It’s been thirteen years since the American Pie boys first set out on their quest to lose their virginity, let alone giving us the most memorable use of a baked good ever. Homaging the likes of “Porkys” and “Animal House” it opened the doorway to new era of comedic filth, as a host of imitators attempted to top (and largely failing) what “American Pie” started with mixed results. Meanwhile the cast would go on to varying degree’s of career success as well as for some of the cast a more memorable career meltdown, while the series rolled on with one shot DTV films as the studio attempted to wring every last dime out of the franchise.
Still someone must feel like there was still money to be made from the franchise, as the original cast are reunited for what is now the eighth film in the series, as the boys return to their hometown for their high school reunion, with the boys all having ventured off on their own paths. Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are still married, Oz (Chris Klein) has become a low rent sportscaster with a supermodel girlfriend, Kevin (Thomas Nicolas) has become a house husband (aswell as growing a stupid looking beard), while Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas)has spent the last few years traveling the globe. It would seem however that the only person who hasn’t changed since High School is Stiffler (Seann William Scott) who is still rooted in his usual vulgar ways, while working a temp office job for a boss who might be even more obnoxious than he is.
As you can see it’s hardly the most original of plots and more an excuse to bring back the original cast, who we last saw together in “American Pie: The Wedding”. Still seeing how most of the cast haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire as of late with perhaps the exception of Hannigan and Thomas, who have both had regular TV work. Scott meanwhile has continued to make a name for himself playing lovable doofs, aswell as the occasional jaunt into more serious as seen in the seriously underrated “Southland Tales”. Still despite perhaps not setting the acting world on fire, the cast still all bring enthusiastic performances to the roles which made them stars to begin with.
Now while the years might have passed since they were together last and though they may be trying to make their way in the real world as responsible adults, it’s clear however that some things never change and it’s only a matter of time before mishap find them once again, from being harassed by the new generation of high school jocks, to trying to smuggle a half naked girl back into her house, proving once more that some things never change. What certainly hasn’t changed is the fact that Jim is still essentially the writers bitch, though while the first film featured misfortune to the group as a whole, over the course of the first two sequels the balance has slowly shifted so that Jim was on the receiving end of the majority of it. The balance now however is non existent for if misfortune is afoot it seems to be always be Jim that is the receiving end, be it a spontaneous S&M session with Michelle being interrupted by Kara’s jealous boyfriend or waking up naked from the waist down in his kitchen, though the last one does allow the world to see Jim’s penis, so fun times for anyone who actually wanted to see it.
The main problem the film suffers from though is the lack of central plot, especially as nostalgia will only stretch so far and with no real goal for the boys outside of making it to the reunion. As a result the boys seemingly go from situation to situation without seeming to actually achieve anything or progress any further from were they started, especially when the film seems more content on tying up loose ends, such as Kev and Vicky’s (Tara Reid) relationship aswell as finding out what happened to Oz & Heather (Mena Suvari) who were both noticeably absent from “American Pie: The Wedding” as of which further smacks of further nostalgia. Meanwhile the sole dilemma’s we do get involving Michelle and Jim’s lack of sex life and Jim’s dad trying to get back in the dating game, while stretched across the film still feel minor and far from anything resembling a strong central plotline.
With original writer Adam Herz having stepped away from scripting the franchise after part 3, it was kind of surprising to not see him return to the franchise; especially as this latest additional to the franchise has been given a cinema release. Still “Harold & Kumar” scribes Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are a great replacement, especially with “Harold & Kumar” being by far the strongest franchise to follow in the wake of the original “American Pie” release and certainly has come the closest to topping the original film. Sadly not even they can pull out anything special here, though no doubt thanks to them John Cho who got possibly his most memorable role playing Harold in “Harold and Kumar”, get his previous cameos as part of the MILF chanting duo upgraded to a supporting role. The main problem they do have is that in taking established characters on their forth outing, they have been left with little that they can put them through, while the nostalgia requirement does nothing toward helping them add their own stamp on the series.
Bizarrely as self confessed fans of the series they have also chosen Stifler, as one of the main focuses of the film, in particular his seeming refusal to grow out of his high school self, as he clings onto the glory days while believing that he can still be the same obnoxious jerk he was back then. Now while this might provide most of the films funny moments, it does seem tinged with an almost element of sadness that he is still living in his own world, while those around him have grown up and moved on. It’s an interesting choice to portray him in this way, especially when he works best as the loud mouth hanger on, though some fans might find it slightly hard to attribute any emotion other than “Permanently Horny” with this character.
