SquidFlicks

Category: Editing Room

  • Theaters legal after a 30 year ban

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    Strict Saudi Arabian religious policing led to the banishment of movie theaters for well over 30 years. Now things may change, says the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. There are still restrictions, though. The movies are screened and approved by the commission, and places where movies will be screened are thoroughly inspected to make sure that they adhere to strict religious code.

    Most Saudis watch videos and TV through DVDs and Satellite in their own homes, and travel to nearby countries to watch a film in a theater.

    I can’t believe that the Saudi Arabian government restricts so much regarding to entertainment in their society. I can only hope that things will improve over time as government officials see that entertainment has more benefits than it does negatives.

    Do you agree with the heavy censorship of entertainment media? Tell us below!

    More Information:

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  • Skip the Christmas Gloom

    An interesting observation here: Why are so many gloomy and emotionally-taxing movies released during the holiday season? I think it goes without saying that the Holidays have enough drama as it is, and you should see a movie that is uplifting rather than depressing. I have five great movies for you to watch if you want some holiday cheer! As an added bonus, these are all Christmas-themed movies! YAY! 😉

    Note: These are in no particular order, but feel free to tell us which movies are the best in the comments!

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  • Is Christmas supposed to be scary?

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    When you think of all the Christmas holiday seasons you have lived through, what do you remember the most? What do you associate the holiday with? Most of us would say ‘Santa’ or ‘Christmas trees’ and especially that combination of red and green.

    What you probably don’t think of is the dark side of Christmas, the side that for most of the present has remained pretty dormant. Just because it is dormant does not mean that it doesn’t have any strength, because every few years the dark side of Christmas comes out in society.

    What am I talking about? I’m talking about Christmas-based horror movies! Yes, the classics with names like Silent Night, Deadly Night; Black Christmas; and Jack Frost, just to name a few. These films were released right during the holiday season, and caused a huge amount of controversy. What else would you expect from free speech?

    Personally, I don’t care too much for x-mas slasher films, but they are a very interesting and unique sub-genre of horror movie. It’s always good to have some variety in an otherwise very uniform holiday across much of the world, and that variety is the Christmas horror movie.

    My favorite Christmas movie with a horror/creepy twist is Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas. Not really a horror movie per se, but it is still a slightly dark montage of Halloween and Christmas. Another great and slightly twisted tale is The Grinch who Stole Christmas.(original version, but the remake was ok)

    Patrick and I wanted to do a Silent Night, Deadly Night movie marathon, but we don’t have the entire series in the archive nor the time to film and have the footage ready. We plan on having another surprise instead this year.

    Do you like the Christmas horror classic, or do you like to snuggle up to the yearly re-run of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Comment below!