Review: "Insidious"

I tried not to read too many good things about Insidious because everything I was reading about it, was good. I've already talked about how much I like this film's team and I will talk about them again tonight, but not just yet.

Insidious starts out by introducing us to the Lamberts: Josh (Patrick Wilson), Renai (Rose Byrne) and their children; Dalton, Foster and a baby girl (with no IMDb credit). They've just moved into a lovely Arts and Crafts-style house, perfect for a growing family. Almost immediately, weird things start to happen and soon Dalton (Ty Simpkins) has a fall and a scare while exploring the attic, resulting in what appears to be a medically inexplicable coma of some kind. 

When they finally bring the boy home from the hospital, the weirdness gets weirder and creepier and just too much for Renai and she begs Josh to move them away from what she is convinced is a haunted house. And they do. And they soon find out... well, let's just say it wasn't the house that was the problem.

Leigh Whannell's taut script heavily references Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist in both structure and themes, while injecting elements of both Saw's Steam Punk aesthetics and Dead Silence's creepy old lady imagery. There's nothing truly new about the plot itself, but director James Wan is at his best when working with a script by Whannell. Together, they manage to inject new life into some classic genre tropes, producing a tense and shock-filled thriller that delivers on all sorts of levels, without a drop of blood or a profanity worse than 'bitch.' Wilson and Byrne are both very good here, putting their own spins on characters we've seen before, even handling Whannell's deliberately cliched dialog (at least I hope it was deliberately) with the appropriate seriousness to make us want to believe in what's happening. Hershey is Josh's mother and does well with a role only slightly bigger than in Black Swan. Character actor Lin Shaye is the Dr. Lesh/Tangina combination character, assisted by her own nerdy psi-techs Specs (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), neither of whom pull apart their own faces, but both of whom experience some pretty terrifying things. And Insidious does take us somewhere Poltergeist didn't, doing so quite admirably and very scarily... 

It is great to see both Wan and Whannell grow as artists. Whannell's script is cleverly derivative, building on the best ghost/demon/possession movies that have come before and still providing a twist that I only half figured out. Wan's eye for detail has never been better and he lets the camera move about like a voyeur at times, peeking around corners and passing images that may or may not mean something. And when Wan finally does let us see, what we see doesn't disappoint in the least. While Saw may have been a genre ground breaker for the duo, Insidious is a return to honest horror. You know what I'm talking about. The kind of horror where your imagination starts kicking in and what you can't see or almost see is just as scary as what you do see. Unlike the abysmal  Paranormal Activity (whose director, Oren Pelli serves as producer, here), Insidious doesn't waste time getting down to the good stuff and then  it keeps the good stuff coming right up to the end. Joseph Bishara's score may be a bit overzealous (not to mention deliberately LOUD at times) but that's a quibble, more than anything.

Wan and Whannell have once again impressed this jaded old Horror junkie with a rare thing, a truly excellent Horror movie. **** (Four out of Four Stars). If you're genre fan, do yourself a favor and see Insidious.

More, anon.
Prospero

Nerdgasm: Superma'am, Batma'am, Elvira and The Hulk Walk Into a Bar

It's Fan Convention season and it kicks off with ComiCon's younger, gayer brother, the Bay Area's WonderCon. If you've ever spent time in the San Francisco area (or probably even if you haven't), you know it's the kind of place where folks let their their freak flags fly high and proud. Now imagine those folks are also comic book, anime and movie fans. I know I've talked about the one Fan-vention I attended in NYC with my sister in the 80's. Such events were still in their fledgling stages back then, basing their formats on the Star Trek conventions that really started the whole thing in the 1970's. This was specifically a Horror convention and while we both really enjoyed ourselves (honestly one of the best days I ever spent with my sister -- and believe me when I tell you that she and I have had many awesome days together), we made sure we stayed close to one another at all times, because there were some damned scary people in that crowd.

Such events have evolved into Events over the years and while there are always a few really scary folks, most fans are just there to have a good time. And there ain't nothin' wrong with that. Here (via) are some very amusing crowd shots from WonderCon 2011, which closed yesterday:

I think I like the gender-bending Supergals just slightly less than the half-naked Superguys (of which there weren't nearly enough for Uncle P's liking...). Still, it looked like everyone was having a good time and that's what really important when you spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to look like a fictional character for three days... I really want to go to one of these, again. I just hope I'd be able to leave my snark at home.

