Fall Offerings - Halloween Style! - Veda Rains

As some of you know (if you're one of the few - nay, the PROUD- who read this blog), I love autumn. The cool weather, the gloomy skies, colorful leaves covering the ground... I could go on and on. Yes, it is still August, but I knew it was time to get excited for Fall when I got an email from Bath & Body Works telling its mailing list that yes, it's true! Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (my fave Fall scent) is back in stock and ready for purchase! Oh, and, uh... all of the awesome (arguably) Halloween-themed movies coming out!
Yes, I love my horror films. In high school, I went through a period where I bought a ton of cheap horror film VHS's (remember those? Well, ya better. I was still purchasing them up til 2006) every other week during the Fall season. But it's not those films I'm talking about. Blame it on the kid at heart that lies within me, but I'm super excited about all of the kid-centric movies this year! Here are the trailers for the 3 that caught my eye. What do you think? Will you go see any of them? Be honest now...

ParaNorman - Out Now!
If your partial to Coraline (the film adaptation), you may like ParaNorman. It's by the same people! And you're just in time, because it comes out in theaters this weekend!

Hotel Transylvania - September 28th
It's a cute premise. Where do all the monsters and creatures go to get away from ordinary people? And what happens when an average Joe winds up there and falls for Dracula's daughter?

Frankenweenie - October 5th
We showed you the trailer the instant it came out! When Victor loses his dog, he finds a way to bring him back to life! I loved the original, and I'm excited to see how they expand the world of Frankenweenie.

Alterna-tainment: Webseries - Joan Finch

     I highly reccomend you check out the Platoon of Power Squadron, a.k.a. POPS, on PineappleBoyFilms channel. Youtuber Jake Jarvi wrote and directed this series about four roommates who are dealing with their superpowers. Jarvi also stars in POPS with his real life wife Eliza. It has a rough start but its really entertaining and each episode, which air in several parts, is more impressive and well crafted than the previous one. There have been 5 episodes so far and 6 and 7 are on the way. Get caught up before episode 6 airs. It won't be hard, they go really quickly. 

     Jarvi keeps his audience updated with his blog and weekly vlogs (video blogs). Its a really cool thing they've done with building the series and have a strong community around the show.

     Dragon Age: Redemption is a 6 part webseries from Bioware staring Felicia Day based on one of their popular video games. Even if you haven't played Dragon Age you should give the series a watch. It's got incredible production value for a webseries. The storys interesting, the acting and swordplay are convincing. It has a satisfying conclusion and a series like this is a fun variation of the web genre. 

Honorable mention is Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog since I'm trusting everyones already seen it many times.

Twin Falls Idaho (1999) - Joan Finch

A Top Ten Favorite Film

     One of my all-time favorites is a film by the brothers, Mark and Michael Polish, from 1999 called Twin Falls Idaho. The film centers around three main characters, their inter-relationships and their difficult situations. At the heart of Twin Falls is conjoined twins Francis and Blake Falls whose single body may no longer support both brothers and their struggle with possible separation. Penny is a curious girl with serious financial problems. After meeting the brothers under strange circumstances Penny works to bring them out into the world. There's a profound personal dilemma for each character which is completely relatable. The way each relate and affect each other is entrancing.

     Twin Falls has beautifully understated performances supported by great production design, cinematography and direction.

     Twin Falls was an independent film made on a tiny budget and has one of the best commentary tracks ever. There's alot of history behind making the film thats not only interesting for filmmakers but generally entertaining. I won't lie, there is a little velveeta at the end but by the time you get there you probably won't mind. Its way better than the trailer makes it out to be and completely worth watching. I really loved it.