There are a lot of things in Paranormal Activity, which has became the phenomenon I could have only imagined when I first posted about it, dying to see it on 12 screens, that just don’t add up. Coming out of the theater, as pumped/shaken/angry as you may be, a few of the plot elements just don’t mesh and don’t make a whole lot of sense, which while they aren’t necessarily “plotholes”, they don’t sit well. Why did they stay in the house? Why did they seem to become even more calm as things started to ramp up? Why does Micah keep abusing his girlfriend with his constant provoking of the demon inside the house and with his camera? ABUSING is the word that sticks out, and finally, all these little plot and character grievances go away. A theory that I saw go around Rotten Tomatoes and more specifically, Match Cut (), where I have seen more in-depth discussion on the matter, theorizing that the film is an allegory monster film, like The Host and Cloverfield, using the demonic lizard blah blah to highlight something entirely different but just as haunting.

A review / analysis of this theme by Match-Cut user balmakboor , which I will post here because it illustrates any point I could possibly make, and with an extra amount of eloquence too.

That includes design, content, and even some internal server stuff. That’s why there hasn’t been any posts the last few days and won’t be for a couple more.

If I stay, there can be no party.
I must be out there in the night, staying vigilant.
Wherever a party needs to be saved, I’m there.
Where there are masks, where there’s tomfoolery and joy, I’m there.
But sometimes I’m not because I’m out in the night, staying vigilant, watching.
Lurking, running, jumping, hurdling.
Sleeping.
No, I can’t sleep.
You sleep, I’m awake.
I don’t sleep, I don’t blink.
Am I a bird? No.
I’m a bat.
I’m Batman.
Or am I?
Yes I am Batman.

Also known as my Oscar procrastination. Check out the fancy schmancy TOP 50 best picture chart in the new page. We need to find some voice here, and as the site goes through Overhaul #3, you can see which way we’re headed a bit. Every category will have its own chart soon.

http://memegenerator.net/Chaos-Reigns

A lot of people continue to wonder about what the hell ever happened to Broken Lizard. Nobody has seen their debut effort, Puddle Cruiser, a film I adore yet would smirk at if I ever saw it and its abysmal cover art at any DVD stand. Super Troopers was a mini-phenomenon when it released, Club Dread was underrated and underseen, and Beerfest got a pretty big release and may be their most seen film, and after that…nothing. The group of writers/actors signed a big deal with Warner Brothers, but after Beerfest was a minor critical and financial misfire, it seems like Warner dropped out of the deal and left them to be a fish out of the water for their next film, The Slammin’ Salmon. Oh yes, that fish joke was intentional. It has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while, but it’s coming, and it’s probably going to be hilarious.

Chandrasekhar has been directing episodes of NBC shows, the rest of them have been making bit parts everywhere, but to see them all together on the big screen again (meh, it won’t make enough money in limited release to expand, but you know) will be nice. It also has Michael Clarke Duncan, so that will be interesting to see how he blends with the group, like Brian Cox did in Super Troopers or Bill Paxton in Club Dread, which may just be the best comedic performance of the decade. I mean that.

“THE SLAMMIN’ SALMON – DECEMBER 11! It’s official. Our new flick will be in theaters in Dec! Starting in select cities. We’ll tell you which ones as we get the info. Stay tuned!”

The film is about a competition for a wait staff put on by the former heavyweight champ (Michael Clarke Duncan) and the hi-jinks that ensure. Slapstick and shenanigans are sure to befall viewers in this Kevin Heffernan directed entry.

Broken Lizard trailers tend to never truly reflect the film, but I will post it anyway.

The Slammin’ Salmon Trailer – Watch more Movie Trailers

I am referring to Juno/Up in the Air director Jason Reitman, who really does look a whole lot like Edgar Wright. For a guy who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director and is looking to be nominated again this year almost certainly, what Jason says about what he has seen of the film is certainly something. Guys, this is real. This is so real. From his Twitter:

It is a game changer for Edgar and the genre. It moves the speed of light and carries more unadulterated joy than Ive seen in recent cinema.

If I had a movie coming out next year, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near it. Hats off my friend. Can’t get it out of my head.

Yeah…holy shit.

It reminds me of why my right shoulder muscle is so much more defined than my left shoulder muscle. To see the original Shake Weight infomercial, click here.

