Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters

BEBE 2013: Even More Movies and Some Poetry!

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
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Zombie Magnetic Poetry KitMore BEBE 2013!  The fourth selection, Zombie Diaries 2, wasn’t too bad.  Like most “found-footage” films it had a tendency to collapse under its own weight after a while.  Nobody in their right mind would continue to film during that and just how long do those batteries last?!  We also knocked a fifth movie off, War of the Dead.  It was fair but muddled as hell.  A fusion of classic World War II and action zombie movies set on the Finnish/Russian border in 1939 it, too, kind of crushed itself under its own seriousness.

Other than that we’ve been doing some zombie poetry using the Zombie Magnetic Poetry kit.  My Daughter especially has been enamored with this even if she currently lacks the attention span to do anything more than a few lines.

OK, so none of those are masterpieces.  She’s still plugging away!

BEBE 2013: Even More Movies and a Book!

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
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Amazon, Zombie Kid DiariesMore BEBE 2013!  The third movie, Osombie, was kind of a dud.  In many ways it was actually better than you might think but by trying to be completely serious it ended up being pretty dreadfully dull.  We’ve just started our fourth selection, Zombie Diaries 2.  It’s a straight-up horror movie in the found-footage genre and we’re cautiously hopeful.

Completely unrelated to the movie we picked up the book, Zombie Kid Diaries: Playing Dead, for my son.  He’s getting a little old for them but the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have been a favorite of his for years so we figured, why not?  He’s been thumbing through it for a while so that’s a good sign at least.

Planning to break things up for a while after this movie and look into getting dinner started, call some family and maybe get a game or two going.

BEBE 2013: More Movies and Boiled Eggs

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
Posted in: BEBE 2013, Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters. 2 comments

Boiled Eggs!More BEBE 2013!  Our second movie, A Little Bit Zombie, was a blast (even if it did fizzle out at the end).  Great cast, clever ideas and actual humor.  Recommended!  I really doubt that our next one, Osombie, will match it.  The tag is “Bin Laden will Die… Again!”  Looks like Osama comes back from being buried at sea and tries to create a terrorist army of zombies.  Wish us luck with this one, sounds like we’ll need it!

BEBE isn’t BEBE without the first “BE” so we also died some eggs.  We tried using a contraption, Dudley’s Spin an Egg, but it was… questionably successful.  The damn thing is hard to spin up right and it’s really hard to get the lid on (and you take the lid off a lot).  But once we gave up and just dumped all the dye in we got some really gross looking eggs so it kinda, sorta works?  Maybe?

The dye they provide also seems to have a really long dry-time.  Everything is still sticky and dripping.  So while we’ll probably never bother with this again we can say that is really cheap.  So if you like what you see (or are more willing to do things right) you might get some joy out of it.

BEBE 2013: More Movies and Lots of Chocolate

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
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Platters ChocolateMore BEBE 2013!  Just finished Resident Evil.  It was fun as always and nobody plays a better Michelle Rodriguez than Michelle Rodriguez.  We’re moving to something lighter now that we haven’t seen, A Little Bit Zombie.  The tag is “Being dead is easy, it’s getting married that’s the real killer” and apparently it’s about a guy that’s trying to hide his recent zombification from his terrifyingly organized bride-to-be.  It also has Kristen Hager (currently on the US version of “Being Human”) so that’s hopefully a plus!

On the chocolate front we have a lot of the regular available-anyplace-for-a-dollar fare but we also ordered lots of Platter’s Chocolate.  I think most towns have a local chocolate shop that the people there think is the best one in the world.  Well, they’re all wrong because this one is.  Famous for their Sponge Candy and Orange Chocolate.

We’re so sure that Platter’s is the best chocolate in the world we’ll even make you a guarantee: if you order from them and don’t agree just send us the remainder of your order and we’ll eat it for you!  That’s how sure we are of this.

BEBE 2013: Zombie Bowling

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
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More BEBE 2013!  Zombie Bowling, from Front Porch Classics, has been a big hit so far!  A classic, painted wooden bowling set with a perfectly executed zombie theme.  The pins are about five inches tall and the ball (painted as a “BOMB!”) is nice and weighty.  Everything is nice strong hardwood so you might not want to play on your good coffee table.

