The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

In 1974, when New York was but a young city, a pretty good movie called “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” shrieked onto the screen. Walter Matthau starred as a subway dispatcher forced to deal with the hijacker of a subway train, played by Robert Shaw just before he made “Jaws.” The ransom demands were simple: One million in cash delivered within the hour or hostages would be killed, one hostage per minute.

In the remake, Denzel Washington and John Travolta are great. I tried to watch this movie as an up to date interpretation of John Godey’s book and not a remake of the original film. In my opinion, the mystery and suspense of the book were well portrayed in the movie remake – which is not usually the case.

These are two of my favorite actors playing a mind game that is clever and well executed. Is there any actor in the world who could play a catholic, crazy, smart guy better than John Travolta? -- I’ve been watching him in action since Welcome Back Kotter! -- His last line in this movie is delivered with such anguish, woe, thankfulness and grit that it’s mind blowing. Washington, it seems, doesn’t even have to try. Both these guys could be the people they portray.

The year is now 2009 and the ransom has inflated to $10 million. Washington’s Walter Garber is under a slight cloud for possibly accepting a bribe on the job; we are still led to believe that he’s probably an okay guy. His adversary, Travolta’s Ryder, sports an ugly black mustache and a weird neck tattoo. Always a cool a villain, Travolta also has most of the really good lines in this movie.

Travolta overplays a little while Washington seems to underplay just a tad. James Gandolfini shows up in a droll little part as the mayor, although his character seems like spliced together moments in the careers of other, more newsworthy, people.

Throw in the cash getting tied up in a weird car accident, a NYC subway rat crawling up a pants leg, and a completely normal gallon of milk showing up on the set, and you have all the heart-stopping elements of a halfway decent movie.

In my opinion, the New York City of 1974 was a scarier place to be than NYC is today. 911 has turned the Big Apple into more of a victim than an evildoer. I still think you can’t beat the attitudes of the people of NYC. This movie had plenty of attitude! I’m quite sure that the flick received an R rating for traditional NYC language and violence.



The Taking of Pelham 123, Book by John Godey

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Prey

Prey By Michael Crichton

I’m a reader. I read often and a lot. Some books I read to learn, and some I read purely for pleasure although I obtain new knowledge from everything I read.

Recently I finished ‘‘Prey’’ a techno-thriller written by Michael Crichton in 2002. All right, I admit that I’m sometimes BEHIND in my reading, this one has been on the shelf for a few years, but I still found it enjoyable reading even by today’s standards and I think it will make a great movie.

Narrator, Jack Forman, ominously tells us on the first page, ''Things never turn out the way you think they will.'' Jack is a 40-year-old programming manager in Silicon Valley. He has recently been fired from his job after detecting some shady dealings at his company. Now he is reduced to being a full-time soccer dad of three.

Meanwhile, his wife, Julia, has become ever more powerful at the company where she works, Xymos Technology. She is the kind of ambitious woman we’ve seen before in Crichton novels.

Odd events move us along as Jack and Julia's baby develops a weird red rash, which miraculously clears up when she undergoes an emergency room M.R.I. Memory chips in household devices mysteriously disintegrate. Julia grows tougher, tenser, and ever distant. The big question now becomes: is she having an affair?

Crichton's characters sometimes tend to be a bit flat -- and this novel had too many stock characters. No one does anything really unexpected, and the evil characters might as well be wearing signs reading: "DANGER! Will Robinson! DANGER!” Still, most of the dialogue isn't too wooden and unreal, and Jack is a tolerable narrator during this book.

“Prey” is a passable thriller. Crichton doesn't write with the greatest style, but his prose isn't terrible either. He certainly packs a lot into this novel -- science! Technology! Action! Domestic life! Marital infidelity! Monsters! The thrill of the hunt! Etc., etc. And he keeps things moving quite well.

The book is a tad unbelievable in more ways than I could count; yet I kept turning the pages feverishly. Despite its silly moments, ''Prey'' is irresistibly suspenseful. You're entertained on one level and you learn something on another, even if the two levels do ultimately wander. Of course, I cannot say I was entirely surprised by the ending, which I will not divulge here just in case you haven’t meandered across this book yet.

