Sci-Fi Bri's Books: James Patterson's "You've Been Warned"

Sci-Fi Bri's Books:  James Patterson's  "You've Been Warned" (2007)

        Would-be professional photographer Kristin Burns resorts to eking out a living as a nanny to a family  the patriarch of which she is having a torrid, secret affair with and his shrewish wife is oblivious about. Every night she wakes up in her apartment screaming. She either dreams or has visions about a deadly accident or murder(s), which may or may not be supernatural. A rather long book, but interesting and has chapters of no more than two or three pages. After reading this I will probably read other books by the same author.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Hitchcock" (2012)

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Hitchcock"  (2012)

Characters/Actors:  Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins), Alma (Helen Mirren), Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johanssen), Jessica Biel, etc.

        Biopic about master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock and his unsung partner and spouse Alma during the making of his most famous and successful film,  "Psycho". The unrecognizable Anthony Hopkins plus the performance of Helen Mirren are reasons alone to see the film. Also, it mentions that the movie and book it was based on was loosely based on the life of a real-life killer.


"Argo"  Dir. Ben Affleck

Actors:  Ben "Good Will Hunting" Affleck, Alan "Little Miss Sunshine Arkin, John "Barton Fink" Goodman, etc.

       Supposedly based on a true story, in which a CIA agent solicits Hollywood to write a script for a fake movie as a ruse to rescue some escaped hostages in Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979. "Argo" is the name of the fake movie about a  science-fiction space story a la "Star Wars". It sounded a little too good to be true, but it was a really interesting and suspenseful film. The movie or some of the cast will probably be nominated for acting or film awards.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Django Unchained" Rated R

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Django Unchained"  Rated R
Dir.:  Quentin "Pulp Fiction" Tarentino
Characters/Actors:  Django (Jamie "Ray" Foxx), Dr. King Schulz (Christoph "Inglourious Basterds" Waltz, Broomhilda (Kerry Tv's "Scandal" Wahington), Calvin Candie (Leonardo  "Titanic" Dicaprio), Big Daddy (Don  "Miami Vice" Johnson) Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Jonah Hill, James Remar, Bruce Dern, Quentin Tarentino, etc.

         A few years before the Civil War, bounty hunter Dr. King Schulz , a former dentist and immigrant from Germany, purchases a slave named Django after a violent encounter with one of his masters. That slave master ends up shot to death. Schulz makes an agreement with Django to assist the German in finding the  "Brittle Brothers" notorious outlaws and brutal slave owners. If Django will point out the Brittle brothers he will be freed. Schulz becomes a mentor and friend to Django, and is the only white person to treat the former slave with kindness and respect. When Schulz discovers that Django's wife "Broomhilda" or "Hildie" speaks fluent German and is also enslaved he offers to help Django find her and liberate her from servanthood. After a high body count and a hundred or more untterances of  "the N word", Django and Schulz meet their match in the villainous  Calvin Candie, a falmboyant slave owner, who owns Django's wife  "Hildie". Django and Schulz travel the South from Texas to Tennessee. Although the violence is graphic and bloody, and the liberal use of the  "N word" by nearly everyone is shocking, this movie was excellent and had great dialogue. I predict that Christoph Waltz , if not Jamie Foxx will at least be nominated for acting awards for their performance in this movie.

"Love and Other Drugs"  (2010)
Actors:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, etc.

       A cocky sales rep. (Jake Gyllenhaal meets and soon falls in love with a Beautiful young woman (Anne Hathaway) with Parkinson's disease who he meets on the job. THe movie takes a sad, serious turn when Hathaway's character shows degenerates due to the disease. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I liked it more than I expected to.

"Chill Factor"  (1999)
Actors:  Skeet "Scream" Ullrich, Cuba "Boys in the Hood" Gooding, Jr., David Paymer, etc.

