Thursday Movie Picks-Asian Horror Films

So, over at Wandering Through the Shelves, one can find the weekly film picks. A topic is picked each week and one chooses 3 films related to that topic. This week it is Asian Horror films of which I know dick all (pardon my sarong). I decided there are some Asian Horror films I have seen so here are my three. Oh, and last night Windows 10 decided to blow up and kill me the way Pat Hatt said it would...yup the evil thing is back...again!

1. GODZILLA-1954

This is where it all began with a man in a monster outfit. I mean who doesn't love this bad dude. We are kind of to blame anyway since he is from the nuclear fallout. Remember that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were blitzed only 9 years before. He stomps around and can breathe fire and destroys Tokyo. Later on he fought King Kong, Rodan I think,  and even ended up being a good guy. What's not to love.

2. GAMERA-1965

This starts where a little boy visits his scientist dad and begs his dad to be able to take out the new top secret sub built for one (or 2-can't remember) around the Bay for a spin. What's a great dad to say about a sub that cost millions of dollars but let his son take this sub out for a spin. The boy does and meets Gamera! This is a cute turtle with big ole teeth who can walk upright when he wants to and can fly! Yup, he just brings his 4 legs into the shell and then, like the engine who could, fire bursts forth from the openings like a rocket, and he flies around. Of course he destroys a few things along the way but seems to have a soft spot for the little irritating boy. I used to love watching this and all these films on the old UHF channel on Saturday afternoon. Hey at least I didn't talk about Mothra with those 2 little Japanese singing gals who flew with the giant moth....until now.

3. WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS-1966

Has anyone seen this flick besides moi? They are 2 brothers, one green-he's evil and one good...he's brown. The brown dude was raised by humans and is gentle and sweet while the Green guy is one badass. What is funny is it stars Russ Tamblyn-who the hell is Russ Tamblyn? He played the leader of The Jets in West Side Story, he was the youngest brother in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers and co-starred in a great film called "The Haunting" (later). He must have needed the money or just thought this would be  a huge career move. Anyway this dancing man doesn't dance in this film. The one thing I remember quite vividly is when evil green dude, after destroying a city, picks up a screaming woman and throws her in his mouth. Green dude looks like he just ate a brussel sprout and spits her out. Poor lady wasn't even good enough to eat-a real self-esteem killer if you ask me.

So these are my 3 horror films and I am sticking to it. Which Asian horror films have you seen?

Just a few Cards....

I won't do much writing because I have a few cards to show. The 2 Autumn cards were inspired by the Battle of the Bands(BOTB) hosted by Stephen T. McCarthy.  I couldn't get my computer working because...you know...Windows 10 (insert expletives here). If you visit Pat Hatt's blog you know how I ended up dead because of it:) OK so on with the show.

Fairytale Stampers- Photo Inspiration
Simon Says- Colour Inspiration

This was inspired by Vivaldi over at BOTB. I am sorry that I don't recall who picked Vivaldi. I had it marked down but my hubby cleaned my area and now I can't find my scribble notes. If any of you remember, please remind me:) I loved making this card with a funky background, paste that I mixed with purple, coloured the the grape image and leaves and cut out the leaves.

Crafty Creations- Don't be Blue

This is the 2nd BOTB inspiration from Curious As A Cathy-he song choice-"Autumn Leaves. I just thought of leaves falling and then went from there. I used my alcohol inks, my favourite leaf stamp and the cuddlebug

Whimsy Card Challenge-Anything Goes or Halloween
Craft Your Passion-Always Anything Goes

This was from a color challenge a few weeks ago but I still put it up and can be for any occasion. I had fun with this card and it's suitable for a hint of Halloween but can be a birthday even for the winter months

CCAYL- No Stamping
CHNC-Vintage/Shabby Chic
Winter Wonderland-Christmas Flowers

The next 3 are Christmas cards and this was from another Color Throwdown I just missed. Oh well. I really like the colours and, Unsure if this goes with Shabby Chic but ...that's because I really just don't know what that means. I'm still going for that look.

CCAYL- No Stamping
ABC Christmas Challenge-Non-Traditional Christmas Colours
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long- Favourite Christmas Colours and/or lots of layers
52 Christmas Card Challenge-  Blue or Purple plus 1 metallic

This involves my favourite colours:) So, of course 52 Cards stated Purple or Blue  and I made a card showing both colours. I hope it is still accepted. These are my favourite colours plus add in the glitter and it makes it just right:)

CHNC2-Always Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers, Christmas-Poinsettias

The picture doesn't do it justice but here is the 3rd one. I was in a hurry and no matter what I did, I either had a glare from the metallic papers or it looked dull. I decided to go traditional with the red and green on this one.

