November 04, 2009

Hey, You! Go Make Out with Violence

Yo, LA folks.

There's this great little horror film called Make Out with Violence. I wrote a little about the film in my wrap-up of the Oxford Film Festival earlier this year, where it scored the Best Feature Award. I know, I know, you've seen lots of zombie movies, why do you want to see another? I hear you. But trust me on this one. It's not your ordinary zombie film -- it's more of a twisted tale of love, lust, possession and objectification with the zombie bit as the wrapping.

This an awesomely shot and produced film, particularly given what had to be a shoestring budget (hell, maybe only half a shoestring), and moreover, the Deagol Brothers, the guys who comprise the writing/producing/directing team behind the film, have worked their collective asses off to promote it. It's hard out there for an indie filmmaker, bu these guys have been nose-to-the-grindstone doing some excellent publicity work on behalf of their baby, and I believe that smartness and savvy deserve to be rewarded.

So. Make Out with Violence has a FREE (yes, that's FREE) screening in the LA area. This is a once-and-only-once event, so even though it's in Alhambra, you should get a group of your best horror movie-loving pals together and carpool out there to support these guys and see a great little film. Also, the soundtrack rocks, so even if you hate the film you'll probably like the music. Screening details are after the jump; help spread the word for these great guys, and best of luck to the whole Make Out with Violence team.

And if all that hasn't convinced you to go out of your way to see and support this film, check out this video interview I did with them at SXSW this year. Don't you just want to hug them and give them a lucrative distribution deal?

Continue reading "Hey, You! Go Make Out with Violence"

Posted by kvoynar at 07:37 AM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2009

The Vampire as Moral Compass

Back in the day, it was more, well, black-and-white. Vampires were the devourers of humans, the seducers of innocent, pale-skinned virgins ... they were Bad Guys, plain and simple. For most of their literary and cinematic history, it made sense that this was so; the world back then was a simpler place, a place with clear-cut perceptions of right and wrong.

Read the rest of this column ...

Posted by kvoynar at 01:25 AM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2009

Ghosties

I don't watch or write about television shows much, but right now it's 6:30AM and I'm sitting here wating Cartoon Network's The Othersiders with my 10-year-old son. He totally digs this show, but his younger sibs wouldn't let him watch it last night, so I promised to watch it with him today.

The Othersiders is a kids' reality show about a group of teenagers who investigate places reported to have paranormal activity. I actually really like this show -- not just because of the paranormal stuff, which is occasionally kind of cool, but more for the way in which it presents the teens on the show.

As a mom of a pack of kids, one of whom has already navigated her teen years, and the other four who are heading that way, I feel like teenagers often get a bum rap. Yes, they can be loud and annoying, particularly when they run in packs. They can me mouthy and rebellious and slam doors and roll their eyes spectactularly. Guess what? So did we when we were teens. I don't know about you, but when I was a teenager, I was a real pain in the ass. I know, it's hard to imagine, but it's true. Just ask my mother.

On The Othersiders, though, the teens are presented not as irritating creatures to avoid, but as intelligent beings who have smart things to say. The teens have "jobs" on the show -- webmaster, technical manager, etc. They go into creepy, dark places -- haunted camp grounds, haunted houses, Alcatraz -- in search of proof that ghosts and such exist. Honestly, some of the places they go creep me out just watching them on TV. I don't think I would be as calm and rational as some of these kids are.

At the end of each episode, the whole team gathers back at their headquarters and reviews all the evidence they gathered, and then votes as a team on whether they think the place they've investigated might actually be haunted. This is my favorite part of the show, because I like seeing how carefully these teens peruse their evidence. Zack,the nerdy-but-cute technical manager, and team leader Riley are always the hardest to convince. They don't actually agree as a group very often that a place really is haunted.

On a recent episode at a haunted campground, though, the team gathered evidence ranging from unexplained thermal "hot spots" to ghostly voices recorded on their high tech recorders. In that case, when the team analyzed all the evidence, they voted unanimously that the camp was haunted - rarely do they all agree that way.