           A ne'er-do-well (Skeet Ullrich) and an ice cream man (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) travel in a refrigerated truck with a lethal device that will detonate if the temperature goes above fifty degrees Fahrenheit with terrorists, the military, and terrorists in hot pursuit. A very exciting, suspenseful and action-packed film.

"The Guilt Trip"
Actors:  Seth "Knocked Up"  Rogan, Barbara Streisand, etc.
       A thirtyish entrepreneur (Seth Rogan) goes on an eight day road trip with his devoted but overbearing mother (Barbara Streisand) hoping to sell an eco-friendly cleaning product. Much funnier than I expected it to be.

Poetry: "Drunk Uncle"

Poetry:  "Drunk Uncle"

      He's as mean as a snake
      He might make you quake
      He's a big Horse's Ass
      With a drink in a glass
       Is he someone to fear
       When he's buzzed from his beer?
        He's never been a giver
        I don't envy his liver...

   

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Maximum Conviction"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Maximum Conviction"  (2012) (Currently available on Pay Per View

Starring:  Steven Seagal, Steve Austin, Michael ("The Warriors") Pare', etc.

         Two military contractors (Steven Seagal and former pro wrestler Steve Austin) helping to shut down   top secret CIA black site prison protect two female inmates from ruthless mercenaries. One inmate is in league with the bad guys. The other one is a spy with valuable information implanted in her chest. This is one of the best action films I have seen in a while. I was particularly impressed by the fighting skills of the female villainess (Lauro Chartrand or Aliyah O'Brien). This was at least ten times better than the  "Expendables" pictures, like a Scwarzennegger movie with two badass action stars.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "The Life of Pi"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "The Life of Pi"

Characters/Actors:  Piscine Patel (?), Gerard Depardieu, etc.

        A middle-aged India(n) man tells an author a wondrous tale about how in his youth he survived on a tiny boat with a fierce, hungry tiger on the loose. As a boy, Piscine Patel is teased relentlessly by classmates for his name which when spoken sounds like  "Pissing". He quickly insists that his name be shortened to Pi. Pi's father is a businessman who owns a zoo. When the father attempts to relocate the family by way of ship, the entire menagerie from the zoo ends up aboard. En route to Canada, there is a storm, which causes the ship to sink. Pi ends up on a small boat with a wild hyena, a zebra, an orangatan, and a tiger which is hiding or sleeping under a tarp. Before long the animals conflict, and start to attack each other and some of who snap at Pi. Before long, the sole survivors on the rowboat are Pi and the tiger, who he has named  "Richard Parker".  Pi is afraid of the tiger, and with good reason, but he manages to survive without having to kill the magnificent beast. He grows to love the tiger as a companion.  There is a certain spiritual dimension to the film, and it is visually stunning. I enjoyed this film much more than I expected to. It is up to the audience to decide whether or not to believe the story the grownup Pi tells the author is true or merely symbolic. Based on a popular novel.

Sc-Fi Bri's TV Pick: "American Horror Story:Asylum"

Sci-Fi Bri's TV Pick:  "American Horror Story:Asylum" (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX Network)
Starring:  Jessica "King Kong" Lange, Jeremy "TV's 'Heroes'" Quinto, James "Babe" Cromwell, etc.

         This show is about the hell on earth known as Briarcliff Hospital, ruthlessly run by nuns. This insane asylum makes the hospital in Ken Kesey's  "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" seem like a country club, and the nuns could make Nurse Ratched look like a sympathetic figure. At Briarcliff, a 1960s hospital, the staff is at least as sick, twisted and depraved than the worst of its patients, if not more so. One nun, was once an alcoholic floozy who is guilty about a hit and run accident she once committed. Another one may be possessed. One doctor may be a former Nazi, and another may be a serial killer. The Perdition that exists within Briarcliff is simultaneously horrifying and fascinating. It is definitely not for children or the squeamish, but it will be popular among horror movie fans.

   

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Flight" Rated R

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Flight"  Rated R for nudity, profanity, drinking and drug use
Dir. Robert  "Forrest Gump"  Zemeckis
Characters/Actors: William Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, John ("Barton Fink") Goodman,Melissa Leo, Nadine ("My Name Is Earl") Velazquez, etc.

