The Mist

Of late, the work of Stephen King has had a size problem.  The Dark Tower, much anticipated and based on a multi-book series of thousands of pages is being squeezed into a 95-minute film next month.  As bad as that sounds, I'll be the first to admit that it looks very cool and very promising.  And then there's The Mist, one of King's shortest novels or longest short stories (depending on the format in which you originally read it), now a ten-hour mini-series.

"The Mist" premiered on Spike several weeks back, vaguely based on King's novella, if only in concept.  The town is still Bridgeton, there's still a mysterious mist with monstrous creatures within, a mall fills in for the supermarket, and there are still two military suicides from Arrowhead, and a religious zealot old lady doomsayer.  The rest is different. 

New characters, new situations, new interactions, same paranoia, but with an updated sensibility.  The original story is nearly forty years old after all.  The new situations are very CW and pedestrian when all you really want are the monsters in the mist.  I suppose the soap is needed to stretch it into ten hours though. 

Frances Conroy, best known for "Six Feet Under" and "American Horror Story," is the stand out here as the old hippie whose belief in God is shattered by the mist.  Alyssa Sutherland, the supermodel who played one of my favorite characters in "Vikings," Princess Aslaug, sadly proves to be an acting black hole in this contemporary suburban environment. 

The quality and suspense varies from episode to episode.  Now at the mid-point, it has slowed to a crawl.  It does have its moments though.  This series might be better viewed as a binge with your finger on the fast forward button.  Or just read the story and skip the series. 

The Revelation of the Satanic Bible

When I was younger, as now, I was a big horror fan. Back in high school, thanks to books like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, and Hostage to the Devil, I was into the Devil, at least as a fictional monster.  I said fictional, folks, let's get that straight, I didn't believe this stuff.  It was in that spirit I picked up Anton LaVey's so-called Satanic Bible.

I can still remember the look of alarm I got from the elderly lady clerk at B. Dalton when I plopped the book on the counter to purchase it. She would always give me the evil eye after that whenever I entered her mall store. On the contrary however, when I was in college, and working at that mall, a girlfriend who worked at WaldenBooks told me they sold lots of copies of the book all the time. Maybe more folks bought their Satanic Bibles at Walden than Dalton?

Anyway, I couldn't wait to dive into this evil plain black book and learn all about the Devil.  Then I started reading, then skipping and browsing, then slowly putting it down. Man, what a disappointment.  The Necronomicon it was not.  No horns, no possession, no Biblical evil, not even a pitchfork.  What I got was a boring new age book about doing whatever you want.  Do what you will or some such crap.  This was philosophy, a self-help book, where was the evil? Where was the Devil??

Now I remember tossing that thing into the paperback trader pile, and began spending a lifetime correcting people who think Satanists are Devil worshippers.  I went back to Stephen King, Robert McCammon, and James Herbert pretty quickly.  What a misleading piece of crap. 

Cars 3

Cars 3 ~ Once you get past the truly dark first teaser trailer that led children, and some adults, to believe Lightning McQueen was dead, this isn't a bad film, and on par with other Disney Pixar flicks, unlike the other Cars sequel and spin-offs like this and this.

Cars 3 does what all good third installments of trilogies do best, it brings the story full circle, and to a lesser extent not only closes the circle but also introduces a new beginning.  As Lightning McQueen finds himself falling behind younger and faster cars with newer and higher technology after a near crippling accident in track, he trains a new contender - just as Doc Hudson, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, did for him in the first movie.

Speaking of Doc, there is wonderful use of Paul Newman's voice acting from the first movie used in flashback and memory.  It's almost as if Paul was here in this one.  Larry the Cable Guy is back as are all the regulars from the town Radiator Springs, but in greatly reduced roles.  Even Lightning's girlfriend is back, but not as his girlfriend so the story can concentrate on his trainer Cruz. 

