My Blog for Fun

Alright, the time has come for me to write about whatever I want. What on Earth could that be? How about a movie review? Yeah, there aren't too many people doing that on the Internet, so why not.

By the way, this review will contain spoilers and film clips featuring graphic violence!

The original Nightmare on Elm Street was released in 1984, and is considered a horror movie classic.  Freddy Krueger would go on to become one of the most iconic characters of horror.  Despite it's classic status, the film is not without it's problems, namely of which, the film definitely shows it's age.  A remake was inevitable, but given the dated nature of the original, I wasn't scoffing at the idea.  I should have known that this film would be a disaster after realizing that Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes was releasing the film.  However, I tried to stay optimistic, the film was directed by Samuel Bayer, who garnered some notoriety for directing Nirvana's music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and recent Oscar nominee Jackie Earl Haley would be playing Freddy.  The film had to be half-way decent, right?

Let's start out with the films biggest misstep: Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger.  He plays the character to closely to Rorschach from Watchmen, instead of playing an entirely different character.  His motivations are inconsistent throughout the film.  In the same dream sequence at the end of the film, Freddy goes from a serial killer to a pedophile at the turn of a dime.  His appearance is also a major problem, not because the makeup is bad, but because it's too good.  Freddy looks like a real burn victim.  While the original Freddy looked burned as well, his scars were more exaggerated, giving him a monstrous look.  The same goes with Freddy from New Nightmare.  That incarnation of Freddy didn't look like a burn victim, instead, his skin looked as if it were tearing off of his face.  Both of the original Freddy's appearances were almost uncomfortable to look at, but that's not the case with Freddy redux.  It's almost as if you begin to feel sympathetic for him, which is a big "no-no" for slasher villains.

 Scary

 Scary

Not Scary

Next up is the fact that the film has no central character until halfway through the film.  The film opens with a five minute prologue.  We follow a 25 year old high schooler through a "creepy" kitchen where Freddy is lurking behind him.  Freddy slashes at him, and he wakes up to realize it was all a dream.  Will this be our main character?  That certainly would be clever if we followed a set of characters different from the original, but being clever isn't what these filmmakers had in mind.  Instead, this guy just falls asleep two minutes later and gets killed by Freddy; what a shame.

Our next character is an equally bland 25 year old high schooler who actually goes through some length to figure out the circumstances of her friend's apparent suicide.  You see, she was with him at the time where, in the dream, Freddy redux slashed his throat open with a kitchen knife, causing the guy to slash his own throat open in the real world.  Anyway, we spend around thirty minutes with blonde victim #2 before she is killed in a scene that is a remake of Tina's death scene from the original.

Finally, nearly forty minutes into a ninety minute film do we meet this film's boring replacement for Nancy.  Rooney Mara delivers one of the blandest protagonists of recent years.  She is unsympathetic to the deaths of the people around her, she is emotionally neutral in the face of death, and only delivers the most basic of horror reactions when Freddy redux is confronting her.  She is a waste of a character that in the original was smart and resourceful.

Next up are the pathetic excuses for dream sequences.  What does this film have to offer in the nightmare department: dilapidated schools, grimy boiler rooms, and dirty kitchens.  That's it people, aside from Nancy's house which remains unchanged in the dream world.  What happened here?  Doesn't anybody remember Nightmare 3, the first nightmare film to truly bring out the dream world's full potential?  There were hellish corridors, transforming rooms, unnatural city streets, superpowers, and imaginative kills.  The dream sequences in the remake have been scaled back to the point where they aren't interesting.  Yes, the nightmare sequences in the original weren't as extravagant as it's sequels, but it made up for it with a menacing killer, which, as discussed before, this movie doesn't have.

As for the kills, they are even blander (more bland?) than the dream sequences themselves.  We have a slit throat, a slashed chest, and an impalement (and a second throat slit if you count Freddy's death).  Kris (substituting for Tina) has the most disappointing death scene in the whole film.  Watch Tina's death scene up above so I don't have to describe how it plays out when comparing the two.  Kris, instead of being slashed right away, is instead thrown around the room several times before being lifted into the air above her bed, and being slashed once across the torso, all without waking up.  What made Tina's death so horrifying was the fact that she was awake for the entire thing, and that she was literally begging for her life.  We don't get that with Kris, she is treated as a completely disposable character.

Sure, it's more polished, but does it have the same impact?

