Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

Review: Hannibal Season One Finale

Posted: June 20, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
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The word that sends people into horrified nightmares.

I’m what’s known as a Lecterite. Like die-hard Trekkies, Whovians, and comic book junkies, I get very revved up by Hannibal Lecter, and love to praise the character and fault the work when it fails to live up to his scary image. Which was why I was very excited–and very worried–when I heard they were making a prequel series that showed the development in the relationship between Lecter and Will Graham (the guy who searched Lecter’s head before Clarice Starling ever graduated high school, if you didn’t know).

I remember watching the pilot (read review here), and I remember being intrigued. I also remember thinking vaguely that I would do a review of the season finale, but that sort of became a prophecy as time went on. And at that time, I would know if I would be disappointed, if I would be happy, or at the very least glad Starling wouldn’t come to TV (I am not a Starling fan).

I’m happy to say that I was not disappointed (and Starling will get her own show on Lifetime apparently, but don’t expect me to watch it). Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, and Lawrence Fishburne deliver as Will Graham, Dr. Lecter, and Jack Crawford respectively. For the first time, there’s a Will Graham who actually convinces me he can get into the minds of killers whether he likes it or not (this is mentioned in Red Dragon and its movie adaptions, but very rarely explored), and this is utilized to its best in the season’s plotline. Lawrence Fishburne is tough and ready to do what it takes to catch a killer, even if it means pushing some very dangerous limits.

And Mikkelsen? My God, he’s better than Hopkins! He portrays Lecter like he’s a casually curious kid who’s constantly finding someone’s set up dominoes in front of him and he can’t help but see what happens if he pushes that one domino. And why? As he says in the penultimate episode, “Because I can.” If that’s not psychopathic, I don’t know what is! And the best part is, he’s at the heart of the FBI investigations and a damn good actor and manipulator, so nobody, no matter how good these feds are, can figure out he’s got them around his fingers. And trust me, these feds aren’t portrayed as incompetent as in the novels or the movies.

All that and a tight plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Not too much blood but plenty of creepiness and freaky murder and death to draw in the viewers without grossing them out. And the characters and relationships and their developments are incredibly believable. It’s the best adaptation of the Lecter books yet!

So 2014, come soon so I can find out what happens in season 2 (SPOILER: Hannibal isn’t in a cell at the end of season 1). In the meantime, I’m assigning the entire season a 4.2 out of 5. I take 0.8 points out because the fourth episode was pulled for its so-called objectionable material. I don’t know what was so bad with that episode that it had to be pulled prior to broadcast and aired only online and abroad. But maybe I’m just thick-skinned and not easily disturbed (or too disturbed to care) about kids being brainwashed into killing their families.

Anyway, you probably don’t care. But I’m putting it out for those who do. Good night everybody!

Review: Man of Steel

Posted: June 15, 2013 in Review
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I’m going to say this now: I’m about as much of a Superman fan as I am a Trekkie. He has a superpower for every situation, and the worse his problems seem to get is when Lois looks at another man or gets kidnapped. It’s a difficult task to bring Superman to the big screen, and an even bigger challenge to make him seem more relatable.

Sadly, this latest run at the silver screen didn’t pan out for me. The filmmakers take too long to get to the conflict, instead explaining how Superman becomes who he is through an in-depth look at Krypton and sometimes jarring flashbacks. When we do get to the conflict, we see Superman (thankfully with a defined set of powers) played by Henry Cavill, only he seems kind of wooden and with little to say, meeting up with the most expressive (and angry) character of all, Zod (played by Michael Shannon). Although the native Kryptonians have trouble adjusting to Earth, they prepare to beet the living snot out of Cavill, only for Cavill to fight back in fight scenes that I zoned out of most the time. There is one scene near the end where we get a real sense of conflict where good ol’ Clark has to make a tough choice, but that’s about the only time I get that sense that Supe’s as troubled as he’s supposed to be.

There’s also Amy Adams’s Lois Lane. Spunky, definitely not a damsel in distress. Will abandon her common sense if it means getting a photo of alien technology and is the only one who is able to make the connections between Clark Kent and Superman well before he puts on the suit and cape. I’m not sure why though, apparently he wasn’t as good about covering his tracks as he should’ve been. She’s basically important to the story, but her performance isn’t exactly spectacular enough for an Oscar.

