Creepy Cinema 2015: Grab Bag

It’s finally October and the beginning of my favorite season. If you’re a long time follower of Ganda-Ganda, then you know that it’s time for Creepy Cinema!

For those of you that don’t know about Creepy Cinema, it’s a wonderful tradition that began in the Cruz household in 2012. Markus loves watching scary movies and unfortunately, I do not. Anything slightly suspenseful freaks me out. Since he truly enjoys them, I decided to compromise and devote the entire month of October just for watching horror films.    

This year, due to unbearable work schedules, we’ve decided to reduce the amount of movies from 31 to 15. It’s sad for Markus but a little better for me. I wont be screaming in terror so much this year. We also decided on a theme, Grab Bag! We’ve chosen completely random movies that do not follow a specific topic. I’ll try and post my reviews once a week and in the meantime, check out Creepy Cinema from the past!

Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema | Week 2

In the second week of Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema, I watched two of my least favorite movies so far. It was a bit of an off week, but I expected it. Half of the movies, I've seen, and the other half were a hodgepodge of genres and eras. I'm more than happy to broaden my horizons and watch things I wouldn't normally watch. If there was one thing I learned from Creepy Cinema 2012, it was that films I didn't think I would like, I loved. These two films just ended up being ones that I would never watch again. 

1. A Christmas Story (1984)
The first time I watched A Christmas Story was 2010 with one of our best friends, who is from Cleveland, Ohio. He said that this was one of the best Christmas films and one that is very special. We decided to include this film on this year's list because I think people would've been appalled if we didn't.

This was one of the films that I feel deserves the hype. I think A Christmas Story is one of the quintessential Christmas films. I know that TBS plays it non-stop on Christmas day. It's something that has become synonymous with the holiday. I knew quite a bit about the plot before I watched it, but it didn't reduce any of my enjoyment. This is one of the better 80s Christmas movies, it's not my favorite, but it's still quite good. I think I liked it better the second time around. The first time, I wasn't as interested, but during this viewing, I paid more attention to the details and the story. I noticed that it had a similar feeling as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but A Christmas Story is much more likeable. Maybe because the main character is a child and you can excuse all of his shenanigans. It's much harder to forgive similar shenanigans in a grown man.

2. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
After we finished watching this movie, the only thing I said was, "well, that was weird." I don't even really know how to describe it. Markus and I decided to put it on the list because he had heard it was one of those peculiar cult classics, also because of its interesting title and premise. It's the only film of its kind on the list. I haven't seen very many B-movies and this was definitely a B-movie.

Basically, the plot focuses on the Martians and a problem that they face with their children. Martian kids have become distracted and uninterested in Martian life. They only care about watching Earth programs. The solution that the Martians receive from their 800 year old sage is that they need Santa. So naturally, the Martians come to Earth and kidnap Santa. You would assume from the title that Santa Claus comes in and kicks some Martian booty, but the exact opposite happens. He just sort of bumbles about cheerfully. He does no conquering or anything really special. It's such a strange film. I've never seen anything like it and would never watch it again. Although, I'm glad that we did, because how often do you get to see Santa on Mars?

3. Love Actually (2003)
Words cannot describe how much I adore this movie. Love Actually has to be one of the best ensemble films I've ever seen. There are so many amazing actors in this film: Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, I could really go on forever. I remember the first time I watched it in the theater. I was so affected by the stories and they resonated with me deeply. I love that not every story is a happy ending, which added a hint of realism.

Even though I've watched it many times, the stories never get old. I think that's the beauty of having multiple intertwining stories. They give you a little taste of one and then they move to another before you can get bored.  It's not hard to have a favorite storyline. I like almost all of them, but it's easy to have a least favorite. I always feel so bad for the woman with the troubled brother. Just when you think she's going to end up with the love of her life, fate deals her a bad hand and she misses her chance. Despite the not so happy ending in some of the stories, the film ends on a happy note. I love the message of the film, "love actually is all around." It's true. Sometimes we get caught up in our everyday lives and forget to notice what's going on around us. Love is such a beautiful thing and I'm thankful to be reminded of it.

