Monthly Archives: June 2008

Vintage Sketchy Details

Midnight Rec: The Keeper by Sarah Langan

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Talk about real life horrors. My new job starts up Monday and I do not feel prepared to teach music, drama, and dance to over 300 children, age pre-k to fifth grade. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if I didn’t have to engage them with theme weeks such as “Patriotic” or “Color Olympics”. And yes, I’m supposed to match the music to the theme week. The pay’s very good, so I can’t really complain.
Midnight Rec: The Keeper by Sarah Langan
Yes, a book can be a Midnight Rec. Sarah Langan seems on course to be the next big horror writer. The kind of writer who fills an entire rack of books at the bookstore (like Koontz, King, Hamilton, etc…well, that’s it, actually). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. The Keeper is a Midnight Rec because it feels so familiar in content.
The big thing in horror right now is an unknown force, normally representing a great human failing, beginning to eat away at a small town as the human element boils over without control. It’s a struggle sometimes to read the new authors trying to fit that mold.
Not with Langan’s debut. Her writing is excellent. It’s very descriptive without sacrificing the pace of the narrative. She lets you know everything important about these small town people without stalling. If you learn that someone is self-conscious about their weight, you better believe it will pay off later on.
The Keeper and Langan herself have been favorably compared to Stephen King. Please don’t hold that against her (if you aren’t inclined to like King writing as King). It really is meant as a compliment. They mean she created a strong horror/suspense novel driven by characters forced to act against something they can’t possibly control.
Langan tackles a gigantic situation that grows out like a wild bush. There’s a strong root that grounds the story while everything else goes haywire and flies off in different directions. It’s controlled chaos. Even though it grows everywhere, it’s still a branch of the root. Perhaps the most admirable quality of the novel is the characters.
For the most part, these are awful people. You shouldn’t want to read about them. Some of the things they do should make you put the book down. But Langan managed to make these characters human. Sure, one character’s a total drunk at the expense of his reputation, work, and relations, but he’s the only person willing to help the young woman the town has given up on. And all of these traits fit into the narrative.
The Keeper is a quick read, even though it tops out past 300 pages. There is only one edition available, as her two available novels were released as mass market paperbacks. I was surprised my library carried both books, considering how they normally handle horror. It might be worth borrowing before buying, though seven dollars isn’t all that much to be scared while admiring strong prose.

Labels: Midnight Rec

Film

This Time, It’s Personal: Catalog Rec: The Savages

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I really need to regulate my pre-bed thoughts better. Now I’m wide awake at 12:13 in the morning because I started replaying The Strangers and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre in my head. Lovely.
First, a momentary diversion. Clive Barker fans of the world, unite! His new film, Midnight Meat Train (yes, based on the story from his Books of Blood collection), is being jerked around by Lionsgate due to a changing of the guard. Basically, the new head of distribution is getting rid of any projects he had no say in as fast and quietly as possible. Midnight Meat Train is a victim of this.
What was supposed to be a massive nationwide push in October is now a one week, 100 theater run in August. If you care to support Clive Barker’s output, he recommends sending a nice e-mail to Joe Drake – [email protected] Diversion over.
Catalog Rec: The Savages (2007)
I briefly mentioned The Savages on my previous blog. This great drama/comedy from writer/director Tamara Jenkins struck a huge nerve with me due to timing in my personal life. And that coincidence made me appreciate the film all the more. Siblings John and Wendy Savage are forced to uproot their lives and careers in NYC to care for their father, suffering the ravages of Alzheimer’s.
Some of the events in the film would seem, at the very least, unbelievable to people who never saw a loved one suffer from the condition. Could a person really fall so far as to write a nasty message in feces on a bathroom wall or be incapable of keeping their pants up on an airplane? Yes. Yes they can. And it’s painful.
What Tamara Jenkins does is create a film that feels so personal, so intimate, it verges on voyeurism. Wisely, she handles it with a healthy dose of dry humor. Drier than the sand in the retirement community of Sun City, AZ. She captures resentment, confusion, anger, despair, and acceptance in a way I’ve never experienced before in film.
Here’s an example of how close she followed real life: Wendy Savage (the Oscar nominated Laura Linney in a tremendous performance) is told by a worker in the rest home that her father’s feet are the key to understanding his health. Since they weren’t swollen or discolored, his body was still doing all right, even if his mind failed.
I’ll go for simplicity: my grandfather died within three days of his feet swelling up and changing color. His mind was long gone but his body fought on. One of the nurses at one of his earlier hospital stays even pointed out the same fact to us. All the drama of picking the right home, all the guilt, all the red tape and theft and downright abuse felt true. It hurt. And I appreciate Jenkins’ honesty.
That isn’t to say the film is flawless. The last thirty minutes or so started to feel very tired to me, though whether it was the direction or the writing (well, I don’t question one incident that had me groaning, that was all writing) I can’t be certain. What started off with such a great and unique perspective on aging and mental stability (of all the Savages) started to rely on independent film cliches that possibly could have been avoided all together. It’s worth watching at least once. You might even love it. At the least, I think you can respect the writing.
The DVD is sparse when it comes to features, but the film looks gorgeous on the small screen. And honest. So very honest.

