Lone Wolf and his Cub: Sword of Vengeance

This is the first of 6 overly bloody samurai films from the 70's, and with that bit of information many are probably already disinterested in this movie. However, I'd like to present some views that might alternate your stance on this movie and movies like it.
My first experience with this series entitled "The Lone Wolf and Cub series" was the film "Shogun Assassin". Many have heard me talk about this movie, especially since it was probably the first true exploitation movie I watched. Shogun Assassin had terrible voiceovers, but that couldn't change because Shogun Assassin was meant for the american audience. What I found recently, is that Shogun Assassin is not an original movie, and is simply compiled of footage from the first two "Lone Wolf and Cub" films that forms a slightly new story and pace. After I discovered this I had to see the "originals".
True enough, the first Lone Wolf film was the primary first section of Shogun Assassin, however I was surprised to find that instead of the terrible dialogue that "Shogun" presented, there was actually smart and compelling writing. The story was another big change. The purpose of Shogun Assassin was to kill as many people as possible within the movies running time, the purpose of the first Lone Wolf film to is set up a compelling plot and characters that have depth. Which it does.
Before I explain the plot, I would like to explain that this 6 movie series is a true series of movies that all connect. Unlike (too) many trilogies today that don't bother to relate to each other plot-wise, the lone wolf and cub series actually starts the plot with the first movie, and ends the plot with film 6, which is admirable considering the amount of movie franchises that just grow for money, no the progression of story.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is about an executioner for the royal shogunat who's name is Ogami (the lead man guy person). The empire is in decline, and corrupt leaders are looking for any reason to have clan-leaders executed. Many clan-leaders are falsely accused and sentenced to die at the hand of Ogami. It does not take long before the followers of fallen leaders get rather irate at Ogami for killing their lords under the order of the shogun. A plot is set up to have Ogami and his family slain. Men conspire and frame Ogami for a false crime regarding a planned assassination for his leader. He arrives home to find his wife dying and all his servants slain, his wife's last words are the name of their son, who is still safe with Ogami. Soon, the Shogun's followers arrive, and Ogami soon realizes that they have been bribed to kill him. Along with this, he sees that the men who killed his wife were forced to by these same men, and after the act slain and framed for suicide. Instead of surrendering and offering himself up Ogami takes his son and fights back with the knowledge that his is being wrongfully wronged. And so begins the 6 film series of the Lone Wolf and his Cub, and their search for the clan that has caused them so much grief.
After Ogami leaves with his son for their journey halfway through the film, the plot switches and focuses on a village that is being slowly pillaged by ruthless bandits. Ogami saves the day, credits roll.
This isn't a spectacular movie, and it does still retain some rather "cheesy" 70's gimmicks. Amidst all this though, I was happy to find that this movie also holds a compelling and rich plot, especially for a revenge film.

Killer Web

Please go to this link, and then go to the link in this link. This is part of Director/Writer Kevin Smith's blog. Truly Horrible story.

http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=366

The Wanderers

Think of the wanderers as "The Outsiders" meets "The Warriors" meets "West Side Story", except with no specific plot. The Wanderers is about an italian gang called (tada) The Wanderers which is composed mostly of high school students play by mid twenty year olds. The story, or lack thereof, takes place in 1963 New York City.
The movie doesn't have a very good balance of drama and comedy, and it is not infrequent that scenes which seem a though they should be knuckle biting aren't that tense at all. However, the movie does maintain the sense of freedom and fun throughout, that you'd expect about a group of boys in the 60's. Their antics are wild, and you can sense the tension between all the races throughout the entire movie.
This isn't really a good movie, but it is a very fun one. The incredible soundtrack certainly helps propell this movie into the "fun" zone. All the characters are very full and developed, containing real personality which also helps. Some of the incidints in the movie are pretty ridiculous, but that's forgivable. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a fun coming of age trip into 1960's upbeat New York gang life.

Rollerball (1975)

This is a fantastic movie, yet there is surprisng little action, and more social commentary. I found myself a little dissapointed not with the ending it self, but with how they presented it. Rollerball reminded me a lot of Gladiator, not because they play a deadly game, but because the main character has many similarities with the famous Maximus. I have no clue why this movie is rated R, as there is not ONE swear word, zero nudity, rather mild and mostly bloodless (but intense) violence. This movie suceeds as being a good movie, nothing more, nothing less.

Where are all the good men dead?

I found these rather unsettling, especially since many of them came from people that I would not have suspected of being so shrude.


"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."

- Abraham Lincoln, American president (1809-1865).

"There is so much in the bible against which every insinct of my being rebels, so much so that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention."

