INFERNAL DESIRE MACHINES

The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One READY TO BUY!

2011-09-22T23:38:00.001-04:00

After months and months of work, it's finally here! The Unraveling: Damaged Incorporated, Book One is going live!

Kindle and Nook links will be live by the start of the week, hopefully!

EDIT: Live now for the Kindle!

EDIT AGAIN: Live now for the NOOK!

EDIT ONCE AGAIN: Live now for via the iTunes store for your iReading iPleasure!

We're going all ebook at the moment, but as soon as I get the chance, I'm going to be formatting for POD through Amazon.

SHOT FOR SHOT: MISFITS 1.05 Review

2011-07-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

It's Misfits time again! This time out, Kelvin Green joins Nick Hanover and me to talk about how awesome Simon is. He's dreamy! You know. In a super-creepy kind of way!

SHOT FOR SHOT: STARGATE UNIVERSE Season 02 DVD review

2011-07-16T14:50:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, I guess. Here are my thoughts on the DVD release of Stargate Universe, a show the network canceled way to soon.

SHOT FOR SHOT: TORCHWOOD - MIRACLE DAY ep 01 review

2011-07-16T14:46:00.004-04:00

Wherein I discuss Torchwood from start to finish, then rant a bit about fanboy outrage.

SHOT FOR SHOT: LUTHER 2.04 review

2011-07-16T14:44:00.000-04:00

Kelvin Green and I return to review the Second Season Finale of Luther!

SHOT FOR SHOT: MISFITS 1.04 review

2011-07-16T14:42:00.001-04:00

Time for another Misfits review!

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #368: ALL-AMERICAN (MORE OR LESS)!

2011-07-04T16:48:00.001-04:00

It's time for my turn at bat with What Looks Good!

SHOT FOR SHOT: LUTHER 2.03 review

2011-07-04T11:30:00.001-04:00

Kelvin Green and I return to talk about Luther 2.03 and a whole slew of other UK Crime & Espionage shows!

SHOT FOR SHOT: MISFITS 1.03 review

2011-07-04T11:28:00.000-04:00

Wherein we take a look at the third episode from Misfits Season One, now airing on Hulu, where you can watch for free!

SHOT FOR SHOT: LUTHER 2.02 review

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Kelvin Green and I take a look at this week's Luther and find a little less Crazy, but a little more Batman. Huh?

SHOT FOR SHOT: MISFITS 1.01 & 1.02 review

2011-06-27T07:57:00.000-04:00

Wherein we at Comics Bulletin take a look back at the first two episodes of Misfits, which is now streaming on Hulu!

MONDO MARVEL #34: JANUARY 1965

2011-06-25T14:18:00.000-04:00

Mondo Marvel is back with another look at Marvel Comics during those awkward formative years!

GAME OF THRONES 1.10: "FIRE AND BLOOD" review

2011-06-25T14:14:00.001-04:00

Wherein we review the final episode of Season One.

MONDO MARVEL #33: DECEMBER 1964

2011-06-22T16:36:00.001-04:00

And finally, last month's Mondo Marvel for all to enjoy!

F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #23: "Journey into Memory with The Mighty Thor"

2011-06-22T16:34:00.000-04:00

I contributed a short, reworked piece to this collection of Thor memories.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #365: HEAVY METAL & TWO TASTES OF HELL

2011-06-22T16:32:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good for the week of June 13th.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #362: SUMMERTIME WINNOWING!

2011-06-22T16:30:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good for the week of May 23rd.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #359: GOLDEN AGE OF GEEKDOM!

2011-06-22T16:28:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good for the week of May 2nd.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #356: A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING GOOD!

2011-06-22T16:26:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good for the week of April 11th.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #353: WRITING IS HARD!

2011-06-22T16:24:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good for the week of March 21st.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #350: CHOCK FULL OF BEING HUMAN

2011-06-22T16:22:00.000-04:00

Here's What Looked Good the week of February 28th.

More Catching Up...

2011-06-22T16:18:00.001-04:00

Here comes a few more posts...

LUTHER SEASON TWO EPISODE ONE review

2011-06-19T23:01:00.000-04:00

Luther is back! And BBC ONE has him!

And we reviewed him!

GAME OF THRONES 1.09 "BAELOR" review

2011-06-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

Oh Game of Thrones, you are a cold, hard bastard.

Maybe the best cold, hard bastard on TV.

DOCTOR WHO 6.07 "A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR" review

2011-06-19T22:54:00.000-04:00

And with that, Doctor Who goes out strong with it's mid-season finale.

Seriously. This was good stuff.

GAME OF THRONES 1.08 "THE POINTY END" review

2011-06-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

Game of Thrones came back strong.

Very, very strong.

DOCTOR WHO 6.06 "THE ALMOST PEOPLE" review

2011-06-19T22:45:00.000-04:00

This one didn't live up to its first half, but the final moments made this a Doctor Who episode to remember!

GAME OF THRONES 1.07 "YOU WIN OR YOU DIE" review

2011-06-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

The next episode of Game of Thrones wasn't as good as the previous, but was still better than just about everything on television.

Yeah, I said it.

GAME OF THRONES 1.06 "A GOLDEN CROWN" review

2011-06-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

Game of Thrones was next on the schedule.

Oh, it was so good it hurt!

DOCTOR WHO 6.05 "THE REBEL FLESH" review

2011-06-19T22:37:00.000-04:00

Then came Doctor Who!

This was better than it had a right to be.

I AM NUMBER FOUR review

2011-06-19T22:34:00.000-04:00

First up is a review of the film I Am Number Four.

Eh, it was okay.

Catching Up to Do...

2011-06-19T22:30:00.001-04:00

Be prepared for a stream of posts that link to things I've been up to. For some reason, I've not been updating the blog. Silly me.

7.1 RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE (2010)

2011-04-25T19:58:00.000-04:00

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
Dir.Paul W.S. Anderson
USA

I should admit up-front that I have a soft spot in my heart (and head) for the Resident Evil movie franchise. I've loved all but the second film, and as you could probably guess, I really enjoyed this one, too.

But first, some history. Paul W.S. Anderson doesn't get a lot of respect, but I've enjoyed most of his films. Mortal Kombat is a guilty pleasure (as much for the soundtrack as for the film making), Event Horizon was interesting and scary until the end (I really need to revisit that film), AVP: Alien vs. Predator was a lot of fun (almost as much fun as Freddie vs Jason), and, of course, Resident Evil is one of my favorites.

Anderson didn't direct Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), that was Alexander Witt (his only directing credit) or Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), that was Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), but he wrote both of them. This latest Resident Evil film is actually the first time he's returned to a franchise as a director.

Milla Jovovich returns to play Alice, the star of the franchise (and someone I've had a crush on for fifteen years, since hearing her first album, The Divine Comedy), and is joined again by Ali Larter as Claire Redfield. Joining the cast this time out are Boris Kodjoe as Luther West, Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) as Chris Redfield, Shawn Roberts as Umbrella Corporation head Albert Wesker, and Kim Coates (Tig from Sons of Anarchy) as creepy film producer Bennett.

A funny note about the appearance of Wentworth Miller: When his character first appears, brooding in the shadows, both Dr. Girlfriend and I thought for a second that it might be Jensen Ackles from Supernatural. We both said it at the same time and laughed. Then, today while looking up info about the film, it turns out that in 2007, Jensen Ackles was being considered to play Leon S. Kennedy (from the video games), however the character didn't make it into the film. Instead, Wentworth Miller plays the new young male lead.

Interesting.

I had forgotten that at the end of the last film, Alice had discovered a group of Umbrella Corporation clones of herself. And there's nothing in the beginning of this film to remind you of that, until the clones start showing up in the extended action sequence that owes more than a few details to The Matrix. I'll just go with the idea that it was homage rather than just stealing ideas. The fight choreography for two parts of the battle are almost shot for shot from The Matrix, so I'll stick with homage.

But anyway, Alice's clone army invades the underground headquarters of The Umbrella Corporation beneath the ruins of Tokyo in an all-out suicide attack to kill Albert Wesker, the head of the company. Most of the action is pretty nicely done, although there are a couple of moments of wire-fu that could be a little smoother.

And did I mention that this was filmed in 3-D? It was, and a lot of the action takes full advantage of this. I didn't watch the 3-D version, however, but even in 2-D it was a well-done piece of action. Lots of carnage, lots of bullets flying. No zombies, though.

In fact, there aren't a lot of zombies for a large chunk of the film.

Wesker escapes, nuking the base behind him and killing all of the Alice clones in a scene lifted, or in an homage, if you will, straight from Akira. And it looks amazing. This film was made on a budget of 60 million, making it the most expensive film of this year's marathon. A lot of that budget went into the effects and it all looks great. Devastated cityscapes look real, and except for an explosion or two that could have used another pass, all of the effects are the most impressive of the marathon as well.

The original Alice and Wesker fight on-board his escape plane, and he injects her with a cure for the T-Virus infestation that had turned her into a superhuman. Human again, she still somehow survives a fiery plane crash and stumbles away, leaving Wesker in the wreckage. Six months later, she is in a two-seater plane of her own and flying toward the coordinates of Arcadia in Alaska, a place of refuge that promises no infection, food, and shelter. That's where she sent all the survivors of the previous film.

I suppose that having a love of these films helps me to overlook the fact that if you went into this film fresh, having no experience with the earlier films, you'd probably be kind of lost.

Anyway, when she gets to Alaska, there's nobody there, except for a lot of abandoned planes. Ready to give up on the whole search, she runs into Claire, who attacks her. Even though she's human now, Alice still kicks ass and easily subdues Claire, who has some sort of scarab-like mechanical device stuck to her chest. It was pumping a drug into her that wiped her memory. So with no memory of who she is or how she got there, Alice decides to take her along and head down the West Coast looking for other survivors.

They end up finding a group living in a weird high-rise prison that is surrounded by every single zombie in Los Angeles, trying to get in. Well, not every zombie. One of the monsters from the video game is on his way: The Executioner. He's a gigantic zombie with a sack over his head and lugging a gigantic axe. Again, if you're not familiar with the world of Resident Evil (this guy's from the games), then you may not be willing to accept this new arrival. I thought he was pretty awesome.

It turns out that these new survivors are also wanting to get to Arcadia, but not in Alaska. There's a ship docked off the coast, and its name is Arcadia. This explains why there was no one at the Alaska site. With a new target, the gang needs to figure out how to get through the zombie horde outside and over to the ocean. That's about the time The Executioner busts down the gate and the zombie action begins.

Yeah, that's the last half hour or so of the film, but I honestly never found any of it boring. I'm invested in this overall story and really enjoy seeing how they expand and build upon it with each consecutive film. And since this one ended up making nearly 300 Million world-wide, there is a fifth film on the way. It'll probably be out next year, if the current schedule holds up.

Most of the cast doesn't survive, and of course, the slimy movie producer betrays them, but Alice, Claire, and her brother Chris (who just happened to be locked up in the prison, placed there by the inmates who were fleeing when the zombie outbreak began) make it to the Arcadia, only to find Wesker. There's another knock down, drag out fight, this time involving two zombified Doberman Pinschers. Their entire heads are mouths!

Before he is beaten down, Wesker explains that even though the T-virus gave him superhuman powers, the T-virus fights to take him over constantly. In order to keep it at bay, Wesker has to continually ingest fresh human DNA, which is why the Umbrella employees deserted the ship, leaving him there alone with hundreds of freeze-dried uninfected humans who had followed the Arcadia message. Since Alice is the only individual to bond successfully with the T-virus on a cellular level, he hopes that by eating her, he will be able to control it too.

This is what I'm talking about when I say a film has to earn its craziness. If this was just dropped into the end of a film that had been a traditional zombie film up until that point, it wouldn't work. But we've got a film that opens with an army of Milla clones invading a gigantic underground complex in Japan. It establishes the crazy from the very opening moments, so when the craziness of burrowing zombies, or The Executioner, or eating people to maintain control over one's super powers shows up, it works.

Welker escapes again, but this time Alice was ready and his self-destruct device takes him out instead of the Arcadia. Things look like they might be looking up for a change.

Except for that sky full of Umbrella Corporation airplanes heading right for them. And the fact that Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) is under the control of one of those Umbrella scarab devices and leading the attack! She was in the second film, by the way.

I know this film got bad reviews. But, you know what? I don't care. I really enjoyed it. Resident Evil films are like delicious candy, and if you can't enjoy delicious candy, then what can you enjoy?

6.2 LA HORDE (2009)

2011-04-24T09:46:00.001-04:00

La Horde (2009)
Dir. Yannick Dahan & Benjamin Rocher
France

Yes, it was a French double-feature last night, and both films were surprisingly good, even though they are very different beasts from start to finish.

La Horde tells the tale of a group of corrupt cops who, after the murder of one of their own, decide to take the law into their own hands and bring down the drug dealers responsible. As bloodily and violently as possible. Needless to say, things don't go as planned and they are instead captured by the Nigerian drug lord. And then the dead rise, as they are wont to do.

This is another example of first-time feature film makers taking a swing and knocking it out of the park. Well, that's a bit over-the-top. It's not a home run, but it's a very nicely done film that lays good groundwork as a crime drama before jumping into the gruesome and apocalyptic zombie nightmare.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one, honestly.

It's another serious attempt, and while there is humor, it's pretty dark, gallows humor that almost entirely comes from the appearance of the crazy old bastard Rene (played with gusto by Yves Pignot) who keeps calling the zombies The Chinese and takes great joy in gunning them down with a machine gun.

The dramatic tension isn't just between the cops and the crooks, however. The lead cop, Ouessem (Jean-Pierre Martins), doesn't just blame the Nigerians for his buddy's murder. He also blames the female cop, Aurore (Claude Perron), for getting in his head and making him sloppy. On the crooks' side, younger brother Bola (Doudou Masta) is sick of being treated poorly by his older brother, the kingpin Adewale (Eriq Ebouaney), and finds himself siding with his friend, Greco (Jo Prestia) against his family.

The two groups have to work together if they're going to survive, of course. And, as expected, things don't go quite as planned. With hordes of zombies outside, they find themselves trapped in a condemned building that Adewale was using for his headquarters. The ultimate goal is just to get to the basement, and find a way to escape. However, it's not Aurore's ultimate goal.

And while none of it is really very original, the material is attacked with energy and believability. The zombie attacks are frenetic and gory and there's almost none of the psychological and/or existential dread of Mutants. This is more about the action and the violence than about the mind. As such, it's a nice contrast.

As the film goes on, there's an escalation in the violence, and with the introduction of Rene, the film moves into an area that brings Dead Alive to mind. In fact, Rene's ultimate demise is so outlandish that you have to laugh. He's a tough old bastard and he goes out like the crazy coot he is. In addition to Rene's battle scenes, there are also at least two other moments where characters Greco and Aurore go completely batshit on some zombies, beating them down in extended fight scenes. It was pretty glorious.

Ouessem's final self-sacrifice so that Aurore and Adewale can escape is absurd and kind of silly, but I'll be damned if by that point the film makers haven't earned the scene. Ouessem stands on top of a car with literally hundreds of zombies clamboring around him, reaching up toward him, shouting and wailing, while he constantly unloads round after round of bullets into the mass. When he runs out of bullets, he breaks out the machete and goes down swinging.

Like I said, it was kind of silly and broke with the realism of the film, but it worked. It was such a striking visual and such a bad-ass character moment that I loved it. I was laughing and cheering him on.

The final moments with Aurore and Adewale, however, were more serious and bleak. Oddly satisfying, too, in its own way. I mean, what's a zombie apocalypse without a dark, hopeless ending?

For just wall to wall action and hundreds of zombies this one's hard to beat. It doesn't break much new ground, but it was a helluva lot of fun to watch.

6.1 MUTANTS (2009)

2011-04-24T09:05:00.000-04:00

Mutants (2009)
Dir. David Morlet
France

Let me start off by saying that this film isn't really a zombie film. Like 28 Days Later before it, this is a plague film that lifts most of the conventions of the zombie genre and puts them to good use. It's also French, so like some of the other French horror films of the past few years (specifically things like Haute Tension, Frontière(s), and, my favorite, Martyrs), it has some intense scenes of violence and gore, along with a brutally devastating existential dread along for the ride.

And even though the infected are not really traditional zombies, the basic structure of the narrative fits with this Easter Movie Marathon is all about. It's all about the resurrection, baby.

Morlet directs a script he co-wrote along with Louis-Paul Desanges, and for a first feature-length film, this is very impressive. The performances, particularly by Hélène de Fougerolles and Francis Renaud as Sonia and Marco are gut-wrenching. The rest of the cast does well with their roles, but aren't really required to do much more than provide sounding boards for the exploration and development of Sonia and Marco.

In fact, once more characters are introduced, again, as with 28 Days Later, the film begins to lose its focus and its intensity.

This film begins with a bang as we follow a desperate survivor running for her life through the woods. She has apparently just escaped an attack by the infected and the quick cuts of her running are interspliced with the credits. But it's a feint. She's not our hero. She's not even our focus once the credits end. She's just a way for the film makers to tell us that we should expect the unexpected. And it will be bloody.

It's a bit of a cheat, and made me think there was going to be more comedic elements, but I was wrong. There's very little humor, if any. This is bleak and psychologically brutal from start to finish.

Our main character Sonia is a doctor. She and her husband/boyfriend (?) are on the run in their ambulance with two soldiers, one of whom is clearly dying. When he doesn't make it, his partner promises to get them to safety at a military installation. But she's not very trustworthy, and when the group discovers a horrifically traumatized autistic man, she refuses to allow him to come along. Sonia and Marco object and within ten minutes of the opening credits only Sonia and Marco are the only survivors, and Marco is gut-shot.

Like I said, brutal.

The rest of the film, sans the final twenty minutes, is all about the lovers dealing with Marco's inevitable transformation into one of the inhuman Mutants of the title. The film changes gears again, going from what seemed like was going to be a road movie, to a more traditional "holed-up in a remote location" setting. And it's a helluva setting: an old abandoned hospital (I think) in the middle of the woods.

I have no idea what it was or why it was there, but it was beautifully filmed. In fact, Morlet takes full advantage of the landscape in this film. It was filmed in the North of France in the province of Picardy, and the landscape is all mountains and tall, narrow trees. Snow covers everything and there's a grey foreboding to the nature itself. This is the first film this week to really use establishing shots and landscape to support and reinforce thematic elements of the film.

Hell, this is one of the few to really have thematic elements, to be honest.

It's refreshing to see a serious attempt at a zombie film, with a decent budget and technology, by film makers who have a distinct vision for what they're attempting. This isn't about plot. It's about character. And even the scenery helps to illustrate what's going on psychologically.

As I said earlier, the last twenty minutes or so become more traditional, with a group of survivors invading the hospital and then the place is overrun by the infected. There's lots of gunfire and masses of screeching, sprinting monsters leaping on people and tearing them to bloody pieces.

But it's the middle that makes this film. The middle is preoccupied with Marco's transformation and how Sonia deals with it and him. This is what Body Horror is all about, and there are a few scenes that would make Cronenberg squirm and nod, smiling. There's your standard hair falling out, but the scenes dealing with Marco's dental problems made me a little queasy. And the result when he tries to urinate was extremely disturbing.

Anyone is is really bothered by bodily deterioration should probably skip this one. Any cancer or AIDS anxieties will be hammered hard with this film.

There's so much time spent watching Marco slowly fall apart that we almost overlook the idea that Sonia was bitten earlier, before the film began, and survived. She seems to be immune, so her desperate hope is to contact the government, let them know she could be the source of a cure, and get Marco there before he completely turns.

Oh well. Two out of three ain't bad.

This one was nicely done. I'd recommend checking it out if you're ready for some seriously bleak and psychologically torturous existential dread. Complemented by lots of gun fire and monsters.

5.2 Canceled

2011-04-23T14:46:00.000-04:00

Due to technical difficulties and getting too late a start, Evil: In the Time of Heroes (To kako - Stin epohi ton iroon), had to be canceled. Which is unfortunate, because we really enjoyed the first film last year and were looking forward to this one.

Plus, it has Billy Zane in it! That's a mark of quality, right?

F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #22: "Smothering Our Babies: Generation X (1996)"

2011-04-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

The latest installment of my journey through the history of Marvel Comics Movies is live at Comics Bulletin. This time, I take a look at the 1996 TV movie, Generation X. And it's not that bad. Really. I swear.

5.1 DANCE OF THE DEAD (2008)

2011-04-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

Dance of the Dead (2008)
Dir. Gregg Bishop
USA

Wow, is my thumb not on the pulse of contemporary horror critics.

This film has been garnering a LOT of praise across the Internet and was chosen by Sam Raimi for distribution through his Ghosthouse Underground label for Lionsgate. Even those who haven't been that impressed still find a lot of good things to say about the film. In fact, I've only found one or two reviews that really didn't like it after a few minutes of Googling (which, I know, is not a statistically reliable research method).

So, I'll go ahead and mention the good and then get to the bad below the break.

Gregg Bishop shot this film on HD cameras for under a million dollars (I can't find more exact numbers) in Rome, Georgia. The direction is solid. Bishop has a good eye for staging a scene and the film looks like a lot more was spent on it than actually was. Based on seeing this film, I actually do want to see his earlier film, The Other Side (2006), which he also wrote.

A brief look at the credits for this film shows that he got a lot of community support for the making of this film, which partially explains how he was able to put a huge number of zombies on the screen. Really, the credit list for the zombie extras seems to go on for nearly as long as the feature itself.

There are a number of nice gore scenes, and all of the actors play their roles naturally and believably.

And that's where the trouble starts.

Most, if not all, of the problems I had with this film can be tied directly to the script by Joe Ballarini, although the problems are exacerbated by Bishop's seeming inability to maintain a consistent tone.

Some reviewers have said that this film has everything one might like in a zombie film. All the bases are covered, as it were. There are fast zombies, slow zombies, some want brains, some are entranced by music, some burst out of the ground in explosions of dirt as if on wires, some creep from the ground after thrusting hands up out of the grave. Some even steal a car and drive away in it.

It's being generous to say that this is "something for everyone." I say it's sloppy structure and actually weak film making. It shows that the makers of this film had no distinct vision for what they were doing beyond making each scene seem "cool". Plot and character suffer, because there is no real plot and no real character. The scenes are structured in a way that they could have come from any number of other random films and then been spliced together to make this one. The narrative logic of one scene has nothing at all to do with the narrative logic of the next.

In a way, it's not surprising that Sam Raimi liked this. His latest, Drag Me To Hell, suffered from the exact same problem. If you're going to throw everything and the kitchen sink into a film, you need to establish that that sort of craziness is the norm, not just in a couple of scenes here and there. And here, as in Drag Me To Hell, when the craziness does happen, it's not really even crazy. It's just weak and usually borrowed from other, better, movies.

