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Saturday is Horror Day #174 – MaXXXine

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

MaXXXine

Maxine Miller (Mia Goth) has dreamed of becoming ever star ever since she was a small girl, coached by her preacher father Ernest (Simon Prast). She began her journey to stardom by acting in porm films, determined to do whatever it took to get to the top. No matter what. She put the unfortunate events that occurred in Texas in 1979 behind her and she was Hollywood-bound!

It seems she’s about to get her big break, as she reads for a part in Puritan II, the sequel to a film which has

the Christian community up in arms. Los Angeles is currently being terrified by a serial killer dubbed the Night Stalker. But when Maxine’s friends and co-workers start to turn up dead, the police arrive at her door to question her as to what she knows. But she refuses to talk to them, having no wish to be in their radar, or to give them cause to check into her background. A mysterious VHS tape arrives for her, showing scenes of the ill-fated porn film that was never finished. She asks her best friend Frankie (Brad Swanick), who owns the video store next to her apartment, to see what he can find out.

A private detective turns up, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), and tells her that his employer wants to talk to her, although he won’t name him. Reveals that they know things about her past she wouldn’t want revealed as they might harm her image and her career. Maxine turns to her agent Teddy Night (Giancarlo Esposito) for help. Good thing he is also her lawyer.

Maxine lands the role, but she learns that her new director, Elaine Casting (Deborah Geffner) is not

easy to deal with. But Maxine doesn’t mind. Her dream is about to come true, and besides, she’s a tough woman herself. But more people are dying and the two police officers are putting pressure on Maxine to work with them. How can she take care of this situation once and for all?

MaXXXine is the third part of the Ti West trilogy that began with X and then went on to the prequel Pearl. I actually got to see this in the theater, as it just opened, and I am glad that I did. West has come a long way since X and even Pearl. Clearly a bigger budget. Lots of recognizable 80s music. He got composer Tyler Bates on board. And Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon! How often do you find yourself rooting for a serial killer? At least, not since Hannibal Lecter stole our hearts lol As the titular character, Mia Goth is awesome, and it’s hard not to cheer for her to succeed – both in her film career and in taking care of certain bad people. I liked this one almost as much as Pearl, which is my favorite film of the trilogy. I highly recommend seeing it, but only after watching the first two. I give this film 4.5 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: July 10, 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 #22 (5.5) by J L Hayes

A woman lies in a large elaborately carved bed piled high with thick colorful blankets—maroon and black and royal blue—decorated with elaborate designs intricately embroidered. Her thin figure is dwarfed by the mound of bedclothes as well as the thick pile of pillows where she lays her head. A young boy sits by her side, on the edge of the bed. He grips her hand, as if he can transfer his own strength to his ailing mother. His hazel eyes are anxious as he scans her pale face.  But he doesn’t speak aloud his apprehensions, simply holds on for dear life.

Another spasm seizes the woman. She half-rises from the bed, fighting for

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Saturday is Horror Day #173 – Christmas Bloody Christmas

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Christmas Bloody Christmas

The hottest item this Christmas is a life-size robotic Santa Claus, a fun AI for kids of all ages, with a vocabulary of over 90,000 words! Who wouldn’t love to see this standing beside their tree Christmas morning?

Tori (Riley Dandy) owns a bar which has become her whole life, and her sex life has become nonexistent.

It’s Christmas eve and all she wants to do is get drunk and get laid. As she closes up the bar with her employee/friend Robbie (Sam Delich), he keeps trying to get her to go with him but she says she has a date, although she sounds less than enthusiastic over this particular prospect. It isn’t hard for Robbie to talk her into going to a party with him, where they hang out with mutual friends (it is a very small town, so everybody knows everybody).

Afterwards, as Robbie walks Tori home, having a lively discussion along the way, things begin to heat up – and I don’t mean just in the bedroom. The robotic Santa has suddenly gone amok, and he’s targeting everyone in town on his murderous rampage. Ho, ho, ho!

