Now I know I'm not the first person to utter these words and won't be the last, he's kinda like Vincent Price meets Jim Carrey. My buddy and nemesis Matt agreed with this, but added that Bruce is also funny. I think this a tad harsh on Jim to be honest. ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, the first one, was hilarious at the time and I have a bit of a soft spot for ME, MYSELF, AND IRENE...... He was appalling as The Joker though, there's no arguing with that one.

I was first exposed to Bruce a few weeks back when David Nicklen (a work colleague) had me round to his to enjoy a double bill of his choosing which consisted of THE EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II. He was shocked that I'd never seen the films, especially as I'm a child of the "video nasty" generation.

The first picture impressed me as it had obviously been done with very little cash but excelled in being genuinely frightening (in parts) and achieving gory special effects that looked believable. I love when the ingenuity of the filmmaker almost becomes its own character. Part 2 very obviously had more money thrown at it but, although taking a more comedic angle, is still a great picture.

........... Last night I watched part 3: ARMY OF DARKNESS.

In this film Sam Raimi gives up on the original idea of trying to scare us and produces a comedy which, although has its roots in the horror genre, is closer to slapstick and, in the extreme, complete silliness. It shouldn't do, but it works.

The reason I say it shouldn't is that it deviates so severely from the first 2 pictures. There was definite hints to the direction it was going in the second film but this was (mostly, there were a couple of amusing scenes) due to a more extreme style of acting which gave the whole picture a "hammy" feel, hence the Vincent Price comparison. What’s strange (and nice) about AOD is that the acting is toned down a little and replaced with actual out and out comedy scenes.

The fight scene in the pit is well constructed, as is the large battle towards the end. You can really see Raimi pushing the scale of the picture which obviously put him in good stead for his superhero outings some years later. I'm also a huge fan of that low steadycam(?) shot that flies through the forrest in all 3 films. In this one there's trees splitting down their length and the camera goes between the split. Very nice indeed. The wide angle lens used up close is also applied to good effect in various scenes.

Bruce Campbell, or Forsyth?

There is a story holding all this madness together:

Ash, having been sucked into a time vortex at the end of part 2, finds himself in the year 1308. Luckily, his car, double barrelled shotgun and chainsaw arm attachment all made it through which prove handy as the picture progresses.

He immediately finds himself fingered as an ally of the enemy by a mob that pick him up and is, naturally, sentenced to be thrown into a pit where two grotesque members of the undead are waiting to shred him to a bloody mess as soon as he hits the bottom. Ash easily picks off these ugly beasts using his chainsaw, kindly thrown to him by an elder who thinks he's "the one" (mentioned in a prophesy) who falls from the sky and frees them from an evil that has befallen them......

All perfectly plausible so far.

Ash is then tasked with killing two birds with one stone, as the only way to break the "spell" (I can't think of a better word, sorry) AND get home is to embark on a quest to obtain and return with the ancient Necronomicon (book of the dead) which will banish the evil, and give instructions to get Ash back to good ol' 1981. It's like BACK TO THE FUTURE on Ketamine.

All doesn't go to plan.

There's no real need to see the first 2 films before seeing this one as it has nothing at all to do with any continuation of the story. It is great fun though and these movies, along with some other notables I've watched of late, are changing my mind on the horror genre, of which I've not, at any point in my life, had a lot of time for.

The chosen scene is the first part of the battle between Ash and co and the undead. It doesn't take a genius to spot the influence of Ray Harryhausen, it could be JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.

Incidentally, NBC Universal have taken exception to me uploading this clip which seems stupid as I'm using it to PROMOTE THEIR MATERIAL. As a result, our American viewers will be faced with a blank screen. Anyone else having problems can find the video by clicking this link:

Si algo hay que agradecerle, entre otras cosas, a Roger Corman es que a través de sus adaptaciones cinematográficas much@s han conocido la obra de Edgar Allan Poe. De la misma manera, los que ya admiraban al escritor norteamericano han recalado en el cine del primero atraídos por la estela de unos de los más geniales maestros del relato breve y, en concreto, del cuento de terror.

Roger Corman dirigió toda una serie de películas basadas en relatos de Poe que incluían “La caída de la casa Usher” (1960), “El péndulo de la muerte” (1961), “Historias de terror” (1961), “La obsesión” (1962), “El cuervo” (1963), “La máscara de la muerte roja” (1964) y “La tumba de Ligeia” (1965) a la que va dedicada la presente reseña.

El misterioso Vender Fell (Vincent Price) acaba de perder a su querida esposa Ligeia (Elizabeh Shepherd). A pesar de la oposición del sacerdote de la localidad ya que la mujer no está bautizada, Fell insiste en que sea enterrada en una abadía cercana. En plena cacería del zorro, la bella Rowena (papel también interpretado por Elizabeh Shepherd) descubre la tumba de Ligeia en donde se topa con un obsesionado Fell pertrechado con unas curiosas gafas oscuras. Ambos se sienten atraídos de inmediato, sobre todo Vender que observa cómo Rowena guarda un enorme parecido con la difunta. Tras desposarse, disfrutan de una feliz luna de miel que se trunca cuando vuelven a casa, puesto que Fell comienza a comportarse de una forma extraña y Rowena siente la poderosa presencia del recuerdo de Ligeia.

