Tag Archives: 3/5

#61- Psycho

Quick recap: This is the one with the shower scene.

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Fun (?) fact: Alfred Hitchcock tested how scary Mother’s corpse was by placing it in actress Janet Leigh’s dressing room and then hearing how loud she screamed.

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My thoughts: If I had to choose one movie that I am most ashamed to have never seen, it would be Psycho. It is one of those movies I know the entire plot and even some quotes, but until last night had never sat down to watch it. I think the two things that surprised me most were 1) Marion dying in the middle of the film (for some reason, I always thought it was at the beginning) and 2) how attracted I was to Norman Bates. I’m sure the latter will be dissected in future therapy sessions, but for now, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one with these thoughts.

and such a polite boy. A little stabby at times, but then again, aren't we all? and such a polite boy. A little stabby at times, but then again, aren’t we all?

In thinking further about my thoughts before and after the movie, the character of Marion confounded me more than anything else. I’m not sure what I had pictured her character would be-maybe just an unlucky woman who shows up at the motel, instead of what she turned out to be: A Woman of Ill Repute. Which is my favorite kind of woman, although the statistics aren’t that favorable for such a person surviving in a horror film. I think I actually said out loud, ‘she’s dead!’ when she stuffed the $40,000 into her purse. And as for that Infamous Shower Scene, I was ultimately underwhelmed. I suppose I have been desensitized to such violent scenes thanks to modern films and the news, but still, I was at least expecting a bloodier scene. Instead, the murder scene looked more like that time back in college when I was stupid enough to walk barefoot outside and then step on a shard of glass. I’m sure audiences of the 60s would’ve practically fainted if they had seen my dorm room that night. Marion also doesn’t do any good fighting back. She just screams and lets this guy stab her repeatedly. She is kind enough to turn around several times, though, and give Bates even more stabbing opportunities. What a gal.

The most legitimately scary part of the film was that Bates had kept his mother as a corpse. The corpse itself was also creepy, although it also reminded me of a dried apple. If the film had ended with Bates being caught, I would’ve been satisfied. After all, I mostly believe that evil needs no further explanation. I think the audience already assumed that Bates was dressing up as his mother and murdering people, so why spell it out further? Then again, this was the same audience who, even though this was a black and white movie, fervently believed they had seen red blood during the shower scene. And also, there were faintings during the showing of the film. As a side note, was fainting just a fashionable thing to do back then?Was it a way to woo a suitor? In either case, I’m glad we as a society have mostly grown up in that respect.

Maybe this should be a new category for my blog: Things that shouldn’t bother Mary, but they do. It really annoyed me that Hitchcock tried to pass off Norman Bates talking as his mother when it obviously wasn’t. I know he didn’t want to spoil the surprise, damn him, so he recorded women doing the voice instead of Anthony Perkins. But it also sort of ruined the explanation for me, that he was a schizophrenic who had become his mother, because obviously he didn’t inherit her vocal cords.

Final review: 3/5. I won’t say I was disappointed in the film, because it is very well made and Hitchcock is the master of suspense. But it also didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Up next: Woman in the Dunes

 

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#57- Amelie

Quick recap: Amélie is a girl with a big imagination. Growing up with a neurotic mother and ‘iceberg’ father, Amélie had only herself for comfort. She is now an adult and continues to see things in a different light than everyone else. After returning a man’s treasure from when he was a boy, Amélie decides to start living her life helping others. Oh, and she falls in love because this is a French film after all, so it’s kind of expected.

This movie was SO French

This movie was SO French

Fun (?) Fact:  Amélie was a direct inspiration for the short lived tv show Pushing Daisies. It’s an underrated masterpiece, if you ask me.

I also sort of have a thing for Ned. And Kristin Chenoweth.

I also sort of have a thing for Ned. And Kristin Chenoweth.

My thoughts: Oh, boy. My mind is all over the place for this review. Even now, over 24 hours after watching Amélie, I still don’t really know how I feel about it. On one hand, the movie has elements I normally love: it’s quirky, it’s gorgeous, the characters are interesting and it’s French which always adds a touch of class to anything. On the other hand, it’s very quirky. And French.

I suppose I should begin with Amélie herself. I was immediately drawn into the film from just the opening sequence, which pictured a young girl playing with ordinary objects and having a wonderful time. The back story for Amélie’s childhood did a great job in setting the tone for the rest of the film and quickly gave all the information needed to understand the main character. Amélie as an adult is just as adorable as when she was a child. She still retains a child-like quality to her, especially when it comes to seeing the good in other people. After finding an old treasure box that had been left behind by a young boy decades ago, Amélie decides to track him down and give him some happiness. It was a very sweet moment, as well as much of the first half of the movie. At some point, the quirky things Amélie does seem to become tedious and not so adorable.

I think the whole plot of Amélie falling in love with a just as quirky guy is what made me begin to question how I really felt. It completely makes sense for Amélie to refuse to meet Nino, seeing as how she was so rarely interacted with during her childhood. With every near interaction, I found myself becoming more impatient and less enchanted with all of the characters. But then, there was the scene in which Amélie imagines what a life with Nino might be like and it was so realistic in terms of how it feels to have an unattainable crush, that I couldn’t help but be drawn in again. The ending, which I won’t give away now, fit perfectly and made me once gain rethink how I felt about the whole thing.

imagining a different outcome

imagining a different outcome

Final review: 3/5. In the end, it isn’t a movie I crave to see again, although watching Amélie made me want to rewatch Pushing Daisies and pick up French for the billionth time.

