Beyond The Door

Well, Happy New Year's Eve everyone. I hope everyone is safe tonight. I'll be drinking unless I'm driving, in which case I will be driving and not drinking which will suck hard. I think it's going to be a coin flip tonight as to who the designated driver is going to be. Really, though, I'm more worried about the other drivers on the road than myself.

Anywho. BEYOND THE DOOR is really pretty good. Surprisingly so, actually. It's got a few really scary moments (like when the children are trapped in their room - pre-POLTERGEIST - with all the scary dolls). It's got the weirdest WTF ending of all time, coupled with the flat-out worst and most inappropriate movie score in recent memory. Aside from those two things, though, it's a good time that more than resembles the prior year's THE EXORCIST. I am told that the Warner Bros. actually sued over the flick, but I'm not sure of the truth behind that one.

Above is a pen & watercolor quickie from the flick of Richard Johnson. He sure looks haggard in DOOR, but would go on to look even more haggard in Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE several years later.

In other news, I tried to watch George Clooney's third directorial effort LEATHERHEADS but I absolutely could not get past 15 minutes. Maybe it's because I don't like looking at Renee Zellweger's post-JERRY MAGUIRE face for more than a second or two (since Maguire she doesn't ever seem to be able to open her eyes. Or maybe it's just me). Maybe it's because it's about football, or maybe it's just watching the attempt at golden age screwball comedy go completely flat and fall on its face (I'll take BRINGING UP BABY over LEATHERHEADS any day of the week). In any case, what I saw did not leave me begging for more, so I opted to watch something else instead. Eventually I'll have to finish it, as I hate making a judgment about a movie without seeing the whole thing first. And, besides, I really liked Clooney's CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND and, of course, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. Both great movies in my humble opinion.

Ah, well. Enough of my blathering. Onward and upward. I must get my drink (or drive) on soon. I must prepare. Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Be safe, all!

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Horrible

I always liked Joss Whedon (Firefly and Serenity moreso than Buffy), but I never knew he had the sublime glory that is DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG in him. The three act web wonder is really a work of genius. If you haven't seen it, give it a whirl at some point. I ordered it online at Amazon, but I'm sure it's still out there on the web somewhere for free. Neil Patrick Harris is a helluva singer, and Nathan Fillion is brilliantly over-the-top as Harris's arch-enemy Captain Hammer (the good guy).

Anywho. That's it for now. The pic above is a quickly sketch stolen from the opening of the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN. I always liked that intro.

And, remember, "The hammer is my penis."

Oh, and, "I've got a Ph.D. in Horribleness."

Later, all.

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Guitar Hero? You're Soaking In It!

Above are quick little drawings done in a little bitty sketchbook with a plain old disposable Pilot rolling ball pen (which I use for pretty much everything) and some watercolor. Just goofing around.

In other news, I have finally been introduced to Guitar Hero and I must admit that I love it. I received Guitar Hero Aerosmith for Christmas and played the thing quite a lot the last two nights. Yee! I now understand all the addicts out there just aching for another fix with that fake guitar and fake guitar playing. It's so much fun. Everybody wants to be a rockstar.

I've also finally acquired the original THE WOLF MAN, FRANKENSTEIN, and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Awesome movies. I love them so.

That's it for now. I have to work Monday and Tuesday, then I'm off for the rest of the week to ring in the New Year. Happy day! Hope everyone out there had a good Christmas and is planning a good New Year. Resolutions that I'll never stick to are right around the corner.

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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The Spirit Versus Benjamin Button (Button Wins)

Just did the Christmas movie marathon at the local googaplex. We saw Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT first and it was absolutely ridiculous in every way possible, bore little to no resemblance to the Will Eisner comic strip and books (of which I've read many) and is, basically, completely campy. It's really, really silly. There were even walkouts! Walkouts, I tell you!

But I kinda liked it, truth be told. There was something fun and endearing in how stupid it all was. I suppose it'll end up being a cult classic, with great (ludicrous) lines like "Toilets are always funny" and "I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead." Well, so be it.