Rodada (como era habitual) con pocos recursos económicos, Corman echa mano de su imaginación y talento para llevar a cabo esta adaptación que, sin superar la maestría de “Historias de terror” o “La máscara de la muerte roja”, es un excelente ejemplo de las constantes que caracterizaron su cine de terror.

Y así, nos encontramos la recreación de un ambiente típicamente romántico (relativo al movimiento del Romanticismo del siglo XIX y entroncado con la novela gótica de la que Poe fue un claro seguidor) en el que destacan la noche, los claroscuros, las ruinas, la presencia perturbadora y fantasmagórica de algo indefinido, la palidez de los protagonistas (sobre todo las féminas), el tono decadente o la aparición del fuego redentor (muy “cormaniano”) que lo purifica todo y destruye la maldad.

La naturaleza externa viva y exultante, contrasta con lo tenebroso de la mansión de Fell cuyo aire enrarecido es palpable desde el otro lado de la pantalla. Rowena es el soplo de aire fresco que pretenderá regenerar a Fell, pero que deberá luchar (infructuosamente) contra la ponzoñosa presencia de Ligeia que, a través de ese terrorífico y arisco gato negro, seguirá imponiendo su dominio sobre Fell.

Encabezando el reparto encontramos al siempre magnífico Vincent Price, cuya sola presencia llena la pantalla eclipsando al resto de intérpretes. Lamentablemente el doblaje impide disfrutar de la voz cavernosa (y de las espeluznantes carcajadas) de Price que ya pudimos escuchar en el tema “Thriller” del inclasificable Michael Jackson. Recordado por su participación en películas de terror (su imponente aspecto físico y su rostro desasosegante eran su mejor baza), fue Tim Burton el que le rescató, a modo de homenaje, en “Eduardo Manostijeras” (1990): un hermosísimo canto de cisne para este actor inolvidable.

Una pequeña pieza de “bisutería” fílmica que nada tiene que envidiar a algunas supuestas “joyas” del terror que, con más recursos, no saben llegar de la misma manera al espectador.

Para ver la ficha de la película, pinchad aquí

Briony  

Michael Jackson is 50 today....WoW that doesnt sound right at all...

and all crazyness aside one of the best singer/song writers of all time ....

Thriller
Billy Jean
Startin' Something
Smooth Criminal
Man in the mirror
Do you remember the time
Black and white
Beat it
Bad
Rock with you
The Girl is mine
Scream (W/Janet)

It's truely amazing!

Personal top 5 songs

5)The Girl is mine (the dog gone girl is mine)

4) Smooth Criminal

3)Man in the mirror (in an attempt to be "hip" my catholic school played this at EVERY church service)

2)Thriller (any song with Vincent Price rapping is AWESOME)

1) Billy Jean (anybody that has seen me have too many drinks we.. Somethings are just AWESOMENESS)

I'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend. To celebrate my absence please enjoy this trailer for Confessions of an Opium Eater starring the sublime Vincent Price courtesy of the equally wonderful Trailers From Hell website. What's more you can choose to watch the trailer with or without a commentary from the fabulous Joe Dante!

CLICKY HERE!

I remember my sister, six years older, taking my younger brother and me to see The Sound of Music. It was winter in Calgary, or near enough that there was still snow on the ground. My sister in some vain act of teenagerhood, had worn inappropriate footwear and spent the first part of the film whimpering as her feet thawed. But in the self-centered way of children, I heard her but stayed riveted on the film. I recently had the opportunity to see this again on DVD with a friend. My friend Kit, a sound actress, and once a stage actress, did some of her first stage work as Liesel. She had very interesting other versions of songs, such as "I fell in a pile of goat poop," which I think is "The Lonely Goatherd." I can still sing "Do-Re-Mi" even if I'm not a singer.

Movie theaters in Calgary were still these grand affairs, seating 400 people, with large screens and the magnificent, usually red curtains that drew back in majesty. Popcorn was a must and matinees were noisy affairs. I still like the old theaters, of which there are a few in Vancouver, and not always but often, I'll buy popcorn for the nostalgia. Because I also worked in a movie theater and know that popcorn is cheap cheap cheap I find the exorbitant prices and the oily stuff they often put on instead of butter somewhat lessens the nostalgia for me.

Herby the Love Bug was yet another matinee movie and I remember the least about this film besides a VW bug, yellow I think, bopping about and rescuing people, or something.  For movies in my childhood, those three are it. We didn't see that many. But there were the drive-ins.

Ah yes, the drive-ins, a unique invention for those big four-child families. We would go in our jammies, with blankets and pillows and homemade popcorn and snacks. That was the good memories. Unfortunately the drive-in was usually prefaced by some huge monstrous screaming (sometimes throwing) fight between my mother and my father. She would bundle us up and off to the drive-in we'd go.

They had those monster teardrop shaped, metal speakers that had to be wedged into the window. If it was a colder time of year, you would roll the window up, and every once in a while turn the heat on to defog the windows and warm the car. Imagine all that exhaust in a vast parking lot with a movie screem.  

