Wild beasts

On the Mississippi delta, there’s a post–Katrina disaster area where levees are so broken that “everything beautiful is gone.” Indie hit Beasts Of The Southern Wild is a picture maintaining legends of a noble primitivism that glorifies political and cultural stagnation. This is Sundance bait with a deeply romanticised ‘plot’ of irrational nonsense. It presents us with a defiant sensibility so keen to stress the importance of feelings, as if logical thought holds no sway or relevance, that overdose on folksy hippie sentimentality seems a likely response to its worst moments of backwoods charm, all seemingly inspired by the worst pretensions of magical realism.

Helicopters pass overhead, appearing as far away as comets, and no more in touch with the plight of the protagonists below their flight path. If taken on face value, this has some marvellous fantasy images but it has all been created in the service of third world survivalism without hope of progress. Being content with less is portrayed here as hardly one step above blissful ignorance. Living in squalid flooded slums with nothing at all worth having is not the ultimate in spiritual freedom, despite this movie’s exploration of bohemian dreams. A compassionate humanity in a perfect kind of balance with feral nature must be far more than just a commune of scavengers (or tribal ‘beasts’), southern or otherwise.

Hulk nerd

The new Black Static (#31, Nov-Dec 2012) is out now, and Peter Tennant’s regular ‘Case Notes’ column contains a review of my book, and I’m pleased to read that he has many good things to say about it (see pages 85-6 in the mag) … 

Jennifer Connelly in-joke.

“Tony Lee abandons his usual acerbic style to produce a fanboy treatise on Ang Lee’s 2003 film HULK (Telos Publishing) … this isn't simply a critical assessment, but on occasion feels like an attempt at canonisation ...

Agree with him or not, Lee’s enthusiasm is infectious and his amiable prose makes his arguments all the more convincing. Taken on its own terms, the book is a powerful piece of polemic, and there is no doubting its value as a source book for those who wish to appreciate Ang Lee’s achievement ...

All things considered, this is a nicely packaged text that’s insightful and informative, and a pleasure to read regardless of how you feel about the source material.”

This issue of the British Fantasy Award winning magazine also features my latest ‘Blood Spectrum’ column of DVD/ blu-ray reviews. Here’s a listing of what’s covered – 38 titles including a couple of TV boxsets, sprawled over 15 pages - plus my ratings:

 

            Die & Die Again

Zombie Contagion (1/10)

Ultimate Zombie Feast (4/10)

            Halloween Pro

Blade II (6/10)

Blade Trinity (5/10)

Lady Snowblood (6/10)

Lady Snowblood: Love Song Of Vengeance (6/10)

Basket Case (5/10)

Basket Case 2 (5/10)

Basket Case 3: The Progeny (5/10)

Cube (7/10)

The Devil Rides Out (7/10)

The Mummy's Shroud (3/10)

Rasputin: The Mad Monk (5/10)

The Curse Of Frankenstein (7/10)

            Wonky-Cam Blues

Closed Circuit Extreme (1/10)

Apartment 143 (2/10)

Chernobyl Diaries (3/10)

Lovely Molly (2/10)

Cabin In The Woods (7/10)

The Pact (5/10)

Snow White And The Huntsman (6/10)

Spartacus: Vengeance (4/10)

Rosewood Lane (4/10)

The Thompsons (5/10)

We Are The Night (8/10)

Grimm - season 1 (5/10)

Red Lights (4/10)

Storage 24 (4/10)

            Samhain Round-Up:

Silent House (4/10)

The Harsh Light Of Day (2/10)

Dead Man's Luck (3/10)

My Ex (1/10)

Inbred (0/10)

Some Guy Who Kills People (1/10)

Cockneys vs. Zombies (3/10)

Monstro! (4/10)

Killer Joe (3/10)

Excision (6/10)  

Interzone #243 (Nov-Dec 2012) has also just been published, with excellent use if colour throughout, and my usual ‘Laser Fodder’ column of DVD/ blu-ray coverage appears at the end of the mag. Here’s the line-up of reviews, with my ratings:    

            Alien Agenda

Avengers Assemble (8/10)

Prometheus (8/10)

Fringe - season 4 (7/10)

Alcatraz - season 1 (3/10)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (5/10)

Demon Hunter – The Resurrection (6/10)

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (1/10)

Supernatural - season 7 (4/10)

            Retro Spex

The Testament Of Dr Mabuse (7/10)

The Birds (8/10)

Short Circuit (5/10)

Flight Of The Navigator (3/10)

The Man In The White Suit (7/10)

 

