I finished a new Short Story today…

i finished a short (15ish) page story today. i’ve been enjoying this time ive had alone to write and push myself. but now that thanksgiving break is over and normal work will kick in again i can say that i am ready. i’m ready to work through the next 2-3 weeks until the end of the quarter.

i’m dancing with a few options for my next writing piece. i have an idea for a short story, but i also have an idea for another novel. the only issue i am having is that the novel is very close in nature to the last one i wrote, ‘Filthrot: An Oral History of New Jersey’s Hardcore Kings’. if i do write it, it will be the first time i have ever written two similar books back to back. or really… at all. the four i have finished are all different… so this is a hard choice.

in other news, i have watched two films in the past day, and neither was worth reviewing… so i am kind of sad about that. but i do have a movie sitting here that i think is well worth a review. i will be putting that up in the next day or so.

but for all of you who read this page (and there sure seem to be a bunch) i want to say thanks. thanks for coming here even if only for a few seconds every now and then. thank you for reading my words, and thank you to those of you who have emailed me about my reviews, my updates, and a slew of other things. really, thanks.

 

expect a film and an album review in the near future.

The Game [Film] (1997) – A Review

David Fincher is the kind of director that will always be tied to one movie. he has yet to put out a bad film, but people will always associate him with ‘Fight Club’. and i feel bad for him. ‘Fight Club’ is a great movie, but it’s ‘alternative message’ is only skin deep. the points it makes it beats you over the head with, and the jokes it makes it hits you harder with. because that has become his crowning achievement in the eyes of most film fans, his other, and notably better, work is all forgotten. he directed the stunning and fiendishly underrated ‘Alien 3′ (the assembly cut, or extended cut is far and away one of the best sci-fi films i have ever seen, and yes i know what a huge claim that is), the touching and moving ‘Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, the masterful crime-thriller ‘Zodiac’, the violent and blood-curdling ‘Se7en’, and this film, 1997’s criminally overlooked ‘The Game’.

this film is not to be watched the way ‘Fight Club’ is meant to be watched. you cant sit around with a group of people, eat pizza, laugh, and watch the film, you need to be sitting in silence. you need to be feeling a little introspective, and you need to dig deeper into the film.

if you have not seen the film (which you can find almost anywhere) i would advise reading THIS summary before the review. note that the summary is of the WHOLE film, and thus, contains spoilers and the ending.

the film plays around with ideas of loss and lack of control. Nickolas cant control the things happening to him and around him, and piece by piece he has to fight to get through it all. but if you watch the film a second time, you will notice little things throughout. you can see how he is being helped, how he is being set up to make sure he survives, how he is kept safe while being thrown into dangerous situations. there is an ever-present harness on him.

the best example of loss of control throughout the film is the climactic suicide attempt. when Nickolas jumps off the building after shooting and ‘killing’ Conrad, he is jumping just like his father did. just like he has feared he would. just like the picture stuffed int he clown’s mouth said he would. just like he himself hinted at while talking to his housekeeper/cook/maid. he had no control there. he had to jump. it wasnt even a choice. he was under the impression that he had no money, no family, and nothing to live for. so he had to jump. like father like son. and because the test was built around exhaustive testing and his brother’s own testimony, it was obvious what would happen. he didnt even chose to kill himself, it was forced on him. and he didnt even chose where to jump from. that was chosen for him as well. the film is full of visual representations of his lack of choice. he is so empty, so predictable, that he doesnt make choices anymore. he just follows the fame trajectory. and because he can not chose anything for himself, the actions are obvious to the people who create and run the game for him.

the final twenty minutes of the film is where most people attack. but it is in those twenty minutes that i think Fincher really gets to put his trademark hauntingly ambiguous tricks to work. the film twists ti give you an ending you didnt expect, and then it twists again, and finally there is what most people saw as the final twist, Conrad being alive, and the whole thing simply being a part of the game.  but the very last moments of the film, where Nicolas goes out to talk to ‘the waitress’ and he not-so-subtly hits on her, that i think is the final twist. her smile, the darting eyes, her mistaken place of birth, and then finally her offer for a drink, THAT is where Fincher plays with his audience’s head. is that offer part of the game? is that coffee that they will drink another piece of the puzzle? everyone must have known that he would ask her out once everything was safe… so IS everything safe?