The only two movies I ever remember seeing at a drive-in were The Fall of the House of Usher and The House of Seven Gables. They're blended together in my memory and maybe both were at the same driven-in night. The late, wonderful Vincent Price starred in both. I remember bleeding walls and a tumbling house, which was probably Usher, since it was about a sentient house, based on the Edgar Allan Poe story. There was a bleeding locket and Vinny pickaxing his sister in the forehead, which was from Seven Gables, based loosely on a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Perhaps that's why I grew up with a penchant for weird and fantastical stories and read some of Poe and a lot of Ray Bradbury. My mother didn't seem to mind letting us see such graphically gruesome films. I think I was six at the time. Definitely the images has stuck with me ever since, but considering what was going on in my family, they really weren't that scary.

I should ask my brother some day if he ever had nightmares from those movies. I like those early memories from The Jungle Book to The House of Seven Gables, and yet both have strong images for me. I guess that's why my muse comes from different corners at times, and though I write lighter or even humorous pieces, I often have a dark aspect to my stories.

Starring the amazing Vincent Price as the super villainous but super inventive Dr Phibes, the films chart both his mission to avenge the death of his wife at the hands of, in the opinion of Phibes, bungling surgeons and his attempts to resurrect the woman by transporting her corpse to the valley of the kings in Egypt in order to sail down the river of eternal life.

These films are fantastic!

In normal Price fashion, and you'll know what I'm talking about here if you've see THEATRE OF BLOOD, his mission can only be accomplished by killing a whole bunch of people. Now, this isn't done using the boring as hell Freddie Krueger or Michael Myers method, no way! That wouldn't nearly as much fun as inventing a multitude of different ways to dispose of the people who have either wronged him, or are in some way obstructing his success.

THE ABOMNIBLE DR. PHIBES (1971) is the first in the duo and it is in this picture that we learn of Phibes obsessive, but rather touching, love for his wife, who's death is the sole motive for all his horrific wrong doing.

Of course, there is a huge element of style on show here. For instance, Phibes doesn't live in a run down cottage in the country, that just wouldn't do. He resides in a palatial house in upmarket London. Not bad for a guy who's supposed to be dead...... all is explained in the clip.

He also, bizarrely, has a clockwork band to entertain him and his beautiful (and painfully quiet) assistant, Vulnavia......

Frank Sidebottom anyone?

Vulnavia: The quiet, loyal type

The clip, in true ham horror fashion, explains the entire premise of the film. Check out our old friend Joseph Cotton as the head surgeon who finds himself at the top of Phibes's list. Also take note of the way Phibes communicates.... Pure genius.

The closing chapter of this terrible tale is commonly known as:

In this picture, as I mentioned earlier, Phibes travels to Egypt to plan the resurrection of his dead wife and along the way, kills a lot of people in an array of elaborate methods. This picture is funnier than the last, the body count is slightly less but it's a joy to eagerly anticipate the outrageously unlikely causes of death. One character gets trapped in a giant gold scorpion, then is stung to death by loads of real scorpions. Another guy has his face blasted off by a sandstorm..... that originates from the cigarette lighter of his jeep...... it's great stuff.

I highly recommend looking at both films together as a double bill. Shown below is an example of Phibes incredible ingenuity..... Where does someone find a wind machine in the middle of the Egyptian desert?

Here's a fun article from Slate about one man's experiences in cooking from Vincent Price's 1965 cookbook.

As a collector of cookbooks myself, I'm an observer of how you can gauge whatever the cuisine trends in American culture were at the time of a particular cookbook's popularity. Paul Collins' article captures how the date of Price's book embodies the mid-1960s prevalence of French cuisine as the "dominant" fancy-schmantzy gourmet style, along with a dose of Polynesiantown for adding some exotica.

From my own memories of what it meant to eat Chinese food, I don't think the authentic stuff and the Szechuan/Hunan made it into the American mix until the late '70s, and the copyrights on the cookbooks I've gathered bear that out. You can also see the development in sophistication in Italian cookbooks from the 1950s to now, in the variance of the regional cooking styles growing over the years, as well as the ingredients themselves.

Consequently, when I'm out on my book hunting safaris at yardsales, thrift stores and so forth, my rule is that I have to randomly find more than one recipe in a given book that I'd actually want to cook or I will not add the book to my ever-smothering stacks. And the ones that make the cut more often than most tend to be more recent cookbooks with a wider variety of material, as opposed to older books with recipes that may have been different in 1965 but are fairly run of the mill now. (Though if I ever came across Vincent Price's book, I'd grab it in a second, since.... it's Vincent Price, fer chrissakes!!!!)

You can even listen to him cook.... from BEYOND THE GRAVE!!!!

Coooooollll......

Muito mais que apenas um rostinho bonito, o Dr. Anton Phibes foi o badass muthafucka mais estaile do pedaço no início dos anos 70. Enquanto os heróis dos faroestes e dos filmes de kung fu se vingavam na base do tirambaço ou da porrada, Dr. Phibes era mais sutil, elegante até, inspirando-se na G’tach, as dez pragas que assolaram o Egito, no livro do Êxodo. Lembram? Gafanhotos, ratos, rãs, morte do primogênito, etc.

A mulher de Phibes, Victoria, morre durante um procedimento cirúrgico na Inglaterra. Phibes, um famoso organista, que nesse momento se encontra em turnê na Suiça, sofre um terrível acidente de carro ao tentar retornar ao seu país, e é dado como morto. Entretanto, mesmo com o rosto desfigurado e as cordas vocais destruídas, nosso herói sobrevive, e decide buscar vingança contra os nove membros da equipe médica que operaram Victoria. Essa é a base do roteiro de O Abominável Dr. Phibes: “nove a mataram, nove morrerão”.

