Before the franchise turned into shit, there was the original Child’s Play. That evil son-of-a-bitch toy known as Chucky scared everyone back in 1988. Now, in 2008 comes the 20th anniversary of the film and along with it Paramount has released a special Anniversary DVD. So what’s the big deal about this release? Well, like with any re-release of a classic film, you are treated to a hefty amount of interviews, commentaries, etc. The interviews with the creators of the film shed new light on where they got the idea to make a film about a killer doll. If you like horror films, then there’s no explanation needed as to why this is a classic. Let’s face it, dolls are creepy. Stare at one of them in a dark room for a while and I bet you’ll get the chills. Child’s Play took that creepiness about dolls and turned it into a full length horror film. At times the film comes off as silly, but it does have those chilling moments. If you’re in the mood for a good horror film, Child’s Play: Chucky’s 20th Birthday Edition should do the trick. Just make sure you clear the room of toys before you watch!
Special Features on the DVD also include:
- Audio Commentary with Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and "Chucky" designer Kevin Yagher
- Audio Commentary with Producer David Kirschner and Screenwriter Don Mancini
- Select Scene Chucky Commentary
Iron Man
Possibly the most important film in Robert Downey Jr.'s career, and one of the best superhero movies made, Iron Man is about to come out on DVD. Next to The Dark Knight, I’d have to say this is the most anticipated DVD release of the year. What else can you say about this film that hasn’t already been said? The acting was great all around (although Terrence Howard seemed a little uncomfortable) and the story reached deep into the human soul. How could you not get pumped up seeing Tony Stark escape death’s hand and use his second chance to fight evil as Iron Man? Robert Downey Jr. totally owned the role of Tony Stark. His journey from arrogant playboy to a superhero paralleled Downey’s own struggle with getting sober. Combine all those factors with the explosive action sequences make it an all around AWESOME film. I haven’t been this impressed with a superhero film in a while. The DVD is being released on September 30th and I imagine the sales will be high. As a heads up, if you get the 2-Disc Special Collector's Edition, it’s loaded with hours of extra features. Some of which include lots of pre-production behind-the-scenes features that show the tremendous work put in this film to make it stay true to the comic. Be on the look out for Iron Man next week!
Summer's been here and done that, and all in a blink. Where were you? Me? Well, I was mostly trying to catch up with all the haze and craze that is summer—this sounds so familiar, I'm so sure I've been here grumbling like this before, and in July too, when I first reported that The Half-blood Prince was soon to come out of his closet in November. Then, Warner Brothers happened, if you know what I mean, who suddenly prohibited the prince from emerging from his cave, or closet, until next July, supposedly to prevent him from clashing with his rival's upcoming revelation on Broadway, which surely smells like a marketing ploy, which by the way I haven't come to terms with yet, so I'll talk about it more later; still, Umbridge must be behind all this and secretly runs Warner Bros with the other bigwigs like Chaney—when a chance to do book reviews for Society's Elite came up. It's a really lucky thing because I've always been fascinated by the ever-intriguing subjects of philosophy and language, and some of the writings that relate to these topics I still enjoy are Moliere's The Misanthrope, Thomas Cathcart's and Daniel Klein's Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, and George Carlin's Napalm and Silly Putty. That I get to review two books on language, each with a very distinct approach in presenting what we use, at best, to express ourselves and communicate with one another, was indeed lucky. The books' vastly different perspectives on the current status of our language are both astonishing and amusing.
Got an opinion or two, or a peeve or three? Well, Paul Yeager is certainly not without his grumbles, as expressed by his book's title. Literally, The Best Language Book Ever, Annoying Words and Abused Phrases You Should Never Use Again spells out society's blatant misuse of the English language—from grammatical blunders to redundant repetitions, to arbitrary lingoes and wordiness, to trite and dated phrases, as well as clumsy conversions of nouns into verbs, called "Verbification", of which I'm absolutely guilty of, since I doggedly google, instead of properly research just about everything on the internet. And you, meteorologists, aren't exempt either; you're condemned of prepositional glut, as in "showers are moving on over into a region". (Refer to pg. 10 for your vernacular crime). It's a shameful thing. We're just not a very articulate society. Eloquence simply evades us. I sympathize with Mr. Yeager's frustration about the abysmal deterioration of our language, a national affair so grim that one might just prefer to stay home and have tea alone than to suffer a dismal and bland conversation outside. Blame it on the administration at large, all the workplaces and schools included. Blame it on Bush too, as with everything else and as he single-handedly runs the nation. These officials should know better by teaching us the precise use of nouns, like "mentor", "leverage", "task", "transition", "partner", and "retail" which are strictly nouns, just like a "parent", and must never be used as verbs; therefore, to parent a child or acquire parenting skills is clearly unacceptable. (Refer to Verbification, Ch.3) However, while Mr. Yeager doesn't claim being "some great language dictator" and actually "[doubts] that you'll agree with [the book's entries]", he just doesn't allow inarticulacy in his house either, according to his Introduction on page XIII. There goes our chance for ever being invited to tea, or coffee, for my googling and a friend's gifting. Then again, the gathering for a satisfying conversation at his place might be awfully small, since most of us, if not all, are oftentimes guilty of flawed speech. In fact, Mr. Yeager's slip-up is quite obvious on page VIII, with his use of the phrase "my personal favorite" instead of the more succinct my favorite, or a personal favorite, or even a favorite of mine, since my, personal, or mine, per se, denotes ownership. Nevertheless, I appreciate having read his book. While a bit pedantic in some parts, it ardently reminds us to try our best to avoid inept language so that "we can better choose how we present ourselves" and "participate in, rather than glide through, our daily conversations". In other words, we need to stop being flippant about our English and start taking it seriously. In short, speak clear English already, people! It can get tricky though, especially when our grammar is highly dependent on the meanings of the words we use. Let's not forget that the world evolves. And so do we and our words. And since our perceptions and experiences dictate what we say, new words are created, existing words converted, and definitions adjusted. These modifications taking place inevitably affect our syntax, our expressions, and thus, our language. Change is inescapable. