Jonathan Janz's Blog, page 33

Why You Should Watch THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Right Now

I saw this outstanding movie last night and wanted to share a few thoughts about it. When a movie is as big an event as this one is, it becomes challenging to say something new and original about it. After all, if everyone’s writing about it, why bother?

My answer? Because the movie is important.

One of the Best Fights Ever

I don’t want to portray myself as a sage or some deep thinker, and I usually avoid commenting about current events. You know where this is going, right?

As I sat in the theater last night with two of my best friends, I found myself—briefly—glancing at the Exit sign and worrying—again, briefly—about some gutless maniac bursting into the cinema and shooting us. Paranoid, I know, but after what happened in Colorado, I’ll bet I’m not the only one who has had a similar thought.

Ferocity Unleashed

Then I got to thinking about the rope scenes in The Dark Knight Rises. I don’t think this is a spoiler, but if you want to go in completely unspoiled, I guess you should stop reading now. But I promise I won’t give away the ending.

There’s a moment when Bruce Wayne is locked up and listening to two men share advice, wisdom, and a very important frame story involving Bane and other characters (for the uninitiated, Bane is the primary villain of TDKR, essayed brilliantly by Tom Hardy). One man tells Bruce Wayne (forgive the rough paraphrasing) that his problem isn’t that he fears death—it’s that he doesn’t fear death. It’s the reason, the man explains, why Bruce Wayne failed to accomplish his escape on his first two attempts (involving, fittingly, a leap of faith). The primary reason for Wayne’s lack of fear, the man says, is the fact that Wayne has had a rope tied about his waist. Lose the rope, the man says, and you’ll gain the necessary fear.

An interesting theory.

Which brought me back to my nervous glance at the Exit sign and the tragedy in Colorado.

Decency Made Fascinating

I know that mental illness is a whole different ballgame, and I’ll not pretend to comprehend the minds of the mentally ill. But I will say that there are many people in this world who don’t understand how precious, how beautiful, or how fragile life truly is.

It’s why movies like The Dark Knight Rises are so important. Far from trivializing human life, this film affirms the immeasurable value of it. Rather than championing anarchy and the selfish fulfillment of one’s basest desires, the movie chronicles the dangers of being seduced by those dogmas and the inevitable damage such choices inflict. If that sounded puritanical or preachy, my apologies. But I happen to appreciate the underlying idea that the answers to our problems don’t lie in senseless acts of violence or an “I’ll get mine at all costs” mentality. The answers, though not as sexy as explosions and brutality, can be found in mundane ideas like behaving responsibly, helping those truly in need, and most of all, in valuing human life.

“A storm is coming…”

I love the way that evil and nobility are depicted across social classes. The inmates who escape from a maximum security prison are ferocious, to be sure, but so are the suits who fund Bane’s sinister plots. Similarly, Bruce Wayne’s father (seen briefly in a flashback) and Selina Kyle (otherwise known as Catwoman, portrayed marvelously by Anne Hathaway) come from opposite ends of the economic spectrum, yet both demonstrate a capacity for heroism and selflessness. The film’s refusal to canonize or demonize one group or another is refreshing and real and is one of the many things I appreciated about it.

So what did I think about the film as entertainment?

Did I Mention How Incredible This Fight Scene Was?

It kicked bootie. I loved Batman Begins; it was an 8.9. The Dark Knight was even better, a 9.7. I give The Dark Knight Rises about a 9.4. Not a perfect film, but a darn good one that better be nominated for Best Picture. It won’t make up for the egregious snub of The Dark Knight, but it’ll assuage the pain a little bit.

Christian Bale is better than any other actor at making potentially boring roles fascinating. Watch him work in 3:10 to Yuma, then watch him here. Being tortured and weary can be incredibly annoying traits in a protagonist, but Bale manages to pull off the combination beautifully. He’s the best actor of my generation, and I’m thankful I get to watch him perform.

Tom Hardy is a beast. His Bane could not have been any better, nor could anyone else have made Batman’s defeat look so likely. (And yes, I still think Heath Ledger is the best Batman villain, and I hate that I felt the need to say that—Hardy deserves to be judged on his own merits).

