Oz

The main cast of Oz

So over the last couple of months I really haven’t been very active with this blog. This is mostly due to me being completely obsessed with the late 90’s prison drama Oz. My only recollection of Oz from when I was a kid is that it used to come on right before Red Shoe Diaries on Canada’s ShowCase station. I had no idea of the amazing show that I was missing. Fast-forward to just a few months ago and while looking for prison shows online (which I often do) I discovered Oz and was totally enamoured.

Oz was HBO’s first 1 hour dramatic program and ran from 1997-2003. Oz focus’ on the prisoners of the Oswald State Maximum Security Penitentiary, focusing mainly on the experimental unit known as “Emerald City” [the shows tagline was: “There’s no place like home.”].  Oz starred Harold Perrineau (The Matrix) as Augustuce Hill, Lee Targesen (Wayne`s World, Generation Kill) as Tobias ``Toby`` Beacher, J.K. Simmons (Juno, and like every TV show) as Vern Schillinger, Dean Winters (Law and Order: SVU, 30 Rock) as Ryan O`Reilly and a cast of more than a dozen characters that make this show amazing.

From the beginning Oz is narrated by prisoner Augustuce Hill (also a regular character in the shows story line) who is a wheel-chair bound recovering drug addict who’s serving line in prison for killing a SWAT officer. The narration occurs several times during each 1 hour episodes and usually features Augustuce Hill in a floating glass box is very odd surreal scenarios.  The narration plays such a huge role in the show and it’s effective way of storytelling.

The main prisoners in the series live in an experimental unit called Emerald City which (for most of the series) is operated by Tim McManus (Terry Kinney). Em City was created to give certain chosen prisoners a more satisfying life and more of a chance of rehabilitation from drugs and the criminal methodology.  Of course this is not the case. Oz is completely controlled by the brutal racial gangs: The Homeboys, The Arian Brotherhood, El Norte, The Irish and the not so violent Muslims and Christians. The gangs use their power to control the flow of drugs into the prison (heroin being the big drug in Oz) and with the sale and trafficking of drugs comes murder and violence.

Agustuce Hill continued his job an narrator even after his death

You could say that the main character in Oz is Tobias Beacher (a lawyer and father of 2 who was convicted of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter and serving 15 years) . The show begins with his journey into Oz and the deceit and pain he walks into almost immediately. Upon arrival Tobias is bunked with the leader of the Black gang The Homeboys who immediately begins to harass and threaten the scared meek Tobias. Arian Brotherhood (Nazi) leader Vern Shillinger sees what’s going on and swoops in offering the bunk in his pod. Tobias is automatically made the “bitch” of Shillinger and is continuously raped and humiliated forcing him to do heroin to numb the pain.  After a while Toby gets his hands on some PCP, goes absolutely batshit crazy, breaks the glass on his cell and stabs Vern right in the eye. And then after knocking him to the ground and *cough* defecates right on his face.

This is only one example of the rawness of Oz. Every season...every episode even, includes events that will completely spin your head. Every episode of this show feels like an entire movie in a saga. The way the show is balanced so that every group and every main character is progressed and followed through accordingly is almost mind blowing at times.

Ryan O'Reilly - Probably plotting someones death

I could go on for hours going into each character and going on in detail about each season but i really don’t have the patience or motivation (and I’m sure you guys are getting tired of my typos by now).  So in a nutshell this is perhaps one of the most fulfilling dramatic television programs I have been witness to. I would suggest picking up at least the first season because after that you’ll be hooked. I give Oz a very obvious 9.8/10 (what a surprise another positive review).

The Godfather Part I - It's about damn time

Okay so everyone knows that Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" series of films are among the critical god tier of 20th century motion pictures. Embarrassingly enough I must admit that before today I had never seen, in it's entirety (though I've seen bits and pieces of the movie many times),  The Godfather (1972) staring an all-star cast of cinema gods like Al Pacino (Scarface), Marlon Brando (Guys and Dolls), James Caan (Las Vegas, Elf) and Robert Duvall (True Grit [1969], Apocalypse Now).

The Godfather is an amazing compelling account of the trials of tribulations of the power that comes with control and the pain and prosperity it can bring. Part I revolves around the Corleone crime family (one of the big five mafioso families in post WW2 America) and the leader Don Vito Corleone (Brando).