This is about all I understand these days

This is about all I understand these days

Up next: Fargo

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#53- Aliens

Quick recap:  As if an murdering an entire crew wasn’t lesson enough, Ripley goes back to battle even more aliens. Sure, she thought it was just a consultant job, but some part of her mind had to realize that this wasn’t going to end well. Jones the cat thankfully makes the smart decision to stay home.

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Fun fact: The alien nest set was kept intact after filming and was later used as the Axis Chemicals set for Batman.

My thoughts: Let’s just get this out of the way: I hate Bill Paxton. Hate him. With a fiery passion. I don’t really have a reason for doing so, but he just looks like the kind of guy you would walk up to on a street and punch in the face. He does nothing to help himself look favorable in this movie, except for finally dying. I just really hate that guy. Moving on.

I'm proud of myself for not punching the computer.

I’m proud of myself for not punching the computer.

The book I am using to choose what movies to watch, 1001 Movies to See Before you Die, listed Aliens as a horror film and so I watched it. If I had watched this movie at any other time of the year I probably would’ve enjoyed it more, but this is definitely not horror. The aliens were scary, sure, but it wasn’t something to keep me up at night. To me, a good horror film is one that a group of girls would choose to watch at a sleepover and then after the movie, make a pact to never mention what they saw again.  Aliens had way more action and suspense than what I am looking for.

One thing that bothered me about the movie is that all the quiet, mounting terror is gone. The director tried to recreate the emotion as the marines discovered the alien nest, but there was just so much going on with the people in webs and other horrors, that I immediately knew everything would end badly. The gunfire and torch blowing was also a disappointment. I guess it was cool that the alien spewed acid when it had been hit,but I was hoping bullets and fire wouldn’t bring them down so easily. In the end, they were rather easy to exterminate.

A couple more things I found annoying: 1) adding in an adorable little girl for Ripley to mother instead of just using the cat again and 2) except for a brief scene at the beginning, no one mentions that Ripley is like, 70, now. It’s bothered me way more than it should have.

Final review: 3/5. I expected horror and it did not deliver. Bill Paxton, you’re lucky I gave it any points at all.

Up next: more Horrorfest!

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#48- An American Werewolf in London

Quick Recap: Two American guys go backpacking in England where they are savagely (is there any other way?) attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed but his friend, David Kessler, survives. Continuing with lycanthrope legend, David has been bitten in the attack and is slated to turn into werewolf during the next full moon. To make matters worse, his dead best friend comes back to convince David to kill himself and sever the bloodline. Deciding that that doesn’t sound like a rocking good time, David does indeed become an American Werewolf in London and slaughters a bunch of people.

Is Burt Reynolds part werewolf?

Is Burt Reynolds part werewolf?

Fun (?) fact: All of the songs featured in the film have to do with moons in some way. However, Cat Stevens refused to allow ‘Moonshadow’ because he had recently converted to Islam and Bob Dylan refused to allow ‘Moonshiner’ because he had recently discovered Christianity. Interestingly, the song ‘Werewolves in London’ is also not found in the movie.

My thoughts: This movie kickstarts my foray into all Horror movies for the month of October. I started with this one because I had never seen it and because on top 10 list of things that scare me, werewolves get a pretty low spot. I mean, in the end, they are basically just a wolf that bites you to death. Gruesome, sure, but according to legend, if you become a werewolf you have no memory of the transformation so that works for me.

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With the fear element being taken out, I was left to just watch the plot unfold. As it is with most horror films, a rule was established that, if the characters had just paid attention, they wouldn’t have encountered danger, thus rendering the entire film useless. But of course, the Americans went exploring off the road and were almost instantly attacked. My interest was first truly piqued when David’s friend Jack visits him from beyond. It was such a creepy way for David to realize he had become a werewolf and then  be told that his only option was to kill himself. I continued to be creeped out every time Jack showed up because each time his body had decomposed even more. The nightmares were similarly creepy and, not that this makes much sense, realistic. I say that because obviously, being a werewolf changes your entire brain structure so it only makes sense that your subconscious would be giving you clues about your new life.

This was apparently the most painful scene because the actor who played David had to wear glass contacts

This was apparently the most painful scene because the actor who played David had to wear glass contacts

The transformation scene was beautifully done and once again, made logical sense. Becoming a wolf must be a painful experience, to say the least. The actual killing scenes were gruesome and gory, which isn’t really my thing. That is to say, I don’t really mind them, but they don’t scare me. What did creep me out sufficiently was the scene when all of the recent victims had gathered into the movie theater to once again urge David to kill himself. The victims were the perfect mix of humorous and almost apathetic about their current situation. They chastised him for what he did, but weren’t all that riled up about their current state. The ending felt abrupt to me, although I can’t really imagine anything else happening or wanting to see what became of the other characters.

Final review: 3/5. It was almost a 4, but not being scared of werewolves knocked off a point.

Nightmares: None of the werewolf nature, although that shower scene might have crept into my subconscious at some point and Ewan McGregor may or may not have been involved.

Up Next: more HORRORFEST

 

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