4. Die Hard (1988) 
After watching Die Hard, I've learned something very important about myself. I do not like 80's guy movies. They're not my cup of tea and I don't enjoy them. It's strange because I love a lot of recent guy movies and I used to watch kung-fu flicks a lot when I was a kid. I think that my distaste is strictly specific to the 80s. This year alone, I watched Predator, Commando and Die Hard and I disliked every single one of those films.

Die Hard is definitely a guy movie. It's all guns, action and catchphrases. The premise is quite unbelievable, but are any of them believable? Bruce Willis isn't bad in this movie, I actually like him. I also loved that Alan Rickman was the villain. He's such a phenomenal actor and I like him in almost everything. What I didn't like was the length of the movie and some of the nonsensical plot points. For instance, why does John McClane have to run around barefoot the entire movie? Are you telling me that when he first heard the gun shots, he was physically unable put on some shoes? My golly. I know it's meant to show how B.A. he is, but I just think it's unnecessary. For me, the movie was just a lot of action and not much depth.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema

After the success of Creepy Cinema 2012, Markus and I decided that we wanted to do something similar for Christmas. We settled on 12 Christmas movies, because 31 days devoted to film is a bit much. We were scrambling all through October trying to watch all the movies and at times, I wasn't free to enjoy them as much. I think that 12 is a perfect number and will help us both get into the holiday spirit.

We tried to choose movies from all different time periods and genres. There are some beloved classics as well as quintessential Christmas movies. Despite the fame of many of these movies, I haven't seen them all and have only watched half of them. I'm so excited to begin the Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema and I hope you enjoy my reviews as well!

Credit:
Santa Claus graphic: The Graphics Fairy

Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 5

It's finally here, the final week of Creepy Cinema 2012. I never thought I would ever reach this day. I've learned a lot of new things after spending the month of October devoted to scary movies. I realized that anything scares me. It doesn't matter if it's just a cat running across the screen, a few scary notes or an actual monster, I'm frightened. Also, I learned that my actual scream is scarier than the films themselves. Markus told me many times that I get scared too easily, and when I yell, it scares him more than the actual movie.

1. Grabbers (2012)
This is meant to be a horror comedy in the same vain as Shaun of the Dead. I was sorely disappointed with Grabbers.  It was neither funny nor scary. There were a few funny lines and a few scary bits, but nothing too extraordinary. Once they showed us the creature, which was early on, it took away the mystery of the unknown. I think that's what's great about movies like Alien and The Thing. They both have this terrible monster, but they slowly reveal it to you, and they keep you in suspense which adds to the terror that you feel. When movies show the monster right away, you feel less invested and just want to get to the conclusion.

Grabbers is an Irish film and was produced by the Irish Film Board and I think that they had a huge part in the look of the film. There were so many sweeping shots of beautiful Irish landscapes, which was the best part of the movie by the way. Ireland is absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and the only feeling I had at the end of the film was an extreme desire to visit Ireland.

2. Let Me In (2010)
I'm so glad that we waited to watch this the last week of Creepy Cinema 2012. Let Me In is an innocent and moving film with a beautifully written story. It was such a well crafted story that really resonated with me. The main character, Owen, is a young boy, who is living each day as it comes. He's awkward, he's bullied and he's lonely. He's searching for someone to understand him, to accept him and this is something that everyone can relate to. 

There is a darkness to this story but it is peppered with sweetness and innocence. The two lead actors are so believable, and really made me feel for their characters. Chloe Moretz is such a great actress and she's so young. She really captured the emotion of a young girl that is caught between being a child but also a terrible monster. Even when she was doing terrible things, I still couldn't help but pity her. I felt as though it truly wasn't her fault for being what she was, and that she had no choice. This film really humanized the "monster," and made me feel nothing but empathy. 

3. Devil's Backbone (2001)
This is a Spanish film that was directed by Guillermo del Toro. Usually, I like his films, they aren't my favorites, but he they're always enjoyable. They always have a certain look to them. They're always chock full of fantastical creatures and curious oddities. Visually, his movies are always stunning and unlike anything out there.

