Wednesday, March 26, 2003
A GOOD 'UN
Just read The Rising, the first novel by Brian Keene, and I just wanted to point this one out to people who might be interested. It's a good 'un. The plot revolves around an apocalyptic scenario where zombies roam the earth, and the main storyline involves Jim, a divorced dad who wants to reach his son Danny before something horrible happens to him. The pace is fast, reminiscent of Richard Laymon's novels, and the characters are compelling. And the zombies aren't mindless eating machines, but are able to use weapons and plan ambushes. It's immensely readable. Just a really fun book! If this sounds like your cup o'tea, check it out!
SPOT THE PORNO STAR
Well, I went to the Internet Movie Database and looked up the new Willard movie, and it lists the actress who plays R. Lee Ermy's secretary as being "Kim McKamy." When I clicked on her name to find out more, I found out that she has also made a bunch of movies under the name of "Ashlyn Gere." So I was right!
Monday, March 24, 2003
Well, early on it looked like I was doing okay. Chris Cooper got Best Supporting Actor, Catherine Zeta-Jones got Supporting Actress, Spirited Away got Best Animated Film, and Bowling for Columbine got Best Documentary. But that's it. Every other big award I got wrong. And this was a year when I'd actually seen most of the nominated movies. Chicago didn't sweep (thankfully), but it got Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and a bunch of technical awards. The Pianist came out of nowhere to win Best Actor and Best Director. While Julianne Moore didn't win Best Actress, at least Nicole Kidman won - she probably would have been my second choice (and I think she was the hottest chick at the Oscars), even though I thought she was better in The Others last year. And Gangs of New York just got snubbed for the most part. Too bad. Scorcese is overdue for an Oscar.
Steve Martin was a low-key host, which actually seemed fitting, considering world events. I wasn't thrilled with all the awards, but at least Chicago didn't win everything, as a lot of people were predicting. Hopefully next year will be better.
Sunday, March 23, 2003
OSCAR PREDICTIONS
I know I'm cutting this close, the Oscars are tonight after all, but I figured I'd post my predictions now and see how well I do. First off, I think there's a good chance Chicago will sweep the awards tonight, not because it deserves to, but because for some reason Hollywood has a hard-on for musicals and seems to really want to bring the genre back, and what better way than to shower Chicago with statues? But if I go with my gut and honestly choose as if I were a member of the Academy, here's the awards I think should happen:
BEST PICTURE: Gangs of New York. Not Scorcese's best film, but the best film in the category, except for maybe The Two Towers, which was almost as good. But everyone seems to think that the last film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy will get the major awards, so chances are good The Two Towers will get snubbed.
BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York. I think he was just amazing in the film. Nicholson was a close second for About Schmidt, where he underplays it so much that you almost forget it's Nicholson for a change (he has a tendency to play every role larger than life, so this was an interesting change).
BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven. This is a no-brainer. Moore's performance is just a different level than everyone else in the category. This is one award I'm hoping for most. Moore is an amazing actress and is overdue for an Oscar.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Chris Cooper for Adaptation. Cooper consistently turns in great performances and he steals the show in Adaptation, even from Nicholas Cage's wacky twins.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Personally, I'd go with Julianne Moore in The Hours, but that won't happen. I think this one is one will go to Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago. Got to let Chicago have at least one award, I guess. And there's always the chance they could surprise us and it could go to Queen Latifah.
BEST DIRECTOR: Scorcese for Gangs of New York.
For some of the other ones quickly, I think the new Best Animation Award will go to Spirited Away, since it sounds like it's far superior to the other (mostly Disney) nominees, Best Documentary has to go to Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine, Best Adapted Screenplay should go to Adaptation, because the script is the most amazing thing about that movie, and Best Original Screenplay should go to Far From Heaven.
Let's see how many I get right.
I saw the final episode of Farscape on Friday. I've got to admit, I was surprised that it ended in such a bleak way, but I thought that took balls, considering it will piss off a lot of the fans. But I have no idea what the final words "To Be Continued" are supposed to mean. I thought this was the end of it. Unless it was a joke.
