Anansi Boys

Anansi Boys was a really good book, in my opinion. So many questions get brought up when a character is introduced to the plot, especially when it is so sudden, and then it turns out to be the main character's long lost sibling! I actually watched that happen in a show I am currently watching on Netflix. This show is about two brothers who fight the supernatural together and all of a sudden, like plenty of seasons later, their long lost brother shows up, which created this very very strange dynamic. It brings up the same issue that The Lost Boys had to face, where someone that you're related to turns into a vampire/werewolf or basically anything other than a zombie, and you have to choose whether to treat them as your loved one or as a monster. I think, as a viewer, I enjoyed this for a few reasons. I obviously like the intense drama behind it all, because I am a girl, and it's just so juicy, but I can't help but think what would I do if I were in that situation. How would I react if my 26 year old sister turned into a vampire? Would I trust her? Would I try to help her? It would be a very difficult personal decision.
Another thing that I thought was clever was the title of the book and the link to the characters with the word Anansi. Of course, I decided to look up what it meant, because I felt that it would help to have further knowledge before going ahead. The definition I got was:

n. A trickster spider (though sometimes taking human form), one of the primary characters in West African and Caribbean folklore.

After discovering this, I thought it was an interesting way to describe ones personality. It makes sense though, I mean we say "Sneaky, like a snake" and things like that, so a trickster spider would definitely fit the category here.

Night of The Living Dead

The Night of The Living Dead seems to have been the oldest Zombie film I have ever watched. These versions of Zombies are so far from what they are today, it's not even funny, but of course they had to start from somewhere. The movie sometimes I feel depends solely on the intense background music, but it completely conveys the mood that it's supposed to. In my Digital 2 class, we had to make a movie trailer into a shorter version and the intense audio reminded me the old-school horror stereotypical sound effects. I feel like they are sort of lame, and I am not sure if it is because I have grown up enjoying much different zombies, but they were funny in the "dumb" sense, but just not scary at all. With everything considered this movie was well done and I personally thought it was aesthetically pleasing, even if the acting was painful to watch every once in a while. I did feel strange going back to this movie, after we have advanced so far as to having regular tv shows revolving around zombies..
I honestly think I did a little bit more laughing than being scared but it was more in just how simple and "innocent" the zombies were, it was almost in a sense cute as a comparison of the times. Sami Raimi was a smart man to film this in black and white, because it makes it that much more dramatic. Yes, I will give it to the actors, because they definitely exaggerate the correct amount, without making it awkward, yet there does seem to be a sense of cliche horror movie too. One thing about the movie that did take me for a turn was the ending. I mean, I am someone who is sheltered when it comes to seeing movies, I haven't even been keeping up with movies nowadays as well as I used to, this movie really kind of stumps you at the end. This became a commonality among horror movies, having a main character or even a character that you get to know over the course of the film and then right at the end, they die. I am one to get seriously emotionally invested into just about everything, so I get taken for a bit of a turn when the character I just learned to love gets shot in the face ... overall though, quite a good zombie for the time it was created in.

Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is such a trip of a movie. Primarily, David Bowie cracked me up. He was just so "evil", but then he would randomly burst out in song. The style of the movie was very enjoyable, in the way it was shot that is. The main girl, Sarah, was a little too 'damsel in distress' for me. She is tended to be a little over exaggerated in her voice sometimes, or in her mannerisms. I understand though that this is an older movie and that in the 80s, these were popular elements in movies like this. This was basically a big pleasure to watch due to the nostalgia of the time, or sense of time for my personal matter. Of course, I wasn't around for the 80s, let alone just made the 90s, so this movie at least fit the idea I have concluded in my head of what the 80s was from the influences then and that are back in style now. For example, David Bowies hair is OUT of this world... I mean, I actually asked my boyfriend, is that his REAL hair or is it a wig? and he replied saying it was in fact his actual hair. I don't really think this would fly nowadays, unless you are of grand importance and can get away with it! Back to the girl though... I felt very annoyed when she became quickly pouty about babysitting and then once her brother goes missing it she takes it completely back. Perhaps, it was because this is a cliche thing to happen and I was expecting it, but it just shows her immaturity at the beginning of her journey. Which allows her to grow during her journey and grow into maturity. For a children's movie, I am very glad this was my first time seeing it, just because it was very intense and there were moments where I actually got that nervous feeling. I can only imagine what little kids felt like after watching this movie, but it was probably some sort of horrified! Because I waited so long to see it, it definitely brought back The Muppets memories and whatnot, so being able to revisit that was also exciting. Although the little goblins are scary, they have a hint of cuteness to how they were designed, whether it is just their size or their rare kindness that shines through. Overall though I really enjoyed this movie, it's definitely out there!

