I started reading Peter Straub a long time ago, and then forgot about him. Then I remembered Ghost Story, and picked up The Talisman. I was hooked by his very detailed and realistic take on horror. One of the last runs to Half Price Books I picked up The Hellfire Club. Wow.
The Hellfire Club is about Nora Chancel, wife of Davey, son of the head of a big publishing company. Women in her Connecticut suburb are dying violently, and Nora can’t shake the feeling she is next. After being accused of kidnapping a supposed victim, Nora is kidnapped herself by the madman murderer, and she travels with him into her deepest fears. Chancel House has a book called Night Journey, a book that has an illicit past. It’s a book that seems to capture the minds of those who read it, and causes an obsession in its fans that borders on psychotic. Davey is under its spell, and Nora is now in the arms of a man who is determined to protect the history of the book at all costs. She has to find strength deep within herself to survive, and to search out the truth behind Night Journey and the family she married in to.
The Hellfire Club is less a horror story and more a mystery-thriller. Peter Straub builds a pretty tight plot that moves along rather quickly once you get introduced to all of the characters and Nora ends up tethered to the crazy killer. I figured out the secret behind Night Journey and some of the other elements pretty quickly but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story. The only things I really didn’t like were Davey and some of the torture of Nora. Davey was an annoying, whiny, faithless baby and I could never figure out exactly why Nora married him in the first place. I also hate rape scenes, and I could have done without reading Nora getting abused that way. Those scenes were horrific and made my stomach churn. But, to be honest, both of those elements didn’t make me put the book down. It was too good of a story and a mystery to quit before I finished it.
I liked The Hellfire Club and I like Peter Straub. I’m not sure I’d put The Hellfire Club at the top of my list of his books, but if you like a good mystery-thriller, touched with fantasy like elements and Vietnam memories, you’d like Peter Straub’s books and definitely like The Hellfire Club.
Rating: 3 ½ Purrs for a tightly-woven plot and an excellent and tense last few chapters
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Stay Alive
I’ll admit I rented Stay Alive because I think Sophia Bush is just delicious. Later, I bought the DVD used because I thought it was just too much fun. Yes, it’s silly, and the end is a bit lame, but dang it, Sophia Bush is in it.
Stay Alive is about a group of gamers who get a copy of an unreleased video game based very inaccurately on Elizabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess. Naturally, in true horror movie fashion, they play the game and when people die in the game, they die in real life. Then, the game starts taking on a life of its own. It’s a pretty simple plot, but fun, non the less.
There’s nothing terribly special about Stay Alive. It’s got some funny inside jokes that gamers should get. All of the characters are pretty standard horror fare, with the pretty blond (Samaire Armstrong), the Goth chick (Sophia Yum Yum Bush), the dorky gamer (Frankie Muniz), the hero with the troubled past (Jon Foster), and the smart alec (Jimmy Simpson). You even have the detective who doesn’t understand what’s really happening or believe the kids when they explain what’s going on.
I did like how the movie and the game would flip back and forth and some of the deaths were fun. I’ve liked Jimmy Simpson ever since I saw him in D.E.B.S., and he was just as fun here. The New Orleans setting was creepy and lovely at the same time. Everyone was okay with the amount of substance they were given, outside of the detectives and Frankie Muniz. He just annoys me.
Overall, I say Stay Alive is fun, if you like the regular, Scream type fare that seems to be churned out as horror these days. I bought it used because of my Sophia Bush crush, not because the movie really warranted a whole lot of in depth thought or brought on any real scares on a second viewing. But to be honest, that won’t stop me from watching it again, and again.
Rating: 3 Purrs (5 Purrs for Sophia Yum Yum Bush)
Stay Alive is about a group of gamers who get a copy of an unreleased video game based very inaccurately on Elizabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess. Naturally, in true horror movie fashion, they play the game and when people die in the game, they die in real life. Then, the game starts taking on a life of its own. It’s a pretty simple plot, but fun, non the less.
There’s nothing terribly special about Stay Alive. It’s got some funny inside jokes that gamers should get. All of the characters are pretty standard horror fare, with the pretty blond (Samaire Armstrong), the Goth chick (Sophia Yum Yum Bush), the dorky gamer (Frankie Muniz), the hero with the troubled past (Jon Foster), and the smart alec (Jimmy Simpson). You even have the detective who doesn’t understand what’s really happening or believe the kids when they explain what’s going on.
I did like how the movie and the game would flip back and forth and some of the deaths were fun. I’ve liked Jimmy Simpson ever since I saw him in D.E.B.S., and he was just as fun here. The New Orleans setting was creepy and lovely at the same time. Everyone was okay with the amount of substance they were given, outside of the detectives and Frankie Muniz. He just annoys me.
Overall, I say Stay Alive is fun, if you like the regular, Scream type fare that seems to be churned out as horror these days. I bought it used because of my Sophia Bush crush, not because the movie really warranted a whole lot of in depth thought or brought on any real scares on a second viewing. But to be honest, that won’t stop me from watching it again, and again.
Rating: 3 Purrs (5 Purrs for Sophia Yum Yum Bush)
Friday, March 09, 2007
The Sultan’s Seal by Jenny White
It’s my understanding that this is Jenny White’s first jaunt into the mystery genre. It is a very good first attempt, and it offers a glimpse into a world that is not often visited by mystery writers. It is uneven at times, and the switch between storytellers a bit jolting in places, but overall it is an enjoyable read and a good mystery.
The Sultan’s Seal takes place in nineteenth-century Istanbul, where a young English woman has been found on the shores of the river, stripped of her clothes and drowned. It looks like murder to Kamil, the magistrate, who enters into an investigation that might end in more than the loss of his job. He discovers the murder might be tied to a prominent family, or perhaps even as high as the Sultan’s household, and also might be tied to another English woman murdered 12 years before. Sybil, the daughter of the British Ambassador, her cousin Bernie, and his coroner, Michel, aid Kamil in his investigation.
I like that the mystery is slowly uncovered, with the perspective switching between Sybil, Kamil, and another woman, Jaanan, who has some connection to the murdered women, although you don’t know how they are connected until almost the very end. It’s the best-kept mystery of the book, and adds depth to the story that other popular, M is for Murder type mysteries don’t usually have. You are slowly introduced to the world where these murders have taken place, and you get a good sense of the struggle the Ottoman Empire was having at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The new world and customs from England and the like are butting heads with the traditional Muslim and transplanted Jewish customs, and Kamil tries to straddle those worlds and solve the mystery.
Kamil is a more rounded character than what you regularly find in mysteries, and so is Jaanan, but Sybil is not very fleshed out. Her character feels two-dimensional, especially in comparison with the other two. It was a disappointment, because she is a very important character, but just seems lacking. The tone of the book was uneven at times, and switching between the perspectives of Jaanan, Kamil, and Sybil was sometimes not very smooth.
Other than that, I really enjoyed The Sultan’s Seal. It took me to a place I hadn’t visited, the mystery (or at least the deeper one) wasn’t obvious from the first. If you are looking for a mystery with a little more to say than say, a top 10 type like Sue Grafton, you should try Jenny White’s The Sultan Seal. It’s rich in history and details, with some really beautiful prose.
Rating: 4 Purrs
The Sultan’s Seal takes place in nineteenth-century Istanbul, where a young English woman has been found on the shores of the river, stripped of her clothes and drowned. It looks like murder to Kamil, the magistrate, who enters into an investigation that might end in more than the loss of his job. He discovers the murder might be tied to a prominent family, or perhaps even as high as the Sultan’s household, and also might be tied to another English woman murdered 12 years before. Sybil, the daughter of the British Ambassador, her cousin Bernie, and his coroner, Michel, aid Kamil in his investigation.