       After a night of heavy drinking and cocaine indulgence, commercial pilot Whip Whitaker flies a jet plane while intoxicated, but he manages to save over one hundred passengers by flying upside down. Since six lives were lost, including two flight attendants, there is a federal investigation of the plane crash. If it comes to light that Whitaker drank just before he flew he could spend several years in prison. His union rep. hires a lawyer to get Whip out of trouble, if only Whitaker will stay sober at least until the investigation is finished. For a short time, after his lady friend dies in the crash, Whitaker pours out all of his liquor and beer, but as with most drunks he soon makes up for lost time. Whitaker lost his former wife and son due to his drinking. While taking a smoke break at the hospital where he is recovering from injuries from the crash, he meets a woman who is struggling to recover from a serious drug addiction. She gets clean, while Whip is still in denial about his problem drinking. I enjoyed this movie, but the heavy drinking kind of made me cringe.

Some Recent Poetic Works in Progress

Some Recent Poetic Works in Progress:

   "Auburn Hair"

  I love your auburn hair,/But you don't seem to care/ When I call you on your cell/ You ignore me and make me feel like hell...


"I paid my rent"

I paid my rent and sent it in/ I stole your car and took a spin/ It didn't make up for my bad sin/I shaved and then I cut my skin/ I try so hard but cannot win... (tbc?)

Some Recent Poetry in the Works

Some Recent Poetry in the Works:

         "Celebration of Election Results"

          The people have spoken
           They made a good choice
           Hell no! to Romney, they said with their voice
            We'll still have our troubles
             We'll still have our woes
            But the right-wing agenda has got to go... (tbc?)

       "Ditch the Landline"

          Ditch the Landline
          Procure a new cell
          You'll save lots of money
           Your Social Life won't go to Hell... (tbc?)

      "Unrequited Infatuation"  A work in progress

           It oft starts with fascination
           Which quickly turns to unrequited infatuation
            A nightmare which is sweeping the nation
           Your affection for her never goes on vacation
            If she will date you it turns to elation... (tbc?)

Poetry: "There Is No God, THere's only us"

Poetry:  "There Is No God, There's Only Us!"   [Note:  "There is no God. There's only us"  was a quote from the recent SYFy Channel movie  "Rise of the Zombies" and was uttered by a character played by Mariel  "Star 80"  Hemingway. ]

          There is no God!
          There's only us.
           No need now to make a fuss.
          Only the few should earn your trust
          When in pain you can always cuss.
           When you die you turn to dust.
           And noone cares if you miss the bus.

       

         

Poetry: More about "Unrequited Love"

Poetry:  More about  "Unrequited Love"

            Unrequited Love is a horrible bitch
             Who hits your privates with a rattan cane switch
             Makes you want to scratch what you itch
              Or throw yourself in a bottomless ditch
              And can break your heart that no doctor can stitch... (tbc?)

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Sinister"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Sinister"  Rated R for Violence and Horror

      Characters/Actors: Ellison Oswalt(Ethan Hawke), Fred Dalton Thompson, etc.

       An author named Ellison Oswalt moves his family into a house where a horrific crime occurred, hoping to write a future true crime bestseller. Oswalt  comes across a box of home movies in the attic. The films show several slaughtered families both before, during and after they are murdered. After a while, he notices a strange figure in each of the films. Soon bizarre things happen or appear to happen to him and his family: a wife who is less than thrilled that they are in this "murder house"; a son who experiences night terrors, and a young precocious daughter who starts drawing weird drawings of the murder victims. THe author is on the verge of madness after experiencing the supernatural.  One of the best horror movies I have seen since  "Drag Me to Hell".

Recent Poetry

Recent Poetry:

"It's Not the Fire But the Smoke"

It's not the fire
But the smoke
That can kill the sleeping folk... (tbc?)

