Summer 2007 Archives
September 5th 2007
So, we have extended the contest to Monday, September 10th and now all you have to do is send an e-mail to editor@mondopopsickle.com with "Ten Til Noon DVD" in the subject line and I will contact the winners Monday.
Buy Bioshock & Stranglehold for your XBox 360's.
Look for our YouTube reviews soon...
August 29, 2007
MONDOPOPSICKLE TV!!!!
Um yup, you read that right! Because people often tell me I should have my own review show and I laugh it off but recognize how easy it is with YouTube, I have decided to do a trial weekly version because more people will listen than read, and it is easier to say it than to write it!
I’m going to try to have special guest stars and maybe interview people on the street and see where it goes.
Look for the test run this week!
PS: My best reviews usually come in the ten minutes after I have seen a movie when I am either filled with euphoria and joy or seething with rage at how stupid and worthless the movie was (Pirates 3 I am looking at you!!!!)
August 27, 2007
Ok, we have been crazy busy lately but as you can see, we are having a giveaway. 2 Lucky winners will win a signed copy of the upcoming Ten Til Noon DVD so send us an e-mail why you are fed up with Hollywood and why you should win and you will be entered in the contest.
More details and further updates coming soon…
August 20, 2007
I have been watching and re-watching the extra features on David Lynch’s Inland Empire and just loving it.
Fans of David Lynch should not go without this book…
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch
Lynch is notorious for not speaking or divulging information on his creative process so not only is this book a great insight into how he works, but it is filled with information and wisdom that might help you live your life better.
August 19, 2007
I took a few days off to recover from a biopsy removal of some skin cancer so wish me luck pending my results.
We are eagerly awaiting Bioshock for the 360 and Stranglehold for the following week and will be doing some more work to the site.
By the way, anyone trying to reach us, we have a new e-mail system so all inquiries and e-mail should be sent to editor@mondopopsickle.com
More shortly,
Terry
August 14, 2007
I have little to say at the moment other than you all should run out and get this now… (don’t bother with Circuit City though because when I went to buy my copy they neglected to order it but had plenty of copies of Wild Hogs!)
BUY DAVID LYNCH'S INLAND EMPIRE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 13, 2007
Updates will be a little slow today because my wife gave me the flu (thanks Honey) but we got the new Hard Boiled 2 disc DVD from Dragon Dynasty and we have to say for all of the complaints I have read about it, I wasn’t dissatisfied with the movie at all. (It is just nice to have a decent copy of the film again and the picture and sound quality were good.)
My friend and I re-played the Stranglehold demo and decided it is going to be amazing! If you haven’t downloaded the demo from Xbox Live do it! Better yet, just pre-order the game because it rocks!
More soon.
August 10, 2007
So, it is Friday and for many people it is the final day of the workweek and they are looking forward to a weekend of entertainment and leisure.
David Lynch’s Inland Empire is released on Tuesday so many of us will spend the weekend dreaming of watching the maestro’s new film on DVD.
As I sift through video games, books, and DVDs I have to review (while listening to the soundtrack to The Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky which comes with the excellent boxed set of his films) I am pondering picking up the new DVD edition of John Woo’s Hard Boiled to prepare for the sweet release of Stranglehold at the end of the month.
I am still wishing for a DVD release of The Bermuda Depths and wondering when Masamune Shirow will put out a new collection of his art (come on Masamune, put out!!!)
We need to get a PS3 so we can tell you if you need to get one.
We need to take the iPhone for a test run so we can decided (and help you decide) if we should walk away from our current phone services and phones.
We also need to find out if the Olympus Stylus 720 Sw takes beautiful underwater pictures so we can tell you that for less than $400, you can do the same.
More updates, rants and reviews on the way…
August 9, 2007
We’ve gotten some very kind e-mails from people who like the new direction of the site and we want to thank you all for the kind words.
On top of updating on a daily basis, we will start posting full reviews of movies, video games, books, art & photography related items on a weekly basis.
We love being able to expose our readers to cool and subversive stuff and will continue to deliver & recommend fresh & original material for you to enjoy.
