Dommin Video

Here's the official music video for "My Heart, Your Hands" by Los Angeles-based goth-rockers Dommin. It's directed by Phil Mucci. Their debut CD Love is Gone is due in stores on February 2 and they will be touring with H.I.M., We Are the Fallen and Drive A this Spring.

Book Review: Old Flames

Old Flames
by Jack Ketchum

Synopsis: Burned again. Men never treated Dora well. This latest cheated on her and dumped her. The last decent guy she knew was her old high school boyfriend, Jim. He’d said that he loved her. Maybe he did. So with the help of the Old Flames Agency, Dora’s found him again. Turns out he’s married with two kids, but Dora isn’t about to let that stand in her way.

I'm a pretty big fan of Jack Ketchum, having read a good half-dozen or so of his works, and this is the most disappointing one I've read yet I think. It's just a straight-up by-the-numbers thriller with no twists during a very short story that's been told hundreds of times.

It's a very short, fast read (it's actually a novella) as the pace flies along and had no problem holding my interest. The lead character was intriguing, but never really revealed nearly as deeply as she could have been. That could have helped the book a lot. It also just sets a course in the first few chapters that it never deviates from and anybody who reads any thrillers can pretty much predict the rest of the book.

As a horror novel, there wasn't much violence or horror. As a thriller, it falls short of many thrills. As a character study, it only scratches the surface. As a Jack Ketchum novel, it's disappointing.

4/10

Sunday Funnnies

Him's Heartkiller

Here's Finnish love metal mongers HIM's official video for "Heartkiller" from the upcoming record Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice.

Beer Rules

I've been noticing a lot more lately that beer snobs are beginning to heavily infiltrate the world of beer. The craft beer industry has grown so much in the last decade that suddenly I sort of feel like it might go the way of wine, which is filled with snobbish jerks that turn other people off to discovering great tastes. I personally follow a set of rules designed to make beer friends and get people into new beers, or stay with what they love. What do I care? We're all brothers and sisters in the wonderful nectar. I'd rather my friend drink beer I don't like than soda that I do when we go out. So, here are...

Cracker's Rules of Beer

1. The best beer is always free beer.

2. Don't talk down to people drinking what you don't like. What's it your business? Recommending some brews they might enjoy is acceptable, acting like you're above them because you like some special edition craft beer or something makes you an ass.

3. When a toast is made, always touch glasses with everyone.

4. Have a great toast of your own and make it your go-to toast. (mine is "here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women" for the record... from the movie Jaws)

5. If you go to somebody's house party, it is not acceptable to complain about their beer selection. See rule #1.

6. It is acceptable to complain about the temperature of your beer. But you should still drink it, Nancy-boy.

7. Never, ever leave beer in your glass or bottle. Formerly known as a pinger, it's just never to be done for any reason. By the same token... if you try a new beer, finish it.

8. No straws.

9. It is always an acceptable occasion to wear a shirt with beer on it. Funerals, weddings, work, mug shots... always.

10. Support your local brewery.

11. When visiting another city, support their local brewery.

12. It's acceptable to pay debts or give apologies with beer. Also, it's the best gift to give or receive. Any occasion.

13. If you die before you've done either a keg stand, funneled or shotgunned a beer... you've failed.

14. You should have a bottle-opener either on your keychain, attached to your cooler, on your fridge or in a very handy home location.

15. You should have your own cooler and take it everywhere. You never know when it will be needed.

16. Known you limits. Sure sometimes we all get smashed, but don't be that guy every time, or even regularly.

17. Always have beer in the fridge in case of emergency.

18. You should have at least 1 bar or pub where everybody knows your name.

19. Don't keep up with who buys how many rounds when with friends. It'll all be even when you're in nursing homes.

20. $20 taxi rides are still a helluva lot cheaper than $2,000 DWIs.