Mock Squid Soup Film Society...The Answer is "The Others"

 Once a month we pick a film, or someone else picks a film that we all watch and then give a review. This month it was guess which film we chose? I gave the clues last week and tried to be vague but some of you got it! Good for you:) To see the rest travel on over to The Armchair Squid to see what everyone else chose.

My Pick is "The Others" from 2001

This film seriously freaked me out..it doesn't take much because I am a wuss. It stars Nicole Kidman and the wonderful Fionnula Flanagan  in a great ghost story set during World War 2 (or is it??). Nicole plays Grace Stewart, a mother of 2 young children who both have a very rare disease that makes them photosensitive, in other words, they get 3rd degree burns from just being in the sun for a couple of minutes. Her husband is away at War and she is in this large home on an island off of England. 3 servants come to help out the young mom who has her hands full with keeping her children safe from the daylight. Strange things happen, the little girl seems to know more than she is letting on and we see poor Grace become more and more...tense.

There are no huge special effects...and truly it is not needed to achieve the isolation, fear and despondence that this film portrays. It is intelligent...how about that!  The home is surrounded by fog and when Grace tries to walk to the nearby village the fog rolls in leaving her disoriented.  Oops..I veered into some stream of consciousness....:)

There is a scene, near the end, that put me on the edge of my seat and totally freaked me out...that's all I will say. What I find wonderful about this film, aside from the acting, even the kids are great, is how minimalist it truly is in any effects. I have seen other films (That horrible remake of The Haunting with Liam Neeson comes to mind) where cgi and shock attack plays high rather than, um, how should I say...oh yes..Great writing!

If you haven't seen this film, see it because I did and, don't worry,  no kid is coming out of any TV ready to stretch your face into something disgusting. This film keeps you on your toes and makes you think plus you learn a little bit about the lives of children with this dreadful disease.  I give it a solid 8.5 out of 10.

Thursday Movie Picks-Villainous Children

It's October and with Halloween  at the end of the month what better way to celebrate than with evil kids. Over at Wandering Through The Shelves, one can see the topic for that week and pick 3 films that work with that week's topic. All in all, these kids need a good spanking!

1. THESE THREE-1936

This time I went with actual scenes not the posters. This film was written by Lillian Hellman who based it on her own book called "The Children's Hour" and was remade by the same director (William Wyler) in 1961. It takes place in a girl's boarding school where the main brat, played brilliantly by Bonita Granville, bullies another student to do her bidding which is to destroy 3 lives through gossip and lies. Even though Hellman had to change the story of lesbianism because of the censors, it is still riveting. It is very well written, wonderfully acted and, apparently based on a true story.

2. THE BAD SEED-1956

Who doesn't want to cuddle a blond child psychopath? This is one freaky film for sure because you see how pure evil this kid is but others do not. It truly lends the question if some of these kids are truly born this way...I actually think they are. This was a must see film for me and I finally was able to see it and it was worth the wait.

3.  VILLAGE OF THE DAMMED- 1960

Talk about one of the best Science Fiction films made that is so creepy and with very little special effects. All the people in a little village in England suddenly pass out. They awaken and soon after find all the women of child bearing years, pregnant. They all give birth on the same day and all the kids look very similar and act...without emotion and with a much higher intelligence than their years are to be (OK awkward sentence but you get my drift). Anyhoo-These kids are nasty and can manipulate people just by their thought. What always freaks me out are when eyes glow, especially kids-just freaks me out. So, yup, their eyes glow.

So 3 films all dealing with mean, spoiled little brats who deserve a good spanking, except the last bunch probably won't let you near them. Have you seen any of these films? Which film have you seen that shows an evil kid? I can think of 2 more (from the 70's).

Insecure Writer's Support Group-When Grandma's Go Bad

It is the first Wednesday of the Month which means another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex, The Ninja, Cavanaugh and his merry co-horts. If you wish to unleash your angst, to the world , well, at least fellow bloggers, this the place to find encouragement when you feel frustrated, down, or lacking in self-esteem. I consider myself ...gosh, I don't know, someone who has joined(Alex said I could many moons ago) even though I am not a writer and have no novels to show except my little ole blog-consider it fun.

My mom is a grandma...never call her that, she is an Oma. She is my mom and resides in long term care because she has dementia. Now, she knows who I am and my brother, and can engage in conversation even though it is always on rewind. Until 3 months ago, she rarely left her room and was always in bed. She had no desire to sit in the lounge, which she referred to as the "death lounge" nor participate in any activities...until Gladys showed up.