Thanks for the continued support,
Terry Osterhout
Editor
Stranglehold UPDATE
Ok, I was one of the early John Woo fans, catching his movies in Ann Arbor Michigan at the college theaters and on import video before he was big in the US. I saw the Killer & Hard Boiled, and then Bullet in the Head before moving through most of his earlier films while living in Chinatown in NYC.
Since downloading the Demo for Stranglehold yesterday, I have replayed it multiple times, each time relishing new ways of taking out the bad guys by shooting the objects around them and flying through the air in slow motion.
Fans of John Woo & Chow Yun Fat need to appreciate that this sequel to the awesome movie Hard Boiled is as close to heaven as some of us will get and it is easily the most fun I have had playing video games in some time.
The full game doesn’t come out until the end of the month but if you have Xbox 360 and are hooked up to Xbox Live, download Stranglehold ASAP if you want to feel butterflies in your stomach and joy in your heart!
Stranglehold could be the best game that comes out all year!
We love art here at Mondopopsickle almost as much as we love movies, video games and cameras, so we want you to know that because we love art so much naturally we love HI FRUCTOSE magazine!
The new issue is on newsstands, and at finer bookstores now so pick it up for excellent features on cover artist Amy Sol (who we adore) and other painfully talented artists such as Lori Earley and James Jean.
August 8, 2007
Introducing the Olympus Stylus 720 SW...
Now, most people who visit this site also know that I am a photographer and filmmaker, (thus the coverage of gadgets and photo equipment from time to time) so it must be mentioned that I have yearned to take underwater pictures without risking my Nikon D80 in a housing unit.
The good people who make Olympus cameras read my mind and have released a camera that is waterproof up to 10 feet and shock proof up to 5 feet.
The only problem I have had is finding it because all of the major retailers have been sold out due to its obvious popularity and the demand for such a sturdy and versatile camera (sporting no less than 7.1 megapixels too!)
I’m going to contact the Olympus people and see if we can’t give one a whirl and let you guys know how it holds up.
It seems like the answer to many of our dreams!
If August wasn’t already an exciting month because of the release of Stranglehold, we must not forget the release of the stunning looking Bioshock the week before Stranglehold.
WOW!!!
I just downloaded and played the Stranglehold demo from Xbox Live and I can’t remember having so much fun!
I wish we had a PS3 so we could have that sweet HD version of Hardboiled but we’ll settle for the kick ass game and the collector’s edition for the Xbox 360. (Note to John Woo and Chow Yun Fat, make this movie SOON!!!)
August 6, 2007
Ok, all of you iPhone enthusiasts don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to The iPhone by Damon Brown.
It arrives Tuesday (August 7th, 2007) and is sure to make navigating your sweet new iPhone that much easier.
Ok, so I missed David Fincher’s Zodiac in the theaters and I am supposed to be one of his most devoted fans and Fight Club is my favorite film of all time but I just couldn’t catch it.
Last night my wife and I watched it and to say I was riveted right to the edge of my seat would be underselling it!
Zodiac is easily one of the best crime thrillers ever made. Full review coming soon but see this film ASAP!
PS: There is a special edition coming in 2008, which will delve deeper into the case and give us a director’s cut that I will be counting the days to watch.
I LOVED ZODIAC!!!
August 3, 2007
Graphic design buffs, erotic art fans, and fans of fun coffee table books (for an adults only household) might enjoy All Allure, a book I happened upon in the graphic design section of my local bookstore.
All Allure collects some of the most intriguing erotic art I have witnessed and reminds me of artists I already love, and introduced me to some new ones.
I am a huge fan of these collections and love having them around for inspiration when I am stuck in a rut.
The book is a mix of artistically rendered eroticism and photographs and is only $30 through Amazon.
The book runs 160 wonderful pages and is published by Die Gestalten Verlag.
I finally saw Wolf Creek yesterday and though I enjoyed the characters and the suspense built, something occurred to me about these films with ultra violence and torture. Once I realize there is no hope left for the characters, my interest in where the story goes from there rapidly fades.
