There is something unreal in the world of fiction. Now get me right; I’ve written fiction, so I understand that unreality is kind of the point. However, it sometimes leaves a plastic sheen that the producers of the work didn’t intend. Writers write too hard. Actors try to hard to achieve the beneath-the-nail grit that…
Hi. My name is Bill, and I am a reformed Stephen King fan. Hi, Bill. It’s been 18 years since I was a fan. In truth, I was a King fan during the tail end of my horror-fan phase, which lasted from age six through age approximately 30, when my change from being mostly…
As I was writing to my wife, telling her about the existence of Polish director Zbigniew Rybczyński’s musical live-action piece, “The Orchestra,” bemoaning the fact that I’ve not found a video copy more than 360 pixels, here I found one that puports to be 720p. It’s not, of course, merely the 360p video artificially enlarged…
I’ve spent over an hour of my precious life viewing two important Luis Buñuel films: the 1929 short film Un Chien Andalou, and the hour-long classic L’Age d’Or. The former film was a collaboration between Buñuel and Salvador Dali, who intended the piece to anger the young bourgeoisie, but to their horror, one cannot easily…
There has been a great deal of discussion on social media this week regarding Jordan Peele, writer, comedian, founder of Monkeypaw Productions, and the writer/director of the surprise hit movie, Get Out. Now admittedly, I haven’t seen the movie, nor am I likely to since horror films generally irritate me without providing either scares or…
We’ve all heard of Hollywood, that western Los Angeles bastion of film, fantasy, and phoniness. Hollywood didn’t invent the movies. nor did they perfect them, but they sure as heck added to movies’ worldwide popularity. Of course, California has hardly been the sole home of the movie industry: there has always been a burgeoning trade…
Maria and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I could think of no better way to celebrate it (and digest dinner) by sharing a few Christmas videos I’ve run across. Some are animation, some live action, but none is very long, and hopefully they’ll bring a smile to your…
This morning’s ridiculous animated laugh is entitled “Switch Man,” and is brought to you by the animation duo Hsun-Chun Chuang X Shao-Kuei Tung. It shows an ordinary superhero who changes form in his attempts to defeat Dr. Evil Mantis. Unfortunately for him, his power doesn’t always work out the way he hopes. Described by the…
A man returns to the Midwestern farm of his childhood on a desperate mission to unearth the horrifying truth of what landed there in the summer of 1960. View trailer: vimeo.com/55338337 This is an outstanding short film that features a strong story, excellent acting by all parties, and wonderful cinematography. The palpable tension throughout builds…
Ever wonder what it would be like to spend every night traveling, each time in a different hotel? Amsterdam-based director Jeroen Houben’s “Home Suite Home” tells the story of a hotel inspector’s life as he passes through Paris. His life is rote; each encounter a variation of the previous one … that is, until an…
Raw, Naked Art 