Nove vítimas, dez pragas? Bom, Phibes era organista e teólogo, não matemático. Mesmo assim, não tentem bulir com o cabra, porque ele é safo: enquanto os outros tão indo com a mandioca ele já tá voltando com a farinha.

Mais um produto com a chancela da AIP, o estúdio do senhor Sam Arkoff, responsável por alguns dos filmes mais legais (e baratos) dos anos 60 e 70. O sucesso foi tanto que garantiu uma continuação, A Câmara de Horrores do Dr. Phibes. Cenários art deco pra lá de bagaceiros, seqüências sem nenhum  sentido e uma inesquecível interpretação over the top do protagonista... Assim é O Abominável Dr. Phibes.

Mas se vocês ainda não estão convencidos, aí vão algumas razões para se assistir a esse clássico camp:

O Dr. Phibes toca um órgão sinistrão e usa uma capa.

Quando toca seu órgão sinistrão, o Dr. Phibes é acompanhado pelos Clockwork Wizards, uma big band movida a corda.

Sua assistente, Vulnávia, é a mulher perfeita: bonita, elegante, muda e obediente como um cão.

Vincent Price é o protagonista.

THE BRIBE is a film I've long wanted to see, maybe partly because of those clips in DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID. Robert Z. Leonard's 1949 noir provides the footage of Charles Laughton, Vincent Price and bits of Ava Gardner, recycled into DEAD MEN's patchwork plot. The name "Carlotta", upon which the Steve Martin / Carl Reiner movie turns, also comes from THE BRIBE.

Ultimately, nostalgia for the spoof is much of the reason for watching Leonard's film -- it's a minor movie which rarely catches fire, despite an exotic, sultry setting and a lurid rogue's gallery of villains. Robert Taylor is too dull and earnest to seem in danger of corruption, even by Ava, and for added bore factor there's John Hodiak. At least the role of tortured drunk gives J.H. something to get his teeth into.

Apart from Gardner's singing and complaining about the heat (Ava Gardner complaining about the heat is a strangely erotic spectacle), the main point of interest comes right before the climax, where Leonard suddenly pulls out all the stops and produces a whole bunch of weird tropes.

A tiny, sweltering hotel room. Taylor has Vincent Price at gunpoint, even firing off a warning shot to stop Vinnie leaving. Charles Laughton, his face a sweaty pudding, watches anxiously, eyes darting from one combatant to the other. Leonard films Price from a low angle, emphasising his authority and weirdly graceless bulk.

With lupine cunning, Price swipes the light switch to OFF, and the room goes black. Taylor fires, and price fires back, muzzle-flare piercing the gloom in angry strobes.

Leonard's camera (actually, cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg's) swishes anxiously around, scanning the velvet darkness for signs of life and danger. It doesn't seem to be tied to anybody's P.O.V.

Madly, Laughton's eyes are still darting about, the only things perceptible in the all-encompassing night. We realise that Laughton has been got up in black-face just for this moment, so that his eyes can hover in the dark like a cartoon's.

Taylor glides into piecemeal visibility, his body criss-crossed by countless unmotivated diagonal shadows.

Laughton's disembodied orbs float silently back into obscurity.

BANG! Fireworks erupt outside (it's the Fiesta di Carlotta), visible through the window by virtue of rear projection, but because the cameraman who shot them had to pan about a bit to keep the flashes framed correctly, the bursts of Greek Fire seem to swim madly around, as if the hotel had come loose from its foundations and started drifting to and fro, like Dorothy's house on the way to Oz (Friends of Dorothy / Friends of Carlotta?)

Price, a perfect profile in silhouette, takes aim: he sees Taylor illuminated by the pyrotechnics. His shot shatters the dresser mirror -- it was only Taylor's reflection he saw. Having thus compressed the entire climax of Welles' LADY FROM SHANGHAI into one shot, Leonard relaxes slightly for the chase and fight climax, which is nevertheless photographically rather impressive:

