One of my largely unknown idiosyncrasies is a fascination with the fire-and-brimstone aspects of Christianity. I have a modest collection of pamphlets and other publications and I’m always on the lookout for new additions.
This past weekend while thrifting with Brandy, my good friend Jessie found a new piece for my collection.
While not overly full of damnation, it was still plenty frightening enough.
Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
by Michael Moorcock
Promo copy:
Piece of Paper Press is delighted to present the first publication – in a limited, numbered edition of 150 copies – of ‘A Twist in the Lines’, a new Jerry Cornelius story by Michael Moorcock that is in part also a tribute to Moorcock’s late friend and former New Worlds collaborator Eduardo Paolozzi. When commuters board the tube at Tottenham Court Road but alight at Chatelet – Les Halles or Pelham Bay Park it is obvious that something in the multiverse is going very wrong. In Paris, Jerry’s old friend Professor Hira points out that ‘Art is science. Science is art’, and furthermore reveals that since 1984 ‘the whole of radiant time, version upon version of constructed reality, has depended for its survival on a certain artistic pattern, an essential mechanism for order.’ There is nothing else for it, Jerry must get to the Time Centre on Eel Pie Island pronto, and – armed only with a tube map and Paolozzi’s original designs – find a way back to Soho in 1982, for the central artistic pattern upon which the multiverse depends is of course Paolozzi’s iconic mosaic at Tottenham Court Road London Underground station.
In an unexpected, real-world twist, since the story was written some substantial portions of Eduardo Paolozzi’s stunning artwork for Tottenham Court Road have been destroyed or removed as part of the Cross Rail building programme.
“I’m sort of cautious about using ‘alternate history’ as a description of the Cornelius stories since they were not conceived as that. Jerry is meant to inhabit the world we know. I describe him as an urban adventurer, using the description Edmond Hamilton created for ‘noir’ thrillers — urban adventure stories. The stories are parables but nothing else, I think.
“I’ve recently come up with the fun notion of ‘Radiant Time’ as an image to suggest a universe of limitless possibilities — the human brain, in fact — situationalist strategies for the 21st century — a means of understanding the modern psyche and society. It’s balanced by the notion of Linear Time and its proponents. Pretty evident where my sympathies lie, of course! Space is a dimension of Time!”
–Michael Moorcock interviewed by Jerome Winter in the L.A. Review of Books, 20 January 2013
The edition is limited to 150 copies, which are usually distributed free by post.
Course most of the free copies don’t include a signature and inscription from both Mike and Linda.
As promised here’s a wrap up of the movies I screened at Fantastic Fest 2013.
Alongside the coverage here, I also wrote reviews about several of the movies for The Horn. The Japanese feature Greatful Dead, which enjoyed it’s world premiere at the Festival, fell in that category.
Greatful Dead (Gureitofuru deddo), the newest film from Japanese director Eiji Uchida (Last Days of the World), paints a darkly comic portrait of a disturbed young woman. The unsettling, but flawed, picture follows a descent into madness.
Nami (Kumi Takiuchi) grew up in a fractured household. Her mother (who cares more for poor foreign children than her own) abandons Nami and her older sister; her father spirals into depression and starts dating a beautiful younger woman; Nami’s older sister runs off with her boyfriend so she can have a “normal” life; and then her father commits suicide. All before she turns eighteen.
When she turns twenty, Nami inherits a sizable fortune, which enables her to engage fully in her secret life as voyeur. She prefers watching elderly men, who live alone with minimal contact with others. Nami calls these people “solitarians.”
Read the rest of my review at The Horn.
As promised here’s a wrap up of the movies I screened at Fantastic Fest 2013.
Borgman, the subversive film by Alex van Warmerdam (The Last Days of Emma Blank), opens oddly as a priest and two men armed with guns hunts for the dirty, unshaven, and frail Camiel Borgman who lives underground. He and two other similar men narrowly escape the attackers.
From there things get weirder and more inexplicable as he befriends Marina and Richard, eventually living in their house as the gardener. Borgman wields psychological and sexual power over Marina. Others of similar temperament join with him as the dead bodies start to pile up.
The bloodless movie relies on subtlety and dark pervasive humor in a story riddled with fascinating ideas and concepts but little explanation. All characters save Borgman are very passive in their actions and reactions. Matter of fact, the moment characters begin to exhibit proactive traits, they are killed.
Though Borgman suffers from vagueness and lack of clear motivation, van Warmerdam crafted an intriguing and compelling movie, fueled largely by the mysterious lead.
Before I continue, let me apologize for my blog coverage of the 2013 Fantastic Fest. In years past, the Festival has dominated this blog, but not so much this year. Sure, I delivered a massive eight day preview, but I’ve only made one day report since and that was only day one.
Continue reading
Slow start to my Fantastic Fest as I only saw two films today (well three if you count the one I stopped after 10 minutes). Tomorrow should be a lot busier.
Alongside the coverage here, I am also writing reviews about several of the movies for The Horn. The Japanese feature Greatful Dead, which enjoyed it’s world premiere at the Festival, fell in that category.
Greatful Dead (Gureitofuru deddo), the newest film from Japanese director Eiji Uchida (Last Days of the World), paints a darkly comic portrait of a disturbed young woman. The unsettling, but flawed, picture follows a descent into madness.
Nami (Kumi Takiuchi) grew up in a fractured household. Her mother (who cares more for poor foreign children than her own) abandons Nami and her older sister; her father spirals into depression and starts dating a beautiful younger woman; Nami’s older sister runs off with her boyfriend so she can have a “normal” life; and then her father commits suicide. All before she turns eighteen.
