Books of 2014

Growing up, I didn't really read "books".  I read for school, obviously, but nearly all my recreational reading was in the form of comic books.  And I read a LOT of them.  There were a few novels I got through as a pre-teen/teenager.  Star Wars and X-Men books and some young adult thrillers by Christopher Pike.  That was about it.

As an adult, it was pretty much the same.  Comics and magazines all over, but I didn't have the attention span for "real books".   I did jump on some books once my obsession with MMA took hold.  A couple by Sam Sheridan and Forrest Griffin (which are still among my favorites).

Then something happened in early 2013.   I won't get into it all the details, but I had some whiny, pouty, not-too-serious depression type stuff going on.  The trigger of which coincided with my viewing of the movie "Gangster Squad".  A movie with great cast and subject matter that interests me, but was kind of terrible. Watching it made me want to re-visit a similar, but good movie.  One of my favorites in "LA Confidential".  Which, in turn, had me wanting to actually read the novel it was based on.

But I'm a comic nerd, remember?   I couldn't just read LA Confidential.   It was part of a series.  The third part of James Ellroy's "LA Quartet".   I would have to start with The Black Dahlia, and work from there.

The escape into that novel was a great change of pace from comics and film.  I started seeking other books, like Elmore Leonard's Riding The Rap (featuring Raylan Givens of "Justified" fame), and Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box.

Early last year I set a goal for myself, to read at least ten books in 2014.   I fell miserably short, clocking in at six.   But to be fair, I do read roughly 10-15 comic books a week, and around 10 Graphic Novels every year.  Anyhow, here is what I did get through...


The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
 The second of Ellroy's "LA Quartet", and probably my favorite book.  It's dark, disturbing, complex, shocking, and terrifying.  I loved every page.   In a nutshell, it follows an LA Sheriff's Deputy's attempt to solve a gruesome murder, while being forced to work with an LAPD Lieutenant and a former detective who are working to infiltrate and expose a Hollywood communist organization.   (I'm just now getting around to LA Confidential, if you're curious).



Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry
This is one I had actually read upon it's release in the late 90's.  Set between the films "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi", the book was part of an ambitious multi-media campaign by Lucas Film.  The idea being to produce all the ancillary media projects associated with a big budget film release (novel, comic book, video game, soundtrack), but without the film.
While I loved the book as a teen, it was honestly hard to get through this time around.  No Han Solo (he was frozen in carbonite, duh) meant they had to introduce a Solo archetype called Dash Rendar.   He's pretty much just Han Solo, but more of an asshole.   He's great, actually.  Another new character was Prince Xizor, an underworld figure who is in constantly at odds with Darth Vader. 
It might just be that coming of The Big Nowhere, Steve Perry couldn't stack up to Ellroy, but I found myself rolling my eyes at all the winks and nods to the film series. I still like the book, but it was the weakest entry on this list.


Descending Lines by L. Andrew Cooper
While attending Louisville's FandomFest in 2013 I sat in on a Literary Panel about Horror in Fiction and Film.   One of the panelist's was local author L. Andrew Cooper.  I enjoyed the panel very much, so decided to visit him at his publisher's table on the Con floor.   I honestly didn't expect to enjoy the book he was promoting, Burning The Middle Ground, but I wanted to support the guy and bought a copy.  Several months later I finally read it and enjoyed it very much.
Descending Lines isn't exactly a sequel, but seems to take place in the same world.   A young couple is grief stricken over their daughters battle with cancer, a battle she is losing.  But with access to a book called "The Alchemy of Will", they have a way to save her if they are willing to sacrifice their second born.   Unfortunately they don't have a second born. Yet.
The book doesn't pull its punches. It's an uncomfortable read at times, but worth it in the end. I was a bigger fan of BTMG, due to it having more of an epic feel, but I hope to see more of this series.


