Birds: An Under Utilized Scare Tactic In Film

"A parrot walks into a bar and asks for a scotch on the rocks, after knocking back the drink, he ask for the same again. This is also downed in one gulp, and he points his wing at the empty glass. This time the barman ask for some payment, to which the parrot replies - put it on my bill"

If you didn't find that funny, then you probably don't enjoy birds. 

Congratulations, you fall into the 85% of American's who don't enjoy birds as well. To most, birds are a nuisance, inferior vertebrate that poop all over everything and ruin crops. The worst part about birds is that they are in a way, "above" us, soaring over us in places that we can't reach without the aid planes, or jetpacks, or even ladders. This fear of inadequacy hunts us to our core, and it is this exact fear that has produced some of the scariest movies in Hollywood.

The Birds (1963)

Alfred Hitchcock 

A perfect example of the aeronautical capabilities of birds combined with a human's natural fear of birds. Alfred Hitchcock was able to capitalize on this fear in his film The Birds. A film about a wealthy San Francisco socialite who goes to pursue a potential boyfriend to a small town in Northern California when things take a bizarre turn after birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.

Pterodactyl (2005)

Mark L. Lester

Another prime example of being spooked by birds. Mark L. Lester takes things to a whole new level when he introduces the Pterodactyl, the scariest kind of bird, to the silver screen. Nothing is scarier than a bird that eats meat, especially a BIG bird. Lester sends shivers up his audiences' spine with this horror about a dormant volcano deep in the Turkish forest that holds within it a deadly secret, that being a perfectly preserved nest of pterodactyl eggs ready to hatch

Both movies pushed the boundaries of horror and what it means to truly be scared. To this day, I am still waiting for the next Pterodactyl, a chance for me to really be taken out of my element, a chance to be chilled to the bone.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a hilarious American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005, and moved to FXX beginning with the ninth season. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was created by Rob McElhenney, which he developed with Glenn Howerton, and is executive produced and primarily written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Charlie Day, all of whom star in the show, along with Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run Paddy's Pub, a relatively unsuccessful Irish bar in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The series completed airing its tenth season on March 18, 2015, and is renewed for an eleventh and twelfth season, each to consist of 10 episodes.

The comedic series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds and Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds; their friends Charlie Kelly, Ronald "Mac" McDonald, and, from season 2 onward, Frank Reynolds, the man who raised Dennis and Dee. The Gang runs the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.  The show runs itself on dry, usually racist, humor.  

Each member of the gang shows varying degrees of dishonesty, egotism, selfishness, greed, pettiness, ignorance, laziness and unethical behavior, and they are often engaged in controversial activities.  The show is hilarious because each situation teaches them absolutely no lessons, and they just go and do stupid activities over and over again.  Episodes usually find them hatching elaborate schemes, conspiring against one another and others for personal gain, vengeance, or simply for the entertainment of watching one another's downfall. It's every man for himself, but in a largely comedic way! They habitually inflict mental, emotional and physical pain. They regularly use blackmail to manipulate one another and others outside of the group.  They never feel any remorse for their actions, and in turn it makes the series funny and cynical.  

Their unity is never solid - any of them would quickly dump any one of the others for quick profit or personal gain regardless of the consequences. Everything they do results in contention among themselves and much of the show's dialogue involves the characters arguing or yelling at one another.  A classic scene is all of them bickering at once, it happens at least twice every episode! Despite their lack of success or achievement, 'The Gang' maintain high opinions of themselves and display an obsessive interest in their own reputations and public images. Despite this high sense of self-worth, 'The Gang' has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engages in activities which others would find humiliating, disgusting, or even preposterous, such as smoking crack cocaine in order to qualify for welfare, seducing a priest, driving while eating cereal, hiding naked inside a leather couch in order to spy on someone, chicken and airline scams, and even huffing glue and eating cat food.  The show gets so ridiculous, and that is what makes it so addicting to come back to and watch! 

If this show has taught me anything, it's to never take life seriously, and that things will get worse before they get better!  Thanks for always making me laugh It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia!

This show is a must watch and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do! 

The Skeleton Twins

Last fall I ventured to Cinemapolis to see The Skeleton Twins (directed by a film starring former SNL cast members Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Before entering the theater, I knew very little about the film except that Kristen and Bill were the two main characters (that was reason enough for me). It was a truly powerful performance; I left the theater in a stunned silence.

The premise of the film is about a set of twins reunited after having near death experiences on the same day. Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) were estranged for ten years, but Milo's attempted suicide forced Maggie to take him in. There is a lot of back and forth between them that uncovers some of why they became estranged in the first place. The film ends on a very postive note, but I don't want to spoil the ending!

Skeleton Twins tackles a myriad of social issues that are relevant today, such as homosexuality, cross-dressing, and suicide. At times the darker parts of movie were upsetting but I think they tackled the issues with proper sensitivity.
Everything about this movie was stunning. The acting was superb, which does not surprise me one bit since these two are obviously great.

Everything felt very real, which is the most important thing. It was actually very refreshing to see them in serious roles such as these ones--I'm used to seeing them in ridiculous SNL sketches so it was very cool to see them be so serious.


Overall, it was a truly lovely film and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Here is the trailer for anyone interested!

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is probably one of my favorite videos on YouTube. Although there are many reasons why this short is so great, the main one in my opinion is that it makes me smile. For those of you who have not seen it before, I’ll give you a little idea on what it’s about. Both videos are about a tiny little conch shell with shoes on named Marcel. It is basically as if someone is interviewing this little shell and asking him all about his life. The voice of Marcel is also one of the reasons this video is so cute. He has a high-pitched little voice that really adds a punch to all of his one-liners. The second video is basically the same thing, just with some different jokes. All in all, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On might not be for everyone. But if you enjoy cute little videos to help you pass the time, these are definitely for you.