Anne Hathaway was just great. Same for Gary Oldman. Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine? See above.

Joey Franchise

Joseph-Gordon Levitt deserves special mention. I won’t say too much here, but I’ll just say this: I’d like his character to have his own franchise. Levitt was pitch-perfect.

And Christopher Nolan?

He is one of the best directors in the world. He belongs in a very select class of artists that, in my own humble opinion, represents what might be the greatest era of living directors ever. Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Alexander Payne, Woody Allen, Danny Boyle, and Darren Aronofsky are all making amazing films. And that’s not even an exhaustive list. Where does Nolan rank? I don’t know. I do know, however, that no one else could have made this film. He’s a supremely gifted and hard-working filmmaker. Like Bale, he’s among the best of the best.

Visionary

Go watch The Dark Knight Rises. If you find yourself glancing at the Exit sign, don’t feel bad. In fact, you should feel good. You’re not cowering at home because of those who don’t value human life. Nor do you underestimate how evil people can be. You glance because you care, and because you care, you fear. But you don’t let fear rule your life; you let a little fear help you appreciate how amazing life really is.

None of us have ropes around our waists. We’re making this perilous climb in a world that presents constant risk and reason for worry. But there is also reason for hope because we’re all capable of good. We’re capable of caring. We’re capable of loving life and loving each other.

I’ll stop now. But do watch the movie. And do love each other.

That’s all.

Book Signing in Indianapolis Tonight!

Howdy, folks! If any of you are in the Indianapolis area—or even if you aren’t and feel like traveling to the Hoosier realm for some horror and unseasonably hot weather—come on out to Indy Reads, a brand-new book store on Massachusetts Avenue, for my first ever reading/signing combo!

Did my nervousness show in those keystrokes? Maybe in my sentence structure or word choice? No? Then I guess I’m not nervous.

Nope, not at allllluhhhhguhguhguhGUHGUGAIGAIGAIAIAGAIAEEEEE!!!!!!

Excuse me. Don’t know where that came. Couldn’t have been the nerves.

So I’ll see you at Indy Reads tonight, huh? And if I don’t do a good job, just politely nod and keep that strained smile plastered on your face and pretend I’m not convulsing on the floor in apoplectic terror.

Deal?

Great. See you there!

Obligatory Book Cover Image

Are Men Terrified of Women?

Howdy, friends! I blogged at the Samhain Publishing website today about the above question. Check out my bizarre theories right here:

And in the mean time…I’m sort of geeked about this little art house film coming out in a few days. Most of you won’t have heard of it, but in case you’re not into intimate independent movies, here’s the poster…

*goes into paroxysm of fanboy rapture*

Samhain Guest Author: Jonathan Janz

Reblogged from FrazerLee.com:

Time to welcome fellow Samhain Horror author Jonathan Janz back to the blog. His debut The Sorrows marked the arrival of a striking new voice in horror fiction. Read on for the (ahem) Skin-ny on his new novel House of Skin and more! Let’s flay!

Jonathan Janz’s back ! (see what i did there? Never mind….)

1.Your 2nd Samhain novel House of Skin just released, congrats!

Read more… 841 more words

Howdy, all! Outstanding author/director/screenwriter Frazer Lee interviewed me today about my new novel HOUSE OF SKIN, as well as whose skin I'd like to climb inside for a day. Check it out below to hear my answers! :-)

Alan Spencer Attacks My Blog!

Hey everybody, I’m Alan Spencer.  I’m taking over the place for a day, so while I’m here, let’s chat.

Everybody’s heard of the horror classics like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and more recently, the Saw films.  Those films are Hollywood horror, which is fine, but there’s a great catalogue of horror movies that go straight to DVD which I think are the better flicks of the lot.  So why pick the lower budget films to pay homage to as opposed to something more A-list like I did in my novel B-Movie Reels?

First, I love movies with unintentional humor.  That’s a big part of b-movies, really. The bad dialogue, the cheesy special effects, and the ludicrous plots.  Add the nobody characters they throw in to add body count.  Sometimes these nobody characters are so funny, goofy, and likeable, they outshine the main characters.  And let’s not forget the boobs and sex.  Please don’t forget the boobs and sex.