This wasn’t the best Crichton novel I’ve ever read but it moved along well enough to maintain his reputation as one of the most ingenious, inventive thriller writers around. Thankfully I still have a few more of his novels on the shelf to read and I’m quite confident that when I’m through with all of them, I can start reading again from the beginning and still be entertained.


Prey by Michael Crichton

Prey

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is not your average prison flick. Whether or not you’ve read Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, you’re sure to enjoy this poignant drama.

Almost a study in the effects of incarceration, this movie has it all. Brilliant acting by Tim Robbins as Main Character Andy Defresne, a young man wrongly accused of killing his wife and her golf-pro lover. Ditto applies to Morgan Freeman as Red – the man who can get anything.

James Whittemore plays the tough old librarian inmate Brooke; his role touches upon man’s dependency on the penal system. Add a corrupt warden, maniacal guards, and homosexual thugs and watch this movie span generations symbolized by pin-ups of Rita Hayworth and Raquel Welch.

Keep an eye on the pin-ups. They play an important part as Andy learns the best ways to survive his life of hell known as the Shawshank Prison. If you’re a King fan, or even if you’re not – watch this movie.




The Shawshank Redemption: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Shawshank Redemption

The Puppet Masters

I like an old horror movie from time to time. This Golden Oldie, circa 1994, from Hollywood Pictures recently aired on Cinemax. Directed by Jeffery Dashnaw, The Puppet Masters still holds enough punch to keep the interest of horror and science fiction fans alike. The special effects are a tad weak by today’s standards, but the story line is well thought out.

In the small, sleepy, town of Ambrose, Iowa – a UFO crashes to earth witnessed by three average teenaged boys. They don’t remain average for long nor does anything else in this cool thriller.

The aliens, who seem to be a cross between a stingray and a cicada, quickly flatten across backs and attach themselves to spinal cords. Hidden beneath bulky clothing, they control the minds of town residents. From their concealed positions, they branch out quickly making it all the way to the White House. Candidates needn’t worry, however, the president is miraculously spared when Donald Sutherland (the main Dr. Goodguy) realizes that his son (Eric Thal) is infected.

Julie Warner does a superb job as the beautiful scientist with a degree in alien life forms. The twists and turns of this movie make it an enjoyable two hours of solid entertainment. It is extremely difficult, as the movie progresses, for the watcher to distinguish the puppets from the uninfected. I would recommend this movie to all fans of horror and science fiction, provided you realize the special effects are from the region of 1994.
--w

The Puppet Masters -- Get the paperback!

The Puppet Masters

Mafia Wars

If you haven’t heard of this fast paced, highly addictive, and a tad violent gangsta game that’s taking some of our social networks by storm, let me clue you in. My daughter and her friends play this game – requests for untraceable cell phones, sting grenades, blueprints, and silver cuff links now dominate my live feed.

It seems that on a dark screen set in 1920s New York, you arrive from Europe hoping to attain the American dream. Your dream can come in many forms, but you decide to follow the quickest, easiest, and deadliest route to achievement and fame. To do this you must work for one of New York’s Mafia Families, where you can soar up the ranks. Do you have the guts to become "The Don"? Can you survive as a mogul, a maniac, or a fearless gangster?

Your task is to stay alive as long as possible. You do this by taking out aggressive enemy gangsters who attack you from all directions. You can pick up many additional elements and allies for some fierce game-play. A perfect game for those of you looking for fast and furious yet straightforward action!

Buy weapons, ice enemies, mug, rob, steal, beat up and take out rival gangsters. I attempted to play the game to determine the attraction and to research this article. Unfortunately I simply didn’t have the patience or the desire to stick with it.

It's no joke that the Mafia Wars game can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. Unfortunately for me the weaker players tend to get “taken care of.” So watch out punks.

As far as I can determine there are no legal cheats in Mafia Wars, aside from odd glitches that intermittently happen and freeze the hell out of your game when they do. Attack increases the damage you do during fights. Defense reduces the damage done to you in fights. Health determines how well you survive fights. Energy is your ability to do jobs, and Stamina allows you to fight more often.

One of the best ways to make money in Mafia Wars is to do jobs and help your family with their jobs. Invest in property for a steady stream of income. Get into fights and target players on the hit list. There's no better enjoyment than stockpiling money while icing a gangster rival.

