The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

 

Release Date: November 28, 2008

Mystery, Crime, Thriller

Director: Paul Verhoeven

 

Five Thumbs Up

 

This film is so deep...so sad...so powerful...so uplifting...and depressing. The commander of a concentration camp and his family have to relocate for better opportunities. Their eight-year-old son, Bruno discovers strange things at the concentration camp that's supposed to be hidden from his sight. He befriends another young boy his age, and they become close. What Bruno doesn't know is that his new friendship is forbidden because the boy is actually a Jewish prisoner at the concentration camp.

 

 

This film both touched me and made me cry at points. All Bruno wants is a friend to play with, since he had to leave his old friends behind after his family moved. The one friend that he comes in contact with for miles in his isolated neighborhood happens to be a prisoner at a concentration camp. This film made me furious, as most Holocaust films do.

 

 

The fact that there are people out there that would enslave another human being is beyond me. I mean...who died and made them the higher power? Who gave them the authority to take someone else's life? Who made them dictator over someone else's life? I understand these are the outcomes of war. But there needs to be better outcomes than this. We go to war. Winner had bragging rights. Losers be on about their way. Everyone continue on with their lives. I don't like this WINNER TAKES ALL system here. Too many people's lives are at stake because of this system.

 

There needs to be another way. PERIOD.

 

Check it out on Hulu Plus.

 

Peace.

 

 

 

Sources

IMDb. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". Web. 2014.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914798/

Film Education. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". Web. 2014.

http://www.filmeducation.org/theboyinthestripedpyjamas/

AceShowbiz. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Picture 29". Web. 2014.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00003224/tbitsp29.html

Guinea Pig's Mermaid in a Manhole

Guinea Pig's Mermaid in a Manhole

Release Date: July 25, 1988

Director: Hedeshi Hino

Three Thumbs Up

Boy, these Guinea Pig films just get better and better (sarcasm). One thing's for sure: Mermaid in a Manhole was definitely better than The Devil's Experiment.

Also known as Ginî Piggu: Manhorû No Naka No Ningyo (try to say that three times fast), Mermaid in a Manhole is about an artistic man who finds a mermaid inside of a manhole. The manhole is filled with dump and waste, and the mermaid has been trapped there for so long that her body starts to rot and decompose. In an attempt to save her, the man brings her to his home to care for her. He proceeds to paint her portrait.

This film is both eerie and romantic. It has a poetic touch to it. The man and the mermaid share a connection, if you will, that brings them closer to one another. This becomes a bit intense when you recount what is happening.

This film is very original and engrossing. You gag at what is going on, but you can't turn away from it because it pulls you in.

Check it out on YouTube.

Peace.

Sources

IMDb. "Mermaid in a Manhole". Web. 2014.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0161638/

Listal. "Picture of Guinea Pig 4: Mermaid in a Manhole". Web. 2014.

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/3761485

The Temple of Ghoul. "The Best Japanese Horror of all Time". Web. 2014.

http://templeofghoul.blogspot.com/2009/11/best-japanese-horrors-of-all-time-2.html?m=1

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

Release Date: February 2, 1972

Horror, Thriller, Crime

Director: Stanley Krubic

Four Thumbs Up

Alex DeLarge is a member of a gang, so to speak. A gang of criminals. After being busted for a crime, Alex is arrested. When he hears of a new experiment that can get him out of jail for good, he quickly gets on board. However, he has no idea what he is about to endure.

 

  

This is what I call a nightmare. We all want Alex to pay for his crimes and suffer...but this experiment is inhumane. Also, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with it.

 Human experimentation and exploitation. Let that sit with you for a moment. People sometimes up with the craziest ideas. These ideas don't always mean good.

 

Check it out on Amazon Prime.

 

Peace.

 

 

Sources

IMDb. "A Clockwork Orange". Web. 2014.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0066921/

  

HitFix. "Kubrick Marketing Maven Mike Kaplan on 'A Clockwork Orange' At 40. Web. 2014.

http://m.hitfix.com/blogs/in-contention/posts/kubrick-marketing-maven-mike-kaplan-on-a-clockwork-orange-at-40

PBS. "A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick, 1971 Film". Web. 2014.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/clockworkorange_big.html

Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment

Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment

What the heck did I just watch??? I'll tell you. I watched some BULL. That's what I just watched. This short film will piss you off...until the end. 

A gang of boys kidnap a young girl and subject her to several torturous experiments over the course of several days before they finally kill her.

You can tell this film is fake. It looks like it was filmed in a field, using a phone. That's how bad the picture is. During the first torture scene the girl doesn't really show much emotion.

The torture scenes are played out entirely and unnecessarily too long. I'm all for gruesome and disturbing, but I don't want to sit and linger on a scene for longer than a few seconds. Any much longer than that and it becomes unbearable. 

The thing that gets to you about this film is the thought about what's being done more than what's actually being done. The fakeness and low quality of this film makes it impossible for you to feel sorry for the victim. The torture scenes, although very heavy, are very poorly acted out. The acting is very poorly done.  You kind of have to rely on your own imagination to make this film even attempt at being believable. 

There are one-and-a-half scenes that gives this film a little push. The rest of the film is pie foolery. 

Check it out on YouTube.

Sources

IMDb. "Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment". Web. 2014.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0161634/

Arigato. "Guinea Pig". Web. 2014. 

http://arigatomg.com/retro-resena-guinea-pig/

Missunderstanding? Or Fear of the Unknown?

