Random Notes For A Wednesday Afternoon

It's been awhile since I've done one of these random posts, but figured it was time to ramble on a bit about well...nothing in particular.

• I'm more than anxious for the start of the new show on F/X called 'American Horror Story', which seems to be a pretty strange combination of the sublime and the bizarre.  I'm thinking since it will be off the main five networks and on a station known to push the envelope (with shows like Sons of Anarchy, Justified, and in the past, Nip/Tuck), it's possible we horror fans could be in for a fun ride!  Coming Wednesday, October 5th at 10pm.  Check out the new trailer for the spooky opening credits for the show, over on EW.com. 

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  When faced with the decision to go to the movies, I almost always choose horror.  Generally it is because I am going by myself.  But sometimes a friend will ask me to go, and then I have to be a bit more choosey.  One of my friends will always go see period films adapted from classic literature with me.  That someone is not my husband, of course - but I can't be more grateful that there is someone to go see films like Jane Eyre with me.  I have a favorite uncle I've mentioned here before that goes to see horror with me, and when he can't go I'm all for heading to the theater alone.  I'm not afraid of the dark.  I don't go see ridiculous or raunchy comedies, so when the hubby actually does go with, he settles for horror or the latest Jason Statham action flick.  But yesterday I headed to the theater with a dear friend and had no idea what to recommend. She really isn't into horror. The last film we saw together was Secretariat.  Which was excellent.  But I couldn't pick a film this time.  I wanted to see Straw Dogs, Drive, Warrior, and Killer Elite...none of which I thought she'd like.  And the Sarah Jessica Parker film was a no-go.  I despise her.  So it was either Contagion (which I heard was snooze-worthy) or Abduction, with the kid from Twilight.  Abduction was filmed in Pittsburgh, so we figured at least we could point out the places we knew (and there were a lot, with the whole of the last act playing out at PNC Park, where the Pirates play).   Surprisingly, it wasn't a bad flick overall.  A little cliched, but Taylor Lautner held his own and it's possible he might be able to shed the werewolf image sometime in the future.  Let's just say I think his future in film may be brighter than a certain vampire's...
  
  

• Over at From Midnight, With Love, our pal The Mike is compiling a list of True Heroes of Horror, in which he is asking for help from everyone to shape the ultimate list up.  It should be rather awesome, as most of what The Mike does, is.  So if you're into lists like I am, read up on the specifics of being a Midnight Warrior.  Go here for details.  I for one, am having mucho difficulty narrowing my list down to just ten.  Damn you The Mike, for constraints!  I will be posting my list on here in a few days or so, and he can add it to the immense list I am sure he is gathering for our mutual enjoyment!
  
  

• Is anyone watching anything new this television season?  I have DVR'd the premiere of Terra Nova the other night, but haven't sat down for the two-hour (yawn!) premiere yet. Is it worth it? I've caught the show The Secret Circle, since it airs directly after The Vampire Diaries, which is my go-to Thursday night entertainment.  TSC, based on a book series by the same author of the Vampire Diaries tomes,  is kind of like The Craft mixed with equal parts Practical Magic and Charmed with a little dab of every other CW show produced in the last ten years.  It's geared towards teens and young twenty-somethings, so I'm robbing the TV cradle here, but fuck it - I'm a renegade.  I'm more than ready for some adult entertainment that I'm hoping the aforementioned American Horror Story will bring and the show I know will be this year's shining star, The Walking Dead (premieres October 16 at 9pm on AMC).  Somehow I doubt anything else will come close. 
  
  

• 
  I just picked up the entire season of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena the other day and didn't want to let the passing of Andy Whitfield (original star of Spartacus: Blood and Sand) go without a mention of how incredibly sorry I was to hear this.  I've watched Spartacus since it's inception on Starz, and Whitfield absolutely owned that role.  I understand obviously, the need to re-cast the role, which has been done and I believe the new season (entitled Spartacus: Vengeance) starts this January. I'm sure Liam McIntyre will be wonderful in the re-casted role, but damn... Whitfield was so easy on the eyes. And  for those who can't seem to figure out how the Spartacus series fits in to the horror genre - you have never seen even one episode.  Blood-soaked just doesn't describe it well enough. 
  
