I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur of memes per say, but I do tend to jump on the ones that I find particularly creative and neat. Such is the Cinematic Alphabet as exemplified by Rupert Pupkin Speaks. All you have to do is name a movie for every single letter of the alphabet. These can be your favorite movies, your favorite horror movies, your favorite porn movies or even your cat's favorite movies.... (hmmmm now there's an idea). The rules as Mr. Bob Freelander so wonderfully states is that there are NO rules.
I debated for at least a half an hour with intervals for snacking, on whether or not my list should be compromised solely of horror films. It was tough. In fact it was really, really tough but I think I've come to a decision. My Cinematic Alphabet is a collection of the movies that tantalize my face, which is a term trademarked by me in case you were wondering. So let's get face tantalizing!
A is for An American Werewolf in London
B is for Blood and Black Lace
C is for Candyman
D is for Day of the Dead
E is for Elf
(It's the best movie ever, don't act like I'm kidding)
F is for The Fog
G is for Ghostbusters
H is for Hellraiser
I is for Inside
J is for Jurassic Park
K is for Killer Klowns From Outer Space
L is for Let's Scare Jessica To Death
M is for Martyrs
N is for The Neverending Story
O is for The Orphanage
P is for Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Q is for Quarantine
(This is the only movie I've seen that starts with a Q okay?)
Before I even press play on Popcorn, I feel like I've known it for months. I feel like we have been friends, communicating on the interwebz in an openly non-sexual yet, entirely flirtatious relationship. As with most things that happen in my life--we can blame this effect on Kristy Jett, who has formed a strong bond with Popcorn. She's been doing her damnedest to make sure that Popcorn gets the re-release it deserves, complete with a very special retrospective documentary. Follow the progress---here!
So like I was saying, everything is Kristy Jett's fault and it is because of her and all her Popcorn promoting that I felt like I already knew the film. I was nervous about my first real life meeting with Popcorn. Would it be as good looking as its picture suggests? Would it be awkward in real life instead of funny and sarcastic? Luckily my butterflies subsided almost immediately and guess what? Popcorn is pretty damn entertaining.
Popcorn is the kind of film that isn't just made by people that like horror films--it's done by people that understand them and the legacy they leave behind. The film takes place during a horror movie marathon, where during various gimmicks--our characters are killed in a brutal fashion.
All the while, Maggie tries to piece together the parts of her cloudy and mysterious past, which when completed will reveal the true nature behind the killings.
Popcorn is a homage to several amazing things. Mostly this is William Castle, whose legacy of gimmicks and theatrical spectacles are things of legend. I said back in my review of The Tingler, that I wish someone would bring back the awesomeness of things like electric shocks underneath theater seats, black outs and creepy, crawly tinglers brushing past our legs.
Well, the film students in Popcorn do exactly this, and it's brilliant! They rig up a giant mosquito to come flying at the audience during a film called Mosquito!
They set up an elaborate system of actual shocks during "Attack of the Electrified Man" and finally, they employ the power of "aroma-rama" during "The Stench". All of the gimmicks are multiplied in fun by two fold as we also get to experience the mega insanity of the crowd in the film enjoying them. It makes me a bit jealous actually because I know that no film-going crowd that I see a movie with will ever be as animated as these people. I mean, can I really trust my fellow film goers to unleash a barrage of popcorn and soda containers at a giant flying mosquito about to eat my face? Probably not. This whole aspect of the film although exaggerated some, solidifies the simple idea that going to the movies should largely be an experience rather than just something you watch.
It's no surprise that Popcorn is heavily influenced by the William Castle school of awesome--the poster of The Tingler in the background here,
and the death clause forms are just a few of the little winks in horror film fans directions. I was worried at first that when the killing began--the gimmicks and the movie marathon might stop--but boy was I wrong. Popcorn also does a very important thing here by showing the sheer power of a film going crowd who is lost in the moment. We saw it 6 years before in Demons and we see it 6 years later in Scream 2--it's a phenomena that garners a strange respect where we realize that what happens on the screen is the most important thing in the world. Sure, I may have never experienced it really myself (although I am looking forward to one day getting free glow in the dark Stab knives as I enter the theater) but films like this use the phenomena to their advantage and I totally dig that.
Popcorn is one of those films that is a lot smarter than you think it is. It has both its good and bad moments, and the plot towards the end gets a bit dodgy in spots--but overall the film is a fine example of a horror film that does what it's supposed to do--entertain us. Just between you and me, I feel like I've fallen into a bit of a dry spell on the whole not paying attention thing when I watch films. It's like I suddenly came down with a flaming case of ADD and there was nothing to stop it. Well, consider Popcorn to be my Ritalin, because I was completely focused and drawn into the mystical powers of Popcorn. It's hilarious in some parts, creepy in others and contains some truly brilliant soundtrack use.
Plus, Dee Wallace, that blonde girl who was the beauty queen from a League of Their Own, that guy in Vada Sultenfuss' poetry class in My Girl AND the sister from the People Under the Stairs all make an appearance. And to top it all off Jill Schoelen stars--whom to many signifies The Stepfather but to me---signifies Babes in Toyland,
and wanting one of those Toyland cars (With a cookie license) for myself. (Blue please Santa, thanks!)
I mean really, what's not to love?
So in closing, Popcorn and I have finally met and I think---I THINK we may actually be real life friends now. Can you believe it? I have to go now so that I can write Mark Zuckerberg a thank you letter for creating a social network outlet where Popcorn and I could meet and really get to know and understand one another.