I like that the mystery is slowly uncovered, with the perspective switching between Sybil, Kamil, and another woman, Jaanan, who has some connection to the murdered women, although you don’t know how they are connected until almost the very end. It’s the best-kept mystery of the book, and adds depth to the story that other popular, M is for Murder type mysteries don’t usually have. You are slowly introduced to the world where these murders have taken place, and you get a good sense of the struggle the Ottoman Empire was having at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The new world and customs from England and the like are butting heads with the traditional Muslim and transplanted Jewish customs, and Kamil tries to straddle those worlds and solve the mystery.
Kamil is a more rounded character than what you regularly find in mysteries, and so is Jaanan, but Sybil is not very fleshed out. Her character feels two-dimensional, especially in comparison with the other two. It was a disappointment, because she is a very important character, but just seems lacking. The tone of the book was uneven at times, and switching between the perspectives of Jaanan, Kamil, and Sybil was sometimes not very smooth.
Other than that, I really enjoyed The Sultan’s Seal. It took me to a place I hadn’t visited, the mystery (or at least the deeper one) wasn’t obvious from the first. If you are looking for a mystery with a little more to say than say, a top 10 type like Sue Grafton, you should try Jenny White’s The Sultan Seal. It’s rich in history and details, with some really beautiful prose.
Rating: 4 Purrs
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The Wicker Man (Remake)
When I first heard they were remaking The Wicker Man, I was a bit excited. I really liked the original mostly for its campiness and Christopher Lee’s turtlenecks, so I didn’t have a lot invested in the original to get riled up about in a remake. As luck would have it, I have not been so disappointed in a remake in a very long time.
The plot of the movie follows fairly closely to the original. Nicolas Cage is Edward Malus, a policeman who is called to the remote island of Summersisle to help an old flame, Willow find her missing daughter. What he finds there gets his back up, as he finds an island filled with women who laugh at him and have men as second class citizens. No one will help him, and he digs deeper and deeper to find the truth. Little does he know the truth will be deadly.
Neil La Bute has directed several movies about the battle of the sexes, and so this time around, The Wicker Man is all about men vs. women instead of Christian vs. pagan. I have to say that is probably my biggest beef with the whole remake. The battle of the sexes feels very outdated, and in these times, a commentary on the religious right would have been very applicable.
I did love the visuals in this movie. The costuming is beautiful and the locations are enchanting. Beyond that, I didn’t find much to like. The actors, even though there were several of note, were just deadpan. Nic Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy, and Molly Parker all are excellent actors, but for some reason they were all cardboard this time around. LeeLee Sobieski was completely wasted. I was shocked.
I wouldn’t recommend this remake to anyone, especially to any die hard fans of the original. Heck, I wouldn't recommend it to people who just saw the original. It’s just not worth the two hours. There was so much possibility here, and it was just not realized in any way.
Rating: 1 Hiss, for totally missing the mark this time around
The plot of the movie follows fairly closely to the original. Nicolas Cage is Edward Malus, a policeman who is called to the remote island of Summersisle to help an old flame, Willow find her missing daughter. What he finds there gets his back up, as he finds an island filled with women who laugh at him and have men as second class citizens. No one will help him, and he digs deeper and deeper to find the truth. Little does he know the truth will be deadly.
Neil La Bute has directed several movies about the battle of the sexes, and so this time around, The Wicker Man is all about men vs. women instead of Christian vs. pagan. I have to say that is probably my biggest beef with the whole remake. The battle of the sexes feels very outdated, and in these times, a commentary on the religious right would have been very applicable.
I did love the visuals in this movie. The costuming is beautiful and the locations are enchanting. Beyond that, I didn’t find much to like. The actors, even though there were several of note, were just deadpan. Nic Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy, and Molly Parker all are excellent actors, but for some reason they were all cardboard this time around. LeeLee Sobieski was completely wasted. I was shocked.
I wouldn’t recommend this remake to anyone, especially to any die hard fans of the original. Heck, I wouldn't recommend it to people who just saw the original. It’s just not worth the two hours. There was so much possibility here, and it was just not realized in any way.
Rating: 1 Hiss, for totally missing the mark this time around
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Black Harvest by Josh Howard
I found Black Harvest accidentally. I had heard of Dead at 17, but I hadn’t read any of them before, and when I saw this on the rack at Titan it looked cool so I snatched it up. I wasn’t disappointed, and now I have the husband looking for all of his Dead at 17 issues in his long boxes so I can catch up on all of Josh Howard’s work.
Black Harvest takes place in Jericho, Texas, where the yearly Jericho Lights bring out the alien watchers and tourists to stare at the skies. This year, Internet blogger Daniel Webster has come out to see the Lights and see if he can find out their cause, but instead he finds Zaya Vahn, a girl who vanished mysteriously 3 years before. The people of Jericho think maybe Daniel had something to do with it, and he is strangely drawn to Zaya on his own. Something’s afoot in Jericho, and Zaya has come back to make things right, with Repent etched into her skin and vengeance in her heart.
I loved this graphic novel. I know I can’t marry it, since I am marrying Snakes on a Plane already, but I would at least date it regularly. I like Josh Howard’s art style, and I love the fact that he’s a Texas guy who writes about Texas without making us look like freaks. If you like tough chick comics with a weird supernatural slant, pick up Black Harvest and give it a try.
Rating: 5 Purrs for hot Texas chicks in comics and the Marfa lights
Black Harvest takes place in Jericho, Texas, where the yearly Jericho Lights bring out the alien watchers and tourists to stare at the skies. This year, Internet blogger Daniel Webster has come out to see the Lights and see if he can find out their cause, but instead he finds Zaya Vahn, a girl who vanished mysteriously 3 years before. The people of Jericho think maybe Daniel had something to do with it, and he is strangely drawn to Zaya on his own. Something’s afoot in Jericho, and Zaya has come back to make things right, with Repent etched into her skin and vengeance in her heart.
I loved this graphic novel. I know I can’t marry it, since I am marrying Snakes on a Plane already, but I would at least date it regularly. I like Josh Howard’s art style, and I love the fact that he’s a Texas guy who writes about Texas without making us look like freaks. If you like tough chick comics with a weird supernatural slant, pick up Black Harvest and give it a try.
Rating: 5 Purrs for hot Texas chicks in comics and the Marfa lights
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Book Meme
Instructions: in bold=have read the book; in italics=want to read the book; with crosses=own the book; with asterisks=unfamiliar with the book. Snagged from The Little Professor.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. †Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. †To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. †The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. †The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. †The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. †Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. †Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. †The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. †Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. †The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. †Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. †The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. †Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. †The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. †1984 (Orwell)
35. †The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. †The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. *Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. †Bible
46. †Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. †The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. †A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. †Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. †The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. †The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. †The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. †Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. †One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. †Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. †Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. †The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. †Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. †Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. †Emma (Jane Austen)
86. †Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. †Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. †The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. †Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. †Ulysses (James Joyce)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Spirit Trap
I found Spirit Trap on NetFlix, recommended because of the plethora of other horror movies I rent from them. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, but it wasn’t amazing either.
Spirit Trap is about a haunted house. Four college students are contacted about some cheap college housing. They arrive to an old spooky house and are greeted by Tina. Strange things begin happening. Nick fixes a what we find out is a spirit clock in the front hallway, and soon after, Jenny, who happens to be psychic, starts having dreams that tell about a murder. Nick is Jenny’s love interest and helps her solve the mystery. He's just your average joe college kid. Tom and Adele are a couple, and Tom also happens to sell drugs. His box o'drugs disappears from their room, and this starts a chain of events that brings the house’s history up front and the students discover they are in danger.
