The Zone's 2008 Movie Journal

[beastie]

I need to go rent Grandma's Boy or something so I have something to give a bad rating to. My list on page one is starting to make it look like I like everything I see. It's just that I'm catching up on all the awards contenders from '07.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

I'm imagining that person on the heliport is playing a massive pungi...

dance dragon, dance!

[Lord Voldemoo]

I need to go rent Grandma's Boy or something so I have something to give a bad rating to. My list on page one is starting to make it look like I like everything I see. It's just that I'm catching up on all the awards contenders from '07.

grandma's boy is hilarious. 8/10!!

[Nachokoolaid]

Anyone else got a best and worst of January?

There's like 100 journals here, and the same 5 people as last year are posting their picks for best and worst of the month.

[beastie]

Anyone else got a best and worst of January?

There's like 100 journals here, and the same 5 people as last year are posting their picks for best and worst of the month.

This is my first year in the Journal. I wasn't really aware of the Best+Worst of for the individual months. I won't include previously seen movies on my Best+Worst.
If you insist:
Worst:
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Best:
No Country for Old Men

[Pacino86845]

Cassandra's Dream was the best movie I saw in January, with an honorable mention going to The Darjeeling Limited/

Worst movie was Saw II by a landslide. I dunno how others feel, but I'd enjoyed the first Saw movie for what it was. I didn't expect much from the sequel, but it was extremely woeful.

[CeeBeeUK]

This is my first year in the Journal. I wasn't really aware of the Best+Worst of for the individual months

Snap.

Best : Poltergeist, I'd forgotten how enjoyable that film is.
Worst : Superman 4

[DDMAN26]

Best films I saw in January: This Film Is Not Yet Rated and 3:10 To Yuma. Worst films I saw in January: Norbit and Shoot Em Up

[Flumm]

I actually just saw this post Flumm so apologies for not responding sooner.

I actually had high hopes for Adventures Of Iron Pussy, I mean come on a musical comedy about a transvestite secret agent. Now what about that doesnt spell awesome? Atleast in a cult way. I actually think Weerasethakul is in on the joke as well but that unfortunately does not make the film any more fun. That being said there are some moments where I laughed at the ridiculousness of it all and had fun.

The only real reason to watch this would be for Weerasethakul afficianados as you can see a lot of the themes he developed better use in his other films.

Heym don't worry about it.

Actually, this reminds me, Stereo.

Where in fact are you sourcing your movie playlists from? Knowing our tastes overlap a little here and there, a few times I've gone to add a recommendation of yours up on my rental que, but with little luck.

Perhaps it's just a UK/USA dvd region issue, but if there's any beans, please spill them.

Along with the inspiration for your picks - you're viewing up on a lot of interesting films not showing up in the usual places.

Or are these just minority of the things you haven't watch yet?


(this is where I go and google Weerasethakul, by the way )

[stereosforgeeks]

My inspirations are just from talking to people or reading stuff on the internet. If someone I trust tells me about a film I will be sure to track it down and watch it. Other than that it is all just a whim.

As for secrets region free dvd player and some good searching on the web.

[Flumm]

Anyone else got a best and worst of January?

There's like 100 journals here, and the same 5 people as last year are posting their picks for best and worst of the month.

Yes, I didn't really do a best/worst of the month last year, you're right, sorry Nacho.

Probably because, in any given month, there's usually a few great films I've watched, and I come around to the familiar feeling of wanting to share the experience of watching, but also being confronted with having to stare at my own efforts in writing about what I've watched.

Great films often leave me with the feeling of just wanting to watch them, and watch them again. They're an experience in themselves, and once the experience is over, the trying to convey what it's like to watch them, or just do them a little justice, feels a little exhausting and grey in comparison. I just want them to exist in other people's minds, so everybody could know how good they were, and why, and we wouldn't have to say anything that would break the spell and spoil it, save perhaps for some post-celluloidal smile.

Um, if that makes any sense at all.



Damn you and your glorious dreams of the zone hive-mind, and it's forgiving, nourishing bosom, Garbageman.


