Tuesday, May 31, 2005

 

THE MONKEY MASK STRIKES AGAIN!


There's a new interview with Nick Cato of Novello Publishers (publisher of the upcoming RIGHT HOUSE ON THE LEFT chapbook) on author Jeff Strand's website, and aside from being good for a few chuckles, there's also a mention of a certain monkey-mask wearing author you might be familiar with from this blog...check it out here.


Also, a big thanks to Nick for helping me get in touch with one of my all-time heroes, Herschell Gordon Lewis (director of such horror classics as BLOOD FEAST, 2,000 MANIACS and THE GORE GORE GIRLS). Corresponding with the "Godfather of Gore" himself made this nice long weekend extra special!


Saturday, May 28, 2005

 

FANTASTIC FOUR TRAILER


Before seeing REVENGE OF THE SITH, I saw the trailer for the upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR movie, and it actually looked pretty good. I'd recently read an interview with the director and he sounded like he really didn't care about the orignal Marvel comics too much, which kinda pissed me off. He said he just wanted to make a fun movie. I took this as a bad sign. But the trailer doesn't look half bad. I'm still excited to see Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackie on the FX channel's terrific cop show THE SHIELD) as Ben Grimm, and Jessica Alba is always nice eye candy as Sue Storm. I don't know the guys playing Reed or Johnny from a hole in the wall, but they don't seem too awful. One big plus was that Dr. Doom is going to be in this movie, and he's played by Julian McMahon (who plays Christian in another solid FX TV show called NIP/TUCK). Between Chiklis and McMahon, this movie might actually kick some ass. At least these two know how to act. And The Thing and Dr. Doom are two great comic book characters.


I really hope this movie is good and that it's a big hit. Because I'd love to see a sequel where Galactus and THE SILVER SURFER come to the big screen. The Surfer has been a favorite of mine for a long time now, and his movie debut is long overdue.


 

DID GEORGE LUCAS FINALLY GET IT RIGHT?


Okay, so my curiosity got the best of me and I went to see STAR WARS EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Everyone I knew who saw it told me it was great and that it made up for the last two Star Wars movies. Even that it might be the best film of them all. It certainly sounded like the darkest entry of the series, and that alone intrigued me.


Now let me get this straight. I am not a fan of George Lucas or Star Wars. When the first movie came out (now called EPISODE 1: A NEW HOPE, but back in 1977 it was plain old STAR WARS), I was a kid and got caught up in the hype of the moment. The first Star Wars movie was something new - a B movie with an A-movie budget - and I was a science fiction fan. So it all seemed new and different at the time. I'll go so far as to say that I really liked that first one. But it was all downhill from there.


Everyone seems to love EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, but frankly that's when I lost my taste for the series. As soon as that (ever-beloved) Yoda came onscreen, an obvious muppet with Fozzie Bear's voice (why, I wonder, didn't they at least try to make him him look a little more realistic back then? He looks about as high-tech as Kermit the Frog in EMPIRE), my adolescent mind suddenly realized "God! This isn't so cool. This is a kid's movie!" The Ewoks in RETURN OF THE JEDI just clinched it for me. Instead of growing with me, these films were regressing, and I lost my taste for them pretty quickly.


And it actually annoyed the hell out of me when that self-righteous George Lucas lapped it up when Jospeh Campbell referred to Star Wars as mythology for the modern age. When all it was was a giant wave of regurgitation of everything that came before it, from Flash Gordon serials and sci-fi pulp novels of the 40's and 50's, to fables and bible stories. How does aping the past make Lucas some kind of visionary, even if he does have the mega-budgets to make it all look shiny and new?


Let's face it, I'm just not a fan of this stuff.


But, despite all this, I was curious about REVENGE OF THE SITH...Maybe, finally, George Lucas had gotten things right.


First, though, I saw ATTACK OF THE CLONES on television the week before. Thought I'd give it a shot so I wouldn't walk into SITH totally clueless. I have to admit, even though everyone has slammed the hell out of it, I didn't think CLONES was all that bad. Its central mystery of who was trying to kill Padme kept my interest and there weren't any cutsey characters to take away from the storyline (well, except for maybe Yoda, but he's become unavoidable). CLONES wasn't terrific, but I didn’t hate it. I thought it was another example of the critics exaggerating how bad something was (Regular readers of this blog know that I recently felt the same way about a couple of other movies, Chronicles of Riddick and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, both of which were much more enjoyable than the critics let on).


I still can't sit through PHANTOM MENACE , though. Between the annoying brat who plays young Annakin and Jar Jar's irritating antics, it's just too much bullshit to wade through.