You figure things out pretty quickly. You know who will be the killer and what the history and ghosts are. The whole idea of a "spirit trap" is new to me, but a haunted house is a haunted house, even if you do need to be out of there real quick. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the 13 Ghosts remake in the idea of a haunted house that is also a trap for the living. I would embarrassingly have to say 13 Ghosts was better.
Everyone is an okay actor in this, but no one really breaks out of TV actor quality. Billie Piper is there, and Dr. Who fans may “squee” in excitement at that. Luke Malby is here, the prince from Prince and Me and a small part in 28 Days Later. Everyone else is okay, but the only one I really liked Emma Catherwood, who hasn’t done much before or after.
All in all, Spirit Trap is really not all that impressive and not really all scary. It’s sub par straight to video fare, and it doesn't bring anything new to an already very popular genre. Production values were low but not dollar menu low, so if you really like scary movies and straight-to-video doesn' t scare you off, you could check it out. Just keep in mind, this straight-to-video isn't Sci-Fi channel quality with man-sharks or killer ants, so don't get your hopes up.
Rating: 3 Purrs for average Brit horror with a pretty predictable plot and scares
Spirit Trap is about a haunted house. Four college students are contacted about some cheap college housing. They arrive to an old spooky house and are greeted by Tina. Strange things begin happening. Nick fixes a what we find out is a spirit clock in the front hallway, and soon after, Jenny, who happens to be psychic, starts having dreams that tell about a murder. Nick is Jenny’s love interest and helps her solve the mystery. He's just your average joe college kid. Tom and Adele are a couple, and Tom also happens to sell drugs. His box o'drugs disappears from their room, and this starts a chain of events that brings the house’s history up front and the students discover they are in danger.
You figure things out pretty quickly. You know who will be the killer and what the history and ghosts are. The whole idea of a "spirit trap" is new to me, but a haunted house is a haunted house, even if you do need to be out of there real quick. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the 13 Ghosts remake in the idea of a haunted house that is also a trap for the living. I would embarrassingly have to say 13 Ghosts was better.
Everyone is an okay actor in this, but no one really breaks out of TV actor quality. Billie Piper is there, and Dr. Who fans may “squee” in excitement at that. Luke Malby is here, the prince from Prince and Me and a small part in 28 Days Later. Everyone else is okay, but the only one I really liked Emma Catherwood, who hasn’t done much before or after.
All in all, Spirit Trap is really not all that impressive and not really all scary. It’s sub par straight to video fare, and it doesn't bring anything new to an already very popular genre. Production values were low but not dollar menu low, so if you really like scary movies and straight-to-video doesn' t scare you off, you could check it out. Just keep in mind, this straight-to-video isn't Sci-Fi channel quality with man-sharks or killer ants, so don't get your hopes up.
Rating: 3 Purrs for average Brit horror with a pretty predictable plot and scares
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Alone in the Dark (1982)
I can’t remember how I found out about this movie, all I know is it was highly entertaining. How can it not be with Jack Palance, Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau, and an appearance of a punk band called The Sick F*cks?
Alone in the Dark is about a psychiatrist who has just been assigned to working at the local sanitarium with Dr. Bain (Donald Pleasance). Dr. Bain is a little bit of a hippy, and on the fourth floor of his hospital he houses a group of men who are very dangerous. Dr. Bain, of course, has all sorts of rosy ideas about these guys, and doesn’t believe they are capable of violence anymore. The new doctor, Dr. Potter isn’t so sure. Not only is his family a little high strung, his sister, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, has come to town. Needless to say, things are a bit sticky at home, so when the guys on the 4th floor get it into their heads that the new doc actually killed the old doc and replaced him, and like only a movie can do, there’s a huge power outage, the psychos escape and head towards the new docs house to seek revenge.
There are some very good scenes here. Not only do the babysitter and her boyfriend have a pretty tense dispatching (excellent imagery here folks), the little girl gets to have a tense knifing scene and a scary pedophile in the guise of a babysitter scene, the sister gets to have some claustrophobic breakdown revisits, and there’s of course the twist ending that may not be so surprising anymore but is still good. The best parts go to Martin Landau, Donald Pleasance, and Jack Palance chewing up the scenery in their parts. They all look like they had a great time filming this movie. And honestly, what could be scarier: your family, locked up in your house with no weapons, no phone, no electricity, and a group of psychos armed to the teeth outside? Yikes!
Like I said, it was much better than I expected, and well worth a visit in the sanitarium. Just don’t get any psychos convinced you killed off their old doctor. It might mean trouble.
Rating: 5 Purrs for punk bands with cardboard axes singing “chop up your mother” and the nuclear power plant protest. Oh the 80’s.
Alone in the Dark is about a psychiatrist who has just been assigned to working at the local sanitarium with Dr. Bain (Donald Pleasance). Dr. Bain is a little bit of a hippy, and on the fourth floor of his hospital he houses a group of men who are very dangerous. Dr. Bain, of course, has all sorts of rosy ideas about these guys, and doesn’t believe they are capable of violence anymore. The new doctor, Dr. Potter isn’t so sure. Not only is his family a little high strung, his sister, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, has come to town. Needless to say, things are a bit sticky at home, so when the guys on the 4th floor get it into their heads that the new doc actually killed the old doc and replaced him, and like only a movie can do, there’s a huge power outage, the psychos escape and head towards the new docs house to seek revenge.
There are some very good scenes here. Not only do the babysitter and her boyfriend have a pretty tense dispatching (excellent imagery here folks), the little girl gets to have a tense knifing scene and a scary pedophile in the guise of a babysitter scene, the sister gets to have some claustrophobic breakdown revisits, and there’s of course the twist ending that may not be so surprising anymore but is still good. The best parts go to Martin Landau, Donald Pleasance, and Jack Palance chewing up the scenery in their parts. They all look like they had a great time filming this movie. And honestly, what could be scarier: your family, locked up in your house with no weapons, no phone, no electricity, and a group of psychos armed to the teeth outside? Yikes!
Like I said, it was much better than I expected, and well worth a visit in the sanitarium. Just don’t get any psychos convinced you killed off their old doctor. It might mean trouble.
Rating: 5 Purrs for punk bands with cardboard axes singing “chop up your mother” and the nuclear power plant protest. Oh the 80’s.
Monday, February 12, 2007
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
I like Wilkie Collins a whole lot. He’s one of those writers that even though he wrote in the last half of the 1800’s, you can still read him like he’s a modern suspense writer. His plots are tightly written and his characters are fairly modern. People even credit Collins as creating the first true English detective novel, although I really am not sure I completely agree with them on that.
The Moonstone is a cursed Indian blue diamond with a dubious past. It was stolen from an Indian shrine, and later passed on to Rachael Verinder as a birthday gift. With it brings mystery and danger, first with strange juggling Indians showing up to steal the diamond, and then, with the diamond being stolen and Rachael trying to cover up the crime. Sergeant Cuff is called to the case. He is sort of an early Sherlock Holmes character, but he doesn’t stay around long enough to really make a huge impression. Franklin Blake is in love with Rachael, and he was the one who delivered the diamond to Rachael and who pushes the mystery through to its conclusion.
A different narrator tells each section of the mystery and takes you through their parts of the story. I love that you can hear each character’s voice strongly in their sections, and each is so individual. Some are comic, like Betteredge the house steward, who always finds the answers in his copy of Robinson Crusoe, and Miss Clack, cousin to the Verinders, an old maid who is steadfastly devoted to Christ and is devoted to saving her cousin by leaving pamphlets in secret places around the house. Some are straightforward, like Sergeant Cuff, who looks through people to find the truth, but who still has time for his roses. Each character is unique and vividly drawn, and each adds to the story.
If you enjoy older mystery stories, but are looking for something easy to read but still worthwhile, you should check out Wilkie Collins.