 

IZ&BS

The new issue of Interzone (#241, July-Aug.) has my latest 'Laser Fodder' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews. Here's the line-up with ratings:

    Wheelspin Reinvented:
Metropolis (5/10)
Things To Come (7/10)
Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie (1/10)
Iron Sky (6/10)

Humanity’s End (5/10)
Earth 2 (6/10)
Lesbian Vampire Warriors (4/10)
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (7/10)
Painted Skin (6/10)
Falling Skies – season 1 (4/10)
Hell (4/10)
John Carter (6/10)
Total Recall (8/10)

    Animetrics:
Roujin–Z (3/10)
Howl's Moving Castle (4/10)
Tales From Earthsea (3/10)

    Amicus realms:
The Land That Time Forgot (4/10)
At The Earth’s Core (6/10)
Warlords of Atlantis (4/10)
They Came From Beyond Space (4/10)

    Backlist:
The Astronaut Farmer (6/10)

- * -

With a change in format and publication schedule, Black Static #29 (also July-Aug.) has a more book-like feel, shedding its expensive full-colour magazine style in favour of b&w interiors that - in my honest opinion - weakens the visual impact of its artwork and presents only greyscale photos. Sadly, it seems to me like a step backward in production standards, but I'm certainly pleased to see the higher page-count allows space for my 'Blood Spectrum' column of movie reviews to cover 19 titles:

    Zombiplex
War Of The Dead (4/10)
Juan Of The Dead (4/10)
Exit Humanity (3/10)   

The Howling Reborn (3/10)
The Darkest Hour (6/10)
The Grey (4/10)
Piggy (3/10)
YatterMan (6/10)
Bleach: Memories Of Nobody (4/10)
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (3/10)
Bleach: Fade To Black (2/10)
Chronicle (4/10)
Island Of Lost Souls (6/10)
Jabberwock - Dragon Siege (1/10)
The House (1/10)
The Squad (2/10)
The Woman In Black (5/10)
The Innkeepers (5/10)
Absentia (5/10)
Crows Zero II (3/10)
Airborne (1/10)

IZ240

Interzone #240 includes my latest 'Laser Fodder' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews, and this issue's line-up of movies & TV stuff looks like this (plus ratings, as below):

Resistance (3/10)
Six Million Dollar Man (6/10)
The Future (4/10)
Space: Above And Beyond (6/10)
Dark Shadows (3/10)
Clone (4/10)
Deadball (4/10)
Yakuza Weapon (5/10)
Haywire (6/10)
Underworld Awakening (6/10)    

BS28

Black Static #28 (from TTA Press) includes my latest column of DVD and blu-ray reviews. The line-up for this issue's 'Blood Spectrum' is as follows:

Mad Detective (8/10)
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (7/10)
Contagion (8/10)
Immortals (7/10)
A Horrible Way To Die (1/10)
Kill Keith (1/10)
The Thing - prequel (6/10)
The Yellow Sea (6/10)
Another Earth (5/10)
Hugo (6/10)
666: The Prophecy (6/10)
Crows Zero (5/10)
Shadow Of The Sword (5/10)
Texas Killing Fields (5/10)
The Divide (3/10)
Bad Lieutenant (5/10)
Dream House (4/10)
Demons + Demons 2 (5/10)
The Wicker Tree (3/10)
The Plague Of The Zombies (7/10)
The Reptile (4/10)

Slightly revised page layouts this time, due to a shortage of space for so much content.Which is good news for readers, I think.

Thanks to Pete (and editor Andy) for giving my forthcoming Hulk book a plug.

HULK

My book-length critical study about Ang Lee's movie HULK (2003), is due to be published this July by Telos.

Here's a blurb:

From its 1962 comicbook origins in The Incredible Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, director Ang Lee’s classic movie Hulk (2003), updates and re-invents the story of how scientist Bruce Banner is transformed into a giant rage monster, and becomes a new antihero for the 21st century. This book reviews the movie’s narrative complexity and its varied genre elements, which include science fiction, tragic drama, action thriller, doomed romance, and a modern fairytale with mythological references, energised by an artistically innovative editing style, and realised by groundbreaking visual effects. 

As a neurotic ‘puny human’ changes into the unstoppable ‘Angry Man’, Hulk offers a study of dysfunctional family relationships, and monster-movie rampages with tank-busting, helicopter-crashing mayhem in ‘hulkgasm’ adventures, that results in a final confrontation of cosmic proportions. A unique aesthetic spectacle, and extraordinary makeover for Hollywood blockbuster cinema, Hulk is the greatest screen adaptation of a comicbook and it rediscovers the enduring legacy of a green-skinned ‘superhero’ without a costume.

