Monthly Archives: October 2024

Wednesday Briefs: October 20, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page. If you are interested in becoming a Wednesday Briefer, please leave a comment or email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com.

Jonlyn and the Urionites: Part 16 by J Ray Lamb

The Urionites settled into a détente with the Ulmites.  Spies were active on both sides.

The return of the cold season was not severe but the relative warmth wasn’t enough to start life returning to the land but it was warm enough to gather non-food supplies around the village. The village stores were being built up with enough wood to last through the change of seasons, well into the season of rebirth while also allowing the weapon smiths a near limitless supply of wood. The smiths were busy making the materials for Narthun’s new fire arrows…

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Saturday is Horror Day #189 – Sharknado 2: The Second One, Fright Night (1985)

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Sharknado 2: The Second One

Having successfully defeated the Sharknado in LA, Fin(Ian Ziering) and ex-wife April (Tara Reid) head to New York City for some family time with Fin’s sister Ellen (Kari Wuhrer) and her husband Martin (Mark McGrath) and their children Mora (Courtney Baxter) and Vaughn (Dante Palminteri). Despite having been close friends at one time, Fin and Martin are barely on speaking terms now. On the plane to New York, a freak occurrence happens in the form of another Sharknado! In the course of fighting if off, in order to save the plane and its passengers, Fin is forced to fly the plane and April ends up losing a hand.

They arrive in New York safely. The original plan is for April to join Ellen and Mora for some girl time,

while Fin joins Martin and Vaughn for a Mets game. But plans change, due to April’s injury. As if this wasn’t bad enough, strange weather patterns are emerging – an arctic front from the north, which is bringing snow to NYC in July! And a warm Gulf stream bearing sharks from the South., which are feared will form into Sharnados. Al Roker and Matt Lauer follow the action for their viewers on The Today Show as Fin finds himself having to go to Met Stadium to rescue his brother-in-law and nephew and hopefully meeting Ellen and Mora at their agreed upon rendezvous point. Meanwhile, April refuses to lie quietly in the hospital when there is work to be done.

The second Sharknado film is actually funnier and more interesting than the first one as it doesn’t even pretend to take itself seriously. There are a number of Easter eggs, and I’m sure I didn’t get them all. For example the Airplane references in the airplane they take to New York, including Robert Hays as the pilot. They end up in a taxi driven by…. Judd Hirsch. Andy Dick plays a cop, Richard Kind a one time baseball great, Robert Klein is the mayor, and so on. Vivica A. Fox plans an old wanna-be girlfriend of Ziering and she kicks major add in this. Some I didn’t realize were there until I saw the credits include Billy Ray Cyrus and Kelly Osborne.

Great moments in filmmaking? No, it’s not. Fun to watch? Yeah, I thought so. And I plan to keep watching them. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Fright Night(1985)

Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a typical teen with the usual things on his mind – having sex with his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) and watching late night horror shows such as Fright Night, hosted by premiere vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell). But he quickly becomes more interested in what’s going on next door when he sees two men carry what looks like a coffin into a newly sold house. He learns from his mother Judy (Dorothy Fielding) that the house has indeed been sold. While looking out his window, Charley spies a pretty young woman in the window next door, next to a man who unexpectedly bares what appear to be fangs, before drawing the shade on whatever is happening. The next day, Charlie learns of another murder of a young woman in their city, and he knows it was the woman he saw, and his next door neighbor is a vampire!

Neither Charley’s best friend Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) nor Amy believe him. Charley tries to

involve the police, but ends up looking foolish. Desperate, he doesn’t know where to turn until he remembers Peter Vincent and turns to him, unaware the actor has just been fired and is in rather desperate straits himself. But even the vampire killer doesn’t want to help Charley. What’s a boy to do?

Charley thinks he has the answer because Ed tells  him a vampire can’t enter your home unless he is invited, but that plan fails when his mom calls him down to meet their new neighbor, Jerry (Chris Sarandon), whom she has invited over. The vampire lets Charley know he is on to him and has unpleasant things in store for him. Charley has to find a way to contain Jerry and keep him continuing to kill the residents of his town.