Something I did not know till today ; Paul Haggis was a scientologist. But now I do, and thanks to Diora Baird’s Twitter, and her constant urges for everyone on it to get the word out about this before Scientology censors it to all hell, I must share. Paul Haggis WAS a scientologist, and he’s now distancing himself as far away as possible from it. Why? Let Paul Haggis explain it for you in his big letter he sent to the church, who is now going to probably get a hit called out for him as I type this. Also, does this mean that Paul might actually become a decent writer now that he doesn’t have the baggage of being in a moronic cult? Time will only tell.

Tommy,

As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make
a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology
of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled
legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and
lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the
Supreme Court of our state – shames us.

I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of
the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good
conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was
tolerated.

In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year,
you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it
and “heads would roll.” You promised action. Ten months passed. No action
was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded
press release, which praised the church’s human rights record and took
no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.

The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots,
hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word.
Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.

I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my
twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of
counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years,
I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply
it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist,
but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized,
as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed
against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally.
I saw the organization – with all its warts, growing pains and
problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.

But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to
think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of
the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential “PR flap” you
allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the
church’s words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is
now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and
intolerance, homophobia and fear.

The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed,
doesn’t matter. I noticed. And I felt sick. I wondered how the church
could, in good conscience, through the action of a few and then the
inaction of its leadership, support a bill that strips a group of its
civil rights.

This was my state of mind when I was online doing research and chanced
upon an interview clip with you on CNN. The interview lasted maybe ten
minutes – it was just you and the newscaster. And in it I saw you deny
the church’s policy of disconnection. You said straight-out there was no
such policy, that it did not exist.

I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn’t have to search
for verification – I didn’t have to look any further than my own home.

You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents
because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five
years ago when they resigned from the church. This is a lovely retired
couple, never said a negative word about Scientology to me or anyone
else I know – hardly raving maniacs or enemies of the church. In fact
it was they who introduced my wife to Scientology.

Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all
contact with them. I refused to do so. I’ve never been good at following
orders, especially when I find them morally reprehensible.

For a year and a half, despite her protestations, my wife did not speak
to her parents and they had limited access to their grandchild. It was a
terrible time.

That’s not ancient history, Tommy. It was a year ago.

And you could laugh at the question as if it was a joke? You could
publicly state that it doesn’t exist?

To see you lie so easily, I am afraid I had to ask myself: what else
are you lying about?

The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are
genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping
others. I have to believe that if they knew what I now know, they too
would be horrified. But I know how easy it was for me to defend our
organization and dismiss our critics, without ever truly looking at what
was being said; I did it for thirty-five years. And so, after writing
this letter, I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no
longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me. I will always
take their calls, as I always took yours. However, I have finally come
to the conclusion that I can no longer be a part of this group. Frankly,
I had to look no further than your refusal to denounce the church’s
anti-gay stance, and the indefensible actions, and inactions, of those
who condone this behavior within the organization. I am only ashamed
that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in
the Church of Scientology.

Sincerely,

Paul Haggis

Ps. I’ve attached our email correspondence. At some point it became
evident that you did not value my concerns about the church’s tacit
support of an amendment that violated the civil rights of so many of our
citizens. Perhaps if you had done a little more research on me, the
church’s senior management wouldn’t have dismissed those concerns quite
so cavalierly. While I am no great believer in resumes and awards, this
is what you would have discovered:

Keeps getting removed everywhere online, but I think we’re safe.

If you go to Hulu.com, you will realize that the subtitle is “Watch your favorites. Anytime. For free.” The bright executives that reap the rewards of Hulu, or not, since apparently it’s not all that profitable, don’t really like this mantra. In 2010, Hulu is going to axe the “for free” part, and what has became a revolutionary service that gives all the benefits of illegal pirating but legally and safely, will become just another flash in the pan that will die a painful death. What they don’t realize is that it is not about the skimpy amounts of advertisements, which aren’t all that skimpy but less than what television provides, don’t make people use it. It is the ability to watch things anytime, for free, which TV can never match. Adding more advertisements and commercials to the site would not kill it, it would make the bottom line larger but would hardly alienate anyone. I can boldly proclaim though that if you make people pay for Hulu, then it will fade fast. Same with Facebook and every other site that is considering a pay model, citing that people think they are “entitled” to free services on the internet, but in a competitive marketplace, especially one like the internet, if you start charging, someone else can do what you do for free.