Then we saw David (Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Zodiac) Fincher's absolutely wonderful in all ways THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Boy howdy, it's a good movie. It reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump in scale and theme, and I wasn't suprised that screenwriter Eric Roth adapted it from a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. He also adapted Winston Groom's novel Forrest Gump for the screen, so there you go.

Regardless, BUTTON is the movie to see. Pitt is great, and the aging on everyone is first-rate and in the "how did they do that?" territory at all times.

However, there were a few moments when the film wasn't realistic - those being when Brad Pitt was repeatedly rejected by a woman. I mean - I don't care how old or young he is, he's Brad-freakin'-Pitt and no woman in their right mind would reject him.

Aside from that, I totally bought the entire affair hook, line, and sinker. A great, great film.

Okay, well that's it. Bedtime now. I hope everybody had a great Christmas.

Happy times to all.

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Christmas Day 2008

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Yes, even psycho killers deserve a merry Christmas sometimes.

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Blue

I watched CEMETERY GIRLS aka COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE (1972) which was really great and crappy and wonderful in all the right ways. It stars Paul Naschy (Spain's Christopher Lee) in his umpteenth horror film. It's on a double-feature disc with VAMPIRE HOOKERS (1979) which - great title nonwithstanding - is absolutely terrible. I kept thinking, "I signed up for Vampire Hookers and all I got was THIS???"

Oh well. Perhaps some day someone will make a movie called Vampire Hookers that is truly worthy of the title.

Or not.

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Breasts As Far As The Eye Can See

Ah, boobies.

Anyways, I've watched the Boris Karloff flicks ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945) and BEDLAM (1946) and they're both awesome. DEAD is eerie and claustrophobic and BEDLAM is just plain great in every area, though more of a black comedy than horror. I'd love to make a big-budget BEDLAM starring Jeremy Irons in the Boris Karloff role. Man, now that would be something.

Also watched the Pete Walker-directed flicks THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW (1972) and DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE (1970). MARIANNE isn't worth a damn, but it does have a babe-a-licious Susan George going for it. FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW is good, though - really good for anyone who's ever acted in theater, as it's about a theater troupe putting on a review in a condemned old theater off a pier outside of London. Good stuff, and really, really 1970s British-y.

I also watched SHORTBUS finally. It's John Cameron Mitchell's follow-up to HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, but it's absolutely nothing like Hedwig (which I adore). Shortbus is a really great and depressing film and has lots and lots of explicit gay sex in it. But, really, it's about some sad, sad people (who happen to have lots and lots of explicit gay sex). There's some hetero sex thrown in for the heteros, too, so that's good. It's a really real movie, if that makes any sense. You really believe the performers. Good stuff, even if you're not gay. I'm not, and I liked it. So there.

I'm particularly excited to finally see BEYOND THE DOOR (1974), which just came out on DVD. It's an Italian EXORICIST rip-off and Richard Johnson of THE HAUNTING (1963) is in it! Yee! Richard Johnson also slummed it in the Italian DAWN OF THE DEAD ripoff ZOMBIE (1979) (which has a great zombie versus shark scene that has to be seen to be believed). Just some random factoids for you. Those Italians were sure good at ripping movies off back in the 70s, huh?

That's pretty much it on the movie front for now.

On the book front, I acquired a book called AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE by Danny Gregory which gives glimpses into the private sketchbooks and journals of a large number of comtemporary artists and illustrators. It is freakin' awesome. And inspiring. Especially for a guy like me.

Well, unless I forgot anything, that's it for now. Enjoy the boobies above! I'm outie!

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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The Sequel Nobody Asked For

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Something Stinks

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The End Is Nigh? Why Wasn't I Told?

Above are just some doodles from work. Nothing too important. Hope you enjoy!

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Super Secret Mystery Project

I have nothing to post at the moment, as I am working on a Super Secret Mystery Project right now.

In the meantime, I have seen the new version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and it's actually pretty darn good. I really like the 1951 version and was scared they'd botch it, but they stuck pretty close to the original concept which - really - is just as relevant now as it was in '51. And, boy, Keanu Reeves sure is good at playing an alien. I think he's found the role he was born to play in Klaatu (chuckle chuckle).