The Hunter by Richard Stark
The first of Richard Stark's PARKER novels has been adapted to film at least twice with "Point Blank" starring Lee Marvin and "Payback" starring Mel Gibson.  "Payback" being one of my favorite crime flicks, and hearing so many great things about Stark, I was eager to read this one and get started on the Parker series. Not easy to track down, but luckily IDW has started publishing new editions with illustrations from Darwyn Cooke.
Parker is a career criminal, after a job he is betrayed by one of his partners and his wife.  Left for dead, Parker survives and looks to take his revenge, and get his share of the money back.  His partner used that money to buy himself into an organized crime outfit, but Parker doesn't give a damn about that.  He's getting it back or he'll die trying. 
I was a bit surprised to find that Parker wasn't even remotely a good guy. He's a criminal, and a murderer.  And Stark makes no apologies for him.   Regardless of his actions, you still root for him. Because despite how he got the money, he still earned it and was screwed out of it, and you want him to get his revenge.  And his cash.


The Friedkin Connection by William Friedkin

William Friedkin is an absolutely fascinating figure in Cinema history.   He's the director of legendary films like "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection", as well as cult hits that are just recently getting the credit they deserve like "Sorcerer" and "To Live And Die In LA".  This memoir begins with his early life and takes it's time dealing with his breakthrough from TV work to Hollywood royalty.  Touching on nearly all of his films, with long segments dedicated to his biggest hits and most important work.   Often hilarious and always interesting, there's never a dull chapter, even when he's talking about his work directing Opera.


  NOS482 by Joe Hill

A bit of a cheat here, maybe, since I finished this one up in early January, but here it is.  Following a young girl with some very unique abilities and her battle with a Rolls Royce driving kidnapper with his own set of extraordinary talents, this one's hard to describe without giving things away that I am glad I didn't know about going in.   Hill is one of my favorite writers with this, Heart-Shaped Box, and comic series Locke and Key to his credit.

A look back at Horror Movie Month... 3 months later

For me, October has always been a month for Horror movies, I guess, but it's only been the last few years that I've made a big deal about it. Probably because I got little else going on in my life of note. I usually challenge myself with 31 movies in 31 nights, and that was the goal this year as well.

However, I added a twist to it by making a list of 31 Horror flicks I had never seen before, like Scanners and Suspiria. Some Horror auteur's work I hadn't got around to yet, like Romero's Monkey Shines and Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow. And a bunch of stuff I'd heard of, but never really made the effort to track down like The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Pumpkinhead, and The Wizard of Gore. But with all this new (to me) stuff, what about my old stand-by classics? Scream? Insidious? The Thing? The Mist? I couldn't ignore those babies, could I?

So I went a step further by extending my personal challenge to 50 Horror movies in October, 31 of which would be fresh material. I was pretty excited about the whole thing (sadly), and jumped right in with unbridled enthusiasm. However something became clear during the first week. Some of these movies are not very good. And some are downright awful. That would be fine under most viewing circumstances. I've sat through plenty of bad movies. But when it's a bad double feature followed up the next day with another stinker? It wears down the resolve. Watching these things became a chore pretty quickly and even the good stuff became less enjoyable than it should have been. Several movies I barely grasped and struggled to maintain consciousness throughout.

Towards the end, I lost interest in achieving my ridiculous goal, although I probably would have succeeded had I not become very busy repairing my floors and ceiling during the last week of the month. I made it to 42, 33 of which I had never seen before. Despite the garbage, a lot of good stuff in there too. Videodrome and From Beyond stand out as maybe the best, while The Wizard of Gore and Dr. Giggles were probably the worst.

Not a bad Horror Movie Month, but next year my goal will be far simpler.


Here's a complete rundown of the movies I hacked through in October...

