||| Hiatus Over |||

I don't know if the links on the right still work.  They'll remain as a testament to the cool, interesting, and foggy yesteryear.

 

 

I love you Em.... here's to keeping us going on until infinity... 19 years strong

https://cosmatomicblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/elysian-brewering-company-capitol-hill.html

 

2014-2023: Tons of good times with family, friends, food, beer, bands, and cats from Seattle to Houston

Halloween Movie Round-Up 2013

A wonderfully wretched wandering through the wickedly weird!

Piranha
Silent Hill: Revelation
Quarantine 2: Terminal
Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth
Frankenfish
Bloody Birthday
Axegiant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyon
Hatchet 3
Ghoulies
The Skeleton Key

Halloween Movie Round-Up 2012

Sixty days of sinister, spooky, & supernatural cinema to satisfy your Samhainian sweet tooth! 2011, 2010, 2009.

Re-Animator (1985): 1000/10
The Thing (1982): 10/10
Black Sabbath (1963): 10/10
Terrorvision (1986): 9/10
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010): 9/10
Creepshow (1982): 9/10
Thinner (1996): 9/10
Drag me to Hell (2009): 9/10
The Signal (2007): 9/10
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965): 8/10
The Cabin in the Woods (2011): 8/10
Absentia (2011): 8/10
Eerie, Indiana (1991): 8/10
Haunted Honeymoon (1986): 8/10
The Innkeepers (2011): 8/10
Night of the Comet (1984): 8/10
Friday the 13th Part 4 (1984): Crispin Glover's Dance/10
Graveyard Shift (1990): 8/10
The Langoliers (1995): 8/10
Dark House (2009): 7/10
Squirm (1976): 7/10
Friday the 13th (1980): 7/10
Piranha (2010): 7/10
Seed (2007): uhhhh/10
ATM (2012): 6/10
Creature (2011): 6/10
Girls Gone Dead (2012: 5/10
Hostel III (2011): 5/10
Piranha 3DD (2012: 5/10
Open House (1987): 5/10

Snow Day II

Snow Day Winter Ale from New Belgium Brewing is appropriate for today's mid week Snow Day.

Wisps of silk caramel spiced wheat dustings melting off conifer needles.  Subtle flavors make a perfect snow cone.  6.2%.

Arik Roper artwork albums.

Dopesmoker: Proceed the Weedian.

Amerijuanican: Opiumatic Riffs.

Mammatus: Tuned In, Dropped.


Replenishing a free day off with one of the top films of all time.

Honor, glory, and fine chicks. 

Thanks to Em for the dvd and shirt.

Why don't you take a little inventory on what we got going for us?

The William Castle Film Collection

William Castle understood how to bridge the gap between gimmick and charm.

Perfect Halloween movies that are still enjoyable viewing experiences even for those of us watching decades later.


13 Frightened Girls(1963)
13 Ghosts (1960)
Homicidal (1961)
Strait-Jacket (1964)
The Old Dark House (1963)
Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
The Tingler (1959)
Zotz! (1962)
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

Fright Effects Induced by Injection of Lysergic Acid LSD25 - A Preliminary Report

Halloween III: Complete Original Motion Picture Score (1982)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a movie watching tradition.

Those with discerning tastes recognize it's superiority in the series as Tom Atkins leads the charge.


John Carpenter and Alan Howarth improvised this eerie score and recorded live to tape while watching the movie.

25 peculiarly minimalistic tracks that harvest Samhainian warmth and full moon soundscapes.  Deranged meditative atmosphere that fills the mind with maize, melted pumpkin, and menace.

                            9 more days till Pumpkinfest...

Halloween Movie Round-Up 2011

A mortifying 2 month movie marathon of the macabre, maniacal, and maddening manifests! 2009, 2010. 

The Evil Dead (1981): 10/10
Big Trouble in Little China (1986): 10/10
The Return of Living Dead (1985): 10/10
The Fog (1980): 9.5/10
Madhouse (1974): 9/10
Mad Monster Party? (1967): 9/10
In the Mouth of Madness (1994): 9/10
The Comedy of Terrors (1963): 9/10
Waxwork (1988): 9/10
Poltergeist II (1986): 9/10
Trollhunter (201): 9/10
Phantasm II (1988): 8.5/10
Pinocchio's Revenge (1996): 8.5/10
Puppetmaster (1989): 8/10
Mulberry Street (2006): 8/10
Jason X (2001): 8/10
The Fat Albert Halloween Special (1977): 8/10
Santa's Slay (2005): 8/10

The Violent Kind (2010): 7.5/10
Blood River (2009): 7.5/10
Cropsey (2009): 7/10
Evil Ed (1995): 7/10
Parasomnia (2008): 7/10
The Perfect Host (2010): 7/10
Hobo with a Shotgun (2011): 7/10
Shredder (2003): 7/10
The Horde (2009): 7/10
The Walking Dead (2010): 6.5/10
The Ward (2010): 6.5/10
Death Machine (1994): 6.5/10
Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (2010): 6.5/10
Office Killer (1997): 6/10
Chain Letter (2010): 6/10
Ripper (2001): 6/10
Red State (2011): 6/10
Mask Maker (2010): 5.5/10
Somebody Help Me 2 (2010): 5/10
A Severed Arm (1973): 5/10
Halloween: Resurrection (2002): 5/10
Fright Flick (2011): 5/10

Halloween Movie Round-Up 2010

2 months of chillingly creepy cinema that will civilize cannibals, counts, and creatures commences! 2009.

