Making Out With Pan

There's this moment in Michelangelo Antonioni's LA NOTTE (recently out on Bluray) where a woman attending a lavish, la dolce vita fete gets carried away in the middle of a downpour and starts making out with a statue of Pan. [You're going to have to take my word for it (or, better yet, see the film; it's a good one) because I lack the technical sophistication to pull a frame from a Bluray.] I bring it up because it's a nice little moment. An obvious one, perhaps -- the wealthy debaucheress paying tribute to the god of wild abandon -- but still a hint at what Antonioni's up to in the film.

The Barnes and Noble Criterion Sale Ultimate Decision Maker!

As with yesterday's little exercise, I'm giving you a list of films to buy in the BN.com sale during the Criterion 50% off promotion they're running. Sure, you could stream them on Hulu or get them from the library. But - as I continue to discover - the best thing about owning a DVD or a book is that you don't actually have to watch or read the thing you own. Ownership implies consumption! Buy these, put them on your shelves, impress your guests, horde them until you shirk this mortal coil, and enjoy the sleep of the just!

The Barnes & Noble 50% Off Criterion/Eclipse-mas Holiday Gift Guide-a-thon Part One!

Since we've already established that I'm essentially a shill for the Criterion Collection, I figured I'd throw together a couple quick lists of recommendations for the ongoing 50% off Barnes & Noble sale. I tend to use these things to pick up pricey boxed sets, so I'm going to lead off with my top five top picks from Criterion's recent Eclipse line releases (tomorrow I'll highlight five of my favorite recent Blus from the mainline label).

Undateable?

I tend to hate reviews that arbitrarily pit films against each other, setting one up as a cudgel to thrash the other with. It's the obnoxious conceit that drives Armond White's annual "better-than" lists, the idea that something can only be considered good while in relief against something dismal.

That said, I've been trying to figure out why I liked Noah Baumbach's FRANCES HA so much more than Lena Dunham's TINY FURNITURE, both Criterion releases (the former having been released yesterday in a Blu/DVD dual format package).

Both films have a superficially identical recipe: a twenty-something white woman experiencing post-college paralysis, adrift in Manhattan (and, of course, Brooklyn; the nerve center for this sort of thing), sponging off of others while vaguely aiming for an unambitious career in the arts, surrounded by a coterie of privileged, like-minded, polyamorous friends and -- ultimately -- just (heavy sigh) soooo unsure of what to do with themselves.

Happy November Everyone!

Pretty uninspired you guys.

Glittering Eyes

I was feeling free. I thought all my debts were settled. And then I received another summons from the redoubtable Bill Ryan (right). I had no choice but to carry out his diabolical orders and write up Isak Dinesen's "The Monkey", selected from her SEVEN GOTHIC TALES (out in a handsome new Folio Society edition which is number one with a bullet on my Christmas list... - hint - hint -). My ruminations are over at The Kind of Face You Hate and (again) a part of the horror fiction series Bill runs every year.

While you're over there, also check out Roderick Heath on M.R. James and Bill hisself on Maurice Level. Great stuff, as per usual, and (again) I'm happy to be a contributor.

Hugger-Mugger Propinquity

Well... it's been quiet around here. A little TOO quiet. Eerily quiet, even. I...

AAH! WHAT'S THAT?!

Oh. WHEW. It's just Bill Ryan, ladies and gentlemen! My! Did his bulged eyes and exaggeratedly aquiline nose give me a fright!

During October every year, Bill runs 31 days of horror fiction-related posts. Over the years, this has become one of the few holiday traditions I look forward to. Bill's posts have led to me discovering a new writer (like William Scott Home) or finally getting around to an old one (like Algernon Blackwood, whose WILLOWS just might be my favorite piece of horror fiction). Bill's posts are funny and refreshingly free of blinkered fan boy reverence (check out his take on HOUSE OF LEAVES) but -- more importantly -- Bill has a deep love of the genre that's evident throughout his writing. If Bill chastens and chides today's horrorsmiths, it's only because he wants them to do better, dammit. 

Anyway, I'm not just writing this to praise Bill's annual efforts (incidentally: he's pretty good the other eleven months out of the year, too). For this year's project, Bill called on a veritable ghoul's gallery of ghasts to contribute pieces. I happened to sneak my way in to a roster that (thusfar) includes Andrew Leon Hudson, Jose Cruz, Dennis Cozzalio, Danny Bowes, Andrew Bemis, Arion Berger, and Bryce Wilson.

My piece -- on Charles Williams' DESCENT INTO HELL -- runs today. Enjoy (if you dare!)...

[ps This is where I would normally promise more content in the days to come. I won't since that always seems to turn out empty. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring" and all that.]