热头条: 2013年1月5日

2013年1月5日星期六

<<<<A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, symbolic of the hacktivist group Anonymous, at a rally earlier this year. The group organized a second protest in Steubenville, Ohio, on Saturday to protest what it says is an effort by some town members to protect football players involved in the rape of a 16-year-old girl in August. >>>>>

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< At the time that the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released in 1974, modern horror franchises were a rarity. The classic monsters of old had, of course, spawned many sequels during their Universal heyday and later remakes in the Hammer era but the groundbreaking slasher films of the then-current day – seminal shockers like Psycho and Texas Chainsaw – did not immediately generate follow-ups, for whatever reason. But once the ‘80s arrived and horror hits were being spun into franchises with increasing frequency, studios decided that it was time to excavate their back catalog and cash-in – hence the return of characters like Norman Bates and Leatherface to the horror fold. Because Norman Bates was such a rich character, portrayed so compellingly by Anthony Perkins, the follow-ups to Psycho fared well – even with the burden of having to pick up over two decades since the original. Making a franchise out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, on the other hand, was far more of a challenge. Every film is a collaborative effort – assembled by many hands, dependant on various elements in order to emerge in whichever way it does. That’s why trying to duplicate what made a film a success is always a tricky, often futile, endeavor. But even more than most films, the original Chainsaw was an especially alchemical act. The brutal shooting conditions, in which the cast had to suffer through the unforgiving Texas heat while filming for long hours – often within the stifling location of the Sawyer farmhouse, trapped with the rising stench of decomposing cattle parts – imprinted an authentic air of real world madness onto the film. That’s the kind of guerilla filming experience that would not ever be duplicated, not even in the most low budget Hollywood enterprise. That arduous shoot was essential to what made the original TCM what it is, though, so it’s not surprising that the sequels, remakes, and prequels all, to different degrees, failed to measure up to that first film. Being that Chainsaw is too irresistible a brand name for studios to resist, though, they have never stopped trying to recapture lightning in a bottle (see Texas Chainsaw 3D for the latest example of that). The first sequel, the only one helmed by Tobe Hooper, was reviled by most critics and fans for veering into gonzo black humor but has since been rightly reassessed as one of the highlights of ‘80s horror. But the flak that TCM 2 initially received for its perceived mistakes was a key influence on the direction that the second sequel would take. Once the rights to Texas Chainsaw Massacre were acquired by New Line Cinema in the late ‘80s, it was inevitable that they’d try to relaunch the franchise. As every horror fan knows, New Line achieved their initial success thanks to the Nightmare on Elm Street series and The House That Freddy Built proved themselves to be adept at building successful franchises (not just in horror, as they also scored big with the likes of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the House Party films) so the prospects for the return of Texas Chainsaw looked good. With Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, the second film would be ignored and the new film would act as, essentially, the first sequel to the original. It would also dispense with the comedic approach the Hooper’s sequel took and return the series to the pure horror that the original was known for (although it’s often forgotten or ignored that the original had its share of dark humor). Jeff Burr, who had developed a name for himself in the genre with the well-regarded films The Offspring and Stepfather II, was tapped to direct and noted splatterpunk author David J. Schow ("The Kill Riff") penned the screenplay. The plot is as basic as it gets – a young couple (played by Kate Hodges and familiar ‘80s horror figure William Butler) in the throes of a break-up are taking one last trip together as Hodges’ character is driving her father’s car from California to Florida. They take an ill-advised detour while in Texas and before long, they’re fighting to avoid being dinner, or trophies, or whatever for a clan of cannibalistic killers (whose ranks include then-unknown Viggo Mortensen). A weekend warrior/survivalist type (Dawn of the Dead’s Ken Foree) is pulled into the action as well but will assault rifles prove useful against Leatherface’s chainsaw? Not so much. The shoot was a difficult one and compounding that, the MPAA did not show the film any love (it was submitted before the board 11 times), demanding extensive cuts, making sure Leatherface was as neutered as possible before it hit screens in January of 1990. Upon its release, Leatherface didn’t quite cut through the competition, earning reactions ranging from indifference to disdain, but I maintain an enduring nostalgia for this movie – admittedly less for its own cinematic virtues than for the period of time it embodies. Leatherface came out at a time when horror was very scarce on the big screen. Even a kind of slow-ish year for the genre like 2012 seems like a deluge compared to what was in theaters in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s when genre films came out in drips and drabs so just about any horror movie from that time strikes a nostalgic chord with me as, even if a movie was lackluster (and they usually were), I always appreciated the chance to see horror on the big screen. Every release was a reason to keep the fire of fandom burning. The best things to come out of Leatherface were the pimped out Chainsaw (insisted on by New Line head honcho Robert Shaye) with the engraved motto “The Saw Is Family” and the clever teaser trailer that referenced the Arthurian legend of The Lady In The Lake – one of the best horror trailers ever made. The movie itself, though, is fairly unremarkable. Not terrible, just unremarkable. It’s a reminder of a time when horror films were usually pale imitations of better days, made for and marketed to a diminished but still stubbornly dedicated fanbase patiently waiting for the genre to rally. You had to be a real horror fan to stick with the genre back then and as such I continue to remember Leatherface fondly. >>>>>>>>>>>>