-Helen Keller, American lecturer

"Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror."
Voltaire

"Lighthouses are more helpful then churches."
-Benjamin Franklin

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Charles Schultz, American cartoonist (1922-2000).
In an interview in 1999, Schultz said that although his philosophical views evolved over the years, "the term that best describes me now is 'secular humanist.'" He went on to say, "I despise those shallow religious comics. Dennis the Menace, for instance, is the most shallow. When they show him praying--I just can't stand that sort of thing, talking to God about some cutesy thing that he'd done during the day. I don't think Hank Ketcham [Dennis' creator] has any deep knowledge of things like that." Schultz cringed at the mention of Family Circus, the strip by Bill Keane that is strewn with cutesy references to Jesus (who wants to protect children on school buses, but can't because of laws about separation of church and state!) and those sickly-sweet images of invisible deceased grandparents looming protectively over the kids. "Oh, I can't stand that," Schultz laughed. "You could get diabetes reading them, couldn't you?"


Samuel Clemens "Mark Twain"
"Faith is believing something you know ain’t true."

"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."

"It (the Bible) is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies."

"A man is accepted into a church for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows."

"Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere. It makes Nero an angel of light … by contrast."

"I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious -- unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force."

"If there is a God, he is a malign thug."

"I was born a heretic. I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows."
- Susan B. Anthony

"Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies."
-Thomas Jefferson

"Religion is all bunk."
Thomas Edison


:( what's up with this?):

Mo (hardcore) Quotes

I thought I'd write some more of what others have to say and less of what I have to say, as the only good thing I can say is what they don't, which isn't much. That's not to say I agree with them.

I got a little carried away on the last little section which is all about Joe Strummer.

A radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air
- Unknown

"Dare to be naive."
- Buckminster Fuller

The great virtue of my radicalism lies in the fact that I am perfectly ready, if necessary, to be radical on the conservative side
- Theodore Roosevelt

"If you obey all the rules you will miss the fun."
- Katherine Hepburn

"In order to find the edge, you must risk going over the edge."
- Dennis Dugan

I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version
- Oliver North

"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess."
- Oscar Wilde

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
- Helen Keller

"Only the poor knew the meaning of life; the rich and the safe had to guess."
- Charles Bukowsky

"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
- George Orwell

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
- John F. Kennedy

"Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time."
- H.L. Mencken

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
- John Cage

"Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups."
- John Kenneth Galbraith

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are just rearranging their prejudices."
- William James

"What all men fear, I too must fear - how barren and pointless a thought!
- Tao Te Ching

"People who are willing to give up freedom for the sake of short term security, deserve neither freedom nor security." - Benjamin Franklin

"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"By logic and reason we die hourly. By imagination we live." - John Butler Yeats

"Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."
- Will Rogers

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
- Abraham Lincoln

What I like about playing America is you can be pretty sure you're not going to get hit with a full can of beer when you're singing and I really enjoy that!
- Joe Strummer

When you blame yourself, you learn from it. If you blame someone else, you don't learn nothing, cause hey, it's not your fault, it's his fault, over there.
- Joe Strummer

“Feeling lucky punk? Oh, good.”
- Joe Strummer

“The Future is Unwritten”
- Joe Strummer

(the following are on the late Joe Strummer (2003))

"The most profound voice of any musician I have ever heard, Joe took his message to the world and the world listened. He managed to influence more than one generation with his innovative and determined manner and I am not alone in repeatedly turning to his thoughts and lyrics when searching for inspiration. The Clash was the greatest rock band."
- Bono -

"The Clash turned punk into a proper political movement, and Joe Strummer showed recently that he still had much of value to say. It is a terrible tragedy to lose him at this early age."
- David Bowie -

"Joe was not just a great bloke - he was also a great musician who wasn't afraid to take a chance and write lyrics that made a difference. His death is a very sad day for the music scene. Yet again it's one of the good guys who's died young."
- Glen Matlock, The Sex Pistols -

"Numb, gutted & shocked - 3 words that sum up how I feel. Passionate, principled, genius - 3 words that sum up Joe Strummer."
- Martin Scorcese -

"The Clash were a major influence on my own music, they were the best rock n roll band. Thanks Joe!! "
- Bruce Springsteen-

"I'm very, very sad at the news of Joe's death. I cannot pretend that we were that close but I am a great admirer of his songs and lyrics. The last time I saw Joe, we were driving through Notting Hill at 60mph in his Hot Rod VW. I think that this says a lot about him and his spirit. My thoughts are with his family and friends."
- Elvis Costello -

Ha ha (lovely quotes)

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. – Herm Albright

The best reason for having dreams is that in dreams no reasons are necessary
Author: Ashleigh (Ellwood) Brilliant

"Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems."
- Rene Descartes (1596-1650), "Discours de la Methode"

