THIS MODERN NIGHTMARE

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE

Back in the conservative 1950s there was a "pin-up" model by the name of Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol). She was a very attractive brunette with bangs, who became something of an icon just by posing for cameras. She did some famous nude shots with celebrated photographer (and former model) Bunny Yeager (Sarah Paulson). But the pictures she was most famous for were for a New York couple named Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lilly Taylor). These photos were rather controversial because they catered to the fetish and bondage crowd, with Bettie either tied up or holding the riding crop while some other girl was bound. But frankly, these photos (and even some short films) seem more playful and awkward than dangerous. And Bettie didn't see anything wrong with what she did, because, well, she was just acting out silly fantasies and wasn't hurting anyone.

The Klaws were dragged into obscenity hearings at one point and Bettie became a kind of underground star, whose appeal has only grown over the years. The new movie about her life, THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, tries to give us some background on the girl who became a legend. Gretchen Mol does a great job at capturing Bettie in all her paradoxes. She was a seemingly naïve, religious girl from a small town who also had a rebellious streak (she left home for the big city and tried to become an actress - instead becoming a men's model - something that was surely scandalous at the time). Although Bettie saw nothing wrong with what she did, ("Adam and Eve were naked after all!") she stopped modeling soon after the Klaw hearings and went back to "normal" life, pretty much never to be heard from again (until recent interest in her led people to seek her out again).

The movie focuses mainly on her years as a model. She meets an off-duty cop on the beach who suggests she be a model for a "camera club" - a uniquely 50s phenomenon where a bunch of guys with cameras would gather and take shots of skimpily clad models who they paid to pose for them. From these "clubs" Bettie graduated to men's magazines and more ...er...esoteric photography.

I've been a fan of Bettie's for awhile now and was looking forward to this film. I liked it a lot and I really enjoyed Mol's performance. The only drawback was that Bettie's life doesn't seem particularly complex. A woman who became famous for posing in photographs, it doesn't seem like the real Bettie had much to say. And she left the modeling world as easily as she entered it. There's not a lot of depth in the story, although the ride is an interesting one, and even includes a few disturbing moments like an scene when she was a teenager than implied that her father molested her, and a gang rape scene that seems like it should have had a much bigger impact on her life (then again, maybe she repressed it). Considering what she had to work with, though, director Mary Harron does a good job of fleshing Bettie out and making her very sympathetic.

Definitely worth checking out, if not at the theater, then when it comes out on DVD.

TV ROUND-UP PART 2

THE SOPRANOS RETURN, Sundays at 9pm on HBO

After a two-year wait, the Sopranos finally came back, and surprisingly, it's lost none of its spark. The new season started off with a bang as the increasingly senile Uncle Junor shot Tony in the stomach, thinking he was some enemy from the old days. Tony was pretty touch and go there, ending up in a coma with tubes coming out of him, existing in some dream-like parallel world that must have been purgatory where he was a businessman at a landscaping convention who lost his wallet and any sign of identification - with everyone calling him by another name. The forces of heaven (a monestary who accused him of doing shoddy work) and the forces of hell (a weird house full of partiers who wanted him to come join them) were represented, and just as Tony was about to enter the hell house, his daughter Meadow's voice calling out to him stopped him. Of course, Meadow was also talking to him in the real world, and by following her voice, Tony not only avoided hell (for now) but finally came out of his coma.

And that was just the first couple of episodes!

Since then, Tony has had to take a tough stance to reestablish his role has head of the family, even picking a fight with his musclebound driver in front of the boys to show he still has "it" and isn't some invalid to be pushed around. Of course the biggest news about this season so far is the story of Vito, the closeted gay mobster who came on to Meadow's finacee, Finn, last season, after Finn saw Vito going down on some guy in a parking lot. Things went up a notch when some fellow mobsters collecting protection money at a gay bar saw Vito in full Village People regalia and word got around. In Tony's world, this is an offense punishable by death, so Vito high-tailed it out of town. Vito then found himself in an idyllic New Hampshire town that appears to be very gay-friendly and it appears as if he's thinking of sticking around and starting over. Of course, his old friends may have something to say about that if they find him.

