p e n g u i n d e v i l

Rad! That is what I have to say about Apollo 18. The story of Apollo 18, the (secret) final manned moon landing in 1974. Culled from 84 hours of NASA/DOD footage featuring: interviews with the astronauts, cabin film from the orbiter and lander and film made on the surface. Odd how many cameras they had for this trip… Anyway, three astronauts on what would seem like a routine moon landing, except they have been instructed to lie about their activities… To not tell anyone that they are going to the moon.

Once there, they go about the regular business of driving their moon buggy, putting up the American flag, collecting samples, setting up transmitters and being filmed by the cameras. They even have a special transmitter that seems to be causing a lot of interference.





When finding an usual sample against a background of interference, there seems to be something in the proverbial air… Yes something indistinct is out there, doing something. And it makes me nervous.

As their orbiters, um, orbit takes it around the back side of the moon, the two astronauts on the lander get their first, of many, tastes of being on their own up there. Which, in this case, is not a good feeling… Because, while they may be all on their own, it becomes obvious that they are not alone.

Apollo 18 is a great film! One of those low budget movies that doesn’t feel low budget. Scary, tense and engaging. A sci-fi film, a historical drama, a horror movie, a political thriller and a mystery all rolled into one. Are they in danger from Russia, the USA, aliens, each other, their minds, equipment malfunction, all of the above? Well, regardless of which it is, danger there is…





I would like to watch it paired with Moon. Not because they are similar genres but because they are both movies that show you that it doesn’t take money to make a really superior film and they are also both superb, well made and tense films about betrayal, abandonment and a person trying to survive against the odds in the hostile environment of both politics and the surface of the moon.

Yes, sadly it is catch-up time again.


Some of the movies I have to mention I don’t remember anything about. Which is lame, as that was the whole point to this blog anyway. Oh well, life is busy… Family, work, commute, Runescape… So little time left.


So in no order at all, here are some of the movies of the last year or so that I can both recall, and have not the inclination to write up anything on…



Shaun of the Dead. Yes, well, focusing on the genuinely humorous aspects of the walking dead, this movie reminds us that zombie movies aren’t always dumb and boring. Pegg and Frost’s antics as they try to deal with their personal lives, the zombies and trying to spend some quality time at the Winchester make for many good scenes. Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite movies of the last decade or so and very re-watchable with great action, a terribly clever and funny script and also just a great zombie flick. Though the record throwing scene in the backyard is my favorite, this movie is filled with great scenes! Also, everyone in this plays delightfully as it features some great actors… Simon Pegg (of course), the always impressive Bill Nighy in a really great role as Pegg’s step-father and, even our faves, Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman from The Office show up.



Sadly, I don’t remember The Diving Bell and the Butterfly well at all. I remember thinking that it was quite good, fascinating and engaging. But I don’t remember much else… The true story of an Elle editor who is suddenly stricken with an ailment that leaves him mentally sound but physically unable to move beyond blinking. He writes a book via his therapist through a laborious method of spelling words out by blinking and her transcribing what he has spelled. The movie covers the experience of writing that book, the experiences of his mind in this state, and also remembrances of his earlier, more mobile, life. The wherewithal that he showed in continuing on with what he wanted to do in the light of his condition is impressive… And his imaginations and flashbacks offer a fascinating look at his life and thoughts.



Layer Cake. I really enjoyed this… Yet another great British crime film! Daniel Craig is quite successful in the cocaine business. So successful, in fact, that he in planning to retire. Of course, success in this business generally means that you are providing your bosses with some success also, something that they make not smile upon losing. His boss gives his some final tasks. Final tasks that look to possibly become his truly final tasks. Craig’s situation starts to go downhill as he gets tangled in this mess of intrigue, with many layers of deceit going on here involving all sorts of trouble: ecstasy, cocaine, Serbian drug dealers, hired thugs and plenty of back-stabbing.



