Conan series

This article was originally published on 12ftdwende.com on 19 August 2011. I was just talking the other day with my friend Allison about books people expect you to have read (and how they are taken aback if you haven’t). There are millions of books out there and only so much time in the day. People … Continue reading

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — This article originally appeared on 12ftdwende.com on 22 July 2011. As some of the greatest minds of our times once said “America… fuck yeah!” True, they said it in a marionette parody of ultra-reactive jingoism, but still: good sentiment. Whatever the reality of the country we live in, … Continue reading

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) – So… um… right… so when I first saw Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in the bookstore I had what I assumed was the appropriate reaction: I laughed. It’s a movie about the Great Emancipator hunting and killing imaginary undead bloodsucking fiends. That’s comedy, right? Right? Surely such … Continue reading

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Men in Black 3 (2012) – Sequels are not necessarily a case of diminishing returns. While there is definitely plenty of hollow retreads like The Hangover Part II, there also flicks like The Godfather Part II, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and [technically] The Silence of the Lambs. Loosely based on a comic by Lowell … Continue reading

Friday the 13th series

I love intelligent horror movies and wish there were more of them. But you know what? I love the dumb ones too. Maybe more. I have no intellectual defense of it, I just like it. I don’t like them “ironically.” I don’t even know what that means really. I am simply entertained. And for big … Continue reading

A Nightmare on Elm Street series

This article was originally published on 12ftdwende.com on 30 April 2010. So a few weeks ago I mentioned that my favorite of the cinematic boogeymen is Freddy Krueger. What can I say, he got me young. From the boxes in the video store to the bits and pieces I’d catch on late night television, that … Continue reading

Final Destination series

This article was originally published on 12ft.dwende.com on 12 August 2011. Sometimes you don’t need a guy in a hockey mask or the ghost of a murderer to haunt your dreams. Sometimes things like a mask of human skin and a chainsaw or an endless knowledge of slasher film trivia are just overkill. Sometimes all … Continue reading

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) – If I may begin this movie on a mostly-irrelevant note (and it’s my damn blog, I see no reason I can’t) I’d like to point out that everyone’s been talking about 3D like it’s a fad or a passing thing. This movie was in 3D 58 years ago. … Continue reading

Drive Angry (2011)

Drive Angry (2011) – The following review first appeared as part of a larger article (“Now in Theaters”) on 12ftdwende.com on 11 March 2011. While crappy movies always make you forget, it is still true that making films is an art. This new wave of a 3D has been written off as a trendy gimmick … Continue reading

Fright Night (1985 & 2011)

This article was originall published on 12ftdwende.com on 19 August 2011 I think remakes get a bad rap. It’s true that the sheer volume of remakes out there indicate a lack of originality in the film industry (or, more aptly, a lack of will to finance originality), but they’re not all bad. Three movies were … Continue reading