So far, a really good season, and almost worth the long wait. I can't wait to see what happens next.

BIG LOVE, Sunday at 10pm on HBO

THE SOPRANOS is such a huge hit that HBO puts new shows after it, hoping they'll catch fire too. This happened with the terrific shows DEADWOOD (maybe my favorite HBO show) and the hilarious CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. The latest new offering from HBO is BIG LOVE which features Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson, the head of a polygamous Mormon family in Utah. He has three wives: Jean Tripplehorn as the level-headed den mother first wife, Barb, Chloe Sevigny as the shopaholic irresponsible Nicki, and Ginnifer Goodwin as the naïve but very likable new wife Margene. Not only is Bill married to all three of them, he has kids with them all too, and it's just one big family living in three houses all next to each other. But since polygamy is illegal, and Henrickson is a very successful owner of a string of "Home Depot"-like stores, they've got to keept their lifestyle a secret.

Then there's Paxton's other dysfunctional family: his abrasive, fueding parents: (Bruce Dern and Grace Ziebriski), as well as his brother, Joey (Shawn Doyle), a failed football star come home to live on the "compound" with mom and dad. Unfortunatley, the compound is run by Roman (the terrific Harry Dean Stanton), a self-proclaimed "prophet" who has more wives and kids than he can count, and who has his own little fiefdom. Because of a loan Roman gave Bill for his first store, Roman expects to get a cut of any future stores as well. The thing is, Bill doesn't see it that way. He's paid the loan back in full, and then some, and wants to be free of Roman, but it's not that easy, since Roman is really little more than a gangster in "prophet's" clothing. (of course, it doesn't make it any easier for Bill to break from Roman when his second wife, Nicki, is also Romans' daughter).

BIG LOVE has a solid cast and the characters are for the most part pretty likable. The acting really makes this show, and what keeps me watching, but frankly the storylines aren't as riveting as they could be. Things seem to be heating up as Bill and Roman's animosity comes to a head, but otherwise the show seems to be lacking something. I like BIG LOVE and recommend that anyone who has access to HBO give it a chance. But I don't love it. Yet.

INVASION RETURNS FROM HIATUS, Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC

Back at the beginning of the current TV season, each of the networks had a new science fiction show, clearly inspired by the success of LOST. NBC had the short-lived THRESHOLD, about aliens who "infect" humans through sounds and images, which act as viruses when people are exposed to them. The show had a good cast and interesting ideas,and I liked it, but it was uneven and it became the first of the three shows to be cancelled. CBS had SURFACE, my favorite of the three, which involved a strange new form of giant sea life and the scientist who sought to determine where it came from and what its purpose was. While I liked the show, the season seemed to end early, and it's doubtful whether SURFACE will be renewed.

The last of the three new network sci-fi shows, ABC's INVASION, is kind of a spin of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, where aliens in the form of bright lights in the water take over unsuspecting humans who are exposed to them and use their DNA to create alien/human "hybrids." INVASION has a strong cast, led by William Fichtner as Sherrif Underlay, the "leader" of the hybrids, and the show has a pretty good pedigree - it was created by Shaun Cassidy, who also created one of my all-time favorite shows, AMERICAN GOTHIC.

INVASION appears to be the winner of the race, since it's the only one of the three shows still on air (the fact that it airs after LOST on Wednesday nights probably doesn't hurt), however, early on, it was my least favorite of the three, mainly because it moves so damn slow. The writers moved at a snail's pace to reveal what is going on and I have to admit I lost interest and stopped watching for awhile. But there's been considerable buzz lately that the show has gotten really good, so I decided to give it another chance.