Before I watched this, I saw the 2011 version and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the original, or how closely the two films resemble one another. The answer is they do have the same characters and basic plots. And the original was actually pretty good. I was afraid it would be a cheesy 80s flick but it wasn’t. It’s usually fun to watch actors in their younger days, and this is true here. I remember William Ragsdale, who plays Charley, in a series which I enjoyed called Herman’s Head, while Amanda Bearse/Amy is best known for playing Marcy Darcy in Married With Children. Roddy McDowell is famous for many things, but if you want to see him do more horror, watch the comedy horror film Arnold and a segment of Night Gallery called The Cemetery, both of which I enjoyed

I liked Fright Night, and I plan to look for the sequel. Not sure if I want to see the modern sequel, since it looks like none of the original actors came back. This version is enjoyable. And I have to say the dance sequence between Jerry and Amy was rather seductive. I give this film 4 Stars.

Book Review: One Piece: Shokugeki no Sanji

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One Piece: Shokugeki no Sanji   

Author: Yuto Tsukuda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: March 12, 2024

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/232 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

When a famous gourmand, known as “the tongue that spans the seas”, arrives at the Baratie, she is instantly disdainful of all that she sees and questions how good the food can possibly be. She makes ridiculous assumptions concerning the head chef as well as Sanji and the others. Sanji offers to make a dish for her, but under one condition – if she is pleased by what he cooks, she must clean her plate. Game on!

The crew of the Go Merry run across a castaway adrift on the ocean and bring him aboard, although he is less than thrilled and feels they should have left him. Finding a wedding invitation, Sanji surmises that the man is a chef from a nearby island whose only daughter is getting married and he has gone in search of some special seafood he could make for the occasion, but after catching the Draconic Super-fillet salmon, he got caught in a squall. However the weather is the least of his concerns – once he has the beautiful fish, he is unable to properly filet it! Sanji offers to help, but will this task prove to be beyond even his amazing culinary skills?

In the kingdom of Alabasta, a feast is being held to honor the heroes who saved the kingdom! But with Luffy’s enormous appetite and the chef’s staff being temporarily short-handed, a problem is about to arise. Sanji wants to help, but he doesn’t want to intrude. So he introduces himself and says he wants to see how such a large kitchen works, and he is willing to do anything, such as peel potatoes. They quickly take advantage of his generosity!

Sanji finds himself a hostage of the inhabitants of Kamabakka Queendom – an island comprised of drag queens! They challenge him to earn the rights to the 99 recipes of attack cuisine. But this will be no easy task. Challenge accepted!

Sanji – who now goes by Sangoro – is looking for a powerful samurai to join his crew, so decides to use his culinary skills to attract candidates. But as he and Usopp brainstorm, he discovers a soba noodle vendor who seems to have the market cornered. Sanji is never one to resist a challenge, so he challenges them, but soon learns they do have a monopoly on the best buckwheat flour. Can Sanji work around such a problem?

This volume takes the character of Sanji from Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece and features him in his own set of stories taken from various points in the original manga. It’s not hard to see that these stories were done by the creators of Food Wars, as the style is unmistakable.  I love Sanji, so buying this was inevitable. They did a wonderful job with five interesting stories featuring Sanji, as well as a bonus story. If you love One Piece, particularly Sanji, as well as Food Wars, this book is for you.

Wednesday Briefs: October 23, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #32(7.2) by J L Hayes

Whatever Dracula might have been about to say became lost the next moment when a plaintive howl arose from nearby, drawing his attention. He was no stranger to that particular sound as packs of wolves were often to be found roaming near the castle, and it was not unusual for him to interact with them during his nocturnal rambles. This one appeared to be young and in distress, no doubt due to the impending storm. Much like himself, wolves had keen senses, and a disturbance in the air could be painful to them. Perhaps it had wandered from the safety of its elders, and now cried its frustration.

He sensed a movement among the trees,

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Saturday is Horror Day #188 – Bunny Lake is Missing, Fright Night (2011)

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Bunny Lake is Missing

 


Moving can be a very busy  and confusing time, especially if you’re moving to another country. Ann Lake (Carol Lynley) has just moved to London with her daughter Bunny to live with her brother Steven (Keir Dullea). Steven has to work so he can’t deal with the movers, so Ann has to drop her child off at the school earlier than she had planned. She takes her to a particular room as instructed, but no one is there except for another child, who is a baby. Leaving Bunny there, Ann searches for the staff, and ends up in the kitchen where she encounters the cook (Lucie Mannheim). The cook has her own rant and barely listens to Ann, telling her to go on and go, she will watch the child for the few minutes until the others arrive. Ann reluctantly does so and oversees the move. She returns later, at lunchtime, to pick up her child – but Bunny is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing her.