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
- Galileo Galilei

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. - When Harry Met Sally

"This is the first day of the rest of out lives" - Dante, Clerks II

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look once in awhile, you could miss it
- Ferris Beuler
Ferris Beuler's Day Off

My dear boy, if God had intended for us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates
- Willy Wonka

Friends are thieves of time.
- Francis Bacon

If we are to abolish the death penalty, I should like to see the first step taken by my friends the murderers.
- Alphonse Karr

I once heard two ladies going on and on about the pains of childbirth and how men don't seem to know what real pain is. I asked if either of them ever got themselves caught in a zipper.
- Emo Philips

I played a lot of tough clubs in my time. Once a guy in one of those clubs wanted to bet me $10 that I was dead. I was afraid to bet
- Henry Youngman

If you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
- John Wayne

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.
- Dick Cavett

In our school you were searched for guns and knifes on the way in and if you didn't have any, they gave you some.
- Emo Philips

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
- Robert Frost:

Bill: Do you find me sadistic? You know, Kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions. At this moment, this is me at my most masochistic.
The Bride: Bill, it's your baby.
BANG!
- Kill Bill

“You should have to pass an IQ test before you breed. You have to take a driving test to operate vehicles and an SAT test to get into college. So why dont you have to take some sort of test before you give birth to children? When I am President, thats the first rule I will institute.”
- Marilyn Manson

Greatest Remakes of All Time

As I started to write this I realised that I haven't seen many good remakes. I wanted to debunk the statement "all remakes are bad!" but I realised I can't do that with my knowledge. I was going to list John Carpenter's "The Thing" as the greatest remake, but I realized that I haven't seen the original, although I believe that claim. I would like to give Dawn of the Dead (2004) a little shoutout though, for being a good remake of a sequel whos original has never been remade.

Greatest Sequels of All Time

I was thinking of doing some posts regarding the greatest "action" movies of all time, proceeding to go through the genres. However, I thought it would be much better to focus on a far less discussed subject, the best sequels of all time. I will hopefully also do a later post on the best re-makes of all time. Note that when I say "all time" I mean solely "within my knowledge" *chuckle*. Even though my views on the following movies are my sole opinions, I will try to present my case with some logic. Also, I am not going to grade them on a better "1-10" scale. These are not ordered in importance. Whether not these are good movies is up to the individual, although I feel that their status as a better movie then their predecessor is less debatable.

Terminator 2: Not only is this a great sequel, but it's a great movie.

Desperado: One of a the great things about this sequel is that it holds its own, and could easily be a stand alone film, however that does make it less of a sequel. On top of being a great sequel, it's a spectacular action movie, and while not being a comedy directly, it has more humor then most comedy films. The writing, the plot and the action are all classic. It's a fun movie, not Oscar material in the slightest, but it has admirable qualities that many films of this genre lack entirely. The movie feels like an old fairy tale western, which I welcome.

The Empire Strikes Back: Ending a movie with the line "I am your father!" is possible the most genius ending ever (or at least for this movie, it obviously wouldn't work for all films). I'm serious. I think too many people forget how intense it was after that movie was released. The ultimate cliffhanger. I haven't seen a trilogy yet that has had a more deserving sequel. The Matrix Reloaded feebly tried to have a "cliffhanger" type ending, but it in no way holds the same plot impact as the famous line in The Empire Strikes Back.

The Road Warrior: Even though I said I would not rate films from best to worst, I would like to say that this is the best sequel of all time. I will hold firm to this, and thankfully, many people agree with me. This is a classic and groundbreaking action movie, that is too oft overlooked. PICK THIS UP AND WATCH IT (but not before you've wasted your time with it's predecessor "Mad Max").

A Fault In Schooling

What's better/worse? Learning nothing but getting perfect marks, or getting mediocre marks but learning a substantial amount? My experience in school is that it doesn't matter what you learn as long as it looks good on your transcript. This is not how it should be, but it is unfortunately how it is. Too many teachers focus on getting through the curriculum instead of actually teaching. When teachers don't show an eagerness to do their job students thus don't have the will to do a decent job. It's not one groups fault whether a student passes or fails, but in this age, learning comes second to good marks.

The Big Hit

This is, lo and behold, a hitman comedy! wow! Although I haven't finished it yet, I felt compelled to write a review, because I don't see the movie getting any better.
Unlike other comedies about contract killers like "In Bruges" and "Grosse Pointe Blank", this one sucks. It just feels like a dark comedy that hollywood cranked out. What I mean by this is that all of the comedy is low-brow, and all of the dark comedy is cheap. The only thing that makes it enjoyable is Mark Walhberg, who plays the sweetest hitman you'll ever meet (unrealisticly so, making his character unbelievable and fake). Everything in the movie is far-fetched and un-original. I wanna watch Grosse Pointe Blank again.

