Tuesday, October 21, 2003
NEW STORY IN CEMETERY DANCE # 46!!
I have some very happy news indeed. The new issue of Cemetery Dance magazine is out now, featuring my story "Mermaids," written in collaboration with the very talented Daniel G. Keohane.
When I went to the Pandemonium signing, I was shocked to see the new issue of CD had arrived already. It was early. I had heard the new issue wouldn't come out until closer to Halloween. Then I held it in my hands - and was in a state of shock. Here it was. The issue with my story in it. CEMETERY DANCE! To say I was supremely overjoyed is an understatement.
It's been a dream of mine to have a story in this magazine ever since I first saw a copy of it. And to be honest, it still doesn't seem real yet. It's still sinking in.
The story even has a cool illustration by one of my favorite artists, Glenn Chadbourne. Glenn and writer Holly Newstein also have a collaborative story in the new issue. So there were a lot of happy people in Pandemonium on Saturday.
It looks like Pandemonium got copies of the new Cemetery Dance before a lot of other places. I went to the mall and checked out the Borders there, and they still had the last issue. So it may take a bit for stores to get their copies. But if you read this blog and you can make it to a bookstore, please buy a copy. I think you'll like our dark little story.
It's Cemetery Dance # 46. There's a picture on the cover of a skeletal-looking guy holding a big-ass pumpkin on top of his head.
Things seem really good right now.
Infernally Yours,
LLS
BOOK SIGNING WAS A SUCCESS
The book signing was a success. Pandemonium had 10 copies of BEST OF HORRORFIND 2 in stock, and I sold 7 of them. We were there for 2 hours and it zoomed by. Must have been the quality of the company. The other writers I signed books with included Jon Merz, Rick Hautala, Michael Arruda, John D. Harvey, Glenn Chadbourne, Holly Newstein and Morven Westfield.
Thanks to everyone who was there, and a special thanks to Tyler Stewart, owner of Pandemonium who really made us all feel very welcome.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
BOOK SIGNING THIS WEEKEND
Well, the big news this week is that I will be part of a group book signing on Saturday, October 18, from 3:00 - 5:00 PM. The place? PANDEMONIUM BOOKS, located at 36 John F. Kennedy St. (in Harvard Square), Cambridge MA.
I'll be signing copies of BEST OF HORRORFIND 2, featurng my story, "Beyond the Haze."
Along with me will be some other members of the HWA New England Chapter, including such talented folks as John D. Harvey, Rick Hautala and Jon F. Merz, Michael Arruda, and the terrific artist Glenn Chadbourne, to name a few. This is probably going to be my only signing for awhile, so those one or two people out there who actually might be interested - here's your chance. LOL
Seriously, it should be a fun time. If you're in the area, stop on by.
Infernally Yours,
LLS
Sunday, October 12, 2003
KILL BILL.......NOW!!
Well, after waiting years for the new Quentin Tarantino movie, I finally got to see Kill Bill. And let's just say that "enjoying it" is a little bit of an understatement...
I LOVED this movie. Might just be my favorite movie of the year, and it's not even a complete movie! It's only Volume 1. Miramax had some stupid idea that people wouldn't sit through the whole thing and cut it in half, releasing Volume 1 now, and Volume 2 in February. Well, I know I sure would have sit through more if I could. As it is, I want to see Volume 1 again sometime while it's still in theaters.
So what's it about? Uma Thurman plays "The Bride," a nameless assassin who was double-crossed by the other members of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (also known as DiVAS) and murdered on her wedding day. Beaten to a bloody pulp by her former peers, and pregnant to boot, Uma is finished off by the big bossman, Bill, with a bullet to the head. Why did this happen? Well, there are still some questions to be answered in Volume 2. But the first part deals with The Bride's waking up out of a four year coma, getting out of a hospital where a male nurse is pimping her comatose body to grubby rednecks, and finding the muthafuckers who did all this to her.
They include Vernita Green (Copperhead) played by Vivica A. Fox, O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth) played by Lucy Lui, Bud (Sidewinder) played by Michael Madsen (also known as the psychotic Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs) and Darryl Hannah as Elle Driver (also known as California Mountain Snake). The Bride has a "To-Do" list that she consults as she knocks off each of them, and this movie mainly focuses on Vernita and O-Ren.
Early on in the movie, The Bride pays a visit to Vernita, who is now a mother in a nice suburban house. Life has clearly been good to her. But she doesn't give a second thought of trashing her home while brawling with Uma. Not that The Bride gives much choice. It's not until Vernita's daughter comes home from school that the fighting stops, showing there are limits to how far these two will go, but it's just a temporary reprieve.
The showdown with Vernita Green is a highlight of the movie, but it is also too short when compared to the epic final showdown (well, the final one in this volume). Vivica Fox is excellent and really deserved more screen time (I also noticed that Tarantino gave O-Ren an origin story, but not Vernita, which is a ripoff). But man, it's a great way to start things off.
The rest of the film shows The Bride preparing for her next confrontation, with O-Ren Ishii, the queen of the Japanese underworld. This is where the character development kicks, although there are lots of questions still unanswered and Uma's character remains an enigma. Preparations include going to Okinawa to get a sword suitable for the task (from 70's legend Sonny Chiba no less, the star of the old Streetfighter movies, who is terrific here).
She goes to Tokyo then to deliver some payback to O-Ren's ass, but this time it's not just one-on-one. Not only does The Bride face her second would-be murderer, but an army of underlings. As queen of the Yakuza, O-Ren has a half dozen master killers who form a protective shield around her, and then there is the Crazy 88, her own personal army, who no doubt are the reason she was able to rise to such a high station.