The movie begins on the day of  Don Corleone's daughter's wedding, and the tradition of friends of the family friends and business associates requesting favors of Don Corleone. You learn off the bat, through a tense conversation the ideals of honor, tradition and vengeance that are held by Don Corleone. The opening wedding scene introduces all of the main characters and themes of the movie in a beautiful way that at no time feels rushed or forced. You are introduced to Vito's son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), who has just come back a hero from WW2, Vito's other son Santino "Sunny" Corleone, and the families many henchmen.

Mr. Ed gets iced

Though Vito Corleone seems very calm and controlled you can tell he is a man of great control. You are proven this early on when he makes a movie director an "offer that he cant refuse" when he asks him to allow a friend of the family to be in his new war film. When the director refuses Corleone has his consigliari place the severed, bloody head of his prized race horse in his bed as a warning.

The Corleone family is stepping into a new world of crime, beyond their typical dealings in gambling and booze, they must weigh the possibilities of  moving into the new, and profitable, world of narcotics. When Don Corleone refuses to enter the drug trade he his gunned down in the street; creating a war between the 5 families. This forces the mostly passive, Michael Corleone to protect the family and their interests while Vito is in the hospital recovering from the many bullets that were pumped into him.

Pacino will never stop being badass.

From here the story is about the changes that Michael goes through and his rise and hold as the to-be new leader of the family. I could go on all day of the details of this movie but I don't want to give to much away, especially if your like me and hadn't seen this film and wanted to go into it with a clean slate. The Godfather part I is one of few movies I could call nearly perfect on all levels. Near perfect shot composition, score, acting, continuity and screenplay are all beautifully weaved together to create of one of the greatest films to ever touch the silver screen (and my computer screen).

I would suggest that anyone who loves movies that they have to see this, and I feel quite ashamed that it took me so long to see this film. I give The Godfather Part 1 a very well deserving 10/10.

R.I.P. Ryan Dunn

Lemmy - The embodyment of rock n' roll

Okay so I know it's been a while since I wrote anything and to be honest I've sat down and wrote like 20 different half entries and then deleted them cause I wasn't feeling it. I've even watched a ton of movies lately its just been sooooo incredibly hard to find the motivation with everything going on in my life. So I figured that I would just force myself to write about one of movies I saw recently; the 2010 documentary Lemmy.

Okay so, the focus of this film is the front man of the pioneering thrash metal band Motorhead; Lemmy Kilmister. Any one who is into metal has a clear picture of Lemmy in their head: long hair, welcoming mutton chops, a giant witchey looking mole on his cheek and a gravely cigarette and booze infused voice. But it wasn't until I saw this film that I really realized how seasoned and epic this dude really is.

So basically this film is about his past as well as his present. Through the old footage of him playing in the 60's through to the 2000's and the plethora of interviews from rock and metals most important figures you see just who this guy, who's old enough to my grandfather, really is. In the 60's he rolled as a guitar tech for freaking Hendrix and toured as was around the biggest acts of the time. Through the 60's Lemmy was in a fairly big band at the time called the Rockin' Vickers who had a few big singles in Europe. In the 70's he joined a popular space rock band called Hawkwind where he developed his bass style of using chords and double stops as apposed to alot of the bass players at the time who would stick to the single note basslines, this style (as well as the insane loudness and the sheer chunkiness of it all) basically became the signature sound of Motorhead. In 1975 tho Lemmy was fired after being arrested at the US-Canada border in Detroit on cocaine charges (that were dropped eventually because it wasn't coke, it was speed).

That year Lemmy met up with a group of meth addicts that he connected with and started the first incarnation of Motorhead. They were of course well known for their song Ace of Spades which has been in like 14,00 different videos games (one of Lemmy's hobbies is gaming). Of course over the years they switched out and fired members and now Lemmy is the only origional member in the band, but he is still rocking like his counterparts in their 20's.  Lemmy is now an aging rocker living in a shitty little LA apartment, living the hard life, and jamming with greats like Metallica and Dave Grohl

He lived his life for rock and roll and all of the party favors that came with it: lsd, weed, meth, JD and his always present Marlboro red's. You would expect that after like 40 years as a rock star constantly drinking and doing drugs would have destroyed his body and his brain like many of the other rock stars who hardly made it out alive.

This film was really really well filmed well researched and well developed. The interviews with some of rocks greats were great and you really got a feel of the amount of respect the music community gives him. I absolutely loved this doc and give it a speed-infused 9-10.