Being John Malkovich

The movie Being John Malkovich was an extremely good one, aside from the the fact that it just quite nonsensical.. The concept of selling tickets to people to enter a portal into their mind, especially a famous one, people would go bananas! I was particularly fascinated when Malkovich went into his own portal, but to be honest, it didn't seem fun at all. It seemed like a horrible acid trip, even though for movie purposes, it had a comical sense. I really liked the actors, seeing Cameron Diaz so young and before all of the big fame happened was awesome. She's a great actress, and so are the others, including the chimp. He seemed to be really important throughout the film, sort of acting as their child, or love child more so. It made me feel warm inside when he helped her out inside the cage, because it really shows the compassion developed between this person and this animal. I sort of felt bad for Craig, well I did at first, but you kind of see how desperate he becomes, as he loses everything and turns into a monster. Of course, I start feeling more sympathy for Lotte, but she also becomes deceiving in a few ways, so in the end I wasn't really rooting for anyone. I will say though, it is a very weird idea and even just to visually see someone else looking through someone else's eyes.
The end was rather...strange. It was in a sense victorious, yet Craig still manages to lose. It was amazing watching him achieve his dream through living through the eyes of John. Of course, that sets it up for a very poor decline for Schwartz but the way both him and Lotte were going at Maxine seemed very selfish on both ends and very..animalistic. Overall, it was a very strange film, not sure if I feel completely satisfied with the result, but I'm glad to have experienced it.

Audition

This had to be the strangest movie I have ever seen.. I don't usually watch movies with subtitles (with a few exceptions) and this movie seemed very ... suspenseful, I guess you would say, just because there's a little bit of a disconnect from having to read subtitles to understand what's happening and being able to understand the language, so the message is a lot clearer. I cannot believe that little innocent looking girl could end up being such a brutal person. Near the end, I almost just wanted to stop watching because I'm not really interested in movies that are focused on pain and torture, but this was more towards the end when it became excessive. Although, SAW movies always have interested me in how everything's interrelated and somehow connected, which I bet if I went back and watched Audition again, I would be able to piece the story together a lot easier than the first time. Being someone who has divorced parents, I know what its like when they or just one of them for that matter starts dating again, which is an entirely different ballgame.. many children get jealous and do not wish for their parents to find a new partner, because it means a new start. This movie, on the other hand, has a son trying to convince his dad to start dating, in quite an organized fashion.
After watching this and knowing it came out in 1999, I can definitely get a sense of where The Grudge and The Ring came from. There is just something in the way they created this creepy vibe off of an innocent girl. But little do you know the "quiet" one is not so quiet...Perhaps, I just don't completely read their mannerisms correctly, but I felt as though she was fairly tame for the entire time and then near the end she just goes ape shit.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit was a really good read and it is really gratifying being able to finally say that, because for the longest time my dad has been trying to get me to read the Hobbit. I would get about a chapter or two in and then suddenly lose interest.. I knew I would probably like it anyways, since I enjoyed the movies. But anyways, I basically got lost into the book, like Harry Potter, about 4/5 chapters in and it was just really relaxing to just read a book where you're along for the journey. That's why I like to read books, personally. Getting lost into the situation and the characters with their triumphs and declines, I tend to get very emotionally involved, so I guess I enjoyed the attachment I had with the novel. I enjoy the fact that the ring is an evil object/symbol when in reality, the bigger the ring you have, the better! It is more of a flashy, materialistic symbol of your status, than something that can possess you in a negative sense. I also like the aspect of the ring holder getting the choice as to whether evil takes over him/her or not. In most cases, the evil just swoops in and does its thing, but in this movie its very easily accessible and its appearance isn't horrible either.

I really love how innocent some of the characters are, perhaps because I saw the movies of Lord of The Rings, so I already have an idea of who the characters are. The innocence of them seems to make the ring seem worse than it has to be, if that makes sense.. Bilbo for example. Bilbo seems so innocent and just wants to have a fun adventure, but the ring just turns him into this really ugly spirited person, who is selfish and evil. I am really excited that there is going to be a Hobbit movie, I cannot wait to see it! Like Harry Potter, my family takes time to go see the LOTR movies, so this will be a special one.