With Dance of the Dead, after an opening scene that recalls the infinitely superior Dellamorte, Dellamore (and I don't buy for a minute the claim by the makers that the reference was unintentional), where a cemetery worker has apparently been going around "killing" the undead as they rise in order to keep things under control (which is, you know, the entire plot of Dellamorte, Dellamore), I had high hopes. But then the film shifts to follow a group of high school cliches as they prepare for prom.

Only one of these kids is even remotely likeable, and that's just because he's the "lovable loser" cliche, pining away for the cheerleader cliche who won't give him the time of day. Every character is a smart ass, hateful, condescending cartoon and not a one of them actually grows or develops over the course of the film. Which isn't a bad thing, if we're supposed to root for the zombies. But we're not. These are our heroes. A bunch of assholes I wanted to see die.

Well, that's not entirely true. The school bully, played by Justin Wellborn (lead actor from the infinitely more enjoyable, The Signal), is given the chance to show that while he is a true bastard son of a bitch, has a little bit of humanity in him. But it was brief, and Wellborn is wasted on the part.

Actually, when I think about it, the main thematic thrust of this film, what little coherent theme there is, seems to be that the nerds (the sci-fi club - again, all entirely unlikeable asshats) and the geeks who are ostensibly our heroes here, are actually going to end up relying entirely on the people that abuse and mistreat them in their everyday lives if they want to survive. The bully who traumatized them, the abusive coach, and the condescending rockers end up being the ones who actually save their lives and the day, while the nerds stumble around being foolish and ineffectual.

In the end, nothing is earned and nothing happens for any reason. The few brief flashes of creativity (the zombie make-out scene, the dance amongst the undead, um, yeah, that may be it for the flashes of creativity), are overwhelmed by a huge load of nonsense as scenes are almost randomly strung together.

From what I understand, the theatrical version had a run-time of 95 minutes, which has been cut down to 87 for the DVD release. Maybe they just decided to cut all the good stuff, the connective tissue, and give people what is essentially the same as one of those compilation pornos with all the story cut out. What we end up with is the least intelligent, least fun, least ambitious film of the marathon so far.

But for some reason, people love it. I really don't get it.

4.2 AMERICAN ZOMBIE (2007)

2011-04-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

American Zombie (2007)
Dir. Grace Lee
USA

This is the first film of this year's marathon to successfully take on the topic of contemporary zombies with some seriousness. It doesn't shy away from using humor, but there's a pretty serious, fairly disturbing undertone to the entire affair. It's also the first film this year with a female writer/director Grace Lee (as well as co-writer, Rebecca Sonnenshine). Lee graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles film program and was an experienced writer/director of short films before moving into documentary work with her biographical documentary, The Grace Lee Project (2005).

For her first feature-length non-doc film, she chooses to stay close to her comfort zone and produce a mock documentary about the Living Dead among us. In the world of this film, zombies are real, but they come in three varieties: Feral (we're most familiar with these), Low-Functioning (practically mindless, but mostly harmless corpses used for low-level manual labor), and High-Functioning (the undead with most of their minds intact, can sometimes pass for human). Lee plays herself in the film.

The idea for the documentary comes from John Solomon (playing himself), a cinematographer and, at least in the film, trauma footage cameraman. He's not really taken seriously as a film maker, but thinks that by teaming up with Lee, he can finally finish a project. And not just any project, but a great project.

Spoilers Ahead!
One of the best parts of this film is the way Lee sticks to the documentary nature of the in-narrative project. If I didn't know any better, there are times when it seems like a real doc. So much so, in fact, that for the first fifteen or twenty minutes, I wasn't sure if I was really going to enjoy it.

Not that I don't like documentaries, but the actors playing the zombies here are very good at their jobs. The focus of this film is on what life is like for the functioning undead in our society. It's played very serious and is extremely effective. I was afraid that we were going to stay in that mode, but to my relief the film subtly shifts tone as it goes on, becoming more disturbing and ultimately both frightening and funny.

The four zombies that provide the focus of the documentary are twenty-something slacker, Ivan (Austin Basis), self-loathing zombie Judy (Suzy Nakamura), slightly off flower-arranger Lisa (Jane Edith Wilson), and community activist Joel (Al Vicente). Every one of these actors is experienced and very talented. They bring very human qualities to their characters, with Judy being the most heart-breaking. Her constant scrap-booking and desperate attempts to fit into human society are clearly doomed to failure, but for most of the film she keeps trying to deny that she's different in any fundamental way. Lisa's preoccupation with spiral string art and her own mysterious murder starts off fairly humorously, but by the end has twisted into violent obsession that is tragic and moving.

I'd hazard a guess that having women writing and directing is why, for a change, the female characters are the most interesting and have the most satisfying narrative arcs. Ivan is relatively static, but entertaining, and Joel plays his character with honesty, but his ultimate reveal is a little predictible. But, with that said, the performances are solid and they both make the best of what they're given to work with.

There's very little to dislike with this film. The writing, directing, acting, and technical aspects are all about as good a low-budget film can get. The documentary conceit helps to narratively justify the film making techniques on display, and the characters are, for the most part, layered and interesting people into whose lives we are drawn.

What really made this film work for me in the end, though, was the subtle undertones of threat and a sense of existential dread that resonated through the final twenty minutes or so. John's ultimate fate was amusing at first, but as the reality of it sank in, became more and more tragic and bleak.

I can't recommend this film more highly. This is the good stuff.

4.1 AAAH! ZOMBIES! (WASTING AWAY) (2007)

2011-04-22T07:58:00.000-04:00

Aaah! Zombies! (Wasting Away) (2007)
Dir. Matthew & Sean Kohnen
USA

Matthew and Sean Kohnen have put together a very entertaining first film, and again, most of that boils down to raising enough money to actually realize their vision of a zombie comedy. With talented actors and good equipment, they are able to make a script that at first seems like it might be just a one-note waste of time, into something really special.

I just wish they'd gone with the original name. Wasting Away is a lot stronger than Aaah! Zombies! The stupid name is part of why I've put off watching this film for so long. I really wasn't expecting much with that name.

Anyway, the main story goes a little something like this: A group of four friends are infected by a military-developed super-soldier formula that went horribly wrong. What makes this one interesting is that our main characters, Tim (Michael Grant Terry), Cindy (Betsy Beutler), Mike (Matthew Davis), and Vanessa (Julianna Robinson), and their new comrade, Nick Steele (Colby French), are the zombies. They just don't know it.

More below the break...

Instead, they think that the combination of weird green slime and dairy products (they unknowingly made ice cream from it), has turned them into Super Soldiers with the ability to take horrible physical damage and go on living. The hair and skin loss, they put down to the formula "streamlining" their bodies. And Mike's sudden taste for brains? Eh, just go with it. He's the experimental eater of the group anyway.

The production is pretty nicely orchestrated, filming reality in black and white, but switching to color for the zombie perspective. It's kind of an obvious comment, but as in The Wizard of Oz, the fantasy world is just that much more vivid than the characters' real lives that the switch in film stock works.

The performances aren't bad, but Matthew Davis as Mike, really stands out. He's pretty natural at the smart-ass, slacker friend role, and also gets to have the most fun with their zombie/super-soldier predicament. The loss of his hand, and eventually his entire body, allows him to really play with the character. Plus, he gives the most rousing speech a severed head has ever given on film (not the creepy sexual kind of speech we got in Re-Animator).

Colby French as Nick Steele, the Super Soldier with a Secret, also does a really fun job with his character. I wasn't sure about Michael Grant Terry at first. I was afraid he was just stuck in a simple, good guy role. And while that's mostly the case, he really buys into it and makes it work. Plus, he gives his zombie alter-ego the most energy, making me laugh out loud every single time the film cut to their zombie reality. He puts everything into his zombie stagger!

The ladies were shorted dramatically, never really getting to do much beyond moon, bitch, and follow, but they both do good jobs with what they're given.

According to the Internet, this film ended up costing about $1,000,000 to produce and was filmed in California. Again, that's not a lot for a film, but they put the money to very good use and put together a very professional looking piece of work that is well worth your attention. It even has a happy ending. Sort of.

3.2 HIDE AND CREEP (2004)

2011-04-21T18:08:00.000-04:00

Hide and Creep (2004)
Dir. Chuck Hartsell & Chance Shirley
USA

I'll be honest with you. I went into this one expecting it to be anywhere from lame to awful. It was advertised as "Even better than Shaun of the Dead" so I went in expecting the worst. Because, you know, hyperbole like that doesn't do anyone any favors.

But I am happy to say that I was completely wrong in my expectations. This film was pretty damned entertaining. And for a horror comedy, what more can you ask for?

Hide and Creep is a zombie comedy set in Alabama, made by Alabama film makers Chuck Hartsell and Chance Shirley, from a script by Shirley. According to the film makers, this low-budget film came in at around $26,000, and while it is definitely low-budget, the money was very well-spent.

So much so, in fact, that I am now dying to see their follow-up film, Interplanetary. It's tagline is "Monsters. Mayhem. Mars." For more info on that and their other projects, check out the Crewless Productions website.

But what about Hide and Creep?

Spoiler Shields Up!

The story takes place in the small town of Thorsby, Alabama and follows four storylines that eventually converge. We open with Chuck (director Chuck Hartsell) of Chuck's Super Video World, on the phone with a customer, schooling them on zombie films. We also follow Michael (Michael Shelton), a man who wakes up in a tree with no pants after an alien abduction. The town's preacher, Reverend Smith (Barry Austin) is losing faith in his congregation when he is attacked and wounded by zombies. And the members of a hunting club, Keith (Kyle Holman), Lee (also played by Michael Shelton), and Ted (Chris Garrison) try to survive the attack as well.

Here's where Hide and Creep steps up and moves past a film like Exhumed. Most of the main actors in this film (Holman and Austin, along with someone I haven't mentioned yet, Melissa Bush as Barbara) are actually trained actors with degrees or have extensive experience in community theater. And, as luck would have it, the other main supporting roles are all well-cast. There's not really a bad apple in the bunch. In addition to that, the actual technical elements of the film are solid. Everything is well-lit and the shots are set up professionally and imaginatively.

Having actors who can actually play the comedy, as well as the occasional dramatic moment helps bring the film home, even when the jokes don't quite live up to the performances. But more often than not, the jokes work just fine. One scene in particular made me laugh until I cried. Ted is, unfortunately, bitten by a zombie and finds himself changing, but still paranoid about whether or not the others have been bitten. His sudden transformation into a zombie, snorts, snarls, and all, was freaking hilarious.

The best thing about Hide and Seek is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. At the same time, it plays on our expectations a bit and actually gives some of the characters (Keith and Reverend Smith in particular) some emotional depth and resonance. Both characters go through some interesting changes over the course of the film, and while some of the gun club jokes are a little broad, ultimately we end up liking Keith and caring about him and his family. Reverend Smith also gets our respect and sympathy, dealing with a community that uses and abuses him.

The film has its fair share of deliberate nods to other films and does a good job of providing another very satisfying entry into the overflowing Zombie Comedy genre (I'm going to try to avoid ever using "zom-com" as a descriptor). I'd watch this one again with friends, for sure.

3.1 EXHUMED (2003)

2011-04-21T08:07:00.001-04:00

Exhumed (2003)
Dir. Brian Clement
Canada

Well, this is the first dud of the bunch this year, but it's not for lack of trying. Writer/Director Brian Clement does everything right in what is probably the most adventurous film of this year's marathon. However, the end result is a perfect example of one's eyes being bigger than one's stomach when it comes to low-budget film making. It will still look good on his resume, though.

Exhumed tells its story in three parts. The first is in medieval Japan, the second in 1940s America, and the third in a weird grab-bag apocalyptic future. That, in itself, is an impressive attempt. The stories are all linked in what is, ultimately, a time-travel narrative that, with more money, better actors, and someone who knows how to handle professional lighting, could have been amazing.

Hell, just someone on lighting duties would have made this much more enjoyable, as most of the film is underlit and at times its nearly impossible to tell what exactly was happening. Which is too bad, because Clement obviously loves film and film making. There are enough references to classic films in this one to write a book about, and the combining of three distinct genres into one overarching plot is a great idea.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think better lighting would have made me like the film. As it is, I can't really recommend it as much more than a noble failure.

Although, just listening to the description of the film makes me want to see it remade, a la Evil Dead 2.

Spoilers ahead!

You see, back in feudal Japan, there is a "Forest of the Dead" where a mysterious artifact can cause the dead to rise. A young samurai and a young monk meet on the road to the forest. The samurai's goal is to find the artifact so his master can raise an army of the undead. The monk's goal is to stop him. However, they quickly become friendly, and after doing battle with the "zombies" (more on the quotation marks later), the monk goes power mad and claims the artifact, while the samurai realizes that the "zombies" are more like animals and can't be controlled. Needless to say, no one makes it out of the forest alive.

Part Two, "Shadow of Tomorrow" is a 40s film noir piece involving a female private eye, a runaway ex-wife, grave robbing, and murder most foul. This section runs a little too long, taking too much time to build up to a climax involving a mad scientist, a murdered Russian ambassador, and a police detective with shady ulterior motives. But the story cuts off right before the conclusion, which confused me at first, but there's a payoff in the end. I was also a little put off by a couple of the actors' attempts to mimic classic dialogue styles, but I assume that was intentional on the director's part. It pulled me out of the film, unfortunately, instead of entertaining me.

Part Three is called "The Last Rumble" and opens with Vampire Mods facing off for a rumble with Werewolf Rockers. That, in itself, makes me want to love this movie. Especially when the rumble is interrupted by machine gun toting humans in full-body protective gear and gas masks. It's a striking visual that never really lives up to its promise. Anyway, a female vampire and a female werewolf are captured and are going to be used to fight in a pit for the amusement of the humans. This, of course, leads to the vampire/werewolf lesbian sex scene.

How could it not?

Like I said, everything about this movie makes me want to love it. Especially when it turns out the humans are being overrun and working on a crazy time travel device to throw their consciousnesses back through time. It all involves a trip to the Antarctic lifted almost verbatim from Lovecraft, which again, shows that Clement's heart is in the right place. The "zombies" turn out not to be actual zombies, but the results of the experiments. The Japanese undead were animalistic because they were actual animal test subjects.

Then things get hectic and we cut back to the conclusion of "Shadow of Tomorrow" and get our grand conclusion, which somehow involves the vampire and werewolf existing outside of time and undermining the humans' grand plan. Somehow. It's not entirely clear what's going on, except for the fact that the monsters are going to win. Or, more likely, I admit, my attention just drifted and I didn't really follow what was said.

Oh, and there's also an alien named Mister Grey. He opened the film, serving as a sort of narrator, but then enters the actual narrative at the end.

There's so much to love with the ideas on display here. But the budgetary constraints (IMDB notes that the film's budget was a paltry $5,000, and it shows) hamper the execution in just about every area. It's clear that the actors are not professional, but are probably friends and family of Clement's, which doesn't help to really bring the piece to life, although there are a few notable tries (Claire Westby, as P.I. Jane Decarlo, for one). That wouldn't normally be a deal-breaker for me, but when compounded by the lack of effective lighting, which makes the film difficult to even see, the amateur qualities were exacerbated.

Fans of low-budget film making will enjoy this, I suppose. While the ideas were impressive, I was so distracted by the poor lighting that I found it hard to let go and enjoy the gonzo qualities on display. I really want to go back and see his earlier zombie films Meat Market and Meat Market 2 and look forward to seeing his bigger ideas get better funding.

WALKING DEAD Season One Recap

2011-04-20T08:03:00.001-04:00

As I type this, the DVD set of the first season of THE WALKING DEAD is on sale at Amazon for $9.99. That's practically too cheap to pass up, even if you're only slightly interested in checking it out.

If anyone's curious, here's what I thought about the season, episode by episode:

1.1 "Days Gone Bye"

1.2 "Guts"

1.3 "Tell it to the Frogs"

1.4 "Vatos"

1.5 "Wildfire"

1.6 "TS-19"

2011 EASTER ZOMBIE MOVIE MARATHON IS ON HOLD

2011-04-19T17:58:00.002-04:00

Tonight's viewing is canceled so that we may raise a glass and watch some classic Sarah Jane adventures. And probably cry a little.

R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen, 19th Apr 2011

2011-04-19T17:56:00.000-04:00

The BBC Press Release.

It is with much sadness that we can announce Elisabeth Sladen, the much-loved actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and CBBC's The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away this morning. She was 63.

Lis first appeared as Sarah Jane in Doctor Who in 1973 alongside the Third Doctor Jon Pertwee and stayed for three and half seasons working alongside Jon and the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. She returned to the role on numerous occasions over the years and, in 2007, was given her own spin-off series on CBBC - The Sarah Jane Adventures - where she would appear alongside new Doctors David Tennant and Matt Smith.

The Sarah Jane Adventures brought Lis a whole new generation of fans who grew up to love her alien-busting adventures. The series was hugely popular with fans young and old and won this year's RTS Award for best children's drama.

Controller of CBBC Damian Kavanagh said tonight: "I'm deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lis' untimely death. Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will."

The creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures Russell T Davies said: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; the world was lucky to have Lis."

Steven Moffat, Doctor Who's Lead Writer and Executive Producer said: "'Never meet your heroes' wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen.

"Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories. But many years later, when I met the real Sarah Jane - Lis Sladen herself - she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way.

"There are a blessed few who can carry a whole television show on their talent and charisma - but I can't think of one other who's done it quite so politely. I once showed my son Joshua an old episode of Doctor Who, in which Lis appeared. "But that's Sarah Jane," he said, confused "In old Doctor Who. From years ago. How come she always look exactly the same?" It's not a comfort today, of course, but children will still be saying that fifty years from now."

Keith Jones, Director, BBC Cymru Wales, said: "The Sarah Jane Adventures has been one of the most successful children's programmes on television in recent years - and without Elisabeth Sladen it would not have happened. A brilliant presence on screen and on set, she brought the excitement and energy of the Doctor Who family of programmes, of which we are very proud at BBC Wales, to a whole new generation. She will be missed by all at BBC Wales who worked with her."

Roger Carey, who represented Lis for many years, said. "She was not just a client, but a dear friend. She was so positive about life and her natural energy was intoxicating. She couldn't believe her luck when her career was resurrected in her own series."

Lis had been suffering from cancer. She leaves behind a husband, actor Brian Miller, and her daughter, Sadie.

BBC press office 0208 576 1865

2.2 SHOCK WAVES (1977)

2011-04-18T23:20:00.001-04:00

Shock Waves (1977)
Dir. Ken Wiederhorn
USA

I went into this one not expecting anything at all. To be honest, I expected it to be awful.

But as the credits came up, I was reminded that Peter Cushing and John Carradine were both in the film. So it couldn't be all bad, right? Absolutely.

This film was co-written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, who's credits aren't amazing, but does include Return of the Living Dead Part II (which he also wrote), which I enjoy more than anyone else I know. He's also responsible for directing episodes of Freddy's Nightmares and 21 Jump Street.

Along with Peter Cushing (who also played Grand Moff Tarkin in a little indie film that same year) and John Carradine (who will always be a favorite of mine for his role in Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex * But Were Afraid To Ask), the film starred a young Brooke Adams, who would bust out the next year in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and also star in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven and Cronenberg's The Dead Zone.

That's enough of a pedigree to catch my interest. And as it turns out, this isn't half bad.

The main plot goes like this: a group of people hire a boat to go sailing. The captain, Carradine, is a little crazy and the boat is a little run down. After a really weird incident with the sun going haywire, that night they run aground and find themselves stranded on an isolated island. The only inhabitant of the island, Peter Cushing, is an old Nazi who just happened to be in charge of a special Nazi experiment at creating super soldiers.

The only problem was that the soldiers used were all violently disturbed and psychotic to begin with, and once they were transformed into undead killing machines, no one could control them. Go figure. So Cushing was ordered to scuttle them to the bottom of the sea as the war drew to a close. And there they've lain all these years.

Now, in 1976, they are reawakened and proceed to kill everyone on the island. Except for Brooke Adams (who happens to be fished out of the sea in the opening moments by a black fisherman played by an actor named Clarence Thomas -- hmmmm).

This one's a little slow moving, but you know what? I never stopped getting creeped out by the Nazi zombies rising up out of the water. And it's their signature move. They must pop up out of the water thirty times over the course of the film. But every damn time, it made me shiver.

There's just something about pale, rotting Nazis in sci-fi goggles rising up out of the water that just hits a button in my brain. Weird.

Anyway, there's not much gore at all in this one, if you're a little on the queasy side. Instead, this one's all about the creeping scare. It helps that they've run aground on an island that has a nice mixture of jungle, swamp and beach. This provides numerous opportunities for our victims to go running through the low water, only to have a Nazi zombie rise up behind them and give me the full-on creeps.

Maybe the most effective moment in the whole film doesn't even involve the zombies. Our heroes decide to lock themselves in a big abandoned refrigeration unit to wait out the night, and it looks like it might work. Until one fellow has a truly horrifying panic attack and completely freaks out. It was the most believable acting in the entire film, really.

Of course, it leads to tragic ends for everyone.

I liked this one. A lot more than I thought I would. Sure, it's low budget (it was shot in 35 days and the big stars Carradine and Cushing earned a whopping $5,000 bucks each for four days' work), but I'll be damned if it's not effective.

As far as I'm concerned we're four for four this holiday marathon.

2.1 PSYCHOMANIA (aka THE DEATH WHEELERS) (1973)

2011-04-18T21:16:00.002-04:00

Psychomania (aka The Death Wheelers) (1973)
Dir. Don Sharp
UK

This one had a bit of a slow start, but the ultimate payoff was pretty nicely executed.

Psychomania is a zombie film without any traditional zombies. Instead, what we've got is a story about devil worshipers and a resurrection that is more about the will than anything else. The film was directed by Don Sharp, director of The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), and a few Avengers (1968) episodes amongst other works.

Even though this is well beyond the time when the flesh-eating zombie had been introduced to horror culture, Psychomania is something more along the lines of traditional UK occult horror. It's the sort of film where a guest appearance by Christopher Lee wouldn't be entirely unexpected.

The story centers on Tom Latham (Nicky Henson), the leader of the motorcycle gang The Living Dead. Tom's mother made a deal with the devil years earlier, and although we never really get a real idea about just what that deal involved, by the end of the film we discover that Tom's fate is intricately tied to it. But what about the zombies?

Well, there aren't any zombies in any traditional sense. Instead, what we have are people, first Tom, then most of the Living Dead, who discover that if one commits suicide while keeping absolute faith in the belief that they will return from the dead, so much faith that they want to die, then they actually do return. And they don't just return, they come back with enhanced strength and can't be killed again.

As Tom says, "You can only die once."