Trezentos: Conselho Editorial do blog, uma consulta antes de publicar qualquer coisa. 
Vocês acham que um artigo sobre Jesus Cristo superstar foge muito da proposta do blog? Abraço.
SempreAlerta: Hum...
Acho que não. Por quê?
Trezentos: Porque tive a idéia de um. Queria saber se escrevo ou não. Senão faço alguma outra coisa.
EVE: Mas o Alerta não é GERAL?!
Trezentos: Ok, então tá valendo.
Tcheloco: Depois de escrever sobre os signos usados pelos irmãos brother sobre Matrix, o q q não pode postar lá?
SempreAlerta: Ah, bom, ISSO é uma grande verdade...
E finalmente poderei usar meu artigo sobre a reprodução das libélulas vesgas do Himalaia.
EVE: Muito bom por sinal este artigo, já li e recomendo!
Tcheloco: eu não disse que a verdade está relacionada com a matrix?
EVE: Não sei se ficou claro, mas achei bom o artigo sobre a reprodução das libélulas vesgas do Himalaia...
Desculpe Tcheloco, mas o do Matrix eu não li...
Tcheloco: então posta lá ué. vamos ler sobre as libélulas vesgas do Himalaia.
Sessão National Geographic.
SempreAlerta: Putz, agora vou ter que realmente escrever o tal artigo...
Trezentos: Ok, esqueçam que eu perguntei.
EVE: Libélulas vesgas!!!!
Tcheloco: uma vez propagandeado, tem que cumprir, senão tu vai se ver com o editor chefe.
não interessa se a libélula é vesga, vai ter que reproduzir.
Espantalho: Eu pretendo escrever um post sobre o meu herói favorito: o Libélula Vesga!
Não, na verdade é o Dr. Phibes!
Trezentos: Será o LIBELO Da LIBÉLULA.
E o Google é uma maravilha. Antes eu teria que admitir minha ignorância e perguntar quem é o Dr. Phibes, agora bastou uma simples pesquisa para saber que é o personagem de algum filme trash que eu não vi.
Trezentos: Nós temos um editor chefe? Quem é? Sacanás?
Espantalho: Sacanás!
Acabo de vir do cinema, onde vi um dos maiores atores da atualidade em cena: Aaron Eckhardt! Ele já tinha me chamado a atenção em dois filmes, o Na Companhia dos Homens e o Dália Negra (outro filme em que ele rouba a cena), mas dessa vez ele arrasou o quarteirão como o Harvey Dent. A intenção era mostrar um cara que carregasse em si o bem e o mal extremos, o Nolan, que pra bobo não serve, escolheu o cara certo pra missão. 
Na boa, a performance do sujeito dá de relho no Heath Ledger. Aliás, aquela lingüinha do Ledger saindo pra fora a toda hora... Parece um cachorro. É bem como ele diz a certa altura: "eu sou como o cão que sai correndo atrás do carro mas não sabe o que fazer quando alcança." 
O filme do Duas Caras é bem legal.  
E tem até o Coringa e o Batman, vejam só!
Ah, sim, e o Matador, aquele filme com o Pierce Brosnam que o SempreAlerta tanto recomendou, vai passar amanhã (quarta) à noite na Record.
Trezentos: Post para o Alerta. Já.
Concordo. Grande ator. Nesse primeiro filme do Neil LaButte, Na Companhia de Homens, ele faz um dos personagens mais filhadaputas da história do cinema.
Mas mesmo que ele esteja bem em Dália Negra, o filme é uma bosta. Ele também já deu um baita tiro n'água com outro filme do LaButte, uma bomba chamada Possessão. 
E o Coringa é maluco e tem as comissuras dos lábios cortadas a navalha, é óbvio que isso deve gerar sérios problemas de salivação, o que justifica a linguinha.
Espantalho: Ré, ré... Acho que o problema de salivação do cara era por causa das boletas. Que nem o Jim Carrey no Irene.

