As I mentioned here, I got a USB enclosure, so I have been checking out the collection of hard drives I have been saving for years. I have always had a habit of saving my old hard drives, because I thought that eventually there would be some moment where I would hook them up and get to see what treasures lay within... Well, that day has obviously come:

This actually happened. I went to a Blockbuster video store with Myriam a couple of nights ago. I haven't rented a movie in years because I just don't watch that many movies at home. I misplaced my Blockbuster card long ago and I knew that I would have to get a new one, but what the hell, it must be an easy process with technology nowadays and all right? So we walked into the Blockbuster and I swear it was like stepping into a time warp back to the early 90s. Not a damned thing has changed at all since then! I was hit right away with that funk smell of old carpet and b.o. that Blockbuster stores always seem to have. Myriam went to look for the movie that we wanted to get while I proceeded to the desk to get a new Blockbuster card. Now I'm totally expecting Blockbuster to have updated their computer system or something in the 10 years or so since I last went in one. Maybe they'll just ask me a few questions, scan my credit card or something and I'll be done. But no, she handed me the same old paper form that I filled out in like 1990 when I got my first card and told me to step aside and fill it out. This form is full of questions and information that have nothing to do with my renting of dvds. It's even got a section where you have to agree to rewind tapes, not let underaged kids use your card to rent rated R movies, etc. In the age of the internet, Netflix, etc., how in the hell is Blockbuster still getting by with this outdated practice? So, after the long process of paper work, filling out lines of worthless bullshit information for a freaking video rental card, I went back up to the desk and handed it all to the girl. She asked to see my driver's license and a credit card. I handed them over to her. She looked at my license and says, "I need to see a state driver's license". I said, "oh, do I have to have an Illinois license or something?" she replies, "no, any state will do, but it has to be a state license." So I said, "well, that's a Louisisana State driver's license." She says, "I need a state driver's license sir". So I say, "uhh....Louisiana is a state." She looked confused and said, "oh, well um, then it has to be a driver's license from there then" I reply, "that is a driver's license, from the state of Louisiana". She looks even more confused now and gets her manager who is walking by. "Joe, I told this guy that he needs a state driver's license or I.D. and he gave me this". Joe the manager looks at it and says, "yeah, that'll do". This girl honestly did not know that Louisiana was a state!!!! What the hell? Then after all the bullshit, I'm told that I can only use my card at that same Blockbuster for 30 days until I can use it anywhere else. Why is this? Are Blockbuster's computers not networked? Seriously, they are still operating under the same rules, old computers, etc. that they started out with from day one. The whole thing was just a creepy experience. Kind of like when you go to someone's house and see that they still have a landline phone mounted on the wall with one of those tape recorder answering machines hooked up to it.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49435


Could the Roman Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis be tied to embedded Satanic and occultic imagery in its artwork – some of it hundreds of years old?

That is the seemingly incredible thesis of a new documentary, "Rape of the Soul," made not by anti-Catholic bigots, but by devout followers of the Church.

"Rape of the Soul" is in theatrical release in major cities, including New York and Los Angeles.

The documentary explores the prevalent use of satanic, sexual, occult and anti-Catholic images in historical and contemporary religious artwork. The film also discusses the mysterious acceptance of the artwork at the highest and most trusted levels of the Catholic Church.

"Rape of the Soul" is rated R because of the disturbing content involving demonic, violent and sexual imagery.

The film, which is being released by Silver Sword International, contends a major cause of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church could be due to prolonged exposure to sexual and satanic images being incorporated into the religious art.

Experts are featured in the film to offer detailed accounts of the subconscious programming effects of the sex and occult images on the human brain and how it promotes sex, Satanism and the occult. Religious education materials, songbooks, children's story books, devotionals and the Sunday Missals all have been found to contain embedded imagery.

The 140-minute film shows a compilation of the events, investigations, discovery and exposure of implanted imagery in religious art. Then it shows the devastating affects of the artwork that is primarily aimed at children and the clergy.

Five experts speak on the different aspects of the artwork, including Michael A. Calace, an Italian director, actor, writer and producer who is also a devout Roman Catholic.

Calace embarked on a mission of "Merging Media with Morality" to create family-oriented films of true life drama for Silver Sword International, his production company. While doing so, he uncovered a series of religious scandals. Calace puts to use his experiences of more than 20 years of expertise to discover a huge amount of offensive images of carefully embedded sexual and occult horror. He explains the techniques used to embed the images, and he presents discoveries from his investigations.

"The deeper I dug, the more I discovered, not just in regard to contemporary art, but works dating back more than 500 years, from some well-known and respected artists. Sex and horror is the fuel that promotes the scandalous behavior in the Church. This is the answer why, and Church leaders don't have to look very far, because the problem is coming from within the Church itself," said Calace of his research.

Other experts include Wilson Bryan Key, an American recognized internationally for over 30 years of embedded-imagery expertise. He also was a professor at the University of Western Ontario.

Stanley Monteith, another expert in the film, is an author and radio talk show host who has spent more than 30 years researching the causes of America's moral decline. Monteith also has extensively studied the Vatican's history and politics and has interviewed Malachi Martin, the former Jesuit priest on many different occasions.