9/11. This was fascinating. A September 11th documentary that did not set out to be any such thing. When (in real life!) a couple of French documentary filmmakers happened to be cover an FDNY station when the planes hit. The movie, which I was seeing for the first time, was an unparalleled depiction of the reality of being on the ground in Manhattan during the incident, and what is what like to the Fire Department. The footage is like nothing I have ever seen before. And the exposure to people suffering through it, while they were actually doing it and trying to figure out what was going on is very tragic and moving. Fascinating, horrifying, essential viewing for anyone with any interest at all in the 9/11 attacks.



Grey Gardens. Well, I’ve seen this too many times to really comment on it. A documentary about two narcissistic women, a mother and daughter, who were once young and well-to-do (related to Jackie Onassis), but by the time this was made, were living off pet food in a dilapidated mansion. Featuring, primarily, the women, the filmmakers and the young neighbor who does odd jobs for them. The film is an unsettling precursor to real life psychological dramas such as Hoarders or Intervention, but the issues being guilt, bitterness, hostility, paranoia and egos so unabashedly huge that their troubling relationship with each other and the world has no need of stacking up junk or substance abuse to be apparent.


The War of the Worlds wasn’t as great as I remember it from youth, Still a great movie visually with the neat-o alien ships and there mass destruction of everything. But it was boring in parts and carried a distinct christian overtone that I don’t really recall.


Supposedly, we Watched The Godfather 1 and 2. I have no recollection of doing this recently, in the last couples of years. But it is quite possible. And I can safely say that they remain two of the best films ever made. Though they are both unquestionably great, I do prefer part 2, mainly for the 1950’s in Tahoe stuff.


Punch-Drunk Love This was pretty funny. While a comedic role with outbursts of anger seems a bit short in its potential, it works well here and Punch-Drunk Love becomes both a funny and a thoughtful film.


Once. Again, I hardly remember this. I recall that is was pleasant enough and I enjoyed the Dublin backdrop.


Bright Star. A movie about Keats. I don’t remember anything at all about it.


The Straight Story. I don’t really recall this. I don’t think I was that moved by it though.

Recently, I watched Alien 3 again. Not only do I like this movie for its own merits (though, admittedly, I like the directors cut version better than the theatrical release). But, regardless, it is a great film. Coming off the all guns blazing action film that was Cameron’s Aliens, Alien 3 brings us back to the dark monster movie feel of the first movie, but with a darker setting. David Fincher, in directing his first feature film, keeps the story looking as grim as it is, with Ripley’s pals from the previous film all dead at the start, and a rather grim ending. Sadly, even with the grimness of the ending, they still throw a bit of the dumb Hollywood in it, with one of those scenes that almost spoils the whole movie for me (as with the terrible climax of Aliens). but I will forgive it that, as the movie is just plain great.


In Alien 3, the ship carrying the three and a half survivors from Aliens crashes on a sparsely populated prison planet, inhabited by a small body of prisoners who have taken refuge in religion and a handful of staff to watch over them. One of the key aspects to their religion (well, and their whole situation) is the absence of women… So having Ripley fall out of the sky starts some problems. But, even worse, it turns out that something more problematical fell out of the sky with her. Watching the prisoners get taken out one-by-one in the dark tunnels of the prison does certainly bring back memories of Alien, as does their weaponless attempts to stop the damn thing and, most of all, the creature being back to a hunter in the shadows, rather than the “mob in the hallways” of Aliens, brings the series back to its Horror roots.



And then, to continue on with this great documentary. The Alien Saga is the story of the Alien franchise, from its earliest origins, through the (ugh) fourth movie. They have interviews with the key actors, with O’bannon, and, yes, even with the great Giger himself. The movie is fascinating, and the earlier part of it was especially nice and it continually reminded me of one of my favorite topics; the disappearance of the of the physical craft of filmmaking in the 1980’s. Watching them building and using these giant crazy sets for Alien was inspiring and quite impressive. The movie is entrancing and a must-see for anyone who is a fan of any aspect of Alien or Sci-fi movies or just hand’s-on filmmaking in general. Though I would not recommended it to anyone who has not seen the films, but plans on doing so, as they outline the plots pretty thoroughly.