Rating: 4 Purrs, if only for Betteredge and Mr. Crusoe
The Moonstone is a cursed Indian blue diamond with a dubious past. It was stolen from an Indian shrine, and later passed on to Rachael Verinder as a birthday gift. With it brings mystery and danger, first with strange juggling Indians showing up to steal the diamond, and then, with the diamond being stolen and Rachael trying to cover up the crime. Sergeant Cuff is called to the case. He is sort of an early Sherlock Holmes character, but he doesn’t stay around long enough to really make a huge impression. Franklin Blake is in love with Rachael, and he was the one who delivered the diamond to Rachael and who pushes the mystery through to its conclusion.
A different narrator tells each section of the mystery and takes you through their parts of the story. I love that you can hear each character’s voice strongly in their sections, and each is so individual. Some are comic, like Betteredge the house steward, who always finds the answers in his copy of Robinson Crusoe, and Miss Clack, cousin to the Verinders, an old maid who is steadfastly devoted to Christ and is devoted to saving her cousin by leaving pamphlets in secret places around the house. Some are straightforward, like Sergeant Cuff, who looks through people to find the truth, but who still has time for his roses. Each character is unique and vividly drawn, and each adds to the story.
If you enjoy older mystery stories, but are looking for something easy to read but still worthwhile, you should check out Wilkie Collins.
Rating: 4 Purrs, if only for Betteredge and Mr. Crusoe
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, Art by Niko Henrichon
Jeremy, the guy at the local comic shop, Titan Comics, insisted I pick up this graphic novel. It is simply remarkable in all ways. The art, the story, the dialog, everything gels in Pride of Baghdad to tell a story of life during wartime told through the eyes of a pride of lions.
In the spring of 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during a bombing raid to wander the streets starving and confused. In Pride of Baghdad, they have voices to tell you how they are feeling, the fears and confusion, the desire for freedom and what it can mean, and never do you feel like you are reading a Disney version of events. Vaughan doesn’t skimp on the details, but there is never any point where you feel like it is gratuitous.
The art by Niko Henrichon is beautiful. Each lion has character, each animal has human characteristics, and the backgrounds showing the decimated beauty of a great city is striking. You feel drawn into a world you will probably never see on television, no matter how long the war continues. It’s a vivid, orange-hued landscape; some images I still can’t get out of my head.
I can’t recommend reading Pride of Baghdad enough. It’s never preachy, never makes a serious judgment over the right or wrong of the war itself, but it does question what is freedom? How do you truly get it? Can you get it as a gift or do you have to fight, dig, roar, and struggle to get freedom that truly lasts and is deep inside you? Is it something someone can take away, or once you earn it, is it always present? My husband looked over at me after reading this and saw me sniffling. I’ll admit it; Pride of Baghdad brought tears to my eyes. For the struggle those beautiful creatures faced, the young men and women fighting the war, and the people it affects every day. It still is with me, and I am sure it will be for many months to come.
Rating: 5 Purrs for making me tear up with such a beautiful and touching story
In the spring of 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during a bombing raid to wander the streets starving and confused. In Pride of Baghdad, they have voices to tell you how they are feeling, the fears and confusion, the desire for freedom and what it can mean, and never do you feel like you are reading a Disney version of events. Vaughan doesn’t skimp on the details, but there is never any point where you feel like it is gratuitous.
The art by Niko Henrichon is beautiful. Each lion has character, each animal has human characteristics, and the backgrounds showing the decimated beauty of a great city is striking. You feel drawn into a world you will probably never see on television, no matter how long the war continues. It’s a vivid, orange-hued landscape; some images I still can’t get out of my head.
I can’t recommend reading Pride of Baghdad enough. It’s never preachy, never makes a serious judgment over the right or wrong of the war itself, but it does question what is freedom? How do you truly get it? Can you get it as a gift or do you have to fight, dig, roar, and struggle to get freedom that truly lasts and is deep inside you? Is it something someone can take away, or once you earn it, is it always present? My husband looked over at me after reading this and saw me sniffling. I’ll admit it; Pride of Baghdad brought tears to my eyes. For the struggle those beautiful creatures faced, the young men and women fighting the war, and the people it affects every day. It still is with me, and I am sure it will be for many months to come.
Rating: 5 Purrs for making me tear up with such a beautiful and touching story
Friday, February 02, 2007
Vampires: The Turning
I picked Vampires:The Turning up on my TIVO because I had a friend who loves bad horror movies as much as I do recommend it to me. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much.
Connor and his girlfriend have come to Thailand for vacation. Since Connor is a Muay-Thai boxer, he of course wants to see some real fights, and of course, his girlfriend Amanda get smacked with blood and she throws a fit about going to the fights (never mind that he’s a muay-thai fighter and him wanting to see a fight would not be a surprise). She breaks up with the guy and storms off in the middle of the city, with no idea where she is or how to speak the language. This girl is not the smartest in the pack. Of course, she’s prime meat for the local vampire hood. Connor sees her get hauled off to be a human blood factory, and after some muay-thai fighting, he of course gets beat up. Connor isn’t scared away though, after all, he loves this girl. He tracks down a vampire den, only to discover these are GOOD vampires, who only partake in animal blood, and who are mortal enemies of the bad vampire gang. The head of the clan, a beautiful Thai princess who is mother of all of these Thai vampires, has a plan to destroy the bad guys, but it involves some big thing about going back to her original palace and dying in the sun or something. Connor, after temporarily forgetting the girl he loves, makes it with the vampire princess, becomes a vampire so he can help her fight, and they all go off to kick some bad guy vampire ass, muay-thai boxing style. Oh wait, I forgot. There’s also Raines, a tie in to the original John Carpenter’s Vampires movie. Raines leads the current band of vampire hunters and has teamed up with the good vampires to kill the bad guys. Or wait, has he? Will the good vampires kick ass, will Connor’s girl be saved, and will he be able to magically return into being human? Or will he keep the beautiful vampire princess alive and stay with her? (That would be my vote. She’s better looking and less whiny.)
Well, I won’t tell you what Connor does. You have to see it to believe it. Just know that there are several scenes of silly muay-thai boxing thrown in between some really silly vampire nonsense. In other words, I loved it so much for it’s downright nonsense of a plot and very bad acting. Seriously. I doubt there’s another vampire muay-thai boxing movie out there that I could love so much.
Rating: 4 Purrs, with a hee-ya, turn kick, a total waste of a girlfriend, and a couple of fangs
Connor and his girlfriend have come to Thailand for vacation. Since Connor is a Muay-Thai boxer, he of course wants to see some real fights, and of course, his girlfriend Amanda get smacked with blood and she throws a fit about going to the fights (never mind that he’s a muay-thai fighter and him wanting to see a fight would not be a surprise). She breaks up with the guy and storms off in the middle of the city, with no idea where she is or how to speak the language. This girl is not the smartest in the pack. Of course, she’s prime meat for the local vampire hood. Connor sees her get hauled off to be a human blood factory, and after some muay-thai fighting, he of course gets beat up. Connor isn’t scared away though, after all, he loves this girl. He tracks down a vampire den, only to discover these are GOOD vampires, who only partake in animal blood, and who are mortal enemies of the bad vampire gang. The head of the clan, a beautiful Thai princess who is mother of all of these Thai vampires, has a plan to destroy the bad guys, but it involves some big thing about going back to her original palace and dying in the sun or something. Connor, after temporarily forgetting the girl he loves, makes it with the vampire princess, becomes a vampire so he can help her fight, and they all go off to kick some bad guy vampire ass, muay-thai boxing style. Oh wait, I forgot. There’s also Raines, a tie in to the original John Carpenter’s Vampires movie. Raines leads the current band of vampire hunters and has teamed up with the good vampires to kill the bad guys. Or wait, has he? Will the good vampires kick ass, will Connor’s girl be saved, and will he be able to magically return into being human? Or will he keep the beautiful vampire princess alive and stay with her? (That would be my vote. She’s better looking and less whiny.)
