Thursday, May 13, 2004

 

THE LATEST


Already mentioned this on my website, but last weekend we went to one of the films at the recent Boston Underground Film Festival. George A. Romero's 1981 film, KNIGHTRIDERS, to be precise. We mainly went because Romero was there in person, to introduce the film and then do a Q&A afterwards. But I'd also never seen KNIGHTRIDERS before. It's a pretty cool movie about a modern-day Camelot, involving a traveling renaissance fair featuring knights on motorcycles. Ed Harris, in his first starring role, plays Billy Davis, the King Arthur of the troupe, who lives by the codes of chivalry and honor. Of course, while his goals are noble, they also make him a maverick in the eyes of the outside world. Also along for the ride are Tom Savini as Morgan, the guy who wants to be king. Savini turns in a great performance here - I always thought he was an underrated actor. Morgan is the guy in the group who wants to be a star, and he's more than willing to turn against his friends and make compromises to do it. The rest of the cast is terrific too, from Brother Blue as Merlin (who was also at the screening), to a cameo by Stephen King and his wife Tabitha as spectators (in the credits called Hoagie Man and Hoagie Man's wife - LOL), to Christine Forrest (Mrs. Romero).


Not sure what most people would think if you told them it was about knights on motorcycles - but it's a lot cooler than you'd think. And the acting is top-knotch. The movie has a real 70's sensibility (despite coming in out in the early 80's) and Romero said that he thinks it might be his most personal film. A metaphor for the life of a maverick filmmaker, no doubt.


After the show I got a chance to talk to Mr. Romero for a bit, and he was one of the nicest people you could meet. I can't describe how cool it was to finally meet him. Romero is definitely one of my heroes.


Later that day I also saw the new film THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, directed by Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. It was announced that it would only be in the theater out here for one week, so I figured I'd better catch it, especially since it's been getting such good buzz.


First off, the movie has been getting a lot of attention for its look. Maddin filmed it to look almost like a silent film, with grainy black and white. In some scenes the borders of the screen even look blurred. It certainly looks like an old movie. And also kind of other-worldly. The plot takes place during the Great Depression and focuses on a competition run by queen of beer Isabella Rosselini, who runs Winnipeg's big brewery. She sees prohibition in America coming to an end, and wants to capitalize on the new markets for her product that will soon open up, since she notices that sad people like to drink beer. What better way to publicize her product than with a 1930's version of American Idol! Well, it's a lot better than today's "reality" television. This contest looks for the country that has the saddest music.


It's got a great cast, from Rosselini, who is always great, to Mark McKinney (one of the KIDS IN THE HALL) and Maria de Medeiros (Anais Nin in the movie HENRY AND JUNE). A big plot point involves a father and son who both wooed Rosselini's character in the past, and who were both involved in an accident years before that resulted in the loss of both her legs. Both father and son now try to take part in the music contest and get back into her life (representing Canada and America respectively). There's also another brother who is now a famous musician who lives in Serbia, who comes back to Winnipeg to take part in the contest as well.


I thought the look of the film was great, as was the acting, but the story left me a little cold. While there are some moments of inspired lunacy, I didn't really care about anyone in the film that much (except for maybe Rosselini, who at one points gets new glass legs filled with beer! YUM!). It's the kind of film you can appreciate, but I had a hard time loving it. But I am curious to check out more of Maddin's work at this point.


And finally, I saw the movie VAN HELSING this week. But that was for the joint movie review column I am now doing with Michael Arruda called CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT (now appearing the third week of every month in the horror industry newsletter HELLNOTES). If you're a Hellnotes subscriber, the new review will be appearing next Thursday (May 20th).


Oh well, that's all for now. Until next time....


Saturday, May 01, 2004

 

Guilty Pleasure or Sign of the Coming Apocalypse?


Finally broke down and bought the CD "Permission to Land" by The Darkness. No idea why, but now I really dig their song "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." When I first heard them, I thought they sucked. But the more I heard them on the radio, the more they grew on me. Like a fucking fungus. Tonight as I write this I've been listening to the album over and over.


I guess there's no fucking hope for me at all...


 

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT


Well, the big news this time around is my latest movie column, called CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT. This one is co-written with fellow writer/movie reviewer Michael Arruda, who regularly writes a horror movie column for the Horror Writers Association newsletter entitled IN THE SPOOKLIGHT.


The seeds of CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT were planted about a year ago, when Michael and I were talking about the fact that we both write reviews of horror movies and how it might be fun to do a joint review like Siskel & Ebert (now Ebert and Roeper). Took us awhile to actually find the time to do it, and to figure out what format to go with (we decided on a kind of interview style back-and-forth), but after months of preparations, the review has finally become a reality. The first installment: Knife Fight # 1 - Secret Window, appeared in the April 22nd issue of the horror industry newsletter HELLNOTES. Not only was the first column picked up, but we also have a commitment to appear every fourth week. And it looks like the first installment has received some good feedback, so it looks like our experiment is a success. There will be more to come!


Aside from this, not much new. Issue # 5 of LULLABY HEARSE, with stories by myself and Laura, as well as my friend John Dixon, was supposed to come out in March, but here it is May, so I'm not sure when it will be out. When I know, I'll make sure to mention it here (and on the website).


Oh, and I saw the season finale of the new Sci-Fi Channel show MAD MAD HOUSE this week. What a fun show that was! My favorites "Alts" are Art the modern primitive who seemed to be the most sincere person on the show (and the time he hung from his back from hooks was pretty cool) and Don the vampire (just because he seems to piss off all the other Alts and he adds a sense of humor to the show - it was funny as hell watching him bowl in the last episode, in full vampire regalia). As for the winner of the $100,000, I would have almost been happy with anyone as long as it wasn't that fucking weasel Eric, and luckily he didn't make it to the final two. It came down to Jamie and Nicole, and while I was routing for Nicole (everyone in the house gave her such a hard time, I wanted her to win just to say a big "fuck you" to all the other asshole contestants), Jamie was likable enough that I wasn't too sad to see her win. Besides she needed the money more, being a stripper with a kid. But man, there was a scene where they gathered all the past contestants together for a "final dinner" and I couldn't get over the fact of how 90% of everyone who competed on the show was an asshole. Despite this, it was one of the best reality shows I've seen so far. Can't wait to see more from "the Alts" next season!


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