We're running a bit long here, but don't worry, we're nearing the end.  The last thing I want to bring up is newly added mystery surrounding Freddy's origins.  The mystery in the original Nightmare was simply: who is the killer.  The remake keeps this element, but adds a new layer on top of it: did the parents kill an innocent man?  All I can say about this was that it probably sounded good on paper.  There's nothing wrong with keeping the motivations of a psycho killer a mystery, but when you present me with a suspicion at the beginning of a film, then force me to question my original assumption, only to bring me back around to my original suspicions, then you have just successfully wasted an hour and a half of my life.  Why does the movie have to have a mystery that only leads back to where the movie started?  That's not intriguing, that's just a waste because the mystery literally doesn't go anywhere different from where it started. 

There's more crap to sift through here, but at this point I'm way over my word count.  Suffice it to say that I do not recommend this film.  If I made "Worst of the Year" lists this would definitely hold a spot right next to Vampires Suck and Iron Man 2.  Okay, that's not fair, I haven't actually seen Vampires Suck.

The End is Nigh . . . For Boring Newspapers

Can you smell that? It's the smell of my last blog that has to be related to my class. Now, what on Earf could this be about?

Alysha Schertz from BizTimes, that's what it's about.

The first thing I can remember from the speech was the then-and-now comparison of how the BizTimes looked on print. They went from a large tabloid layout on standard newsprint (newspaper paper) to a smaller, almost magazine, high-gloss look. I thought that was a very wise change. The old layout looked like the kind of thing you'd expect your grandfather to read, where as the new one looks more universal.

But the new look of the paper wasn't all that was talked about. Alysha also talked about how the BizTimes had to adjust their writing to the internet age. People who read articles on the internet rarely read the whole thing. They instead skim the page in a "F" shaped pattern just to get the gist of the message. Writing had to become more condensed. Long, in-depth articles have been replaced by shorter blogs. The blog on the site isn't just exclusive to people who work at the paper, members of the site can also post blogs.

Oh yeah, the links. Well, if you haven't liked Cambridge Coffee Wholesalers, I would recommend it, especially if you're a coffee drinker. Also, follow Alysha on Twitter, and visit the BizTimes' website.

There Shall Be No "H" in Sara's Name

Last week, Sara (with no "H") Meaney of Comet Branding stopped on by to give a presentation to our class. She mainly shared with us her expertise on geo-technologies related to social media. Now, what do those big words mean? Well, if you know about the website Foursquare, that's a good example.

Foursquare is a location based social media site. Users check in to mark their location and share where they are with friends, earning badges when they check into businesses enough times.

This was a very well put together presentation that I got a lot out from, mainly because I didn't know what sites like this were used for in the first place. This was a good crash course in location based social marketing.

As far as Comet Branding goes, Sara made it seem like a very attractive company to work for. She also made it sound like a job there would be a huge undertaking, because of the myriad of services they perform for companies. I suppose I would like to work there, but

Find Comet Branding here
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Night of the Comet . . . Branding

Wow, that was a lame title. Anyway, to the blog . . .

Comet Branding, as they say on their front page, "we help clients drive social media, public relations, and marketing initiatives to better connect with customers." The company was founded in 2009 by Wisconsin natives Al Krueger and Sara Meaney with the intentions, "to deliver comprehensive marketing and communications services to its clients.

Al and Sara are experts in social media, PR, marketing, and branding. From the long list of duties they perform for their clients, some choice jobs include social media research, competitive analysis, the development of strategic public relations plans, research of media and story trends, event promotion and development, creation of marketing collateral and copywriting, strategic brand development, and brand platform creation. This may seem like a lot for six people to take on (four others work for Comet besides the founders), but even this long list doesn't begin to scratch the surface of what Comet can do for businesses.

Comet's blog includes over two million entries and counting. They range from updates from Comet to commentary on branding, PR, an social media from across the nation. Mike Wisiewski posted the site's most recent blog (as of 10/27/20) centering on LeBron James and his latest Nike TV spot, "Rise".

Amy Sinclair

Amy Sinclair: a veritable guru of PR from the city of San Fransisco.

I want to say one thing first: I getting tired of the Social Media Revolution 2 video. I've watched it four times in the past week, and I have that song by Fatboy Slim stuck in my head.

Now, to the presentation…

I want to start out by saying that Mrs. Sinclair definitely knows what she’s talking about. As a speaker she’s very clam and speaks very clearly. Even when she got asked a question that she couldn’t answer, she maintained her composure and gave an intelligent response.

You don’t really get a sense of how far social media can reach unless you really look into it. I don’t remember the last time I watched TV on a regular basis; it had to have been before I got my laptop. Anyway, I still remember all the ads that I would watch all day for products I never would have considered buying, whether it be some piece of workshop equipment or the network trying to sell me on watching a show I’d never consider giving a minute of my time to.

Now, when I visit my Facebook page, the advertisements are all catered to my liking. It makes the ads feel more personal and makes me feel more comfortable in purchasing what they sell. Something like this wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for social media.

You say you want a revolution?

