Tuesday, March 17, 2009 

HALLOWEEN at Halloween - Reliving the Michael Myers Legacy

A great way to spend a budget-friendly Halloween Garbage Pail Kids year would be to have a marathon of those perennial horror favourites, the Halloween series. What could be better for Halloween than watching Michael Myers hunt down victim after victim? Well, actually, this could be pretty damn rotten if you try to sit through all of the terrible sequels. Including the remake there are now nine films that carry the Halloween title, but just picking any of them would be a bad idea. You need to pick the best ones in order to have a decent movie experience and Halloween fun, but which to choose?

First up, DO NOT WATCH HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. This was a sidestep from the Michael Myers chronicles and doesn't feature the infamous masked killer at all, or indeed have any links to the first two films aside from the title itself. Plus, it is generally a terrible Captain Action with little in the way of redeeming qualities. So, whichever you pick, make sure that turkey isn't among them. Tetris avoid Halloween: Resurrection too. Gah. That was awful.

The Halloween movies got off to a fantastic start with two films that are rightfully honoured as true classics of the horror genre. Naturally, the iconic first film introduced the world to Michael Myers, Dr Loomis and Laurie Strode, and brought the genre a new antihero, Myers, who was also nicknamed 'The Shape' due to his chilling masked visage. Utilizing sterling camera work, excellent direction and ingenious use oif lighting and music, the initial Halloween movie became the benchmark of horror for a generation, and spawned many lesser imitators.

That film has certainly stood the test of time and still works to this day. Its first sequel, cunningly entitled Halloween II, was superb in that it carried on exactly where the first film left off, and plays as an extension of that landmark production instead of just a sequel. The original cast returned and continued with the carnage. While the first film was directed by horror legend John Carpenter, Halloween II was directed by Rick Rosenthal, a relative unknown, who did a great job capturing the atmosphere and tension that Creepy Crawlers had achieved.

These two would be wholeheartedly recommended, but there needs to be a third to round off your evening. I'd say Halloween H20, the seventh in the series, which saw Jamie Lee Curtis return to the role of Laurie Strode after 20 years away from the franchise. This entry, directed by Steve Miner, is actually a very good, very strong piece of horror cinema. It is taut and constructed very well, and alongside the first two films it creates an excellent trilogy. It even has a satisfying end, which provides some closure to the series. Sadly this was destroyed with the terrible eighth film, but if you try to ignore that and put these three films together, you're in for a great Halloween night that won't break the bank. The Halloween movie franchise has spawned comic books, merchandise, Michael Myers action figures, statues and of course, a whole genre in itself. With these three fine examples of the series, you will be up all night. Not just watching movies, but checking that all your doors are locked. Was that a man in a mask outside your window?

Andrew Hawnt is an expert on popular culture, movies, TV, comics, horror movie collectibles and more. He writes for the famous Starstore blogs and the popular movie collectibles site starstore.com as well as being a renowned music journalist and science fiction author. With boundless enthusiasm for pop culture, movie memorabilia, geek culture and the comic book industry, he is always ready to bring the latest news and views on the entertainment industry to you. For the latest news, free newsletters, podcasts and more, check out ===> http://starstoreblog.com

 

Crayon Wax Melting Art

What mother of preschoolers or other children hasn't found broken crayons in the couch, under the couch, and all over the floor? You may even have been frustrated to find a crayon in the laundry, way after it's too late to salvage the clothes in that load. Help your child create crayon wax-melting art to keep from having to throw all the broken crayons away.

Melted Sea Wees is dangerous for anyone, especially for children. Please be careful when trying any of the following crayon wax-melting art projects. Adult supervision is definitely a must for melted wax artists. Here's how to do it:

In the oven: Set your dolls to 250 degrees. Create new crayons by melting the old broken pieces. Break the pieces up into smaller pieces and sort the crayons with like colors. Place the crayon pieces into an old muffin tin. Put the tin into the oven and then turn the oven off. Watch the crayons so they don't melt entirely. When the crayons have melted sufficiently, remove them from the oven and then place the tin into the freezer for half an hour. Take the tin out and then pop the new, larger crayons out.

Double Boiler: Another way to melt peeled crayons is over a double boiler. Use an old pan that you were going to throw away. Get a larger pot and place water in the pot to Conan Put the old pan into the water so Millie the Model floats. Put the crayons into the upper pan and allow them to melt. You can then use a ladle or measuring cup to remove small amounts of wax. Dribble or paint the melted wax onto paper or into old candy molds. You can also dribble or pour melted wax on wet sand.

Color on Fabric: On a blank sheet of paper, create a design you'd like to have on a T-shirt or other piece of fabric. Color the design heavily, using plenty of crayon. Set your iron to cool and allow it to heat up. Place newspaper between the layers of fabric so the colors don't bleed through. Then iron the paper until the design shows through. For best results, use 100% synthetic fabrics.

Sun catchers: Children love the colors that are thrown across the room through sun catchers. You can help your child create a melted crayon wax sun catcher. Give your child a pencil sharpener and let them make crayon shavings. Fold a large sheet of wax paper and sprinkle crayon shavings on half of it. With a warm iron, run the iron over the wax paper quickly. Allow the wax paper to cool and then cut it into various shapes. Make butterflies or flowers with holes in them where you can tape the melted crayon wax sun catcher on the back so the light and colors shine through.

Let the artist come out in your child. However, since you're working with crayon wax-melting art, be sure to supervise closely to keep your child from injury. The artwork they create will spread colorful light across your room and into your heart.

If you enjoyed this article, please visit the The Parenting Magazine for more. The Parenting Magazine is a popular online publication providing useful parenting information on infant care, child care, child safety, child education, child development, child behavior problems, kids activities and even great food recipes for kids!

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