As a "non-believer" of the Star Wars hype machine, I went into SITH with low expecations and was surprised how good it was. Hayden Christensen even seemed to have improved his acting a little (maybe he finally took some much-needed acting classes!). I thought the fight scenes with Yoda were laughable as always, though (I still have no idea why people love this character so much!)


Everyone keeps bringing up the fact that the dialogue is bad, but frankly I don't go see Star Wars movies for their dialogue. This isn't fucking DEADWOOD, after all. Sometimes, you have to accept some things for what they are. And Star Wars is about action, special effects, melodrama and (supposedly) shocking secrets coming to light. It's not about great writing and believable plotlines. It's just a glorified soap opera in space. It's silly stuff that somehow has achieved some mythic resonance with a lot of people who must just have some very low standards. Ha ha.


I am not a Lucas convert, but I at least went into the theater and thought I got my money's worth. I think I liked SITH almost as much as the first one, when I was an awe-struck kid being subjected to something that seemed new and exciting.


Well, almost, but not quite. You can't recapture that feeling of when you were a kid and saw something for the first time. I'm too old and jaded for that now.


SITH has its flaws. For one thing, it's too long. They could have easily cut out some of the slow-moving middle stuff. The "love scenes" between Annakin and Padme are just laughable (which is a pity, because Natalie Portman was actually very good in recent movies like GARDEN STATE and CLOSER, and is pretty talented, although you couldn't really tell that from the Star Wars movies). Sam Jackson is pretty much wasted as Mace Windu - he's much too good and passionate an actor for such a low-key, unexciting role, although his final battle with Chancellor Palpatine is pretty good. And Yoda always bores the fuck out of me. But there are enough good things to balance it out. Ewan McGregor rises above this stuff and turns in another good performance as Obi-Wan. Ian McDiarmid is enjoyable as Palpatine. And Christensen is tolerable enough as we finally get the story of how he was transformed into Darth Vader, easily the best character of the series. Too bad we don't get to see more of Vader in action.


But, you know, as series go, I still prefer Romero's DEAD films or even Raimi's EVIL DEAD films any day of the week...and Romero's new flick LAND OF THE DEAD is sooo much more of a big deal to me than the new Star Wars movie. Hmmm, maybe it's time for me to get a tent and wait outside the movie theater for LAND OF THE DEAD tickets weeks in advance...


INFERNALLY YOURS,


LLS


Tuesday, May 17, 2005

 

THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF GANG OF FOUR


Saw a fucking amazing show Monday night. The original line-up of the old punk bank GANG OF FOUR reunited recently and played Boston on Monday. They packed the Avalon night club and put on probably one of the top five concerts I've ever seen. It was Jon King on vocals, Andy Gill on guitar, Dave Allen on bass and Hugo Burnham (now a professor in Brookline) on drums. These four hadn't been together since 1981. The last time they played Boston was 1979 (!). Back then I was in high school and didn't see them, but that was corrected this week when, after 26 years, I finally got to see one of my all-time favorite bands in concert. It was actually worth the wait.


Gang of Four formed back in 1977 in Leeds, England. The stood out among punk bands of the time for bringing dissonance and feedback into the music. A lot of their songs sounded off-kilter, but musically they knew exactly what they were doing and were way ahead of their time. They were one of these bands who didn't hit it big in America (their biggest hit here, on college radio, was "I Love a Man in Uniform" in 1982), but whose influence can't be overrated. Like the Clash, they were very political, but musically they sounded like nobody else before or since.


This original line-up produced two classic albums: ENTERTAINMENT! (1979) (their amazing debut, which was just re-released on CD by Rhino Records today, with a bunch of extra tracks) and SOLID GOLD in 1981. Most of the songs they played in concert were from ENTERTAINMENT!, which they almost played in its entirety. It was amazing how great these songs still hold up, including: "Ether," "Natural's Not In It," "Not Great Men," "Damaged Goods," "Return the Gift," "I Found that Essence Rare," "Contract," "He'd Send in the Army," and "At Home He Feels Like a Tourist" (a real highlight). As well as one of the best anti-love songs ever, "Anthrax," which has even more significance now. Their playlist also included two gems from their second album: "Paralyzed" and maybe my all-time favorite Gang of Four song "What We All Want" as well as "To Hell With Poverty" from an EP that came out between ENTERTAINMENT and SOLID GOLD (entitled ANOTHER DAY/ANOTHER DOLLAR). The only song played from later in their career, after Allen and Burnham had originally left the group, was "We Live As We Dream, Alone" which might just be the best song from SONGS OF THE FREE, which was also Gang of Four's biggest commercial success (also featuring "Call Me Up" and "I Love a Man in Uniform").


