The Life and Times of a Midwestern Movie Addict

Things are falling into place for tomorrow's dinner party, though I feel really lame having a party where there are only gonna be 5 guests including myself.  Oh well, it will be fun and will give everyone a chance to meet and greet.  At least, that's what I'm telling myself.  Anyway, I hope the buffet goes well and that everyone finds a game they like.  For now, lets talk about a really terrible movie.  I mean, this movie is bad...and I know bad.  I still like it of course, but mainly for its concept, set pieces, and cast.  Due to studio tampering and a certain lack of cohesive direction, the film turns out much less amusing than it should have been.  Still, its something that several people have seen at least once thanks to endless runs on television (lousy movies cost less to run on TV) and it has developed a sizable cult following due to its off-the-wall nature.  So lets take a weekend trip to Valkenvania and explore the cinematic oddness ...

I am so bad this summer...sitting around being lazy and doing nothing.  And I mean nothing.  I have no good reason to not write on this thing, but I just forget I have it after a long time and then my mom is calling and asking "You haven't written in your blog in forever!  Are you dead?"  And then I have to say, no I'm alive...I'm just lazy.  I think this laziness of mine is also the reason I keep getting steadily fatter.  Speaking of weight gain, I've got a dinner party planned for Friday.  A small affair, just a handful of close friends for a quiet evening at my place.  Sort of celebrating my return to Chillicothe.  I plan to write about how it goes, as I am doing something for it that I've never done before...and I can't recall if I've heard this idea before or if I really had a flash of inspiration.  Either way, it should be interesting.  But enough about that...lets talk about those horror films where a group of friends finds t...

I love summer storms.  They're violent and quick...rather like summer romances...and both can be exciting.  I just had a summer storm that got me all wet going to the mailbox and last week I ended a brief summer romance...both storms were exciting during and then a real let down by the end.  In the case of the rain, it got my feet and mail all wet...and in the case of the boy, it taught me that even the most 'with it' kind of person can be really nuts once the romance is over.  I won't go into too much detail on that.  Its not worth getting bent out of shape and besides, its way more fun to talk about movies than to date...does that sound like desperation?  Anyway, tonight's film is the perfect one to go with a summer storm and is considered a classic in the horror genre as well...if a decidedly grisly one.  It is the film that put a symbolic and bloody end to the hippie generation and ushered in a new era of mistrust, disillusionment, and violence....

In the early 90s, Universal had a slew of projects that were released to moderately good reviews but low box office success.  Later, when the films hit video, they would make a killing in rentals and tape sales (that was what we watched before DVD and Bluray to you younguns...we even had Laserdiscs) because the films were quality crowd-pleasers, well made and unfortunately victims of bad advertising (explaining why no one showed up when they were in the theaters).  This group of under-appreciated gems included such fan favorites as Sneakers and Heart and Souls , as well as 'the little monster movie that could'.  It has spawned 3 sequels and several imitators, itself an imitation of the monster movies from the 1950s, and has given the film world several memorable leading characters.  Lets examine where this franchise began and dig into Tremors . Perfection, Nevada is a small town in the middle of a desert valley and has a maximum population of 11 people.  It...

Well friends, its finally come to it...I'm moving out of my place for 5 weeks to go to Athens and take some courses.  It should be fun, and yes I'll be driving home often to check on my place so no need to worry about me and my things.  The folks who run the apartments are checking in on the place while I'm away as well, so everything should be right as rain.  While I'm away I'm hoping to find Athens well and populated with at least a few friends of mine so that I'm not bored.  Of course, I shouldn't wish for no boredom...as I will have to do work for class and I don't relish having a lot of homework.  I've got a lot to figure out while I'm there too, like what kind of program I'm going to complete to get my full Theater certification and where I'm gonna go to do it.  I also need to get to the amusement parks (but I'm filing that under 'frivolity').  I feel like I've been so busy this week, I don't feel like I did anyt...

Well the 80s party was a success. We watched a lot of fun movies, listened to music that made us dance, and made fun of just about everything that came on screen until we got too tired to make jokes.  Oh, and Nick had TWO slices of DQ cake...who knew?  I've still got three slices left, and one is calling my name already.  Oh, and I've got a bowlful of kettle chips left over too.  If there's one thing I always do, it's that I always buy too much food.  As for our marathon, we got through 4 movies between Saturday night and Sunday morning (as well as one episode of "Inspector Gadget") and I'm sure you're dying to know what we managed to get through.  Here we go! To start, we popped in one which was a favorite of us all and which brought back fond memories of our childhoods, Adventures in Babysitting .  Aside from being amazed that all of us seemed to see this for the first time while we were being babysat, we also remarked on how well made the film w...

Today is going to be a fun day.  Why you ask?  Because me and some friends are getting together this evening and having our Big 80s Slumber Party (if it sounds a little gay, that's because it is).  We're gonna eat junk food, listen to Madonna, and watch 80s movies all while decked out on sleeping bags in the middle of the floor.  I'm sure there will be some playing of classic games like Mall Madness as well.  Its not very grown-up, but then none of us were at that time.  I even got a DQ cake (cause I remember those being all the rage in town in the 80s....or maybe it was just at our house...it all runs together for me).  I dunno how some people would look at reverting to childhood for a night, but I think its healthy and fun...and way better than just getting wasted in a bar.  Of course, we'll probably be drinking too...so never mind that comparison.  So, since this is mainly a movie blog and I said we'd be watching 80s movies so I'm sure you...