 

Panic-stricken, Ann calls Steven and he hastens to her. They question everyone in the school, but the 


responses they receive are evasive and uncaring. Steven threatens to call the police and then does so. Superintendent Newhouse (Laurence Olivier) arrives with Police Sgt. Andrews (Clive Revill) and begin to take down the facts. Ann is beside herself with worry, but she seems to be the only one. Eventually, she begins to realize that the questions that are being asked are all leading toward a different question – does Bunny Lake actually exist, or is she a figment of Ann’s imagination?

 

I remember when this book came out, years ago, but I don’t think I ever got to read it (I would have 


been too young at that time and forgot about it). But something jogged my memory recently and I requested the movie from the library. This is a beautifully crafter psychological thriller. Ann is becoming increasingly frustrated that people think she doesn’t even have a daughter, and she is being dismissed as another hysterical woman. Keir Dullea’s performance as Steven led to him being offered a role in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Otto Preminger directed Bunny Lake. And of course there is the amazing and unforgettable Laurence Olivier as the only person who seems to be interested in what Ann has to say.

 

 

 
As you watch this film, you begin to doubt whether Bunny exists at all, and maybe Ann is more than a little unhinged. The pacing is awesome, and I think that being in black and white sets a mood that color couldn’t do. I enjoyed this film greatly and highly recommend it. I’ll give it 4.5 Stars.
 
Fright Night (2011)
 

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has always been known as a nerd, but now that he has a girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots), he’d rather change his image. So it’s almost inevitable that he doesn’t want to listen to his ex-best friend, Ed (Christopher Mintz-Passe) when he warns Charley that his new next door neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Whoever heard of a vampire named Jerry? He might be annoying, sure, but that’s because Charley’s mom Jane (Toni Collette) is flirting with him. But a vampire? The idea is ridiculous.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Until suddenly Ed disappears, and Charley sees things he can’t explain. So naturally he breaks into the 

alleged vampire’s house and realizes he is in over his head. Who can he call on that will know anything about vampires? Turns out, since he lives in Las Vegas, there is someone. None other than the great Peter Vincent himself (David Tennant). But getting the renowned performer to listen is another task. And he has to keep his mother from inviting Jerry into the house! What’s a guy to do?
 
 
 
 
 
This is a remake of the 1985 film, which I haven’t seen yet but probably should. So I can’t really compare them yet. But I found this one enjoyable. Colin Ferrell plays a rather intimidating vampire – I sure wouldn’t go up against him. I think everyone did a good job, it certainly held my interest. And David Tennant was awesome, not to mention rather hot as Peter Vincent, although not without some character flaws of his own. I enjoyed watching this, and I think it’s a fun movie, especially if you like vampires, as I do. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.
 
 

 

Book Review: Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee by Christopher Lee

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Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee       

Author: Christopher Lee

Publisher: Orion Publishing

American release date: October 1, 2003

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/Autobiography/392 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Christopher Lee is probably best known for his role as Count Dracula in old Hammer films, alongside his good friend Peter Cushing. In more recent years, you might remember him as Saruman, the wizard who goes wrong in The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings films, and Count Dooku in Star Wars. But did you know he is related to Italian nobility? And he was the model his step-cousin Ian Fleming based James Bond on?

There is so much more to this man than meets the eye. I have been a longtime fan since I first discovered Hammer films. I loved him as Saruman, and as Scaramonga in The Man With the Golden Gun, Count Rochefort in the Three Musketeers.  I recently watched him in the original Wicker Man (much better than the Nic Cage version) But did you know he sang opera? And he was crazy about playing golf?

His autobiography is a must-read for anyone who is a fan. He is a wonderful storyteller, and he has a delightful sense of humor. I’m amazed at the things he remembered throughout his life – I cannot remember most of my childhood, much less in such detail.  He met a lot of people and did a lot of extraordinary things. He had a very interesting life and I highly recommend reading his autobiography.

Wednesday Briefs: October 16, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #31(7.1) by J L Hayes

The decision to disembark had been an impulsive one, but one not out of keeping with his nature. Stretching his long legs after being cooped up in the hold of that miserable boat, trapped among the various barrels and crates of sundries the smuggler was ferrying up the river—some of which smelled rather foul—felt good. He did not deal well with confinement of any sort, although few knew of this idiosyncrasy as he found it easier to dissimulate than to reveal truths regarding himself. Sometimes in the middle of the night, while Avram slept, Dracula would wander through the forest outside the castle, seldom venturing as far as the village, however. At these times, he felt more at home among the denizens of the night, over many of whom he held sway, than he did with most people, Avram being the exception. Unfortunately, he did not always have the luxury of the splendid isolation he preferred. As in the current circumstances.