Mighty Putty

RIP Billy Mays

So about 4 years ago i bought this amazing pair of Sony MDR-7505 Professional headphones for college, that sounded absolutely amazing, for like $150.00. They got me through 2 years of college and then the arm connecting the part that goes on top of your head to the left ear piece snapped! I tried duct tape, gorilla glue, gum, my own skin but nothing seemed to work. I figured these headphones were completely done for so I used my old Behringer's from high school and put the Sony's on my shelf to gather dust.

Fast forward to just before Christmas 2010. I'm standing in line at my local Walmart scanning the impulse buy items when i spotted Mighty Putty!

Sony Headphones broken in the same way

 So I picked up these 2 tubes of green crap and took them home, not knowing if what Billy was yelling about was real (Oxy Clean has never steered me wrong). So I got home, took a butter knife and cut off a section of this sulferish smelling, modeling clay-like grey goo surrounded by a green outer shell. So as per the instructions i sat there for a few minutes rolling this stuff in the palms of my hands until it became malleable and gray. 

I grabbed my headphones and connected the broken pieces and molded the putty around the parts to connect them, and then I set it down to dry and played Black Ops for a while. Low and behold when I checked the Mighty Putty was completely concrete solid and had made a perfect connection. I've been wearing my repaired phones while on my computer, out walkin' around, and mowin' the lawn and they are perfect and there is not one single sign of wear in the putty.

The finished product

So this stuff is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to stick things to other things permanently. The only downside I can see to this stuff was the smell as i was kneading it, and to be honest it didn't really bother me that much. It gets a very deserving 9ish    

   

127 Hours

Right off the bat I must say that I wish I saw this movie when it was in theaters last year, because it was fucking awesome. Director/writer Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) did an amazing job of recreating the harrowing survival story of adventurer Aron Ralston, portrayed by James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, Pineapple Express, Spiderman).

So if you don’t know (or you’ve been under a rock for the last year [BAHAHAHAHA]) 127 Hours is an inspiring story of survival against insurmountable odds and also a story of how the things and people we take advantage of come back and can be the last thread that keeps us alive.  From the opening scene you can see a hint of the cinematic awesomeness that went into this movie as you see scenes of thousands of people moving, cheering, living showing the amazing situations in which people come together in swarms juxtaposed. After this you are given a taste of who Ralston (Franco) is: a young man with a thirst for adventure. Ralston leaves his house in Utah in the very early morning hours, with a bike, rock climbing equipment and all of the other adventurer accoutrement. Ralston then drive excitedly, in the dark, to Blue John Canyon.

That morning Aron throws some Phish on his MP3 Player and heads out into the vast Utah canyons with a handy cam recording the whole adventure. We are presented with stunning shots of the canyons and far-stretching, dry rolling plains. Ralston bikes for sometime before setting out on foot to find a location he was eagerly set on getting too in record breaking time; until he meets up with some fine hiking honeys. He takes the two girls out to some crazy underground pool and chills and flirts with them and shit before setting back out on his journey (the real Aron Ralston claims that this did not actually happen and he only showed the girls some rock climbing tips, other than that Ralston claims that this film is as close to a documentary of his situation as you could get). 

This is where the story really takes off and where the “meat and potatoes” of this film lays. While traversing the cliffs and crevices of Blue John Canyon Aron steps awkwardly on a boulder and falls into a crevice; trapping his arm between the boulder and the wall (I guess you could say he was stuck between a rock and a hard place =\ ). Aron goes through his supplies which consisted of some carabineers, ropes, a small amount of water, a dyeing head lamp, some food, his cameras and a crappy multi-tool. Over the next  6 days Aron must overcome and survive the mental and physical extremes his body goes through as he struggles for food and water.

While he’s trapped with the boulder, Aron must delve deep into his mind to find the motivation to keep living and trying. During this time you are presented with scenes from his life where you see the many relationships that he has had and left behind and the impact that they have on him.

127 Hours is one amazing movie which really plays on your emotions. During this film I found myself looking back into my own life and the people I’ve forgotten about or left behind. I often overlook the people and situations in my life that have forever  changed me and given me the opportunities to live the life I’ve been so blessed to have. I love and hate when movies do that to me. SO ANYWAY, 127 Hours was absolutely awesome and on my inconsistent scale receives a 9.3. That is all.   

Limitless - lesson of this movie: doing drugs will make you popular and successful. It's crack time!

