I’m kind of a fan of Asian horror. (I put it in that broad fashion, because there are subtle differences between, say, Japanese, Chinese and Korean horror flicks.) Lots of it is over-the-top and incomprehensible. But the good stuff can deliver a very satisfying brand of dread.
It’s a style that doesn’t seem [...]
The Grudge Report
Suspiria de Profundis
Halloween is a sacred holiday to me. Christmas has the pretty lights, but Halloween has human skulls. No comparison, right?
During the recent pow-wow with Mr. Dan Dorman, he attested that the three top films of Italian director Dario Argento are:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L’Uccello dalle piume di cristallo) (1970)
Deep [...]
“What an excellent day for an exorcism.”
This week, I got together for a little film review with the Grandmaster Movie Maven, Mr. Dan Dorman. Probably under the influence of the time of year, we skimmed through some of the films from the Exorcist series.
Dan has a kind of ADD method of “skimming” movies, to show selected highlights. In this way, [...]
Oh, laat me ophouden!
Photo from our correspondent in Amsterdam: Street mime working in the Dam Square.
You have to admire the attention to detail; I love the way his tip cup matches his face.
Behind the facade…
Earlier this week, whilst discussing the competing versions of Fiona Apple’s new album Extraordinary Machine, I made the point that I have no allegiance to one version of any particular song. If you’ve got something better, bring it on. (This is a point I made back in August, explicitly discussing remixes.)
So, I will [...]
Pure as the driven snow.
One of the films on record as inspiring Kill Bill: Vol. 1 was Lady Snowblood (1973). The Japanese title of the movie is Shurayukihime, which breaks down like this: Shura means hell; Yuki means snow; and hime means lady. The phrase is a play on Shirayuki-hime, which is how “Snow White” is translated.
There [...]
“Here’s coming a better version of me…”
Here is the post from yesterday on Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine, versions BEM (bootleg) and OEM (official).
We’re comparing the Jon Brion-produced version and the Mike Elizondo-produced version of a couple songs, just to see what we can see. Today’s song actually changed names along the way.
On BEM, the song is called “Used to Love [...]
Venus and Mars are alright.
Over the summer, I caught up with Veronica Mars, the fantastic series that is sometimes deceptively tagged as Nancy Drew on The WB. First, it’s on UPN. Second, one is the many charms of VM is the multiple subtexts of the proceedings.
The one theme that really fascinates me, because it’s so rarely explored on [...]
Mind if I have some of your tasty beverage?
Photo from our correspondent in Amsterdam.
JULES — okay now, tell me about the hash bars?
VINCENTWhat do you want to know?
JULESWell, hash is legal there, right?
VINCENTYeah, it’s legal, but it ain’t a hundred percent legal. I mean you can’t walk into a restaurant, roll a joint, and start puffin’ away. You’re [...]
“Give us something familiar; something similar…”
Previously, I briefly covered the controversial history of Fiona Apple’s new Extraordinary Machine album. I am a huge fan of the bootleg version of the album, which I procured back in the Spring of this year. I spent most of the summer listening to it, on a daily basis for some of that [...]