Month: December 2017
BTV 1948: Music in Darkness
(December 31, 2017)Music in Darkness (Musik i mörker). Ingmar Bergman. 1948. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★. Once again, Birger Malmsten stars, and like Lorens Marmstedt allegedly adviced Bergman two movies ago, “You have to remember that Birger Malmsten is no Jean Gabin”. He still isn’t, but he’s perfectly nice if somewhat uninspiring. (I just had a peek at Bergmans filmography, and … Continue reading BTV 1948: Music in Darkness
BTIV 1947: A Ship Bound For India
(December 31, 2017)A Ship Bound For India (Skepp till India land). Ingmar Bergman. 1947. ⭐⭐⭐★★★. You can say many things about this film, but you can’t really claim that the DVD transfer is very satisfactory. It’s grainy and uneven as fuck, but perhaps that just reflects the unrestored original film… As would come to be common in … Continue reading BTIV 1947: A Ship Bound For India
BTIII 1946: It Rains On Our Love
(December 30, 2017)It Rains On Our Love (Det regnar på vår kärlek). Ingmar Bergman. 1946. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★. Now we’re getting somewhere. This in a different league from the two previous films. It’s based on a play written by a Norwegian guy, but, still, it’s a pretty good story. Very time-appropriate. It’s got a nice flow, and Gunnar Björnstrand … Continue reading BTIII 1946: It Rains On Our Love
BTII 1946: Crisis
(December 30, 2017)Crisis (Kris). Ingmar Bergman. 1946. ⭐⭐⭐★★★. Bergman’s directorial debut (if you don’t count the last scene of the previous film). The introductory voice-over presents the film as “an everyday play… almost a comedy”. According to Swedish Wikipedia, the production was almost shut down, but the studio head gave Bergman a second chance and restarted the … Continue reading BTII 1946: Crisis
BTI 1944: Torment
(December 29, 2017)Torment (Hets). Alf Sjöberg. 1944. ⭐⭐★★★★. This is very much a young man’s film: It’s all about a sadistic Latin teacher and his hapless pupils. I’m just guessing, but I assume that it’s Bergman’s revenge on a specific teacher. This isn’t directed by Bergman, but Bergman wrote the script. It still looks a lot like … Continue reading BTI 1944: Torment
87 Bergman Things
(December 29, 2017)Ingmar Bergman. There’s nobody more jolly, so I’ve long wanted to (re-)watch all his films. But every time I’ve poked around to find a convenient way to do that, I’ve been discouraged by the spotty way his filmography has been made available: One film here; three films on this box set; five on this (with … Continue reading 87 Bergman Things
My New Concert Blog
(December 20, 2017)The Best Albums of 2017
(December 19, 2017)This has been a kinda weird year of music for me. I’ve spent quite a lot of time resampling old vinyl and sampling old tapes, so I’ve listened to a lot less new music than usual. Nevertheless, here’s the list of the best music of 2017, determined by how many times I’ve listened to each … Continue reading The Best Albums of 2017
The Curious Case of Neon Lit
(December 18, 2017)Cast your mind back to the early 90s: *biff* *bang* *pow* Comics aren’t for kids any more! After the amazing success (both commercially and critically) of Art Spiegelman’s first Maus volume, many publishers wanted to get in on the action. Literary power houses like Pantheon Books (a part of the Knopf/Doubleday/Random House publishing behemoth), Penguin … Continue reading The Curious Case of Neon Lit
A Carpenter Winter Redux
(December 17, 2017)Compared to some of his peers (say, David Cronenberg or John Waters), John Carpenter doesn’t have a very distinct point of view. You can usually spot at Cronenberg or a Waters film from a mile away, while Carpenter is less distinctive. There are some technical things that Carpenter does have a hang-up on, though: He … Continue reading A Carpenter Winter Redux
ACW2010: The Ward
(December 17, 2017)John Carpenter. The Ward. 2010. This is likely to be John Carpenter’s final movie: He’s said that he has no interest in doing any more of them because he’s retired. It would be fun to say that he went out on a major success, but, as usual, it bombed at the box office. It’s got … Continue reading ACW2010: The Ward
ACW2006: Pro-Life