The night after I saw Suckerpunch I ended up going right back to ye ol' movie house to watch Limitless, starring Bradly Cooper (The Hangover) and Robert De Niro (Godfather Part 2, Meet the Parents). I had seen a trailer and a few TV spots and found the concept of this movie kind of interesting, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the story would not live up to the concept. Thankfully they did a decent job on this picture.

After the intro you are introduced to struggling-lowlife-dirtbag writer Eddie Morra (Cooper), who as had a severe case of writers block that is ruining his life. He starts to run out of money fast and his girlfriend up and leaves his stank-ass. A few days later he runs into his sisters former coke dealer ex-boyfriend who suddenly seems to be happy, successful, and to all outside appearances a legit guy. The brother, says hes working for a pharmaceutical company and hands him a new pill the "company"  invented and was pending "FDA Certification". On his walk back to his apartment, and realizing he has nothing to lose, he takes the small
 transparent pill.

This is when the movie really comes together story and cinematic wise. When he takes the pill the film goes into this really really unique continuous zoom that's really hard to explain in words. It's almost as if the camera is zooming into a picture in a picture in a picture and creates a perfect image to go along with how Eddie is supposed to be feeling. Soon after he takes the pill he starts writing his book and cleaning his life up at an insane pace. The rest of the film is about the trials and tribulations of having access to such an amazing catalyst. You get to see the fame and happiness in the life that the pill can create, but also the horrible downside.

Limitless was a really fun and interesting watch. Though it was a great film for the most part, it was not without its flaws. The main problem with the movie was the story, at times things jumped and moved around and skipped ahead so fast that it was sometimes hard to keep track of where things were going. Though it was a little frustrating once or twice in the movie it was still overall a great flick.

I give it an 8.64/10

Ricky

So I must say that Trailer Park Boys is one of the greatest television shows in Canada's history. That is all.

"Don't fuck this up, those damn cigarettes in there is our life. And for fucks sakes man, take a shower! You look like a hobalo"

Sucker Punch - Sure to be one of the best movies of this year!

One thing I absolutely love is when I get to see a movie that I have herd almost nothing about, have not seen trailers for, or even knew the release date of. I find the experience so much more genuine when you don't know the storyline before hand.

So last night I hit the ol' movie house to see Sucker Punch starring Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events), Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys) Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical [ =\ ] ). I must say off the top that this movie was absolutely amazing. I was completely blown away at every scene. It incorperated everything I love in a movie: hot girls, action, guns, a great fucking storyline, flawless CG and believable characters. 

So basically (without giving too much away) this film is about Baby Doll (Emily Browning), and her struggle to escape from a mental hospital she is forced to live in. While undergoing a procedure upon entering the facility Baby Doll reverts into a world where she is enslaved by a Burlesque house in what seemed like the 1940's. In this world her and the other enslaved girls must dance for high powered men and crowds of rich people. Quickly they learn that Baby Doll is the best (sluttiest) dancer in the bunch, and through her dancing her and the other girls enter different worlds where they must kill and fight their way to find a boss, defeat him, and collect his item. When you get right down to it seeing this movie was alot like like a video game. Sucker Punch included all of the basic elements for a great adventure game: 3 different main worlds, fight through enemies/past obstacles, fight 3 boss', collect items and kill the final boss.

This movie was completely stylized right to ever tiny detail. Right down to the warn out walls of the burlesque house, the stains on the Cooks apron and the filth on his face. The camera work and CG was also phenomenal, especially in the scenes where Baby Doll and the girls are on their way to the boss battles. This is probably one of the best movies I have seen in years, the unique story structure and the powerful and sexy cast make this movie an instant classic. At no part of this movie did I feel disappointment and the film constantly kept me paying attention. This is almost nothing negative I could say about this masterpiece of a film. 9.5/10

Captain America Trailer!

So I was so stoked when I herd that the full trailer for the Captain America movie had been released, and it seems like it was warranted! Based on the trailer and the already awesome back story of Captain America i can tell this movie will be fucking epic!

I cannot wait until The Avengers movie!