This is a good movie, with all the proper Disney Pixar buttons for emotional targeting.  We get new characters aplenty including Armie Hammer's smug rival Jackson Storm, Lightning's smarmy new boss voiced by equally smarmy Nathan Fillion, and a killer school bus from the demolition derby.  Yeah, this one doesn't kill Lightning as the teaser suggested, but it does get dark in places. 

And there're none of those weird human dwellings in this film that made Cars 2 seem so creepy, and made me wonder what happened to the people.  I still maintain that Cars happens in the same universe as Stephen King's "Trucks," just after all the humans are gone. 

All that said, this was a good flick, and better sequel, well worth seeing. 

Badlands

Badlands ~ There is no doubt that the 1950s rampage of spree killer Charles Starkweather changed America. Even Stephen King has talked about how the events in the Midwest affected him and altered his life. Society was changing, youth was changing, and it was bloody.

The movie Badlands, written, directed, and produced by Terrence Malick, tells the Charles Starkweather story from the point of view of the fifteen year old girl who may have been his accomplice or may have been his captive. Played by Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen in perhaps their best performances in my estimation, the two teens are involved in a tragic love story that is less based on fact and more rooted in Malick's vision of life and America of the time. Holly and Kit are some twisted Bonnie and Clyde for whom murder is in the backseat to their awkward love and journey into darkness.

Spacek narrates the film, giving a soft lens love struck version of events, even when we see what actually happens. Even when we know that Kit is a sociopath, Holly writes it off as strangeness or uniqueness with a romantic flair. In some of it however, as in when her father shoots her dog, one has to wonder if she was also disturbed, or a liar. And small part that he has, Warren Oates, who plays her dad, also gives a hell of a performance with few lines.

After killing Holly's father and burning the house to the ground, the two go on the run, but more or less go and live in the woods, getting back to nature, and playing house for a bit. The fairy tale notion of this mirage is broken by a passing truck in the background. The parallels to the hippie movement are apparent, even with Holly's off-kilter narration. In some places here the film mirrors the more artsy portions of Bonnie and Clyde but with more surreality. The haunting carnival score by George Tipton helps that illusion. And in some places it feels like a test run for Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen.

When men come calling with guns, Kit and Holly are on the run again, more traditionally, in the badlands. Their love story is mirage-like and slow motion, her narration and even Kit's attempts at recording his thoughts lethargic but fascinating. In the end it becomes more seventies car chase than anything else, I guess because it had to, but it feels out of place after what came before.

Still, with all the surreality and illusionary love story, and wishing it was a crime story, I still love this movie, and watch it every time it comes on television, even if it's edited. One of my favorites, recommended, it sure rings the bell.

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens ~ Hey folks, it's that time of year again, in what has become an annual tradition, it's Sharknado time again. Unlike lightning, the Sharknado can strike once, twice, three times, and now a fourth. Can Thunder Levin and The Asylum keep it going for a fourth installment? I think that's a no-brainer, but that's the kind of fun Sharknado is.

After an amazing Star Wars opening with the scrolling introduction off into the stars, we learn that it's now five years later from the end of Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!. There are no more Sharknadoes thanks to AstroX run by Tommy Davidson, who has now put their space money into a clean energy, and a Shark World hotel in Las Vegas. It's just too bad that our hero Fin Shepherd, played by Ian Ziering is also headed there for a family reunion. Predictably the fun starts very quickly, with a dust devil made of sharks. Yes, a dust devil, made, of sharks. Just go with it, folks.

This sandstorm full of sharks is apparently possible because it has no water, what Astro X was capable of preventing. As long as there's no water, they can't stop these storms. So the storm chasing Fin and his family morphs as it tracks him across the United States, changing into a boulder-nado, a fire-nado, a twine-nado, and finally a nuke-nado before Fin has a final showdown with the shark-filled beast at Niagara Falls, but not before it leaves a trail of destruction in its path.

The guest star parade is incessant, much like the window cameos in the 1966 "Batman" TV series, everyone wants to be part of Sharknado. "The Today Show" hosts are back, as are Jedward, joining, among many, many others like Vince Neil of Motley Crue, Wayne Newton, Cheryl Tiegs, Gilbert Gottfried as Ron McDonald (insert your own joke), Dog the Bounty Hunter, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Lloyd Kaufman, Carrot Top, Paul Shaffer, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Seth Rollins, Jillian Barberie, Adrian Zmed, and Christine, Stephen King's possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury.

