Musings of a Morleysaurus

Guest Blogger Pete Birnie from The Cult of Alfie talks Hobo with a Shotgun!

2012-02-23T13:40:00.002Z

Sooooo,it is with great pleasure that I introduce Mr Pete Birnie from TheCult of Alfie as my guest blogger today! Pete is a bit of akung-fu nerd and from working at the local leisure center, is one ofthe guys responsible for helping my Parental's Roy and Gail Cooperinto shape for their trek to the MountEverest Base Camp this October. Anyhoo, when I heard he had justwritten a blog about Jason Eisner's Hobo with a Shotgun, I figured,what a perfect post to introduce y'all to this crazy young man! :)When you get a chance, please do check out his website,and the numerous video parodies that are on there! There aredefinitely a few belters...although you might be questioning hissexuality by the end of them, haha!

Withoutfurther adu....

Hobowith a Shotgun, this is now one of my favourite films. The beginningcomes across as whimsy, bringing back memories of that great show thelittlest hobo...honestly that’s what the music reminded me of. Asthe Hobo arrives in town making it feel like it's the happiest eventin the world. Rutger Hauer was made for this role, acting perfectlyas the tired old man, god I LOVE Rutger Hauer.

People’sheads get blown off, arms broken, hung, the violence is gruesome,someone’s head even gets mashed in by dodgems...this is where themovie turns into the ultimate revenge film. As people die left,right and centre, Hauer's face is concentrated on his trolley as itfly’s across the street, as if it's the most important thing in theworld. Bottles fly and all his belongings lay spread around thefloor. Watching Hauer turn into the angry revenge filled Hobo is ajoy. As he realises the police are under the thumb of the bad guys,as they carve the word scum into his chest...the troma like violencewithin this movie suits it to a tee. With heads exploding and handsbeing ripped off, I didn't even flinch as it suited it so much. Hauer is amazing, his rugged I’ll do what I want charm is brilliantand being a huge fan of him, it's a guilty pleasure.

Watchingit dawned on me what the following scenes reminded me, the oldwesterns I used to watch flashed through my head. You know thescenes where the good guy has had enough crap, the massive musicletting him deliver justice one shell at a time! That’s thetagline to this movie.

I can't begin to express how much Ienjoyed this film, the moral message obviously being don't stand andwatch, help your fellow man. As the Hobo hooks up with a localprostitute, their relationship becomes more father and daughter. Afavourite part of mine, when she tells him he can't fix everythingwith a shotgun, and then they dream to start a lawn moving businesstogether.

The bad guys are brilliantly cast, two brothers andtheir father, who watches them vie for his attention, preferring oneson over the other, a sadistic little weasel who performs all sortsof horrific acts (watch out for the "dad he blew my dick off"scene!) Drake the father has the town under his spell of fear,calling it the Drake show throughout.

Asalways one last obstacle comes between the town being free or doomedto become hell on earth. Two unstoppable brutal monsters, allmetal clad, sweep into the action...watching as one brutally hangspeople with what I can only describe a harpoon gun. He ropes theirheads and hangs them by shooting them into the ceiling, showing noemotion. It's a classic scene as they hang twirling, and then Hauerenters the scene. The plot is light but what do you expect, it'scalled Hobo with a Shotgun!?! And it's AWESOME!!!

(Andthe ending song was taken from the cartoon the Raccoons, which isindeed also awesome!)

Review of Just Us by Lori Bowen

2012-02-19T16:30:00.001Z

Ilove me some good old revenge flicks. I also believe that we are allcapable of doing things that we wouldn't otherwise think possible. But if something so vile happened to a person we loved, who knows what kind of dark places that would take us too?!! Just Us is a wonderful short that addresses this matter, withbeautifully macabre consequences. All too often in society peoplesuch as killers and rapists walk free after committing heinouscrimes, and I think it is at the very core of us as human beings towant retribution for these crimes. But the fucked up thingabout the world we live in is, bad people walk, even after the mostsordid of crimes. Yet if someone was to take the law intotheir own hands and make sure the criminal get their just desserts...it wouldbe that individual who was doing what any decent human being would bethinking, they'd be arrested and more than likely go to jail for avery long time. All whilst the actual bad guy walked! I thinkthat's why revenge flicks have always sat to well with me...they'rethe films where you get to see the bad guys royally fucked up...andin cases such as Just Us, and my personal favourite female revengeflick, I Spit On Your Grave...I get to root like fuck for the girlwhopping out a good old ass kicking and dick chopping!

(Pictured above - Director Lori Bowen at work!)

LoriBowen did a brilliant job on Just Us and I'd love to see what she'ddo with a revenge feature. She most certainly a talented little ladywith a bright future ahead of her!

Andjust a little afterthought, another personal favourite revenge flickis James Wan's Death Sentence, absolutely fucking amazing film!

Review of Jennifer Campbell's Short Film Hike!

2012-02-18T16:20:00.001Z

As I mentioned in myinterview with director Jennifer Campbell, I think one of the reasonswhy I instantly took such a liking to Hike is the fact that it ishonestly the kind of short that I could see myself making. I meanwhenever I'm out and about walking, be it through the woods, or alongthe beach, or up in the hills...I always picture finding body parts,or a completely whole dead body. Sick I know but I can't helpmyself, haha!

With its stunninglocation, and great direction, what I love most about Hike is howsimple it is yet wonderfully effective at the same time. Hike isalso a great example of the real life horrors that are actually outthere. As a girl with a total serial killer fascination, this ishorror at its most shocking and perverse. These kind of sickos areactually out there and one of the most frightening aspects of suchthings is the fact that the best serial killers are the ones thatblend in with society. The ones who everyone is so shocked when theyare caught, they are the boys next door, the family men...the kind ofguy who we wouldn't even contemplate a danger when they ask us to goout for a hike in the woods! And this the kind of scenario that Hike looks at, and very well I might add.

Iwas actually having a conversation in the pub the other week with mysister Cat and our friend Roddy...the topic of Joseph Fritzl cameup...that conversation is a whole different blog, haha, but anyhoo, Imentioned that out of all of the sick killers and demented people outthere, Fritzl is the one that really made me feel physicallyrepulsed! I mentioned how I freakin' loveJeffrey Dahmer and Roddy asked what I thought of Ted Bundy...to whichI replied that I wasn't as big a fan of Bundy, and the reason why,I'm just not a fan of people who commit such atrocious acts ofviolence against women. I find them fascinating, I just don't have afreaky deaky love of them in the same way that I do serial killerssuch as Dahmer and Dennis Nielsen! I love Miss Campbell's take onHike - “Hike is about violence against women, being silenced andultimately being victimized because someone is bigger, stronger andable to overpower.”

The Last Post by Axelle Carolyn - Review

2012-02-13T16:07:00.000Z

TheLast Post is one of the most beautifully stunning pieces of work Ihave ever seen. With its haunting melancholy and pitch perfectperformances, it's impossible not to feel emotionally connected to itand drawn completely in. The thought of dying alone is always a sadone, we reflect upon our lives and think of all of the people we'veconnected to that have been and gone. The ones who even though weonly knew for a relative short period of time, they made such animpact on our lives and helped turn us into the person we are today. And although the years have passed by and a life apart has been led,you still feel a connection to them, and know that someday you willsee them again. Be that in life...or death.

Thethree performances in The Last Post are all in their own way,exceptional! Jean Marsh as the old lady Colette is wonderful, theemotion that she conveys whilst telling her story, the great sadnessin her eyes and that feeling of tremendous loss...this is the mark ofa truly great actress. The supporting cast of Kimberley Nixon as theNurse and Darren Bransford as the soldier, such subtle performancesyet so effective.

TheLast Post is such a terrific first attempt at a short by Axelle, shehas a raw talent for attention to detail and for bringing out thesubtle beauty of her actors performances. She is most definitely awoman to watch and I can't wait for her to move on to featureprojects!

Ina way, The Last Post almost reminds me of Titanic when Rose isreliving those magical few weeks before the wretched iceberg got inthe way! And say what you want about my love of Titanic (and The Winslet, haha), butit's that sadness of knowing that Rose only knew Jack for such aminute period of time, and even though she went on to live her ownlife after his death, he was still the greatest love of her life! And yes, I cry at Titanic! I have no problem admitting that, haha.;) And like Titanic, The Last Post also had my eyes welling up withtears.

And ooh lastly, a super squeeeee...when going to IMDb to get a link for hername I saw that not only was Jean in Return to Oz and Willow...shewas also in Frenzy, woot woot! Hitchcock nerd~gasm to the max! :D

Jennifer's Bodies February 2012 - Working in Association with the Dundee University Film Society with a Fellow Horror Chick! YAY!

2012-02-10T15:50:00.001Z

Okay so this February's Jennifer's Bodies, I am so psyched to announce that I am working alongside the Dundee University Student Film Society! :) Now as if this wasn't cool enough, the main chick~a~roo in charge of the society, is a fellow kick ass horror gal! Florence is also a fellow Horror Blogger Alliance chick, and when I went to post a reply to a blog post she had done, I saw a post from another horror chickzilla, The Real Queen of Horror! Aaaah, what a small world we live in! What other genre of film are you gonna find yourself bumping into others online so much as with horror? Florence is wonderfully kooky with a wicked taste in film and a great sense of humour, and I urge you to check out her blog, A blog by your new friend: Florence NOW! :D

Jennifer's Bodies will be taking place on Sunday 26th February in the Tower Building at Dundee University. You can find more information over at my Jennifer's Bodies page, including the full line up and tickets etc. All of the money raised I am donating to a fellow woman in horror to go towards her 1 year old boy's medical bills for an operation to rectify his Craniosynostosis.

BEST. CHATROOM. TALK. EVER. Viggo Mortensen just answered my quesssstion! Bwahahaha!

2012-01-31T15:20:00.001Z

Right so anyone who has ever spent more than about 5 seconds with me, haha, will know how much I freakin' LOVE Viggo Mortensen! He is without a doubt not only one of the greatest actors of his generation, he is easily one of the greatest and most iconic actors of all time! I mean, he's ARAGORN for stalky pants sake!!! One of the greatest loves of my life...and a man I WANT TO BE!!! Haha.

So yesss, when yesterday I found out that my dear darling partner in crime from when I worked at Vue Cinema in Plymouth had got the chance to interview him, I was beyond psyched! The Mox and I bonded over a love of Lord of the Rings and all things geeky so this is pretty fucking epic! With his work as BBC Radio Devon's film critic, he's interviewed some pretty cool people...this is definitely the one that has me squeeee'ing more than I usually do...I was almost speechless when I first found out! And for me, we all know how much of a "WTF!?" moment that is, haha. Anyhoo, totally psyched for him, as I was falling to sleep last night I was busy thinking of questions I'd love to ask Viggo, as a true Stalkypantsasaurus would do, right? :)

And then....da, daaa, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh...I sign on to Twitter to post a link to my Parent's blog and see a Tweet from Empire saying Viggo was in the building and was live in the chat room! Wheeee, wooop, doo daaah dooop! So obviously my stalky pants self has to ask some questions. Now my first question was one regarding working with Sean Penn on his directorial debut, The Indian Runner, one of my favourite films of all time. And then the stupid thing crashed! *insert MAJOR arrrrgh* Anyhoo, I refreshed it and it wouldn't let me see if it had actually posted, or if he'd answered. I'll get to check that out when the transcript is released later.

(Pictured below - Viggo in The Indian Runner)

Sooo, I then ask him my next question, one I've been wanting to ask him for well over a decade...

You have done two Hitchcock remakes, asa massive Hitchcock fan I think you would have been amazing workingwith him, you have that classic and timeless vibe about you! Wouldyou have liked to worked with Hitchcock back in the day and is thereany of his films in particular you wish you had been in back then? :)

(Pictured above - Viggo as Sam Loomis in Psycho remake)

And zee answer from the amazing man himself...

I may be mistaken, but my understandingis that he was loath to allow actors to do much thinking forthemselves, so I don't know that i would have been that comfortableworking for him. However, given his track record, and were he stillalive, it would be hard to pass up the opportunity to find out formyself what being directed by him would be like.

(Pictured above - Viggo as David Shaw in A Perfect Murder, the re-imagining of Dial M For Murder)

Sooo, there you have it! I now have my answer! Thank you Empire, heehee.

And I can not wait to hear The Mox's interview with him, I shall be sure to linky all y'all Viggo lovers to it, bwahahahaha.

And now to get back to the work I was actually supposed to be doing before I got distracted...but for the most worthwhile skiving moment EVER!!! Muchos looooove to the Viggo! And now back to writing like an actual grown up, totally non-fangirl (HA!) writer! :D

(Pictured above - Viggo in Fresh Horses, in the small role that got him the part in The Indian Runner!)

The full transcript is up now, you can check it out at the Empire site! :D

Sons of Anarchy Returns to 5 USA in the UK Tonight - Season 4 Premier at 10pm!

2012-01-18T20:41:00.000Z

Alrighty...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that Sons of Anarchy is a show that I love dearly. In fact, I love it so much, I'd happily rate it just below The X Files and on equals with LOST as one of my single most favourite shows of all time! And coming from me, that is a MAJOR nerd~tastic nod! The fact that this show is nothing to do with aliens or time travel, nor does it have any other Mulder~ific traits...it is just downright fucking awesome!!! Amazing storytelling, superb acting, some of the greatest characters I've ever seen, action, violence and most of all, heart! <3 You care for these characters, like a lot! ;)

So with Season 4 starting tonight on 5 USA, I thought what better reason to do a "YOU MUST WATCH THIS SHOW!" rant! Soooo, first of all, check out the Seasons 1-3 catch up video below...just to get you ready.....

.....and now check out some of the previews for Season 4! These are the FX ones, for some reason I cannot find the 5 USA trailer, which sucks as it's really good!

Now I'm not the kind of person to get obsessed with crap, not in the slightest. If you disagree then we can arrange a date for a punch up at a later date, haha. When I love something as much as I do SONS, you know there has gotta be something special about it! And randomly speaking of punch ups, if you like some good old violence then check out the video below, haha. I think Jax wins with the amount of people who have been on the other end of his fist. Although Gemma probably wins for most badass hit, when she whacks Cherry in the face with a skateboard!

