"KEEP BUSTIN'."

Mother’s Day (2012)

tn_mothersdayRemember everybody, Sunday is Mother’s Day. If your old gal is still around and on speaking terms you might want to send her some flowers or a fruit basket or whatever. Or if you got one of these mothers who’s real big on SAW II-IV, REPO THE GENETIC OPERA and 11-11-11 then I definitely recommend surprising her with the DVD or blu-ray of this new sort-of-remake from director Darren Lynn Bousman.

The original MOTHER’S DAY was written by Charles Kaufman – not the SYNECHDOCHE, NEW YORK guy, the Lloyd Kaufman’s brother guy. I don’t remember it much but I thought it was kind of a Troma-esque riff on the TEXAS CHAIN SAW family of inbred maniacs type story. This is credited as a remake, but it doesn’t have much to do with the original from what I could tell, and the tone is completely opposite. If anything it’s too serious. But pretty good.

tmp_mothersdayThe reason I watched it: Rebecca De Mornay plays the mother. I’m not sure why I was thinking she was some revered artist above doing schlock, but I was surprised they could get her for this. She’s good in it, a serious non-mega performance of a good looking, well dressed lady psycho. She looks like she could be reporting the news or working in the West Wing, but instead she’s terrorizing a bunch of innocent hostages in her old house that got foreclosed.

The shit goes down when her sons come home, one sporting a could-be-fatal bullet wound earned in a botched bank robbery. They’re outlaws who fucked up their system of secret communication (basically they lost the dedicated cell phone Mom gave them) so they didn’t know she didn’t own the house anymore. They bust in, realize they’re not alone and have to take the new owners and their guests hostage. During the housewarming party, no less. The house is not even warm and this happens.

This does have some things in common with the SAW series. No Rube Goldberg contraptions, but the brothers are sickos who find a wide variety of ways to mistreat these people. Most disturbingly and most SAW-like, they seem bent on proving that human nature is ugly. They especially enjoy putting people in situations where they have to doom their friends if they want to survive. Some of their victims give in, and it’s not even backstabbing – one girl stabs her friend in the front.

Just as they turn on their friends I turned on the movie a couple times. It seemed to agree with the torturers, having ugly secrets revealed so our protagonists are jerks, or even somewhat responsible for what goes down. But ultimately it seems to be saying that people can work through their fuck-ups, find redemption and unite to survive. I even found it moving when one character emotionally apologized for something while in danger. So the movie and I begrudgingly became allies.

When I wasn’t feeling like I was getting my nose rubbed in it I was impressed by the amount of variety in the horrors that happen within this simple scenario. A few characters have to leave the house, so there are tense situations at an ATM, at a hospital, at a traffic stop. I don’t know if the tornado was necessary, and if it was maybe they should’ve had one of the bad guys get sucked up and fly away like the cow in TWISTER, but I guess it adds to the helpless, apocalyptic atmosphere. There are some effectively gruesome sights, some admirable escape attempts, some savage reprisals, some good twists. It puts us in messy situations where the lines between self sacrifice and stupidity are not clear. It doesn’t encourage an every-man-for-himself attitude, but acknowledges that sometimes it might be the smartest option.

It earned my respect as it went along. At first the characters – both victims and victimizers – seem like pretty typical bland studio casting and characterization. Good looking middle class white people with one gorgeous black couple; sweaty, spikey-haired bad guys trying to do a touch of redneck menace without going full (or even one-third) Hitchhiker. (One guy has one of those big leather bracelets with studs, so you know he’s legit.) And it’s hard not to be distracted by how obvious it is that the guy with the bullet wound studied Tim Roth’s performance in RESERVOIR DOGS. But as the situation gets out of control the threat feels more legitimate. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT grimy, but with less rape. Refreshing.

In the house they got Shawn Ashmore, who I believe was one of the young X-Men. They also got Briana Evigan, the star of STEP UP 2, but she doesn’t get to dance and they put some shitty tattoos on her. (It’s weird that she’s in this, because she’s in Dolph’s upcoming movie STASH HOUSE, which is about the exact same thing – couple in house that used to belong to criminals being terrorized because there might be loot hidden in the walls.) They have Frank Grillo, who I immediately liked because he’s the guy from WARRIOR and THE GREY, but he turns out to be less deserving of my support than some of the other characters.

The standout in the cast of protagonists is Jaime King. She’s only about 30 but she’s got some womanly age around her super model eyes that makes her seem a little more real than when she was a youth. I remember she at first went by “James King,” which seemed like a ballsy thing she could only pull off because of her looks. But she changed it to Jaime pretty quick.