The Bride fights them all, and the scenes are amazing. She plows through them like a runaway lawnmower, and the scenes are brilliantly choreographed, like a ballet of blood. The highlight is a one-on-one battle with Go-Go, O-Ren's 17-year old master assasin, who fights Uma with a mace on a chain (with some neat retractible blades) - this fight is absolutely amazing). And then we have the final battle between Bride and O-Ren, before Volume 1 comes to an end, with lots more to come.
Since you know there's a Part 2, there isn't much suspense about whether or not the Bride will make it through her conflicts alive, but that doesn't matter. This movie is just an adrelaine high captured on celluloid. And there are a multitude of stylistic tricks and inside jokes that are too numerous to mention and which just add to the atmosphere of the movie. Everything from the opening credits (starting out with a logo in Japanese that is reminiscent of the Japanese films of the 60's), and homages to the Shaw Brothers (the masters of Hong Kong kung-fu films in the 60's) and the movies of the 70's (even having a 70's theater staple, "You Are Watching Our Featured Presentation" open things up) to great little details (one-eyed Elle Driver sneaks into the Bride's hospital and changes into a nurse uniform, even having a new eye-patch featuring a hospital-themed red cross) to the use of music (very 70's feel to that) and animation (very effectively used in telling the origin of O-Ren Shii, another highlight from the film).
And the acting is top notch. From Uma (who has been very iffy over the years, being great in stuff like Pulp Fiction and Henry and June, and sometimes downright awful - such as her role as Poison Ivy in the dismal Batman and Robin), who totally proves here she is one of the best actresses in the business, with charisma to spare, to Sonny Chiba and the hot Ms. Fox. Even Lucy Lui, an actress I normally loathe, does a very servicable job here. I thought she was a lightweight compared to the acting chops of the other people involved, but this was definitely the best role I've seen her play yet. Maybe there's hope for her...lol.
We'll no doubt be seeing a lot more of the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in Volume 2, which means more of Michael Madsen and Darryl Hannah, which is great news, and of course the enigmatic Bill, whose voice we hear in Volume 1 but never see his face - but it's David Carradine, a 70's icon in his own right - and what an inspired choice! Tarantino has always had a history of giving older actors he dug as a kid a place in his movies (Pam Grier and Robert Forster comes instantlyt to mind) - and Carradine continues this tradition - but think about it, this is excellent casting. We're talking the star of Kung Fu here! The funniest thing is, Warren Beatty was originally approached to play Bill but turned it down. How sucky would he have been in the role? Meanwhile, Carradine simply kicks ass! I can't wait to see his final showdown next time with Uma.
If you've read this blog before, you know that I love violent movies, and this one does not skimp on the gore. Since her primary weapon is a samurai sword, we get to see lots of severed limbs, heads, whatever. And lots of spraying blood. This is one movie that earned its R rating.
Looks like I've gone on a little long about this movie - but, hell, it just reflects my enthusiasm for it. If this sounds like the kind of movie you might enjoy - RUN to the movie theater...NOW!
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I originally meant to go see Kill Bill on Friday night, but all the showings were sold out (!!), so that night we saw School of Rock, mainly because I'm a fan of Jack Black. It was better than I expected. I thought it would be another stupid, mainstream misfit-substitute-teacher-who-bonds-with-his-kids movie, and in some ways it is. Except it ain't stupid. There's "subversion" written all over this one. First off, it's directed by indie director Richard Linklater, who previous made everything from the classics Slacker and Dazed and Confused to my favorite of his films Before Sunrise. To see him in the credits helming a mainstream movie is kind of weird, but there's not much weird about the movie. It's pretty conventional. The cast is interesting too, from Mike White (star of the great and bizarre Chuck and Buck - who also wrote School of Rock) to Sarah Silverman, Joan Cusack (who I was always on the fence about, but who turns in a great performance here) to a cameo by the very odd (but always funny) Timothy "Speed" Levitch from the great 1998 documentary The Cruise.
I have to admit, as someone who has always been heavily into rock (being in a band is one of the things I regret I've never done), I totally related to Black's rock-obssessed character, Dewey, who pretends to be his friend in order to get a gig as a substitute teacher at a fancy prep school (Dewey needs some scratch to pay the rent). Of course, Dewey knows nothing about teaching and just wants to get paid to do nothing, but then he gets the idea of forming a band of the talented kids to be his backup at the "Battle of the Bands" where they will compete with Dewey's last band, which kicked him out. From here, it's kinda predictable. Although Linklater handles the results of the "Battle of the Bands" well.
But you don't go see School of Rock for the plot. There is only one reason to check it out - Jack Black. The guy is a fireball, and is incredibly watchable, even when he's just mugging for the camera, and I think this one is going to lead to some big-time paychecks in the future. Thing is, I wonder if he'll continue taking any interesting roles once he becomes Mr. Big Movie Star, or if, like everything Hollywood touches, he'll become a sanitized, neutered version of himself the bigger he becomes.... Let's hope he's the exception and not the rule.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
New Review Up on WEIRD TIMES
Been meaning to write more on the blog, but not much new lately. Some good movies coming up soon, especially KILL BILL , which comes out this weekend. But otherwise, the only news I can think of is that my latest movie review is up on the WEIRD TIMES webzine. It's a review of BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR, and you can find it here.
In fact, got a whole bunch of reviews on that site now. And there are some really nice accompanying graphics now.
Until next time,
Infernally Yours,