On the minus side, the Xfinity X1 commercials within the movie itself were just embarrassing. Dodge was obvious product placement, but at least their commercial outside the flick were amusing. Really, Xfinity, really?

This one has it all - pirate ships, shark-bergs, cyborg Tara Reid, shark-fribulators, a "Baywatch" reunion, and Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff. I loved the comic book credit sequence, and I even loved the Tara Reid homage to the cover of Action Comics #1. The movie is just fun, and if it has any flaws (other than Xfinity) it's where this Sharknado takes itself seriously or gets caught up in its own franchise continuity. Otherwise it's awesome. Bring on Sharknado 5!

The Spell 1977

The Spell ~ Like The Initiation of Sarah, this 1977 NBC movie of the week was meant to take advantage of the success of Stephen King's Carrie. This time in the bullied school girl with secret telekinetic powers role is Susan Myers as Rita. She was best known, and perhaps known only, as Marlene, the mousy platonic friend of Lance Kerwin on the much-missed and sadly brief "James at 15." She kinda vanished after that.

There's also Lee Grant as the mom doing some of her best underacting, and very young Helen Hunt as Rita's more loved kid sister. Rita is put upon by her parents for being both insubordinate and overweight. She's also, unlike Carrie and Sarah, quite unsympathetic. So instead of rooting for the underdog, we're kinda left waiting for Rita to get her comeuppance. That's not how these kind of movies are supposed to work.

The story doesn't make much sense if you think about it too much, with the supernatural aspects thrown in like a random kitchen sink. The 1970s score slips into weird electronics occasionally, and the movie is filmed in a house that makes one think more of interior design than anything else going on in the flick.

Unlike a lot of the 1970s telemovie horrors I remember as a kid, The Spell does not hold up at all. It's best remembered half asleep late night on my bedroom black and white TV. Not recommended.

X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes ~ This is one of those films, much talked about and rarely seen (at least by me). As a longtime listener to Mr. Movie Steve Friedman, I had heard about this movie on an almost weekly basis, and especially the ending. I was very pleased to finally have the chance to see X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, especially on the TCM Classic Cruise, and introduced by Ben Mankiewicz and producer Roger Corman himself.

Corman is 89 years old, and after his cancellation on last year's cruise, and seeing him at the port in a wheelchair before boarding, understandably there were some health concerns. There needn't have been. Though with a cane, he walked out onto the stage of the Buena Vista Theatre to a thunderous standing ovation.

Roger and Ben talked mainly about X, as the film's actual title card reads, and how it was made. In typical Corman fashion it was made in three weeks for $300,000. The mad acting skills of star Ray Milland and first timer Don Rickles were also up for discussion, and well deserved. Milland has always been one of the good ones, and I've always thought Rickles was a pretty amazing, if underrated, actor myself. The cast was rounded out by Diana Van der Vlis, an almost dead ringer for Elizabeth Mongomery, and a young Dick Miller.

The existence of another ending was discussed, and that had me both confused, and sitting through to the end of the credits like it was a Marvel Cinematic Universe flick. There's no alternate ending. Much like the urban legend of two different endings to King Kong Vs. Godzilla, it just does not exist. Corman states that the much-talked-about scary ending was made up by Stephen King, but that doesn't sound right either. Sounds like a job for Snopes.

Here, on stage, Corman claimed that the ending was the sole construction of Stephen King, in his book Danse Macabre, but according to Wikipedia (always the worst source on such things, but Snopes had no listing) Corman has in the past said that an ending was shot where Milland, after having torn his own eyes out, screams, "I can still see!" I guess we'll never know for sure.