So take those ingredients and pour them into a book, and you get B-Movie Reels. This book’s a big horror party, and I personally invite you to join in.  Bring a friend. Bring some beers.  Bring whatever you want.  And don’t forget, the horror never dies.  B-Movie Attack is coming out on e-book in August and paperback in December.  I’m also planning another sequel called B-Movie War.  So if you’re craving some laughs, a lot of blood, and those boobs we all love so much, please pick up B-Movie Reels (available in both e-book and paperback on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Samhain Publishing‘s website) and give it a shot.

I want to throw out a quick thanks to Jonathan for letting me take over his blog for a day.  You should check out his novel The Sorrows, which I personally enjoyed very much, and his latest House of Skin (great title!).  To all out there reading this, keep it fun, keep it cheesy, and keep reading horror.

-Alan Spencer

From Dusk Till Dawn (yep, the movie everyone else saw sixteen years ago)

So I’m a little late to the party! I don’t mind though. I’ve always been a late bloomer.

NEW AT REDBOX!

I watched this flick on the treadmill over a period of two weeks. Yep, it took me four runs of around twenty-five minutes each to finish it. You got a problem with that? I’m getting back into shape, alright? Easy on the old daddy…

I wouldn’t give From Dusk Till Dawn a ten-out-of-ten, nor would I give it a nine or even an eight. But I really enjoyed it, so that’s got to count for something, right?

So here are some reasons why I was entertained (mitigated by a couple flaws I think could’ve been addressed):

1. Quentin Tarantino’s Writing

He was actually more evil before the transformation

Tarantino the screenwriter is ALMOST the equal of Tarantino the director. And man, that’s saying a whole lot, because the dude is one of my favorite directors of all time. Particularly in the first half of this movie (you know, the half with dialogue?), Tarantino’s writing crackles. The dialogue, the situational silences, all of it works beautifully.

2. The Villians

Joins the Cat-Creature in The Island of Dr. Moreau as one of the coolest and most prematurely killed villains in film history

So let’s get to the vampire bat in the living room (and if you’ve avoided spoilers thus far in your life…man, how’s that underground bunker workin’ out for ya?): the bar is full of vampires.

I went to rottentomatoes.com a little while ago to check out the critical reception to this movie and wasn’t the least bit surprised that many critics disliked the dramatic halftime tonal shift. It either works for you, or it doesn’t. It worked for me just fine, likely because I’m predisposed to roll with these kinds of cinematic punches—particularly when the veering leads into horror.

I will say that this created one of my problems with the film, however. I know the movie is short, and I know I sound like I’m missing the point, but I would’ve liked to have seen more of the first wave of villains. They’re just killed off too early, which makes the last wave of villains (and the ensuing action) anti-climactic. Couldn’t Danny Trejo and Salma Hayek have gone off and huddled somewhere and returned for the battle royale?

Speaking of Salma…

3. Salma Hayek

*Gulp*

As a married man and father of three, this was the only Google image I could find and post that didn’t make me feel guilty. Let’s move on, shall we?

4. Clooney

The Professional

Clooney is given great lines in the first half of the film from Tarantino and delivers them flawlessly. He’s given good lines in the second half of the film and delivers them flawlessly. He does a great job. Not Salma great, but great nonetheless. I also thought the denouement was brilliant (both Clooney’s last line to Juliette Lewis and the final, zooming-out reveal of the rear of the bar).

So I liked the film. I didn’t particularly like the instant CGI transformations (but the Tom Savini special effects were just outstanding…at least I assume he did the effects…he co-starred in the film, which I’m also embarrassed to say I didn’t realize until I said to myself, “Hey, that Sex Machine character’s pretty cool,” which led me to the ever helpful imdb.com). Which necessitates my including a picture of Mr. Savini below…

My co-star at the upcoming HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis this September!