Being the cheat that I am, I've actually seen Season 4 already, I love this show waaaaaaaaay too much to have waited for it to be aired in the UK, haha. In fact, here's a blog I did when the show was actually first back on in the States and the opening scene was sneaked online, heehee. It is freakin' awesome and I can't geek out over it enough, bwahahaha!!! But yeah, I did cheat and I'm glad I did. That still doesn't make me not totally excited for it airing in the UK tonight though! Any excuse, haha. Series creator Kurt Sutter (below in his character of Otto) is on the top of his game and I cannot wait to see where he takes my boys next!

Now even SONS fans in the UK have probably heard that one major thing is missing this season, and I'm not even talking about a person....I'm talking about Jax's HAIR!!! Now when I first saw a pic of him minus the hair, it was a case of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh...however, within a millisecond (lol) I had grown to like it...and then love it! And I have to admit, I did love Charlie Hunnam's reasons for doing so. Check out his thoughts at the link below! :)

Before you get some Season 4 goodness though my peeps in the UK, if you've not checked out the APPISODES then I'd definitely recommend it. They fill you in on some of the things that have went on between the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4! The one entitled PAYPHONE is definitely a much needed watch, even if it makes me go EEEEEEEEE and not in a good way, haha. A lot of what happens in the first episode is to do with what happens in this Appisode! So check it out, NOW! :D

A really cute moment when Tara visits Jax in prison and brings their new son Thomas with her. And Gemma of course, haha.

Get some basketball on yo! :D

Another pivotal moment that happens when the boys are in jail that plays a BIG part in Season 4!

Now don't just take my word for SAMCRO's awesomeness, listen to some of my favourite ladies too! :D And also please take a moment to check out their websites as well. :)

"It's a sexy, gritty, non-soap opera...soap opera. :-) Well, and there's the delicious Jax whom you want all to yourself but don't mind sharing with the female leads because they are tough amazing chicks!"

Jennifer Pasquill - The Clumsy Eater

"Great writing and great acting! Violent, harsh and sexy in all the right places. Strong female characters and strong male characters combine to make it three dimentional. The stories take their time and the actors actually get to act! Also one other thought, it can be so funny!!!! Dark humour at its best!"

Jennifer Campbell - Director of HIKE

"Speaking as a girl who does NOT want to bang Jax Teller (lol), I can safely say Sons of Anarchy is a show that appeals to everyone. It has nail-biting tension, gut-wrenching drama, and ass-kicking action. It's hard to pick a favorite character because they are all so awesome. And for women who are doubtful, there's always the eye candy or the very strong, well-written female roles. Gemma alone is probably TV's greatest woman. You know a show is good when it has me screaming at the television one episode (Nooo! Don't you touch her!!") and wiping away tears the next episode. Oh, and I forgot to mention - EPIC FUCKING SOUNDTRACK."

Heather Seebach - Viewer Discretion Advised

Speaking of the EPIC FUCKING SOUNDTRACK, the other day I did a blog that featured songs from the show as well as other videos I'd found on YouTube that are SAMCRO perfect! If you've got a moment then please do check them out! I especially LOVE the Placebo version of Running Up That Hill...in fact, I'm totally obsessed with it right now, haha.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy these videos and links and I hope you enjoy tonights premier my fellow UK peeperooo's! Season 4 is possibly the best season so far and the episode HANDS not only has my favourite preview of the season, it is also possibly my favourite episode! If you've already watched Season 4 and not seen this preview then check it out...and if you're a spoiler whore, I do apologise for making it so easy for you to see such an awesome spoiler, haha! It's just TOO GOOD not to share, lol! :D

And ooh, sneak peek spoiler pic from Season 4 opener! <3 Look how adorable Jax and Tara are! :)

Enjoy fellow Jax~lings and SAMCRO lovers! <3

Sons of Anarchy - Some of My Favourite Songs From the Show AND Video Dedications to Awesome Songs!

2012-01-15T23:20:00.000Z

Okay, so I've been meaning to do a Sons of Anarchy blog for a while, I've got a few things wrote and stuff but until then, I decided to share my favourite Sons of Anarchy related music video's. Some are music from the show, others video's clipped together to different music...all of them however have the same thing in common...Miss Morleysaurus thinks they're fucking aswesome!!!! :)

Sooo, first up, the Season 4 finale...as per usual, they got it bang on! This cover of House of the Rising Sun by The White Buffalo and The Forest Rangers. I love SAMCRO's houseband The Forest Rangers. The music they have done throughout the four seasons has been amazing, as have they guys they've worked with. They are one big part of the show, and it wouldn't be the same show without them. As for the song, it was like it was written especially for Jax, at that very moment. <3

Okay, next is a video I came across whilst procrastinating on YouTube one day...as I'm sure we all do. It was this day that led me downloading all of the SoA EP's from iTunes. For those buying the album that has just been released, I think that all of the EP stuff is on there, and then obviously you get House of the Rising Sun as well. Anyhoo, I came across this next video...having vaguely heard of the band before I though, woot, a kind a heavy rock/metal band with Sons videoage, I can dig that! I ended up fucking loving this song, and then buying it of course, haha.

And lol, as this one comes right next in my YouTube favourites list and you know what, I actually prefer this to the original Eminem music video...and that featured a LOST HOBBIT...and Megan Fox! I think the fact that it's all Jax and Tara, and it's such a well put together video of my favourite TV couple since Kate and Sawyer...or Sawyer and Juliet...that would be a better comparison actually. You know, drop dead gorgeous scruffy rarrrrrrrrrr bad boy...and the doctor. Man I miss LOST!!! Like, really badly!!!! Anyhoo, argh...Jax and Tara in Eminem's Love the Way You Lie. :)

Another end of season belter of a track is the Season 3 finale with Battleme's cover of Hey Hey, My My...amazing, AMAZING cover!

And lastly for now, a song I just cannot help but keep listening to over and over and over again, and with this Sons related video, it's all the more perfect! <3

Hope enjoyed these, I know I sure as hell do! :D

Happy Day of Jason, My Beautiful Mutated Favourite Boyfriend!

2012-01-14T00:33:00.000Z

Okay so in the spirit of Friday the 13th, the day of my beloved Jason Voorhees, the beautiful mutated Mummy's boy, whos maggot infested face just makes me want to give him lots of squishy huggles, I thought I'd give you a BLAAAAAAAGH post of some of my favourite Jason moments and my random Voorhees loving rants! :D

First of all, I LOVE ALL of the Jason movies...well apart from Jason Goes to Hell which is a bit poo...even if it does have X from The X Files in it, it's just a bit lame. Even Jason Takes Manhattan, despite the fact I hate EVERYONE in the freakin' movie...well except Jason and the dog, I still think it's an awesome movie. You've got super cute Jason moments, such as when he's climbing up to the ship when it's leaving saying "I LIIIIIIIVVVVE!!!".

Ooh, and the bit in NYC when he shows his displeasure to the punk kids with their beatbox.

And when he's drowning in the sewers being all cute and "Mommy, help me!". He is lovely. With the Julius death you have one of my favourite deaths, I mean what's cooler than punching some dudes head off and it rolling into a dumpster!?!

AAAAND, when Jason first gets to Manhattan and sees the hockey mask on the billboard, bwahahahaha, SUPER cuteness! <3 I mean look at him, isn't he so cute!?! :D

Anyhoo, I does not care what the haters say, it's a fun film, yup yup yup! They all are! Even Jason X! Say what you like about Jason X but Todd Farmer had it right. The film is stupid amounts of fun, and not only does it have the best death EVER with the liquid nitrogen death...it also has the total boner~gasm of a tribute to another of the best ever Jason deaths, the sleeping bag death. This was a film made by a horror fan who likes to have fun, for other horror fans who like to have fun...end of!

Woot, GO Jason... slam them bitches! ;)

Anyhoo, Jason X was a great precursor to all of the awesomeness that Todd Farmer was to inflict on the world with his 3D films, in fact, in my humble opinion, Todd Farmer is the BEST when it comes to 3D movies...say what you want but that man has an eye for all of the good things about 3D, and less of the utter shite that can also be spewed from it!!! :D

This is of course me babbling about the Jason's that most people won't admit to liking to, I always feel the need to defend them. Thankfully unlike other people, I have no concern with admitting to liking such awesome films, haha.

Now when it comes to original Jason movies, Part 2 is my all time favourite. Amy Steel is an absolute doll and Ginny is my favourite Friday the 13th chick...which meant that when I got to interview her it was a horror girls dream! <3

And look at little sock puppet Jason with his cute little bag mask! :)

Friday the 13th Part 3 continues the Jason awesomeness with my 2nd favourite Jason chick and the fact that its in 3D makes it all the more awesome. Haha. I remember a while back where I saw it on TV and was like, why does it look so funny? Turned out it was in 3D. Haha. Yeah, I felt like a right spazz! And I looked like one as well when I got out a pair of 3D glasses from a Scarecrow Batman comic to watch it, haha.

So yesss, we get a lotta good deaths in episode 3...AND Jason gets his mask! From Shelly, one of the most annoying characters in the series...but he does give Jason his mask so you gotta give him some credit! :)

Now even though I'm all about my final girls kicking my boyfriends butt...Tommy Jarvis in Part 4, played by Corey Feldman, he is definitely a favourite. Tommy is fucking awesome. End of. Even in Part 5 and 6. Not as much as in Part 4 but certainly a challenge of awesomeness.

The other amazing thing about Part 4...CRISPIN FREAKIN' GLOVER!!! Now if you don't LOVE Crispin Glover there is clearly something wrong with you, the guy is a fucking legend and his part in Friday the 13th most definitely accentuates that.

Ooh, now I know I mentioned the original sleeping bag death before in Part 7 as being a favourite, so is the death of Sheriff Garris in Part 6...total spine snapping awesomeness! :)

At the end of the day, Jason is one bad ass mother fucker...nothing can kill his sexy maggot ridden ass, and y'all know it bitches! These wenches might think they can kill my baby but at the end of the day.....

JASON LIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!! :D

And he looks god dammmmned sexy whilst doing so, bwahahahahaha!!! ;) <3

Trekking for Charity - My Parental's Taking on the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal!

2011-12-07T21:13:00.001Z

Readers of my blog might remember back in May when I posted a blog about members of my family climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for a heart charity in memory of my Granddad. Part of this group included my Parentals, Roy and Gail. Despite Ben Nevis being the highest mountain in the British Isles, climbing this, even in the slightly horrific weather that they had to endure, it was pretty much a piece of cheesecake! :)

Now the Parental's have always loved hill walking, as have I, and what could be more of a hill walkers dream than that of to climb Mount Everest!?! Now obviously climbing Mount Everest is a weeeeeeee bit more of a challenge, you know, the whole not being able to breathe and shit, haha, so instead they are trekking to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal! This is still a totally bad ass trek and is one that for my Dad, has always been a lifelong ambition! So yes, when they got back from Mexico last summer they decided that for their 2012 holiday, Everest it was! I remember a few days after they got back from Mexico when I was returning the dog to them, they were like "Do you mind looking after Hamish while we climb Mount Everest!?!!" To which they got the reply "Yaaa whaaat!???!!!" Haha.

So anyhoo, Mother had asked me if I could write a blog post to share what they were doing, kind of like the post I wrote about their Ben Nevis trek. I had started writing it when I can't remember, I'd taken a break to do some hoovering or something and then waahlaah, whilst hoovering I thought, "Why not instead of writing one single post, actually set up a blog detailing everything they were doing?" So set up a blog is what I did! :) At the end of the day, this isn't just trekking up a mountain, it's freakin' Mount Everest! Just the training to get in shape alone is inspirational, and more importantly...it's fun! With a blog, it's easier for people to keep up to date on all of the walks and hiking they do in preparation for the trek, it's also a great way to share with others who might be inspired to take on this almighty challenge!

Not only are they doing this trek to fulfil a dream of the Daddy's, they are using this trek to raise moohlah for causes close to their heart. One of them is the British Heart Foundation and the other Afasic, which helps kids with speech and communication problems and stuff. You can read more about the charities they are raising money for, as well as keep up to date with their training and lots lots more at their official blog Team Cooper's Everest Expedition!

It really would be awesome if they could raise as much money for charity as possible with this trek, so if y'all fancied checking out their blog and if you feel inspired, or if you're more just in awe of what they're doing, you can still support from the comfort of your sofa, haha. All donations are greatly appreciated. You can either donate to the charity of your choice, or just make a general donation, all of this you can find in the Trekking for Charity page of the blog. And please clicky to LIKE their Facebook page for the blog and also follow them on Twitter too.

Now as with all their adventures, family mascot Alistair McAlistair shall be accompanying them to the Base Camp, heehee. Readers of my blog may remember a blog I did just before Christmas where I introduced y'all to this worldly bunny, haha...he is a character and a half will definitely be needing to get some cosy clothes for this trek...although I'm sure he will still have his kilt with him so he can wear it when he reaches Base Camp!

So yesss, please check out all the links and follow and then share, share, SHAAAAAAAAAARE!!! :D Thank You! <3

Alistair McAlistair - Wishing You A Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-05T22:54:00.001Z

Okay so anyone who knows me knows how much I LOOOOOOOOOVE Bunnies! Bunnies are awesome, even my little Humpasaurus Jonah! So it is with great pleasure, and a whole ton of amusement that I bring this awesome video to you. Now just a little background for you about this special little Bunny...Alistair McAlistair is a Bunny who has most certainly toured the world. From travelling all over the UK, and Ireland, to holidays in Tenerife (the place where I died when I was a child in a past life I'll have y'all know!!! And actually, I think I drowned. Kind of like Alistair almost did before Daddy resuscitated him, haha. Although that was due to too much alcofrol, tsk tsk.) and even trekking through the Peruvian Amazon and climbing the Inca Trail! It's gotta be said, this little Bunny~kins has most definitely got a whole lotta rad~core stamps on his passport! And has most definitely done a whole lotta drinkin' all over the world! Heehee! <3

A Bunny always needs to know the safety exits, especially on these pesky things that fly!

Complimentary drink, bwahahaha!

Gotta make sure I got my bag with me! :)

I found me a Paddington Bear!

Oh yeah, Bunnies get to play in the jungle too!!! :)

Me and ma ride...I'm so gangsta yo! ;)

Me and my chicka kicking it in Tenerife!

Kicking it in my jungle bedroom in the Peruvian Amazon! Pretty swell...and no pesky snakesessss.

Oh yeaaaah...I climbed that shit! ;)

Me and my homies!

Me and Uncle Roy kicking it in our kilts, oh yes, we are soooo cooooo!

Aaaah, these poor animals drinking water...where's the beer dammit!?!

