David and the Real World

Favorite classic movie:

Psycho (directed by Alfred Hitchcock)

This choice really doesn’t need much of an explanation.  Everyone knows the name Norman Bates.  The shower scene was groundbreaking — and still is.  Psycho arguably paved the way for the horror genre.  It was brutal, creepy, and suspenseful without relying on a lot of gore or “gross-out” FX.  Since horror is my genre of choice, it only makes sense that Psycho would be my pick for classic film.  This is as close to perfect as it gets.

Cheap.

I’m trying to keep a positive attitude, but it’s hard.  I hate not getting a paycheck.  I hate not being able to be self-sufficient.  I hate the hoops you have to jump through to get a simple office assistant job.  I hate the way employers don’t feel a need to call or email.  I hate feeling inadequate.  And I hate feeling like my life is going nowhere.

I know it’ll pass.  I’ve just never been good at waiting things out.  It’s especially hard now because I just graduated college and what do I have to show for it?  A bipolar car, my childhood bedroom, and a piece of paper with my name on it.  The whole reason I went to college was to avoid this, and now I can’t even get a job waiting tables because I don’t have experience doing that?  So basically I should’ve just foregone college altogether so I could perfect my food expediting skills?  It just feels like 4.5 years of work for nothing.

Oh well, I guess in the meantime I’ll just write.  Contest deadlines are coming up fast and I need to start outlining this old idea that I want to revisit.  I’m dedicating the next two week to the outlining/characterization process.  That should make the first draft go a bit smoother (it always does).  I want to knock the first draft out within two weeks so that I have time to revise and edit.  First deadline is April 1st — that’s the contest I really want to go for because the categories are separated by genre.  This way my horror spec isn’t going head to head with the next Revolutionary Road.

Already I’m in a better mood!

Dream Home (directed by Ho-Cheung Pang)

I have been waiting to see this movie since I first heard about it finishing production.  So, imagine my excitement when I saw it appear On Demand last night at 3 in the morning. 

Dream Home is the story of Cheng Lai (Josie Ho), a young woman working two part-time jobs so that she can afford the flat of her dreams. When the owners of the flat reneg on their price, Cheng Lai takes matters into her own hands.  What follows is a gory, apartment-building massacre as Cheng Lai fights for her room with a view.

I’m going to say that despite some flaws that I’m dead set against within my own writing, I really liked this movie.  It’s brutal, fast-paced, and fun (if you’re a horror junkie like I am).  Josie Ho is great as Cheng Lai—she made me hate her and sympathize with her simultaneously.  I think a lot of young people, especially in our current economic climate, can relate to her.  No, we don’t go out slaughtering people because we want an apartment but she’s struggling.  She has big dreams and it seems out of her control to make them happen.  She lives with her ailing father.  She works two jobs that aren’t necessarily fulfilling.  Because of the way her character was developed, I could see why she went ballistic, and that’s what good character development should do.

The death scenes are amazing.  Dramatic, over-the-top, and not for the weak-stomached.  Cheng Lai employs everything from golf clubs to vacuum cleaners to bongs in her bloody attempt at prime real estate.

Dream Home jumps back and forth through time a lot.  We get to see glimpses of  Cheng Lai’s childhood and present-day life up until she goes on her gory rampage.  This tactic is risky because some directors think they’re being “clever” or “different” by doing this and use it as a gimmick.  However, I think it worked in Dream Home.  I liked peeling back more of the layers of Cheng Lai between the scenes of her gutting tenants and suffocating security guards.  It gave the movie a more genuine feel rather than a lot of slasher films where we see one person die… then our faceless stalker finds another person to kill… and so on.  The time cuts added some variety and kept the pace brisk without feeling forced.

Now, as for what I didn’t like: Cheng Lai was easy to identify with but she was hard to root for.  She was an interesting character, but I wasn’t emotionally invested in her reaching her goal (attaining her dream flat).  On the flip side of that, the characterization of her victims was PAPER THIN.  So on one hand we have Cheng Lai, psychotic house hunter killing innocent people to get what she wants, and on the other, we have a handful of unlikable tenants (a cheating husband, shallow prostitutes, deadbeat druggies).  It was hard for me to care when they died, but it was also hard for me to advocate Cheng Lai killing them.  I know a lot of people might use the argument that this is a horror film, who needs characterization that deep.  I disagree.  No matter what genre it is, a movie needs to have characters you CARE about, otherwise what’s the point?

That’s not to say that the death scenes aren’t exciting.  No one goes down without a fight, and it’s fun to watch.  Cheng Lai isn’t Jason Voorhees — she gets cut, bruised, and beaten.  I think that added a refreshing element to Dream Home as well.  The victims fought back and Cheng Lai wasn’t some unstoppable force of nature. 

My final impression is this: despite the thin characters, I liked Dream Home a lot.  I like that it dealt with the volatile housing market and the economic collapse.  I like the over the top death scenes and the FX.  It’s head and shoulders above a lot of American slashers that have come out lately (most of which have been remakes), and I can definitely see myself adding this to my collection once it finds its way onto DVD.

Finale Score: 8/10.

A movie with the best soundtrack

The Hunger (directed by Tony Scott)

I think a soundtrack should be more than hip, catchy pop songs that give us something to listen to during a montage (though I enjoy those too). In order to be effective I think that a movie’s music needs to add to it and help shape the mood that the movie is trying to convey.  I think The Hunger does this perfectly.  It’s haunting, elegant, and beautiful.  It creates the perfect atmosphere for a film about vampires, their sensuality, and their fear of aging.  The music was just as much a part of the film as the writing, directing, and acting—and that’s how it should always be, but unforunately isn’t with a lot of movies.  I also want to mention Tron: Legacy as my runner-up for Daft Punk’s talents in bringing that world to life.

