Film Review: Motivational Growth

Motivational Growth Blu-Ray Cover“The Mold Knows Jack, The Mold Knows…”

Talking about a horror movie about a huge talking fungus being the least oddball thing about it is tricky business. All I’ll say is Don Thacker’s unconventional psychological freak-out Motivational Growth needs to be seen to be believed. And even after you’ve seen it, you’ll probably still think you were hallucinating the whole thing. The film is one of those low-budget indies where the pure craft and ingenuity on display outstrip the meager budget and you’ll probably find yourself hooked in right from the start because you’re hit over the head right away with some truly striking, memorable visuals.

All I know is within the first five or ten minutes of fake TV shows I saw what looked like a fake TV commercial for a fake anime adventure/shooter hybrid game called Starr Mazer. My eyeballs did a double-back flip and I wrote that name down in the notepad I keep nearby for reviews. If it was just animation created for the film, it was a genius move on Thacker’s part. If it was an actual game, well… I had to find out what I could play it on. When I looked up that fake game later, I found that there actually IS an anime adventure/shooter hybrid called Starr Mazer. In fact, it’s also one of Thacker’s many side projects.

But let’s keep the rest of this review about this bizarre, near brilliant film… Continue reading

MVD Visual Wants YOU To Get Motivational Growth!

Motivational Growth Blu-Ray Cover
 

Well, after seeing the trailer for this February DVD/Blu-Ray release, so do I. And you thought you had problems getting and sticking to your simple New Year’s resolutions. Poor, strange Ian Folivor above needs to get his entire life in order and thanks to a chunk of talking mold in his rather nasty-looking bathroom, he gets the chance. Of course, this being a horror film, all sorts of things go wrong and there will probably be a few bodies hitting the floor before all is said and done. Which is exactly how it should be in cases where a talking mold takes up residence in one’s bathroom.


 

Coming on home video from Parade Deck Films, Motivational Growth is written and directed by Don Thacker and stars horror veteran Jeffrey Combs (as the voice of the mold), Adrian DiGiovanni as Ian as well as a bunch of other actors you may or may not know who may or may not survive the film. Or their characters may or may not survive. You know the drill, but horror comedies like this are always more entertaining in my opinion because you’re laughing and cringing for all the RIGHT reasons. MVD Visual ships this one out next month, but you can pre-order it here if you’re into this sort of thing.

Motivational Growth MVD Visual 

Since you’re read this far, that must mean you are, so you certainly don’t need any motivation from me at all, right? Ha, I thought so…

The (Welcome and Hopeful) Silence of the Spams…


 

Bleh. I’m trying to wind this year down on an interesting note, but my mind is elsewhere. Too much home improvement stuff, some new ventures creeping into my schedule, perhaps a business thing popping up in a weird place and so forth and so on. Meanwhile, the internet has ticked me off royally this year on a few fronts to the point I almost kicked myself off a few social sites. I hate predictions and forecasting, but I kind of feel that 2015 will be the year people want their privacy back. Nearly everywhere you look or dink around online, you’re tracked, hacked and cracked over the head continually by folks good, bad and ugly. That has to be dealt with not by so-called “security” services or outside elements telling you they’re “taking care” of the problems. It has to be dealt with by people wisely retreating from spilling all their beans to the world thinking it’s okay because a site says it’s “secure” or “values” your safety at the end of the day. I’d bet a penny that most of them don’t because they can make bad news into good and gain users from it when all is said and done by tossing stuff into the spin cycle.

Eh, I suppose being cranky like this has its merits. But I want to end this year on a high note. No, not THAT kind of high, you sillies. Just a little rest and popping up to see the sun rise on that new year before zipping out a few posts to welcome in 2015. Back in a bit…

Finally Friday: Let Cary Show You Some Moves For That New Year’s Party…


 

Other than a clip here and there over the years, I’d actually never seen all of Stanley Donen’s 1958 film Indiscreet until a few days back when I was up late stressing over some stuff. Yeah, the kitchen and other major repair jobs that are needed but seem to be hard to impress on the folks who run this place about how urgently they need to get taken care of. Bleh. Anyway, it’s an interesting and not quite perfect film about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who thinks she’ll never find love who ends up falling for a man (Cary Grant) who she thinks is married. There’s more and a twist or three, but I’ll let you track this down and watch it if you’ve yet to, as it’s a fun film to wile away some time.

I’d have to say this dance sequence was the funniest thing I’d seen in a while at that hour of the morning, as I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t sleep afterwards thanks to the scene replaying itself in my head a few times. While I knew that Grant could hoof it like a maniac when he needed to in his earlier films, I didn’t think he did any fancy dancing this late in his career. That, and the scene is played entirely for laughs and gets them even when seen in that out of context clip above. Anyway, study those moves well and use them at that New Year’s party you’ve been invited to. I’d bet those steps work with any modern uptempo beat and I’d also bet that someone’s going to try and out-step you at some point on that dance floor. Of course, if they’re not in on the gag and have never seen this film, they’ll look a lot more foolish than you do, that’s for sure…

Random Film of the Week(end): Mister Freedom

Mr Freedom PosterAll this Sony madness surrounding The Interview made me think of a few films that either got some controversy upon their release in other countries, but I also thought of William Klein’s never released to the western public Mister Freedom, a masterpiece of absurdity that begs to be seen. Take the overall wackier bits from Dr. Strangelove, add in a jingoistic, xenophobic, sexist, quick to rile all-American superhero modeled after Superman and Captain America, add a ton of absurd visual elements and shake well.