Sean Penn offers up a wonderful job as Conrad, but again, Michael Douglas turns in an amazing and powerful job. Michael Douglas is quickly becoming one of my favorite living actors.

 

i recommend this film wholeheartedly. but, like others i have recommended, not to everyone. i know most people wont be able to get past the ‘faith factor’ of the film. many people will have a problem and say things like ‘what if he jumped off the other side of the building’, or ‘what if he had picked up another gun at a different time’, or ‘what if he hadnt seen that commercial at the restaurant’, but those people are missing the point of the film. explaining to them that he COULDNT have jumped form anywhere else, or he COULDNT have used another gun would be futile. they dont understand his lack of choice in all fields of life. so i wont bother catering to them. i will just say that for those of you who could accept that, this film is a marginalized classic, and you need to see it.

Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun [Film] (1971) – A Review

this film is a haunting and horrific reminder of the price we as humans pay for our advancements. i dont want to debate about whether or not it is ever right to go to war, and i surely dont want to bring up the idea of pacifism at all really. i just want to review this film.

the film’s directing and acting are both somewhat stilted. and i think that it is on purpose. the actors in the first part of the film, mostly in flashbacks, seem to be awkward teens… and that is just what they are. but this slight removal from the norm immediately makes the film an off kilter beast. right from the get go this film feels different. and it feels uncomfortable. bizarre camera angels, and shots that extend or cut at strange places also help to make the viewer feel uncomfortable. almost like they missed something. if it was on purpose, then the film reaches a new level of brilliance, especially for its time in 1971. but if it was on accident, which it may very well be, the accident is a good one. one that betters the film all on its own.

the film is disturbing though. it hurts to watch all the way through. Joe, our Johnny if you will, looks for answers in his mind while his body lays useless and shattered in a storeroom. he looks to his father, who is no help, he looks to his first love, who also is no help, and finally he looks to Christ himself. and Christ says that he is in a place worth than death. a place he must just wait through. through dreams we see Joe’s relationship with his father. sadly, it is a relationship that doesnt exist in America anymore. over coddling parents and parental fear of being labeled as ‘abusers’ have taken the place of strong ‘Bambi’s Father’ type figures. Joe tries his best to please his father at times, but in doing so he misses what his father wanted him to know. his father wanted him to know that life isnt easy, and no one cares about you when you’re gone, so care now. his father hugs him close and tells him its ok when he messes up and loses his father’s prize fishing rod. because after all, it is just a fishing rod. that line had a huge impact on me when i heard it. the rod was his father’s prized possession. it was “the only thing that separates me [the father] from the rest of the people.” and his son loses it. when Joe comes to tell his father he is in tears and feels horrible. i know exactly how Joe felt there. but his father didnt scream, and his father didnt smile it away. he just held his son and said that it was just a fishing rod, and he would get another. because when something is gone, it is gone. you cant bring it back by missing it. but you can console those that are still around. make the best with what you have, in a way.

when the nurse who cares for Joe’s armless, legless, faceless, speechless, sightless, body feels for him, you can feel it too. she looks at his destroyed and worthless body and brings him pleasure. just something to remind him he is alive. they begin a romance that no able body’s person could understand. even she doesnt understand what her love and compassion does for him. in her love he finds life again. but like all things we as humans treasure, it is taken away by another human.

when Joe finally finds a way to communicate, after years and years spent laying in a closet with tubes to feed and breath for him, he is ignored. he taps out Morse code with his head, and the nurse gets someone to help. the soldier can tell what he is saying, ‘SOS’. but the generals, the withering old men who stood around and watched at the boy they found was studied and locked away in a forgotten closet, they dont listen. Joe cries for something. he says he wants to go out side, be seen by the world. he wasnt to be a lesson against war. but that is ignored. so he asks to be killed. the generals leave. the nurse is sent away, never to return, and the ‘bad guys’ dont learn their lesson. Joe is left to tap out ‘Kill Me’ over and over again.

the priest who stands near the bed with the generals is told that he should tell Joe not to yearn for death. but the priest cant blame the poor man. he responds with ‘He is a product of your profession, not mine’. and he is right.

faith doesnt kill people. faith keeps people alive. faith is the love that nurse gave Joe. faith is the only thing some people have. its war, the army, organized aggression… thats what kills people. thats what leaves men shells of what they were.

