[/caption]I watched High Tension the other night. Alexandre Aja directed the film. The man likes his gore. Of course, I hate excessive gore in horror films. I hate the entire subgenre of horror known as torture porn. The movies are not scary; they're just disgusting and sickening. For example, I experienced no scares during the duration of High Tension. Mostly, I wondered how an out of shape man possessed the same skill set as Michael Myers. Little did I know that the out of shape man didn't actually exist. In addition to those thoughts, I wondered what the point of all the gory violence was. I may exist in a minority but I think excessive gory is lazy filmmaking. Instead of suspense, I grimly wondered what graphic act of violence would be depicted next. Once said violence began, I looked away and might've muted the television. Most notably, once I saw the gigantic chain saw approaching the helpless driver in the car, I fast-forwarded the final eight minutes of the film. Whereas The Arrow from Joblo.com perceived High Tension as a horror film of remarkable brilliance, I perceived a High Tension as nothing more than unnecessary violence and a warning for any aspiring screenwriter who thinks creating a gigantic plot hole is worth it for a twist. Such an idea is, in fact, not good.
The excessive gore of the film did not have me anxious for the latest episode of True Blood. The third season is the most violent and gory of the series. Also, the season has been twisted. Literally. I don't know what kind of drugs Charlaine Harris took when writing the books but her mind is twisted. Alan Ball and his writing staff are also out of their minds. I digress.
I watched the latest episode of True Blood yesterday. Simply, the series produced its best episode since season one. I experienced shock and surprise during the 45 minute episode. Three characters died. Sookie went to a bizarre place while in a coma. Queen Sophie Ann and crazy so-and-so Russell married. Eric rescued Pam. Russell became the most nihilistic fictional character on television since the Man In Black. Sam rescued dogs from a dog-fighting ring.
I remarked, to some people I know, that True Blood is the weirdest show I've ever watched. Oh, it's weird. Very, very weird. I enjoyed the latest episode so much because the story wasn't too bizarre or weird. Take out the weird Sookie/Claudine stuff and True Blood resembled a normal show; a show without nazi werewolves, shapeshifters, vampire kingdoms and royalty. Of course, this episode featured all of those elements. I think the episode succeeded, in my eyes, because there was one story. Other episodes this season have tried to balance five different stories. They barely connected. Earlier episodes were disjointed. The show was busy trying to service a number of characters. In this episode, "Hitting The Ground," the main characters were in the same space together and involved in the same story. The result: a tightly-constructed episode with great pacing and a sense of accomplishment. The show has five episodes remaining and only now do I feel like the season has direction.
The show will probably steer away from the formula of "Hitting The Ground," resulting in episodes that feel disjointed and a waste of time. I have renewed life and interest for the show again. I thought the bullljawn and nazi werewolves defeated me but not yet.
Not Yet.
THE QUOTES
I actually enjoy putting together the feature and will do so again RIGHT NOW. Of course, not all quotes will be interesting like yesterday's group of three but I needed a strong debut before the inevitable let-down. Most professional athletes say the same thing using different words. Actually, pro athletes use more words than necessary as you'll witness in this feature. This feature aims not only to highlight good quotes but also very, very uninteresting quotes. Here's a new wrinkle for today: Any person who posts a comment will receive a brand new plastic spoon. Let us dive into the world of quotes:
CITO GASTON, EXPLAINING WHY SCOTT DOWNS CAME INTO AN 8-5 (Toronto lead) GAME IN THE SIXTH WITH A RUNNER ON BASE (MLB.COM) THOUGH DOWNS USUALLY PITCHES THE 7TH-8TH
"You want to win this first game," Gaston said. "I just thought it was the right time for him."
Journalists really get paid to ask those questions? Would Gaston put Downs in the game if he wanted his team to LOSE?Geez louise.
PIRATES MANAGER, JOHN RUSSEL, ON CHARLIE MORTON AND ROSS OHLENDORF BEING A COMBINED 2-18 THIS SEASON (MLB.COM)
"That's two guys that we had kind of counted on, guys we knew had good stuff," Russell said. "To do what they've done obviously was not foreseen. We still really believe they can be a big part of this because they do have great stuff. It's just a matter of harnessing and making sure that they are consistent. We thought both those guys would do a really good job for us and it's been a struggle, obviously."
Here's some trivia, Against which team did Ohlendorf earn his first win?
The Phillies.
JEFF KEPPINGER (second baseman), ON WHY THE ASTROS ARE UNDEFEATED SINCE THE BIG TRADES
"It seems like we've got a whole new team," Kepppinger said. "We've got a lot of young guys up here trying to prove themselves, prove they belong, and they're coming through."
He could've just answered, "we are actually scoring runs now." But he didn't.
MAURICE JONES-DREW, ON THE NATIONAL MEDIA'S DISRESPECT OF THE JAGUARS
"It's funny, the only time you see us on highlights is when it's somebody else's highlights. They go back to find that team against the Jaguars. It's crazy and it's real disrespectful. I've brought it up a bunch of times. It just adds fuel to the fire. NFL Network, ESPN, they all do it. Every time.
Message received: Everybody thinks we're a joke," he said. "It just keeps us going through this hot camp, keep working hard. That's our motivation. We try to joke about it, but sometimes it's hard to joke."
I have nothing to add here.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
No comments:
Post a Comment