Entertaining: Movies & Games

Remaining on the subject of my recent Halloween-themed birthday party:
There's no sense in getting too attached to your agenda. Things happen and the evening might not go as planned. Guests show up late, have car trouble, and might need a ride to an auto parts store. People might just end up really getting into the conversation and you don't necessarily want to interrupt it to start a movie.

We had planned on a "double feature" as the central part of the evening, but it didn't go off quite as planned. We had video games set up in another room, and the targeted audience of the first movie were not in the "theater room" (or left early). We got started much later than usual, but again, not necessarily a bad thing: people really seemed to enjoy the food and there was a lot of animated conversation going on, so we just went with the flow.

The big surprise for the evening (for some of the guests anyway) was my birthday gift from John. He got me a very late-model HD projector and build a HUGE screen for it (102"). We've been using it for the better part of a month to watch DVDs (Dr. Who on a screen that big? Fantastic.) If you've been reading the blog, you might remember that we even made up tickets to go with the invitations.

When there was a lull in the conversation and a lot of the food was gone, we announced the start of the movie. After two families left and another arrived, we stopped the first movie and had a brief intermission, then started the feature film of the night.

In Sunday's post, I mentioned a contest. Here it is: Images from the two movies we showed at the party are below. If anyone can name them both, they're guaranteed a prize: some of the drink charms and a copy of the music mix party favor. Put your guess in the comments -- make sure there's a way for me to reach you (blog link, email address, something.) If you only know one, guess anyway. If no one gets them both right, I'll go to a single correct guess. (Guests who were at the party are exempt. Besides, they already have the CD and I'll give them drink charms if they want.)

Movie #1
Hint: This might not be what you think it is. This was a movie for the kids, so it would be classified as a comedy. (That's a really big hint.)

Movie #2
Hint: There might be a bit of a hint on the ticket.

If you know, or think you know, what either movie is, please comment! I'll give it to the weekend. If there ends up being only one correct guess, for either film, that person will win the CD and drink charms. If there is actually more than one correct guess, then I'll do a drawing on Saturday or Sunday.

Games
After almost everyone had gone home, a couple of the guests (Melanie & her 8-year-old daughter) hunkered down on the floor and played a round of Zombie Dice. It went really fast because the 8-y.o. got 12 brains on her first turn (you need 13 to win the game). I joined them for a round of Cthulhu dice (same link), and then Melanie's husband joined us for a second round. That game also went fairly quickly, as it was designed to, but I was right: it's way better with more people.

We decided that we would have to have a Cthulhu/zombie game night in a few weeks. (Melanie & Richard got me the Zombies!!! game, not realizing that I already had it. Now they own a copy, too!)

Theme: Zombies

From time-to-time, I'm going to put together a collection of links on a topic and share them here. This time: zombies! There are different kinds of zombies. I will always mean the non-Voodoo version; think of Night of the Living Dead: slow-moving; dumb but deadly. Any George Romero zombie. I'm including a sprinkling of Return of the Living Dead, just because of the "Braaaaaains!" thing. By no means should this be considered an exhaustive list; I could go on & on...

Misc. Zombie Fun

• Haunted Paper Toys has two different zombie sets to print, cut out and stand up: Monsters #5 & Monsters #6. There is a zombie in the Pocket Monsters collection, which makes great bookmarks and, finally the zombie mask.
• The Zombie Hunters is a fantastic web comic (that I'm really behind on)
• End of Days kit (crafty): don't forget to include knitting (or materials for your favorite portable hobby)
• Flesh Eating Zombies Figure Set

Movies
just a sampling; it's not possible to list them all, and everyone has their favorites

