30 Days of Night

[Blogger's Note: I have added more comments at the end of the post. (10/21)]

Put succinctly: One of the top ten vampire films I've ever seen.

As a horror film, I give it four full stars. And from my own perspective, I don't see this as a film for the casual viewer of "scary movies." It's heavily atmospheric, as pervasively dark as the title suggests it would be, and BRUTAL. If horror films are one of your favorite genres, I think it's mandatory that you see 30 Days of Night. The average critical review on Yahoo! Movies is a meager C+ [with the addition of a few more reviews, the average has dropped to a C] but, to give you a point of reference on how much that may truly mean, the average critical grade for Stranger Than Fiction is a B-.

To those planning to see it: Don't expect much in the way of innovation, but expect much in the way of strength of presentation. The tension, I might go as far as saying the dread, created by this film is constant and damn near unrelenting (i.e. basically no levity to ease the mood after about Minute 20). The Hollywood addiction to exhaustive exposition is repudiated, the original music is easily one of the best horror scores I've ever been exposed to, and all the romanticizing of vampires that Anne Rice brought into the genre is absent. If Interview with the Vampire is your standard for a great vampire film, you're not going to like this movie nearly as much as I did. And if you're one of those movie goers who finds horror flicks to be inherently silly or dumb, this film's not going to redeem the genre for you.

(As a side note, I thought Josh Harnett did an excellent job in the lead role. And to think, after I first saw Halloween H20 I hated this guy. But I'll confess now that I think he's becoming a quality actor.)

To sum up with some specific advice:

Aaron Homoya, Perry Chrisitan- Run don't walk to see 30 Days of Night.

Josh Hedges, Amanda Tranbarger- Never watch this movie in your entire life. :)

On an unrelated note, Albus Dumbledore is gay.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071020/ap_on_en_ot/books_harry_potter

Who knew? Apparently J.K. Rowling.

Additional comments:

+I just found out that 30 Days of Night was the #1 movie at the box office this weekend. That's not at all stunning to me seeing how close we are to Halloween. Unfortuantely, I think my statement that "this film is not for the casual horror fan" is about to be invalidated by an army of tweener girls and frat boys.

+I find myself unable to stop thinking about this film over 48 hours after viewing it. Taking a study break, I just read 5 or 6 online reviews of the film (positive and negative) and have found my own opinion to be cemented rather than repudiated or significantly tweeked. Here's a link to the review I think represented by own opinions most closely:

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/t/30_days.html

The review is relatively short, but for those who'd appreciate some streamlining and/or wish to avoid potential spoilers, here are some of my favorite "moments" in James Berardenelli's write-up.

" It's a pleasant change of pace to get a vampire movie where the bloodsuckers are allowed to be monsters. You know what I'm talking about - no more of this brooding, tortured soul shit...Too often of late, motion pictures have defanged their vampires, turning them into whiney, pseudo-romantic figures. That's not a mistake made by director David Slade. Finally - a modern vampire movie where audiences sympathize with the victims rather than their attackers. If you think these creature are sexy, you need therapy...

"The premise - providing vampires with a month of sun-free opportunity to wreck havoc - is clever and, if it's not fully realized, at least enough is done with it for 30 Days of Night to represent two hours of solid, gory entertainment. This isn't one of those neutered PG-13 horror movies. There's enough blood and viscera coating the screen to earn the R-rating without things tipping the scales into the "torture porn" category. In many ways, what Slade has wrought here is reminiscent of an amped-up version of a Hammer vampire movie. In fact, Danny Huston [see my next comment] alternates between channeling Christopher Lee and Max Schreck...

"One aspect of 30 Days of Night that's refreshing is that it doesn't require the survivors to have undergone frontal lobotomies in order to move the story forward. Yes, characters occasionally do stupid things, but they're not unreasonably stupid and they don't force members of the audience to fight against the suspension of disbelief gag reflex. I'm not going to claim that the screenplay is either airtight or brilliant, but it is smarter than the average genre entry, and that's a big plus."

+I didn't recognize him at all during 30 Days of Night, but Danny Huston (son of director John Huston) played Marlow- the lead villain one reviewer humorously called primo vampiro. Huston first entered my world in last year's Australia-based western The Propostion. Through the combined testimony of both films, Huston has demonstrated himself to be adept at portraying bone-chilling monsters of two dramatically different types.

+Special Make-Up Effects for the film were done by Gino Acevedo and his team- the same group of make-up artists that worked on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and his remake of King Kong. Quite the change of pace, eh?

Assortedness

+ A song:
If you're a fat guy and you know it, wear a Hawaiian shirt.
If you're a fat guy and you know it, wear a Hawaiian shirt.
If you're a fat guy and you know it,
Then your fashion sense will show it.
If you're a fat guy and you know it, wear a Hawaiian shirt.