Choose your character depending on what you want to accomplish in the game. Moguls level up the slowest, but they make money quickly. Maniacs recover energy quickly and are better equipped for doing jobs. The fearless types recover health quickly, which gives them an advantage in fighting. Once you select your character type you cannot change it later in the game.

Play every day and you will get a bonus of three Godfather points every day that you sign in. When you level up, you will get one godfather point. You also have a chance of getting looted items while doing jobs that say “Chance to Loot” with the loot bag in the job description. Looted items can be really lame or really cool. Obviously, you want all the really cool loot. So keep doing your job and don't be lazy, punk!

If you enjoy a little gore-spattered violence and you have plenty of time to waste – this game is for you!
Call me iced and bloody in the sticks --Weezel


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Mafia Wars

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008):
The movie begins in a sinister forest where we get our first glimpse of Molly’s probable future. The film pans forward to Molly (played by Haley Bennett) making a fresh start at a new school after her mother’s psychotic episode – we will continue to see more of this episode through bits and pieces of Molly’s visions and flashbacks. Molly promptly befriends a Christian zealot slightly nerdy girl and of course hunk senior Joseph (Chase Crawford). She soon learns that everyone is not who they seem to be. It appears that once Molly turns eighteen, she’ll be liable for a supernatural bargain made long ago by her crazy mother and weak father – a bargain that she’ll not be allowed to escape.

I found this movie to be a reasonably adequate psychological thriller. Being a natural skeptic as well as an inquisitive and dark thinking individual, I found this flick to have a subtle symbolism that many films steer away from because your average movie viewer doesn’t have the attention span to figure it out. This movie had a few slow spots and was a bit forgettable, but still enjoyable. I would watch it once and then let it go.

Haunting of Molly Hartley

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

Skeleton Key

Welcome back, Devoted Reader.
I hope once you acquaint yourself with my grave markings of lingering dread, you will feel free to comment on my work or remark about your fears. Imagination is the key. Never take for granted something that you can imagine better. I like to write about things just outside of the box -- sometimes horrible things and sometimes merely thoughtful things -- always unusual things. I like to write about and contemplate everyday life, with a slightly dark and sinister twist!
I especially enjoy watching movies that are equally dark, twisted, and terrifying.


Skeleton Key


Louisiana’s boggy, heavy atmosphere is a character as well as a backdrop for this 2005 thriller. Gena Rowlands at 75 is amazing in her role as feisty Violet Devereaux the wife of stroke victim Ben played by John Hurt. Home nurse, Caroline (Kate Hudson) answers an ad and finds herself becoming Ben’s live-in caretaker in a creepy old southern mansion where the mirrors are all mysteriously missing. An ornate skeleton key, a mysterious closed-up attic room, brick dust, musical chants, and hoodoo rituals blend together to cover a dark secret with a beautifully executed twist ending that this watcher didn’t see coming. This movie held my interest – I would watch it again.




The Skeleton Key (Widescreen Edition)

Skeleton Key

Misery

Welcome back. The nightmares continue with bone crunching regularity from this dark and gruesome pit of evil. I’ve been asked to review random Horror Movie Flicks from time to time.
All movie reviews will be based on my personal opinion.
A thumbs up rating will indicate a good flick to watch on a dark night as the wind howls eerily around the eaves of your room. A thumbs down rating would suggest that you can feel free to melt the DVD down and recycle the plastic into a trick-or-treat Jack-O’Lantern for lugging candy around this Halloween.
Misery (1991) Horror-Suspense novel written by Stephen King, screenplay by William Goldman, and movie directed by Rob Reiner.
It’s no mystery to me that Kathy Bates won an Academy award for best actress with this flick. If you’ve read the book, you can see that her portrayal of the brutal nurse Annie Wilkes is downright uncanny. James Caan is also very believable as the unfortunate writer Paul Sheldon caught in the deranged clutches of his number one fan. You may want to cover your eyes when she swings back the sledgehammer.
This one is a must see for King fans and horror lovers. If you haven’t seen this yet, you may want to put this one on your MUST SEE list for this Halloween season.



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Misery