1. CANDYMAN  8/10
2. THE CONJURING  8/10 
3. ANNABELLE  5/10
4. THE ROOST  4/10
5. DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW  5/10
6. FREAKS  7/10
7. THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW  5/10
8. EVENT HORIZON  7/10
9. DR. GIGGLES  2/10
10. THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN  6/10
11. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)  7/10 
12. HOUSE  5/10
13. HELLRAISER 8: HELLWORLD  2/10
14. MONKEY SHINES  4/10
15. DEAD SNOW  6/10
16. THE SIGNAL  7/10
17. VIDEODROME  8/10
18. CHILDREN OF THE CORN  6/10
19. SOMEONE'S WATHCING ME  5/10
20. SUSPIRIA  6/10
21. THE STUFF  5/10
22. THE WIZARD OF GORE  3/10
23. SHIVERS  4/10
24. HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH  6/10
25. HATCHET 2  8/10
26. BLOOD CREEK  6/10
27. MANIAC COP  5/10
28. THE PROPHECY  5/10
29. C.H.U.D.  5/10
30. BODY BAGS  6/10
31. PET SEMETARY  7/10
32. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS  9/10
33. HALLOWEEN (1978)  10/10
34. CHAIN LETTER  3/10
35. PUMPKINHEAD  6/10
36. PSYCHO  9/10 
37. SCANNERS  7/10
38. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD  7/10
39. SAW  6/10
40. YOU'RE NEXT  8/10 
41. THE BURNING  5/10
42. FROM BEYOND  8/10

I also managed to squeeze in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy (The Thing, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness) about a week into November when I finally had my Halloween party.  Sadly, no Evil Dead films...       

Countdown To Halloween....

As I prepared for my annual October Horror filmfest I decided to pick the movies I would be watching in advance and then went a step further and organized them in descending order (I got a lot of free time, folks).  But being a horror fiend, I had trouble whittling it down to only 31 movies in 31 nights.  So I even have an "honorable mention" top 10, which didn't quite make the cut.  Here they are, also in descending order...

10. SWEENY TODD   2007
Tim Burton's bloody adaptation of the stage play is helped by a strong cast, but would be a good time either way, as the material is right up his alley.
9. 28 DAYS LATER   2002
Danny Boyle re-invented the Zombie film with supercharged, rage fueled non-zombies and a stellar cast.
8. THE 'BURBS   1989
Joe Dante's light-hearted dark comedy (is that possible?) hits all the right notes as Tom Hanks and his bumbling neighbors try to figure out if the newest residents are murderers.
7. NIGHT OF THE CREEPS   1986
Fred Dekker throws everything but the kitchen sink into this Horror/Sci-Fi amalgam that clearly (and heavily) influenced James Gunn's Slither.
6. THE LOST BOYS   1987
Vampire. Jack. Bauer.*
5. THE CONJURING   2013
Not much new ground is covered here as a family is terrorized by "vengeful spirits", but the performances are top notch across the board and James Wan knows how to dial up the tension and exactly where to place his camera.
4. HATCHET 2   2010
Adam Green's new breed of Slasher peaks in this gore-soaked middle chapter of the refreshingly not-so-serious and well made Hatchet series featuring Horror legend Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley.
3. DAWN OF THE DEAD   2004
Likely taking a cue from 28 Days Later, Zack Snyder ramps up the zombies to speed freak levels and lets his tale of survivors hold up in a mall plays out like an exhilarating and terrifying action flick.
2. DEAD ALIVE   1992
Peter Jackson's splatter-fest has plenty of heart to go with the absurd zombie killing, rat smashing, puss consuming, and kung-fu ass kicking (for The Lord!).
1. SAW   2004
James Wan and Leigh Wannell crafted an original tale of twisted morality that, sadly, spawned the awful torture porn sub-genre.


*- Also, the Corey's in their prime!

James Wan Is My Master Now...

