Happy Halloween!

The calendar says that it's October 31st, so you know what that means: it's time for free candy and girls dressing really slutty and not being judged for it. Yes, good friends, it's Halloween, the spookiest day of the year.

This year's Halloween was a lot of fun for me. I didn't get to dress up or go to a party, but I did spend a few hours handing out candy and having a great time doing it. Halloween is all about having fun, so I can't complain.

But outside of that, there hasn't really been a lot going on worth talking about. So I'm going to wrap this up here. you dedicated readers should come back on Monday, since I have a pretty big announcement to make. But happy Halloween, everybody. Don't overdose on all the candy, okay?

Playing The Sixth Game

As I said last night, I had plans to see Saw VI this afternoon. We got to the theater five minutes before the movie started due to some hangups around here, but outside of that, those plans went off without a hitch.

But enough about that, let's get to the movie itself. To be honest, I couldn't remember too much about it when I first sat down to write this post. But it's kinda hard to pay attention to a movie when you're stuck sitting near to a group of people who just won't shut up no matter how often you shush them. Know what I mean?

Judging by what I remember about it, the movie wasn't too bad at all. The Saw sequels are all kinda give or take, especially since a lot of them raise questions that won't be answered until one of the future sequels. But Saw VI actually goes out of its way to fill in a lot of the plot holes introduced in the first five movies. It does leave a few dangling threads out there that will be up for debate among fans (until Saw VII comes out next year and starts resolving them all, that is), but for the most part, it does a decent enough job of expanding upon what the first five movies had set up. So it's got that going for it.

It's actually pretty well-written, and the acting is top notch too. I also applaud director Kevin Greutert for making the movie in a style different from the other movies in the series. All of the Saw movies have the same kind of look to them, but Greutert changes things up, and Saw VI is all the better for it. And as for the traps, which are pretty much the big reason any casual horror fan goes to see a Saw movie anymore, are each very cool in their own ways.

On the whole, Saw VI is a perfectly acceptable sequel. It's one of the stronger movies in the franchise, in my humble opinion. There's plenty to like if you're a super-devoted Saw fan. So on the patent pending Five-Star Sutton Scale, I'm going to give it a solid three and a half stars. And with the seventh movie in the series planned for this time next year, it's time to wait and see just how they'll follow up on this one's ending.

They Should Have Called The Ghostbusters

We've been doing some remodeling on my house lately, so my daily routine has been kinda weird. But I've still tried to keep some sense of normalcy. So today I figured I'd do what I like doing on most weekends: go out to the movies.

While I definitely want to see Saw VI, I've actually got plans to see that tomorrow. Instead, I headed out tonight to see Paranormal Activity. I had no clue it would even be playing around here, since I didn't see either of the theaters I usually go to listed on the movie's website. But I got word that one of them would be showing it, so I had to go check it out.

So just what did I think? I thought it was great. I went in thinking it wouldn't be able to live up to all the hype it's been getting lately. But I found that it was a really entertaining movie. The suspense and the scares are well done, especially since the two primary actors are really engaging and likable. I can't really go into it too much without spoiling something, so I'll just say that if you're a horror fan, you'll probably find something to like about Paranormal Activity. So I'll give it four stars and a big thumbs up.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get some fresh air. The varnish we put on the woodwork around the house is starting to get to me.

MSX: The Reviews of Fate

We're nearing the final stretch of the original MSX's farewell tour, folks.

I say that because I just finished up a new review, and I'm down to my last tenth of a megabyte of Tripod space. It's getting down to the wire, and I figured that if a "Sutton at the Movies" review is what's going to close the Tripod MSX's doors, I wanted it to get a big one in before it was all said and done. Thus, my latest review is one of the most notorious bad movies ever made, Manos: The Hands of Fate. The movie was absolute torture to watch, but I had to review it. I just had to. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand why.

But as I said, I've got a tenth of a megabyte left on Tripod. I'm actually not for sure if I can fit another review in that space, but we'll just have to wait and see. If it turns out that Manos is the last review I ever get to post on Tripod, then I think it'll be fitting. It would have all started with my review of Friday the 13th, a movie I love, and ended with Manos, a movie I hate. If I can squeeze in one more, maybe I could make it a review of the Friday the 13th remake, just to bring it all full circle.

Either way, I'm going to be sad to see the Tripod MSX close. But nothing lasts forever, does it?

Sutton Invades Television

It just now hit me that I actually have something to blog about besides movies, and I completely forgot about it until right now. I must be slipping.

But what it was is that I was in attendance at Rupp Arena when WWE taped ECW and Smackdown last night. I didn't get home in time to see ECW when it aired, and I don't have a TiVo either. But thanks to YouTube, I did discover that I made it (or my signs made it, anyway) onto the show at least twice. Once during the opening, and once during the main event. If the quality of the YouTube videos in question hadn't been so iffy, I'd have probably posted screen captures. Maybe I can do that once WWE posts the show up on Hulu.

