A brief interlude

Many things confuse me in life. Such as this little trivia tidbit found on the interweb

"Jodie Foster was forced to pull out of 'Double Jeopardy' (1999) because she became pregnant."

In usual circumstances this would make sense. Jodie has an unplanned pregnancy in her own marriage, so she leaves a movie. THats what that would indicate. Right? Otherwise she wouldn't have signed up for the movie if she was trying hard to get pregnant. But....






Jodie Foster's a lesbian (not that theres anything wrong with that). Has been for a while. Too bad the guy who shot Ronald Reagan did not know that. And barring any technological advances I havent yet heard of, lesbians really cant have accidental pregnancies, barring an unfortunate sperm bank incident. So WTF?

Number 2) ZAC EFRON IS ON THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE? HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL KID TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER THE ANNIVERSARY OF ELVIS DEATH? I AM SO MAD CAPS LOCK CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS THE FULL SCOPE OF MY RAGE

Number 3) another music related thing that pisses me off. The top 5 selling recording artists of all time. The list has the ones you would guess (Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson). At number 5 it has the Eagles, who have the best selling album of all time (and it was released before Hotel California and Life in the Fast Lane). But number 3. Hmmmm, could it be Billy Joel? That would make sense. Perhaps The Rolling Stones? They were around for a while. How about Frank Sinatra, hes been around forever. No the correct answer is Garth Brooks. I have never even heard a song by him, let alone an album.

Number 4) Misinterpretation of songs as Patriotic. Por ejemplo "Keep on Rockin in the Free World". This song became an anthem for the fall of communism, and later in the surge of Post 9/11 patriotism. Ironically enough, its based on a quote "Whatever we do, we shouldn't go near the Mideast. It's probably better we just keep on rockin' in the free world." The song also points out the many problems with the US at the time it was released. Another great example "Born in The U.S.A." It has been used as a symbol of patriotism since it was released. Ronald Reagan even singled out Bruce Springsteen as a "great patriot". The song is basically about how we crappily treated our Vietnam vets. And how the U.S.A. should be ashamed.

Bruce Willis vs Ed Norton Round 2 Finale

The final spot in the final four is perhaps an easy one, so I will start by saying Ed Norton is my favorite actor. You put him in any role, and he will act the shit out of it. THat being said, his badass credentials are nowhere close to Bruce Willis. Ed doesnt have a character who is close to the badassery of John McClane. Ed was never dead the whole time like Bruce was. Ed wasnt a real life superhero like Bruce was (Unbreakable). Ed never got Jessica Alba to try and sleep with him. Ed was not in a trippy weird Luc Besson movie that had Gary Oldman and LInk Stark in it (The Fifth element). And of course, Ed wasnt in Pulp Fiction. Although points off for allowing Ben Affleck to live in Armegeddon, he still wins a badass competitition

Round 2 Washington vs Sutherland

This ones a tough one, and as murph said, he disagreed with Washington making it to round 2. And he stands a shot in this round for sure. Keifer Sutherland usually has the advantage of torturing people. But Washington tortured the shit out of what must be Half of Mexico City in Man on Fire, and more graphically too. Cut off some fingers, put a bomb in some guys ass, even used psych torture to get marc anthony to kill himself, something im sure everyone has wanted. And while Jack Bauer is kickass, Washington has a wider scope of badass figures. Inside man? Malcolm X? Creasy in Man on Fire? Sorry Murph, Denzel makes it to the semis, although Jack Bauer would win if we were judging 1 character alone