This poor lass, named Gladys, is probably only in her 60's but has dementia as well and when she first came to Heidehof, the employees had to watch her because she was tying to escape. Soon enough, I noticed my mom becoming more tense in wanting to know why she, herself, was there, what happened to her home (she had not lived in her home since 1991 and lived with me for the past 12 yrs until Nov 2011) and was arguing that she could care of herself. This reminded me of where she was back in 2012 but I noticed she was now often sitting with Gladys! Aha!!

These 2 old gals are like the grumpy men from the Muppets now. My mom is rarely in her room and is always sitting in the lounge with Gladys where they make fun of every person there whether they be a fellow  patient, nurse, PSW or a visitor. No one escapes their wrath. They talk and snicker like school girls and if they can't sit together my mom puts up a fuss! I am glad my mom is now out walking and joining in because she didn't do that before, but they have been known to tell others to "shut-up" when some start yelling. They argue with the nurses and my wonderful mom won't take no for an answer...that is my mom. The PSW's call her...spunky.

I feel my next stop is at a biker shop to purchase a leather jacket and find some rub-off tattoos for both of them.  Hell, my mom did own a motorcycle back in the early 1950's when she lived in Dusseldorf.  I hope you have the time to watch this Monty Python skit which I love...

Film Society-3 Guesses!

I always forget this part but better late than never!-I blame all on menopause-That is what I say and I'm sticking to it:) So Over at the Armchair Squid-The Mock Squid Soup Film Society one gets to post 3 hints on a movie which will then be revealed the following Friday. So, here are my hints:

1. It's spooky

2. The heroine is a bit tense and strict

3. it's always foggy


I could give more clues but there ya have it.  Midway in writing this, I thought of another film that so freaked me out when i first saw it that I was scared to sleep with the lights off,  but maybe I will talk about that one later.

Thursday Movie Picks-Hitchcock films

October 1st means it is the month of spooky, spooky:) This week the theme is Hitchcock. If you pop over at Wandering Through The Shelves, you can find other people who joined in on the fun. One picks 3 films according to the week's theme and this was tough because the theme is Hitchcock and I love Hitchcock.

OK my favourite Hitchcock film is Strangers on a Train, followed by Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt, Psycho, The Birds, ...I mean the list goes on and on. You know I still have not seen Notorious which is one of the biggest "slap me upside the head"  blunders of not seeing a movie. Ok that might be a choppy sentence but it's late and I'm tired while writing this. I love all his films even Blackmail and Rich and Strange but I went with 3 films of his that I hope will be different from other picks plus they are just dam great! OK the last one is a biggie of his but let's get on with the show.

1. SABOTAGE-1936

This stars the beautiful Sylvia Sydney whom most of you know from her from Beetlejuice and Mars Attacks gigs. In this film, She is married and they run a movie theatre. Her little brother lives with them. There are spies about and plenty of tension and suspense as only Hitch can do. Actually, this is the only film Sydney was in that was directed by Hitchcock. She intensely disliked him and never wanted to work with him again. When I saw this film, many, many years ago, I was riveted and it stayed with me for years.

2. LIFEBOAT-1944

A German U-boat torpedoes a British ship and the survivors are on this lifeboat. They end up saving a German from the U-boat that was also sunk. Now under any other director, it would sound kind of lack lustre, but Hitch creates tension between the people and develops the characters well. He does appear in this film also, you just have to look for his cameo. One tidbit is quite funny, Tallulah Bankhead, who is the star, was well known for wit, intelligence and sexual freedom. She didn't believe in wearing underwear and this caused a bit of a problem in filming. The Assistant Director came to Hitchcock with the problem of how to deal with covering up her naughty bits. Hitch paused and then said something like this, "I'm not sure if this should be brought to the attention of the cameraman, make-up or hairdressing."

3. NORTH BY NORTHWEST-1959

I can watch this movie over and over again. It is so much fun and I get a kick that the lady (Jessie Royce Landis) who plays Cary Grant's mother was only 8 when Grant was born. Anyhoo, Grant is mistaken for someone else and  is taken to a lovely home where he meets his nemesis played by the great James Mason. Martin Landau is the henchman who does Mason's bidding. Of course Grant ends up on a train, meets a beautiful blond and ends up on the face of Lincoln at Mount Rushmore. There is so much to this film (love that his initials spell R.O.T) and the crop dusting scene is justifiably famous.

Now I Love Strangers on a Train and mentioned it on my blog before-if you haven't seen that one...please see it.

Which Hitchcock film do you love?