You Should Be Watching: The Babadook

Ok.  So.  You know that I'm a HUGE horror movie fan.  I love urban legends, I love mythology, and I adore films that can deliver thrills and chills with an unsettling metaphor.  The Babadook offers all of those things in a spectacularly classic horror movie fashion.  This movie.  I cannot even begin to tell you how refreshing and creepy it was.

The premise: A widow and her son are terrorized by a mysterious, malevolent entity.

Courtesy of Joblow.com

It's so simple, it's almost deceptive.  I watched it once at night and in the day time so I could have an unbiased look at the storyline and critically evaluate this beast.  It was so nicely done, the metaphor/monster warranted a second look.  The Babadook offers a look into the lives of its characters that drive the creepiness, the insidious nature of the titular monster into your mind.

Courtesy of Google

The Characters:  There are two main characters, Amelia, the widow and her son Samuel, who acts very much like a child with either severe psychological trauma or as though he is autistic...with psychological trauma.  These two struggle through their lives, both isolated and estranged from their peers due to the death of Sam's father.  Amelia works as an aid at a senior daycare with dementia patients.  As a person who occasionally has to do this, I can say that this job is stressful, demanding, and can wear on your spirit.  She's often late, often exhausted, and seems bereft anything but the blithe smile on her face.

Samuel goes to a private school, where he barely has contact with his peers.  He is the weird kid who is brilliant, but the others all shy away from his inventiveness and explosive anger and tantrums.  Deep down, he's a sweet kid, but bullying and isolation drive him to recognize those around him as either people to be pleased or literal monsters to be slain.  He, like many little boys, wants to protect his mother, who he witnesses in a stay of constant emotional decay.  Meanwhile, he struggles to define himself and thrive.

Baaaabaaaa Dook Dook Dook....  Finally, in the midst of everything that both main characters have to deal with, the Babadook enters their lives, first, via a chilling children's story book and finally... in a quite literal fashion that threatens to destroy them both. 

Overall:
This movie explores horror in the truest fashion.  Not simply with monsters, but with a look at the human mind and heart.  It terrifies you with themes and stressors that we all encounter: the death of a loved one, a sick child, work stress, and the difficulty of putting up a brave front while feeling that every effort you have made is in vain.  The Babadook explores the terror of our own insecurities, frailties, and day to day struggles.  It gives it a face... and provides a word of caution.  There's little more horrifying than a peek into the deepest darkest parts of our own hearts and the possibility of the nightmare our lives can become if we don't peer into that darkness and recognize it for what it truly, truly is.

You Should Be Watching: Werewolf Boy

It's been a while since I posted one of these.  This is mainly due to the fact that Netflix has apparently lost a lot of its licenses for various shows, movies, and mini-series that I was watching before I could finish.   The remaining selection is either so ridiculously old that it would be silly to write a review, or so hilariously horrible, that I can't even FINISH the first 30 minutes without falling asleep/getting bored/ or finding something better to do.

That said, I have a few questions for you.  Are you bored?  Looking for a new take on a classic genre?  Do you have two hours, a healthy respect for the supernatural, an open mind and ...your reading glasses?  If you do, you should definitely check out A Werewolf Boy.

Origins:
This subtitled movie was extremely popular in Korea where it was filmed.  I actually watch a lot of subtitled movies.  Despite the fact that many American movie-goers would shun foreign films because of the lack of hyper-realistic special effects, I find that often even the weirdest that the foreign market offers tends to have a refreshing flavor that American films lack.  You know, with less special effects, you HAVE to focus on making sure your story makes sense or is at least thought provoking.

A Werewolf Boy is an uncomplicated story that centers around a fictional case of feral child syndrome.  The titular character is found living in a kennel when a family consisting of a mother and her two daughters move into a tiny village.  Like all feral children, he's unable to speak and has terrible socialization skills.  However, it soon becomes clear that he is not the typical "raised by wolves" feral child. 

Characters:

This movie features a lot of female characters.  The mother (unnamed) is a kind-hearted and generous person, much to the chagrin of her children.  The eldest daughter, Suni, is very sickly, sheltered, depressed, and loathes everything about her life...and herself.  The youngest daughter is a careless, forgetful tomboy.  The 'Werewolf Boy' or Cheol Su (as he's later known during the movie) is curious and even though he lacks a certain degree of self-awareness at the beginning of the story, is actually very caring and loyal.  The antagonist is the only character that I have a problem with.  It's not because he's the antagonist, but because he's so comically horrible that he's simply annoying. 

