I Got a Tumblr

Hey.  A quick post is in order to update thee on what I'm doing.  I have decided to make another blog via Tumblr, click here to check it out.  I am writing/posting this update here because I want both that site and this one to sort of feed off of and into each other.  I want to use my Tumblr blog (which is titled "Zombie's Baby", get it?) to be sort of the less organized, more stream of conscious and spontaneous outlet, while Zombie Baby Nursery, my blogger blog, will be the less frequently updated, yet more polished and organized of the two.  Zombie's Baby will have shorter posts and be more geared toward posting snippets of stuff that I find interesting (posts might perhaps be as minimal as just photos, video clips, or short phrases that I found online).  The advantage to this shorter format means that I can update more frequently.  So far I'm at a pace of a minimum of one post per day, with it not being unusual for me to post three or four things in a day.  Having the ability to crank stuff out like this is awesome and I love being able to update quickly and with ease.

However for the more in depth, lengthy writing you're going to have to come to this site.  Sure, Nursery will be updated less frequently, but the updates will be filled with more substance and more of my own personal voice. I think that's a reasonable trade off.

So feel free to read one, or both, or none of the above.  I will try not to repeat myself amongst the two platforms, yet I want to make sure that one does not have to read one to fully appreciate the other.  They will be two free standing entities that just happen to enhance each other and to each offer a portal into my thoughts. So I will reiterate that it's all up to you what you want or don't want to read.  Have fun and let me know what your opinions are on this pseudo-expansion, my dear readers.

With the Light Volume 6

Back in the day, when I was a freshman in college, I began reading the With the Light series on a whim. I first became aware of the title on a trip to Borders (R.I.P), as they had the placed the first volume of the series on display in the manga section. I was immediately intrigued by the cover ("Is this a parenting book that was shelved incorrectly, or what?") so I picked it up and started thumbing through it. As soon as I flipped through this first volume I was immediately struck by the heart-wrenching cuteness of the art so I just knew I'd have to read it. Hey, I never denied being shallow.

The With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child series, true to its name, follows the trials and minor victories of the Azuma family as they grapple with their son's autism. Dutiful mother Sachiko serves as the series protagonist, and it is through her interactions with others that we are given lessons about the issues surrounding autism. While With the Light is a work of fiction, it has been heavily researched. In the process of creating the work, the series author Keiko Tobe profiled a variety of real life families of autistic children. From what I understand, Sachiko's autistic child Hikaru was created as a sort of amalgamation of a handful of various real life kids that the author observed. This lends the story a familiar edge. Nothing that occurs in With the Light seems beyond the realm of possibility, and one can easily imagine the events of the story playing out in everyday life.

Volume 6 of With the Light sees Hikaru as a junior high school student on the cusp of puberty. Aging is a major theme in this volume. As Hikaru visibly ages, the world at large begins to react to his behavior differently, which creates new problems for Sachiko. Behavior that strangers would find cute and endearing in a prepubescent child begins to seem threatening or inappropriate in an older boy. This issue is brought to the forefront of the story when, on a public bus trip, Hikaru touches a female passenger's hair. While Hikaru's intentions were innocent, the woman assumes he's a perv and screams. This situation foreshadows the new and unique issues that Hikaru's parents will have to deal with as he ages.

But Hikaru's not the only one growing up and dealing with the unique challenges that come with entering a new stage of life. In one part of the story, Sachiko ruminates on aging in an internal dialogue that opens one of the chapters, "My children are growing up right before my eyes...and this means that I too am getting older. And so are my own father and mother..." And fittingly many of the pages after this are dedicated to events in the lives of Hikaru's grandparents. Sachiko's mother deals with health issues as Hikaru's paternal grandmother struggles to accept her grandchildren for who they are. Hikaru's little sister Kanon is also growing up and learning to deal with the popularity contests of primary school. As the sister of a disabled child, Kanon faces her own unique challenges and much of this volume was also focused on the experience of being a sibling to an autistic individual.

There are a number of reasons why I enjoy the With the Light series. I enjoy its gentle plotting and grounded characters. I like that there are no villains in the story. Characters might act out and hurt each other emotionally in the process, yet such actions are often the result of ignorance or good intentions gone bad rather than maliciousness. There's also a novelty to the story. While I've heard that in Japan there exists a plethora of manga for every taste and interest, in the U.S. it's still rather rare to see a mainstream comics title aimed at an older female crowd. So that's undeniably a factor in my interest as well.

If With the Light doesn't sound appealing to you then you surely won't get into it. But if you read this post and experienced even a glimmer of interest then the title's worth checking out. It's a sweet light read that might even teach you a thing or two about autism.