Unexpected Humor: Trailer Park Boys

So a couple weeks ago I was looking for something to watch on Netflix. I was pretty tired so I didn’t think too much about what it was. I figured I would be asleep fairly quickly so it wouldn’t really matter if it was that great. I don’t even remember how I decided, it might have just been a random click, but I settled on the show Trailer Park Boys, a show I have never even heard of before. I settled in with a decent amount of certainly that it was going to be lame, but before I knew it, I was on the third episode and I was anything but asleep.

            It is a mocumentary style show that follows two newly released cons Julian and Ricky, including their friends and foes, as they try to survive in the Sunnyvale Trailer Park community. What’s great about the show is that it leaves a lot of room for adlibbing. It is minimally scripted which makes it easy to see how connected each actor is to his or her character. The mocumentary style also calls for a more intimate atmosphere and makes the viewer feel even that more involved in the show.

            When I first started watching it, I had a hard time finding any sort of sympathy for Julian and Ricky. From the minute they were released from jail they returned to their old tricks and schemes, not even imagining that they would ever get caught again. But as I watched more and more episodes, I found myself understanding their characters and seeing how kind hearted they actually were. Even though they continuously made poor choices, the final scene of the show was always something sweet that would make me go right back to liking them again.

            Their friend Bubbles, a Sunnyvale icon, also made me become gradually sympathetic to every other scummy character. Bubbles is the moral silver lining of the show, and seems to constantly bring Julian and Ricky back down to earth. Without him, I don’t think the two would have any kindheartedness left in them.

            I highly recommend this show even though I do realize that it is an acquired taste. It is a different type of humor that might not be for everyone. But it is a lighthearted comedy that has many touching moments and I think everyone should give it a try.

CollegeHumor: Real humor for real people

CollegeHumor is one of the most popular channels on all of YouTube, and for good reason. Like the channel's name suggests, the videos which the group of comedians post mostly pertain to and are directed towards humor for college students. How convenient! We're college students! For those of you who have watched any of CollegeHumor's material, you understand what I mean when I say that the videos are hilarious--most of them, anyway.

What CollegeHumor does that most other YouTube comedy channels don't do is it perfectly displays so many situations that happen oh too often in our everyday lives. Arguing with your smartphone is always a pain, and while the comedy is blown a bit out of proportion, viewers still understand exactly what the actor is feeling, and can just as easily laugh at his pain and suffering.

This video is even a better example of the kind that's made specifically for college students. Have you ever had a terrible roommate? A strange one? A scary one? Luckily, I haven't had to deal with most of the six roommates which are depicted in the video, but I certainly know people who have. I'm sure you do, too. My current roommate is The Ghost. I don't usually see him from when he leaves for class in the morning until he gets home around 11 o'clock at night. There are A LOT of strange people out there (Not saying that my current roommate is strange. He's actually one of my very good friends), many of which you will encounter at some point or another in your life. It may not happen for quite a while, but there's a very good chance that at least one of you will The Zombie.

"POV: Gym" is by far one of the most accurately comedic videos CollegeHumor has ever made. I can sadly but honestly admit that the large majority of occurrences in the video have happened to me while going to the gym. I've told myself I'll start going to the gym every day. I've seen the naked old man in the locker room--there's always one. I've walked past the enormous guys and made some sort of excuse to explain why I'm not as big as them. And yes, I've bumped up the weight on machines to the point of complete ridiculousness to try to impress the girl working out next to me (come on guys, we all have).

CollegeHumor portrays such realistic humor that you can't help but watch it. Yes, 99% of what they do is exaggerated beyond belief, but most topics they cover have, in some way or another, affected you personally. It's really just fun to see that you're not the only one who deals with the things that happen to you.

Batman vs. Superman: not just a 2015 event

There's been a lot of buzz going around recently about the new 'Batman vs. Superman' movie coming out in 2015. Much of it has been directed at Ben Affleck, who was just confirmed as the new Batman. These two characters are getting a lot of attention right now with the Dark Knight series well on their way and the Superman series just starting up again. Their history goes far beyond the last 5 years though, and I'd thought it'd be fun to take a quick peak at what these characters have gone through in the past.

Firstly, let's go back to the dinosaur ages of 1966. Phrases like "gee wiz" were actually said, as you'll notice only 4 minutes into this episode from the Batman TV series:

The series was never viewed as especially good though, and they clearly had a struggling budget. 

Okay, maybe they were struggling with a little more then their budget. But before this show even existed, there was the "Adventures of Superman" TV show that started back when the pyramids were being built. AKA 1952. 

Moving way ahead in time though, this cartoon was released just last year and features an epic battle between Batman and Superman. I feel like this may give us a good idea of what to expect from the new movie coming in 2015, except instead of a cartoon it's real people and a sh*t load of special effects. 

I've never seen Anchorman...

At the beginning of the semester Mr. Scott Walle found out I'd never seen the movie Anchorman before. That's not to say I'd never heard of Anchorman before. Without even having seen it I could name a few particularly famous quotes from the movie, but that wasn't good enough. So, this past week Scott lent me the DVD.

I haven't gotten a chance to actually watch it yet (I'm sorrrry!) because of one certain Mass Media Research Methods exam, but now that that is over and done with I have some free time before break and I'll just have to watch it.

So yea, I'll have to let you know what I think, but I'm sure Will Ferrel is hilarious and that it will be just as great as everyone says.

See you all after break, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Just for fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flkgNn50k14