New blog: "El Cine es Sueño"

After thinking about it alot, I have decided to open up a new blog about cinema. Only this time it'll be written in my mother tongue, Spanish. The thing is, when W-Cinema started, it all began by two things: a desire for sharing my love for the movies, and a manner of practicing English while doing it. It all evolved into this current blog, with some reviews written whenever I can. However, as years have gone by, I have been thinking about the possibility of now improving my Spanish, in the sense of improving my writing on Spanish. That's the origin of "El Cine es Sueño".

Paraphrasing the title of Calderón de la Barca's famous play, "El Cine es Sueño" is basically W-Cinema in Spanish. The name change results on a distaste for having a blog named "W-Cinema-Esp", or "W-Cinema-MX". It just didn't sound right to me. But the content will be basically done in the same style. Several reviews from W-Cinema will be translated to "El Cine es Sueño" (hopefully all), and later, films will be reviewed in both sites. What I mean is that this new blog doesn't mean activity in W-Cinema will stop. It may slow a bit from the fast rythmn that I was carrying in 2011, but it will not close. At least, not in the immediate future.

With nothing else to announce, please, if you have W-Cinema in your links, make some room for "El Cine es Sueño" as well. I promise it'll be worthy.

Cheers!

Targets (1968) @ Cult Reviews!

This month I contributed another review to that cool website that allows me to write from time to time: Cult Reviews. This time I wrote about "Targets" (1968), one of my favourite films from the 60s. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, "Targets" was his debut as a filmmaker, under the wing of legendary producer Roger Corman and with the one and only Boris Karloff in the lead role. Of course, nothing came up easily, and to get that deal, Bogdanovich had to give some use to footage from Corman's "The Terror" (1963); nevertheless, Bogdanovich had a brilliant idea to use the footage: set the movie on a drive-in theatre. Powerful, crude and haunting, "Targets" was a kind of a statement, as it appeared on the final years of a decade of changes. Naturally, everything will be in greater detail at Cult Reviews.

Besides my lousy writintgs, this month Cult Reviews features a review of one of the films with the weirdest concepts for a horror movie: "One Eyed Monster" (2008), where said monster is nothing else than Ron Jeremy's detached penis. Mr. Vomitron took the job of reviewing such an interesting film and came up with a fine piece about the movie. Besides "One Eyed Monster", Vomitron tackles 2000's Swedish horror film "Det Okända" ("The Unknown"). Reviewer Coventry watched "8th Wonderland", and has many interesting conclusions about it, as it's perhaps one of the fresher films of 2008. Good ol' Perfesser Deviant writes about Vincent Ward's "What Dreams May Come", and if you wonder why such film appears on Cult Reviews, you have to check out what the Perfesser has to say about it. Finally, the Full-Length Movie of the Week is George A. Romero's legendary classic, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), so by some reason beyond human understanding you have not seen such beauty, you can watch it here.

So, keep supporting Cult Reviews!



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The Midnight Meat Train (2008) @ Cult Reviews!

This time in Cult Reviews, my contribution is a review for Ryûhei Kitamura's 2008 debut in American cinema, which was an adaptation of the classic Clive Barker's short story, "The Midnight Meat Train". Starring Bradley Cooper and Vinnie Jones, "The Midnight Meat Train" is a very interesting horror film that features mystery, chilling suspense and a good dose of gruesome violence, all framed by Kitamura's stylish vision. Unfortunately, not everything is perfect on the film, and in fact it suffers from a serious problem that hurts what could had been one of the best movies of the decade. The details about it on my review featured on Cult Reviews.

This month Cult Reviews also features an interesting overview of Brett Leonard's comic book inspired horror film "Man-Thing", all in the trademark style of Cult Reviews' very own Perfesser Deviant. The Perfesser also writes about "Postal", film that some consider to be Uwe Boll's best movie (althought in all honesty, that doesn't say much) and a trip to the time of funky afros and disco music in "Blacula". In tone with the month's marketing device (and with the month's major mainstream release), reviewer Anna McKibben's takes the dust away from the original "My Bloody Valentine" (1981), reviewing the recently released uncut dvd. Finally, Vomitron reviews Jack Hill's 60s oddity: "Spider Baby" (1968), which is also the featured full length movie of the month (remember that Cult Reviews has public domain movies available to watch).

So, keep supporting Cult Reviews!



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The Amazing Mr. X (1948) @ Cult Reviews!