While the film might have it’s share of laughs, it’s clear that the franchise has severely run out of steam and more importantly ideas, especially highlighted when the funniest moment is watching Stifler taking a dump in a cooler, while the other humour relies on referencing the first three films, such as a post coital Jim and Michelle discovering a flute lying nearby, as references are frequently less subtle nods and more sledgehammer blows to the face, especially when Hurwitz and Schlossberg are so keen to bring back every minor supporting character, even if it’s for nothing more than a glorified cameo appearance, as seen by the return of Jenny, Foreign exchange student Nadia and more memorably the sherminator!
Even though is stated to be the final “slice”, I already have no doubts that this film making money will lead to it being followed by another sequel, but at this point the pie is so thinly sliced and audience so heavily bombarded with this style of crass and gross out shock humour that it’s certainly a lot harder to show them something which hasn’t been done before. Still as a nostalgia trip its fun enough, but like my own high school reunion it’s far from the fun experience promised.
Cinema Obscura – a weekly trek through the darker and frequently more random and forgotten regions of Cult, Foreign and Obsure cinema and pretty much everything in between. Each week highlighting a film worth hunting down, for those who like to wander away from the more traveled roads of Mainstream cinema
This week saw the release of the latest trailer for “Prometheus” possibly the one movie I’m looking forward to seeing the most this year, with perhaps “Django Unchained” being it’s only rival for my unbridled enthusiasm. Now this will come as little surprise to regular readers of my blog, for they will already what a fanboy I am for the “Alien” saga. So for Ridley Scott to return to the franchise with this latest expansion to the series universe is exciting enough, without each trailer he releases only making the wait all the more painful. So with this in mind, this weeks selection is something of a guilty pleasure, as not only does film shamelessly rip off both “Alien” & “Aliens”, yet for some unexplained reason it’s also strangely good at the same time and almost like one of the better mockbusters by “The Asylum” (the company that brought you “Snakes on a Train” & the forthcoming “The American Battleship”).
Now nostalgia can be a strange thing, with so many things turning out to not be as essential as we might like to remember them, especially when looked back at through the nostalgia goggles. This is especially true when it comes to revisiting the numerous films which populated my childhood, which bizarrely this film actually wasn’t one of, yet still somehow managed to ingrain itself into my subconscious.
I first encountered this film at my local video shop, a mystical cave of a shop called “The video bug” which is sadly no longer there, having closed down probably about five years ago now. Originally I hung out there as a way of playing the latest PS1 / N64 games which I had no way of affording on what little money I earned from my paper round. However what was special about this particular video store, was the fact that they never threw out any of their VHS tapes, unlike the other video stores who threw out old titles to make room for newer titles. At the video bug they simply put in more bookcases, to store their ever increasing collection of films, which really had a lot to do with the owner being such a cheap skate, that he really wanted to make sure he got the most use out of the tapes, hanging onto them even when they started to stock DVD’s.
The advantage of this meant that you could go there and rent any number of the obscure and often long forgotten films, a lot still in their original big boxes. You have to remember that this was the 90’s and long before online rentals killed off these stores and seeing how I lived in a small costal town, this was the best way for me to see all the classic 70’s & 80’s horror films, which I’d heard about normally from the kids with more liberal parents. However being a bit of a wuss when it came to gore I missed out on a lot of titles, normally satisfying my curiosity by looking at the backs of the various films and soaking in the various gory and violent images, but knowing that the majority of them I’d never really rent. It was here that I first encountered this film, whose cover stuck with me and was one of the titles; I’d wished I’d picked up when the store was selling off all their stock.
Set around The Nexus project which has been created with the goal of creating a way to travel through dimensions. During the first jump, communication is lost with the team, during which time sole survivor Marshall (Tracy Westerholm) returns through the gate, unknown to the Nexus team infected with an alien species, which promptly escapes forcing the facility into lockdown leaving a small team of scientists and four heavily armed mercenaries to combat this new threat to humanity.