Well, I won’t tell you what Connor does. You have to see it to believe it. Just know that there are several scenes of silly muay-thai boxing thrown in between some really silly vampire nonsense. In other words, I loved it so much for it’s downright nonsense of a plot and very bad acting. Seriously. I doubt there’s another vampire muay-thai boxing movie out there that I could love so much.
Rating: 4 Purrs, with a hee-ya, turn kick, a total waste of a girlfriend, and a couple of fangs
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The Maid
The Maid is a new entry into the Asian Horror catalog from the Singapore. It doesn’t have a whole lot new to offer to the genre, but there is enough fresh here to warrant a look, if you like Asian horror.
The Maid is the story of Rosa, a young girl who comes from a rural area in the Philippines to work as a maid for a family who run a Chinese Opera and have a mentally challenged son. She arrives in Singapore just in time for the Chinese Seventh Month, believed to be the time when the gates of hell open and the spirits walk. There are lots of rules on how to appease the spirits, and many traditions and ceremonies that must be followed. However, Rosa is unfamiliar with these rules, and slowly she starts seeing spirits and other things she can’t explain. She fears for her life as she uncovers the true story of the maid who lived with the family previously, and the spirits come in for the final say.
There are no stringy haired ghosties in this story, but there are plenty of ghosts. Ghosts who want their families to recognize them, ghosts reliving last moments, and ghosts who seek vengeance for past wrongs. People are haunted by their traditions and their family ties. There is also a very well done subplot of the young, unsophisticated girl in a city, not only unfamiliar with the customs of city living and territory, but the customs of a culture.
Like I said before, there’s not a whole lot new in The Maid to offer the Asian horror genre, but there are plenty of nods to the masters to catch while watching and a couple of really good scares. (The scene with the food court and the next-door neighbor comes to mind.) I like Asian horror, and I really liked that the ghosts here weren’t of the Ringu variety that you see everywhere lately. I’d like to see more from the Singapore, just to see what they can offer the genre from here on out. The Maid is a good start.
Rating: 4 Purrs for the oh crap, that's a ghost moments
The Maid is the story of Rosa, a young girl who comes from a rural area in the Philippines to work as a maid for a family who run a Chinese Opera and have a mentally challenged son. She arrives in Singapore just in time for the Chinese Seventh Month, believed to be the time when the gates of hell open and the spirits walk. There are lots of rules on how to appease the spirits, and many traditions and ceremonies that must be followed. However, Rosa is unfamiliar with these rules, and slowly she starts seeing spirits and other things she can’t explain. She fears for her life as she uncovers the true story of the maid who lived with the family previously, and the spirits come in for the final say.
There are no stringy haired ghosties in this story, but there are plenty of ghosts. Ghosts who want their families to recognize them, ghosts reliving last moments, and ghosts who seek vengeance for past wrongs. People are haunted by their traditions and their family ties. There is also a very well done subplot of the young, unsophisticated girl in a city, not only unfamiliar with the customs of city living and territory, but the customs of a culture.
Like I said before, there’s not a whole lot new in The Maid to offer the Asian horror genre, but there are plenty of nods to the masters to catch while watching and a couple of really good scares. (The scene with the food court and the next-door neighbor comes to mind.) I like Asian horror, and I really liked that the ghosts here weren’t of the Ringu variety that you see everywhere lately. I’d like to see more from the Singapore, just to see what they can offer the genre from here on out. The Maid is a good start.
Rating: 4 Purrs for the oh crap, that's a ghost moments
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Walking Dead Trades, Volumes 1-5
When I stumbled across this series on Amazon, my toes wiggled with happiness. Seriously. A zombie comic book? (okay, okay, graphic novel) Really! Really? I was intrigued, and I snatched up the first trades I could find at my local comic shop, Titan. When I got close to finishing Volume 3, I made my husband commit to an early comic shop visit so I could get the final two out in print. That’s how much I liked this series. I am chomping at the bit to get Volume 6, so hurry up Mr. Robert Kirkman and give me more.
The Walking Dead Volumes 1 through 5 cover a whole heck of a lot of ground. Volume 1, Days Gone Bye, introduces you to the new world, a world where, much like 28 Days Later, our hero Rick Grimes wakes up to find himself in a hospital, all alone. He wanders about and discovers the dead are walking, and his wife and son have disappeared. He heads to Atlanta to find his wife and son, and along the way discovers just how much he slept through, and not only are the zombies scary, but some people are too. Volume 2, Miles Behind Us, has Rick and his rag tag group of followers leaving their campground for safer digs. During their journey they hook up with some new characters, and come across a farmer who has a really bad way of dealing with the zombies. Volume 3, Safety Behind Bars, has the group of travelers moving into what looks like an abandoned prison complex, only to find out the few living people left are not guards but inmates. Can the travelers make their home here? What about the other groups of living people outside the complex? Volume 4, The Heart’s Desire, has the characters settling down into somewhat more of a normal life, with consequences. There’s drama when the inmates release a bunch of zombies into the complex, and a new girl shows up to the complex, bringing in some more tension to the otherwise settled couples. Volume 5, The Best Defense, has our hero Rick leaving the prison with some others to investigate signs of other survivors, and in doing so, gets scooped up by the sadistic Governor, who rules his group of folks with a scary determination. Volume 5, like the others, leaves off on a cliffhanger, and I am really anxious to find out what’s going to happen next.
I like how Robert Kirkman mixes horror with some real what if’s. The characters aren’t as well developed as they could be, but they are getting there. They face real concerns, like how can we eat, where will we stay, can I really sleep with the undead crawling around? You end up asking yourself, what would you do if zombies roamed the Earth? Cause you know, it could happen. You never know.
Rating: 5 Purrs, cause how can I not love a zombie comic with heart? And brains.
The Walking Dead Volumes 1 through 5 cover a whole heck of a lot of ground. Volume 1, Days Gone Bye, introduces you to the new world, a world where, much like 28 Days Later, our hero Rick Grimes wakes up to find himself in a hospital, all alone. He wanders about and discovers the dead are walking, and his wife and son have disappeared. He heads to Atlanta to find his wife and son, and along the way discovers just how much he slept through, and not only are the zombies scary, but some people are too. Volume 2, Miles Behind Us, has Rick and his rag tag group of followers leaving their campground for safer digs. During their journey they hook up with some new characters, and come across a farmer who has a really bad way of dealing with the zombies. Volume 3, Safety Behind Bars, has the group of travelers moving into what looks like an abandoned prison complex, only to find out the few living people left are not guards but inmates. Can the travelers make their home here? What about the other groups of living people outside the complex? Volume 4, The Heart’s Desire, has the characters settling down into somewhat more of a normal life, with consequences. There’s drama when the inmates release a bunch of zombies into the complex, and a new girl shows up to the complex, bringing in some more tension to the otherwise settled couples. Volume 5, The Best Defense, has our hero Rick leaving the prison with some others to investigate signs of other survivors, and in doing so, gets scooped up by the sadistic Governor, who rules his group of folks with a scary determination. Volume 5, like the others, leaves off on a cliffhanger, and I am really anxious to find out what’s going to happen next.
I like how Robert Kirkman mixes horror with some real what if’s. The characters aren’t as well developed as they could be, but they are getting there. They face real concerns, like how can we eat, where will we stay, can I really sleep with the undead crawling around? You end up asking yourself, what would you do if zombies roamed the Earth? Cause you know, it could happen. You never know.