There are a lot of great Horror directors out there.  Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento (though, to be honest, I've never seen any Argento flicks), George Romero, and many others.  But few in my circle, and I dare say any circle of intelligent cinephiles, would argue against John Carpenter as the undisputed master of the genre.  This could be in part because he's not just a great Horror director, but a great director in general.  Aside from horror/thriller flicks, he has Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, and They Live to name a few.  All great fantasy/sci-fi/undefinable classics in their own right.  But it is the Horror genre where he has truly shined.  Halloween, The Fog (haven't seen that yet, either. Arg!), The Thing, Christine, In the Mouth of Madness.  Hell, even Vampires can be thrown in there.  Sure, it's not on the same level as those masterpieces, and it plays out more like an action film than Horror, but I'm feeling generous.  And Carpenter isn't just a director, he writes/co-writes many of the films as well, and almost always composes the music.  Jack of all Trades, Master of One (Horror movies is the one, if you're confused).  But the Master has gotten up there in age a bit and hasn't graced us with many new films of late.  Since the box office disappointment Ghosts of Mars in 2001, he's had only one theatrically released film: The Ward in 2010.  (The Ward is not a great movie and that's all I'll say about it.)  These days Carpenter seems content to produce less-than-stellar remakes of his classics.
He'll receive no judgment from me for it, though.  Count those monies, sir, you have earned it.

Without him around to create new classics, there is a void that needs to be filled.  Thankfully, several young Horror auteur's out there have caught my eye the last few years.  Adam Green has the gore soaked splatter-fest Hatchet franchise.  Adam Wingard's recently released You're Next, is an expertly crafted take on the "home invasion" sub-genre that takes a turn to survivalist thriller, with a score that would make Carpenter proud.  Ti West has shown great promise with House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, both throwbacks to an era when tension was the key to Horror, rather than gratuitous violence (hey, I love both, don't get me wrong).

But one guy has stood out as the next "great one": James Wan.

Wan first garnered attention for the original Saw film.  While I pretty much despise what's become known as the "torture porn" Horror sub-genre that Saw kick started, I still have an appreciation for the movie.  Upon its release, it seemed to come out  of nowhere and turned into a big smash hit.  no big stars (sorry Danny Glover) were carrying it, but it was unique, and inventive, and gory, and pretty terrifying at times, to be honest.  After it blew up I was quick to point out how it was pretty good, but overrated (cuz I'm THAT guy).  After the first one, Wan stepped away as director, although his frequent collaborator Leigh Whannell is credited as working on the story for the first few sequels.  I gave up on it after Saw 3, which was dreadful.

According to Wan, his next feature came about due to pressure from his agent sort of forcing him to get a new movie in the works immediately.  He later called the experience "creativity at gunpoint", and the result was Dead Silence: The story of possessed puppets that kill people.  Or something. I don't really remember.  Anyway, it's bad.  Not god-awful or anything, but certainly a low-point for Wan.  Even in this lackluster example of his work, there's stuff to admire.  Puppets are creepy as hell, and Wan manages to get some good mileage out of them.

That same year brought Death Sentence, the Kevin Bacon revenge-thriller which has no connection to the Horror genre outside of kinda looking like a Horror movie.  Based on the novel of the same name, it's remarkably dark, gritty, and violent.  More so than any mainstream film you're likely to see.  Bacon's son is murdered by gang members and then it's him that's out for blood.  And there certainly is blood.  Not a favorite of mine, but a serviceable effort, which I enjoyed for what it was.

Wan took about three years away from the camera before returning to Horror with Insidious.  And what a return it was.  Insidious sort of flew in under the radar, looking like a run-of-the-mill haunted house story leading up to its release.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case.  Sure some of the familiar tropes are in place, but it's produced in such a way that it all seems fresh.  Wan's excellent use of eye-widening suggestion and gasp-inducing reveals keeps people on edge.  When one of the leads ventures into "The Further" (an astral plane, and yes, the name is cringe worthy), it twists with almost sci-fi elements, while still staying grounded to its Horror base.  To me, this was Wan's coming out party, and while I thought it would be best left as a stand-alone, it would be a lie to say I'm not excited about the sequel.