This is a nice little proto-punk film with any number of quotable moments that could have been uttered by Johnny Rotten in his heyday. There's no real gore and the violence is mostly of the property damage variety. Except, of course, for the countless bloodless murders that the gang commits once they've become the undead proper. There's actually a quite shocking moment where one of the gang, Jane (Ann Michelle), with a mad, sadistic grin runs down a baby carriage in a grocery store. It was a nice bit of horror that drives home the fact that even though they've come back practically invulnerable, they've lost their humanity.

Although, to be quite honest, most of the gang were borderline sociopaths to begin with.

If we ignore the horrible song sung over Tom's grave, there wasn't much to dislike with this one. It was a little camp, a little punk, a little demonic. And the final fate of Tom and the Living Dead was an effective twist that I really enjoyed. Even though Nicky Henson continues to be publicly critical of the film, I recommend it.

On a sad note, George Sanders, who played Shadwell, the satanic butler, committed suicide shortly after the completion of this film. Sanders was an actor who had been making movies since the early Thirties, playing Simon Templar in the original Saint films of the Thirties, The Falcon in the Forties, and starred in a number of classics all through the Fifties and Sixties. He'll always be a favorite of mine, though, for providing the sensuously dangerous voice of Shere Khan the Tiger in Disney's The Jungle Book.

1.2 PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965)

2011-04-18T18:46:00.002-04:00

Planet of the Vampires (1965)
Dir. Mario Bava
Italy

The second half of Sunday night's double-feature was the classic, Planet of the Vampires, an Italian film based on the short story "One Night of 21 Hours" by Rafael J. Salvia. This film was directed by the legend, Mario Bava, who is best known for the films Black Sunday (1960), Black Sabbath (1963), and one of my personal favorites, Danger: Diabolik (1968).

The film is another science fiction approach to the zombie genre, telling the story of the crews of two spaceships that have crash landed on a foreboding, unexplored planet, while attempting to investigate a mysterious repeating signal that may be a sign of intelligent life. Oh, it's a sign all right. The planet is inhabited by bodiless beings who can take over the bodies of the unconscious, or the dead.

And as you can probably guess, mostly they take over the dead.

So the title is a little misleading. There are no vampires to be seen here. It's all zombies, baby!

The story itself is fairly straight forward. The ships rely on a device called the Meteor Rejector to, um, reject meteors. If it weren't for this device, the ships would be turned into Swiss cheese by all the meteors of varying sizes that are constantly zipping through space. The device had deflected 999 meteors on the way there alone.

The Meteor Rejector on the Galliot was damaged in the landing, and her entire crew has been possessed and turned into zombies. So when they steal the Meteor Rejector from the still functioning Argos, it's up to Captain Markary (Barry Sullivan) and Sanya (Norma Bengell) to sneak on board and steal it back.

They do so, of course, and escape with the only other survivor, Wes (Angel Aranda). But on the way back, Wes notices that the others are acting strangely and discovers that they've been possessed by aliens and are planning on taking over their planet when they return. Wes, however, destroys the Meteor Rejector (at the cost of his own life), and the aliens are forced to land on a nearby planet instead of their own.

And that nearby planet is... Earth! Oh nos!

This is a fun one, although it does kind of drag here and there. It's in color and the bloody bodies of the dead are liberally doused in that classic bright red Italian horror movie blood. The film also has a number of very moody scenes that raise the creep factor significantly. This is especially true when the survivors discover the ruins of huge spaceship and the bones of its gigantic former occupants.

Some critics have noted the similarities to some of these plot elements and Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), although both Scott and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon say they hadn't seen the film at the time of Alien's release. I tend to believe them on that. The elements that are echoed in Alien, the distress signal, the giant derelict ship and its gigantic fossilized occupant, don't really share much with Planet of the Vampires beyond surface similarities.

And I can't imagine why they wouldn't just admit it.

Regardless, this is a pretty enjoyable Italian classic where everyone on set spoke their own native languages, so only some of the actors are dubbed into English in the version we watched. The story was creepy, the zombies were bloody, and the twist ending was enjoyable. For a first night of the 2011 Easter Zombie Movie Marathon, we're batting a thousand!

1.1 THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING (1965)

2011-04-18T18:02:00.002-04:00

The Earth Dies Screaming (1965)
Dir. Terence Fisher
UK

The first film in the 2011 Easter Zombie Movie Marathon is a golden oldie from 1965. We decided to go with a chronological order for this year's films, so as the week goes on we'll get closer and closer to the modern conception of what a zombie film is.

But for this first night, we're really dealing with a variation on the classic Voodoo zombie, only with a creepy British Sci-Fi twist.

Terence Fisher is probably best known as the man who almost single-handedly redefined modern UK horror with his run of classic Hammer Horror films, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), The Mummy (1959), The Curse of the Werewolf (1960), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), and many, many others.

In 1965 he directed The Earth Dies Screaming for Shepperton Studios in London and filmed in Surrey.

The film opens creepily enough, with shot after shot of people casually dropping dead wherever they might be, whether that's while driving a train, cars, planes, or just standing around waiting for the train. For the rest of the film, no matter what's going on with the main plot, there are almost always corpses littered around the backgrounds. It's subtle and does a very nice job of creating a disturbing mood, even when things don't seem to overly tense.

A group of survivors hole up in an abandoned hotel and try to figure out why everyone else is dead but they survived. The lone American in the group, Jeff Nolan (Willard Parker), figures out that each of the survivors were isolated places where their air was recirculated. Because of this, they figure that it was some sort of gas attack that murdered the majority of humanity. But from whom?

That's when the scary guys in the spacesuits show up, strolling rather awkwardly through town.

Not long after that, the dead begin rising, too. With frightening white eyes that had to make acting difficult for the performers playing the zombies.

Long story short, they're alien robots with the touch of death. Nolan and the others have to figure out how to stop the invaders and hopefully restart the human race.

As I stated above, this is essentially a classic tale of Voodoo zombies, a la White Zombie, only the plantation is Earth and the evil master is an unseen alien force. You can always rely on Terence Fisher to provide a solid piece of direction and this film is no different. Even though we're dealing with some rather broad characters, the drunk, the crook, the pregnant girl, the moody youth, etc. it never seems too terribly cliche.

All in all, it's a pretty good start to this year's festivities.

Plus, this film inspired the song "The Earth Died Screaming" from Tom Waits' 1992 album Bone Machine, even though Waits says he never actually saw the film.

MONDO MARVEL #32: NOVEMBER 1964

2011-04-15T20:21:00.000-04:00

We're back!

Mondo Marvel #32: November 1964 is live and running for your enjoyment!

TV ROUND-UP

2011-03-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to comment on some recent TV.

Sunday:

BEING HUMAN (UK): After a weak and focus-free start, the return of Herrick has made this show good again. The only show on TV about Vampires worth watching. Season Finale this Sunday!

OUTCASTS (UK): Boring and almost entirely imagination-free. Good actors wasted on weak plots and at time, painful scripting. Season Finale this Sunday. Finally.

Monday:

BEING HUMAN (US): Not as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. Each week makes me groan, but I watch and find myself moderately engaged and satisfied. Kind of limp and bloodless compared to the original.

STARGATE: UNIVERSE: Finally back for its last 10 episodes. Already canceled, but well worth watching. The characters are good, if a little too grounded in the mundane. What I wouldn't give for a show with a basic scenario like this, but with insanely free imagination guiding it.

Tuesday:

LIGHTS OUT: Just when they introduce a character I can finally get behind and enjoy (Romeo), they drop him. Lights Out, you are killing me with your borderline entertainment value. This is the show, right behind Being Human (US) that I am least interested in watching each week, but watch anyway, and get some enjoyment out of. The end result here is a little better than with Being Human.

Wednesday:

SYM-BIONIC TITAN: Best cartoon on television right now. Genndy can do no wrong in my book. It's rated PG, so we actually get death and destruction with repercussions and moral implications. Last week's look at the coup on their home planet was fantastic.

JUSTIFIED: Gets better and better each week. Boyd Crowder may be the best character on television at the moment. His only rival is Walter Bishop on Fringe. Boyd's the best "bad guy" though. He's starting to rival Lost's Benjamin Linus in my affections.

FACE-OFF: Season Finale this week! I'm loving this Top Chef with Make-up Effects Artists show. I really hope enough people are watching that we get more. Also love that the craft drama involved in designing and implementing the make-up effects are more centrally focused than the personal drama between the contestants. In the end, anyway.

Thursday:

THE OFFICE: Regardless of what people say, this show still makes me laugh out loud every single week.

PARKS & RECREATION: Only comedy on television that I would actually miss if it were canceled. So much funnier than any of the other Thursday night line-up. Most of that crap I can't even watch.

THE MENTALIST: Always entertaining, if not all that smart. Still love the dynamic between the characters, and Patrick Jane is the most appealing and unapologetic atheist on television.

Friday:

SUPERNATURAL: Season Six is just as good as any prior season. Glad they did it. It's gone until April, when we'll get our final push toward the season finale, and it is going to be mightily missed. Hopefully, they'll do another season. Don't see why they wouldn't at this point. It's all good and still firing on all cylinders. The most entertaining show I watch.

FRINGE: Tied with Justified for best show on television, in my humble opinion. With Supernatural coming in at a very tight 1.5. Every week, no matter what reality we're focusing on, Fringe brings great casting together with entertaining scripts and imaginative plots to make me giddy. Walter is great. I'm really hoping they plan on keeping Jorge Garcia around as Walter's late-night pot-smoking buddy.

Saturday:

Nothing. Finally.

MONDO MARVEL #31: OCTOBER 1964

2011-02-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

Yes, Mondo Marvel is back for another round of jibber-jabber obsessed with early Sixties Marvel comics. You know what you're getting into. No get into it!

F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #21: "Shelved - Fantastic Four (1994)"

2011-02-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

I watched The Fantastic Four so you don't have to. Roger Corman produced it in 1994 for 1.4 million after the original budget called for 40 million. If that doesn't explain just about everything wrong with this film, I don't know what does.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #347: SO MUCH FOR BALANCE!

2011-02-07T18:13:00.000-05:00

I'm back with another What Looks Good column, and it's all TV, Movies, and Music this week. Oh, and I do mention a couple of comics, briefly at the end.

BREAKING DOWN (an original screenplay)

2011-01-31T23:25:00.001-05:00

Please take some time from your busy schedules to read and comment on this Horror script that I've entered into Amazon Studios' scriptwriting competition. All comments and discussion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

MONDO MARVEL #30: SEPTEMBER 1964

2011-01-28T18:10:00.000-05:00

It's Mondo Marvel time again!

F.O.O.M. (Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel) #20: "We Are Both Tragedies - Captain America (1990)"

2011-01-21T19:17:00.001-05:00

Wherein I go back and re-evaluate what is generally considered one of the worst Marvel movies ever. Seriously, it's not that bad, when all is said and done. Here's the link: F.O.O.M.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #344: A SORT OF BALANCE?

2011-01-19T04:43:00.000-05:00

And here's this week's What Looks Good column! Enjoy!

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #341: BACK TO THE GRIND

2011-01-19T04:41:00.000-05:00

Oops. Forgot to post a link to this What Looks Good column from a couple of weeks ago.

Mondo Marvel #29 - Annuals 1964

2010-12-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

Ring in the Holidays with me as Mondo Marvel #29 takes a look at Fantastic Four Annual #2 and The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 over at Comics Bulletin!

Motörhead - (Don't Need) Religion

2010-12-24T07:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Lemmy!

MISFITS 2.07 Review

2010-12-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

And with that, we say goodbye to our Misfits until next Fall sometime. And from what I understand they're talking about extending the third season with more episodes and a variety of writers.

Which, I have to admit, I'm not very excited about.

On the one hand, I'd love to see more of our heroes, but on the other, it may spread the show out too thin. It's impossible to tell at the moment, but I'm looking forward to the new season with a touch of hesitency. Especially given how this season has wrapped.

But then again, maybe the way this season wrapped sets us up for a more extended approach next time.

We'll see, I guess. But now, Spoiler Alert!

I hadn't recognized him in the preview after Episode 6, but the priest who declares himself to be Jesus this week was played by Edward Hogg, the co-star of the film, Bunny and the Bull. I loved that film, not only because it was written and directed by Paul King, of The Mighty Boosh fame, but because it was a sweet and surreal comedy that proved to have a lot more heart than I was expecting. Hogg's Stephen was the emotional center of the film, playing a shy, weird fellow who hasn't left his apartment since he and his pal, Bunny (Simon Farnaby) had a misadventure that ended poorly.

If you like The Boosh, I highly recommend Bunny and the Bull. If you don't like The Boosh, your mileage may vary depending upon how you handle darkly sentimental comedy.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock to see nice-guy Hogg getting a blowjob while lecturing the Misfits on his justifications for using his powers to get sex and money at will. I'm a little scarred by that scene.

But what's that? A blowjob, you say? What the? You thought this was about Jesus coming back in time for Christmas?

Well it was. Sort of.

You see, someone's started an underground business where he offers cash for your powers. However, this fellow, Seth, can't use the powers himself. Instead, he holds onto the power, and then can pass it on to someone else. For a price.

It's a handy dandy little business, particularly when you've got a bizarre subculture of poor folk with powers they don't have the imagination or motivation to use for much. Twenty Thousand Pounds sounds like a lot, when you've got nothing to look forward to. Just ask our heroes.

Alisha is the first to take him up on his offer, which makes sense, given that her power is the most shit of the group, having no practical purpose and essentially crippling her emotionally. So I understand when she sells her curse away. The others, not so much.

I guess Nikki has some reasons, given that she seems to have no control over her teleportation. And I suppose Kelly can be excused, since her power never really helped out much. But the boys should be ashamed.

Anyway, this episode really served as a way to address some of the issues that have led to some of the problems of this second season. Curtis' time travel has become a crutch that allows infinite do-overs. That was the biggest problem with Episode 6. That episode was solid until the murders started, and then you knew Curtis would just rewind time and they'd fix everything.

Which then led to some strange plot issues regarding the future that Simon returned from. Was the erased future Simon's? If so, then what was the point of the whole "Back From the Future" storyline? By being able to rewind time and take second shots at things, Creator/Writer Howard Overman had a handy reset button, that allowed him to get a little sloppy with the storytelling.

This episode also has more than a few moments where characters just don't feel right. This is most noticeable with Nathan's immediate interest and devotion to the pregnant Marnie. Sure, it's nice to see Nathan find someone who can put up with him, but it came out of the blue, and his connection to her wasn't really fleshed out at all. To be honest, I'm not sure what purpose she served in the story other than to provide a moment for a Christmas-themed musical number.

Yes, a musical number. The whole cast, singing a Christmas carol to the newborn infant. It was a little too saccharine for me, and even having the characters joke about it afterwards didn't help.

But what the removal of the gang's powers did allow, was an actual death. Nikki takes a bullet to the chest, and without his ability to rewind time, Curtis just has to let her die in his arms and deal with it. That was a nice touch that really made me think that Overman has realized that the time travel needed to be jettisoned.

I also think Overman realized that he'd painted himself into a corner with the gang's powers. None of them were really pro-active. They were appropriate for that first season and a half, where we were just dealing with the characters as ordinary people in extraordinary situations, but once we moved into a narrative world where more and more people have these powers, and our antagonists were setting themselves up as superheroes, their specialness began to dilute.

Episode 6 really drove home this point, as all of their powers were useless against someone with as shit a power as lacto-kinesis. The passivity of our heroes powers was limiting what could be done with the overall story. If we are going to have them assume more active roles in the next season, something needed to be done. And the dealing of powers is a nice way of addressing this.

The real question now is what's going to happen next season. We end with our heroes buying new powers for themselves. Powers not associated with their personalities so much as their desires. They have enough money to take their pick of Seth's collection, which means next season promises a major new direction. Not only are we looking at an extended season with writers other than Overman, we're looking at new powers altogether. Which means we're dealing with Misfits possibly turning into something much more like Heroes than we started with.

I realize that this is all speculation, but that's where it looks like we're heading from my vantage point.

So, while I enjoyed this Christmas Special, and appreciate the fact that Overman is willing to tinker with everything that's been working (and not working) so far, it's dangerous. When Season Three begins, we're dealing with what is essentially a reboot of the show, and experience dictates that this has more potential for bad things to happen than good. But maybe we've hit the limit of what Overman felt he could accomplish with these characters with these powers at this point. Maybe there are bigger and better ideas on the way.

I hope that's the case. But the way this season ended has made me very nervous about where we're going next year. I love this show and really don't want to lose it.

Film Review: BLACK DEATH (2010)

2010-12-18T11:12:00.002-05:00

Black Death
Written by Dario Poloni
Directed by Christopher Smith

And our journey through the films of Christopher Smith comes to an end (for now), with his latest, Black Death. This is a bit of a departure for Smith, as not only is it the first of his films that isn't straight horror, it's also the first time he's working from someone else's script.

As such, it doesn't demonstrate the leap in creative growth that we've seen through the course of his previous films (Creep (2004), Severance (2006), and Triangle (2009)), but it's still a sure-handed piece of work that lives up to its full potential.

For the uninitiated, Black Death is set during the late 14th Century during the height of the Bubonic Plague in England. A young monk, Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) is struggling with his love of a young lady, Averill (Kimberley Nixon) and his duties to the monastery. In order to save her from the spread of the disease, Osmund sends her away from the city, where she promises to wait for him in the nearby forest for a week. If he doesn't decide to leave the monastery by then, he'll never see her again.

After praying for a sign from God to help him make his decision, Ulric (Sean Bean) arrives. Ulric has been tasked with investigating a local village where it is rumored that the dead walk the earth and the plague has not struck, all thanks to the villagers' pact with the Devil. As this village is very near where Averill is waiting, Osmund takes this as his sign and volunteers to lead Ulric and his motley band to the village.

Spoilers Ahead!

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this film. The reviews I'd seen hadn't been glowing, although I didn't read anything really bad. I was pretty sure we were going to be dealing with a supernatural threat, and quite possibly medieval zombie action.

But that's not the case.

And it's all the better because of it.

What we get instead is a well-written, well-acted, and well-directed action film that avoids easy answers and actually lets character and plotting take the forefront, rather than extended action sequences (Neil Marshall's Centurion, I'm looking at you!). It doesn't hurt that we have Sean Bean sharing the lead with the young Eddie Redmayne.

Both actors do exceedingly well with their roles, and while Redmayne (if IMDB is to be believed) has only been working in film regularly for the past 4 or 5 years, he easily holds his own with the more experienced, and frankly quite legendary Bean. He even gets to play scenes with the even more legendary David Warner as The Abbott.

Osmund goes into this story as a naive youth and exits a cruel, cynical adult, forever scarred by his experiences. It's a very satisfying narrative arc and Redmayne pulls it off without a hitch.

Sean Bean once again proves that he can do anything when a camera is on him. I have to admit, I think he seems most natural with long hair and a beard, swinging a sword around than in any other type of film role I've seen him play. His Ulric is far more complex and believable than he has any right to be, and Bean's intensity brings an admirable morality to the character. This is a man who is willing to do awful things in the name of God, but he knows they're awful things. He never glamorizes or valorizes his choices.

It's a great performance, and it's complemented by the supporting cast, particularly Andy Nyman (Severance, Dead Set) as Dalywag, Johnny Harris (London to Brighton, RocknRolla) as Mold, and John Lynch (Hardware, Isolation) as Wolfstan. Each of these characters could easily slide into one-dimensional caricatures, but the actors bring enough levels of motivation and emotional complexity to the roles that they each stand out as something special.

This is hard enough to do in a film set in the modern day, but to pull it off in a medieval setting in a genre picture is a real accomplishment. And a large part of that success is down to the script. What makes that even more impressive is that this is just Poloni's second screenplay (the first being 2006's Wilderness, directed by Michael J. Bassett)

By avoiding the supernatural and keeping the threats human, Poloni's script allows the actors to play their roles naturally, responding to the events going on around them without playing larger than life. Not that the characters aren't larger than life at times, but because the story keeps them grounded in realism, they are able to respond in realistic ways to realistic dangers.

When you're main "supernatural" threat is being forced to renounce Jesus and embrace Satan, the actors are forced to respond emotionally with psychological desperation. They don't have to have a magical swordfight with a CGI monster (I'm looking at you Michael J. Bassett's Solomon Kane!) to craft a satisfying climax.

That lack of the actualized supernatural threat also helps to make the actual psychological threat much more effective. Langiva isn't really raising the dead, but using drugs to simulate death and then using that psychological impact to reinforce her power in the village. The plague isn't avoiding the village because they sacrifice Christian blood to the devil (which they do), but because the disease isn't being spread thanks to the marsh that isolates the village from the rest of the world. These are nice touches that help to make this film something a little more than your standard horror film.

There's horror here, don't get me wrong. But it's the horror of the times and the setting, and it works better by sticking to that. Even the twist at the end, works well in the context of the film and plays perfectly into the personalities and psychologies of the main characters. Osmund's spiritual fall is as tragic as Ulric's sacrifice is horrifying.

Smith's direction here isn't as flashy or up-front as in his previous two films, but it is confident and, at times, beautiful to watch. The only real weakness in the film for me was the brief coda, following Osmund's life after this experience. I loved the content of it, but kind of wished it was fleshed out and used as a second film. It worked in the context of what we had here, but I would have liked to have really gone into his head and experiences rather than have it narrated for us over the images.

But with that said, I loved this film. So far, Smith is three for four as far as I'm concerned, and the film I didn't care for was his first, and there have been no mis-steps from that point on.

Oh.

And a side note. I did enjoy Centurion quite a bit. Solomon Kane, not as much, but it was still fun. And just for the record, the upcoming medieval supernatural thriller, Season of the Witch, starring Nicolas Cage, looks like a huge, steaming pile of shit that focuses on doing everything that Black Death avoided. It looks like the anti-Black Death, actually, and I want nothing to do with it.

MISFITS 2.06 Review

2010-12-18T08:30:00.001-05:00

When is a finale not a finale?

When there's an extra Christmas episode later in the week, that's when.

But technically, this is the Series Two finale, and we get the wrap-up of the major storylines of the previous five episodes. Most of it is pretty entertaining, but I must confess to having narrative problems with the way everything comes together in the end.

Spoiler Shields Up!

Before I complain, I want to reiterate what I've been saying all along. Every one of the actors in this show are doing fantastic work. They are these characters. Sheehan, Rheon, and Thomas have taken their characters to new levels this season, thanks to Simon and Alisha's developing relationship and Nathan's constant claiming of the spotlight. Hopefully, next season will give Socha, Stewart-Jarrett, and Negga the chance to really highlight their characters. They all had nice moments this season, but never really got the attention that the others did.