  
  
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  So...what is up with the new The Thing movie?  At first, I heard it was a prequel to the 1982 Kurt Russell version (which is near and dear to most horror-genre buffs such as myself), to which I thought: well, at least it's not a flat-out re-make.  But the trailers have been hitting the internet all over the place and now we're seeing continual TV spots and I really have to think:  Are they doing anything new?  What the hell are they bringing to the table now?  I had originally heard it would be about what happened to those Norwegians at the camp nearby the US outpost (which is right where the '82 version picks up).  But it sure seems pretty familiar to me. In many of the film's synopses it explains that a few Americans have joined the Norwegian team and when they un-earth the "thing" it replicates itself and everybody dies.  Hmm....  I ate here before.  Check, please!
  
  
  
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  I'm just going to put this out there right now.  I'm not looking forward to The Human Centipede (Full Sequence).  I tend to agree with my good pal, BJ-C over at Day of the Woman that it just seems trite, and fairly pointless.  She has the trailer up over there so I'll let you click over if you're so inclined.  As for me, I'll stick with the centipede at left, thanks.
  
  
• Just so you know, the previously awesome site, Fangirltastic, has morphed into the currently mind-blowing Planet Fury.  It's not up to me to explain the change, but just let me say the same excellent writing and impressive features have remained, and a few new surprises await!  You can read all about it here!  Onward, furious fans! 
  
  
• The new issue of Paracinema is out, and by all means you should get your collective asses over to Paracinema.net to purchase this wholesome goodness. 
  
  
  
  
  Well, maybe wholesome isn't the best word, but it's hard to describe the delight one gets when it arrives upon one's doorstep. This issue's cover is fanfreakingtastic, and the inside promises to be equally as excellent.  Quality speaks for itself, and this magazine roars.  Go there now!  While you're there, check out the blog content as well:  good stuff!
  
  

• Recently I had the pleasure of screening a new DVD documentary entitled "Dracula: The Vampire and the Voivode".  It is a fascinating look at the history of one of the greatest gothic novels ever written, Dracula; the story of its author, Bram Stoker; and the true history of Vlad the Impaler, on which bits of the novel were based on.  It separates fact from fiction and gives a good look at just what is truth and what is *ahem* bullshit.  And don't deny you're wondering what 'Voivode' means...
  Review forthcoming.
  
  
  
• For me, a good ghost story is truly my favorite sub-genre in horror.  However, it isn't easy to find said  "good ghost story".  I can probably count on two hands ghost story films that have actually chilled me to the bone.  That isn't saying much considering the vast amount of spectral tales out there.  When I saw the trailer for the new period chiller, The Awakening, I got goosebumps.  THIS is what I'm looking for.  The story tells the tale of a skeptical hoax-debunker who is sent to an isolated boy's school to try and discover the reason that the boys are all scared to death and telling tales of a ghostly boy wandering the huge estate.  It made me think of several of my favorite films such as The Orphanage, The Devil's Backbone, Haunted, The Others, and probably my favorite ghost story, The Woman in Black. 
  If it even has half the atmosphere of these films, I'm going to be giddy with excitement. 
  See what I mean?:
  
  
  
  
• Halloween is on its way.  Somehow I missed the entire summer and have spent the whole of September recuperating from surgery, so October is just days away and I couldn't be more thrilled! 
  I've been thinking of what to do for the blog for the Halloween month, and after much consideration, I've decided to do what I do best.  Lists.  So for each day of the month I will have a different list.  But the catch is that the lists will only be as long as whatever the date is.  So on October 1st, it will technically not be a list, it will be one item.  But by October 31st, you will have a list of 31 items.  Get it?  A hint at some of the randomness that will ensue?  October 8th brings us Eight Depressing Songs of Death. October 21st has Twenty-One Places No One Would Sleep Overnight In...you get the picture?
  I haven't decided on a clever name for this festival of lists, so it will be a surprise come October 1st.
  If anyone has any savvy ideas, feel free to comment...