Lawrence Fishburne is underused as Perry White (or perhaps that’s his character in Hannibal as a reporter), and Christopher Meloni plays Elliot Stabler in the Air Force with his usual tough guy act that never fails to kill. Other than that, not much in terms of acting to really make me feel like I’m in the middle of something fantastic.

Also, the swept-back hair look is out for superheroes. They would’ve done better with messy hair, something that rockstars might wear. And don’t stick around after the credits for a look at the inevitable sequel, because there’s not even a hint of what’s to come (though I bet it involves Lex Luthor, Kryptonite, and possibly an arms race).

Though the night wasn’t entirely wasted. That opening sequence gave me an idea on how to modify a certain story of mine and make it better. Who knows what that might lead to.

All told, Man of Steel gets a 3 out of 5. If this film was the beginning of a rival franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then I seriously doubt that such a franchise will ever rival the Avengers, no matter how much money is made.

Daisy: The First Review

Posted: June 9, 2013 in Review, short story, Writing
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Have you downloaded a copy yet?

Have you downloaded a copy yet?

It was bound to happen eventually, but I’m glad it did happen sooner rather than later.

On the Smashwords website, I got a review from a David Blake. Giving Daisy a rating of 3 out of (I’m assuming) 5 stars, this is what he had to say:

“An okay story.  The writing’s quite good for the most part, as it takes the trouble to describe things, yet often blending the descriptions in with the action.  The villain is given sufficient character, his background and motivation being conveyed by clues rather than by a less satisfying full-on explanation.
The main problem I had with the story is that Marie’s actions frequently suggest she’s been trapped in the building for a very long time, and yet the story never really gives the reader a proper sense that she has.  There are windows, yet Marie never looks out of them to see where the building is (she’s surprised when it later starts getting demolished).
The thought of a crazy hobo having (or using) an iPod didn’t quite ring true.
And there are some awkward lines too, such as unbuttoning buttons, and the use of the word ‘from’ twice-over (ie ‘from which the music was coming from’).
Overall, an average story with some good points and some not so good ones.”

Well, I guess it’s average because it was a short story from high school. I can only do so much in a short story, and since it dated from that period, it’s not as good as I’d like it to be. Still, I thought it deserved publication, which is the reason I selected it to be the promotional piece for The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. Hopefully more reviews will come in as time goes by. After all, reviews are a very important way for self-published authors to spread spread their work.

If you’ve yet to check out Daisy, I strongly encourage you to do so. It’s free on most websites and can be downloaded onto your e-reader, phone, or even a laptop or desktop computer. And when I finally get the copyright for it, get psyched up for The Quiet Game, coming out this summer.

All for now. I have a short story to write.

My Top Villains 2013 #5-1

Posted: May 27, 2013 in Review
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Time for the second of this series, where I list my favorite villains for the year. And once again, I’d like to remind everyone that because Judaism has a differing view of Satan than the rest of the world, he will not show up in this list. Also, no villain of mine will show up in this list.

Now for a quick recap of numbers 10-6:

10. Voldemort (Harry Potter)
9. Randall Flagg (Stephen King’s The Stand)
8. The First Evil (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
7. Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion)
6. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

And now that that’s out of the way, onto the Top 5:

5. The Mayor (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

“Oh that’s swell. I love being a favorite.” He’d probably say something like that.

Properly known as Mayor Richard Wilkins III, he is the main villain of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and arguably one of the best Buffy villains ever. Played by Harry Groener, he seems like a genial man with conservative values and a phobia of germs. But underneath that surface is a quasi-immortal sorcerer who has ruled Sunnydale for several decades with the end goal of becoming the reincarnation of one of the oldest demons in history (and when they’re old, that also means they’re big). To that end he manipulates much of the evil that occurs in Sunnydale and eventually turns Slayer Faith away from the side of good to his. Many writers have called him a classic villain, and he is certainly a fan favorite. If you’ve ever watched Buffy, you know why he ranks at number 5.

4. Maleficent (from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty)

Where does she get her wardrobe from? Dracula’s wives?