Marc Oster contributes his expertise in psychology and hypnosis. Judith Reisman, the final expert featured in "Rape of the Soul," is a world-renowned author, who specializes in child psychology and the harmful effects of pornography. She is also president of The Institute for Media Education and author of a U.S. Department of Justice study on juveniles.

"These images, unrecognized by the untrained eye, can be a ticking time-bomb to an individual who is unaware of their presence, especially someone who is already predisposed to deviant sexual behavior," said Reisman.

"Artists from DaVinci to Botticelli have embedded subliminal images into their art for centuries," said Calace. "In this case we found penises on crucifixes, anarchy symbols, swastikas, demonic faces and in modern works even the word 'sex' encrypted into the images. The works in question include modern artists' work currently on the covers of missalettes and hymnals that at this very moment sit in the pews of churches throughout the U.S. and on children's religious teaching aids."

Calace said, "'Rape of the Soul' was created to heal the many that have suffered from these uninvited violations."

I used to do this all the time, but for some reason stopped... Here is what I have been watching from Netflix (these are from a long time ago, now):

Anatomy

A fun little thriller from Germany. Stars the ever-lovable Franka Potenta (Run Lola Run, the Bourne Identity) as a talented med student who uncovers a conspiricy of murderous doctors who will commit any atrocity in the name of medical knowledge. Some cool effects work here, as one of the main plots of the movie revolves around an agent that can plasticize a human body to allow it to be vivisected while alive, then it will harden to a solid, statue-like state. There was a exhibit in Philly recently that reminded me of this. Not a terrible movie, but I wouldn't recommend it to non-horror/Franka fans.

Necropolis Awakened

This is a no budged zombie epic with apparently only 4-5 actors. I really wanted to like it, but it was just too zero budget for me. Nice try, guys.

976-Evil

This was even cheesier than I remembered. The kid from this (and Fright Night) went on to be a gay porn star. The plot is pretty ludicrous (as well as dated considering most people probably barely remember 976 numbers), but it was, interestingly, written by Brian Hegeland (LA Confidential, Mystic River) and directed by Freddie himself, Bob Englund.

Evil Dead Trap

Japanese horror film made before the "J-horror" trend of recent years. It involves a TV reporter who gets a series of clues about some gruesome murders, and she takes her news team to a remote warehouse, where even more gruesome fates await them. Fun homage to Dario Argento, I'd recommend to horror fans, but not for the squeamish. Note that there is also a pretty intense (and out of nowhere) rape scene right in the middle of this, so watch out.

Returner

I had heard a lot about this film, and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was a pastiche of Hollywood time travel cliches. Some decent action scenes, but ultimately not worth my (or your) time.

Frantic

Made overseas after Polanski escaped child molestation charges in the USA, this film stars Harrison Ford as a man trying to find his imperiled wife (imagine that!) in France. Sean Young also stars... this pretty much feels like a standard action film that Polanki did for the money. It's not terrible, but both he and Ford (and Young, for that matter) have done much better work.

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Takeshi Miike remakes a Korean film about a family who owns a remote hotel where all the guests seem to die. The deaths are all accidental, but the family tries to cover them up so the news doesn't get out and ruin their business... This is played for laughs, and the whole film is organized as a series of music videos, all of different styles, where the family members, guests, and passersby all participate. This works better than it sounds, and this movie is a lot of fun. Recommended.

Darkness Falls

The monster in this movie is the tooth fairy, and light kills it. The end scene is in a light house. Don't watch this movie.

Capturing the Friedmans

This is a riveting, and somewhat heart-breaking account of a family torn apart by allegations of child molestation. The footage spans several years, and is both hard to watch and hard not to watch. There are several revelatory moments that I won't ruin for you here, but this is a pretty amazing documentary. Check it out.

The Order

Brian Hegeland writes and directs this religious thriller, originally titled "the Sin Eater". A Sin Eater was a Welsh religious figure who would visit the dying and take their sins upon themself. This was outlawed, and the practice went into secrecy, according to the film... What's his name from Brokeback mountain goes in and out of his accent in this misguided film that had the misfortune to come out in the wake of the Catholic Priest Scandal. About half of this movie seems like it's going to be good, but then it verges right back onto predicatable, Hollywood territory... much like another Hegeland-directed film, Payback.

Tightrope

This is an early-80s Clint Eastwood thriller that has him chasing a prostitute murderer in the French Quarter. Unfortunately, Clint has a love for prostitutes and the murderer starts killing the ones he visits... or, perhaps, is Clint the murderer? This movie is pretty weak, and is worth it only for the scenes where Clint questions his sanity, where he is ridiculously homophobic (kind of amazing to watch), and all the New Orleans footage.

Hitcher in the Dark

I really enjoyed this film, but is definitely not for everyone. I had never, ever heard of it, so it was a pleasant suprise. An Italian production, it tells the story of a Norman Bates-esque young man who drives around in an RV and picks up hitchickers, then tortures them if they do not agree to partake in his strange son-mother fantasy games. Unfortunately for him, he picks up a hitchhiker who is wise to his games... If you like low-budget horror, or giallo films, I would recommend this.

Where Eagles Dare

A pretty lackluster "lets perform some mission past enemy lines in WWII" movie, this is really only interesting because it features Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, and because of the conceit (discovered at the beginning of the movie), that one of the members of their team is a German spy. This adds tension, but ultimately this movie can't stack up to better films with similar plots, even if it did lend it's name to an awesome Misfits song.