Nice Ass! Heehee.

Come on woman...I want my beer...get those little legs moving!

Oh yeaaaah, in Tenerife and got me my booze!

*insert morning after* OUCH!

Might as well have a nice chilled out float in the pool....

.....AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH......

......*insert Uncle Roy giving me CPR*

...And I'm back babies! After that whole drunken drowning thing, the buggers still made me climb up this wretched mountain! Pfffft! What's a bunny gotta do to catch a break round here?!! ;)

Oooh, the trip back down zee hill is getting smoke~tastic!

Channeling my inner zen! :)

Bwahahaha...find me if you can!

Me and Pudsey rockin' it for the kids...

....Although not this kid...I is kicking his ass yo! Mwahahahaha! I am tractor driver of awesomo!

Soooo, Uncle Gary stuck a pole up my butt so he could take my picture! I hope he doesn't do that to everyone who comes into his studio to get their picture taken, heehee!

BOO!!!

Me on TV....can you see me!?! :D

And lastly, me and my Rexy! <3 <3 <3

Soooooo, now that you have got to know me, I get to share my super awesome, totally rad~core new Christmas card with all of you lovely people!

So, DAAAAAH, DAAAAH, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH.....

To follow more of Alistair's adventures, click HERE to friend him on Facebook.

I Have A Totally Rad~core New Logo...DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DAAAAH!!!

2011-11-28T23:03:00.001Z

Greetings fellow blog~letties! You may have noticed something new about my blog, and that is MY AWESOME NEW LOGO, bwahahahahahahaha!!! <3 I LOVE IT! This wonderful logo of awesomeness was done by a fellow horror chick~a~roo, and that lady would be Miss Miki Hickel! I am so thankful to Miki for putting a great big dinosnore sized smile on my geeky face! Miki is the lady responsible for a large number of our Women in Horror Recognition Month banners and logo's as well a whole lotta Ax Wound stuff too! You can read my blog on her over at my Jennifer's Bodies blog and expect an interview with both Miki, and Alison Lilly, another of our Women in Horror designer/artist extraordinaire's in the very near future! I love both these girls, they have stupid amounts of talent and with my logo, Miki has made something cute and geeky...AND totally Morleysaurus to the max! I love the addition of the Morley cigarettes...the very thing where my name Morley came from. I am an X Phile through and through and I love that this is included in my dino~tastic new logo! So yay, THANK YOU MIKI!!! <3 And ooh, please do check out her official site to see more awesome work! :D

Creepmas - Doing to Christmas What it Does to Halloween...

2011-11-25T00:14:00.001Z

Right, so anyone who was even remotely near any sort of store this Halloween, and every other Halloween before that, (just not as bad as what I witnessed this Halloween) will notice that at the same time that every store is advertising and selling Halloween stuff...usually, in the same isle, just on the opposide side, they are selling bloody Christmas stuff as well! Now I know that in places such as the States where they are bonkers for pretty much any 'holiday' but especially Halloween and Christmas, this has probably been the norm for as long as people have been eating Pumpkin Pie every Thanksgiving (okay slight exaggeration...but only slight!). This really bugs me though, we should at least be letting Halloween be over before we start thinking about Christmas decorations, and costumes! This is why when I heard about Creepmas, I fully embraced the concept! Creepmas is about doing to Christmas, what it does to Halloween...stomping a nice big Sandy Claws sized boot into the celebrations.

And speaking of Sandy Claws, what better way to celebrate Creepmas than with one of my all time most favourite, most watched and most quoted films...The Nightmare Before Christmas! Just like Jack Skellington takes over Christmas with his wonderful Halloween spirit, even though he tried his damn hardest to make it as Christmassy as possible, Creepmas is infiltrating all the snowflakes and candy canes with a good old dosage of blood and bats and ghouls galore! The 13 Days of Creepmas runs for 13 days between the 1st and 13th December. Check out the Official blog for how to partake in all the creep~tastic celebrations! <3

Jennifer's Bodies 2012 - Now Open for Submissions!

2011-11-24T23:14:00.001Z

Greetings my fiendishly awesome ladies...and boys who work with awesome ladies in zee horror movie industry...just wanted to let y'all know that I have now opened up submissions for Jennifer's Bodies 2012, and Official Women in Horror Month event. If you hop on over to my Official Jennifer's Bodies Blog, you can check out the submission guidelines and all the details for sending your glorious horror features and short in zee way of Miss Morleysaurus! I eargerly await your response! <3

Herschell Gordon Lewis - The Godfather of Gore...Directed by Frank Hennenlotter!

2011-11-22T12:49:00.001Z

Okay so a few weeks back I read this brilliant interview that Rob G did with Frank Hennenlotter over at Icons of Fright. It was to celebrate the release of Basket Case on Blu-Ray. Now I've been a fan of Hennenlotter for a number of years, the man is a sick and demented fellow with an absolutely brilliant imagination...some may say he's completely twisted, I say he's a wee bit of genius! Films such as the Basket Case films, Frankenhooker and Bad Biology stand out as 110% freaktarded works of art! Anyhoo, in this interview Rob also speaks to Hennenlotter about the documentary he made on the original Godfather of Gore, Mr Herschell Gordon Lewis! As soon as I read this interview I was left eagerly dying to see this documentary, I think Herschell Gordon Lewis is a truly brilliant director. Some say that the line between his great movies, and his shite movies is incredibly close, but even in a crap way, I still love them. Particular favourites of mine include Colour me Blood Red, The Gore Gore Girls and Blood Feast. I have still yet to see the documentary, however thanks to Chris Dunlop over at ScreamQueenArmy, I got to see the trailer for the Hennenlotter directed documentary. If like me you have yet to see the documentary, you can still watch the trailer below...and this is in no doubt a film for gore~hounds and Grindhouse fans. And it is one that I shall be sure to update you on the moment I see it! :)

Tristan Risk Takes Over Leah Gibson Role in American Mary as Beatress Johnson!

2011-11-21T17:06:00.001Z

Okay so after the final casting announcement for Jen and Sylvia Soska's American Mary was released yesterday and I published it on my blog, a number of the main horror sites such as Dread Central and Bloody Disgusting obviously published the information as well...with a number of them linking to my blog as the source of information. The thing is, it looks like they've taken the info that I gave yesterday in my blog and then added Leah Gibson's name to it. Leah was originally slated to play the role of Beatress Johnson, however due to creative differences this is no longer the case.

As a burlesque performer Tristan was originally brought in as the dance choreographer for the movie, not to read for the part. It was only after chatting to the girls that they realised that their Beatress was sitting right in front of them...Tristan IS Beatress! So now, not only do the girls have their perfect Beatress, they also have an amazing choreographer as well...it's the perfect scenario! Just looking at these amazing pictures of Tristan, I'm sure you will all agree, she is perfect for American Mary....I can't wait to see her in action! <3

Yet Another American Mary Casting Announcement, And This Time it's Newcomer Natasha Forry!

2011-11-21T11:34:00.001Z

Okay so it's another day and yet another cast member of the upcoming flick from Jen and Sylvia Soska has been announced. This time it's newcomer Natasha Forry, making her debut role in American Mary. According to the girls we are going to be enjoying Natasha as sultry jail bait...now jail bait for whom, that is the question!?! :) With secrecy surrounding the exact plot details, every little tidbit of information leaves us all the more curious...and that is exactly what these pesky Soska's want, the little minxes that they are! ;)

In the meantime however, you can cyberstalk Natasha on Twitter @natashaforry

The Full Lead Cast of American Mary Announced...And it is An X Phile's Nerd~gasm!

2011-11-20T17:43:00.001Z

So it is with geektastic pleasure that I can now announce the names of the lead characters in Jen and Sylvia Soska's new movie, American Mary!

American Mary is the story of medical student, Mary Mason as she becomes increasingly broke and disenchanted with the surgical world she once admired. The allure of easy money sends Mary into the world of underground surgeries, which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so called 'freakish' clientele.

Now I've always known Jen and Sylvia to be massive X Philes, and coming from Vancouver, that's all the cooler to be honest. Now that the cast has been announced, and I've had time to stalk all their resume's...I have realised just how much X Files talent is going to be in this movie! Soooooooo, without further adu.......

Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason

Katherine Isabelle is the daughter of X Files Art Director Graeme Murray who worked on The X Files for a number of years. Not content with just having a totally rad~core X Files Dad, Kate went on to appear in the episode Schizogeny as Lisa Baiocchi. (Pictured below)

In the Horror~verse Katherine Isabelle is mostly known as her amazing role as Ginger in the Ginger Snaps trilogy. A role that, especially in the first one, is well worth being remembered for! This is one of my favourite werewolf movies and one that I have been a fan of since day one! And like American Mary, it's a movie that is filled to the brim with X Files stars and geekery! :) Katherine has also spent some time playing hide and seek with the one and only Freddy Kreugar in Freddy vs Jason and also starred in one of my favourite sleeper horrors, Disturbing Behaviour! She has also appeared in a number of cult hit sci-fi shows such as Stargate SG-1, John Doe, Supernatural, The Outer Limits, Endgame and Smallville.

Paula Lindberg as Ruby RealGirl

The lovely Paula Lindberg started out doing voice work for Anime series including Starship Operators, Elemental Gelade and Mobile Suit Gundam 00 before moving on to guest roles on shows such as Fringe and a recurring part on A Town Called Eureka...as well as small parts in a variety of movies. Paula is also the only member of this new cast that was actually part of the teaser for American Mary as well, as can be seen below. :)

Antonio Cupo as Billy Barker

Antonio Cupo has been acting since 2000 when he started out doing guest spots on TV shows. Like the majority of the rest of the cast, he has done a number of sci-fi show guest spots. These have included Dark Angel and Andromeda as well other shows such as The L Word, Special Unit 2, The Sausage Factory and a number of Italian shows and movies as well. Movies have included Elegy, Smile, Love Notes, and more recently Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story.

Horror nerds will probably pick up on the fact that Billy's last name is Barker, a nod of course to one of Jen and Sylvia's favourite director's, Mr Clive Barker! When casting, the girls had to make sure that the actor they cast would do their favourite director justice...and that dreamy was a must! On hearing that during the audition, Antonio melted the entire room, I think the girls are most definitely going to do their favourite dreamy director proud. And speaking of Clive Barker, he has been incredibly supportive of the girls and is really excited about this film. When you've got the creator of ye olde Pinhead on board, you know you must be doing something right! :)

David Lovgren as Dr Grant

David has been working in movies and TV since 1987 when he started out with a role in an episode of 21 Jump Street. He has appeared in episodes of Red Dwarf, The Outer Limits, The L Word, Supernatural, Masters of Horror, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Smallville, Andromeda and many more. Including The X Files. :)

He appeared as the clone Kurt Crawford in the episode Memento Mori. Seen below with the lovely Agent Mulder! <3

Twan Holliday as Lance Delgreggo

Twan Holiday is a metal loving actor, stunt man, singer, song writer, bass player and pro-wrestler...a wonderful combination of talents if ever I heard one! Movie wise, the thing that stood out for me about Twan was him being a stunt man on Marcus Nispel's Pathfinder! Starring the one and only Karl Urban! *insert MAJOR LoTR geek~gasm*

Tristan Risk as Beatress Johnson

Tristan is a burlesque dancer who performs with Vancouver based Sweet Soul Burlesque. Tristan has the horror Darkest Hour and the horror short Crazy Dracula Spring Break Weekend already under her belt. Add to that American Mary and Tristan is starting to make a name for herself in the horror world, on top of already being popular in the burlesque one. :)

Shooting starts in 10 days time...in the meantime however, please take a peek at the ever so delicious teaser trailer...starring Sylvia Soska in the role of Mary Mason, who shall be played by Katherine Isabelle in the movie.

In the House of Flies - Geek~tastic New Trailer...Especially For All You Henry Rollins Nerds Out There!

2011-11-18T09:24:00.001Z

It is with the greatest pleasure that I can provide you with the absolutely, downright wicked awesome new trailer for Philip Carer's (PGC) latest film, In the House of Flies.

Starring Lindsay Smith, Ryan Kotack, Ryan Barrett AND the one and only Henry freakin' Rollins....In the House of Flies looks like another glorious throwback to a decade long gone by one of the genre's most inspirational, underground directors! Philip Carer is most definitely one to be watching ladies and gentlegeeks!

I am sure that you will all agree that this is a most excellent trailer...it is visually stunning, the 80's nostalgia brings a great big Goonie sized smile to my face and more importantly...it has the best spoken voice over EVER!!! I mean seriously, if you're going to have any sort of voice over work on your trailer, then you might as well have the god of spoken word do it for you...especially when he's one of the stars of your movie! Oh yes my fellow nerdlings, get your geekgasm on for more Henry Rollins goodness when In the House of Flies is released.

And oooh, how awesome is the picture above...Henry Rollins and Philip Carer, definitely a rad~core pairing if ever I heard of one! :D And speaking of awesome pairings...how completely fucking awesome would it be if Philip Carer directed a Deftones video....just saying!?!!! ;)

If you are a fan of the trailer then please be sure to LIKE the Official Faceboook Page which you can find HERE!

Happy Birthday to the GOD that is Chris Carter...and KADY! :)

2011-10-14T01:19:00.000+01:00

In every religion there is a God...a deity whom without, that religion would not exist. And it was on this very day today, 55 years ago, that my God was born! This man encouraged his followers to believe, and even when I was unsure of what was the truth, and what not...I still told myself 'I Want to Believe!' The God that I am talking about is of course Chris Carter...the religion, that of the X Phile!

So yay, today, the 13th October 2011, I would like to say Happy Birthday Chris Carter, you Wonderful, Wonderful man! My life wouldn't be the same without you. You gave me Mulder and Scully. Which in turn gave me some of my closest friends. And then when I finally met you, you were the most amazingly kind and humble man...which made me love you even more.

And then 6 years ago, to this day...my sister gave me possibly the second greatest thing in my life, my niece Kady! A true X Files chick, Kady is a little crazy Cooper and a future X Phile indeed. Even if her Mummy, my sister Suz, is content on turning her into a total Buffy nut...although, technically...without The X Files, Buffy so would not have existed...SIMPLES! Myself and my sister Kimberley will fix that though. Kady is a Tenthirteen baby and one that I am sure as hell proud of! :) So yay, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KADY!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

A Random-Ass Interview With Moi!