Round 2, Bond vs Terminator

This one is a tough pick. Bond is the king of cool, but the Terminator is literally unstoppable. First I will evaluate the other movies Connery and Arnold have done. Connery did the Rock, where he was both eligible for senior citizen benefits and eligible to kill. He had the highest kill total in the movie by far, and there were many younger guys in it. Arnold did the Predator, and although some may say its badass he can survive a nuclear bomb by jumping over a log, I call it retarted. He doesnt even kill the Predator, the Predator offs himself. Nor does he get the cool line in the movie "I aint got time to bleed." That went to the other future governor in the movie, Jesse Ventura. I am still waiting for Carl Weathers to announce his intention to run for governor of NY. Arnold did do Commando, but the death toll gets so high it seems to be more genocide than homicide. And while Conan the Barbarian is indeed kickass, I will never forgive him for Kindergarden Cop. Or for that matter BAtman & Robin, and he manages to have the worst lines in that crapfest. "Ice to meet you"? "You're not sending me to the Cooler"? "Cool Party"? "Allow me to break the ice"? and the worst of all "Time to Kick Some Ice". Connery wins, cause hes saved the world as bond, killed nazis as Indiana Jones' dad, brought down the mob in The Untouchables, Brought down the commies in Hunt for Red October and was not in Batman & Robin.

Round 2 Commences, Samuel L vs Michael Bay

Samuel L has been coasting in the competition, getting the 2nd easiest victim in the first round, and now getting one of the easier ones here. Michael Bay certainly has his badass down in most of his movies, but the schlock romance combined with ben affleck in Pearl Harbor brings him down a notch. And also Bay is a director who really doesnt have to show his badassery on screen. And Samuel L has Jules Winnfield, a trump card in nearly any badass showdown

Michael Bay vs Slyvester Stallone

Michael Bay, the director of legend. THe only man who has one movie with a legitimate cast and which does by far the worst at the box office. The only man who took the worst cast ever (PEarl Harbor) and made it into his most profitable movie, until he made a movie about toys. I have no doubt he woke up one morning and said "lets make a toy movie where we blow some shit up". Stallone is also a director, he directed Rocky among others. Stallone also was Rambo, the kickass ex-Green BEret. However, Bay wins. I will never forgive Stallone for Rocky V. Or for Driven. Or for the wussy breakdown at the end of Rambo: First Blood. Or for the third spy kids. He has too many movies that are bad and unkickass, where as bay is kickass through and through

Arnold Schwarzenneger vs John Travolta (round 1)

Im switching Travolta out, he is so unbadass its amazing. bye for the governator, travolta was not on the list

Clive Owen vs Keifer Sutherland (Round 1)

Hate to do this to Clive, but Jack Bauer is clearly the winner

Harvey Keitel vs Edward Norton (Round 1)

This round is very hard. Harvey Keitel is Winston Wolf, a badass so badass even Samuel L gthe badass concedes to his badassery. He also is Mr. White, the most controlled in a group of expert thieves. Ed Norton was an evil badass as a racist and than badass in saving himself in American History X. He was badass for creating anarchy in Fight Club. He was badass the stuttering schizo in Primal Fear (watch it trust me). He was the only white lead who truly was great in a Spike Lee movie, 25th hour. If I was just looking at Winston Wolf, Mr. White, "Champ" from Taxi Driver, and the guy in Mean Streets, Itd be Keitel. But Ed Norton is an amazing actor, and I will not forgive Keitel for National Treasure, so its Norton

Bruce Willis vs Michael Madsen (Round 1)

This is a case of a big name guy vs a much lesser name. Bruce Willis is John McClane, Michael MAdsen merely Mr. Blonde, or Budd, Bill's little brother. I put Madsen on the list because having a smaller actor on the list added some variety. That being said, Bruce Willis wins this one hands down. Die Hard is arguably the best action movie ever, Live Free or Die HArd a great modern action flick. He fights a military jet plane with a truck and wins! Madsen is an entertaining villain, but you can never kill John McClane

Round 1 (Brando vs Washington)

