Author: torstenvblog

Writer of the strange and everything; lover of horror, literature, comics, and the alien is my spirit animal

Texas Chainsaw massacre 2

tcm 2

If you’ve been following my posts for a while you’ll see how I have a taste for those special horror movies that make you laugh and say WTF with your friends. Most people didn’t expect such a treat to come as a follow up to the late Tobe Hooper’s gritty horror classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre . Well, after a 12 year gap, a shitload of legal battles and productions problems we got a sequel, but why were people so pissed?

So we begin with a pair of A-holes driving through the countryside, being jerks and public nuisances, even harassing the local rock station over the phone. Until they went to far and screwed with the wrong truck. While one of there calls harassing Stretch, the local DJ, the truck catches up with them and the notorious Leatherface attacks the truck shredding the truck and giving the punks a taste of his saw. Stretch has the call recorded and brings it to a mad ex sheriff named Lefty who’s obsessed with the “Chainsaw killers” would killed some of family in the first movie. After playing the recording to draw them out for Lefty, the Sawyers emerge and madness is unleashed on Stretch…

Ok, if you want a horror movie, something to chill you to the bone I recommend trying the first. This won’t scare you but if you have a warped sense of humor there’s a lot of laughs. There’s a chainsaw fight, Leatherface trying to waltz with a victim, a chili cook off, and Chop Top. Bill Mosely is amazingly quirky and over the top as Chop Top who steals the show more then Leatherface, although Dennis Hopper as Lefty is great too. There’s a fair amount of blood and creepy stuff throughout but unlike the first, this is definitely a movie and a solid dark comedy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning

hills beginning

I’ve been asked where my love of comics began and it feels strange to say but it all started with a movie tie in book, namely the prequel story to the The Hills Have Eyes(06) as told through the perspective of Hades, the first mutant and main antagonist of The Hills Have Eyes 2 . A small mining town in the New Mexico desert gets ordered to evacuate by order of the US government. Poor and prideful with nowhere else to go, most of the citizens stayed. A band of army men dispatch themselves into the town to try forcing the people to leave. After a women’s family is killed and she’s raped by one of the army men, she vows revenge. The bombs begin to drop soon after and the people flee into the mines. For years they fall as the townsfolk live underground. The woman is blessed with a baby, but the massive child hardly resembles human. Hades is the first of a new kind.

After Hills 2, I was pretty damn let down by the series but the Beginning restored my faith. Beginning, like the first, is a multi-layered revenge story. It’s bloody, shocking, and badass and pretty much everything I loved about the first movie. Hades is much more sympathetic and gruff as a main character and I like that from the get go we are lead to follow the mutants as the protagonists and humans are the bad guys. The book is paced very well and a must read for fans of the series. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Aquaman trailer 2

We got a treat yesterday in the form of a huge Aquaman trailer that gives us a huge look at movie in general. First I have to say visually it looks improved from Aquaman trailer 1 and the Atlantis stuff looks absolutely stunning. Jason Mamoa is charismatic as always and I can’t lie, he pulls off the classic outfit at the end of the trailer; Amber Heard seems natural as Mera and I was glad to see her use her power. I was glad to see Manta in action but I am really liking Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master. I’m really digging how it’s shaping up. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Hills Have Eyes 2

hills 2

So, anyone remember the hype they had being a kid getting into a R rated movie without your parents? This was my first time, after the awesome The The Hills Have Eyes(06)  and boy was I excited. Poor stupid younger me.

For the sequel, we delve into the the hills themselves where a clan of mutants lives. There numbers are dwindling as we see in a gruesome opening scene. A team of soldiers are dispatched into the hills after a base goes dark and after finding what’s left of there taken officer, they discover they aren’t alone and the battle of survival begins.