"Suspended From School"

Suspended from school
He's nobody's fool.
His teacher's a tool.
He thinks he's so cool... (tbc?)

"In Mitt We Doubt"

In Mitt [Romney] we should doubt
If he wins we will pout
He'll say anything to win,
Though lying's a sin... (tbc?)

"Unrequited Love"

Unrequited love is the worst
It seems like falling off a horse
Unrequited love is the worst
It makes my heart want to burst
I won't be the last
And I'm sure not the first... (tbc?)

Coming Soon

Announcement: Coming soon to Monkeys with Typewriters Productions blog/e-zine:

          In the near future, I will have a regular feature titled:  The Lactose Intolerant Foodie.
In the last few years I discovered that I am lactose intolerant. I am allergic and/or have a sensitivity to milk, cheese and dairy products. When I go out to eat I have to let restaurant personnel know that I am allergic to cheese. The reason I will anonymously review restaurants is so fellow lactose intolerants will know where to eat and where to avoid. For instance, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) would get a zero or negative rating for those with Lactose Intolerance, because everything they offer on their menu has dairy products in it. When I ate there as a favor to a friend I was appalled. I won't likely eat there again. Perhaps if they offered foods made with alt-milk (i.e. Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Sunflower Milk, Coconut Milk, etc.) I might reconsider.

Sci-Fi Bri's Television: THe First Casualty of Fall 2012

Sci-Fi Bri's Television:  "Made in Jersey"  THe First Television Casualty of Fall 2012 Season


            One year ago this month  "The Playboy Club", a once promising drama was the first new (in 2011) fall show to go off the air. It mostly went off the air so quickly (after 3 or 4 episodes) because its male target audience was most likely busy watching  Monday Night Football. I think that canceled show should have lasted at least one season, even if it were transferred to a premium cable network. It was a show that I watched or DVRed every episode that aired. The first show to bear the dubious honor of cancellation for the fall of 2012 is "Made in Jersey".  "Made in Jersey starred Janet Montgomery as a New Jersey raised lawyer who gets hired at a huge law firm and uses her street smarts to succeed and win cases. It is absurd when quality shows like  "Made in Jersey", "The Playboy Club", "Flash Forward",  "Awake, "Caprica"and similar shows quickly get cancelled, while absolute crap like  "Jersey Shore",  "THe Kardassians", and so-called  "Honey Boo Boo" thrive and last indefinitely.

Sci-Fi Bri's Fall 2012 New TV show Picks

"The Mob Doctor" (Fox TV Mondays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time)

Characters/Actors:  Grace Devlin M.D. (Jordana Spirol ), Constantine (William "Boardwalk Empire" Forsythe), etc.

           Grace Devlin, an experienced surgeon at a major Chicago hospital becomes at the beck and call of a mob boss after she rescues her ne-er-do-well brother from an overdue obligation. She has to perform surgery or other medical care on whoever the mob boss says to assist, and sometimes she is asked to break for Hypocratic oath by withholding care. Mob boss Constantine is back to his old ways after spending fifteen years behind bars. This show is like a combination of "E.R." and "Goodfellas" and Nicholas Pileggi ( who wrote  "Wiseguy" , the book that was the inspiration for the movie "Goodfellas" is involved with the writing or producing of this series.

    "Last Resort"

Characters/Actors:  Andre "Law and Order" Braugher, etc.

          The officers and crew of the U.S.S. Colorado, a naval submarine are ordered to nuke Pakistan, but due to confusion over the source of the order, they refuse to follow the command.  Soon, the sub is under attack by the U.S. military, but since the vessel has nuclear weapons, the submariners have the upper hand.  As riveting as movies such as "Crimson Tide" and  "Das Boot".