The movie centers on Milland, an obsessed scientist working to improve human vision. So obsessed is he that he tests a new formula on himself, gaining an approximation of x-ray vision. The more formula he puts in his eyes, the more extensive his vision becomes, and of course the more insane he becomes. He wanders through the film, through a carnival, a scam, Las Vegas, and a tent revival, before taking a step into the still-horrific ending.

This was a fun watch, but not much beyond the typical early 1960s scifi fare, but decidedly ahead of its time all the same. Not as cool as I thought it would be, but that said, it just doesn't get any better when it's on the big screen and introduced by the director, a living legend himself.

Transcendence

Transcendence ~ The idea of uploading a human consciousness into a computer is an old idea. It's a retro idea, a cyberpunk idea, and therefore like rayguns and rocketships, a science fiction future that's just not going to happen. It's a potential future that's become outdated. If you're going to make a movie about that, you'd better have a new spin, you'd better do something different, something that's never been done before.

I must say I was impressed with the brief opening on an internet-less future, where keyboards are used as doorstops and even phones are back to the drawing board. We flashback five years to Johnny Depp pioneering artificial intelligence. I don't need to tell you the predictable outcome - man to AI to god - and Depp goes all Lawnmower Man until he's stopped. Now I said it had to be different, and it is, Johnny Depp's indecipherable accent of unknown origin that changes constantly for almost two hours is certainly different.

Despite excellent performances by Cillian Murphy, future Avenger Vision Paul Bettany, and as always Morgan Freeman (pretty much everyone except Depp), I really disliked this flick, and I'm a cyberpunk fan. It had very little new take to offer, a good but old idea done badly - avoid this one.

Planes: Fire & Rescue

Planes: Fire & Rescue ~ I saw this one as part of a double feature at one of the state's only surviving drive-ins, the Delsea Drive-In in Vineland NJ. It was paired up with Guardians of the Galaxy, which was the second time in two days The Bride and I had seen that. If I'm being honest, I think the drive-in experience itself was far more interesting than the Planes flick.

Let's be honest, Planes: Fire & Rescue is a sequel to a sequel/spin-off that was meant only for DVD release but got pushed into theaters because of the success of its forefather, Cars and its official sequel Cars 2. We're seriously treading on King Kong Lives territory here. This can only be so good, and from what I saw, it's serviceable.

To be fair, I have to say we came in late as the folks at Delsea had to search our car to make sure we didn't bring in any outside food contraband, so we missed the first five to ten minutes of the movie. It's the same old story, old plane teaches a new plane new tricks, and learns a lesson himself as well. Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen, Wes Studi, and Patrick Warburton are fun as the voice cast.

I enjoyed the original trailer for this flick as it didn't betray right away that it was either animated or part of the Cars world right away. I kinda wish the movie had taken some of that tact. I liked the use of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" here, a nice touch. I did doze off a couple times, and while I could blame that on being tired, it should be noted that I did not blink during Guardians of the Galaxy.

I also have to admit that the viewing of any movie happening in the Cars universe bothers me somewhat as I wonder what happened to the people. I highly suspect that this world exists in the aftermath of Stephen King's "Trucks" short story, and is sorta hinted at in Jon Negroni's Pixar Theory. I also can't help but wonder if Thomas the Tank Engine is also part of this world... brrrrr...

C. Hope Clark's Tidewater Murder

I have talked about this kind of happy coincidence before. When a friend has a project - a book, a story, music - you kinda have to say it's good or that you like it, it's just professional courtesy, and so you can get a good review back when it's your turn. This is actually one of the reasons I rarely do book reviews - to avoid doing just that.

But it is such a delight when it's true, and with Hope Clark it is so true. She's not only the founder of FundsforWriters, one of the best writing newsletters out there (if you're not subscribed and you want to be a writer, get subscribed, it's that important), but also someone I have interviewed for years in The Writer's Chatroom, a mentor, and a friend. And she has written two fantastic thrillers, the second even better than the first.

Hope Clark is smart, clever, savvy, and sassy - a fireball of a writer, and her protagonist, Carolina Slade is just like her. "Biologically I could be her mother, in a Loretta Lynn kind of way." That is one of my favorite lines from the book. This is the kind of snark and sass that Slade is all about. She's a southern belle spitfire with a dash of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and I love it.