Labels: Catalog rec

Vintage Sketchy Details

A. Long Time Coming. DEAR rec. V by Thomas Pynchon

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It’s technically Tuesday, though only 12:00AMish in NJ. I know I’m sleeping in tomorrow (like, 11:00AM sleeping in, not 8:15) and don’t want to keep anyone waiting.
DEAR Rec: V. by Thomas Pynchon
I really wanted to write this review last week, though I thought it unfair to examine the book without finishing it completely. That, and the whole car drama. The delay was worth it. It’s an almost-embarrassing admission that I never read a sentence of Pynchon’s prose before this month. I only say almost because how many 22 year olds actively seek out Thomas Pynchon for leisure reading? Still, the important part is that I got to him, and I was not disappointed.
What can be said about a writer that is not afraid to challenge the reader? One who makes you want to go to the dictionary to find out what those words mean that you’ve never seen or heard before? A writer who can make something as, let’s face it, disgusting as a bunch of sailors sucking on fake breasts attached to kegs in a bar seem beautiful? Not much that can come close to the artistry necessary to achieve such dedication, that’s for certain.
Pynchon can write, and his debut novel from 1963 still holds up as a great piece of American literature. V. is technically a character (or characters) in the book, though the period implies a greater motivation than just a name abbreviation.
What about “Chapter 3: In which Stencil, a quick-change artist, does eight impersonations”? Perhaps V. also stands for vantage point, as his writing, in one chapter alone, provides eight distinct perspectives that add up to a narrative about a woman named Victoria within the greater narrative about the mysterious V.. Each chapter in the novel switches perspectives as well, which isn’t easy to do at all. The characters remain distinct and engaging in lovely third person prose.
I could probably dedicate an entire blog that would last for a long time to Pynchon’s writing in V.. I’d never do it justice. Read it. Love it. And if you’re fortunate enough to borrow an original edition from your library, embrace the series of rental cards inevitably fastened to the back cover with a never ending rank of inked dates from 1963 on. For the smell alone it’s worth it. Nothing beats that long loved smell of library books. Well, maybe the smell of a fresh picked book by a favorite author on release day at your local bookstore. Mmm…Joyce Carol Oates short fiction collection…