I'm not entirely sure "The fourth act" is an official cinematic term. There is no entry for it on Wikipedia, which obviously means that it doesn't exist in real life, since Wikipedia is you know ...the true and honest authority on everything. Also when you Google it--a bunch of shitty movies come up--and if you can't get the facts from Google who can you turn to? By the way, thanks to Google I am now fully aware when the anniversary of the ice cream sundae is--thank GOD.
So, what is the "fourth act" you ask? The fourth act of a film is kind of a gotcha moment. It's when we put our guards down and breathe a sigh of relief that all the scary stuff is over. The fourth act, grips us by the face and yells things like, "JUST KIDDING" or "IT'S NOT OVER YET" and "HA!". It is actually quite a mean little bastard come to think of it. But even though it's mean, I've come to truly appreciate it and I always keep a look out for it and get all excited and pretend to be smart when it does.
But since there is no Wikipedia entry--I can't give an official run down of the history of the fourth act and when it started and any other smart details that I could copy and paste from somewhere in an attempt to pretend that I am also smart. So instead I'll just have to point out what my favorite fourth acts are and you will just have to tell me if I missed any important ones--since I'm pretty sure most of you are in fact smarter than I am. Then again, do any of you spend your time studying Wikipedia articles about the history of the Kellogg company or the natural mathematical properties of a spiral? Didn't think so.
Alien
My 2nd favorite example of a fourth act comes from one of the best movies in the entire universe. This was a moment that completely took me by surprise and made me spill water on myself. After resident bad ass and cat lover Ellen Ripley
escapes the alien and makes it to the escape shuttle, she prepares to enter stasis. Unfortunately, just as we let out our final breath of relief, the alien is seen sleeping soundly in the shuttle!! That's right, that crazy mother fucker is still alive! It's a moment that causes you to curse loudly and throw things. Can you imagine, going through all of that---thinking that you made it safe and sound and find that you are trapped on an escape shuttle with the alien and have no place to go?
Luckily, Ellen Ripley is a woman who thinks on her feet and she was able to successfully lure the alien into one of the engines and blasts it into oblivion. God bless. A fun fact about this particular fourth act is that it was later added in by the mind of Ridley Scott--who was displeased with the original ending of Ripley simply escaping off in the shuttle. The original plan was actually to have Ripley lose to the alien, have her head bitten off--and have the alien perform the final log entry in the voice of Ellen Ripley. Talk about your gut punch ending.
Personally I'm glad the film ends the way it does because what would Aliens be without Ellen Ripley? I hate every one in that movie except Ellen Ripley and Lance Henriksen and as we all know, robots aren't exactly capable of man handling an exosuit cargo loader the way that Ellen Ripley does. On second thought are they?
I think I just made an assumption that could technically be considered as robot racist. Don't hold it against me.
Poltergeist
Following closely on the heels of the success gained from the fourth act in Alien, Poltergeist provides us with what is in my mind---the best fourth act in history. I tend to encounter this strange phenomena with Poltergeist. Even though I've seen it about 50 million and 3 times, I still always think that maybe *this time* the house will not turn on them one last time, and that *this time* the closet will not turn into a giant pulsating ball of pink flesh. Unfortunately it happens every time and every time that it does I get angry. I get angry at Craig T. Nelson who lets his family wait for him in the house. I get angry that Jo Beth Williams decides that now is the time to take a relaxing bath! God damn all of you!
I think what makes the fourth act in Poltergeist so memorable is that it's a fricking crazy fourth act. It's the ultimate false sense of comfort as evidenced by the fact that getting Carol Anne out of the closet world was in fact the entire point of the whole movie. Because she was rescued, and everything seemed to be fine---and because Zelda Rubenstein (RIP!) declared that the house was clean....we believed as the Freelings believed that they were safe.
As most of us know however, they are not safe. The beast still lives on and he is pretty angry. Like really fucking angry...like....I'm gonna turn the closet into a uterus and make coffins sprout out of the ground angry. It's the best fourth act in the world---in my opinion (Which is the right opinion).
The Ring
And filling out the brief list is The Ring. I forget if Ringu ends the same but I'm guessing it does because they are mostly the same movie. Okay, the authority on everything that is Wikipedia informs me that yes, it does basically end in the same way. So now all you original purists can be silenced!
After Rachel thinks that by simply finding Samara's body and nestling it closely to her bosom, is enough to end the curse--every one goes home and breathes a sigh of relief. Unfortunately for Noah who did not have the luxury of showing the tape to someone else--he gets killed by the very scary spectral image of Samara exiting from the TV screen. This is a more simple example of a fourth act and one that I'm sure people saw coming from a mile away.
Still though, you have to admit, it was a fourth act that was pretty mind blowing in all the right places. Sure, we may have not been as naive as Rachel to think that Samara's spirit had to be released, but when Aidan gets all wide eyed and terrified when he hears what Rachel has done--it's almost as if the hair on the back of our neck stands up. Samara's spirit is now free--she can do whatever she wants. Luckily she still seems to be restricted to coming out of wells in TV sets though. I imagine it would be marginally horrible if one day she realized she could walk around and just kill people as she pleased....yikes.
So, those are my three favorite examples of a fourth act. Now class, it's time for you to give me an example of a fourth act! I would also like to point out, that another good example of a fourth act comes from the finale of Season 4 of Dexter. Which I will not spoil but those that have seen will know what I refer to. Ah the good old days before Julia Stiles ruined everything!
I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur of memes per say, but I do tend to jump on the ones that I find particularly creative and neat. Such is the Cinematic Alphabet as exemplified by Rupert Pupkin Speaks. All you have to do is name a movie for every single letter of the alphabet. These can be your favorite movies, your favorite horror movies, your favorite porn movies or even your cat's favorite movies.... (hmmmm now there's an idea). The rules as Mr. Bob Freelander so wonderfully states is that there are NO rules. 