(December 17, 2017)John Carpenter. Pro-Life. 2006. This is the other Carpenter episode from the Masters of Horror Showtime TV series. It’s a lot, er, more TV-ey than the Cigarette Burns episode, but it’s still way grislier than there’s any point in being. I had to skip past some of the scenes. But I’m a wimp. The way … Continue reading ACW2006: Pro-Life
ACW2005: Cigarette Burns
(December 16, 2017)John Carpenter. Cigarette Burns. 2005. This is an episode from the Showtime TV series “Masters of Horror”, which was an anthology horror series that received quite a lot of acclaim at the time. This episode isn’t super-Carpenterish: A lot of faffing about in Europe (with European actors) (or is it Canada?). It’s about a film … Continue reading ACW2005: Cigarette Burns
ACW2001: Ghosts of Mars
(December 15, 2017)John Carpenter. Ghosts of Mars. 2001. Somehow Carpenter got decent funding for yet another movie after so many of them not making any back (except perhaps 20 years after on DVD). And this time it’s a sci-fi movie! Yay! And Carpenter managed to hire some pretty entertaining actors (Pam Grier, Natasha Henstridge, Clea DuVall, Joanna … Continue reading ACW2001: Ghosts of Mars
ACW1998: Vampires
(December 15, 2017)“My vampires are savage creatures. There isn’t a second of brooding loneliness in their existence. They’re too busy ripping and tearing humans apart.” Right… John Carpenter. Vampires. 1998. Ah! A vampire film where the vampires are the bad guys! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of those… This is the goriest Carpenter … Continue reading ACW1998: Vampires
The Best Comics of 2017
(December 14, 2017)Geez! December again. Anyway, I thought that this had been a pretty weak year for comics, but look at how many comics ended up in my “hm; that was pretty interesting” lil bookcaselet. And as an innovation this year: I also found room for comics that has a larger form factor! So much innovation. Let’s … Continue reading The Best Comics of 2017
ACW1996: Escape from LA
(December 13, 2017)Debra Hill is back. John Carpenter. Escape from LA. 1996. Wow! Debra Hill is back as a producer! John Carpenter is known as a genre director, but this is the only sequel he’s done. He didn’t even direct any of the Halloween sequels. The highest-rated review on imdb says that it’s a misunderstood masterpieve but … Continue reading ACW1996: Escape from LA
New Music
(December 11, 2017)Music I’ve bought this month. The end of the Grand Sampling (of bootleg and rare tapes from the 90s). It’s been fun revisiting the tapes, but it’s also nice that I can go back to listening to newer music again.
Useful Consumer Review
(December 11, 2017)I’ve got most of the rooms in the apt. wired up for sound, but I’ve never managed to work up enough stamina to get the bathroom wired. So I’ve been using this Creative wireless blaster thingie for years and years, and it works OK. It sounds fine and it usually works. But it’s… kinda a … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
ACW1995: Village of the Damned
(December 10, 2017)John Carpenter. Village of the Damned. 1995. Well, this isn’t a good movie, but it’s still got a kind of charm going. I’m not quite sure what that charm is, though. Carpenter isn’t an overtly distinctive director, but it’s obvious that he’s got… something… Even if it’s not really on display here much. This post … Continue reading ACW1995: Village of the Damned
ACW1994: In the Mouth of Madness
(December 9, 2017)I might be slightly mad here, me. John Carpenter. In the Mouth of Madness. 1994. I have no idea whether this was a studio film or not. It has a mid-level budget (more than twice of any of Carpenter’s indie films), but it’s wild and wacky. It’s not really all that scary, but it keeps … Continue reading ACW1994: In the Mouth of Madness
ACW1993: Body Bags
(December 9, 2017)John Carpenter. Body Bags. 1993. After the horrible (but high-budgeted) Memories of an Invisible Man, Carpenter retreated to TV (Showtime) and made this fun anthology horror show. He directed two of the bits himself (and acted as the “Crypt Keeper” like host for the show) and left the third for Tobe Hooper. This is the … Continue reading ACW1993: Body Bags
ACW1992: Memories of an Invisible Man
(December 9, 2017)Oops. I seem to have the German bluray… But there’s an English soundtrack on there, too, so never mind. This looks like an incredibly 80s film. Yup. Even though it’s from 1992. Oh, well. He’s more 90s. John Carpenter. Memories of an Invisible Man. 1992. Oh, dead. Carpenter’s back making a studio film after two … Continue reading ACW1992: Memories of an Invisible Man
