Character of the Week: Alex DeLarge

This week's character of the week is the main character in one of my favorite films, Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. It is Alex DeLarge, who is played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell. He is a very interesting character because although he starts out as a villianous troublemaker and ends up a sort of pathetic victim. The film starts out with him and his three droogs beating up old men, attacking people in their homes, and committing many acts of ultraviolence. The second part of the movie is him trying to get out of prison, and eventually doing so by undergoing a new treatment that conditions him to feel sick around acts of violence, and when he hears Beethoven's 9th. You can see how, even though the treatment works and he is no longer able to commit acts of violence, that he still has not changed on the inside.



This is just a brilliant, amazing, sensational film that everyone should be required to watch in their lifetime. It is definitely Malcolm McDowell's best performance, and in my opinion, Kubrick's greatest film. I have never been able to read through the entire book, though. Even though it is quite short, I cannot understand a word because it is all like Russian slang, and I end up getting frustrated and giving up. I am planning to give it another go, however.

Song of the Week: 20 Dollar

Spotlight On: Guillermo del Toro

This week's spotlight is on one of my favorite directors, Guillermo del Toro. I have only seen five of his movies, but I loved all of them. All of his movies have such great visual style, and all have really beautiful elements to them. They are all really unique and interesting to watch, and just keep getting better and better with more views. Also, I really love listening to him talk. He has the best voice, and I love hearing him talk about film, whether they be his films or other films. Anyways, here are the films of his that I have seen and that everyone else should see too.

Cronos

Cronos has to be one of the most interesting vampire films I have ever seen. It is about a little bug-like device that turns this old man into a vampire. You see a lot of bugs and machinery in Guillermo del Toro's movies, and this is a perfect example of that. When I first saw this movie, I had no idea what it was about, so I was really surprised when it turned out to be a vampire story. I think that that is what makes the story so interesting. The vampire element is more subtle and not so in your face like most vampire films. This film makes me really curious to read Guillermo del Toro's vampire books. I have the first one in the series, but I haven't read it yet and look forward to reading it soon. If they are anything like this story, they should be amazing.


The Devil's Backbone

This is one of my favorite ghost stories. It takes place at an orphanage in Spain, and is both chilling and quite beautiful at the same time. I love the look of the little ghost boy and how, since he drowned, he looks like he is in water the whole time, with blood flowing upward from his body. I've always been a huge fan of ghost stories, and i think that this is one of the best ones that I have seen.




Here is a video from Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments...there a cool part about The Wolfman, which is another of my favorite films, but at around 10:45 in the video they talk about The Devil's Backbone.



Hellboy

 I remember when I first saw the trailer for this movie I just went "WOW!" I wasn't  familiar with the Hellboy comics, so I had never heard of this character before, but the combination of the awesome visuals and John Hurt's great voice in the trailer just made me instantly want to see it. I believe that this was the first Guillermo del Toro movie I have ever seen and it is one of my favorite superhero movies.



Pan's Labyrinth

Being more of a sci fi girl, I have never been a huge fan of fantasy films. But when it is a Guillermo del Toro fantasy film, like Pan's Labyrinth or the Hellboy series, you know that it isn't cheesy or rediculous, but is beautiful and awe-inspiring. The first time I saw this movie I was just amazed by everything I was seeing. It combines this rather violent war-time storyline with this fantastical fairy tale story line and it is just an amazing film. My favorite part is probably the part with the Pale Man.



Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Most superhero sequels are pretty shitty, or at least not nearly as good as the originals, but for Hellboy II, this is not the cast at all. I love this film! I dare say that it is even slightly better than the original. My only complaint is that John Hurt died in the first one, so he is only in this one for the very beginning. This films has a great storyline, and fucking amazing creatures. Every single creature in this movie is cool as hell!



Also, I'm a big fan of Family Guy, so I was really happy when I found out that Seth McFarlane does the voice of Johann Krauss.



Future Projects: Okay, so stupid dumb ass Universal dropped out of financing his film At the Mountains of Madness because he wanted to make it an R-rated film. Hopefully, he'll find someone else to finance it, because it has been way too long since del Toro has had a movie come out. I mean, Hellboy 2 was three years ago!!! Anyways, he is also supposed to be directing a new adaptation of Frankenstein, with Doug Jones playing the creature. I have know idea when that is supposed to be coming out, or if it is even being made anymore, but this is a film that I would really love to see get made. So PLEASE Mr. del Toro, pick a project and start already!!!!

And just because I love listening to him speak, here is a really cool video I found of him listing his favorite ghost stories...

Iconic Horror Scene: Psycho (1960)

This scene comes from my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film, and one of my favorite films in general. It is quite an unnerving scene because, for starters, it is killing off the woman who has been the main focus throughout the film. Usually in horror films, the main character is fine throughout the whole film and ends up being the only survivor. With this film, however, it is throwing you for a loop by letting you get to know this character and then suddenly taking her away.
The scene starts out perfectly normal with Marion Crane taking a show. After a while, though, you see a dark figure on the otherside of the shower curtain. This adds a bit of dramatic irony, because you know something is about to happen even though the main character does not.

Then, of course, comes one of the most famous moments in horror film history, with the figure pulling back the curtain while Psycho's famous score shrieks along with him. Then, there is the infamous close-up shot of Janet Leigh's scream.

The stabbing sequence is far from graphic, but the combination of the editing, the score, and the camera angles make it seem like we are seeing much more than we actually are.

One thing that makes this scene frightening is that it plays on how vulnerable we are in the shower. In the shower we are completely naked, standing on a slippery surface, and basically backed into a corner with nowhere to run. You see a lot of movies that use this including  Cabin Fever and The Grudge.



Cabin Fever



The Grudge

Even though this is the scene that is most commonly associated with this film, there are tons of great scenes. In my opinion, Psycho is one of the greatest films ever made and is one that everyone should see.

*Little factoid: I just realized that the two scenes I picked so far for my Iconic Horror Scene column are from films inspired by Ed Gein, a serial killer from Wisconsin, which is the state where I grew up. So.....go Wisconsin?

R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor

Some more sad news....yesterday Elizabeth Taylor died at the age of 79. She was one of the great screen legends of the 50s and 60s and I'm sad to see her go. My favorite role of hers has to be in the 1963 film Cleopatra when she played the famous Egyptian queen. That film showcased her great beauty along with her acting talents.

Character of the Week: Sue Sylvester

Glee is not a show that I watch regularly. I've seen probably the last third of the first season and three or four of the episodes of the second season, but whenever I do watch, Jane Lynch's performance as Sue Sylvester never ceases to make me laugh. She has some of the best insults ever, most of which are aimed at the Glee Club teacher.



The last one in the video is probably my favorite. Jane Lynch is funny in whatever she is in, like Best in Show or The 40 Year Old Virgin, but the role of Sue Sylvester is perfect for her.

Song of the Week: Sex On Fire