Battle: Los Angeles

Seeing LA burn puts a smile on my face

So last night I hit up a local beer hole with an old pal and then dragged our sloppy asses to the movie theatre to see the latest in a string of alien apocalypse filmes Battle: LA, starring Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) and Michelle Rodriguez (S.W.A.T.). From the beginning of this movie I knew I would have to brace myself for some very atypical disaster movie cheese. The film starts off with some very Armageddonesq cheesy character introductions, where we meet the typical group of movie marines, as well as their cheesy melodramatic back stories. The main character, SSgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), is the typical seasoned war vet who's "seen too much", who we learn at the beginning is considered kind of a traitor throughout the other marines for getting some men killed in the Middle East.
  

Following the character introductions the story starts to pick up at a feverish pace. You learn that Alien crafts (origionally thought to me meteors [DERP]) are landing, dropping off aliens and fucking up everything in sight. And of course the marines are too the rescue.
 

After a while though the movie starts to come into it's own and you can actually sort of enjoy it. I found the camera work really cool, the film uses a lot of handycamish shooting techniques and in your face angles to add more of a sense of realism (though I'm sure it could make a lot of people sea sick). I was happy to see that they did didn't fuck up when designing the aliens. The creatures were a species that survives off of water and rely on surgically implanted devices to move quickly and fight. The aliens were, from what I could see, eyeless and very skinny.

Though there are some cheesy moments that will have you rolling your eyes, and the fact that this is nothing more than the typical alien disaster apocalypse movie it was actually enjoy able. The explosions and CG were enough to keep me awake, and are the best part of this movie. You basically don't go more than 5 minutes without hearing something blow up or the exchange of bullets. Overall Battle LA was a good movie, but with several character, dialogue and storyline issues plus a distracting amount of product placement. I give it a 7 alien water sacks out of 10   
 

Sony Walkman NWZ-S545 MP3 Player Review

For yours I have been militantly boycotting the iPod and almost all Apple products, accept the Macintosh II (only because it is so old and badass).  Apple is a company that seems to be all about profit and limiting control which really bugs me. But because of this boycott I have found it hard to find good alternative in the world of MP3 players. In 2006 I got my first MP3/video player the Creative Zen Vision: M (60 gig), which up to only a few months ago (even with a screen with half the pixels burnt out) served me as a great music player. After that, for a brief time I owned a 120 gig Zune (which was amazing) which unfortunately was damaged beyond repair :(

You served me well Zen

So a few months ago i went out to the Sony Store and picked up an MP3 player I had looked at while working at a Best Buy, The Sony Walkman NWZ-S545. My first impression, to be honest, was not amazing, as the first one i bought was broken when I bought it and had to return it the next day. I figured I would try my luck on another one, which turned out to be a great decision.

So I guess I should highlight exactly what the ma fucker can actually do. The model I bought can hold 8 gigs of music/pictures/video/voice recording.

Music: The quality of the music playback is fantastic! The sound is crisp and detailed and contains an equalizer to customize the sound of the unit to your personal preferences. When used with my pro headphones the sound is fucking brickhouse! The Walkman also has very simple library navigation making it easy to find the song/album/artist your looking for in no times. This version also has 4 speakers on it (2 in back 2 in front) that for such a small device are actually really loud and clear and are great for when I'm at work and need to be able to transport my music throughout the warehouse.

Pictures: The picture viewer on this device is of fairly high quality but is extremely limited to the small size of the screen. To view most images properly you have to constantly switch between vertical and horizontal and fiddle with the zoom feature. But to be honest, the picture viewer gets almost no use from me.

Video: Good video playback on an Mp3 player is extremely important to me. I spend a lot of time per day on buss' and rely on movies or TV shows to distract me of the fucking smelly fat weirdos surrounding me. The video quality is fantastic on this device. The quality is bright and clear even on such a small screen. Often time i forget I'm watching movies on what is essentially 2' x 1' screen. My only problem is skipping ahead in the videos (and music) is bloodcurdlingly slow, and really annoys me at times. Other than that the video playback and size of the video compressions is great.

Voice Recording: Haven't used the feature, chances are I probably wont, but you never know. Could come in handy...at....school?

Considering its $115 price tag, its tiny size and its fairly decent features the NWZ-S545 is a pretty decent Ipod alternative, and I can see it serving me well until I can afford something better. Though his player is great, the interface is kind of weak, the battery life could be a lot better and the scan feature during movies and podcasts is dismal. I give the Sony Walkman NWZ-S535 a 8.6451/10

Black Flag - Rise Above and American Waste

Black Flag from back in 1984, looks like some kind of cheesy promo video, songs are still great though

Dillinger Four – Civil War

When I was 14 and entering grade 9, as well as a whole ocean of new music and art, I became engulfed in the punk rock culture . I was doing the whole 9: listening to the music, going to shows, having the 3 foot Mohawk and my ridiculous studded jean jacket. But what stuck out the most, even till this day, is the music. Something about the right punk song can completely change your mood and attitude and make you snap out of the funks we often fall into.

