"American Independent Film, 1999" - Movie Review: Love and Death on Long Island

Unfortunately for some really great films their trailers do them an enormous disservice. This was the case with Love and Death on Long Island. From the trailers I envisioned a totally different film then what I saw when I put the movie in. I was pleasantly surprised when I began watching Love and Death, it was touching without being pathetic and sappy. I actually found myself really drawn into the movie; I cared about the characters – more specifically, I cared what happened to John Hurt’s character. His performance made the movie for me, without him I wouldn’t have been so moved.

Hurt took the “psycho” out of obsession for me. He played Giles down to something human and not dangerous and sick. Although he was so old, and Ronnie so young, he never came across as a “dirty old man.” There was something very young about his character – something very like a teen girl: watching all of Ronnie's movies repeatedly, memorizing all Ronnie's sats, switching his brand of cigarettes to the Chestertons because Ronnie lives in Chesterton, etc.

Jason Priestly, on the other hand, gave his usual poor performance. I see no talent and no emotion in him. His character seemed so flat and dull. I could hardly even imagine what Giles saw in him, and I think Giles realized that when he met Ronnie – he was nothing but a pretty face.

The film was filled with subdued humor. Hurt’s dream sequence in which he was on a game show, his subject: the life of Ronnie Bostock, was particularly funny. Giles’s leap into the 90’s was funniest to those who know someone that is so cut off. This was a bit more extreme humor than the rest, but it played just as well. Without the humor, Giles would have been much less of a character. And his obsession would have seemed more dangerous then sweet.

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Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right or only fair to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th

"I live, I love, I slay & I am Content."

Let me tell you a little about myself; something real about the home I grew up in. There were lots of people around all the time. I was the only child. And, thankfully, I wasn't treated as such. Much like today, I was just the shortest member of the household. But what's that really mean? Above and beyond it means that I had many influences growing up. For this entry, my father's influence is the most important. My father loves arms and armor. He loves history and mythology and the art of warfare. And as any good father would, he shared these passions with me as a kid. I remember him making me wooden swords to play with. We played chess together. And I remember him reading me Greek myths and comic books before bed. He also shared his nerdy love of scifi, fantasy, and horror movies with me. For all of this, I am grateful. And I am now passionate about the same things. Spoiler alert: the following statement is not a dick joke. I have a love of swords. And barbarian

i'm kael's ghost

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