Movie of the Day: Trick ‘r Treat

I just caught this one as it came in the mail from Netflix today. I was pretty hyped for this movie from the get-go. Honestly, all you really need to do is give me a Halloween-themed horror movie and I’m there.

It’s just too bad it took two years after the initial release date for us to see this one. It was originally slated to be released theatrically in October 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures, but for some reason I’ve never heard, they pushed the release date back and eventually they gave it a direct-to-video release this month. Seems like a very strange thing to do, I can understand a movie getting pushed back, but for it to be demoted to a video release seems highly suspicious. Did the director sleep with some WB exec’s wife? The only other thing I can think of is perhaps the studio was uncomfortable with a few of the murders and didn’t want to put up with the inevitable backlash that a theatrical release would bring about.

So here’s the deal, while the title and movie/DVD art may make you think this is some Halloween ripoff, it isn’t (though I do think Sam has potential to be the next great modern horror icon). It’s anthology. There are four different stories running concurrently, some more connected than others. I don’t think the movie ever says so (maybe they’re in the credits) but the stories are titled “The Principal”, “Surprise Party”, “The Halloween School Bus Massacre Revisited” and “Meet Sam”.

The movie is rated R, but this isn’t some extreme horror that takes things over the top like Wolf Creek or Saw. There’s blood and gore, but it is never overdone and mostly the movie is just plain fun. With the twists this movie kept having, I could help but get the feeling this was a rated R Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode because this is obviously a horror movie, but really is meant to be a fun ride and not necessarily a scary one. It is an obvious labor of love and I really think this movie can become a cult classic and Halloween tradition for years to come.

Definite recommend and one of my favorite horror movies from the last few years.

Happy 4th of July!

Today’s the day you get to eat hamburgers AND hot dogs along with all the potato chips and soda you want! Don’t forget to stuff yourself with patriotic cupcakes either!

Oh, and happy 233rd birthday, America.

HAPPY EASTER

And I’m glad it’s finally over. Lemme tell you, it SUCKS working in retail and SUCKS even more when the holidays come around. Then again, in retail, there’s always some forced “event” or holiday to keep us busy and out of stock and the customers angry. Ah, those impatient angry customers– just like the ones I had to deal with yesterday nonstop. Man, were we ever busy! I was really surprised by how little Easter candy we had left. ZERO jelly beans in stock!

Anyway, Easter isn’t all bad when you’re a kid. In fact, it’s pretty sweet. Iit’s kinda like a junior hybrid of Halloween & Christmas: you get some candy, you get a few toys, and then you go to church to learn about God & Jesus.

Back when my sister and I were kids, we got your standard jelly beans, Reese’s Eggs/miniatures, Peeps, bubble bum eggs, Whopper Robin Eggs, chocolate bunnies, SweeTarts and those weird large candy coated eggs that were somewhat fruity flavored but had the texture of a Circus Peanuts. Of course, there was the Easter egg hunt as well. Sometimes performed out in the front yard, but also in the house.

We would also leave out food for the Easter Bunny. Hey, why should Santa get all the snacks? I think that stopped being a family tradition early on in our youth, but I remember leaving jelly beans and carrots for him. There was no other feeling like knowing Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny had visited your house and ate your food than by seeing the “evidence” of nibbled treats and a half empty (half full?) glass of milk the next morning.

As for toys, in my earliest years, I can remember my parents would have an egg with a string attached to it, which when followed, would lead us to our “main” toy for that Easter. Nothing big or fancy like you might see at Christmas, usually for me it was an action figure, but still pretty cool.

I got my first and ONLY Food Fighters figure (Burgerdier General, if you’re nasty) one Easter. Another year, I ended up with a Ghostbusters Peter Venkman figure from their Fright Features series.

All of this, of course, was followed up by church. This always drove me CRAZY. It’s Christmas! It’s Easter! I’ve got TOYS1 I’ve got CANDY! Why do I need to go to church ?!?

There’s no point to any of this. Just rambling about my life. So, how about you? What are your Easter traditions and fond memories?

Give thanks to the Easter Bunny for your M&Ms!

Look at that old M&Ms packaging! I love it. The scene of chocolate pouring and morphing into M&Ms warms my heart with nostalgia.

Ah, the classics… Cadbury Creme Egg

Though the Cadbury bunny still makes appearances to this day in various modern takes on this classic commercial, this is the one us children of the 80s grew up on. I saw the 2009 edition commercial just the other day and got all nostalgic for this one.

Of course, every candy has to have 23 different variations, so now the Cadbury Creme Egg can be nestled up all warm and soft in your Easter basket alongside the Orange Creme Egg (good), Caramel Creme Egg (good), Mint Creme Egg (hmmm) and Berry Creme Egg (yuck).