I came to the show late. When I heard this was going to be the last season, I decided to give it a chance, since I'd heard a lot of good stuff about it. I'm not much of a fan of space opera, and aside from the original Star Trek which I dig because Shatner is such a ham, I never got into the various Trek spinoffs or stuff like Babylon 5. It's just not my bag. Which is probably why I avoided Farscape for so long. Also the fact that one of the creative forces behind the show is Jim Henson Productions, which means there were some characters who were muppets, which totally turned me off to the show. But like I said, I heard it was going off the air, it was getting tons of praise, and I figured "what the hell" I'd give it a chance. And I dug it. It was a solid, well-written show with great characters. Even the muppets weren't that annoying (well, they're a little annoying). Of course, my favorite character right off the bat was Chiana, who I later found out was a "supporting player" (and therefore never on screen enough). But the whole cast was good, and the storylines kept me coming back for more.
Coming in so late to the show, I'm not as devastated by the way it ended as long-time fans probably are. But I think the Sci-Fi Channel totally blew it on this one. Of the original shows they've created, this way definitely the best, and they dropped the ball by cancelling it before it was truly over. Chiana - I hardly knew ye.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
I saw the new remake of Willard today. I thought it was a fun movie, but it certainly wasn't scary. The main reason to see it is for Crispin Glover, a terrific actor who just hasn't been in enough movies lately. He's just quirky enough to pull it off and keep the character interesting. As an acting showcase for Glover, it's a good time. I think the original version was a ten times better movie, though.
R. Lee Ermy (the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, and now the host of The History Channel's Mail Call show) plays Willard's abusive boss (in the original version it was Ernest Borgnine). Ermy is okay, but seems to be playing it too much like a cartoon rather than a real person. Borgnine was much more effective in the role. And Laura Elena Harring (last seen in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive) plays the one co-worker who actually sympathizes with Willard, but it's a pretty thankless role as a potential love interest (although that doesn't go anywhere).
It does have some fun in-jokes, like the painting of Willard's father is clearly of Bruce Davison (who played Willard in the original 1971 film). And the way Michael Jackson's song "Ben" plays on the television when Ben the rat is watching it (Jackson wrote the song originally for the movie Ben, the sequel to the original Willard. It's always been kind of a strange song, since it's kind of a love song to a rat). Crispin Glover even sings the Ben song again during the end credits. And - did anyone else notice this? - I'm almost certain that the woman who plays Lee Ermy's secretary in the office is former porno star Ashlyn Gere. This wouldn't be too shocking, though, since she also had a role in an episode of X-Files. If it is her, looks like she's going legit. More power to her.
The rats are okay when they're up close and real, but when swarms of CGI rats start running across the floor it doesn't always work. There's still some bugs in the old computer animation that prevents it from looking totally realistic. Also, the PG13 rating guarantees it never goes far enough with the violence to be too scary. There's even one scene where Willard drops a dog into a bag full of rats - and you expect them to kill it. Then he opens the bag and the dog simply jumps out and runs away, seemingly unscathed. What was that about? Then again, there's also a scene with a cat, and the cat isn't so lucky. There's a real double-standard in Hollywood when it comes to dogs and cats it seems.
Before Willard, the theater I went to showed a trailer for the upcoming Rob Zombie movie House of 1,000 Corpses, and it looks terrific. It really does seem to have a "no-holds barred" 70's horror movie feel to it. I just hope it lives up to expectations. I can't wait for this one.
Friday, March 21, 2003
Saw two interesting movies this week. First off, I saw David Cronenberg's new one, Spider, starring Ralph Fiennes as a schizophrenic who moves from a sanitarium to a halfway house, but can't seem to make it on his own. Most of the film is his flashbacks/delusions, told from Spider's point of view. Fiennes turns in an amazing performance as a man who is very uncomfortable in his own skin. He's almost painful to watch at times. What's real and what's not? It's a fascinating piece of filmmaking, showing how Spider ended up where he is.