Anyway she pulls it together pretty good and it becomes a story of opposing mothers, like ALIENS. Only a brief flashback actually takes place on Mother’s Day, but the themes are definitely appropriate for the holiday. Both of these women dearly want to be mothers, but have some difficulties with it. One of them, in my opinion, would probly do a better job.

But De Mornay definitely makes the movie. I especially like her during the short period where she tries to pretend she’s a nice lady. Seeing the violence in her (former) home she says “This is unacceptable!” and asks the hostages to “Please, sit down.” Her eyes are wide and she seems very sincere. She’s not being sarcastic as a way of threatening them, she’s serious. Like she thinks her etiquette will make what they’re doing more justifiable. I wish she’d kept that up longer, like the Cook apologizing for poking Sally with the broom in TEXAS CHAIN SAW, but she’s still fun when she’s more open about being evil. I disagree with some of the things she encourages her boys to do, but I guess it’s always good to be a supportive parent.

This also might be the most crying I’ve seen a horror movie villain do in a long time. That’s pretty unique that she gets upset as much as she gets angry.

Hopefully this won’t be an implied spoiler, but I like how it ends too. These characters have to make it through a harrowing gauntlet of brutality, but there are parts that remind me of the more fun-oriented franchise horror of the ’80s, and I like that. It’s dark but more ridiculous than some of the horrible shit that happened to the characters earlier, so it works as a bit of an entertainment cherry on top of the punch-in-the-face sundae. Hope you enjoy it, Mom!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2012 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Horror, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

55 Responses to “Mother’s Day (2012)”

  1. Not seen the original, but wouldn’t a movie about Mother’s Day be more interesting if the mother was the killer and the victim’s were her kids? That’s pretty fucked up, because who would know you and your weaknesses and fears better than your own mother, who you yourself would be hesitant to fight back against?

  2. I really want to see this one b/c I’m a huge DeMornay fan (I even like Feds!) and she looks really hot on the cover even though she’s showing nothing. But I tend to stay away from Torture Porn-y movies, so I’m conflicted.

    Interesting note: Between this, The Ruins and Frozen, Shawn Ashmore does seem to be building a career in modest horror movies. It might be a good idea to never go on vacation with that guy unless you want something horrible to happen. He’s also in an upcoming horror movie called The Day that had one torture porn scene so bad several people walked out of the theatre. I don’t know if i’ve ever seen that before.

  3. Rehydrated Dehydrated Pirate Paul

    May 11th, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    Neal – actually if this is any good, that’s quite a nice little batch of movies Ashmore was in. Both “Frozen” and “The Ruins” really impressed me.

  4. I love Feds. Whatever happened to Mary Gross?

  5. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to revisit the original. Drano down the throat, television bashed over the head (better than the one in Grosse Pointe Blank), good times…

  6. is it me, or has the steam in the horror remake train started to run out?

    not that they’re gone completely of course, but it does seem like it’s slowed down from where it was 4 or 5 years ago when it seemed like every month there was a new remake of a horror movie

    I think part of the reason why is damn near every significant (and even some not so significant) horror movie from the 80’s has been remade already

  7. I liked this one and the way it ended was suitably horrible and poetically ironic considering all that had come before.

  8. I haven’t seen the original or the remake of Mother’s Day, but I’ve seen Lloyd Kaufman the other day at a Q&E/autograph session, and apparently he had to sell the remake rights to a lot of Troma movies recently just to stay afloat. Toxic Avenger, Sgt Kabukiman, Poultrygeist… They’ll probably realize never produce the remakes, but I’d be curious to see how Hollywood would turn his crazy stuff into big budget, PG movies.

  9. a Sgt Kabukiman remake? yeah, somehow I don’t see that happening

    a Toxic Avenger remake could happen I guess

  10. I think the most unlikely to happen is Poultrygeist, and that Toxic Avenger has a slight chance of actually being produced (from what Kaufman said, Akiva Goldsman and the director of Hot Tub Time Machine are already attached to the project). I still believe none of the remakes will happen, not even Toxic Avenger, but if Troma got some money out of the deal, good for them.

  11. This is one of the better horror films I’ve seen in a while, nice and brutal with a couple of fun “what would you do?” situations (one of you stab the other to death or you both die, etc.)