This week, there's not really a strong focus on any of the ASBO 5 in particular, and instead the concentration is on plot. And while that's not a bad thing, it does set up a situation where we get a lot of interesting developments, some serious status changes, and then violent action, only to find the story written into a corner. And the only way out of it, is the most obvious way.

So here's the deal. A young nobody named Brian discovers that he has gained a superpower from out mysterious storm. He calls it "Lacto-kinesis" - the ability to control dairy products with his mind. Or, as Kelly puts it, "the shittest power ever." He goes public, gets an agent, and starts becoming famous. And with that, it's on.

People with powers start coming out of the woodwork and signing promotional deals with super-agent, Laura.

Our heroes debate whether or not to reveal themselves as well, when suddenly the spotlight is thrust upon them by their probation worker, who, overhearing their discussion of their powers, sells them out in a heartbeat. Confronted by the press as they're getting ready to leave the community center, Laura shows up and offers to help them out and make them rich & famous. After a quick negotiation amongst themselves, everybody agrees except Simon, who thinks it can only go wrong.

Guess who's right?

This is a pretty strong episode, up until the very end. It's a lot of fun watching our heroes take advantage of their new-found fame. Although to be honest, Nathan is really the only one who seems to be getting any benefits from their deal. And that's mainly in the "bedding drunken fangirls" department. The real focus this week is Brian, who's lame lacto-kinesis powers very quickly relegate him to the background (and then out of the picture entirely) when people with actual beneficial powers sign on; particularly Daisy, a nice girl with healing powers.

Granted, her powers make just about everyone feel second-rate. Except for Nathan, of course, who's picked up a nasty case of V.D. from his exploits and needs her to fix his dripping wang.

Brian's control over dairy products, while seeming kind of shit in the beginning, becomes a pretty threatening ability once he goes mad and starts murdering people. It's the first time this season that I've really liked one of the super-villains. And he's actually got quite the talent for murder. So long as people keep eating cheese and yogurt and such.

But then the problems with the episode begin to manifest.

And it all comes down to Curtis' time travel powers.

The ability to re-wind the action undermines all the dramatic tension, and unlike other times in the series, where there are repercussions to its use, all it does here is save our heroes (all of whom were either easily slaughtered or rendered brain-dead) and erase all of the interesting developments of the episode.

And there were some very interesting developments. The most obvious being the fact that Simon discovers Alisha hanging out in Future Simon's hide-out, and learns the truth about his future both as a super hero and with her. It was a great scene, and we got to see the start of the most satisfying relationship in the show. We also saw Future Simon's "predictions" coming true, including the video of Alisha being interviewed on the news.

However, once Brian kills everyone and Curtis is forced to rewind time in order to save lives, all of this is erased. Curtis doesn't just rewind to earlier in the day or week, he goes all the way back to before Brian went public with his power. He tells the gang what's up, and they stop by Brian's house and, presumably, murder him.

That last part's not clear, but it seems like the only real action they could/would take.

If they did choose murder, it was a pretty casual approach to the choice and wasn't given the emotional or moral weight of their previous deathly choices. In fact, it seemed more like an easy way out. But an easy way out that screws up the already-established events that brought Future Simon back. By erasing the entire outing and becoming of celebrities aspect of the season, it kind of makes the whole Future Simon storyline meaningless. We don't have that future anymore.

And while that's an interesting approach to take, playing with the idea of alternate futures, it makes Future Simon's mission, and ultimate sacrifice, pointless.

I know, I know. They can still get famous later, but that's not what we've been building toward. This was the moment and instead it became a bait-and-switch. I'd much rather have had Curtis rewind to just a few days earlier and force the characters to deal with killing, or even better, capturing Brian and getting famous for saving lives. Then we still have the fame, we still have the Simon/Alisha reveal, and we move into the next season (coming in the Fall) with an actual status change that matters.

Hopefully, Sunday's Christmas special will make up for this stumble across the finish line. Apparently, Jesus is back and Simon decides they need to kill him. Sweet!

MISFITS 2.05 Review

2010-12-10T13:26:00.000-05:00

We're moving quickly toward the season finale (and the Christmas Bonus Episode!), and visions from Curtis' little jaunt to the future are starting to occur. Last week's hanging from meathooks was the first event, and this week Simon becomes a man and we get to see what was actually happening up on the rooftop between Curtis and Nikki.

Here's a hint, it's not superheroic at all, but is pretty graphic. She wasn't kidding about not wanting to get cum on her dress.

And she's not the only one with that concern as this week; everyone is getting busy. Ironically, except for Alisha. Oh! And except for Nathan. Poor Nathan. At least he gets murdered again. What's all that about a connection between Death and Sex? I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Nathan get murdered over and over again. Is that wrong?

But how was the episode, you ask? Put your spoiler shields on to find out!

One of the strengths of Misfits over other superhero shows, in my opinion, is the fact that on E4, they can get away with language and situations that wouldn't fly on anything but a pay channel on this side of the pond. They're able to do and say things that still wouldn't really get aired on FX or AMC, even. Not only does it allow for some steamy situations (and the occasional butt-shot), but it means that there's no dumbing down of situations and/or whitewashing language or events to make them "family-friendly".

Because, you know, only kids watch shows about superheroes, right?

Can you imagine a character with Alisha's power ever seeing the light of day on American television? I can't.

And because the creators of this show know that appealing to the lowest common denominator isn't enough to make good TV, they throw some serious implications and psychological reactions to all the sex and violence. This week is a pretty good example of that, when it comes to how sex is treated on the show.

As I said earlier, just about everyone gets laid this week. Some with better results than others.

The scene I've already mentioned, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Nikki (Ruth Negga) up on the roof, starts off with the dirty talk, proceeds with Curtis' bare behind seriously pounding Nikki on an old couch, and ends with Alisha (Antonia Thomas) busting in on them while looking for Simon (Iwan Rheon). That's a pretty standard flow of action, and so far as the plotting goes, there are no surprises. It could even border on cliche, having the ex-girlfriend walk in on them like that.

But it doesn't, really, thanks to the way the characters are written and the way the actors play the scene.

I loved the little smile on Curtis' face when he realized that his future-vision was about to start becoming a present-reality. And the frankness of the language between the two is perfectly natural for a pair of lovers who've just started exploring each other's sexual boundaries. The sex itself is pretty enthusiastic, and is exactly the sort of psychological release one would expect from a person, an athlete, who's last sexual relationship was restrained to mutual masturbation sessions.

It's explicit and maybe a little gratuitous, but it works.

And then, when Alisha walks in on them, we see that Curtis is more upset about being caught in the act than either Nikki or Alisha. Nikki is bemused, and Alisha looks a little happy, actually. There's a moment of shock, but none of the drama that Curtis is probably expecting, thanks to Alisha having actually already moved on. So the cliche tension doesn't play out, disipating into more amusement than jealousy.

It's a nice way to end the scene. And it sets up a nice contrast for the next sex scene that Alisha walks in on; that between Simon and Jessica (Zawe Ashton).

This time there are emotional impacts, but Thomas plays Alisha very subtly and while we can see it hurts, it's hidden enough that we can believe the others don't notice. But what's that? Simon gets laid? Not Future Simon, but our Simon? Whaa?

Yup, it seems that a young lady named Jessica is organizing a charity run, using the community center as the base of operations, and she's taken a liking to our boy, Simon. When Future Simon told Alisha that she wasn't the one he lost his virginity with, I was fearing the worst. Especially given the sexual track-record of the show (which, in a hilarious scene, the gang goes through with him, while trying to warn him that Jessica might be a murderer).

This scene, however, plays out with an innocence and discretion that is in marked contrast to the other sex scenes this week. It's actually pretty sweet. Until Jessica's dad shows up, ready to kill Simon, like he killed Nathan for getting a peek at her in her knickers in the opening, and the nameless guy who tried to kiss her without her permission halfway through the episode. But that's where Alisha comes in, knocking him out and then realizing that she was witnessing the afterglow of Simon and Jessica's mutual deflowering.

The third sexual situation this week is a weird one. Maybe the weirdest one in the series so far, and part of me liked it, while another part of me thought it was a little too over-the-top. It hit me a little like how the "peanut allergy" climax did; a little silly but understandable in the situation. I know that the show doesn't take itself too seriously, but Kelly's new "boyfriend" Bruno was a little hard to swallow.

You see, Kelly (Lauren Socha) meets a guy, Bruno (Richard Riddell), who's on the run from the cops for beating the living crap out of someone. She reads his mind and sees that he thinks she's beautiful and wants to be with her. It's again, a cute and emotional moment, where Bruno is almost childlike in his affections for her. She likes his attention, especially since he doesn't seem to be playing any games with her. He says what he thinks and is pretty pure in his intentions (sort of).

So they get intimate. And by intimate, I mean they have dirty, violent sex. Really violent, but in a hot way, you know? It's rough stuff and more primal than what we get with Curtis and Nikki. And there's a reason for that. After a second bout of sex nearly ends with Bruno hurting her, Kelly tells him to fuck off and move on. He tries to explain, but she's having none of it.

But here's the thing. It turns out, he has trouble controlling himself because when The Storm hit that gave everyone their powers, Bruno was a gorilla in the zoo who wanted to be human.

Yeah, Kelly was shagging a gorilla. Sure, he was just a gorilla on the inside at that point, but her soft kiss on his dying lips after the police have shot him and he's TURNED BACK INTO A GORILLA was disturbing and weird and maybe a little much. I think it worked in the moment and gave us some real insight into Kelly's psychology, but in the reality of the scene, it was a creepy distraction.

I would have thought it would have disturbed her more than it did, but maybe that's just me.

Although it was pretty funny that he was a gorilla wearing a gorilla suit to the costume party.

Oh yeah. The costume party. That's why Curtis was in a superhero suit in his flash-forward. They haven't been outed, or taken on new heroic roles. The whole gang dressed like superheroes for the costume party to celebrate the end of the charity run. This was a pretty clever way to introduce this visual element to the show and gave the creators the opportunity to close the episode with a funny final shot of the ASBO 5 up on a rooftop, popping open some beers and looking over the city, dressed like superheroes.

That was the most entertaining moment of the show for me. Well, that and Nathan (Robert Sheehan) and Alisha sharing a bonding moment over how they both like Simon more than they let on. That was gold, it was.

FRINGE 3.09 "Marionette" Review

2010-12-10T00:11:00.000-05:00

Fringe
3.09 "Marionette"
Written by Alison Schapker & Monica Breen
Directed by Joe Chappelle

Say goodbye to Fringe for until January 21st, folks. And when it returns, it's going to be on Friday nights. You know, the Friday nights on FOX that signals the end of all things Sci-Fi on the damned channel. Let's face it. Nothing has survived Friday nights since The X-Files, and while one might argue that Fringe is the natural successor to that show, the ratings aren't great. And if they're not great on Thursdays, what are they going to be like on Fridays?

Remember, Friday scheduling helped kill Firefly. It helped kill The Sarah Conner Chronicles. It helped kill Dollhouse. Hell, just check out this: The Friday Night Death Slot. While one might argue that Friday isn't instant death for a show, this is FOX we're talking about. Look at those numbers.

Hopefully we'll at least get to see the rest of the season, but I have no hope for a fourth. I mean, the first episode back on Friday the 21st is called "Firefly" for Pete's sake.

Anyway, back to this week's episode, "Marionette".

Look! Spoilers!

I will admit that my hopes weren't very high for this episode. We've just wrapped a chapter of the biggest event in the show's short history, which was one of the most daring science fiction concepts ever actualized in a network TV show, and it's the breather episode before taking a short break for the holidays. If there was ever a place for a "filler" episode, this would be it.

But lo and behold! While this is your standard "Science Crime of the Week" episode, it's a darned twisted one. Plus, they didn't hold out on the inevitable Olivia (Anna Torv) / Peter (Joshua Jackson) "discussion". You know the one. The "I was bedding your double in your bed and never noticed it wasn't you" discussion.

And yes, that goes about like you'd expect it to.

This is one of those moments in Fringe where the actors really have to be on their game to make us feel and sympathize with them. Surprisingly, it's Torv who hits all the right notes this week, and Jackson who ends up falling short. Granted, Torv is always best when she's either physically reacting as if by instinct, or really having to work through some serious emotional trauma, much like Ben Browder's Crichton on Farscape only without the solid emotional grounding (but really, no one can compare to Crichton!). Torv's performance in these situations always seems to be a bit on the manic side.

And this is understandable, given the moments she's playing. It's not subtle, but it's appropriate, especially this week. Her attempts to force herself to be okay with Peter's failings are pretty much what one has come to expect from Olivia's coping mechanisms. So, while they're a bit melodramatic, they suit the character and the situation.

Peter, on the other hand...

Jackson's attempts to underplay the emotion of the scene just didn't work for me. I can see what he was going for, and understand the psychological motivation for playing the scene that way. But he just isn't expressive enough to pull off that sort of subtlety. Instead of seeming hesitant and internal, it comes off as flat and emotionless. His quiet "I'm sorry" is nowhere near effective enough to make the scene work.

This is pulp melodrama. Stiff silence doesn't cut it.

Luckily, Torv carries the scenes between the two (who would have thought someone would ever type that sentence, eh?) and makes them work despite Jackson's shortcomings. I hate to put it like that, but I really don't think the way he's playing the character is effective. I don't know if it's his decision or if it's the urging of the director, but it's not working for me.

I'm right there with Olivia when she walks away, wanting nothing to do with him. That felt right.

As for this week's mystery, I really wasn't on board with the whole "Re-Animator" vibe in the beginning. I appreciated the fundamental concept, and liked the idea of the chemical retardant to cellular decay, as well as the "regretful organ-thief" character. Those little details were what drew me into the idea.

But it was the "marionette" dance routine that won me over completely.

You see, the dead girl that our Antagonist is attempting to reanimate, was a ballerina. So, once he's re-harvested all of her donated organs, he naturally straps her up in a huge wire and lever contraption to make her dance like a marionette while he works the levers and pedals. It's a truly twisted moment that is made awesome by the sheer amount of detail involved with the marionette machine workings. From the system of pull-levers to the big, sewing-machine-like foot pedal, this was a masterwork of disturbed obsession.

And the choreography as our villain (I can't find his name at the moment - I'll update later) performs a dance routine with the dead girl is a high point in the series.

Of course, things don't go right, but this is one of those episodes where it's not about shooting a crazed villain before they do something that will kill everyone. This one's a bit more quiet, emotionally. He brings the dead girl back to life, if only for a few minutes, but he immediately knows that he didn't bring her back; he brought back a shell.

It's a nice, touching moment that really works well when tied to the events occurring with Olivia and Peter. Because this episode, as twisted and romantic as it is, is really all about Olivia's emotional trauma. The fact that our villain knew just by looking into the dead girl's reanimated eyes that she wasn't the same, triggers Olivia's disgust and anger at Peter for not knowing Fauxlivia wasn't her.

And while I can sympathize with Peter's urge to explain away the little differences in Fauxlivia, in the end, Olivia is right. Peter failed. And had a lot of sexual fun in Olivia's bed, while failing her.

If I have any problem with the situation, it's this: Peter, the character that we've been introduced to and learned to connect with, shouldn't have fallen for her. And that's on the writers. The conflict that we've now got with Olivia and Peter feels extremely contrived, with Peter (and the others, really) behaving stupidly in order to force a manipulative romantic conflict into the foreground. Someone on this side should have suspected something, especially given the obviousness of Fauxlivia's actions at times.

I understand and appreciate the dramatic possibilities that this scenario provides, but getting there was poorly planned, poorly written, and reflects poorly on all the characters. I'd be much more emotionally engaged if Peter knew that Fauxlivia was a spy and bedded her anyway in an attempt to subvert her mission, and then had to explain that to Olivia. Then it would have been a questionable moral choice, instead of him just being stupid.

It's a writing shortcut and undermines the quality of the show. But at least the reanimator was nicely written and acted. That really made this episode worth while.

Oh, and there was a pretty entertaining nod to Dexter in the reanimator's approach to organ thieving. That was amusing.

Oddly enough, while Dr Girlfriend and I were watching this episode, I casually mentioned that I missed seeing the Observers lurking around in the background of each episode. I can't remember when we've last seen them. Then, who should step into the foreground in the final shots of the episode, but a familiar bald fellow in a fedora. Yes, the Observers are back and are setting something in motion. As if I wasn't already dreading the long wait 'til January 21st!

DEXTER 5.11 "Hop A Freighter" Review

2010-12-08T00:05:00.002-05:00

Dexter
Episode 5.11 "Hop a Freighter"

And here we are, one episode left in the season, and I'll be quite honest. I have no idea what's going to happen next.

For those of you late to the party, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is in love. Sure, it's with supremely damaged Lumen (Julia Stiles), with whom he shares the urge to murder wrongdoers, but it's love nonetheless. Last week we discovered that Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller) was an alias and that his little group of rapists and thugs had been engaging in their funny games for years. Maybe a decade or more.

And it all started this one time, at camp.

Dex and Lumen had tracked down the last of Chase's pals and, um, disposed of him, while Chase tried to set them up to be caught by Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Quinn (Desmond Harrington). It was a near miss, but thanks to a stray footprint in the mud, Deb was able to start intuiting just what was going on.

Much to Dexter's dismay.

And oh yeah, Liddy's (Peter Weller) caught Dex and Lumen on tape, preparing for a kill. Oops.

Spoiler Screens Up!

I just want to say up front that I am in love with Peter Weller. Not in a carnal, dirty way. But in the way where I could watch him all day long playing this part. Liddy is a scummy, slimy, disgrace of a cop, but he's good. He knows when something's up instinctively and won't let anything get in the way of finding out the truth about what's going on.

Of course, his only motivation is to get his job back. He's not interested in right or wrong, or good and evil. He's supremely self-interested, which is what makes him interesting. And God Damn can Peter Weller deliver a line. Every word out of his mouth is like liquid gold.

He, quite simply, acts rings around every other member of the cast.

I was sad to see him go, this week.

I knew it was coming. It had to happen. You can't keep a series about a serial killer who hunts criminals going if people start finding out what he's up to. That's the main thrust of every season so far. Someone finds out what Dexter is up to, and he's forced to kill them. Usually, they're kind of scummy people anyway, so he finds a way to justify it. Or someone else steps in and kills them for him.

But someone's always gonna die.

The question this season is, now that Liddy is dead, does Quinn have to go too?

I hope not. Angry Irish has grown on me. This week he gives Deb the "You make me a better person" speech and I kind of believed him. And that's all on Harrington's performance. Who'd have thought the cute, kind of shy boss from Sons and Daughters could play a messed up cop?

That's okay. Nobody remembers Sons and Daughters but me. But you should track it down and check it out. It was a great little comedy that only lacked an audience.

Anyway, this week the pieces all start falling into place, as Dex and Lumen start setting their trap, and Chase starts setting a trap of his own.

So far as the plot is concerned, things are moving smoothly toward the big finish. And to my surprise, Deb is really coming into her own. This is the first time in the history of the show that I've really felt like Deb was earning her keep as a Detective. Sure, there's not a lot of detective work going on, and everything seems to be more instinctual than earned, but it's good to see Deb in a position of authority and shedding all that self-doubt that's been holding her back.

I still think we might be heading toward a finale where she discovers Dexter's true nature and has to deal with that (just like in the books), but I admit up front that I could be wrong. I don't think I am, though.

After Deb waxes romantic about the dedication and Love that must be shared between the vigilantes hunting down and disappearing all of the Rape Gang, Dexter realizes that maybe what he and Lumen have is actually Love. Which, of course, means that Lumen is in for a world of trouble.

Hell, it wouldn't be a television drama otherwise.

As much as I love this show, there's a bit of a True Blood feel to it at times. Not in the "Holy Shit! What did they just do?!?" kind of way, but in the "Oh my, that's some bad dialogue and acting!!" kind of way. It's been that way every season. But the strength of this show isn't the acting or the dialogue. It's the plotting and little character moments involving Dexter. The other characters are window dressing.

And it's the same this season. Aside from Peter Weller and Michael C. Hall, there's really not another performance that shines in this show. Julia Stiles does what she can with the part, and Jennifer Carpenter has finally made Deb a three-dimensional character, but the rest of the cast really doesn't hold my interest. C.S. Lee as Masuka, entertains me (particularly with his mimed explanation of what happened at the crime scene a few episodes ago, when they found the dentist and the guy wrapped in cellophane), and I empathize with Angel (David Zayas), I don't watch for them.

Every episode has a healthy dose of bad writing and acting, but ultimately I end up enjoying the show. I think there's just something so wrong about the central concept that I can't help but love it. When Dex bought Lumen her own knife this week, it was so creepily romantic I almost giggled. Same with the murder gloves last week

That helps to up the tension as we move into the season finale and Lumen is held captive by Chase, and Dexter is desperate to find them and save her. Throw in the fact that Liddy's body is discovered and a manhunt gets underway for a cop-killer (Dexter), and this looks to be finale that's packed to overflowing with excitement, drama, and, most likely, heartbreak for Dexter.

If you've been watching, you know there's no way you can stay away from next week's episode. This is what Dexter does best: the amping up of dramatic tension as we head into the home stretch. And while I don't think this season is going to top Season Four for sheer craziness and impressive performances (John Lithgow's Trinity Killer was a high point that they may never reach again), it's still one of the most engaging and entertaining shows on television.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #338: MULTIMEDIA POTPOURRI

2010-12-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

I'm at the helm for this week's What Looks Good column over at Comics Bulletin, and there are lots of interesting things to see in comics, movies, and television this time around!

THE WALKING DEAD Episode 1.06 Review

2010-12-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

The Walking Dead
Episode 1.06 "TS-19"
Written by Adam Fierro & Frank Darabont
Directed by Guy Ferland

And with that, we say goodbye to our cast of characters until sometime next year.

And it's going to be a long year. But not as long as it could have been, thanks to the convenient tying up of narrative lines that, if there had only been one season, would have been a nice, if bleak, open ending. Instead, it serves as a way to start the Second Season with something of a clean slate.

I'm a little surprised that the episode wrapped up as neatly as it did, to be honest. And with nary a zombie in sight.

I was expecting some sort of crazy scientist twist, with Dr. Jenner (Noah Emmerich) deliberately infecting someone to continue his research into a cure, or something along those lines. Instead we get something a little more believable, a little less melodramatic (in a pulpy way), and a little more disturbing.

Spoiler Shields On.

The episode opens with a missing scene from between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) getting shot and then waking up from his coma. It's the moment that Shane (Jon Bernthal) had to choose whether or not to try to get his comatose best friend out of a hospital under siege by both zombies and the military.

The intensity of the situation is driven home immediately and it's hard to fault Shane for making the choice he did. He's just watched soldiers gun down civilians who didn't seem to be infected yet, put bullets in their brains, and then get overrun by zombies themselves. He's panicking and desperate, and when the power goes out, he puts his ear to Rick's chest to listen for a heartbeat. When he doesn't hear one, he runs, pausing just long enough to pull the door shut, secure it, and shove an empty hospital bed across the doorway.