In brief, though;


BEST

The Earth Trembles

Vicsonti films the lives of Sicilian fisherman with thier lives being the subject, as much as any turn of plot. A little earnest, threaded with some undercurrent of politic or other, but more than anything else, it's a gesture of tenderness by Visconti. Giving a portrait it would be impossible to recreate in the broad strokes of a Hollywood studio.

Imperfect as a docu-dramas often are, (see the non-actors occasionaly forced, clunky turns of head, pointing or choregraphed washing of dishes and so on), but with subject almost being life for life's sake, almost, their presence replaced by the insincerity of Hollywood, no matter how well meaning, couldn't come close to the all the subtlities of the reality itself. The scenes of the boats, each lit with a downward facing lamp apon the surface of the water, a million shades of monochrome heading out early in the dawn, is about as an abiding image, filmic or otherwise, as you could hope to see. Not for everyone, but for me, it struck the balance just right. Gorgeous stuff.


WORST

Tranformers

I never enjoy disliking films others seem to enjoy. But it seems to be happening more regularly as I get older and gradually finding my own tastes settle down away from childhood. As an adult, I can't quite seem to wear it apon my sleave like some hipster badge of cred, or even just be defiant and feel confident in my own tastes, more often than not, it's just sadness. Like the panda.

"How come other people can like, but not me? Zarles loved it. FG thought it was swell. Even TitG liked it. Aw gosh and gee whiz -WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, GOD?"

I couldn't find anything worth anything here. At all. As it went on and on, the more painful it became to me. It just hurt.

It just hurt so bad.

[stereosforgeeks]

Probably because, in any given month, there's usually a few great films I've watched, and I come around to the familiar feeling of wanting to share the experience of watching, but also being confronted with having to stare at my own efforts in writing about what I've watched.

I just had that watching Bresson's A Man Escaped. It was the first Bresson film I have seen and I am definitely going to be watching many many more.

[Flumm]

Probably because, in any given month, there's usually a few great films I've watched, and I come around to the familiar feeling of wanting to share the experience of watching, but also being confronted with having to stare at my own efforts in writing about what I've watched.

I just had that watching Bresson's A Man Escaped. It was the first Bresson film I have seen and I am definitely going to be watching many many more.

It's ridiculous, really.

Mori talked earlier, in the TTWBB review I think, of how you get to a point where you've had all your mile-stones as a lover of films, and there's relatively little new to discover, but the disposition I've come to is, there's nearly always something worth discovering.

There's a big margin between with Drew's watched, and what I have, so for arguements sake, the the difference is the same, but I would still say that point stands.

What the the freedom of being able to view what I want (at least, for the most part), when I want to, I think I'm enjoying being a film-geek more than I ever have.

[stereosforgeeks]

Probably because, in any given month, there's usually a few great films I've watched, and I come around to the familiar feeling of wanting to share the experience of watching, but also being confronted with having to stare at my own efforts in writing about what I've watched.

I just had that watching Bresson's A Man Escaped. It was the first Bresson film I have seen and I am definitely going to be watching many many more.

It's ridiculous, really.

Mori talked earlier, in the TTWBB review I think, of how you get to a point where you've had all your mile-stones as a lover of films, and there's relatively little new to discover, but the disposition I've come to is, there's nearly always something worth discovering.

There's a big margin between with Drew's watched, and what I have, so for arguements sake, the the difference is the same.

What the the freedom of being able to view what I want (at least, for the most part), when I want to, I think I'm enjoying being a film-geek more than I ever have.

I was actually having this coversation earlier today as well. I am shortly starting on Mizoguchi binge and probably a Hou one soon as well. The amount of film out there is astonishingly ridiculous. It's quite intimidating even. That's one of the great things about beign a film lover is that there's always new movies and there's always older films to discover as well.

[Al Shut]

Since Nacho asked nicely

Best: Eastern Promises

Worst: The Others (I first had that in a category called partly interesting but than I realized that thinking 'I wonder if the ending will make any sense' during the movie should be counted as something positive. Just bland.)

[ThisIsTheGirl]

"How come other people can like, but not me? Zarles loved it. FG thought it was swell. Even TitG liked it. Aw gosh and gee whiz -WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, GOD?"