What I Like About It:

Besides this...

While this movie is part of the romance genre, it's a much better love story than Twilight... or many other popular romance dramas.  Instead of smashing two characters with nothing in common together and blatantly painting a picture of idyllic love, A Werewolf Boy seeks to flesh out its main characters FIRST.  It draws the parallels of both Cheol Su's and Suni's VERY different lives before it slowly draws them together in a romance that just barely falls outside of the realm of platonic. 

It shows a reciprocity of both love and social situations between the two main characters.

Both lead catastrophically sheltered lives and are only regarded for their physical attributes.  Suni is pretty.  Cheol Su is strong.   Suni is treated as a meal ticket and a trophy.  Cheol Su is treated like a tool and a beast.  The thing that brings them together is food.  Though Suni is very sensitive to strong smells, she refuses to give up the only social interaction that she's starved for each day: Dinner with her family.  Cheol Su will not give up eating everything he sees because he's lived a life starved of everything.  It is from the dinner interactions and...altercations that they first recognize things about each other and themselves that they missed.

I won't give any more of the story away because I really want you to watch this film.  It's available on Netflix.  So, if you like romance, a decently thought out storyline and just a dash of supernatural elements and a happy ending that speaks of forgiveness and sacrifice, you should be watching A Werewolf Boy.

You Should Be Watching: Face-Off

It's part of my being.  I was just born to hate reality TV.  I loathe it.  All the Bad Girls, Stupid Girls, Mob Wives, House Wives, Basketball Wives, Flipping Crazy Wives, can go swim in a vat of acid until there's nothing left but base amino peptide chains.  So annoying.

However, I do have a soft spot for the skill-driven, artsy reality shows.  I like seeing people working their hardest to improve and grow while competing for a prize.  It's exhilarating and you learn a lot by watching the way they work.  Plus, it keeps me entertained when I'm not feeling well. 
One of my favorites is Face-Off on the SyFy channel.

Origins:
Face Off is a competition based, make-up art reality television show.  It's been running for 4 years now.  Each episode features the contestants creating designs based on a theme.  The contestants are required to use a variety of special effects and beauty make-up application techniques as well as design a full costume for their entries in each weekly challenge.

Characters:

Since it's a contest, every season features a whole new set of contestants with different abilities, a fresh crop of fresh faces.  The main judges, however, usually stay the same.  We have Ve Neill, Glenn Hetrick, Patrick Tatopoulos, and Neville Page acting as the primary judges.  Meanwhile, McKenzie Westmore stands in as the show's host.  The judges and host boast awards for the work they've done in Hollywood and they offer great suggestions as well as criticism to the aspiring artists vying for the prize.

What I Like About It:
 Face Off has all the makings of a good reality competition show.  There is a diverse cast of driven creative specialists, there are artistic elements and media that most people aren't familiar with, the judges offer helpful and sometimes scathing critiques, there's a great grand prize, astounding transformations, and just a dash of drama, not a whole truckload.
The contestants, while they are all competing for the same prize, they are NOT horrible people out to sabotage each other.  They cooperatively help one another, compete with respect and, even when working with people they hate, they act with honesty and diplomatic graciousness.  That's something so rare in today's reality TV.  You can cheer for all of them without feeling any sort of guilt for favoring a contestant who happens to be a huge jerk. 
For those reasons, I can confidently say, You should be Watching Face Off

You Should Be Watching: My Little Pony

Here's a little something for you cosplayers, make-up artists and aspiring airbrush artists.  It's also something that was initially geared towards little girls, but unexpectedly acquired a vast male following.  I've been told that I'm very 'Imaginative and whimsical' (Sorta makes me feel like a unicorn or something).

I'm an ALICORN!! 

 So that means I can watch whatever I want. You already know where this is going don't you?  Don't judge me.  I like ponies and unicorns and all that business.  I'm allowed.

In case you haven’t heard about the phenomenon that My Little Pony has become, you need to get on board.  Really.

Origins:

The animation is a remake of an old show used by Hasbro as a marketing driver for Pony dolls.  I remember that cartoon.  It was a TERRIBLE show.  I'll pretend that I don’t know why Hasbro needed the show to market the dolls.  I never watched it with any real interest, but I had a ton of the merchandise.  And it was MAGICAL.  Why?  Because I was 6.  

This go-round Hasbro hasn't revived the show in order to revive an old toy line.  They revived it due to special interest of one Lauren Faust.  More on her later.  