2011-09-15T21:16:00.002+01:00

So I have just done one of Spook Sean's Random-Ass Interview's! If you want to know what I'd do if I woke up with a wiener, what my worst job was...or perhaps what kind of monster I would be, head on over to Spooky Sean's Sinful Bloggery to find out!

And ooh, whilst you're there, you MUST read his random-ass interview with one of my favourite people on the planet, the Barnipede, a.k.a. Bahnick! Yes, Mr Adam Barnick talks lots about monkey's with Sean. It's a wee bit of genius! Haha. And ooh, you also have to join our Bahnick Fan Club on Facebook!!! :P

My Boys Are Back! Sons of Anarchy Returns to FX in the States Tonight...WOOT!

2011-09-06T14:39:00.000+01:00

So it is with great pleasure that I can say my favourite bikers are back on the air tonight...yes, Sons of Anarchy returns to FX tonight, after what seems the longest break in history!!! It isn't really and it was just as bad with the X Files and Lost, but I had forgotten how badly it sucked awaiting the return of a show I'm totally obsessed with! A lot has changed since we last saw them...including Jax who now has a sexy new short haircut! I can't wait to see what else has changed! I can't wait to see him reunited with Tara...and Gemma, the most kick ass woman on TV! Now if you're like me and can't wait till tonight, or tomorrow in my case as I'll have to wait for it to come online...you can check out a sneak peek of the first 4 mins and 16 seconds at the link below! :)

The Winslet - Otherwise Known as SUPER Kate - My LOVE!!!

2011-08-25T23:13:00.000+01:00

So as if I need another reason to gush about how amazing Kate Winslet is, she is now a superhero! And no we're not talking spandex wearing superhero...although the idea of her running around in her nightdress saving people is ever so slightly alluring! ;) My long term girl crush and total future wife...well until Miss Lianne Spiderbaby came along...played real life hero...The Winslet played superhero to Richard Branson's elderly mother. The Winslet saved Branson's 90 year old mother after a fire broke out in his mansion on his private island.

Aaaaah, private island...how much fun would that be to have. I'd love to have my own private island. With my own private Winslet to save me when things got too tough.

Fright Bytes Episodes 8 and 9 - Geektastic Explorations of the Viscera Film Festival and Comic-Con!

2011-08-25T20:39:00.000+01:00

Woot, so a little while ago I mentioned that in an up and coming Fright Bytes we would be seeing an interview with the amazing Elvira. Well, I can happily say that the episode is up on YouTube and it is great. Whilst getting an awesome view around Comic-Con (see Team Fangoria above^^^)...which one day I shall visit...we also get an interview with the stars of the new flick Creature and the aforementioned interview with the amaaaazing Elvira. And is it just me, or when she speaks, is she not really like me...or more like, I'm like her. I totally thought that...creeptasticular! Am I right or just dreaming...let me know!?!!! :) We also get a great Q&A from the super foursome of directors that are known as Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Tim Sullivan AND Adam Rifkin - the director of the most awesome Beagle movie EVER...UNDERDOG!!!! ;) Anyhoo, my Beagle obsession aside, the subject at hand is their new movie Chillerama, an anthology of four segments of madness...which I cannot WAIT to see!!!

And for those of you who missed the episode prior to this, where Ms Hotness Spiderbaby was at the Viscera Film Festival, you can check it out below:

Why I'm Still Not Sold on Anne Hathaway as Catwoman!

2011-08-24T14:41:00.000+01:00

Okay so when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight, my first thought was hmmmm!?! When Ledger first started out with films such as 10 Things I Hate About You...I hated him! (Pictured below in all his cheesiness!) Now if I had only seen the film once or twice I'm sure it wouldn't have bothered me as much, but my darling beloved house mate Becky, the gorgeous darling that she is...she spent the whole freakin' summer I lived with her watching that goddamn movie!

After that he continued to do cheesetastic films and I just was NOT a fan! When he did movies like Ned Kelly and The Sin Eater, I started to warm a little bit more to him but it wasn't until Lords of Dogtown (pictured below) that I saw a truly great performance and started to realise what a wonderful actor he really was.

Now I'll put my hand up and say I've never actually seen Monster's Ball so can't actually comment on that. Brokeback Mountain was another good performance but I don't totally love that film. Hanging around with a bunch of lads definitely dimmed my viewing of that movie though, I'll be perfectly honest. Too many Brokeback Mountain jokes prior to my first viewing made it impossible for me to watch without laughing...which was really annoying! Candy and I'm Not There are other good examples of excellent Heath performances prior to The Dark Knight but I didn't see either of them until after The Dark Knight! So anyhoo, even though I was warming to him more and more, I was still incredibly sceptical and didn't think he could pull off the part of The Joker!

And then the first picture of him all Joker'ed up was released. I was dumbfounded! The photo was haunting, it sent a shiver down my spine. Straight away I thought, The Crow. If he wasn't playing The Joker he would have been perfect as Eric Draven. In hindsight this was a fact that was all too close to the truth and when Heath was pronounced dead before The Dark Knight was released, I knew this shuddering similarity was all too real.

So anyhoo, pretty much sold on him as The Joker I was in Glasgow airport, we were dropping my friend Gog's off as he was leaving for China that day. Waiting around in the airport, I'm sure someone had went to the toilet or to get food or whatever...anyhoo, I was standing outside WHSmiths. I turn around and sitting on the shelf was the latest edition of Empire magazine...I scream, with delight...and run over to grab the magazine, "OH MY GOD"ing all the way. On the cover was Heath fully dressed as The Joker, it was amazing. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen, and one of the best Empire covers EVER! He looked amazing. That was it, I was sold! From this moment, I knew that he WAS The Joker. End of. So I literally bounce over to the counter in excitement to buy the magazine, the guys behind the counter bemused by my dorkiness! From here on out, everything I saw prior to the film being released, I became all the more giddier with excitement.

The first time I saw The Dark Knight was at the IMAX in London. It was one of the best days of my life! I was with my one of my bestest friends in the world, Nia...and my new found friend Yvonne. Earlier on that day I had met two of my idols, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz! Creator and producer of The X Files. After meeting the two men who we all deemed to be Gods, we went back to the place we were staying, got changed into our Batman t shirts and set off for The London Dungeon. Which is beyond awesome by the way! After screaming and laughing our way round the Dungeon we got ourselves some rubber bats and set off for the IMAX.

Now the opening sequence was done in 3D and that on an IMAX screen was immense. You were literally sucked into Gotham City, it was amazing. Too much more of that giddiness though would have been a bit too much so I'm quite happy it was just that scene that was 3D. Anyhooooo, I loved the film. It was perfect. It was a thing of beauty. The hospital scene and then also the scene where the Joker is speeding through the streets at night with his head hanging out the car vehicle window, I thought to myself, this is one of the defining moments of modern cinema. Heath Ledger as The Joker was the most perfect choice ever. He was flawless. My doubt had been completely retarded and I, alongside pretty much the rest of the world, had been proven wrong. Heath Ledger WAS The Joker. He IS The Joker. Nobody even comes remotely close. Simples.

So now that I have explained my thoughts on Heath and how I was oh so happily proved wrong, here is my problem with Anne Hathaway being cast as Catwoman. As a girlie, Catwoman is a very important character, I want to see her done right...so badly! What actually incited this blog was the fact that I was watching Batman Returns last night and posted to Facebook that Michelle Pfeiffer WAS Catwoman and that I thought she was perfect. Which I do. Now I have conversed with people before about how we all thought the same when The Joker was cast and that how Christopher Nolan is brilliant and we totally trust him. Now the thing is...I do trust him...110%...with male characters! With female characters he's not so shit hot, as the Rachel character proved with Batman Begins. But still...I'm keeping my hopes up. Even if it doesn't seem like I am. Now obviously his Batman lives more in the real world, that's almost what makes it so good. Tim Burton's Catwoman wouldn't work so well in a Nolan film, I am perfectly aware of that! In all fairness, I would rather that Nolan hadn't went with Catwoman at all. If I had to choose a female villain I would have went with Harley Quinn.

But for whatever reason, he has went with Catwoman, a reason that is more than likely down to studio pressure. When Anne Hathaway was cast as Catwoman, both myself and pretty much every other female nerd I know expressed a massive bleugh reaction! She has never been one to stand out as an actress to me, and with the exception of the fact that I love her wonderfully pale skin...that's pretty much where it ends for me in any kind of liking towards her. BUT...I still kept telling myself that Nolan knows what he's doing, we're all going to be eating our words in no time...just wait till we get the first pics of her. And then we get THIS -

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for Nolan's realistic vision but doesn't she kind of remind you of Jessica Alba in the latest Spy Kids movie??

Only time will tell if this works or not, and I truly hope that it does! I want her to be good as Catwoman, I'm just really not feeling it just now. Michelle Pfeiffer is still Number One in my Catwoman eyes, yup yup yup! But as I said, only time will tell...I hope I'm wrong in my doubt!

30 Day Horror Movie Challenge - A Favourite Classic Horror Movie

2011-08-24T00:12:00.000+01:00

Okay so when I saw I had to pick a classic horror movie, I thought, in what term does classic mean, hmmm?? Seeing as how my first thought was Creature from the Black Lagoon, I'm going with that one!

What makes this film so special then...it has EVERYTHING a Morleysaurus loves most dearly! The story goes that a geological expedition in the Amazon uncovers a fossilised hand with webbed fingersl from the Devonian period...a hand that could prove to be the link between land animals and marine animals. The leader of the expedition contacts his friend Dr David Reed, an Ichthyologist who convinces the financial backers to fund a trip back to the amazon to find the rest of this amazing fossil.

Upon arrival at the site, they find the entire research team dead. At first thinking a jaguar had attacked the camp they soon come to the realisation that the team were attacked by a piscine amphibious humanoid...a creature exactly like the fossillised hand. Bwahahahaha. So yes, straight away we have Geology, Palaeontology...the Devonian period - my favourite Geological period out of the Paleozoic Era. The whole point of the creature coming out of the lagoon is due to global warming and rising sea levels and what not. It's the perfect example of how global warming is destroying our planet. So yes, add to all these geektastical loves of mine a monster stalking and killing people and it's a movie of downright freakin' awesomeness!

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a beautiful movie and at times incredibly haunting. Like all the Universal Monster movies there is a chilling, and melancholy aspect to it. Some have said that unlike monsters such as Frankenstein, you don't emphasize with the Creature...but I disagree. This poor animal should be extinct, but he's not. He doesn't understand the time that he is in, he doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. In that respect, he is exactly like Frankenstein. And like Frankenstein he's got his eye on the girl and funnily enough, she screams at him whenever he goes anywhere near her! Poor poor Creature. Heehee.

Now talk of a remake of this movie has been going on for like 20 years or something, with some pretty fucking rad directors attached as well if I do say so myself. If a remake was done right, then you know what, I'm all for it. Directors such as Breck Eisner, the man behind the rather awesome remake of The Crazies, Guillermo del Torro - who is now playing with "big fuckin' monsters" in Pacific Rim. Other names such as Peter Jackson, John Landis, John Carpenter...pretty much the masters of fucking horror...lots of their names have been attached to the project. This I could dig. The reason why I'm actually kind of behind a remake is that I LOVE the story, I want to see that story out there again. But only in the right hands would I like to see a return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon! :)

Why All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is a Much Better Film than I'd First Thought!

2011-08-23T21:18:00.000+01:00

Okay so the other week John Squires wrote a blog regarding All the Boys Love Mandy Lane over at Freddy in Space, about how much he loved the film, but also more to the point, asking the question as to why it has never actually been released in the States. Now when this film first came out and was touring the film festivals, I have to say, I was majorly geeking for it. I loved the premise of it and everything about it was looking pretty darn sweet! When it was released here theatrically it was out for about a week or something and I was gutted to have missed it. Thankfully though it was released a few months later on DVD and so yay, I was finally getting to see this modern horror, one that I was so looking forward too. So on the day of release I run out to Blockbusters, all excited and stuff...got my DVD before running home to watch it...AND...

...I hated it! :(

Now the point of this blog is to retract some of the venom that I spat after my first viewing. I might have just ever so slightly over-reacted when I said it was the most over-rated piece of shit in recent history. Now my initial problem was I didn't get just why all the boys loved Mandy Lane. I was expecting this incredibly quirky character, one who was not only beautiful outside but on the inside too. I'm not a huge fan of Amber Heard and I've always found her a bit average...I just don't get all the love for her. The only reason I could get why they would all love her was that she didn't put out, and so in that respect she was a challenge for them...which she kind of was.

Supporting cast wise, I thought the teenagers were all beyond douchebaggery levels, which I know would have been the point, but even amongst douchebags there is always at least one that you don't want to be brutally murdered...right!?! The only character I actually liked was Garth, the groundsman.

What I did like about the film the first time round was the final act, that was very well done and a great surprise. My opinion at this time though was that this wasn't enough to save the film and I still thought it was crap. And I was sure to vent my opinion when I took the DVD back to Blockbusters and I have always been sure to share this opinion whenever the subject came up over the years.

So anyhoo, it's about 3 years later and I thought about the film again when I read Squires blog, still genuinely annoyed at how much I hated it. Feeling crap after having spent the day throwing up I'm channel hopping and the film is about to start on Film4 as part of their Frightfest season. So I think, what the hell, let's give it another shot. Besides, I felt too ill to argue...even with myself.

Visually I think the film is great. The characters are still annoying. I still don't get exactly why the boys love Mandy Lane...apart from reasons stated above. The final act is brilliant...and a total surprise. And you know what...the film didn't suck. I actually kind of enjoyed it second time round. I have to admit that I like Amber Heard a little bit more nowadays, maybe that helped. I still think that the character needed more substance, something to make us root for her more. Something that would have made the end act all that more satisfying. Even I'm not that sure what exactly I wanted more from the character but there was definitely something!

So yes, the point of this blog is to admit that I was wrong. Amongst a slew of wank-munchery films that we are so often subjected too...this is actually one of the better ones. Maybe time will tell if I grow to love it. All I know is that I'm a lot happier NOT hating it. As freaktarded as that may be. So thank you Squires for inspiring me to give it a second chance, and to softening my opinion on the film. It's not often that I admit that I am wrong but I kind of was a bit harsh on this one. Haha.