For a film made in 1969, this one so far ahead of its time that some viewers may be shocked at what they see taking place. On the other hand, the film also shows that old adage “The more things change, the more they stay the same” is all too true in terms of politics and other targets ripe for satire. Klein, a famed fashion photographer and American expatriate living in France, made one of those films that will outrage some and make the rest laugh at as well as with it exactly as its director intended… Continue reading

You’ll Find Out: Yet Another Oddball Film I Need to See!

(Thanks, Sleaze-O-Rama!)
 

You'll Find Out_MPHa. I’d never heard of this 1940 comedy until about a month ago when someone asked me if I’d seen it. I hadn’t, noted to myself to look it up and forgot about it thanks to the stupid time I’ve been having on a few fronts keeping me from being very much entertained. Anyway, in my inbox this afternoon was the trailer above and I got pulled right into wanting to know more.

What a cast! Boris Karloff, Béla Lugosi, Peter Lorre… and Kay Kyser & his band? Yeah, I laughed a lot at the casting here. And if I’m not mistaken, the band and bandleader are the heroes here. Oh, this one’s going on the “gotta watch it!” list for sure. Well, I’m gathering I’ll need to haunt TCM and see when it turns up again. It’s usually the case when I hear about an oldie like this they have in their library that it runs less than a week or so later. Mood lightened considerably? You betcha.

Do Your Eyes Need a Workout This Saturday Night? Well, Here You Go!

(Thanks, GoodOldDaysReturns!)
 

As for me? Well, I’ll have to pass on these sassy eyeball exercises, as Dungeon of the Endless and TRI: Friendship and Madness have both been giving them quite a wild time this week. That’s a good thing in terms of their overall scores, by the way. Anyway, I’m in the midst of some innnnnnteresting changes on the work front, but no reveals yet, people. I’ll let you know what’s what should what happen and if it somehow doesn’t happen, I’ll be all “Wha’ Happened?”:

(Thanks, MovieClips!) 

Ah, Bumpy Tuesday! Someone Call The Cops!

(Thanks, Chaplin 1914!) 

Well, okay… it’s not THAT serious so I’ll take the Keystone Cops whenever they can get here, but I am having some connection issues today. Hmm. going through my inbox here I see mostly mail about bundles and more bundles, more news about Microsoft buying Mojang and Minecraft (yeah, it was bound to happen that SOMEONE would snap this up once Notch got bored, but Microsoft? Hmmmm…) and a few media events coming up. Oooh, I get to see some new peripherals later this week! Nice.

Okay, let me mess around here with some computer stuff (or a hammer) and see if I can put up something actually worth reading later this evening or tonight. Hopefully THIS post actually posts, as that seems to be the MAIN problem I’m having today. Boo. In English: “We are experiencing operating difficulties. Please stand by…”

Good, Housekeeping!

(thanks, dirtyworkUK!)
 
Well, maybe this is actually more of a generic post to say Sunday will be slow for them. Posts, that is. I’m doing some away team stuff today (playing Destiny at a friend’s place for a review using his speedy connection and PSN account) and generally keeping a low profile because it’s a busy week ahead and I want to expend as little energy as possible today. “But what about Destiny?” you ask? “Isn’t it EXCITING?!” You ask? Um… welll… it’s FUN, don’t get me wrong, folks. Oh, you’ll see in my review later this week. I do like it so far, but to quote a certain fake Harry: “A man’s got to know his limitations…” Anyway, back in a bit. Maybe I’ll even get in another post today if I get back early enough to ramble about something.

TCM Wants You To Stay Up Late Weekends…With No Chaperone!


 
Although unsupervised movie watching is ALWAYS a darn good idea in my book, TCM’s Underground kind of NEEDS a friendly yet slightly sinister guide to the treasures it holds within. Granted, the channel tried using a host in the past (Rob Zombie), but his tenure didn’t last all that long. I’d LOVE to do this job, as I know a bit about some of the films they run and don’t mind researching the ones I don’t know about. Then again, I’m not exactly the most exciting person on camera as I think I have an aversion to being filmed and I’m not at well-tempered enough to sit in a makeup chair (unless someone’s going to make me look like some monster from a 50’s “B” movie!).

Hmmm, perhaps a compromise is in order. I’ll pretend to host the films while watching at home (yeah, I’ll be talking out loud to my television. Quiet, you in the back!) and TCM can pretend to pay me for my efforts. Yeah, that should work out just FINE. La la la laaa. La la laaaa. I’m a STAR! (Cue the men in white coats in 3… 2… 1..)