And then there's Smackdown on Friday, too. If you've got access to a MyNetworkTV affiliate, tune in and keep an eye out for a chubby guy in a Green Lantern T-shirt. Because that just might be me.

But anyway, this was the first televised WWE show I'd been to since 2006, and it was a lot of fun. Plus I had the best seats I'd ever had for a WWE show, which made everything that much more entertaining. Seeing a WWE show and getting on TV? That's awesome.

The only bad parts were missing the ECW broadcast and having to wait a few days to see Smackdown. That's a real killer. But I just wonder, out of sheer curiosity, how many times I'll pop up on Smackdown. Friday can't get here quick enough.

The Farewell Tour Hits Zombieland

Welcome back to the MSX, folks. You've arrived just in time for another stop on the Tripod MSX's farewell tour. This stop takes us from the monster-devastated rubble of New York City depicted in Cloverfield and drops us smack dab in the middle of Zombieland. The movie was so great that I couldn't wait to review it.

And with that, we once again move a step closer to the original MSX's grand finale and the official debut of "Sutton at the Movies: The Blog." I don't believe there'll be too many steps left until the end. I actually feel kinda sad about the inevitable closing of the Tripod MSX, even if I haven't been using it for anything but my reviews for the last few years. It was my very first attempt at a blog, years before I'd even heard the word "blog." I've grown quite attached to it, even through the thick layer of dust that's developed since I moved things to Blogger.

But the end is coming for the Tripod MSX. There's no avoiding it. So when it happens, I'll just have to suck it up and live with it. At least I have the convenience of Blogger, right?

I'd Rather See A Godzilla Movie

It's time for another stop on the Tripod MSX's farewell tour as I add one more movie to the "Sutton at the Movies" archives. This time around, I took a look at Cloverfield, last year's monster movie that sparked a ton of Internet buzz when its initial teaser appeared in front of Transformers. I thought it was just kinda okay at best, but feel free to click the link to see me break things down in depth.

I know I've said this two or three times now, and I hate sounding like a broken record, but I'm sure there's not much life left in the old Tripod site. I'm hoping to knock out one or two more reviews this month and get it closed in time for the big anniversary party at the beginning of November, so I'll keep you devoted readers posted.

Taking A Zombie Road Trip

So after seeing the Toy Story double feature yesterday, I went out and caught Zombieland today. And I almost wish I'd seen it earlier in the weekend, because it's awesome.

Pretty much everything about Zombieland works, especially the comedic elements. I'd actually say it could rival Shaun of the Dead when it comes to zombie comedy. Every joke works, and what scares there are are good too. It's a very clever movie, one that immediately endears itself. I can't say enough good things about it, so I'm going to give it four stars on the Sutton Scale and tell anyone who's interested in it to go buy a ticket to see it right now.

And is it wrong to hope that Woody Harrelson's character gets his own spinoff? Because I'd totally go see it if it happened.

Diving Into The Toy Box

With the month of October finally comes some new movies for me to go see. Zombieland came out yesterday, and you're probably thinking that I ran out and saw it. But you'd be thinking wrong, because I went to see the new 3D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I already have them on DVD, but I just couldn't turn down a chance to see them in 3D.

I love the Toy Story movies, so I already knew going in that I'd enjoy them. But with the new 3D feature implemented, it adds a new level of entertainment to them. It's almost like seeing two completely different movies. And the opening segment and the intermission were a lot of fun too, and are almost worth seeing by themselves.

In short, I loved every minute of the over three hours I spent sitting in the theatre. I'm not sure why they're releasing this in October, though, since Toy Story 3 doesn't come out for another nine months. If it were up to me, I'd have probably waited until Memorial Day weekend of 2010 before releasing this double feature. But I'm not the one who makes those kind of decisions, so it's out of my hands. Though whether it be released this weekend or any other weekend, it was still a very entertaining way to handle the movies.

They won't be in theaters for long, so if you're even remotely interested and the movies are playing near you, go check it out. Please?

Sawing Away At The Old MSX

The farewell tour for the Tripod version of the MSX keeps on trucking, folks. We've reached another stop on that tour, this time with my new review of last year's Saw V. The sixth Saw movie comes out in three weeks, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to finally write a review of the fifth one.

There will probably be a few more stops on that farewell tour, since I still have a little Tripod space left. But I'm seriously considering unveiling the "Sutton at the Movies" blog on November 2nd, which would be the eighth anniversary of the MSX's existence, whether or not I've run out of Tripod space. We'll just have to see where we are a month from now.

That month seems like it could last both forever and no time at all. But like I said, we'll see.