The thing is, INVASION has gotten better. Now that more has been revealed and the human citizens of the town are aware of the hybrids now, the pace has picked up and it's a lot more interesting, as we wait to see what will happen. Will the hybrids and the humans be able to co-exist in peace? Will the hybrids not be happy until everyone in the town (or the whole world) are just like them? And the most basic question - why do the people who are still fully human beings stick around in a town overrun by half-aliens? And why hasn't there been a big media blitz yet? Maybe these questions will be answered. In the meantime, the tensions are high, especially since the hybrids themselves seem to be split into two groups - the ones led by Underlay who seem to want to live peacefully, and another, almost cult-like group led by Szura, a megalomaniacal type who has even written a book about his plans to take over the world.

So the show has my attention again, and I'm going to keep watching until the end of the season. The thing is, no one knows yet if this show will be renewed either. But its coming back after being on hiatus for six weeks should be a good sign.

PRISON BREAK, Mondays at 8pm on FOX

Finally, I've also been enjoying PRISON BREAK, which is on Monday nights before 24 (a show that a lot of people I know love, but which I find kind of boring for some reason). PRISON BREAK is kind of a PG-rated version of a great HBO show, OZ, but while OZ dealt more with characters and their backstories and interactions, PRISON BREAK has an agenda. Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) robbed a bank to purposely get himself sent to the same prison as his brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell). Link is on death row for killing the Vice President's brother, except he's innocent and being framed by the sinister Vice President and some clandenstine government agents who work for her. Michael has the blueprints of the prison tattooed on his body and has an elaborate plan to get him and his brother out, but he can't do it alone. Unfortunately, this means bringing other prisoners into his plan, some of which may not be particularly trustworthy. This rag-tag bunch includes Michael's cellmate Sucre, who desperately wants to get back to his girlfriend; a guy who may or may not be the legendary D.B. Cooper; a guy who has been telling his family he's in Iraq, not prison; a psychotic named T-Bag (Robert Knepper); and a mob boss named Abruzzi (Peter Stormare). With each episode, Michael gets closer and closer to making the prison break a reality, but obstacles keep getting thrown into his path. It's a good, suspenseful show, and I really recommend it. Definitely the best new show FOX has on its roster this season. And it's starting to get really good since it also returned from a recent hiatus.

Oh well, that's it for TV shows for now. Until next time,

INFERNALLY YOURS,

LLS

TV ROUND-UP! PART 1

Hey buckaroos, it's time to take a look at the big glowing eyeball we like to call the television. There are some new shows out there and new seasons starting, and some of them are worth checking out. Let's take a look, shall we?

THE SHIELD

Well, to begin with, the latest season of THE SHIELD came to an end recently, and it was another top-notch season of Vic Mackey and his Strike Team. I'm not going to write a synopsis of the entire season at this point, except to say that their nemesis this time around was the formidable Forrest Whittaker as Internal Affairs Lt. Jon Kavanaugh who sought to break up the team and send them all to prison. He turned out to be a pretty worthy opponent and I can't wait to see what next season is going to bring, especially since THE SHIELD's seasons are way too short. One bit of bad news though - Lem is dead and Shane killed him (dropping a grenade in his car no less)to keep him from talking. So an ultimate showdown between Shane and Vic is in the cards - which might just be extra fitting, since it's rumored that next season will be the last. Vic, we hardly knew ye. Rating: A+

THIEF/ Tuesdays at 10pm/ FX Channel

Which brings up to THIEF, featuring Andre Braugher as Nick Atwater, the head of a bunch of thieves, setting up heists. The basic plot so far is that Nick and his team (kind of like the flipside of Vic's Strike Team), hits a bank and steals money belonging to the Chinese mob. The lady who provides Nick with his jobs (Linda Hamilton) gives him a heads up that the mob is seeking revenge and that they should return the cash. Reluctantly, Nick agrees, but the mob doesn't seem happy with just getting their cash back; they want to make an example out of anyone who thinks they can take their money. So they send a hitman to take some vengeance. So far Hamilton and her bodyguards have ended up dead. It's only a matter of time before Braugher and his boys meet up with the hitman. Meanwhile Nick's wife has been killed in a car crash and he's left with an angry stepdaughter who hates him and saw him kill a guy (one of the crew who didn't quite work out). Braugher is worried she's going to drop the dime on him, and his guys are even more nervous. And there's a subplot involving Michael Rooker (from Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer) as a corrup cop trying to dig himself out from under.