On another note, I found that John Cusack is supposed to be in ANOTHER hitman comedy this year! Yay, I'll be there!

Strummer Insight

"There are two kinds of people in this room. One of them is men, and the other of them is women." - Joe Strummer

He then rambles on about how each sex should stick with what they are. I thought it was humorous to a high degree.

Vengeance Valley

This is a case where, thankfully, the production didn't damage the quality of the story. In 1951 this little western came out and I doubt it was very succesful, as it only cost around a dollar to buy. That doesn't mean this is a bad movie though, as I was thouroughly entertained throughout the entire picture.
This movie has surprisigly very little to do with "vengeance" and I'm going to assume the title was created as sort of an attraction piece. The movie itself is about two ranch hands and their relationship with a new mother. Oscar is one of these men, and the majority of the film is about his best friend (the other man) that covers up for Oscar, as he is the man that impregnated the young lady. This is a great character study and fab little feature, and to my glee, the copy of the film I saw was as scratched up as ever.

Riki-Oh

This movie makes up for every lame exploitation film I've ever seen (I've seen a lot). This movie is what I wish all those movies were. This movie is the definition of "Grindhouse Cinema". This is easily the 2nd goriest, silliest, funniest movie of it's genre that I've seen.
The films I would compare this to are...

The Killer: An amazing chinese-gunslinging-action-masterpiece, with dubbing so bad it was placed in the comedy section of most video stores.

and

Braindead: Peter Jackson’s zombie romp which contains more wit and ridiculous gore than should be allowed.

Riki-Oh is a martial arts film about a mega-strong fighter that enters a prison that's controlled by the prisoners within. He aims to bring peace in the prison...
This movie was surprisingly made in 1991, but it's near impossible to tell, as even the clearest prints of the movie still have all the scratches and dust that most movies of it's genre contain.
THIS IS NOT a movie for everyone, but everyone should see it. There aren't words to describe how perfect this movie is. This is an exploitation film, to the highest degree. Everything is beautifully cliché and outrageously spectacular. The dubbing is ultra similar to the dubbing in "The Killer" and it works perfectly. This movie is amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

In Bruges

It's a little early for me to make any drastic decisions regarding how much I like this movie, but to give some reference on how much I love this movie I'll say this. It could very easily be in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. However, the obscurity of the movie itself might make it a very different experience depending on who you are.
I was very intrigued in this film from the moment I saw the trailer, however I can't say the same for my friends. The movie is about two hitmen that go to hide out in the quiet village called Bruges. However, after their arrival things don't stay peaceful for long. The only movie I think I can compare this to is last years "Hot Fuzz". Although, the humor displayed in this film is much different, and the movie itself is far more serious. This is one of the reasons I loved this movie.
The mixture of humor and drama in this movie is perfect, and never odd. It is also miraculous that this is the director’s debut film (which is probably why it has such a small release). In terms of a good movie, this is a good movie. Direction, writing, musical score, ACTING and story are all magnificent. I can see how dislike for this movie would not be difficult, as it is NOT your traditional kind of movie. It also isn't an action movie, in the slightest, but that doesn't stop the violence from being some of the harshest I've seen.
This is a delightful comedy, and the humor isn't only dark. To be fair it does have it's share of dark humor, but I was pleased to see that the majority of the movie's comedy was genuine, smart humor.
I should probably say that I WANTED to love this movie. I do. This movie is just so dang original and enjoyable that it warrants every bit of my adoration.

note: before you go running to see this with the family, as I know you all will, it should be noted that this movie sports really strong lingo, violence and some rather not-so-fun drug use. Let's give the director a pat on the back though for not including ANY nudity or sex scenes in this movie.

Battle of God's Children

Please read this discussion I found between these two and let me know what you think.

"You say we Christians think we are the elite ones, but the problem with that is Christianity is open to everyone. It is kind of like standing on two different sides of a ledge. The people on one side (the Christians) say, hey come over here with us, because your side is going to collapse, we know because the builder told us it was not safe. But all the people on the other side call us self righteous, or they say we think we are the elite. If we really were we would not say anything just wait until that side fell then pat ourselves on the back for being smarter than everyone else. Instead we try to tell people even though we know we will be looked down on and called names."