Even if a character survives but has lost limbs, fingers or has been subject to horrific violence, I feel cheated if the filmmakers shrug off the loss by the characters. (Anyone who has ever had a major injury knows you don’t dismiss losing a piece of you.
I know youngsters are seeing this stuff and I know it has an ill effect on them and it disturbs me.
All of these parents who are terrified of their teens seeing a Playboy, or seeing some Skinemax soft core kink-fest, have no problem with their children watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, or the Saw films.
I know the argument is old, beaten and dead but seriously parents, you would rather your child be numbingly desensitized by constant exposure to extremely violent films but don’t want them to see the nude form?
I enjoy a good scare and I know the difference between real and movie violence but given the choice, I’d rather witness a sex scene in a movie than a character watch their loved one ripped in half with a chainsaw but what do I know.
Better a society full of little psychopaths than one filled with horny little reproducing rednecks I guess?
August 2nd 2007
I give Warner Bros a hard time a lot and have over the years (for their atrocious mishandling of Eyes Wide Shut, and those horrible DVD cases that they clung to for years, and some really bad movies) but I give them a hard time because they are one of the greatest motion picture studios of all time.
I loved 300 but was pissed at the lame “special edition” they released this week but forgive them because we are finally getting this…
Yes, finally a 5 disc Special Edition boxed set of one of the greatest movies ever made, Blade Runner!
It is only $54 bucks through Amazon.com and yes it comes in cheaper versions but this one has everything you could ever want and it comes in a brief case (I’m clearing a space for it now!)
This is what geeks want!
Thanks Warner Bros.
One of the reasons I decided to return to the site and spout, spew and vent again was simply because I found myself commenting, blogging, and posting all over the net anyway on myspace and other sites designed for babble, and realized I should just keep my comments and useless thoughts in one place, my home, Mondopopsickle.com.
One of the other things that made me want to review again was a review for the movie Cashback (which I loved) in Entertainment Weekly, which made me so angry I could barely hold back my fury. (The reviewer, who isn’t qualified to evaluate any movie’s worth, gave Cashback a D rating!)
Even if one hated Cashback, it deserves at least a B for artistic originality and boldness alone, so if indie films with their own unique voice and flavor can’t get fair representation and only big mainstream films are considered worthwhile than truly artistic films are doomed and we are forced to sit through endless sequels and remakes.
This site is a mixed bag. I’m not a web designer (as you can all see) and I could easily just post this stuff anywhere on some free site but I love having my own piece of internet real estate to post my opinions because as a child of the 70’s, raised on comic books, The Six Million Dollar Man and video games, and having worked in and managed video stores all of my adult life, I know stuff but mostly I know a lot of stuff about things I like.
There are plenty of movie review sites and movie gossip sites, and most of them are much better than this one, but this one has my voice and here you can be exposed to not just new movies, but great old movies you might have missed, great television old and new, books, art, photography, video games, cool gadgets, and a lot of behind the scenes stuff on my own movies, art, photography and various projects and adventures.
If you are a new reader, welcome! If you are returning, welcome back. I think the site is going to be better than ever and more fun and informative but I have been wrong before and it was still ok.
Terry Osterhout
Editor
August 1st 2007
The Mondopopsickle RANT of the week!
- August 1st 2007 - Blu-Ray or HD-DVD? -
I would like to welcome Melissa S, my co-producer, actress and muse who will soon be contributing reviews and articles for Mondopopsickle.com so keep a look-out for her and her work. (Melissa LOVES horror films but also has an extensive knowledge of indie and foreign films so we are genuinely excited to have her aboard.
A few months ago I was sure that Mondopopsickle.com was dead and that I no longer would update it but things have changed a little and I’m going to give it another stab.
Now that I am working full time on photography and movies I don’t have much time to write but realized I still had a bit to say and would give one last shot at writing for the site but with a little more venom towards the mainstream which I playfully hate so much.
Updates will only be more regular than they have been (but will appear at least once a week.)
I have actually been watching movies again so I will be reviewing them (though with much shorter reviews that are more to the point like you all demanded.)
Don’t forget the movie Ten Til Noon comes out on DVD in September.
