Theatre of Blood (1973)

I needed this one. After the sheer unpleasantness of Torso, I desperately needed a palate cleanser. I remember hearing about Theatre of Blood years ago, and as both an English minor and a horror nerd, the premise grabbed me immediately: Vincent Price killing theatre critics in the style of Shakespearean characters. But the question was, …

February 21, 2020 – Michael Bloomberg and The Folly of “Blue No Matter Who”

Originally, I had planned to deconstruct one of the lowest polling of the current run of Democratic candidates, former homophobe and current pseudo-progressive Tulsi Gabbard. Then as I saw the takes start to roll in, I thought “Oh, Klobuchar is going to be the DNC candidate. I should talk about her.” And she certainly has …

Westworld (1973)

I haven’t had the chance to watch the series Westworld, whose third season begins next month. I’m already subscribed to two streaming services, and my queue is backlogged with tons of television I want to see first. This includes all five seasons of Better Call Saul. I did manage to catch the first episode, and …

Best of 2019

This year, I'm going to go ahead and knock this out. I still haven't seen Ready or Not, but if that turns out to be particularly worthy of acclaim, it will come across in the review. Best Horror of 2019 The older I get, the less I care for the theater experience. I've always hated …

M20: 2006 sees a fool moving back home

Welcome to M20, a personal recollection of the most important albums of my life, starting in 1999. I will choose an album released that year that had the most impact on me. This is not necessarily the best of the year, and they may not necessarily continue to hold up. This is about the journey. …

February 13, 2020 – And Then There Were Eight

Poor, poor Joe. It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it? In Iowa, he was fourth, which I lamented as a tragedy. But in New Hampshire he fell to fifth, and it’s not fun anymore. Well, it was fun when he lashed out at a critic by calling them a “lying dog-faced pony soldier” which is …

Torso (1973)

I’ve recently realized that my love for the giallo movies has colored my presentation of the genre. I’ve romanticized their structure, their ridiculously long titles, and their technical achievements. I’ve praised their lighting, their set design, and their music. And while I’ve also repeatedly made mention of them as forefathers of the American slasher film, …

February 6, 2020 – Joe Biden, Iowa’s Greatest Casualty

I’ve never been to Iowa. I’ve passed through parts of the midwest, usually on drives up to Michigan, but I’ve never stayed anywhere in that area long enough to form a really lasting impression. Like most people I think of flat landscapes and corn, though I have to imagine that Des Moines would be worth …

January 30, 2020 – The Grammys? So Cynical

We’re deep into awards season, so now is the time where everyone talks about how unimportant awards are while simultaneously getting upset when the things they like don’t win those same unimportant awards. And the Grammys were no different. A bunch of artists whose music I haven’t followed went up against other artists I’m unfamiliar …

Frenzy (1972)

One of many valid arguments against the relevancy of the Academy Awards is that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar for directing. He would receive the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award, a lifetime achievement award, in 1968, and he would never be nominated again. His record at the Golden Globes was marginally better - he received …

Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)

When discussing Italian horror in the 1970’s and 80’s, typically two names come up: Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. I’ve discussed a number of Argento films before, but this is my first time tackling Fulci. He’s definitely the lesser of the two, and his movies are quite a bit sleazier. While Argento is about using …

January 16, 2020 – They Smile in Your Face

With the Iowa caucus on the horizon, the number of Democratic candidates for the Presidency has dropped to a more reasonable, if still excessive, twelve. This twelve consists of four front-runners, five long shots, and three jokes. Incidentally, the jokes (Patrick, Bennet, and Delaney) are the most fun ones to watch, because no matter how …