On the Alcatraz episode, KC and Riley just clearly heard banjo music from the shower ... that's the place where for years there have been rumors that one-time Alcatraz guest Al Capone, who reportedly went insane in the prison, used to play his banjo. Creeeeeeepy. Is Alcatraz haunted? Jury's still out, we have to watch the rest of the episode to find out.

These are smart kids who will later be able to apply their gig on The Outsiders for grown-up jobs. Imagine a future job interview: "What's the hardest thing you've ever done?" "Well, I was in Alcatraz and heard Al Capone's ghost playing his banjo ...." Groovy.

Posted by kvoynar at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2009

Update on Mostly Boring Medical Crap

Putting this here to avoid having to answer multiple queries about what's going on with all my scans and tests and upcoming surgery. If you're terribly interested, read on; if not, feel free to move along ...

Mixed news at today's surgeon appt: GOOD = no visible metastases on scan, so a BIG yay on that as that means long-term prognosis is much better than if the tumor had spread. This particular scan is not 100% accurate, misses tumor cells about 15% of the time, so they may want a PET scan too as a back-up.

NOT SO GOOD = The surgeon's not convinced lymphoma or pancreatic lymphoma are ruled out, in spite of the pathology results, because of enlarged lymph nodes she finds concerning. She also wants to rule out that this isn't a more aggressive carcinoid tumor, as opposed to the less aggressive types of endocrine tumors. So another scan, much more blood work, and review by the tumor board in the next two weeks to determine what the surgical plan is. She also said we need to figure out whether the issue with my liver is related to the tumor or something else entirely.

Tomorrow, appt with the oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to get a second opinion, which the surgeon thinks is a smart idea given the complexity of my case. Apparently I'm perplexing and not "textbook.". Which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me ... when have I ever been normal? :-)

And lastly, much thanks for the many kind emails, IMs, phone calls and well-wishes, and a shout-out to Lynda for sending me cards all the time, especially the last one with the sexy, half-nekkid man on the front. That'll cheer a girl up.

Posted by kvoynar at 04:43 PM | Comments (2)

October 17, 2009

Voynaristic Review: Law Abiding Citizen

... just assume we're working with your typical Steven Seagal-level "they killed my family and now everyone must pay! Muahahaha!" plot and go from there. If you start at the bottom, there's no where to go but up, right? Hah. If you think that, you didn't pay enough attention in math class, where we learned about how things can actually be less than zero -- which is certainly the case with this film.

... read the rest of this review.

Posted by kvoynar at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)

Voynaristic: Paging Polanski

... in one scene, Page has Patrick Wilson's "Jeff" strapped down to a table, naked from the waist down, a bag of ice on his genitals. She's preparing, she tells him matter-of-factly, to castrate him. He begs and pleads, excuses and justifies, cries and promises. Hayley tosses back her head with a derisive laugh and says, "What, didn't Roman Polanksi just win an Oscar?"

... read the rest of this column.

Posted by kvoynar at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2009

Getting An Education

If you see one movie this weekend,and you're fortunate enough to live in one of the cities where it's opening in limited release, go see An Education. I know, you're busy, you have other stuff going on, you're secretly dying to see Couples Retreat. Just trust me.

An Education became one of the big buzz films of this year's Sundance, and with good reason.I'm not going to tell here what it's about, you can go over here and read my review from Sundance. But I will emphasize again that Carey Mulligan, the young actress who stars as the teenage girl seduced by a smooth-but-oh-so-creepy Peter Sarsgaard with the complicity of her parents, is simply fantastic in this film. This girl has the goods, and if she keeps making smart film choices she will have a very promising career ahead of her. It's a smart, entertaining film, directed by a woman, and starring a young actress with remarkable talent and promise. What more do you want?