Tcheloco: Espantalho, por que tá tão sério?
Espantalho: Sério é o Batman. Eta sujeitinho mais sem senso de humor.
E o Espantalho (o outro)? O cara virou um "Filho de Batman"? Achei desnecessária a aparição do personagem, não acrescentou nada ao roteiro.
SempreAlerta: Creio que não. Ele estava ali fazendo uma "transação escusa" (é isso???) e os filhos da p..., digo, do Batman, apareceram para atrapalhar. 
Mas a cena em que o Batman pula lá de cima no teto do furgão é massa, ehehhe...
Espantalho: Ah... Mais pro fim do filme ele sai num Lamborghini. Qual o modelo? Murciélago, é claro!
SempreAlerta: Lendo o IMDB ??? :-).
Espantalho: Minha página inicial
Tcheloco: Pô... Aquela cena dele pulando em cima do furgão pegando bandidinho de quinta categoria é mais do que necessária. Claro que acrescenta muito no filme SIM!!!
é a primeira cena que tu diz PUTA QUE PARIU! O BATMAN É FODÃO.
Espantalho: O Batman é um lóki que transa com o mordomo.
O Coringa só precisa de um segundo, uma caneta e um capanga pra mostrar que é 200 vezes mais fodão que aquela bichinha de armadura.
Tcheloco: tirando a parte do batman transando com o mordomo, não tinha me dado conta disso... o coringa enfrenta o batman só por diversão, usando um terno roxo. Nada de armadura. Pior, ele não tem MESMO como se esconder na multidão.
pior... o coringa é que é fodão.
E o batman não transa com o mordomo. O mordomo é inglês e como todo mundo sabe, ingleses só trepam para procriação. O fato é fácilmente explicável. Basta as mulheres inglesas no geral e o principe charles e
o mister bean. o restante mente que é gay só pra não ter que encarar aquela mulherada feia que dói.
SempreAlerta: É, nem todas são a Elizabeth Hurley...
Trezentos: Não esqueçam que o Coringa não se importa de morrer e em ao menos dois momentos ele praticamente implora por isso. E que o coringa sabe, conforme demonstrado no diálogo final, que o Batman não o matará. 
"Pior, ele não tem MESMO como se esconder na multidão"
Tem sim, basta tirar a maquiagem e usar outra coisa que não a roupa roxa (exatamente como na cena do atentado prefeito)
ah sim!!!
Tcheloco: ou vestido de enfermeira...
sem essa cena o filme não existiria
Espantalho: O Coringa é a Al Qaeda!
Trezentos: Espantalho, Why So Serious? 
Ah, sim, e, além dos motivos apontados, a cena com o Espantalho (o outro) apenas segue na toada do vilão como apresentado desde o primeiro filme. Ele não chega a ser ameaça, só quando pega o Batman de surpresa na cena do apartamento. Depois, leva o próprio gás no lombo. E depois,sai aterrorizando a cidade cheia de gente maluca. E basta um spray de pimenta ou um taser, não me lembro, para a Rachel botá-lo a correr. Sem falar que o Espantalho no primeiro filme é um mero lacaio do Ra's Al Ghul. Logo, combina perfeitamente com a cena inicial do segundo filme.
Tcheloco: O espantalho, do filme não o nosso amigo, é isso mesmo.
Subcupincha.
Tcheloco: pois é... para ser famoso na velha england, basta ser bonito e ter comprovadamente uma linha genealógica bretã.
Trezentos: "para ser famoso na velha england, basta ser bonito" 
Ora, então só tem meia dúzia de inglês famoso.
SempreAlerta: Meia dúzia ??? Tudo isso ???
Pensando bem, o Batman também não tem como se esconder na multidão.
Nem como Batman, nem como Bruce Wayne.
Trezentos: Certo. 
Mas ao menos a situação não é tão absurda quanto a do Homem-Aranha.
Nos gibis, a Mary Jane é uma top model internacional. E o Aranha, mesmo casado com uma mulher que deve ser seguida por papparazzi o tempo inteiro, sempre consegue preservar sua identidade - agora todo mundo sabe, mas porque ele próprio a revelou.
SempreAlerta: Mais absurdo é o Super-Homem enganar todo mundo com o óculos e o cabelo lambido.
Tcheloco: sobre olimpiadas. beijing beijing, tchau tchau.
SempreAlerta: :-P Essa foi podre
Trezentos: Gostei dessa. Vou usar. rere.
EVE: Essa conversa está beeem divertida!!! Só faltou a cerveja e a fumaça de cigarro para eu me sentir no boteco!
Por falar em podre... ouvi uma piada que PRECISO contar pra todo mundo e desculpe quem já ouviu... " A Isabela estava no céu beeem triste porque vai chegar o aniversário dela e não gostaria de ficar sozinha então um anjinho chegou perto dela, deu um abraço e falou:
- Não fique triste Isabela, logo, logo chega o Padre com os balões!". 
Depois dessa sei que perdi minha vez de ir pro céu... enfim! 
Espantalho: Quem bate à sua porta?
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Trezentos: Tem de fazer em resolução maior.
SempreAlerta: O Tcheloco que faça no Illustrator. Ehehehhe...
Tcheloco: Ná... O SempreAlerta q vai fazer no corel.
Trezentos: Ô, suas bichinhas tecnológicas afetadas, quem sabe algum de vocês desenha a mão livre, mesmo?
SempreAlerta: Vou fazer no Paintbrush
Tcheloco: eu vou desenhar no word
SempreAlerta: O Tcheloco ganhou. Depois dessa, eu desisto. Uahahha
SempreAlerta: UAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/PlanetaBizarro/0,,MUL725065-6091,00-POLICIA+DOS+EUA+PRENDE+MICKEY+BRANCA+DE+NEVE+E+PETER+PAN.html
Trezentos: É, a coisa não tá fácil pra ninguém...
SempreAlerta: Na verdade, não precisa de resolução maior, uma vez que o Tcheloco já tem ele feito no COREL... Já o do Illustrator, nem sombra ainda... eheheheh
Trezentos: Acho que ele ainda não tomou a RESOLUÇÃO de fazer o do Illustrator.
Tcheloco: isso. é q é uma ilustração mais antiga.
mas nada é mais sacanás do que falar mal do corel e usar ele pra trabalhar. ahahahaah
SempreAlerta: Usa um bitmap podre, baixado da internet, e aí diz que o recurso "trace" do programa é ruim... Sacanás!!!
Tcheloco: ná... isso não... foi feito com o corel x3...
não sou tão sacana assim
SempreAlerta: Eu quis dizer que usou um bitmap podre para fazer o trace.
Trezentos: Não sei quanto aos outros, mas eu voto por voltarmos a usar a língua portuguesa nestas mensagens. E já.
Tcheloco: Bom, na verdade o bitmap é um gif. Fiz o download da pic direto do site da HB. Na ilustração que ainda não postei, foi usado o live trace do Illustrator. A que já foi, usei o Corel, que não sabe nem o que é path conforming ou muito menos como é que se calcula um outline com baixo número de knots.
Claro que a imagem do Corel ficou cool, mas não tanto quanto o que o Illustrator, que usa recursos de live painting identicos aos do Photoshop.
Acredito que agora tenha ficado bem claro e em bom português
SempreAlerta: Ok.
"Eu quis dizer que usou um mapa de bits podre para fazer o traço."
Tcheloco: putz... quem tá sacaneando quem?
SempreAlerta: Bom, "quem", exatamente eu não sei...
Mas eu tô sacaneando já faz uns 30 e-mails no mínimo... Eheheh.
Tcheloco: como assim?
não estamos tendo um debate sério e em bom português?
Espantalho: Voltei. Na real eu acho que vocês podiam usar uma imagem XFG pra trancear no Photobucket e depois fatomizá-la no Rainbowstar, aquele software de imagebits da Pinewood, Inc.
Mas se não der certo usem uma FHT pra scanderizar no Bluemooner, já que a nova versão do Skyphogee não serve pra fazer bons efeitos de footing.
De qualquer forma, resta sempre o Word.
Tcheloco: ou o paint
SempreAlerta: Ou o Paintbrush... 
Essa resposta do Paulo não parece algo que o Calvin diria? ehehehhe
Por mim eu dava um ctrlc ctrlv nessa conversa toda e postava no Alerta sob o título "Reunião de Pauta".
Tcheloco: Excelente idéia. Voto no Trezentos pra fazer a mão.
Trezentos: pô, justo eu que nem sei do que vocês estão falando?