Unfortunately, all this sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is. I thought the first episode was okay. But it moves at a slow pace and the second episode was even worse. By the time the third episode aired, I just found myself losing interest. This show needs tighter writing and better direction, but chances are that's not going to happen, since this show only has six episodes in its first season. One thing's for sure, it's no SHIELD. Rating: C

SOUTH PARK: SEASON 9 /Comedy Central/ Wednesdays at 10pm

Not a new show by any means, but a new season is upon us, and if you blink you'll miss it, because SOUTH PARK's seasons only last about 7 new episodes a year these days. Last year I actually missed the new season due to lack of promotion on the part of Comedy Central. This time around, SP got tons of media attention beforehand, first for Isaac Hayes quitting the show complaining of religious bigotry (of course, he had no problem with 8 seasons of the show attacking religion, until they attacked his - Scientology), then Comedy Central not airing a repeat of the same "Scientology-bashing" episode supposedly because Tom Cruise told them not to, and the latest controversy where Comedy Central refused to air an episode about Mohammed. So Trey Parker and Matt Stone has been using Season 9 so far to get revenge, first with an episode where Hayes's Chef joins something called the Super Adventure Club (a group of pedophiles that brainwashes Chef to be part of their group) and they just got done ridiculing the whole censorship thing - and their own network - in a two-part story which transplanted the controversy to Family Guy instead. SOUTH PARK is as relevant and cutting edge as ever and shows that Parker and Stone are still at the top of their game. And they still have no mercy for anyone who pisses them off. This is free speech in action! Keep watching. Rating: A.

THE ANDY MILONOKAS SHOW /MTV2/ Fridays at 9pm

Now on MTV2 instead of regular MTV, this weird man-child (he looks like a fat teenager but is supposedly in his 30s!) continues churning out his surreal comedy show made up of weird little bits and sketches involving Andy harassing old people on the street with inane questions, Andy ordering pizza and chinese food and then harassing the delivery men, and Andy doing insane things like talking to apples and putting pancakes on his face. A totally insane show that seemed fresh last season but now might be getting a little tired. I'm still watching, though. Rating: B

WONDER SHOWZEN /MTV2/ Fridays at 9:30pm

An undiscovered gem on cable that also just started its second season. Also on MTV2, now at 9:30 on Fridays after Andy. This is like a demented version of Sesame Street for grown-ups. There are puppets, cartoons, kids interviewing people on the street, and just overall weirdness. If you were watching it with the sound off, you might think it was a kid's show, but it's not. There's something sinister going on. There's even a warning before the show begins saying that if you let your kids watch this, you're a bad parent. One skit involved a kid dressed up like the dead pope telling people on the street they are going to hell, and a puppet who asks people questions, including homeless people in the park, and is so annoying that people start to get violent, trying to beat the puppet (and the cameraman) up. Totally crazy stuff and worth seeking out. Note: Season 1 of both Wonder Showzen and Andy Milonakas just came out in DVD box sets if you want to check them out. Rating: A+