My review of Insidious, next.

More, anon.

Prospero

Schadenfreude, O Schadenfreude!

Our endlessly ha-hahing buddy Nelson Muntz there knows what I'm talking about. In fact Nelson, in many ways, is probably a schadenfreude vampire of some kind. I know I'm a bit of a schadenfreude junkie, myself. But  I only  get off on the pain of the pompous, the pious, the rich and the powerful, especially when it means exposing hypocrisy and the often ugly truth.

My favorites are the religious folk caught up in gay sex scandals. After that, it's loud-mouthed, privileged asshats being taken down by a crowd of fans who suddenly came to their senses and realized what an idiot crackhead said asshat really is. That was a bit specific, wasn't it? And I suppose I must make an exception to my self-declared moratorium on this particularly over-paid, idiotic celebrity and ask that you share in the Schadenfreude Fest that is this colossally rewarding Charlie Sheen Fail:

I think this may well be the dose of reality the poor fellow needs before he realizes he is committing career suicide.Or will Charlie "Tiger's Blood" Sheen never learn not to sh*t where he eats? Sheen grew up wanting for nothing, and now expects more. Personally, I have no idea why his show was #1. It stopped being funny after the second season and started to rely on vulgar double and triple entendres; puberty jokes; pot jokes and the exploitation of women. I've never been a huge fan of Chuck Lorre shows, and this one ranks as one of his most exploitative and offensive. Given Sheen's history of 'bad boy' antics, is it any wonder he would eventually fall hard? I just hope he's now fallen hard enough to seek professional help.

More, anon.

Prospero

Okay - Moratorium back in place. 

TV Review: "Grey's Anatomy"

It's been a long time since I've watched the ABC hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy." I liked a lot, at first. It was funny and fast-paced and often gruesome. I gave up on the show during the whole "Izzie and brain tumor-induced Ghost Denny" debacle. I've caught occasional episodes since then, but have rarely watched with the regularity of the first three seasons or so...

But this week's "Grey's Anatomy" was a special musical episode, revolving around the vocal talents of it's Tony Award-winning (for Spamalot) star Sara Ramirez, who plays Calliope "Callie" Torres. Callie and her partner Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) are leaving Callie's baby shower. Arizona (Really? That's her name?) has just proposed to Callie, but before Callie can answer, they rear-end a stopped truck and pregnant Callie is thrown through the windshield. Classic soap-opera stuff. But in 'Song Beneath the Song,' Callie, slipping in and out of consciousness, spends the episode hallucinating that she is not only watching from outside her body, but commenting in song on what's happening. And it seems she's also imagining her friends and colleagues bursting into song as they frantically try to save her life. Uncle P is a huge fan of the caliente Ramirez and her amazing voice and I made sure to record the episode just to hear her sing. And after having finally watched the show as my soup was simmering this afternoon, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that Ramirez was not the only talented singer among the cast. And I will get to the others in a bit.

The episode started strong, with Ramirez singing from outside her body, watching as she was brought in Seattle Grace's ER. At one point, the mostly incoherent 'real' Callie actually said the word "music?" as though wondering why people were singing to her. I could have done with less shouted ER jargon and more singing over powerful images, but the opening sequence was still damned powerful and the first of several to bring a tear to jaded Uncle P's eyes. I was also impressed with vocals by by Chandra Wilson (Avenue Q; Caroline, or Change) and Kevin McKidd (Dog Soldiers). But the episode's surprise revelatory performance came from Chyler Leigh whose rendition of Faith Hill's Anna Nallick's "Breathe" was nothing less than stunning. I do hope that it was actually her singing without the benefit of digital enhancement. And while I actually like the Faith Hill Anna Nallick version of "Breathe," so I don't feel bad in saying I liked this version a whole lot more. The style and arrangement, combined with Leigh's powerful vocals, provided the emotionally charged makings of a chart-topping single.

Unfortunately, the conceit began to wear thin after that and the songs merely became superfluous reminders of how Shonda Rhimes sometimes tries a bit too hard in keeping her show relevant in it's 7th season. And just while I thought the show had jumped the shark several seasons ago, the buzz is that this is "Grey's..." best season in years. And why not push the show's envelope a bit and do a musical episode? Not all of what they tried worked, but much of it was effective. And all of the songs used had been used as part of the soundtrack of the series' first three seasons.