"Revolution"  (NBC on Mondays at 10 p.m. Eastern Time)

Characters/Actors:  (tbc)

          In the not too distant future, all of the electric power around the world inexplicably goes out and it doesn't come back. Now there are no more planes, trains, automobiles or electric powered ships. Society and government quickly collapses, food and weapons are scarce, and in the power vacuum the militia(s) rules with an iron fist. THe militia rations food and make the ownership or use of weapons by those outside the militia a crime punishable by death.  With the end of electric power the average person is also powerless. However, a young lady searches for her brother, who was abducted by the militia. With the help of her uncle, she traverses the countryside and must evade capture by both the militia and highwaymen. (tbc?)

  "Neighbors"

A situation-comedy in which a bunch of aliens from outer space in human form cope with the strange customs and habits of humanity. I only watched one episode. It had some laughs, but I don't know if this show will last long.  (tbc?)

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Looper"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Looper"  Rated R for Language and Violence

Characters/Actors:  Young Joe (Joseph-Gordon "Premium Rush" Levitt, Older Joe (Bruce "Die Hard" Willis) Sam (Jeff "Dumb and Dumber" Daniels) Emily Blunt, Piper "Covert Affairs" Perabo, etc.

           Some time in the future time travel is invented, but it is highly illegal. Only organized criminals use time travel to have undesirables killed by way of "loopers" or assasssins of the future who travel back in time to kill targeted people without leaving a trace. Sometimes Loopers, named for  "closing the loop" are ordered to kill their future selves. Problems arise when they refuse or fail. In addition, a certain percentage of the population are born with a  "TK  (telekinesis) gene"  and can move small items with their minds. One boy, though has a powerful TK ability and causes mayhem whenever he gets upset or angry. This boy will grow up to be the evil and ruthless crime boss "The Rainmaker", who specializes in killing off Loopers. However, someone is looking to kill the boy to prevent this. This was a really cool movie, but it might not be for non-science-fiction fans.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "Lawless" (2012)

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies:  "Lawless" Rated R

Characters/Actors:  Forrest Bonderant (Tom Hardy), Howard Bonderant (Jason Clarke), Jack (Shia "Transformers" Laboef), Charley Rakes (Guy "Memento" Pearce), Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), Maggie (Jessica Chastain)

            In 1930s Prohibiton-era Virginia Forrest, Howard and Jack Bonderant blatantly and openly flout the law by bootlegging illicit liquor. Forrest and Howard are naturally tough, but Jack is more than a would-be lover than a fighter and a wannabe rough criminal. The siblings aren't afraid to use violence to get by. Before long though, a ruthless G-man named Charley Rakes uses violence and intimidation to try to thwart the Bonderant's business and destroy their stills. Rakes is so nasty that you look forward to his inevitable comeuppance. One Bonderant brother survives getting a slit throat, as well as bullet wounds. This movie is a sexy, violent bullet-riddles romp like previous movies such as  "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Dillinger".

Poetry: "Fields Are Fallow"

Poetry:  "Fields Are Fallow"

         All the fields are fallow
         Nothing grows within
         Not even near the gallows
         A place for those who sin/
         Nothing in this world is hallowed
          So drink some beer or gin
          And all the boys are callow
          They don't know where or when to begin
          The candles burn with tallow
          Smoke wafts the nose like a sharp pin... (tbc?)

Poetry: "Canada Geese"

Poetry:  "Canada Geese"

          Canada Geese are pests
           They poop all over the ground
           THey seldom seem to rest
            THey stink up my part of town... (tbc?)

Poetry: "Premature End of Summer Poem (A work in progress)

Poetry:  "Premature End of Summer Poem"  A work in progress

        Summer's nearly over
        School will soon begin
        Children will be saddened
        Parents they will grin... (tbc?)

Poetry: "Just Give Thanks"

Poetry: "Just Give Thanks"

Just give thanks

To the New York Yanks

Whenever they do lose

When they win

It's not a sin

That is just bad news... (tbc?)

New Poetry Works in Progress

New Poetry Works in Progress

"Those at the Top"

Those at the top are selfish and greedy.
Those at the bottom are defenseless and needy.
Those in the middle are equally screwed.
For the moneyed elites are in a bankrupting mood... (tbc?)