My Top Ten Movies of 2011: The Finale

Previously on my blog I counted down the bottom half of my list of favorite movies of the year.  Check that post out here, if you please.  As I wrote in yesterday's post, I had originally intended to do just one massive post detailing my favorite movies of the year, but truthfully that task seemed way too daunting.  Plus I figured the ensuing mass of text that would result from such a post would be rather ugly and intimidating to thee, my dear reader.  Anyway, that's enough chatter from me.  Let's finish this.

4.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
There were an unusually high number of female performances that I loved this year, many of which I've already written about in my last post.  And yet, even out of this year's crop of stellar leading ladies, Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander stands out as being the baddest in the land.  More than just a black-clad super-heroine, Lisbeth possesses an intriguing mix of both aggressive competence and fragile vulnerability.  But don't get the wrong idea, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is not a one woman show.  The film also displays a stylish coolness (epitomized by the stellar opening credits sequence) and unforgettable moments of trauma (including one awesomely brutal revenge sequence).  And for my money any one who can find a way to make Enya palatable deserves a flurry of praise just for that feat alone.

3.  The Artist

The Artist might be the most adorable and heartwarming movie of the year.  But don't let that fool you.  Below the film's adorable, puppy dog-ridden surface lies a razor sharp wit and an impressive intelligence.  By the time the film was through, my perception of sound in film had been altered in a slight, but significant way.  Add on top of all this two charismatic leads, whose ensuing romance will tug at the heartstrings and you've got a stellar, A+ theatrical experience on your hands.

2.  The Skin I Live In

Okay, I want to make clear now that I had a hard time deciding what order to put these last three movies in.  Honestly, The Skin I Live In in particular is pretty much tied for my number one movie this year.  It really is that awesome.  And I can say that out of all the films profiled in this post, Skin offers the most emotionally complex experience.  At times it is thrilling and shocking.  And yet it is also incredibly stylish with a bold color palate, and chock full of absurd moments and characters.  Like a lot of director Pedro Almodovar's other films, The Skin I Live In's plot cleverly weaves together a group of characters who initially appear distant and distinctly separate.  If I am being vague about the plot that is intentional, for I wouldn't dare give away the wonderfully extreme twist that the film is built upon.  I will say, however, that this movie is also commendable for its unique look at sexuality, morality, and gender identity.  It's also just straight-up awesome.

1.  Hugo

Yup, Hugo.  No surprise, right?  Hugo oozed cuteness and sweetness, yet never ignored the trials that all people go through, kids included.  In other words, it managed to be heart-warming without sugar-coating things.  The film also made for a wonderful tribute to the medium of film, the technology that has allowed the public's dreams to seep out into the daylight and invade our waking hours.  Plus the automaton was kawaii.

Great movies that I loved but couldn't include on my list due to lack of space: Midnight in Paris, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Bridesmaids, and Jane Eyre.  The Darkest Hour takes the cake for the worst movie I saw in theaters last year.

My Top Ten Movies of 2011: Part One

Note: I originally planned to do one post detailing my picks for my favorite movies of 2011, but as I was writing the first part of the post it began to get bloated and long-winded, plus it was taking awhile to write.  In order to produce a more manageable and readable post that I could publish in a reasonable time frame, I decided to chop my list in half and split it into two parts.  This is the bottom half.  Enjoy.

Hey.  It is that time of year again when we take a moment to pause, look back on the previous year, and evaluate.  For many people, including me, this year-end evaluation often gives leads to the creation of self-indulgent lists of faves which we then post online for the world to see.  It's fun.

I meant to post my top ten list of favorite films from the past year a while back, but I was distracted by various things.  But I'm here now and I'm ready to unveil my picks.  That being said, a few disclaimers/comments are necessary before we proceed.  First thing is that you should check out my friend El Lobo's top ten list on his blog before, after, and/or while reading my list.  Between our two blogs El Lobo was the pioneer in end of the year list making, so I need to give him credit where credit is due.  I probably wouldn't have thought to do this post without him, so props to thee Senor Lobo.  Next thing I want to address is the rather obvious fact that I didn't see every movie I wanted to see this year.  This is unfortunate, but with so much to see and limited release schedules and the like it's pretty much inevitable.  Some notable high profile titles that I missed out on include Drive and Hanna.  I also skipped out on seeing some of this year's most critically acclaimed films simply out of a lack of interest (the most notable examples of this are The Tree of Life and The Descendants).  So yeah, there's that.  Also before we start I just wanted to emphasize how shitty I thought this year was.  So many new entries to franchises that nobody in the right mind actually gives a shit about (examples include the new entries in the Twilight, Transformers, Happy Feet, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Cars franchises).  And yet, when I look over my list I think I was able to assemble a pretty solid top ten.  I even had to cut some stuff I loved out of my list simply because there wasn't enough space.  Now don't get me wrong I'm not a 2011 apologist, I just want to emphasize that while this year was bad, it wasn't all bad.