Dillinger Four was one of the first punk bands I was introduced to in high school from my punk rock guru Ryan. What struck me was the simplicity and rawness, but it still had that poppy catchiness but minus the cheese and empty words.  Dillinger Four (D4) is Patrick Costello (bass, vocals) Erik Funk (guitar, vocals) Bill Morrisette (guitar, vocals) and Lane Pederson. After 3 studio releases, from 1998-2002, D4 went on a 6 year hiatus before releasing their most matured and interesting album Civil War, in 2008.

 Civil War is one of those albums that will stick with me my entire life and instantly took a spot in my top albums. Similar to D4’s other albums is that fact that there is not a single crappy song in the set, but what was different is the obvious maturity in these 13 songs.  Even from the first song (A Jingle for the Product) you can hear In lines like “we never had a chance but we made our plans till they we’re blown apart, we watched it all crash around our feet and man it broke my heart” where they seem to be looking back into the youthful versions of themselves and the tribulations of the punk rock mind set. 

 The album deals with a range of subjects from the media’s propagandized projection on culture, government denial, to a beautiful anthem for atheism called “The Classical Arrangement”.  Though there is an obvious maturity this has not stifled the youthful fast upbeat and simple rhythm and guitars, which create the recognizable punk rock sound but with noticeable tweaks. The album is also perfectly put together which a amazing balance of hard hitting punk anthems to more slowed down serious tunes. There is just something about Civil War that has kept me listening to it at a nearly daily basis, something that keeps me smiling whenever i hear it, something that makes me sing the songs out loud without caring who hears it. For me this is one of the greatest pop-punk albums i have ever herd and any fan of punk, hard rock or whatever should at least give the songs a try. I give this album an easy an easy 10/10.


    

OMG WOW The dynamic duo returns later this year!!!

No I don't mean Batman and Robin, its the 90's MTV smash hit Beavis and Butthead! I just read an article at Screen Junkies that describes how in the new show they'll be reviewing shows like Jersey Shore, UFC matches and all of the horribly bad music of today that's just been waiting for the right 14 year old cartoon retards to review them. On top of this it'll also contain the same types of story lines and characters as the original series

I remember as a young kid growing up in the 90's that Beavis and Butthead were the absolute shit when it came to entertainment for teenagers. I remember my babysitter used to let us stay up late and watch it whenever my parents would be out; and I will always love him for that. As years went by and Beavis and Butthead were off the air i became a fan of Mike Judge's other shows like the long-running and incredibly funny series King of the Hill and the movie Office Space.


A few years ago i decided to relive those childhood memories and purchased the Beavis and Butthead Mike Judge Collection DVD sets which are a collection of the absolute best episodes and music reviews plus some amazing special features. In my opinion Beavis and Butthead is one of the funniest cartoon series of the 1990's and i personally cannot wait to see what Judge has up his sleeves for the new series

Meshuggah - New Millennium Cyanide Christ

The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys

I figured for something new today I review a film that's always been very close to me and is a true personal classic. That movie is 2002's coming of age film "The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys", starring Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog), Kiren Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) and Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs). The film also contains juxtaposed animated sections done by comic book artist Todd McFarlane (most famous for the Spawn series of comics).

This film was one of the first that really got me into the process of film, and expanded me beyond the idea that the only good films are ones that reach the national theater chains and cost tens of millions of dollars to produce. Alter Boys at its core is about the difficulties found in transition, and the struggle to balance pre and post pubescence. The story focus' on three best friends attending a strict catholic school in the southern United States, who's only interests seem to be comic books and shit disturbing. What struck me was the honesty of the the main characters, it amazed me at the time that a film maker was willing to show 13 year old kids smoking and drinking, i think the sense of reality is what really drew me into the film from first glances.