    I have to mention this though, SPOILER FOR ONE OF THE TORTURE SCENES:

    When one of the brothers is pouring boiling water down the guy’s ear, he really wasn’t doing it in a very sensible way. I mean, he holds the guy’s head with one hand and pours the water with the other, but the guy is only tied up around the waist, he can still move his head. So the evil brother places his own hand merely centimeters from the place where the water is coming down. What if the guy makes a sudden movement with his head? After all, you are pouring boiling water down his fucking ear!

    But luckily for him, the victim plays along nicely and keeps still while being tortured. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome, he didn’t want his captor to burn his own hand. Very sweet of him.

    ch is fine, I guess, if the guy on the chair would just keep nice and still.

    The guy is tied up but his head is free, he can still move his neck. Then the evil brother holds the guy’s head with one hand while rea

  12. Ignore the last two paragraphs of my last post. Should have deleted that shit before posting.

  13. Knox Harrington

    May 12th, 2012 at 7:04 am

    Darren Lynn Bousman may not be the best filmmaker working in horror today, but I’m pretty sure he’s the most hardworking. A movie a year, sometimes two movies a year, since 2005. He’s a busy guy and seems quite driven and passionate about what he does.

    REPO THE GENETIC OPERA was a bit hit-and-miss for me, but I’m still gonna check out THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL when I get the chance.

  14. Knox Harrington

    May 12th, 2012 at 7:12 am

    I was looking at Bousman’s IMDB page and saw that he’s apparently a “member of the unofficial ‘Splat Pack,’ a term coined by film historian Alan Jones in Total Film magazine for the modern wave of directors making brutally violent horror films. The other ‘Splat Pack’ members are Alexandre Aja, Neil Marshall, Greg Mclean, Eli Roth, James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Rob Zombie.”

    Funny how quiet some of those guys have been lately. Eli Roth and Rob Zombie haven’t made movies in ages.

  15. Knox- Yeah, I wonder who Eli Roth pissed off? I always thought he was a much better director than he got credit for. Both Hostels have a lot to recommend them, and his “Thanksgiving” trailer was my favorite part of Grindhouse by far.

    Zombie’s career’s gotta be alive and well, though. Anyone who’s churned out as many shitty remakes as that dude has to be owed something by somebody in Hollywood…

  16. I always liked Eli Roth as well, it’s too bad it looks like he’s never gonna direct another movie

  17. tawdry hepburn

    May 12th, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    Naw, he’s just been producing, acting and trying to get a bigger budget mainstream film off the ground. He recognizes that horror is a ghetto and he wants to have a more expansive career. Plus, he has a new tv series that he’s producing for netflix. And actually, one of the movies he produced outgrossed any of his directorial efforts.

  18. This will be heresy, but I honestly believe Roth is a better actor than he is a filmmaker this side of Sidney Pollack.

  19. tawdry hepburn

    May 12th, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    Zombie has a movie in post-production and released a new album and went on a world tour since the release of Halloween II.

    Roth starred in a film that grossed 400 million dollars, produced a bunch of movies, one of which outgrossed all of his directorial efforts, got a 13 episode TV series picked up as part of Netflix first wave of original content, has been developing several larger budget films with major studios and just announced that he is going to have a haunted house named after him on the Vegas Strip.

    If these two have been quiet, I don’t know what loud is.

  20. Yeah, but he hasn’t directed a movie in a while, which is what he’s best at. Speaking for myself and all others only, I will never think about a comedy series on Netflix starring horror directors, except when it’s on the back cover of Fangoria, and then I will forget about it until you brought it up here. When you’re a known horror director just being a producer doesn’t fill the void of directing. Are you okay with Sam Raimi not directing for years because he has his name on TV shows?

    I think what happened was he had that plan to do a bigger budget (for him) alien invasion movie, with THANKSGIVING added into the budget and schedule, but then like 4 or 5 other people made alien invasion movies so he had to find something else to do.

  21. Eli Roth is definitely doing what he chooses to do. He’s not unable to get backing. I agree it’s frustrating when I like his films and he’s choosing to do other things besides directing, but it’s definitely his plan. I think he’s also a shrewd self promoter which is why he appears at so many events, and taking roles in PIRANHA and such gives him another forum for that.

  22. Yeah, Eli Roth is definitely very underestimated as a director and I wish he would make more films. I certainly don’t think of him as a better actor than director though. From the work I have seen, he’s good at playing a one-dimesional character that gets a “cameo” amount of screentime. Sidney Pollack he is not.

  23. tawdry hepburn

    May 13th, 2012 at 3:27 am

    Roth’s anthology series hasn’t premiered yet. I think you’re confusing him with James Gunn and PG Porn.

