I have been sick lately, this cold or flu or bronchitis that I just can't seem to fully shake. It has resulted in me watching a lot of things, listening to a lot of things, and reading a lot of things, and I will go into SOME of that here:
And Soon The Darkness is a great little british thriller that I somehow had never seen... this movie is really good, full of tension without any gore or anything... it's about two english ladies on a bicycle holiday in france who start to learn more and more negative - very negative - things about the area they have chosen to holiday in, and the people who live there. The sense of dread and tension builds really well throughout. Highly recommended.
Ren and Stimpy: the Lost Episodes. Wow. These were such utter shit. This was apparently an aborted Ren and Stimpy relaunch, with John K back on board, and with NO CENSORSHIP. Censorship, of course, was the reason John K claimed was why he was fired from Ren and Stimpy in the first place. However, judging from these episodes it might of been because he is godawful, because this shit is just unwatchable. Terrible animation (though there are some good spots), confusing story elements matched with completely gratuitous nudity and sexual situations that serve only to slow the "plot" down to a grinding halt, the inexplicable and less than funny decision to make Ren and Stimpy a overtly gay couple instead of an implied gay couple... terrible. Watch this if you feel the need to see Ren cavorting with badly animated bare breasts and Stimpy spraying semen in a girl's hair.
Incident At Loch Ness. Interesting but ultimately a little weak, this is a mockumentary about an aborted Wener Herzog documentary about man's obsession with mythical creatures like the Loch Ness monster. Unfortunately for Werner, the producer of the film is Zac Penn, the writer of the X-Men films, and he feels he has to "spice up" Herzog's documentary by a variety of means. It's an amusing send up of Herzog's personality and public image, but ultimately not an amazing movie. Definitely required viewing for Herzog fans, though, and it was nice to watch this within days of:
Burden of Dreams, which is an amazing documentary about the production of Herzog's Fitzcarraldo... it delves into great detail about the problems the movie had, and the highs and lows of Herzog's career. Highly recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in the man and his work. Great behind the scenes footage and discussion of the production's effect on the native peoples of the area.
Dexter Season 1. This show is apparently on network TV now because of the writers strike, but I imagine alot is cut out. It tells the story of a Miami crime scene investigator who has (controllable) urges to be a serial killer. The premise and the way it's handled is really interesting. The main actor is from Six Feet Under, and is really excellent. Unfortunately, some of the supporting cast is weaker, but this is still a really good watch, especially since there is an overarching story to the whole season, so it's great on DVD.
Earth: the Bees Made Honey In the Lion's Skull. The new Earth album is alot different than their early work... much more subdued, melodic. I have been finding this the perfect record to chill out to. Not much to say about this other than if you like post-post-metal or doom that is way more accessible than most doom, you will probably like this.
Dennis Lehane's Kenzie-Gennaro novels. I got several of these at Book Thing, and blazed through them. Fun, workaday, servicable detective/crime books by the author of Mystic River. Gone, Baby, Gone is one of this series. These were definite page turners, but nothing to write home about really...
Joe R Lansdale's Freezer Burn a Jim Thompson-esque story of a mentally deficient criminal who seeks refuge in a carnival sideshow, finds he relates better to the freaks than to "normal" people, but then because of his bad impulses, ruins it all. Pretty good, but not really any deeper than it sounds - though one of the sideshow attractions may or may not be the preserved body of Christ.
Chopper. Thanks Brandon. I posted about the movie adaptation a fe wmonths back. The book is not as good as the movie, mostly because Mark Brandon Read's prose style is pretty lacking, and you can tell he is trying to build himself up throughout... but still a very interesting companion to the film, which did a good job at addressing those very same issues with the memoir. Read this if you see the movie and like it.
Other than this, I have been playing a lot of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, Portal, and Call of Duty 4. All excellent games.
What have you been enjoying lately?