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Saturday is Horror Day #187 – Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy, Sharknado

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy

After murdering one family and attempting to kill a second, Jerry Blake (Terry O’Quinn) is sent to an asylum for people with mental health issues. Of course he wants out, who wouldn’t? Luck is on his side when he is assigned to a new psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Danvers (Henry Brown). Despite warnings from a longtime guard, Danvers – just call me Joe – trusts Jerry more than he should… and he pays the price for that trust.

Free once more, Jerry departs the Puget Sound area, relocating in Portland, Oregon. There he steals an identity of a dead man and masquerades as a psychiatrist, still dreaming of having the perfect family of his dreams. There he meets the divorced Carol Grayland (Meg Foster) who lives with her son Todd (Jonathan Brandis). Jerry holds group therapy sessions for the women in the neighborhood, including Carol and her best friend Matty (Caroline Williams), who works delivering mail and has a penchant for being nosy. Matty becomes suspicious when she sees that Carol is moving into a relationship with Jerry far too quickly, arguing that she doesn’t even know him. But love is blind, and Carol and Jerry quickly become engaged. It doesn’t hurt that Jerry has begun a relationship with Todd, who misses his father.

But Jerry is still as jealous as he ever was, and noticed the man who comes to see Carol (she lives across the street from him). Turns out it’s her ex and he wants a second chance. How dare he try to take Jerry’s family. Will history repeat itself?

This is the sequel to the first Stepfather, again featuring Terry O’Quinn, who plays an awesome psychopath. He has the strength of his convictions and will not let anybody get in the way of his endgoal – the perfect family. Even if he has to kill his current fiance/wife and find another. I am not a huge Meg Foster fan but she does okay in this, although I think she could have been a little more convincing. I disliked her nosy friend who got what she deserved by confronting a psycho. She should have thought that through a little bit better. And the ex was no loss either. If you liked the first, you need to watch the second. It’s enjoyable. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.

Sharknado

Unexpectedly freaky weather is headed to California in the form of a hurricane (which they never get).  But even worse, there are freak tornados as well, which have drawn up and carried hundreds of sharks, which is making life hell for the citizens of California!

Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) owns a bar and is divorced from wife April (Tara Reid), who has a new 

boyfriend who lives in the house Fin once did, along with their two kids, Claudia (Aubrey Shea) and Matt (Charles Hittinger). Fin has an employee named Nova (Cassandra Scerbo) that he is close to as well as his Tasmanian friend Baz (Jaason Simmons) and a longtime customer George (John Heard). Fin is disturbed by the looming weather and worries for his family but no one is picking up. So he decides to head there to see if they are safe and ends up with passengers. However, the streets are far from safe, and the city is rapidly being flooded, panicking citizens attempting to flee. The sharks are feasting!

I’ve been curious about Sharknado for a while and finally decided to watch it. I knew it wasn’t going to be great moments in cinematic history, and it wasn’t. I suspected it wouldn’t always make sense, and it didn’t. But it was definitely entertaining if one doesn’t stop to consider logic. I kept wondering how a shark, thrown onto dry land, would continue to attack. Or how a shark would literally leap up after prey. Wouldn’t you think being sucked up into a whirling tornado and carried for a great distance would disorient you?  Just saying.

There is the drama between Fin and his ex. He’s jealous of April’s boytoy boyfriend and she’s jealous of Nova. The kids aren’t speaking to Dad and don’t want to evacuate the house after he arrives to save  him. Lord save us from California! But it’s fun to watch cause you never know what will happen. There is lots of blood and body parts and strangely impossible situations (I am skeptical that you can stop a tornado simply by blowing it up). But on the whole, I don’t feel cheated by the 87 minutes I spent watching this film. I’ll give it 2.5 Stars and I plan to watch more, so fair warning.

Wednesday Briefs: October 9, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #30(6.7) by J L Hayes

Avram saw no use in arguing with a stubborn vampire. “If you say so,” he muttered under his breath. Although there was no such thing as whispering around Nico. He had the heightened senses of his kind and heard everything.

