One of my favorite modern Fantasy authors is Neil Gaiman. Noted as the creator of the Sandman graphic novel series, Gaiman's novels AmericanGodsand AnastasiBoys are practically relavatory works of Fantasy Fiction. The magic in Gaiman's stories is rarely of the usual kind (much like that of fellow Brit author, Clive Barker) and his imaginative prose sets a tone unlike any other modern fantacist can. Neverwhere was my first Gaiman novel, and I loved it, but was disappointed by the poorly produced BBC miniseries of it. I read Stardust on the train bewteen Trenton and New York while working for the NYC Ballet and adored it. And loved the movie even more (more on that, later). Now, the brilliant stop-motion animation director Henry Selig (A Nightmare Before Christmas; James and the Giant Peach) is bringing one of Gaiman's many children's books to the big screen in 3D, no less.
Coraline tells the story of a girl who discovers a door to an alternate universe, and from what I have seen, Selig has gotten it just right. Which got me to thinking about what other movies got it just right when adapting a novel for the screen. For the record, here are my choices for the other movies that were translated to the screen correctly.
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Manhunter
I read The Silence of the Lambs when it came out in paperback, without realizing I'd already seen the first adaptation of a Hannibal Lecter novel, Red Dragon, adapted by Michael Mann, creator of "Miami Vice." "C.S.I" star William Peterson is Will Graham, the FBI agent responsible for capturing the notorious Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter. Now on the trail of the Red Dragon, Graham must turn to teh mad genius for help in solving the case. Brian Cox created the role long before Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his turn at the part, and for my money, Cox's is the creepier interpretation. Mann's classic "MTV" editing style is well used in this adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel.
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Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
I may be in the minority here (in fact, I know I am), but I far prefer Tim Burton's adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl novel to the 1971 version, starring the brilliant Gene Wilder. Yes, Deep Roy was all the Oompa-Loompas. But in the original illustrations, all of them looked exactly alike (and sang the words to the songs adapted by Danny Elfman). Yes, Veruca Salt is assaulted by squirrels instead golden-egg laying geese. But that's what happens to her in the book. Darker, weirder and so much closer to Dahl's original, Charlie... ranks among my top 5 Burton films.
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Jaws
Steven Spielberg's first big-screen hit literally invented the summer blockbuster. Over due and over-budget, plagued by mechanical effects problems, Jaws could have been just another B horror movie. But Peter Benchley's novel about a resort town terrorized by a great white shark was already a best-seller, and people flocked to theaters in droves and staying away from seaside resorts in record numbers. It's not just the monster that's terrific here. Iconic performances by Roy Schieder, Richard Dreyfus and Robert Shaw drive this story of Man Vs. Nature in on of the tautest thrillers, ever.
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Misery
Rob Reiner also adapted the film version of Stephen King's short novel, The Body into the excellent coming-of-age film Stand by Me. In Misery, King's novel about an obsessive fan, Reiner is at the top of his game. James Caan plays romance author Paul Sheldon, whose character Misery Chastain has seen him through a best-selling, if not critically accalimed career.
After an auto accident in the mountains, Sheldon is rescued by his "Number One Fan," Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in a Oscar-winning performance), a former nurse suspected of being an "Angel of Death" killer. Trapped in Annie's remote farmhouse, Paul has no choice but to write himself out of captivity. And did I mention the infamous "hobbling" scene?
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Interview with the Vampire
Though author Anne Rice at first decried the casting of Tom Cruise as her forever 17 year-old vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, she relented once she saw Neil Jordan's lush adaptation of her homerotic first entry in what would become known as 'The Vampure Chronicles." Ultimately, teh film belongs to an ethereal Brad Pitt as the tortured Louis and young Kirsten Dunst as child vampire, Claudia. Brooding, dark and oh-do-sexy, Jordan's vision of Rice's world is completely defiled in the inept follow-up film, Queen of the Damned.
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The Haunting
I've already discussed Julie Harris' astonishing performance here, but I must cite Robert Wise's 1961 adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel, The Haunting of Hill House not only because it may well be the scariest movie ever made, but because it captures the mood and feel of Jackson's prose so brilliantly.