This is another tough round, with 2 amazing actors and badasses going head to head. They both are oscar winners and multiple nominees. They both have long stretching careers. So lets evaluate the badassery.
Brando has the godfather as his oscar winning turn vs Washington in Training Day, and honestly only the Godfather could beat Denzel in Training Day. Denzel plays a cop so corrupt he makes his rookie partner smoke PCP under the guise of it being marijuana. He shoots a drug lord and makes it look like self defense. He fathered a child with Eva Mendes. But the Godfather is still the Godfather.
Denzel has Malcolm X, which is the guy who was the most badass civil right leader ever. So points there. Brando has On the Waterfront, which shows how badass a guy can be even as his life descends.
Denzel wins, and for one reason. These 2 guys have had great careers, but Denzel is still a badass today, look at Inside Man or Man on Fire. Brando truly faded away after the Last Tango in Paris, and his character in that was more disturbing than badass. Brando has better films, but his lack of relevance at the end of his career makes him less badass.

Round 1 (Sean Connery vs Morgan Freeman)

This matchup is much more challenging. In terms of pure acting ability, Morgan Freeman is one of the best on this list. He is badass even when he is in an uplifting drama. The way he accepts his crimes in The Shawshank Redemption shows his badassery and his sorrow for his wrongs, simultaneously. Nobody does wise mentor, white or black, as good as Morgan Freeman does. Connery himself is the prototype badass, he made James Bond into James Bond. Daniel Craig is perhaps the only other person to do the role justice. Connery slept with women, drank martinis, killed bad guys, saved the world, and then slept with some more women (never Miss Moneypenny though). He was the action lead in the Rock, and he had to be at least 65. However, the major reason this one goes to connery is the sin on Morgan Freeman's part. Driving Miss Daisy was one of the least badass movies ever, and really was a non badass attempt at race relations. So for that Connery moves on

Round 1 (Samuel L v Uma)

Samuel L Jackson vs Uma Thurman



This round is by far the most lopsided, because of a variety of reasons. But I will say why Uma Thurman deserves to be the only female on this list. First of all, she was the main character in Kill Bill, and she manages to kill one of the most badass assortments of hitmen in movie history Lucy Liu, a certain honorable mention on this list. Bill, who is an amazing character. She kills or maims 93 (crazy 88-1 who she spanked, Buck and rape guy, Lucy Liu, Sofie Fatale and Vivica A. Fox) guys in the first movie alone. Thats a whole lot of badassery. On top of that she is in probably the most badass movie ever, Pulp Fiction (if you couldnt tell, Im a Tarantino fan). She also starred in the first ever NC-17 movie ever, which should be a middle finger to the system. That said, Samuel L is as samuel L does, and what samuel L does is kick ass. period.

Who is the most badass actor ever?

After watching Pulp Fiction for what must be no more than the 30th time, I pondered to myself as one ponders, who is the most badass actor ever? The initial answer came to me as Samuel L. Jackson, as answers can often be answered by or through Samuel L., but it got me thinking. Isnt Sean Connery on a badass level close to Samuel L.? Or Bruce Willis, he out badassed Samuel L in Die Hard III, which was perhaps the greatest waste of a badass ever? What about Denzel Washington, the badass who can actually act on top of being a badass? So I am going to figure out who is the most badass actor by listing the 16 biggest badass actors (with a director exemption) ever, and eliminating them until only one is there. So heres the list:
Samuel L
Sean Connery
Denzel Washington
Bruce Willis
Harvey Keitel
Clive Owen
Arnold Schwarzennegger
Slyvester Stallone
Michael Bay (Director)
John Travolta
Keifer Sutherland
Edward Norton
Michael Madsen
Marlon Brando
Morgan Freeman
Uma Thurman (girl I know)

Debate Resolution

So as debaters know, the upcoming resolutions for sept/oct are being released on weds. I am a tremendous loser, as everyone knows, so I will be staying up till midnight waiting for the release. In LD, us Chaminade boys are expecting death penalty to be the resolution, and my bet on the other possibilities are the precautionary principle (Im the only one who dislikes it), trade agreements (I like most besides death) and affirmative action (please say no, the thought makes me shutter). The resolutions are:
Resolved: In United States courts, victim impact statements ought to influence sentencing.
Resolved: The precautionary principle ought to guide environmental regulations.
Resolved: The United States government ought to allocate humanitarian aid to foreign nations based on the need of recipients rather than its own interests.
Resolved: A just society ought not use the death penalty as a form of punishment.
Resolved: In the United States public university admissions, socioeconomic disadvantage ought to be a higher priority than race.
Resolved: In the United States, the federal government ought not limit the autonomy of local school districts to determine their own curriculum.
Resolved: On balance, in its trade agreements the United States ought to value the welfare of workers in developing countries over its economic gains.

