DVD Review: The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but I've been busy at work with all these commercial spots at the day gig. Did get a chance to see some flicks yesterday though. Checked out this Russian horror film called The Night Watch which Lions Gate will put out in US sometime next year. I thought it was average yet interesting riff on things I have seen in the genre before. But my biggest surprise was how good this Sean Penn indie flick called "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" was. With shades of Taxi Driver being one of the reasons I was really drawn into it was, I really dug this movie. The ending is maybe a bit overdoing it, but this 90 minute portrait of how one can lose their mind by leading the American Dream was very compelling to me. Penn plays Sam a recently divorced man with 3 kids. His wife played by Naomi Watts has moved on as Sam tries to become a 'normal' sap by learning how to become a salesman at a office furniture store. Life starts to takes turn for the worse as Sam tries to patch up his relationship with Watts. He begins to watch all the countries discontent on TV in Vietnam, The Black Panthers, and other civil rights movements. He even tries to join the Black Panthers in a scene that I will remember forever when Penn tries to convince the panthers to add Whites to the membership and that they should consider calling themselves The Zebras! LOL.

This film paints a sad portrait of how people living in America sometimes end up in the waste basket even when they have good intentions. It's a really sad portrait of how someone can fall between the cracks and lose their mind. The title of this film refers to Sam's last ditch effort to be noticed by someone, anyone for that matter. Sam wants to be remembered for something in his life and if the assassination of a president is what it takes, then in his mind he will be remembered for making a difference. Great film rent it on DVD soon as you can.

Superman Returns Site Update

Head over to the official website for Superman Returns and see all the cool updates. Click here

Battlestar Galactica

Is anyone but me watching this show? It continues to improve from season to season. I finally watched the 2nd season finale on the old Tivo today, and wow what a cliffhanger for next year. If you are not watching this show yet, you should. The writing is strong. And don't judge it based on memories of the old show. Its so far removed from that train wreck of cheese now. It's quite an epic, and again is a great example of how to use the medium of TV to tell a huge epic storyline. Pick up the first season on DVD and hopefully the second won't be far behind.

DVD Review: Phantasm Quadrilogy Box Set

This really isn't much of a review since this just arrived yesterday from the UK, but I wanted to just write a few things about how fucking cool it is. Phantasm was one of those movies that I originally missed out on somehow. Luckily in 1988, Writer/Director Don Coscarelli got the chance to come out with Phantasm II, and at that point I was a full fledged horror maniac. I was curious that there was a sequel coming out to a movie I had only heard of, but it was really kind of difficult to find on video at the time. My best friend, Joel told me that Phantasm was one of his favorite horror movies, and that me of all people needed to see it. Now. So we tracked a copy down and sure enough I was a "Phan". Sure it was low budget and the acting was cheesy, but there was something utterly unique about it. The sci-fi elements intrigued me. The mix of Sci-Fi and horror is always tricky, but somehow this odd mix of the two worked. And I think it had more of an effect on Joel because he saw it at the same age as the main character. So we went to see the sequel, and it was very much different in that it had a budget this time out and was really a fun movie, if not perfect. I loved how it ended with a cliffhanger like the original and although it got crushed at the box office, they did make 2 more sequels, all of which are in this set from Anchor Bay UK. And a bonus disc with a feature length documentary and all sorts of goodies.

Phantasm II and III have never been available in this country on DVD. So its very cool to finally see them in widescreen for the first time and all four films are anamorphic widescreen transfers, and all have 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. I watched the feature length documentary Phantasmagoria last night and it's great. The other docs on the Bonus disc are great too. I want to sit down and watch all four films together. When that will ever happen I don't really know. Looking back its a real shame that more horror fimmakers don't take a cue from Phantasm and make something unique again. Use you heads!!! Don Coscarelli created a whole new universe with these four films. It was recently reported that New Line had bought the Phantasm rights to make this huge Lord of t Rings style horror trilogy out of it. But Don Coscarelli says this has since fallen apart, and he may be left to make P5 himself. And you know what that's fine by me if it prevents another remake from being made.

Now, you can only get this in England. And there are only a limited number of the Sphere sets available. No word on a US release, but if you have a multi-region DVD player with PAL you can play these just fine. In fact you can pick one up at CompUSA for 60 bux. I have the Philips 642 and it plays every format out there except for Blu-Ray. Back to Phantasm, the sphere set is fucking cool when you hold it in your hands. The inside package design leaves a bit to be desired as far as how the discs set in there. Click here for a more extensive review at the Phantasm website.