Ok, if it happens to seem like I’m not putting much effort into this review, it’s because not much effort was put into this movie. The plot is bland with no real memorable characters or mutants like the previous movie. The kills are weak but instead of well done gore and natural intensity, it takes the low road and tries to disturb you with some rape scenes and a woman giving birth to a stillborn mutated bay in the opening scene. I like the setting above ground where again you do feel a sense of emptiness but once the movie goes into the mines it becomes dark and drab. I will say though, there a hilarious moment with “Shitman the Barbarian” that still makes me laugh my ass off. In the end, Hills 2 is a blah cash grab sequel you can skip. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Daredevil season 3 trailer

In less than 3 minutes I suddenly wanted my Netflix back after seeing this trailer. I’m curious why he’s wearing his original costume again instead of the red. I personally think the impostor maybe Bullseye, which would be a great way to introduce him. I love that Kingpin is returning as the main villain and knows who Daredevil is. I can’t wait for season 3 to drop, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Dark Knight Rises

dark knight rises

You know how people say there are no perfect trilogies? Most of us have our subjective favorites, but 9 out of 10 times the landing at the end may not be perfect. After how insanely epic Batman Begins and the The Dark Knight were, how did the final installment land?

8 years have passed since the death of Harvey Dent and Batman disappeared. Everything Dent did has been upheld under the Dent Act, locking up hundreds of criminals. Crime seems low, Gordon is nearly obsolete and Bruce Wayne is a battered recluse living in the renovated Wayne manor. Physically and emotionally he’s been torn down and Wayne Enterprises is bleeding money. A mysterious philanthropist named Miranda Tate and notorious Rowland Dagget are clawing for the company from 2 sides. After a run in with a cat burglar, Selena Kyle, Wayne discovers bad times are going to come again. A masked mercenary has come to Gotham with a small army of highly trained soldiers at his heels, working to break the city from the inside out. Enter Bane, the man who broke the bat; can the citizens of Gotham survive without there protector?

This is going to sound weird but despite how flawed it is, I do love this movie and I think, logical leaps aside, it’s a great end to the trilogy. I have to say Tom Hardy as Bane steals the show with his great dialogue, intimidating physical presence, and strange accent; I do wish Nolan picked a better explanation for Bane’s mask. I don’t get why Venom couldn’t be a mix of steroids or something, it didn’t have to have outrageous effects. I personally really like Anne Hathaway as Catwoman although she doesn’t have the cat puns or  the trademark whip. The supporting cast is great and I liked the inclusion of the “John Blake” character. I felt Bale’s performance in this was fine but I hated how much he growled as Batman and well, here we come to the logic leaps. Batman is paranoid and an extremely cautious character by definition so why the hell would he reveal all his secrets to a chick he slept with a couple days prior , let alone be shocked when she betrays his ass? Questions like this, how the hell he could get across the world and back to a quarantined Gotham in less than a day kind of break immersion. Another little issue I have is the final act drags a bit after the climax with Batman and Bane. It may sound like I’m nitpicking this movie but there’s great story arcs and a very powerful message in this final chapter that completes the trilogy quite nicely. In the end, it’s not perfect but it’s a damn good way to end the legend of the Batman. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Dark Knight

dark knight

For a long time there was a debate on the greatest superhero movie of our time, either Dark Knight or Avengers . Which ever side of the spectrum you personally fall on, it’s one of those few movies that is simply great.

Months after Batman Begins , Gotham is starting it’s turning point. Jim Gordon and Batman have fought to take on the mob with the new, handsome DA Harvey Dent and have pushed them to near extinction. A tomorrow is on the horizon it seems where Gotham would no longer need Batman; he sees how the people look towards Harvey’s warm, earnest smile for hope- a good man without a mask, the hero Gotham deserves. But what’s standing in the way? In there desperation, the mob turned to a mad man without scruples, without morality and is determined to watch Gotham fall into chaos and Batman become the lunatic he was meant to be: enter the Joker…