I've been a fan of Cronenberg for almost two decades now, ever since I saw his early film The Brood back in the 80's. That one was pretty fascinating too. Some of my favorite Cronenberg films include Videodrome, Dead Ringers and Crash. A lot of people didn't care much for Crash, but I think it's his masterpiece. It's very faithful to the book by J.G. Ballard, which is one my favorite novels of all time. And Cronenberg nailed the feel of Ballard's book.
I don't think that Spider, based on the book by Peter McGrath, is up there with his very best work, but it's a good movie. Just about everything Cronenberg does is worth checking out. He's one of the few "maverick" directors we've got left.
Also saw Gaspar Noe's new flick, Irreversible, which is painful in a different way. I'm still not sure what I think of this one. It certainly isn't boring, but it is a bit torturous to sit through. It's told in backwards order and begins with two guys searching for a rapist in an S&M club. Their search results in vicious violence. Then it goes backwards to the actual rape (a gruelling scene with poor Monica Belluci that goes on for 10 minutes). Then it goes to the main characters before the bad stuff happened. There's nothing exactly pleasant about this movie, but you've got to appreciate Noe's audacity. In a way, the entire film is a big "fuck you" to the audience. He even ends it with an annoying strobe effect that supposedly can cause seizures in some people. Talk about a difficult film. This was the one film people walked out of most at Cannes. I saw it more out of curiosity than anything else. And this is one of the rare cases where I can't really say whether I liked it or not. It's not the kind of film you really "like." But it is an experience. This one's not for the squeamish.
Friday, March 14, 2003
BRAND NEW STORY ON HORRORFIND
A brand new story of mine just went up online as of today. My story "Head Games" can be found over at Horrorfind. It's a horrific little tale about a jungle expedition gone wrong. I like to think it's as much fun as a barrel of monkeys. Ha ha
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Just out on DVD is The Complete Jam. This is a 2-disk set of all of The Jam's videos as well as all of their (British) television appearances, covering the time period from 1977 to 1982. For those who don't know, The Jam were probably my all-time favorite group. It consisted of Paul Weller on lead guitar and vocals, Bruce Foxton on bass, and Rick Buckler on drums. They started out during the first wave of British punk and evolved from album to album into one of the best bands England ever produced. This blog is even named after a line in one of their songs (it's a lyric from the song, "The Dreams of Children" for anyone who's curious).
Sadly, it doesn't include their American television appearances, like the time they were on Fridays (that old SNL knockoff that ABC produced in the late 70's) or their appearance on Tom Snyder's old talk show Tomorrow. But it has some great stuff, especially the videos: everything from their first single, "In the City" all the way up to later classics like "Town Called Malice" and "The Bitterest Pill." It's just fascinating to see them evolve over time - their music, as well as their "look."
Paul Weller continues to put out solo music (whatever happened to Foxton and Buckler anyway?), but The Jam will most probably be remembered as the pinnacle of his career. And this DVD is a must-have for Jam fans.
Saw the movie Old School, about three middle-aged guys who start their own fraternity. It was okay, but wasn’t hilarious. It seemed to skirt the edge of being hilarious, but just never went far enough. Laughter is involuntary, and I sat there wanting to laugh, but it only happened a couple of times, and each time it was because of Will Ferrell. This guy is going to be a huge star – I can tell. One reason I went to see the movie was because of Vince Vaughn, who was so terrific in the movies he did with Jon Favreau, Swingers and Made. He can be pretty funny when he wants to be. But in Old School he plays the same kind of smarmy guy he always does. He has his moments, but he’s just not as funny as I thought he’d be. But Ferrell steals the movie.
I had a really similar reaction to director Todd Phillips’ last movie, Road Trip. That time, the wild guy was played by Tom Green (back then he still had a TV show and was actually kind of funny – I don’t know what happened to him since). The rest of the cast was more likable than funny. I think I laughed about twice that time, too. I see a pattern here.
It’s an okay movie, and it’s short enough at 91 minutes, but I didn’t hurt myself laughing. And that’s what you want when you go see a comedy.
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
"BEYOND THE HAZE" TO BE IN BOH2
Some terrific news! I recently found out that my story "Beyond the Haze" will be appearing in the upcoming anthology THE BEST OF HORRORFIND 2. To say I am overjoyed is an understatement. The book should be coming out this August.
