Silent Night, Deadly Night... the movie

Ah, the holiday season rapidly approaching. Family gatherings. Food. Liquor. Carols. And Christmas movies. A Christmas Carol, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, ELF, Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, and the list goes on and on and on. One movie, or rather a series of them, that is not talked about much and too often not enjoyed is "Silent Night, Deadly Night" (and the sequels). Have you ever heard of it? Have you ever watched it in it's entirety?

It was released in 1984 and and all ads were pulled after only 6 days due to the controversy it created. Shortly after, the movie was also pulled from all theaters due to protesters and movie critics constant cries.

I have to laugh because 99.9% of the protesters probably never saw the movie. They were just upset with the whole idea of a killer Santa Claus. The film was released just 7 weeks before Christmas. One critic said "What's next? A child molesting Easter Bunny?"

The jist of the movie is about a young lad named Billy Chapman. It's Christmas Eve, he and his family (mom, dad and baby brother) are returning home from visiting Grandpa. They see a man dressed as Santa Claus stranded on the roadside with a stalled vehicle. It's Christmas Eve, surely they must help Santa get on his way to deliver toys to all the children across the planet. Santa turns out to be not so nice. He kills dad with a bullet as he tries to reverse the car and get his family away from the mean man. Santa then drags mom out of the car, attempts to rape her, but her resistance just pisses him off and he slits her throat. Billy watches this all from a hiding spot, clutching his baby brother in his arms.



The movie jumps ahead 13 or so years. Billy leaves the orphanage and starts a new life. He gets a job in the town's toy store as a stock boy. It's Christmas time once again. The store Santa calls in sick and Billy is forced to don the Santa suit. Can you guess what happens next? Yup, Billy snaps. He goes on a killing spree throughout the rest of the movie hacking, slashing and doing other things to kill the naughty people he finds about the town in his travels back to the orphanage where he has plans for the mean old head nun.



I guess 25 years later the movie doesn't sound that bad, does it? We see a lot worse in real life, never mind the Hollywood screen.

Part two is a worthy watch as well... but the first 30 minutes is a re-cap of part one being told by his younger brother Ricky. It's more laughable to me and one scene is rather famous for those who have seen part two. Anybody visualize the scene where Ricky shouts "Garbage day!"

I found and purchased part 3 recently for $0.50 on VHS. Unfortunately it's not even worth a tenth of that. I guess it's better than finding it as some rare release in one Toronto's more specialized movie stores and buying it for $35. Part 3 takes off a year or so after part 2. Ricky (baby brother) has been in a coma. The doctor brings in some blind clairvoyant girl to try and awaken Ricky... which she eventually succeeds, unknowingly. It's just a really bad stupid movie. Ricky is running around with a clear plexi-glass bowl over his head, brains exposed, and flashing little lights on the helmet. He begins a killing spree. It seems he has interest in the blind girl. So, when they end up in a house near the end of the movie, I found it rather comical how a blind girl running from the killer finds her way through the house with ease from one room to another, door to door, turning handles with no fumbling. Then, when in a room, the fumbling and feeling around begins. So lame, not even laughable.

I just discovered there is also a part 4 and 5... "The Initiation" and "The Toy Maker". Probably really rare movies to find and I have no desire to hunt them down.

So, if you've not seen the first two... check 'em out! They are on dvd now as a two pack! If you saw them years ago... re-visit. I'd still not recommend showing them to any young'uns.

Knotty Bodies Espresso Bar

Listening to the news for a bit on the drive in to work and I heard a tid-bit about a small coffee chain in Washington state called "Knotty Bodies". Maybe there are more across the USA; but I don't know.

I found the story interesting besides a bunch of scantily clad women serving coffee in bikinis, lingerie, etc. This chain is outraging a large number of women. These are the same who most likely boycott Hooters restaurants. It seems some politicians are in on it now too. They are asking people to start using their cell-phones and digital cameras to start photographing customers who purchase coffee from one of these establishments, then submit the photos to a website where they will be posted on-line for all to see. The point for this is? Is a person a perv for buying coffee here?



There is complaint that some of these coffee bars are close to schools. From the pics I have seen, I bet youths see and hear a lot worse through their Britney Spears videos and lyrics (example).

So, I don't have a "I just had to say" here... more like a "I just have to ask... who gives a s**t really?" I mean, come on... women wear bikinis on the beach. There are lingerie ads in store catalogs, weekly flyers, billboards, bus shelters, etc.

Sex sells, plain and simple... we all know that. This is not prostitution. If it offends a person, don't go there.



Anyways, in this day and age, is this really that shocking and offensive?

Toronto Roller Derby Final Game...