Rating: 5 Purrs, cause how can I not love a zombie comic with heart? And brains.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak
Ever since I was a girl, I just loved Nancy Drew books. I started off reading my mother’s original printings that she picked up during her childhood, and from there, I was hooked. Nancy Drew is probably the reason I am still hooked on reading as an adult. In Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak writes a behind the scenes history of Nancy Drew and her creators. She asks why has Nancy Drew survived through the Depression, World War II, the sixties upheaval, feminism, and still captured the hearts and minds of girls throughout all of these changes in our social structure. Who created her, and how did they influence the world of our girlhood?
Melanie Rehak introduces us to the Stratemeyer clan, the creators of Nancy Drew and many other childhood 50-cent novels beginning in the early 1900s. Edward, the father, began writing stories like the Bobbsey Twins and developed the idea of Nancy Drew, but his daughter Harriet carried on the dream of Nancy Drew way into the 1980s. The Stratemeyer clan hired ghostwriters to work on their novels based on detailed outlines; Mildred Wirt Benson was hired to write the first Nancy Drews. Mildred created the character of Nancy, and she used much of her own character to build Nancy. After awhile, Mildred broke off her association with the clan, and other writers took over, including eventually Harriet Stratemeyer herself.
Harriet protected Nancy Drew through the years, including protecting her basic character during the1960s and forward, when publishers wanted her to be sexier and boy-crazy. Then came trouble in the business, and a big question over which author was the real creator of Nancy Drew. Melanie Rehak digs through all of the history to bring out the truth. She never judges and presents an equal side for each woman involved. She even follows the history of Nancy into the 80s and 90s, into the new Nancy Drew Files, the new novels I remember from my teenage years.
I loved this book. Not only did it bring back wonderful memories of Nancy Drew (I actually found copies of all the books and the Nancy Drew Files and added them to my Amazon Wish List), I found another series I remember from my aunt’s childhood that unexpectedly was written by Mildred Wirt Benson. I found out more about the girl who captured my imagination and the vibrant, intelligent, and forward thinking women that created her and formed so many girls hopes and dreams throughout the 20th century. Melanie Rehak wrote with passion but never overstepped and made judgments. If you ever loved reading Nancy Drew, or knew a girl who did, you should read this book.
Rating: 5 Purrs
Melanie Rehak introduces us to the Stratemeyer clan, the creators of Nancy Drew and many other childhood 50-cent novels beginning in the early 1900s. Edward, the father, began writing stories like the Bobbsey Twins and developed the idea of Nancy Drew, but his daughter Harriet carried on the dream of Nancy Drew way into the 1980s. The Stratemeyer clan hired ghostwriters to work on their novels based on detailed outlines; Mildred Wirt Benson was hired to write the first Nancy Drews. Mildred created the character of Nancy, and she used much of her own character to build Nancy. After awhile, Mildred broke off her association with the clan, and other writers took over, including eventually Harriet Stratemeyer herself.
Harriet protected Nancy Drew through the years, including protecting her basic character during the1960s and forward, when publishers wanted her to be sexier and boy-crazy. Then came trouble in the business, and a big question over which author was the real creator of Nancy Drew. Melanie Rehak digs through all of the history to bring out the truth. She never judges and presents an equal side for each woman involved. She even follows the history of Nancy into the 80s and 90s, into the new Nancy Drew Files, the new novels I remember from my teenage years.
I loved this book. Not only did it bring back wonderful memories of Nancy Drew (I actually found copies of all the books and the Nancy Drew Files and added them to my Amazon Wish List), I found another series I remember from my aunt’s childhood that unexpectedly was written by Mildred Wirt Benson. I found out more about the girl who captured my imagination and the vibrant, intelligent, and forward thinking women that created her and formed so many girls hopes and dreams throughout the 20th century. Melanie Rehak wrote with passion but never overstepped and made judgments. If you ever loved reading Nancy Drew, or knew a girl who did, you should read this book.
Rating: 5 Purrs
Recent Acquisitions to the Library
It's been a week since I posted. I have no excuse except for laziness and being head-first into catching up on my comics, books, TIVO, and NetFlix. Here's what I have recently grabbed and added to my shelves.
- The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (by the same guy who wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)
- Beauty and The Beast by Marianna Mayer (One of my favorite illustrated children's books)
- Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (books 2-4 in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series)
- Killer on the Road by James Ellroy
- In the Night Room by Peter Straub
- The Courage Constort by Michel Faber
- Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander ( Book 4 in the Prydain series)
- Lisey's Story by Stephen King
- Eccentric Circles by Rebecca Lickiss
- 7 Steps to Midnight by Richard Matheson
- The String of Pearls by Anonymous (the original story of Sweeney Todd)
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Descent
I kept hearing that the The Descent was the best horror movie out last year, and so I rented it as soon as it came out. I was definitely not disappointed. In fact, I would have to say it’s one of the only movies outside of some Asian horror (Audition) that actually made me squeal and cringe into a little ball on the couch. My husband kept laughing from upstairs in our loft at the little Media Kitten ball on the couch. I was much upset at him, but I forgave him when he came home one day from work with a sparkling new copy of the DVD of my very own.
In The Descent, a group of adventure loving women get back together for a spelunking trip after one of them has a terrible (and icky, awesome opening scene) accident the year before. Juno, the leader on this trip, promises a real adventure, while the others aren’t terribly sure of themselves, but they are friends, and game for trying it out. Things start out great, despite some discomfort and some sparks between Juno and Sarah (the woman who had the accident). Eventually, the women realize something is wrong when the cave starts looking unfamiliar. Panic sets in, things start coming out of the walls, and the survival instincts set in. That’s when things start getting really fun. Will they make it out alive?
All of the women were great and I really hated to see any of them get killed off. You don’t usually feel that sort of connection with characters in a horror movie, so it was surprising to me to actually get drawn into these women’s plight. To be honest, I’m not really sure which half was scarier, the part before the creepies came out and they were just freaking out to the different aspects of the cave or afterwards when they were fighting off the flesh hungry beasties. There is certainly plenty of gore to tide the blood lovers over and plenty of tension to make you crawl into a ball on the couch. The beasties are second-hand to the true horror – being trapped underground with no way out and no one to trust but yourself.
I can’t recommend The Descent enough. It’s creepy in almost every bit, the characters are well drawn despite the limited playing time, and the survivor instinct true to your heart. You’ve got elements of all sorts of films here, including Alien, The Hills Have Eyes, and a few other classics, but it doesn’t diminish from the worthiness of this film. I can only recommend you see the uncut version, and not the cut American version. Why test audiences always insist on a happy ending for Americans to see I will never understand. The original is so much more true to the movie.
Rating: 5 Purrs, it’s about darn near perfect, but the caught in a hole scene, the ouch my leg scene, and scenes at the end made my day
In The Descent, a group of adventure loving women get back together for a spelunking trip after one of them has a terrible (and icky, awesome opening scene) accident the year before. Juno, the leader on this trip, promises a real adventure, while the others aren’t terribly sure of themselves, but they are friends, and game for trying it out. Things start out great, despite some discomfort and some sparks between Juno and Sarah (the woman who had the accident). Eventually, the women realize something is wrong when the cave starts looking unfamiliar. Panic sets in, things start coming out of the walls, and the survival instincts set in. That’s when things start getting really fun. Will they make it out alive?
All of the women were great and I really hated to see any of them get killed off. You don’t usually feel that sort of connection with characters in a horror movie, so it was surprising to me to actually get drawn into these women’s plight. To be honest, I’m not really sure which half was scarier, the part before the creepies came out and they were just freaking out to the different aspects of the cave or afterwards when they were fighting off the flesh hungry beasties. There is certainly plenty of gore to tide the blood lovers over and plenty of tension to make you crawl into a ball on the couch. The beasties are second-hand to the true horror – being trapped underground with no way out and no one to trust but yourself.