It’s clear quite early on that the plot is heavily borrowed from “Aliens” (prepare to here this film being mentioned a lot in this review) which is not only quite an achievement for a film with four writers, but also something that is frequently picked up upon by pretty much anyone who has seen this film. Now this isn’t just giving the occasional nod here and there, but rather tearing huge scenes and reworking them into the film, with the most glaring scenes being the chase through the ventilation, the smart gun used by the merc’s and even the shoulder cameras using the same film stock as that used in “Aliens”. Though of course the most standout scene would have to be Davenports take on the chestburster sequence, which is almost shot for shot the same, bar the fact that its Marshall writhing around on a table by herself, rather than being surrounded by her fellow scientists.
Thankfully once the alien changes into it’s fully grown form, it at least looks original, even though we never get to see the creature in it’s full glory, thanks to some horrible lighting, which drowns the majority of the scenes it appears in dank darkness, which might build tension but its pretty much wasted if you can’t see what the hell is going on. Sadly the majority of the effects are equally poorly handled, with kills nearly all happening off screen followed quickly by shots of fake blood being thrown at the walls, as the creature leaves blood splattered husks of it’s victims, which is quite random for a creature which is supposed to be draining the moisture from it’s victims I’d have expected them to be looking more like grey dried out husks. Still as long as the monster doesn’t move it looks impressive enough, with it’s sluggish movements making zombies look speedy in comparison, which made me wonder how it actually managed to catch anything, as it shuffled around the deserted hallways bumping off the more disposable members of the cast.
The main question I did find myself asking, while watching this film, was what the mercenaries have against inanimate objects, especially seeing how they are seen frequently firing off countless rounds at ventilation shafts, the walls and pretty much any other location the monster is supposed to be, but never once actually hitting the darn thing they are supposed to be aiming for especially when it’s not exactly the smallest of targets.
The characters are interesting enough, though it is clear that this cast were assembled on a budget, especially looking at the majority of the scientists working at the facility are decidedly average looking at best. Our hero on a budget Sheppard (Jan-Michael Vincent) is quite watchable, despite director Davenport having to reportedly shout the lines to Vincent who didn’t bother to read the script. Meanwhile his character references the incident in Texas constantly, while not actually bothering to let the rest of us actually know what happened, while Tara Buckman steps up as the tough female scientist Dr. Casserly, even though by the time she steps up to this mantle she is yet another “Aliens” character rip off, as she comes off like a slightly less tough version of Ripley.
The most noteworthy appearance amongst the cast though is Nicolas Lea, who would go on to play Krycek in “The X Files” (one of the best characters in the series despite, what my wife might want to wrongly claim) and here can be seen here playing the bargain basement version of Hicks from “Aliens”, while Paul Koslo is fun as Dr. Summerfield the token arsehole, though at the same time it’s a role I would have loved to have seen Michael Rooker taking on, especially for the later scenes which see an infected Summerfield mutating rapidly into an alien human hybrid, while seriously cranking up the crazy factor. Meanwhile the rest of the cast, whose characters don’t resemble copies of characters from “Aliens” are quickly lumped into roles which require the minimum amount of character development (the wiseass, the jerk) and pretty much marking themselves as characters not worth getting too attached to.
The original “Xtro” spawned quite a cult following, mainly due to its brief status on the BBFC video nasty list, thanks to a memorable graphic scene involving a woman giving birth to a fully grown man. I’ve yet to watch the original, but honestly you don’t have to have seen it to watch this film, as it is merely a sequel in name only, which appears to be a running theme with the series, as apparently “Xtro 3: Watch the Skies” (1995) has nothing to do with either of these films either, which is supposedly down to Director Harry Bromley Davenport only securing the rights to the name and not the story rights, making this in more of a cash in on the popularity of the original, than any attempt in continuing the storyline.
It might not have been a film worth obsessing over for as long as I did, but it is still an entertaining enough film to enjoy even if it does linger in places around the ass end of okay, while ripping of “Aliens” whenever given the chance, but then isn’t this what “The Asylum” have spent the last few years doing, making this film almost a blueprint for their output ethic. Still if your looking for something to tie you over until the release of ”Prometheus” this might just do it for you, while also making for a fun game of spot the rip off scene and maybe do a shot everytime one of these scenes appear and see how trashed you are by the end. Who knows you might even like it even more this way, as like so many films on this column the more you drink the better they seem!
(If the window doesn’t open, please retrive my email address on the facebook fanpage about section and title the subject of the email “Entry for Derby Bruise Contest 2012″)
The info that I’ll need from each entry is your Name (derby name and real name), the league you skate with and the picture of the bruise. If this information is not included, I will not be able to accept the entry.
