Finally Saw PULSE!!!

Can't wait to buy it on dvd, hehe! Good flick!

Also, Brian and I watched THE BROTHERS GRIMME last night, and he watched THIS MOVIE IS NOT YET RATED (my 2nd time to watch it).

And I've actually sat down while Brian was watching some Classic TREK and let the show suck me in! hee-hee :D It really is a great show! Some episodes are this brilliant mix of 1960s over-acting, low-budget special effects, and just BRILLIANT writing! Classic Trek satisfies the little kid in me who enjoys cheesy low-budget AND the snob in me who wants his entertainment to be deep and profound!

Oh! AND... I took a vacation day yesterday so I could celebrate Gnomey's birthday with her! I got to spend time with her before I went to sleep Sat morning just as she was getting ready for her birthday party, then I got to spend time with her before she went to sleep!!! It was really nice! :D

And while I was waiting for her to wake up (Sunday morning) I watched AMERICAN PIE: THE NAKED MILE, lol. Cute flick. Fun! Plenty of naked people, which is always a good thing! And it sort of has the heart of the first flick.

I wonder if the AMERICAN PIE movies are THE most successful straight-to-dvd sequels in the market place. Because you see these sequels in your video store -- usually sequels to movies based on Stephen King stories -- and you wonder if they make much money. But then when the last 2 AP sequels came out I saw them advertised on TV A LOT and I see them at Walmart and Best Buy... So I wonder if maybe the AP people figured out how to make money off of straight-to-dvd features.

That would be a new way to break into the film business...

Obviously Disney's straight-to-dvd features make tons of money, but that's because "Disney movies" are their own sub-genre of Family Films. Walt created legendary, iconic movies that have managed to become part of our coming-of-age process. So I consider Disney's s-t-d movies a different phenomenon entirely.

I think the secret is QUALITY, personally.

Usually when you rent RETURN TO SALEM'S LOT or THE PROPHECY 8: THE EVIL ANGELS TAKE MANHATTAN or whatever, the movies themselves aren't that well done at all. (If they were halfway decent the studios that made them would have distributed them theatrically. DIRTY DANCING was meant to be either a TV movie or a direct-to-VHS movie or something, I've heard, but it was so good the studio released it in theaters and made a killing.)

I think up until now, studios hired crap filmmakers to do the straight-to-video sequels just because they knew they'd make SOME money. Or maybe they'd pay to have the film made, and when it turned out to be crap they decided to save the advertising costs and just sold it to Blockbuster and whoever else they could pawn it off on.

But I think there's definitely a much richer talent pool among filmmakers nowadays, and -- sadly -- the studios are killing theatrical releases by putting out more blockbusters each season than people can possibly afford (with their money AND with their time) to go see.

Blah.

This is me going on. I don't have some big, clever finish to this riff. Just putting my thoughts out there.

Ooh! HEROES and STUDIO 60 come on tonight! (And, speaking earlier of PULSE, VERONICA MARS airs tomorrow night!)

I'll have to wait until iTunes downloads my episodes for me, but I'll be watching them soon!!!