Reviews

I liked House of 1000 Corpses. I liked this film for a while too. The "Firefly Family" started off as a real creepy and gruesome bunch. But then a third of the way thru the Devil's Rejects they just became really annoying. And suddenly we were supposed to be on the side of these sickos. Suddenly they were the hero's. There was no reason in either film that lead up to make us suddenly like them. It made no sense. We were supposed to feel sad at the "emotional" ending? We were supposed to care about them? I sure as hell didn't.

We started watching this terrible film and were actually enjoying it in a "The Room" kind of way at first. Both have weirdo main characters and actors, both films were pretty absurd with equally terrible acting. Then about 2/3rds of the way thru my wife googles this Richard Condo guy and what we read in the news made it no longer funny.

The film starts of telling the viewer that it is not based on a true story - but that it IS a true story. The only problem is that they leave out major parts of the "true story". The fact that he kidnapped and beat his ex-wife so badly that she needed facial reconstructive surgery. The fact that his new wife and lawyer (who somehow has a cameo in the film as herself even though she is also being played by an actor) once told police he threatened her life. The fact the main character who is played by the real life main character (who is also the director) is a clinically diagnosed psychopath. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ian Hector said "The perplexing thing about people with psychopathic personality disorders, and Mr. Condo is certainly one of them, is they can be charming, cordial, engaging and appropriate one minute, and the next instant display an unpredictability that is shocking and sometimes extremely violent. He reads people with a swiftness and accuracy that is remarkable ... within seconds, he can determine weaknesses and needs of people, and, if he determines he can use you, he fulfills those needs." To me, this explains how Condo was able to use the real life death of his brother (who died from a motorcycle crash during production) as some sort of climax to the film even though he is never mentioned at all beforehand. There is even a (not at all funny) blooper reel on the DVD that ends with a car crashing sound. Damn.

I was given this DVD by a friend who used to drink at a bar that Condo and his wife/lawyer drank at. Condo came in with a box of DVDs and handed them out to everyone at the bar. My friend never bothered to watch it because he said the guy was too creepy. I think he hit the nail on the head with that comment.

I recently watched season 4 of the TV series Fargo. About half way through I looked to see if anyone had made a map of where all the events from the film and series had taken place. Of course they had. I looked around the map and noticed something on it called Kumiko The Treasure Hunter. Curious, I searched a bit and found a trailer. It looked good, fun and quirky. I decided that I was going to watch the rest of the Fargoverse in chronological order (season 4, 2, the film, 1 and 3) and that it would be fun to end with Kumiko The Treasure Hunter. Boy was I wrong. Not that Kumiko isn't a great film! It really is. But it was not at all fun and quirky. It was a terrifyingly sad tale about unchecked mental illness and people not being able to (or in the case of her family and coworkers - not wanting to - ) read those signs and help. Possible spoilers ahead: The first half of the film takes place in Tokyo and shows the world that Kumiko lives in and is mentally retreating from. Her awful workplace environment, bad relationship with her mother and her research into the box of money (her treasure) that is buried in the film Fargo. At the midway point when she arrives in Minnesota there is a beautiful scene of an airplane deicing that is set to the song "Dreams" by Peter Drake. It feels like this is the point where the film might shift gears and Kumiko might come out of her darkness with the help of her new adventure. Nope. She just falls deeper and deeper into her mental illness. A few people try to help her along her journey without really realizing how much help she actually needs. They give her rides or hot cocoa and buy her a proper jacket but then they let her wander off alone on her quest. Anyway, I am not sure how to end this review. I think this film will be sitting with me for a long time to come. If you are looking for something set in the same world as Fargo this is not it. But that doesn't mean it is not worth your time. Definitely worth a watch just don't let the trailer fool you.

Half clip show episode half some stuff you need to see for Spike, Shane and baby Emma continuity. The worst of all Degrassi episodes.

The Other Lamb is a stunningly beautiful film visually but the subject matter is shockingly bleak. Because of this it's a film that will not be for everyone. At times it takes on a disjointed narrative which stems from the young girls point of view who is trying to come to grips with becoming a woman under her cult leaders twisted and lustful eye. I think it's unfair and inaccurate comparisons to Midsommar have hurt this film. Sure, it exists in that same psychedelic folk horror world but it is a completely different story. It's a story about men who hate women and by all the 1 star reviews on here it seems to have struck a nerve.