 

 

[the film has been released on DVD for the first time ever (officially) recently. the DVD cut is the most comprehensive cut available. it is only missing one 11 second shot of full frontal nudity, but the shot was only available in lesser quality prints than the one that was transferred for this DVD. the company doing the transfer decided that the one 11 second shot wasnt worth investing all the money into cleaning and restoring the film. i agree. it can be found on Amazon and anywhere DVDs are sold.]

So i finished my newest book

‘Filthrot : An Oral History of New Jersey’s Hardcore Kings’ is all done. it needs some editing, obviously, but it is all written and i am very happy with how it ends. it is the shortest of the four i have listed on this site, but still, i think it fills out nicely and couldnt really be longer.

HERE is a little blurb about it here on my site, for those of you out there who haven’t noticed, along the side of my page i have links to some information about me and my work. i hope you head over and take a look.

 

i’ll be starting a new one tonight. i am juggling with two different ideas, so i guess it just comes down to which one i can think of a better first line for.

Falling Down (1993) – A Review

i am having a hard time figuring out where to start with this review. i have written a few different sentences and then just gotten rid of them. its hard to know how to kick off something like this. the movie is brilliant. there is no argument there… and what it is saying is very important… but still… its hard to put my opinion of the film in words.

our main character, Michael Douglas in this film is both a down on his luck guy you feel bad for, and a man with sever anger issues. his furious tirade across a city is both justified and unjustifiable. every point he makes, every scream and every threat is justified. it is all true. companies do charge too much for anything. people are selfish. people abuse the small amounts of power their jobs give them. people can be bigoted horrible people. he is right that bureaucracy and greed have crippled not only the nation of America but the society of our entire planet. he is right. but he is also slowly falling down into a psychotic break.

that was what was so hard for me personally while i watched this film. i agreed with so much about the character… in a way i even identified with him. his anger at the convenience store clerk who spoke fractured English and over-charged for thing, his anger at the fast food employee and manager that abused their SLIGHT level power just to show that they could. i get that. and when he busts up the convenience store with a baseball bat i was there with him. standing in those shoes engaged in an orgy of destruction that we have all felt. that eightyfive cent can of soda isnt just overpriced soda, it is a symbol of the larger price jacking and hostile corporate takeover of our world. that coca-cola is a little icon of how we are all being bled. im with him there. when he demands his food the way he wants it at the burger joint, i was with him there. because in both instances… he paid. he just exercised a little justifiable anger. but as the film progresses, he falls down. hard. he is clearly angry at himself more than anyone else int he film. and again… i identify with that. he is angry at his ex-wife for leaving him and taking his child, but as can be seen in the scene where he watched the video of him yelling at his wife… he is more angry at himself for pushing her. he knows he has made mistakes. and he regrets them. but now he is too angry. he is too angry at the world, at himself, at his anger… he has fallen down.

Robert Duvall is excellent as the police officer in the same situation. both men are being bossed around, abused, and pushed into lives they cant and dont want to fit into. both men are taking the world’s shit and just plowing through it. and both of them finally turn around on the same day. both of them finally stand up. Robert Duvall stands up and walks away. Michael Douglas stands up and falls down.

i love this movie. i love what it means, i love how it is filmed, i love how it is acted, and i love how it makes me feel. for the most part. part of me hates that i can identify with the movie… but i guess thats also something i love about it.

 

 

 

 

{unlike most of the movies i review here, this one is not only still in print, but very easy to find. the film has been released on blu-ray in a wonderful package that you can find on amazon right HERE.}

Dance of Death – by Iron Maiden

if i ever hear someone knock on this album, i have proof that the someone in question isnt a metal fan. or at least not the metal i listen to.

when Iron Maiden teamed back up with Bruce and Adrian to write and record their ‘comeback’ album ‘Brave New World’, metal elite everywhere started getting ready to hate it. as a result the three albums the band has put out since their comeback have gotten the usual ‘oh they are old now’ reviews and unnecessary hatred that is expected. normally for a band of Maiden’s stature it is ok with me that “fans” dont like their newer stuff, because the truth of the matter is that usually older bands lose that flame. but here, on this album, and the follow-up, ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, it actually makes me angry.