Okay. If that was all there is to it, I'd be fine with it. But it isn't. I oughta tell you up front that I'm not a foaming-at-the-mouth God-stomper; in fact I myself have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But that filling of the well is all the good that the church did for me. The church which I formerly attended for an extended period of time (and other churches in my area, for that matter) pride themselves on knowing what's what. They do no accept questions nor do they allow for open minds. Young women were cautioned that any non-Christian young man's affections they received would send them straight to hell. Youth were encouraged to start riots in the classroom against the teachers for using books which contained information regarding evolution. They were instructed to hunt down fellow youth and not leave them alone until they had consented to attend a youth meeting. I know this because once I was accosted by a simpering girl who seemed sure, oh-so-sure that I was a pathetic individual in need of Jesus' love. Little did she know that I had committed myself to Him years ago and had rarely faltered in my quiet daily discussions with Him. I let on as much later and she did not believe me; perhaps because I did not fancy pestering and nagging as a type of witnessing. It is not that I want people to go to hell--no, it's that I believe in doing things God's way; not the pastor's/minister's/reverend's way. Perhaps I am not making myself clear. I am pro-choice, vehemently so; I put some stock in Darwin's theories and I do not believe that during the Holocaust 10 million people went to hell. I do not imagine that all those who partook in "free love" in the sixties went to hell, either, nor do I recoil in hate and loathing when someone of the Jewish or Muslim or Hindu faith enters the room.

I resent the flying spittle, the blatant t-shirts condemning me and the millions of people who agree with me about abortion to eternal damnation. I resent being told to rise up against those I love by a fat old man in a pink shirt and tie. I resent, fiercely, being told whom to love and laugh with and look at, for crying out loud. I love Jesus. Isn't that enough?

Not for some people. The church I formerly attended spurned blacks and Hispanics and Asians; if one wasn't a WMA one was a pariah no matter how much one loved God. I don't write this to trash them, or even as some veiled admittance to not witnessing much because I believe people have to Want to learn to do something before they learn it. I suppose I write this merely to show that there are such things as bad Christians. And there is such a thing as patience, and tolerance, and to have the two you have to believe that God WILL pull people to Him. But he'll pull the whole person, not just their resentful body. It's selfish to think one knows it all, especially about God of all things, and to deliver His judgement is not anyone's place on this earth.



His response

Well I am not sure why you wrote me. You seem to dislike what you think Christians are, yet you claim to be one. The point I tried to make on my website is one that I personally believe. Does that mean that everyone who claims to be a Christian acts that way or believes that? No, but that is not the point. Our guide is to be God's word and that is where I put my faith, not in what other people do or don't do. I would agree with you that the church you described has a problem. Christians should not act that way, that is not how God wants us to act, however, you have gone off the other side of the road. Being a Christian is not about a bunch of rules that you have to follow, however, you do have to follow Christ. From what you described about yourself you do not fall into that category either.

Let me explain: (Matthew 16:24 NIV) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

(1 John 2:3-6 NIV) [3] We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. [4] The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. [5] But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: [6] Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV) [19] Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; [20] you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

You may not like any of those passages because they all show that your attitude is wrong. You don't want to be told whom to talk to or how to live, but God's word does tell you those things. So your problem is not so much with pushy Christians as it is with God. You say you are pro-choice. Okay, but can you honestly say that you believe that is okay with God? How can you honor God with your body, when you advocate killing unborn children? How can you claim to be denying yourself and following Christ when you want a choice so that you can kill a unwanted child and sidestep the responsibility? How can you claim to know Christ if you are not willing to follow His commandments?

You can blame all those 'other Christians' all you want, but the only one who will be standing with you when you face God will be you. You won't have anyone else to point to or to blame, it will be, what did you believe and how did you act. I will answer for my actions and my belief and so will the people you described to me, but so will you. You better find out what God expects and forget what people expect or want, because they don't matter.

Let me just tell you that I don't recoil in hate over anyone who happens to come into the room, so if you think all Christians do you are sadly mistaken. You also said you don't believe that 10 million people went to hell during the holocaust. Okay, but let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you believe there were 10 million people killed? Do you believe that those people we are talking about were Jews? Now do you believe that those 10 million people had accepted Christ as their savior? Unless you fool me, I think you will say yes to the first two questions and no to the last one.

If that is true, then you must believe that those 10 million people (excluding kids who were not old enough to make a decision) went to hell. You know why? Because that is what being a Christian means. Jesus said: (John 14:6 NIV) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There you have it, either they got to heaven by having Jesus as their Lord and Savior or they did not make it. It does not matter whether they claimed to be Jews or Christians, what mattered was if they had been saved through Jesus Christ or not. If you don't believe that, then quit claiming you are a Christian because that is the gospel message. That is not a message of hate it is a message of love. God will accept anyone, no matter what religion or race or sex they are if they will come to Him, admit that they are sinners, believe that Jesus died for them and rose again and then ask for forgiveness.

It is the same with all of mankind, whether they took part in the free love 60's or not. Either they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior while they were alive or they did not make it to heaven, period.

(Romans 5:8 NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You should get out your Bible are find out who God is and what His word says. Then decide if you want to be His follower or not.