This past summer (yes, it's somehow Fall already) Wan went back to the haunted house well with The Conjuring, which had me a bit nervous.  I sort of thought he already made his contribution to the sub-genre, albeit with his own unique spin, and this seemed a pointless exercise.  And maybe those thoughts have some validity, but The Conjuring was still a great film.  It's based on "real case files" of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators notable for their involvement with the events on which The Amityville Horror is based, among others.  The case in question is that of an old farmhouse recently moved into by a family of seven, and the paranormal activity that followed.  Wan again wow's the audience with deft camera movement and eerie tension, but the film is elevated by the cast, who top to bottom, deliver fantastic performances.  Patrick Wilson (also of Insidious) and Vera Farmiga portray the Warrens, and their love for and faith in each other is the heart of the film.

This weekend brings us Insidious Chapter 2, which again, I find unnecessary, but can't wait to see.  After that Wan is drifting back out of Horror, at least for awhile, starting with Fast and Furious 7 (that's right, 7!).  I'm not a huge fan of the franchise, but I don't dislike it either.  For the most part they are fun movies, although I didn't care much for the sixth installment.  I fully expect Wan to bring us the best one yet, and if I had any doubts about that (I didn't), they vanished after the casting of Tony Jaa and (frequent Carpenter star) Kurt Russell.  Wan has been quoted as saying he's not just a Horror guy, and that's great, neither is John Carpenter.

Anyway, that's about all I've got.  It seems the original Master of Horror may have finished his run, and I'm just about ready to crown Wan the new Master.  Of course when John Carpenter decides to return to the director's chair, I'll be among the first to see his next effort.

WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Well I had a trip to Six Flags St. Louis a few days back and for the most part it was a good time.  Here I will detail some of the things that were not so great about it.  Things got off to a decent start with the drive down.  Made pretty good time despite a lot of road work slowing me up here and there.  That's always important to me since I prefer to get to the park as soon as it opens and take advantage of the short lines that come with early access. 

About ten minutes shy of St. Louis I am cruising along at about 75mph when I notice a rather large pothole (and a few small ones, surrounded by rocky debris) just next to the yellow line to my left, which I'm sort of straddling foolishly.  I thought I caught it in time and corrected to the right a bit which probably allowed me to miss the hole with my front tire, but the back tire was not so lucky.  The rather loud "thunk" was a dead giveaway that I nailed it, and then when I began to swerve hard to the right, entering the other lane, I knew I was in trouble.  So I spend a few seconds trying to correct my path (and filling my jeans) while flying about the highway uncontrollably.  Once I slow down enough to regain control I finally hear the "BBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" sound signifying I did indeed have a flat tire to deal with.  A quick glance in the rearview clued me into the fact that the two cars that were just behind me at the point of impact had realized how close to death we had all just become had slowed down to a crawl and were now a good quarter mile back.  I can only imagine their viewpoint: "Better slow it down and watch this minivan spin into a barrel roll down the highway before bursting into flames.  Somebody hand me those cool ranch Doritos, this is a helluva show!"  Anyway, changing the tire was far more challenging a task than it should be for a 32 year old man, but I got it done in 30-40 minutes, so I call it a win. 

Upon arrival at the park we hit up a couple of coasters while the park is still slow, then grab lunch at the over-priced Panda Express.  Now, while Panda Express is over-priced, it is the deal of the century inside the park.  When you see signs at other places claiming "3 turkey legs and 3 drinks for only $40!" and "12 Chicken strips, basket of fries and 4 drinks! Only $45!", getting 3 entrees rice, and a large drink for 18 bones sounds pretty great.  Unfortunately, scarfing down a ton of Chinese food like a horse at a trough just before hitting the water park was probably not wise.  The longest line of the day, a 90 minute epic in what felt like 105 degree heat, came shortly after the meal and as I baked in the sun I quickly came to regret my decisions. 