It didn't really seem like a very good defense, seeing as how the thing was on wheels and all, but I suppose he may have locked the wheels and hoped that zombies weren't going to try to move it if it didn't move easily.

And that's what's been going through Shane's mind ever since Rick returned. It's a wonder he hasn't already broken. In this one scene, Shane's character is re-established, for me, as the most complex and interesting of the bunch. And again, it's the variations from the source material that make it so.

The majority of the rest of the episode is spent inside the CDC, after Jenner lets them in. He tells them right off the bat that when those doors close they aren't opening again. It seems like the sort of thing anyone would say in that situation after risking everything just to let a group of strangers into one's sanctuary. But it's not.

Before we get to that, though, it's a night of heavy drinking and hot showers.

The scene works well, and serves to establish Jenner as a bit on the depressive, creepy side. Then again, he is the only surviving member of the CDC staff, so he gets some leeway there. Emmerich does a lot with the character, playing the role subtly, with barely a hint of what's to come. Barely a hint. It's all there on his face, though. Whenever he speaks, there seems to be something unsaid, just beyond the details and information he gives them. It's a very good performance, that otherwise could have become a bit overdone.

Instead, you can really see his sadness. It's nicely done.

Of course, the identity of Test Subject 19 (where we get this episode's title) is obvious from the moment he tells Andrea (Laurie Holden) that he's lost someone too. But then, I don't think it's ever really intended to be much of a surprise. It's just another detail Jenner leaves out until he feels it's necessary.

Like the fact that once the power runs down the whole place will blow up. Oops.

The standoff isn't very tense, even though it should be. Although Daryl (Norman Reedus), methodically pounding at the door with the axe, even when it's clearly not doing any damage, was a nice touch.

The back half of the show is built around two scenes, where two sets of actors really get to cut loose. In the first, and most disturbing, an extremely drunk Shane confronts a fairly drunk Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) about his feelings for her. He loves her. And he's sure she loves him, too. Bernthal gets a chance to let all that emotion and guilt out in this scene, and Shane's violent outbursts earlier in the series come flashing back as he gets physical with Lori in what is essentially an attempted rape.

She scratches him, bringing him back to his senses, and Bernthal gets to add another layer of guilt and self-loathing to Shane's character. If it weren't for Bernthal, this series wouldn't be half as good as it is. He's trying his damndest to be a good man, but I don't know how much longer that's going to last. I'm extremely happy we get a second season to explore this character and his relationships.

The second scene is between Andrea and Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) as the clock is ticking down to imminent, instantaneous, flaming death. Andrea has given up. She wants to stay and die. Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott) does too, but nobody tries to stick around and convince her to continue living, which is a bit awkward and tends to undercut the emotional impact of Dale's pleading. Unlike the Shane and Lori scene above, where we really aren't sure just where or how far it's going to go, here, there's only the slightest hint that maybe they'll both stay and die together.

That would have been a bold choice and the most dramatic break from the comic's continuity yet (aside from Shane not dying already, that is), so odds are it wasn't going to happen. It also provides an opportunity for a cliche "running from a fireball" scene. It was an organic choice, given what's happened to Andrea so far, and Holden does a good job with the part, but for some reason, beyond knowing how important both characters are in the comic, I just never bought that she would go through with it.

DeMunn's impassioned begging and ultimate acceptance and willingness to die with her sold the scene for me. The man can act when given a chance. The way the scene played out made me wonder if they would actually go through with the Andrea/Dale relationship from the comic eventually. That would be interesting.

The conclusion is pretty straight-forward with the return of the hand grenade Rick snagged from the tank back in Episode Two. I was wondering where that ended up. Sure, it was convenient, and it really made me wonder just what Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride) had been doing carrying the thing around in her purse all this time, but it was nice to see it wasn't forgotten.

I had to wonder, as the closing scene rolled, if it was the original final shot or if they'd played around with it once they knew they were renewed for a second season. I tend to think it was the original, because if the story were ending there, even though the caravan drives off up the deserted highway, by lingering on the fire and then panning upward, following the thick black cloud of smoke as it fills the sky, it would be an ominous and downright oppressively depressing way to leave things.

With a second season on the calendar, though, it's ominous and depressing, but at least we know there's a new day coming. When the screen fades to black, we know that we'll be back. That somehow allows me to find a little hope in there somehow. And what it takes to keep finding and maintaining hope in an utterly hopeless situation is becoming the theme of the show (as stated pretty explicitly during the course of the episode - I'm not projecting here, at all).

So all in all, it was a good conclusion. It wasn't perfect, but then what is? Terriers was. Okay, I'll move on from that if it gets a second season. Until then, it's going to keep bugging me. But for Walking Dead, this was about as good as I could have hoped. I like it better than the comics for the most part, and I really like the comic. Next year can't come soon enough.

I almost forgot! What do you think Jenner whispered to Rick before he sent them on their way? Intriguing.

MISFITS 2.04 Review

2010-12-04T15:05:00.001-05:00

Misfits, Episode 4, took a dark turn this week, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I'm going to assume that folks have had enough time to get caught up with last week's revelation about the identity of Super Hoodie? Well, this week we get a little more exploration of his character, the dynamic between he and Alisha, and the roles these characters are going to be assuming as the series goes on.

Okay, that last bit is more speculation than anything, but I think there are clues already around that this episode kind of brought more into focus.

All that and a new member of the crew. Sort of. Two new members, really. But really, kind of just one.

More on that below the break. Spoilers Ahoy!

Okay, let's just get this out of the way.

Super Hoodie is Future Simon. HOLY CRAP!

His performance is a little more underplayed this week, but Iwan Rheon is really knocking it out of the park playing the dual roles of sexy and dangerous Future Simon, and timid and non-threatening Current Simon. Well, seemingly non-threatening, anyway. He is a murderer and an arsonist, after all.

That aside, Rheon has moved out in front of the rest of the cast as the most interesting character on and most interesting actor behind the screen. And I just noticed that he has first billing when the credits roll. Has it always been like that? I really should pay attention more.

Anyway, this week the gang are confronted with two menaces: Tim (Matt Cross), a killer who is living out a Grand Theft Auto style video game, and Ollie (Joshua McGuire, who also plays an "Olly" on Eastenders: E20, whatever that is), an environmentally conscious new Young Offender.

There are many good moments this week, as with every week so far, but a few of them are centered entirely around the attempt to integrate Ollie into the group. And seeing as how Ollie is an environmental activist, doing community service for vandalism, and seems to be a friendly, good-natured fellow with nothing but honest good intentions, you know it can't end well. He's just too good for this world.

Especially with his barely-functional teleportation power. When asked to give a demonstration, he can barely get his power going, before only teleporting a few feet. And leaving one of his stylish sandals behind. ~~I'm not sure how the power really ties into his personality though.~~ Every other character we've seen with powers to this point have definite reasons behind their specific manifestation, ~~but Ollie's a mystery to me~~ and Ollie's teleportation is probably the Greenest way to travel possible (thanks for that observation, Michael - much appreciated!).

Not that it matters, or that we'll ever find out. Thanks to the gang's general refusal to take anything serious until it's far too late, and Ollie's "Conflict Resolution" training, he ends up shot in the head, his blood and brains splattered all over out lovely Misfits, who then scatter, fleeing for their lives.

For the first time, though, we really get a solid discussion of just what the gang think they should be doing with their powers. Simon and Alisha both think they should be trying to track down Tim and bring him to justice, and not just because he's going to be targeting them (he thinks they're characters in his video game world), but because they feel they should be trying to help people. This is pretty new stuff for Alisha, so it looks like Future Simon is rubbing off on her - um, in more ways than one.

The others, as could be expected, want to stay clear of the danger and keep out of trouble and the spotlight. But, as fate would have it, they soon don't have a choice in the matter. Tim kidnaps Kelly, believing that she's Roxy, the woman who left him at the alter, sent him to prison, and started shagging his boss, Conti - who he conveniently thinks is Simon thanks to Nathan's smart mouth ("He's a right conti.").

In order to get the money Tim needs to finish his game, the gang decides to use their powers to rob a bank. Well, they use Simon's power to rob a bank, and it goes disturbingly easy. What's even more amusing is the fact that, as Nathan notes, they're a bunch of Young Offenders and they never thought of using their powers to commit crimes!

As per usual these days, Super Hoodie is there in time to save the gang from Tim, after he has them captured, hanging from meat hooks (by their bound hands), and about to be chainsawed apart to complete the next level in his game. But then comes what might not be the biggest surprise, but was definitely the most emotionally engaging moment of the night. In order to keep Tim from shooting Alisha, who's escaped, Future Simon drops into the bullet's path, and is killed. But not before telling Alisha to burn his body and that it was her love that brought him out of his shell and made him the hero he was.

Awesome. Tragic, romantic, a touch cliche, but awesome nonetheless. Especially when followed by Alisha having to follow through with the disposal of the body and then by Current Simon's weirded-out reaction to her later, at the community center. It's the little moments like these that really set this show apart.

These and the one-liners by Nathan. My favorite this week: "We're lazy and incompetent. We're practically handicapped!"

I want that on a T-shirt.

The biggest surprise of the week, was the fact that thanks to Ollie being an organ donor, sickly Nikki (Ruth Negga), who was in need of a new heart, gets one. And she also gets Ollie's teleportation powers, to boot. Only they actually work this time. Which makes her one of the group just as Alisha breaks up with Curtis.

So with Alisha on the road to loving Simon and Curtis on the road to loving Nikki, we have two pieces of the Future Puzzle falling into place. What's in store for the gang as we move toward the Season Two finale is anybody's guess, but we already know something's going to happen soon to bring them all out into the public eye as The ASBO 5. That should be interesting.

Film Review: TRIANGLE (2009)

2010-12-03T23:35:00.002-05:00

Triangle (2009)
Written & Directed by Christopher Smith

I can remember seeing commercials for this movie when it was in the theaters and thought it looked like a lame "Bermuda Triangle" horror film with a masked killer involved. As such, I promptly ignored it.

That was a mistake, because this movie is pretty amazing.

It was also before I knew who Christopher Smith was.

Smith has written and directed three films so far (follow the links to see my reviews of the first two), Creep (2004), Severance (2006), and Triangle. He has a new film ~~in production~~ out on DVD in the UK as I type this (thanks Kelvin!), called Black Death, starring Sean Bean and David Warner. According to IMDB, it's "set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, [where] a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village." It seems to have premiered at Screamfest in October, but I haven't heard anything else about it on this side of the Atlantic.

You can bet your ass I will see that one in the theaters, if it comes to my crappy little town.

Hats off to good friend Mr. Martini for recommending this one. His recommendation coincided with our viewing of Severance, proving once again that great minds think alike.

Spoilers Ahead!

Well, actually, I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, since this is a movie that really works best if you don't know what you're getting into. However, unlike many films with a bizarre twist, this one is meticulously laid out and if you're paying attention, you'll get a handle on just what's happening before your friends do.

Hmmm. How to avoid the spoilers?

Well, the story basically revolves around Jess, played by Melissa George (Dark City, The Limey, 30 Days of Night), a single mother of an autistic son, and her day out boating with friends. She seems a bit dazed as they leave port, and then, while at sea, a mysterious storm springs up, capsizing the boat and stranding the survivors. Before too long, a mysterious cruise ship, um, cruises by and they get on-board, thinking they're saved. But the boat is abandoned and shortly thereafter, a hooded killer starts murdering them. Jess is the only one who is able to figure out what's going on. But that's not really a good thing for her.

Sort of.

Okay. While that sounds a little spoilery, it's not. Believe me.

The acting is pretty solid all around. Everyone involved is believable and even somewhat likable. Even the character Heather (Emma Lung), who's really only included in order to raise some suspicions about just who's on the abandoned cruise ship. Her inclusion is really the weakest part of the film, as Heather serves no real purpose, develops no real connections to the main characters, and is killed in the storm, before the real horror actually begins. Lung is extremely likable, and adorable, but I'm not sure why the role was even written.

Aside from that, though, there are hardly any missteps in the rest of the film. There is a bit of a similarity with another excellent film, Nacho Vigalondo's Timecrimes (2007), both thematically and with the design of the masked killer, but the differences in tone and narrative goals are distinct enough to treat it as either coincidence or tribute.

Smith's dialogue is natural and doesn't give too much away, although again, if you're paying attention, there are subtle clues dropped all along the way about what's really going on with the story. His direction is also much more confident than what we saw in Creep. And while Severance was worlds apart in terms of quality, it still didn't show the firm hand that Smith demonstrates here. Both the writing and direction are streamlined, moving us along smoothly and briskly in order to get us to our true destination: the abandoned cruise ship, The Aeolus.

This in itself is a bit of a clue. Aeolus, in myth, was the father of Sisyphus (of the famous myth, tormented to roll a bolder to the top of a hill only to have it roll back down every time he was almost finished with his task), and shared the name of the son of Poseidon. This Aeolus was the ruler of the winds and is sometimes considered a mortal with a magical bag containing the winds, and sometimes as a god himself.

So when the winds suddenly disappear, leaving our heroes stranded in the middle of the sea, in the path of the approaching storm, there's a bit of resonance. As with the story of Sisyphus, who was a cunning, murderous king who attempted to cheat death. First, when Thanatos attempted to chain him in Tartarus, he tricked the personification of death and chained him instead. Ares then freed Thanatos and sent Sisyphus to Tartarus. Before going down, however, Sisyphus ordered his wife to throw his naked corpse into the public square. Then, Sisyphus persuaded Persephone to allow him to go return and scold his wife for not burying his body. He then refused to return to the underworld and had to be forcibly dragged back by Hermes.

And thus, was awarded his eternal punishment of endless toil. A fate that one of my favorite writer/philosophers, Albert Camus, called representative of the absurdity of human life. He wrote that, "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "[t]he struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."

And that struggle is exactly what this film is all about.

The crafting of this film is exquisite. As the story goes on, we see events from the perspectives of each character, and every little detail of the plot is meticulously placed -- even though you may not be aware of it at the time. Things that you don't think make sense, all come together in the end.

Again, without giving too much away, the scene where Sally (Rachael Carpani) crawls away, bleeding to death from a stabbing, was amazing. My jaw dropped and everything was suddenly made explicit. It was a horrifying moment, both in terms of the brutality of the scene, but also as a revelation of the existential corner Jess finds herself in.

This movie was fantastic. It took my preconceptions and turned them entirely on ear, surprising me with one of the most well-crafted, intelligent horror films I've seen in years.

Ta Daa!

2010-12-01T07:21:00.002-05:00

NEW UK HORROR BONUS: CREEP (2004) Review

2010-11-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

Creep (2004)
Written & Directed by Christopher Smith

The night is still young (sort of) and I don't feel like crawling off to bed yet, so before the NaBloPoMo sands finish running through that hourglass, I guess I can throw one more review up for the month.

This time it's a look back at the way the month started, with another New UK Horror Film. We were so impressed with writer/director Christopher Smith's horror-in-the-woods-while-on-a-team-building-exercise film, Severance, that Dr. Girlfriend and I decided to check out his earlier film, Creep.

It's nowhere near as polished as Severance, which is to be expected, but it's still a bit of fun. If only a bit.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Creep begins with a mildly amusing dialogue between two sewer workers about the various types and smells of shit. It's a clever opening, but is lacking any real spark. What it does do, however, is drop us immediately into the darkness and danger where the rest of the film will be set. We also get the first of a few cheap scares, with the appearance of a nameless-girl-who-will-soon-be-dead.

We then cut to a cute, but hostile blond making her way through a party. I was a little surprised to see that Franka Potente plays the lead in the film. But then, I'm always surprised when I see her and she doesn't have her bright red Run Lola Run hair. Here, she's blond and ready to track down George Clooney, who's apparently partying somewhere in London. After being downright rude to the smarmiest guy at the party, she's off. Running for a cab.

She actually does a lot of running in this film, which again, kept reminding me of Run Lola Run. I wonder if that was intentional?

Meanwhile, back in the plot, after sipping some vodka (or other clear alcohol) from a travel-sized bottle while waiting for the Underground, she dozes off and misses the last train of the night. And of course, she also finds herself alone, locked in the train station with no way out.

The whole scenario is a bit preposterous, but plays into some good, old-fashioned paranoia about being trapped in a scary place after-hours, so it has that going for it. Then smarmy guy from the party shows up, snorting coke and ready to cut loose by whipping out his dick and trying to rape our heroine. And he would have succeeded, too, if it weren't for the timely intervention of Mysterious Rat Man.

Which is cool at first, until he drags Rape-Boy under the train and starts mutilating him.

So Lola runs.

And stumbles across some friendly junkies who live in the walls of the Underground. And, as luck would have it, while trying to show her the way to the guard's station, Mysterious Rat Man starts killing anyone and everyone he can get his creepy, scabby hands on. Here's a hint. If you suddenly see hordes of rats swarming all around you, just get the hell out of there. They are the harbingers of doom.

Long story short, before we know it, everyone's dead but Lola, who ends up tossed into a watery cage at the entrance to the sewer system. However, one of the original sewer workers from the opening of the film is still alive, too. Why? Who knows. Doesn't matter, anyway.

Together, they escape from our creepy, bald, skinny, birth-defecty, scabby bad guy only to discover a weird underground hospital? Where there were some sort of experiments done on children? And Mysterious Rat Man was one of those kids? And according to the photographic evidence, he was always creepy, bald, skinny, and birth-defecty. The scabs are a new look for him.

While this is a fairly nonsensical plot twist, it does come from so far out of left field that it livened up what was kind of a dreary and boring series of dark shots of Lola running around. The centerpiece of this new narrative shift is the discovery of cute girl junkie from earlier. Seems she wasn't just killed like the menfolk, and was instead hauled into a dirty, abandoned delivery room, propped up in a delivery table with her feet up in stirrups, and prepped for imaginary surgery.

Well, not really imaginary. Mysterious Rat Man pretends to wash up, like he's seen the doctor do in the distant past, puts on his scrubs, then breaks out his real, HUGE FREAKING KNIFE. As you can probably guess, things don't go well for Stirrup Girl. On the plus side, we don't really see anything gory here, either. It's mostly suggested by the screams and thrusting of the knife off-camera, accompanied by the occasional splash of blood.

The ending of the film pirouettes away from a very nice and sudden impaling of Sewer Worker's head on a stick, to Lola being confronted by No Longer Quite So Mysterious Rat Man just feet away from safety. As luck would have it, she stumbles across a huge hook on the end of a chain, and successfully shoves it through Rat Man's neck. She then tosses the chain out onto the train tracks in the hopes of electrocuting him.

However, in what is either a clever bit of bait-and-switch (Smith's script plays with the dangers of the third rail earlier, in what seemed like obvious foreshadowing), or simply a failure in the effects budget, Rat Man isn't electrocuted, but instead a passing train hits the chain stretched across the rails, yanking the hook from Rat Man's neck in a violent burst of gore and blood.

Lola then watches, ready to pounce, as Rat Man bleeds out on the subway floor.

It was a bit anti-climactic, actually.

She then stumbles up out of the tunnels and onto a railway platform, where she slides to the ground, covered in filth and sewage, with the only other survivor, a little dog (!), who curls up on her lap. As faceless businessmen begin filtering out to await their morning trains, one turns toward her and drops her some change, thinking she's a homeless junkie. Lola laughs a little, then cries, as we, the viewers are supposed to maybe draw some sort of message about the homeless from all of this?

I don't know.

Creep had a few good scares, a couple of nicely orchestrated gore scenes, and some truly bizarre imagery that seemed to have no real connection to the rest of the film. I still don't know where that underground laboratory with all the baby cribs came from. But with that said, this was kind of a mish-mash of ideas lacking any real cohesion or character development. I am amazed at the level of both writing and directorial growth between this film and Severance two years later. It's hard to believe the same man was responsible for the two films.

Now I'm very interested to see Smith's third film, Triangle, if only to see if he continues to develop creatively. I've heard good things about it and have it sitting on a shelf, just waiting to be watched. Hopefully I can get to it sooner, rather than later.

The Finish Line

2010-11-30T19:39:00.001-05:00

So NaBloPoMo is finally over!

And yes, I am going to wuss out with a final post that really doesn't accomplish much.

Thanks to everybody who's been reading.

There will be more soon, particularly once Dr. Girlfriend and I decide on our next film festival subject matter. We'd appreciate any suggestions that you folks might make. Right now I'm leaning toward Assassins in Film, or perhaps Director-Specific runs of films (David Cronenberg and/or John Carpenter are at the top of my list), but I'd love to hear some ideas of what others might want to watch, read and talk about.

Now I'm going to go pretend I don't have a blog for a couple of days.

See ya!

THE WALKING DEAD Episode 1.05 Review

2010-11-29T00:14:00.000-05:00

The Walking Dead
1.05 "Wildfire"
Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson
Written by Glen Mazzara

I'm writing this just minutes after watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead, so I'm not sure how coherent it's going to be. Up to this point, it's been kind of easy to discuss the show, since I've been intimately familiar with the comic and love the entire genre of zombie narratives. Sure, a lot of the field is awful. But there are gems in there, to be sure.

The best works tend to deal with the people realistically. Which means with all the tragedy, anxiety, hope, fear, humor, successes, and failures. That's one of the things that The Walking Dead does best in its comic format, and it's one of the things that the TV series is shaping up to do best, too.

Most of this episode is straight out of the comic, but we're getting a huge plot shift here, and I'm not sure how to react to it just yet.

Get your Spoiler Shields up, and let's see if I can figure out what it is I want to say.

Like I said, we open this episode just where you'd think we would, in the aftermath of the zombie attack on the camp. If the group seemed a bit large in the previous episodes, don't worry. After that night, we're down to just about the numbers that we saw in the opening chapters of the comic.

Shane blames Rick for the severity of the camp's losses, since he took valuable manpower away from the camp. Rick says that if it weren't for the guns they brought back, the losses would have been worse. Lori's stuck between the two of them. It looks like we're gearing up for the confrontation we all know is coming, between Rick and Shane, for the direction of the camp.

This opening act is filled with nice character moments, from Andrea forcing Rick away at gunpoint while she stands vigil over her dead sister, to Daryl claiming the camp had it coming for what they did to Merle, to Glenn demanding that bodies of their dead camp-mates stay separated from the bodies of the zombies, to Carol taking the pick-axe to her dead husband's head - repeatedly.

This is the sort of thing I was hoping for when I first heard about this series getting made. It helps that writer, Glen Mazzara is a seasoned pro at television writing, and that director Ernest R. Dickerson has over twenty years of experience, having directed films like Juice and one of my personal favorites, Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, before moving almost entirely into TV direction, with credits directing episodes of everything from Heroes to The Wire to Burn Notice to Treme, and Dexter.