They strolled in silence for a few moments. Perhaps this walk was a good thing. Nico spent far too much time shut up in the castle, seldom venturing outside for any reason. Avram understood his need for privacy, all things considered, but such a lifestyle was not healthy. Even for a vampire. The thought made him chuckle. Dracula would be amused to hear him express such a concern.

“Something is funny?”

Avram coughed,

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Book Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

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Dracula       

Author: Bram Stoker

Publisher: Fingerprint! Publishing (Deluxe Edition)

American release date: March 1, 2022

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Vampire Horror /440 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified solicitor, is sent by his employer, Mr. Hawkins, to assist a foreign customer with the legal intricacies of his move to London. The customer in question, a Count Dracula, lives in faraway Transylvania. Harker keeps a detailed journal of his travels across Europe to meet with his client. When he is almost at his journey’s end, he finds the villagers of Bistritz friendly and welcoming… until they learn where he is going. They are reluctant to see him leave them, but they offer no valid reason as to why he shouldn’t go to the castle, so off he goes. The Count lives in a large, imposing castle that sits in splendid isolation on the top of a rocky cliff. But from the beginning, Harker senses something strange about the place and its odd owner. He sees no sign of anyone else there, not a single servant. And why is the Count always busy during the daylight hours? And why does he never see Dracula eat or drink? And then there are the dreams, of three lovely young women who seem to want him… Things take a turn for the worse when Dracula dictates three letters that Harker must write to his loved ones. Suddenly, he is not so sure he will return home safely…

Mina Murray is Harker’s fiancée. She works as an assistant schoolmistress. Her best friend is Lucy Westenra, a vivacious young woman who attracts any manner of male admirers. In fact, on one memorable day, she receives three proposals of marriage! What is a girl to do? One is from Arthur Holmwood, Lord Godalming. The second is from John Seward, who runs an insane asylum. The third would-be suitor is Quincy Morris, a Texan and friend of Seward and Holmwood.  Mina invites Lucy for a visit, and they happily renew their friendship as they discuss Lucy’s engagement to the suitor she has finally accepted.

Dr. Seward has a very interesting patient by the name of Renfield, whom he classifies as zoophagous, because he likes to eat living things, such as flies and spiders. Seward notices changes taking place in Renfield that he can’t explain, while Mina is concerned that she hasn’t heard from Jonathan for some time, and she worries for him. She receives a letter concerning him and hastens to be by his side.

A strange ship, the Demeter, runs aground just below the cliff where Lucy and Mina are wont to sit, but no one is at the helm and there is no sign of the crew. Lucy has begun to sleepwalk before Mina’s departure, and now she falls mysteriously ill, to the dismay of those who love her. A desperate Dr. Seward reaches out to a colleague in Amsterdam, a Doctor Abraham Van Helsing, who hurries to London to assist in diagnosing Lucy’s condition. He fears that what is wrong with Lucy is beyond the pale of most men’s experience and her friends will find it difficult to believe what is happening to her if he were to tell them. But he will need their help in order to save her.  Meanwhile, Mina is nursing Jonathan back to health at the convent where he was brought after his escape from the castle, and there they are married. She finds his journal and reads it, horrified at what it reveals. To make herself useful, and to facilitate future reading of her husband’s words, she transcribes the journal onto paper. On their return to London, she is devastated to learn what has happened to Lucy. Drawn together in their sorrow, she and the others realize something dreadful is about to descend on London – in fact, already has. They must band together to prevent Count Dracula’s dastardly plans from coming to fruition!

Dracula is the quintessential vampire novel, a true classic. It is the origin of most of the vampire stories that came after. There have been countless film adaptations, some better than others, including Nosferatu, which was actually a rip-off for which the filmmakers were sued for not obtaining permission from Stoker’s estate. Now long out of copyright, copycats abound. But this is the core story that began it all.

Dracula is told through journal entries, newspaper clippings, and phonograph entries by those most closely involved in the story, with the notable exception of Dracula himself. We get no glimpse into him, either as a person or a vampire, except through the words he speaks to others. I have to wonder if that is deliberate and, if so, why. We today are so familiar with this story that it’s hard to imagine what the reactions of Stoker’s contemporaries were on first reading the book. I first read the novel when I was about twelve and fell in love with it immediately.

Of all the movies I have seen, the one that comes closest to doing justice to the novel is Coppola’s version, but I do enjoy a good Hammer film. Nothing beats the novel, however. I highly recommend it if you want to know the truth. You won’t regret it.