Fear Itself Episode 4: "In Sickness and In Health"

I'm not going to mince words here-- this episode was bad. This was the type of episode that will be the downfall of this series. It was slow, poorly written, terribly acted and not scary at all. It relied on an inexplicable twist ending which, in the context of the rest of the story, made no sense at all. I don't care to go into the specifics of why the episode was so bad because it's really not worth it. Let's just hope that this was the episode that was simply a misfire, and the series will get back on course next week. And on that topic, the teaser for next week's episode looks very good. Here's hoping...

Score: 0 out of 5

Cheerio!

I'm just back from my third creative writing residency. It was exactly what I needed after the stressful final weeks of last semester. I can't express how much the people in my group never cease to amaze me. The videos I've posted below are from an impromptu concert that started after class one night, when we were all sitting around shooting the breeze. You'll forgive the quality of the video, it was shot with my cell phone. However, I think the point of the videos is constant, regardless of video quality-- we had an amazing night.

Below the videos are a few photos from the residency. I'll have to say this-- if anyone reading this out there in the blogosphere is interested in going to school for creative writing (Fiction, Non-fiction, Screenwriting, Playwriting or Poetry), Wilkes University needs to be on your list of programs to check out. It is that good.

I come away from this residency with a renewed sense of excitement for writing, a new mentor, and even a new project. This may all cause my blog to suffer ( I don't know how often I'll be posting in the next few weeks/months) but it's for the best reason-- I'll be getting a lot of work done.

Enjoy the videos/pictures. I sure as hell did!

Video #1-
Mike Suppa and Nicole Moschberger getting down as Nick Lamb belts out G&R's "Patience."




Video #2-
Mike Workstel wowing us with his vocal and musical talent. Sing it, Mike!




Video #3-
Nick Lamb bringing us the psychdelic stylings of Pink Floyd with "Wish you were Here."

Three down, One to go...

Well, it's time to head back up to Wilkes-Barre for my penultimate Creative Writing residency. So, I probably won't be posting anything for a little while. Well-- it's not like I've been on top of posting too much lately. Sue me.
Anyway, I'll be back home June 28th...
And then my birthday is July 1st. (All gifts should be forwarded through my gmail account. Thanks.)

Until then, check out this newly released trailer for David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." It's getting big praise all around the net-- but I'm still undecided. Enjoy.

Fear Itself Episode 1: "The Sacrifice"

NBC's horror anthology "Fear Itself" debuted last week. I was pretty excited about this show, despite the fact that I've been repeatedly disappointed by Mick Garris' previous series, "Masters of Horror." So, here's what I thought...

The Good: The show was surprisingly gory. They pushed it about as far as I would imagine broadcast TV would let them. Also, I was impressed at how they compressed such a big story into a 5 act show. It was actually really tight. The acting wasn't all that bad, either, which goes a long way to help a horror film.

The Bad: We've seen all of this before-- perhaps not on prime time TV, but there is nothing new to horror fans here. Also, I would have like to have seen a little bit more of the monster/vampire. And the main weak point was the ending (Spoiler)-- these girls have been trapped in this house for years looking after this beast, but they have never thought of luring it into a hole and burning it before? That was a bit rushed.

Overall: I enjoyed this show, and I'm very glad to see this type of horror anthology back on television. It follows in the tradition of "Tales from the Darkside" and "Tales from the Crypt", which are both shows that I really enjoy. I just hope they are able to grab enough viewers to keep this going.

Trailer: "Valkyrie"

The trailer for the much anticipated(?) Bryan Singer/Tom Cruise film "Valkyrie" was released this week. I have to say-- aside from the fact that Tom Cruise put forth no effort to have any kind of accent at all-- the movie actually still looks decent.

Now, this film won't even be out until February, but it's already built up some pretty bad word of mouth. It's been pushed back and re-edited... in fact, it really doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell at doing big box office. It'll probably end up being Razzie-bait. But it does have a good cast of actors, and an interesting story. So, we'll see. Anyway, check out the trailer and you can decide for yourself what to make of it.

Trailer: "Visioneers"

And now a film for all the Spike Jonze/Charlie Kauffman/Michel Gondry fans out there. "Visioneers" stars Zach Galifianakis as a man who lives in a society in which everyone works for the same company, and the risk of having a high level of stress is that you explode. Literally. That's about as far as I'm going to go in trying to explain the story, so you'll have to just watch the trailer to see what I mean.

What I like about this one is that it takes one of my favorite comics, Galifianakis, and gives him a chance to shine in a role that is as off the wall as his routine. This film is most certainly a satire, and it's a comedy, and there is definitely a touch of melancholy thrown in there, as well. It reminds me of something like "Punch Drunk Love", another very divisive film that is quite hard to categorize.

This seems to be a rather avant garde comedy, so if you're not into dealing with weird, surreal humor, you may want to keep your distance. But this one has shot right to the top of my most anticipated films coming out this year.

(Source: FilmJunk)