Hard Candy @ MindSay

SO,
I have to work today from 3-9
and I don't want to, but at least I
get to go to work by myself.

And Hollye is being amazing,
and she is going to come over
tonight and we are going to
watch the movie Hard Candy.

She has seen it like a million times, and
I have not, so....

OK, as promised on my regular blog, here are my reviews of my two most recent movie viewings.

Hard Candy
It becomes pretty evident before you even place the disc in the DVD tray that Hard Candy was made for a relatively low amount of money. This is not to say that it's bad however because it most certainly is not by any means. After seeing it appear on a number of Top 10 lists on Bloody-And-Disgusting.com, I decided to give this bad Larry a romp. Granted, the people at that site also liked crap like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning but at least a good number of them hated An American Haunting.

Hard Candy stars a grand total of 5 people, 3 of them being bit roles. So, the whole of Hard Candy revolves around a 14 year old girl and a 32 year old man who meet via the internet. As you might expect, the conversations begin via instant messenger and tend to hint towards possible raciness. The two agree to meet and within the first 5 minutes of the film, they are exchanging hellos in a coffee shop. After a lengthy talk about books, academics and music, the pair drive off to the 32 year old's house where the depth of conversation continutes over vodka-related drinks. The man shows the girl around his house, which doubles as his photography studio, and they discuss his taking some shots of her while she's over. As she begins to dance around his living room, he slips into a trance and the fun begins.

While you can't really call Hard Candy horror, it is pretty effective in being tense in it's own right. Once our male awakes, he finds himself tied to his computer chair. Thinking he's about to enter into an afternoon of sexual games, our girl informs him that "playtime is over". Our girl then begins to psychologically torment the photographer
with physical harm and the use of her highly advanced intellect. One scene in particular puts you through the meat grinder mentally as you try not to picture what is happening to him, even going so far as to make you almost feel sorry for our assumed pedophile. The whole process takes a good 20-25 minutes and, if you are a man, causes you to thank the camera person for not showing everything. In the end, the two expose one another's psyche and tries their damndest to mentally and emotionally weaken the other. Hard Candy could've used the medium to "spread a message" but it skillfully avoids preaching and instead takes the viewer into a world where two highly intelligent beings attempt to one up the other.

For those seeking a high speed car chase or occasionally light-hearted comic relief, skip Hard Candy. As is the case with many indie films, this is a dialogue heavy ride not for the easily distracted. If you are willing to take this pretty heavy subject matter film on, you are likely to walk away from the experience feeling something, bad or good. For me, I found Hard Candy to be a refreshing change of pace from the atypical American thriller genre and I would find no haste in deciding to make a purchase for future viewings.

Results: One thumb up, one saved for protection

Tenebre (directed by Dario Argento)
XkachoojiX  can be thanked for mailing this bad Larry my way prior to the holidays. I've come dangerously close to spending obscene amounts on this DVD a few times but now, I have a copy to call my own. Many have argued Tenebre to be the premiere Argento giallo classic. Personally, I am a big fan of Deep Red and Suspiria is my Argento film of choice but this one cannot be ignored due its plethora of praise across the board.

Tenebre involves a seasoned fiction novel writer from New York who comes to Rome on a book tour. Upon his arrival, a hapless hussy of a victim is found dead in the suite near his with multiple stab wounds and pages of his latest novel stuffed in her mouth. Naturally, the police feel the need to question him and keep him on call in case of further investigations. As is to be expected, more people close to the author are turning up bathed in their own blood with each successive murder being more dramatic and violent than the last. Through no desire of his own, the author is pulled into the investigation as it is clear that the string of dead bodies are inspired by his latest novel.

Dario Argento is mostly known for his elaborate and violent murder mysteries called "giallo". While maybe not traditional horror by American standards due to a lack of an identifiable monster a la Jason Voorhess, these films are no less intense. The main difference I see between Argento's films and many of the more popular franchises are Dario Argento's mastery behind the camera and once again, Tenebre showcases that mastery, putting you in the eyes of the killer. It's a trick John Carpenter used as well in Halloween but Carpenter attributes the style to Argento as he is a comrade and an admirer of the Italian horror maestro.

Tenebre is not unlike Dario Argento's other giallo thrillers, albeit probably more violent and bloody. Unlike Opera where the kills are lengthier and further spaced out, Tenebre racks up a massive body count in short order with no signs of slowing down. Coupling this mounting of dead bodies with Dario Argento's directorial style, Tenebre brings the violence right to the table. Personally, I found myself saying "I like this movie alot but I still think Deep Red is better." for about the first 70-80 minutes of the film. This all changed during the final 10 minutes where I was to be found cheering and pumping my fist as if I had just won the Super Bowl. I won't ruin it but trust me, if you like blood splatterings, Tenebre brings it with reckless abandon.

One thing that stuck out to me was the manner in which Tenebre succeeds in masking the killer's identity. Dario Argento has always been great at keeping the viewer guessing but Tenebre really leaves you feeling clueless. Every time I thought I had the killer pegged, he or she was getting whomped ever so explicitly. If I had any major complaint at all, it was the lack of seeing Daria Nicolodi in a more revealing state. Say what you will but she was quite attractive back in the day. Still, Tenebre is abound with a slew of beautiful women, many of them getting whompulated. Is it wrong of me to find that sexy? Probably.