This is the only year only 4 resolutions are chosen, because the voting system changes . So, while every year 5 resolutions are chose out of a list of 10, this year its only 4.

If its death penalty, its always good to start out with a joke. See stouwe's "BEcause the schematic told me to, I affirm"
Heres my 2:
"Because the killer in me is the killer in you, I affirm" This is not melancholy or infinite sadness.
"Because it is better to burn out than to fade away, I negate" Grandfather of grunge
Tell me if anyone figures out the songs/artists they are from. I even put hints next to them. This would also allow me to figure out if at least 2 people read this blog.

In PF, i guarantee its about bridges and roads in the US. "Resolved: Bridges will not collapse". Controversial indeed.

Most ironic things ever

1) When casting "The Terminator", several actors were considered for the title role besides Arnold. One of them was not cast because he was considered to be "not believable" as a cold blooded killer. That man was OJ Simpson

2) (Allegedly) President Kennedy's last words were "That's very obvious". While not ironic unto itself, when said in response to "You cant deny Dallas loves you", that would qualify as ironic

3) The Grateful Dead was a band known for excessive drug use by both the members themselves and the fans. When Jerry Garcia died, he had recently used drugs. The ironic part? Garcia died of simply "Natural Causes", not drug related.

4) Director Steven Soderbergh's first major film was called "sex, lies and videotape". During the filming of the movie, a joke was sent by the producers that they heard he "couldnt direct traffic". 12 years later, Soderbergh won his first oscar..... for directing the drug drama "traffic"

5) In the history of the world, few people have been as deadly and vicious as Attila the Hun. But for all his badass battles, he could not escape his death. From a nosebleed.

6) This one I wont joke about, cause its not really funny. The season finale of SNL in 1994 said goodbye to one of the best performers in the shows history with 2 actors on stage alone singing goodbye. Unfortunately, both Phil Hartman and Chris Farley would die from drugs, Farley his own abuse, and Phil being killed by his wife who was addicted.

7) The Pulitzer prize rewards excellence in journalism. It is named after a man who was among the sleaziest journalists in history.

8) I think you have all heard about a young lad named Steve Irwin

9) General Stonewall Jackson was involved in the deadliest war in US history. Not surprising he died in it. What was surprising was his own troops shot their beloved Stonewall.

10) In the original movie Rambo:First Blood, Rambo kills not a single person. None. At all.

11) Orson Welles is arguably the greatest known person in film of all time. His last role? UNicron in the animated Transformers: The Movie

12) Officially, Three Six Mafia has more oscar wins than Akira Kurosawa.

13) The movie Requiem for A Dream was written to convince younger children and teenagers to not take drugs. The movie subsequently recieved a NC-17 rating, so that none of these people could watch it.

Oh, please read the post below this, I've been on a posting binge for the last few days. Kind of like bulimic people, only without the vomiting and mental scarring.
Odds are that only 3 people will ever see this, but still, do read below.

Samuel L. Jackson goes back to his roots (except with White people)

Samuel L. Jackson's newest movie is called "Resurrecting the Champ", where he plays the role that made him, well, not famous, but at least started his career. He plays a homeless bum who turns out to be a former Heavyweight boxing champion, who is discovered by a reporter (Josh Hartnett). The lead seems to be Josh Hartnett, who is trying to figure out if the story is true and how it relates to his life. And all the other white people in the movie. The only other black major cast member seems to be the whiny black guy who wanted to take Morpheus' girl in the third matrix. Samuel L.'s first roles were as bum types (robber in Trading Places, Blind guy in Exorcist III, and the crack head brother of Wesley Snipes in Jungle Fever.) It seems like it might be a chance for Samuel to win an oscar, as nobody does homeless drug addicted bum like Samuel L. In fact, the crack head girl in Jungle fever was Halle Berry, so maybe an oscar is in the future for Samuel L. If not, just look at the kickass career Samuel L has had, and thats all that matters to me.