And, finally, Dark Star! Always a nice and easy viewing experience. The school-project-turned first feature film for both John Carpenter and Dan O’bannon, this great little film is the story of a crew out on a mission to destroying worlds that are in the way of the path of an interstellar freeway. A dinky cast covers the four surviving crew members, their deceased commander and the guy at mission control as they annoy each other across the galaxy. In the end, they have a 2011esque situation, in which they have to deal with convincing an intelligent bomb to not blow up right outside the bomb bay, but the whole of the movie is a smart and witty, dorky and dumb affair that is quite entertaining to watch, and not at all annoying.

Ah yes, Mad Max. One of those “who’s the best James Bond?” moments for me that sum up a key difference between youth and adulthood. When I was a teenager (at which point I saw each Bond movie generally once or twice a year) Roger Moore was my favorite Bond. With The Spy Who Loved Me being my favorite movie (and the one I saw the most at, I believe, 13 times in the theater)! Alas, as I grew up, I realized that Sean Connery had been the true master of the role and it was only my youthful foolishness that led me to think otherwise… And that Moore wasn’t even competition. I suppose that I was too young to understand at subtlety and was quite unfamiliar with real class.

Also around that same period Road Warrior came out. Now, while I was never fool enough to consider Beyond Thunderdome to be even passably watchable, when I was a teenager I did prefer the silly characters and the cartoonish and rambunctious action of Road Warrior over the subtlety, characters and dramatic story contained within Mad Max. Oh, boy… Was I foolish!

Mad Max is one of the great films of our time. A no-holds barred action flick, which, while cheaply made, also turned out very cool and with a deep emotional story. Mad Max is the story of a good man who does his job well and what happens to him and his ethics when tragedy is intentionally delivered unto him. Mel Gibson is Max Rockatansky, an Interceptor with the Main Force Patrol, the police department that is attempting to keep the peace (or at least, clean up the mess) in this vaguely post-apocalyptic remains of Australian civilization. While there is still some semblance of civilization around, the fringes of it are populated with roving gangs of ruthless criminals who make foul merry with any civilians that they encounter.

When the movie starts, a villain named Nightrider is tearing across the countryside, quoting AC/DC and goading on the Bronze (what the baddies call the MFP) who are pursuing him. That is, at least, until the baddest Bronze of all, Max, comes after him in his Interceptor. Keep in mind that this is filmdom’s coolest policeman ever, driving down the bad guys in the coolest car to ever grace the big screen.

While the MFP are pretty tough fellows, Max, Goose, Fifi and the rest seem to be losing the battle for stability against Toecutter, The Nightrider and their brazen band of losers. After The Nightrider’s crazed chase is finally ended, his pals come seeking vengeance against the Bronze. Max starts to come apart while society is coming apart around him and after trying experiences with a corrupt and troublesome legal system, Max begins his blind drive towards complete vengeance against those who have wronged him and is driven to vigilantism, as he is not a guy to lie down when people come after him and his! So vengeance begets vengeance and a film legend is born.

But I did it anyway! It was Friday the 13th, so I watched Friday the 13th, 1 and 2. So there. I’m not making any apology’s.

With its low production costs, high profits (it took in about 100 times its budget) and wide distribution, Friday the 13th is the movie that really opened the floodgates of low-budget slasher flicks that washed through the theaters in the early 1980’s. For those who don’t remember… At Camp Crystal Lake, in the late 50’s, a young boy (Jason Voorhees) drown in the lake. The next year, two camp counsellors died at the same camp in an unsolved murder (the scene of which starts off the movie), and the camp eventually closes. Now, 20ish years later, a fellow has decided to re-open the camp… Though many of the locals now consider it cursed and some even call it “Camp Blood”! Luckily, the kids hired to start the camp up again are too smart to worry about silly talk like that!





But, alas, someone mysterious seems to be paying close attention to the comings of these meddlesome kids and they start dropping off like flies. There is some axe action, and some arrow work but most of the killings are of the slashed-throat variety. Maybe this is what gave rise to the “slasher” label in the first place.





A lot of other standard conventions are on display here, such as the victims going off by themselves so as to not even realise that they are all being killed off, and taking off your clothes being an especially quick way towards death.