Anyway, I've rambled on way more than I intended to, so let's start this.  In reverse order my picks are:

10.  Love in Space

You might assume from my ardent love of Japanese gore movies that I'd be opposed to romantic comedies, but that wouldn't be completely accurate.  Yes I'm often quick to talk shit about Hollywood's contemporary romcom output (with the vast majority of my ire being directed toward Katherine Heigl's filmography), but I'm not fundamentally against silly, cutesy, popcorn movies.  Which is why I adored Love in Space.  It's a straight-up slice of romantic cuteness with all the boring extraneous drama cut out.  Love in Space is a Chinese romcom that tells the story of a widow and her three single daughters as they all enter into and progress through unlikely romances.  One of the things I loved most about Love in Space was how its sense of whimsy influenced everything from the plot to the costume design (see image).  The film's candy-colored visuals and fantastic elements (for example, a romance that blossoms between astronauts in space) add a strong sense of fantasy to the film and lower your defenses against the movie's saccharine cuteness.  Love in Space is this year's most delightful bit of romantic comedy.

9.  My Week With Marilyn

Despite my aversion to the film's male lead (who was given a rather dull, shallow characterization), I still thoroughly loved this movie.  It's hard not to fall for Michelle Williams' portrayal of Monroe as a charismatic enigma plagued by insecurities.  Add to this a rock solid cast (including Judi Dench and Hermione Granger) and gentle comic moments and you've got a charming film worthy of its admission price.

8.  Project Nim

I am no documentary aficionado, but I found this documentation of the life of a chimpanzee to be a rather gripping, and oftentimes tragic, tale.  Nim was the chimp selected for a 1970's experiment which sought to discover if a chimpanzee would be capable of communicating with humans via sign language if it was given the proper training.  Like a train wreck, this experiment would prove disastrous and damaging, yet it's still fascinating to watch the story of ineptitude play out.  Project Nim is also notable for the uncanny ways in which its story mirrors that of the summer blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Sometimes truth is stranger, and infinitely more tragic, than fiction.

7.  Young Adult

This Diablo Cody penned film probably won't be for everybody, but I loved it for its strong characterization and exquisite moments of dark humor.  The film stars Charlize Theron as an ex-high school it girl, now living out an emotionally stunted life in Minneapolis as a ghostwriter for a popular series of teen novels.  I liked the movie for its sympathetic approach to its characters.  I loved that the film allowed us to both laugh at and sympathize with both the high school prom queen and the class outcast (Patton Oswalt).  We all have emotional baggage, and the most interesting stories recognize this.  The film is also commendable for the way in which it so perfectly captures the intricacies of humdrum suburban life (the girl at the hotel desk was a hilarious, spot-on characterization).

6.  Rango

In a year in which Pixar's only output was another entry in the abysmal Cars series, Rango did an excellent job of filling the void.  With stunning character design, intelligent and mature dialogue, loving shout outs to the westerns of old, and some eye-popping action sequences, Rango was easily the highest quality computer animated film to hit theaters this year. To characterize this as a children's film would be almost unfair, as it feels way too visually accomplished to be reduced to strictly children's fare.  Though that isn't to say that it holds no appeal to kids, because I feel like I would have gotten a huge kick out of the film's vivid visuals and eccentric characters if I had seen it as a child.

5.  Winnie the Pooh
Another immensely entertaining animated film, albeit in an entirely different vein that Rango.  Whereas Rango possessed thrills and a bottomless wellspring of coolness, Pooh delights its audience with gentle humor and quiet odes to the imagination of childhood.  Again, while this film is sure to entertain the pre-school set, its appeal is not limited to this demographic.  Any adult possessing any sort of nostalgia for the Hundred Acre Wood posse will surely find much to celebrate here.  For more on my opinion of this title, you can check out the post I wrote last summer.

And there you have it.  Stick around for Part Two, in which I reveal my absolute faves, the creme de la creme of last year's output.