Results: A plethora of puncture wounds and a pile of dead bodies

Everytime I wach another new movie, it just makes me want to make my own even more. Today did not help at all as I watched two amazing films back-to-back. First up was Hard Candy. It was on several Top 10 lists on bloody-and-disgusting.com so I decided to give it a rent. It was obvious that this was a low budget film as the entire cast consisted of 2 people and three bit parts, totaling the usage of 5 actors and everything was filmed inside of a house. Due to the movie being extremely dialogue heavy, it's probably not for everyone but I can guess that a number of my compadres would find it enticing. It was wholly original but borrowed trace elements of Japanese cinema and Taxi Driver.

Second up was a welcome surprise from XkachoojiX in the form of Tenebre, a currently very hard-to-find Dario Argento film. For the first 70-80 minutes of the movie, I kept thinking "Yeah, I like this but it's no Suspiria" and kept making loose comparisons to Deep Red. However, the ending changed everything. The weird thing about Tenebre was that it was a mystery from the start as to who the killer might be and one by one, each person I had pegged as the murderer was getting hacked up so by the time the murderer was revealed, I felt both stupid and worn out from my brain hurting. I still rank Suspiria as my favorite Argento movie but Tenebre is right near the very tip top, along with Deep Red and The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. One side note about Tenebre — a virtual plethora of highly attractive women. Is it wrong of me to find pleasure in watching so many of them getting hacked to death? Maybe, but Tenebre actually had me cheering at the end like I was at a college football game.

I plan to do full blown reviews of both films on the movie blog soon. I just wanted to expose these two underappreciated gems before my excitement level subsided. I need a bath.........a bloodbath......BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

I have just gone though a scoundrel’s blog. You will exactly know how bad a man can be after reading it.

Today I have seen the film “Hard candy”. I am deeply impressed by the actress’s performance. It’s stunning. She reminds me of the actress in the “the ballad of Jack and Rose” and the actress in the film “matchstick man” and “white oleander”. They are the kind of actresses who are surrounded by the unique glamour. Although I am neither a feminist nor a supporter of the girl’s revengeful actions, I like the film very much for its psycho tense and unpredictable plots.

However, I am puzzled by some of the plots. For example, I desperately want to know who the girl is and why she takes vengeances for those girl victims, and how she can be so cold. Undeniably, there are many plot design flaws in the whole movie. Yet, defects cannot obscure the virtues. It’s worthwhile seeing the movie.

I've got a couple of days to catch up on, but as I didn't actually do anything of note today, I reckon I might just recap on yesterday's absolutely excellent date with Mena.

So yeah, I was in London yesterday with Mena, and it fucking ROCKED. I got there rather early too, which is a surprise, as "early" isn't something trains manage to do very often. Once I got there, and Mena arrived at the station, we had a quick cuddle, and started off on our merry way to Greenwich.

When at Greenwich, we went for dinner, cos we were both feeling particularly peckish, so that took us to McDonalds. It was packed in there..mainly as it was around 1-ish, so the schools would've been out for dinner. As evidenced by a group of schoolgirls who were really loud, and really brainless. There was a group of people there, all wearing Germany football shirts (makes sense, they were playing Ecuador that afternoon. Won 3-0, as well). Said schoolgirls decided it'd be absolutely hilarious to start chanting "England!", rather loudly. For all they know, these German's could've been pissed out their heads, and maybe had relatives that fought for Hitler's cause in World War II. Luckily, World War III wasn't started, but I did think they were just a little out of place. The schoolgirls, that is, not the Germans.

After that, we went over to a lovely cinema to watch Hard Candy. Why was it lovely? The chairs were semi-recliners, so I could slob out and get really comfy, which makes a change from most cinemas where you have to sit dead straight, and have next to no leg room. The Greenwich Picturehouse, reclining seats, and masses of leg room. Loved it. As for the film itself, it was pretty good. Not as good as the trailers made it out to be, but still good nonetheless.  If you were gonna go watch it, go watch it. If you was debating about whether to go see it or not, it might be worth it, depends on whether psychological thrillers are your kinda film. If you still can't decide, wait for the DVD release.

After that finished, we wandered up to Greenwich Park and just sat there, cuddled up for a couple of hours. Unfortunately there wasn't any dogs willing to jump into the small lake, like there was the first time we were there, but there was one especially cute doggy who wanted in on our cuddle :P S/he'd only put two paws up on my leg before it's owner called it away and said sorry to us, but it was still an "aww" moment regardless ^_^ There was also a rather timid dove as well which kept coming up to us. It never got close enough for Mena to pet it, but assuming it was a wild bird, it was very used to the public.

So yeah, that was pretty much it. We stopped off quickly at Canary Wharf, but that was to waste time before my train home arrived. It was definately the best date we've had in London, although next week's birthday bash might top it. In fact, I'm sure it will. I mean, it's Mena's birthday, and we're gonna celebrate it with a nice picnic. And presents. Who can argue with that? ^_^

The evening was same as always. England struggled to get a result in the football (drew 2-2 with Sweden), and set up a 2nd Round match against Ecuador this coming Sunday.

Today, just quickly, I downloaded a few albums, and am having one sent to me. Here's what I downloaded:

Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere
Korn - See You On The Other Side
The Automatic - Not Accepted Anywhere
The Feeling - Twelve Stops And Home
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

And I'm being sent Young For Eternity by The Subways. Mena's sending me that, and in return I'm giving her Eyes Open by Snow Patrol, and With Love And Squalor by We Are Scientists. Two for one. Can't be bad :P

Well, that's it. T'ra
-=Gav=-