Labels: DEAR rec

Film

Midnight Rec: Bender’s Big Score

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Let’s get right to it:
Midnight Rec: Futurama – Bender’s Big Score
For those who don’t know, Futurama was the critically acclaimed Fox whipping boy long before the network decided to mess with King of the Hill’s chronology and air time every week. The show followed Fry, a slacker delivery boy, who is cryogenically frozen by accident at the turn of the millennium for 1000 years. He becomes a delivery boy for a space delivery crew, befriending a foul mouthed robot, a one-eyed mutant, and other colorful riffs on science-fiction. The series won may awards during its four year run, including three Primetime Emmy’s.
Bender’s Big Score is the first of four planned direct to DVD Futurama movies. It delivers everything a fan could want of the series. The writing has always been top notch on this series, and the first DVD movie continues the legacy in three major ways: science-fiction parody, backstory expanded within the main narrative, and emotional heft.
First, Futurama pays tribute to science fiction while mercilessly mocking it. The story of Bender’s Big Score is the discovery of a binary code by an alien race that permits paradox correcting time travel. This formula is confirmed by Bubblegum Tate and the other members of the Harlem Globetrotters (their own species of super-genius basketball players from another planet, of course). So of course the crew uses this as an excuse to completely disrupt all logical history under the guise that the binary code will automatically correct it.
Science fiction and time travel go hand in hand, though paradoxes normally create the problems. Bender’s Big Score eliminates that concern (using real math formulas with an added variable) but hinges much of the plot on the possibility that one way the code corrects paradoxes is to destroy the universe.
Second, Futurama became a more complex series every season, and the writers actually intended it that way. One event in Fry’s time may seem very simple at first, but is actually a much planned scheme involving many forces coming together to make the future what it is tomorrow. Bender’s Big Score takes it further than I ever thought possible. That fateful pizza delivery to the cryogenic lab, once thought to be the work of a pet-sized race of geniuses, now involves multiple versions of Fry and his robot friend Bender.
It’s an elaborate cat and mouse game that permits much unexplored terrain (what happened to Fry’s family, his job, his friends, etc.) within the narrative itself. It’s not a flashback because the characters involved in the new story are the same characters in the future segments. It’s a layered narrative that works because the writers obsess over detail. The commentary track reveals they had time cards and a giant map to make sure every event played out without destroying what was established in the series.
Third, Futurama was never afraid to explore surprisingly mature themes for an animated series. Comedy and tragedy never seemed so close (well, except for Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, where it switches halfway through with a bear crossing the stage). An absurd plot about a holographic space opera can become a heart wrenching declaration of love and devotion (strong enough to formally close the series on TV). The writers didn’t shy away from upsetting content because it made the story better.
In Bender’s Big Score, Fry is still trying to pursue the one-eyed woman he loves, Leela. But another man enters the picture. Fry can’t possibly compete, no matter how hard he tries. He loves and respects Leela enough not to confront her, but still does everything in his power to try and stop the burgeoning romance. This all happening at the same time as a story about a robot repeatedly going back in time to steal the most valuable artifacts ever created in history for a race of disgusting nude aliens taking over the world through spam mail.
So, yeah. It’s layered. And the emotional impact is never sacrificed for a gag. The whole series is more or less very good, though this rec is for Bender’s Big Score.
The DVD should be dropping more in price since the second DVD movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs, is coming out Tuesday. Bender’s Big Score is worth every penny and more for series fans. For the unfamiliar viewer, you might want to catch a few episodes first (airing in syndication on Comedy Central).

Labels: Midnight Rec

Film

Catalog Rec: The Fly (1986)

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Post is a little later than usual due to a casting emergency that has since been quelled. Last minute change of plans always need a close evaluation.
AFI aired a special called 10 Top 10, where they picked their top 10 films in different genres. The lists are interesting because of the films they picked, though I rarely agreed with their choices (Alien instead of Aliens in Sci-Fi, for example).
Also strange are their genre choices. Gangster, Sports, and War are listed as genres, while Musical, Comedy, and Horror are left off. The list did give me some ideas of films to revisit or watch for the first time. When did my site turn into a low-rent Writer’s Almanac?
Catalog Rec: The Fly (1986) Remakes are hard. The fans cry for blood upon announcement and the studios rarely manage to exceed expectations and produce a high quality product. Even more puzzling are the decisions to remake films that weren’t that noteworthy to begin with. The Fly is one of the rare remakes that outshines the original, does justice to the print source material, and explores new territory in exciting ways. This may seem a puzzling choice for a rec based on writing.
Isn’t the true beauty and skill of The Fly in the visual effects? Or Cronenberg’s direction? Or Goldblum and Davis’ wonderful performances? To a certain extent, absolutely. Why The Fly is noteworthy for writing is the skill in adaptation. Pogue and Cronenberg took a solid sci-fi short story by George Langelaan and gave it heart.
The transformation sequence remains expanded like the 1958 Fly (which, itself, is a pretty good sci-fi flick, though nothing too special), though it’s reinvented to encompass all aspects of human character.
The sci-fi aspects were well established: a man experiments with teleportation only to fall to the merciless hand of hubris and be changed into a monster. What isn’t so well defined is the romance. The relationship between the scientist and the reporter is believable and grounds the film in an unwavering reality.
She isn’t so blindly in love that she ignores his changes to live happily ever after. No. She fights back. She questions him. She tries to find out what went wrong and why he’s changing. His psychological transformation is even more interesting. Simply put: ideal genius to dirtbag boyfriend. He becomes self-absorbed with his work and changes. He neglects the needs of himself and others.
The Fly (1986) is my favorite Cronenberg film and the screenplay goes a long way in establishing that. It’s a beautiful romance, a thought provoking science-fiction feature, and a disgusting monster movie all crammed together into one cohesive unit.
There’s a wonderful 2-Disc Release available for only 15 dollars at Amazon. It’s well worth a purchase if you consider yourself a Cronenberg fan, a science-fiction fan, or a horror fan. Otherwise, you might consider renting it first to see if it hits you right.

