Pupdate – 2/21/17

Grimmsy Grimmling IV coming soon!

And after that, new Grimmsys will be ALL NEW! Like, you won’t be able to read them before they actually get made into comics! THINK of it!

In other news:

Semper Puppy Radio is doing…ok. Link to listen is at dapuppy.com

Check out the other two links at dapuppy.com – puppies n’ kitties are awesome!

I’m trying to think of something else but nothing happens!

They Look Like People (2015)

Positives: Well-directed, interesting premise, solid acting.

Negatives: Moves too slowly, not creepy enough, not “believable” enough.

It’s about a man slowly going insane, his friend, and how it affects them both.

It gets more creepy and interesting as it goes along…slowly…at first.

Then, it plateaus with everything pretty much “laid out” for you. And it stays there. Until the end. Which is disappointing.

Too clinical, too step-by-step analytical, and not enough SCARY AS HELL.

Think Jack Nicholson from ‘The Shining’. The typing scene. That…is scary. REALLY creepy, convincing GOING CRAZY.

TAP…TAPTAP…TAPTAPTAP…TAPTAP…

This is not. It’s like it was made from the viewpoint of someone who had read a dozen books on severe mental illness, but never actually experienced anything close to it themselves.

Despite all that, its intent, the acting, the direction, the quality of it…make it interesting.

But don’t expect to be scared. Just…intrigued.

Cute moment: GHOST WARS

Grade: C-

My Boyfriend’s Back (1993)

Zomromcom about a boy who loves a girl so much that he comes back from the dead to fulfill his dream of taking her to the prom.

It’s totally deadpan: there’s no “horror”, because the tone just never allows for that.

It’s more like a typical high school “loser slowly wins over the most popular girl from the dumb jock with his sincerity” movie, except that the plot twists impacting the relationship (the focus of the film) are due to things like body parts falling off and a growing appetite for human flesh. You know, no big whoop.

The lead is very even-keeled despite his zombiehood, and doesn’t understand when other people are mildly confused by his return (that’s about as strong a reaction as he gets at first…maybe that’s a joke on how noone really paid attention to him when he was alive anyway).

His parents are blissfully ignorant of the fact that he’s come back from the dead in a “oh, hi, welcome back” everything-is-fine 50’s ‘Date With The Family’ sort of way. His mother stays just as pleasant as she adapts to his new appetite; like the rest of the movie, it’s amusing/interesting at first, but eventually runs out of ideas and “surprises” and becomes mostly just silly.

It does stay at least mildly interesting until right near the end, though, so it’s worth a watch. The ending is rather weak, but tolerable.

Inspirational Quote: “I was at the mortuary; they’re practically *giving* them away.”

Grade: C

Shivers (1975)

The scariest thing about this movie is that, in researching it a bit, I found out that one of the things at the top of David Cronenberg’s wish list was/(is?) to work with Burt Reynolds. And NOT in a mockumentary.

The overall idea is interesting and the movie is disturbing – like most of Cronenberg’s work, I think – but despite some inherently disturbing scenes it’s decidedly un-scary; it seems like the idea was conceived well enough and then just written very poorly.

The doctor’s brief escape from the perilous pool scene reminded me a bit of Galahad’s just-in-time rescue from the Castle Anthrax.

Suggested dialogue upgrade (this did come out at around the same time, so it could have been L.F. Dibleyed):

(Doctor) *internal dialogue* “At this time I felt I was in great peril; however, something inside me insisted that I go back, and face the peril, even if perhaps it would be too perilous.”

OMG what a horrific, terrifying ending…(besides the rotten sax solo, I mean): Not since Ed Wood’s classic ‘The Violent Years’ couple-in-a-car scene has the male population of the world felt so incredibly threatened as by the second car leaving the garage.

In other news, this shows that you CAN, in fact, improve as a writer/director/filmmaker. Because, unlike some of Cronenberg’s later works, this sucks big-time.

Generous grade provided by the idea itself and a few halfway-decent scenes. And so as not to offend my Canadian readers.

Grade: D-

The Invasion (2007)

So let me get this straight…

An alien organism possessing (supposed) intelligence, that spreads and “infects” a THOUSAND times easier (even ACCIDENTALLY) than, I don’t know, let’s say…human-sized seed pods that take hours to function after being smuggled into your basement…and the ONE group they fail to target/infect is by easy definition one of – if not – THE most dangerous threat(s) to their assimilation aspirations?

I was gonna give it a D- for competence, a few mildly interesting scenes, and a nice little car-smothering chase. But when it didn’t go for the obvious, cliche (but competent and believable) ending, and instead chose the WTF, dumba$$, there’s no fcken way that would happen one, it lost even that.

There is nothing here that is not either:
– Totally predictable, OR
– Totally annoying in crushing any (almost-guaranteed superior) ideas you might have for it.

Try either of the ‘Body Snatchers’ movies (original or 70’s remake), ‘The Puppet Masters’ (borderline, but still), or anything else but this if you want the genre.

Great missed casting opportunities as extras: Keanu Reeves, Christian Bale, Nic Cage.