"Look Out!"

Look Out!
Who was invited to the cook out... (tbc?)

"Evolution/Retrogression"

Evolution, Retrogression
Another psychiatric session... (tbc?)

"Bullseye"

A bullseye bite mark on the skin
The deer tick's venom has got in
An arachnid 'bout the size of a pin
With Lyme disease you cannot win.
Hiding low on reeds and grass
Waiting for you to get a rash... (tbc?)

Essay/Commentary: A Way to Save the Music Industry?

Essay/Commentary: "A Way to Save the Music Industry"

Perhaps I am one of the world's laziest blogger. I haven't posted a blog post in at least a month. Tonight (early 4/20/12 around midnight) I came up with an innovative idea to possibly save the music industry or at least a way for struggling musicians to have an international steady stream of income:

I love live music, but I hate going to concerts. I hate going to concerts because: The concert tickets are often exorbitant. The traffic going to and leaving the show tends to absolutely suck. Parking at concerts is often a ripoff. Drunk and stoned concertgoers. Mosh pits and other rowdy foolishness. I don't like to dance or to clap or to sing along, among other reasons.

Since I love new and live music though, an excellent idea is to simulcast concerts on the internet for a nominal fee. If this happens, a potentially international audience could follow both established acts as well as struggling, amateur or formerly popular acts invigorating or reinvigorating the musicians, the bands and perhaps the entire music industry. The more popular the musicians the higher the fee. This is especially a good idea for sold out shows, and undersold performances in brutal economic times.

Sci-Fi Bri's Television Picks: "Awake"

Sci-Fi Bri's Television Picks: "Awake" on NBC

A police detective lives two parallel lives, in one his son is dead and his wife is alive. In the other, his wife is deceased and his son is alive. Sounds like the plot of a "Twilight Zone" episode. In both alternate realities, he has two different detective partners, two different psychiatrists, etc. The detective apparently is asleep in one reality while he is awake in another one. What happens in one reality may help him or hurt him in another reality. There may be very interesting plot twists if this series lasts as long as I hope it does. (tbc)

More Poetry Writing Workshop Verse

More Poetry Writing Workshop Verse: Note: I recently completed a month-long poetry writing workshop. During the last class I wrote a poem based on the novel "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Anderson, about terraforming Mars (changing the planet so humans can survive there)

First draft: "Terraforming Mars"

Looking for a new place to live?

Transforming a planet from red to green to blue

Hydroponic gardens for sustenance

Help wanted, Horticulture Expert

Must be Diligent, Handy and

Have a High Tolerance for Boredom

If we get to Mars can we avoid crime, wars and social unrest?

Will we make the same mistakes which have plagued mankind

From time immemorial? Or,

Will we ruin the planet and just move on to another one?

Revision of "Terraforming Mars" poem, retitled "Help Wanted"

Help Wanted

Experienced Hydroponic Gardener

To Transform Mars From Red to Green

Must be able to work independently

High Tolerance for Boredom preferred

Are you tired of living with war, crime and Social Unrest?

Are you tired of the old mistakes?

Help us make new ones.

Contact www.thereforthetaking.com.

Poetry Writing Workshop Verse

Poetry Writing Workshop Verse: Note: My professor in the Poetry Writing Workshop is trying to dissuade the class from composing rhyming poetry. More that 99% of my poetry rhymes, and I have some trouble composing quality 'free verse' (non-rhyming poetry)

Revision(s) of "Dystopia"

Hope is the only thing left incarcerated in Pandora's Box

Perhaps God is Dead

Naivete and cynicism both reign supreme

Hope is a dual-edged sword

Without hope you sometimes cannot go on,

But with Blind Faith you can take very reckless chances.

Another version: "Dystopia"

Hope is the only thing left incarcerated in Pandora's Box

All the plagues of mankind have been released

Hope gives you the will to go on when times are bleak,

But Blind Faith can make you reckless.