• Shaun of the Dead is a very dark comedy using entirely Romero-style zombies. I'm listing it first because it's fun. Gory, yes. But funny at the same time.
• Night of the Living Dead (NotLD) is the classic, black-and-white cult film that really kicked off the horror zombie genre. There were movies in this series: NotLD, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead. Note: I cannot, even a little bit, recommend the remakes of Dawn or Day of the Dead. The latter was so bad that it didn't resemble the original at all. Both had the wrong kind of zombies. Stick with the classics!
• In 2007, Romero began a new series, which (so far) includes: Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. He has plans for more, each picking up a character (or characters) where Diary left off.
• The Evil Dead • Evil Dead II (really, a remake of the first movie) • Army of Darkness
• Dead Alive (incredibly gross, but funny)
• Zombieland
• The Return of the Living Dead - campy as all get-out, this is the source of the "braaaaains" line that is inevitably uttered when discussing zombies. (Although everyone knows zombies will go for any flesh.) There are several movies in this series.
• Sort-of zombie movies that I like: 28 Days Later and Night of the Comet (apocalyptic-type movies, people acting kind of like zombies, but not rising from the dead)
• Resident Evil Trilogy 1-3 (bears virtually no resemblance the games)
• I asked my husband if he'd add anything to this list, and he suggested some of Lucio Fulci's movies: Zombie & Zombi 2.

Books

• The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Essential.
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Surprisingly, this was a fascinating read. Very well-done; I found myself forgetting that it was fiction. If real history books were written like this, I think more people would remember what they studied!
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Must be included. I'm on the fence about this one, but it's wildly popular.
• Apocalypse Chow: How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out. Not really about zombies. But if you're preparing your zombie apocalypse preparedness plan, then a cookbook like this could really come in handy. (I am so bummed that it's out of print, but used copies are frequently available.)

Games

• Zombies!!! Believe it or not, my husband and I bought this game, and played it, on our honeymoon. As a game, it's probably better with at least 3 people. There are a ton of expansion packs for the game, but start with just the main box to see if you like it. If the game doesn't' come with it, go ahead and order a bag of zombies. You can use them as cupcake toppers as well.
• Zombie Dice (just reviewed recently)

Treats

• Try these strawberry jam-filled candies (Skull Crushers), or use a brain mold instead.
• Straightforward & simple: cupcakes with zombies from the BagOZombies (wash first) on top.

PS: The "knitting zombie" is yours truly. I was a zombie in a student film that was never finished. I was first in make-up, but in the last scene filmed, so...I stood around like this, knitting. It's too bad the film didn't get finished, but I've gotten plenty of mileage out of the knitting zombie pics, so it's all good.

Movies: I Sell the Dead & Trick 'r Treat

The thing is, I live in the country, close to an hour's drive from any decent movie theater. So I don't go to the movies very often and I've pretty much stopped paying attention to what's playing. I keep my ears and eyes peeled for mention of movies that sound interesting; renting is also a pain, so we end up buying movies - hopefully on sale - and hope for the best. Every once in a while, I'm going to sort-of review a couple of movies from our massive collection; new or old, doesn't matter. This time, it's one new (to me) and one a little older.

I Sell the Dead
I'm starting to write this post before the movie is even here. I heard about it last week and ordered it over the weekend. With a cast that includes Dominic Monaghan (LoTR), Ron Perlman (Hellboy (♥), etc., etc.) & Angus Scrimm (Phantasm series), how could I resist?! I was going to order it eventually, but when I saw that Scrimm was in it, I had no choice. Every time we watch a Phantasm movie, my husband comments that it's too bad Scrimm doesn't work more. He seems like a very cool gentleman (from the DVD extras) and I'd love to have him over for dinner or something. I'll have to settle for buying his movies.

Okay, the movie arrived and we watched it. Monaghan plays a "Resurrection Man" (a grave robber from around the turn of the 20th century), but in this case, Resurrection Man has a whole new meaning, and that's all I'm going to say. Not brilliant, but fun. (I didn't check my watch the entire time, which is a good sign.)

Trick 'r Treat
I waited for this movie for a long time, and it did not disappoint. Truth is, I don't know if it ever made it to theaters, and I'd kind of given up on it and didn't realize it had been available on DVD/Blu-Ray for a few months before I found out (and ordered). But the second I heard it was available, I ordered a copy.

It's a pretty intense flick, and it earned its R rating. (There's some gore, but mostly...it's intense.) It's a story set on Halloween, naturally, told out of order, so you see different parts of the night from the different characters' perspectives. Eventually, they all come together. Some of the stories reminded me of the old scary comics I used to buy back in the mid-70s, the kind with the half torn cover that I got for a dime from the restaurant/candy store in my dad's hometown. Then I'd read them and have to have an escort to the bathroom because every sound and shadow made me jump.

There is one scene (no spoilers here) with dozens & dozens of jack-o-lanterns that would make any Halloween geek just swoon.