Category Archives: Film

News On the Cormac McCarthy Front: Baby Eater No. 2 Speaks! Plus a New, Original Screenplay by CM

So for all the Cormac McCarthy fans out there, of which I am a most enthusiastic one, here’s an odd bit of info that just fell into my lap about the film version of The Road (2009). Before I saw … Continue reading

Posted in books, books/film, Film, The West, writing | Leave a comment

On "Contagion": The World Is Ending Because Gwyneth Paltrow Cheated on Her Husband

So I finally got around to watching Contagion last night, which I’ve been mildly curious about since there’s a hardcore virus epidemic at the core of the story, and in my new novel there’s a flu epidemic angle as well. … Continue reading

Posted in books/film, Film, Weird Science | Leave a comment

"The Muppets Movie" Meets "The Human Centipede": Now That Ain't Right

So the title for this post should be “The Muppets Movie cleanses the horror of The Human Centipede,” but oh well. These two happened to be the films I saw this weekend: The Muppets Movie at a local cineplex, where … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Leave a comment

"The Blood People": On Horror Creeping in Netflix, With Nods to "Night of the Demons," "Primal," and the Awful "The Awakening"

So the other morning my five-year-old daughter wakes up and the first thing she says to me is, “People are made of blood.” She’s right, actually. And I kind of like the poetry of the line, although the way her … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Leave a comment

The Goy Crisis

So the other day I was discussing (perhaps ‘talking at’ would be a more accurate description) the Boy Crisis issue with my class of (rather sleepy, uncommunicative) undergraduate students in an Intro to Creative Writing class, and it was something … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Film | Leave a comment

Australian Horror on Netflix: "The Reef," "Arctic Blast," and "Primal"

So I was at first excited by the streaming-video options of Netflix months ago, but the charm actually rather quickly wore off and I agree with some of the popular grouching about it—basically that Netflix has a rather limited list … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Leave a comment

Dream Hooey: Inception Island, or a Contrarian’s View of “Inception” and “Shutter Island”

So none other than knockout writer Susan Orlean (whose book on Rin Tin Tin is coming out soon, I believe) turned me on to the world of streaming video last fall, telling me that she finds that much better than … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Leave a comment

Werner Herzog Goes Caveman: "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

So I caught Werner Herzog’s new documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, at a theater in St. Louis today, and it’s one of the best docs I’ve seen in a while. It’s all about his visit to the Chauvet cave in … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Comments Off on Werner Herzog Goes Caveman: "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

"Cinema Verite" Worth Watching

So last night was the premiere of HBO’s Cinema Verité, the film about the film of the Loud family, billed as the first reality TV show, which is both a ground-breaking achievement, and considering our times and the Kardashian family … Continue reading

Posted in Film, The West | Leave a comment

A Star Is Corn: "Country Strong" & the Gwyneth Paltrow Gagfest

There needs to be some complicated noun (perhaps the Urban Dictionary can get on this, better than “hiberdating” or “internet coma”) to express the rather long-winded “feeling of revulsion when seeing overexposed celebrities in internet-news headlines that you’ve just become … Continue reading

Posted in Film | Leave a comment