The game is a blast to play (if a little noisy, especially this early in the morning) and comes packed in a nice, solid canister perfect for traveling.

Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2013!

Posted by kiwidust on March 31, 2013
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BEBE 2013 BasketWe’re kicking off Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2013 (tag: BEBE 2013)!  We’re still in that perfectly appropriate shambling, groaning grumpy morning phase of the day right now.

The kids are looking through their baskets.  With a late addition by grandma they got quite the haul.  The girl is enamored with the Zombie Magnetic Poetry Kit and the boy is sitting in the corner of the couch grunting (teenagers).

As everybody is still pretty groggy and going through their morning grumps we’re starting the movie marathon with something we’ve seen before, Resident Evil.  Not only is a damn fine zombie movie it’s also one of the better video game movies.

We’ll be posting activities and mini-reviews throughout the day.  (We’re going to be full-length reviews of everything in the coming weeks but for today posts will be short and pithy.)

Crafty Zombie Cookies!

Posted by kiwidust on March 25, 2013
Posted in: BEBE 2013, Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters, Cooking, Crafts. 4 comments

Crafty Zombie CookiesAs we approach Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2013 we’ll be presenting some fun (and delicious) ways to celebrate.  First up is a simple, cheap activity that’s fun for any kids you might have lying around.  In our case we dug up a couple of 10-year old girls to assist.

Materials for this include:

  • Some cookies to bake.  Any kind will do.  We just used pre-made, store bought sugar cookie dough.
  • Some green icing.  Get quite a bit as this will be your backdrop.
  • A bunch of cake decorating gel.  The kind you use to write “Happy Birthday” on cakes.  Only in this case you’ll be drawing blood, brains, bile and rotten teeth.
  • Assorted candies for decoration.  We used Spree here; but M&M’s are good too.  Wonka Nerds give a nice texture and crumbled Reese’s Cups make a fine faux grave dirt.  Buy extra: there will likely be some consumption during the build process.
  • Some space and some patience – this will get messy!

First bake your cookies.  If you like (we didn’t) you can mix some green food coloring into the dough for that extra bit of ghoulie.  Let them cool.  Ice them with the green icing and let that dry.  Lay the cookies and materials out on sheets of wax paper.

Now let the shorties loose!  Encourage them to be creative but remember the theme: no bunnies or smiley faces.  These are shambling, brain-hungry animated corpses!  Candy can make for a nice exposed eye-socket.  Blood should be drippy and plentiful (and tasty).  The odd premature bite can also be useful to expose brain-filled cranium.  Give them as long as they like – there’s no rush.  Once they get done (or bored) set the cookies aside to dry for a bit; they should be nice and ready by the time you’re done cleaning up.

Then eat them.  Before they eat you.

Movie Review: Wasting Away

Posted by kiwidust on April 9, 2012
Posted in: BEBE 2012, Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters, Movies. 2 comments

IMDB, Wasting Away“Wasting Away” on IMDB

Horror –  2009 – 89 Minutes

[This review was originally published at our sister-site, DepressedPress.com on April 9, 2012 and was a selection for Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2012.  Note that this movie is listed as “Wasting Away” on Internet Movie Database but as “Aaah! Zombies!!” on Netflix – no idea why, but low-budget movies often have identity issues.]

Low budget movies can either play it straight and hope for the best or try something new and hope for the best.  Those in the latter category can, however, stand just a little taller and a little prouder.  Even if they fail.  This movie makes the effort and tries something new and while it doesn’t always succeed the attempt is more than a little infectious (pun noted).

The hook is that the action is predominately from the perspective of the zombies, who believe that they’ve been “saved” from a horrible plague by a super-soldier serum that’s given them super-powers.  The plague is turning the rest of humanity into super-fast, mindlessly aggressive drones that for some strange reason keep trying to destroy their brains.

The gimmick is indicated – cheaply but ultimately effectively – by switches between color (the zombie’s perceptions) and black-and-white (the “real world”).  The zombies see others as fast-moving, chipmunk-voiced and cartoon-like – others see the zombies as, well, zombies.  Special effects are borderline at best but the use of cheap practical effects is always better than cheap CGI.

