
As I was watching, I thought this was a meh movie, but then in the last five minutes I suddenly came to love it. That’s what classic movies can do that modern movies often don’t. They set up a world that just seems average, but then blow your mind in the end with what you’ve actually seen and learned about the characters. You’re being touched while watching the movie without even realizing it.
The film moves at a meandering pace that allows you to truly get a glimpse of NYC in the 1960s. The outfits, the decor, the drinks, the smoking….. It truly is a period piece. There was one large sour note in the film that is reflective of when it came out though in the form of Holly’s upstairs neighbor, who is the definition of a racist caricature of Asians, and he wasn’t even played by an Asian or Asian-American actor. I wish he wasn’t in the movie, but it is reflective of the times.
Holly Golightly is such a well-written character. You alternate between identifying with her, loathing her, and feeling sorry for her, and that is what makes her seem like such a real person. By the ending, I really wasn’t sure if I hated or cared for her, but either way, I understood her. That’s a wonderful thing to come to understand someone who has the issues Holly does.
If you enjoy classic films or films built around careful character building, give Breakfast at Tiffany’s a shot. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Movie Review: Being John Malkovich (1999)
Summary:
There aren’t many job openings in Craig Schwartz’s chosen career–puppeteering. His animal-loving wife suggests he get a job in the meantime, so he finds one filing for an office on the 7 1/2 floor of a building. There he finds a small door that allows whoever goes inside it to be inside actor John Malkovich’s mind, seeing through his eyes, for 15 minutes before being spit out on the roadside. He and a woman he works with start selling trips for $200 a visit, but there’s more to being John Malkovich than meets the eye.
Review:
What a trippy movie. It’s a little bit of a character study of loser Craig and his equally loser wife, and what it does there is excellent. Plus you get to see Cameron Diaz being frumpy, which is worth the watch in and of itself.
The puppet scenes are simultaneously disturbing and funny, but mostly it’s just amazing that people can make puppets move so intricately. Although the other characters laugh at Craig for “playing with dolls,” the viewer comes away with a greater respect for it as valid theater.
The plot though is what makes the movie. It twists and turns taking the characters to unexpected places. Everything that made me like the movie from a plot stand-point is a spoiler, so I can’t say much beyond that it surprised me, and that takes a lot.
If you enjoy head-trip movies with a touch of gentle social commentary, definitely check this one out.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Reading Goals for 2010
I don’t want to over-plan my reading for 2010, but I do want to give it a loose structure and maybe broaden my horizons a bit. I also want to be practical about my reading, for instance the fact that I rarely have time to go to the library (erm, the public one, not the one I work at 5 days a week). Anywho, with that in mind, my loosely-defined goals for 2010 are:
- Read the books I bought for undergrad classes but didn’t have time to read then. Seeing as how my two majors are topics I actually like (History and English and American Literature), I actually do want to read these old “assignments.” Expect to see a bit of ancient literature, Chekhov, and noir.
- Read a bit more nonfiction in areas I want to be more educated in, preferably science. Seeing as how I work in a medical library, this should be pretty easy to pull off cheaply.
- Utilize Swaptree to get rid of books I weeded from my collection at the end of the year and in turn get books I want to read. Since I’m doing an exact 1:1 exchange, this should keep my book collection on the smaller side.
- Courtesy of a challenge from @shaindelr over on Twitter who gasped about my not having read any poetry in 2009–read one book of poetry. However, I’m not making any promises that it won’t be of the ancient variety. ;-)
- Finally, watching Japanese movies got me pretty into the stories their culture has to offer. That along with seeing some graphic novels in friends’ houses made me want to give the genre an official shot, so I’ll be reading at least 3 graphic novels/manga in 2010. I’m super-excited to read my first Battle Royale, which I wanted to read after seeing and loving the movie.
Movie Review: Killer at Large Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat (2008)
Summary:
A documentary about America’s obesity epidemic, Killer at Large interviews scientists, politicians, activists, and parents about the causes of and cure for obesity. Included among these are genetics, perpetual stress, and lifestyle changes from our hunter-gatherer past.
Review:
This documentary is definitely interesting to watch. It is akin to watching a mini-marathon on TLC (back before TLC was only about huge families, little people, and cake-making). Scientists’ discussions of our past and present are accompanied by amateur flash illustrations. However, these make the fat talk seem to not be bashing, which is a good thing. Particularly memorable to me was a comparison of an FDA approved school lunch of chicken nuggets and fries vs. a non-FDA approved lunch of salad and fruit. Since poor children get the bulk of their food from school, this definitely should be an issue. However, the main crux of the film seems to be that America is obese because our genes want us to be hunter-gatherers and the government has us in a state of perpetual stress over terrorism (stress makes us store food). Sorry, but I just don’t buy that. The whole planet evolved from hunter-gatherers; Europe is facing the same terrorist threat, and you don’t see them weighing in at 300 pounds (or whatever the metric equivalent is). I personally believe the culprit is overly processed food combined with driving everywhere, but this documentary shies away from actually saying that, although it comes close. Overall, it’s worth watching, but I’m sure there are more memorable food documentaries out there.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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