Once again I have written a review for Cult Reviews, that site devoted to horror and cult cinema that offers me a space to write from time to time. This time the film in question is Bernard Vorhaus' "The Amazing Mr. X" (1948), a very interesting thriller that fuses horror with the style and topics of film noir in quite a remarkable way. It is the story of a phony spiritualist played by Turhan Bey (known for his work in "The Mummy's Tomb") and his intrusion in the life of a rich widow (played by Lynn Bari). It's quite a surprise, but unfortunately, the film also suffers from some problems, but well, you'll find a more detailed opinion about it on the site.

Cult Reviews also offers a very fun review of that little gem of comedy and horror named "Teeth" (2007), an interesting overview of the indie exploitaiton flick about vomit and other fluids called "Slaughtered Vomit Dolls" (2006), and a trip back to the 80s with Charles McCrann's "Toxic Zombies". Also, for the first Cult Reviews features a full length movie, "Dementia 13", and I'm told that other films in the public domain will have a showcase there in the future.

So, keep supporting Cult Reviews!



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Dead Ringers (1988) @ Cult Reviews!

A few months ago I mentioned Cult Reviews, a young site that, as it's name indicates, it's completely devoted to cult films. Recently it had a major design update, and while slowly, it's stll growing. So, in a new collaboration to Cult Reviews, I made a review for one of my favourite films by David Cronenberg (whom is also one of my favourite filmmakers), 1988's "Dead Ringers". The tale of two identical twins who seem to live as one person, "Dead Ringers" is a fascinating movie that, in my opinion, represents the shift Cronenberg made from visceral body horror to subtler psychological horror of his posterior films.

In the past I have posted there reviews for the british classic from the 30s "The Face at the Window", Richard Stanley's masterpiece "Dust Devil", and Alex De la Iglesia wild black comedy "El Día de la Bestia". Some of the more recent reviews there are the one for Ivan Nagy's "Skinner" (1993) and Robert Madero's "Camp Utopia" (2002), and while not as recent, dear friend Mark's (known as Hieronymos Grost) great review for Pasolini's "Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma" is a nice reading, specially since Criterion just released a new DVD for it.

So, keep supporting Cult Reviews!



Buy "Dead Ringers" (1988)

The Face at the Window (1939) @ Cult Reviews

Well, I'm sorry if I have not been able to post new reviews lately, but once again work and school have conspired to steal my time. However, I have been able to collaborate on a new site that a couple of good friends have set up. The site is Cult Reviews and it's dedicated to, well, as it's name may suggest, cult films, mainly of the horror genre, but also those classic sci-fi films, fantasy movies, Spaghetti Westerns, Kaiju monsters, good ol' exploitation (of every variety), and well, just about any other weird and bizarre film that we may decide.

As written above, I was invited to collaborate there too, so some reviews (more apropriate to their site) may turn up there instead of here. So far two have been published there, one for George King's masterful 1939's film, "The Face at the Window" (starring Tod Slaughter!) and another for Richard Stanley's mix of Western and Horror, "Dust Devil" (this one previously published here some months ago).

So, if things here at W-Cinema seem slow at the moment, check out Cult Reviews in the mean time, I'm sure there may be things you'll love, things you'll hate, and things that you weren't even aware that existed on film. And yes, this was just another tiny bit of shameless self-promotion. But you know you like it.



Buy "The Face at the Window" (1939)

A belated celebration...

Apparently, the complications of work, school and life made me forget a date that should be important for W-Cinema, it's very first anniversary! It was on May 9th of 2007 when the first review was posted and the place was officially inaugurated. That first review was for Alfred Hitchcock's early classic, "The Man Who Knew Too Much", a movie I enjoyed quite a lot and that I consider superior to the 50s remake (I know Hitch himself would disagree with me, but what can I say? I find it to have more fun).

In those early months my only compromise was at work, so having enough time to write like crazy the result were quite a lot of reviews being posted in those days. Now, with the constant preoccupation of studying a postgraduate course, plus a new job where Internet is forbidden, it's sometimes difficult to keep writing the way I used to. Hopefully, things will change for the better, and this place will be as lively as it was during its first months of existence.

Many things have happened in this first year, including the publication of "Horror 101", a book in which I was invited to collaborate (yes, more shameless self-promotion :P), and my discovery of the films of John Ford. Also, I have met great people thanks to this place, people who share the same passion for writing about cinema and who have become the "regulars" (or perhaps I should say, the only readers) of W-Cinema. I must admit I was shocked when I found that Mr. Diez Martínez, an excellent film critic from my country (if you can read Spanish, you have to check out his blog), read me, and my shock was bigger when he posted. Thank you, I must say that admire your writing quite a lot.