Ralph

Rebellion and Childhood

I'm not too sure why I'm doing this, but this is another one of Eli Roth's blog entries. It's mainly about his anger with those that don't enjoy his movies, but he goes on a delightful tangent about childhood memories that I rather enjoyed.

"Well, I finally made one of those 2007 Top Ten lists. Ebert and Roeper voted "Hostel Part II" as the WORST FILM OF 2007. Actually, I lied, I share the honor with my friend Chris Sivertson, because Roeper voted "I Know Who Killed Me" as his worst film of the year, while guest critic Michael Phillips gave me the esteemed honor. Roeper actually goes out of his way to say that he would have put "Hostel II" and other "torture porn" films on his list, but they were never screened for critics, so he didn't waste his time watching them, because they're just trash where women get tortured, and he doesn't find that entertaining. It's amazing he's not wearing a Pope hat, splashing holy water on the DVDs. Richard Roeper - whose job is to watch movies last I checked - wouldn't dare pollute his eyes by lowering them to the sewer of our movies...movies he has let others define before he even sees them himself. I feel sorry for Darren Boussman, whose film "Saw 4" wasn't even given a chance to be on this list, because Richard Roeper was too decent a human being to even watch it. Thank God we have people like him keeping us safe by warning us against such evil. We should all write him a thank you note, but please don't tell him that torture porn is a ridiculous term made up by critics who don't understand or watch these films and that that sub-genre actually doesn't exist.

What's so unbelievable about the show is that this guy Michael Phillips actually goes on to say how talented I am, and that I could actually be "adding something to the horror genre instead of settling for dreck." It's pretty incredible - he says I'm "going to have a very successful career" and that if I want to "get myself out of the basement" I can do it, but that it's up to me. It's the weirdest compliment ever - it's as if he chose my film so he could single me out and teach me a lesson. My question is: why would I ever want to leave the basement? The basement is a very special place for me. The basement at our house was where we all hung out. Every day we'd play Atari for hours in the basement after school, it's where I watched every horror movie imaginable, and more importantly, it's where I shot all my first films. My super 8 movie "A Clickwork Orange" was made in that basement. When I was 11 I chopped up my brothers with a circular saw in "Splatter on the Linoleum" in that basement. We shot probably 50 movies down in that basement. We were allowed to make as much noise as we wanted down there. We could blast our music. We could put up any posters we wanted - Jim Rice, Iron Maiden, "Mother's Day", St. Pauli Girl, all those cheesy posters we won throwing darts at carnivals in Maine - as long as there was space you could just tape it up. The walls were peeling, but instead of repainting, we'd hang a poster for "Pieces" over the spot where it was crumbling. It was great. Every weekend in high school at the end of the night - no matter what we were doing - EVERYONE went back to our house and hung out in the basement. I'm very close in age to both my brothers and all our friends would hang out together pretty much every weekend from 1:00 AM on. We'd raid the kitchen, fire up some Celeste pizzas, grab the cookies, and stuff our faces. We'd be down there all night watching horror movies and Skinemax, playing Nintendo NES, rocking out, filming movies, and playing street hockey with our dog Atlas. Atlas was the most amazing German Shepherd, and everyone knew him, and he knew everyone. You could take slap shots from across the basement and Atlas would catch the ball in his mouth. He loved playing goalie. Even yesterday I was hanging pictures in my basement in Los Angeles and Gabe said to me "Are you sure you want so many posters up?" and I said "I want it to be just like the basement." He agreed. I actually went back to my parents house in Boston and got my torn up "Mother's Day" video poster so I could frame it and hang it up in my have a piece of The Basement with me in California. So when Michael Phillips says that I could get out of the basement if I wanted to, to him I say: fuck that. I love it in the basement. The basement's where you can relax and have fun and there are no rules, no bullshit, you can blast your music, hang any posters you want, trash your furniture, throw a football or play hockey indoors, and just hang out and have fun with your friends. And I would much rather spend my life in the basement than where this former theater critic is: up his own ass. That's a dark, depressing place to be, and I feel sorry for the people who are stuck there because they'll never get the enjoyment of watching these movies in the middle of the night with a group of friends.

And since I got such an overwhelmingly positive response to my "artwork" from 2nd grade, here's another drawing from my book. I was probably 7 when I drew this. My parents actually saved my report cards from that time, and my teacher wrote them that I was incredibly smart and creative, and I had exceptional storytelling ability, but that I was too focused on "toilet humor and violence". My parents' response was "He's an 8 year old boy." I've been getting the same criticism for almost 30 years. What can you do. Some things never change. Back to the basement I go... "

(the picture was a crudly drawn crayon poster for "Alien" sporting a big "R", someone saying "Don't Shoot!" and and alien popping out of someone's stomach. The rest isn't clear enough to decipher.)