I can’t recommend The Descent enough. It’s creepy in almost every bit, the characters are well drawn despite the limited playing time, and the survivor instinct true to your heart. You’ve got elements of all sorts of films here, including Alien, The Hills Have Eyes, and a few other classics, but it doesn’t diminish from the worthiness of this film. I can only recommend you see the uncut version, and not the cut American version. Why test audiences always insist on a happy ending for Americans to see I will never understand. The original is so much more true to the movie.
Rating: 5 Purrs, it’s about darn near perfect, but the caught in a hole scene, the ouch my leg scene, and scenes at the end made my day
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
I found A Dirty Job completely by accident. My paperback book club sent it to me because I forgot to send in my card. I find the most interesting books that way. A Dirty Job is one of the funniest and sweetest books I have read in awhile.
A Dirty Job tells the story of Charlie Asher. Charlie is one of those guys who fades into the background. He runs a secondhand store and is constantly imagining the worst. On the day his wife gives birth to their daughter, he returns to her room to see a tall man in mint green standing over her. His wife is dead, and now Charlie has another problem. People start dying around him, and random objects start glowing red. Charlie discovers he’s a Death Merchant, one who guides the soul of one person to the next. His daughter starts behaving weirdly, the agents of evil are trying to rise up into San Francisco, and his sister wants him to just find a girl to go to bed with. Life just keeps getting more and more complicated the more Charlie finds out.
Christopher Moore writes a multi-faceted story full of truth disguised in humor. It’s laugh out loud funny, but in the next minute you are so very sad. Charlie is one of those characters that sticks with you. He is Everyman, and his daughter Sophie is so much more complex than your normal 6 year old. Regardless of that, she’s never unbelievable. In fact, despite his characters being a part of a comedic story, they are never caricatures. They are honest, and the book itself is such a lovely story about death and dying. It addresses your fears and your sadness over lost loved ones, all while making you laugh. Rarely do I find something so good to read, with so much that sticks with me long after.
I really must get more of Christopher Moore’s books. A Dirty Job reminded me of Good Omens and the like. There’s a story there with a lot of good things to say, but it never preaches. It lets you follow along and discover the points of the story on your own. I’ve got to see if his other books are as good.
Rating: 5 Purrs for giant hell hounds, little animal dolls, lesbian sisters, and Minty Fresh
A Dirty Job tells the story of Charlie Asher. Charlie is one of those guys who fades into the background. He runs a secondhand store and is constantly imagining the worst. On the day his wife gives birth to their daughter, he returns to her room to see a tall man in mint green standing over her. His wife is dead, and now Charlie has another problem. People start dying around him, and random objects start glowing red. Charlie discovers he’s a Death Merchant, one who guides the soul of one person to the next. His daughter starts behaving weirdly, the agents of evil are trying to rise up into San Francisco, and his sister wants him to just find a girl to go to bed with. Life just keeps getting more and more complicated the more Charlie finds out.
Christopher Moore writes a multi-faceted story full of truth disguised in humor. It’s laugh out loud funny, but in the next minute you are so very sad. Charlie is one of those characters that sticks with you. He is Everyman, and his daughter Sophie is so much more complex than your normal 6 year old. Regardless of that, she’s never unbelievable. In fact, despite his characters being a part of a comedic story, they are never caricatures. They are honest, and the book itself is such a lovely story about death and dying. It addresses your fears and your sadness over lost loved ones, all while making you laugh. Rarely do I find something so good to read, with so much that sticks with me long after.
I really must get more of Christopher Moore’s books. A Dirty Job reminded me of Good Omens and the like. There’s a story there with a lot of good things to say, but it never preaches. It lets you follow along and discover the points of the story on your own. I’ve got to see if his other books are as good.
Rating: 5 Purrs for giant hell hounds, little animal dolls, lesbian sisters, and Minty Fresh
Monday, January 15, 2007
Italian Giallo Three-Fer
One thing I just love about Giallos is the wonderful title of each film. Another thing: Edwidge Fenech. She is such a beautiful woman.
5 Dolls for an August Moon
Mario Brava brings us a version of Agatha Christie’s 10 Little Indians. It’s a very stylish movie, with very modern furnishings and very 70’s chic fashions. A group of people are out on an island with a very wealthy scientist who has some secret that these various people want to buy from him. (Edwige Fenech stars as one of the guests.) He refuses, and one by one the different people are murdered. There’s plenty of blood to go with the twist ending. It’s an average Giallo, and you shouldn’t miss it if you are a fan of the genre.
Rating: 3 Purrs
What Have You Done to Solange?
A teacher at an all-girls school is having an affair with one of his students, and while they are out frolicking, the girl sees a flash of a knife and possibly a murder. After the police find a dead girl from the school in those same woods, the girl comes forward and then one by one, more girls are killed most brutally. A group of girls at the school seem to have a secret, one that someone wants to kill them for. It’s an excellent entry to the Giallo genre. If you don’t mind seeing movies with overdubbing, and you like a good mystery, check it out.
Rating: 4 ½ Purrs
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh
Edwige Fenech stars in this lovely Giallo as the wife of a stockbroker with some seriously naughty sexual vices. A straight razor serial killer is stalking her and other beautiful women in Venice, and she thinks it could be one of the men in her life. Her ex-lover, Jean, is the one who used to satisfy her sadomasochistic vices, and he thinks he can win her back. Her husband may be jealous of her past life, and might be killing women to revenge his love. George, the cousin of a good friend is newly rich and very handsome, but he seems to be hiding something of his own. There’s lots of nudity in this one, and lots of razor slashing. The atmosphere is gloomy and mysterious. Jean is creepy, George is seductive, and Edwige is luminous if somewhat too trusting. The twist here is old school, but perfect. This is my favorite of the three I just watched. It’s very much worth your while.
Ratings: 5 Purrs
5 Dolls for an August Moon
Mario Brava brings us a version of Agatha Christie’s 10 Little Indians. It’s a very stylish movie, with very modern furnishings and very 70’s chic fashions. A group of people are out on an island with a very wealthy scientist who has some secret that these various people want to buy from him. (Edwige Fenech stars as one of the guests.) He refuses, and one by one the different people are murdered. There’s plenty of blood to go with the twist ending. It’s an average Giallo, and you shouldn’t miss it if you are a fan of the genre.
Rating: 3 Purrs
What Have You Done to Solange?
A teacher at an all-girls school is having an affair with one of his students, and while they are out frolicking, the girl sees a flash of a knife and possibly a murder. After the police find a dead girl from the school in those same woods, the girl comes forward and then one by one, more girls are killed most brutally. A group of girls at the school seem to have a secret, one that someone wants to kill them for. It’s an excellent entry to the Giallo genre. If you don’t mind seeing movies with overdubbing, and you like a good mystery, check it out.
Rating: 4 ½ Purrs
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh
Edwige Fenech stars in this lovely Giallo as the wife of a stockbroker with some seriously naughty sexual vices. A straight razor serial killer is stalking her and other beautiful women in Venice, and she thinks it could be one of the men in her life. Her ex-lover, Jean, is the one who used to satisfy her sadomasochistic vices, and he thinks he can win her back. Her husband may be jealous of her past life, and might be killing women to revenge his love. George, the cousin of a good friend is newly rich and very handsome, but he seems to be hiding something of his own. There’s lots of nudity in this one, and lots of razor slashing. The atmosphere is gloomy and mysterious. Jean is creepy, George is seductive, and Edwige is luminous if somewhat too trusting. The twist here is old school, but perfect. This is my favorite of the three I just watched. It’s very much worth your while.
