Skillet Seal of Approval: Let The Right One In

This review may not be completely relevant (given it's original release date), but I recently caught this film over Halloween (as I was looking to watch a horror film) and I was very impressed and I now am intrigued to see the American remake: Let Me In.

This is the vampire film people should be talking about.

I'll admit, I'm one of the "Twilight" apologists (if you will). I was pleasantly surprised by the first one, thought the 2nd was dreadful, and felt the 3rd was a better film than the first two. Released in the same year as "Twilight", "Let The Right One In" seemingly got lost in the shuffle.

There is more here than just a simple vampire horror film. It is a coming of age story, a family drama, and a taut thriller. The first of which is the most important and an element of the film I find to be most crucial.

Oskar is a bit of a bookworm and is constantly teased and bullied at school. He is smart, attentive, and obsessed with the gruesome aspects of society, namely murders. Eli is the new girl who moved in next door, she first appears to him in the courtyard of the apartment seemingly out of thin air. She is strong, assertive, cold (literally and figuratively) and is curiously drawn to Oskar, as he is to her.

The relationship between these two is what drives this film. Through all the scares and blood pools formed, it all comes back to the connection between Oskar and Eli and how they help each other out in their lives. Their bond is strengthened through their varying experiences and the film succeeds on a level I had not anticipated: providing me with a sense of hope that these two characters will prevail against all odds and actually wanting that result. I have never felt so much affection toward a supernatural character as I have for Eli. Oskar welcomes her burden and accepts her for who she is because of his genuine love for her. And it all works.

I have nothing but admiration for this film. It is chilling, terrifyingly realistic, and at it's core a story of growing up and moving on even in the face of adversity. Truly, a great film.

Why I hate the Internet.

What? "Hate the Internet"? Is he serious?

Yes.
Yes I am. Somewhat.

Well, maybe I'm overstating it - actually I am, but there are things about the internet that I just cannot stand. One of them, and the main reason why I started writing this post, is message boards. I hate message boards. So maybe that would make for a better title but I'm already this far and don't want to lose any momentum in my writing.

Message boards are everywhere and are linked to every single topic that exists in this world. From adult entertainment to zipper enthusiasts and maybe even a combination of the two. Maybe I don't hate that there are places for people to talk about these topics, it's just the way people talk about things that bothers me.

It's really all about spelling and abbreviations. I hate unnecessary abbreviations. Hate. Hate. Hate. For example, on a movie site that I frequent people were talking about Judd Apatow's latest project and instead of writing out "Knocked Up" someone wrote "KU" as a short form reference to the film. Really? "KU"? Is "Knocked Up" too long of title for you to type out? On a similar site I saw someone abbreviate "The Hurt Locker" as "THL". I had to re-read the post three times in order to come to the conclusion that they were talking about "The Hurt Locker". If that happens, then the point of abbreviating seems to have lost it's meaning.

There are some appropriate abbreviations like "CSI" or "NCIS" or "Law and Order: SVU" but the cons outweigh the pros. It's become an excuse for lazy people, in this Twitter-140-character age and it seems like a lot of getting lost in translation at the expense of the instant gratification generation.

Spelling. Spelling is another thing that bothers me and it all relates back to the Twitter-heads and their limited characters. I should say limited vocabulary or limited brain capacity but there are smart people on Twitter. (I don't know who, since I don't use Twitter but I'm sure there are some.) I see things such as "ur", "u", "r", "kewl" (which contains the exact amount of letters as cool, it's correct spelling), "l8r"...etc. and I just think that our society is regressing and that maybe Mike Judge's vision of the future in "Idiocracy" is actually more of a reality than fantasy. Maybe that's harsh, but is partially true.

It's not just these short spellings/alternate spellings it's also the lack of common sense when writing out sentences. A lack of punctuation, possessive apostrophes, apostrophes in general, periods, etc. have made deciphering what people say more difficult. Here's some examples I pulled from a Yahoo! Sports comments page and ESPN page respectively:

"Nevada loss to Hawaii yesterday absolutely killed any hope they may have had for NC game but if they win out they could get Rose Bowl invite...just sayin"

"for the record I dont think Tennsess is any good or anything. Their record speaks for itelse and Vols fans would tell you the same."

Yes I'm being a bit of an asshole and a bit picky but it's very easy to make "loss" to "lost" and I read NC and immediately thought of North Carolina then National Championship (the intended thought). Ugh, I know people are in a rush when they write these type of posts but c'mon take one minute after you finish writing and proofread and don't try and sound smart by abbreviating things that don't need abbreviating.