I had high hopes for this one when it started, photography looked good, and the soundtrack is a driving sort of techno/metal. And playing the demented Santa is one Abraham Benrubi, probably best known for playing Jerry on ER. Yes, there is blood, plenty of it. I was confused as to why Santa went bad, so I looked it up. It is actually explained at the beginning, so pay attention (unlike me). However, that is offset by the continuing banter between Tori and Robbie, discussing and arguing about music and bands and whatever. While they do sound like a typical couple, this went on for so long, I rapidly began to lose interest and not pay as much attention.

The last portion of the film went on too long, with Tori against the robot Santa, and again I found myself losing interest and wishing she would stop screaming and stfu. I had stopped caring for any of the characters long before. So okay, it makes more sense now, doesn’t save it ultimately. I’ll give this film 2 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: July 3, 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 #21 (5.4) by J L Hayes

Avram was impressed. Gunther was possessed of a great deal of chutzpah to dare to talk to the vampire in that manner. Of course he didn’t realize what Nico was, but he knew enough to not antagonize him, and normally he was the mildest of men, filled with priestly goodwill and all.  The interactions between Gunther and Dracula over the years had been limited, and usually concerned with Avram, but Dracula had not always come across as someone of infinite patience. Rather, one might even say he was demanding. Not surprising that the villagers steered well clear of him on the rare occasions when he came to Bistritza, and why he seldom came anywhere near them.  Gunther was a very protective friend… and Dracula was a very protective guardian. They clearly had not liked one another almost from the beginning but had tolerated each other for Avram’s sake.

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Saturday is Horror Day #172 – X

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

X

A group of young people want to make a porn film. It’s 1979, and they can’t exactly do this anywhere, as those types of films are more underground than acceptable. So they rent a cabin in Texas from an elderly couple. Wayne (Martin Henderson) is the director and his girlfriend Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow is the star). Jackson (Kid Cudi) is the lead male, and RJ (Owen Campbell) is cameraman while his rather naive girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) holds the boom mic. Maxine (Mia Goth) is the other female actress.

The old man who owns the farm, Howard (Stephen Ure) lives at the main house with his wife. They find him creepy, and they are determined he not figure out what they’re doing, sure he wouldn’t like it. Yet they go so far as to shoot scenes in his barn, taking a chance on being caught. In their downtime, they discuss porn and why there is nothing wrong with it, and Lorraine decides she wants to be part of it, to RJ’s dismay. That’s about the time when everything takes a turn for the worse.

X is the first film in Ti West’s trilogy. I reviewed Pearl last week which, although being made second, comes first chronologically.  Where Pearl was very psychological, X is more of your standard slasher film. But that isn’t to say that it’s not worth watching. Having seen Pearl already, I anticipated different things, but you can watch them in either order.  Again, Mia Goth is outstanding as Maxine. The third part of the trilogy is Maxxxine, which comes out July 5 and picks up where X left off. I am looking forward to that. I’ll give X 4 Stars.

Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 18 by Yusei Matsui

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Assassination Classroom, Vol 18     

Author: Yusei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: October 3, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Nagisa and Karma utilize their stealth skills to steal aboard the rocket headed to the space station, taking the place of the crash dummies, much to the surprise of the astronauts. Nagisa threatens them with a bomb (a fake one) and Karma explains their mission in order to gain their cooperation in gathering the data on Koro Sensei. When asked how they plan to return, they confidently say that they have that covered.

The two hitchhikers parachute back to their classroom, where they find a very angry Karasuma. But Koro Sensei convinces him that the information which the students gleaned from their trip, even outside of the data about himself, far outweighs any of Karasuma’s arguments. Going over the data, they realize that if handled correctly, the chances of Koro Sensei actually exploding and destroying the earth are minimal, and everyone rejoices. Can it really be that simple? But, also, is that a risk they can afford to take?

Koro Sensei wishes to schedule another career guidance session with each of them. Once they graduate, their assassination skills will no longer be of use to them, and they have their futures to consider. That is only 38 days away now. Not a lot of time. Plus they need to apply to the high school of their choice. For Karma, that’s an easy decision – he wants to attend Kunugigaoka High School and make the students’ lives miserable by outshining them lol Nagisa is conflicted about his career choice if he doesn’t become an assassin. He is surprised when Sakura asks him what else would he become but a teacher? That idea had actually never occurred to him.