Surveillance cameras are ubiquitous, even on portable Smart phones

The earth is being scorched by 'denied' Global Warming.

The air is tainted by primary, secondary and tertiary smoke.

Our land is covered with trash in many places.

Our waters are polluted by chemicals, trash and plastic.

The preservatives and pesticides in food can literally make you

Sick or even kill you over time.

Government cannot or will not help you when you really need it,

And when they do help things usually end up worse.

People, it seems, will put up with almost anything.

"Dial one for English."

"To reach a real person, please hang up and try again."

Grab yourself another beer, there ain't no heaven and Hell is here!

Poetry Writing Workshop Verse

Poetry Writing Workshop Verse:

"Dystopia" A work in progress

Dystopia

Hell on Earth

A world in decline

Nothing is pristine

The air, water, land, food, governments, people and religions

Are all tainted.

Hope is the only thing left incarcerated in Pandora's Box.

"Vampires" A work in progress

Vampires sometimes fight the impulse to indulge in their bloodlust

Like soldiers who stifle the urge to desecrate the corpses of their enemies.

Living forever

Lusting for blood

Greedy like the bankers who nearly drained the Life Force out of our economy.

Seldom worrying about a stake that could impale their heart

And stop them dead in their tracks.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: The Best of 2011

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: The Best of 2011

Note: Due to work, time and monetary considerations I haven't seen as many movies as I usually do. I haven't seen such critically acclaimed movies as "The Help" and probably several others that have been nominated for acting or film awards.

In my opinion, the Best Picture ought to be: "The Artist". "The Artist" is a 99% Silent Film with mostly unknown performers as stars. It is about an acclaimed silent movie star whose fortunes start to decline when Talkies start to become popular. Meanwhile, a beautiful young actress's popularity quickly soars as she becomes the star of a string of movies with talk instead of silence. Somehow their lives become intertwined. I didn't have high expectations when I saw this film, but I was quickly wowed.

If "The Artist" fails to win Best Picture, another contender is "The Descendants" starring George Clooney as a lawyer with both Hawaiian and European lineage who is in charge of the fate of a valuable swath of real estate in Hawaii. As he is about ready to decide whether part of Hawaii will remain unspoiled or be subject to development, he finds out that his comatose wife was having an affair behind his back. Also, he must cope with a troubled teenage daughter and a foul-mouthed younger child. Clooney's character decides to track down his wife's paramour, who has some connection to the real estate that he must decide the fate of. The actresses who played his daughters also gave excellent performances, particularly the television star who plays his older daughter.

Best Action Film: While this won't likely win or be nominated for an acting of major film award, "Mission Impossible 4" is the best action film I have seen in 2011. In case you haven't seen it, in this movie Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his cohorts (including Simon Pegg from "Sean of the Dead" ) break into the Kremlin and mayhem ensues. Their mission is to stop a madman from deliberately starting World Was 3.

The worst movie I saw was "The Devil Inside". In this ripoff of "The Exorcist" a middle-aged woman murders several people while supposedly possessed by demons. After her daughter and a couple priests take part in an unauthorized exorcism, the daughter also ends up being possessed. This could have been a good movie. Instead, at the end the screen flashed a website purporting to be a true story about an actual exorcism. I fell asleep part way through this, and when I woke up the movie was over.

Another A to Z Attempt

Another A to Z Attempt

In my Writing Poetry class I was asked to write a story or poem going from A to Z. I cheated a bit, since it was only supposed to go from A to Z, with no words that weren't in that order:

A bird can dine on the eggs of flying grubs. He or she also ingests jelly-like krill, luminescent and meandering nearby. Populations of these birds quest for round shreds of tufted underbrush to feed variegated worms found in the xylem of certain trees to its young, even when confined to zoos.