That experience all pays off as we get another solidly crafted piece of work, moving us one episode closer to the season finale. All of the character moments mentioned above are original to this version of the story, and if you ask me, are improvements. Not that the source material is lacking. This just fleshes out some elements that weren't addressed in the comic, and it improves the story overall.

The moment this week drawn directly from the comic, Jim choosing to be abandoned to die on his own, was played almost exactly like the source and it fit perfectly with the characterizations and plot developments brought to the narrative by the other writers and directors so far. That blending of the source with original material without losing the feel or the voice of the comic is impressive.

Which brings us to the biggest narrative change to the series yet.

In the comic, when the group decides to leave, it's because it's no longer safe there. Rick pushes for it, Shane resists. In fact, Shane goes crazy and threatens to kill Rick. Carl, who's been given a gun and trained with it over the previous issue or two, shoots Shane dead to protect his father. It's a powerful and gut-wrenching scene that wraps up the first six-issue sequence of comics and serves as a pivot point as the story moves away from the camp.

I've been worried about how they were going to pull this off in the series, since Shane isn't the threat he was in the comic. In fact, he's an okay guy, doing his best to hold things together. When, this week, he points his rifle at Rick while doing a perimeter sweep and considers killing his best friend, it was disturbing not because of the act itself, but because it felt like a natural reaction to what he's been through. The look on Dale's face when he catches Shane considering the murder says everything.

There's a little bit of astonishment, and a little bit of fear. It's a very effective way of introducing the possibility that somewhere down the line, that confrontation from the comic may occur, but when Shane decides to back Rick's suggestion of heading for the CDC Headquarters, it appears that we may put that moment off for a while.

From this point on, we're in virgin territory. There was never any clear destination in the comic when they packed up and left the camp, they were just looking for somewhere safe. So it came as a bit of a shock when as we move into the final act this week, we cut to an entirely new character. A scientist experimenting in isolation, trying to find a cure for, or at least an understanding of, the zombie plague.

We get to see his experiment go south, and in a very dangerous moment, he is nearly killed by toxic fumes from the chemicals he's working with. He barely gets out of the room and into detox before security protocols destroy the last of the tissue samples he had to work with. From there, it's a short hop to considering suicide after a good all-night drinking binge.

Until the survivors show up at his doorstep. In a harrowing scene, Rick and the others make their way through the hundreds of corpses, actual ones, not the walking around kind, that are scattered all around the CDC Headquarters. The buzzing of flies is ever-present, making the scene even more unnerving.

After pounding on the doors, the rest of the group is ready to leave, desperate to find shelter before nightfall, but Rick is sure someone's inside and screams, pleading with them. And then the doors open, revealing a blinding white light and the episode ends.

I admit, I wasn't sure about this when I started writing. We're going completely off-course from what I was expecting to see happen. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The CDC Headquarters is a great place to hole up, both from the point of view of the characters and from a stylistic angle. The place just looks amazing, and gives us an interesting new set of possibilities and dangers.

And given how well the writers and directors have done so far when they've introduced original elements, I think enough trust has been built up to accept this shift and see where they plan on taking us. With one more episode to go, we should find out fairly quickly whether or not this works or was a bad idea. I have a feeling this is going to work out nicely for the story, if not for the characters.

A LATE ZOMBIE REVIEW: DEAD SET

2010-11-28T14:40:00.000-05:00

For the past three years, Dr. Girlfriend and I have initiated a yearly Easter Zombie Film Marathon (you know, to celebrate the Resurrection), and after watching each film, I've written up a blog post about it. For the most part. 2009 was a rough year, schedule-wise, and all we really got to watch was the UK Zombie TV series, Dead Set. And I never wrote it up.

So a friend was over last night, and he'd never seen it, so we watched it one more time. And since we're nearing the end of NaBloPoMo, and my brain is starting to shut down, I figured now was as good a time as any to write it up. But before we get to that, here's a list of the other Easter Zombie Film Marathon Entries so far:

2008:

Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
Zombie Honeymoon (2004)
Horror Express (1973)
Blue Sunshine (1976)
I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead (1997)
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue) (1974)
Dead & Buried (1981)
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)
Deathdream (Dead of Night) (1972)
City of the Living Dead (Gates of Hell) (1980)
Demons (1985)
Fido (2006)
Battlefield Baseball (2003)
Enter. . . Zombie King! (Zombie Beach Party) (2003)
Graveyard Alive: A Zombie Nurse in Love (2003)
Les Revenants (They Came Back) (2004)

2010:

As you can see, 2009 was a bit of a letdown with just Dead Set and some various television show episodes involving zombies.

Anyway, Spoiler Shields On, and away we go!

Dead Set was a 2008 E4 mini-series created by Charlie Brooker (co-writer of two of my favorite British series, Brass Eye and Nathan Barley and creator of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe and Newswipe) and set in the Big Brother house, where contestants and production staff are stranded during the zombie apocalypse. It features guest-appearances by past contestants of Big Brother as well as the host, Davina McCall, which made me think that this was somehow creatively connected to the show itself.

Jaime Winstone plays Kelly, an assistant to the show's Super-Prick producer, Patrick (Andy Nyman), who happens to be one of the few survivors when a zombie outbreak crashes a Friday Eviction Night for the show. Patrick is trapped with newly-evicted contestant, Pippa (Kathleen McDermott), while Kelly barely survives making her way to the Big Brother House. At the same time, Kelly's boyfriend, Riq (Riz Ahmed, who was fantastic in Chris Morris' brilliant Four Lions, by the way) is stranded at a train station after his car is stolen.

From here on out, it's a pretty non-stop, hard-core zombie nightmare.

Which came as a bit of a surprise to me the first time I watched it, considering that this was made for TV. Sure, it's British TV, but still, the extent of the gore and graphic violence was way beyond what I was expecting, and the performances by the fictional Big Brother cast, quickly move beyond the cliches that they start out with. It's a nice bit of commentary about how those people carry themselves and interact when they think they're being watched by the entire country, compared to how they react once the shit really goes down.

For example, Grayson (Raj Ghatak) is an over-the-top campy gay stereotype as the show begins, ignoring the fact that his character is a nurse outside of Big Brother. But once castmate, Angel (Chizzy Akudolu) is bitten, he really steps up and shows what he can do. Unfortunately, he also demonstrates, quite graphically, that the most dangerous thing in a zombie film isn't the zombies themselves, but sentimentality.

Marky (Warren Brown, Luther) goes from being a douchebag muscly pretty boy, to someone who's handy with a rifle and willing to risk his own life for the sake of the others. Even if part of that motivation is guilt over getting Angel bitten, it works to make his character more than what he started with.

My favorite of the house-mates, is, predictably, Joplin, played by the amazing comedian Kevin Eldon. Eldon is a veteran of some of my favorite British comedies, Jam, Brass Eye, Big Train, Nighty Night, as well as playing some of my favorite guest-spots in series like Black Books, Spaced, IT Crowd, Nathan Barley, Green Wing, and the films Hot Fuzz and Four Lions.

Joplin is older than the rest of the house-mates, thinks he's smarter, and is generally unpleasant to be around. He's condescending, a bit perverted, and ultimately causes everyone's death, thanks to some psychological manipulation by Patrick. It doesn't help that the other house-mates call him Gollum behind his back and really don't like him very much. He's a walking tragedy and you can just see him crumble inside when he realizes that the others hate him.

It's a fantastic performance.

The format of the series (a 45 minute opening episode, followed by four 25 minute episodes) provide a very nice way for Brooker to focus the action and concentrate on revealing character in tightly plotted chunks. Because we're not dealing with your average 90 minute film format, we don't have any huge set-pieces or overly-forced bits of exposition and attempts at character development.

Those first 45 minutes set everyone up, establish the situation, and ends with things looking pretty bleak. Each of the following episodes concentrates on upping the tension, introducing simple, but effective, tasks that have to be accomplished (in a sly wink to the format of Big Brother, perhaps?) to ensure their survival. Although, none of the things they accomplish really helps them in the end. But it makes them feel like they're doing something to survive, and maybe that's also part of the point.

They move from being characters who passively exist for the entertainment of others, to characters who actively engage with the world outside the Big Brother House. I think it's a pretty brilliant concept from start to finish, that plays on the conceits of the zombie holocaust genre while also establishing itself as a serious bit of social criticism - at least as serious as Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

Because of all of this, Dead Set is one of my top ten favorite zombie works, ranking right up there with Romero's original Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Alive, and the remakes of both Night and Dawn and a few others. I'd go into that more, but that's another blog post entirely. Someday, perhaps. Someday.

CRONENBERGIAN DUEL: SPLICE vs HUMAN CENTIPEDE

2010-11-27T19:10:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks I've finally caught up with a couple of films that, from what I'd heard, each attempted to stake a claim to the cinematic void left in Cronenberg's wake as he's moved on to more mainstream fare. Both films were released in 2009 and both do decent jobs at what they set out to accomplish. Critical reaction has been split with mostly positive reviews of Vincenzo Natali's Splice, and mostly negative reviews of Tom Six's The Human Centipede (First Sequence).

Of course, as usual, I had pretty much the opposite reactions.

I know both of these films have already been out for more than a year, and everyone I know has already seen them, but still, for those who are as far behind as I was, Spoilers Ahead!

Splice stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as romantically involved genetic researchers working to blend the DNAs of various animals to create a new species that can be, essentially, milked of its various proteins and bio-chemicals for use in medicines. Not interested in spending the next 5-10 years working on that project, Clive and Elsa decide to use human DNA for their next experiment, which predictably comes to term as an intelligent, if dangerous, monster with more than a little sex appeal.

Everything goes downhill from there, with Clive having sex with the monster, which, of course, causes friction in his and Elsa's relationship, but then the monster changes sex, rapes Elsa and is then killed. Clive dies in the process, leaving us with the closing image of Elsa, pregnant with a monster baby, being paid a great deal of money by her employer to stay quiet and carry the experiment to its "next level".

And that's pretty much it.

I can see where people were getting the Cronenberg connections, but to be quite honest, I don't think it's remotely as disturbing or inventive as the weakest of Cronenberg's horror canon. It comes close a couple of times, but only when we're dealing with Clive and Elsa's first creations, which are large, slug-like things, one male, one female, who, at the most inopportune time, murder each other in a bloody, violent scene in front of a room full of shareholders (or something). Seems, Clive and Elsa were so distracted with their new monster, whom they've named Dren (Delphine Chanéac) - Nerd spelled backwards - that no one noticed that the female slug had somehow changed sex. So when they were put into the same cage, instead of making sweet love, they went crazy and murdered each other.

It's a nice moment, but makes explicit one of my biggest criticisms of the film. Brody and Polley are entirely unbelievable as scientists. Their "research" seems to mostly involve occasionally speaking some notes into a digital recorder. The rest of the time, they're just a couple of actors in lab coats. That really becomes a flaw with the script and direction more than the performances. Most of the film's action is predicated on no one noticing the noises or resources coming from and going to the side room where Dren is created.

Plus, everything was just too neat and clean. Even the old barn where they move Dren looks more like a movie set than a real barn. Everything is just too tidy, in both the story and the look of the film. And that's not even mentioning the annoying fact that nearly every bit of character and plot development hinges on gender cliches and stereotypes.

Maybe even worse that all of that is the fact that what should be the most disturbing moment in the film, where Clive is seduced by and has sex with Dren, isn't disturbing at all. I'm sorry, but Dren was sexy. If this were a Cronenberg film, Dren would be hideous and hard to look at, but Clive would fuck it anyway. That would be disturbing, being unable to not be attracted to a monstrous thing. But the Dren of this film is anything but unattractive. Sure she's got weird feet, a tail, and her eyes are a little far apart, but that underwater seduction scene was meant to titillate, not disturb.

It was all a bit too shiny and Hollywood for my tastes. Not very Cronenbergian at all.

And yes, I know it was a Canadian production.

The Human Centipede (First Sequence), on the other hand, is one of the most vivid creative descendants of Cronenberg's early films that I've ever seen.

The story, in a nutshell, goes like this: Crazy doctor kidnaps three people in order to perform a scientific experiment where he sews them together, mouth to asshole, forming a "human centipede" with one digestive tract. Police arrive, everyone is shot and killed, or dies one way or another, except for the poor girl in the middle of the centipede.

Don't get me wrong. This is not an objectively good film, and Splice is years beyond it acting, production values, and special effects. But I'll be damned if it wasn't exponentially more entertaining and disturbing, as well as being a direct descendant of films like Rabid and Shivers. It also draws its influences from the current crop of torture-horror films coming out of Europe and Japan (like Martyrs and The Audition).

The Human Centipede isn't nearly as good as any of those films (although Rabid is filled with weak acting and had a ridiculously low budget), but the audaciousness of its core concept earns it my good will. Well, that and having Dieter Laser play the disturbed Dr. Heiter, a world-renowned expert on the separation of conjoined twins. Laser is perfect for the role (and would be even if wasn't the main villain in the second season of the Sci-Fi series Lexx) in the same way Angus Scrimm was perfect for the role of The Tall Man in the Phantasm films.

The film also scores points for using suggestion rather than shocking gore to really unnerve the viewer. I went into this film expecting to be disgusted, or to at least see some lips being sewn to some assholes, but to no avail. In this respect, the film is more of a psychological thriller than your typical torture-horror film. We're not exposed to the actual surgery but spend time with the victims as Dr. Heiter tries to train them to behave like a pet. That's the really disturbing part.

When a writer/director has to hide the actual content of his film from his investors, for fear of losing their money, that impresses me. I don't care if Tom Six says it's all medically accurate and it's really all bullshit. Nobody really needed life insurance policies before watching William Castle films either. That's showmanship and is part of the reason, along with the sheer audaciousness of the content, why this weird little film about a doctor sewing three people together mouth-to-asshole has not only reached a much wider audience than I'm sure anyone imagined it would, but is, for me, the real winner between the two latest films to claim the title of Cronenbergian.

MISFITS 2.03 Review

2010-11-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

Misfits is back for another week of wacky hi-jinks. Before we jump into that, though, I just want to say how glad I am that their viewing numbers are up and staying pretty steady. Season 2 has consistently scored a higher viewership than Season 1 did, and with a One-Hour Christmas Special on the schedule now, and word that Season 3 has already been green-lit, things are looking good for what is, without a doubt, my favorite television superhero program ever.

Yeah, I said it. Ever.

Come on. It's not like there's a huge field of contenders.

Of course, as I've mentioned before, having the short UK seasons helps to eliminate a lot of the meandering that tends to deflate enthusiasm and water down dramatic tension we see in most American productions. We're seeing a bit of a shift toward the tighter, more streamlined seasons over here, but it's pretty much entirely on the cable networks like FX, AMC, SHOWTIME, and HBO, where they're committing to 12 or 13 episode seasons and don't have the content limitations that the Big Four have (i.e. swearing, sex, violence, and all that other good stuff).

I firmly believe that this shift is a big part of what makes the best shows on television these days practically all cable dramas. With Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Terriers, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Rubicon, The Walking Dead, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, all working on the shorter season model, all have consistently shattered boundaries and provided solid, ground-breaking quality programming (even when there's nobody watching - sorry Terriers and Rubicon). And do I even have to mention shows like The Wire, Deadwood, and The Sopranos?

This seems to be a no-brainer.

Cut the episode numbers, focus on tightly plotted, well-written stories, and don't worry about offending people with your content and language. Is it any wonder that mainstream networks continue to pander to old people and children (or the psychological equivalents) with authority figure melodramas (cops, doctors, lawyers) and unscripted "reality" shows? There's very little imagination or creativity in the vast majority of American network television, and the viewing numbers are showing just how creatively (and perhaps morally, but that's another discussion) bankrupt they really are.

But enough of my soapbox ranting/wanking. What about this week's Misfits, you ask?

Well, it's not the strongest episode in terms of done-in-one plot, but there are huge revelations about what's going on and where it's all heading. And we find out who Super-Hoodie is.

As always, Spoilers Ahoy!

As per usual we've got two storylines running concurrently, with only casual interaction. In the first, Kelly (Lauren Socha) is off to get a tattoo touched up, and she brings Nathan (Robert Sheehan) and Simon (Iwan Rheon) along with her. As you can probably already guess, there's a mysterious new super-powered character introduced: Vince (Nathan Constance) the tattoo artist.

As you could probably also guess, his power involves tattoos. Specifically, he can instantly create tattoos on anyone around him, and those tattoos can either control the victim's mind or physically interact with them (as in a tattoo knife can cut you up), as Nathan soon finds out.

Like clockwork, smart-mouth Nathan pisses off Vince, commenting on the implied sexuality of his rose neck tattoo, so after a moment's concentration, Nathan finds himself with a tattoo of his own: a heart, with Simon's name on it. This leads to the utterly expected, though fairly amusing, result of Nathan declaring his love for Simon throughout most of the rest of the episode.

Once Kelly confronts him, he mind-tattoos her with another heart, this time with his own name on it, and she's immediately declaring her love and devotion to him. Simon's the only one who is even concerned about figuring out what's going on (granted, he does have a personal stake in the matter), so he convinces Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) to come along and confront the tattoo artist.

With the help of a bag of peanuts (I shit thee not), our heroes defeat the, well, not really evil, but dickish tattoo artist. I guess he veers towards evil when he makes Kelly love him, tries to kill Curtis with a knife tattoo, and nearly strangles Simon with a barbed-wire neck tattoo.

Okay, he's kind of evil. But really he's more of a dick.

What his character is, though, is a bit on the ridiculous side. I mean, I know peanut allergies are nothing to laugh at, but it was very hard to take the final confrontation seriously at all with Simon threatening to tear open a bag of peanuts in Vince's presence and Vince shouting, ordering Simon to put his nuts on the floor.

Really? I suppose they were trying to go for a comedic element, but it didn't work for me. Especially since we had two characters being threatened with murder at the same time.

All in all, it wasn't the series' best moment.

On the other hand, the second storyline kicked all sorts of ass, and has gotten me seriously interested in the back half of this season.

I know I put a spoiler warning up above, but I think I'm going to try and avoid some details here, mainly because of just how much I enjoyed this part of the story.

Alisha (Antonia Thomas) has realized that Super-Hoodie is around whenever she's in danger, after she's nearly mugged early in the episode. Super-Hoodie shows up out of nowhere and saves her before bounding over a ledge, as is his wont. Not only does he save her, though, he touches her hand with his own bare skin. Instead of the seemingly inevitable rush of sexual frenzy, S-H has no reaction.

This is huge for Alisha, who's been getting more and more depressed about the way her power is isolating her from the rest of the world. So to find out more, she hangs around the place where she was mugged (or someplace almost identical) and provokes a passing fellow. After pissing the guy off, she runs, trips, and falls down a flight of stairs, knocking herself out. But it works. Super-Hoodie shows up and takes her back to his secret lair.

Where she wakes up, looks around, discovers his clocks and photo walls, and then finds him in the shower. And with that we find out who Super-Hoodie is.

We also find out that he is from the future, as has been speculated, and he's here to make sure things happen the way they're supposed to happen. We don't really know why he's necessary to keep things on track, or even what track he's trying to keep things on. However, he does have intricate knowledge of all our heroes and evidence from the future proving that things are going to be changing soon.

At least one of the changes is going to be the "outing" of the ASBO 5 and their forthcoming celebrity. Super-Hoodie also hints at some danger in the works, and that in the future a lot of things are different; for example, how Alisha's power works - at least on him.

Oh, and they're in love in the future, and he's here to keep her safe, so she can fall in love with him in the past (our present).

I have to admit, that I'm finding this line of motivation and action on Super-Hoodie's part to be a bit sketchy. I don't know that I trust him on this.

Once you know who Super-Hoodie is, you'll maybe see why. It's a strong performance by the actor involved, as Super-Hoodie from the future is very different from the character we already know. And that's entirely on the strength of the actor. His nuances, expressions, and everything from the way he holds himself to the way he delivers his lines, makes him seem like an entirely different character.

So much so, that I don't really trust him.

I guess we'll see next week if I'm just being paranoid or if something really is weird about his advances and manipulation of Alisha. And next week, I'll go ahead and out him, since there'll have been time for people to get caught up who haven't.

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Post

2010-11-25T20:41:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to take a few moments out of our Thanksgiving festivities (food, football, more food, more football, etc.) to type up a quick Thank You to all the friends and family who help to keep my life from spiraling off into chaos and depression. You're all greatly loved and appreciated.

That's particularly true of Dr. Girlfriend, the love of my life. There ain't nobody better.

Catching Up With DEXTER: Episodes: 5.07, 5.08, 5.09

2010-11-24T13:02:00.001-05:00

I'm a big fan of Dexter. Been watching since the beginning or thereabouts. At the IDM household, we'd heard a lot about the first season, but didn't have Showtime, so it was sometime during the second season or so that we started catching up.

It's a show I wasn't sure about at first. I loved the concept, but the execution sometimes left something to be desired. This was especially evident when compared to the show Michael C. Hall's previously headlined, Six Feet Under. And let's face it. The main reason I gave the series a shot was because of him.

It took about halfway through that first season to start seeing Dexter Morgan instead of David Fisher.

But the story won me over, and by the time the first season ended, I was on board. It wasn't great, and at times it was pretty freaking bad, but it had something special. The novelty of the idea gave way to a more nuanced and interesting narrative.

It was only recently that I read the first couple of Dexter books and realized that while they're not too bad, the show really took the initial concept and ran with it in creative ways that the books didn't seem capable of. I don't know if that's just the difference between the singular work of a novelist compared to the collaborative work of a television series cast and crew, or what, but Dexter, the show, outgrew its literary source exponentially.

And now we're almost through Season 5, and the show just keeps getting better and better. I didn't think they'd be able to top Season 3 with Jimmy Smits, and then along came Season 4 with John Lithgow, which is still, no matter how good the current season is, the pinnacle of the show so far.

But on to these past few episodes.

Oh yeah. Spoiler alert!

I really wasn't feeling the whole Julia Stiles aspect of this season as we moved into the second half of episodes, to be honest. Not that I have anything against her as an actress. To be honest, I don't really have any real opinion about her. She's one of those actors who just pops up here and there, surprising me with an appearance, but then I forget all about her once she's gone. The Bourne films are a good example of that. I was surprised when she showed up in a small recurring part, and she did just fine with the role, but then I promptly forgot she was in the films once they were over.

I don't think I've ever seen a film where she played the lead. Or maybe I did. I don't know. (A quick check of IMDB reveals that must have seen her in O, but barely remember seeing that film.)