Ordering details here: Telos - HULK. 

Fresh blood

Issue #27 of Black Static magazine includes my 'Blood Spectrum' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews.
Here's the line-up:

Dark Star (8/10)
Shark Night (2/10)
Beyond (3/10)
Four Flies On Grey Velvet (5/10)
Tyrannosaur (1/10)
Perfect Sense (6/10)
Rolling Thunder (6/10)
Gantz 2 – Perfect Answer (6/10)
Tekken: Blood Vengeance (4/10)
Fright Night (5/10)
Real Steel (2/10)
Vanishing On 7th Street (4/10)
Dellamorte Dellamore (5/10)
Paranormal Activity 3 (1/10)
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (7/10)
Urban Explorers (2/10)
Evidence (1/10)
The Awakening (6/10)

E-books

A few thoughts about e-books, collated from my various forum posts

Meta-novels are, I expect, an inevitable product of a digital age. Every text will have info pop-ups & hyperlinks built-in. The next generation of readers will demand such things, no matter what ‘book lovers’ say. I think age is the key factor in this debate. Like some of you, I’m also of the last generation who grew up reading (and learning!) solely from books, but the Internet has changed all of that, whether we like it or not. We might cling to our cherished reading habits and wallow in a love for the printed books (page-turning is an important part of the pleasure of reading), but, eventually, technological progress catches up with publishing. Kids of today are growing up with interactive texts, downloadable content, and multi-player everything else. I just can’t imagine buying or using any type or model of e-reader device but, in the related tech of being able to get online anywhere, I still enjoy the convenience that wi-fi hotspot connectivity offers.  

I remember LPs of vinyl, 78s of shellac, and Betamax videos - but I have got an MP3 player, a blu-ray and a hi-def TV. I write monthly columns for niche markets like the printed magazines Interzone and Black Static, but I realise that the whole publishing industry is drifting from print to online, and there are valid ‘green’ and/ or economic reasons for doing so. Should we quickly abandon reading and collecting books? No! I have become a hardcover snob, and I no longer buy or read paperbacks (unless they are non-fiction or comic-books). And yet, it seems to me, our book-loving culture cannot last for much longer. As public libraries close, I suspect that ‘book museums’ will be a major growth industry for this century! 

Just as office tech of the 1980s gave us desktop publishing, re-launching the ‘fanzine’ phenomena, and gave us ‘semi-pro zines’, now the Internet distribution of e-books is presenting us with another publishing revolution; one that’s already underway. With the new century’s growth in self-publishing, and the process now being made simpler by e-book formats, it’s becoming very clear that we really need critics more than ever. As what used to be essential filtering functions of editorial gatekeepers in traditional publishing houses are more frequently avoided (although without the actual need for skilled editors being made obsolete!) by many writers, there will still be a vital place for critics to occupy in the buffering zone between writers and readers. 

As the supply of newly self-published work as e-books increases, somebody needs to identify (if not actually ‘police’) what’s good and bad, and find the best stories and/ or non-fiction to help inexperienced and new readers choose from the ‘slush pile’ - because that’s the big risk of e-books and it’s what seems most likely to happen. The slush piles of trad publishers will all get self-published by their writers, and the route from desktop or laptop to downloadable ebook is unlikely to have any editorial oversight whatsoever.

Black Static 25

The latest issue of Black Static magazine (#25, November 2011) includes my 'Blood Spectrum' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews. Here's a listing of the line-up with ratings...

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (5/10)
Tomorrow, When The War Began (4/10)
The Twilight Zone – season four (7/10)
The Cape (5/10)
The Cat o’ Nine Tails (4/10)
Fringe - season 3 (8/10)
Manhunter (8/10)
Tucker And Dale vs. Evil (4/10)
Gantz (6/10)
Stake Land (6/10)
Empire Of Passion (5/10)
The New Daughter (5/10)
The Ward (7/10)
Henry, Portrait Of A Serial Killer (8/10)
Mother's Day (6/10)
Straw Dogs (6/10)
Mimic - director’s cut (6/10)
Tree Of Life (4/10)
X-Men: First Class (5/10)

    Dregs of Grog: Round-up
Episode 50 (2/10)
Cannibal (2/10)
Blood Runs Cold (2/10)
Deadtime Stories (2/10)
The Man With The Severed Head (2/10)

IZ 235

The latest Interzone (#235, July-August), from TTA Press, has my 'Laser Fodder' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews. Here's list of this issue's coverage, with ratings:

The Fifth Element (8/10)
Hereafter (4/10)
Eyeborgs (5/10)
The Twilight Zone - season 2 (6/10)
Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (8/10)
Don't Look Now (8/10)
Never Let Me Go (5/10)
Tenebrae (6/10)
Assassin Rising (3/10)
Caprica - TV series (4/10)
Drive Angry (7/10)
The Pack (5/10)
Robot Chicken - Star Wars episode III (0/10)
The Adjustment Bureau (6/10)
The Funhouse (6/10)
Unknown (6/10)

    Anime Nations
Eden Of The East - The Movie I: King Of Eden (3/10)
Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (6/10)
Akira (8/10)
Musashi – The Dream Of The Last Samurai (6/10)

    Deadweight Horrors: Round-Up
Prey (2/10)
The Rite (3/10)
Hunger (1/10)
Siren (2/10)
World Of The Dead: Zombie Diaries 2 (0/10)
The Resident (4/10) 

This issue of Interzone also includes my review of Michio Kaku's book, Physics Of The Future.
TTA Press have announced a new offer of lifetime subsciptions for Interzone and sister magazine Black Static. 

Blood Spec

The latest Black Static (#23, June-July) includes my Blood Spectrum column of DVD & blu-ray reviews, with 30 releases (including a couple or three boxsets) covered in 9,000 words over 11 pages. Here's the line-up, with my rating scores...

Chatroom (5/10)
Confessions (5/10)
Enter The Void (5/10)
Time Traveller (5/10)
Salon Kitty (4/10)
Black Swan (8/10)
Spartacus: Blood And Sand - season 1 (4/10)
Trackman (4/10)
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (6/10)
Fertile Ground (4/10)
Red Canyon (2/10)
Stanley Kubrick: Visionary Filmmaker Collection (7/10)
Agnosia (6/10)
Fading Of The Cries (2/10)
5150 Elm’s Way (3/10)
Psalm 21 (6/10)
Seconds Apart (5/10)
Zombie Undead (1/10)
Cross (2/10)
Cross Of Iron (6/10)
Demons Rising (0/10)
Red Hill (2/10)
Apocalypse Now (10/10)
Eaters: Rise Of The Dead (1/10)
Needle (2/10)
Trail Of The Screaming Forehead (0/10)
Witchfinder General (7/10)
Savage Streets (3/10)
Neighbour (3/10)
The New York Ripper (2/10)

IZ# 234

The latest Interzone (#234, May-June 2011) has my Laser Fodder column of DVD & blu-ray reviews.

This month's line-up (here with ratings) includes:

      Made in Spain: Fantastic Factory
Beyond Re-Animator (7/10)
Faust: Love Of The Damned (5/10)
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt (6/10)
Arachnid (4/10)

Universal Squadrons (3/10)
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – part one (4/10)
The Twilight Zone - season one (6/10)
Woochi – The Demon Slayer (7/10)
Blood Reich: Bloodrayne 3 (3/10)
The Devil’s Tomb (2/10)
Dark And Stormy Night (1/10)
I Saw The Devil (5/10)
Pandemic (4/10)
Sweatshop (2/10)
The Frankenstein Experiment (4/10)
The Walking Dead (4/10)

BS #22

Black Static #22 received today from TTA Press.

This issue includes my regular 'Blood Spectrum' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews. Here's a list of month's line-up (coverage of 24 releases on 10 pages), but due to budget deficit cutbacks affecting numbering of ratings, there are no 8, 9 or 10 scores this month. The figures won't run to anything that high!

And Soon The Darkness - remake (3/10)
Bathory: Countess Of Blood (4/10)
Death Notice - Ikigami (3/10)
Marchlands (1/10)
Phenomena (7/10)
Saw: The Final Chapter (6/10)
The Beyond (7/10)
Savage (5/10)
Age Of The Dragons (3/10)
Husk(2/10)
Island Of Death (1/10)
Primevil (3/10)
Demon Empire (6/10)
Wake Wood (3/10)
Blooded (1/10)
Caged (3/10)
The Last Lovecraft (1/10)
Prowl (2/10)
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest (7/10)
Monsters (7/10)
Rubber (6/10)
Tekken (3/10)
Chain Letter (2/10)
The Door (7/10)

Interzone

The latest issue of Interzone magazine (TTA Press) includes my 'Laser Fodder' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews.