If you read the caption above, you learned that I, along with Tom Freaking Savini, and most of the cast of the landmark horror/sci-fi/action film Aliens will congregate in one venue this September for HorrorHound Weekend (Indianapolis edition!). Okay, so most folks will be going to see Linda Hamilton or Michael Biehn or Lance Henrikson or Tom Savini or Elvira or, well, that guy who got his legs bitten off in the opening scene of The Bride of the Re-Animator’s Cousin Vs. the Killer Clown Zombies III, but the point is, I’LL BE THERE TOO!

So I’ll see you in Indy. By then you will have re-watched From Dusk Till Dawn and read my second novel HOUSE OF SKIN (which is on sale now), so we’ll have loads to talk about.

We might even get Linda Hamilton to do that cool gun-cocking thing she does in Terminator 2.

Next Stop on the HOUSE OF SKIN Blog Tour: Author Alan Spencer

Howdy all! In case you missed it, I posted a brand-new excerpt from my brand-new ghost story HOUSE OF SKIN yesterday on Samhain Horror author Alan Spencer’s blog.

And after you read that, you can read the rest of HOUSE OF SKIN right here!

Annabel awaits

Special Guest Blog: John Everson Takes Us into NightWhere

Today it’s my honor to introduce a guy whose books I’ve been reading and enjoying for several years. John Everson already has a great following, and it’s about to get bigger with the release of his new novel NightWhere. So without further preamble…

Take it away, John!

NightWhere: Seduced by Obsession or… Obsessed by Seduction? 

By John Everson

I’m obsessed with obsessions.

I’ve always been intrigued by the things that drive people to success… and ruin. I think the characteristic that creates both amazing successes and amazingly destructive failures comes from the same place —-obsession.

Single-minded purpose regardless of obstacles or common sense.

Unfaltering focus.

The people who are both extreme successes or flaming disasters are usually people who are obsessed with something and follow their mental rabbits down into a hole regardless of its depth or potential negative consequence. You’ll find a desperate obsession in those panhandling for just one more fix or bottle. You’ll see it in musicians who live solely for their music and leave behind a string of broken relationships and lost dayjobs in their pursuit of stardom. You’ll see it in businessmen who live solely for their business, while their kids grow up alone.

I’ve always personally been more of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. I love to be with my family, garden, play the keyboards and write pop songs, design and publish books and, of course, write books. When I’m working on creative projects, I give them my all — interrupt me at your peril! But luckily I’ve never focused so narrowly on any one pursuit for so long that it utterly consumes me. I have too many interests for that, so I have learned how to switch gears.

Much of my fiction though has dealt with the subject of people who are consumed by their single-mindedness. I’m sure it comes from watching my mother trample over others in her quest to “show people what was right.” I feel her singlemindedness in me sometimes, bubbling up from my genes. Luckily I do have many things that draw my attention, so that I haven’t fallen down a rabbithole so far I will never get out.

But I like to write about that allure, maybe because I have at least felt its call, if not answered it. My first collection of short stories, released way back in 2000, was called Cage of Bones & Other Deadly Obsessions, and dealt largely with erotic horror… people consumed by the darkness of their desires. Since that book, I’ve published other fiction collections, and a handful of mass market novels, all of which have dealt, in some ways, with letting lusts and curiosities get the better of you. Just a look at the cover to my fourth novel, Siren, gets that point across pretty well.

My sixth novel, NightWhere, which just came out from Samhain Publishing a couple weeks ago (on the same date as Jonathan Janz’s House of Skin), was first conceived back in the days of Cage of Bones, but it took me more than 10 years to finally sit down and write it. The book is my most extreme, explicit novel, and it needed to be that, given the setting and plot. I was honestly too nervous to approach working on the novel for years, because I just wasn’t sure if I could “go there” and do the story in my head justice.

Last year, I finally “went there,” and I’m glad I did. NightWhere was a challenge to write, but it turned out as I always hoped it would.  One reader recently posted about it on Twitter and said:

“NightWhere: what a sex club would be like if it was run by the cast of Hellraiser!”

I love that description, and wish I’d have thought of it to suggest for the back-of-book description. Speaking of which, by now you’re probably wondering what this book I’ve been backing into talking about for several paragraphs is actually about.