  24. Did not Guillermo del Toro write some interesting analysis of the o.g. Mother’s Day a while back, when it was somewhat novel for horror to be taken more seriously or whatever? I couldn’t find anything on a cursory google search.

  25. tawdry hepburn

    May 13th, 2012 at 4:07 am

    Robin Wood is the best film theorist of all time. Other than Outlaw Vern and possibly Sergi Eisenstein.

  26. Think my favourite scene in this was the cathartic stabbety stab stab scene where everyone gets a turn. Very visceral, particulary to the groin. Many surprises and fuckload of tension for what would normally not be a noticeable horror movie. Brilliant stuff.

    For people advcating Get the Gringo – I wonder if any of you have seen Prison Break Season 3. It is exactly like Get the Gringo, except, I am embarrassed for Mel to say, much much better predecessor of same movie in every possible way.

  27. I have 2 mel stories. Once he hit on my sister and she told him to fuck off, and following that off my guts was trying to goad fucker out of his house with various sexual references but due to timely police involvement was banned from that town for few years. That aside, i think he is awesome director and used to be a great actor.

  28. GrimGrinningChris

    May 13th, 2012 at 10:24 am

    If someone actually DOES remake Poultrygeist, then maybe they will actually use the tagline that I spent months filling Troma’s email inbox with requests for .
    I mean really “Night of the Living Dead Chickens” was the best tagline they could come up with for that?

    I can’t believe that with all the emails I sent that not one person in a place to make a decision did not run across one of them and simply can’t believe that this person did not immediately think, “Wow… this guy DID come up with a way better tagline…” But alas…

    My tagline, you ask?

    POULTRYGEIST

    Which Came First… The Chicken… OR THE DEAD?!?!?

    That said, I think the only Troma mainstay that actually WILL invariably get remade is definitely Toxie.

  29. At a POULTRYGEIST screening, I got into an argument with Lloyd Kaufman because he kept saying the movie was about zombie chickens, when in fact they are clearly chicken zombies. Zombie chickens would be chickens that have been reanimated, while chicken zombies are undead people infected with chicken attributes. Semantics matter, people. Strive for excellence, etc.

    But it was cool. I told him it was the second time I saw it and he gave me a free soundtrack CD as a reward. He also grabbed my friend’s boob, which somehow she didn’t think was as much of an honor as I did.

  30. Possibly because your friend Bruce is not as precious about being touched as you are.

  31. Well, if you could see the rack on Bruce, you’d understand.

  32. Heh, you seen one of your genre favourites yet Maj, Gays Gone Wild 2. I watched couple days back – great story, and nice cameos with Perez Hilton. See it’s on of those classics like Revenge of the Nerds where you are rooting for the loser. This poor guy right – his friends are getting bummed left right and centre (literally) but he can’t get anyone to bum him or give up there bum. I was really bummed out whole way through for this guy. Like he seemed nice enough and all, and not that ugly – surely someone would be willing to bum him, but no – they would not. Then – at the end, finally he cums into his own and like 20 guys bum him in a row and he bums 20 more, thus winning the bet with his friends. A classic American Pie story if I ever heard one. I mean, they weren’t playing We Are the Champions, but man, I was singing it with him just the same.

    One for you and Bruce to check out. An AU reccomental.

  33. OMG it’s funny because being called gay is the worst!

    I guess I shouldn’t take offense. In your post-apocalyptic homeland, they’ve been killing each other over dented cans of cat food for the past 30 years, so it’s understandable that you haven’t been able to import any fresh insults since the early eighties. It’s like Cuba, only with homophobia instead of vintage cars.

  34. Huh, you are saying you are homophobic? Soz, that is unfortunate and really kinda weird. Anyways, I liked the movie just the same. If you can put your predjudice aside for mebbe a few seconds you might just enjoy it.

  35. By the way, Poultrygeist’s tagline is not “Night of the Living Dead Chickens”, it is “Night of the Chicken Dead”.

    I do like the ‘which came first’ riff though.

  36. No, I was thinking of “Holliston”:

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2014681/

    but you’re right, Eli Roth’s not in it, it’s some not as good horror directors.

  37. Knox Harrington

    May 13th, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Roth should just do that Cell adaptation he wanted to make a few years ago. New Stephen King movies are always welcome.

  38. Huh, I hadn’t heard about Roth’s plans to do one of those alien invasion movies. That was a weird little trend that I’d already forgotten about, but now that I’m reminded, it still seems no less bizarre to me that such a foolproof-sounding setup could be completely botched 4 or 5 times over. Wonder if Roth’s take on it would have fared any better?