And ooh, FYI, if you're a fan of the director Jonathan Levine then I totally recommend you check out his follow up film to All the Boys Love Mandy Lane...The Wackness, it's a brilliant film with an ace soundtrack! :)

30 Day Horror Movie Challenge - The Last Horror Movie You Saw in a Theater

2011-08-19T23:26:00.000+01:00

Okay it sucks that I haven't seen another horror in the cinema since Insidious...that shows how lame cinema's here are for seeing horror...however, it is also with great pleasure that I get to write about this film as my last cinema visit as this is what horror cinema is truly about!

From the very opening credit sequence I was hooked. It was literally a thing of beauty and awe! Now yes, I admit, I have openly geeked over my love of director James Wan and writer/actor Leigh Whannell from the very first time I watched Saw! I fucking love these guys, they are amazing at what they do and I can happily say that James is one of the coolest guys I know and he is always a pleasure to speak too. And a dork...can't forget the dork part! ;) So yesss, much love already, haha. Anyhoo....

From the moment that the title INSIDIOUS blares across the screen in all its glory, I literally wanted to be sucked into the film! It is easily one of my all time favourite opening sequences of a movie...it's THAT good!!!

There is this beautiful creepiness about Insidious, the kind that is rare in horror today. It exists but you have to dig beneath the surface...a favourite of recent times is definitely The House of the Devil...that film is fucking perfect and brilliant and creepy as fuck!!!!

The basic plot of course is that a couple and their family move into a new house, a beautiful house at that...damn you Heidi fucking Honeycutt and your review I read previous to seeing the film. Heidi, as lovely as she is (man I want to go out drinking with her, haha!!!) did a review that kept running through my head "how can they afford to live in a house like that!?!" I am clueless to American house prices so was able to put that aside but still had Heidi like the wicked devil, singing in the back of my head. Haha. Damn you Heidi!!!

Anyhoo back to the house...whilst exploring the oh so cool house, the young boy falls and bangs his head. He goes to bed and the next morning when the dad goes to wake him up, he won't wake up leading the doctors to believe that he is in a coma. Lots of totally freaktarded things start to happen and the family think that the house is haunted. But lo and behold, it turns out that it's not the house that's haunted, but the child!

I'm not going to give anymore away for those of you who haven't seen this brilliant film, one that is easily one of my favourite films of the past decade. It's ace in every sense. Whilst being a wonderful tribute to films such as Poltergeist...my first horror experience, it is also an amazing nod to the superbly creeptastic Carnival of Souls.

Whilst being a thowback to the films of old, it also had a very original feel to it and I absolutely LOVED it...it was the perfect horror in a world full of saturated bullshit! It was also amazing to have James Wan and Leigh Whannell back...it seems like forever since the amazing and criminally underrated Death Sentence was released. And ooh, FYI, it turns out that Death Sentence is actually my sister's boyfriend Brett...or Cockonomics, haha, favourite movie of all time...a fact that most definitely made me smile! So yesss, Team Wan/Whannell all the way! And whilst Leigh told James that he wasn't allowed to have creepy puppets in the movie, the creepiest puppet master still manages to sneak them in, bwahahaha. I recommend watching this movie in a pitch black room with a glass of wine, and prepare to be freaked the hell out!!! :P

Why The Crow is One of the BEST Films EVER! And Should NOT Be Remade...EVER!!!

2011-08-17T01:00:00.001+01:00

"If two people are meant to be together...nothing can keep them apart!"

Okay so when it comes to remakes and what not, I have been known in the past to stomp my feet and throw my toys out of the pram, i.e. The Omen (yes I started a petition against that ginger twat!!!)...I can actually support them, yes, I did support Rob Zombie's Halloween. *ducks* When it comes to The Crow however, it actually makes me actually physically sick. It's like that feeling when you ache for the love of your life when they are not there...this is how I feel. Like my heart has been ripped out. My eyes physically sting from the tears welling up inside at the thought. The Crow is more than a precious film, it is a tragically perfect film. One that should be re-released in cinemas for a new generation to enjoy...and if they don't like it as it's not "modern enough" then they can go fuck themselves...simples.

"A building get's torched, all that is left is ashes. I used to think that it is true about everything - family, friends, feelings - but now I know that sometimes, if love proves real, and two people are meant to be together, nothing can keep them apart."

This film is the ultimate love story. It is the story of two people destined to be together in a seriously fucked up world. It is a story that I crave...I want to live in it!

"Who the fuck get's married on Halloween anyhow?" - One of my favourite quotes in the movie, who wouldn't want to get married on Halloween. <3 It's the perfect holiday to get married on. :)

As I said before, everything about this movie is tragically perfect. The life of Rochelle Davis, otherwise known as Sarah in the movie; it has been plagued by tragedy and in fact heavily reflected the life that her onscreen mother actually lives in The Crow. Thankfully she is turning her life around now which makes me so happy. The Crow was her first and only role, with the exception of a cameo part in 2009's Hell House. For anyone to have made such an impact with one film, is evidence of a true and unique talent. As an advocate for women I think that the experiences that Rochelle has been through in life, makes her a true inspiration and I love her so much! <3

Obviously the tragedy that we focus on most however, is that of Brandon Lee's death. For an actor to die on set is a horrible, tragic thing. For an actor to have just done the role of his life, such as Brandon in The Crow...it is sad, it is depressing...and it brings on such a sense of melancholy that to attempt to remake it, it's sick!

Now I don't have a problem with the director assigned to The Crow remake...in fact I rather like 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo...I just think he should be using his talents to make unique, original films. Although, IF....and I say IF with gritted teeth...the movie has to be made...I'd rather it was in the hands of someone I like than some douchebag like, hmmm, Michael Bay!!! But still...all these fucking rumours about actors such as Bradley Cooper (who I like!), Mark Wahlberg (who when good is GREAT, and when bad is....*shudder*) and Channing fucking Tatum...WHAT THE FLYING FUCKTARD!?!!! He's too much of a mong to play Eric Draven!!! I will refrain from the rest of the rant that my boyfriend has had to put up with, mainly due to the grosse amount of political incorrectness and swearing...but yeah, you get my drift!

Those rumours aside...I appeal to anyone who has their moohlah in this film...DO NOT REMAKE IT! The thought itself is criminal. It is a film of beauty. A film of perfection. That level of perfection shall never be achieved again. To remake a film of this calibre...there is too much too it. Not only to remake the film, but to remake what is without a doubt one of the most perfect soundtracks of all time....impossible. The soundtrack, like the film, is perfect., It is that perfect image of the 90's grunge scene...a music scene that to this day is damn near impossible to replicate.

Sarah - "You're gonna say I should be in a cemetery in the middle of the night" "Safest place in the world to be" - Eric Draven "It's because everybody's dead!" - Sarah

Perfection!!!!

30 Day Horror Movie Challenge - Your First Horror Movie

2011-08-14T16:45:00.000+01:00

The first time I saw Poltergeist, I was 6 years old...the film freaked the crap out of me! The thing is, like all things that scare the beejeesus out of me, there is a good reason behind it - that reason would be an overactive imagination and a great big bloody spooky tree outside my bedroom window. Now, by nature I am a tree people, I love trees, generally the older and spookier the better. But given the right lightening and shadows, they can be downright freakin' creepy! This was the case with the tree outside my bedroom window, it totally reminded me of the tree that I had witnessed in all its glorious creeptasticness in this film I'd seen whilst having a sleepover at my friend Rhiona's. This was also the first time I saw The Goonies as well, woot woot!!!

Every night when lying in bed I'd see the shadow of this demonic tree and would think the poltergeist's were coming to get me too, aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!! Even now when I watch it I still find it creepy. It's such a wonderful film and one that has remained awesome with age too. With the combination of Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg though, what more would you expect!?!

Obviously the most tragic thing about Poltergeist legacy is the tragic death of Heather O'Rourke, the young, intensely blonde child who played Carol Anne Freeling in the three movies. The year after Poltergeist 2, Heather was diagnosed with the horrid Crohn's disease and was medicated to control it. She tragically died a year later at the age of 12, her death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest and intestinal stenosis. Her mother blames a wrong diagnosis when she first got ill as the reason she died so young. It's a horrible story and one that makes her amazing performance in this film even eerier, just knowing that she died such a short time after. Heather O'Rourke will forever be remembered as the little blonde girl from the Poltergeist movies and I guess there are far worse things to be remembered for. It's just a shame we didn't get to see more from her, I'm sure she would have grown up to become a brilliant actress...as long as she didn't fall prey to the other problems associated with child actors...A.K.A. Drew Barrymore! Whilst Drew however managed to pull it together again, so many other child actors have been lost due to drink and drugs...which is a sad state of affairs.

All of this aside though, Poltergeist remains my first true horror movie experience, and I LOVE it!!! I just don't love trees outside my bedroom window! ;)

Luther - The BBC Show from an American Perspective in the Form of Monty Hawes!!!

2011-08-10T15:14:00.001+01:00

My dear peoples of the Jeniverse, I decided to do something a wee bitty different on my blog. You will all know how much I LOVE the BBC show Luther, and its leading man Mr Idris Elba...sooooo I decided that as the lovely Monty Hawes was such a big fan, I'd get him to write a piece, kind of as a way to get the American perspective on it! So ho ho, here y'all go...ENJOY! :)

My good friend Jennifer Cooper of Musings of a Morleysaurus has asked me to write a little something about the great UK series Luther, starring Idris Elba. She wanted to hear what an American thinks of the series and she knows I am a fan. Of course she has already seen season 2, while we here in America have to wait for BBCAmerica to air the second season in October.

Everyone who has followed this thrilling series knows that it centers on a brilliant, yet troubled English police detective named John Luther. So I won’t give another review of the outstanding first season which had John dealing with the repurcussions of putting down a serial killer. He was placed on suspension until all the facts were sorted out about how the killer almost died before being brought in.

Luther is the type of detective that will do anything to bring criminals to justice. The means justify the ends if you will. Which put Luther on a different level from other contemporary TV detectives. What I really like about this show is how they focus quite a bit on his personal life as much as his work life. On American detective shows, you rarely get a glimpse into their personal lives. I mean yeah you get to meet their spouses and kids sometimes and they hang out at the bar with some friends but that is about it. On Luther, you get to deal with his personal life vividly. His problems with his wife is brought front and center. And he has to juggle both his work and personal lives, but on this series the two will come to clash very violently.

I like the fact that this series is very story and character driven and doesn't rely on action scenes to carry it through. You really care what happens to the characters and become very invested in them over the course of the season. Not to say that they skimp on the action. There is some cool action scenes spread out over the series and they are very thrilling. This is how you make a terrific TV series. America please take note.

I think Idris Elba is just freaking unbelievable. I don’t think anyone will argue that point. I know Jennifer thinks he is awesome and I won’t dispute that. This show depends on his character a lot and Elba does not disappoint. He is such a talented actor and his portrayal of this intelligent but flawed man is very impressive. But every hero needs a good adversary and Luther has one in the beautiful murderer Alice Morgan (played by Ruth Wilson). She and Luther played cat and mouse over the course of the first season and it is a joy to watch. These two seem to bring out the best in each other and Alice seems to be enjoying her dealings with John. She considers this a game.

That's another thing about this series being above and beyond anything we have here in America. Most detective shows open with the killer or bad guy doing something and by the time the credits roll, they are either dead or in prison. Here we have a person who did kill and got away with it but is still part of the show and very integral to it I might add. I only expect more good things from Alice in the upcoming season 2. Oh god, Jennifer..Alice does return for season 2 right. She has to. I hope so. Don't tell me any specifics just let me know if Alice comes back, yes or no. She's back for a bit...not a lot but she is definitely still around...the crazy chickadee that she is!!! :)

Anyway, I think Luther is top notch. I rank it right up there with another classic UK detective series...Prime Suspect with the great Helen Mirren. In fact these two series are very comparable as Prime Suspect delved into Jane Tennison personal life as much as Luther does. In fact this would make a great double bill one weekend. Prime Suspect and Luther. Hell Yeah! New idea! You know what would be cooler..a crossover between the two. Tennison is called back in to help Luther with a tough case. Awww, man I'm already geeking out over that possibility. Jennifer, me and you could write it and send it in and see what the top brass thinks. You game? Haha, that sounds like a pretty damn awesome idea Monty! :)

Well I just wanted to share some of my insights on why I think Luther rocks. I hope this was an enjoyable enough read. Thanks Jennifer for having me do this. And I would love to do a follow-up on this once I see Luther season 2. Do we have a deal? I can't wait for you to finally get to see Season 2, I know you're gonna love it...despite it being criminally short dammit!!!

Thank you to Monty for this rather insightful Yankee Doodle look into the brilliance of Luther, you do indeed rock! :P And ooh, before I forget, you should totally check out both of his blogs All Good Things and Hero Worship!!! They are both super awesome and totally rad~core! :)

Fright Bytes Episode 7 - Swatting Up on your Vampire Knowledge...Spiderpira Style!!!

2011-08-04T01:57:00.001+01:00

Forget all this Twilight wannabe vampire stuff, here's the real deal...and what could be more gorgeous than Spiderpira, heehee, or Miss Lianne Spiderbaby...with freakin' Elvira!?!?!!! Answer to that question - NOTHING...of course! ;) Actually, Spiderpira and Elvira is a bit of a tease as to what to expect from the next episode of Fright Bytes where Spiderpira is covering San Diego Comic-Con and meets up with the legendary Elvira, however, I thought this picture perfect to display what's going on in this episode of Fright Bytes!

So yesss, you might have guessed, the latest episode of the amazing Fright Bytes is focusing on vampires! If you ever wanted a short and sweet, yet highly informative session on the history of vampires then it's all here in this latest episode. Definitely worth checking out, as are some of the films that Lianne mentions that I've never actually seen. Here, here to education on a little blood sucking. And more importantly, it's worth watching just for how much I LOOOOVE the way Lianne says Nosferatu! <3 Heehee! Also much love to Lianne's brother Steve as well who makes an awesome co-host...clearly awesomeness runs in the family! Yay! Check out all the goodness below and be sure to subscribe to the Fright Bytes channel on YouTube as well as check in to LIKE the page for the show on Facebook! Cheers my dears! ;)

Captain America - A Most Excellent Avenger in My Humble Opinion!