Anyway, I wasn't excited when I heard she was going to be guest-starring, but I wasn't disappointed either. Once the storyline began, I bought into her character, Lumen, but after Jimmy Smits' wannabe killer and John Lithgow's serious killer, I thought the idea of an ally/mentor/enemy for Dexter was getting kind of played out.

But I was wrong.

Over these latest few episodes, we've gotten to watch Lumen gain her footing and start pulling her life back together after nearly dying at the hands of this season's Big Bad, the rape gang. I was afraid the writers were going to take her full bore into Lady .45 or I Spit on Your Grave territory, but they're really allowing her to move gradually into the role of Revenger.

It doesn't hurt that Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is helping her transition.

So, the element that I was most worried about (the character, not the actor) is developing into a nice additional texture to the standard Dexter formula. However, what I'm enjoying the most about this season isn't the bonding over murder, Deb's (Jennifer Carpenter) budding romance with Quinn (Desmond Harrington, or "Angry Irish", as he's called around our homestead), or the complications between Angel (David Zayas) and Laguerta (Lauren Vélez).

For me, it's all about the Peter Weller.

I'll watch anything with Peter Weller in it. He's one of those actors who's had quite a few very strong starring roles in genre films, but I don't know that he's ever been in a real mainstream hit. But with Of Unknown Origin, Buckaroo Bonzai, Robocop, Screamers, Naked Lunch, and his guest-spot in last season's Fringe episode "White Tulip", his cred with me is like acting Gold.

And in Dexter, his performance as Stan Liddy, disgraced cop, is slimy as hell. In a good way.

Every scene he's in is just dripping in menace and hostility. I'd watch a show entirely devoted to following Liddy around as he fucks with people and generally spirals further and further down into depravity. I'd especially watch if he kept messing with Quinn until finally he's force to do something horrible to the younger cop.

Not that I don't like Quinn, but he's a good foil for Liddy. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that Quinn could easily transition into someone like Liddy as time goes by. Hell, they even look a little alike, with their lean, angular heads and excessive tans.

What makes Weller's performance as Liddy even more engaging, is that no matter how huge a corrupt bastard Liddy is, he's still a good detective and is effortlessly tracking and observing Dexter "in the wild". He's onto something big, he can feel it, but he's not sure just what Dex is up to just yet. But it won't be long, and once he figures it all out, things aren't going to go well for anyone.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the show, the investigation into the Santa Muerte murders has come to a head, and it's provided a disturbing moment of bonding between Deb, who's not feeling any guilt over killing Carlos Fuentes (Joseph Julian Soria, who played Chico in Crank: High Voltage), and Dexter, who's, well, you know. Their cold-blooded recognition of a shared belief that some people deserve to die was an extremely strong scene. It may have been my favorite Deb/Dex scene ever.

Not only is Deb facing counseling for shooting the bad guy, she's also been thrown under the bus by Laguerta when the sting went bad and two innocent bystanders were shot and many others were wounded. Of course, that puts Deb in the file room, serving her suspension, where she's able to discover key evidence everyone else overlooked regarding the Bucket Girls.

And speaking of which, I was amused to find that Sick Boy himself, Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Hackers, Eli Stone) had joined the cast as celebrity motivational speaker, Jordan Chase. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he's involved with the rape gang. Hell, his catch-phrase is "Take It!"

Only three more episodes to go this season, and Dexter has kicked it into high gear, yet again. It seems like no matter how many questions or hesitations I have about a season of Dexter, by the time we hit the home stretch, it all comes together into a satisfying whole. This season looks to be about the same in that regard.

What I'm Listening To...

2010-11-23T19:28:00.001-05:00

I'm taking the day off from serious blogging, so in order to keep up with NaBloPoMo, here's a list of the music I'm listening to these days. That still counts, right?

And for easier loading, I'll even keep them below the cut!

Enjoy!

The Sword

My Chemical Romance

The Billy Nayer Show

The Dead Weather

Grinderman

N.A.S.A.

THE WALKING DEAD Episode 1.04 Review

2010-11-22T00:15:00.001-05:00

This episode is entitled "Vatos" and was written by Robert Kirkman, the co-creator and writer of The Walking Dead comic upon which the series is based.

Earlier this week, I spent the day re-reading the early issues of the comic, and was surprised to find just how close the pacing was between the source material and the television series. There are changes, sure. Some are pretty substantial changes, but key plot points are being hit in the show at just about the same pace as they were in the comic, with each issue corresponding pretty closely to the episode breakdown.

All of which is to say that I knew what was coming with tonight's episode of The Walking Dead. For the most part. But I have to admit, even though I knew what was coming (and hell, the previews were enough to let anyone paying attention know), it didn't lessen the impact.

Spoiler Screens Up!

I'm a little surprised by Kirkman's script. As far as I know, this is his first teleplay, and while I enjoy his writing in the comic, the dialogue can, at times, be a bit much. Which is understandable, given the medium. In the comic, he can't rely on the body language and the nuances of facial expression and speaking tone, etc.

Which isn't a knock on the artists of the comic. I think Tony Moore is one of the best artists in the business, and Charlie Adlard's work has been consistently strong. But live actors allow the writer to rely less on the written word and more on the physical act. And as each week goes by, I'm more and more impressed with the performances of all the actors involved. There are definite levels of quality, but no one's outright bad, which really allows the writer to relax and concentrate on letting the actors bring it all to life.

This episode opens with a nice moment between Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Amy (Emma Bell), out on the lake, fishing and reminiscing about their father. I was prepared for stiff writing, but it all flows naturally. The fact that they're just discovering that their father taught each of them differently about fishing (Andrea was always about catching for food, Amy about catching and releasing), could have come off cliche, but the strength of the actors makes it work.

The scene also sets up the horror to come.

We also get a glimpse of Jim (Andrew Rothenberg) off in the distance, intensely digging holes. Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), on watch, is our eyes moving from keeping a watch on the ladies while they fish, to Jim off in the distance.

And then the opening credits roll.

It's a nice scene and relieved a lot of my anxieties about both Kirkman and the series in general.

After the break we cut to the boys in the city and discover that Merle is one tough son of a bitch. Not only did he cut his own hand off and escape (seems the hacksaw blade was too dull to cut through the handcuff chain - take that Internet trolls!), he also killed two zombies with only a monkey wrench and then cauterized his stump, all before disappearing into the city. Never count out any character played by Michael Rooker.

The boys decide that after they retrieve the guns, they can look for Merle, at least for a few blocks, anyway, but complications arise in the form of a Hispanic gang, alive and looking for Rick's bag of guns. Glenn is taken hostage and the plot thickens. Daryl (Norman Reedus) becomes an even more balanced character this week, even if it is by turning his racism toward the other brown people he can't stand. He at least is considering Glenn part of the group and willing to fight for him.

I was a little worried at this point, afraid that Kirkman was going to fall back on either ideas he's already worked through in the comic, or worse, on more horrible stereotypes. I mean, let's be honest. This show hasn't really held back when it comes to stereotypical bad guys.

Luckily, Kirkman has a plan, and it doesn't entirely involve negative racist stereotypes. Instead, it only seems to be using racist stereotypes in order to teach us a lesson about jumping to conclusions. That the Hispanic "gang" is actually taking care of elderly patients in a nearly abandoned Old Folks Home, is almost too much for me. But I'm a jaded prick, so I'll let it slide. Plus, I was amused that he named their leader Guillermo (Neil Brown Jr.), in an obvious nod to Guillermo Del Toro. At least, that's how I'm going to take it.

I appreciate the fact that it's not a gang that decided to do the right thing, but family members who've come to visit and then stayed on the help out. Which is why they want, and need, Rick's guns. They've dealt with scavengers before and that explains their aggressive behavior.

It's not the greatest moment ever, but it's good to know that in the world of The Walking Dead, on TV anyway, not everybody our heroes come across are utter bastards or mental cases.

While everyone's working out their differences in the city, Shane (Jon Bernthal) has had to play the enforcer back in the camp. Jim's obsessive digging was freaking out people in the camp, and he wasn't about to stop, serving up an open challenge to Shane's authority. And Shane rises to the occasion, wrestling Jim under control, but not in any way that makes him seem threatening or puts him in a negative light. Again, I'm liking Shane.

Turns out Jim had a dream that he can't really remember, and the heat made him a little crazy. Or that's his story and he's sticking to it. After some time tied to a tree, he becomes much more reasonable, and when it comes time for the big fish fry (Amy and Andrea caught a crapload of fish), he's set free and all is well again.

Until...

This is the point that I knew was coming, thanks not to the previews, but to the comic. I think it's kind of appropriate that the co-creator of the series is the one to write the moment when we lose our first "major" character, and it's in a scene straight out of the comic.

Amy's death was kind of telegraphed, both by the opening scene of sisterly bonding and by the later scene where we find out that the mermaid pendant that Andrea snagged for her in the city is a birthday present. You see, tomorrow is her birthday. That obviousness aside, it works here just as it did in the comic. It lets us know that nobody's safe. Anyone can die at any moment.

You know. With one or two exceptions.

In the city, it appears that Merle stole our boys' truck, so they've had to haul ass back to camp, worried that Merle was going to go wreak some revenge. Instead, they arrive during a full-blown zombie attack, just in time to utilize some of those guns they went looking for (half of them anyway - they gave some to the guys defending the old folks). Anyone concerned that they'd be toning down the gore for the television audience will be in for a surprise, as the zombie killing is brutal and bloody, and the zombie victims are eaten alive with graphic effects that don't shy away from anything.

This is really just about everything I was hoping for when I first heard they were making The Walking Dead into a series.

We end with Amy dying in Andrea's arms, lots of tension, and Jim getting the last word: "I remember my dream now. Why I dug the holes." It's a helluva strong ending and wraps up another helluva strong episode. Looks like "Guts" was an anomaly and this series is going to be just fine. My only real complaint is that there are only two more episodes, and I don't know when the second season will air.

I guess as far as complaints go, that's a good one to have.

ENTER THE VOID (2009) Review

2010-11-21T17:10:00.000-05:00

Enter The Void (2009)
Directed by Gaspar Noé
Written by Gaspar Noé and Lucile Hadzihalilovic

If I were to review this in one sentence, that sentence would be: "Well, I've never seen that in a film before."

Note the fact that there's no positive or negative connotation in the sentence that you could arguably walk away with. That's probably the most telling thing about my reaction.

But first, some back story. Apparently, Gaspar Noé has been wanting to make this film since his adolescence, and actively trying to get funding for it since the early 2000s. However, it was deemed too expensive and at least one false start ended with producers dropping out, even though they liked the script. It was the financial success of Noé's 2002 film, Irréversible, that changed things.

Enter the Void is a French film cast with English-speaking actors, mainly because Noé didn't want viewers distracted from the visual elements of the film with subtitles. He has also approved the use of dubbing for releases in non-English speaking countries.

And now, Spoilers.

Enter the Void is, on the surface, the story of an American drug-dealer, Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), living in Japan, who is shot by the police and dies. It also concentrates on the life of his sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta, of HBO's Boardwalk Empire), and her reactions.

Here's the trailer, which really sets it up very well:

In fact, it may set it up too well, as that's pretty much the entire story right there.

It leaves out some of the texture of the story, as well as some of the more emotionally invested scenes of the film, but that's the main thrust of the picture.

The thing is, the story, while important, is almost secondary to the visual and emotional flow of images that Noé creates. The problem I initially had with the film, was that the story was almost overwhelmingly empty and negative. There really isn't anything good about the characters or about their interactions and especially about their influences on one another. By the end, we see that pretty much everyone Oscar has ever had any type of contact with is ruined in one way or another, and that ruin is caused either directly or indirectly by Oscar himself.

The film is practically hopeless and almost entirely bleak.

The ending provides a small glimmer of positivity, but even that is left open and may just be a minor uptick in the overall depression that fills the rest of the film.

Because of this, well, mainly because of this, my initial reaction to the film was pretty strongly negative. It's a masterfully crafted film from a technical standpoint, but I had a visceral negative response. I honestly couldn't imagine ever wanting to watch this film again. Especially given its two and a half hour run time. This is despite the moments of pure visual wonder that make up a lot of the film. Noé makes Tokyo seem like both a neon wonderland and a grimy, always moving, back alley.

But, after sleeping on it, I am willing to admit that my first impression was wrong. While the film is oppressively depressing at times, and overwhelmingly empty and banal at others, that's really part of the point (it is a French film after all). However, at the same time, this film is bursting with beautiful imagery and breathtaking moments, both in the real world of modern Tokyo and in the computer-generated hallucination sequences.

Noé is on the record as saying "There is no line between art and pornography. You can make art of anything." He does his best to establish this as a truism with Enter the Void. There are graphic scenes of sex scattered throughout the film, most notably in what is practically an orgy toward the end of the film as we fly over and through scene after scene of apparently real sex. It's not particularly titillating, though, nor is it meant to be, I don't think. It serves to really emphasize the emptiness of the characters' lives more than it represents any sort of real connections between people. The sex all seems desperate and emotionless.

The only real relationship in the film is between Oscar and Linda, and even that seems to have a subtle sexual component. After Oscar is killed, we explore their lives together through flashbacks as his spirit relives key moments in his life. If that really is what's happening. All of this may just be the dying hallucinations of Oscar, under the influence of DMT and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Of all the performances in the film, that of Emily Alyn Lind as Young Linda is the most harrowing and impressive. That child expresses the most gut-wrenchingly emotional reactions, both positive and negative, of anyone in this film or most films I've seen of late. She's simply amazing. Especially when compared with Paz de la Huerta's performance as the adult Linda. The more I see of de la Huerta, the more I think she may be mildly retarded.

Looking back on the film, there were only two things that I would have cut, the first being some of the time spent traveling from scene to scene. I appreciate the floating POV, and like how it draws attention to itself and forces us into the role of voyeur, and I know that would be undermined by simply cutting from scene to scene, but sometimes the traveling took so long it took me out of the film. Secondly, I don't think the film was served by the "return to life" sequence. It was just confusing and muddied what is already a difficult film to absorb.

At first, I wasn't taken with the choice to film the preliminary action from Oscar's perspective, especially given that his dialogue was muffled and hard to hear. It seemed a little too much like a gimmick and less like a way to enhance the narrative, but as it went on, and I felt more and more like I was actually experiencing the story through his eyes (particularly his DMT hallucinations), I eased up on my hesitation and accepted the fact that this entire film is really from his perspective, even after his death. By not breaking away from him, and presenting an outside narrative hand (the director's hand), we maintain the immediacy of the narrative and it makes the entire story much more powerful.

Oh, and as for those, "Well, I've never seen that in a film before" moments? They're not for the faint-hearted. One scene is about as graphic an abortion scene as you could put on film and the other is a shot from inside a vagina as a penis thrusts into it and ejaculates toward the camera. Both are actually very important to the experience of the film, but were definitely moments where I questioned just what the hell I was watching.

If you can't tell, the more I think about this film, the more I like it. I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone, but I'm liking it more and more with every passing hour. It's a lot like the films of Alejandro Jodorowski, El Topo and Holy Mountain, only with a better budget and less hope. I think anyone who appreciates those films would be open to the experience of Enter the Void.

SUPERNATURAL 6.09 Review

2010-11-20T00:05:00.001-05:00

This week Supernatural takes a brief pause from the ongoing story of the coming Monster War and gives us one of the most enjoyable episodes of the season. Which shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given that it was written by Ben Edlund, creator of The Tick, and writer/producer of Angel,and Firefly. He's been a writer and producer of Supernatural since the first season and is responsible for some of the most entertaining episodes (including this season's "The Third Man", which focused on Castiel's return to the show).

The episode is entitled, "Clap Your Hands If You Believe", and yes, that is a reference to Tinkerbell.

Spoiler Shields Up!
In case you weren't aware going into this episode, that it was going to be a little more light-hearted than some of the episodes of late, the entire opening scene is done in the style of The X-Files, right down to the setting being typed across the lower left-hand corner of the screen, and the mysterious abduction in a cornfield of a young man by a giant light, leaving behind an equally mysterious crop circle.

I laughed out loud as the titles sequence came up and instead of the usual Supernatural explosion, the entire thing was done as near as possible to the X-Files opening, too; the music, the way the credits faded in and out, and especially the shots of Sam and Dean flashing their fake FBI badges.

Anyway, since the abduction night, there have been a number of other people disappearing, all first born sons, actually, and UFO enthusiasts have gathered in the hopes of having a close encounter of some kind. Most significantly, one of the people being interviewed by the boys is played by Robert Picardo, veteran of almost every Joe Dante film ever made and best known as Star Trek Voyager's holographic doctor, so you know he's not just one of the crowd. He's actually a UFO specialist who's been studying abductions for thirty years.

Or is he?

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) aren't really buying the whole Alien Abduction idea, until Dean is actually snatched out of a cornfield by a giant light himself. Being on his own, the recently Soul-less Sam follows up on all the leads he can, which aren't many, and then beds the UFO obsessed hippie-chick, Sparrow (Devon Weigel). Seems not having a soul or a conscience is good for Sam's track record.

But then Dean is suddenly returned to the cornfield, slashing with his knife and firing off a few shots from his gun. It looks like nobody's ever fought back before, and the aliens let him go. Needless to say, Dean is kind of losing his shit.

Cutting to the chase, though, it turns out that we're not dealing with aliens, but Fairies, which, as one might expect, given the general level of humor on the show, involves more than a few gay jokes (Sam to Dean: "Did you service Oberon, the King of the Fairies, Dean?"). A local watchmaker was on the verge of losing his business, since his Parkinson's Disease was making it impossible for him to work. His grandmother believed in the Fairy Folk and had told him stories of them all his life, so with nothing else to lose, he attempted a summoning.

And it worked. He was visited by a man who claimed to be a Leprechaun, because the Fairy Folk come in all shapes and sizes, who offered to make him more successful than he'd ever been. And as one might expect, there was a price. His first-born son. Since that night, the Fairies have stayed in town and continued to kidnap people. The Watchmaker knows of a spell that will cast them out, but it's in a book, locked in a safe, and guarded by Elves.

The Elves who work all night in his workshop, making watches for him.

And who love to drink cream. Cream that hits them like tequila.

With Dean in jail after an altercation with a little person (for real - not an elf, or a dwarf, or a fairy, or a gnome), who just happens to be the town's District Attorney, Sam is on his own trying to banish the Fairies from this world. And Picardo just happens to the Leprechaun he has to deal with.

Like I said at the top, this was pretty darned entertaining, if kind of silly and pointless over all. I guess not every episode has to move the main story along, but this one doesn't really even address the season's main arc. Although it is another example of the Father/Son dynamic that has been central or at least on the periphery of every episode this season.

The jokes are the main focus this week, from the perfect X-Files opening, to Dean's description of the aliens/fairies as "grabby, incandescent douches", to the drunk and passed out Elves all over the workshop, to Dean's realization that the glowing ball of light he was fighting was actually a little naked winged lady "with nipples", to the Leprechaun having to stop and count the grains of salt Sam dumped in front of him to give himself time to cast the saving spell in the end. I actually expected this to be a lot darker than it turned out to be.

I also liked the intimation by Picardo's Leprechaun that there are forces that aren't concerned with the Christian Angels and Demons and whatnot. His emphatic, "This is magic!" was a nice touch and is more in line with what I thought we'd be seeing more of this season. Although I guess we are seeing that, sort of, with the way all of the monsters in the world are breaking the chains of tradition and gearing up for something big and violent while both Heaven and Hell are in turmoil.

This, like the Cupid episode last season, is one of those Supernatural episodes that is really just there to keep you smiling and make you happy. That usually means that horrible things are in store for the Winchesters soon thereafter, though. It wouldn't be Supernatural if that weren't the case, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

FRINGE 3.07 "The Abducted" Review

2010-11-19T18:09:00.000-05:00

Fringe closes out November (there's no episode next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday) by shifting the Two Worlds story line into high gear, but I'm afraid it's at the cost of logic, scripting, and acting. I'd say this is easily the worst episode of the season, but I think those shortcomings come at the insistence of moving the plot forward.

As friends will note, I've been a defender of this series, even when the writing and acting hasn't been entirely up to snuff. Mainly this is because of the strength of the ideas behind the show.

"The Abducted", however, was lacking in nearly every department.

Spoilers ahoy!

The opening sequence this week was suitably disturbing and gave me a lot of hope for where we were heading, particularly when it came to the look of this week's villain, The Candyman. The silver full-face mask was extremely creepy, especially glimmering in the darkness as he slowly pushed the bedroom door closed and abducted the little boy who was afraid of the monster in his closet.

Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there, and not even an appearance by Andre Royo (Bubbles, from The Wire) can save it.

The main thrust of the plot this week is focused on the hunt for The Candyman, a serial abductor who kidnaps children every two years, holds them for 48 hours, then frees them. But when the kids are returned, they are suffering from severe cellular damage and, on occasion are then diagnosed with diseases they had no traces of before, like various cancers.

It's not a bad idea, but it's so obvious that he's an old guy draining the youth from these kids, from the very first moment that his M.O. is discussed, that even my normal suspension of disbelief skills were unable to let it slide. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the rest of the episode brought some sort of imaginative twist or used it to move into an unexpected area in the overall story, but none of that happens. Instead, we find out, in some of the worst expository dialogue in the series to date, that Alterna-Broyles has a son who was a victim of The Candyman a couple of years earlier.

I appreciated the bonding moment between Alterna-Broyles and Walternate over their fatherly anxieties (as well as the revelation that the Peter Bishop Act requires all child abductions Over There to be legally treated as potential Fringe Events), but it was awkward and poorly acted. I suppose Lance Reddick does the best he can with the script he's working with, but it's rough. Even John Noble can't save the scene.

But the search for Candyman is a feint, to get us to the real point of the episode: Olivia's (Anna Torv) escape attempt and Broyles' passive complicity in it. Walternate has discovered the chemical component in Olivia's brain chemistry that triggers her trans-dimensional leaps, so has ordered her retirement back to the prison/lab. She knows something is up, and contacts Bubbles (I don't care what his name is here - he's Bubbles after getting his life back together as far as I'm concerned) for a boat ride out to Liberty Island so she can break into Fringe Division, sneak into the lab, drug herself, dunk herself into the sensory deprivation tank, and zap back over to her Home World.

Yeah, that's the actual plan.

As expected, she figures out the Candyman case, using information from Broyles' son and wins him over, at least temporarily. He realizes that she no longer believes she's Fauxlivia, but gives her a head-start since she just captured the man who nearly killed his son. Which is just as well, since Walternate is gathering her up in the morning.

Bubble's brother owns a boat, so he's conveniently able to give her a lift, even if all he really does is fret about the time and the risk. Really, Andre Royo is given some of the worst lines, and direction, in the episode, essentially wasting the character's (and the actor's) potential. The child actors are nothing to write home about, either. Really, there's just not a lot of good to be found this week.

This becomes especially clear when we get to the end of the episode.