+A beacon of light shines through:
This morning I received back the first official paper I've written in 15 months. I was awarded an "A." Now this tidbit of news will certainly be received by many of my friends and family as ho-hum, status quo trivia. But for me, even though the paper was only a 3-page critical reflection, it's my first legitimate scrap of proof that I can still succeed in academia even after a year away and a considerable boost in what's expected of me.

+A cover of caligation settles overhead:
For the first time in my experience of higher education, I find myself basically at odds with one of my professors. There is no personal animosity involved but it is becoming increasingly evident to me that an intellectual/ideological antagonism is in play. Anderson graduates, imagine Willard Reed; now replace his religious skepticism with a full-blown condescending attitude towards theologians. Candler graduates, imagine David Pacini; now intensify his penchant for self-indulgent monologue with a deep apathy for whether anyone ever understands a single point of his opinion on the course materials. After you've done that, recall Pacini's regular claims that "Pretty much everyone else but me misinterprets the thinker(s) we're reading in this course" and supplement it with the claim, "And you, the student, are almost certainly going to leave this course not understanding them correctly either."

For all their quirks and presuppositions, Reed and Pacini repeatedly demonstrated to me that they were willing to help me develop my own thoughts/position, and regularly proved to me that they were not in the business of forging clones of themselves. Six weeks into this quarter, I'm largely certain that I could not attribute these qualities to the professor leading my Nietzsche seminar. I don't think this guy's out to get me, but I do get the sense that, in his mind, I've been pigeon-holed into a category of thinkers he's less than amicable toward. I'm not giving up and I'm not going to validate his stereotypes of theologians by becoming overly contentious and defensive in class. But I have started entertaining thoughts like, "If I can get out of the Nietzsche seminar with at least a "C," and earn an "A" in my other class, then I'll still have the "B" average I need to retain my scholarship."

+An arduous process concludes:
A week ago Wednesday (October 10th), I finally received my Stafford loan funds. It took three, pain-in-my-ass months to secure that money. Now that I have it, I'm too damn busy with school to spend it on what I need to most (couch, bed frame, new tennis shoes). I couldn't have waited much longer. The day the money was deposited, the combined balance of my checking and my savings accounts was just under $150.

+A hilarious film discovered:
About ten days ago, I bought "Knocked Up" without having seen it but confident that I would find it funny. Little did I know at the time of purchase that I would be laughing uproariously within the first 10 seconds of my initial viewing. Not since (probably) my freshman year of college had I re-watched a movie the very next day after first seeing it. I did exactly that with "Knocked Up."

+A hero "resigns":
One of my personal heroes, Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy "The Natural" Couture has "resigned" from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Not only did he abdicate his Heavweight Title, but he's also renounced his duties as a color commentator and ambassador for the company. If you want to hear a solid report on Randy's reasons for resigning, see this article:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=9455

If you want to read UFC President Dana White's "candid" response, read this one:

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8241

An Open Letter to Susan Christian

A little over a week ago I received an e-mail from my uncle Perry Christian containing a special request. He informed me that Susan, his wife and my aunt, would be attending a women's retreat this weekend. Perry said that one of the events Susan would participate in involved the reading of letters- letters clandestinely written by each woman's loved ones that would be read aloud to her in the presence of the others in attendance. Each letter should serve to encourage and edify the person to whom it was addressed. Perry requested that I write such a letter for Susan. My only instructions were to keep the letter relatively brief (a true challenge for me) and to write from the heart.

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What follows is the letter I composed. It represents one of the rare moments in my life where I pulled back every internal check and poured out the most honest, unfiltered declaration of affection I am capable of formulating. Susan deserved no less because, of all the people in my life I cherish, there are people I hold as dearly as I hold Susan, but no one I treasure more. When I completed the final draft last Sunday, I immediately wanted to post its contents here. Doing so, however, would likely have ruined the surprise the retreat organizers had planned. But seeing as she has certainly been presented with the letter by now, I want my testimony to her exemplary character and incalculable worth to be known by more than just a select few. If there is anything remarkable about the letter it is not so because of any craftsmanship or skill of expression on my part. It is solely because of the utmost remarkability of the woman described therein.

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Dear Susan,

When I think of you, the characteristics that immediately come to mind are sensitivity and warmth of heart. These are two qualities you possess with such thorough authenticity it astounds me. Because these are qualities I seek to develop in myself, I cannot help but hold you in high honor for the way you continually demonstrate your sensitive and warm nature to family and friends alike. When you see a loved one in tears, you do all you can to dry their eyes. When someone you care for is wounded, you move quickly to sooth their pain and mend their brokenness.