2011-08-03T19:00:00.002+01:00

So yay, went to see Captain America and I have to say, I thought it was great! Despite some ropey, way too digital scenes, it was the perfect summer popcorn flick! When I posted on my Facebook page the question as whether to see it in 2D or 3D a nice big long debate started. The only reason I'd even considered 3D was purely for the time and getting trains back and stuff...in the end though, it made more sense to see it in 2D. Personally I am not a fan of 3D, I find it gives me a headache more than anything. When I saw The Dark Knight at the IMAX in London, the opening sequence in 3D was great but that was more than enough for me personally. And ooh, FYI, did you know, the only bits of The Dark Knight that Heath Ledger saw before his death was in the IMAX in London with Christopher Nolan, how geektastic is that?? :)

Anyhoo, the scenes that I considered to be a bit ropey were the ones that were blatantly made for 3D...something that at the end of the day took you a way from the story a bit and made it almost like a video game. The movie as a whole was fab though, it wasn't perfect but it was enjoyable enough that it meant that I was able to forgive Joe Johnston for these scenes that weren't so great!

Chris Evans was ace in the role of Captain America, and was clearly the perfect choice. One thing that I particularly liked was the fact that even though Captain America is your true patriotic American boy, the film didn't feel preachy or filled with the 'we're American, we're so amazing' bullshit that it could have been oozing with, and that was really quite refreshing.

I loved Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, he definitely had the Stark quality about him that we love so much about Tony Stark...he just wasn't as much of a playboy as his son would turn out to initially be, haha. The supporting cast as a whole was great, especially Tommy Lee Jones, the army colonel who was more than bemused when scientist Dr Abraham Erskine picked a tiny 90lb, asthmatic Steve Rogers as the man he wanted as the ultimate super soldier. As for Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull, superb!!!

Another cast member who was absolutely wonderful was the lovely Peggy Carter, played by Haley Atwell. Not only was she one kick ass, fearless chick, she also did it with such wonderful style, looking fab throughout the movie! Loved her! <3

And speaking of a tiny 90lb Steve Rogers, I thought the way that they made Chris Evans look so ickle was fab. Technology nowadays is so advanced that this sort of amazing transformation is easily possible. I actually kind of liked how long they spent focused on ickle Rogers as well, as freaktarded as he looked! I all meant that when he became Captain America he looks so much bigger...but he wasn't too big. Like not inordinately big...which was good!

So yes, as a prequel to next years Avengers movie, which I am soooooooooooo excited about, like more than you could possibly imagine...it was an excellent start! It set more characters in motion, something that is happening at a lovely pace with Iron Man and Thor already standing out! We got to see more of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury character putting his Avengers in place. When I was going into the cinema to watch Captain America this Dad was just coming out with his two boys after obviously seeing the film and I overheard him say, "Did you recognise the man with the eye patch at the end who was speaking to him once Captain America was in our time...he's the one getting all the superhero's together for the Avengers film!" Made me giggle at even the Dad's geekiness! :)

Bring on next summer I say, The Avengers is gonna kick some might ass, and yes, major geekgasm to the fact that my beloved Jeremy Renner is in a comic book flick...it has most certainly got this fangirl a bit giddiful and happy with anticipation. And even more so when at the end of the credits of the film you got to see the trailer for The Avengers...AWESOME!!!!! <3

Tracy Edwards - The Man Who Led the World to Jeffrey Dahmer's Doorstep - Another Victim Allowed to Slip Through the Cracks of Wisconsin's Broken System!

2011-08-02T18:35:00.000+01:00

Okay so y'all probably know about my slight little thing with Jeffrey Dahmer. Just the other week, on the 20th anniversary of his capture did I write this blog about him and the fact that I thought it was tragic that he had on so many occasions slipped through the system, something which had people actually paid attention to him, he might not have committed the amount of atrocities that he actually did. It was with great shock then when I read just a week ago, exactly 20 years and one week since Tracy Edwards, the man who was to be Dahmer's 18th victim however had escaped and led the police to Dahmer's apartment leading to his arrest, was himself arrested on a murder charge. Edwards, living homeless on the streets, had got into a fight with two other homeless men on a bridge and 43 year old Johnny Jordan plunged from the bridge to his death. Edwards was arrested and is being held.

It has been reported that Edwards has been in trouble with the police a number of times over the years, mostly with relation to drugs. What shocked me most about this recent tragedy and the fact that Edwards has once again been thrust into the spotlight, is the fact that after the Dahmer trial, he never received counselling or anything to help him deal with his ordeal. I mean the man had not only come close to death himself at the hands of Dahmer, he was the man who was single handedly responsible for leading the police to one of the most notorious serial killers that not only America, but the world had ever seen. As I mentioned in my Dahmer blog, it was Edwards accounts of his encounter with Dahmer that inspired Chris Carter to write one of my favourite X Files episodes, Irresistible...an episode that would go on to inspire another of my favourite Chris Carter shows, the Lance Henriksen/Terry O'Quinn led Millenium!

Getting off track though, my point is...after what Tracy Edwards went through from the 22nd July 1991 and onwards with the trial and the mass amount of press and personal invasion, I find it absolutely shocking that there was nobody to actually look out for him! The state of Wisconsin, and indeed the USA owed him a debt of gratitude and what did he get...left to his own devices! I don't know what person wouldn't have resorted to at least drinking in Edwards situation. The thing is, drugs were readily available in the area he lived and easy to get hold of so he ended up with drug problems as well. When Dr Emily John hired Edwards to feed the homeless at a shelter in 2004 she was shocked to find out that he had never received counselling following the Dahmer trial. WISN reports. “It did stun me, which is why I hauled him to the Red Cross immediately,” John said. The nurse who worked with him offered him free sessions and asked him to come back the next week but he never showed. The thing is, if you ask me, this was already too late for Edwards and it is easier for one to drown out their demons with drink and drugs than to sometimes face up to the problem at hand. "I don't think a lot of people want to go to therapy to deal with pain. They'd rather self-medicate, and that's what Tracy does, and it leaves him in the street over and over again," John further stated.

At the end of the day, this is a tragedy on top of a whole mound of tragedies, and one that the state of Wisconsin shouldn't look lightly upon. This is THEIR FAULT!!! Not giving counselling to a man who had been in Edwards state is fucked up, like beyond fucked up! Any normal place would have thought that to be the first thing for any victim, let alone the one that led to the capture of one of the most notorious serial killers of all time! Dahmer slipped through the cracks and looked what happened to him...and all of his victims. And then Edwards, the one who gets away and leads the police to Dahmer (a man who FYI, the police were completely clueless about his existence in the first place!), ends up leading a miserable life, fueled by drugs and alcohol to help dull out notoriety of being the one that got away...and now he too is facing a murder charge of his own. It is a sick and twisted world we live in and this is further proof that when victims of crimes are left to slip though the gaping cracks of a fucked up system, they end up on the wrong side of the law themselves...and more people potentially suffer!

I hope that this is not only a wake up call for Tracy Edwards, but more importantly, a wake up call for the state of Wisconsin as to how it fucked up first time round...here's hoping they won't make the same mistake again!

Why I Believe Everyone Should Check Out the BBC's LUTHER, Starring Idris Elba!

2011-07-30T18:15:00.000+01:00

When it comes to my favourite shows, my all time favourites have come out of the States/Canada! We're talking The X Files, LOST, Twin Peaks, V, My So-Called Life, Felicity, Family Guy, American Dad and most recently Sons of Anarchy and Justified! The UK has had some belters over time, including Spaced, The Inbetweeners and Skins. None however even hold a torch to the downright fucking awesomeness of the BBC's Luther! A show that I have been getting more and more of my American friends to check out and one that they're all coming back to me thanking me for introducing them to it! The reason why they all come back to thank me is because the show is fucking perfect! It is one of those shows that leaves you craving more and when it ends you kind of feel sick that you have no more to look forward to for another year! And oh how that year passes painstakingly slowly!

So what makes Luther different from your other bog standard crime dramas?? Two words...IDRIS ELBA!!! Combine that with amazing writing and direction as well as a great support cast and you have a top notch show, and one to rival any of the best of the best of zee Yankee Doodle Dandy shows!

The character of DCI John Luther is a horribly complex one, this is an incredibly disturbed man, one with about as many inner demons as the people he sets out to catch! This however is what makes him such an amazing detective. Where other detectives would fail to understand the inner psychosis of criminals, Luther gets in there nice and deep like...I'm talking 'bout balls deep...haha! This is an intense show and despite the seasons being criminally short, each episode packs more into it than many shows do in several episodes. And what is hard to believe, as amazing as Season 1 is...Season 2 is even better! The show is intelligent and brutal to a point that you think, holy crap, the BBC are actually airing this at 9pm!?!!

With some brilliant supporting females, this show has the girl power kick too which I always love! Ruth Wilson as the wonderfully macabre, twisted and scarily intelligent Alice Morgan (pictured above) is always a pleasure to watch. And the introduction of Aimee-Ffion Edwards as teenage runaway Jenny Jones (pictured below) in Season 2 gave us yet another great female character that was not only fantastic in her own right, she also gave us further insight into Luther as a character and a detective as well.

One thing that I hadn't even thought about but after reading blogs and articles online in relation to the show realised, it's a rarity for a show such as this to have a black detective in the lead. I've been so compelled with the show, and love Idris Elba so much that I hadn't even thought about that. It's a good point, however when you have an actor of such caliber as Elba, you don't even think about colour...and neither you should.

So yes, for those of you out there who still need to get the Luther bug, I urge you to do so NOW! I don't want to give away too much about the show so it's best you just check it out for yourself. I promise you won't regret it...and if you do you have my permission to slap me! That's how sure I am that you will find it awesome! ;) If you want to check out previous blogs I've done on the show you can find them here, here and here!

Jeremy Renner Gets His Comic Book Geek On with The Avengers!

2011-07-30T15:00:00.000+01:00

Okay so to say that I am excited about the forthcoming Avengers movie is a bit of an understatement to say the least. I mean for one, the fact that Joss Whedon is at the helm is a definite plus, the man has shown time and time again what a wicked director he is, he is indeed a nerds friend and that is always comforting! That cast that has gradually been building up since Iron Man is nothing short of fucking amazing! The recent adaptations of Thor and Captain America have been getting the appetites of comic book geeks giddy with anticipation. Reviews of Captain America, which has just come out and which I 'm totally psyched to see tomorrow, are all coming out really quite positive. Many are saying this is Chris Evans best performance to date.

So yes, as a comic book fan AND a girl with an, ummm, slight *cough*obessive*cough* love with Jeremy Renner, my geekgasm has went into hyperdrive! Mr Renner is playing Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the movie, a role that fans were given a tiny sneak peek tease of in Thor!

More geekgasms were supplied at last weeks Comic-Con when fans were given the treat of some freakin' awesome Avengers posters! AND as zee lovely Adam Barnick messaged me the other day after seeing Captain America, the Avengers trailer is attached to the end of the film! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! As I said, I'm off to see it tomorrow and I CAN NOT WAIT! :) Next summer is going to be a comic cook bundle of freakin' geeky awesome cooooooooooooo!!!! <3

Charlie Hunnam AND Idris Elba Plus Robots, Monsters and Guillermo del Toro - A Fangirl's Dream!!!

2011-07-26T21:01:00.000+01:00

Pacific Rim, the movie that Guillermo del Toro is making instead of The Hobbit. It features monsters, robots...and two of the FINEST (in every sense of the word! Sorry but I do have girl hormones, haha) actors that have ever graced our screens. And that would be Sons of Anarchy's Jax, a.k.a. Mr Charlie Hunnam and The Wire's Stringer Bell/BBC's LUTHER, Idris Elba! Two incredible actors who both so happen to be English as well...eat that America, ha! Anyhoo, to say that I have a bit of a boner for this project already is no freakin' joke! However, the geekgasms continued with the Legendary Pictures panel at Comic-Con, which you can see below...the Pacific Rim part is first after meeting the men behind Legendary Pictures.

Legendary Pictures were kind enough to give us geeks a taste of the LOGO and badge that my boys shall be sporting as part of their uniform in the movie which I'm pretty sure y'all will agree is pretty darn cool...anyhoo see below for pic! :)

And yesss, below, the two sexiest men on TV plus, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day (need to check out this show now) as well as director del Toro and writer Travis Beacham.

This movie is going to be a fangirl/fanboy DREAM and 2013 can not come soon enough dammit!!! <3

20 Years Today Since My Beloved Jeffrey Dahmer was Caught!

2011-07-22T16:37:00.000+01:00

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the day that my beloved Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested...ending a 13 year killing spree that had started when Jeff was only 18 years old. By the time he was caught he had killed 17 men. Had the police officer that had stopped a drunken 18 year old Jeff with the body of Steven Hicks in his car actually looked in the bin bags in the back of the car that Jeff claimed to be clippings from the garden, he might still be alive today. As would 16 other men! And I'm pretty sure that officer would be able to live his life with a clearer conscious.

Dahmer was an incredibly troubled young man, and one that slipped through the eyes of the authorities on so many occasions. People may deem my fascination with Dahmer to be a sick one but I adore this man, he really does truly fascinate me a great deal. After the death of Steven Hicks it would be another nine years before Dahmer would kill again. Ashamed of the fact that he was gay, he always said that he believed the trigger for the four year killing spree that led to his imminent arrest, came when a man slipped him a note whilst he was sitting in the library offering him oral sex. Soon after, after one of his drinking binges, he awoke the next day with the bruised and battered to death body of Steven Tuomi lying next to him. He had no recollection of the murder and stuffed the body into a suitcase before disposing of it.

After this Dahmer went on a sporadic killing spree where he would kill another 15 men, including 14 year old Konerak Sinphasomphone, the brother of a boy he had been arrested for molesting. The twisted thing about Konerak is that he escaped whilst Dahmer was out, naked, bleeding and bruised though the cops ended up taking the word of the charming Jeff over two African American women who claimed Konerak was trying to escape from Jeff. Jeff said he was his boyfriend and that they had just been drinking and had too much too drink. They took Konerak back to Jeff's apartment, leaving him to his fate at the hand of the disturbed Jeff. The best part about this was the funky smell that filled their nostrils was the decomposing body of another of Jeff's victims...lying in HIS BEDROOM!!! This was just another example of how crap the police in Wisconsin actually were.

It was on the 22nd of July 1991 that Tracey Edwards escaped from Dahmer and brought the police back to his apartment, where they FINALLY clicked on to what was going on. By that time Jeff had killed 17 men. At the end of the day though, all he wanted was to be loved. To find a partner who wouldn't leave him. He wanted to create a zombie, and attempted on several occasions by drilling a hole in his victims head and pouring acid into it to keep the body 'alive'. When everything came to trial it wasn't a case of whether or not Jeff was guilty, it was whether he was sane or not! And at the end of the day the body count was reduced to 15 as they couldn't find evidence of two of the men, so Dahmer was determined sane and got 15 life sentences, which totaled 957 years!