Splatter: Naked Blood

I promise not to dwell on the topic of weird depictions of self-mutilation in films for too long, but since we're on the subject let's talk about Splatter: Naked Blood.  As I was reading the previously mentioned Asian Horror book (see the my last post if you don't know what I'm talking about), I came across the description of a title that just sounded too weird to pass up.  The title in question is one Splatter: Naked Blood, a bizarre Japanese horror film from 1996.  Splatter concerns the scientific misadventures of a bright but misguided young man named Eiji who develops a painkiller that transforms pain into pleasure.  At this same time, Eiji's mom, a scientist in her own right, is testing a new contraceptive on three young female test subjects.  Unbeknownst to mom, Eiji injects his newly invented painkiller into these three ladies to gratuitously nasty results.

Reading about the absurd and gratuitous subject matter alone convinced me that Splatter was just too bizarre to pass up.  The film's pedigree, as described by writer Andy Richards in Asian Horror, also promised exquisite weirdness and perversity.  Richards describes Hisayasu Sato, the film's director, as follows, "Sato was one of the major players in the Japanese sex film industry of the eighties and nineties, with over 50 movies under his belt...Splatter: Naked Blood is, in part, a remake of his pinku eiga from 1987, Genuine Rape, which also explored the boundaries between hallucination and reality."  Now I realize that a headline like "From the director of Genuine Rape..." would not normally be a selling point, but I was intrigued by the idea of seeing what kind of depraved horror film that somebody with such a storied and sketchy filmography would be capable of creating.  Plus, in Asian Horror the author later goes on to casually mention that Sato also directed the 2005 zombie comedy Tokyo Zombie.  Tokyo Zombie was a movie I watched a few years back and found to be generally enjoyable (albeit in a rather innocent and decidedly non-sleazy/sketchy way).  So there was the name recognition factor as well.

So my long winded story aside, I received Splatter a handful of days ago and had the opportunity to watch it today.  I have to say that it wasn't quite what I expected.  For a film called Splatter: Naked Blood, the beginning is surprisingly rather dull and utterly devoid of gore.  Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.  Even a movie that sells itself on its extremity and depravity doesn't necessarily need to feature non-stop blood and guts for me to enjoy it.  But even with that in mind I can say in honesty that even with its slim 75 minute runtime there are parts of Splatter that tend toward the dry and the dull.  And yet, when the film picks up and the blood starts to flow you are in for some of the most inventive, bizarre, and just plain fucked up horror movie moments you will ever see.  Which means that if you're a person who's into that sort of thing, then you gotta pick this title up, even if for just one watch.  If, on the other hand, you're the type to shy away from blood and guts, this will be an irredeemable piece of entertainment for you (but, then again, what did you expect?)

The most mind blowing moment of depravity in the film comes in the form of a moment of autocannibalism.  You see, one of the girls who was injected with the painkiller is a total glutton who relishes in the consumption of food in vast quantities (all of the personalities and character flaws of the three female leads are established succinctly in an early scene in which the three dine out at a restaurant).  Whilst cooking up some tasty tempura, her hand gets covered in batter.  She then proceeds to the next logical step of dunking her hand into burning oil, frying it, and then taking a delicious bite.  Watch a clip of that scene here.  The gal's cannibalistic frenzy continues later in the film as she slices off and nibbles on a nipple, until finally plucking out her eyeball and chowing down.  The special effects in these sequences are not necessarily the most convincing.  The eating of her tempura hand is especially rather fake looking.  And yet, in a case like this, the scenarios on display are just so outlandish and fucked up that you just kind of have to step back and (a) admire that someone's brain actually came up with these scenarios and (b) they had the guts to capture their weird ideas on film for posterity's sake.

The scene of autocannibalism in Splatter represents an instance of the human imagination gone wild and it's hard not to love it for that very reason.

P.S.- It would be tragic if I concluded this post without giving a shout out to the awesome Japanese action/comedy/revenge movie The Machine Girl, which did its own take on the tempura arm.  It was predictably hilarious.

Reliving a Brilliant Moment From Mirrors (2008)

I recently read a book about Asian horror films entitled, appropriately enough, Asian Horror.  Written by one Andy Richards, Asian Horror is a slim but serviceable volume that details the history of the horror film in Eastern Asia.  After reading the book I jotted down my opinions of it.  As my opinion still stands I shall simply cannibalize my old writing and quote my initial reactions to the book here, "An informative (albeit brief) primer on Asian horror movies, with an emphasis on Japan's horror output. While some of the chapters could have used some beefing up, I generally enjoyed this title and found it to be a useful summary of the history of the horror film in East Asia. And hey, it nudged me into checking out some movies I wouldn't have otherwise, which is always a plus. So in summary it's not a definitive guide, but this book serves as a decent starting point to those looking to learn about the genre."