Although this Disney classic was a commercial and critical failure in 1959 due to slow pace and lack of character development, it gained a following and I like to think Maleficent played a huge role in that. Her name a portmanteau of “magnificent” and “malignant”, she is considered one of Disney’s most famous and most dastardly villains. It’s her reputation that won her the honor of being the main villain in the Kingdom Hearts series, where she is often Sora and Mickey’s final antagonist. The strange thing is, she’s loved most her enigmatic personality and her mysterious past. We do not know why she cursed baby Aurora with the sleeping curse, though it’s probably not anything as petty as not being invited to her christening. Perhaps this’ll be explored in the new movie with Angelina Jolie that Disney’s cooking up. I hope so, because I’d like to know more about her.

3. Hannibal Lecter (from the Thomas Harris books)

A true gentleman…until he bites your head off.

Also known as “Hannibal the Cannibal”, Lecter has been featured or starred in four of Harris’s books. A sociopathic psychiatrist who makes meals out of the people who cross him, Lecter is considered one of the most influential villains in thriller history, and has been portrayed in various adaptations. Currently he is played by Mads Mikkelsen in the NBC prequel series Hannibal, where he is portrayed as a calm but calculating killer, someone you wouldn’t think of as a serial killer if you saw him on the streets. Knowledgeable and resourceful, Dr. Lecter has a way of getting in people’s heads and a way of making things difficult for investigators such as Will Graham and Clarice Starling. I highly recommend the NBC series, because if you ask me, Mikkelsen is better than Hopkins at portraying a madness of a whole different sort.

2. Freddy Kreuger (from The Nightmare on Elm Street)

Anyone reading this post before bed?

Jason may be my favorite slasher, but Freddy is something that cannot be stopped. We can put distance between ourselves and Jason or Leatherface, but nobody can run away from sleep, and that is what Freddy uses. A serial killer/molester (depending on what version you’re watching), he was killed by vengeful parents who immolated him. Coming back as a ghost with a bladed glove, Freddy attacks the children of those same parents who killed him by entering their dreams and killing them in their dreams, causing their deaths in real life. Freddy has been played every time by Robert Englund except for the remake, when he was played by Jackie Earl Haley. Trust me, this is one guy you don’t want to dream about.

1. Dracula

I vant to scare you silly!

I don’t need to tell you where our top villain comes from, his name says it all. Based on Vlad the Impaler and in some versions the exact same person, Dracula is a centuries-old vampire who travels from Trannsylvania to England to begin a campaign of world domination by taking over the most powerful empire at the time, but is stopped by Johnathan Harker and Dr. Van Helsing as they race to stop Dracula from turning Harker’s fiancée Mina into a vampire. The character has been influential as the first instance of a vampire being aristocratic and gentlemanly, which means Lestat, Edward, and all other vampires must consider Dracula their spiritual father. He has appeared in a variety of works thanks to the novel itself belonging to the public domain, and will be getting new life (so to speak) in an NBC miniseries this fall. I personally recommend Gary Oldman in the 1992 film adaptation and Richard Roxburgh as the count in Van Helsing.

Well that’s it for this year. Check back next year when I do a new list, possibly with some new or some old faces. So Hollywood/New York/whoever, you’ve got a year to impress me. I look forward to seeing new villains on the list.

My Top Villains 2013 #10-6

Posted: May 26, 2013 in Review
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Disturbing, isn’t it?

I thought I’d do an annual post of my top villains. Why? Because in horror, the villain plays such a huge role and is usually the source of most of the terror. It makes sense that I should list which ones are my favorites and which ones have an influence on me. And it might tell us all a little bit about why I’m so messed up. So I’m doing my top villains in two posts, numbers ten through six in the first post and numbers five through one in the second. And please note, none of these villains are of my creation. That just wouldn’t seem fair, especially if you haven’t read much or any of my work.

Oh, and one more thing before we begin: Satan is not on this list. Yeah, I know it’s surprising, but Judaism doesn’t view Satan like Christianity does, so I don’t include him on the list. In fact, I have a novel where Satan’s the protagonist, so if he’s on the villain’s list that’d make me a hypocrite. No thanks.