Here's an interview with Sara about the episode, in which she also praises Chyler Leigh's performance:

Honestly, I liked 'Song Beneath the Song' more than I thought I would and may very well start watching "Grey's..." again. ***1/2 (Three and a Half Stars).

More, anon.
Prospero

Cooking Fail/Win + The Gayest Thing You'll See This Week

So, tonight was another theme dinner with friends from college. We'll talk about my pretty massive fail after I talk about the first two fabulous wins. of the evening. We started with cheese-puffs and mini-Reuben pastries (Yum and yum-yum!). Then we moved on to my soup, which I was quite proud of, with the exception of my Super-Ball matzoh balls. I don't understand what went wrong. After consulting three experts, I did everything they told me. I followed the directions on the matzoh meal to the letter. Instead of light and fluffy like every matzoh ball I've ever had (and hadn't made), they were dense and chewy. I didn't have to remake them, so I just went. I warned everyone about them and advised them not to eat them and not to feel bad spitting them out should they in fact, eat one. Everyone took one out of politeness. I declined, saying "Don't say you weren't warned." The soup, everyone agreed was excellent. I do make a mean pot of chicken soup, if I say so myself - though for the first time ever, I cut everything up into spoon-sized pieces, which actually improved the soup because you got a bite of everything with every spoonful.

Then they dug into the matzoh balls, which they had to cut into with a knife. Everyone agreed that they looked and tasted right, but were decidedly dense. Truth be told, my friends are too nice - those matzoh balls were the wrongest matzoh balls, ever. Dale, the only Jew among us for our 'Jewish Food' dinner, joked that they were like Nibbler's poo... At least I know the soup was good. Next came a delicious and tender brisket; tsimmis; kugle and string beans in garlic. For desert: apricot; triple-berry and prune/raisin hammentaschen and black and white cookies. By the time we finished, we were all stuffed with yummy goodness. So despite the Great Matzoh Ball Fail of 2011, everything went well and we all fed each other way too much.

I have no idea what our next theme will be, but if it's going to be as good as the last few have been, I can't wait. 

I know I'm long overdue for a movie review, but D and I will be seeing Insidiouis one night in the coming week. But for now, just enjoy the Gayest Thing You'll See This Week (via); the hilarious anti-stereotyping video called "Gay Dude in Wrestling Singlet Talks About Barbra Streisand" (language NSFW):

More, anon.
Prospero

Okay - Which One of You Fooled the B*tch?

If you live in the Northeast today, these daffodils were a familiar sight to many of you. And you also know the "b*tch" in today's April Fools' Day post. It's Mother Nature, of course. And if you were around in the U.S. in the 1970's, you knew her from her string of commercials for Chiffon brand margarine. I don't know if Chiffon still exists of not. I haven't bought margarine since the 70's. Chiffon's motto/jingle was "If you think it's butter, but it's not, it's Chiffon!" My mother used to save the  plastic tubs after the oily goo was gone and re-purpose them as storage containers for left-overs. Green out of necessity? Tupperware was never cheap... You never knew what might be lurking in a Chiffon container in our fridge.

That's character actress Dena Deitrich as Mother Nature, Borden's face of Chiffon throughout the 70's, who somehow kept getting tricked into thinking Chiffon was butter. My Depression-child father grew up on margarine, which meant we did, too. It's repulsive sutff, really; waxy and tasteless -- in other words, nothing like butter whatsoever. Of  course, once I found out  that even flies won't eat the stuff, I never used it again.

Butter may be a little bad for you, but you know where it comes from and how (essentially) it is made. There was absolutely nothing natural about Chiffon (or any other margarine product) in the 70's. Made from hydrogenated oils, with artificial flavors, coloring and preservatives., they bore little resemblance to any real food, let alone butter. I cannot speak to today's versions, as I have not had them.

But that's not what this post is about. It's about Mother Nature run amok on April Fools' Day, snowing and raining then snowing more and then the sun came out and it rained with the sun out. It was a weird weather day, alright. Maybe the stupid bitch got fooled again. She's a stupid bitch.