A movie you’ve seen countless times

Scream (directed by Wes Craven)

I can probably recite this movie from beginning to end.  And I still love it every time I watch it.  My parents were the kind of people who let the MPAA tell them what I should watch, so it wasn’t until I was like 12 that I actually got to see this for the first time.  Scream is iconic and this is the movie that first inspired me to write for film (originally I wanted to do prose). Kevin Williamson was my idol with all his 90’s horror movies (still kind of is, I’ve just added to the list).  I like that he writes distinct characters and makes you care about them; these aren’t cardboard cutouts you’re waiting to see slaughtered.  The whole series has been pretty consistent and I’m sure Scream 4 will get just as many viewings as the first three.

The most surprising plot twist or ending

Mulholland Dr. (directed by David Lynch)

I’m falling behind on this! Anyway, I don’t know if this necessarily counts as a twist ending or just a complete mind fuck of a movie all together, but either way, of all the movies I considered (Saw, Diabolique, Identity, etc.), this is the one that had me scratching my head the most (that was such a run-on sentence).  I think I’m still trying to figure this movie out in its entirety. The first time I saw it I wasn’t sure what to think but it grew on me. It definitely makes you think, and it has some pretty creepy scenes (the homeless man behind the diner haunted me for days).

Favorite made-for-TV movie

Brink (directed by Greg Beeman)

Do made-for-TV movies still exist outside of Lifetime? I feel like they’re a dying breed, being edged out by the ever-growing crop of reality TV.  Anyway, Brink was one of the masterpieces that spawned from the Disney Channel’s Golden Age of Disney Channel Original Movies (before High-School Musical clawed its way into existence).  This movie, among others (Smart House, Johnny Tsunami, Miracle in Lane Two), were actually pretty f’n good considering they were… airing on Disney Channel.  I could still watch Brink today and enjoy it.  It kind of makes me weep for today’s youth… we had gems like this and they get thrown scraps like… The Hannah Montana Movie.  Brink takes me back to my childhood, and for that, I love it.  I’ll never forget the “Look Before You Leap” montage of him trying to balance skating with his two different crews and working at the dog-washing place, Gabriella’s dramatic “eat it” moment, or the final race.  This movie inspired me to rollerblade… but I was too scared to do the hardcore tricks so I quit.  Still a great movie though!

Favorite love story in a movie

Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert - The Girl Next Door (directed by Luke Greenfield)

I watched this movie every other day the summer before I moved out to go to college.  It still holds a very close place in my heart.  I’ve loved Elisha Cuthbert forever (I wish she was doing more lately) and I thought she and Emile Hirsch had good chemistry.  They didn’t belong together at all, but they still worked.  I’m a sucker for “opposites attract” type love stories so her spontaneous nature coupled with his very structured, semi-neurotic personality was perfect for me. 

I’ve decided that I’m entering some screenplay competitions this year.  I’m cautiously optimistic about it.  You never know unless you try.  Wish me luck!

Last night when I said I was going to bed at 12 so that I could get up at 8 for my meeting at the temp agency… yeah.  Ended up not going to sleep until 4.  It wasn’t my fault though—I got in bed. I closed my eyes.  And I laid there.  Sleep refused to come.  It’s no surprise considering how messed up I’ve made my sleep habits.  So when my alarm went off at 8 it wasn’t a pretty sight.

I seriously considered staying in bed and just blowing off my meeting.  Seriously, seriously considered it.  However, upon further thought, I realized that if I did that then I’d be the very things I complain about—lazy, entitled, slacking, half-assed. So I hauled my ass out of bed and got ready.  And I have to say that once I was up and alert, it did feel kind of good to join the world of the living (but that could be simply because I knew I could come home right after my meeting and crawl back into bed).

Last night, my dad took my car to—where else?—a prayer meeting at church and left me with less than a quarter tank of gas.  Thanks to my momentary lapse in responsible decision-making where I laid in bed an extra five minutes debating on whether or not I should go to the temp agency, I was too behind to stop and get gas so I was freaking out about that on my way to the temp agency.  I was also freaking out about the possibility of my car overheating again because the gage kept rising… but then I’d blast the heat and it would be fine.  Point is: it was a stressful drive.

Then, I couldn’t find the place.  It ended up being in this dinky little plaza that looked like it housed a place for crackheads to squat.  It was next to a Subway and a BBQ/soul food place that just looked so… sad. Sitting in the car, I had another moment of debate.  I was tempted to leave, but then I told myself that I didn’t drive over here for nothing.  I didn’t wake up at 8 in the morning for nothing.  Just get it over with.  

I went inside and the people ended up being really nice.  Like REALLY nice.  I was expecting some attitude (probably because the place was so brokedown looking; don’t judge) but I was pleasantly surprised.  The woman I talked with seemed very eager to help.  She told me I have a strong resume and that she could probably find me something in a temp-for-hire position.  I’m hoping she can because Lord knows I need it!  

I’m also going to apply at a hotel that a friend of my mother’s used to work at tomorrow.  She told me to ask for the manager by name and tell him that she recommended me; she even gave me her number to use as a reference.  I’m hoping that something comes from that.  I’ve learned to not freak out about this.  It’s out of my control.  That doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying, but I can’t spiral into a depression if I don’t land something.

All in all, it feels good.  I have the temp agency looking out for me as well as myself now so I’m content.  Still hoping to have some kind of cashflow by mid-March.  That’s the goal, people!

In more saddening news, I found out today that the Borders right by my house is shutting down.  I’m OBSESSED with Borders, so having one literally five minutes away was my idea of Heaven.  Now it’s gone.  I’ll have to go back one more time to pay my respects and shed a tear—so many memories there.  That was my safe haven when I was just bored and wanted to entertain myself or had to go relax.  Fuck you, recession!