Sunday, April 07, 2013

Evil Dead [2013, remake] Review


I remember the first time I watch Evil Dead. It was in college at a friend's family house during Thanksgiving break. We also rented Reindeer Games. I mistook Ben Affleck for Keanu Reeves because the film was that terrible; but that is another story. I had already watched Army of Darkness and Evil Dead II in that order mind you. I liked horror films well enough. I was more interested in the origin of the antagonist when watching it. I knew it would be a low budgeted film. I was still impressed by the film; even with the paperback version of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Bruce Campbell is quite a gem for many pictures.

I miss Bruce Campbell for this film.

The Remake does a little twist to why four “young adults” are out at a creepy cabin in the middle of the woods. The sister Mia [Jane Levy] is a drug addict who wants to clean up her act. Her brother David [Shiloh Fernandez], his girlfriend Natalie, Eric and Olivia join her at the siblings' old family cabin out in the middle of the woods. You can easily call the cast by the roles they play: Sister, Brother, Girlfriend, Nerd, and Doctor. Technically Olivia is a RN, which is pointed out as plotty goodness and not fully addressed. Eric is pissed that David left and never visited them when he moved. This is fleshed out by the back story of Mia and David's mom getting ill explains that his disappearance and the reason why he wants back in Mia's life. Olivia plays the sympathetic part and total bastard through the movie. Eric is the nerd who is far too inquisitive for his own good with no background to why he was interested in the occult. Natalie plays the girlfriend, but more on that point later. That is all the background these character were given.

The Remake itself was decent. As a horror movie it held up on its own. It was a well contained story. I felt the pacing was tight and consistent. I did not notice very much CGI. There were many practical effects and were well done. The movie tires to break the mold of past horror films as a whole, but those moments were few and far between. Many times it was the same shtick, sprinkled with homages and lines from the series. It had the same trappings like any other horror film, which is fine. You should always keep some basics. However, there were some problems.

I neglect to mention there is a cold opening at the beginning. The film makers play up some quite important plot points that could easily indicate a reason that the cabin would be watched so nothing evil could take place again. Perhaps that'll be in the sequel; yes there is a sequel in the works. I was not expecting much for characters, but the set up felt rushed for the gore and horror. For example Natalie could have been a little more fleshed out. She had just one defining moment and it was quiet a doozy. It looked like her character was there just to fill space with out any significance. The other characters had their respective roles as I mentioned above, but she could have been an Ash or anything to be honest.

In conclusion, the writers gave out the lines of the past movie like it was candy to feed the Evil Dead fans with little or no consequence. The characters are squandered many times for the sake of pace. It played out like a typical horror film. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for something a little more unique. I do find that amusing to say about a remake, but originality can happen from time to time. The film ran for 90 minutes. If the movie was fleshed out for the characters; it would easily loose the pace of an Evil Dead film, something the film makers were aiming for. It looked great and sounded well. There were times when whispers of dialogue would pop into a scene. The first time I happened, I thought it was another moviegoer. The film would be worth a matinee price for a horror fan. An Evil Dead fan would have some misgivings for it. I would rate it middle of the road, 2 ½ out of 5.

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Friday, March 22, 2013

Exercise Days 12 to 16: Been the Week


I cannot remember why I didn't post at the begining of the week. I was more than likely play skyrim. It is what it is. Here's the log for the week:


Day 12
Still Alive | Portal
The Canada Song | Mystery Science THeater 3000 | Clowns in the Sky
Under Pressure | Queen | Classic Queen
Wonderful | Lily Allen | Nordstrom Fashion Lounge - Fall 2007
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / We Three Kings | Barenaked Ladies | Barenaked for the Holidays
Motteke! Sailor-fuku | Aya Hirano, Emiri Kato, Kaori Fukuhara, Aya Endo | "Lucky Star" Opening Theme: Motteke! Sailor-fuku
美闘士カーニバル ~たおれる時は前向きに~ cheio:full | Various Artists | 美しき闘士たち・スペシャルCD Vol. 1 [Bonus Disc]
Lament | Bernadette Peters | Into the Woods

31:00
3700 steps

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I had a late shift so I free stepped on the Wii while watching Bates Motel. I have watched all the orginial psycho movies. So it was really odd with the female classmates clamering around him as his first peer interaction. I just thought one thing. "It's not going to end well for those gals."

Day 13
30:00
2400 steps

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Just another running day. I actually was cleaning at work for the entire shift. I was a little hesitant at first but I'm committed.