"A to Z" A Fun Writing Exercise

"A to Z" A Fun Writing Exercise

I just started a poetry writing class at Newton Adult Education. The class had a number of writing exercises, including one in which the challenge was to come up with a story or poem using the letters from A to Z. Here is my attempt:

A bat can detect earwigs from great heights in Jersey, kinetically, locally; moving nearby, overhead, panic-stricken and quite rabid. Utilizing sonar, transporting itself under vineyards, winged; xylophone-like, yearning for places like New Zealand.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "The Artist"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "The Artist"

Characters/Actors: George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), Berenice Bejo (Peppy Miller), Al Zimmer (John Goodman), James Cromwell, Penelope Miller, Malcolm McDowell, etc.

In the late twenties, George Valentin, a popular and personable silent film actor's fortunes and life begin to decline with the advent of talkies (non-silent films). At about the same time, an aptly named extra named Peppy Miller's life and popularity quickly soar into the stratosphere as a true movie star. Valentin also has a comical Jack Russell terrier who once appeared in films with him. Valentin and Miller meet and really hit it off. He even tries to get her work on one of his films, to the chagrin of his pompous director (John "Barton Fink" Goodman). As Valentin goes nearly broke he descends into chain smoking, heavy drinking, and suicidal behavior. Meanwhile, Peppy Miller becomes the toast of Hollywood and appears on the cover of many magazines in addition to being a popular actress. Although there is a great difference in the age of Valentin and Miller, they end up falling in love, and the younger of the two saves the elder's life and possibly career. Although this movie was 99% silent and with minimal dialogue, this is arguably the best movie of the year. As a matter of fact, it won the Palm D'or award for Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival. This movie really impressed me, but the question remains, will American audiences go for a mostly silent film in a time of futuristic video-game influenced cinema? As for myself, I may want to see this movie again in the very near future.

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "The Darkest Hour"

Sci-Fi Bri's Movies: "The Darkest Hour"

Starring: Sean (Emile "Into the Wild" Hirsch), Ben (Max "The Social Network" Minghela), Skyler (Joel Kinnamon), etc.

A pair of American slackers, played by Emile Hirsch and Max Minghela, fly to Moscow, Russia to pitch an entrepreneurial idea. Unfortunately, soon after they arrive, another young businessman played by Joel Kinnamon, has stolen their idea and used it as if it was his. To deal with their loss, the two hapless Americans look for a place to party, preferably with attractive young Russian women. Soon afterward an unusual sky formation appears and a bunch of possible shooting stars come down from above. Some of these meteor-like phenomena fall to earth right in front of a crowd of onlookers, including the two Americans. The crowd disperses, but when a Russian cop is literally vaporized by the light formation there is a full-on panic, and the two Americans flee for their lives; along with two pretty American girls they meet and the businessman who stole their idea. These five people try to avoid being killed by an alien presence which cannot by seen but can kill at will. They soon discover though, that these unseen aliens can be detected because their electrical field causes lights to light up and engines and motors to start. This electrical charge may be the key to their vulnerability. Although definitely a so-called B-movie, which would only potentially win awards for special effects; I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie. However, it doesn't matter whether you see it in 3-D (as I did) or in two dimensions to save money on the ticket price.

Sci-Fi Bri's Books: "The Night Boat" by Robert R. McCammon

Sci-Fi Bri's Books: "The Night Boat" by Robert R. McCammon

Sometime this week (Jan. 1, 2012) I finished reading the horror novel "The Night Boat" authored by Robert R. McCammon and published in 1980. It is about a German U-Boat sunken toward the end of World War 2, and its crew of relentlessly evil Nazis. Thirty or more years after sinking to the bottom of the Caribbean, the miraculously intact sub is found. On the fictional island of Coquina people and animals start to disappear or perish in unspeakably horrible ways at the hands of the crew of what the islanders call "The Night Boat", who drowned decades ago in a nearly forgotten war. This was a very enjoyable read as a horror fiction enthusiast. If you enjoy the works of such authors as: Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, or similar authors the eerie books of Robert R. McCammon are also worth checking out. Another excellent book penned by McCammon was the scary vampire novel "They Thirst" published some time in the eighties or nineties.