Despite being in their late 40's (early 50's?), the band tore up the stage with as much energy and ferocity as they probably had when they were young turks. Singer Jon King was a whirlwind, leaping about the stage, and at one point playing aluminum baseball bat (pounding on an amplifier for what seemed like forever). Andy Gill's guitar work was as exemplary as ever. Dave Allen's bass was perfection and Hugo Burnham proved that he might just have been one of the best unheralded rock drummers ever.


I felt transported in time back to 1979, and felt like I'd been given a second chance to see one of the most important punk bands of all time at their prime. If they come to a club near you, I cannot emphasize enough how great these guys are. You should run to see them.


Opening act Radio 4 is one of these new bands out of New York seeking to capitalize on the music of the past and put their own spin on it. They had a lot of energy, and their guitarist was really good, but for the most part I thought their music was a little boring. They're still new, so they have time to develop, but man, it was like night and day when they finished up and then Gang of Four took the stage and blew everyone away. After all these years, they hadn't lost their chops.


I was happy to see that Avalon (a mid-sized Boston club) looked pretty full (not sure if the show had sold out) and the audience was very enthusiastic. I know I was. I was screaming out lyrics along with a lot of these songs (as a kid I must have listened to Gang of Four's first two albums a hundred times each, and I still remembered about 98% of the words). The band even did three encores despite the fact that they were clearly exhausted at the end.


I'd like to give a shout out to Peter Sturman, another guy who grew up with Gang of Four and who was as into the concert as I was. Nice to meet you, man!


All in all, an exceptional show, and I can't recommend seeing them enough if they come to your town.


INFERNALLY YOURS,


LLS


Sunday, May 08, 2005

 

SOME BIG NEWS...FINALLY


Okay, so remember in my last post I mentioned that I was asked to contribute a story to an upcoming chapbook because of my performance at the Gross-Out contest at the last World Horror convention? Well, it's official, so I can announce it.


It's being published by Novello Publishers, whose last release was TWO TWISTED NUTS: A Chapbook of Testicular Terror. Their next release is going to be called RIGHT HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and the line-up is Mark McLaughlin, Steve Vernon, and myself. It will feature three tales of humorous horror, taking place in unusual haunted places. The scheduled release date is Halloween 2005. Be there or be square.


I am very psyched about this one.


Saturday, May 07, 2005

 

SOME NEWS


As a result of my appearance at World Horror 2005's Gross-Out Contest (with ape mask, crazy voice and all) I have been asked to contribute to an upcoming chapbook, to see light around Halloween. I'll be sharing the book with two other (very cool) writers. So even though I didn't win the Gross-Out contest, I still feel like I won. More details on this as things progress.


On the movie front, I recently saw Todd Solondz's new one, PALIDROMES. I'd give it the complete review treatment, but one thing about a Solondz movie is, the less you know about it the better. This guy has brass balls and makes movies that are guaranteed to offend just about everyone. Gotta respect that. All I'll say is that it begins with a thirteen year old girl who gets it into her head that - more than anything in the world - she wants a baby of her own. When she get pregnant by the teenage son of family friends and her mother forces her to have an abortion, the girl runs away from home, and things just get weirder from there. Especially since the lead character is played by about 6 different actresses, including Jennifer Jason Leigh and a boy at one point. If you're easily offended, avoid this movie. If you're interested in adventurous movies that push your buttons and don't wimp out, then you might want to check this out. Then again, if you've seen Solondz's other movies, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE (in a weird way, Palidromes is a kind of sequel to Dollhouse), STORYTELLING and especially HAPPINESS, then you know what this guy is capable of, and you know what you're in for. Me, I think it's one of the best movies of the year.


I also finally saw KUNG FU HUSTLE, the new Stephen Chow movie, and I've got to admit, I really loved it. The plot is real simple - this gang called the Axe Gang terrorize the area (it looks like 1940's China). They intrude on a ghetto called Pig Sty Alley, which just happens to have some martial arts superheroes living in it. The gang gets more than they bargained for, including a landlady who can crumble buildings with her yells. This movie is really just a big, live-action cartoon, with over-the-top action and fighting. It's non-stop, funny, and you'll lose yourself in it. I'd only seen one other movie by director/star Stephen Chow, SHAOLIN SOCCER, which got rave reviews when it was finally released in America, but I was a little disappointed when I saw it. No such disappointment with KUNG FU HUSTLE. If you loved SHOALIN SOCCER, then HUSTLE is going to blow you away. One of the few recent films I've seen that lived up to the promise of its trailer. You will dig it.


Got a few other irons burning in the fire, but nothing I can talk about yet. Stay tuned for future news. And, as always, Infernally Yours,


LLS


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