Day 14
Tequila Sunrise | Eagles
I'm Flying | E-Type | Last Man Standing
すーぱー☆あふぇくしょん (OP size) | 栗林みな実, 橋本みゆき, 飛蘭, 美郷あき, yozuca*, rino | OVA カーニバルファンタズム ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 大音楽祭 [Disc 1]
Robots | Flight of the Conchords | Flight of the Conchords
次回予告 | 鷺巣詩郎 | NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
Will I See You Again | E-Type
Wheels | Cake | Pressure Chief
It's All About The Pentiums | Weird Al Yankovic | Running With Scissors
Act II Prologue | Tom Aldredge and Company | Into The Woods
美しき闘士たち ドラマCD vol. 6 | Various Artists | クイーンズブレイド 美しき闘士たち「奥義! 差添いの逢魔が旅」スペシャルCD


31:38
3820 steps


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Another late shift. I stepped while watching the latest episode to Psych.


Day 15

30:00
2244

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I increased my time to 40 minutes for today. I think I'll start having one day where I have one longer day. I wanted to build up my stamina first. I have been watching the first Mobile Suit Gundam movie while finishing up this entry. I have concluded Amuro is the reason why Shinji is such a little bitch. Well I can't completely blame Amuro at least he owns up quicker, movie-wise anyway.


Day 16


7 8 9 | Barenaked Ladies | Snacktime!
トライアングラー (fight on stage) | ランカ・リー=中島愛, シェリル・ノーム starring May'n | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 2]
Star of the County Down | Slainte
Mad World | Gary Jules | Donnie Darko
Do You Want To | Franz Ferdinand Do You Want To - Single
Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me | Weird Al Yankovic | Alpocalypse
「超時空飯店 娘々」CMソング (Ranka Version) | ランカ・リー=中島愛 | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 1]
Africa | Toto | The Essential Toto
Good Intent | Kimbra | Vows (Deluxe Version)
Another Tattoo | Weird Al Yankovic | Alpocalypse
Pinch Me | Barenaked Ladies | Maroon
Pretty Fly For A Rabbi | Weird Al Yankovic | Running With Scissors


41:52
5185 steps

It's been draining, but profitable.

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Sunday, March 17, 2013

Exercise Day 11: Ingjard Broke My Skyrim Game


As I sat here transcribing my playlist, I was playing Skyrim. Not the most productive method of writing I know. I am going to work in roughly 8 hours. I balance my time where I can. I have this follower, Ingjard. She's pretty awesome. Dawngaurd is still kinda buggy. Skyrim rarely froze before Dawngaurd, even after I installed Dragonborn and Hearthfire. This sadly freezes every other week. I can live with that. It just froze. This was due to Ingjard actions against a vampire's thrall. To be honest though I mainly mention this story for title fodder. I couldn't think of much. I was going to use a self-dephercating one or how I am marathoning the last season of LOST, disc by disc. Anyway, back to exercise. yay...

It's hard to keep motivated. I felt alot better today. I took a little more time, but I did did a little bit of jogging. hopefully I'll be able to keep it up. I jogged for the entire duration of The Imperial March.

Duration: 32:28
Distance: 3828 Steps


The Playlist:
Ode to a Superhero (Parody of "Piano Man" By Billy Joel) | Weird Al Yankovic | Poodle Hat
Any Moment; Moments In The Woods | Robert Westenberg, Joanna Gleason | Into the Woods
Hare Hare Yukai | Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuko Gobo | Hare Hare Yukai
Never There | Cake | Prolonging the Magic
The Imperial March (Darth Vader) | John Williams | Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Bring Me to Life | Evanesance
What 'bout my star? @Formo | ランカ・リー=中島愛, シェリル・ノーム starring May'n | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 1]
The Waffle Song | Mystery Science Theater3000 | Clowns In the Sky
Jingle Bells | Barenaked Ladies | Barenaked for the Holidays

Lets hope for motivation for tomorrow. Tuesday will be my harder day though. I have a midshift that day. Yuck.

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Friday, March 15, 2013

Exercise Day 10: I Hate Being Sick


I hate being sick. I started to get sick the next day last week [2013/03/08]. So I didn't feel so hot to exercise. I feel better today. So I went out to REI bought a new set of running gloves. I misplaced my Under Armor ones. It's somewhere in my dwelling. I am positive. My maroon winter beenie I lost awhile back is gone forever. And I didn't really "run" let alone even jog. I feel better, but not so much that I could jog without getting sicker.

I did a fast paced walk for
31 minutes at a grand total of 3600 steps.