Harry Potter 1-7

Of course, I won't be able to read them all during the class, but I chose my favourite one, which is the last one and read that. Fortunately, I've read them all before so I can just express plainly how I love the Harry Potter series. I remember being about 9 and my grandma bought the first book for me and it actually took me a while to get into, but she made it fun and the funny lingo they used made us laugh, so I learned to love it quickly. I think I would be lying if I said Harry Potter didn't change my life, I mean, these books were personal journeys with these characters that I could just get sucked in for days. Not to mention, once the movies started coming out, it became a family tradition for obviously a short period of time for my father, sister, and I to go see the movies at midnight the night they came out. I am very glad that I read the books before I saw the movies as well because having a better understanding makes it easier for you to watch the extra things they add into the movies. Unlike Twilight, where when I see those movies, that is basically what I am basing that series on, which doesn't seem as satisfying. Now for the novel themselves, I don't think I've ever gotten so lost in a different world before and other than Rowlings tendencies to get a tad too descriptive at points, the books really flow well together and the last book just really pulls it all together and answers a lot of ongoing questions. It was really satisfying, even this time being the third time I've read this book, to read the epilogue. All I wanted to know was what was going to happen afterwards, the first time reading it anyways. I am not quite sure why I was so interested, but I'm simply impressed by her writing skills because she managed to get me to care about this fictional characters that must within 7 books!

Time Bandits

Time Bandits was quite an elaborate movie, the plot itself is quite out there. I think these types of films are sometimes overlooked nowadays, but you can see them being referred to in what's considered popular these days. This seems like the kind of movie you would watch as a child, but it would scare the living hell out of you and now when you watch it you call it a classic. I was surprised with the amount of times I jumped during the movie, even right of the bat when the horse flys out of the closet. This movies outlandish the entire time and is generally I guess supposed to be more scary than funny, although I found a sense of humour that would present itself every so often. Like the Ogre, just comparing the ogre in this movie to say Shrek. Just seeing the difference between the two and the progression over time is pretty funny. This movie felt like a classic fantasy movie, just because you know, you have the normal boy who gets sucked into this fictional world and goes on these adventures and of course he rather stay there than go back to his life with his family. Which I don't blame him too much, because his parents seem very ..spacey on important things, yet very informed about everything that isn't important..I kind of felt bad for the boy, because he is so innocent and he gets thrown into this crazy situation even though he remains safe, and in the end doesn't get that particularly happy ending most little children have in these kinds of movies. Although Evil is a bad person, I thought it was funny of him to explain how he was going to advance through technology and things of that sort, just because that's completely how this has played out in real life. We just don't use it for evil n real life, instead we now have to fix the laziness-dependence issue we face with technology. Overall, it was a good, but definitely bizarre movie.

The Evil Dead

The other weekend my boyfriend and I were flipping through Netflix and came across The Evil Dead. He had seen it before, but I had not so he felt like it was a must have more me to see this movie, especially considering its relevancy to this class at the moment. This movie was OVER THE TOP! Like it goes from being this fun friend adventure and all of a sudden turns into this in your face, gorey, "violent" zombie movie.. which is in a sense comical, just in how it was shot. But overall it's quite the horror film. I think the part that freaked me out the most, personally, were the actual zombies. They are SO abnormal.. and they don't have eyes which is creepy enough. They don't ever seem to die and the way they go about killing the zombies just so brutal! From physically dragging them out of the house and then trying to kill them, or just taking an axe to them or I guess really just any hard object, usually the result would be the same with just this gross blood everywhere and white stuff squirting from their dismembered joints, which also reaaaally really grossed me out. Basically, during this whole film I was sayin "What the hell is going on?!" because it's all been done and said in the zombie movies, but the way this movie went about it was so twisted and brutal. They also added in the possessiveness, which made it a tad more terrifying I think. The white eyes sort of freaked me out, as though she were black out drunk with her eyes rolling at the back of her head.. that girl really freaked me out because she reminded me of a doll. And for some unknown reason they did not run away, which is what I would be doing.

