Prom Night

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss Movie-Watchers,

I'm all better now...So I can actually write.

I got a chance to rent some movies the other night. As I walked through Hollywood Video, I got the sudden urge to watch a downright horror movie. As you all probably know, finding a horror movie at a rental store isn't exactly like trying to find a needle in the haystack. There's a whole library of them. Horror movies have been made about everything. Their creators seem to scour the Earth looking for harmless things to turn into terrifying monsters. You never look at a doll the same way again after watching Child's Play. Some people can't even look at a circus clown thanks to It. And the list goes on and on. But just because there's a whole lot of horror films doesn't make them all good. In fact, finding a good horror film is like trying to find a strand of hay in a pile of needles. Very painful indeed.

So I ask the clerk for help, and she recommends I don't take the movie I had in my hands, which was The Ruins, by the way, and said she had heard good things about Prom Night. I didn't really give it much thought, not because I was really hopeful of Prom Night, but because I had been in the store for ages and because I would have settled for anything, really.

So Prom Night it was, and let me tell you, it's a so-so film. The action starts right in the beginning: by the 5 minute mark, about 3-4 people are dead. From thereon, the bodies keep mounting up and there's only one guy responsible for it all. And, man, this dude is a psycho. He's a former teacher who fell in love with a student, he turns stalker, and when the family tries to intervene, he basically kills them all, except for Donna, the student. The guy is caught, but it wouldn't be a horror film if he didn't escape and arrive at the same town for a second shot at Donna. And, of course, coincidentally, it's prom night.

That's the setup and the film goes on to show all the events taking place leading up to the dramatic climax of reuniting the psycho and the girl. All in all it's a pretty good film, as far as slashers go. The villain is truly scary, and the girl is convincing as a horror movie victim. Realistically, the chances of all this happening is slim. The same dude kills a ridiculous amount of people with a knife and the stupidity of some of the victims is just unreal. But that's just me. I really enjoyed the direction, the way the camera moved, and the lighting was real good. The one thing in this movie that really stuck to me was the soundtrack. Awesome songs.

Wanna sit down and watch a classic slasher film that will, for the most part, fill up your horror film appetite, while still being toned down enough to not give you nightmares? Watch Prom Night.

Sincerely,

Mr. Sweet Slasher

Health Is Not Valued 'Til Sickness Comes

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss Reader,

AAAAAHHH. I'm so sick.
I haven't really had the motivation to post anything up the past week.
So, now that I have decided to post, I haven't the slightest idea what to say.

SHOUTOUTS
September 18...hmmm.
- Happy Independence Day to Chile!
- Happy Birthday to Xzibit, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Pilar López de Ayala!

...And now a song that makes you feel like crap...or at least makes me feel like crap...Even more than I already do.

CREEP by Radiohead


SIIInncErrrellLyy,

Mr. OMG Imso Lazly rite now, cantt spelll tings rite...

Favorite Villain?

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss Person Who Reads Comics,

So, I was minding my business, not a care in the world, when, out of the blue (no, that's too specific) OUT OF NOWHERE really, I get asked a question:

"Who's Your Favorite Comic Book Villain?"

The question aimed, fired, I took it in, I shrugged, and was about to give an answer when suddenly I realized I couldn't speak. I didn't have an answer. All my life i went along assured that I had a favorite super hero and villain. Whenever someone asked me who my favorite hero was, I would quickly reply with another question: Marvel or DC? If it was Marvel, I'd say Wolverine. If it was DC, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) would be my choice. But no one ever asked me about my favorite villain, so I never really went about picking one.

Until now, of course.

I told my dear friend (who always seems to get me into dilemmas) that I would sleep on it. And here I am snoring away. After giving it much thought, I decided I've really got to divide it up into Marvel and DC just like my fav. heroes. Finding which villains I liked best was no task at all, I always had my favorites, just not a favorite.
When talking about DC, I take into account two types of villains: those that Batman faces, and those that the Justice League in general face. In Batman I've always loved The Riddler, Two-Face, Bane, and especially The Joker. Out of the villains the JL face, I enjoy Doomsday the most (That guy defeated all the JL members, WITH ONE HAND TIED BEHIND HIS BACK, and killed Superman. I Repeat. Superman deceased in the battle against this dude). Out of these villains, after much consideration, I take JOKER as my favorite for DC (with Riddler as a close second).