Devil's Backbone didn't have the stunning visuals that I'm accustom to in a Guillermo del Toro film, but it still had that touch of the supernatural and creepy. It's set during the Spanish Civil War in a boy's orphanage. The orphanage is haunted by one of the previous orphans who passed away through unknown causes. The story itself is quite interesting and a bit of a mystery. It didn't take long to figure it all out and after about an hour, the movie drags. I think if the running time was cut by 30-45 minutes, this could've been an amazingly tight and touching film. Instead, it's a Spanish ghost story that runs on too long and gets a bit boring for my taste

Well, that completes Creepy Cinema 2012. I surprised myself because I genuinely enjoyed this month. I liked a lot of the movies we watched and found some new favorites. It was exciting to be able to see how my other half lives. Now, I understand why Markus enjoys these kinds of movies and I might be more open to watching more films like these apart from Creepy Cinema month. Although, currently I don't know how much more my nerves can take.  

Introduction, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Hotties of Creepy Cinema

Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 4

I really enjoyed this week of Creepy Cinema, almost every movie was a winner. There were a few duds, but the other movies were so good, I almost forgot about the bad ones. We watched some old favorites and saw two of the scariest movies I've seen thus far.

1. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
To be honest, I didn't remember much about this movie. I think as a kid, Audrey II freaked the crap out of me and I must have blocked a lot out. Who wants to remember a giant man eating plant with huge lips? I only remembered a few songs and a little bit of the plot. The main thing I remembered from this movie was when Audrey II repeatedly said, "Feed me Seymour". When we watched it this week, it was like watching it for the first time. There was so much that I missed as a kid and it was fantastic watching it as an adult. 

Rick Moranis is adorable as Seymour, and played him with such innocence. I forgot that he could sing and it was a pleasant surprise when he sang his songs.  Although, Steve Martin was not that great of a singer, it was nice seeing him play a character that was different from what he normally plays. I do remember that dentist song for some reason. Another great part of this film was the cameos, there were so many wonderful actors that popped in, Christopher Guest, John Candy, James Belushi and my favorite cameo, Bill Murray. His appearance in Little Shop of Horrors only added to my already existing love for this film.

2. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
This will always be one of my favorite movies. As I've said before, I was such a weird kid and I liked all sorts of odd things. I attribute a lot of this to my eldest brother who introduced me to comic books, fantasy books and magical stories when I was child. When I was younger, I used to watch this movie over and over again. There isn't much about it that I dislike. I love everything about it. Whenever I hear the score to Edward Scissorhands, it brings back that feeling of childhood wonder.

When I was about 7 yrs old, I was riding in the car with my brother, and we were going  to visit his friends. They lived about 45 minutes away from us so I fell asleep in the car. After a while, my brother shook me and told me to wake up. When I looked out the window, I couldn't believe my eyes.  There were all these tall bushes in different shapes in front of these pastel colored houses. I thought I had woken up in Wonderland. My face was pressed up to the car window and I was in awe of everything I saw. That's right my friends, my brother took me to the set of Edward Scissorhands. I think it was always meant to be, me and Edward. I guess it's our destiny. 

3. Tremors (1990) 
After we watched this movie, all I could think was, " that was really strange." Tremors is a typical 90s movie. It has an attractive male lead with something to prove. I was really surprised that Kevin Bacon was in this movie, although I shouldn't be, since he was the Nicholas Cage of the 80s and 90s. The story is pretty decent but nothing too spectacular. There are some really cheesy lines and lots of bad acting. I was surprised to see Reba McEntire in this film. I didn't know she was even acting in the 90s. A lot of things don't make sense, but that's how things usually go with these monster flicks. 

This is a typical "bottle movie." There are a group of people trapped and contained in a small area, trying to escape a horrible monster. Tremors wasn't a horror movie, but more of an action adventure. The creature designs were quite good, but I wished that it was a teensy bit more scary. I know it's strange for me to say this considering that I don't like scary things. I just thought it would be a bit more, and it didn't really deliver. The movie isn't From Beyond awful, but it isn't a movie that I would want to watch again. 