Ratings: 5 Purrs
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Scoop
I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen. I loved Match Point, and Manhattan Murder Mystery was great. But after awhile, I get tired of Woody Allen playing Woody Allen. Match Point was near perfect, and a great part of that was because there was no Woody Allen acting. Scoop was funny, but there was something missing from it. It had potential, but it fell flat in the end.
Scoop is a light comedy. Sondra Pranski is a journalism student in Lonodn visiting friends. Through a magic show, she ends up in contact with a dead journalist who has a tip. He thinks the Tarot Card serial killer currently active in London is a Lord’s son. Sondra decides to take on the job of getting the scoop. The trouble is, naturally, that she falls for the guy she’s investigating. Is he guilty? Will she care either way?
What did I like about Scoop? Well, there was Scarlett Johansson. She was funny and sweet, just like the journalism student role called for. Hugh Jackman was delicious as the aristocrat. Romola Garai was funny as Scarlett’s upper crust friend. Some of the dialogue was just hilarious, and some scenes between Woody Allen and Scarlett were right on. Ian McShane was funny in the scenes he had as the spectral journalist intent on getting his scoop even beyond the grave.
What did I not like about Scoop? I though the ending was off tone. Woody Allen hammed it up way too much. Scarlett and Hugh had very little chemistry, and for the majority of the time, the chemistry between Woody and Scarlett fell flat. Scarlett’s costuming was awful and just did not fit the character at all.
I’m not disappointed in the movie completely. It had its moments. I just feel that it could have been so much more than it was. It could have been another Manhattan Murder Mystery, which is what I was wanting. Unfortunately, to me, Woody Allen has become beyond a parody of himself, and with no Diane Keaton to play opposite (Nothing against Scar Jo; Love her. It’s just those two had chemistry. Bam!), the whole film was missing a big chunk of what would have made it perfect.
Rating: 3 Purrs for getting Scar Jo and Hugh in swimsuits, and a few Woody Allen perfect one liners
Scoop is a light comedy. Sondra Pranski is a journalism student in Lonodn visiting friends. Through a magic show, she ends up in contact with a dead journalist who has a tip. He thinks the Tarot Card serial killer currently active in London is a Lord’s son. Sondra decides to take on the job of getting the scoop. The trouble is, naturally, that she falls for the guy she’s investigating. Is he guilty? Will she care either way?
What did I like about Scoop? Well, there was Scarlett Johansson. She was funny and sweet, just like the journalism student role called for. Hugh Jackman was delicious as the aristocrat. Romola Garai was funny as Scarlett’s upper crust friend. Some of the dialogue was just hilarious, and some scenes between Woody Allen and Scarlett were right on. Ian McShane was funny in the scenes he had as the spectral journalist intent on getting his scoop even beyond the grave.
What did I not like about Scoop? I though the ending was off tone. Woody Allen hammed it up way too much. Scarlett and Hugh had very little chemistry, and for the majority of the time, the chemistry between Woody and Scarlett fell flat. Scarlett’s costuming was awful and just did not fit the character at all.
I’m not disappointed in the movie completely. It had its moments. I just feel that it could have been so much more than it was. It could have been another Manhattan Murder Mystery, which is what I was wanting. Unfortunately, to me, Woody Allen has become beyond a parody of himself, and with no Diane Keaton to play opposite (Nothing against Scar Jo; Love her. It’s just those two had chemistry. Bam!), the whole film was missing a big chunk of what would have made it perfect.
Rating: 3 Purrs for getting Scar Jo and Hugh in swimsuits, and a few Woody Allen perfect one liners
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
See No Evil
See No Evil is one of those non-important horror movies released in the last year, starring the WWE star Kane. It’s even produced by WWE. I saw this intro credit when the movie started, and I thought to myself, “Uh oh.” What an understatement of the year.
See No Evil involves 8 teenage delinquents and their minders, one of which, the cop, faced the same crazed killer in the past and lost an arm while doing so. These 8 delinquents are being offered a shortened sentence if they help clean up an old hotel that is being converted into a shelter for the homeless. These teens don’t care much for actual work; they’d rather drink whatever booze they can find, smoke weed, and fool around. Somehow, the crazy killer that the cop fought before has ended up in the hotel and he is now stalking the teenagers and their handlers. The killer seeks them out one by one and kills them because of their sins. He uses the normal big guy weapons: axes, big hooks, his body slams.
There are pluses and minuses to this movie. The movie has all of the elements of some nice gory horror, but it’s not very original in any way. There’s plenty of gore, worthy of a nice icky Italian horror (the killer has an affinity for eye removal). The site of the old Blackwell Hotel is nice and spooky. A few of the deaths are unusual. You are surprise at who lives, but not who dies. Some of the characters are just marked. As for the minuses, the characters are all your normal horror movie teens. There’s the rich blonde, the geeky kid, the tough girl, the Goth chick, the animal lover, the drug dealer tough, the hoodlum, and the red shirt (Yes, that is a Star Trek reference). The character list reads like The Breakfast Club. The bad guy is such a retread of almost everything else you have ever seen before, an extreme version of the “movie rules” from Scream. He’s not even scary, just a hulky beast, stomping around with a permanent growl. He’s even got Jason syndrome, with the torturous mommy in the background. The “twist” they throw in is just obvious. But my biggest minus is the fact that Kane, the big bad scary guy, throws his victims around like they are in the wrestling ring, accompanied with big boom, smack sounds. He does it to every single one of those victims. It’s ridiculous.
Overall, I wouldn’t waste a rental on this one, unless the idea of a big wrestler skulking around, slamming victims into walls, is your cup of tea. There’s not much original here, but I did like the Goth girl’s tattoos. It’s not as bad as some horror I have seen, but there is nothing really new here. You can do better, just rent one of the classics instead.
Rating: 3 Purrs for lots of icky eyeballs
See No Evil involves 8 teenage delinquents and their minders, one of which, the cop, faced the same crazed killer in the past and lost an arm while doing so. These 8 delinquents are being offered a shortened sentence if they help clean up an old hotel that is being converted into a shelter for the homeless. These teens don’t care much for actual work; they’d rather drink whatever booze they can find, smoke weed, and fool around. Somehow, the crazy killer that the cop fought before has ended up in the hotel and he is now stalking the teenagers and their handlers. The killer seeks them out one by one and kills them because of their sins. He uses the normal big guy weapons: axes, big hooks, his body slams.
There are pluses and minuses to this movie. The movie has all of the elements of some nice gory horror, but it’s not very original in any way. There’s plenty of gore, worthy of a nice icky Italian horror (the killer has an affinity for eye removal). The site of the old Blackwell Hotel is nice and spooky. A few of the deaths are unusual. You are surprise at who lives, but not who dies. Some of the characters are just marked. As for the minuses, the characters are all your normal horror movie teens. There’s the rich blonde, the geeky kid, the tough girl, the Goth chick, the animal lover, the drug dealer tough, the hoodlum, and the red shirt (Yes, that is a Star Trek reference). The character list reads like The Breakfast Club. The bad guy is such a retread of almost everything else you have ever seen before, an extreme version of the “movie rules” from Scream. He’s not even scary, just a hulky beast, stomping around with a permanent growl. He’s even got Jason syndrome, with the torturous mommy in the background. The “twist” they throw in is just obvious. But my biggest minus is the fact that Kane, the big bad scary guy, throws his victims around like they are in the wrestling ring, accompanied with big boom, smack sounds. He does it to every single one of those victims. It’s ridiculous.
Overall, I wouldn’t waste a rental on this one, unless the idea of a big wrestler skulking around, slamming victims into walls, is your cup of tea. There’s not much original here, but I did like the Goth girl’s tattoos. It’s not as bad as some horror I have seen, but there is nothing really new here. You can do better, just rent one of the classics instead.
Rating: 3 Purrs for lots of icky eyeballs
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