  39. I too wish he had made his Cell movie

    can you believe The Mist was the last theatrically released Stephen King movie so far?

  40. Everybody’s energies are so focused on remaking CARRIE and dropping the ball on the DARK TOWER that no one has any time for other King books.

  41. you know what I wish? I wish someone would do another Cat’s Eye style anthology of segments based on some of his short stories

    the one I really want to see adapted? The Jaunt

  42. You want to see a good King short story adaptation, Griff? Look up “The Boogeyman” on YouTube. I’ve always felt that was his scariest short story, and the flick does it justice. It gave me a minor case of the willies.

  43. GrimGrinningChris – Probably, but I could actually see mainstream reworkings of SGT. KABUKIMAN N.Y.P.D. and CLASS OF NUKE’EM HIGH.

    Of course the CLASS remake wouldn’t be nuke plant turning kids into punk gangs but instead nuke plant turning kids into monsters. (Hopefully the miscarried fetus monster will re-appear here too.) And that could actually work.

    But KABUKIMAN, I want a remake because such an awesome title shouldn’t be wasted on a real turkey.

    Mr. M – You know I’m almost intrigued to get Sissy Spacek’s memoirs just to read her CARRIE account.

    Ah the original CARRIE, when you got really good horror movies that were actually big hits for obvious reasons.

  44. GrimGrinningChris

    May 13th, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    I stand corrected, Renfield. I knew it was something weak along those lines though.

    I’m convinced that mine’s better, regardless. ;)

  45. I recall Roth had creative differences with the producers of CELL. I think he wanted to change the second half of the story.

    Hollywood started on a Toxic Crusaders live action in the ’90s when they had small success as a children’s cartoon. I don’t see why Troma doesn’t crank out more themselves if it’s a big enough brand to be worth remaking.

  46. @RRA: Kaufman said he was going to remake/reboot CLASS OF NUKE’EM HIGH himself after he’s done with whatever he’s filming this summer (can’t remember if it’s FATHER’S DAY or a different one).
    @Fred: from what he said the other day, Kaufman himself doesn’t seem to see much commercial potential in the franchise anymore (even though he’s glad that somebody else does, because it helped him financially), doesn’t think he can top CITIZEN TOXIE, and doesn’t have the money anymore for something as big as a TOXIC AVENGER V would be for Troma.

  47. I guess he read our complaints. Thanks for posting that link.

  48. On a not-really-related note, a friend of mine was asked once to play the Toxic Avenger for the release party of one of the sequels here in Norway.

  49. You seem to like every flick you watch. At least the ones you care to write about. I don’t want to bitch about it, but how come you rarely ever teary a flick to pieces? I’m way more disappointed and movies than you are.

  50. So what’s the solution here, bud? Should Vern abandon his inimitable style of generous but even-handed criticism, steeped in common sense observations and tough love for filmmakers out there striving for excellence, so he can become another snarky hack who hates everything? Or maybe he should stop reviewing movies he wants to see and thinks have the potential to entertain him and should only see easy targets that he knows he can rip a new one because somehow that’s a better use of his time and energy than writing about things he finds value in? Or, here’s a thought, maybe you could stop trying to make your current habit of seeing shitty movies somebody else’s problem and stop telling Vern how to do his job, which, let’s not forget, provides endless hours of entertainment and enlightenment, plus a cool place to hang out with people who still actually like movies, completely free of charge.

    If you don’t want to bitch about it, how about this: Fucking don’t.

  51. One of the reasons I always came to this site in the first place is because it wasn’t heaped in cynicism. Quite frankly I don’t read many movie reviews at all because too many people go into most movies and don’t even enjoy them on their own merits. They’re too busy deconstructing them in their mind to enjoy the experience and it leads to cynical and one sided reviews a lot of the time.

    A lot of critics forget that just absorbing a movie and taking it all in with a clear mind could lead to a great assessment of the movie in it’s own right. Even more so than going “ah you see that editing error right there?” or “man this guy is hamming it up”.

    I remember some film school reject at a party one time complaining to me about THE DARK KNIGHT (it was the new movie at the time) and how Heath was overacting like a motherfucker in the interrogation scene. I go “yes he was overacting” cause I agree with that but I followed it with “but that’s kinda the point; it’s supposed to be a theatrical character and the film score’s ambiance during that scene did enough to juxtapose the overacting to the point that it doesn’t come across as hammy”. Then she goes “you know I never saw it that way”

    I said “it’s probably because you were so focused on the acting that you ignored the other elements in place that help create movie magic” she scoffed cause I the spectator embarrassed her the so called “film guru” in the room in front of her snickering friends and I just walked away.