Also as a side note, I love the Tall Man character. I quote him all the time. In fact one time in Arlington at a horror convention Joel and I went to meet Angus Scrimm aka the Tall Man, and he was the nicest guy ever. We talked for over an hour it seemed about everything but horror. He was one of the nicest actors I've ever met. But on screen he freaks me the fuck out. Have I used the f word enough today? Fuck it, its my blog! Watching the Phantasm films again made me remember why I liked horror in the first place. It's Imaginative, its fun, its a ride, its an experience like no other. I picked this set up at Amazon.uk. They have several different versions to choose from, but if your a true Phan pick up that wicked sphere set. It's the best box set since the Alien Quad set came out.

"You think that when you die you go to heaven...You come to us."
-The Tall Man

Grandpa, and the Return to the Fortress...

Well, way back many years ago, I went out to my Grandfathers farm to be with my Grandfather and write stories. In fact the last thing I wrote out there was a story called "Seventy-8". I had hoped to return there a little over a year ago to write something new. The Farm has always been my place of refuge. My Fortress of Solitude if you will. My Zen place. However, the week before my trip to the Farm a year or so ago, my Grandfather fell very ill and was in the hospital for almost a year. It became apparent that he could no longer stay out in the country by himself. He now resides here in Ft. Worth with my aunt and cousin and is doing really great at the young age of 91. My father takes him out to the farm almost weekly, however I'm always working now and I'm never available to go during the work week.



Well this Sunday I returned to the fortress. And I just had to stop and write about how great it was to be back out on the farm. My grandfather, my Dad, and my Aunt Sandy all drove out to Lipan and rebuilt the water well house. My Grandfather built it about 20 years ago. In fact I still remember him building it. But time has worn it down and it needed an over haul and we rebuilt in a day. My grandfather sat back and watched us for 6 hours as we rebuilt the entire thing. He even helped out by telling us where all the different sizes of wood were stored in the barn. Amazing that he can remember all that stuff. He even knew where to fin d all the tools, and whenever we asked him where something was, he took us right to it. I hope I'm that sharp at 91. He even went into the house to call his girlfriends after lunch. Big pimpin' he is still.



But more than anything this trip gave me a chance to go back to the farm and have three generations of Clapp's work on building something that perhaps will outlast all of us. It was a really great feeling to again be with my Dad and Grandpa on the farm. I felt so at ease and peaceful out there. I had no worries about the deadlines I am facing today at work. It's amazing how being out there washes away every worry you have. Wow. However, like clock work my allergies are in full swing today at work. That's my only problem of going out there is the next day I suffer. Oh well. And speaking of that, I took some pictures of the well house we built for it, but I won't be able to post those until later this evening. I also made a point to take some photos of my Grandpa that I think came out really nice. I'll post some of those as well. It was odd to see my grandpa's house rather barren inside. My Aunt has been cleaning it out recently. It feels so emotionally cold in there. But I guess all good things, well you know the rest. I really must go to the Fortress more often... and Grandpas are friggin' cool.

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

Saturday night was a big night. A big night if you're a Mavericks fan that is. As I've said before, I don't know who this new mavs team is yet. They don't have a real identity yet, since Captain Michael Finley and Don Nelson moved on. Finley signs with the Spurs, and Don Nelson is on the beach somewhere in Hawaii counting his millions. Well Saturday night myself and two car loads of Amy's family (many who are Spurs fans) drove the AAC to watch the Mavs take on the Spurs. This was Finley's first game against the Mavs as a Spur, and not only was it a sad night for me as a Finley fan, but it also turned out to be not the end of an era but the beginning of a new one. In case you missed it, The Mavs dominated the world champs and beat em by almost twenty. Finley received a standing ovation from the crowd, then it was down to business. Dirk was on. Josh was on. Stack sat. They were up most of the game. Then Tony Parker got red hot for the Spurs. I was losing faith quickly.

Then when things were looking to turn nasty as a 20 point lead went down to 10, Devin Harris entered the game. He was the rookie heir to Nash last year, but had a troublesome rookie season. Mind you Devin's career high was 17 I think. He scored 20 in the fourth quarter, and finished with 22 total. He dished, He slashed, he drove, and he looked incredible. The whole arena saddened by the presence of Fin in black was floored by Devin. I got to see Devin in several summer games before his rookie year started and I was sold. (See picture of my Amy with Devin and Marquis below) I knew he had something special, but last year he made mistake after mistake on the floor and didn't get much playing time as a result. Saturday night should change that. Finley was bad. He played 30 minutes or more and had a pathetic 2 points. I felt as if I was watching the epilogue to a story I began following 8 years ago. Going to the game I was sure of three things, 1. Finley would go off for 40 or more, 2. The Spurs would destroy all signs of life left in the Dallas team, and 3. I would be devastated leaving the game. Well none of that happened. In fact I'm glad it didn't. True I will always be a Finley supporter, but that team is officially gone. Devin and Dirk proved me wrong and I hope they continue to do so. That was a fun game and one I'll always remember as being the beginning of something new. Go Mavs! Check out Amy and Devin.... We are fans of the Devinist.

Season On.

Time to play ball...