I will email you a confirmation that your entry was received. If you do not get this confirmation, please send me a message.
The rules of this contest are simple: Take a picture of a derby bruise, submit it to me, like and follow everything below, tell your friends you’ve entered, get them to take a picture of a derby bruise, submit it to me…
Look you get the point
So here’s the thing; if you entered a specific bruise picture here last year… you CAN’T submit the same bruise. It’s gotta be a different one.
Every few years there seems to be either one actor or a country which shakes up the martial arts genre and making up for the years in-between were genre fans have had to get by on whatever Direct-to-DVD nonsense that Steven Segal has churned out that month. This is not to say that there haven’t been glimmers of hope over the recent years, with Donnie Yen finally getting some long over due recognition, as well as the likes of Michael Jai White and to an extent Ray Park certainly doing their part to help revive the flagging genre which many would consider way beyond it’s golden days of the 70’s and 80’s, with the last noticeable examples in recent memory coming from Thiland, with Panna Rittikrai bringing us the likes of Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) and JeeJa Yanin (Chocolate). These new breed of Martial Arts superstars coming with a promise of “No Stuntman, No Equal” as they delivered an exciting blend of thrilling stunt work and bone crunching fight scenes.
Now it seems that Indonesia is going to be the next surprising place to find your Martial Arts fix, for “The Raid: Redemption” is not so much the next big thing, but a certified game changer for the genre, for entering into this film even as a veteran of a misspent childhood watching Kung fu movies, I was still blown away by how exhilarating and original a movie that Welsh born and self confessed genre fan director Gareth Evans has crafted here in what is easily another of this years big surprises, even though it would currently be set to be another film which will find its audience on DVD rather than on what is currently a limited cinema release schedule.
The plot is simplistic at best with crime lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy) turning the apartment block were he lives into his own personal fortress, by turning it into a safehouse for the city’s most dangerous murderers, killers, gangsters and other assorted scumbags and in the process making him untouchable by both his rivals and the police. Still despite this an elite team including rookie cop Rama (Iko Uwais) and led by the driven Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim) have now been despatched to take down Tama once and for all.
With the plot essentially established within the first fifteen minutes, with our hero Rama being given slightly more depth than the other members of the 20 man squad, as we open to him running through his morning prayers as a devout Muslim before engaging in his grueling training regime to further hone his already impressive martial arts skills, before his kisses his still sleeping and heavily pregnant wife goodbye. It is clear that he is a man trying to do what he can as a cop, to make the world a slightly safer place for his unborn child, with the removal of Tama being another key part of this personal quest.
Entering the building on the ground floor the team have no option to work their way up the building floor by floor, to get to Rama who is for some reason located on the 15th. As to be expected their plans for a covert option are soon thrown out of the window when Rama is alerted to their presence by one of his spotter and offering the tenants free rent to those who kill the SWAT team and in effect mobilising his army of seemingly hundreds. Meanwhile Rama and the others only find their situation worse when they discover that their whole operation has not been sanctioned and meaning that they have no reinforcements or rescue to fall back on.
This film could in many ways be almost be described as a living video game, with it’s simple plot and the fact that dialogue kept to minimum, with this film taking the old saying of “Actions speak louder than words” to a whole new level, while each floor the team clears almost feels like a level completed, with the bad guys attacking in disorganized groups, with many of the SWAT team’s opponents seemingly taking a number for their beat down as few bother to attack at the same time that another thug is fighting.
Needless to say the fight scenes will be the reason you pay for a ticket to see this film and it pays out in spades as it provides a real showcase for “Silat” the Indonesian martial art style, which focuses on strikes, joint manipulation, throws aswell as the use of bladed weaponry, with the style being used to powerful effect here, especially to western audiences more familiar with the traditional Kung Fu and Kickboxing styles which have been favoured in martial arts movies, while more recent films such as Donnie Yen’s “Flashpoint” have seen the introduction of mixed martial arts. It goes without question though that Silat is yet another highly filmable style, as clearly shown here with it use of quick attacks and devastatingly powerful ground based attacks.
The promotion of this indigenous fighting style was a key reason for director Evans to make this movie, as he was looking for a project which he could build upon his fascination of the fighting style and promote it to international audiences with the films original conception as a large scale prison gang movie, only for time restraints to see it scaled down to it’s current form, which ultimately has proven to be a great decision with the hallways and shoe box sized apartments bringing a claustrophobic atmosphere to the film, aswell as a real sense of danger to what the SWAT team are facing, especially during the early scenes were they are forced to hole up in a room fighting off a rabid horde of Tama’s followers.
