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Snarly Dudes Rule “Twilight, New Moon!”

November 19, 2009

– – I’m not into the Twilight saga, ’cause it’s geared in large measure for teenaged girls; romance just ain’t my thing, especially when the romantic leads spend much of their time staring intensely, pining away,  and brooding.  The fact that werewolves appear in the movie, however, rouses my furry interest. Vampires are OK, especially if they’re cool and classy like Dracula, Lestat, or Angel, but bring in even a mundane werewolf, and you’ve got me hooked!

So let’s talk werewolves, which is where it’s at– – this movie deviates from the usual trend of showing a nice, slow, and usually agonizing werewolf transformation.  In my opinion, slow and agonizing is the way to go, so the fans can appreciate it as well as the significance of what’s going on. The lycanthropes of New Moon, however, explode mid-leap into a fully-transformed state, with shreds of clothing flying off them. To their credit, the New Moon weres are impressively large, and are not cookie-cutter interchangeable clones; they are distinguishable by size and fur color, with alpha male Sam being the largest and having black fur.  Other weres are russet-hued, silvery, dark brown, and dark grey.  They also use the personalized eyes of the actors in the digital wolves, which are otherwise as realistic as possible. An additional plus is that the actors are mostly of Native American descent.

So paws up for the wild things, even though this shallow romance has been rated with only  **1/2 out of four stars…

Categories: animals, cool things, furries, furry, movies
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The Lure of the Horrible

November 10, 2009

CreepshowThere’s a wonderful scene in the 1982 movie of Stephen King’s Creepshow showing a young boy who spots a monster outside of his window.  The expression on the boy’s face, however, is one of adoration rather than terror.- – I’m sure that many of us can relate to this!

– – Horror movies…why do we like them?–Well, social scientists suggest that we watch for different reasons which include the adrenaline rush, being distracted from mundane life, vicariously thumbing our noses at social norms, and enjoying a voyeuristic view of the horrific from a safe distance.– But above all, being scared is fun!

Neuroscientists like New York University’s Joseph LeDouz point out that fear is not merely a biological reaction, but an emotion derived from deep-seeded evolutionary factors as well as newly-learned cautions.  An interaction between the brain’s primitive amygdala and the higher cortex allows people to interpret an environmental event and respond with an emotion such as fear.  Once an emotion is aroused in the amygdala, it’s hard to turn it off, and if we like that sort of thing, we’re eager to turn that emotion on again.

…and this is why some of us suffer from a post-Halloween let-down, similar to that depression suffered by others after Xmas!–Ahh, for the Nightmare Before Christmas!

Categories: movies, psychology, science
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“Fantastic Mr. Fox!”

November 6, 2009

the-fantastic-mr-fox– -Worth a look and arriving November 13th is Fantastic Mr. Fox, an animated adaptation of the popular 1970 Roald Dahl children’s book by director Wes Anderson.

Voiced by George Clooney and Meryl Streep,  Mr. and Mrs. Fox have lived a peaceful life in the wilderness with their son, Ash.  Resorting back to his old ways as a cunning chicken thief,  Mr. Fox uses his formidable slyness to outwit three evil farmers who resort to extreme tactics to protect their chickens, endangering the animal community and forcing them to unite to fight for the land that is rightfully theirs.- – Fantastic Mr. Fox also features the voice talents of Bill Murray as a lawyer badger!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, furries, furry heroes, movies
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Goat Renaissance!

October 19, 2009

Goat– – Goats are going through a bit of a renaissance lately…there’s a wonderful new Thera-gesic arthritis commercial with an old woman extolling the virtue of goat tears (“Takes the pain riiight away”), and now there’s a George Clooney movie with goats,  Men Who Stare At Goats.

I’ve always felt that goats have been under-rated for years; they’re intelligent, whimsical, and can make good pets, too.  Perhaps our trendy celebrities will take to championing and adopting goats.- -See, goats aren’t so baaad…

Categories: animals, furry, movies, television
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Jack Nicholson’s “Wolf”

September 14, 2009

wolf-“Inside every man there are two people–one good, one beast.”

Did ‘Ya Catch This One Department: Jack Nicholson has done horror flicks, including Little Shop of Horrors and The Shining (“– -Here’s Johnny!“). Nicholson is such an awesome actor that even his stranger and less memorable performances are worth watching, and Wolf is no exception.  In the vintage 1994 flick, Nicholson plays a publishing executive whose life begins to change after he’s bitten by a wolf.  First his mood changes, then his sense of hearing and smell go into overdrive; then there’s the problem of Nicholson’s character leaping around in the neighborhood at night killing deer and other animals with his teeth (…don’t you hate it when that happens?).

While we’ve seen better special effects and aspects of the performances seem curiously detached, the psychological aspects of Nicholson’s transformation make this movie a kick, with his character finding himself more energized and more competitive than ever, plus possessed of amazingly heightened senses; ” ’tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.” While rejected by Nicholson’s usual fans for its horror content as well as by some horror fans, Wolf is thoughtful horror that has more brains than blood…this Wolf, while flawed,  is no dog!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry, movies
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Will “Avatar” Rock You?

August 30, 2009

Cameron's Avatar— It’s been called, rather unkindly and dismissively, “a movie for furries.”  I don’t think that James Cameron’s Avatar is going to be that, but there may be furry elements in it, specifically ten-foot blue humanoids called Na’vi who are striped like tigers.

Avatar is, first and foremost, a sci-fi movie written by James Cameron, the visionary behind such cinematic gems as Terminator and Aliens. I like his stuff; if you don’t like sci-fi, there’s always Cameron’s Titanic. Even if you don’t like the subject matter, Avatar promises to be the most ambitious 3D movie experience to date.  Cameron supposedly conceptualized the movie 15 years ago but basically had to wait until technology could match his vision.  Avatar is described as a movie revolution that will push technical effects to the limits while delivering  kick-ass action and a solid  storyline.-—And BTW, the incomparable Sigourney Weaver will appear in Avatar.–Alright, I’m sold!

The story of Avatar follows a future battle between Earth and an alien moon called “Pandora,” a terrifyingly beautiful world full of rich minerals and strange creatures.  “Avatars” as in the movie’s title are human-Na’vi hybrids controlled by human drivers who project their consciousness into the Avatar bodies, since ordinary humans find the environment on Pandora toxic.

—Would I be my avatar?–Yes, in a heartbeat…and Avatar opens in December 2009… advance trailers may be seen…watch for 3D televisions to be introduced in the not-too-distant future, BTW…now I want my flying car!




Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furries, movies
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