Welcome, Mike, to the guild.

BLOODSUCKERS

It's not even over yet, but I can tell you that Bloodsuckers is the sort of mediocre crap that one has come to expect from a "SciFi Channel Original Presentation." Vampire hunters in space may sound like fun, but it's just a lot of unpleasant people doing unpleasant things. Ok, they just quoted The Princess Bride, but that's not enough to save the movie. The story, script, and acting are just lame. It's just a big steaming pile of who cares. It's even got some of that WB style wimp-rock that the kids seem to like so much.

ZOMBIES!!!

I haven't had the chance to play this game, but by all accounts it's lots of fun. I hope to get it soon. Anyone out there have it? What do you think?

This fall we can look forward to a remake of "the show that started it all," as the marketing types like to say. Night Stalker will be on ABC Thursday nights. I'm not sure which of the above guys is the new Kolchack. Aparently the original stalker, Darren McGavin has been digitally inserted into the pilot as a tribute.

Bloodsuckers premiers in a few minutes on the SciFi channel. I'll let you know what I think when it's over.

So, I now I've seen Constantine. It wasn't as bad as I feared, but it's got some problems. The biggest problem as always is Keanu Reeves. I've only read a few issues of Hellblazer, the comic Constantine is based on, so I don't know how accurate the movie is to the comic. However, I am aware of one major departure from the comic, Constantine's nationality. This of course is due to Keanu's complete and total inability to do an English accent.

The other major problem is that the writer's don't know what they are talking about. I like a nice piece of Christian mythology as well as the next guy. By Christian mythology I mean legends that are associated with Christianity but don't actually have to do with the religion itself in any realistic way. The Holy Grail, Spear of Longinus, the Wandering Jew- things like that.

But I really hate it when people who write these things presume to deal with matters of doctrine, when they don't know what they are talking about. SPOILER WARNING! An important premise in the movie is that someone who commits suicide is damned to hell. The movie further states that someone who attempts suicide is damned as well. Now the reason suicides are presumed to be damned is a) suicide is a sin and b) due to the nature of the sin there is no oportunity to ask for forgiveness. However, the church understands that that there may be mitigating circumstances. The Catechism has this to say on the matter-

"Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."

Both characters who commit suicide in the movie are suffering from grave psychological disturbances and anguish. Furthermore, one of the characters is revived and therefore has plenty of oportunities to repent of his sin. In fact he seems to have done so.

The Church's views on suicide are relevant to the movie because a number of the characters are Catholic, and main elements seem to be based on a Catholic viewpoint or rather a misunderstanding of the Catholic viewpont.

There was some cool effects and Rachel Wiess does a good job. She, at least, is capable of putting on an accent when needed.

I saw Cursed a few weeks ago. It was fun. If you like werewolf movies or Christina Ricci then check it out.

If you REALLY like werewolf movies then I recommend any and all of the Ginger Snaps films.

The SciFi channel is having a frelling Ghost Hunters season one marathon. Despite the pretense of this blog, I'd like to take a moment to say- THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS GHOSTS! Sadly the SciFi channel long ago decided it had no time for science and precious little time for science fiction. Like Crossing Over before it Ghost Hunters is nothing but fiction mixed with delusion. SciFi, SF, Skiffi, or science fiction have nothing to do with it.

The great Penn and Teller recently did a Bullshit! episode on ghost hunting. Catch it is you can.

Constantine is out on DVD. Did anyone see this? Is it any good? Thoughts please.

Hunter: The Reckoning video games make excelent practice for the would be hunter.

I haven't done much with this blog till now. I'll try to update it more often. For the momnet let me just recomend the movie Land of the Dead for those who haven't seen it yet.