Heh, for what it's worth Flumm, I think those of us who enjoyed it are in the minority here - and I freely acknowledge that I seem to have a kind of mental block preventing me from being annoyed by the film's more obvious flaws. I put this down to some unusually powerful emotions from my childhood disabling my critical faculties whenever I watch that movie...

Anyhoo....best and worst for January:

Best movie: 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
Best viewing experience: Death Note (anime)
Worst: American Gangster (we've seen it done better a thousand times before, Ridley....)

[Flumm]

I need to go rent Grandma's Boy or something so I have something to give a bad rating to. My list on page one is starting to make it look like I like everything I see. It's just that I'm catching up on all the awards contenders from '07.

Yes, I think that's an issue for more than a few of us, Beastie.

Seing as we're, in all likelyhood, chosing things that have survived the straights of history due to their quality, or perhaps, are favouring things to our tastes, it can often tend lead to things being weighted towards the higher ratings.

The way I see it, the journals are a compromise between recording, and sharing. It can't be a perfect process. As long as it stirrs conversation, and helps us keep track of what we've watched along the way, it's doing it's job, I'd say. Yeah, so no need to feel self-conscious.

This rating Art thing makes us all cowardly, low-browed hypcrites, anyway.

Probably because, in any given month, there's usually a few great films I've watched, and I come around to the familiar feeling of wanting to share the experience of watching, but also being confronted with having to stare at my own efforts in writing about what I've watched.

I just had that watching Bresson's A Man Escaped. It was the first Bresson film I have seen and I am definitely going to be watching many many more.

It's ridiculous, really.

Mori talked earlier, in the TTWBB review I think, of how you get to a point where you've had all your mile-stones as a lover of films, and there's relatively little new to discover, but the disposition I've come to is, there's nearly always something worth discovering.

There's a big margin between with Drew's watched, and what I have, so for arguements sake, the the difference is the same.

What the the freedom of being able to view what I want (at least, for the most part), when I want to, I think I'm enjoying being a film-geek more than I ever have.

I was actually having this coversation earlier today as well. I am shortly starting on Mizoguchi binge and probably a Hou one soon as well. The amount of film out there is astonishingly ridiculous. It's quite intimidating even. That's one of the great things about beign a film lover is that there's always new movies and there's always older films to discover as well.

I think this is perhaps why I find myself favouring certain things, particular qualities, over others. Something that's a little forgotten, or a little out of the way, can make feel a little more invested in the film, and of course, in the people who made it.

I don't know how many flilms I've watched over the past few years, who have interesting performances from people who've made little to nothing else, for example. There existance to me last only in the time I viewed them on screen...

Overall, there's a little bit of duty in it, I think.

And anyway, in a round about way, that's part of the pleasure, I guess, searching things out. Taking a less passive roll in this consumerism lark, and discovering the stuff you wouldn't have seen unless you had made the effort to pluck them out of the landsape.

Not just taking in what's being offered to you in the general mileau of things.

For me anyway, I 'spose.

[Lady Sheridan]

Anyone else got a best and worst of January?

There's like 100 journals here, and the same 5 people as last year are posting their picks for best and worst of the month.

Eeek! I will contribute, I promise. I tend to post my reviews in the DVD thread instead of this one...

Best: Away From Her
Worst: The Reaping.

Quite the polar opposites there, heh.

February is looking more promising for me as far as new films go. I watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age tonight. Completely inaccurate fluff, but so gorgeously filmed that I forgave it entirely. Plus Cate is the best Elizabeth ever--sorry Helen Mirren.

I can't help but notice that after ripping Jesse James to bits, I forgave this film, although they arguably committed the same sins. I will venture to say that ultimately, I feel Elizabeth is more enjoyable to watch and more anchored by Blanchett's strong performance. (And frankly, Rush, Morton and Owen all turned in fine ones too. Owen looked like he was having the time of his life as Raleigh.) Whereas James drifted for too long before catching its feet at the end. Or maybe I just like doublets and ruffs and will forgive a Tudor just about anything.