Soon after we made our way back to the main park for more roller coasters, which are awesome.  I ignored the encroaching heat stroke and tried to enjoy myself.  Now I've loved roller coasters for years despite healthy fear of heights.  To me, the thrill ride aspect was enough for me to suffer through.  However, as I get older I have noticed a strong anxiety comes over me during that first climb to the high peak of the coasters.  Especially older, rickety ones that sound like they are being operated by Death himself.  I find myself spending that first 60 seconds or so trapped in my head imaging what would happen if the bar holding me in place came loose or the cart flew off the track on the first bend or any number of things that could go wrong did go wrong.  And the answer is always the same:  "If absolutely anything whatsoever goes wrong... you're dead.  You're fucking DEAD.  Nothing you can do will save you.  Just enjoy the 40 second flight of pants shitting terror to your imminent demise after which you will crash to the ground in a mangle of torn flesh and broken bone."  About then the climb is over, the first drop signals the beginning of the ride, and then I just think "WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Anyway, overall it was a good time.

Super Hero Fantasy or Torture Porn?

So for the most part, I'm a fan of Mark Millar. I've dug most of the stuff he did for Marvel, from The Ultimates to Civil War to Wolverine to Fantastic Four. However I really wasn't big on Kick-Ass, although I enjoyed the movie immensely, and his second Icon project Nemesis was almost good, and then sort of wasn't. Anyway, let's just get to it. That comic up there, Kick-Ass 2 #4, sort of makes me want to kill people. Okay, not just any people. Mark Millar people. I guess just that one Mark Millar, the one that writes comics.

Actually, I'll go back a bit. In the preceding issue of Kick-Ass 2 the villain of the series, known as Red Mist in the first series, who has now changed his name to The Motherfucker (I shit you not), killed one of Kick-Ass' buddies and his dog, then cut off the dogs head and put the dogs head on over his head. Or maybe he cut both the heads off and just stuck the dog head on the guy's neck stump, I'm not sure. Either way, that's messed up. So Millar had to trump himself in this issue and boy-howdy did he ever. First Red Mist, or Motherfucker if you prefer (obviously Mark Millar does), shoots a bunch of grade schooler's in the head and torso region for no discernible reason. By the way, this happens on panel, not that it would have been much better off-panel, but still. Anyhoo, Red Mother or whatever and his buddies then track down Kick-Ass' girlfriend (or the girl he wants to be his girlfriend anyway) and kill her dad in front of her and then GANG RAPE HER. Yes, that happens in this comic.

 So Kick-Ass (I'm talking the series now) has gone from so-so Super Hero fantasy story, albeit a violent one, to pretty much a horror comic. The problem is, I don't think Millar intended that. He still thinks this is a super hero book. It certainly doesn't read like one. And yes, I'll probably get the rest of the series because John Romita Jr. is a god among men, but still, Millar really needs an editor to reign him in.

Catching up...

Well, this one has been a long time coming. I got busy over the last few weeks and never got a chance to post on a number of things, so I'm gonna knock 'em all out with this one.

• Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is considered by many to be the greatest Batman story ever. I disagree strongly. While this tale of a grizzled 60 year old Batman coming out of retirement is a great read, I'd put at least two other Batman tales ahead of it. Both The Long Halloween and...
• Batman:Year One, another Frank Miller penned beauty. This baby shows a young Batman's stumbles out of the gate as he tries to clean up Gotham's streets, and turns Jim Gordan into one of the best supporting players in all of comics. It's far and away my favorite Batman story.
• The Affliction: Banned pay per view event was fan-frickin'-tastic. Some of the early fights were uneventful, but once the Heavyweights took over, it was all good. Andre Arlovski looked better than I've ever seen him while beating Ben Rothwell down, and Josh Barnett's knockout of Pedro Rizzo was actually overshadowed by his interview after the fight. And of course, Fedor is the greatest Heavyweight in the world and proved it.
• The UFC event that aired the same night as Affliction: Banned was kinda lame, even for a hastily assembled free TV card. Anderson Silva did provide us with another impressive KO victory, though.