The Carolina Slade Mysteries are what might be termed 'rural thrillers,' but that would be unfair, it's about character, and about tension, and the thrill of the mystery. Clark's people are real, and the sense of place is real. You feel you know them, you feel you are there. I read TIDEWATER WATER in one sitting, just as I did with its predecessor, LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE, something I rarely do, but I could not put it down. They are both such smooth and pleasurable reads, while being tense rides as well. Clark has the same sort of style as Stephen King, a prose that compels you to keep reading.

This is not praise I hand out easily, I am not a mystery guy. And as much as I liked LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE, I dug the second book even more. I would not have believed it was possible, but it is. I am waiting with baited breath for the next in the series.



And if you'd like to know the true story behind LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE, and how Hope met Mr. Clark, you need to check out "Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game." You can get it on Amazon here.

I will be interviewing Hope at The Writer's Chatroom on Sunday evening, December 29th, so please come on by then and join in on the discussion. Details can be found here.

11/22/63 on 11/22/13 at Biff Bam Pop!

Fifty years ago today, we lost one of our greatest Presidents to an assassin's bullet. To mark that anniversary, I've reviewed Stephen King's amazing and award winning time travel novel 11/22/63 over at Biff Bam Pop!. You can read it here.

While you're at the site, don't forget to also check out my regular reviews of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Avengers Assemble," and Marvel Comics' latest crossover event Infinity.

If you like pop culture, you will love Biff Bam Pop!, check out all the terrific articles and reviews there.

And don't forget, soon, their Holiday Gift Guide will be featuring the new and the cool for the holidays, look for it!

Planes

Planes ~ I was hesitant to jump back into the 'World of Cars,' because of the revelation I made while watching Cars 2, you know, that the 'World of Cars' is actually occurring in the aftermath of Stephen King's short story "Trucks." I know, scared the crap outta me too. But The Bride wanted to see it, so I went along.

This one is similar to Cars 2, in that it's about racing, and in this case, planes. Dusty Clodhopper - voiced by Dane Cook, who is much less annoying when all you hear is scripted and you don't have to see him - is a small town cropduster who wants to be a racing plane in the big leagues and enters a race around the world. Underdog makes good, that kind of thing.

We have seen this before. Good voice cast, lots of clichés with fresh takes, and jokes for the kids and the adults, Planes is a good hour and a half of harmless entertainment. There's nothing really new, nothing to make us go wow, or how did they do that? A good Pixar flick, originally made for direct-to-DVD, so to do so well in theaters, it must have something. Enjoyable.

Re-Reading The Shining

I am reading "The Shining" again for the first time in thirty-five, thirty-six years. Amazing how far author Stephen King has come, and so odd to see simple wording and point of view errors he would never make today. It is also something to marvel to read a simpler King, but also what may be a more sinister King.

Back in 1977, I started reading the big hardcover version of "The Shining" first, which my mom had borrowed from my book enabling big sister. It seemed like a historical romance from that cover, almost giving off a "Dallas," "Dynasty" or sweeping John Michener vibe. There was the big hotel on the front (and back) cover looking almost similar to Tara from Gone with the Wind, painted images of the man, the woman, and the child, and the hedge animals. My sister needed her copy back, so then I bought the paperback at the local grocery store. That was a gray book with a blank boy's face on it, and that's the copy I still have today.

I remember plowing through it rather quickly, on the front porch swing during the days, and in bed before sleep, which defiantly came. This was King's third book, chronologically at least, and I'm pretty sure I knew he was something special even then, that he was subversively teaching me writing skills and techniques. All that and he was a joy to read.

And what attracted me most of all, was that he wrote about writers. There's the interviewer in "Carrie," Ben Mears in "'Salem's Lot," and now Jack Torrence. I could relate, and now I was hooked for a lifetime. Both my own and King's, as writers would continue as protagonists and even antagonists for dozens of novels to follow, notably the nebulously aligned Harold Lauder in my favorite King novel, "The Stand."

