Audition

       
  For J Horror week I decided to watch Audition because I had already seen the original pulse and the American pulse. I felt that Audition was a very well done film in a couple aspects and most notably follows the J horror structure to a tee. Audition is more of a mind game/ suspense film that keeps you waiting for something, anything but doesn’t really give you anything till the end. And when you get that scare or that creepiness that you’ve been looking for throughout the movie, it hits home. The whole movie is full of anticipation and every now and then you get a quick scare but the whole movie you’re on the edge of your seat because you know something’s up but you’re not sure what exactly it is. SPOILER. When it’s the end of the movie Asmi says kidici kidici kidici and puts the needles Aoyama various body parts, your teeth are in a constant grind and you’re constantly squirming. The director did a really efficient job of keeping you hooked for just long enough and then totally horrifying you at the end to ask yourself what did I just watch. Definitely in my opinion an iconic J horror film, fits the genre perfectly. Too say the least this film sure went for shock factor when it was applicable and did a notable job of it. I also found it interesting how gruesome and disgusting Asmi’s mind-state is and how the director puts you there. Overall if you’re looking for a movie to be scared, creeped out, disgusted, revolted, all of the above, Audition is right for you.

The Hobbit

 Where to start with the hobbit, where to start. I suppose if I were to give a synopsis or anything of the sort it would probably just turn into a second rate epic, to say the least. Tolkien is a literally a literary genius. Tolkien’s use of diction and vivid imagery provides the audiences to be swept into the story. When I picked up this book I couldn’t simply put it down, I just kept reading and reading waiting for another epic event to happen. The first few pages are a bit dry, but that’s only because the audience of today isn’t used to the style of writing but once you get passed it, the ride evens out and is smooth as butter. My favorite scene of the entire book, in my personal opinion, was the riddle game between Bilbo and Gollum. I felt that Bilbo’s luck came in at the clutch and his quick hobbit wits allowed him to make the best of the situation. And the moment when Bilbo allowed for Gollum to lead him right to the exit and Bilbo jumped right over him; I thought that was classic. Tolkien does an excellent job of showing how intelligent and rightly so Gandalf is. For instance, scratching the burglars signal on Bilbo’s door and of course the countless times Gandalf rescues the team; the trolls, the eagles, etc. I understand that the hobbit was originally supposed to be a single novel and was an epic meant for kids but I believe that it’s definitely a read for anyone and everyone. Lastly the hobbit seemed to be the perfect so called “prerequisite” or setup for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

P.S- The story setup of the Hobbit was pure genius. It was a nice progression of events from least epic to SMOGGG!

American Vampire

Since I’ve already read Interview with a Vampire I decided to read American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Stephen King. American Vampire had various interesting points that are very easily noteworthy. Considering storytelling and the development of characters, it seems that American Vampire did an outstandingly job of portraying and involving the audience. First and foremost American Vampire took creative liberties when dealing with the method in which they displayed their characters. Instead of having one protagonist and introducing supporting characters or a secondary protagonist the authors decided to have two protagonists and switch back and forth between stories. By doing so it creates for an interesting mix of emotions for the audience. It allows for the audience to sympathize with Skinner Sweet, just a down and dirty vampire and Pearl Jones, an innocent want to be actress, which eerily parallels with Anne Darrow from King Kong.  To expand on that I find myself sympathizing with Skinner Sweet because his character development was that of the western cowboy rebel who would steal from banks and fill the classic role of a cowboy rebel. I would find myself rooting for him because against all odds Sweet would always emerge victorious, of course after a few setbacks; but we all know that’s needed for good story development. Concerning Pearl Jones, the readers allowed to sympathize with her because she’s a very ambitious and caring woman who will do anything to meet her goal in life and survive. She’s the strong gothic woman that gets thrusted into a situation she would never find herself in and also come out victorious. Another interesting tid bit which sparked my interest was the fact that the book wasn’t a collaboration in the sense that Snyder and King worked on the story holistically, which in the beginning writings probably did just to get a basic outline for the story but rather Snyder would do one issue and King would do another one. So when put into the graphic novel medium I found it interesting the change of style and mood that I found myself going through as the reader and I found it clever that they made it work without continuity issues; the end piece was unified very nicely.