1976... it was the year I started collecting records. Vinyl records, that is. I was obsessed! I bought at least one each week depending on how consistently starved I was willing to be during school lunch breaks. Yes, I had to save the money using my allowance. There's no way I could've convinced my parents to buy me all these records from artists I'm just now beginning to discover (... thanks to Creem and Circus!). And with outrageous cover art and titles such as Welcome To My Nightmare, Destroyer, Sabotage and Cat Scratch Fever... uhh, you kiddin' me? Forget about it!

Alice Cooper's 1975 release, Welcome To My Nightmare, was one of the very first albums I've acquired. Though ironically, it wasn't because of Alice (of whom I am now a lifelong fan of), rock music or even the cool sleeve that I bought it for. It was because I've already heard it at my friend, Buddy's house (... or he may have loaned me the album, I forget.). And being the huge horror genre aficionado that I was (and still am, in fact), I was tantalized beyond words upon hearing Vincent Price's unmistakable voice that was used to bridge the songs Devil's Food and The Black Widow into one macabre epic. As if an angel whispered in my ear telling me how much I needed to get my own copy of the album, like yesterday.

If you're a horror buff yourself, how can you not be enchanted by Vince's monologue as a demented curator/host of an arachnid museum? From one display to the next, he educates his unsuspecting guests on the finer attributes of his priced collection. At the climaxing end, when his voice starts to rise to a crescendo, you can almost smell the chilling scent of his coat in the air as he reveals his true sentiments towards his beloved eight-legged pet. Or could it be, his master?

What a classic! Oh by the way, did you know he's a gourmet cook too? Cool! That actually just increased the creep factor a couple notches, for me!

After all these years, I can't believe I can still recite the whole thing word for word! Along with the appropriate facial expressions, of course.

The episode "The Return of the Sorcerer" with Vincent Price (my personal Jesus) is my favorite episode. I know co-star Bill Bixby is cheesy and the body parts scooting across the floor are ridiculous. But when Vincent makes his entrance wearing  long black robes with the huge red upside down crucifix emblem, I was transfixed.

I am in awe of this mans acting ability. He becomes his character so completely that I actually am concerned that if there is a hell he may accidentally be condemned to it. And the scene where he is talking about his evil warlock brother is just amazing. My favorite lines from that scene are when he is talking about Vern loving his brother ...."She taunted me by loving him.... for POWER!" For POWER over both of us!" 

To this day every once in while out of nowhere at any time or place, Sizz or I will suddenly say "For POWER!" in our best imitation of Vincent and then resume whatever it was we were doing. No one knows what the heck we are talking about and assumes we are crazy.

So check out Night Gallery and try to watch The Return of the Sorcerer episode. It ROCKS!

Only as a producer did William Castle ever make a truly great horror movie.  That was because he had the fortunate luck or the insight to have a great horror novel as the foundation and a master of the macabre as the screenwriter and director.  The film, of course, was “Rosemary’s Baby,” directed by Roman Polanski from Ira Levin’s best selling book.  If “Psycho” ushered in the era of the modern day horror films, “Rosemary’s Baby” gave the genre a more sophisticated acceptance than previously existed, at least for a few short years.

    Now, I am not here to damn William Castle but to praise him.  Yes, his works are mired with dull direction; bad acting and certainly some of the scripts could have or should have been better. But, surprisingly, films like “Macabre,” “The Night Walker,” “The Tingler”, House on Haunted Hill”, “13 Ghosts”, “Strait-Jacket”,  and “Homicidal” hold up today better than expected.  The “Night Walker”, with a script by Robert Bloch, and an excellent cast headed by Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor is certainly still a terrific thriller, as is “Strait Jacket,” again scripted by the talented Robert Bloch. This film starred Joan Crawford and Diane Baker.  Certainly, the casting of these excellent actors was an advantage, which enhanced both of these films. In Matthew Kennedy’s new biography Joan Blondell: A Life Between Acts” Kennedy tells the story that Blondell was all set to play the role eventually portrayed by Crawford until either Crawford assumed the role was hers after talking with Castle at a social gathering or Blondell bowed out due to illness depending on which story is to be believed. Either way it sounds pretty enticing the thought of Joan B. in the role of the psychotic mother. Then there is “The Tingler” and “Homicidal” both still strange and scary enough to send shivers down your spine. The test of time has made William Castle’s work more appreciable.  Known best for his publicity  gimmicks, such as “Illusion O”, where in “13 Ghosts,”  filmgoers were given special glasses upon admission, giving them the choice of whether view the ghosts by wearing the glasses, or not.  With “The Tingler” the gimmick was called “Percepto” which was nothing more than electric buzzers attached to selected seats in the movie house designed send a few shock waves giving the person sitting in the seat a slight tingle.  Can you imagine doing a stunt like this today? Lawsuits would be filed quicker than a 95 mile an hour fastball! Then there was “Macabre” where Castle sold policies, insuring the filmgoer against dying of fright!  As an aside, all this is lovingly portrayed in Joe Dante’s affectionate look at schlock movie making in “Matinee.” (1993)  John Goodman stars, playing a character obviously inspired by William Castle.