While there are death’s-a-plenty, the dated gruesomeness and the significant amount of off-screen deaths lead to it being not particularly scary or gory, at least in this day and age, though I still appreciate the whack-a-mole scene. And I assume that nearly everyone must already know of the final twists… But we did watch it with a teenager who’d never seem it before, so that did pep it up a bit. Personally, I recall the final canoe scene scared me all through the 80’s, even when I knew down to the second when it would happen, I still jumped. Sadly… No longer.



Friday the 13th, Part 2 was the actual introduction of Jason Voorhees. This time the locale is a nearby camp to Camp Crystal Lake. A much larger group of kids are descended on this camp, and have been warned to stay away from Camp Crystal Lake. Some locals even say that the boy who drowned all those years ago is really still alive and has been living in the woods all of these years. Of course, not to give anything away but…

They’re right! In our introduction to Jason, he comes across like a ticked-off, backwoods red-neck with a sack over his head. And, while he is able to easily eliminate many teenagers, he was yet to turn into the supernaturally unstoppable killing machine of the later films.





Aside from the lack of surprises and the lack of subtly around the antagonist (they even show him without the bag on his head), the movie is pretty similar to the first one, with the most memorable parts being the two-for-one murder scene and a rather gruesome example of mommy worship.

Sheesh. It’s been one of those weeks of movies that are best left forgotten.

I watched 22 minutes of Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever and don’t recollect any of it.

I watched 24 minutes of The Last Resort (Your Passport To Hell) and it was stanky dull.

Least of all, I made it 18 minutes in The Lost Tribe… enough said.



We watched all of Red Dragon. And, well, it was certainly better than any of the above movies but…

After seeing Silence of the Lambs a multitude of times, Red Dragon just seemed to be nearly the exact same story, but not nearly as well done… Which is sad as they did dig up a pretty great cast of Hollywooders: Anthony Hopkins, Harvey Keitel, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Duke and Edward Norton. Honestly, though I know nothing about the books, I was so put off by the duplication of the plot of the Silence of the Lambs movie and how much cornier the characters were in this film. Also, the villain’s tattoo was just plain dumb. Sometimes, “good” ideas that don’t work well on the screen should probably be avoided. That was one of them.

Then? Sam’s Lake. Yes, I actually watched this whole movie. I think only because the characters were ok. Alright, the movie wasn’t terrible. It was like, you know, regular, okay? The story of a girl who brings a group of her friends back to relax at her old rural family home. The town turns out to be creepy and the townsfolk turn out to be creepy… But they encounter a childhood friend of her and then, as night falls, things get scary. The key twist becomes to obvious too early on, but at least they come up with some other twists to perk it up. So yeah, a newish slasher flick (with some twists) that, while not great, is certainly better than most of this so-called “horror” swill that I watch on Netflix streaming.



Lastly, I watched Doghouse. Um, yeah. Somehow I made it to the end of that. Probably because of the non-stop gory action. Sort of a low quality and badly written “Shaun of the Dead” built on a British “chicks are evil, dude” philosophy. A bunch of guys who act like jerks to their wives/girlfriends, ditch them all to take a trip to the small town of Moodley. but they get there to find out that all of the men are dead and the girls are all bloody, broken crazy zombie-types who are out for blood. No. It’s not as good as it sounds. But it moves along pretty continually and has lots of bad gore and gratuitous death scenes. Kurty, if you haven’t seen it, you should check it out.

Having one of those quiet evenings where I wanted to watch movies but nothing that was too overwhelming or thought-invoking, I ended up watching, firstly, Destination Moon. One of the great classics, not only for it’s Heinlein origins and rich technicolor appearance but also because of its historical significance as one of the first major American Science Fiction films, blatant cold war message and being George Pal’s first science fiction film. It is also a “serious” science fiction movie without most of the unreality that comes with science fiction, including all of those outlandish events in most of the big Hollywood Sci-fi films that were to follow. Though the science involved not turn out to be an accurate portrayal of things that were to come, it is done in the hard-science fiction fashion of attempting to realistically theorize the technology of the future. Considering it was made nearly 20 years before anyone went to the moon, its tackling of the issues and manner of getting a ship to the moon is pretty respectable. Though, as seems common for a lot of these movies, there is some corny banter thanks to a young Brooklyn kid who is reluctantly along for the ride, but that aside, it is pretty serious stuff.