The Lost Boys

The Lost boys wasn't a bad film at all, by any means, but I must say it was absolutely crazy! It was quite cheesy, but sometimes that's appropriate in a film and I kind of enjoyed it. Those definitely aren't my idea of vampires, but they certainly are terrifying monsters.. While watching it I kept getting the feeling of watching are you afraid of the dark or goosebumps, like it was actually scaring me, but I knew it was incredibly fake and cheesy. Considering when this movie was made though, the graphics aren't completely horrible, I mean, at points I was actually grossed out by dying vampires as they melt basically. And for some reason, this movie seemed to be more interesting and entertaining than any of the twilight movies, which is definitely FULL of cheese..
Another thing I liked about the movie was the kid aspect of it, because I recently watched Super 8 and it really interests me when a movie follows a kids perspective in an adults situation, especially when the kid actors are good and are playing good roles. A part of the movie that particularly struck me was the relationship between the brothers, because it gets complicated after Sam becomes a vampire and that puts Michael in a very interesting spot. Maybe it's because I am watching Being Human and many other movies or t.v shows have tendencies nowadays where the monster isn't so much of a monster, in a sense. For example, in Being Human you have a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf all living under one roof, trying to cope with living as a "normal" being. It's interesting because they all treat each other equally and when they get involved with others from the outside world, sometimes they are understanding too. So, the fact that Michael still has compassion for his brother, even though he could potentially be killed by him is a very special relationship.

A Wild Sheep Chase

I felt like reading A Wild Sheep Chase was a continuous surprise, because just by the title I had absolutely NO clue what it would be about. I tend to try to not read the summary of the book, or the back of a novel so it doesn't spoil the element of surprise, but sometimes its also nice to have a little background. In this case, I feel like the story itself was absolutely ridiculous in a sense. Like the situations would never happen, but like when they're on their journey to find the special sheep with the star on its back, I felt it was more described realistically, than fabricated, which is common in a novel. Instead, Haruki Murakami described the event as a drawn out, non-eventful search for this sheep, which really doesn't sound like a major event in the first place. I also thought it was important to sound more realistic when describing the journey, because it isn't a completely light hearted situation or ultimatum he has been stuck in. Although it may not be the most exciting part of the book, I still appreciated the realistic descriptions, because it keeps the novel grounded through all of the fictional situations and elements. Even just the beginning of the story, where you have this passive, mediocre main character who chain smokes and then out of nowhere, he finds himself on this journey to find a sheep that appeared on a pamphlet he created.
I did enjoy the, I guess, more romantic side of this novel. My view was kind of the main character, who started off as a self-absorbed advertising exec, ends up searching for this sheep, while subconsciously finding out who he is, and meets a companion. Who happens to be a chick with magical ears, which really weirded me out. But seeing the transition of the character turning into this more sensitive type/ caring towards others was an uplifting aspect that I kind of tend to be drawn to.

Monster Island

I feel as though this novel changed the way I am going to approach zombie novels in the future and I felt encouraged after reading it, to veer off onto other novels of this kind. Which, I am appreciative that you post links to other novels/movies relative to each genre. The different point of views made it very enjoyable, because usually there's just one narrator to a story, which we all get used to after a while. Especially for a horror novel, it certainly isn't common to hear from the monsters' point of view. I really enjoy the aspect of Gary somehow is a zombie, but maintains some sort of mental/ physical stability. I honestly don't think I've ever come across this type of story line where it throws that sort of twist into it, but it reminded me of the walking dead where they're looking for this little girl the entire season and at the end she ended up being really close to where they were anyways, and already a zombie. But that's about the closest attachment I've seen humans have with zombies.
As someone who doesn't usually approach horror/adventure/action novels or movies, I feel like Wellington did a fantastic job at keeping the reader engaged by throwing multiple plots and plot twists towards the reader. Aside from being a good story in itself, I think what really made it a good read was the fact that you really got a sense of what it must feel like to be one of the undead. Like the issues they have to deal with and how they feel about it, because that is something that is not usually explored. And since David Wellington offered this other complex point of view, readers are going to be completely sucked into the novel until they are finished, which is how I certainly felt. Werewolves and Vampires have been elaborated on for quite some time now and don't get me wrong, zombies have developed over time as well, but they are always the villain in the situation and never first person. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Monster Island. I also had no idea before reading it that it would have dealt with zombies, just because they aren't usually called monsters, but generally that is what they are.