I also finally saw the new X-FILES movie. It's pretty good. It's a good, smart, creepy little thing. There's nothing mind-blowing at work in it, but it's a good time for fans, and it gives you a few things you've been wanting since the series began. And a few things were missing, but nobody's perfect.

I've also finally acquired the 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA, which was the first of the Hammer Dracula pictures starring Christopher Lee as the count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. It's fairly pedestrian and a very, very loose adaptation of the novel, but there's something about it I still enjoy. Oh, well.

Anywho, I must get back to my Super Secret Mystery Project now. Enjoy last week's pictures, as I thought they were pretty good if I don't say so myself, and they're certainly worth a second look.

Take care, all.

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Under The Tent

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Headdress

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Storm The Bastille

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Ridiculously Big Hat Monday

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Emerald

A little color for your weekend!

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Fireman

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Snot

I have just acquired Stephen King's new book of short stories JUST AFTER SUNSET and am anxious to get cracking on it. Yee!

I also finally have a copy of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON! Gods be praised!

A friend from work has loaned me the boxed set of 24 - Season One with Keifer "Jack Bauer" Sutherland. This friend has guaranteed it is awesome. Somehow over the past few years I've never gotten around to watching any of it, as I'm not too fond of television in general. But several shows, like LOST, HOUSE, CARNIVALE, WONDERFALLS, and PUSHING DAISIES - among others - have taught me to think differently towards some television. So I suppose I'll have to get addicted to it just as soon as I've finished watching BIG TRAIN, which another, different friend from work has loaned out to me. Big Train is supposedly a Monty Python-esque British comedy series starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) among others. It's two seasons long, which means twelve episodes in BBC years. I'm sure it's genius.

If only I had more time to watch and read all of this stuff! Arf!

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Aghast

Saw KUNG FU PANDA. It's a fun little time-waster. It was short. I wanted more.

And, hey - it's December 2008 already. That was fast, huh?

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Edward Cullen

Above is my interpretation of Edward Cullen from the TWILIGHT series. I've drawn it by request and I'm actually quite happy with it. If you'll notice, my Edward looks more American than the guy they chose for the movie. More American and classically handsome instead of exotic and clearly British. That's just how I pictured him while reading the books.

Anywho. I got a chance to watch the recent Japanese production of THE MACHINE GIRL and, I tell you, it's an absolute hoot from frame one to the end credits. I had so much fun watching it that I wound it back to find my favorite parts and watched them again. If you get a chance to see the flick, take it. It's absolutely ridiculous, yeah, but it's a lot of fun if you like silly girl power gore.

I also finally saw the film version of Scott Smith's THE RUINS. I read the book a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Much of the what I liked in the book is gone in the movie, as you can't exactly get inside character's heads in movies. But it was very faithful (up until the very end) to the source material. It was well cast and well produced, and as far as killer plant movies go, it's nowhere near as good as the INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS (both the 1956 and the 1978 versions), but it's still a little better than the more recent THE HAPPENING which I kind of liked, actually, but wasn't that great.

I also saw THE TRANSPORTER 3 which is now in theaters. It's a good, loud, stupid time if there ever was one, and it was the only movie any of my family could agree to drag ourselves out to watch. That's right, we passed up AUSTRALIA (which is almost 3 hours long) for it. I suppose we would have gone to see QUANTUM OF SOLACE, but a member of our party cheated and saw it elsewhere. Oh well. Transporter 3 is much, much better than Transporter 2. And, in fact, I think I preferred it over the first one, too, but that doesn't make it a great movie. But it is a good time. And I'll always dig Jason Statham in pretty much anything, even though he basically is just the low-rent British version of Bruce Willis.

Oh well. More movies to watch, so little time.