Within our home, you devote enormous amounts of energy toward cultivating peace and fellowship, strengthening family bonds, and fixing the many problems that arise. It seems to me that you are only genuinely happy when you believe that those you love are truly happy as well. These are the desirable traits that secure your place among the best of daughters, mothers, and wives.

I stand among the privileged souls who have felt the fullness of your warmth and sensitivity. Fifteen years ago, your nephew was a boy suffering from the deepest of wounds, reeling from the most unexpected of losses, and you and your husband took me into your home and raised me as if I had been your own son from the very beginning of my days. In doing so, you honored a promise made to a man and woman who were no longer capable of holding you to your word. And remember: I came to you not as a finished person but as a work-in-progress. I am certain that if Debbie and Rockie Scott could speak with you concerning all that you have done on my behalf, they would shower you with thanks for the many years of effort and care you have devoted to their child. Many friends and family have made great contributions to who I am today, but you are one of the precious few who have shaped the core of my personhood.

Please, Susan, accept this well-deserved praise without hesitation. Let your own soul be warmed by the knowledge that you have made an impact on this world through the impact made on your loved ones. Draw confidence from that fact that your contribution is irreplaceable, invaluable, and ongoing. Your sensitivity and warmth of heart enrich all who are near you. That is why you are loved and treasured by so very many people; not least of all, by me.

Your nephew, your friend, and your son,
David Scott

"Jason Bourne wouldn't be able to read Luther."

This statement came from the mouth of my academic advisor during my preliminary interview on Monday. I've been meaning to post it since then but, obviously, haven't gotten around to it until now. Allow me to set the context for the utterance.

The point of a preliminary interview is to get an incoming Ph.D. student acquainted with his three-person advisory committee, and vice versa. We discuss my interests, what I hope to get out of the program, which other professors might be of great help to me, and what courses I should take for the rest of the year. One very important matter is planning out a course of action to prepare myself to meet the program's language requirement. To put it simplisticly, I need to demonstrate competence (not fluency, mind you) in a "research language" other than English by this time next year. A great deal of the contemporary and historical literature I will be engaging during my academic life is or was orginally written in German, so my committee and I targeted that language as the one for which I will take a competency exam during the summer or, at the latest, next fall.

When the head of my committee, Dr. Sheila Davaney, was explaining some of the various means of preparation other students have utilized in the past I said:

"You know, I've seen adds for the Rosetta Stone program on television. I've been thinking about buying that to supplement the limited background in German I already have."

"I'm pretty sure that program is designed to help you speak German, not read it," she replied.

"Really?!" My reaction was surprise tinged with disappointment. "When the commericials said that that the U.S. government used Rosetta Stone to train CIA agents, I thought, 'Cool! I wanna be like Jason Bourne.'"

After the briefest round of laughter, Sheila spoke the quote of note, "Jason Bourne wouldn't be able to read Luther."

I already know what the subject of her statement would have to say in his defense:

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"Matt...Damon."

What Little I Have, I Give to Thee

Not a great deal has changed since my last personal update. I've met a handful of new people, dug deeper into the study of nihilism, and read several hundred more pages on the theories and methods of religious studies.

The biggest development in the past week has been the long-protracted process of applying for student loans finally reaching a conclusion. In theory, my lender has already disbursed the first wave of funds. But I haven't received any more of that money thus far than Forrest Gump received for the "million dollar wound" on his but-TOCKS. The potential stress that could be caused by this continued delay was alleviated last week when the university credited my application deposit to my student account, wiping out another $300 from my balance and reducing the total money I owe them for this term to a whopping $9.00. I can afford to pay that. As soon as the loan money is in my checking account, it'll be time for couch shoppin', crackaz.

Also noteworthy is the fact that, for the first time since January 18, 2005, I now have health insurance. (Dear Jesus, thank you for protecting my poor ass from any truly debilitating injuries and illnesses over the past two years. Amen.) The question now is which breed of doctor I'll visit first: a dermatologist or an orthopedist? What's a more immediate concern: the burn damage to my left shoulder or the structural weakness in my right knee? Hmmmm.

I was oh-so-happy to not only have the opportunity to watch the Colts play yesterday (something I can no longer take for granted from week to week) but I'm doubly glad they overcame their first quarter funk and kicked some Bronco tail. I would likely have had a very long week if the local horse defeated the horse of my home state.

One last comment. I continually feel inclined to post lyrical snippets either here, on Facebook or on MySpace. The "Lyric Box" is my latest addition to the sidebar features on the right. I figure I'll change this every week or so. If I'm posting something in that box, it's because I think it's quality for any number of reasons. You'll never know the source of a particular snippet unless you're already familiar with it prior to encountering it in my Mad Kingdom. This way visitors to my blog can experience the quotation free of any prejudice they might harbor against the band or solo performer that penned it. No prizes will be awarded for those able to identify the artist.