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The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs is the first Thomas Harris novel I ever read. Jonathan Demme's 1991 adaptation won Oscars for Best Picture; Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins); Best Actress (Jody Foster); Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally) and Best Director. When I first saw this movie, I was astounded not only by the performnaces, but how closely Demme had come to re-creating the world I had imagined when I read the book.
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Gone with the Wind
Director Victor Fleming (credited for The Wizard of Oz) had quite a year in 1939. Taking over for George Cukor, Fleming rendered novelist Margaret Mitchell's novel about the American Civil War and a spunky Southern belle into a cinema legend. Mitchell's sprawling tale was one of teh most anticpated films, ever, and if adjusted for inflation, is still one of the all-time top-grossers in movie history.
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The Shawshank Redemption/The Green Mile/The Mist
Director Frank Darabount is one of three or so directors who has succesfully managed to translate novels by Stephen King to the big screen. All three of the above-mentioned films are remarkably faithful to the source material... with one exception. King's novella The Mist ends on a most ambiguous note - Darabount's adaptation ends on a truly devastating one (and the only possibly satisfying filmic ending)
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Stardust
I've already discussed the many merits of Stardusthere, but I must also mention Matthew vaughn's 2007 adaptation Neil Gaiman's adult fairy tale as the archetypically perfect fairy tale. With fellow writer Jane Goldman, Vaughn manages to capture Gaiman's fanciful tale in all its glory, while managing to avoid some the novel' sslower parts. Pure cinematic joy.
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Airport
George Seton's film version of Arthur Hailey's best-seller is inarguably the Grand-Daddy of '70's All Star disaster movies. It features a host of then A-listers (including Helen Hayes, Dean Martin and Sonny Bono) in a story of intrigue, affairs and mid-air exploisions. Thrilling stuff for the average beach-novel reader in 1970.
It seems to me that not since the mid-to-late 80's AIDS protests, has the community come together as strongly as it has after the passing of California's Proposition 8. I read somewhere (and if you recognize the quote, please let me know where it came from) that the CLS doesn't understand why they're being targeted by the protests. Someone said "If the American Cattle Growers Association had spent so much money on passing the measure, we'd be protesting them."
This past Saturday, huge rallies were held in New York, Philadelphia and other major cities.
I was unable to attend, but my favorite Weekly World News character of all time, Batboy, managed to make it. I'm so glad the little beastie finally came out.
Many are calling Prop 8 the New Stonewall; a catalyst for change and a turning point in the LGBT civil rights movement. Some are making loud statements, as seen in the above video. Others, are making subtler, though no less powerful statements. WhiteKnot.org hopes to make their knotted white ribbon as ubiquitous as the red AIDS ribbon. I know I'll be wearing one along with my red ribbon at this year's JTMF event.
Finally, not just because I love it so much, I'm posting the trailer for Were the World Mineagain, because never has it seemed more appropriate. Yes, we do have families and we do have values, thank you!
A brief post tonight. I had a sinus headache all day and am just now starting to feel a lot better.
I finally had visual confirmation of the chicks, this afternoon. For the first time since the first egg hatched, the Z's both came out of the nest long enough to allow me a glimpse at the chicks. The babies are sure tiny, though they appear to be a full fifty-percent head! They were asleep when I looked in and could only make out that they were breathing, but I think all six eggs were fertile. They chirp pretty strongly now, though when they are awake, one or both of the parents are on top of them. I imagine that as the chicks get bigger, Mom and Dad will need to spend less time in there with them and I'll get a better look. I have to start calling pet stores to see what they pay for chicks. Maybe I can do better on CraigsList.
Anybody want a finch? Free to friends*, family and other readers.
*I have to be honest and tell you that I first typed "fiends" here. Once I realized my typo, also realized how it changed the offer and my intentions in a hilariously twisted way. So, just to be clear: fiends will have to pay for them; friends will not.
Listen closely, boys and girls, and I will tell you the story of how movie geeks and fanboys never grow up. Oh, we may mature and our tastes may broaden, but inside, we will always be 16 year-olds waiting breathlessly for Return of the Jedi or X-Men or The Dark Knight. This is the second time in as many weeks that I am salivating over trailers. Via JustJared, here is the trailer for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek:
You knew exactly who was driving that car in the desert, didn't you? Between this and Watchmen, 2009 looks to be a good year for movie geeks.