The second Grim Reaper is still on the loose – and still determined to wreak vengeance on Koro Sensei! It’s unfortunate that he has teamed up with mad scientist Yanagisawa to take down Koro Sensei once and for all!

Valentine’s Day is coming! In Japan, that’s a time for women to buy chocolates for the men in their lives. And also for a certain teacher to indulge his matchmaking propensities! How many couples will he successfully match this year?

Time is ticking away, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance! As the students prepare for life after junior high, surely they must be wondering if there will be any life. They have discovered that the chances of Koro Sensei exploding are minimal, but they aren’t zero, so some sort of chance remains. And it looks like the wannabe Grim Reaper is more than happy to add to their confusion, along with the horrible man who made Koro Sensei what he is today. That can’t be good. Another great volume, only three more to go!

Wednesday Briefs: June 26, 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 #20 (5.3) by J L Hayes

“It’s only me.” Gunther’s disembodied voice came floating down to them from above. Moments later, his black-robed body came into view as he plodded down the steps and joined them, one of the candles from the altar in his hand.  He set the candle into a wall sconce that Avram hadn’t even realized was there until that moment. It wasn’t much, but it was a definite relief from the previous gloom. Avram searched his friend’s countenance by the light of the flickering flames, hoping his expression would reveal the result of his encounter with the villagers, but Gunther’s face betrayed nothing.

Avram shot a quick glance at his employer.  He noticed that

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Saturday is Horror Day #171 – A Nightmare Wakes, Pearl

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

A Nightmare Wakes

A very pregnant Mary Godwin and her lover, Percy Shelley, arrive for a summer visit to their friend Lord Byron, along with Mary’s stepsister Claire and the renowned physician Dr. John Polidori. Byron demands to be entertained. He wants to hear ghost stories, and comes up with the idea of a competition to see who can tell the best one. This becomes the birthplace for Mary (who will become Mary Shelley) to write her masterpiece Frankenstein.

This should have been an interesting story, but bad acting and bad writing and an acute case of boredom caused me to give up after about fifteen or twenty minutes. I advise you avoid this film entirely.

Pearl

It’s 1918. The world is a scary place. The Spanish flu is rampant, and the first World War, known then as the Great War, rages on. Pearl (Mia Goth) has gone back to live on the farm with her parents as her husband Howard (Alistair Sewell) has gone off to fight. Life on the farm is hard. Her mother Ruth (Tandi Wright) is harsh and demanding. Pearl has to look after her infirm father (Matthew Sunderland) who sits helplessly in his wheelchair. Pearl dreams of being a famous dancer, and practices whenever she can. But her mother catches her and belittles her and tells her to forget such foolishness.

Pearl’s sister-in-law Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) tells her of a dance competition that will be held in a

nearby church. The winner will get to dance with the group through several cities! She doesn’t want to go alone, so has Pearl promise to get away from the farm and come with her. Pearl sees this as her big chance, her first step to stardom.

Pearl loves the animals on the farm. Even the crocodile she has befriended and whom she fees. It’s people she has trouble with, never feeling quite right around them. One day, her mother sends her to town to pick up her father’s prescription of morphine and she decides to go to the movies to see a film called Palace Follies which has a lot of dancing. Afterward, reluctant to return to the farm, she is standing in the alley behind the theater when a man comes out and strikes up a conversation with her. Turns out he is the projectionist (David Corenswet) and he invites her inside. They talk and he offers to let her see another film, but she has to go. He tells her to come back sometime.

Pearl is the story of a young woman on the verge of madness, who has dreams and aspirations she desperately wants to achieve but her life is very bleak. She can’t relate to the people around her and her mother doesn’t understand, while her father is beyond reaching. The dance audition is her breaking point, but even before that there was something off about her and she had a cold, cruel nature of her own, perhaps verging on being narcissistic.