What pisses me off so much about the whole Dahmer trial is that he was clearly fucking insane!!! He was trying to create a zombie for fucks sake! What kind of sane person does that!?! He was troubled and deeply disturbed. He needed help! What did he get though, he got left on his own with another prisoner whilst doing janitorial work in the gym. That prisoner, Christopher Scarver beat him to death with a broom handle...or at least pretty much to death...Dahmer died from severe head injuries whilst on his way to the hospital on the 28th November 1994. :( Christopher Scarver said that God had told him to do it. What the fuck ever!!! Dahmer was a vulnerable prisoner, one who had been attacked before. HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE!!! This was clearly a paid hit. A message from God my fucking arse, Scarver...as well as at least some of the police officers at the Columbia Correctional Institution were 110% paid...more than likely by family members of one of the victims. A friend of mine who lives in Wisconsin has stated that he believes it to be the Sinphasomphone family and it's a very valid point!

At the end of the day this is a tragic story, one that ended in the most horrific of ways. I don't blame Jeff, he was a sick man who needed help. Yet like so many he just slipped through the cracks of a broken system.

Fascinated by the story of Jeff, X Files creator Chris Carter (A.K.A. GOD!!!) did an episode based on my beloved Jeff entitled Irresistible. When he submitted the script to the FOX executives they rejected the idea of the Jeff character Donnie Pfaster being a necrophiliac as it was unacceptable for broadcast standards. The character was then changed to a death fetishist. Irresistible is one of my all time favourite episodes and it is embodied in Dahmerisms! <3

For example, Tracey Edwards told police that it was almost like Dahmer shape shifted in some sense, that his face changed....like there was an inner lurking evil behind those eyes. The character of Donnie Pfaster shape shifted to an image of the devil when he had poor Scully captured. The cop that is assisting Mulder with the investigation mentions Dahmer -

People wondered why it took them so long to catch this kid in Milwaukee. Thought someone should have noticed he was killing all those young boys. The truth is, no one ever believed it could happen.

Another story I've heard was that when Nick Chinlund who played Donnie Pfaster (pictured above in character), when he was about to leave his car/trailer or whatever to start filming Irresistible, he heard on the radio that Dahmer had just died. I so badly want this to be true. How perfect would that be? At least if you're a Jeffrey Dahmer/X Files geekazoid! It is also noted that this episode actually inspired Chris Carter's spin-off show, Millennium! Again something I would LOVE to be true!

The story of Dahmer has also been told by a few directors but my favourite of the bunch is David Jacobsen's Dahmer. One of my all time favourite films with a performance from Jeremy Renner that just blows my mind every time I see it...and trust me, I have seen it...A LOT!!! You can read more about my love of this movie in my article Most Beautiful Film Endings of All Time. I love this scene below, it's one of the most adorable scenes ever...if only he didn't try to leave him afterwards.

R.I.P. Jeff, I hope that in death you have finally found peace.

I Just Got Nominated for an Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award! The Question is...Who Will I Choose!?!

2011-07-21T22:59:00.000+01:00

Why big thank yous to Sean Thompson over at Spooky Sean's Sinful Bloggery for nominating me for The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award! Mmmmm, look at all those strawberries, nom nom nommmmms, I do like strawberries I do. ;) And donuts (see pic below, haha!) So anyhoo, on with the show...

Here are the rules:
1) Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2) Share 7 random facts about yourself.
3) Pass the award to 12 of your blogging buddies.
4) Notify the recipients

7 Random Facts about moi! -

1. I am completely 100% obsessed with Beagles!!!

2. The first girl I ever had a crush on was a girl that I worked with on an archaeological dig when I was 16, her name was Rosie and she was 23. She was amazing and not only did she introduce me to Portishead and the awesomeness of Lavender. She was a Vegetarian who taught my already opinionated self that being true to yourself was what was important. I lost contact with her but have never forgotten her, she is truly awesome! <3

3. I have an overactive imagination and used to think I was a lizard. I was convinced I'd bleed green. Sneakily watching V as a child probably wasn't the best thing for me, haha.

4. If I had been a boy my name would have been David, after the Rangers player Davie Cooper. He was my Dad's favourite player and he wanted a boy so he could name him after him. But hahaha, unfortunately for Daddy, he got 5 girls, lol! The more amusing point to this story is that his twin brother Neil got 5 boys!!!

5. My favourite character out of the Batman comics is the Scarecrow. I love Jonathan Crane. I love the fact that he's completely insane and that insanity came from being horribly mistreated as a child. He is incredibly intelligent and he uses that intelligence and downright madness to fuck people up. Hallucinogenics and opening up a person's mind to the darkness that is inside is in my humble opinion the best way to mess with a person. It is utterly terrifying and who knows just how bonkers you might just make them turn! :)

6. I've been into Wicca since my teens and always thought that if there was a "religion" for me then that would be it. I'm not so active with it nowadays but really want to get back into it. I'm a very earthy person and am all about the tree people. One thing I did learn though is that you never do something that your heart is not truly into, even if you think it is at the time. You know how they say things come back threefold on you in The Craft...trust me, they do!

7. One talent that I have that lay undiscovered for years is how good I am at painting minatures! I was playing loads of role playing board games at the time and decided that I wanted my own Orc army. Just because. So my boyfriend got me one of the Warhammer 40k Orcs with his nice big tank and stuff for my Christmas one year. He offered to paint it for me and I though, what the hey, why don't I try this myself! So I did, and it turned out I was actually really good at it. Much to his frustration I was actually a better painter than him, haha. It was a lovely surprise to me to know I had this awesome talent that I didn't even know I had. I'm really proud of my painting and am happy to have randomly discovered that I had such a quirky talent!

Right, so now that I have got my 7 random facts out of the way, on to the awesomeness of my favourite blogging buddies!!!

The Bloggage of Miss Lianne Spiderbaby - Lianne is my gorgeous, intelligent, wonderfully amazing in every way, Canadian girlfriend! Not only is this girl too beautiful for words, she is one heck of a writer! Along with her blog, she also writes for Fangoria and has her own super fab webseries, Fright Bytes. Her articles are insightful and interesting and you always come away with a wonderful newfound knowledge after reading them. Following this girl is a MUST! <3

Penny Dreadful Diary - Or should I say, Jen and Sylviaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! That would be Soska of course! Jen and Sylvia ROCK, as does their blog! On top of following news of their movie work, for example the downright wicked Dead Hooker in a Trunk, to news of their new feature American Mary. These girls are taking the horror world by storm with their deliciously macabre sense of humour, intelligence, and talent in every way. Hell, they even make awesome stunt girls! Too cool for words, as is their blog!

Margeretbird/FORTYFPS - CJ Wallis is a fucking star! He proved to us how fab he could be as an actor with his brilliant turn in Dead Hooker in a Trunk, but not only that, this guy makes one bloody amazing director! The third part of the Soska Triangle, CJ has done some amazing work with the girls, and on top of that, he is now an award winning music video director! Pretty fab if you ask me! His video for Sarah Slean's The Rose won the Best Music Video of 2010 at the Leo Awards. All of his amazing videos are on his blog, as well as articles and information on all the fab stuff he's up to! He might be a boy but he is definitely a feminist's best friend! :)

A Safer Injection - Joel 'Ratty' Wells, the man behind A Safer Injection is one of the coolest, worldliest, downright freakin' amazing guys you could ever have the pleasure of knowing. This guy has literally seen it all, and survived to tell the tale! When most people would give up on life, this guys keep striding on, all with a ton of amazing humour and wonderful stories. He is the kind of spirit that the world would benefit from having more of. Ratty is a real inspiration and a wonderful friend...and a wicked writer to boot! Reading his blog always puts a big smile on my face and I think it will do the same to you too! So yes, all hail the Ratty! :P

Kid Sis in Hollywood - The bloggage of Miss Elisabeth Fies, the wonderful woman behind The Commune and I Hate L.A. Lis is also responsible for getting the work of so many amazing women out there with her monthly film festival in L.A. - Bleedfest! If ever there were a woman who could call herself a wonderful feminist, it's Lis! She is an amazing actress as well, and her writing is somewhat fab! As you can see for yourself at her blog. She's not updated in a while so me thinks that we should be encouraging her to share more of her thoughts and awesomeness. I do [heart] this woman a whole heck of a lot! I can't wait to finally get to meet her in October as well, along with her ever so fab sister Brenda (pictured above with Lis and Lance freakin' Henriksen!!)! The Fies sisters are a duo to be reckoned with and all the women in the horror industry would be good to be friends with these girls. And the boys too. Everyone in zee whole wide world should support Team Fies, yup yup yup!!! :P

All Good Things - All Good Things is indeed a bloggage of plenty of good things! The blog of one of my total geeklings in crime, Monty Hawes not only talks about all things nerdtastic, comic bookeee and modern, he pays tribute to ye films of old! What drew me to his blog in the first place was his classic movie actor polls. Which FYI, Cary Grant won, WOOT WOOT!!! Anyone who loves Cary Grant as much as me is always pretty darn cool in my book! So yes, as a huge fan of the golden age of movies, Monty's blog is always plentiful of the stuff I love and relish! We share a major love of Idris Elba and the fact that his favourite movie of all time is His Girl Friday just makes me love him all the more! So yes, check out his blog NOW, there is loads of great reading for everyone. :)

Back To Frank Black - Why should you follow the Back to Frank Black blog...because we need a Millenium movie NOW dammit!!! The Back to Frank Black campaign is also followed by the man himself, Mr Lance Henriksen...how freakin' cool is that?? The blog is now basically going to be run on the Back to Frank Black website but this blog has plenty of awesome posts and information on this AWESOME campaign! Personally, more Frank Black and Peter Watts with the ultimate GOD's at the helm, that would be Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz...it just sounds like a match made in heaven! It WAS a match made in heaven, which is why we need more Frank Black dammit! So yes, join the campaign and help us pimp this Frank out! And Peter...we can't forget Peter Watts...[LOVE]

Quirk Films - One of my favourite feminist horror chickadee's, the morbidly macabre, snuff movie fascinated Maude Michaud! :) With her super awesome webseries Bloody Breasts, Maude is educating the world to the way of GIRL POWER! She realises just how many amazing women are out there kicking arse in horror and Bloody Breasts is her way of documenting all of this awesome! Maude is also a wicked filmmaker and her shorts Hollywood Skin, The Portrait and Snuff are major proof of this. I expect big things from this Canadian filmmaker - Hollywood LOOK OUT!!!

The Clumsy Eater - Jennifer Pasquill, my GORGEOUS foodie Sons of Anarchy, Jax loving partner in crime! This woman is like a chef from heaven...just looking at her food pictures has my mouth watering and me wishing I could apparate to Florida to be with her and stuff my face with her yummy cooking! Her blog not only features articles by Miss Pasquill herself, but also guest posts from peeps she deems perfectly wonderful and totally suited to her blog, and she does pick them well I'll have you know! She is hot, she can damn well cook...AND she has great taste in movies and music....pretty damn perfect if you ask me! Oh yeah AND she's a total witchy chick with an awesome name, therefore it equals TRUE LOVE! Yup, yup, yup!

Viewer Discretion Advised - Viewer Discretion Advised's Heather Seebach (above with Kane Hodder), gorgeous, geeky and a GREAT writer to boot! This isn't technically a blog but in my eyes it kind of is too...plus, this is my list so I can choose whoever I want, haha! Heather is a MASSIVE horror nerd and trust me, this girl knows her stuff! This is a site to keep yourself up to date with up and coming horror/geek movies as well as to read Heather's ramblings about the films she loves. So yes, check out her site NOW...just don't tell the parents! ;)

The Spooky Vegan - What could be more awesome than another horror nerd who's a Vegan as well? Sarah Jahier is the owner/founder of website Fatally Yours which is this excellent horror review site! Her blog, The Spooky Vegan blog is super quantities of fab, you get great reviews and interviews and all the kinds of things that make a spooky vegan nerdoid most happy!

Freddy in Space - Last but by far not least, how I could I forget to mention Freddy in Space!?! This is a great blog run a supernerd who's geekiness could be seen all the way out in space by the Killer Klowns...he's THAT nerdy! That nerdtastic man that I'm talking about is Mr John Squires and his blog is an essential read for all ye horror devoted geeks out there! Here you'll find loads of entertaining articles, cool shit to win and general all-round fabness and tomfoolery!

Hollyoaks Hitting the Nail on the Head with their Rape Storyline - Every Woman is Vulnerable, Even the Jackie McQueen's of the World!

2011-07-14T21:07:00.000+01:00

I know that I usually cover horror and what not, and I guess in a way this truly is horror...even if it is on Hollyoaks. Rape is a touchy subject no matter where it is covered and it is with that in mind that I have to applaud the Hollyoaks writers and the way that they have dealt with the Jackie/Gilly rape storyline. Having spent a day in a secondary school with first years discussing mental health, I am perfectly aware of the fact that many youngsters in the UK today learn a lot of what they know from Hollyoaks. Some may deem this tacky, and others might berate the soap, but when it comes to raising awareness around difficult topics, a number of them have been done particularly well. The rape storyline in particular really got to me.

Jackie is a character that I never really had any time for until now, she wears the most hideous clothes (even Claire Cooper who plays Jackie has laughed saying that no normal person would dress the way she does!), is a total chav and on occasion has been more than just a little bit annoying. She is a strong character, one who never let anyone get to her, she always bounced back from everything that was thrown at her, and she does have a reputation for sleeping around a bit! It is these characteristics though that made her such a great character for a rape storyline. I mean let's face it, how many people do you know who would turn around and say "she deserved to get raped" and words to that effect?!! It is a sick world that we live in and more often than not these are the sorts of words you will hear on a daily basis. However, at the end of the day, NOBODY deserves to get raped. No matter how horrid they might have been to others in the past! When Hollyoaks had a week of the show dedicated to "the trial" between Jackie and Gilly, both characters gave their statements. Others were character witnesses. On the whole the majority of other characters thought that she made it up, that she had slept with her boyfriend's best friend and that because it took her a couple of days to report it to the police, it was her way making an excuse for what she had done.

First of all, just because someone doesn't report a rape to the police as soon as it happens, doesn't mean that they're making it up! That is the most absurd statement I've ever heard. A person in this situation is going to be vulnerable, they will feel dirty and that it is all their fault. This is exactly how Jackie is portrayed afterwards. That just because she is who she is, that she somehow brought it on herself. The final decision was made up by fans of the show and they deemed Gilly, not guilty!

