Year: 2007

The (non-Web) Host

The Host is a Korean horror movie from last year. Maybe it’s a guy’s flick, but if you can stomach some graphic gore it’s very well made and is worth seeing.

Here are two short scenes I’ve spliced together from The Host. The dialog in the hospital scene is very funny. The Korean actress is Du-na Bae, who is so enjoyable in the Japanese comedy Linda, Linda, Linda. Caution! The second scene is gross.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/TheHost.flv 448 252]

The Host is a partial remake to the previously-blogged Godzilla, which in turn was inspired by The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. But another, perhaps less obvious, acknowledgment must be made to Them!, which I consider to be the absolute best of the 1950’s Sci-Fi flicks, along with Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Thing, which I haven’t blogged yet.

Unlike The Day The Earth Stood Still, Them! really moves along, as directed by Gordon Douglas, despite having many scenes with conversations and meetings. Not only is there a fun mix of humor and horror in Them!, it’s undoubtedly where the idea in The Host came from, of kids being endangered in a sewer.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/Them.flv 400 300]

I think this entry has more links to previous posts than any other I’ve done so far!

Another Bush Bait-and-Switch

Hey, more good news from our Bush League president:

President Bush, after hearing from top U.S. and Iraqi leaders, said Monday some American forces could be sent home if security across Iraq continues to improve as it has in Anbar Province, a former hotbed of Sunni insurgency. Bush spoke after hearing from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker, who are testifying to Congress next week assessing the president’s troop buildup.

I sure hope Bush isn’t trying to claim that the troop surge is helping in Anbar Province. The surge is solely to deal with security in Baghdad and the safety of its civilian population. Anbar can have nothing to do with the surge, or Bush lied to us yet again.

Eric’s Anime Pick — Mushi-Shi

Eric says that Mushi-Shi is a relatively obscure title. Indeed, it took a week for a copy to arrive in Massachusetts from a Netflix distribution center in California.

Like Kino’s Journey, Mushi-Shi is about a wanderer, with a series of mostly self-contained stories. But unlike Kino, the character Ginko isn’t exploring for its own sake, but rather he’s a healer-for-hire who exorcises parasitic creatures called Mushi.

Caution: This video depicts what is known to comic book fans as an “injury to eye motif,” and it’s yucky and gunky!
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/MushiShi.flv 448 252]

No Buddy From Netflix

On a whim I checked the free Video On Demand offerings on FiOS TV, and spotted a movie with the description “Norwegian comedy” so, what the heck, I pressed OK. The movie is a serio-comic romance from 2003, called Buddy. Carol and I really enjoyed it.

Netflix has both the DVD and the option to play Buddy online, but sitting together in front of the computer isn’t an option, and getting video from the computer to the TV is an annoying and unreliable process. Fortunately, getting TV to the computer is much easier, so here’s a 3-minute scene from Buddy, as played on FiOS TV V-O-D.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/Buddy.flv 400 300]