NC-17

NC-17, the movie rating that pisses off more liberals in Hollywood than Ann Coulter. Maybe. But thats not the point, of liberal vs conservative (and im a liberal-ish person). Often times the movie rating is just used incorrectly. The rating means that no one under 17 can be admitted to see a movie that has the rating, even if their parents allow them. Although many people have taken a better look at the injustices of the system, Im going to say what I think is wrong with the MPAA, and also the reason the rating carries the poison it does.



Injustices

1) Homophobia. Homophobia in Hollywood you say? I know, it sounds ridiculous, but several decisions by the MPAA can be only justified by homophobia. Obvious example, is "But Im a cheerleader", a movie about a cheerleader who is sent to christan camp. basically it has such light nudity and the stuff it got a NC-17 for is garbage (masturbation with clothes on?). Another example is Boys Don't Cry, which got an NC-17 for showing the face of Chloe Sevigny having an orgasm for too long. I understand there has to be arbitrary lines for ratings, but its her face, not her naked that got it. The more obvious example comes from back when X was still around, Midnight Cowboy. This is a movie my grandma was shocked got an R. It has one major problem: Jon Voight is a gay prostitute. Do you see him having sex? no, but that mere fact got it an X.



2) Pubic Hair Phobia. Picture this, 2 people having sex while actually in love. There is nudity, yes, but there is no hardcore shots or anything. The Cooler recieved a NC-17 because, as the MPAA put it, there was too much of Maria Bello's pubic hair. I could see if the MPAA took a no genital stance in movies, but it hasnt. At least that line, while arbitrary, would be fair. But you are allowed to see genitals, only if there is no hair? Mind Boggling. And if you think the scene is meant to show sex to turn people on, it has William H Macy in it. He is certainly not a Brad Pitt or a George Clooney.



However, I dont agree that....


Its all the MPAA's fault. Dont blame the MPAA, although it has its flaws. The studios are probably more to blame. They have to have the balls to release smaller movies that are NC-17, at least on a few hundred screens. Why Boys Dont Cry couldnt have been released on the same scale as it was with an NC-17 doesnt make sense. While NC-17 could prevent a movie for being released on a Spiderman level, studios should release art films if the scenes that make them NC-17 are needed for the plot and vision of the film.

Secondly, stop thinking every NC-17 movie will become Showgirls. Showgirls was flawed by one of the worst lead performances in movie history, and the smutty writing and directing of Joe Ezterhaus and Paul Verhoeven. Elizabeth Berkeley, of "Saved by the Bell" fame was not terrible looking. But the sex scenes were not even good at being sexy. When she has sex in a pool, she thrashes around so much i wasnt sure if she was having an orgasm or an epileptic seizure. She had less facial expressions than Ben Stiller and Zoolander, and sadly this movie was not meant as a joke. To think Kyle MacLaughlan went from doing "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks" with David Lynch to this movie. The dialogue written for the characters was so wooden I will not make a pun about it.