this album is a solid slab of amazing heavy metal songwriting. songs like Rainmaker, Montsegur, Face in the Sand, and Journeyman, are flag waving metal masterpieces. Steve Harris, metal’s resident master of bass playing plays his fingers right off. the triple guitar attack of Adrian, Dave, and Janick is enough to make air guitarists everywhere throw the backs out headbanging. Nicko is a gigantic drummer. both in size and sound. his playing is ferocious and refined all at once. he slides into Steve’s bass lines like he was born to play along. and on top of it all, the unmatched voice of metals single best tenor. Bruce Dickinson is arguably the ‘best’ singer in metal history. and it is a known fact that the male voice is at its peak during the ages of 40-55. this album was recorded right in that ark. and it shows.

everything comes together perfectly in the songs ‘Dance of Death’, and ‘Age of Innocence’. these two songs are among Iron maiden’s greatest achievements. their passion and brutal strength pull them up to be truly rousing spiritual songs.

 

this album is criminally underrated. if you like metal, heck, if you like singers, then this is an album you need.

 

make your way over to amazon and pick up a copy for a few bucks HERE.

The Woodsman (2004) – A Review

Kevin Bacon is one of those actors who just needs a better agent. he is charming, subtle, realistic, and instantly a friendly character. so when i saw this movie, i was truly shocked. Kevin Bacon turns in what could possibly be the best performance of his career as the struggling pedophile.

this movie doesnt justify him or even vilify him, it just shows him as who he is, a greatly flawed human being. his urges and his desires are bad. he knows that.

with that out-of-the-way the film finds itself able to become a movie and passionate film about purification. Kevin Bacon’s character has just gotten out of prison after serving 12 years of a sentence for child molestation. he is still on parole though, so his parole officer (Mos Def) has to come to check in on him periodically. the film is carried by the sheer power of their scenes together. the other actors in the film are well cast and very strong (David Allen Grier, Benjamin Bratt, and rapper EVE), but as far as the adults go, Mos Def and Bacon both turn in their best performances to date. the two of them seem like they arent even acting. they seem like they are funneling their real emotions, their real regrets and their real hatreds into fake characters. the other star actor in the film is the young girl Robin, played masterfully by Hannah Pilkes. i was actually stunned by her emotional power in her ‘big scene’ with Kevin Bacon. the tears in her eyes seemed more real than i was comfortable with. her longing for love and affection and her dark scars tore me to pieces. both times i saw that scene i have actually begged out loud for things to be ok. when i see the way she cries, and the way Kevin tears up… it makes me feel so horrible. but at the same time, it gives me hope. when Kevin Bacon’s character sees how horrible what he wants to do really is. not how horrible a cop says it is, not how horrible he is told it is, not how horrible doctors say it is… how horrible the victim says it is… then he changes. something in him changes. and he understands that his joy isnt worth the pain others would feel from it.

in the second most powerful scene in the film Mos Def talks with Kevin Bacon about ‘the woodsmen’, the man who comes in at the end of little red riding hood and cuts open the wolf to help the little girl out. he finished his statement by saying that there arent any woodsmen in the real world. that there are no people to help save the victims of the world and hold them without a scratch… and its true. but if the ending of the film is any indication, there are people who try.

i recommend this movie wholeheartedly. but not to everyone. its hard to watch, and it is emotionally heavy. it doesnt make him a hero, but at the same time it isnt one of those disgusting revenge films where vigilantism and sadistic vengeance take over. it is a very real film. and because it is so real, it is that much harder to watch.

Surveillance (2008) – A Review

Jennifer Lynch’s second film is horrifying.

this film is unnerving, painful, and dripping with directorial finesse. the 15 year gap between her first film (Boxing Helena) and this, her second film, must have been filled with practice. her first film is a beautiful haunting piece, but her confidence and eye for shots and angels is improved tenfold in this film. aesthetically speaking, this is an astonishingly beautiful film. and hands down one of the top five films of 2008.

the film deals with ideas of  ’secret humanity’ and closed doors. every single character, with the exception of the true ’survivor’ of the film, is shown as two faced to a certain degree. each one of them is a different person in different lights. their humanity, their identity, and their souls, all being secrets that they only reach for at different points. the constant changing and morphing of each person’s public face makes for a very interesting study of just what is and isnt secret. Bill Pullman puts cameras up to perform the interviews, and their presence changes things only the littlest bit. people still wear the masks they need and want. it is interesting that the only time masks are pulled off by people is when the cameras arent looking. when the table is pushed against the wall, knocking over the camera, then and only then do we see who the people in the oddly wall papered room really are. and after the ‘natural cameras’, or eyes, of the living souls after the first attack are hidden and closed off do we see the proverbial masks come off the killers, though they continue to wear their rubber ones.