When she turns twenty, Nami inherits a sizable fortune, which enables her to engage fully in her secret life as voyeur. She prefers watching elderly men, who live alone with minimal contact with others. Nami calls these people “solitarians.”
Read the rest of my review at The Horn. Continue reading
Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world, starts here in Austin TOMORROW! Over the past several days, I’ve previewed the movies I plan on seeing and blogging about over the course of the week long festival.
After escaping from prison, Ramón heads for a mysterious village where a fellow inmate claims to have hidden a stash of stolen jewels years earlier. Nestled deep within the twisted and foreboding woods of Galicia, Spain and positioned along a well-worn pilgrimage route, the village is a secluded and traditions-obsessed relic of ancient times. Its inhabitants take a peculiar interest in travelers passing through and the local church cleric Don Cesareo is quick to integrate Ramón into his flock, annoyingly preventing him from paying a visit to the house where his treasure awaits. When night falls and Ramón witnesses the entire village disappearing into the confines of the church, his curiosity is piqued. But Ramón will quickly discover that he has stumbled upon a place where archaic legends are reality and he may never be able to leave.
O’APOSTOLO is a gothic mystery and a dark adult fairy tale wonderfully realized through stop-motion animation. The world created is meticulously detailed and characters are brought to life by a cast of talented voice actors. Director Fernando Cortizo builds a palpably chilling atmosphere and injects the story with real myths and a dry, dark wit. Also featuring a memorable performance by the late and legendary Paul Naschy and an alluring theme song by Philip Glass, O’APOSTOLO is an animated film for adult genre fans with childlike imaginations. (Brian Kelley)
Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
Edited by Kazu Kibuishi
Cover by Kibuishi
Promo copy:
The highly anticipated second volume to the critically acclaimed Explorer series, The Lost Islands is a collection of seven all-new stories written and illustrated by an award-winning roster of comics artists, with each story centered around the theme of hidden places. Edited by the New York Times bestselling comics creator Kazu Kibuishi, this graphic anthology includes well-written, beautifully illustrated stories by Kazu (the Amulet series), Jason Caffoe (the Flight series), Raina Telgemeier (Drama and Smile), Dave Roman (the Astronaut Academy series), Jake Parker (the Missile Mouse series), Michel Gagné (The Saga of Rex), Katie and Steven Shanahan (the Flight series), and up-and-coming new artist Chrystin Garland.
The previous volume Explorer: The Mystery Boxes ranked among my top ten graphic novels of 2012.
Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet)
Kazu Kibuishi’s follow-up anthology to the award-winning Flight series, Explorer: The Mystery Boxes continues in much the same vein with an eclectic mix of beautiful stories geared toward readers of all ages. While the seven shorts, all centered around mysterious boxes, feature excellent art and superior storytelling, several of the tales excel. The creepy opening contribution “Under the Floorboards” by Emily Carroll, the clever “The Keeper’s Treasure” by Jason Caffoe, Rad Sechrist’s charming “The Butter Thief,” and Kibuishi’s foreboding “The Escape Option” showcase some of the best of the form.
Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world, starts here in Austin in just two days! Over the next several days, I’m previewing the movies I plan on seeing and blogging about over the course of the week long festival.
Beto has his fair share of problems. He has oozing lesions all over his body, maggots infest his wounds and he must inject himself with embalming fluid just to keep moving. It’s no wonder he watches longingly as people exercise their able, undiseased bodies at the gym where he works a security guard. While they strive to improve their physical selves, it’s all Beto can do to maintain some sort of presence in his increasingly isolated world. When he quits his job because he’s unable to hide his accelerating sickness, his boss Luly takes a sudden interest in him. Though he’s embarrassed to do so, he allows her to penetrate his loneliness and grants himself one last glimpse of a life where his body hasn’t completely fallen apart.
Director Sebastian Hofmann’s feature film debut is a stunning mixture of grotesque banality and beautiful meditation on the disturbing loss of self that comes with death. Tropes tried and true are subverted in ways that repurpose the impact of familiar horror conventions so that they are both negated and intensified. Alluringly lethargic and containing scant dialogue, HALLEY traps viewers inside Beto’s grisly life (or afterlife, as it were), a challenging yet consistently compelling experience.
The power of the film lies as much in the impressive performance of Alberto Trujillo as it does with Hoffman’s unflinching camera. Without Trujillo, Beto wouldn’t draw the strong and sometimes confusing audience sympathies needed for the film to avoid becoming simply gross body horror. Fortunately for us, the elements combine to make HALLEY a truly unique, dramatic and downright disturbing entry in the Fantastic Fest lineup. (Brian Kelley)
Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world, starts here in Austin in just three days! Over the next several days, I’m previewing the movies I plan on seeing and blogging about over the course of the week long festival.
Ronnie is a bastard. And not just any bastard. Ronnie is an EXCEPTIONAL bastard. The hardest of the hard men, a gleefully heartless collector of debts and dispenser of violence whose world comes crashing down around him when a taste of his own violence splashes back upon himself. The near-death experience leaves Ronnie questioning the meaning and value of his life up until that point. But not so much that he doesn’t want revenge on the person who left him near-dead.
A richly complex, beautifully executed character piece adapted from his own graphic novel by first time writer-director Guido van Driel, RESURRECTION OF A BASTARD showcases a sly sense of gallows humor, attention to detail, and an easy way with characters that puts many better established, more widely known filmmakers to shame. Like last year’s Fantastic Fest award-winning PLAN C, RESURRECTION OF A BASTARD fleshes out its truly remarkable writing with such fabulous performances and an understatedly slick sense of style that it leaves you wondering what exactly is going on in Holland to produce such unique, strong voices. Fans of the Coen Brothers and recent Scandinavian fare such as A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN should take note: You’re about to discover a new favorite. (Todd Brown)