Acting is serviceable and many of the characters are successfully likable.  The script is rough but works and for the most part stays on point with several main themes including a sweetly realized love story.  As you might predict with a concept film like this the ending just kind of trials off in several directions without ever truly succeeding in making a point but the ride is nice.

If you’re a genre fan, you’ve already sat through much worse movies with much less to say.  Our verdict on this one (my daughter’s favorite so far this year) is “give it a try.”

Movie Review: The Horde

Posted by kiwidust on April 9, 2012
Posted in: BEBE 2012, Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters, Movies. 1 comment

IMDB, The Horde“The Horde” on IMDB

Horror –  2009 – 89 Minutes

[This review was originally published at our sister-site, DepressedPress.com on April 9, 2012 and was a selection for Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2012.]

This is the fourth selection in our annual “Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters” Easter zombie movie marathon.  Since my daughter (who lacks the patience for subtitles) had a previous appointment my son and I decided to give this foreign example of the genre a go.

The French may have (or so I’ve heard) some issues with social graces but apparently no problems at all with crafting a truly kick-ass zombie flick.  This is a prime example of a straight-laced traditional zombie story.

A group of cops decide to take matters into their own hands after a crime boss kills one of their own.  They infiltrate his hideout, situated at the top of a condemned high-rise, to assassinate him but things go pear-shaped.   As the situation heats up the dead start to rise and attack the living and our two groups are forced to work together.

The group, nurturing a very uneasy truce, is navigates through the dilapidated building fighting off the horde promised in the title.  The zombies are fast and vicious and so are the protagonists.  Several of the extended battle sequences can be noted for the sheer, crippling brutality (some aspects of which are called out specifically in the script).

In what’s becoming a more popular choice no background is given on the cause or mechanics of the zombie uprising.  The audience is thrown into the story with as much background as the characters which both allows us to empathize more with them and increases the suspense.  Very little time is spent on exposition or discovery.  The movie knows its audience and wastes no effort repeating details.

There are no new ideas here but doing a well-worn concept exceedingly well is still worthy of praise.  Some people may be turned off by the subtitles that would be a shame.  This is a high-quality, well constructed zombie movie suitable for the most discerning genre fan and rivaling the best provided by American film-makers.

Movie Review: Zombie Apocalypse

Posted by kiwidust on April 9, 2012
Posted in: BEBE 2012, Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters, Movies. 2 comments

IMDB, Zombie Apocalypse“Zombie Apocalypse” on IMDB

Horror –  2011 – 87 Minutes

[This review was originally published at our sister-site, DepressedPress.com on April 9, 2012 and was a selection for Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters 2012.]

This is the second selection in our annual “Boiled Eggs and Brain Eaters” Easter zombie movie marathon.  It’s becoming something of a mini-tradition to have Ving Rhames featured in a selection – if he remains true to form we’ll have a new option next year as well.

Any genre fan knows that “SyFy Original”  means a small collection of B-now-C-list actors interacting with terribly realized CGI effects.  This doesn’t change the formula but, unlike the majority of its siblings, features a surprisingly cogent script and (in comparison) quality performances.

We follow a group of survivors attempting to reach the safety of a quarantined island off the coast of California.  Much of the script deals with the survival techniques of the group and the growing pack-mentality of the zombies.  None of these side-threads ever overshadow the main focus.

The movie suffers most from the effects.  Horrible (but I have to assume very cheap) computer effects are used terribly in many places that would have benefited greatly from practical effects.  A computer generated sword cutting a throat or thrusting through a neck just looks wrong.  Terribly, terribly wrong.  The smallest of handguns produce explosive decapitations and gouts of blood added post production have no impact on the characters or the environment.  In all it just looks really stupid.

That being a given for a SyFy Original the movie isn’t actually that bad in total.  While it may seem like damning with faint praise producing a truly average movie is quite the accomplishment for SyFy productions.  There are better (much better) zombie movies available but as a diversion this is inoffensive enough.