Characters:

My Little Pony features 6 main characters, each of them representing one of the traits necessary for a successful friendship: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and MAGIC!  ...Because, why not?

Left to Right: Pinkie Pie (Party girl), Rainbow Dash (Daredevil), Rarity (Fashionista/Seamstress), Twilight Sparkle (Bookworm), Apple Jack (Farmer), and Flutter Shy (Animal Lover)

The cast of characters has a repertoire of quirks, personality flaws, and a lot of consistency.  Some people think that's a problem and have said that the characters are fairly simplistic.  But really, what makes any successful show successful?  A dynamic cast of characters with consistent habits, well-defined personalities, and quirks written together in a way that keeps you engaged.  My little pony has all of that and then some.  

What I like about it:

First of all, it was created by Lauren Faust.  That is, the woman responsible for essentially, all the good cartoons in the ninties... Whether she did the animation, the writing or helped her husband on the side, Faust was involved in tons of projects from Kids Next Door, to Power Puff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory.  There's more, but I can't list them all.  The point is, that Lauren Faust remembered how crappy the little girl cartoons were when she was growing up.  Girl's cartoons have always been shallow, needlessly fluffy, and not at all engaging.  Even little girls fall asleep on them.  I know.  I was one.  

Faust fought for years to make My Little Pony happen.  She wanted to make a cartoon for girls.  The networks turned her down, claiming that there was no money in making little girl cartoons... until... this show.  Which has had remarkable success in all age groups and genders.  Think about that for a minute.  A show from a genre of shows normally written off as crap has bridged age and gender gaps.  Why?  Because it's actually GOOD.  

Aside from the well defined characters, slick flash animation and engaging stories, I love that My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, has an actual mythos.  It doesn't just have its own world mythos, but it incorporates mythology from a variety civilizations.   To name a few of them: Egyptian, African, Greek, Roman, and Medieval mythologies are all present.  And the show doesn't go half-steam by just tossing in a few critters, either.  

The mythology behind them is built into the episodes and the show's mythos themselves.  For example, the dragons eat jewels like traditional medieval dragons.  The phoenix and cockatrice legends each have an entire episode devoted to them- with continuity in following episodes.  The image of the zebra, traditionally used in African Lore to mark a great magician, priest, or witch doctor is presented in the form of Zecora, a zebra, who acts as those very things in the show.  

These displays of mind-boggling attention to detail along with the compelling stories and nods to fan interests posted on the net are part of what I love most about this show.  It shows that, yes, a cartoon for girls can be a cartoon for all ages and genders AND that you can give fans more of what they want by paying attention and intelligently incorporating their ideas into your storyline.  The bronies don't lie.

You can find My Little Pony, friendship is Magic on a number of platforms: on The Hub Channel on Cable and Sattelite, on Netflix, on Youtube, and on DVD.  Take your pick.  You should be watching My Little Pony.  And if you aren't...

You Should Be Watching: Ruby Gloom

From left to right: Ruby, Iris, Frank and Len, Boo Boo, Poe, Skullboy, Misery, Scaredy Bat, Doom Kitty, Mr. Buns the sock rabbit.

I like to have my 'You Should Be Watching" posts geared towards something few people have heard about but most people will love, including cartoon series and crazy reality shows.  Last time I pulled out RuPaul's Drag Race, so I feel, to continue the whimsy, we should have a cartoon.  Today's feature is none other than Ruby Gloom, a little known animated series from the far reaches of Canada.  It caught my eye on Netflix while I was in a horrible slump and after watching all 40 episodes, it's time for me to toss this one out so my readers can see the bright side of the dark side.

 
Origins:
Initially, Ruby Gloom was created to help market a line of clothing, toys, jewelry and accessories for goth kids and teens.  Typically, shows created for this purpose don't last very long, but Ruby Gloom aired for a full three seasons before Nelvana's writers ran out of steam.  It even won Best Animated series in 2007.  So why haven't you heard of it?  It didn't get much publicity in 2010 on Cartoon Network because it was aired in the early mornings, when no one's awake but parents taking small children to daycare.

