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Crushing On: The Night House (2020)

January 5, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

I loved horror movies when I was a kid.

The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall

It’s one of those facts about myself that I often forget. Sure, I always recall the story of how a children’s version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the first chapter book I ever read. What I don’t typically remember is how I loved terrifying flicks as early as the age of seven, including Alien, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the somewhat campy House.

How I had access to all of those definitely-not-age-appropriate flicks, I cannot explain.

As an adult I’ve lost my taste for outright gore that accompanied some of the horrific films of my youth. You’d never catch me watching a Saw flick. Maybe part of that is never knowing if gore will be accompanied by the spectre of sexual violence to make it seem extra frightening. I’m generally looking for equal opportunity murder that doesn’t threaten anyone’s agency.

That reticence doesn’t have to rule out every horror flick. Something I’m trying to remind myself in 2023 that I don’t have to finish everything I start. There’s no prize for finishing a terrible comic or sitting through a bad movie. There’s no harm in checking out the huge swatch of modern horror out in the past decade – if it turns me off, I can turn it off.

That is how I found myself sitting down with The Night House this week. Why was it my first choice? I have no idea. I had never heard of it before. I couldn’t tell you how I found it.

All I know is that once I saw that it starred Rebecca Hall I was down to watch it. I am absolutely devoted to Hall ever since seeing her in The Prestige. I think she is one of the major relatively-unsung talents of the past decade of film. She can make any character instantly sympathetic or completely reviled.

The Night House was an absolutely riveting suspense thriller. I’m not always a movie viewer with a lot of patience for slowly-simmering plots, but I could not tear myself away from this movie! It slowly unravels an elegant, surprising, and ultimately satisfying central mystery. I was constantly guessing and revising my guesses as the tension simmered.

Much of this David Bruckner film is Rebecca Hall alone with the camera, often in complete silence. I can think of few other actresses of her generation that could make that work. It’s not just her ability to hold attention on screen, but to project so much complexity and inner life with so few words and actions.

I’m not sure I would place this in the realm of modern horror with a capital “H.” While there are some scary moments and shocking imagery, I was often reminded of Hitchcock’s version of horror – as much about the tension as the release.

(Extremely vague spoilers follow, which will give away the opening premise of the film and send you in with a few expectations – but spoil none of the plot. You’ve been warned!) [Read more…] about Crushing On: The Night House (2020)

Filed Under: flicks Tagged With: David Bruckner, Horror, Rebecca Hall

Black Panther Film Club! (Warning: Spoilers!)

February 20, 2018 by krisis

After wrapping up tonight’s installment of Black Panther Book Club, FanGirl and I couldn’t resist turning to a conversation about the film! Watch out – spoilers abound in this free-wheeling, far-ranging conversation about Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.

Have you been keeping up with the reading assignments to get to know some of the stories that inspired this film? Visit the Guide to Black Panther to learn how to collect these issues, and then check out our past three discussions.

  • Tuesday, February 6: Fantastic Four (1961) issues #52-53 and Black Panther (1998) issues #1-12
  • Tuesday, February 13: Black Panther (1998) issues #13-24
  • Tuesday, February 20: Black Panther (1998) issues #25-35
  • Tuesday, February 27: Black Panther (2016) issues #1-12

Filed Under: comic books, flicks Tagged With: Black Panther

May The Force Be With You (on your bookshelf): The Guide to Star Wars Comics & Canon

May 4, 2017 by krisis

While I’m seeing the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie in the theatre tonight I couldn’t let that be my only celebration of space on Star Wars day, so I spent all last month cooking up something special for you: The Guide to Star Wars Comics, Films, Canon Stories, & Legends Comics

Yes, you read that right. This is not just a guide to Marvel’s comics from 2015 forward. The guide includes all of Marvel’s current Star Wars comics, a complete Star Wars canon viewing/reading order broken up by film era, and a chronology of the old Expanded Universe comics – now known as “Star Wars Legends” and collected in Epic Collections and Omnibuses.

Star_Wars_1977_0044I know I’ll never approach being the biggest or most well-informed Star Wars geek on the internet, despite my enduring love for the franchise. I wanted to create a guide for other geeks like me – who love the movies and want to branch out to novels or comics, but don’t need an exhaustive encyclopedic list of the placement of every event and magazine short story.

Also, I’ve had a ton of recent conversations with other parents who wanted to show their young children Star Wars stories and had no idea there were young readers versions and Little Golden Books corresponding to every film in the series. That’s why every film page lists ALL of the major adaptions, including YA novelizations and read-along books/CD sets.

However, the biggest undertaking in the guide was the page for “Star Wars Legends.” With the help of CBR forum all-star Taral, I not only got the Marvel Epics in the right order, but mapped exactly what issues are still to come in each Epic line, plus listed where they appear in Dark Horse’s paperback omnibuses.

Taral is a walking Star Wars encyclopedia – I couldn’t have figured this out without his aid! He just started a new blog about comics, and he’s setting out to re-read ALL of the Star Wars Legends comics. He’s only two posts in so far, so please leave him comments letting him know you’re excited for him to continue:

I hope this guide can help you find the exact Star Wars stories you’re most interested in reading!

May the Force be with you!

 

Filed Under: comic books, flicks Tagged With: New Comic Guide, Star Wars

The Matrix Re-Reloaded?

March 17, 2017 by krisis

Over the past two days, the internet of geeks has been in turmoil over the news of a potential new Matrix movie. The word “reboot” was used.

[s]ources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. is in the early stages of developing a relaunch of The Matrix, the iconic 1999 sci-fi movie that is considered one of the most original films in cinematic history, with Zak Penn in talks to write a treatment.

…

Joel Silver, who produced the original trilogy, is said to have approached Warners about the idea of mining The Matrix for a potential new film. However, Silver sold his interest in all his movies to the studio in 2012 for about $30 million, according to sources.

Predictably, most people responded with a resounding “DO NOT WANT.” For all the flaws of The Matrix‘s pair of sequels, the world-building and powerful casting of the original movies isn’t something that needs reimagining – the movies still hold up visually against new sci-fi films out in the past year!

In the past 24 hours, potential writer Zak Penn very deliberately walked back the idea of a reboot on Twitter, as recapped by Slashfilm. This was part of his response:

Do I want to see more stories set in the universe of the matrix? Yes. Because it’s a brilliant idea that generates great stories.

— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) March 17, 2017

What interests me about that – past the total denial of a reboot – is that Penn’s answer goes to the same place my brain did when the news first broke. In fact, I didn’t even mind the idea of a reboot, as long as it wasn’t a remake. [Read more…] about The Matrix Re-Reloaded?

Filed Under: flicks Tagged With: Reboot, The Matrix

Wonder Woman Comic-Con Trailer!

July 23, 2016 by krisis

I’ve already recently covered my lifelong love of Wonder Woman, so I don’t think I need to explain that I found this trailer to be heart-stoppingly good. I gasped out loud the first time Diana used the lasso of truth.

I also appreciated that Chris Pine is playing the same mouthy handsome guy he always plays, but that every one of his little pieces of pith in the trailer was undermined by the somber score. While this still has a little too much “defining Wonder Woman as the inverse of a man” to it for my liking, it never once gives the illusion that Pine is the star or that the camera mirrors his gaze.

Oh, and: Etta Candy is wonderful.

Filed Under: comic books, flicks Tagged With: trailers, Wonder Woman

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