My friend says Chris Pine is "generic," though I think he's not bad to look at and could very well embody an impetuous and passionate Starfleet Cadet. And while Zachary Quinto certainly seems perfectly cast as a young Vulcan scientist, I don't quite get the sex-appeal hype that surrounds the "Heroes" star. As for the rest of the cast (who are curiously absent from this trailer), the only one I am really familiar with is Simon Pegg as the ship's Chief Engineer. If he's as good a serious actor as he is a comdeian, he could make the phrase "I got no power, Captain!" all his own.
By the way - you'll notice I deliberately mentioned no character names. I did this because I think most of you reading this are geeky enough to know who they are. And if you don't... find another blog to read. You don't belong here.
I was the kid who spent Saturday afternoons (and sometimes nights) watching the local Horror Host (in Philadelphia it was Dr. Shock) as he lampooned cheap B-horror movies from the 30's, 40's, and 50's and 60's. It was during those shows that I got to see trailers for lurid 70's horror pictures that always promised more terror than the viewer could imagine. Now, here's the thing about horror movies - the only thing ever really changes is the special effects technology. The films are still still just as lurid (if not, more so) as ever; the acting rarely better than mediocre (with exceptions, of course) and production values are considerably less than that of the average summer tentpole movie. Still, there are many films that manage to be surprisingly entertaining, despite what might seem overwhelming odds. Here then are my choices, in no particular order) for my Favorite Cheesy Horror Movies of All Time:
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The Abominable Dr. Phibes/Dr. Phibes Rises Again
These Vincent Price classics were part of my life-long love affair with horror movies as a kid, and I distinctly remember seeing both of these films at the drive-in. They had everything! Inventive murders; a disfigured madman; resurrection; eternal life; scorpions; locusts; bats; a body in a bottle; a golden unicorn and (my personal favorite) a frog mask with a mechanical clasp which slowly gets tighter and tighter, eventually crushing the poor victim’s head. Add a silent, but intensely fashionable assistant with the unlikely name of Vulnavia (Virginia North in the original; Valli Kemp in the sequel), and host of character actors including Robert Quarry, Joseph Cotton, Hugh Griffith and Terry Thomas (both of whom appear in both films, as different characters). I recently caught both films as part of some channel or other’s Halloween movie festival, and was happy to learn that they still help up, almost 40 years later.
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It's Alive
Low budget genius Larry Cohen (The Stuff: Q; Phone Booth) made this badly acted and cheaply produced little horror movie about a mutant baby who goes on a murderous rampage. Pollution and pharmaceuticals are blamed in this very ‘70’s eco-activist movie. Outrageous and hilarious, the best thing about It’s Alive may have been its tagline: “There’s only one thing wrong with Davis baby… It’s alive!” And don’t you love how the trailer never, EVER let’s you forget the title of this movie?
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Blood Feast/2000 Maniacs!/The Wizard of Gore
In the late sixties and early seventies, writer/director/cinematographer Herschel Gordon Lewis invented the Torture Porn genre. Long before Eli Roth was a twinkle in his father’s eye, Lewis was churning out drive-in horror that pushed the envelope of graphic violence and gore. Poorly written, directed and acted with production values that rival those of Ed Wood’s, Lewis’ movies paved the way for directors like Romero, Craven, Hooper and all those who came after. The VHS explosion of the ‘80’s allowed me to finally see the HGL movies I’d only read about… man, are they crap! My sister watched The Wizard of Gore with me and literally turned to me and said “What the hell…?” Pure, unadulterated trash, Lewis’ films still hold a certain fascinating charm unlike any others in the genre.
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Q
I couldn’t find a clip for this 1982 monster flick. Larry Cohen again, this time with an update of the 1946 cheesefest The Flying Serpent. A descendant of the Aztecs has resurrected the god Quetzelcoatl (ket-sul-co-ot-ul), a winged serpent with a taste for human flesh. C-Listers Michael Moriarity, Candy Clark, David Carradine and Richard Roundtree star in one of the last stop-motion monster movies ever made.