              In most cases, Castle’s films have been dumped upon by critics, yet teenage audiences and quiet a few adults of the late fifties and early sixties loved these films. It would probably be politically incorrect to make some of these films today. “Macabre” with its story of a young child being buried alive would be too frighteningly real today.  Like all films, they are a product of their times. 

    Many of Castle’s films are more fun and thrilling to watch than the majority of the blood and gore stuff that is released as horror today. Unfortunately, only a few of  Castle’s films have been made available for home video, “Strait-Jacket”, House on Haunted Hill,” “13 Ghosts” and “The Tingler” with its original color sequence in tact. “The Night Walker” was released years ago in VHS but sadly has yet to see a DVD release. If you are resourceful enough you can find some of the others through private collectors willing to trade barter or sell. In 2007, a documentary on William Castle was released called “Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story.” The film had a limited release and as of now, there is no scheduled DVD release. Also worth seeking out are the trailers,   you know those “Coming Attractions,” of William Castle’s movies, some of the most entertaining ever done, this side of Hitchcock.  Also worth seeking out is his autobiography “Step Right Up! I’m Going to Scare the Pants Off America.”

Utilizando la técnica de animación stop-motion (cuadro a cuadro) con muñecos de ojos grandes y lúgubres figuras de arcilla, muestra el lado que siempre le ha gustado a Tim Burton, la oscuridad, desesperación, miedo y figuras trasnochadas. Es la historia de un niño que sueña con ser como Vincent Price. Esto al parecer, (no me crean) es un poco autobiográfico ya que Burton admiraba profundamente el trabajo de Price, de hecho, el cortometraje esta narrado magistralmente por el mismo Vincent Price y quien actuaría años mas tarde en otro proyecto de Burton, Edward Scissorhands. A esta dupla (Burton-Price) se suma la presencia de los poemas de Edgar Allan Poe en la historia del pequeño Vincent formando una triada, como dirian los teenegers de hoy.. CRyPPy!

5:53

Por cierto, en ese mismo año el actor Vincent Price realizo también la voz para el video-clip Thriller de Michael Jackson y a uno se le paran los pelos cuando hace la asociación en su cabeza de las dos cosas.. Pillenlo!

THE FLY ( 1958 )
David Hedison is a French scientist, husband and father whose bungled teleportation experiment leads to him being crossed with a housefly. Unlike Jeff Goldblum in 1986, there's no metamorphasis. Dude just gets a new fly head and a new fly hand. To get back to 100-percent homosapien his wife, young son and brother (Vincent Price in a non-creepy role) have to locate and capture the unfortunate fly they expect to have his missing human parts. (Good luck!) Not to be dismissed as a standard-issue monster movie, The Fly brings the human drama and creates a sense of urgency, familial crisis and doom. Things end grimly and even if the last scene is an sfx punchline, it's still pretty chilly stuff. Help meeeeeeee!...
***

KREEP'S KORNER

By

Brazillia R. Kreep

En esta web tenéis el texto en inglés y la traducción (mejor que verlo con los sutítulos, que es una adaptacióny no es lo mismo).

Me gusta cómo vincent Price pone la voz de ma la madre. Qué pedazo de actor!

Ya que estoy haciendo una tesis de máster, qué mejor forma que emepzar por el principio!

Tendréis más entradas sobre Tim más adelante!

Ciao!!!

Before the final credits role, enough blood has splashed across the screen, enough women have screamed their bloody guts out, and enough skin has be ripped, pinched, and stabbed, that I don’t advise having the steak tartar afterwards. Really. I’

m quite serious about this. This is hard to watch sometimes or just your thing if you like stopping to look at road kill . Thank goodness the blood is bright orange or more people would loose their lunches instead of laughing their heads off. Lots of Fun extras too! Well worth the bucks my frightfully fine fiends.

What Price Fame?

When Vincent Price came out to play
All the children ran away
They’d scream and dream such awful things
Like long-fanged snakes and hornet stings
For Mr. Price was wicked see
T’bring such woes so eerily
Yet when he finally bid adieu
All the children did boo-hoo
They loved the thrills n’chills he laid
And prayed he would come back someday

DIARY OF A MADMAN ( 1963 )
This Vincent Price vehicle is based on a story by Guy de Maupassant about a 19th century lawyer who becomes possessed by the murdering spirit of a condemned maniac he accidentally kills. Price does a great nervous breakdown as we watch the man succumb to the power of what is explained as a cross-dimensional phantom(!) There's a low death toll, but the first victim is his beloved pet canary which he crushes the life from with his bare hands. A ham-fisted script doesn't detract from the strong story or good performances. There is a pretty hilarious "haunted sculpture" scene that provides more giggles than chills.
**1/2