With my opinions on the book out of the way let me explain the real reason why I'm posting today.  I am posting because one of the latter chapters in Asian Horror, the one about Hollywood remakes of Asian horror films, reminded me of a sublime moment of gore from an otherwise mediocre film.  My friends, I am speaking of the jaw dislocation scene from the 2008 film Mirrors.  

Mirrors is an American remake of the Korean film Into the Mirror.  I've never seen Into the Mirror, but in this case that's alright as it is tangential to the point I want to make.  While I can't comment on the original film I can say with confidence that Mirrors was a mediocre movie at best.  It did however contain one death so outrageous and bloody that the price of admission was (almost) justified.  Those who have seen the film will already know of which scene I speak, but for those in the dark I will explain the outrageous brilliance of the moment.  As  mirrors contain supernatural and malevolent powers in the world of this film, in this scene a woman's reflection rips its own jaw off, causing the flesh and blood victim's lower jaw to dislocate from her face and hang limply in the blood soaked bathwater.  But a picture's worth a thousand words, so rather than just read my description of the death watch it here (those with a weak constitution need not apply, obviously).  

I'm sorry, but this scene is just too brilliant.  There are so many reasons why I love it, but its primary appeal lies in the absurdity of its premise and the unflinching way in which the bloody aftermath is shown in all its glory.  You gotta love that limp tongue dangling from the wreckage.  That's a classic touch.  Also how about those crunchy sound effects that emanate from our victim's shattered jaw?  It's all wonderfully grisly, bloody and explicit, yet the outrageous premise that the kill is based upon lends the scene a dark sense of humor and absurdity.

In conclusion, thank you to Asian Horror for reminding me of this wonderfully random and gratuitous moment from an otherwise forgettable film.

Quality Programming: My Strange Addiction

I am normally not a fan of the crap that gets broadcast on TLC.  I despise their non-traditional family shows such as the Duggars with their multitude of children and the creepiness of the Sister Wives.  And I think plenty of people will agree with me when I say that I'd rather gouge out my eyes with a rusty nail than watch that Toddlers and Tiaras shit.  My problem with these shows is two-fold.  First off, they're boring.  Most of the time there's not really a whole lot of driving conflict and everything's just kind of...whatever.  And secondly, and perhaps most egregiously, they are massively sleazy and exploitative.  Now to be honest I don't necessarily have a problem with sleaze in entertainment, but the combo of boring and exploitative is just too much.  At best I just tune out and at worst I find such lowbrow TLC fare to be actively annoying.

But as always there is an exception to the rule and its name is My Strange Addiction.  Over the winter break I had the pleasure of hanging out with my friend El Lobo, who introduced me to the cringe-worthy, yet oh so awesome ride that is My Strange Addiction.  Now full disclosure, I've only watched one full episode of the show (season 2, episode 3, "Adult Baby/Eats Dryer Sheets"), yet I feel that the plethora of clips I watched on TLC's site gives me full authority to comment on the show.  Plus, if the episode I watched is any indication, the conflict resolution at the end of each episode is rather minimal and unsatisfying.  So really the perverse joy of Addiction comes from the set-up.  Everything after this is more or less filler.

But the set-ups are pretty spectacular, so it's all good.  Just browsing a list of the episode titles is a feast for the mind as each description sounds more sick than the next.  Here are some sample show titles to whet your appetite: "Rampant Rats", "Carrying Her Husbands Urn", "Married to a Doll".  My Strange Addiction is almost Daily Mail-esque in its sensationalized presentation and relentless pandering to gossipy gawkers.  But that's why we love it so.  It's definitely sleazy, but there's some undeniable entertainment value here.

My favorite moments from show come from the clips I've watched online. One of my favorite segments is the one in which a woman carries the ashes of her dead husband everywhere with her, even humorously taking him out to the movies and asking him what he'd like to watch on TV.  Her behavior quickly crosses the line as she begins to dip her hands into the urn and lick her hubby's ashes off her fingers.  Taking the urn to the movies is vaguely acceptable as quirky indie dramedy behavior, but eating the poor fellow is rather fucked up and I hope she was able to break the habit.  My other favorite segment of the show was from the aforementioned "Married to a Doll" episode.  In this show a character by the name of "Davecat" chats about his close relationship with his life-like sex doll named Sidore (whom he's affectionately nicknamed Si-chan).  While clearly eccentric, Davecat is considerably more articulate and self-aware than the show's other subjects.  In fact I actually found Davecat to have a decent presence in front of the camera and I'd love to see a show chronicling the adventures of Davecat and Si-chan.

Have I sunk to a new low by blogging about a TLC show?  Perhaps, but it was totally worth it.