Pearl is like a twisted, dark version of The Wizard of Oz. When I saw Pearl on her bike, I was reminded of Elmira Gulch (Wicked Witch of the West). The scene with the scarecrow in the field and the scene where Pearl throws water on her mother are also reminiscent of the classic film.  In Oz, Dorothy too wanted to get away from the farm and see the world, as she tells the traveling salesman. In Pearl, he is the projectionist, who tells her he can take her to Europe. Of course, he has his own agenda but she is too naive to see that. There is even a character named Dorothy in Pearl. Some found the scene with the scarecrow disturbing, but I did not. I wonder what those people thought of the explicit (for that time) movie the projectionist showed Pearl.

Pearl was directed and co-written by Ti West (Mia Goth is also listed as a writer), who brought us The House of the Devil, which I reviewed previously. Whereas I found that film forgettable (in fact, I started to watch it again, having actually forgotten I’d seen it), Pearl is a masterpiece. a veritable tour de force of a horror film. Engrossing from beginning to end, I could not even imagine what was going to happen. Mia Goth’s performance is brilliant. It is both criminal and not surprising that she was not nominated for an Oscar. I have come to disregard those as being far too political and having little to do with actual excellence. The best actress Oscar that year went to Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Go figure. I highly recommend Pearl and I give it a rare 5 Stars. Pearl is actually the prequel to X, but you can watch Pearl first. After X comes Maxxine. I look forward to reviewing both.

Wednesday Briefs: June 19, 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 #19 (5.2) by J L Hayes

The priest’s last words echoing in his head, Dracula rose abruptly from the questionable comfort of the chest and began to pace about the limited interior of this claustrophobic chamber. His thoughts turned inward to another time and place, the present momentarily forgotten.  Only Avram’s agitated voice drew him abruptly from his somber revery.

“What is going on? I know you can hear what they’re saying, but I cannot!”

The vampire paused mid-stride to listen once more to what was happening above them before replying. “Your friend just told everyone

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Book Review: One Piece, Vol 14: Instinct by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 14: Instinct     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 3, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Princess Vivi is appalled that the giant Dorry was tricked into drinking exploding ale, but she assures him they had nothing to do with that! Luffy is forced to overpower him, for the giant’s sake as well as their own, and now he is angry that this happened to Dorry. Meanwhile, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine seem to be in trouble with their superiors over their failure. But they can redeem themselves by obtaining the heads of the two giants, Broggy and Dorry, which are worth 100 million berries each!

Luffy, Vivi, Zolo, and Usopp end up running into each other, only to learn that Nami has disappeared and Usopp thinks a dinosaur ate her! Turns out that the two bosses are Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek – he works in wax and she is an artist of gravity. Mr. 3 interferes in the giant’s battle and helps to bring one down and capture the other. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine capture Vivi, Zoro, and Nami and bring them to Mr. 3, who intends to make them part of his huge candelabra!

Luffy arrives with Usopp and Karoo, but it’s unclear whether his presence is more of a hindrance than a help. Can he use the powers of the wax against their owner? And will Miss Goldenweek overcome him with her Colors Trap ability? Meanwhile, back at the ship, Sanji is wondering what is taking everyone so long, and maybe the girls need him to rescue them. He decides to search for them and runs across the other wax camp, now abandoned. Naturally, he decides to have some tea.  Unexpectedly, though, he hears a phone ring. In the middle of the jungle? Of course he answers it and receives a surprising reply from the other end.

These Baroque Works people just seem to keep coming out of the woodwork! Apparently, the lower their number, the higher in the hierarchy they are. And now we meet Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek (It seems the number system just applies to the men, although each is partnered with a woman). The lower the number also translates to greater abilities, it seems, as well.  Zolo’s suggestions as to how they should accept the inevitable and pose as candles are hilarious, but Nami is not so quick to embrace that particular Fate – not even the suggestion they cut off their legs.

This volume contains a mix of comedy, tragedy, and mystery.  Always something in the Grand Line, am I right? Looking forward to the next volume!