Here is a summary of what we have seen and what kind of reviews you can look forward to…
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 – Hated it! Seriously, I hated it and I will be telling you why soon!
Die Hard 4 – Entertaining, but highly implausible and absurd!
Cashback – Great, great movie! Loved the short, loved the feature!
Black Snake Moan – Well, I liked it!
More to come…
July 19th, 2007
I wasn't a fan of Crowded House when they first emerged and they had broken up before my wife and I started dating so when we got together I learned that I had no idea how good of a band they were.
Neil Finn, the lead singer embarked on a solo career and shared a band with his brother Tim (The Finn Brothers) and I became a Neil Finn fan for his folksy, soulful rock songs.
My wife and I have seen Neil Finn multiple times in concert and the Finn Brothers twice (Both Finn Brothers albums are astonishingly brilliant and must owns.)
Last year it was announced that Crowded House would re-united (minus Paul Hester who had sadly taken his own life a couple of years ago) and would be recording a new album.
So, last week the album was released and I am haunted by the beautiful music and lyrics that easily makes up their greatest album yet. Nobody reflects on love, loss, aging and our own short time on earth like Neil Finn.
Crowded House's Time On Earth & Interpol's Our Love To Admire are easily the best albums of the year!
May 19, 2007
Mondopopsickle’s Top 50 Favorite Movies
- Betty Blue
- Angel Heart
- Vidocq
- Mean Streets
- Hard Times – directed by Walter Hill – starring Charles Bronson
- Sin City
- The Brotherhood of the Wolves – (Le Pact des Loups)
- Fight Club
- A Clockwork Orange
- Eyes Wide Shut – (Yeah, we think its brilliant so “suck it!”)
- Out of the Past – Robert Mitchum & Kirk Douglas
- Sweet Smell of Success – Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis
- Suture
- Danger Diabolik
- Blade Runner
- Point Blank – John Boorman
- DAVID LYNCH FILMS – (Yes, all of them! We cheated, ok?)
- Carnal Knowledge
- Garden State
- The Story of O
- King Kong – (the original)
- The Bermuda Depths
- Straw Dogs
- Henry & June
- The Wild Bunch
- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
- The Indian Runner
- The Fugitive Kind
- On the Waterfront
- Dazed & Confused
- The Royal Tenenbaums
- Rushmore
- The Life Aquatic
- Pulp Fiction
- I.K.U.
- Vampyros Lesbos
- Barbarella
- Logan’s Run
- The Planet of the Apes – (All but Burton’s)
- The Maltese Falcon
- Goodfellas
- The Emerald Forest
- After Dark my Sweet
- Gargoyles
- Cemetery Man
- Brazil
- The Fisher King
- Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
- Cannery Row
- Lost in Translation
March 16, 2007
This site isn’t dead yet folks.
Yes, we have been sidetracked, derailed, sabotaged and neglected but the love is still there.
We have been very busy working on side projects and know you miss our lame reviews so we will be working over the next couple of months to catch up.
In the meantime…
I’ve been buying your art for years so why don’t you return the favor and pick up a copy of my new photo coffee table book “High On Murder.”
Here is the link…
High On Murder – A Photography Book by Terry Osterhout – 54 pages
The proceeds will go to picking up the Nikon D80 camera that Nikon didn’t get me for my birthday (yeah, we knew they wouldn’t but it never hurts to ask.)
February 25th 2007
Working on reviews and trying to catch up and fix some stuff with the site. Will have some new stuff soon.
For now, a picture...
February 15, 2007
Well, I have pretty much decided that this will be the last year for this site but I plan on reviewing everything sent to me within the last year and making the rest of the year fun when I do post.
My life has been too stressful these last few years and I just don’t have the energy to promote everyone’s stuff in the regular and prompt manner people deserve.
I’ll happily sell the site to anyone who thinks it should go on or that thinks they might be able to take it to the next level.
In the meantime, I will catch up on reviews soon including the new Celeste movies and a few mainstream reviews I have been working on.
February 6, 2007
I have been very busy but will updates soon...
Here is a sample of what I have been up to...
January 2007
Archives – Fall 2006
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