<<<<<<'Texas Chainsaw 3D': Is Everyone In This Movie An A-Hole?>>>>>>>

The first wide-release movie of 2013 is Texas Chainsaw 3D. Billed as a direct sequel to the original Tobe Hooper film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Texas Chainsaw 3D picks up 20 years after the events depicted in that film. With 2012's Oscar contenders out of the way, that leaves us answering every question that you could have about Texas Chainsaw 3D.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jets coach Rex Ryan covers up wife-Sanchez tattoo with 'I heart me' shirt

Jets coach Rex Ryan made a phone call in his "I heart me" shirt at The Cove Atlantis, while his wife took it easy. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Manziel Leads A&M to Cotton Bowl Rout of Sooners

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Johnny Manziel responds to the post-Heisman spotlight with a nearly perfect Cotton Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas -- As impressive as Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was during the Cotton Bowl -- and there haven't been many more impressive bowl performances as long as they've been playing college football -- he was just as good afterward. While we know pretty much everything we need to know about Manziel as a quarterback, we don't know much about Manziel off the field yet. He wasn't allowed to speak to the media for most of the season because of coach Kevin Sumlin's policy on freshmen. He's flashy on the field and has the catchy Johnny Football nickname, so maybe there's a notion that he's cocky off the field. All I can tell you about Manziel is this: He handled himself as well as any quarterback could in the post-game media interviews following Texas A&M's 41-13 win over Oklahoma. He deflected all hints of praise while maintaining a confident aura, which isn't easy to pull off. That is especially impressive considering how much fame was heaped on him before he turned 20 years old less than a month ago. The first freshman Heisman Trophy winner, who did stops on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show" in the past month, didn't take any credit for the 229 rushing yards or 287 passing yards he had. The Cotton Bowl record of 516 yards was all due to his offensive line. The game plan. The seniors on the team. "I know for me, without them, none of my success this year would have been possible," Manziel said of the seniors. (USA Today Sports Images)The game he played was incredible. He beat the FBS record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a bowl game by 28 yards. Oh, and he passed the ball better than Oklahoma counterpart Landry Jones, the first player in FBS history with at least 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in each of his four seasons. When Manziel hit Uzoma Nwachukwu for a 34-yard touchdown with 9:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, he was 13-of-17 for 212 yards in 20:57 of game action in the second half. That's roughly a 600-yard pace over 60 minutes. And this was against the co-Big 12 champs, not some FCS patsy on a Saturday in September. When asked if Manziel was as good as any college quarterback he had gone against, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops answered quickly, "Absolutely." He talked about playing one safety deep, something the Sooners didn't do much before the Cotton Bowl, Manziel said, and getting burned, then playing two safeties deep and getting burned another way. Did Manziel think it was his best game? "It was our best team offensive (game)," Manziel said. "The team and coaches put me in great situations to be successful." He talked about getting better this offseason, getting in the weight room, going out to California to once again work with quarterbacks guru George Whitfield, who has worked with Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. He talked about how he needs to improve his fundamentals as a passer, like footwork. "Throwing less balls off your back foot - even though it may work out, do it right," Manziel said. "Get better." Then he was asked about Texas A&M's chances of being a national title contender next year, considering the Aggies should be a top five preseason pick. It's an easy question that could be answered quickly, but Manziel got serious. "It depends how hard people want to work in the offseason," Manziel said. "I'm going to call the people who are left and say, 'How bad do we want this? Do we want to be preseason hype and not back it up, or do we really want to come out and grind in the summer when people don't want to come?'" Manziel is looking you right in the eye now. "When you have class in the morning and you don't want to go to 7-on-7 in the afternoon, you don't want to wake up at 6:30 and lift, you don't want to do some of these things, that's going to be big for this team," Manziel said. "If you want to put in the work, the sky is the limit for this team." He is barely 20 years old but carries himself with the poise of a NFL starter. It's impressive. (USA Today Sports Images)Offensive lineman Luke Joeckel said a lot of the Aggies knew all about Manziel coming out of high school ("We'd heard about the legend of Johnny Football," he said), even gathering around to watch his highlight tape. They learned a lot about him when he was redshirting. They saw him working hard in the weight room and at every practice. By the time he became the starter, they were already following him. "We all had respect for him," Joeckel said. "He's a natural leader. He's always had confidence, but it's not arrogant confidence. He doesn't have to talk about it. He's an easy guy to follow." He did everything right at Cowboys Stadium, and the game was just part of that. You can't make a judgment on a person's leadership ability based on a short interview session, but he has everything needed to remain a star in college and beyond. Even though he will enter his sophomore season with a crushing amount of hype (and probably without All-American tackles Joeckel and Jake Matthews, who were also great against Oklahoma and could each be top 10 picks if they leave early for the NFL Draft), he has lived up to all of it so far. He can throw the ball about as well as any pocket passer. In person, his elusiveness and ability to beat a defender to a spot while running the ball is astonishing. He seems willing to improve and established himself as a leader before his freshman year was done. And he refused to brag about any of it. "I'm still Johnny Manziel, the same guy I was against Florida," Manziel said, referring to the season opener. "Our team has gotten better, obviously. But I'm the same person."