    I don’t know I like that Vern just goes into any movie and just takes it for what it is and then afterwards is able to point out what he felt worked and what he felt didn’t. It’s the healthiest way to approach anything because it’s the only way to give it some fair feedback.

    There are hundreds upon hundreds of cynical reviewers all over the internet, professional and unprofessional so it’s not hard to find that. I admire somebody who strives to be an individual and is not afraid to point out the good in the movies that everybody else loves to shit on like it’s a sport when it is necessary. It feels far more honest.

  52. Eddy – good question. Movies that come to mind that I have “torn to pieces” include Transformers, Chaos and Domino. Those type of reviews tend to be popular and are also fun and easy to write. But I feel like alot of writers just look for cheap shots, like making fun of a cheesy action movie that they won’t take the time to understand or appreciate because they just want to point fingers and make fun of people. I’m more interested in finding interesting movies.

    In a way maybe I’m being contrarian toward the negativity and “snarky” bitchiness of internet and nerd culture. I try to go against the grain in that sense. Over the years as I have become a more positive individual I’ve become more about trying to understand people or things and appreciate them for what they are. I guess I have a humanistic view of movies. I think Seagalogy speaks to my general philosophy of appreciating things that other people turn their nose down to and finding what’s unique in them, sometimes intentional and sometimes not.

    Another thing, alot of the critics you read probly get paid and assigned to go to screenings of major new releases each week. So they’re writing about lots of movies that weren’t even intended for them and shitting all over them as if it’s important for every critic to have an opinion about every genre. My situation is different – I mostly seek out movies that I’m interested in and skip ones that aren’t meant for me. And sometimes if I see something but don’t think much of it then I just don’t bother to write a review.

    But if what you’re getting at is that you thought Mother’s Day sucked and I was too easy on it then none of that explains it – I would just have to say I must have low standards and terrible taste.

    thanks Eddy

  53. Hey Vern,
    thank you for your answer. And no, yes, you do have terrible taste, that’s why we love your websight so much. I own a copy of “Seagalogy” myself and I totally dig b-movies and DTV releases etc.
    I really didn’t like Mother’s Day but that wasn’t really my point. I’m a critic myself and I’m often invited to press screenings (saw Prometheus today), and I really feel you and your approach on writing about films, influenced me in how I want to write and how I perceive movies. I think what makes you stand out from the masses of filmcritics is, that you really can explain your proper feelings that a movie invokes in you and why you like something or don’t like something, rather than just pointing to obvious mistakes or nitpicking. I totally understand and dig that about you and I wish I could put it in words as good as you.
    But what I meant, and yes Mother’s Day kinda was the point where I just had to ask about it, because I recently saw it myself, so what I meant was, that I sometimes think, that you are “too nice”. Not that being nice in wrong or that ranting just for the fun of it is good, but I had the feeling you have so much respect for moviemakers, that even if you DO see flaws, you still take in account why these flaws are there and why it’s alright etc.
    But for me as regular movie buff, it basically comes down to whether or not had a good time with a movie. And I watch so many movies and afterwards I think “nah, that wasn’t good, that gave me nothing, that didn’t do it for me”. I’m always kinda hoping to watch a movie the really really get’s me, like only a few does. Or a movie that surprises me, thrills me or genuinely entertains me. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, I don’t want you to write rants or make fun of movies jsut for the sake of it. But i want to know, if you just kinda love everything, no matter what. And I mean… Transformers and Chaos… I give you those, but those are “easy” to hate. You gotta hate something else man. I don’t believe you. Maybe you’re just a to positive guy, or the rest of the world is to cynical. Anyways.. this get’s way to long. I really dig all you. Maybe I was just disappointed, that we don’t agree in everything ;)

    Thanks for answering,
    Cheers from Germany.
    e.

  54. Thanks Eddy, I appreciate the compliments and the discussion. I think most movies are flawed, and I guess what it comes down to is whether or not the things I like in them make it worth it. I think especially in low budget horror and action movies I have more of a tendency than normal people to find some subtle aspect that jumps out at me as unique and makes me love it. So maybe I’m a softy or maybe I have some sort of super-evolved powers of perception due to being exposed to extreme levels of Seagal-radiation.

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