off the beaten track '80s horror: a guest post by karen g.

For me, there was nothing better than going to the video store on a Friday night after another uneventful week at school. In our video store we had a very special section called: “Blue Band Movies”. These were usually 25 cents per rental and had a selection of some of the most obscure, campy and fun horror and sci-fi movies I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling across. This section was what I used to call “rejected cinema” and sadly today, some of these titles are virtually impossible to find. I felt like such a rebel for watching them when my schoolmates were watching more “refined” movies like E.T. and The Goonies. Even though I may never have the opportunity to watch some of these again, the incredibly artistic video covers will be burnt into my memory forever.

- Karen G.


Deadly Friend (1986)

The Stuff (1985)

The Initiation (1984)

Pin (1988)

Humanoids From the Deep (1980)

Edge of the Axe (1988)

Don’t Answer The Phone (1980)

Blue Monkey (1987)

Galaxy of Terror (1981)

Silent Madness (1984)

Alone in the Dark (1982)

The Prowler (1981)

Fright House (1988)

Pieces (1982)

Dead and Buried (1981)

Killer Party (1986)

Curtains (1983)

oscar dress faves 2012

Michelle Williams in coral Louis Vuitton peplum dress.  I also love her jewelry.

Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji.

I really like that Natalie Portman did a vintage dress (1954 Dior).  Though is there something cheesy about the jewelry and hair?

Another dress I liked in a shade of red: Livia Giuggiol in Valentino.

my dream oscar picks: the jdb awards

Sometimes they are pretty lame, but I guess I'm a sucker for the Oscars every year. Here are some of my favorite films and performances of the year I would have nominated.  Some were overlooked and hopefully some will get some recognition tonight.

BEST PICTURE

A Separation

nominees:

The Artist

Beginners

The Descendants

Drive

Margaret

Midnight in Paris

Shame

Weekend

Young Adult

BEST DIRECTOR

Nicolas Winding Refrn, Drive

nominees:

Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Steve McQueen, Shame

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

BEST ACTOR

Michael Fasssbender, Shame

nominees:

George Clooney, The Descendants

Tom Cullen, Weekend

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Ryan Gosling, Drive

BEST ACTRESS

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

nominees:

Viola Davis, The Help

Yoon Jeong-hee, Poetry

Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Anna Paquin, Margaret

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

nominees:

Albert Brooks, Drive

John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Patton Oswalt, Young Adult

Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

J. Smith-Cameron, Margaret

nominees:

Sareh Bayat, A Separation

Jeannie Berlin, Margaret

Mary Page-Keller, Beginners

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, & Jim Rash, The Descendants

nominees:

Everything Must Go

Incendies

Jane Eyre

Moneyball

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

nominees:

Beginners

Midnight in Paris
Weekend

Young Adult

ENSEMBLE

Margaret

nominees:

Beginners

The Descendants

Midnight in Paris

A Separation

FOREIGN FILM

A Separation

nominees:

Incendies

Le Havre

A Screaming Man

Tomboy

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life

nominees:

Manuel Alberto Claro, Melancholia
Lech Majewski & Adam Sikora, The Mill and the Cross

Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist

Newton Thomas Sigel, Drive

FILM EDITING

Mat Newman, Drive

nominees:

Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Hayedeh Safiyari, A Separation

Joe Walker, Shame

ORIGINAL SCORE

Ludovic Bource, The Artist

nominees:

The Chemical Brothers, Hanna

Cliff Martinez, Drive

Alexandre Desplat, The Tree of Life

John Williams, War Horse

ORIGINAL SONG

"Think You Can Wait," Win Win

nominees:

"Masterpiece," W.E.

"Piledriver Waltz," Submarine

ART DIRECTION / SET DECORATION

The Mill and the Cross

nominees:

The Artist

Midnight in Paris

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The Tree of Life

COSTUMES

Sonia Grande, Midnight in Paris

nominees:

Mark Bridges, The Artist

Michael O'Connor, Jane Eyre
Anaïs Romand, House of Tolerance

Dorota Roqueplo, The Mill and the Cross

VISUAL EFFECTS

Mission Impossible - The Ghost Protocol

nominees:

Attack the Block

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Super 8

The Tree of Life

SOUND

Drive

nominees:

Incendies

Mission Impossible - The Ghost Protocol

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Tree of Life

SOUND EDITING

Drive

nominees:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mission Impossible - The Ghost Protocol

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Tree of Life

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Bill Cunningham New York

nominees:

The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Project Nim

We Were Here

where the boys are: shipley & halmos

Love!