[LeFlambeur]

Updated to include some other stuff that I watched.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

2. Rivers and Tides [Doc]

Ah, isn't nature beautiful and isn't life all about the little things? Like topping dry stone walls with sheep's wool?

since I'm on a Nature Doc trip lately, what with PLANET EARTH pwning my soul and all, I've got MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES pretty high up on my netflix queue. Not quite a Nature Doc per se, but I was just wondering if you or anyone else has seen it - but particularly you MM, as you may be able to relate to it a bit more than others, living in China as you do...

[Seppuku]

They still have nature in China?

EDIT: Hence the title of the doc...

[Keepcoolbutcare]

(think Night and Fog 2: my Oriental Vacation)

heh, I'll be stealing that line for conversation - of course, I don't expect to get the chance to use it, unless HMA screens around here at some point...in which case I'll just yell it out during the course of the film.

[Leckomaniac]

Updated to include In Bruges and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days!

[burlivesleftnut]

Bad ass... so glad you liked in Bruges. I was blown away by it.

[junesquad]

Movie Journal updated (Now w/ Juno!!!)

[Nachokoolaid]

Bad ass... so glad you liked in Bruges. I was blown away by it.

Even though I didn't know how to even pronounce it, I'll be giving this a look, on DVD, when I get the chance... mainly because you're so high on it Burl.

[silentbobafett]

Okay, Okay so I'm coming in abit late. But I'll see what I can remember seeing this year so far (sorry not dates up until now as it's from memory)

Note: I'll include TV series, as I spend a loto f my time watching these! They willbe included on the month I finish them. HOWEVER, I tend to watch at least 1 series a month (example: I watched TWO in Feb), so I feel this is a valid part of my journal! Snarf!

So far I recall seeing:

Jan

Renassiance
No Country for Old Men
Seven
The Wire (season 3)
The Maltese Falcon
Escape From New York
Stardust
Knocked Up
Casino Royale

Feb

HG Wells First Men In the Moon
Charlie Wilson's War
Before The Devil Know's You're Dead
Superbad
Cloverfield
Ratatouille
American Gangster
The Wire (Season 4)
There Will Be Blood
The Goonies
MST3K - The Movie
The West Wing (Series 5)
Dead and Buried
Gamera
Batman and Robin

March
The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters
The Glory, Glory Days (aka First Love)
Southland Tales
Deadwood (Season 3)
Horton Hears a Who
The Red Balloon
The Mist
Eastern Promises
Catch and Release
Some Kind of Wonderful
The Conversation
Electra Glide in Blue
Bug
The Wire Season 5
Flight of the Conchords (Season 1)
Enchanted

April

Peep Show (Season 3)
Rambo 4
Them (Ils)
Shaolin Soccer
Rec
Slither
Eddie Murphy - Delerious
The Break-Up
Cloverfield
The Running Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

May

West Wing (Season 6)
Peep Show (Season 4)
Into the Wild
Cocaine Cowboys
Dinner For Five (Season 4)
The Sopranos (Season 1)
The West Wing (Season 7)
Veronica Mars (Season 3)
Damages (Season 1)
Some Kind of Monster
Juno
30 Days of Night: Blood Lines
Blood Beach

June

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Recount
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

July

30 Days of Night
Teeth
The Ruins
Horton Hears a Who
Kenny
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Hot Rod
Diary of the Dead
Wall-E
Abominable
The Dark Knight
King of Queens - Season 1
Tim and Eric Awesome Show - Season 1
Best Film of the Month: The Dark Knight

August

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Rogue
The Office (US) - Season 1
Super HIgh Me

[bastard_robo]

I need to go rent Grandma's Boy or something so I have something to give a bad rating to. My list on page one is starting to make it look like I like everything I see. It's just that I'm catching up on all the awards contenders from '07.

grandma's boy is hilarious. 8/10!!

"ITS FOR YOU... I THINK ITS THE DEVIL"

[Leckomaniac]

Updated!

Now w/ 100% more shit!