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Hellbent
Produced by the LGBT premium cable channel Here!, 2004’s Hellbent was promoted as the first gay slasher movie ever made (unless you count 1980’s Cruising – a film still widely derided by the LGBT community). This ridiculous film is mostly an excuse to show attractive young men in as little clothing as possible, and features a slew of stereotypical characters and one of the most preposterous plot elements in any horror movie, gay or straight. But it’s still fun to watch Andrew Levitas (Psycho Beach Party) play gay again.
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Slither
Writer James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead) wrote and directed this hilarious send-up of sci-fiction/horror/zombie movies that combines elements of Night of the Creeps; Night of the Living Dead; The Blob and any number of episodes of “The Twilight Zone” and “The Outer Limits.” Starring the adorable and underrated Nathan Fillion (Serenity; Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog); current box-office hottie Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri…) and host of veteran character actors, Slither is the funniest horror movie since Shaun of the Dead.
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House on Haunted Hill (1999)
This movie really gets short shrift from critics and fans alike. The first movie from Dark Castle (the horror division of Rob Reiner’s Castle Rock, itself name for Stephen King’s fictional Maine town), House on Haunted Hill is spooky and fun ride, despite the presence of Chris Kattan and the very lame ending. This 1999 film is an update of the 1959 William “King of the Gimmicks” Castle shocker starring Vincent Price, its cast includes Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush, X-Men’s Famke Janssen, Peter Gallagher, horror-icon Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) and young stars-in-the-making Ali Larter (NBC’s “Heroes”) and Taye Diggs (ABC’s “Private Practice”). Dark Castle has purchased the entire William Castle catalog and promises a remake of The Tingler, despite the epic failure of the 13 Ghosts remake in 2001.
I just had an amazing dinner with a group of my oldest friends (most of us met in college). We try to get together once or twice a year for a themed dinner party. We all agree on a theme and everyone makes something fitting. Over the 18 years or so we've been doing this, some of them have been terrific. Breakfast for Dinner was a big hit and Appetizers and Desserts was another. Less successful were Vegetarian and Everything Garlic. We aren't gourmands, but we try to be adventurous; we did an entire brunch of soups (some of which were OK) and have explored lots of ethnic foods to varying degrees of yumminess. We've never had a complete failure (or if we have, I've blocked it from my memory).
Tonight's dinner was, quite honestly, a symphony of deliciousness.
The theme was Black and White and everything had to have either chocolate or vanilla or both. Cocktails were chocolate martinis (I passed - that's NOT a martini). Then there was an intensely yummy steak rumaki appetizer in a bourbon and vanilla sauce that was the epitome of the Japanese word "umami," the so-called fifth taste. There was a ton of 'em, and nine of us sucked 'em up in less than fifteen minutes. I can't wait to make these myself.
Then came the actual meal. Endive and walnut salad with vanilla-pear vinaigrette; roast pork tenderloin with vanilla-poached pears; asparagus with a white-chocolate sauce and the piece-de-resistance: pan-seared scallops over vanilla risotto with baby zucchini. I made dessert; Hot Apple Crisp with Chocolate and Butterscotch chips and vanilla ice cream.
You might be thinking, 'Ugh! What a sweet meal!' but, except for dessert, you'd be wrong. It was in fact quite savory and the seemingly heavy use of vanilla was actually very delicate in it's application and super subtle in the end products. The pork was moist and the pears were tender without being too sweet at all. The endive and white wine vinegar off-set the pears in the dressing. The scallops and risotto (a definite group effort) were simply a remarkable combination of textures and flavors which sung in your mouth. On the other hand, dessert was a hot, gooey, crunchy, super-yummy orgy of everything bad for you (except the apples). A killer end to a killer meal. Hats off to my friends and fellow cooks. Love you all!
There is nothing better than an evening of great food and great friends.
I must be as stupid as the people I talk to at work all day, because these really huge posts with lots of embedded videos just ain't cuttin' it. I'm deteremined to lick this problem. Maybe I'll start combining stills with video and see if that helps? Any suggestions out there in cyber-land?