Stats, Bugs and Fireworks

Eli Roth (the director of the films "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel" part I and II) has a blog of his own, and I have decided to post his entry on my own blog. I'm posting it, because the first paragraph deals with a rather interesting issue that I felt obligated to share with others. I would only post that first paragraph if I didn't find the others so amusing. The second paragraph is about an experience I can completely relate with, so I do believe that I have a new connection with this guy. The rest is just sillyness. Enjoy.
(there are some naughty words, so don't let young ones read please. oh, and there were pictures included but I didn't add them, aye.)

"Happy New Year! This is fucking awesome. Two researchers at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. San Diego have done a study showing that violent movies reduce crime by 1.2-1.3% when watched between 6 PM and midnight, and even higher numbers AFTER viewers have seen the film, during Midnight and 6 AM. The study estimates that on weekends 1,000 violent crimes are prevented when people watch violent movies. So that means that between my three films I've prevented probably 10,000 violent crimes, so if someone in could print out the report (it's included in the link above) and kindly shove it up the New Zealand censor's ass I would greatly appreciate it.

I've fucking had it with the ladybugs in my house. I was all nice to them because I heard they were good luck, so if I saw one crawling along my window, I'd cup it onto a piece of paper, open the window, and gently escort it out. Not anymore. Now I have a fucking infestation. They're everywhere. It's freaky, I have no idea where they come from or why they like crawling along my windows, but they multiplied like cockroaches. This morning I was in the shower and saw a bunch of them crawling out of the cracks, and decided that I was going to go Charles Bronson on them. I took the rubber "it's a boy" duckie from my sister in law's baby shower and just started whacking them. They'd drop to the floor and I would smash them with the rubber duckie, which would wheeze out a squeekie noise every time I killed one. I spent a good ten minutes, dripping wet, stomping around my bathroom in a naked rubber duckie ladybug killing rampage. It was horrible, I hated it, but I had to claim my bathroom back. You try to be nice and these fuckers just run right over you. Not anymore. Any ladybug I see anywhere near the inside of my house will be killed by the rubber duckie, "New York Ripper" style.

New Year's was great. I had to get away, so I went to Iceland. I went with Tarantino, and when we go there, they treat us like kings. We of course were there with the King of the Swing himself, Eythor Gudjonsson, and I visited the Blue Lagoon, Lauger Spa, and the farm Ingolfshvoll, where I lived when I was 19. I had an amazing trip. The country is so beautiful, everywhere you go it's just breath taking. People ask me if it's freezing there, and yeah, it's cold, but it was far more freezing in Boston and New York. Iceland has some customs that might seem strange to some Americans. For one thing, they have 13 Santa Clauses. Now, these Santa Clauses are separate from Santa Claus, he's a whole other thing. (It's so Icelandic I can't begin to explain it, but this is what I've gathered from my various sources...) The 13 Santa Clauses come down from the mountains, and start to go back after December 24th. The Santa Clauses are evil, and they take things from you. One is named "Candle Sneaker" because he sneaks away with your candles. Another is door sniffer. He sniffs your doors. (I swear I am not making this up.) And then there's Window Peeper. And of course Sausage Stealer. (I had a dude in the showers at the gym who I think might have been Sausage Stealer by the way he was watching me shampooing.) And my favorite, skyrgaumer, who comes and takes your skyr. So people in Iceland light fireworks for thirteen nights, starting on Christmas, and ending on January 6th. On the last night they have bonfires all over town. I have never, ever in my life seen any display of fireworks like New Year's in Iceland. They go completely fucking nuts, and literally every single family lights these insane industrial sized fireworks. Eythor bought a whole artillery and we lit them off, and then lit more on January 6th when the last of the Santas went back to the mountains. Every night kids put a shoe in the window, and if they're good they get candy in their shoe in the morning, and if they're bad the Santa Claus gives them a potato. Makes sense, right? "

There was more but it all related to pictures I am not able to reproduce here. Hope ya liked it.

Fargo

Brilliant movie. Not satisfying.

I'm not exactly sure why, but I wasn't as pleased with this movie as I had hoped to be. It was great in almost every aspect, but it just felt too much like something I'd already seen. "Blood Simple" (the Coen's first movie) was very similar to this, except without the satirical edge, for better or worse. This might be a little childish of me, but I think I'd rather watch "Ice Harvest" again just because the pace was a little faster and held my attention more, even though it's not as good as this. I give this an easy 8 out of 10, but I don't think I'll watch it again for quite a while.