The film begins with the boys trying to discover a practical use for the triangulation lesson they had received at school, which resulted in them buys creating a pulley system to steal the statue of a nun atop their catholic school. This of course raises the already existing suspicions of the Sister Assumpta (Foster) which leads to an investigation of the boys.
An extremely important part of the movie is a comic book that the boys had started to write as a reflection of the way their lives felt. During the comic scenes the film would switch to animation and would reflect the story back in a grandiose fantasy where the boys are 3 super heroes who are trying to rescue a princess who in their real world is Francis' (Emile Hirsch) love interest, Margie Flynn (played by Donnie Darko's Jena Malone).
Alter Boys also focus' around sexual coming of age and confusing and dangerous roads
that it can lead you down. It expanded my mind and opened me to look into people and try to view what their lives really are and not as they appear at first.
As the story unfolds and Francis and Margie grow closer, he learns of a dark sexual past that plagues Margie and produces emotions and ideas that are too extreme for Francis to comprehend. Again the honesty of the section of the movie compelled me, I had never seen a film where the ideas of pain and personal sexual frustration and anger were portrays with such young people.

The last quarter of this movie is extremely exciting and sad when Sister Assumpta finds their comic (which contains several graphic drawings of her) as well as Francis discovering Maggie's dark past. As a final push the boys decide on one more heist to get back at Sister Assumpta for stealing their book, which ends in tragedy.
I would recommend this movie for anyone, any age. Though the film focus' on 13 year old's anyone can look into this and see a portion of their own lives in the characters, it can send you back mentally to a time where this were so simply complicated and painfully exciting. This will always be one of my favorite films and I can give it no less than an honest 10/10.

Camgore Protip #1: Expectant Mothers Parking

How many times have you arrived at a mall, grocery store or plaza only to find that there are no spaces opened other than the damn handicap spots?
"And whats that, another space open! oh wait...its for expectant mothers! Well looks like I'll have to park on the grass."

These expecting mother parking spots starting sprouting up in my town a few years ago and for the longest time I figured there was some sort of bi law protecting them.
But alas, upon research there is absolutely no legality behind these spaces. Any non-pregnant person can park in these awesome spots and the business owner/police cant do a damn thing about it.

Okay yea it may be a little bit harsh to steal a parking spot from a potential expecting mother just for the sake of getting a better spot, though if you hate parking lots as much as I do, just push society out of your mind and allow the underhanded feeling of sneakiness take over. Happy parking

RAGE: Inferno Energy Drink Review!

So I seemed to neglect Camgore Culture quite a lot. I think it's because I've lost site of why I started a blog in the first place: to just review all the shit that I like, or violently cannot stand. So I figured I'd try something different and do a beverage review. Now don't get turned off just yet, this might be interesting.

Anyone who is involved in my life knows that I have a an affinity (more like a serious addiction) to energy drinks. I love everything about them, the taste, the way it makes me feel and that first confused glance from people walking down the street who think I'm drinking a tallboy.
I know its a "gamble" drinking them because of all the 6:00 evening news bullshit reports of kids drinking 4 monsters and having a heart attack, but I do it anyways because I'm a ridiculously hardcore bad ass. I figure if I stick to 1 energy sauce a day I'll be alright.

So today I entered one of my usual convenient stores down the street from my home, as I do daily. I walked to the back drink fridge and instantly was drawn to a giant yellow bottle shaped like a fire extinguisher. At first all I could think was "what the fuck is this?" and "that's over-the-top cheesy" so of course I had to pick this shit up. Soon after picking up this awkwardly tall bottle, i realized that the extinguisher top is merely a decoration (like the top of NAS Energy Drink Bottles [also a delicious drink] ). This disappointed me a lot, I was hoping i could squirt this shit down my throat for instant brain fucking energy. So i brought this yellow monstrosity to the counter and the two Chinese women started giggling at me and talking about how weird it was =/

So it turns out that this is one of the better energy drinks I've had, with a halfway decent price point. The taste is absolutely amazing, its like a less sweet/bitter NAS taste, and delivers a noticeable kick. It's rare now with my severe caffeine addiction that I actually feel a kick or boost from these drinks but this one perked me right up made me annoying as fuck and lasted several hours. If that isn't good enough, I had basically no noticeable crash!

My only real problem with this drink is the bottle. It's size shape and colour are a little bit embarrassing. I really would not want to be seen walking down the street drinking this, i wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a volunteer fire fighter. Nor would I want the guys at work giving me an earful over the lame bottle I'm carrying around.
Overall this is one of THE best energy drinks I have EVER dranks I have ever consumed. I suggest any lover of the altered state of awake-fullness created by these drinks should pick it up.

easily a 9/10.