DR. WHO /Sci-Fi Channel/ Fridays at 9pm

I've been a Dr. Who fan from way back in the 70s, when Jon Pertwee and (the best) Tom Baker played the eccentric alien "timelord" known only as the Doctor who travels around in an old English police call box that is really a time machine. He brings human sidekicks along for the ride. Through several actors (it's explained by the fact that the Doctor regenerates every 7 years or something) and a multitude of storylines, Dr. Who has become something of an icon for sci-fi fans (well, for me anyway), and one of the longest running shows in England, or anywhere, ever. This time around Christopher Eccelston plays the Doctor, and he's just fine. There's a modern edge to it now, and his sidekick Rose is a working class girl with a mom on the dole and an Indian boyfriend. Maybe not up to snuff with the days of Tom Baker, but a fun show that deserves an audience. I'm just grateful to see new episodes on the air again. Rating: B+

NEXT UP: Big Love, The Sopranos are back, and Invasion is finally getting good.

Some people have mentioned to me that the CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT Archive on my website (www.llsoares.com, for those who don't know), isn't exactly up to date. I'll try to take care of that soon. Currently, the archives go up to column # 10, and the last one we've had published so far is # 20. So yeah, I'm a bit behind.

Not much else going on. Working, living, and trying to do as much writing as possible. And I wanted to give a shout out to my good friends Pete and Amy Dudar (thanks again for the lobster feast!), who invited us out to their home in Maine last weekend. It was my first trip to Maine, and Laura and I had a really good time.

Oh, and a lot of really good albums have come out recently, including new ones by ROB ZOMBIE(EDUCATED HORSES), the YEAH YEAH YEAHS (SHOW YOUR BONES) and maybe my favorite album this year (so far), which got very little attention, the new one from SPARKS, called HELLO YOUNG LOVERS. Sparks has actually been around since the 70s, and while I've been aware of them for a long time, I never really listened to much of their stuff. I picked up the new album on a whim and was totally blown away by it. The music is amazing and unlike anything you'll hear out there right now. The opening song alone, "Dick Around," goes through like ten different changes, reminding me a bit of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" just for its sheer diversity. If you're looking for a great album that's also something different, check it out.

I haven't done a TV update in awhile. Maybe that will pop up in a future post. Bye for now.

It's a Long Road Out of Hell

Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic. I haven't posted in a long time. It's been a mixture of things actually. Basically, been pretty busy at work and otherwise and just haven't been able to find the time. So let's see what's up since the last time I wrote, shall we?

First off, the new CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT came out. This is the movie review column I write with Michael Arruda for the horror newsletter HELLNOTES. The latest one, which came out the last week of March was for the remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES. I loved it. Mike had a different opinion. The column came out pretty good. Unfortunately, I found out that the column is on hiatus again. So I'm not sure when the next one will be happening. If I find out, I'll let you know here.

Saw a couple of other flicks since I last posted.

First off, I saw the Russian vampire movie, NIGHT WATCH. I liked it a lot. The plot is pretty basic - thousands of years ago, the forces of good and evil fought. Because no one could win, they called a truce. The forces of light dominate the day and keep tabs on the forces of evil at night, calling this surveillance The Night Watch. The forces of evil dominate the night, but keep the good forces in check by keeping a Day Watch. With all these checks and balances, nobody gets the upper hand. But suddenly there's a child who has some special power that could give one side an edge - and chaos breaks out as the two "armies" try to recruit this potential spoiler to their side.

This is one of those rare movies that is better than the movies you'd compare it to. It has a dark, kinetic look to it like the MATRIX movies. The plot reminded me a bit of the UNDERWORLD movies, where instead of vampires vs. werewolves, there's more of a mixture here in the forces of good and evil. NIGHT WATCH is better than both series, and a lot more interesting. I liked the weird visuals (mostly filmed in Moscow, which is very atmospheric),the way the story barrelled forward at a cannonball's pace (and strangely, it wasn't too hard to follow). And the characters. I also really liked the ending. I can't wait for Part 2(NIGHT WATCH is part of a proposed trilogy and the second film was already released in Russia). The sequel, DAY WATCH, should be cool. I'm really interested in the other's half's point of view.