21. When getting a beer for somebody, always open it before handing it to them.

22. Beer before whiskey, mighty risky. Whiskey before beer, never fear.

23. Never check or ask about calories. If you're watching your weight, drink water.

24. Shaking up a beer before handing it to someone should be punishable by death.

25. Never bad mouth a homebrewer's beer.

Memphis May Fire From Saw VI

Here's Dallas, Tx band Memphis May Fire's video for "Ghost In The Mirror" Taken from the Saw VI Soundtrack.

Movie Review: Saw VI

Synopsis: Special Agent Strahm is dead and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

I'm a huge fan of the Saw series and have been since the original, but for some reason I never made it out to the theater to see this one last Halloween. I guess I'd almost grown bored with it a bit, although I did have my annual home Saw marathon and watched the first 5. But anyway, now I sort of regret not catching the latest bloodbath in the theaters, because this is the best installment in quite a while.

What changed? Well the script is just better. The plot becomes more about health insurance than grisly kills (although those are still there). Nobody sues for malpractice, but there is some revenge of the uninsured in the form of bloodletting. The back-story is still there and it finally all comes together really, with a lot of reveals on things that have gone down before.

But the best thing about the Saw films? The traps. In the opening we get a game between 2 people to see who can remove the most flesh, which sets the pace for what is to come. Along the way there's a cool shotgun-carousel, a steam room, breathing room, hanging room, another reverse bear-trap, amputations, hydrofluoric acid injections, head-piercing and more. It's everything you've come to expect from a Saw film.

Costas Mandylor is back as Hoffman, but I think he's pretty wooden in this actually. Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith are both back, but since they're dead their roles are minor with just flashbacks and visions... especially Shawnee. She's barely in it at all, so that sucks. Betsy Russell gets a bigger role as Jill (Jigsaw's wife) and continues to be the sexiest woman in her late 40s you'll ever see. I was also glad to see Athena Karkanis back as Agent Perez.

So usually a series that has 6 films (with #7 on the way) loses steam instead of getting better, but I was really surprised that this one may be the best since Saw II. It ties up loose ends, has a nice inventive plot, good traps and plenty of blood and guts. It probably won't make any new fans, and might be confusing to anyone who hasn't seen the rest of the series, but for a die hard like me it's a very welcome return to form.

8/10

Edge of Rome

Yucky weather here in the south, so it's a good thing I treated my weekdays more like a weekend because I may be stuck in the house all weekend, that is if I can get home from work today. I hit some hoops and caught the always awesome Paul Thorn in concert already this week as well as a nice dinner at one of my favorite spots for my Sis' birthday. Add in some beer tasting, working out and a couple of movies and I sort of need to relax a bit. Well, since I don't have a choice I guess. I'd rather be out doing something but I won't argue.

I might make it to the theater as I skipped last weekend. I still want to see Legion but at least 1 of the 2 new films out interest me as well. Here they are...

When in Rome

The Plot: Beth (Kristen Bell) is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. However, when she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love during a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of suitors.
My Thoughts: Nothing in that synopsis makes me even want to consider seeing this. Well, I do like Rome I guess. And Kristen Bell is cute. That's it. Everything else makes me want to slam my head in a door.

Edge of Darkness

The Plot: As homicide detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) investigates the death of his activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.
My Thoughts: Mel Gibson looks like he's returning to more of his Mad Max/Lethal Weapon/Ransom type role, and that's a good thing. Leave the Jew-bashing, sugar-tit-calling, cross-hanging Mel at home I say. Bring on the violent revenge! The trailer looks pretty fun, albeit a little derivative possibly.

Strikeforce: Miami on Showtime Saturday

Strikeforce has another card this weekend on Showtime and it's pretty intriguing I think.

* Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (for vacant welterweight title)
* Champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Marloes Coenen (for women's featherweight title)
* Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
* Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
* Greg Nagy vs. Herschel Walker

They seem to be taking some flack for signing Hershel Walker from some of the MMA internet loudmouths, but I have to say I'm interested in seeing him in the cage. He's got tons of martial arts experience and is a world class athlete. Sure, he's 47-years-old but have you seen the guy? He's in great shape and as a fellow old man I hope he kicks some butt. I've always thought he was a class act. Also wrestling superstar Bobby Lashley is fighting, a woman's title fight and the always entertaining Nick Diaz. Count me in.

I want Strikeforce to do well. I'd love to see a serious competitor to the UFC and think it would help the sport all around. They've got some great fighters in their camp and their shows production values have been improving. They could actually close the gap between #1 and #2, unthinkable a year ago.

Strikeforce: Miami
Jan 30th on Showtime

Movie Review: Carriers

Synopsis: An apocalyptic tale where four friends fleeing a viral pandemic threatening to wipe out the human race discover that their greatest enemy is not the microbe attacking humanity, but the darkness within themselves.

This sort of reminded me of Zombieland, minus the zombies and comedy. It's dark, grimy and more intense and really deals more with human nature than the deadly virus.

Our 4 leads are trying to simply survive and get to a locale that they feel they can be safe and along the way they encounter problems, not just with others but within their own group, which leads to a lot of those "what would I do" type situations. It helps that they got solid actors with Chris Pine (James T. Kirk in Star Trek) getting a lot of screen time.

It's not a bad film by any means, but I like my "horror" with a bit more action so it didn't blow me away. It's sort of tame on the horror scale and leans more towards the thought-provoking, emotional character study side of things. Ultimately it really adds nothing to the survivalist film genre though but it passes in a swift 84 minutes so I recommend giving it a look if it sounds like your thing.

6/10

Hump Day Funnies

Geek Love

Holy battlestars! Here's Tricia Helfer and Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica doing their Maxim cover shoot. Beam me up indeed. Wait, that's Star Trek. Eh, who really cares...

Social Code Leaves You Satisfied

Here's a video from Social Code for the song "Satisfied" and it's pretty much Rock Video 101. Have the band playing live while a really sexy girl is on a stripper pole? That's textbook my friends. Good track too.

Social Code was formerly known as Fifth Season and are out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Clowns Are Scary

Sure, clowns are scary... but clowns in pain = funny? I guess? I don't know what to make of the new Walmart ad. It is memorable though, I must say that. Maybe too memorable as I might see this in my nightmares.



I can't help but feel sorry for the old man. He's just trying to entertain his kid for her birthday and suddenly he's got a nasty foot injury. Go Walmart!

Movie Review: The Hurt Locker

Synopsis: Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of the Iraq war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
The only way I could see somebody being disappointed in this film is if they went in to it expected an all out action flick. That's not what this is. It's an intense, riveting movie about the Iraq war with plenty of action, but it's a character study of the effects of this war on people with some of the toughest assignments I can imagine.

This film is almost just a ride-along with a group of bomb techs and many of the scenes are so nerve-racking that you better be prepared for some nail biting. It's very well acted, well written and well directed, making the realism even that much more so. The use of hand-helds puts your right in the middle of the war, minus the risks. By the end my nerves were just shot. If you immerse yourself in this, you'll almost have to endure this film as much as you enjoy it.

I must say, I usually dump on a lot of movies the critics love. I prefer big, loud, dumb summer blockbuster types that the critics hate. I would rather see a film with G.I. Joe vs The Transformers before I'd sit through The Piano or Moulin Rogue. But... the critics have been slurping this steadily and I must say I agree with them. Really good movie.

8/10

Shy Ronnie

Personally I think Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live is one of the the funniest guys on television right now. His digital shorts are often the best part of the show and his comedy troupe The Lonely Island (along with Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) is often brilliant. What I love about his musical stuff is that most of it is not only funny but usually really catchy. For instance, here's the skit with Rihanna where he plays the character "Shy Ronnie" that cracks me up everytime:

Sunday Funnies