The Weejy Experiment

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Thursday night, Izzy & I continued our streaming search for scares… and we stumbled across the EXTREMELY low budget movie (apparently made for about $1,200) called “The Ouija Experiment” from writer/director Israel Luna and starring… I’m assuming friends of his in the Dallas area? Yeah, no real actors here. Essentially it’s a found footage film where a film student named Brandon films his four friends playing with a Ouija board… and they start getting some messages from beyond… but then during a lover’s quarrel, they accidentally leave the Ouija board open (because it’s a portal, you know?) and something may have come across. Something… sinister! Okay, so… decent premise, right? If you’re down with Ouija boards, then you’re down with the plot. I don’t f**k with that noise. Not because I really think this cardboard typewriter will open a gateway to another world… but best case, it’s just a stupid f**king parlor game with your friends… worst case it IS and you’re f**king around with dead people for no reason. No appeal. However, the movie starts as… honestly, a pretty damn decent low budget found footage flick. I mean… the actors aren’t amazing by any stretch, but they’re just supposed to be regular people anyway. The budget is everyday Vine worthy… but it’s actually pretty well done with the limitations & keep within the “rules” of found footage… it’s fairly believable aside from a few “Why are you recording this again?” moments. The first hour is pretty good… especially for having the effects budget of a one-man show on public access. Well done…

 

Unfortunately though… in the final twenty minutes of the movie… they completely lose it by breaking probably THE cardinal rule of a found footage movie. There’s an absolutely HORRIBLY ACTED & EXECUTED sequence… in which a FLASHBACK is shown!!! DON’T DO A FLASHBACK ON A FOUND FOOTAGE MOVIE!!! The whole point really of the format (aside from absolutely minimal costs) is a minimalist approach to film making… and it leaves the viewer to fill in the blank with their own imagination. Period. Whether it’s the Blair Witch, the Cloverfield monster, all those Paranormal Activity movies, all that mess… you’re leaving the mysterious evil/dangerous being up to the imaginations of the viewers because… basically whatever you put in there, isn’t going to be as good. Seriously, how the hell did Blair Witch make money? You’ve seen it, right? Boring & pointless… and it’s what’s to blame for just about this entire genre. It’s because everybody was filling in their own holes with their worst fears… not a flashback scene about what happened to the ghosts. Nobody cares. We know they’re dead. Anyway, I would’ve wholeheartedly recommended this movie if not for the last 20 minutes… but you know what, I’ll give a half-hearted endorsement. Check it out if you’re looking to waste 92 minutes & have a friend with a fear of Ouija boards. Well done for a budget of less than the camera used.

 

This weekend, Izzy & I drove down to Redlands to help move her mother back to the Bay Area… which involved an early rise, long drive down to SoCal (though we made great time), then loading a 16-foot truck, a 4x4 truck & my Jeep with her possessions… and then repeating the process on Sunday with unloading at the home that she grew up in. As dreadful a weekend as that sounds… it actually wasn’t that bad. The weather was cooperative, she was packed up well, there wasn’t a whole lot of heavy furniture (only one giant piece that may or may not have been wood paneling on lead), and because of our early rises traffic wasn’t an issue. Needless to say we slept like babies Sunday night… but yeah, good times… and now Izzy’s mom is back in town so they can bond and all that girly stuff.

 

During the trip, we again stopped by Rose City Pizza for some Pizza tots and a beer flight… and Izzy’s mom took us to a great pizza place in downtown Redlands called Jersey Pizza where one of the owners had dinner with us & we enjoyed a pitcher of Evans Brewing, a local SoCal brewery. The pizza was great, company was great, and I highly recommend the location if you’re in the area. You won’t regret it.

 

Anyway, not much else to report on now… but things are matriculating & fermenting… so more to come. In the meantime, have a great week everybody!!!

Intro to Redlands

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Wednesday, we helped out at Elevation 66 Brewing again... and this time I got to see them keg & transfer for the first time..

 

This weekend, Izzy & I did a quick road trip down to Redlands, California to see her mom for the holidays. Basically we made pretty good time in getting down there in about 7 hours during rush hour from downtown San Francisco out to Riverside (where our hotel was). The only real note was… we had our first bottle bomb… while sitting in traffic… on the freeway… in the back of my Jeep. We had loaded a few bottles to give to Izzy’s mom… and one of them was our Cali Common recipe from a few months ago… and apparently this one had a little too much pressure… and we both just about sh*t ourselves thinking that somebody had shot out one of my windows with the loud pop and feeling glass on the back of our heads. Here’s the thing… it was in a Trader Joe cloth bag… back behind the rear seat… and the glass went THROUGH the bag… off the window, ceiling, whatever… and still hit us a little bit in the front seat of the Jeep. Needless to say, it could’ve been a LOT worse. We’re probably going to keg the rest of our Cali Common (2-3 gallons?) to avoid not only the danger… but losing a lot of our bottles. Them things ain’t cheap, ya know…

 

Saturday morning, we met up with Izzy’s mom at her home, and then we headed out to Oak Glen in the mountains, which is famous for their apple & other fruit orchards. Here are some pictures…

 

After a few quick stops, then it was off to Hangar 24 Brewery located near the Redlands Airfield. This brewery just started up in 2008 but is already expanding at an exponential rate… and they have some great beer. We had a quick tour of the facilities, tried some of their samplers, and even grabbed a variety 12-pack to enjoy back at home. I highly recommend checking them out if you’re in Redlands… here are pictures…

 

After a few samplers, we realized that we hadn’t really eaten in a while, so we went to Mill Creek Cattle Company for some great barbecue & burgers. I have a Reuben and the ladies had Tri-tip sandwiches… they were both delicious & great portions. We even had leftovers for evening snacks. DEFINITELY check them out if you’re in the area.

 

Just before sunset, we headed over to the Kimberly Crest Mansion to see how the upper echelon of society lived back in the day. Unfortunately we just missed touring hours, but we got to see some of the exterior…

 

 

 

Sunday, we met up and went to the Mission Inn in Riverside to see some of the surrounding churches & this iconic hotel. They were really busy with a few weddings going on, but we walked around the hotel a bit & then checked out their on-site museum. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what it looked like…

 

 

After that, we grabbed a quick slice of pizza and started the drive home to San Francisco… making it in just under 7 hours. Overall, a fantastic little trip… and it was good to spend some time with my ladyfriend & her mom before heading off to Utah later this week. Anyway, more on that later… have a great day everybody!!!