Characters:
Ruby Gloom features a cast of characters unlike any I've seen.  You have Iris, a daredevil cyclops, Frank and Len, Frankenstein inspired conjoined twins, Poe, a poetry reading crow, Boo Boo, a ghost that prefers to play pranks, Skullboy, a skeleton kid trying to find his true calling, Misery, a banshee with the worst luck imaginable, Scaredy Bat, a bat with a Hindi accent who is literally afraid of everything, even himself, Doom Kitty, a cat that communicates via charades and violin chords, and Ruby, who I think might be a witch given her unusual sewing and crafting skills.  Each of the characters represents a different aspect of human nature and flaws and in each episode they learn a new lesson in tolerance, perseverance and personal growth.

Hi, There!

 
What I like about it:
This show features slick flash animation and uses vectors to ensure that each frame with your favorite character has the right proportions every time.  This is a plus for people who might want to adapt different scenes into wallpapers for their computers, phones or tablets.  It also makes it possible to recognize who's in a frame even if their tiny tiny.  The joy of vectors.  I also love the smooth animation that using flash with skeletons allows.  Call it a personal preference to the other flash shows they have on the air at the moment.
I also love the characters.  They start out pretty mono-faceted, (it's common in a kid's show) but as the series continues, they develop more depth and become more inspiring.  Even though the characters all live in a gloomy mansion in the place where the sun never shines, with a town full of spooky, deformed and hateful people with their own pre-concieved notions of what others ought to be doing, and their own catastrophic character flaws, they always roll with the punches.  They learn from their mistakes, try new things, and where they fail, they pick themselves back up again- especially Misery.  Even though her luck's so terrible that she has perpetual tear tracks down her face and regularly gets struck by lightning, she still maintains a positive mode of thinking despite her dry demeanor.

She can still smile this big!

Since Ruby Gloom DVDs are about as easy to find as a freckle of diamond dust in a pile of powdered sugar, I recommend you watch it on Netflix.  It's the only place, right now, that has the entire series available for viewers.  And, since it's a great series and an awesome, uplifting show, you really shouldn't pass it up.

You should be watching, Ruby Gloom.

You Should Be Watching: RuPaul's Drag Race

There's a lot of stigma about drag queens and crossdressers in general.  The majority of the attention is negative.  People spend time fixating on the sexuality and sexual identity of the cross-dresser instead of taking professional cross-dressing as the artform it is.  And it is an artform.

Before 2009, I had no real experience with professional cross-dressing, or Drag.  Sure, I'd watched Too Won Foo, cosplayed as a feminized version of a male animal character and seen the odd older gentleman dressed as a woman on the train, BUT, I knew nothing of REAL Drag.  One summer day, I happened to be watching a hilarious comedy on the LOGO channel and saw an ad for RuPaul's Drag Race.  I was completely mesmerized by the bronze, golden haired beauty telling me to tune in for reruns of the first season.

I saaaaid, tune in.

Curious, I did.  AND I was not disappointed.  Now, as I've said before, loads of people get hung up on the fact that Drag is men dressing up as women.  But what I got hung up on was the amazing amount of work, prep and artistry it took to turn this:

into this:

My first thought wasn't "Ew!  That man is wearing a dress!"  It was "Oh wow!  I want to be that pretty too!  And I want to sew my own high fashion clothes!  And I want to be fearless and FIERCE!"  And how can you not when you're seeing guys transform themselves into elegant, out-of the box 'women' in the span of an hour?

Just like on project runway and face-off, the contestants have to complete challenges involving strange goals.  One episode they had to make garments by incorporating real, off the vine fruit, as accessories.  Another required them to create a look inspired by the apocalypse.  And in yet another, they had to transform straight guys into drag queens!  And don't get me started on the spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U, where they take ordinary women and make them into extraordinary divas, boost their self-esteem and leave them with a new outlook on life.

From these feats and the mind-blowing results, I get inspiration for everything from the hair, makeup, clothes and jewelry.  A show about drag queens taught me about plucking and thickening my eyebrows, applying make-up and how to make my waistline look slimmer using nothing but contrasting colors.  Each episode has the added bonus of campy jokes and random silliness too.

You never know when you'll see this.

One thing that has upset me about more recent seasons of the show is how catty the Drag Queens have become.  Technically, RuPaul's Drag Race is a reality TV show, but the first two seasons were pretty classy.  If someone had a disagreement, they took a break and then came back and worked it out like adults.  The second and third seasons featured drag queens outright insulting each other's art and being downright nasty.

If you can stomach the shouting matches, put aside your prejudices and just tune in for one or two episodes, I'm sure you can find a lot of inspiration as well.  If you're trying to get creative and find motivation, you should be watching RuPaul's Drag Race.  The Allstars season starts next Monday!