Movie time!

I have so much to write about lately and so little time and motivation to do so that I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. Suffice it to say that it’s been a fun December, plenty of family and friend time, and more fun to come in about a week.

Oh, did I mention that we’re heading to Miami to go to the National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama? I’ll write more about that soon (at least that’s the plan), but it’s just been a little crazy with things to do and people to see. It’s been a lot of fun, but I need some downtime interspersed in there to recover from all that socializing, so I’ve been neglectful here.

After not writing about several things that have happened and upcoming events, I’m prompted to write now because of the movie we saw today: Quentin Tarantino’s latest, “Django Unchained.” My mind is still roiling with this movie, and I need to get some of this out or I’ll be up way too late tonight!

Whew. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. I’m a big fan of Tarantino, and “Pulp Fiction” is right up there in my top five movie list. I need to see Django again to be sure, but I came out of the theater thinking that I just might have liked this better than “Pulp Fiction.” It really is that good.

It is very gory and graphic; if that sort of thing bothers you, you will not enjoy this movie. But if that sort of thing bothers you, why would you want to see a Quentin Tarantino movie? That’s one of the things he is known for, and his movies remind me very much of Sam Peckinpah’s movies, but with more blood. What is probably more disturbing and much harder to watch is the brutal treatment of slaves. Tarantino shies away from none of this. The N-word is used liberally and often. The floggings, the inhumane treatment, the complete lack of basic human decency...it is very disturbing.

But I welcomed Tarantino’s brutal honesty. This is part of our history, and it is wrong to ignore it. I think he does an amazing job with making this terrible story uplifting, by using a combination of righteous vengeance and humor.

Yes, there were many moments that induced laughter. One of the things I love about Tarantino is that he can make you laugh at some of the most horrible things. There were moments of genuine humor in this movie, including the scene with the raiders wearing bags over their heads (a precursor to the Klan) and the big shoot-out scene with bullets ripping into bodies. Not funny, you say? If you go see this movie and don’t give a little burble of horrified laughter at that scene, I’ll buy you a beer. I wasn’t the only one in the theater laughing, so it’s not just me and my warped sense of humor.

The cast is simply amazing. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson were all fantastic. Lots of cameos (I won’t list them here...see if you can spot them!) that had me thinking, “Oh, that’s so-and-so!” And, like Hitchcock, Tarantino always makes an appearance. It’s a fun one here, mate!

The music is also fantastic. The Django theme was co-written by Ennio Morricone, who is the guy who wrote the music for the Eastwood spaghetti westerns; I’ve read that this is Tarantino’s homage to those movies. There is plenty of modern music in there as well, and it works well despite the anachronism. The scenery is stunning, with beautiful mountain views. The visuals are wonderful (Django reflected in a mirror reminded me of Andy Warhol’s Elvis prints...the shadows cast by Django and others are cool...the blood spatter on cotton bolls...the blood-drenched plantation house walls.) Even the titles and graphics are fun and reminiscent of “Pulp Fiction.” (Watch for the Mississippi scroll!)

This movie isn’t for everyone. Ken’s Mom asked if she could go, and we cautioned her that it was graphic and bloody. She still wanted to go...and she loved it. She was glad she went, and we were glad she joined us! It’s a long movie, two hours and 45 minutes, and we were all riveted. I didn’t even break open my Reese’s Pieces, because I was spellbound. For anyone who likes Tarantino or this style of movie, I honestly cannot recommend it enough. It is brutal, funny, upsetting, uplifting, stone cold righteous, and glorious.

Checkout time is at never o'clock

We started watching "1408" last week, but got sidelined by other things (like sleep) so we finished it last night.

I liked this one a lot. It is based on Stephen King's short story by the same name, and it is not really a horror movie, and definitely not a slasher movie. This is just a ripping good yarn about a haunted hotel room. No real spoilers here, just a short synopsis.

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a writer who pens books about various haunted places...and usually debunks the myth. He has an air of cynicism about him, and when asked at a book signing if he's saying that there is no such things as ghosts, he says no, he's not saying that...but he's never seen one. He gets a lead about The Dolphin Hotel in New York City, specifically Room 1408 (note that it adds up to 13), and when he calls to book the room, he's told repeatedly that it is not available for booking. He makes arrangements to meet the hotel manager, Mr. Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), and heads to New York.

Mr. Olin refuses to book him into the room, and reluctantly tells Enslin some of the history of the room. In the history of the hotel, there have been over 50 deaths, some of them quite gruesome. When Enslin wonders what kind of phantom resides in Room 1408, Olin tells him he's never said there was any kind of phantom...it's just an evil f***ing room. Olin tries to bribe Enslin with some superb whiskey, as well as the complete files on 1408, but Enslin is determined to stay in that room, and after he threatens legal action, Olin relents, although he says he doesn't want to have to "clean up the mess." He tells Enslin that no one has lasted more than an hour in the room.

At first glance, the room is completely innocuous, and Enslin is not impressed. When he looks into the mini-bar fridge, he says, "Eight dollars for beer nuts? This room is evil." (One of the best lines in the movie, in my opinion!) As he describes the room into his voice recorder, he says, "Hotels are a naturally creepy place... Just think, how many people have slept in that bed before you? How many of them were sick? How many... died?"

The first sign of trouble comes when he gets turndown service while he was looking out the window...but no one was in the room. It gets worse when he's relaxing on the bed, and the clock radio begins blaring "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters (horrific, indeed!) and a 60-minute countdown commences. It gets worse from there, and it becomes obvious that the room is able to prey upon universal fears, as well as some that are very personal and damaging for Enslin. He struggles to maintain his sanity while in the grip of the evil room, and is successful...sort of.

I also enjoyed "Vacancy," the movie about a hotel off the beaten path and the psychopaths who run it, so apparently I have a thing for creepy hotels! "1408" was an all-around good, spooky movie that scares you more with psychological terror than anything else. One of the scariest scenes for me was when he's trying to escape the room and decides he will walk the ledge outside (13 stories up, remember) to the next room and get in through the window.

Spoiler Ahead

He paces off the distance to the adjoining room's wall, and estimates how far he will have to walk to get to the window. He makes it out to the ledge, begins edging along, watching his feet but trying not to look down to the street, and when he thinks he should be getting close, he looks up to see the window...and there are no windows at all. Just an endless brick wall as far as he can see. Creepy!

End of Spoiler

I also love the line about wondering how many people have slept in the bed, how many were sick, and how many actually died. If that doesn't give you the heebie-jeebies the next time you stay in a hotel, I don't know what will!

John Cusack is one of my favorite actors (this made me want to watch "Grosse Pointe Blank" again), and he doesn't disappoint in this one. And Samuel L. Jackson always has that slightly evil look to him, and that works well here. If you're looking for a good scary movie to watch for Halloween, one that isn't really gory, I think this one might work for you. Turn out the lights and enter Room 1408. Enjoy your stay.

Bwah-hah-hah-hahhhh!