The sign says it all... Toronto Roller Derby Finals this Saturday November 21, 2009 at The Hangar in Downsview Park. Doors open at 6:30pm and game is scheduled to start at 7:30pm. The start time may be off as last game I went to (and my first) did not begin until about 8:10pm. This is the last game until next season beginning in May 2010. The game goes about 2 hours.

A lot of fun for sure but some things to know... this game is almost sold out as of 5pm November 20th. There is no reserved seating. It's bleacher like benches, three tiers high about much of the large room. Many end up sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls. There is only one washroom and for us guys it's a breeze to get in and out of. Unfortunately for the ladies the line-up at intermission is loooooooooooooong. I'd advise drinking little prior to the game. Finding your way into the hangar parking is difficult... or it was for me. I used mapquest.ca and information is incorrect. The street it tells you to turn onto pretty much does not exist anymore (Canyon Road if my memory serves me correct). It is there but it is closed off now. There are some winding roads within Downsview Airport and some of which go a long way to nowhere... as in dead ends, fenced off areas, etc. Last time I got there shortly after 6pm and didn't actually park my car until 6:50pm. It was frustrating. Now with it being near the end of November, the sun is down early, there is little lighting on the grounds.

I've yet to see that Drew Barrymore movie "Whip It". I can see from the trailers that obviously there is more flash in the movie than what the reality is of the Toronto Roller Derby. No guard rails for one. Our track is pretty much like duct-taped. So when the girls wipe out they can get hurt a lot worse and possibly hurt spectators who try to sneak in for a closer viewing. The refs and workers do their best to keep people behind the lines, at a safe distance, from the track. The sound system within the hanger is poor too. Music can barely be heard and in some areas of seating people cannot make out the commentators. Still it's a great game. There is skill to it. I didn't completely figure out how the game played until the second round. I also didn't read my pamphlet until intermission either.

Hopefully in seasons to come, as this gains popularity, upgrades will be made. I like the rawness of our derby but some improvements would be nice.

They also sell some merchandise from the teams such as t-shirts, buttons and other little things. Cash only.

So, I just had to say... if you can make it out, and tickets are still available, come on and cheer for your favorite team. Don't worry, I am unfamiliar with both teams myself... just pick the one that appeals to you most and let them hear you roar!

The Smoke City Betties


The Gore Gore Rollergirls

The Munsters Scary Little Christmas... BOOOOOO!

It's 42 days until Christmas. The annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade is this coming Sunday. People are slowly getting into the spirit of the holiday season. Television stations start playing Christmas movies or sitcom themed episodes. The stores promote Christmas dvd movies in their weekly flyers.

I just have to say this... or better yet... warn you to NOT watch "The Munsters Scary Little Christmas" if you are over the age of 12 or were/are a fan of the original television show from the 1960's.

This was a made for tv movie back in 1996. I bought this movie last year, never aware of it before, and may have had some kind of high expectations. What a let down! I mean, I should have realized the original cast would not be in it. Duh! The actors do a very poor job of trying re-enact the magic of the original cast/show. This had to have been produced on an incredibly low budget as well... one can easily tell by the set(s). There also is a problem with the audio transfer, if that is what it is called... the movie was made in English but the words do not follow mouth movements, making it seem like a badly dubbed foreign flick.



I barely remember the movie now. It was that bad and that forgettable.

Walmart is advertising it for $11.88 this weekend in the flyer... don't waste your time. If you choose to do so anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.

GROSS BLOODY MESS! T.M.I.

Lunch discussions are often quite interesting, appetite losing, right out hilarious and screaming "TOO MUCH INFORMATION!"

Take this diddy shared earlier this week.

Buddy's wife is ill with some sort of cold/flu bug thingy. It also turns out she is on her *monthly cycle*. She lets out a large sneeze in bed and quite a mess followed not coming from her nostrils or mouth. It seems she shot out whatever choice of *plug* she uses across the mattress and left a large splatter effect on the sheets that would have delighted a mortal Nosferatu.

Every word of this is true. Can we say "TOO MUCH INFORMATION!"?

I love horror movies and all the gore... but I am certain this would not appeal to me. How would I react? Reel in horror? Toss my last meal? Or just laugh about it after the shock has passed, easing the embarrassment of my partner? Maybe all of the above? One step at a time.

Amazingly enough, everybody kept eating. It just goes to show that someone's brain-to-mouth-filter just wasn't operating at that moment. I think I need to tell him to tell her to either cross her legs before sneezing or get a larger size of *plug*.

I Just Had To Say... "Welcome"

Hey welcome to my new blog titled "I Just Had To Say"!

What do I have to say? Well, ya never know really. A movie, cd or comic review? An opinion on a current event? And quite often something I just need to get out of me, which occasionally be not for the squeemish or easily grossed out, of something I had heard/saw/experienced recently. I've pondered placing a warning of such but even then that may just draw you in anyways.

First bit in progress right now... stay tuned!