Cable Free

A couple of weeks ago I received my cable/internet bill from Frontier Communications. There was an additional $50 added to the bill and labeled as "Premium TV Service". After spending time with customer service I found out that the additional charge is simply the new rate. To which I replied then why is the charge put on an additional line and labeled differently.

Then I began to do some web research. Apparently when Frontier bought FiOs from Verizon, they did not want it for TV; only internet. This hike is their way of getting people to drop the service and milking extra cash out of the ones who dont before they drop the service.

Right then I decided that I will cancel Frontier as my cable provider. I am not paying that much for TV. In my area of Fort Wayne this leaves few choices. Comcast, DirectTV, Dish Network, or nothing. I've had issues four years ago with Comcast with is why I went to Verizon. And with the satellites their always the "weather" issue.

So I've decided come June I am going cable free. Over the air antennea and the internet shall be my form of entertainment. I figured up the shows I watch on a regular basis and most are streamed in Hulu.com, Netflix, or their own websites relatively soon after broadcast. For the things which are not, like on Travel Channel and Adult Swim, I'll have to wait. For a few others, such as WWE RAW, it will be goodbye for now.

I will miss the DVR and cable but I shall survive. I'll see how it goes for the summer. When football season starts it may decesion.

Horrorr Movies Watch & Books Read (April 2011)

MOVIES

Rubber (2010) ***1/2
A movie who's premise revolves around a tire coming to life, having telepathic powers, and killing people shouldn't be any good. However, the filmmakers let audience in on the joke at the beginning at it never lets up. Definitely unique.

The Entity **1/2
The flick starts out creepy enough. I mean a unseen raping entity is always cause for concern. Too bad there was a bad hard rock track playing every time an attack occurred. Then the movie goes into this weird paranormal experiment and that's when the movie loses me.

# Being Human, Season 1 (2011) ***1/2
This SyFy remake of the great UK series had me a tad skeptical going in. The cast is superb and while the show stays along the same lines as the origin material, it also adds enough new things to keep me interested. In case you dont know the premise: A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together in an apartment and try to help each other have "normal" lives. Of course their past comes into play constantly putting up road blocks on the goal.

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) ***1/2
A better than average sequel/prequel. Misses out a little bit on the tension from the first movie. Still has moments of sheer uncomfortableness. A decent follow up worth your time.

P (2005) **1/2
A young Thai girl moves from a rural area to Bangkok and becomes a dancing girl so she can make money to help her Grandmother. The girl knows magic and uses it to help her at the club but in the process gets taken over evil forces. Watchable flick.

Case 39 (2009) *1/2
Crapper of flick about a little girl who is possessed by a demon. The movie never really deals with the how or why the demon possessed the girl, just that it's evil and needs to be destroyed. There's a reason this movie sat on the studio shelf for a couple of years. It's terrible.


A Serbian Film (2010) ****
A simple story. A former porn star turned family man is lured back into the business for one last movie which will set his family up financially for a long time. Though the details are sketchy, he agree to star. When he finds out the movie is pushing boundaries he doesn't want to perform, the producer drugs him and makes him take part. For people who label this film as "torture porn" or "shock cinema" they are missing the point of the movie. Below the mind numbing nastiness is commentary on what people in a poor, corrupt country will & can do to survive. It's brutal, disturbing, and at its core heart breaking as you care about the actor and his family.

Parasomnia (2008) **1/2
In a hospital, lives girl with parasomnia (aka "Sleeping Beauty" disorder) has her dreams invaded by a serial killer with incredible hypnotic powers, who happens to be roomed down the hall. Then a boy comes along and falls in love with her. He breaks her out of the hospital, which the killer does not like. The killer escapes and a battle for the girl ensues. Even though a lot of things about this movie didn't work for me, I did find it interesting enough to set through.

Automaton Transfusion (2006) *
Cliched ridden zombie outbreak tale with zero characters I gave a crap about.




BOOKS
A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson ****
A creepy story about a man who gets hypnotized. After his mind is opened up to the paranormal, which is a gift neither he nor his wife want. He sees apparitions and can predict the future but at what cost. While Matheson's tale is a little out dated with the setting, written in 1958, the suspense is top notch.