ACW1988: They Live
(December 8, 2017)John Carpenter. They Live. 1988. It was a dystopia back when Carpenter made it, but it seems like a pretty romantic and optimistic future now. Anyway, there’s so much to like about this film. The unfathomably stupid protagonist and the wildly corny “pithy sayings” he comes up with; the drag-out professional wrestling match in that … Continue reading ACW1988: They Live
ACW1987: Prince of Darkness
(December 8, 2017)John Carpenter. Prince of Darkness. 1987. After the unpleasant experience with releasing Big Trouble in Little China (the studio wanted Indiana Jones, which that film definitely wasn’t, so they made him recut the film a couple of times before spiking the release), Carpenter swore off studios. (Or perhaps it was the other way around, because … Continue reading ACW1987: Prince of Darkness
ACW1986: Big Trouble in Little China
(December 8, 2017)John Carpenter. Big Trouble in Little China. 1986. I really thought I had seen this before, but absolutely nothing looks familiar. I do remember this film getting really bad reviews at the time, and I can see why. It’s a zany comedy/action film; a very popular genre in the 80s. But Carpenter seems to have … Continue reading ACW1986: Big Trouble in Little China
Quiz Time
(December 6, 2017)Guess what this is! . . . If your guess was “smoked eel marzipan”, then you were correct. Mmm… marzipan… Those wacky Germans… A bit disappointing that it’s neither smoky nor fishy, though.
Tangled Lettering
(December 3, 2017)I was reading Pride of the Decent Man by T. J. Kirsch, published by NBM. It’s OK, but I found myself sort of vaguely annoyed by the diary/letter parts. They look like this: And then I started really staring at the diary (and letter) snippets. And then it hit me: There’s really no other way … Continue reading Tangled Lettering
4AD Bootleg Tapes
(December 3, 2017)During the 90s, I was involved with a lot of tape swapping related to the British record company 4AD. These tapes have since languished in a box in the basement, but this autumn I went on a I Must Tidy Things! jag and carried the box up to the apt. and digitised all the tapes. … Continue reading 4AD Bootleg Tapes
ACW1984: Starman
(December 2, 2017)What a pretty baby! What is friend? What happened! They’re both in focus at the same time!!! And now the backgrounds are in focus at the same time as the people!? WHAAA. Is this even a Carpenter movie!? John Carpenter. Starman. 1984. By this time in his career, Carpenter had abandoned everybody from his stable … Continue reading ACW1984: Starman
ACW1983: Christine
(December 2, 2017)Uh-oh. Nasty boys. You can tell that he’s evil by his leather vest. John Carpenter. Christine. 1983. The only thing I remember about this film is 1) I thought it was a bit meh, and 2) I had several friends that thought this was the greatest film ever. Or something. I’m excited to determine who … Continue reading ACW1983: Christine
ACW1982: The Thing
(December 2, 2017)John Carpenter. The Thing. 1982. Carpenter’s first major studio movie. It’s very different from all his preceding films: Instead of a cheery amateurishness, we’re into Standard 80s Sci-Fi territory. “Competent” US actors that emote in the normal American mainstream film way, and a “professional” film score that tells us how to feel at any given … Continue reading ACW1982: The Thing
ACW1981: Escape from New York
(December 1, 2017)That’s pretty much how cell phones looked in 1997. John Carpenter. Escape from New York. 1981. It’s fun watching these Carpenter films chronologically. You see how Carpenter’s cast of regulars develop. Adrienne Barbeau (who first popped up in that TV horror film) reappears, and the star is, of course, Elvis. This is another one of … Continue reading ACW1981: Escape from New York
ACW1980: The Fog
(December 1, 2017)That looks so much like a real house and where you would park your car! John Carpenter. The Fog. 1980. The explanation for the multiple beers (or “beers”): I’ve been having this weird problem the last few weeks with some ripped Blurays. Most of them play just fine, but a handful have sound that’s 10% … Continue reading ACW1980: The Fog