NightWhere follows the story of Mark and Rae – a married couple with a decidedly different kind of marriage. Rae is an extremely oversexed woman who can never be satisfied by just one man. Mark knows this, and so he gives her the rope to “play” so long as he is in the know. They attend swingers clubs and Mark has his fun there too… but he’s really only there to please Rae.

But when Rae hears about an underground sex club called NightWhere, where anything goes – anything – things begin to change. NightWhere is never held in the same place, and only a select few receive invitations. When Mark and Rae receive an invite, they race to the address they’re given almost immediately… and find themselves in a club that offers a real “club” atmosphere –with a bar and a live band. But there just happen to be people stripping down on the dance floor and shedding more than their inhibitions in the back where the whipping racks are lined up. Rae is in heaven, especially when she finds that there’s another club within the club. A place called The Red. When Rae is offered the chance to go into The Red by one of the strange Watchers, who supervise the club, Mark is left behind. He’s warned by Selena, a beautiful stranger he meets at the bar, to take his wife away before it’s too late. But once Rae tastes the painful pleasures of The Red, it is too late. And then one night she goes to NightWhere herself and doesn’t come home.

As the back cover of the book notes, “Soon Mark is in a race against time—to find NightWhere again and save his wife from the mysterious Watchers who run the club. To stop her from taking that last step through the degradations of The Red into the ultimate BDSM promise of The Black. More than just their marriage and her life are at stake: Rae is in danger of losing her soul…”

Writing Mark was interesting, because he’s a guy who is perfectly content to let his wife be taken and used by

More Everson horror

other men. Most guys I know would never consider that, let alone tolerate and support it. But swinger and “cuckold” couples exist, though I don’t know that I’ve ever seen them written about in horror novels. There’s a fully developed “scene” for that type of kink, but while it was an oddball character trait in my two leads, that wasn’t really the thing I wanted to explore. Nor was the BDSM scene, though that certainly offers some of the backdrop for NightWhere to spin from. No, I was more interested in exploring the loyalty of lovers. How would someone react when presented with the secret lust of their life if it meant they had to leave their lover behind to have it? How far would the lover go to regain the embrace of the mate who has meant everything to him? And if you really did surrender yourself to the ultimate deadly sins in a club that’s not quite of this realm… what doors would that open?

I don’t want to give anymore of the plot away, but let’s just say that Mark has to literally go through hell to try to win back his wife. Mark is driven to pursue Rae through any degradation and pain the Watchers can throw at him. And Rae is driven to explore complete surrender to the lash… or chain… or other demons… regardless of the cost.

Both are obsessed with pursuing self-destructive desires (regardless of “white” or “black” motives), and both pay the price. I think all of us have some element of our personality that “won’t let go” of things, so I hope that readers will all find something to identify with in Mark or Rae, regardless of whether or not they’ve ever had an interest in the swinger/BDSM lifestyle. Mark and Rae could just as easily have been alcoholics pursuing the Secret Bar of Ultimate Inebriation and the core point of the story would have remained the same. Though honestly, that would have been less fun to write.

To get a taste of NightWhere, stop by the Samhain site – there’s an excerpt posted on the book’s main page: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/nightwhere-p-6803.html It’s just the prologue, but I hope after reading it, people will be intrigued to explore more of the dark desires that drive the mysterious NightWhere – where it’s definitely safer to be a voyeur than a participant. Or, then again, thinking about the prologue… perhaps it isn’t.

Dark Dreams!

PS. Thanks Jonathan, for letting me poke in on your blog! I’m looking forward to reading House of Skin!

THIRD STOP on the HOUSE OF SKIN Blog Tour: Jonathan Janz STEALS My Blog Today! Get the Word on His New Ghost Story!

From the fabulous “Oh, for the Hook of a Book” blog spot: Jonathan Janz STEALS My Blog Today! Get the Word on His New Ghost Story!.

THIRD STOP ON the HOUSE OF SKIN Blog Tour: Jonathan Janz STEALS My Blog Today! Get the Word on His New Ghost Story!

From the fabulous “Oh, for the Hook of a Book” blog spot: Jonathan Janz STEALS My Blog Today! Get the Word on His New Ghost Story!.