So maybe I overreacted when I said I hated the internet. I just hate the idiots that occupy the cyberspace but the idiots are a part of a whole. A whole mess of pages and message boards where even the person with the worst typing skills can voice their opinion, which is what makes freedom great. But freedom isn't for everyone.

YTMND of the Week: I Can Break These Cuffs

"Cops" is one of those shows that is always on but I never watch it fully. Most of the time it's just routine traffic stops with drug addicts and drunks being pulled over and the cops finding drugs or other paraphernalia. Then there are times when the show becomes something more, something (dare I say) great. This is one of those moments.

I Can Break These Cuffs

Stemming from this one video came some great YTMNDs. For example: Love in these cuffs & Olympic Cuff Breaking Event. But it's the original that I'm highlighting this week because it just demonstrates the stupidity of our country that I can look at and laugh at because I know that there is someone out there that is being dumber than me. Enjoy.

Making Sense

I just realised that in Animaniacs Yakko and Wakko were the Warner Bros. (duh, like they said in the title song) and their Warner Sister, Dot, is named after the actual dot at the end of Warner Bros.

It took me long enough to figure that one out but now it all makes sense. The good things in life always come back around to you in the end, albeit many many many years later.

YTMND of the Week: The Original YTMND

If you don't know what YTMND is then what have you been using the internet for? The site started with one simple line from a very good movie with Sir Sean Connery:

"You're the man now dog!"

What has stemmed from this simple page are pages and pages of inane, idiotic and at times utterly hilarious GIFs, JPEGs and video with it's only purpose to entertain. I love this site and visit it frequently but in order to "appreciate" other pages you must start at the beginning to see what you are in store for - which is why I linked to the original YTMND. To browse other pages simply go to www.ytmnd.com and take a look around and see what's there. More times than not it will be stupid and not funny, but every so often something comes along that will leave you with a smile on your face and a LOL out of your mouth.

Stella!!! Stella!!!!

I walked into a market a few weeks ago and immediately my ears met the sounds of Ranchero music, so I somewhat knew what type of store I was walking into. I walked around the cooler and saw nothing special until I got the the end, where the imported items were kept. If you're familiar with beer then you know this Stella. If you're familiar with movies you know this Stella and if you're familiar with music then you know this Stella. But nothing prepared me for what I saw on the label for this product. I did a double take because I didn't believe what I just saw but there it was. What was it? I'll show you.



I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it's there and I documented it. I've never had Estella Artois. I wonder if it's Stella's Hispanic cousin she rarely sees because she's home schooled and doesn't get out much. Either way, I just I hope it's as good as the Belgian Stella Artois because she is so fine.

Not Skillet Approved: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Wow, what a waste. What a bore. What a pointless excuse for an action film. This is a first of The Life of Skillet, I have witnessed something I cannot approve. That something is Resident Evil: Afterlife.

One question popped into my head just as the credits began to roll: What’s the point? There is no plot. (I know, some people say “What’s the point?! It’s all about killing zombie-like creatures and Milla Jovovich kicking ass!”) That's fine but there is hardly a beginning, I didn’t notice a middle, and there definitely is no end. The dialogue is terrible, the acting is worse (ahem Ali Larter) – save for Boris Kodjoe playing a former basketball star/leader of survivors who is the only character worth caring about. It was nice to see Wentworth Miller (TV’s Prison Break) show up and low and behold he’s back in a prison (where most of the film takes place) and he knows a way out (I think he’s been type casted). This film is devoid of needed humour, scares, and imagination. In essence, this film is a mess from top to bottom. The action sequences literally borrow from The Matrix Reloaded and Die Hard and the film could have been much shorter if not for the amount of slow-motion (most of which is used in the action sequences).

It's really hard for me to see why people love these films (being that there are now 4 of them) when the product they turn out is so bad.

Then there is the 3D. This film was shot using the same technology used in Avatar but I asked the same question after the credits began to roll: What’s the point? 3D did nothing to enhance my experience and the stuff that was meant to fly off the screen and at my face, didn't. 3D is supposed to add depth to immerse the audience in the world of the film. True, but when that world is an abandoned prison I’d like to stay in my seat thank you. The 3D did nothing to enhance the action or my experience and in short, was a failure.

I don’t want to spend too much time on this film because it doesn’t really deserve it so I’ll end it with a few final thoughts: Milla Jovovich sleepwalks through the film delivering a one-note performance and that one note is monotone. Her voice-overs nearly put me to sleep and bored me to death. I wanted her to shut up as she talked into her hand held camera about the devastation she saw. Ugh, is all I have to say. Finally, this film felt longer than it actually was which is, uh, pretty bad when it was only 1.5 hours long.

Save your money and time and skip this film for it is Not Skillet Approved.