So onto numbers 10-6. Enjoy:

10. Voldemort (from the Harry Potter books).

Oh Voldy, what an ugly face you have! Why not get cosmetic surgery?

My mother may disown me for putting the villain of the HP books at the bottom of this list, but I stand by the decision. The wizarding world’s answer to Adolf Hitler, Voldemort starts out as a young boy by the name of Tom Riddle in an orphanage. As things start out for him, he seems a little off but okay nonetheless. But as time goes on, his psychopathic tendencies make themselves known and he morphs into the dark and hideous Voldemort, who manages to stay alive even after dying through dark and obscene magic (does that by any chance have anything to do with his deformed face?). Voldemort uses the wizarding version of racism–blood purity–to help in his quest for power, and is well-known for being ruthless, intelligent, and full of dark schemes. Of course, his arrogance is part of what leads to his downfall, both the first time and the second.

Have to admire his love of snakes though. I’m a sucker for snakes. Why do you think one of my novels is about one?

9. Randall Flagg (from Stephen King’s The Stand)

Randall Flagg. Don’t let his smile fool you, he’s pure evil!

Is he the devil in blue jeans, or just his cousin? Randall Flagg–also known as “The Walking Dude” and “The Dark Man”–is a creature made of hate and malice who wanders the lesser-known highways of America at night, a boogie man who enjoys causing chaos wherever and whenever he can. He appears in several Stephen King books, but is most famous for The Stand, where he attempts to make a nation around himself in the plague-ravaged United States. He is shown gaining supernatural abilities as the plague ravages America and becomes a synonym for evil in the post-plague world. He takes delight in everything evil, whether it be murder, rape, or torture, and gathers several individuals like him after the plague. He is still part human though, and that shows later on in the novel when things start to go bad for him in his new nation. Still he is scary as heck, and his film portrayal by Jamey Sheridan makes you want to go “EEEK!”

8. The First Evil (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

A manifestation of The First Evil. Good thing it’s noncorporeal, I bet its breath stinks!

The First Evil is a power, pure and simple. It existed long before the universe began, and it will exist long after the universe is dead and gone. It embodies all that is evil, and will go to great lengths to ensure that Evil prevails. It is non-corporeal and can only take the form of the dead, but it is an expert at psychological manipulation, and has an army of demon priests and super-vampires to carry out its will, along with a psychotic priest played by Nathan Fillion. The First’s initial appearance was in the third season as a monster-of-the-week, but it becomes the main antagonist in the seventh season when it finds that it can use a glitch in the Slayer line caused by Buffy’s resurrection to destroy the Slayer line forever, allowing Evil a huge victory and allowing the First to enter into the hearts of all humanity. Truly terrifying and not a creature I would want to go up against. It does show an envy for humans and their ability to engage in acts of sexuality, which I find somewhat strange. Oh well.

7. Lelouch Lamperouge (from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion)

This is the face of a man who could challenge Moriarty…or even control him!

What to say about Lelouch? He’s hard to classify as a villain, but some of what he does is truly villainous, so he qualifies as a villain. The exiled son of the Emperor of the Holy Brittannian Empire, Lelouch hates his father for letting his mother’s murder go unsolved and for allowing his younger sister to become crippled during the murder. When he meets the mysterious immortal witch CC, Lelouch gains the power of Geass, which allows him to control people under certain conditions. Already a highly intelligent and competent strategist with loose morals, Lelouch uses his newfound power to don the disguise of the masked revolutionary Zero and begins a rebellion in the conquered nation of Japan, now a colony called Area 11 with numerous rebel and terrorist organizations within it.

Code Geass is one of my favorite anime of all time, and Lelouch is one of my favorite characters of all time. As the series goes on, we see numerous instances of him playing both villain and hero, lovable and despicable as he attempts to bring down his father and the Empire. He is capable of great good, but his twisted past and his personality often cause him to go the route of evil. His only weaknesses, besides how underwhelming he is in athletics, his probably his arrogance and his love for his younger sister. Still, I would not want to be on Lelouch’s bad side any day of the week.

6. Jason Voorhees (from the Friday the 13th film series)

Ever have trouble seeing his eyes? I think that’s intentional.