4. The Woman in Black (2012) 
Finally, a scary movie that I adore. This movie was really great and I can see why it was a sleeper hit this year. My favorite thing about this movie was the cinematography. I could screen cap every scene, every shot was stunning. They really capture the eeriness of England in the 18th century. This was the most beautiful and captivating movie we've seen so far. It made me want to go back to England, despite the fact that this movie was quite scary. 

Everything about this movie is subtle, there is never anything glaring or flashing, definitley no cheap shots. It's a slow build up to a grand climax, and that's more terrifying than things popping out at you. Watching and waiting for something horrible to happen is much worse because the anticipation eats away at me. The acting was quite good, which was  unexpected. It's really strange seeing Daniel Radcliffe play a father to a four year old, but he was quite good. I can see that he's really matured as an actor and it was good to see him in something other than Harry Potter. It was the epitome of the perfect scary movie, and one that I would watch over and over. 

5. Predator (1987)
Hands down the most testosterone filled movie we've watched so far. Predator is definitley a guy movie and not something that I would ever choose. Markus told me that when he was a kid he watched this movie dozens of times. So, I was intrigued.

Predator is not my kind of movie. It's the complete opposite of what I enjoy. I've never seen so many beefy guys in one movie, since The Expendables, which I found surprisingly similar to this film. Both films have a group of tough and rugged men on a mission where they weren't told all the facts. There is some kind of cover up or secret to their mission. Even though I'm not usually into this type of film, there were still some enjoyable aspects. I was quite impressed with the creature design of the Predator. He was hideous and creepy, always stalking the main characters and plotting their deaths. However towards the end, I started to feel the length of the movie and wished they would just get to the point. I'm not sure why I needed to see a shirtless montage of Schwarzenegger building crap. Predator was just okay for me, and one that I would rather not watch again.

6. The Thing (1982)
This movie was utterly terrifying. It was horrible and I freaked out for most of it.  As soon as the opening credits were finished, I remembered a vlog Markus did about The Thing. By the way, check out his vlog. It's a great video about his experience watching this movie as a child.  I quickly realized that Markus duped me into watching something really scary. I totally got Loki'd.

Watching The Thing was like watching your nightmares become reality. Everything that I dislike about scary movies was in this film: a dismal story, a horrifying creature and the terrible humanity of mortal men. I hate situations where you are helpless and no end or resolution in sight. Everything is completely hopeless in this movie and I can't handle it. I always like to know that there is some possibility of things ending nicely. When movies take this route, I know it's only a matter of time til the crap hits the fan and everyone is dead. I can't handle that kind of anticipation. The creature in this film has to be the freakiest and scariest thing I've ever seen. I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life. I can never look at a Husky the same way ever again. This film has definitely scarred me for life.

7. Ghostbusters (1984)
There are so many brilliant things about this movie. This was when movies were still original and not remakes. It made me long for the days when things were still entertaining and refreshing. I don't think there is a person out there that has seen Ghostbusters and said, "Yea, that movie sucked." It's an impossibility. This movie is absolutely and irrevocably brilliant! Watching it almost 20 years later, it's still holds up as a cinematic masterpiece. 

The cast is talented, the story is interesting, the soundtrack is awesome and it's quite entertaining. It's amazing how this movie has genuinely scary parts, but also snappy dialogue that make you laugh til you're crying. Not many movies can do this. The only other film that I can compare it to is Shaun of the Dead, which I also adore. It's great seeing Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd at the height of their careers. I think Murray has made some really great films in the past 10 years, but nothing can compare to Murray when he's being both funny and a jerk. I'm so used to seeing him play the sort of stoic father figures, and it was great seeing him act like a bit of a perv. I was so glad that we watched this after The Thing, because I needed some respite from films that scar you for life. 

Introduction, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 5, Hotties of Creepy Cinema