Another Quickie

Arguably the most badass trailer I have ever seen is for the upcoming movie "Shoot 'Em Up", starring Clive Owen, Monica Belucci and of course Paul Giamatti. In fact, its so badass, it even has a redband trailer (redband trailers are trailers for R or even NC-17 movies that have content that would nto be allowed for all audiences.)
So, ill give the links to both. The redband should not, Wink Wink, be viewed by those under 17. It isnt too graphic, there is one shot of a guys guts exploding onto the camera and another of the F word, and a sex clip with no nudity (in the trailer itself).
GReen trailer (allowed for all)- http://imdb.com/title/tt0465602/trailers-screenplay-E33043-10-2
Redband trailer (only over 17)- http://www.movie-infos.de/index.php?action=news&do=view&newsid=16702

Why Halloween 2007 will suck (and why it wont)

OK, so I consider myself a pretty serious Horror movie fan, not a fanatic, but a fan. So i have been thinking about the upcoming remake of arguably the most influntial slasher film of all time, Halloween. The original is an outstanding horror movie, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance and directed by John Carpenter (who also composed the famous theme). The plot of the movie is relatively simple: Psycho kid (Michael Myers or "The Shape") is put in a mental asylum at an early age for murdering his family. There, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance. The character's name is taken from the boyfriend of Janet Leigh in the original "Psycho) spends 7 years trying to help him, then 8 trying to keep him locked up because he sees Michael as "Purely evil". Michael proceeds to break out of the asylum and return to his house in Haddonfield, Illinois. There, he stalks Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Laurie is babysitting Tommy Doyle, and her friend Annie Brackett, who is also the daughter of the town sheriff, gives her another young child, Lindsey Wallace, to babysit. Suffice it to say Michael kills people, and Dr. Loomis with Sheriff Brackett tries to stop him. An easier way to describe the plot would have been "crazy guy escapes mental asylum, kills teenagers in small town".

The movie is good for several reasons. Carpenter uses the camera to make you jump when Michael pops out to kill people, and also when he shows michael stalking people from michael's view within the mask (actually a mask of william shatner painted white). It also uses little gore, but the killings can easily be called graphic as it shows the horror as each young victim dies. It inspired many sequels, some of which sucked royally (Halloween:Resurrection and Halloween 6 being the obvious ones), some of which were decent to okay (Halloween 2, 4,5, and Halloween:H20) and one which was a horrendous attempt to cash in on the name while having nothing to do with the series (Im talking to you Halloween 3). Now the ninth installment is actually a remake, or as director Rob Zombie put it, "a reimagining". Now here's some reasons why it will and will not suck.'

Why it Will Suck

1) Its a horror remake.
Horror remakes have 2 levels of quality: Crappy and "OH MY GOD, WHAT SICK SON OF A BITCH CAME UP WITH THIS PIECE OF PURE AND UTTER SHIT". So of course, every classic horror movie is being remade, even small ones like "The Wicker Man". The original? That was an interesting take on horror with an entire movie of build up until the finale and some very good performance (Christopher Lee). The remake? Just go on youtube and see some of Nicholas Cage's amazing lines in the movie. You will be screaming "How'd it get burned" for several days on end. So it is just unfair to assume this movie will be any better than all the other horror remakes (except Dawn of the Dead, which was good.)

2) Rob Zombie is directing

Many people have not seen Rob Zombie's 2 previous horror films. They are "The House of 100 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects". A big reason for this is that they are absurdly graphic, and Devils got an NC-17 rating. And the other one has Dwight from "The Office" being brutally murdered. Why is this content such a problem? It goes against why the original was scary. It was scary because the deaths concentrated on the act of dying itself, not the blood and gore that go along with it. The strangling on the phone is very hard to watch, even though not an ounce of blood is shed. And the stabbing of the boyfriend (forgot his name, so shoot me) has little blood, yet the terror on his face is what created the horror. However, I do not hate Rob Zombie, as you will see.

3) The Cast (partly)

The cast of the original Halloween, most notably the 2 main characters, both are very good actors. The Laurie Strode character is being played by Scout Taylor-Compton, who I honestly can say has been in no role I can even pretend to recollect. Likewise, the acting ability of Sheri Moon Zombie (who I hear has a large role that was not really big in the original) I do not think is that good (and so be my grammer), even in Zombie's 2 previous movies, unless you include the hilarious fake trailer "Werewolf Women of the SS" for Grindhouse.

This all being said, I have my hopes for it being very good, and I have quite a few reasons why.

