Oh my god, yes! I think i rewound that part about 20 times until I could continue the episode. If I remember correctly, that might have been one of the few times where the show stopped for a moment because everyone was laughing so hard.

There are one or two moments in the run of the show where everyone breaks down into this totally infectious laughter.

The running commentary during Return of the King Extended Edition during the Saruman scene had me in tears. That was the episode that sold me on the podcast.

I wanted to like this movie. I really did.

Will do, Jimmy B. Will do.

I just watched The Rescuers Down Under with my kids the other day. I hadn't seen it since I was about 10 years old. You're right; it's downright terrifying in several places. The main villain is truly a BAD guy; no regard for life, hateful to his own pet and actively tries to kill a kid for the last third of the film.

But I'm glad we watched it. Part of my childhood was being shocked, scared and sometimes even scarred by movies. Perhaps it was because I watched some of them at too young an age, I don't know. But at the same time, they left an indelible impression on me for life and in some small ways helped shape me. I'm not trying to scar my kids, but I don't want them to only think of the world as a smiley, bubbly place; it's also a place of danger, mystery and fear.

The most important thing I've been learning as a parent is to talk to your kids after or even sometimes during the movie and not just let them sit there and absorb it with no discussion.

The Conjuring (2013) - 8/10

A haunted house/exorcism movie directed by James Wan of Insidious and Saw. Very stylish, very competently filmed with a nice attention to detail and great pacing.

The movie is well cast with the likes of Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston.

It's tense, spooky, thrilling and has some nice throwback old school film aesthetics and techniques that make it feel like a movie made in the 70s.

People say that it's scary or terrifying. I'm so burned out on horror that I don't find anything truly scary anymore so I'm not a good judge, but there were some definite skin-prickly moments and nice setups and payoffs.

I enjoyed this more than Insidious or Saw, which in my mind were decent - but not great - flicks. This one feels a bit closer to a Ty West movie than a Wes Craven movie and for that I'm grateful. It's also better than most of the recent haunting/exorcism movies (I'm looking at you The Haunting in Connecticut, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Rite, The Last Exorcism, The Devil Inside).

Okay, so that puts us at:

Austin - Dorkman, Tomahawk
Feng - Teague
Charli - BDA, Eddie
Gustav - drewjmore
Boy - Rob
Antoinette - ?
Amaya - ?
Jimmy - Saniss
Caucasian brawler - Eddie
Sailor - Rob
Xiao Pei - ?

That means I'll need auditions from Dorkman and Eddie.

fireproof78, can you fake a Chinese accent and/or do monster growls and roars? Xiao Pei is still unclaimed.

And still no women yet.

RECORDING NOTES:
For those who will be able to provide me with something, I recommend doing all your voice work in one long take, even if you screw up and have to repeat lines. I find that way your voice sounds consistent throughout the story. If you're able to trim out the stuff you don't want in the recording, great. Also, don't be afraid of providing multiple takes on the same line, if you want to try different things.

As for format, I think a 44100 Hz 320 kbps mp3 will do fine. If you WANT to go higher, go for it, but I think as long as you shoot for maximum bitrate/quality on the mp3, the fidelity will be there.

Since I'm still waiting on Eddie, fireproof78, bullet3 and possibly Dorkman for auditions, I'm gonna ask those who already have an assigned role when they might be able to do their voice work.

So that's:

Feng - Teague
Boy - Rob
Jimmy - Saniss
Caucasian brawler - Eddie
Sailor - Rob

No, it was complete and utter shit. I don't know what people see in it.

I can tell you this: it sure as shit surprised me that it was directed by Barry Levinson.

The Bay (2012)
Yet another found footage horror movie. This one is like a bizarre mashup between Piranha, Shark Night and [insert found footage movie here], concept-wise. A small town in Connecticut is the epicenter of a parasitic outbreak that is a result of the evils of capitalism and environmental destruction. We get to watch about 100 different cameras of various quality and resolution cover the events the day of the outbreak. We get to follow about 100 characters as well. Yay.

What I liked:
The central idea is that a fictional info-leak website has procured and is releasing all the "classified" footage of the incident to the world. We have a central character, a reporter, who is the main through line story-wise. Even though she keeps dropping in and out of the story. But I liked that core concept, anyway, even if it wasn't a very fresh one. Also, I liked that they got a lot of extras to participate. It really did feel like the whole town was being affected instead of 10 people the producers managed to round up.

What I didn't like:
Oh, god. Pretty much everything else. Shitty camera work, terrible acting, unresolved subplots, awful characters and the ultimate sin: crappy monsters. At LEAST get the monsters right in your shitty monster movie. Found footage, when done well, can elevate a story to put you right in the action and give you a fresh perspective on things. When done poorly, as in this movie, it just makes the whole thing jagged, confusing to watch and makes you question the amount of effort expended by the director. Also, the reporter spoils most of the events before they unfold in the footage and how she feels about them, so you feel zero stakes for any of the characters.

5/10

Not worth your time.

I am.