The Worlds Between Words – Devil in a Blue Dress
Jun 27
I recently finished Devil in a Blue Dress, Walter Mosley’s excellent hard-boiled mystery novel. Within the first third of the book there was a line that struck me like a solid swing of baseball bat to the abdomen. Mosley’s lead, World War II veteran Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, describes the fear that seized him during his introduction to combat. “The first time I fought...
“The Last Exorcism” Poster. What. Is. THIS?
May 16
With the release of a teaser poster, The Last Exorcism has gone from being completely off my radar to squarely within my cross hairs. As my boy over at The Brand New Cool points out, this poster is so creepy it almost makes watching the film pointless. Color me cynical or impressed, perhaps a bit of both, but some part of me thinks this is probably going to be the film’s signature moment...
Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Golden Arm
May 04
Confessions of a Fear Junkie – “The Golden Arm” This is, to my recollection, my earliest encounter with a ghost story, antedating my ongoing, abusive, unhealthy love affair with horror. It’s not the clearest memory, I was only five-years-old, but it’s less opaque than other memories from that age. “Who’s got my Golden Arm?!” My kindergarten teacher’s name was Mrs. Nina...
Clash of the Titans: It’s Better Than Awful…
Apr 04
I am aware that this counts for virtually nothing, but I think the new Clash of the Titans earns a few points for not trying too hard. There’s no attempt to turn mythology on its head, no effort to “modernize” the story beyond the obvious special effects upgrades. There’s something almost traditional about how straightforward this story is. The “hero” is...
Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Blair Witch Project
Mar 23
I understand why a lot of people hated The Blair Witch Project. When it was first released over a decade ago I didn’t understand the negativity, but it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. And no, I’m not blaming it on “Hype Backlash,” though that was probably a part of it. Truth is, it’s not a very good film. It was, upon initial viewing, a...
God of War III is Outstanding. That is all…
Mar 22
Okay, that’s obviously not all, but only because “outstanding” is not quite super enough of a superlative to describe God of War‘s first (and only?) installment on the PS3. Neither is “epic.” Oh no. God of War makes the word epic feel inadequate and unsure of itself. Epic was the coolest kid in school–star quarterback and star pupil–until God of...