[DaleTremont]

The Empire Strikes Back (SE) - 01/02, 01/10, 01/27 - One of the all-time bests.
Children of Men - 01/04, 01/28 - Cuarón's best (IMHO). Clive Owen's performance here is my fav, even more than Croupier. The long shot when the car is attacked is amazing.
Casino Royale - 01/08 - I was against this movie at first. I wanted Clive Owen to be Bond like no one's business. And I was even more pissed that they weren't going to dye Craig's blond hair for the role. Then I watched it on my flight to Paris in April. Wow. Knocked me off my feet. The best Bond movie in years. Maybe since On Her Majesty's Secret Service, it was that good. I can't wait for Bond 22.
Juno - 01/13 - Fucking awesome! Best movie of the year so far. I love this film! All the performances are top-notch, with none better than J.K. Simmons as Juno's dad. Funny, moving, and heart-warming. HIGHLY recommended. I'll write something more detailed in the Juno thread here.
Fight Club - 01/15 - Possibly one of my top ten films of all-time.
Boogie Nights - 01/25 - One of the best movies in the last 20 years. Fantastic direction. Burt Reynolds and Markie Mark at their best. Plus William H. Macy, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianna Moore, Heather Graham, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay. What a cast.
Pride & Prejudice - 02/14 - The 5 hour, 1995 BBC miniseries with Colin Firth. PBS has been showing this, broken up into its originally aired segments, so I just popped in the DVD. There isn't a better P&P out there. There isn't a better Jane Austen adaptation made. There might not be a better love story ever. Everyone should see this at least once. Colin Firth rocks this movie like no leading man can rock it. Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet matches his every move (and looks beautiful doing it!). Absolutely fantastic.

Holy crap, Gaffney. Your taste is frighteningly similar to mine (which, naturally, means that it's excellent )

[thomasgaffney]

Holy crap, Gaffney. Your taste is frighteningly similar to mine (which, naturally, means that it's excellent )

Thanks, Dale! Of course now, people are going to start thinking that I'm your alt!

[Spifftacular SquirrelGirl]

Holy crap, Gaffney. Your taste is frighteningly similar to mine (which, naturally, means that it's excellent )

Thanks, Dale! Of course now, people are going to start thinking that I'm your alt!

Hrrmmmmmmm....

[thomasgaffney]

Holy crap, Gaffney. Your taste is frighteningly similar to mine (which, naturally, means that it's excellent )

Thanks, Dale! Of course now, people are going to start thinking that I'm your alt!

Hrrmmmmmmm....

Hey!

Crap! Now I'm going to have to delete those posts, create another alt and get THAT one up to moderator status. Fuckin' Gaffney and his big mouth...

[Spifftacular SquirrelGirl]

I have had a great year so far as films are concerned. I think it must be karma after seeing that dreadful AvP:R thing.

Jan:

Cloverfield: Just a fun monster film. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Namesake: Loved, LOVED this movie. I'm now a giant Kal Penn fan and I hope this leads to more dramatic roles for him. He was that good.

Juno: I know this movie is getting a lot of backlash now but it's still a good film and Gaffney is right about JK Simmons. Of course I think he's excellent in everything.

A Good Year: Caught this on dvd and it was okay. Nothing special and to be honest I really can't remember a lot of what happened in this movie. I didn't hate it just... wasn't that memorable.

3:10 to Yuma: Not the biggest western fan but this movie was enjoyable mostly from the performances of Bale, Crowe, and especially Ben Foster. Freaks and Geeks alumni FTW!

Feb:

Definately, Maybe: No-brainer that was going to love this one. It had Ryan Reynolds so of course I was going to love it.

The Riches season 1: Watched the whole season in a couple of days. Excellent series and I'm really looking forward to watching season 2 when that starts up soon.

Can't Buy Me Love: This was on tv the other day and wow is this movie just drenched in 80's goodness. It's also weird seeing Patrick Dempsey so young and nerdy.

[havocSchultz]

It's also weird seeing Patrick Dempsey so young and nerdy.

As opposed to looking old and nerdy...?

[Spifftacular SquirrelGirl]

It's also weird seeing Patrick Dempsey so young and nerdy.

As opposed to looking old and nerdy...?

Old and nerdy is pretty hot.



Of course I might be considered to have slightly odd taste in men...

[instant_karma]

Updated to close out my January movies. Better late than never...

[DaleTremont]

Crap! Now I'm going to have to gaffney those posts, create another alt and get THAT one up to moderator status. Fuckin' Gaffney and his big mouth...

haha

Apparently my alt has a mind of its own.