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, where we can talk together and have a dialogue or a discourse, a speech, a discussion, or even a conversation; those words essentially mean the same, by the way. Who invented them, these synonyms? What about nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs? And what of articles, prepositions, and interjections? And gerunds? These are verbs converted to nouns by adding the suffix, ing. Does the principle ring familiar? It's verbification, only inverted, isn't it? But are gerunds more acceptable, as in thinking, than a verbification like parenting, because it's all right to convert the verb, think, into a noun, but isn't okay to turn the noun, parent, into a verb, merely out of convention? Who started this tradition? Who established what we've all now come to accept? Who uttered the first word? Was it the Anglos, the Saxons, or the Cro-Magnons? And what was it? Was it an emphatic, "Ah"? Ah, history certainly proves how far we've come since the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, to the Asians who can imitate most things. Well, maybe language isn't that easy, specifically English, much of which is borrowed, or to put it more gently, derived from other languages; hence, its inconsistent principles, such as the rules on pronunciation—i.e. the present tense, read, the past tense, read, and the color red; basically, the past tense, read cannot be read, or pronounced, like red. Still, society will surely continue to party until something else takes its place, like the more polished expression of to partake in revelry or "mild-mannered frivolity", as preferred by Professor McGonagall. Language is sentient, lest we forget. And lingoes will endure, as our communication changes with time. We may as well keep an open mind that we learn to appreciate this sort of evolution, or not. But keep an open mind anyway. Plus, it could be fun, like a musician's ad lib act. I call it play-speak, as in googling and gifting, though I choose giving a present rather than gifting or even presenting a gift. Yet, I commend Mr. Yeager for saying what he means, with neither a squirm nor a skirting the issue, as he strongly suggests, to all of you who don't speak his language, that you can learn to and should speak smartly; only, the choice is yours. And to those who talk his talk, more brevity and clarity to you. Written boldly, this is a sure read for the earnest student or any aficionado of the English language. This book left me both tickled and stunned with its sharp sarcasms and puns. And if this review is hogwash, drivel, nonsense, or claptrap, or rubbish, garbage, gabble, or twaddle, or hooey, humbug, gibberish, or bunkum, or even hokum and baloney, and gobbledygook, or whatever, for its length and/or content, the point is clear. It doesn't matter much who formed these combinations of sounds or syllables, called words, and who determines what's acceptable or not, unless you're doing a school project or engage with something of a very fussy nature, as long as we allow each other to express ourselves freely. We zip through life—with one hand on a cell phone, not a beeper or a payphone, and the other clutching a latte (thanks to Ms. Alanis Morissette's Hand In My Pocket for the concept)—and inadvertently affect or freak each other out, as it is. And about "freaking" (pg. 52), too much of it can and do get anal and unhealthy for us, like anything else; though I can't deny that it jumps out of my mouth every now and then. And, "Who'd've thunk it?" (pg. 58) is absolutely hilarious. Finally, "it goes without saying"...this concludes this review. Who'd've thunk that I'd "literally" finish it…
Now, switch your attention to Aaron Peckham's Mo' Urban Dictionary: Fularious Street Slang Defined. What else can I say, when the title clearly speaks for itself. Written to give people "a chance to explain how they use and change existing language to express their views of the world around them", this book is funny and hilarious highly enhanced. It's fluent urban speak, with its rich collection of words and a unique amalgam of expressions, submitted by the culturally receptive, a modern society who's an absolute antithesis to what could be an otherwise stringently erudite and austere culture. From the abc's—such as "abso-frickinlutely", which is "a reinforced expression of absolutely"; "abacadaba", to zip through a fill-in-the-bubble-and-get-it-over-and-done-with-fast-because-it's-just-so-ridiculously-hard-that-even-trying-to-score-high-is-made-impossible-and-pointless-multiple-choice test; and "air-biscuit", fart, plain and simple, as in, How dare you give me air biscuit I clearly didn't ask for?; "backne", simply back acne, of course; "bollocks", which could mean anything from rubbish, lies, great, or the best possible, to an exclamation made when one bungles, or even testicles; and "cankles", which are tubular legs where the calves and the ankles are indistinguishable from each other—to the xyz's of life, as in, literally, "xyz", short for "examine your zipper", or to remind someone to zip up the fly in the briefest and most discreet way—in addition to Peckham's droll examples, the Mo' Urban Dictionary definitely preserves and represents the language of today's subcultures and of everyone else in between and outside—[from the rebellious teens…tweens and thirtysomethings…to the 'rents, teachers…and even avid students of the English Language all over the world]. As Aaron Peckham aptly put, "Everyone deserves the opportunity to understand and be understood." Now, "chillax" and learn the lingo in this totally "fularious" book. Then, pick up its "ridonkulous" sequel, The Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined, lest you forget that language is fast paced and get left behind.