The young Stephen King plays fast and loose with perspective and point of view I've noticed. As an editor (and yes, I know how presumptuous this is), there are more than a few things I would have corrected in the book regarding POV. Let's just say, he did get better. Much better, or at least as good as one of the best selling novelists of our era can be.

Young Danny's perspective and understanding of things is a puzzle of complexity. Does he know and understand because of his psychic abilities? Or does he for the sake of storytelling? King walks a very fine line here, most times opting for the latter, and weaving a tighter more terrifying tale for the reader.

There is one difference I noticed in my Nook copy of "The Shining" however. The word REDRUM written in a graphic in my original paperback copy of the book, but not in my Nook copy. It was missed. Back in the day, tricks like that, raised and/or cut out covers, or the multiplying flies above chapters in "The Amityville Horror," made books in the late 1970s a little bit more special.

There is also the matter of Jack Torrence's alcoholism. At the time "The Shining" was released the public was unaware of King's own struggles with old devil drink. This fact in retrospect lends a frightening realism to what was already horrific in the book. We knew King was a teacher, spent time in Colorado, but now, we can't help but wonder… was he abusive as well? Dare I ask - did he harm his wife and family? Just how autobiographical is "The Shining"?

King has always made the distinction with Stanley Kubrick 's film version, that he had written a book about a haunted house, but the director made a movie about domestic violence. What if he protest-eth too much? What if King insisted on that because Kubrick hit too close to home? My intent is not to make accusations, mind you, but to report the extra dimension facts about the author's life bring to the work. It certainly made some of it uncomfortable to read.

The sequel to "The Shining" has been a rumor that has floated around for years. It became just a little bit more real when Kung finally gave it a name, "Doctor Sleep." When he wrote it and announced a release date, then things got hot. "Doctor Sleep" is scheduled for release today, and there's also a preview at the end of my Nook copy of "The Shining" as well.

James Herbert 1943-2013

Stephen King may have always been the king of horror since his emergence in the mid-seventies, but for a while at the same time, there was one man who outsold King in horror in the UK. I discovered James Herbert around 1980, and found him to be a suitable rival to King. Where King took his time, Herbert seemed to go right for the jugular. He was a similar writer but with a more canny sense of the horrific and the repulsive - a true master of the genre.

His books, The Fog (unrelated to the James Carpenter film), The Rats and its sequels, and especially The Dark were early influences on my writing just as much as King in that genre. He was extremely prolific, pumping out a book a year during the 1980s and slowing down as the years went on.

Author James Herbert passed away yesterday at the age of 69. The man will be missed, but his work will live on. If you're a fan of King, I urge you to seek out Herbert's books, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, and horrified.

The Initiation of Sarah 2006

The Initiation of Sarah ~ The original came at the tail end of the great ABC telemovies of the 1970s. In it, Kay Lenz, who I always mixed up with Susan Dey, plays the Carrie part in this Carrie rip-off. Morgan Fairchild is chief tormentor and Shelley Winters the witchy housemother mentor. There were a few of these Carrie wannabes in the 1970s, The Spell with Susan Meyers from "James at 15" was another, that aped the mousy scapegoat girl, who also happens to have telekinetic powers, flipping out in her tormentors. Sarah took place at a college sorority as opposed to high school.

The 2006 version is a re-imagining of the 1978 movie of the week done for, believe it or not, the ABC Family Channel. Well, at least they're keeping it in the 'family.' Yeah, I know, sorry. Here, Morgan Fairchild returns as the snooty mom of two girls about to enter college, and join her old exclusive sorority. Lindsay, played by a post-"Firefly" Summer Glau and mousey cutter Sarah played by Mika Boorem of Blue Crush, are, as one would expect, polar opposites.

It is essentially the same story, with a decidedly non-fun Jennifer Tilly in the Shelley Winters role, but it has become unnecessarily complicated, almost as if someone was watching nothing but "Buffy" and old soap operas for a couple weeks straight. The warring sororities are the guardians of good and evil, people pretend to be other people to sleep with them, and it gets worse from there.