This post is dedicated to the defense of the film industry, primarily the horror industry. There tend to be a lot of fuss over certain films in the horror genre. When I read movie reviews on different movies, I notice a lot of negative comments and reviews. 

Sure, there are a lot of films out there that make you feel sick to your stomach. Films that are looked upon as sick, disturbing, perverted, insane. Directors that are frowned upon for directing these movies. 

**Image from "Martyrs".

I have come to learn that, no matter how sick a movie may be, there is almost always some sort of relevance and importance, not just to the world of film, but to life in general. 

Movie bad guys that abduct, rape, torture, and murder their victims hold a certain relevance and importance in life. Thes films may be fiction, but they are also nonfiction and true. 

**Image from "Men Behind the Sun"

Almost every time we turn on the news or read news stories, we are introduced to an antagonist and his/her victims of some perverted crime: rape, abduction, torture, murder, depravity, sexploitation. 

Every time we turn on a movie that exhibits any of these crimes, we cringe at the sight, and the thoughts that come to our minds; "This some sick shit, and the director needs to be shot!" "This movie is crap, and so is the person who wrote it!" 

**Image from "Human Centipede"

However, while we're so busy negatively criticising a film or a director, we forget to sit back and think about the meaning, purpose, relevance, and importance of the film. Films are supposed to provide entertainment. This is true. On the same token, films can be a moral to a story, a history lesson, or a life lesson. If one watches and listens with an open mind, one should be able to see the relevance; hear the message. 

The directors may take a very cruel and harsh approach to make a message and an impact, but, nevertheless, the message is there. One just has to put away all foolish thoughts and views, and look deep within the film; beyond the film.

**Image from "A Serbian Film"

Why is it that so many foreign films depict depravity, debauchery, torture to the highest level? American films has some of this as well, but you mostly see this stuff in foreign films; European films, Japanese/Asian films, German films. 

A lot of people negatively criticize these films and directors, but not many take the time to dig deeper and reveal the true meaning of them. When you do, your point-of-view may just change. When you learn that this is the kind of stuff that happens in foreign countries; that people are just this cruel; that mankind has no sympathy and remorse and is filled with depravity and inhumanity, you may just understand. 

But....unfortunately, until you do your homework, you will always be lost and confused of the unknown.

**Image from "Saló Or the 120 Days of Sodom"

Sources

Wikipedia. "Fear". Web. 2014.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear

Rotten Cotton Blog. "Martyrs: Christ-Al-FUCKING-Mighty!" Web. 2014.

http://blog.rottencotton.com/martyrs/

The Age. "The Man Behind the Sun". Web. 2014.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/22/1082530287330.html

42nd Street Cinema. "The Human Centipede: First Sequence". Web. 2014.

http://42ndstreetcinema.blogspot.com/2010/05/human-centipede-first-sequence-2009.html?m=1

Directors Notes. "A Serbian Film". Web. 2014.

http://www.directorsnotes.com/2010/03/21/dn-sxsw10-a-serbian-film/

Film School Rejects. "Year in Review: The 11 Best Criterion Released of 2011". Web. 2014.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/the-11-best-criterion-releases-of-2011-lpalm-achar.php

Deadgirl (2008)

Deadgirl

Directors: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel

Rating: One Thumb Up

Well, this is unexpected. I always read a dozen reviews before watching movies to see what I would be getting myself into. Especially when it comes to disturbing, gruesome, mind-troubling films such as "Deadgirl". I went into the movie prepared....and then I watched the movie. 

Two highschool guys, Rickie and JT leave school and break into an abandoned asylum. While exploring they come to a room that's locked. And for pretty good reason. When they break the door open they notice a corpse of a seemingly young woman lying on a hospice table and chained down.

She looks dead. I wonder why she's chained. Well, this seemingly dead corpse is not so dead. But she's not alive either. What do you call that? Oh right...the undead.

What's more? The little bastards pursue her and contin her as their sex toy. How sick is that? This has become more than some fucked up teenagers obsessing over a corpse. This digs deep into the human psyche. What some people will do. This is some deep shit.

Check it out on Hulu Plus.

Peace.

Sources

IMDb. "Deadgirl". Web. 2014.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0896534/

Constantine in Tokyo. "Film Review: Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harels DEADGIRL (2008)". Web. 2014.

http://www.constantineintokyo.com/2010/09/19/deadgirl-2008/

Choking on Bubblegum. "The Undesirable Undead". Web. 2014.

http://laurielovesyou.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/the-undesirable-undead/

Night And Fog (1955)

Night and Fog

Director: Alain Resnais

Rating: Two Thumbs Up

Well then...."who is responsible?" (Night and Fog).

This historical field trip into the death camps of the Nazi Germany will leave you startled and in tears. What went on during the time. How prisoners were treated. Starved. Dehydrated. Tortured. Killed. It's all inhumane and unorthodox. 

One of the most disturbing documentaries, this short film will have you speechless. All kinds of questions will run through your mind. Why are people so cruel? Why would they do this to people? Why would they enslave children?

No one wants to take responsibility for these deaths. Only one question that needs to be answered: WHO THE HELL IS RESPONSIBLE?

You can check it out on Hulu Plus.

Peace.

Sources

IMDb. "Night and Fog". Web. 2014.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0048434/

MovieMail.com. "Night and Fog". Web. 2014.

http://www.moviemail.com/film/dvd/Night-and-Fog-x/