One of my favorite slasher killers, Jason is terrifying both in his brutality and in his simplicity. The son of Pamela Voorhees, Jason was born with a condition that, among other things, causes mental retardation and cranial swelling. This causes him to get horribly teased at Camp Crystal Lake, and eventually he is pushed into the water and drowns while the counselors were off having sex with each other (though there are other versions of how and why Jason got into the water). He later reemerges to be shown living, but not before his mother dies while venting a psychotic rage at the loss of her son. Jason takes up the mantle of avenger afterwards, killing anyone who comes near Camp Crystal Lake with his machete (or sometimes an axe). In later films he is shown to become a sort of Frankenstein-like creature, coming back from the dead under numerous circumstances to wreak havoc on Camp Crystal Lake. Scary as heck, especially when you consider he’s a giant, fast-moving zombie in a hockey mask.

And speaking of hockey mask, Jason didn’t appear until the second film, when he wore a sackcloth bag over his head. The hockey mask appeared in the third film to give Jason a distinctive look, and that look has terrified audiences ever since.

 

Well, that’s all for the first of these two posts. I’ll try and get to Part 2 tomorrow. Until then, if you have any questions on these villains, your own suggestions for villains, or a question on what the Jewish view of Satan is, let me know. I’d be happy to hear from you.

Review: “World War Z” by Max Brooks

Posted: May 16, 2013 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff
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I include the “by Max Brooks” part to distinguish this review I will eventually do on the movie (both will probably get a ton of traffic once the movie comes out, I bet). Also, I know I keep saying that I like to put a week’s distance between reviews and it’s only been a few days since I did the review for The Great Gatsby, but this was such a phenomenal novel, what could I do?

As a History major studying the Holocaust and World War II, I read a lot of memoirs by survivors and soldiers alike. As I read Max Brooks’s zombie apocalypse novel, one of the things I was struck by was that it sounded so much like a Holocaust memoir, it was uncanny. And I don’t mean in terms of content–it’s a zombie apocalypse novel, after all–but in terms of how haunted the voices of the characters are. Each section of the novel is a different person’s experience during “The Great Panic” and the war against the living dead, ranging from Chinese to Russian to Chinese to American to South African to Middle Eastern to English and everything in-between. The horrors and haunted tales of each survivor, which are all assembled by a nameless interviewer (Max Brooks in a world that he created, playing the role of reporter, perhaps?) into a single collection of tales, will keep you reading for hours after you should’ve gone to bed.

That’s kind of what happened to me: I was reading late last night, finished the book, and then went to bed. I had the craziest dream afterwards where I lived through my own zombie apocalypse. Just one problem: I didn’t find out what happened to the woman I met in my dream and the baby we were having together! I felt like Dorothy wanting to get back to Oz! Cursed alarm, waking me up in the thick of the battle.

Anyway, another thing I noticed about World War Z was that Brooks thinks of several things that we don’t. I’m not going into detail, but let’s just say that he considers everything from the disadvantages of conventional warfare on zombies, to survival plans foolish and wise, to how the public would react to zombies, and how other people would react to those reactions. It’s so detailed and so well thought-out, you think you’re reading something that actually happened. I’ve read memoirs and history books that have the same level of detail, and it’s crazy how real it all seems. Like Stephen King’s The Stand trying to pass for nonfiction, it feels that real.

A very engrossing read, 5 out of 5 definitely and deserved. I wonder how the movie, which will probably take more liberties than any other book-to-movie adaptation in the history of moviemaking (with the possible exception of Priest), will compare.

Oh, funny story while I have your attention: on Tuesday night, Jews everywhere started Shavuot, one of our more important holidays. During Shavuot, it’s traditional on the first night to have a long study session that lasts late into the night. The study session I attended was divided into two parts, the first consisting of different classes we could take. I took the one on bikkur cholim, which is the commandment to visit the sick but also implies praying and caring for the sick. Near the end of the session and after some lively discussion about the effects of biblical and modern-day quarantine, I asked about bikkur cholim and zombie plagues. The instructor’s answer: “Throw bikkur cholim out the window, and run for your life!” Sounds sensible, doesn’t it?