Not only is Olivia's plan fundamentally flawed, in that she seems to have forgotten that her natural Universe-Hopping skills are always temporary at best. Even if she can leap Home, it's not going to last. The only reason she's still Over There is because they punched a hole in the universe. She always gets yanked back. Every time. It makes the plan seem incredibly stupid, only serving to allow her to leave a message for Peter during the few moments that she's Home.

Of course, she's immediately captured once she's back in the tank.

Which brings us to the biggest letdown of the episode. Peter (Joshua Jackson) gets her message in the closing moments of the episode, after a nice, romantic evening with Fauxlivia watching Casablanca. Fauxlivia has no idea what the film is about or who is in it, which should be another huge clue that something's not right with her. But even worse is the look on Peter's face when he gets the message that Olivia is trapped on the Other Side.

He looks shocked and surprised. Now, unless this is just a poor acting choice, it seems like he had no idea he was sleeping with Fauxlivia. I'm hoping that's not the case, as that would really reflect poorly on the character (and the writers). Hopefully next time we'll find out once and for all that he knows what's going on, and was just surprised by the arrival of a message from Olivia rather than the news of the message.

I've got my fingers crossed.

MISFITS Season 2.02 Review

2010-11-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! Misfits time, that is.

So we're into the second episode, and as with the first season, the first Misfit that we spend some serious time with is Nathan (Robert Sheehan) and, as with the first season, we get to see him actually showing some emotion instead of just being a wanker. After a particularly disturbing opening sequence of Nathan stripping down from his orange jumpsuit to just his bikini briefs and slathering himself with suntan lotion, we get to the real meat of the episode (no pun intended); the arrival of the brother Nathan didn't know he had.

Jamie (Sam Keeley) came to town to meet his father for the first time, and now is wanting to meet his older brother. Of course, hitting his dad in the head with a toaster, duct taping him up, and tossing him in the boot of the car, probably wasn't the best way of introducing himself. But let's face it. Their dad is a twat.

Okay, Spoilers ahead!

This episode does a great job of capturing just what makes Misfits so enjoyable to me. It's a done-in-one story, but it has tangible repercussions going forward. It moves the seasonal story arc forward a bit at a time by carefully parceling out just enough information to keep me anxious about what's to come. Plus, it was funny, raunchy, exciting, tragic, and had just a touch of melancholy. There was a hint of nostalgia in there, too, but not enough to bother me.

Even though this episode is all about Nathan and his relationship with his father, using Jamie as a springboard to launch itself into that bit of character exploration, we also get a few very tantalizing glimpses of the mysterious masked figure who just happens to know how to always be in the right place at the right time, as well as an extremely interesting glimpse into the future of the characters.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more of the cute bartender, Lily, with the intimacy issues and Freezing Powers. Although, to be honest, I like the fact that there are people developing powers all over the place, and nobody knows it's happening to anyone else. This was something I wasn't sure about during the first season, but I think I've accepted it as a nice texture to the world these characters inhabit. That fear and paranoia that accompanies most of the powers we've seen is mainly because these people think they're alone. It's always an effective moment, however brief, when these one-shot actors get to suddenly feel like they don't have to be afraid any more.

Of course, look where it got our bartender friend, though. Maybe alone is best for some of these people.

Or maybe we're seeing a bit of the underlying theme of the show rearing its head. I think it's the Misfits version of "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility", where with great power comes horrible tragedy for which they are directly responsible. Actually accepting that responsibility is the sort of growth that we're only just starting to see develop.

Some characters are further along than others; Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), in particular. I will admit, I got an immediate kick out of the drugs taken at the party switched everyone's powers into reverse, but then immediately fought back against it. There just wasn't much of an explanation for it. But when Curtis flashed forward instead of back, it was all worth while.

That's where that responsibility I was talking about kicks in. Curtis suddenly finds himself on a rooftop, in a superhero costume, getting ready to jump off. Then, up walks a mysterious hot girl, who starts taking off her clothes and kissing him. He doesn't know what's going on, who she is, or what to do, when suddenly we are flashing backwards through time, back to the party.

And in that flash, there were glimpses of things to come. Not all of them looked very pleasant, either. Some looked downright deadly.

Toss into the mix some excellent character moments with Simon (Iwan Rheon), Kelly (Lauren Socha), and Alisha (Antonia Thomas) at the party, and this was another winner of an episode. Socha was genuinely disturbing tripping out on her pill, and Rheon's dancing was pretty much pitch-perfect for the character of Simon. I can't imagine him dancing any other way. Thomas also provides a nice touch of pathos, when her powers switch into reverse, almost turning the party into something much more deadly.

Every episode provides strong moments for each actor and each character, regardless of who is in the spotlight for the week.

The only real weakness for me was the surprise ending with Jamie's reveal to be a ghost. My reaction to that was like my reaction to the pills only in reverse. I hated it at first, then kind of liked it, and then just accepted it as a necessary evil in order to move Nathan forward emotionally. I did enjoy Ghost Jamie pointing out that he was banging the Ghost Lily, though. That was good for a laugh.

The closing scene was another of those really strong group scenes, that not only let us get to see how they interact out in the world, but it also introduced the mysterious girl from Curtis' future. When Simon followed the masked figure to this apartment, where he (Masked Figure) then slips through the room and out over the balcony, we knew something was up. There was a woman sleeping on the couch, but we couldn't see who.

I didn't really think about it much as it happened, assuming the Masked Figure was just ditching Simon somehow, but I'm like that. I've trained myself not to dwell too much on the moments like that, trying to figure out what's going to happen next. I like to just let the episode flow and see where it takes me, deciding in retrospect if it was something that worked or didn't.

So I guess I should have guessed who was sleeping on the couch, and just before she showed up, it clicked. And that, for me, is a scene that works. Curtis' reaction to seeing her walk in the door was perfect and it left me really looking forward to the next episode. Not least of which because I want to see her reaction to Nathan shitting in her bed.

This is kind of like a study in how to construct a six-episode story that not only provides a good story, but expands and builds on the characters we know, while introducing new ones who effectively broaden the confines of the narrative world.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the music! Again, Misfits has the best soundtrack on TV. Go here to get the music rundown!

THE WALKING DEAD: COMPARE & CONTRAST

2010-11-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

I spent my day today (in between answering phone calls at my crappy job) re-reading the first 24 issues of The Walking Dead. This is the first time I've gone back to these comics since reading them for the first time. The first issue was released all the way back in October of 2003, so we're talking about quite a bit of time between then and now.

Well, the biggest surprise is that I remembered those comics in absurd detail. I hadn't forgotten a single page in the past 7 years. Part of the reason for that is that writer Robert Kirkman did a fantastic job of crafting scene after scene of horror and dread and psychological portraiture. That's really the main strength of the comics over the first three episodes of the TV show.

The characters in the comic are constructed to carefully avoid cliches. However, because of the emphasis on character, a weakness does become apparent after a while. And it's not even much of a weakness, but is a repercussion of working in the comics medium. The characters are too damn talky at times for my tastes. It didn't bother me the first time through, before I was familiar with the characters and their personalities, but this time around, it was a little tedious.

This is probably one of the main reasons the television show incorporated more broad-stroke characterization over the first two episodes, at least with the newer characters. But in a world where you can't swing your dick without hitting a zombie narrative, this isn't really a problem in the grand scheme of things. That both versions are at least trying to focus on character before gore is where the real strength of the story lies. Particularly given the fact that the gore isn't avoided at all. This is why, I think, The Walking Dead connected with so many readers and is now connecting with so many viewers.

One of the things that I think the series does better than the comics is revealing and developing Shane. In the comic, the change that Shane goes through is kind of simplified. We don't really feel anything for him. He's a character that other characters are wary of already. When he finally snaps we've only really been around him for three issues, and while there's impact when he meets his fate, the reaction is more about who deals with him and how, instead of the simple fact that he's taken care of.

Can you tell I'm trying to avoid spoilers here?

Anyway, when the comic version of Shane exits our tale, we, as readers, are glad. He was a bit of a prick and his only real redeeming feature is that he rescued Lori and Karl. The others followed his lead because he was a cop and an authority figure, but they didn't trust him or like him. It's one of the only simplistic characterizations in the early days of the comic and it undermines the emotional reaction to his demise.

Shane on the TV show, on the other hand, is really trying to be a good man. He's trying to hold the camp together and he's clearly emotionally engaged not only with Lori, but with Karl. One of the real strengths of the show in this respect, is that the actors can get more subtle emotional reactions across in a way the comics just can't.

Now, we don't yet know if Shane told Lori Rick was dead on purpose, as a way of insinuating himself into their lives or if he really thought he was dead. Lori clearly believes he lied, and given that she was actually emotionally attached to Shane during this time, her rejection of him hits a lot harder than it did in the comic (where their "romance" was really just one night of weakness on her part, and just friendship from that point on). The comic Shane comes off as a stalker with psychological problems. The TV Shane comes across as someone who actually had things to lose.

When comic Shane yells about losing his place in the camp, losing the respect of the group, etc. you don't feel it. He's delusional. TV Shane, on the other hand, is losing everything. That's what makes the scene in the third episode so powerful when he loses control and nearly beats Ed to death. Every time he punches Ed, we're watching a little piece of Shane shatter and die. He's a flawed man, trying to be a good man, who's going to fail because he only got his shot by stepping into Rick's shoes. With Rick back, taking charge and making difficult decisions, Shane has nowhere to go but down.

That in itself, makes me much more satisfied with the TV series than I was re-reading those early issues again. Which isn't to say that I was dissatisfied. They still hold up very well. I don't think I would have scored them as highly now as I did then, when I reviewed them, but they are still well worth your time, if you're interested in reading them for the first time. But I have to say, I'm getting more emotional satisfaction out of the TV show than I did those early comics.

That changes as the comic series goes on, I admit. Hopefully, that means that when the TV series really gets the opportunity to expand and tell more of the original story, it'll be even better than the comic, too.

Hmmm. Well, I said it, didn't I? I think the show, with the few weaknesses it's evidenced so far, is better than the comic at this stage in the story. I didn't think I'd say that, to be honest. But it's true. Now, if the show can maintain that momentum and quality is a different question. I hope it can.

WHAT LOOKS GOOD #335: FAST, FURIOUS, AND LOOKING GOOD

2010-11-16T19:48:00.002-05:00

Well, we've reached the halfway point for National Blog Posting Month (I don't feel right calling it NaBloPoMo, as that sounds kind of dirty), and I'm going to take this opportunity to relax a little bit and post something a little shorter than normal.

Over on the Most Diverse Comics Webzine on the Internet, Comicsbulletin.com, I am one of three writers who regularly contribute to a weekly column called, What Looks Good. (Short Plug: I also contribute to Flashbacks of Ol' Marvel, or F.O.O.M., which looks back at classic moments from Marvel Comics (I've been focusing on critiquing the Marvel Live Action Films from the very beginning and am just about to hit the 1990 Captain America movie) and am the sole writer of Mondo Marvel, where I am reading all of Marvel's 1960s comic output in chronological order and writing about it.) The three of us take trade off weeks and, Matt Spatola, Chris Murman, and myself, all have very different approaches to our weeks at bat.

Matt holds the traditional line by providing mainstream comic suggestions, sharing some Indy spotlights, and discussing the events and news of the Industry that catch his attention.

Chris opts for short pieces that explore his feelings about the Comics Industry, combined with a three-pronged approach of sharing titles he Knows he'll like, those he Thinks he'll like, and things that look awful, which he has tagged Loeb.

If you're into comics, that will make sense to you.

For my contributions, I've started taking it in a different direction. I'm kind of sick of comics right now. They're expensive and while I think we're experiencing a high point in creative talent, I'm not finding all that much that actually catches my attention. So I've started writing about DVDs and Blu-rays, Movies, Music, and Television Shows that I think Look Good.

Anyway, this week I was up to bat, and here's a little something I call What Looks Good #335: Fast, Furious, and Looking Good.

Yes, that is week 335 of this column, but to be honest with you, the three of us have only been writing the column regularly since Januaryish. The column was the brainchild of Michael Diaz, launched back in 2003. Life got in the way and he had to put the column aside last year, but rather than let What Looks Good die out, Matt, Chris, and I were recruited to keep it going. And it really does take all three of us to do the job that Michael did.

Take a peek and let me know, either on the message board over there or here on my site, if there's anything good I'm missing out on.

But just so you know, here's a taste of the sort of thing I think looks AMAZING!!! It's ROBOGEISHA!

That's directed by Noboru Iguchi, the writer/director of Machine Girl, with special effects overseen by Yoshihiro Nishimura, the director of Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl, and co-director of the upcoming Mutant Girls Squad (with Iguchi and Tak Sakaguchi, who starred in cult classic Versus).

And with that, we move into the back half of National Blog Posting Month.

Enjoy!

THE WALKING DEAD Episode 1.03 Review

2010-11-15T00:04:00.001-05:00

The Walking Dead
1.03 "Tell It To The Frogs"
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Writers: Frank Darabont, Charles H. Eglee, & Jack LoGiudice

If it's going to take a committee of writers to keep the quality up, then by all means, bring on the committees.

After the ham-handed dialogue and broad-stroke characterization of "Guts" I was seriously worried about the quality control on this series. I know they went into it with only a six-episode commitment, which couldn't have been good for their confidence. I know that they probably wanted to get the show off and running and felt they could afford to take some short-cuts here and there in order to get into the meat of the show.

But I'll be damned if last week wasn't painful to watch at times. It got better once they moved beyond the character "work" on the roof and concentrated on the logistics of getting out of Atlanta alive, but there were definite cracks in the foundation of The Walking Dead.

Cracks that never showed up in other AMC series.

Well, this week, those cracks are patched up, sealed over, repainted, and/or whatever other construction metaphor you want to throw at it.

And yes, here come the Spoilers!

I was glad to see they didn't just bring in Michael Rooker for one-off stunt casting, only to use him so poorly. The opening pre-title sequence of Merle on the roof made up for every cringe-inducing moment I had last week. He's clearly suffering and delirious, and while he's still a douchebag (Shane's call, not mine), he's allowed to show a little bit of depth here.

Most impressive was when the zombies are trying to bust through the door and he starts begging for God to save him, saying he knows he's being punished, but then turns on a dime and repents his weakness, denying ever begging to God, swearing he won't beg to God anymore. It was a powerful moment and made me think better of Merle as a character.

Especially when he starts desperately trying to reach the hacksaw.

A large portion of the rest of the episode is entirely devoted to character work, and it's exactly what I was hoping for last week. Slowed down, quiet moments that allow the actors to breathe and start inhabiting the roles. The emotions on display as Rick and Carl run to each other was almost perfect. As was the look of horror on Lori's face.

I know there's been some backlash amongst fans about Lori's and Shane's relationship here, but I have to say, I approve of the changes. Making Lori a woman who's accepted the fact that her husband was dead, a husband from a marriage that was on the rocks, and has moved on provides more texture to her personality than the woman in the comic who just had a weak moment in her undying love for her dead husband.

This gets even more complicated by the fact that Shane told her Rick was dead. It complicates Shane in nice ways, too. From the moment or two we saw of him in the premiere, he seemed like a douchebag, too. Maybe not the hate-spewing racist sort of douchebag, but he had some issues with women. You could tell he was jealous of what Rick had, even though Rick and Lori were having trouble.

That he took the opportunity of Rick's apparent death to move on Lori, and Carl for that matter, to co-opt a family, if you will, makes him a much more interesting character. Especially given how averse to real risk-taking he is as assumed leader of the camp. You can see him trying to be the man Rick was, and falling just a little short. This is really brought home when Rick decides he has to go back to Atlanta to at least try to save Merle.

It's not cowardice, but he's overly cautious, where Rick is almost reckless when it comes to doing what he thinks is right. Shane is re-defining right in this case, and can only look poorly when compared to Rick's version of heroism. And Lori's confrontation with him at the end of the episode, was harsh and raw.

I didn't know where the hostility was coming from at first, but then she comes out and says it. She thinks Shane lied to her about Rick on purpose, in order to steal her and Carl away from him. That's meaty stuff right there, and creates a dramatic situation that plays well on TV. Especially in the limited confines of a six-episode run.

The final moments of the episode were really very strong, in my opinion. I'm not thrilled that the drama in the camp hinged on another stereotype, this time the abusive husband, but while his character, Ed, was pretty one-dimensional, the emotions and action around him were much more fleshed out. When Shane beats the hell out of him, nearly beating him to death, it's another powerful moment that helps to define his character.

Shane is losing it. He thought he had it all, that the apocalypse had given him a family and a purpose. And now, with Rick back, all of that is starting to slip away into chaos. He needs to assert himself and he does. At the cost of Ed's face. The brutality of it becomes the problem, though, frightening the women of the camp as much as Ed did. Moreso, I'd imagine.

Ed was just a dick. Shane thinks he's doing the right thing. Or at least is using the opportunity to appear to do the right thing, to let out a lot of rage.

The episode closes with a beautiful shot. Back in Atlanta, Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Merle's brother Daryl (played with a little more subtlety, but not much, by my favorite Boondock Saint, Norman Reedus) make their way to the roof of the building where they left Merle, only to find the hacksaw, Merle's bloody severed hand, and the handcuffs still dangling from the bar. That beautiful closing shot is of the bloody handcuff hanging with the sky in the background. Nice.

In fact, there are a lot of nice shots in this episode. Director Gwyneth Horder-Payton (The Shield, Sons of Anarchy) has a much firmer hand on the tiller this time out than Michelle Maxwell MacLaren (Breaking Bad) had last week. I don't know if that's just because the written material was so much better this time out, or if Horder-Payton just has a better eye. She's a lot more experienced, so that may have something to do with it. Regardless, this episode was a huge step up from last week, even without a major set-piece gore moment.

I didn't really think the zombie eating the deer was all that bad.

So, when all's said and done, I'm back on board. Most of my fears were assuaged and I'm back on the Excited Train looking forward to next week.

TERRIERS NEEDS YOU

2010-11-14T16:01:00.001-05:00

I watch a lot of TV, as anyone who knows me can attest to (or anyone who's been keeping up with this blog will know). When I like a show, I tend to support it through thick and thin. When there are weak episodes, I don't pile on, or start looking elsewhere for a new fix, because I understand that the process of making a television series involves so many variables that it's amazing anything good ever makes it to the screen.

My favorite shows right now, all have weaknesses. Stargate Universe takes itself too seriously and has some poor acting at times. Sons of Anarchy is ridiculously melodramatic, which sometimes undercuts the reality of the narrative. Fringe has a healthy amount of goofiness and weak writing, but the strength of its core concepts and John Noble's performance redeems all of that for me. The Mentalist is mostly trite and cliche, but again, the charisma of the main characters keep me coming back. Dexter is hampered at times by trying to push the whole family aspect and there is some horrible writing now and then. Even Boardwalk Empire, while high-quality all around, just doesn't hold my interest for long stretches at a time.

Terriers, which airs on FX every Wednesday at 10:00 (EST) has no weakness to speak of, and is the most consistently excellent program on television.

Oh yeah. I said it.

But none of you bastards are watching it, so its chances of being renewed for a second season are plummeting.

There's a lot of talk about what FX did wrong. The name of the show is pretty vague and doesn't really tell you what the hell you're getting yourself into. The promotion leading up to the premiere was absolutely pointless, focusing on a little dog that isn't even a character. If you didn't hang around online, there was no way of knowing that this wasn't a show about a dog. Maybe a dog that talks, or something. Who knows? Then, a week or so before the actual premiere, they started showing the leads, Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, they played up the comedy aspects, making the show seem like it was going to be some sort of goofy, light-hearted comedy about private detectives.

So nobody tuned in. The show had the lowest-rated premiere for a show on FX, and it's been a struggle every week to get some sort of toe-hold with viewers. The show can't seem to climb above a .2 rating, with a jump to .3 two weeks ago being something to brag about. As a point of reference, another cable show, the train wreck that is The Real Housewives of Atlanta scored a 1.4 this past week.

Things have gotten so bad that Logue and Raymond-James recently completed an Eastern U.S. road trip in a bus that serves as a moving billboard, to promote the show by visiting college campuses and hosting screenings and Q&A sessions. And now there are only three more episodes.

Here's what the damned show is about, okay? Donal Logue plays Hank Dolworth, a recovering alcoholic ex-cop and Michael Raymond-James plays Britt Pollack, a lovable ex-thief. Together they are unlicensed private eyes in the mythical community of Ocean Beach, CA. Hank's ex-wife, Gretchen (played by Kimberly Quinn) is getting married to a guy she met six months earlier on the Internet. Britt's girlfriend, Katie Nichols (played by Laura Allen) is in veterinary school and is looking forward to getting married sometime sooner rather than later. Hank's sister Steph (Karina Logue) is a brilliant schizophrenic who pops up shortly after the series gets rolling. Hanks ex-partner, Detective Mark Gustafson (Rockmond Dunbar), loves busting Hank's balls, but is ultimately there when Hank needs him - which is often.

Because, you see, at the beginning of the series Hank and Britt stumble across a shady land deal and in the course of the investigation one of Hank's old drinking buddies is murdered. But it's made to look like a heroin overdose, so the police don't go looking into it. Over the course of the first few episodes, we find out what's going on with the real estate deal, who's really behind it all, and just how big and serious and outclassed our heroes really are.

And that's just the story arc for the first 2/3 of the season. Each episode is set up as a stand-alone adventure as the boys take on any and all jobs that come their way, whether it's following a wife suspected of cheating, or trying to get a teenager's money back from the tranny prostitute who skipped out with it. Both Hank's and Britt's pasts come back to haunt them, and both of their relationships with the women in their lives are put through the wringer.

Every single episode of this show is meticulously crafted. The dialogue is some of the smartest on television. Logue as Hank is sarcastic and funny, always just a little smarter than everyone else in the room, whether it's actual book-learning or street smarts. Raymond-James a Britt is charming and funny, in a coarser, slightly vulgar way more often than not, and brings a child-like enthusiasm to every scene. Hank was a great cop, but drinking undermined his career, so now, he's a pretty great P.I. Britt was a great thief, but falling in love with Katie saved him from a life of crime, although he's not averse to using his mad skills to help solve a case.

While each episode is (usually) centered on a single job, every episode moves the over-arching plot forward, and with only three episodes left, things are starting to come to a head. The players that our heroes have found themselves going up against represent big money and are some of the most powerful members of Ocean Beach's upper class. And right now, both of our heroes are at their most vulnerable, lowest points.

Terriers is the funniest, fastest-paced, most action-packed, emotional, relateable, intelligent, well-written, well-acted, well-directed show on television, hands down. You're doing yourself, and the show, a disservice by not watching. If you liked Justified, maybe the only other show on television that rivals this one for overall consistent quality, then you should be watching Terriers.