The Random Playlist:

Carbon monoxide | Cake | Pressure Chief
Falling for the First Time | Barenaked Ladies | All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001
Lament | Bernadette Peters | Into the Woods
Carol of the Bells | Barenaked Ladies | Barenaked for the Hoildays
Fountain of Dreams | Hirokazu Ando | Super Smash Bros. Melee
Satan is My Motor | Cake | Prolonging the Magic
SMS小隊の歌 ~ あの娘はエイリアン | SMSのみなさん | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 1]
Lady Madonna | The Beatles | One
Mahoromatic | Mahoro DE Mambo | MahoRomatic Automatic Maiden Music Ver. 1
Hotel California | Eagles

Tomorrow should go well.
On a different note I'm going to try to dedicate an hour or two for reading. I bought about 18 books or so from the local library from their last drive. I'd like to make real headway with it.

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Thursday, March 07, 2013

Exercising Day 9: Walking, Mallrat Style


The run with my friend had fallen through due to him locking himself out of his car. We got to Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters right at the opening company logos. The movie was what I expected, deliciously awful. It could not decide what kind of setting it was, i.e. era and location. There were some convenient plot points for the movie. It gave enough material for a good riffing. It is worth watching with a friend who will riff with you and you rented it from a red box.

After that escapade, I ran a couple errands and was about to go home for some elliptical machine. It was roughly 8pm and the monsters are out; if you go by Bill Cosby's rules, so running was out of the question. I decided to walk the mall.
It was weird. I kind of see why you would want to do it in the morning. There would be less people and less distractions. It would also be daylight outside and a higher visibility so you would not get hit by a car.

The stats:
4184 steps, 39:20 minutes

The Playlist:
Elf's Lament | Barenaked Ladies & Michael Bublé | Barenaked for the Holidays
Sheep Go to Heaven | Cake | Prolonging the Magic
Breakfast at Tiffany's | Deep Blue Something | Home
Let Me Go | Cake | Prolonging the Magic
Hem of Your Garment | Cake | Prolonging the Magic
Don't Take Your Guns to Town | Johnny Cash | 16 Biggest Hits
If that Isn't Love | Weird Al Yankovic | Alpocalpse
Robots | Flight of the Conchords | Flight of the Conchords
Background Music III | 鷺巣詩郎 | Neon Genesis Evangelion OST III
The Legend of Wooly Swamp | Charlie Daniels Band
宇宙兄弟船 | 徳川喜一郎 | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 1]

Honourable Mentions: [started before and finished after the walk]
Sea Green, See Blue | Jaymay
Drivin' through the Night | m.o.v.e. | Burning Dance (And Other Japanimation Songs)

It felt like a good walk. I am going to run tomorrow.

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Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Exercise Day 8: Technology Makes Everything Better, Right?



I like my pedometer application. I do, really. I wished it would have worked better today.

With 16.5 minutes of activity recorded, I took 1968 steps. Dividing that for 119 steps a minute. (This stat makes me want to check my step settings. It feels too much in a minute). I calculated about 3816 steps for 32 minutes. I have my music on random. I do not skip. I also start fresh everyday, so a song can repeat. It was a good amount of Barenaked Ladies today.


Do I Creep You Out | Weird Al Yankovic | Straight Outta Lynwood
Deck the Stills | Barenaked Ladies | Barenaked for the Holidays
A Clown in the Sky | Mystery Science Theater 3000 | Clowns in the Sky
It's All Been Done | Barenaked Ladies | All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001
A Cruel Angel's Thesis [TV Size Version] | Yoko Takahashi | Neon Genesis Evangelion OST II
Red Fraction (TV Cut) | MELL [OP for Black Lagoon]
Asshole | Dennis Leary | Lock n' Load
Carol of the Bells | Barenaked Ladies | Barenaked for the Holidays
Lonely Teardrops | Jackie Wilson
Lovers In a Dangerous Time | Barenaked Ladies | All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001
End of the Movie | Cake | Pressure Chef
蒼のエーテル | ランカ・リー=中島愛 | マクロスF VOCAL COLLECTION 娘たま♀ [Disc 2]


Tomorrow I am planing on running with a friend tomorrow before we watch some Hansel and Gretel.

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Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Exercise Day 7: Haste Makes Waste


I wanted to play skyrim. Recently with my third character I had a giant camped outside of my house. I call him Phil. Here's a picture of my new security detail.




I made a second door so I won't provoke him. I'm on a roll with this character. I will exercise before playing though. It needs to be done. I want to make this a good habit I won't break.

I used the elliptical machine for 32 minutes today. I watched a Nostaglia Critic editorial "Does Romeo & Juilet suck?" [as a romance]. It was entertaining. I watched a video :review on Die Hard 5 from Brad Jones. I learned I should just stick to the classics. My legs feel a little week still, I might do some stepping later on the Wii.