Broadcasting and Cable is reporting that News Corp Deputy Chaircam Chase Carey said at a business summit that since the free model doesn’t make them enough money, they will start charging on a subscription basis. He cites that customers will appreciate the value, not realizing that this is the internet, if you aren’t playing World of Warcraft, chances are that you don’t appreciate paying for anything. Why pay for porn when a million sites have it for free? Why pay for online versions of magazines and newspapers when free blogs out there exist with the same content in quantity and quality? Why pay for TV shows when a million sites have them for free?

The 7 companies that received the most bail-out money are going to be forced to cut the pay of their 25 highest paid employees by up to 90%. The 7 companies being targeted are Bank of America, AIG, Citigroup, General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. Word is the average cut will be about 50% across the board. The plan will also adjust how they are paid to help align the personal interests of the executives with the long-term health of their respective companies. The executives will also need permission to claim perks of over $25k a year. What say you, loyal readers?

I know what you’re thinking, the film was a box office smash and if it weren’t for The Hangover, would be the surprise of the summer. But it seems that until now, none of the more sophisticated moviegoers saw the film or decided to speak up about it, because as I watched it a few days ago, I was shocked. My expectations were certainly low; I was expecting bad and got absolutely abysmal. When you go in expecting Sandra Bullock to act like Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds to act like Ryan Reynolds, and all the other pieces to fall into place like the other 25 movies that Bullock is in that have nearly the same setup, and you instead get one of the worst directed, unfunniest studio romcoms in quite a while, and let’s not act like most studio romcoms are not usually crap anyway…I’m speechless. I read Glenn Kenny’s Some Came Running on occasion and the day after I watched this cinematic abortion, he said all the words I never thought of saying, but just bottling up inside with the rest of the abhorrent trash that befuddles my mind for days.

Glenn’s assessment, that if Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and this were the only two movies to come out in a year, The Proposal still would not be the funniest movie to come out that year, is correct. The thought I had in my mind but was finally confirmed by Glenn that all the “Alaska” backdrops were green-screen or worse, rear projection, much like a certain scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall that almost ruined what is otherwise a really great comedy. I mean, look at the image at the top, which I stole directly from his blog. They couldn’t even light the damn thing right. Interior lighting on Reynolds’ face, while an Alaskan exterior is behind him. I know that budgets are typically kept low (I should really get to that), but there is no excuse for shooting on location or at least somewhere where you don’t have to go all Hitchcock on us, but without the charm.

Back to (I should really get to that), on the blog post, which you SHOULD Read here: (http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2009/10/hollywoods-latest-crisis-the-core-competencies.html), Greg Motolla, writer/director of Superbad, The Daytrippers, and my favorite film of 2008, Adventureland, wrote a fantastic comment regarding everything I talk about and what Glenn talks about far more eloquently, and also his experiences on making Adventureland and his upcoming film starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, an action comedy called Paul:

Along the lines of what Joel Gordon said above, I can tell you that in my experience there is an attitude at the big studios that comedies don’t need to be remotely cinematic. Comedies often get much shorter shooting schedules than other genres, with the expectation that its “master, closeup, closeup, call it a day”. I also recently got this note from an exec visiting the set: “We like brightly lit comedies at our studio” (which my dailies weren’t).

As an aside, I have a friend who worked in Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing room — Thelma liked to say: “matching is for pussies”.

Heartbreaking? You betcha.

On top of that, I don’t care when Spike Jonze is directing a script that isn’t written by Charlie Kaufman, and I detest Dave Eggers’ writing with all my heart. And yet, while I only casually wanted to see this clearly ambitious film, I had a realization recently on why this is a must see that I am squirming in my chair right now as I write and will be until I plant my ass in an IMAX theater. This is a 100 million dollar Warner Brothers production, marketed predominantly at kids, based off of a older kids property that many could feel nostalgic for, playing on an IMAX screen, that is serving as the most divisive film of the year. What does this remind you of? Oh yeah, Speed Racer, my #3 film of 2008 and up there with In the Land of Women and Orange County as one of the most underrated films of the decade. Oh yeah, I must see this. Immediately. From the link I provided to Daily Beast, I must note that in the Entertainment Weekly discussion between Owen and Lisa, Owen, who is usually a stupid son of a gun, and hates the film, said “[as soon as Max arrives on the island and meets the wild things, which are]“squabbling hippies…trying to indoctrinate Max into some avant-garde theater company led by Julie Taymor” ” That just sounds awesome.