Requiem for a Dream

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that anyone who has ever used any drug has already seen this movie or gotten the idea to see it high. To be honest, I was a bit afraid to watch this because I didn't think it'd be funny. I mean, this is a movie about how drugs will fuck you over. Getting high and watching this movie should make you feel terrible.

And it does.

Don't get me wrong, some parts will make you laugh...a lot. I'll put those in the HIGHPOINTS. But most of this movie is filled with sad imagery and music; the latter is thanks to Clint Mansell, most famous for Requiem for a Tower, a very powerful piece of music who's main riff makes up most of the score. The cinematography is, of course, faded and dark, almost as if the film wants to show these people as ghosts. It's beautiful, but haunting (pun intended). Every piece of this film is shot so that you know that none of these people will succeed. Even the title cards arrive with a resounding "thunk!," emphasizing time as an enemy.

Watching these people descend into a self-made hell while impaired only made me feel guilty. Sure, it's more beautiful and being high made me more emotionally involved, but I couldn't take the grief. But that's just who I am; I get guilt tripped easily. The friend I watched this with didn't have the same problem, but he also said he didn't have that much fun watching it either. So, watch this one at your own risk, folks.

HIGHPOINTS

(upon hearing Jared Leto's New York accent): "He sounds like such a douche!"

(upon seeing Jennifer Connelly): "Hey, it's Winona Ryder!" "That's not Winona Ryder." "Oh, it's Jennifer Connelly! I saw you in Labyrinth!"

(during the refridgerator scene): "Requiem for a Dream 2: Revenge of the Fridge!"

(at several points throughout the movie): "I want to make jokes but I know I'll just end up feeling sad!"

(upon seeing the big black guy that trades drugs for pussy): "It's Marcellas Wallace!"

Jumanji

Jumanji was a major part of my childhood. My grandmother bought it for me and my brothers, and when we visited her every Sunday for dinner we ended up watching either it or Matilda. I have probably seen this movie more than the majority of my internet audience or, for that matter, the rest of the world. I'm certainly attached to it to say the least, so I was a little hesitant to GreenScreen it. My friend April put it on at a little party she was throwing though and we discovered we had a mutual attachment to the film and decided to go through with it.

It's not really anything special. It's a comedy, you're going to laugh at certain parts, other parts you won't. It's a fun family film, but it won't have you cracking up the entire time. I'll go into more detail in the HighPoints, but I figure it's necessary for me to bring this up.

Robin Williams was by far the best part of this experience. I've never really found him funny until now. Part of it is his timing, and part of it is his facial expressions. The scene where he tricks Sarah into dropping the dice and then snickering is probably my favorite part. I hate to say it, but maybe, just maybe, you have to be high to enjoy Robin Williams...IDK.

HIGHPOINTS

"What do you mean the game thinks?" (I got really philosophical to this...to the point I started freaking out)

When Robin Williams opens up the closet door and the kids scream at him and he screams back, I laughed my ass off.

When the monkey comes out of the refridgerator, I was convinced he said "Fuck you!"

Beauty and the Beast

You figured I would have Greenscreened a Disney movie sooner. They're classics, of course, and I'm sure many of you have either pondered doing it on your own or went ahead and did it. I haven't honestly. I didn't have any interest in doing it because I thought it wouldn't be interesting. But my friend came to me and begged me to watch it high. She even gave me the weed to smoke, though she didn't watch it with me. Admittedly, I don't like greenscreening movies alone; that kind of goes against the whole point. But I decided to give this one a shot. In truth, I'm kind of glad I did. This film nearly drove me insane.

It wasn't bad...not terrible anyway. I mean, the things you'd expect to entertain a stoned kid entertained me. The music wasn't good; in fact, it was down right uncomfortable at moments (except for maybe "Be Our Guest." That was pretty fun). The animation isn't particularly remarkable (although Gaston's character design really tripped me out....), but it is very stoner-friendly.

What really got me about this movie, though, was the concept. Now it may have been just me or the weed, but just for a second, I want you to think about this:

Most of the major characters in the movie are portrayed as formerly normal humans that were transformed into household objects. This would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that I'm high and I overanalyze things. Have you realized how sadistic this concept is? The first moment I began to realize this was when Belle is drinking out of Chip, the boy/teacup, and Chip says "That tickles!" This proves that the characters are capable of feeling! So all these images of them falling apart, being set on fire (in the case of Luminere), and sheared and cleaned mean that they are actually feeling it! Has no one ever noticed this before? Watch it again and I swear it'll freak you out.

High Points

"Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!" (yummmmm....)

OldBoy

OldBoy is a film with an interesting premise: a man named Oh Dae-Su is kidnapped off the streets and placed into a hotel room...for fifteen years. He is not allowed to leave or meet his captors. The only contact with the outside world he has is through the television they have provided him. He learns that he is framed for the murder of his wife and that his daughter has been put up for adoption. He begins to plot his escape and eventual revenge against those who have imprisoned him. On the eve of his escape attempt, he is drugged and wakes up on a roof of another building. Three days later, his captor comes to Oh Dae-Su and tells him he has five days to figure out who he is and why he held him prisoner.