This is one of the rare times I believe a movie deserves the praise it gets. Bale again is great as Batman at the height of his reign with a a fantastic supporting cast. Heath Ledger as Joker was terrifying; I’m ashamed to say I was one of the nay sayers who hated on him when it was first announced he would be Joker but the second I saw him I was speechless and he truly changed the game and was a legendary villain. A huge actor overlooked in the movie is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and subsequently Two-Face. He absolutely nailed what made Harvey’s fall tragic while maintaining the menace and stature he had in Batman: the animated series . The plot is winding and well paced, full of real suspense and great action and character moments. The score, cinematography, and story are top notch. The movie is damn near perfect in my opinion and it’s a must see masterpiece. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

The Hills Have Eyes(06)

hills eyes 06

The original The Hills Have Eyes fascinated my dad Duke so he was pretty pumped when the remake was announced. I’m happy to say without Batman Begins and the Hills remake, I don’t think I’d still be trying to write my damn book and that’s honestly one of the best things I can possibly say for it.

During the mid 40’s to the early 60’s the US government tested atomic bombs in the remote parts of the desert. They thought the land was barren but it wasn’t. Families bred, mutated and deformed living in the many caves and ruins of test houses of the desert surviving off of blood and flesh. The Carter family drove through the desert, lost on there way to California much like the original but what we would get is a much more atmospheric, emotional, and brutal tale of revenge…

Already from the beginning of the film with a gruesome set of opening kills and opening credits consisting of old test footage, bits of the deformities we’re about to see, and a great 50’s country song to put it in perspective we know it’s going to be a different beast than the first. The narrative feels much more complete for starters; we spend more time with the Carter family so when they start dying and violated, you really do feel for them. The movie has a great sense of isolation but also feels claustrophobic in all the right spots- in the vastness of the desert you never are really alone. The mutants are a huge improvement over the classic cannibals in that by the time you get a feel for there world, I got a extra layer of pathos to them. The effects on them were great and pretty damn realistic. The does damn good at being a bloody, intense horror movie but’s also a dark badass western. The fights during the second half are some of my favorites, harrowing but never feel like they jump the shark. The music is creepy but also epic, a good fit. The last seconds are sequel bait but also work as a good oh shit ending too. In the end, I loved this movie and I definitely recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Batman Begins

batman begins

My dream in life has been to always create a superhero story as well as good horror story. As a kid, I looked up to superheroes but none of there movies ever sparked my soul. I almost gave up on my dream, that was until Batman Begins.

Bruce Wayne, young, angry, and self destructive after watching his parents murdered in front of him as a child. Gotham City is rotting from the corruption within, the streets desperate. Caught in his own pain, he abandons his wealth and ventures to the other side of the world , trying to lose himself and learn how to stop injustice with nothing at all. In a jail cell, a man named Ducard offers him a choice- keep wasting his life or push himself farther than he ever could and become a member of the League of Shadows. He gives his all in training but something is missing. Their leader, the mysterious Ras Al Ghul, commands Wayne to take a life to prove he is ready for there movement to put an end to Gotham’s decadence as to make the world a better place. After a epic battle that seemingly destroys the League, Bruce returns home to his last remaining family, his butler Alfred and a plan to use his skills and the technology from his family’s company to become the hero Gotham needs and the symbol criminals fear. Here is how Batman Begins…

Until Batman Begins, I never felt a superhero’s story could feel like a real story. There had been greats before like X- Men and Spider- man 2 and even Tim  Burton’s Batman was classic but none of them resonated with me like Begins. Christian Bale is perfect as all 3 aspects of the character in this movie. I loved how the movie is grounded but mythic by the philosophy of Batman and the foes he faces. The supporting characters are damn great and are very well written. The movie’s writing, score and cinematography are stunning and the story and pacing flow wonderfully. I have little grips here and there like I think Scarecrow could have had more threat to him and more could have been done with the fear images. Many argue how great the movie was, many more say the sequel was far superior but it will always hold a special place in my heart. May the gaming gods bring you glory.