if Jennifer Lynch’s last film was about the mechanics of love in a heartless society, then this one is about the mechanics of humanity in a heartless society. one cant help but notice the heaping amounts of implies misanthropy throughout the film. but there is a silver lining. there is a chunk of true human love throughout the film, even if it is a strange and scarred version of love. also, there is a system of justice. it is not justice the way a sane man would see it, but it is justice in its own way. the final ’survivor’ puts together the puzzle, and sees past all the masks and lies. as a result, they are the only one who is in touch with their own humanity. and the only one that is too removed from the situation to even bother killing. the ’survivor’ is a strange and foreign object to the rest of the characters. and once you see who it is, it suddenly becomes clear why.

surviving is important to humanity, but honesty is far more important. and thats why the lone ’survivor’ walks away at the end. it realized that honesty outweighed surviving. so it was rewarded with both.

 

this film is a wonderful chunk of art that i fear will be bogged down by people who dont understand the film or simply scream nepotism whenever Jennifer Lynch’s name comes up. head over to amazon to pick it up HERE, or on Blu-Ray HERE.

One Hour Photo (2002) – A Review

Robin Williams is an underrated actor. when he is funny he is in the same league as Dan Aykroyd, and when he is serious he is in the same league as Daniel Day-Lewis.

in this 2002 film, One Hour Photo, Williams plays a lonely man, Sy, who works as a photo developer at a large Wal-Mart style business.  his job brings him endless joy as he really respects and honors the art of photography and photo development. he also finds a family that gets their pictures developed there and fall in love with them. he works every day just to make sure he doesnt miss them. he keeps extra copies of their photos and puts them on his apartment wall. they become his surrogate family. he becomes the uncle they dont know about.

the film takes place just as his world is starting to decay. his boss doesnt like him and starts to notice that Sy has been stealing hundreds of prints every year. so his job comes under fire. at the same time, he finds out, through developing other people in town’s photos, that the husband of the perfect family that he loves has been cheating.

the real powerful thing in the character isnt that he is a crazed man who stalks and hunts a family, it’s that he loves them. he loves them and he wants the best for them. he sees the cheating father as an ungrateful monster who is hurting his perfect caring wife and innocent beautiful son. Sy isnt evil, and he is barely even crazy, he is just demented… demented and lonely. this loneliness drives him to ‘help’ the family.

the voice overs throughout the film really add a lot to the complexity and beauty of William’s Sy character. his detailed descriptions of photography and life blend together to show a man who just missed out on love for one reason or another. and that is what is most strikingly sad about the film. Sy is just a poor man who missed out on love. there are hints that his parents hurt him through the use of photography, most likely some sort of child pornography, and as a result he has been scared and unable to really develop a friendship in life. but the little bits of information that are hinted at that show that he may have been sexually abused on film make his devotion to perfect photographic detail horrifying. it is as though he is obsessed with the weapon that hurt him in his youth.

this film is moving, and almost brought me to tears as i watched the end. i can not recommend this film enough. the only thing i have negatively to say about it is that it will haunt you, and it will make you feel sad for the people you see in real life like Sy. the people you see walking along on the street, holding a single bag of groceries, just enough for one person, and one person alone. the people who are always alone and smile quickly when you look at them. the people who trap themselves in their own loneliness. the people who need a friend.

you can head over to amazon to pick up a VERY inexpensive copy HERE.

a little update on some music.

so it seems that the record label will be functioning by christmas. while i am home for christmas break i hope to get everything finalized, and the thirst things up for download.

yesterday i finished ‘Dust in Our Throats’ and continued a little bit of work on the next album. ‘Dust in Our Throats’ is a very dark and static album. the long songs tend to become hypnotizing and enveloping. i cant wait to hand this one out, i feel that it is much better than ‘Dragging Horse Bones. i know everyone says that their new album is better, but in this case i really think that this one just has some better songs.

 

so i am sorry for the wait, and trust me, it is more annoying for me than it is for you. i cant wait to put my music out there and really get this label going so that i can help put out my friends’ music too.