In Marvel, things get difficult. The first two that I really liked that came to mind were Venom and Sandman. Since they were both almost exclusively Spiderman villains, I went in search of more. I've always liked Abyss. Dr. Doom is kind of so-so. Blackheart is cool. Galactus and Apocalypse are just too awesome. Kingpin, Sabertooth, Mister Sinister, and Kraven are also high on my list. The Shadow King, aside from having the absolute coolest name for a villain also has a sinister and downright villainous smile. The Taskmaster (with his "Photographic Reflexes") is not well known, but is still a darn good fighter/marksman. But in the end, my choice is VENOM for Marvel.

In deciding who was better, Venom or Joker, I realized that Joker had always been my favorite, since I was a kid. But since the recent Dark Knight film, everyone seems to know Joker and to admire him and name him as their favorite. Clearly, I'm not jumping into that bandwagon. Heath Ledger (R.I.P.) did a great, fantastic job in portraying Joker and I understand why people would emulate Joker nowadays. I'm just making clear that I loved Joker since his beginnings in the comics. Soooo: The answer is

Joker Is My Favorite Villain. Period.

Sincerely,

Mr. Comix Iz Life Man

Movie of the Week: WWII

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss World War II Movie Buff,

Seeing as the date September 10 was a biggie in World War II, what with Canada declaring war on Nazi Germany and the HMAS Oxley sinking on September 10, 1939. And with the British re-launching their Madagascar Campaign on September 10, 1942; AND the German forces beginning their occupation of Rome on September 10, 1943.
---So it was only right to pick a WWII movie for today, sooooo


I picked Saving Private Ryan. Now, before accusing me of hopping into the bandwagon, note that I have seen many, many, many WWII films, English, German, French, British. I understand everyone wants to get all underground and name a film like Das Boot, La Vita E Bella, Hotaru no Haka, or Foxhole in Cairo or something like that to be their favorite. They are good films. Great films, actually. And like I mentioned, I have seen many more. But of them all, I sincerely liked Saving Private Ryan, not necessarily more than any other WWII film, I just liked it. Period. If you haven't seen it, do so immediately.

If you like films like this, I will recommend to you a whole lot of other WWII films, including those already mentioned above.
Generally, some good WWII films are are The Thin Red Line, Enemy At The Gate, The Story of G.I. Joe, Guns of Navarone, A Soldier's Sweetheart, Attack!, The Train, Twelve O'Clock High, Paisá, Fires on the Plain, The Harp of Burma, A Soldier's Prayer, Hell is for Heroes, To Hell and Back, Sahara, Run Silent Run Deep, Destination Tokyo, A Walk In The Sun, Merrill's Marauders, The Bridge at Remagen, Objective Burma!, Battleground, Cross of Iron and many more. Trust me when I say that WWII films make up a huge chunk of war films and films in general. Want a whole list of WWII films? Click Here.

WWII films are usually divided into their subgenres, and that is why it is unusually difficult to pick a favorite. You wouldn't, say, compare The Great Ecape to Schindler's List. Why? Because they're just so different, although both being correctly labeled a WWII film.
-- Holocaust films like Schindler's List focus on the mass killing of Jews by Nazis, or it's influence, aftermath, etc. Some good ones are The Shop on Main Street, The Pianist, The Diary of Anne Frank, Europa Europa, and The Seventh Cross.
-- FIlms about the aftermath of WWII, psychological traumas mostly, and especially centering on women and children include such films as Jeux Interdits, Two Women, Germany Year Zero, and Hangmen also Die.
-- The Escape movies, are just what their name imply, and they have become some of the most traditional of film subgenres. Good films are Stalag 17, King Rat, A Man Escapes, The Great Escape, and The Bridge on the River Kwai.
-- There are also recovery films like Stairway to Heaven; and there are also films centering on commanders like Rommel and Patton (The Desert Fox, Patton, In Harm's Way).
--Aside from those subgenres, most other films are more or less alike, or could, given much more thought, be broken into a lot more subgenres. Either way, WWII films are always a good ol' way way to pass time and still be able to say you learned something.


Sincerely,

Mr. Movie Expert In The Field of Enjoying Films To Their Highest Extent

September 6: Tribute to Magellan

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss In Need of Some Random Knowledge,

Today is Saturday, September 6, 2008. But you probably already knew that.
What you probably did not know, is what I'm about to tell you.

On this very day, 486 years ago, that is, in the year 1522, a Portuguese explorer named Ferdinand Magellan made history. Or his crew did, actually. On this very day, the Victoria, one of the surviving ships of his expedition, returned to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain. With this, his expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe. Meaning that they were the first to sail all the way around the world.