Here's the line-up of reviewed titles, plus ratings:

Interzone #233

Psych: 9 (4/10)
Alien vs. Ninja (5/10)
Operation: Endgame (5/10)
Paradox Soldiers (3/10)
Vamp (3/10)
Paranormal Activity 2 (0/10)
Primal (6/10)
The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra (0/10)
Altitude (4/10)
The Universe: 7 Wonders Of The Solar System (2/10)
Skyline (6/10)
The Gathering (5/10)
The Man Who Fell To Earth (8/10)
Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole (2/10)
Ink (4/10)

BS #21

My 'Blood Spectrum' DVD & blu-ray column in Black Static #21 (TTA Press) has 22 reviews on nine pages:

Shogun Assassin (6/10)
Piranha 3D (5/10)
A Serbian Film (9/10)
Mirrors 2 (3/10)
Outcast (5/10)
Amer (7/10)
I Spit On Your Grave - remake (5/10)
Buried (8/10)
Let Me In (5/10)
We Are What We Are (3/10)

        Damage Control: Round-up
Ghosts Of War (4/10)
Choose (2/10)
Open House (3/10)
Sinbad And The Minotaur (1/10)
In Their Sleep (3/10)
Burke & Hare - remake (5/10)
Gnaw (0/10)
Bedevilled (3/10)
Terror Trap (1/10)
Damned By Dawn (3/10)
Someone’s Knocking At The Door (4/10)
The Unforgiving (1/10)

Lasered

My ‘Laser Fodder’ column of DVD and blu-ray reviews, for Interzone #232 (TTA Press), includes coverage of:

Metropolis (5/10)

The Avengers – series 6 (7/10)

Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie (1/10)

K-20: The Legend Of The Black Mask (6/10)

The Hole (5/10)

Mindflesh (8/10)

Dead Space: Aftermath (2/10)

The Shock Labyrinth (7/10)

Oh, and I got my name on the cover, at last.

Yay for me!

   

Year's end

My latest 'Blood Spectrum' column (of DVD & blu-ray reviews) fills seven pages of Black Static #20 (TTA Press.

This issue's line-up:

Black Christmas (6/10)
The Seventh Victim (7/10)
Siege Of The Dead (2/10)
Peeping Tom (4/10)
Predators (6/10)
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (4/10)
Splice (8/10)
A Bay Of Blood (5/10)
Deep Red (7/10)
The Last Exorcism (1/10)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (7/10)
Missing  (4/10)

             Dreaming in death-pools - Guillermo del Toro collection
Cronos (6/10)
The Devil's Backbone (7/10) 
Pan's Labyrinth (8/10)

             Off the charts: round-up
Ong Bak 3 (3/10)
30 Days Of Night: Dark Days (2/10)
Lost Boys 3: The Thirst (3/10)
Lake Placid 3 (1/10)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (3/10)
Battle Royale (4/10)
Death Race 2 (1/10)

             Extra-discs (late arrivals)
Aftershock (4/10)
F (3/10)

Vector

Vector 264

The latest issue of BSFA critical journal, Vector #264 (Autumn 2010), includes my review of SF novel Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov. The magazine doesn't have ratings for reviews, but I'd give this book four stars, or 7/10.

IZ #231

Interzone's last issue (November/ December) of 2010 includes my 'Laser Fodder' column of DVD & blu-ray reviews... 

The Avengers - series five (6/10)
The Brothers Bloom (7/10)
Fanboys (3/10)
Heroes - season four (4/10)
Dollhouse - season two (8/10)
Black Death (7/10)
V - season one (4/10)
Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind (3/10)

Black Static

In good time for Halloween reading, Black Static #19 (from TTA Press), includes my 'Blood Spectrum' column with nine pages of DVD and blu-ray reviews:

Black Lightning (6/10)
The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk (7/10)
Dogtooth (5/10)
Inferno (9/10)
The Listener - season 1 (3/10)
Tears For Sale (5/10)
Bad Lieutenant - Port Of  Call: New Orleans (8/10)
The Loved Ones (6/10)
Grindhouse (Death Proof, 3/10)
Frozen (4/10)
Suck (5/10)
Zombies Of Mass Destruction (6/10)

     + rant-o-matic: round-up
Road Train (2/10)
Splintered (1/10)
The Sword With No Name (5/10)
Blood Snow (1/10)
Twelve (2/10)
Big Tits Zombie (2/10)
Life Blood (3/10)
Night Of The Demons (2/10)
The Collector (3/10)
The Experiment (4/10)
The Tortured (3/10)
Not Like Others (2/10)
Saturday Nightmares: The Ultimate Horror Expo Of All Time (0/10)