September Round-Up - 2010

Halloween and October are coming to an end. So let's go back in time to September, before having to face the impending crush of the holidays was causing panic attacks.

Movies Seen: Twelve, with none in a theater. Most of them were pretty bad. ("The Book of Eli," "Repo Men," and "Clash of the Titans" being some of the worst.) The best was "Me and Orson Wells," a great little movie from director Richard Linklater. The performance by Christian McKay as Orson Welles is amazing, and Zac Efron is surprisingly good. See it!

Books Read: Three. "Imperial Bedrooms" by Bret Easton Ellis, which is a sequel to "Less Than Zero." It's about as bad as "Less Than Zero" was; maybe even a little worse. I guess I just don't go for nihilism and misogyny.

"The Passage" by Justin Cronin was a much better read, and despite its being an end-of-the-world book (well, post-apocalyptic) it was much less depressing than "Bedrooms." If you've got vampire fatigue, don't let the fact that this is about vampires turn you off of it. It's a gripping, epic read, and I can't wait until parts two and three.

Finally, the last book was "The Unnamed" by Joshua Ferris, the story of a guy with an unknown affliction that causes him to, at totally random moments, start to compulsively walk, for miles, and hours, until his body just gives out on him, and he passes out. This can prove very problematic during the winter, not to mention the issues of work and family. But despite the inventive and original plot, I was ultimately kind of bored by it, and kept wondering why the guy and his family didn't just move to a state with mild weather, so as to avoid the risk of frostbite and hypothermia....

Fancy Dinners Out: None!

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Two pair, these bejeweled ballet flats, and these rubber wellies, both from Target.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 31

It's Halloween!!! Put on those masks and watch this!



Has your skull dissolved into a puddle of bugs and snakes? Excellent! You didn't want to go out trick or treating tonight anyway, right? Now you have the perfect excuse to stay home and watch TV...Although, not having a head might make that a little hard.

Whoops.

Well, for those of you out there who do still have heads, and are looking to spend this Halloween in front of the TV, your choices are plentiful!

One of the best horror movies I've seen in recent years was last year's "House of the Devil," an indie homage to the horror movies of the 1980s. What makes it good, though, is it doesn't get all satirical or tongue in cheek about it. It plays it straight, and as a result really feels like something you might have watched on VHS back in the day. Some have complained that it's all build-up and no pay-off, but for me, the build-up is so good, by the time it ended, I was just happy having gone on the ride. So, set those timers, because it's on in just a few hours at 4 A.M. on MTV!



Per usual, Turner Classic Movies is going all out, all day. You can see the entire schedule here, but the night is capped with three haunted house flicks, starting at 5 P.M. with the original "House on Haunted Hill."



The absolutely brilliant "The Haunting" follows at 6:30 P.M., and "Poltergeist" caps the night at 8:30 P.M.

Finally, there's the premiere of the new series "The Walking Dead" at 10 P.M. on AMC. I think the zombie thing is almost as played out as vampires (where's the resurgence of "Frankenstein"-inspired movies already??), but the series does play into my love of post-apocalyptic stories, and is being headed by directed Frank Darabont, who at least has some talent for literary horror adaptations. I'll be watching, but for how long, who knows...

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 30

It's the night before Halloween, and once again I turn to Elvira to provide Saturday's countdown pick. Tonight's episode features the 1947 Bela Lugosi picture "Scared to Death," the only color film Lugosi ever made. It's also only about an hour long, which will either mean more bits from Elvira to fill out the show's two hour running time, or more commercials. Here's hoping for the former...1 A.M. on KOFY TV 20, cable channel thirteen.

Cat Scare

Please be patient while your clip gets past all the bullshit and actually plays. It's worth it.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 29

I know "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is the perfect Halloween special because, duh, it's about Halloween. But it's also the perfect Halloween special because it centers on the creepy delusions of someone who is obviously INSANE. Charlie Brown, what are you doing letting your little sister Sally hang out with that lunatic? 8 P.M. on ABC.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28

"The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" has been a favorite since I first saw it as youngster. It's a really, really odd little thriller, about a very independent young woman (Jodie Foster) who may or may not have a deep dark secret. Martin Sheen plays the town pedophile (really). Scott Jacoby, who, aside from an appearance in a TV version of "Anne Frank," never did much of note after this, is particularly good as Foster's love interest. Don't expect big scares, but it's an effective movie that sticks with you. 9:15 P.M. on TCM.



(Note: For the record, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is on tonight at 8 P.M. on ABC, but it's being repeated tomorrow, so you'll see my post about it then.)

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 27

Watch "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" late, late tonight, and find out why Marilyn Monroe felt so sorry for the creature, despite him being kind of scary looking. 4 A.M. on AMC.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 26

"Slaughter of the Vampires," AKA "Curse of the Blood Ghouls," is a 1962 black-and-white vampire movie from Italy, and because it involves Italians, it is ever so slightly more sexy than your average vampire movie knock-off. But maybe that's just me. Watch it very soon, at 4:45 A.M. on AMC!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 25

I usually like to include the 1978 "Halloween" at some point in this countdown, but it's rare that a channel will be showing the original, widescreen, and uncut version. This year is no different. Alas. So, instead, how about the documentary "The Inside Story: Halloween," premiering tonight at 6 P.M. and 10 P.M. on the Bio Channel. It's a long program (about 90 minutes once you take out the commercials), so there's bound to be something new to even the movie's biggest fans...

And here's the movie's original trailer, just 'cause.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 24

The vampire in the silent classic "Nosferatu" is definitely not the pretty and sparkly variety loved by the tweens today. In fact, Max Schreck's vamp is probably the creepiest to ever hit the screen, at least until Klaus Kinski revived the role in the Werner Herzog remake. (And really, Max's version is still creepier.) Watch the 1922 film at 9 P.M. on TCM.

I'm not sure which musical version of the movie TCM is playing, but here's a clip from a version I saw at the Castro Theater years ago, with the Club Foot Ochestra. It's not to everyone's taste, but I thought it was pretty great...