Dear Wendy

This movie can be best described as the spawn of "The Man Who Was Thursday", "Fight Club", "Peter Pan", "The Lord of the Flies", "Dogville" and "Young Guns". Beyond that there is really nothing else to say. It is a very twisted character study on a group of pacifist "losers" in a small town that share a love for firearms. They believe it is important to share their love of weapons and their detest of their use with the community and so a club is form, and call themselves "The Dandies".
I can't say I loved this movie, but I was pleasantly intrigued, and the movie did very well for being such a low-budget picture. The movie feels like a novel, in the writing and in the way it is presented. The scenes play out rather nicely, lead by the lead's narration/letters to his gun. Yes, to his gun. Everyone in "The Dandies" essentially marries his or her gun and gives it a name. Their bond with their weapon is what they hold dearest. This is made especially clear in the films climatic and unexpectedly tragic ending.
A character study is the central idea to the movie, but there are many, many other things to be said and heard in this movie.

Note: You can only imagine my glee when I found that the entire movie's soundtrack is composed from songs by my favorite band "The Zombies".

Thumbsucker

I heard of the movie "Thumbsucker" and so I researched it a tad and it was during that time that I also heard of "The Chumscrubber". I checked out both movies, expecting to like Thumbsucker the most, although I watched it last out of the two films. And let me tell you, I was severely disappointed with this film.
It is much like "The Chumscrubber" except it lacks everything that made that movie good. It is also much like the film "Garden State" which I also detested. Unlike "The Chumscrubber" this film revolves around people become addicted to drugs instead of kicking them. It is your stereotypical "we don't know anything so just flow with it" independent gray-fest.
The story is about a young teen and his angst. He has problems. Boo-hoo. To find a cure to his problematic life is given prescription drugs to help his new found ADD affliction. However, he realizes that he is addicted to the drug, and so he quits taking it. However, now he needs a different method to cope with life, and so he tries pot. Then he gets excepted to NYU and everyone's happy... whoops, I gave away the entire movie, shame on me.
But that is literally the entire movie. LAME LAME LAME.

The Chumscrubber

Wow... this is a weird movie. It deals with a drug addicted society in an idyllic American suburbia. The film focuses on Dean and his struggles in a world where no one seems to care. Literally. All of the adults in the movie neglect the children as they are too obsessed with their own world and greed.
I had no clue what was going to happen in this movie, and many times I was shocked in what the movie did or didn't do. The movie feels like the kind of movie that shows the events which lead to a school shooting, but (thankfully) nothing of the sort happens.
This is a very "indie" type movie with a terrific cast, and I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it before now. It's like "Little Miss Sunshine" meets "Requiem for a Dream" meets "Hostage" meets "Donnie Darko". This is much more then your average "teen-angst" movie, and if you're ready for something new and different I recommend this highly surreal movie. 7 (or 6) out of 10
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Rambo (the fourth one)

I am going to write this review as clear and delicately as I can so as not to be automatically panned by those that claim "this is the best action movie" they have ever seen.
Now, I loved this movie. It has a hero you can root for that's saving the weak and killing the tyrants. He's a manly man, and someone we wish would arrive in every war movie to save the day. HOWEVER, I wish to go through several aspects if the film in order to illustrate my feelings on this movie.
THE PLOT: The plot of this film is virtually identical to the plot of it's two predecessors "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Rambo III" which is this:

"Rambo goes into enemy territory to save the captured lesser from the evil bad guys".

Now, this is not a bad plot, it's enjoyable and doesn't make it the movie hard or confusing to bear through, and it makes it very easy to know who's good and bad. I just want to illustrate that this plot is nothing new to the Rambo franchise.

THE ACTION: One of my favorite things in the world (literally) is to watch a movie with an engaged and responsive audience. This is why I was elated last year when the film "Grindhouse" came out, as I knew that anyone that would see it would be cheering, booing and yelling throughout the picture... and they did. The experience I had with "Rambo" was surprisingly similar, with everyone cheering and gawking more and more with every villain that was slain.
The action in this movie is VERY graphic, more-so then "Grindhouse", who's sole goal was to be the most disgusting movie of the year. Add the gore to a righteous hero killing in the name of everything true and right and you've got yourself a movie that will chain you to your seat.
I was loving this movie as much as everyone else was, but once all is said and done, the action does not offer much besides bloody visuals we never had the pleasure of viewing before. It reminded me of when I was a kid. If you're a guy, you're favorite movie as a kid is most likely the first R rated movie you see. Why? Because it shows violence unparallel to that you had seen before, and guys like that. "Rambo" is much the same. The action isn't very clever. In fact, the entire climax of the film is simply the lead character sitting behind a 50 cal. turret wasting any scumbag that dares to show his face. When you compare this to action to something like "The Bourne Ultimatum" in which Jason Bourne defeats an enemy with a phonebook I think it's a no-contest in which is better. (note: I hated "The Bourne Ultimatum").
This is not the best action movie I’ve seen, although it's easily the goriest. However, it is definitely one of the most enjoyable theater experience I’ve had.