After the trial both characters went away for a bit, with Jackie coming back and eventually getting married to her boyfriend at the time, Rhys...Gilly's best friend. The storyline with Jackie has continued though, with her afraid to have sex with Rhys, now her husband. Her behaviour is becoming more and more erratic, Claire Cooper has done an amazing job with portraying her declining mental state. When Nancy, another of the characters, one who didn't believe she had been raped in the first place but who had started to notice that she truly wasn't well, when she gave Rhys rape crisis leaflets to give to Jackie thinking it might help, Jackie went mental, screaming she didn't need help, when she clearly did! It all came to a heads up this past week with her truly having a nervous breakdown and disappearing for a couple of days. With a serial killer (a Granddad serial killer as well, another storyline that has been quite shocking - that's to do with internet safety and that do we truly know who we are talking to online) on the loose and a piece of her lovely hideous dress found in the woods where two bodies have been dumped, everyone feared the worse. Eventually, Rhys clicked where she might be...out in the middle of nowhere he found her. She was truly broken and in desperate need of help. For a show such as this to have such a strong character so broken is a testament to good writing. Say what you want about Hollyoaks but sometimes they do just get it right. Just because a woman has been promiscuous in the past, does not mean that she will say yes to every man...it does not give a man the right to have sex with her. No means no and a vulnerable woman is a vulnerable woman, end of!

So yes, mock me all you want for my love of Hollyoaks but I truly think that they have hit the nail on the head with this storyline. Even the strongest of women, the most promiscuous, and even those who can be a downright pain in the ass sometimes...everyone is vulnerable to rape and it is a serious subject that should not be mocked. No woman deserves this, it is every woman's right to say no. Even the Jackie McQueen's of the world. So yes, kudos to Claire Cooper for truly putting in an amazing performance....you have indeed gained a fan in me and I commend you for your wonderful performance. And just an extra note, in real life without all the hideous Jackie make-up, Claire is actually a very pretty girl! :)

Fright Bytes Episode 6 - Fangoria Darling Lianne Spiderbaby Teams up with Rue Morgue's Tomb Dragomir and the Two Meet the LEGEND that is Sid Haig!

2011-07-07T15:55:00.000+01:00

So Fright Bytes Episode 6 sees my wonderful girlfriend Ms Spiderbaby, who of course writes for Fangoria magazine, team up with Rue Morgue magazines Tomb Dragomir to prove to the world that the two get on like peas in a pod (heehee!)! This episode looks at new movie The Unleashed before taking a look at the legend that is Sid Haig and his career to date...before meeting the most awesome man himself! Find out what his favourite Jack Hill movie is (see picture below of Haig in Jack Hill's Spider Baby and picture to right of Haig as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses/Devil's Rejects), plus the one director, okay three (he cheats!) directors who he would work for again at the drop of a hat!

An Interview with Ron Purtree - A Man Who Lives in Serial Killer Central and is Working on a Web Anthology Entitled The Social Media Massacre! Awesomeness!

2011-07-05T18:07:00.000+01:00

One of the first things that I thought when Ron contacted me about The Social Media Massacre, was the fact that he is a Wisconsin based director. Straight away the “serial killer country” alarm bells start ding a linging, causing a big smile to appear on my ever so nerdtastic face! Wisconsin is the home to some of the ultimate serial killers, even though one of them only killed two people (some argue he killed more but I don’t believe that!), he still gets that title. That man would be Ed Gein, the legend behind some of the greatest horror icons of all time, including Norman Bates, Leatherface and the Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Wisconsin is also the home to my ultimate favourite serial killer, a man whom some would say my obsession with, is more than just a little bit disturbing. Of course I am talking about the one and only Jeffrey Dahmer! Now this colourful history with some of the quirkier serial killers has got to have an impact on the more imaginative Wisconsonites…right? How much do you find the stories on your own doorstep influence you as a filmmaker?

I think that Wisconsin has a really deep seeded history of just vile and despicable acts that really needs to be addressed in film the right way. I really, really wish I could say that it's what keeps me coming up with stories as a filmmaker.

The serial killer nerd in me has got to ask, have you done the tour of all ye olde macabre murder sites? I know it’s only a vacant lot now but one day I shall visit the scene of 924 North 25th Street, Milwaukee. And when I win the lottery, I totally intend on buying Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood home! The Jeremy Renner movie Dahmer (see picture to the right of Jeremy Renner as Dahmer) is one of my all time favourite films. I also would love to purchase Ed Gein’s property and build some sort of funhouse, haha.

If I remember correctly, they are having a hard time selling Gein's property so you better hit a number quick. I haven't toured even the vacant lot. That being said I wouldn't be against a quick trip there to see where it all went down.

Have you ever considerd actually filming at one of the Wisconsin’s murderesque scenes? If so which one would you pick and why? You’ve said that you live pretty darn close to the where it all went down with Mr Dahmer, that’s so freakin’ cool, you have no idea how jealous I am of you. Have you ever thought about doing a Jeffrey Dahmer and the Chocolate Factory short? Actually to understand my reference there, you have to answer my next question first! (Pictured right - the most handsome Jeffrey Dahmer)

I have not tried filming there but it would have to be at the Gein property (see picture below - although house no longer stands, it's just the land), just because I don't think I'd run into as much trouble as I would filming where Dahmer was, and no I have not thought about that short haha.

Have you heard the Macabre album Dahmer?? If not, look it up now, it is a work of awesome genius! ;) Once you have heard it you will want to share with all your friends too, trust me!

I know what you are talking about, but I haven't gotten around to listening to it.

What/Who inspired you to become a filmmaker and just how early did you catch the movie making bug?

Very early. I remember seeing Return of the Jedi when I was little and I totally wanted to know how they did that when I was still very young. Who inspired me to actually take up the camera was John Carpenter and Halloween. It inspired me to do it, but then George A Romero and Robert Rodriguez taught me that it was possible to work on a nothing budget.

Are you any other genres or is horror where you find yourself most comfortable? I mean, I love all sorts of films but I always find myself automatically levitating towards horror, be it in a rental store, a DVD shop, online on things like Love Film/Netflix…I just always go for horror first! Are you the same?

I do find more comfort in horror, sure. It's like home for me. However, I'm not against doing other genre's at all. I really think I have my "Leaving Las Vegas" in me somewhere.

What was the first short you did for The Social Media Massacre? The first one I watched was A Hollywood Ending which I totally dug! The guy was really cute too! :P I find the premise fascinating, I mean after the whole German cannibal incident where he advertised for someone to eat online, it opened up this whole new medium for serial killers and murderers! The same goes for all these people that meet someone online and then end up getting the chop chop! What is it about this that fascinates you so much?

That was the first short that we filmed for Social Media Massacre. It was actually more inspired by William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily". If you aren't familiar with that story I highly suggest you read it. You'll see the parallels right away.

Okay so from speaking to you, I have found out that the cute guy I was just referring too from A Hollywood Ending is Shaun, a character that you want to build on. Do you want to tell us a little bit about this character and the way forward you’d like to go with him?

The actor in A Hollywood Ending is Charlie Bussian. There is a feature somewhere at some point that we are going to do based on that episode, but there are scheduling conflicts that keep us from getting it done. I really can't go into too much detail about whats going to happen, safe to say it will be VERY unsettling.

Have you ever seen the movie Serial Killing 101 or Serial Killing for Dummies (depends what country you are in, they like to change the name!)? In this movie, for some class in school our protagonist has to tell the teacher what he wants to be when he grows up…it’s some sort of class essay/project. Anyhoo, he says that he wants to be a serial killer and goes about deciding how his is going to take up this profession, haha. He even gets this chick (the adorable Lisa Loeb) proposing to be his first victim! What it turns out though, is there is actually a real life serial killer roaming the town killing people and he has to find out who it is. I personally love the film, it’s super quirky and has some great parts in it, including a hardware store clerk played by Corey Feldman who helps our main guy pick out all sorts of awesome killing devices! ;)

This is actually the first time that I have heard of it, but now I have to see it. MTV made me have a crush on Lisa Loeb. And to address her, I will stay....

So anyway, the question I was originally going to ask before going on my Serial Killing 101 rant was that when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? And how close are you to that profession now!

I always wanted to entertain people. In one form or another. I think I'm pretty damn close to that now.

What is the most shocking movie that you have ever seen? What one really got under your skin and refused to budge? Mine was Martyrs. I don’t know what it is about that movie, perhaps I was hormonal at the time, fuck knows! There was just something about it; I just wanted it to end! And it wasn’t because it was bad, it wasn’t, it was amazing. It’s the kind of thing I’d usually love but I can’t say I’m in a hurry to watch it again! So yes, as a maker of movies that you fully intend to get under peoples skins, what really freaks you out?

ALIEN PREY. It just got under my skin in the kind of way that wasn't scary, it was just THAT bad. In doing research about the film I found out that they did things to the actors that would make Hitchcock and John Ford blush. I wouldn't put anyone through what they went through to make such a HORRIBLE movie.

And lastly, you’ve got the feature film of The Social Media Massacre to do, is there anything else that you are working on right now? What can we expect to see from wicked creeptastic self in the near future?

Yes! I have a few shorts that I am working on in one fashion or another that aren't related to Social Media Massacre. There are more episodes coming out that I'm not directing, so it's freeing me up to boost the creep factor in other areas. I'm currently in what you would call pre-production on a short called "Just Keep Running" which is a focus on how no matter what we do, we can't outrun our fates. For the most part though, folks can find out whats going on with me at Twitter. I'm @ronpurtee ;)

You can also follow Ron on Facebook.

The Sisters of Mercy - Latest Project from the Force that is C.J. Wallis!

2011-06-30T17:04:00.000+01:00

C.J. Wallis is one helluva talented young man. Not only is he an absolute darling within the independent horror industry, he is also an award winning music video director! His video for the absolutely gorgeous song The Rose, by Sarah Slean got him Best Music Video of the Year at the 2011 Leo Awards. I'm sure you will agree, this is impressive work but an impressive man who Heidi Honeycutt once also described as Canada's Best Kept Secret Weapon!

So when we come across a working relationship that works this well, it would be ridiculous not to venture onto more journey's together. This is the case with two time C.J. collaborator Lucy Rupert, the dancer and choreographer who dealt with that side of things on the video for The Rose. Lucy and Sarah are no strangers to each other, having a stage show in Toronto, The Animals are Planning an Intervention. According to Toronto Life -

"Dancer and choreographer Lucy Rupert works out her feelings about creatures great and small to original music by Sarah Slean during this one-hour lunchtime performance, while Robert Glumbek and Yvonne Ng perform a series of solos, duets and excerpts from longer works."

The girls are now working with C.J. to turn this project into a movie, one entitled The Sisters of Mercy.

"In the film adaptation, Rupert plays the lead role of a mother named Marie who is unknowingly hand-delivered to a government institution by her three sons after a house fire, that Marie escaped, claimed the life of her 9 year old daughter. The Sarah Slean arrangements commissioned for Animals will be featured and used throughout the film. Announcements will continue to spill out leading towards production set for Fall 2011." C.J. Wallis

Keep your peepers peeled for an exclusive geektastic interview with Mr C.J. Wallis, coming your way! :D

Halloween 6 - The Curse of Michael Myers...I LIKE IT!!! Do You? ;)

2011-06-28T22:46:00.000+01:00

Right so earlier on today over on Facebook, Brad Reiter made a very bold statement about The Evil Dead movies:

I know I'm going to be hated for this, but I find the EVIL DEAD series to be a bit overrated and it hasn't aged very well. Don't get me wrong, I really like the first, but the second got a little too over the top silly for me, and ARMY OF DARKNESS doesn't seem to hold up well.

Now I'm saying brave due to the fact that for some, saying something like this to them is like saying you've just carved up their grandmother and fed her to your pet hamster...it's the kind of shit that just doesn't fly! It is also the kind of shit that I absolutely love. I love it when people stand up and say something that is more than likely going to get them publicly lambasted by their peers! Even though I don't personally agree with Brad, I love the Evil Dead movies, and personally think Army of Darkness is brilliant...but the conversation that always ensues from statements such as Brad's is always good! Especially when the conversation is between intelligent people who can have sensible discussions without falling into childish arguments!

So with those thoughts in mind, I decided to start a fun little discussion to see just who is cool enough to admit to liking what are considered some of the shitter films in the horror world! I might even make this a regular feature.

So to begin...one of my personal favourites in this category would be Halloween 6 - The Curse of Michael Myers! Yes bitches, you heard me right, I LIKE THIS MOVIE!!! In fact, this movie happens to have one of my all time favourite Michael Myers killing sequences in it - the strobe light operating room massacre! In fact, scratch that...this movie has several super fucking awesome killing scenes!

Halloween 6 - The Curse of Michael Myers is also a bit special in that it was also to be the last time we would see the ageing Donald Pleasence as Dr Sam Loomis. The film was released in the September of 1995, seven months after he had sadly passed away. Even in the film it was clear that he didn't have much time left.

I really don't know why this film gets so much shit! I mean yes, the whole cult storyline is pretty lame but it's not totally shite! I actually love the whole idea of the rune of Thorn and why Michael is evil and out to kill his family members. I liked the idea of catching up with Tommy Doyle, one of the kids who Laurie Strode was babysitting on the night of the original Halloween. He is older, completely fucked up and a bit of a loner...no surprise there then right?? He is also played by the one and only man of sarcasm himself, Mr Paul Rudd...in his first film appearance! :) In comparison to some of his other Hollywood co-stars, I don' think this is too lame a first appearance for Mr Sarky Pants!

Now if you are a fan of the Halloween series you will know the whole debacle about the the underground bootleg "producer's cut" of this film! Yes I was one of the nerds who tracked down a bootleg copy just so I could see it for myself, it's totally different from the released version. Now it's been a while since I saw either version, had I written this a number of years ago I would have been able to go on for ages, not so much anymore. Maybe it is time I revisited both versions! Anyhoo, all I know is that the "producer's cut" has extra added good AND bad! Some of the deaths are altered and part of the story is completely different! I'm pretty sure that the death of uber ass hole John Strode, played by Bradford English (what an awesome fucking name, haha) is different.

So yes people, discuss...what are all of your opinions on this movie? Love it or hate it? I look forward to hearing your opinions!!! :D