Why It will Kick Major Ass

1) We are due for a good slasher flick
The way I look at it, since the inception of the horror slasher, we have had at least one good slasher flick that also made a lot of money each decade. The 70s was Halloween, and also had the Bonus of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The 60s was Psycho. The 80s was Nightmare on Elm Street. The 90s was Scream (a controversial pick, but i think its well done). Where is Friday the Thirteenth you ask? Well, watch the original, its not scary, it just had innovative gore (thank you Tom Savini). Same goes for its 9 1/2 sequels (1/2 for Freddy vs Jason). Hell, the original killer isnt even Jason!
The 2000 has had not one good slasher at all. We have 2 great zombie movies (28 days Later, Dawn of the Dead remake). We have the extreme (in my opinion bad, but not in everyone's) torture porn of Saw and Hostel. We have Final Destination, which is basically "Let's see how we can graphically/ironically kill teenagers!", but it worked at the box office and isnt total bad. We have smaller films that work, "Haute Tension", which has the downside of being French, but the upside of blending slasher and extreme gore well. But where is our big slasher? I hope its here.

2) Rob Zombie is directing

For all you geniuses who remember what they just read, yes this was also in the why it would suck column. Congrats. But lets not rush to say Zombie is a bad director. While I didnt like House of 1000 corpses, Devils Rejects was a good way of doing extreme horror. Not great, but good. The Slasher family was fleshed out better, and they were characters who show what evil is. However, it also shows other evil (the sheriff chasing them), and a great way to show horror through fate (the victim they leave alive and who could have stopped them meets a graphic and essentially tragic end). So this means Zombie got better from his debut, and hopefully this one will be very good.

3) The cast (4 of them)

I insulted some of the cast, but one of the beauties of horror is you dont need great actors all the time (see texas chainsaw massacre), or at least in all the roles. A few memorable characters will work, and 4 casting decisions show me this film may work

Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Loomis)- Malcolm McDowell is an amazing actor who I will always think of in the highest for his roles. The most famous being the lead in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, playing Alex De Large, or Alex Burgess, or just Alex. I think that is the greatest movie of all time, and he is in every scene and is the undisputed main character. He also does creepy well, as shown by Alex being the charming rapist/murderer he is. Also, his role on Entourage was good, and we can forget the hard-core movie Caligula that wrecked his career.

Danielle Harris (Annie Brackett)- everyone's first question "who the F*** is Danielle Harris?". She was the lead in Halloween 4 and 5. Admittedly, she was still in the single digit age then, but she kept those sequels together, as shown by the one after she left (Halloween 6: The curse of recasting a role fans liked). If only they could have brought back Paul Rudd (who was the lead in terrible Halloween 6, but now is pretty damn famous). Now she can pass (meaning shes actually much older) for a teenager (and a good looking one, see http://imdb.com/name/nm0364583/), so they gave her the role of Laurie's best friend. But the main reason its important is that it shows Zombie gives a crap about the series, and understands what made the older movies good.

Brad Dourif (Sheriff Leigh Brackett)- again, who the hell is this guy? actually, hes an oscar nominee (really) for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", and in the horror world known as the voice of the cute little doll Chucky. So he cant be that bad. Beyond that, hes in the underrated (not joking) Exorcist III, which had to come after the unfortunate Exorcist II. Exorcist III is the only horror sequel I can think of with 4 oscar nominees in it (George C Scott, winner for Patton. Brad Dourif, and Jason Miller, nominated for the original Exorcist. The last man is the man to end all men, the baddest mother there ever was, and ever will be. Samuel. L. Jackson.), and its actually good, so dont hate it. But after that side track, hes a good actor who can do horror, which is enough for me to go see.

Danny Trejo (I dont know)- as the trailer for his recurring character Machete (Spy Kids, Grindhouse) says, "BUT THEY F***ED WITH THE WRONG MEXICAN)

Thank you for reading this overly long post. I actually have no formed opinion on how the movie will be. Goodbye.