Ah, Facebook, ye olde social network.  I didn’t get a Facebook page until a little less than a year ago.  I was actually using Twitter before Facebook.   I still think that it’s something I could probably live without and still get along fine, but it sure makes some things a hell of a lot easier.  I’ve been able to keep up with some of my old high school friends better, as well as several of my roommates that have come and gone.  The combination of Twitter and Facebook have also made it easier for a movie buff like me to share my feelings on films, and recommend the good ones to many more people

Anyway, the video entitled Social Media Revolution 2, aside from having a kick-ass soundtrack, featured some facts that genuinely surprised me.  For one, I didn’t know that Wikipedia, the study tool so despised by educators the world over, was as accurate as it was, with studies calling the as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica.  I didn’t know that such a high percentage of Millenials were on social network sites; 96%, damn!  I didn’t know that e-mail was on such a decline, either.

I can’t remember the last time I saw my sister actually talk to someone on the phone, or when the list time I watched TV on a regular basis was.  She has become addicted to texting and Facebook, and I have relied on the internet, specifically YouTube, for the majority of my entertainment.  I try to keep my tweets as formal and grammatically correct as possible, but I do occasionally have to abbreviate what I’m trying to say.  I will say, this skill makes it easier to take notes in class.  Anyway, social media has increased our reach.  We are able to negate distances between us, both physically and socially, and put our ideas out there for all to see.

Mashable Mash!

http://mashable.com/2010/09/26/evolution-apple-mouse/

The first blog that caught my eye was The Evolution of the Apple Mouse.  It was pretty much a basic retrospective of Apple’s mice from 1983, when the mouse looked like a block of tan plastic with a button on top, to now, with Apple’s minimalist Magic Mouse.  I find technological evolution like this interesting to look at, and makes me wonder at what point the things we are using now will become hideously outdated.

http://mashable.com/2010/10/01/incredible-inventions-maker-faire/

I also checked out a list of inventions from the World Maker Faire.  Rubix cube solving robots, eye-operated drawing devices, and a propane-powered fireball gun were just a few of the featured inventions.  I wish I could see some of these things in action, because the blog only has stills of the creations.

http://mashable.com/2010/10/05/ie-50-percent-market-share/

The last blog I read was one about Internet Explorer, and how it now holds less than 50% market share.  The other 50% is composed of Firefox (my browser of choice), Chrome, Safari, and Opera.  I didn’t know that IE was in such decline, but with the amount of competition out there, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising.

Lastly, how has writing changed in the new world of social media? 

Well, let’s see.

Writing is no longer a one-way conversation.  Any blog you post online isn’t an article published in a newspaper where you can’t receive direct feedback to your work.  Blogging allows for direct communication with your audience.  It has narrowed the gap between the writer and their audience.

The Study of the Case/The Witch of Blair

In keeping with my love of movies, I decided to do my case study on The Blair Witch Project.  Yeah, I know, a lot of people aren’t too crazy about the film.  I remember liking it, but then again, I haven’t seen it in years. 

Anyway, I’m getting off topic.

My case study covers the content of its website, a timeline of the film’s release, budget, profit, actors, and more, all for only $19.99.  But, seriously, I also mention how the film fits into the horror genre, and some of the marketing used outside of the internet.

This was kind of an interesting topic to explore, mostly because of how most people just write this movie off as a crappy indie horror film.  It really makes you appreciate filmmaking passion when you go back and read up on how a film so small could have changed so much in Hollywood.  Maybe not in terms of storytelling, but definitely in terms of marketing.  Actually thinking about it, TBWP kind of did change storytelling.  You can’t tell me that every mockumentary/found-footage movie we get isn’t compared to TBWP.  It became the seminal example of this subgenre.  You don’t see anybody comparing Cloverfield to Spinal Tap, do you?

Who am I

So begins my blog, and a glorious blog it shall be.  Hello everybody, my name is Dylan Elliott, and I'm here to tell you who I am.  I am a twenty years old, Wisconsin native, and current student of the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater, of which I am in my junior year, majoring in multimedia.

My greatest interest in life is film.  From early childhood when my favorite film was The Land Before Time, to now, where my number one spot is tied between Pulp Fiction and Ed Wood, I have always had a love of movies.  Yes, I would like to one day make movies of my own, but the first step in filmmaking is thinking up a good story, and one has yet to come to me.

To date, the only films I have made have been class projects; the resources I've needed have only been available this way.  I've made a faux news report and public service announcement, and a short zombie film.  Science-fiction and horror are my two favorite genres, and I'd like one day to make to make a feature length film in each.  However, you have to walk before you can run, and I still need to learn how to write in a formal script format. 

So, that is me and my interests in a nutshell.  I look forward to writing more as the year goes on.