There were some very funny things on the web, today. Ryan Seacrest had both his website and Twitter account hijacked by the Bronx Zoo Cobra. BoingBoing (among a few other sites) skewered the New York Times' by announcing a so-called "pay-wall" of their own.  Google, as usual, had some of the best ones. I really liked "Gmail Motion:"

And there was this one from last year, "Google Translate for Animals:"

I didn't get pranked today, but I heard this story about someone who was. An IT Technician sent a rather gullible person an email saying a new "voice activated feature" had been added to the copiers. For added measure, he printed up an official looking sign that read: "This copier has been upgraded and is now voice activated. The keypad for this copier has been deactivated. Please speak clearly; the copier will not respond if it cannot understand your request. Thank you. IT." Apparently the poor  thing stood at the copier saying "Print 10 copies" and "Print!" and "Print, please" and any variation she could think of, over-enunciating and getting very frustrated before another co-worker couldn't hold back and started laughing. I don't know what the woman's response to getting punked was. It seemed pretty harmlessly amusing to me. But then, I'm a jerk.

Any of you guys get punked; pranked; tricked; fooled; bamboozled; conned; played or otherwise abused today? Or did you punk; prank; trick; fool... etc., someone? Did you see or hear about an amazing punk; prank... yadda, yadda, yadda...? Your very own funny Uncle P wants you to share. Unburden yourself here. We won't judge... much.

Happy Weekend, especially to you folks who keep coming back to read the opinions of an aging gay pop culture geek. I have lots of cooking, eating and theatre coming up this weekend, so I'm off to do a few other things before bed tonight. A full report on tomorrow's dinner party, tomorrow night.

More, anon.

Prospero

Friday Weirdness, Nonsense 'n Hatin'

This is going to be the first of two rather hectic weekends for Uncle P. Why I am still up at this hour on a school night is beyond me. But I am an insomniac, so I may as well do something. 

This Saturday is another of my college friends' themed dinners. I know I've talked about them, but I'm much to lazy to look them up to link to it. We have a list of possible themes which in 20 or so years of doing this, we've only now begun to get to some of the more esoteric themes. I guess because of Passover, we finally chose Jewish Food as our theme. I am making my rather amazing (if I say so myself) chicken soup. I am also making matzoh balls for the first time, ever. I went to a friend at work and a friend of my mother's for advice. Both of them said cook the balls before you add them to the soup and "...don't make them like New York Deli softball matzoh balls that fill the whole damned bowl!" One advised "...meatball-sized" and the other "...egg-size - but decent eggs: not scrawny pullet eggs - don't skimp!" However, Bubbe Suzie passed on an additional secret that she guarantees will make "...the lightest, fluffiest, you can't even imagine how good these are, matzoh balls." I'm going to take Bubbe Suzie's advice and then let you know what it is, if it works.

I also wanted to address my first actual requested topic,* which will come apparent shortly. My dear, sweet friend Bill asked me to address a specific viral video which was also mentioned to me in the same context, by my mother. But since it will be Friday when I finish, and I'll probably be spending most of my Friday night cooking for Saturday, and we're already talking about viral videos, we'll start with the evil, evil Friday by Rebecca Black. I'm not going to embed it here, but have linked to it in case you've never seen it.  And don't yell me when you do see it. I didn't make the damnable thing! What I will embed are these two (of so many) very funny parodies of it:

Then there is this amazing version that proves even the smelliest of turds can be polished with a good dose of stylistic irony...

But Friday isn't the viral clip my friend Bill has asked me to address. And while I completely agree with him about this particular clip, I must preface it with other clips I can't enough of. I know I've said this before, but the one sound that will get me laughing without fail, is the sound of a baby laughing:

Adorable, yes? But there is one baby clip that makes me and my friend Bill almost hate babies. You know the one. It ran 670 times on television today, alone. And almost every single person I know has linked to it somewhere online. It's those evil, conniving twins. Yeah, you think it's cute for about 10 seconds, but 2 minutes of "DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT!? (giggle, giggle); DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT-DAT.." .ad nauseum is not really all that entertaining. But the version below is:

So, in a nutshell, YouTube is evil? No, not really. Just some of the people who use (and abuse) it.

*The only other request I've honored has been for a title. Do you have something you'd like me to address, comment upon, shred to pieces or otherwise make fun of ? Suggest either a topic or a title and I just may well use it.

More, anon.

Prospero