Inspirational Quote: “Yeah, we’re here. You wouldn’t believe this place, man; so much Nobel gold here you’d think you’re in Fort Knox…”

Grade: F

Deep Puppy Thoughts (Part 186)

If you’re ever in a conflict with another (verbal, mental, physical, checkers…) and it becomes incredibly obvious that you’ve essentially won, but they simply refuse to concede defeat, just look at them and say with mild annoyance: “Look, you stupid b@stard, you’ve got no arms left!”

Saves a lot of time and hey, they ain’t worth it.

I think this could become the next great catchphrase in the Trump era.

*SATIRE…SATIRE…SATIRE*

FAIR USE: CRITICISM – The clip is intended to portray a conflict of words and also someone betrayed by their arrogance. It does both well.

The Rezort (2016)

A mildly interesting opening take on the old (zombie) idea.

Unfortunately, all the slick direction and loud noises can’t mask the fact that the acting is either over- or mediocre.

The characters are mostly undefined, and the movie seems to say “oh, fck it” after a brief attempt at inspiration, content to devolve into the usual.

It picks up a little near the end, with a couple of interesting moments; but it’s still strictly for the zombie-movie-obsessed, and only if you must.

Grade: D-

Science Fiction And Science Fax

To clarify, I do *not* oppose science.

I do not oppose science facts; and I wholeheartedly denounce “alternative” facts.

The point I have tried to make, via much more intelligent sources such as Paul Feyerabend and George Orwell, is that you should always think for yourself.

That doesn’t mean make up your own facts.

It means do careful research, gather input from all sources, analyze all the data available, and make a realistic, informed decision; taking into account facts and opinions, and ignoring outright lies and propaganda.

The ultimate enemy is propaganda, in ANY form. You can’t use propaganda to defeat propaganda; that’s called hypocrisy.

With an open mind and an open heart, always seek out the truth in your self and in the world. This is how to respond to “alternative facts”.

And, when you know something is propagandic BS, the very worst thing you can do is to ignore/accept it.

If you can’t oppose it, you can at the very least mock it.

You know…ridicule it. In public, yet.

Well whaddya know, Dick Dawk’s advice finally proves useful. For SOMETHING.

*SATIRE…SATIRE…SATIRE*

Suggested Reading: ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Yes, I read it…I even *reviewed* it!

Good Quote, Great Cover

“My daughter’s just discovering Nirvana…and…she…she’s realizing the energy; that energy that she feels when she listens to it…it’s not something that she’s heard from her generation. She hasn’t heard that. She told me; because I said ‘Ok, so nothing you’ve heard reminds you- “Uh, there’s nothing like that. Nothing is exactly like that.”‘ – Tori Amos

The Inauguration

To open: I think Trump is a scumbag and I in no way support him. HOWEVER…

“Protesters who assembled in the area — some throwing rocks and bricks at the police — had smashed car windows…Earlier in the day, protesters destroyed the glass front of a Bank of America and a Starbucks in the area; images captured some people holding hammers…”

So, to protest the election of a hateful candidate, you engage in violent, hateful, destructive activities? Yeah, that makes sense.

Also, you are aware – I hope – that being a police officer does not make you inherently a Trump supporter (amazing I’d have to say that, but see below), and that police officers preventing people from smashing windows has nothing to do with Trump. It’s called “their job”. You know…keeping the peace? Something you (I would assume) supposedly support?

Point of note: Just because you think Trump wants to set up a fascist “police-state” does not mean that ALL police officers are – on election day – SUDDENLY fascist opponents of freedom and ardent Trump supporters.

I mean, what are you, ignorant? Read a fcken book or something.

““Police officers,” a woman in the crowd grumbled, “are Trump supporters.””

What are you, a moron? Your actions and your rhetoric are just as ignorant and hateful as the rhetoric you’re SUPPOSEDLY protesting.

It’s called a PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER. Respect it, you dumb fcks.

You wanna protest? Fine, protest. But do it peacefully. You know, like civilized, not-hateful, non-ignorant people. Like the people you supposedly are, not like the people you supposedly oppose.

“They chanted — “We are a peaceful protest!” — but by late morning, several shop windows in downtown Washington had been shattered…”

Ummmm…yeah.

By the way, you wanna know why Trump won? I mean, besides racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, etc…

But seriously, ONE small part of why he won is this: A lot of people that are NOT racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic a$$holes were just tired of the upward-trending snarky elitism from certain groups…

So way to go, antitheists. You’ve helped elect Donald Trump.

I think Dick Dawk’s “Mock them. Ridicule them in public.” method didn’t work QUITE as well as he’d (and they’d) hoped.

Deep Puppy Thoughts (Part 181)

So, now football AND basketball fans are all incredibly stupid?

Chevy Silverado ad:

“blah blah”

“Oh, did I say there was *one* Silverado? There’s *five*”

*Silverados appear…people murmur, sort of like…”ok…”*

And that’s it.

Nothing about the Silverado.

Oh, did I say there was *one* piece of lint in my pocket? There’s *five*.

So fcken what you d@mn moron???

Cabin Fever (2016)

After ‘Shaquille O’Neal: Comedy’, you might want something to make you laugh.

So there’s this. It’s a zombie/undead/infected/etc movie (remake).

It’s so over-the-top you might laugh at it. But more likely you’ll just stop watching it.

Or, if you keep watching it, more likely you’ll just be testing your endurance of how shockingly, free-stylingly-because-some-of-it-could-NOT-have-been-writtenly bad it will get.

Grade: F-