Posted by kvoynar at 09:47 AM | Comments (1)

October 08, 2009

Health Before Wealth

I wrote in yesterday's column about my recent trials and travails with medical issues, but one thing I didn't really cover in that piece was my experience with the Canadian health care system, which I find particularly relevant in light of current debates here over universal health care. Throughout the many debates by pundits and politicians on the health care issue, I've heard brought up again and again from the right that many Canadians, and Canadians who work within that system, don't like it. And I'm sure that it's true that there are, in fact, average Canadian citizens who have complaints about Canada's health care, and health care workers with issues as well, but I'd like to relate the experience of this American chick who ended up inadvertently thrust into it on a business trip, and give you my perspective.

Continue reading "Health Before Wealth"

Posted by kvoynar at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2009

Tinsel

My old high school pal Hank Stuever, who's written for the Washington Post's Style section for a long time, has written one excellent book, Off Ramp: Adventures and Heartache in the American Elsewhere, and has a new book, Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present, coming out November 12 (just in time for your Christmas shopping!).

Hank writes with humor, warmth and great insight about real people and places, and he has a remarkable talent for finding the extraordinary in what seems, on the surface, to be commonplace. He posted a heartfelt, frustrated and, at times, angry piece on his blog, Tonsil, about the issues authors face in getting their books seen and sold.

Even if you're lucky enough to have a publisher and a book deal, he writes, an author still has to get out there and push and promote his baby in the cold, hard world if he hopes to not have it whither away into obscurity. Although Hank's publisher has arranged his book tour, he's still largely responsible himself for getting to the tour stops and promoting himself and his book to get people to come out for his readings. And this is a guy with a book being published by a reputable publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Honestly, I had no idea. But it sure reminds me of what indie filmmakers face in trying to get their babies seen and reviewed after pouring their heart, soul and limited bank accounts into making their films. So many talented people I know are creating amazing art -- films, music, books -- and just struggle and struggle to ever have it go anywhere. Society needs art and philosophy and films and books and music, but does so little to support those who have the creativity and talent to bring such things to life. It makes me sad.

As a regular reader of Hank's excellent writing at the Post, and having read and absolutely loved Off Ramp, I can highly recommend Tinsel to anyone looking for a good book to give a friend or family member (or yourself, for that matter) for Christmas. (And for the record, Hank did not ask me to write about his book. I just believe in his writing and think he's a marvelous author whose work very much deserves support and readership.) We who work in fields related to the arts need to support each other as much as we can ... but just the same, I wouldn't recommend Hank's book if I wasn't quite certain that it will be every bit as good as everything else he writes.

Best of luck with your new baby, Hank.

Posted by kvoynar at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

Jennifer's Body: Good Feminist Horror, or Just a Bad Film?

What with all the being sick lately, I didn't get to catch Jennifer's Body, but I have been keeping up with the reviews of the film. One of my favorite defenses of it so far can be found on the site Girldrive, in a thoughtful, well-written post titled "Jennifer's Body and the feminists who hate it."

In this piece, the author both defends the film and enumerates the reasons she feels it's been inappropriately attacked by some critics (in particular, she takes issue with critics she feels are bashing the film as an extension of the ever-popular post-Juno Diablo Cody bashing).

I was led to the piece by Mary Ann Johanson, writing a weekly roundup for Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Johanson's take on the Girldrive piece was very different from mine; she concludes her writeup with this: "And for me, or any feminist, to suggest that I must support any movie, no matter how good or bad it is, merely because women made it, is ridiculous."

I don't believe that was the point of the author at Girldrive at all. In fact, she explicitly says, "And I’m not implying that women should get off easy–just that they shouldn’t be written off after 31 years on earth and a meager two screenplays. Maybe Cody just wanted to have some campy, squeal-inducing fun. I’d argue that she succeeded, without exploiting young women or killing them off in rapid succession. Considering the sizeable chick carnage of other recent teen girl horror movies, that’s actually pretty radical."

I haven't seen Jennifer's Body yet, so can't weigh in one way or the other on whether I think it rocks or sucks, but I'd love to hear some input from those of you who have seen it. Radical feminist horror manifesto, or just more annoyingly trendy, overly Diablospeak wrapped around a not-so-great attempt to deconstruct the horror genre?

Weigh in, film freaks.

Posted by kvoynar at 08:09 AM | Comments (2)