Labels: Catalog rec

Vintage Sketchy Details

Apologies for a Copout and DEAR Rec: Rosemary’s Baby

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Sorry for the late posting. Maybe this photo will explain:

No? What about a close-up? How about the whole crime scene? My ’89 Mustang popped out of gear in the driveway while I was climbing out. The door and car hit me six or seven times and almost ran me over when I fell. The giant gouged out dirt hole is where the door got the resistance to smash me over and over again. The car then rolled across the street into the neighbors driveway. The only thing that stopped their car from being destroyed was that small bump of dirt in the third picture. The door hinge is destroyed and the front left body of the car has popped out of joint.

I’m in pain (24 hours later on extra strength Tylenol  from my left shoulder to my right ankle. Thankfully, the car is supposed to be fixed later this afternoon. No word yet on when my body won’t feel like I’m Bruce Willis in Unbreakable – inconceivably beaten up with no significant injuries, not even a scratch on me, when smaller men probably would have been hurt pretty badly.

Update: Here’s the repaired car:

The door does open and close, so no climbing through the window or passenger side for me. So excuse the recycling from an older article I wrote when Ira Levin died.

DEAR Rec: Rosemary’s Baby Available in eighty gazillion editions, with or without Mia Farrow on the cover. And just think: in a few years, Renee Zelwigger (or someone else totally wrong for the character) will be on the cover in anticipation of Michael Bay’s remake….err…re-adaptation. Not that Roman Polanski left anything in the book on the cutting room floor when he edited the film, dialogue included.

Labels: DEAR rec

Web

Introducing Midnight Recs (Cubby Bernstein)

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Midnight Recs: entertainment items worthy of attention that can go ignored because the writing, content, or genre is deemed unworthy of praise due to tradition.

In honor of tomorrow’s Tony Awards (woo!, go Passing Strange!):

Midnight Rec: Cubby Bernstein: Tony Campaign Manager Basically, Xanadu – a campy, over the top musical based on the campy, over the top film – managed to land Tony nominations against all odds. There are always rumblings about campaigns (for example, Avenue Q promised a national tour and regional productions within a year of winning, which allegedly got them some extra votes leading to wins it might not have otherwise received, allegedly).

Xanadu actually did one. Meet Cubby Bernstein. He’s a wunderkind who never grows up, and is responsible for over 60 Tony winning campaigns (including Camelot). He also speaks Yiddish and talks with a hard New York accent. The producers of Xanadu beg him to run the campaign for their show. Cue viral videos. Through personality corrections, schmooze training, and the joy of cupcakes, Cubby Bernstein manages to teach the cast of Xanadu the true meaning of the Tony Awards in 7 (technically 8) viral videos.

It’s campy, it’s over the top, and it has Patti Lupone doing her Momma Rose in the first half of the finale. Loads of theater cameos by big names and funny situations. All of the videos (including bonus content) are on the official Cubby Bernstein website. Videos in reverse order.

Watch the Tonys tomorrow at 8PM on CBS. It’s looks like the ceremony will be something special this year, what with all the nominated musicals allowed to perform since they are all running still, plus bonuses like the original cast of Rent performing with the current cast in honor of the show’s long run and influence on contemporary theater (their reasoning, not mine). Just watch.

Labels: Midnight Rec

Film

Catalog Rec: Dumbo

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I’m trying for variety on this blog. If I didn’t, the first four months would probably all be obscure foreign language horror films not very easy to find in the US. It’s merely a coincidence that both Catalog Recs are from the 1940′s.
Catalog Rec: Dumbo (1941) Say what you will about some of the characters in the film (the crows are tricky to discuss), Dumbo became one of Disney’s most popular and successful animated films. Bonus trivia: Dumbo was supposed to be on the cover of Time Magazine in December 1941 for being the highest grossing film of the year, but was bumped at the last minute due to the bombing at Pearl Harbor.
The film is a sweetly told fairy tale about the power of family, friendship, and overcoming adversity. The story itself is a creative idea written in a layered way to appeal to a wide age span. Young children will enjoy the story about an elephant that learns to fly, while more mature viewers can appreciate the sincerity of the characters (particularly Mrs. Jumbo’s character arc) and the subtle wordplay in the lyrics. The film manages to capture a darker side of the circus industry without intimidation. Except for those Pink Elephants on Parade. That’s just disturbing. Very clever, but disturbing. See for yourself:

Someone had to write that. That’s an achievement in itself. I have to recommend revisiting Dumbo if you get a chance. It’s surprisingly sophisticated for a 62 minute animated film about a flying elephant. Plus the music is great.

I only have it on VHS, though you can probably find the Big Top Edition at most stores still. It will probably be a few years before Disney pulls out all the stops and does a great 2-Disc edition with this film.

Labels: Catalog rec