I have a habit of watching movies with stories like this one while I'm high and freaking out over how original and gripping the idea is. I wanted to pick a movie to showcase this phenomenon, but there were a lot of choices. Luckily, my friend had OldBoy and weed, so there you go.

I'll talk about my thoughts on the plot more in a second, but I want to talk about the other aspects first.

Visually, this film doesn't bring that much new to the table, but there are some scenes and shots that those who are stoned will definitely appreciate. The Hallway Fight scene will either give you chills or get what I call the "Oh shi-" reaction, wherein you'll be excited and entirely unsure how to describe what you're feeling, at least not coherently. Surprisingly this movie has a sex scene. Now, sex scenes during my greenscreens always bum me out but this one is especially weird, given that the translators give us lines like "It hurts, but I will endure!" I might find this funny usually, but this time, I just felt really uncomfortable. There are other examples that I think are more "trippy," but I can't tell you what they are for fear of spoiling the plot.

Sound wise, this movie is very eerie and tripped me out constantly. It doesn't help that I chose to watch this subbed rather than dubbed and that threw me off as well. The actors choose to speak in dark, quiet tones (which I think they chose to do as a parody of American action film characters) and it continues to pull me into the movie, even though I have to read the translations.


Watching this movie high provided me a chance to explore a whole new element to this film I hadn't considered before. The lines between victim and victimizer are blurred to a new extreme. While the villain's method of revenge could be considered extreme, we are left to contemplate the motivation behind his revenge and the kind of person Oh Dae-Su truly is. When they first meet, Oh Dae-Su does not recognize his captor, and as we learn later, the effect Oh Dae-Su has on the captor's life should have at least left a last memory. At one point, Oh Dae-Su begins writing a journal of everyone he has wronged, and the list is monstrous. So even though we are supposed to root for Oh Dae-Su as our hero, we are given an image of him as a dislikeable person who has only changed because of his imprisonment. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?


But then again, I could be wrong.

Sorry, no High Points for you today. Nothing funny was said.

I'm A Lazy Fuck

Ok, so School is finally out. I've really wanted to post some updates, but with exams and everything, it's been hard to write something besides essays since that's all I ever get assigned. Fortunately, summer's here and I have a lot of time to writer. Unfortunately, this is because all my friends are going home for the summer. I've got plenty of ones to release though so keep checking back.

Also, don't forget to check out my other blog "To Whom It May Concern."

Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue (Quickie)

I know I promised you guys that I would get my Spirited Away review up, and I will...just not yet. I had it nearly finished, but then one weird backspace later and I wound up losing all of it. So I decided to search for an alternative to post while I get everything back up. And trust me, this one is a doozy.

Today's selection is a thirty minute long anti-drug propaganda video starring a number of popular cartoon characters from the late eighties and before, including Garfield, The Muppet Babies, Alvin and the Chimpunks, Bugs Bunny, Winnie the Pooh, and (inexplicably) ALF. The cartoons try to convince a drug-using teenager that his decision to use drugs is ruining his relationship with his younger sister and his life as a whole. Strangely enough, George C. Scott portrays "Smoke," the one who argues for the boy to continue doing drugs. Let me get this straight. I'm doing a review of an animated film where my cartoon heroes are telling me not to do drugs as I smoke up on this blunt I just rolled...this is why I started this blog.

Normally I would talk about the animation and what not, but I mean, that's not what you're going to notice. No, you're barely going to be able to get past the concept of this PSA. There's a scene where Simon the Chipmunk is explaining what marijuanna is, and it pretty much captures the full feel of this entire thing.

Of course they exaggerate the true effect pot has on your body. They imply it'll lead you on to other drugs (crack is the example they use) and that you'll never quit it on your own. But, they also say that you'll turn green and lose your teeth, so you can imagine how much research they've done.

Bottom line, if you or some friends are stoned and bored and looking for some quick entertainment, check it out. You can find the full thing here

Updates, Oddities, Etc

Hey guys, sorry I've been out of action for a while. I'm trying to make these a weekly thing, but it's kind of hard to juggle them. The Spirited Away review is coming up very soon. I'm writing it with a totally different style and I want to make sure I get it perfect before posting it. I have two more reviews to write after that. I'm working as hard as I can, but I've got schoolwork to do too.

In the meantime, I'm going to leave this little image with you:

The other day I got high, decided to eat a banana, and had one of the weirdest experiences of my life. As soon as I began to peel it, I broke out laughing. I couldn't help but imagine that I was unzipping a zipper. I made little zipping sounds while my friends watched. The texture of the inner banana is perfect. I mush it around in my mouth. Sure, it doesn't taste the best, but it's a lot of fun to eat. Try it out next time, and tell me what you think.