Well, this is getting a bit too sappy for my taste, so let's get back to business, and, while I wish I could celebrate this with a review (although I have a surprise which hopefully will be announced in the following weeks), for the moment I'll just celebrate it with one of my favorite shots of all time. See you soon!

"Horror 101" reviewed

5 months ago, what started as a small idea among 79 horror aficionados from all over the world finally saw the light of the day, and a book titled "Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies" was released. I'm glad to say that I was part of this worldwide contingent of writers brought together by Aaron Christensen's dream, and now the book is beginning to get good reviews by reputable sources. As a member of the team that wrote this book, I'm really happy about it, because not only this means that we have a work in paper (something I'm really thankful, don't get me wrong), but that sometimes dreams can become a reality too, no matter how difficult it seems at first. It has been awesome to witness how Aaron's project became our project too, and while we may not get any real financial benefit from the book, it's something that we can see and say: "hey, we did it".

You'll have to excuse me for taking space from what's usually present in W-cinema to write this, but I really thank God for giving me the chance of joining Aaron's band of outsiders. So here I am again, just spreading the word about this little book made by 79 people from places as diverse as Brazil and Ireland, but everyone sharing Aaron's dream: spreading the love for horror films and monster movies. 5 months later, there are now several reviews that you can check on it, and of course, more info is given on Aaron's very own website. Here's some of the praise the book has received in the past months:

"Bringing a refreshingly egalitarian approach to the subject, Horror 101 collects musings on our favorite chillers not by the expected assortment of critics and filmmakers, but the audience... the fans themselves. Young and old, male and female, located all over the globe. From Alien through The Wicker Man, each entry brings a breath of fresh air to the consideration of seminal movies many of us thought had been analyzed to death. As editor Aaron Christensen puts it, "Keep America strong! Watch more monster movies!"
-- Joe Dante, director, The Howling, Piranha, Gremlins

"A great read for both veterans and those new to the horror genre…Highly recommended!!"
--Aaron Crowell, HorrorHound Magazine

"A brilliant collection… Passionate fans like these don’t come around too often. Do you remember [the] fun you had remembering the time you first watched your favorite horror film? These people do."
--Tony DeFrancisco, Fatally-Yours.com. Full Review here...

"Overall though Horror 101 is a fantastic read even if you've already seen every movie in the book. It's an interesting look at film by people who enjoy movies first and writing about them second."
--Ed Demko, Bloodtype Online. Full Review here...

It's not much, but hopefully, it'll be only the beginning. Now, after this bit of shameless selfpromotion, it's time to get back to what W-Cinema is really about...

Buy "Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies"

Horror 101: The A-list of horror films and monster movies

As I wrote back in August, I was lucky to be invited to join a team of horror fans from around the world in the writing of a reference book about horror movies. Well, the book was finally released on August 31, but at the time it was available only via our dear publishers, Midnight Marquee. However, to those like me who live out of the USA, it is now finally available on Amazon.com, whom while have a slightly higher shipping cost, it's a lot safer than the normal shipping from other bookstores.

I want to thank once again to Aaron Christensen for letting me participate in this great event (as far as I know, there aren't many books written by an international team of more than 70 horror fans) and hopefully, it won't be the last time this happens.

By the way, I've added a link to get this book below the "Interesting links" sections on this humble blog.

Thanks!

P.S. Sorry for the slow movement that has been on this blog, but personal reasons have prevented me from writing for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll be back very, very soon with more.

Buy "Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies"

A shameless bit of self promotion: Horror 101 - The Book

Many moons ago, I was invited by a dear friend of mine, Aaron Christensen, to collaborate in a strange yet interesting project he had been developing alomst since we met each other at the IMDB forums: a book about the most influential films in the history of the horror genre. I was surprised by the idea, mainly because he had decided to choose me, but also because it seemed so impossible to coordinate a project of this magnitude among horror fans. However, after months of hard work, me, Aaron, and 76 like-minded comrades from many different places, finished working on what was now called, "Horror 101: The A-list of horror films and monster movies", a book collecting essays on 110 classic films. I did the essay concerning Roger Corman's "House of Usher" and the one about both versions of "The Fly", and I truly appreciate that Aaron had picked me back when this was still just a horror fan's dream.

Well, here it is, by the fans and for the fans, "Horror 101: The a-list of horror films and monster movies". If you are interested in what does the book contain, click here to learn more about this little project, it'll take you to our current myspace site. Those able to go to the "Horrorfind Weekend" convention at Baltimore, Maryland be sure to visit Aaron, who surely will be there creating as much buzz as possible about the book.