The cast are all fantastic with Sahetapy proving himself a powerful mixture of sleazy slumlord and skillful and intelligent tactitian, though sadly not a fighter which would be more disappointing if it was not for Uwais who not only provides a sufficient amount of fight scenes to cover for this anticlimactic encounter and proves himself a star in the making and bringing back memories of Tony Jaa in “Ong-Bak”, as he showcases his impressive catalogue of moves, with incredible smoothness aswell as speed, yet still containing a street fighting edge, as fights frequently contain moments of seeming pure improvisation, meanwhile Yayan Ruhian who appears here as head thug “Mad Dog” a man who’d rather beat his opponents with his fists than shoot them, really provides a suitable challenge especially when the big evil of the film isn’t a fighter, leaving Mad Dog to handle his fights, which he more than happily does even taking on two opponents at the same time in the climatic fight scene which clocks in at an impressive 15 mins of non-stop fighting which when it had ended was greeted by a rousing round of applause by the audience attending the screening I was at, something I had only experienced twice previously when the mother ship blew up in “Independence day” and the second being when Bruce the shark got blown up in “Jaws”, but it is really a credit to the quality of the fight scenes on offer here, that it sparked such feelings in an audience.
Needless to say this film won’t appeal to everyone, especially for those of you whom find the prospect of 90+ minutes of pure bone crunching fight scenes, more than a little tiresome, meanwhile genre fans especially those of you who like your martial arts fast and brutal and action relentless will no doubt have a blast and hungry for more.
There has been a lot of attention paid to vitamin D deficiency, which seems to have become a modern problem. Our primary source of vitamin D is sunshine but with concerns about the risks of skin cancer people have taken to using high-factor sunscreens. These prevent the body from being able to form vitamin D. As a result, there has been a resurgence of rickets and associated deficiencies in the population.
Although it is called vitamin D, it is not really a vitamin. It more closely resembles a hormone which is made in the skin when it is exposed to sunshine and is necessary for the health of every cell in the body. It is thought to be essential for growth and building reserves to see us through the winter months, so it has an impact on appetite and weight.
Apart from the sun, the main sources of vitamin D are oily fish, egg yolk and foods that have vitamins added to them, such as cereals, margarine and infant formula. But these sources on their own do not always provide the levels needed.
What happens when you have a Vitamin D deficiency?
Although vitamin D is important at any age for good health, it is vital for pregnant women, babies and children, for whom the growth and development of strong bones are essential. A deficiency can be mild and cause generalised aches and pains, or severe and lead to poor growth, soft bones and rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Respiratory problems due to weakness of chest muscles and ribs, an increased tendency to infection and in rare cases heart problems may also result in children.
Adults, however, tend to present with less specific symptoms, such as generalised and vague aches and pains. In severe cases there may be weakness, bone pains and ultimately mobility difficulties. It is thought that gastric disorders and conditions such as irritable bowel, diabetes and gallstones may also be attributed to a deficiency in vitamin D, along with some forms of heart disease, infectious conditions, autoimmune disease and cancer.
Is there a relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and sleep disorders?
Vitamin D and how it functions in the human body is not totally understood, but evidence is growing as to the extent of its necessity for health. Doctors have noted what appears to be a correlation between sleep disorders and vitamin D deficiency in some patients. All the conditions mentioned above can have a detrimental effect on sleep and lead to tiredness which will affect a person’s ability to function and work well during the day.
While waiting for a diagnosis and for treatment to take effect it is wise to look at measures that you can take to help improve your sleeping conditions in the home. A good and supportive Sealy mattress can go a long way to make your sleep more restful and relieve some of the symptoms you may be experiencing.
How can Vitamin D deficiency be diagnosed and treated?
It is important if you think vitamin D deficiency may be an issue for you that you consult your GP. Diagnosis can be made using a series of tests to determine the severity of the condition. Once diagnosed, you will need to take vitamin D supplements, which may be given either orally in liquid or tablet form or by injection, depending on your symptoms and situation. In some cases, this may require several months of treatment. When levels have been restored, long-term maintenance treatment with lower doses may be needed to prevent further problems.