This movie was in theaters, but not for very long. It will definitely be worth seeking out on DVD, when it's released.

Also saw the latest Johnny Depp movie, THE LIBERTINE. This time, Johnny plays John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, real historical figure and author of poetry and plays that some considered obscene. The film begins in the 1660s when Rochester was commissioned to write a new play for the court of Charles II (John Malkovich), which turns into a complete fiasco involving scantily clad women and a giant cannon-like dildo on wheels. The play gets him banished from London for the upteenth time. But for some reason, King Charlie keeps changing him mind and calling him back to London.

Things only go downhill from there as Rochester is eaten away by alcoholism and syphillis, but he certainly is a lot of fun to watch along the way - a total hedonist who seeks to corrupt all those around him. He even has a hilarious servant named Allcock (how fitting). And if you need a touch of redemption - he even tries to help the career of a struggling actress named Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), turning her into the toast of London stage at the time.

This movie got lambasted by the critics, but I found it to be hilarious at times and enjoyable overall. It's the dark side of those mannered Merchant/Ivory flicks and would be a superb double feature with the Marquis DeSade biopic QUILLS. Depp, as always, is extremely watchable and seems to be having a fun time here. Even if you find it to be "so bad it's good" - doesn't that mean it's still more entertaining than than the bland and boring crap that dominates movie theaters these days? I had a really good time watching this movie, and isn't that what moviegoing is all about?

Finally, I saw the new Alan Moore adaptation, V FOR VENDETTA. I think it's ironic that Moore took his name off the flick without even seeing it, based on his disgust with how Hollywood "ruined" his previous adaptations (FROM HELL and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, neither of which was as bad as the critics said, in my opinion). Ironic because V FOR VENDETTA, the one he went so public to disown, is easily the best of the bunch. For those who don't know, Moore - along with Frank "SIN CITY" Miller - pretty much revitalized comic books in the 80s, with such masterpieces as Miller's DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and Moore's THE WATCHMEN, which took very adult looks at the world of superheroes.

Of course, the original V was written during Margaret Thatcher's "reign" and was meant to comment on the time it was written. The Wachowski Bros (of the MATRIX flicks) have tried to update it as a commentary on today's situation, with mixed results.

But on the whole it works. Ideas like facism and revolution are timeless and V's world is another variation on such dystopias as we saw in Orwell's 1984. Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from the MATRIX movies) plays the Guy Faulkes-mask-wearing V in a terrific performance (considering he wears the mask throughout) and Natalie Portman turns in another impressive job as his young protege Evey. What was especially enjoyable was that this was a comic book movie about IDEAS more than action. It really made you think and have a reaction. How often does that happen when you see an action film?

I dug all three movie and recommend them.

I also wanted to see the new Asia Argento film THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, based on the work of controversial writer J.T. Leroy, but unfortunately it only played in theaters here for a week, and I couldn't find the time. So now I have to wait for the DVD. This movie has been getting a lot of flack because of the "hoax" surrounding author LeRoy. Supposedly LeRoy was a former teenage hustler with HIV whose books were based on his life. It turns out that LeRoy didn't exist and that a middle-aged woman wrote the books instead. This was revealed right after the James Frey hubbub on Oprah (where Frey was pilloried for taking liberties with the truth in his "memoir" about drug addiction). Seems that, no matter how good or bad the books are, LeRoy is suddenly dismissed completely because of the "hoax." Personally, I don't give a shit if a book is truth or fiction, as long as the writing is good. And "Memoir" by definition is a vague term cooked up by publishers. If LeRoy's work was solid, then I'm still interested in reading it and seeing Asia's movie (she didn't know about the hoax until the rest of the world did - after she'd spent four years of her life bringing the book to the screen!). I could go on more about this, but it's been talked to death in the media, and by this point I just don't give a fuck anymore.

That's all for now. Hopefully it won't be so long a wait for my next post.

INFERNALLY YOURS,

LLS