[Hermanator X]

Im a bit late to the party, but what the hell.
Its a work in progress, (obviously) as I cant recall everything from January right now.

JANUARY
The Ipcress file
United 93
Frailty
The fountain
Sunshine
Clerks II
Zodiac
Breach
Superbad
Knocked up
Planet Terror
Deathproof
Nightwatch
Daywatch
I am Legend
FEBRUARY
Cloverfield
No Country for old men
Beowulf
Crank
Night of the living dead (original)
John Rambo
30 days of night
Stanley Kubrick - Life in pictures
Varg Veum - Bitre Blomster (Bitter flowers)
Captivity (first 30 mins anyway. Garbage)
Blade Runner
The curse of the jade scorpion
London

Queued to watch on cable tv recorder:
Flightplan
The Amateurs
Inside Deep Throat
Hostage

MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER

[silentbobafett]

Added American Gangser, which I saw last night! I'd hoped for something special, but as a warning - it ain't!

Denzel steals the show! Stringer Bell makes a decent appereance! But there is no sense of time, no real decent sense of character or conflict. And I never really dug that Crowe was going mental finding Denzel. Infact, it seems that Crowe didn't have a clue until he stumbled onto a snitch!

All the "detective" work seemed to have been gleamed from other TV shows and not really researched! And there is my mini review...

[burlivesleftnut]

Yeah that movie should have been called American GangSTOP.

[thomasgaffney]

UPDATED with some manly Jane Austen love and total hatred for I Am Legend...

[beastie]

Added American Gangser, which I saw last night! I'd hoped for something special, but as a warning - it ain't!

Denzel steals the show! Stringer Bell makes a decent appereance! But there is no sense of time, no real decent sense of character or conflict. And I never really dug that Crowe was going mental finding Denzel. Infact, it seems that Crowe didn't have a clue until he stumbled onto a snitch!

All the "detective" work seemed to have been gleamed from other TV shows and not really researched! And there is my mini review...

I think seeing all of the shit that everyone talks about American Gangster lowered my expectations so much that I actually enjoyed a movie, quite a bit even, that I normally wouldn't have.
I'll have to watch it again to see if my opinion of this movie lowers.

[so sorry]

UPDATED with some manly Jane Austen love and total hatred for I Am Legend...

I Am Legend is out on DVD already??

That's a rhetorical question... no need to answer...

[Pacino86845]

Added American Gangser, which I saw last night! I'd hoped for something special, but as a warning - it ain't!

Denzel steals the show! Stringer Bell makes a decent appereance! But there is no sense of time, no real decent sense of character or conflict. And I never really dug that Crowe was going mental finding Denzel. Infact, it seems that Crowe didn't have a clue until he stumbled onto a snitch!

All the "detective" work seemed to have been gleamed from other TV shows and not really researched! And there is my mini review...

I think seeing all of the shit that everyone talks about American Gangster lowered my expectations so much that I actually enjoyed a movie, quite a bit even, that I normally wouldn't have.
I'll have to watch it again to see if my opinion of this movie lowers.

I quite liked American Gangster, I thought it was a damned fine film!

[beastie]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I think, ultimately, what made it good for me was something small, but it was the pacing. The pacing kept it interesting and entertaining.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Taps* - Lord of the Flies at a military academy. Watch a young Tom Cruise go crazy with a machine gun, before it happens one day in real life.

hahahahaahA!

[Lady Sheridan]

UPDATED with some manly Jane Austen love and total hatred for I Am Legend...

I think you are officially the first and only man I have ever heard to gush about Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

I think if you combined the new Joe Wright version with the BBC one, it would be perfect. Keira is still my favorite Elizabeth, but no one does a cravat like Colin Firth. He's even on the tea towels at the Jane Austen house.

[instant_karma]

Updated with some new stuff.

[doglips]

Updated with some new stuff.

AvP2: Requiem - Ugh. Horrible and stupid. It literally fucks things up from the 1st minute.

Haha, it was so stupid I actually expected to see those two vagrant-incubated aliens holding bottles in brown paper bags.