Scooby-Doo & The Goblin King
Wizards, fairies, witches, goblins, the Headless Horseman, and a talking Jack O’Lantern. What do they all have in common? They are part of an all-star cast of ghouls in the new animated film called Scooby-Doo & The Goblin King . In one of the bravest roles I’ve ever seen them in, Scooby and Shaggy must save their friends from the spell of a wicked warlock. These two characters that are known more for being cowards must learn COURAGE as they embark on a magical quest. Just in time for Halloween, this frightfully entertaining film is packed with lots of laughs featuring the voice talents of Wayne Knight, Hayden Panettiere, Tim Curry, and Jay Leno. Included on the DVD is a cool feature called “Scooby-Doo You Believe in Magic?” that teaches easy-to-learn magic tricks such as the Floating Paper Clip and the Disappearing Card Trick! Scooby-Doo & The Goblin King is out now on DVD and it’s a great addition to the long line of Scooby-Doo shows.
Smallville's season 7 is out now on DVD. This show that took Clark Kent’s hometown in Kansas and made it a hip little spot, has made it through seven seasons! Honestly, while I enjoyed the show when it first came out, I didn’t think it would get a large enough fan base to make it this far. I obviously misjudged it. You can thank the clever writers for the wild stories they come up with that keeps the show moving along. So what surprises are in store in Season 7? Well, there’s the arrival of Clark’s cousin Kara, a.k.a. Supergirl. Then there’s also Bizarro, Clark’s enemy that shares his DNA and matches his strength. Die hard comic book fans should be satisfied seeing these characters thrown in the mix. There are also issues with Chloe trying to deal with her powers, Lois Lane getting hired by The Daily Planet, and Lex Luthor’s cunning presence that adds more tension to the show. Overall, it’s a season packed with surprises, action, and drama all contained on an extremely entertaining 6-disc set.
After the many times of walking in and out of the Disney Store in the mall (when you have a kid, you do these things), I was always greeted by Jack’s face from The Nightmare Before Christmas. He was on t-shirts, toys, mugs, you name it. That got me wondering if they were ever going to re-release this classic film on DVD. Sure enough, Disney released a Collector’s Edition of this wonderful film by movie genius Tim Burton. This 2-disc set includes the film and is packed with more than enough bonus features, even including Tim Burton’s short film titled Vincent! With Halloween and Christmas fast approaching, this is the perfect time to relive this amazing dark fantasy.
The Music Builds Tour made its stop this past weekend at the PNC Arts Center in NJ. The tour is a collective effort to help raise money for Habitat For Humanity
with performances by Jars of Clay, Third Day, and Switchfoot. That’s a pretty diverse group of musicians on the same tour, who apparently share the same vision. The energy was buzzing throughout the arena before the opening act, Jars of Clay, took the stage. They wasted no time once they came out as they jumped right into their popular song Flood. I think that was the most energized set I’ve seen them perform (I’ve only watched them twice), mostly due to their recent change in musical style. 
Ever since their album Good Monsters, they went from folk/alternative to straight up rock music. That transformation in Jars’ sound was clearly reflected in their stage presence as they gave an awesome performance. They played a set that included songs like Flood, Love Song for a Savior, along with songs from their new EP Closer. Honestly, next to Switchfoot I think they gave the most solid performance. Speaking of Switchfoot, from the time leading up to their set, you could feel the excitement 
buzzing from the fans all over the arena. The moment they came onto the stage, the crowd went nuts. They opened with the song Stars, in which the crowd graciously sang along to. Jon Foreman and company brought out their ammo and gave one hell of a show as they rocked the Jersey crowd. They went through most of the fan favorites from their albums The Beautiful Letdown, Nothing Is Sound, and Oh! Gravity. One of the highlights of their set was when they played a live version of Beyonce’s Crazy In 
Love as an intro to their song Gone! It was pretty funny seeing sections of the audience go from rocking out to suddenly shakin’ their booty as Jon sang, "Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh". I’ve seen a lot of shows this past year in the NYC area, and this definitely goes down as one of the best. If you ever get the chance to see these guys live, you’ll surely get your money’s worth (along with your ears ringing the next day). 