After a failed attempt to launch a satellite into orbit, a scientist, a military man and an industrialist band together to get a rocket to the moon within a year to prevent the world from becoming a one world government, as they obviously fear that the unnamed Soviets are sabotaging the U.S. space program in an attempt to beat us to the moon as, we all know, whoever has the ability to launch bombs from the moon will be able to control the world. After a meeting with other leaders of industry, focusing on an explanatory movie with Woody Woodpecker (which my daughter made me watch over and over) they charge ahead, against some last minute opposition from the government.

Destination Moon, is a straight-forward, low-thrill film and is unquestionablly classic, both as a Sci-fi adventure and also as a brave look toward what technology may lay ahead.

After that, I watched another old favorite, The Name of the Rose. As I haven’t read the novel, I can’t attest to its literary accuracy, but the movie is great! Sean Connery is a Franciscan monk (and ex-Inquisitor) who, with his assistant (a young Christian Slater in one of his first film roles) arrives at a monastery on the eve of an important meeting between the Franciscans and representatives of the pope. He arrives, though, at the beginning of a series of murders which brings out his most Sherlock Holmsian tendencies. A fascinating glimpse into medieval cloistered life, the early art of bookmaking, and a visit to the complicated world of religious heresy and medieval politics, all in a wonderful and convoluted monastery set with intriguing murders and all around. Connery is great here, and right at my favorite era of his career, right between Highlander and The Untouchables.

As one might imagine, Connery trying to get to the bottom of things makes a number of folks rather nervous, and the arrival of F Murray Abraham as a rival from his Inquisitor days only serves to bring things to a head. The Name of the Rose is an intriguing, serious, and yet fun, movie of people who are filled with medieval fears: of the devil, of the evils of cavorting with women, of heretical writings… And a story of murder and the accusation of sin being used as an excuse to cover a desperate fear of losing power.

Admittedly, I’m about the first to oppose movie re-makes anyway. Also, I do like Michael Caine and am generally fond of British crime movies… So, naturally, when they remade Get Carter 10 years ago starring Stallone in the Caine role, I was, well, not sceptical but, rather, hostile. . Of course, I never did see the remake and, most certainly, Stallone had earlier redeemed 15 years of crap (considering First Blood, or maybe even Nighthawks to be his last good film) with his great performance in the incredible Cop Land, but I don’t get the feeling that the respectability really returned, especially not putting him in the same league as Michael Caine. But, honestly, I had never seen (nor heard of) the Caine Original until the remake came out. So a week or so ago, I sat down to watch Get Carter for the first time and, well… It is not one that I’ll be keeping around.

The story was workable, some of the cinematography was quite good and Caine was good, but the generally weak acting of everyone else and the bad direction made it one for the mediocre book. Caine is a hoodlum whose brother has died and he shows up to find out who did it and seek his revenge. As one might imagine, Caine leaves a trail of naked ladies and corpses in his wake. I know that sounds good, and it takes place in a nice and grim urban backdrop (though the strange coals carts on the sea were my favorite), but the acting isn’t good, the lines are delivered half-hard-heartedly and the choreography (for the fight scenes) is really lame. It really just couldn’t keep my attention very well.

So yes, a month and a half of nothing. I know that my readership (by which I mean Myself) finds that very obnoxious. Well, today is the lucky day. I watched two movies tonight and it’s the weekend, so I’ll splurge!

First off was a movie that I’ve been wanting to see for a while and was recently surprised to find available to stream on Netflix: Until the Light Takes Us. I didn’t really know much about it, except for that I thought it was a low-budget doc about the early days of Norwegian Black Metal and, well, that’s just what it is! As someone who is a fan of the Lords of Chaos book, this film was certainly the best document that I’ve seen on those “church burning and death”-filled early days of NBM. The movie is basically just interviews, the majority of which are with Fenriz, though a good deal of Varg is in it too. There is also some lame and weird stuff with Bard. Plus Frost, Hellhammer and those Immortal guys all have some stuff to say.

