Hola...

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Cover via Amazon"][/caption]

Hello everyone!  I'm sorry that it's taken so awfully long to get back to posting.  I just got my first real teaching job and I'm overwhelmed with excitement (and work!)  In addition, apparently I'm about to move houses in two months.  While that's exciting, it will certainly be a handful!  Unfortunately I haven't had much time to read or even post on the movies that I've seen, but I do hope to rectify that soon enough.  Perhaps this weekend, if I get some spare time.  In any event, I'm glad to be back.

I do have a few special announcements for all of you, all of which I've been waiting for some time now.  Permuted Press announced the release date for the third (and as far as I know, final) book of Z.A. Recht's smash trilogoy "The Morningstar Saga".  It's titled "Survivors", and word is that it will be released on December 27, 2011.  As much as I dearly hate the snow, it would almost be worth more of it to get to that book release date sooner.

Other releases of note include "Dead Bait 2" (a Severed Press title), which features a "Jaws" send-up as its cover picture.  There's nothing quite like a monstrous piranha swimming up towards a naked woman in open water to instill fear.  Did I mention that the piranha was decayed?  Zombie piranha !  From what I gather the authors include Steve Alten, Ramsey Campbell, Guy N. Smith, Tim Curran, James Robert Smith, Murphy Edwards, Cody Goodfellow, Anthony Wedd, Paul A. Freeman, Raliegh Dugal, James Harris,  Michael Hodges, and Matthew Fryer.

Kim Paffenroth's third book in the "Dying to Live" series is out as well.  This title features a carnival tent cover and is titled "Last Rites".  This book finished up where "Life Sentence" left off - following William, Lucy (Blue Eye), and Truman as they leave the encampment.

Bruce Campbell, demi-god

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="213" caption="Cover of My Name Is Bruce"][/caption]

The always versatile Bruce Campbell shows his ability to actually laugh at himself and the kinds of movies that he makes.  I'm not sure that the same could be said about every other actor and actress that has made a similar mark on pop culture.  Recently, I saw "My Name is Bruce", which is sure to delight any Bruce Campbell fan.

The basis of the movie is this: Bruce's acting career is tanking, and he's kidnapped by a rabid fan who has accidentally unleashed the ancient Chinese god of War (and bean curd).  This fan thinks that Bruce will be able to save the town, based on his acting ability in such films as The Evil Dead.  Bruce thinks its a joke at first, but soon realizes that the sinister Chinese god is real, and coming after the people of the town.

This movie works on so many levels.  The first is that if you're a fan of Bruce Campbell, well, then I don't really need to say any more.  For fans of cheesy horror movies, you'll find some fun in the laughable foe Guan-di (god of bean curd and war), whose red eyes are little more than glorified flashlights.  I found myself laughing almost every minute during the movie, due in no small part to Campbell's ability to constantly lampoon himself.  (Perhaps that comes from knowing how much he means to the majority of the nerd-population, myself thoroughly included.)   There are some cameos of director Sam Raimi favorites, including his brother Ted, and a few guys who were in the original Evil Dead movies.  They make a few jokes about their previous roles, and they wear mostly the same clothing, so they're pretty easy to spot.  If you're a fan of Bruce Campbell and his movies, then you MUST see "My Name is Bruce".

Vote in AMC's Most Dangerous Zombie Hunter Poll !

AMC is hosting a "Most Dangerous Zombie Hunter Poll" right now.  The cool / unconventional part of this poll is that from the outset you can vote all the way to the win in one go.  Then everyone's votes get tallied.

Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead) VS   Ken Foree (Peter, Dawn of the Dead - original)

Will Smith (Robert Neville, I Am Legend)  VS  Cillian Murphy (Jim, 28 Days Later)

Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee, Zombieland)  VS  Simon Pegg (Shaun, Shaun of the Dead)

Bruce Campbell (Ash "Ashley" Williams, The Evil Dead series)  VS  Milla Jovovich (Alice, Resident Evil series)

Now, first off, I'm not telling you who I'm voting for.  (If I were honest, I would admit its because I have no clue who I'm voting for just yet.  If I were dishonest, I'd say its because I want you to make up your own mind.)  This is only the first round in AMC's poll, there are still a few other elimination rounds.  Keep track and vote at http://polls.amctv.com//chart/data/2623-lead-1.html.

For me, who I will ultimately vote for depends on a few factors.  The worst part is that they're all really amazing characters with their own unique zombies to face.  So what exactly, defines the "most dangerous" (read: most unabashedly bad-ass) zombie fighter ?  Is it weapons prowess (Alice), or is it pure luck (Shaun) ?  Or perhaps crazy good catch phrases (Tallahassee and Ash might tie on this one...)  Perhaps its the ability to survive sprinting, drooling, rage-infested zombies (Jim) ?  Each of these characters represents a path in my downward spiral into full immersion of zombie culture...so I'm not sure how I'd even begin to choose.

{Update:  I just did the poll - no, I'm still not telling you who I voted for, and I got to the end.  Wasn't terribly impressed.  It seems worth the conversation and the giggles, and its worth seeing what other people gave as reasons for who they picked.  Other than that, I highly disagree with the outcome.}