Now that's awesome. What's not so awesome is that Magellan himself did not circumnavigate the globe. Part of his crew did. On his expedition, he died in the Phillipines. So he was, like, close...I guess. But nevertheless, it was his expedition, so he's credited with the "Circumnavigation Medal of Honor", or whatever, which is really only the best name for a medal. Since, like most people don't know what it means, you can basically make up your own heroic acts.

"Oh, this little medal here? It's my Circumnavigation Medal of Honor. Yeah, I, like, wrestled 23 bears to the ground with one hand, while single-handedly liberating 2,000 prisoners of war with the other. Yeah, it was actually no sweat, really."

So I hereby declare this post as a tribute to this explorer and his accomplishment.


And so, I give you, AROUND THE WORLD by Daft Punk:


Sincerely,

Mr. Circumnavigation Medal of Honor creator

Scouting For Singers

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss Foreigner Fan,

I Have Just Found The New Lead Singer For Foreigner.

I Give You, THE Jukebox Hero.


Jukebox Hero Baby - The most popular videos are a click away


Rock on,

Mr. I Thought i was Hot Blooded.

Who Am I? What Is This?

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss New Reader,

This is my brand. new. blog. "Letters from a MadMan". I am The Trusted Misleader. I've got some screws in my head loose sometimes, please bare with me. And sometimes I've got to change the batteries on my halo, so I'm not that perfect. So, I'd like to take this entry as a way to explain my many flaws, biases, and what not. And also how I plan to organize this blog, what it'll be about, and all that junk.

I live in Los Angeles, I was born in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is my home. I may center my thoughts and entries (especially on sports) on the city of Los Angeles. I'll try not to be too biased, but L.A. is truly a part of me. The way I think, the way I see things, and even the way I breathe (considering the incalculable amount of smog I've inhaled) is influenced by my city.

In sports, I prefer Soccer and Football. Namely Soccer. I also like to write about Basketball. Baseball is not my thing, but I've had my memorable moments in Dodgers stadium, so I'll try to add in some baseball. All other sports are a no-no. Sorry.

Music, it's my hobby. I love music. But not all of it, obviously. When it comes to music, what I listen to influences what I write about (duh!). So, I'll list what I listen to. I pump Hip-Hop, but not much of today's hip-hop, although I do sometimes find something new to listen to. The subgenres I listen to include Alternative, Self-Concious, and Old School. Namely Common, Hieroglyphics, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Immortal Technique, etc. And, coming from East L.A., I have grown accustom to Gangsta Rap, although I stick to the classics. After Hip-Hop comes Rock N Roll. I love Rock. I love Classic Rock. Classic, Classic, Classic. Period. Yeah, I make exceptions (i.e. Metallica, POD, 3 Doors Down, etc.). Bt my main domain are the classics: The Who, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, The Scorpions, The Cars, Styx, John "Cougar" Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, etc. After Hip-Hop and Rock comes Techno/Electronic, which I just got into, so I'm not a crazy techno dude, but I enjoy listening to it. My faves are Daft Punk, Justice, Faithless, Fatboy Slim, etc.

Movies. Films. If Music is my hobby, then films are my passion. I have taken Cinema classes, namely the history of cinema, so since then I've become an apprectiator of all movies. Silent films, Black-And-Whites, Technicolor, Modern Day, I love them all. I promise this blog will have it's fair share of movie-related entries. I'm not too picky on the movies I watch, and I end up enjoying most of them. BUT, I admit, I'm a real big action and comedy person. But that doesn't hold me back from horror, drama, foreign, western, (*cough* chick flicks...only sometimes!), and basically any genre.

Video Games, I'm into, but to a certain extent. I'm not what you would call a pro gamner, I'm more recreational about it. For me, it's a lot about the multiplaer experience (although GTA IV and Mass Effect's 1-player is, like, fully worthy of a girly OMG!). I own a XBox 360 and a PS2. So, I lean towards the PS2 in the last generation of gaming, but towards the 360 in the new generation.

Now with all that out of the way, I can start blogging! I plan to submit entries of a specific type on a certain day (music on tuesdays, movies on thursday, etc.). But I'll post important events and random stuff when I can. Have fun!

Sincerely,
Mr. I've Gotta Get This Blog Goin'

p.s. Oh!, and all my entries will be in a letter format, like this one. That's why it's "Letters from a MadMan"! Get it? (*pause for nonexisting laughter*) You'll get used to my lame-ness soon enough.