I wanted to like this one, I really did. It could have been the good old campy fun the original was but just took itself too seriously, and too much ABC Family as well, adding a crapload of teenage melodrama to the mix. Avoid and look for the original.

Biff Bam Pop!'s 31 Days of Horror

If you've been to the Biff Bam Pop! website, you know that other than the regular pop culture features, we're all big horror fans there. Special for this month of October, and culminating today on Halloween is 31 Days of Horror.

31 Days of Horror takes a look at the past and present in horror movies, both in front of and behind the camera, horror television, horror comics, and even horror videogames.

Highlights include reviews of The Shining, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Monster Squad, 28 Days Later, Freaks, Night of the Living Dead, The Ring, Sinister, Nightbreed, Prometheus, Paranormal Activity 4, Evil Dead, 30 Ghosts, Tomb of Dracula, Dexter The Game, "666 Park Avenue," episode by episode analysis of the new seasons of "American Horror Story" and "The Walking Dead," and interviews with Danielle Harris and Richard Crouse. It's the best way to celebrate Halloween!

Oh, and if you just want to read my stuff on the site, I'm here. Happy Halloween!

RIP Michael Clarke Duncan

This one hit me kinda hard because I always liked this guy. Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has passed away from complications of a heart attack suffered almost two months back. He was way too young at 54.

Whether you know him as Bear from Armageddon, or his classic role as John Coffy in Stephen King's The Green Mile, or my favorite, crossing color lines as the villainous Kingpin in Daredevil, Michael Clarke Duncan was a phenomenal actor whose talent and presence was hard to match. A sad passing, the man will be missed.

The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender ~ Long before a friend turned me on to the beautifully animated TV series, I saw large chunks of this movie while on a cruise. You know how television on a cruise ship is like half a dozen movies on a continuous loop? This was one of them. I was unimpressed.

At the time, I had no foreknowledge of "Avatar" or bending or any of the mythology involved. I was bored by many undialogued scenes, cool special effects but without substance, and what seemed like a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo and clever subtext that I just didn't understand. Pretentious was the word I was looking for. And I was bored by it. If memory serves, I actually found Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time more interesting.

Of course the other factor at work here is M. Night Shyamalan. I love M. Night. I even have loved M. Night after it was uncool to love, or even like, him any more. When the critics turned on him and left to drown in low box office and derivative stories I loved the guy. I even dug Lady in the Water, but even I was let down by The Happening. And though he only directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay for this one, I was hopeful this would not continue the critic's curse. It sure didn't seem like it from what I saw however.

In the pre-"Legend of Korra" excitement, and having also watched a dozen or so episodes of the original series too, I decided to give the feature film another shot. The first thing that struck me about The Last Airbender is the somberness of it, the almost lack of humor. That said, it is respectful of the source material, but almost too much so. It's like M. Night wants so badly to give it a serious treatment, he forgets it's a story about kids, he forgets to have fun. This is just not about childlike wonderment, it's about being a kid too, despite the world it takes place in.

The Last Airbender also has something in common with many of the films made from Stephen King books. If you have read the books, you already know what the characters are thinking and feeling so you dismiss any absence of same on the screen. This also works with this movie, having seen the source material. This is why it felt so empty the first time I saw it, but on more recent viewing, I understood it.

The two hour movie is essentially shorthand, or Cliff's Notes if you will, of the fifty plus episodes of the animated series, or the first third of them at least. M. Night strives to keep a lot of it in, even when it has lost its context. It's a lot of tell over show, and any writer will explain its the other way around. Much is lost by M. Night being meticulous. Without knowing ahead of time what is what, the film becomes a convoluted mess.

Despite all that, the second time around I enjoyed the film quite a bit. There are some wonderful visuals, some that I wouldn't have thought this director capable of, but again, it's not the animated series, but it tries in its own way. And in that way, The Last Airbender is a great companion piece to "Avatar," just not alone.