Review: The Great Gatsby (2013 film)

Posted: May 13, 2013 in Review
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I find some parts of the original novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald very confusing, just by the fact that Fitzgerald used a different sort of language than most of the authors I read do. Maybe that’s why I find watching adaptations of these sorts of stories so edifying. Because I can actually understand what’s happening.

The latest outing of The Great Gatsby in Hollywood, this time helmed by visionary director Baz Luhrmann and starring the still-youthful Leonardo DiCaprio (what’s that guy’s secret anyway?), is an interesting take on the old story. Luhrmann takes out a lot of character development and does a lot of telling rather than showing Gatsby’s history in order to make room for stunning 3D effects and his usual eye-candy filming. Most of the character development is devoted to developing the warm relationship between DiCaprio’s Gatsby and Tobey Macguire’s Nick Carraway, making them seem like the best of friends. There’s also a bit of time spent on the complicated relationship between Gatsby and Carey Mulligan’s depressed-and-indecisive-but-still-trying-to-seem-sunny Daisy Buchanan, but not as much as that between Gatsby and Nick.

We also don’t see much of what precipitates the final events of the novel and skip over the entire funeral, which might upset quite a few purists. And the relationship between Nick and Jordan? Dashed out completely in favor of showing Nick therapy-writing Gatsby story at a sanitarium, where’s he’s been placed due to alcoholism and all the issues he’s feeling as a result of what happened to him in America.

But credit to Luhrmann, the party scenes are so enticing, especially in 3D, that you want to step right into the party and have a drink, or at least rewind the movie to watch those scenes again. And the arguments during the final half of the movie are realistic and emotional, so much so you feel like you could be seeing an actual fight between real people. And finally, Jay-Z’s rocking soundtrack is so much fun to listen to that you find yourself grooving in your seat. There should be an Oscar just for that.

Overall, I have very mixed feelings about this film. But I enjoyed it anyway and I felt it was a very decent adaptation. So for The Great Gatsby I give a grade of 3.7 out of 5. Not the best film I’ll see this summer, but definitely a well-spent two and a half hours.

Review: Iron Man 3

Posted: May 6, 2013 in Review
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My first summer movie review, and I’m happy to say, this is probably the best Iron Man film in the franchise yet, for reasons I will go over in a moment.

First, paint a scene in your mind: Tony Stark trying to say something important while showing a certain image from the trailers (I won’t say which one) and totally fumbling it. Cue 90’s music, the studios behind the film show their logos, and we’re transported to a New Year’s Eve party in Switzerland in 1999-2000. You think to yourself, “Is this really how they open this film?” And then as the rest of the film unrolls, you think, “That is how they start a seriously awesome film”.

In the latest entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, only this time he’s dealing with an anxiety disorder caused by the events of last summer’s The Avengers and his near death by nuke and closing wormhole and falling to the ground from higher than most skyscrapers. Meanwhile, a terrorist with a Chinese name, an Indian look, and a Southern Baptist voice named the Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) is causing horrifying bombings all over the place, and one of them hurts a friend of Stark’s. Meanwhile, Guy Pierce as Aldrich Killian, the head of a creepy think tank doing some very heated work (and I don’t mean controversial, I mean heated), and he’s got something to do with the Mandarin and his terrorist attacks.

As we watch the movie, we see amazing performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Guy Pierce worthy of Oscar nods (though considering the stigma of superhero movies, that may not happen), twists that could get me death threats if I revealed them here, and an explosive finale that’ll make you want to stand up in your seat and scream “Oh my God, I can’t believe this! Awesome!” And stick around after the credits, you’ll get a special treat and a news update on Tony Stark.

Oh, and as you can expect, the special effects were awesome. Honestly, the bad guys scared the crap out of me when I saw what they could do, how they were doing it, and the implications of what could happen if such technology were possible here on Earth (and thanks to current technology and its speedy advance, everything in the movie except the actual suit could actually appear in the next 5-20 years. Be warned!). Plus the suits are so cool, you want to get one for yourself and take it for a test drive. And watch out for the sky-diving scene. That must’ve been really hard to film.

All told, I give Iron Man 3 a 5 out of 5. I cannot wait to see if anything compares to it.

Also, watch for a trailer for Thor 2. It’s not to be missed.

