Horrorfest 2014 Presents: The Ninth Gate (1999, Roman Polanski)

Although more of a thriller than a horror movie, The Ninth Gate is rooted in both the supernatural and reality, something that Polanski did with Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant and Repulsion. Johnny Depp portrayals a book dealer and collector who is hired by a rich collector named Boris, played by Frank Langella to prove his copy of a book written by the Devil is not a fake. Even though the reasons are never revealed, Depp’s Corso presses on with the search, brushing past increasing dangers and witnessing horrible things in the process.

This, like all of Polanski’s films is rather well made and is engaging throughout. However it almost falls apart in the second act and the ending is a tad unsatisfying, and the film could have been shortened by at least 20 minutes. The mystery woman (the rather gorgeous Emmanuelle Seigner)  that aids Corso is a little too convenient and the film itself dives into silliness in certain parts. Yet I was still mostly entertained and the film has the hallmarks of many of Polanski’s best works. A much better modern Polanski thriller is The Ghost Writer, a film that has a better cast and is more tightly paced.

 

Organization Takes Too Much Work

So months after I moved into my apartment I am finally moving my shelves and other stuff in. I got one shelf placed and I brought three whole boxes worth of movies with me as well. I had my dad help me take the shelf in and after he left it took me over 90 minutes to put away all the films I took with me.

That is my bookshelf in my room. Its completely full and I actually had to fit my other movies and some other stuff in another shelf. That shelf is also full right now:

It’s a bit ridiculous yet it also makes me realize how many films I’ve obtained over the years. I have two more shelves and a bunch more CDs and books left to bring in too. And probably even more films. I thought about selling most of my collection but I realized I would receive very little money in return.

Besides part of the fun of moving is putting your possessions in new spaces. Switching things around so they fit better. My new room already suits me and I’ve managed to keep it clean. Sometimes change is good.

Viewer Beware, You’re In For A Scare

Back when I was a kid, Goosebumps was all the rage. Everyone read the books, owned the books, and loved the books. R.L. Stine helped make reading cool, which despite his stories being cheesy or very kids oriented was still a good thing: anything that gets kids to read should be encouraged. In fact some of his tales had twists that M. Night Shyamalan wishes he could come up with. So I was happy that Netflix Instant Viewing now has the rights to the show, which channeled the books pretty well, as all four seasons have been released so far. But hey its a start and I plan to go through the show as much as possible. I started last night with the pilot, titled The Girl Who Cried Monster.

Really its merely a solid episode, yet I still enjoyed it anyways. I vaguely remember reading the book, and it has a trademark Stine twist that made me smile a bit. The creature effects are rather decent for a kids TV show that aired on Saturday mornings, and the main protagonist starts off with their narration, which was part of Stine’s books. I do plan on continuing to watch the show, and go through the rest of the series. Which I will share here as a side project to my Horrorfest, as its fitting to view a horror oriented show while also watching horror movies.