The Bad Seed (1956): 10/10
Roseanne Halloween Episodes (1989-1996): 10/10
Murder Party (2007): 9/10
The 'burbs (1989): 9/10
Lord of Illusions (1995): 9/10
Haunted Honeymoon (1986): 9/10
The Masque of the Red Death (1964): 8/10
Idle Hands (1999): 8/10
Sometimes They Come Back (1991): 8/10
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994): 8/10
A Perfect Getaway (2009): 8/10
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974): 8/10
Beetle Juice (1988): 8/10
Pieces (1982): 8/10
The Resurrected (1992): 8/10
The Monster Squad (1987): 7/10
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987): 7/10
The House of the Devil (2009): 7/10
The New York Ripper (1982)
The First Power (1990): 7/10
The Gravedancers (2006): 7/10
Horsemen (2009): 7/10
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1986): 7/10
Frozen (2010): 6/10
Return of the Living Dead III (1993): 6/10
Lifeforce (1985): 6/10
Leviathan (1989): 6/10
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977): 6/10
Assault of the Sasquatch (2009): 6/10
Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999): 6/10
Butterfly Effect 3 (2009): 5/10
The Food of the Gods (1976): 5/10
Living Death (2006): 5/10
My Mom's a Werewolf (1989): 5/10
Drive Thru (2007): 5/10
Circle of Eight (2009): 5/10
Curse of the Forty-Niner (2002): 5/10
2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010): 4/10
Wolves of Wall Street (2002): 3/10

Stand By Me - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986) - 99¢ Record #8

The film and tunes can be credited for an entire generation's fascination for backyard camping, leeches, and the 50's.  

Tracks:

1. Everyday (Buddy Holly)

2. Let The Good Times Roll (Shirley & Lee)
3. Come Go With Me (The Del Vikings)
4. Whispering Bells (The Del Vikings)
5. Get A Job (Silhouettes)
6. Lollipop (The Chordettes)
7. Yakety Yak (The Coasters)
8. Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lewis)
9. Mr. Lee (The Bobbettes)
10. Stand By Me ( Ben E. King)

Turn this movie into a video game?  Kids, who make Vern look trim and socially graceful, trek through the virtual wilderness on a corpse tracking expedition only to find Ray Brower is a zombie.

TOP 5 XMAS FLICKS

1. A Christmas Story (1983): Drink your Ovaltine.

2. Die Hard (1988): When gas was .74 cents a gallon.
3. Gremlins (1984): Never let them eat after midnight.
4. Black Christmas (1974): Billy?!?!
5. Christmas Evil (1980): Negative body hygiene.

Nirvana - Live at Reading (2009)

A proper DVD release, with 5.1 surround sound and great picture quality, of the 08/30/1992 performance at the Reading Festival. Worth the wait and purchase.



No gimmicks, screens with artsy graphics, or spinning stages. Just three dudes casting waves of maniacal energy and distortion that's just as awesome seventeen years later.

Tracks:
1. Breed
2. Drain You
3. Aneurysm
4. School
5. Sliver
6. In Bloom
7. Come As You Are
8. Lithium
9. About A Girl
10. Tourette's
11. Polly
12. Lounge Act
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit
14. On A Plain
15. Negative Creep
16. Been A Son
17. All Apologies
18. Blew
19. Dumb
20. Stay Away
21. Spank Thru
22. Love Buzz
23. The Money Will Roll Right In
24. D-7
25. Territorial Pissings

Greatest rock band ever?

Vanishing Point (1971)

Made six years before I entered this world, Vanishing Point is an achievement in cinematic anti-establishment greatness. It's loosely based on a true story and a testament to living on the fringe of Orwellian society.

Set against the badlands of Western America this is "the maximum trip at maximum speed." Barry Newman plays Kowalski, a former cop and vet, who is Polish and therefore bad ass. A pilled up Viking chalk full of integrity and navigating a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to the City by the Bay.

Having to pull this journey off in under fifteen hours can only mean super charged mayhem lies ahead. One adrenaline spiked car chase after another with epic desert landscapes and counterculture heroics. A movie that defines tune in and drop out.

Destruction is the only road you're headed for.

The Bad Seed (1956)

A couple of years ago my girlfriend insisted that I watch The Bad Seed as it is one of her favorite movies. It stars, Oscar nominated, Patty McCormack as the adorable and vicious Rhoda Penmark.