Review: The Lords of Salem

Posted: April 25, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
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And I kind of wish I hadn’t waited.

Strange.

That’s the only way I can categorize horror rocker and director Rob Zombie’s latest piece, ultimately a story about the inability to escape your fate with a Satanic bent.

The film follows Sheri Moon Zombie, Rob Zombie’s wife (the fact that she’s in the film must do miracles for the marriage) as a radio DJ in Salem, Massachusetts, as she finds a mysterious record from a group called The Lords of Salem. Slowly but surely, she becomes ensnared in a plot to turn her into the mother of the Antichrist because of a curse placed on her by some actual witches from Salem. And by the way, Satan and his kid look more like a mud creature and the face-hugger from Alien.

I thought the film had good promise at the beginning. A few scary starts, a sense of unreality. But from then on there seemed to be just trippy imagery as Mrs. Zombie goes to her fate with barely any protest. At the end we’re confronted with enough sexual imagery and weird video effects to make us more confused than scared. Heck, it’s enough to make me wish for gore, and I’ve been complaining about the prevalence of that in horror for a while now!

And what’s also upsetting is that Mrs. Zombie doesn’t try to fight back, but just goes too willingly with her witchy landlord’s plot. The only one doing any digging to figure things out is a local historian and author, but unfortunately when he gets close to the truth he gets whacked. And the use of nudity is more disturbing than titillating in this film, but that doesn’t mean we want it in this film! And having a body of dead women whom we never see die? What’s up with that?

Oh Rob Zombie, how I miss your success with the Halloween remake! That film would earn a 4.2, should I decide to do a review of it. Unfortunately though, I can only give The Lords of Salem a 2.6. If this is supposed to be an example of the growing witch trend, it’s going to be an example of what not to do, mark my words!

And if you’re wondering if there was anything I liked, it was the music. The music was definitely catchy. Reminded me of something I’d heard in a Marilyn Manson album once. Listen below if you’re interested.

Review: “From A Name To A Number”

Posted: April 13, 2013 in Review
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F0r Passover, I received a gift from a friend of my mother’s as a thank-you for letting her come to our Passover Seder. Unusual for Passover to receive a gift, but I was extremely grateful to receive the gift, and heck, Kelly was grateful for the chance to attend a Passover Seder. The gift: signed copies of “From A Name To A Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography” by Alter Weiner. As the focus of my History major is the Holocaust and yesterday I wrote a post about the dehumanization that occurred during the Nazi regime, I thought it’d be appropriate to finish the book over Shabbas and review it here. Later I’ll send it to Kelly (apparently she manages the author’s Facebook page for the book).

First, I’d like to say that this book is very touching (what do you expect?). But also, it’s very revealing. Covering the author’s entire life from his younger years, to the deportation and incarceration in five different concentration camps, to liberation and resettlement in Israel, and later life in America, where to this day Mr. Weiner goes to high schools, churches, and even prisons to tell his story and let people know what his life is like.

Some things came to me while I read this book. First, that the Holocaust left many of its victims with PTSD. I already knew this, but hearing it for the first time from a survivor, even if only in book format, made me realize how much Mr. Weiner was suffering years after the Holocaust. While many contemporaries of his and his own family brushed off his constant preoccupation with the Holocaust, the reader’s own emotions are stirred and we want to reach out and hug the author over the distance.

Second, how lucky we are. I have a loving family, a fairly liberal society, and I’m getting a great education. Mr. Weiner’s formal education ended at age 13, when the Nazis took over Poland. He lost most of his family shortly thereafter, and lived in slavery and horrifying conditions for three whole years. It’s affected his very person to this day, and it makes the reader appreciate his/her blessings.

And finally, we learn the evil of hate. “Hate hatred and shun violence”, Mr. Weiner implores several times throughout the book. Indeed, I find it hard to hate anyone on a daily basis, but now it’s even harder for me after reading this. I hope Mr. Weiner’s story affects all others similarly and that you treasure this book for years to come.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a well-deserved 5 out of 5, for reminding me to count all my blessings and to love my life no matter what. I hope you pick up a copy and read it yourself so you can see the magical effect of this autobiography by a living treasure.

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