Frost does some black-metally corpse-painted performance art crap in Italy that was really embarrassing but even worse, while I know that corpse paint out-of-context does seem somewhat silly, I would rather see Abbath and Demonaz in their corpse-paint work-look than see their sunglasses and leather coat wearing, slick-backed hair euro-trash selves (what I like to think of as “the Ulver effect”), which is what we get here. Fenriz of course, looked his cool trve-metal self the whole time.

I’ve always kind of liked Fenriz and it was entertaining to watch his sort of rambling reminiscences and complaints about what happened with Black Metal, it becoming a product and all. Varg (still in prison when this was filmed) comes across as coherent and intent on explaining everything, but he also comes across as an arrogant sociopath. So, while it was worth it to hear his step by step description of his murder of Euronymous, it also makes you doubt his “self-defense” defense.

Most annoyingly is Bard though. I don’t know much about Bard, being primarily familiar with him from reading Lords of Chaos, but here he is presented in shadow with his voice disguised… Maybe he is a mob informer or something… I don’t know, but I couldn’t help but think it was a bit silly, i mean, what? Is Varg going to come calling with his pocket knife again?

Before that though, I watched X-Files: Fight the Future. Over the last 2-3 months I’ve watched the first 5 seasons of X-Files and this movie, coming out after the conclusion of the 5th Season is, in my mind, where the show should have stopped. In case you don’t know, in the 5th season of the show, exactly what the big conspiracy is all about comes to light and we learn a bunch about how it works, then the X-files are shut down. Fight the Future starts out with them being reassigned and working on a domestic terrorism bomb threat. But of course, something is discovered in the aftermath of the bombing that points to a government cover up and off we go! Well, everything about the conspiracy is really brought to light and explained in this one, and even though the ending is set up to lead to a continuance, I really thought that they could easily have just ended the series nicely with this movie.

Honestly, before this movie I’d never even heard of the Frost/Nixon interview. Frost/Nixon is based on a play (generally a good sign) that was based on an actual interview between Richard Nixon and David Frost in 1977. It is filmed as a retelling of the interview, featuring dialogue similar to that of the actual interview, it is also in the style of a documentary about the interview and the work leading up to it. In both aspects, I found Frost/Nixon to be very compelling. The idea that a frank interview with this “most disgraced” former president actually took place I found to be fascinating in itself, and with the great script and an all around great cast… Frank Langella as Nixon, Michael Sheen as Frost and a great supporting group (most notably Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan and Matthew Macfadyen as Frost’s producer), made the film quite enthralling.

Old Tricky Dicky is tremendously well played as Langella makes one sense the power and confidence that Nixon (theoretically) exuded and he actually comes across as a somewhat sympathetic character. Scenes they show of the real Nixon (not nearly as handsome as Langella) and reading a bit about the actual background of the interview make it seem that maybe Nixon wasn’t as sympathetic as he is portrayed here… But it does make for a better story.

I imagine that the literary license they take is perfectly reasonable. The details changed, I imagine, were to make the movie flow better and to help focus on the interview itself, which is the real meat of the story… And they seem to stick to the content of the interview pretty fairly accurately.

And, for some reason that I don’t recall, I watched a movie called The Skeleton Key. As a Hollywood thriller, I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I actually thought it was pretty good. A young lady named Caroline is hired by a family’s young Lawyer, Luke, to care for an aging stroke victim at the old plantation house that he shares with his hostile and distrustful wife. Of course, it becomes obvious to Caroline that there is more going on in there than the lady of the house wants to let on to… A secret room in the attic, lingering relics of an old couple named Mama Cecile and Papa Justify, some Hoodoo and an old record led Caroline to realize that the old man is trying to tell her something and that maybe his condition is actually due to some nasty spell, rather than a stroke. Her attempts to help him and find out what is going on lead her down a dangerous path, and a path that leads to an interesting and unanticipated (by me, at least) twist. All in all, much more interesting and involving movie than I had expected.