On the surface Rhoda is the ideal young girl with her impeccably clean dress, perfect curtsies, and penurious nature. She likes presents and tap dancing.

However, there is a sense that her overly proper disposition is masking a sinister side. We learn Rhoda did not win the penmanship award in her class and that side rears its ugly pigtails. And when her classmate that won the award is mysteriously drowned, Rhoda goes about without a care or feeling.

Her mother begins to struggle as evidence about her daughters guilt surfaces while Rhoda's wickedness amplifies.

I can see how this film would have been considered controversial during its time. McCormack carves out one of the most cute, compelling, and creepy characters in cinema.

An absolutely fine film for the Halloween month. While the subject matter is heavy there is no reason that this can't be enjoyed by the whole family.

The Stöned Age (1994)

Produced by some dude who produced those lame Harry Potter movies and released a year after the more popular Dazed and Confused, The Stöned Age, is not only a superior film (to all above mentioned) but includes a clever take on two 70's burnouts and the cast of characters they encounter throughout one radically hellacious night.

Joe and Hubbs are two longhairs with a pinch of schwag and a jug of peppermint schnapps between them but will stop at nothing in their quest for hot chicks. Relying on the Blue Torpedo and the word of some pud named Tack (played by the talented Clifton Collins Jr.) they head out near the old Frankie Avalon place in hopes of putting a little insanity on their potatoes.

However, they'll quickly realize that Tack is the least of their problems and outwitting other worms like Muldoon, Officer Dean, Crump's brother, the Guzzlers, and Lanie's dad are more pressing concerns. Even behind the hilarity of classic one liners, the disco dancing liquor store clerk, and the crushed talls of OX 45 lies an intriguing interaction between two friends. The ginger, Joe, is the quiet good natured type while Hubbs is the jumping on the grenade alpha-male. In the end our two heroes manage to score the chicks and Joe, with his glowing third eye, achieves some redemption.

 
If it's B.O.C. how can it be pussy?

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

There are tons of reviews and information on this movie-musical, which has been going strong for 70 years, so I'll spare a re-hash of the plot line, actors, etc... However, it was based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful World of Oz illustrating that Hollywood has been ripping off movie ideas for a long time.

What I like about this film is that it has science fiction, fantasy, and horror movie undertones with a strong female lead and a positive message. Very ahead of its time for cinema and probably a reason it has held up so well. On the negative side, I think it was the origin of my girlfriend's, and probably many others, pithikosophobia (fear of monkeys). While I was never much of a fan as a kid it has turned out to be one of my favorite movies over the years. Very easy to re-watch and compliments the fall thru winter months nicely.

The Pacific Science Center in Seattle even has 'Dark Side of the Rainbow' where Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is played while you watch The Wizard of Oz.


The fact that this can be watched without the original soundtrack is a testament to how truly imaginative, trippy, and intricate the sound stages and fantastical imagery are even after all these years. And when it comes to witches the Wicked Witch of the West is the pinnacle.

The Mechanic (1972)

Charles Bronson is one of the few actors that could pass himself off, effortlessly, as a legitimate underworld character while delivering ruthless mayhem in a likable manner. You won't see him changing oil or aligning tires here but explosions, chases, and double crossings are abound. Bronson plays a stone faced, knife throwing, plane flying, pipe smoking hit man who acts more like a connoisseur of the finer things than a methodical killer.

Flawlessly set against a gritty 70's backdrop and tempoed with an unrelenting score by Jerry Fielding. The opening scene can stand alone as one of the greatest both visually and sonically.
Jan Michael Vincent delivers a notable performance as a rambunctious surfer type eager to unleash his inner psychotic as Bronson's apprentice.

The Mechanic sets its own unapologetic pace with plenty of grime, wreckage, and a Bronson mustache that could turn Hollywood into dust.

Halloween Movie Round-Up 2009

2 months of film from the foul to the freakish to the frightening!
                                             10/14/09

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): 10/10
Trick 'r Treat (2009): 10/10
Pin (1988): 9/10
Ghostbusters: 9/10
Satan's Little Helper (2004): 9/10
Sleepwalkers (1992): 8/10
Carrie (1976): 8/10
Dial M for Murder (1954): 8/10
Drag Me to Hell (2009): 7/10
100 Feet (2008): 7/10
Netherbeast Incorporated (2007): 7/10
The Burning (1981): 7/10
The Exorcist (1973): 7/10
Altered (2006): 7/10
Slaughter High (1986): 7/10
Chopping Mall (1986): 6/10
The Landlady (1998): 6/10
976-Evil (1989): 6/10
The Craft (1996): 6/10
Call Back (2009): 5/10
Cinderella (2006): 5/10
The Prowler (1981): 5/10
Tokyo Zombie (2005): 5/10
Senseless (2008): 5/10
Bride of the Monster: 5/10
Dawn (2003): 5/10
Pieces (1982): 5/10
Stump the Band (2006): 4/10
Lucky (2002): 4/10
Howling III (1987): 3/10
House on the Edge of the Park (1980): 3/10