Showing posts with label fugue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fugue. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Oh My October!

You have no idea how horrified I am to realize that we're FOUR DAYS into the greatest time of the year and I haven't done a thing to acknowledge it. Sure, there are candy corn crumbs dripping out of my mouth and slowly eroding my teeth as I type and yes, I've crunched through some fall leaves and tightened the scarf around my neck but my office is nowhere near being appropriately decorated, my costume not remotely decided, and my annual viewing of Halloween III far from sil-VER sham-rocking its way onto my television.

You might say I'm a tad stressed.
This silly thing called LIFE, you see, has been trick or treating its way into daily and weekly being like it has some right to exist or something. There are these things called 'best friends' who have the nerve to do this thing called 'getting married,' and as a result I have to, can you believe it, do actual STUFF that takes away from such life-affirming medicine as watching and writing about horror movies. For shame, me. For. Shame.

Luckily the world will slowly return to its natural status, meaning my feet will be freed from those torture devices known as high heels and my fingers will surrender their grasp on wine glasses long enough to instead work hard at typing (or just clutching a pumpkin beer). October here at the Doll's House will mostly be a month like any other (i.e., filled with talk on the good and tragically bad of cinema) but note that other bloggers are working harder at capturing the true essence of orange and black. The esteemed Mattsuzaka returns with Chucktober over at Chuck Norris Ate My Baby, while the venerable Vicar of VHS tackles a film a day over at Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies and my good pal Zach tackles the devil himself THIRTEEN TIMES over at The Lightning Bugg’s Lair. On the audio end, ShowShow is gathering up the coffee and Ritalin for another round of the Spooktacular, wherein Miles, Katie & Co. put out a podcast EVERY DAY. Stay tuned for what will be their epic discussion of a few Doll's House favorites, including the unofficial winner of February's Attack of the Shorties, Unborn Sins!

Oh and there are MOVIES! A few of my favorite new independent films are hitting DVD shelves near you (or your computer). Barbara Stepansky's fine feminine ghost story (of sorts) Fugue is now available for purchase from iTunes, Amazon, or the film’s official website. I reviewed it last year for Rogue Cinema and found it to be absolutely excellent all around with strong performances and unique storytelling. You can learn more about director Stepansky by reading our interview from last year or take the audio route by listening to my good pal Cortez the Killer’s Planet of Terror Podcast, where Ms. Stepansky guested on Episode 4.


Also on its way is Seve Schelenz’s SKEW, an eerie found footage saga with some truly chilling moments and breezy streaming availability on Netflix. I also reviewed SKEW for Rogue Cinema a few months back and found it had an effectively chilly atmosphere that would work quite well on a crisp autumn evening. For more info, take a gander at my interview with Mr. Schelenz or just add it to your queue and save it for a quiet night.

Lastly, this being October, it's my annual chance to remind you all that the time has come to clear out some weekends for the convention circuit! In two weeks, Rock 'n Shock hits Worchester, MA, which means so do I. Expect to see such luminaries as my GleeKast cohostess Erica, The Podcast Podcast's Fozziebare, Buried In a Book Crypt's Ashlee, and the Outside the Cinema team roaming the floors. As always, I can't wait, then I get sad when it's over, but then comfort myself with the knowledge that one month later, I get the massively epic HorrorHound Weekend to invade Cincinnati. If you're planning on attending either convention, shoot me an email for some coordinated dance-offs.

So while that doesn’t get me any closer to knowing who or what I’ll be in 27 days, it’s a start. After all, there’s only...
27 Days Til Hall-o-Ween
Hall-o-Ween
27 Days Til--
You get my point.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tuesday Tossup: The Earlobes Edition


Your ears looked hungry. The Italian in me just can't stand to let that be. And thusly do I bring some audio news from the podosphere:
  • First, a tease of sorts to let you know that the gleeKast will temporarily be suspending our summer hiatus to record our first triloglee on, naturally, the Step Up films. I'm sure they're terrible and may not interest you in the least, but our duty calls. If you have any feedback you'd like discussed, email gleekast@gmail.com by August 22nd or so.


  • In current news, Episode 6 of the GirlsOnFilm Radio Podcast is live and wild. Listen to 5 women talk about the oddball classic Hausu and the lovably meta Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. As usual, you get some bonus chit chat on all Spartacus, penises, cats, and the Saw series. It's like Sex & the City, except we don't all deserve to die by methods more painful than all the Saw traps combined.


  • Outside the Cinema did a fine bonus episode all about the feel-good comedy of the year, A Serbian Film. Grab the kids and pop it in for a--


Wait, I really can't say that. It's like how I've been trying in vain to convince others to watch Tiptoes , putting on my best acting to sell it as a quirky but lovable dramady that needs to be seen. I actually get the person to write down the name and then I just break.

I know. I'm weak.  
A Serbian Film, on the other hand, is actually quite good. But it's not lovable. Or fit for children. Or grandmothers. Or, for most, girlfriends. It's just about the most brutal 90 minutes you'll ever see and one not easy to advise others to watch, but it’s extremely well-done for a film of its type and does succeed, however disgustingly, at taking a stab at sending a message. 


And in less controversial news, there should be a new issue of Rogue Cinema posted later today complete with reviews of lots of exciting indie films, plus my interview with director Barbara Stepansky, she of 2009's Hurt (now streaming in Netflix) and the upcoming Fugue, a haunting little thriller which I enthusiastically reviewed last month. 

Oh oh! In slightly controversial news, Pop Syndicate is getting a bit of a makeover. Rather than act like one of those whining shrews on America's Next Top Model who sob at the mere mention of a color change, I say we all ride the linking train to check out its new look, busy up the suddenly skinny forums, and keep one of the Internet's best pop culture sites alive and thriving. Forum-wise, I tend to loiter in the podcast wing, regularly posting on the pages for The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnite Cinema, Outside the Cinema, Chinstroker vs. Punter, Girls On Film Radio Podcast, Night of the Living Podcast (where they actually discuss this weird thing called books) and of course, the GleeKast. Build those frequent blogging miles and get posting.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tuesday Tossup



Two new reviews!...elsewhere

1. Barbara Stepansky's Fugue, an eerie thriller with a vaguely Rosemary's Babyish atmosphere peppered by some realistically executed psychology. Creepy and far smarter than your average pretty-pregnant-woman-in-peril horror.

Head here for my Rogue Cinema review









2. Self-proclaimed Insane Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger's Legend Has It, a meta slasher about typical dead teenager stereotypes who discover that they're actually stuck inside a horror movie. Quite clever and enthusiastically executed, with a bonus cameo by genre goddess Linnea Quigley.


This way for more.


Also, glee (or just gleeKast) fans can follow me yonder or just head to iTunes for the tentative season finale, wherein Erica, myself, and special guest star Mel(byForce, First Lady of Outside the Cinema and esteemed blogger of Quest For the Classics) discuss Journey. We'll be taking a bit of a summer hiatus, although if we all bug her enough, I'm convinced we can get Erica to agree to a bonus episode that covers the Step Up series and, more pressingly, Hockey Mom, starring Jessalyn "Terry Shuester" Gilsig and Jason Priestly.


Tagline? The Puck Stops Here
It can't not be great, right?