I'll leave you with the following public service announcement:


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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Naked Black Friday (A Quick Sketch)

I am bursting at the seams still due to yesterday. This quick sketch is all I can manage due to my fat, fat hands. Hope your holidays are as fat-inducing as mine! And if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving - then go and eat a ton of food for me. Trust me, you won't regret it. Well, you might. You might a whole lot, actually. Very, very much. More than you'd think. A whole lot more than you think. Tons. Gobs and gobs. Gobble gobble. Time for more turkey, methinks. MmMmmMmM, Turkey.

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Thanksgiving 2008

It's Thanksgiving time! Celebrate! Enjoy the absurd and random pictures above that I did at work yesterday! Yee! I'm not sure why that Greek orthodox priest is carrying around a shotgun in the first place, but what are you gonna do? I may be a little short on drawings for the next few days, as I have family coming in from out of town and will be busy consuming food and drink. I'm bloated just thinking of it all! Let the food begin!

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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Don't Turn Around

I just watched MAUSOLEUM (1981) which was actually pretty good for a piece of crap movie, and BLOOD SONG (1982) which is, in fact, a piece of crap movie, although Frankie (Beach Blanket Bingo) Avalon was the whistling serial killer, so that was somewhat interesting. Both movies can be found for ten bucks on an Exploitation Cinema Double Feature DVD. Not a bad deal, though Mausoleum is really the only one worth watching. It's about a housewife inheriting a (literal) family demon that comes out to play when she's horny, irritated, or flat-out pissed off - which seems to be all the time. Figures. Pretty good stuff, and the lead actress (Bobbie Bresee) is hilarious, although I don't think that particular choice was intentional.

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Well, Somebody Did

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Twilight: The Movie

I have seen the TWILIGHT film (which ended up making $70 million bucks opening weekend - wow). And, having read all the books in the series, I wasn't too terribly impressed. I thought they got a lot of things wrong and a lot of things right, but overall the movie just doesn't work. It was way too wonky in tone and pacing. Whenever they should have been subtle they went over the top, and whenever they should've gone over the top they were way too subtle. THere was a lot of laughter in the theater. Yeah, some of it was giddy 12-year-old girls giggling, but most of it was laughing at the movie for being unintentionally hilarious in parts. I couldn't believe that Industrial Light and Magic (George Lucas's effects company) did the special effects, because I thought that most of the effects sucked. The baseball game was spot on, though, so that's good. Perhaps the next one - NEW MOON, which they just greenlit today - will be better.

Ultimately, I was disappointed, though a lot of parts had me really excited and pleased (like most of the supporting characters - Mike especially, Charlie, Jessica, Carlisle, Alice and Jasper) and the aforementioned baseball game).

I really just wish they would have just let me make the movie, because the movie I saw was not the one I saw in my head while reading the books (it rarely ever is, with the exceptions of THE GREEN MILE and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN).

Anywho. There's my spin on the flick. Don't let that deter you all from going out and seeing it for yourselves.

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I should mention that I also saw HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY and absolutely loved it. I thought it was better than the original. Certainly better paced, anyway.

I also saw HOUSE OF WHIPCORD (1974) and enjoyed it pretty thoroughly. It's another British flick by Pete Walker.

I have acquired the seventh season of SCRUBS, but didn't enjoy the first episode very much. It's kind of depressing. Hopefully it will get a bit lighter. I also have SUKYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (a Japanese western from Takashi Miike of "Audition" and "Imprint") which I'm thrilled to watch. Quentin Tarantino has a role in, so that's kinda weird.

So that's pretty much it. I hope everybody's looking forward to enjoying the Thanksgiving week. Later, all!

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If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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The Big Switch

If you're coming over from www.xanga.com/eightpints, then welcome! This is the new site, and I think you'll find it works more efficiently. I know I do. I will essentially be mirroring my Xanga site here for a while in case those pics aren't loading properly.

For newcomers, this post is just a recap of older and newer Xanga stuff I've posted in the past. I hope you enjoy it. Click the pics to enlarge. There is a bit of nudity here and there (and will be in the future), but it's nothing too strong. And, anyways, it's just a silly drawing and certainly nothing to fuss over. I hope everyone enjoys this new site and thinks it is as appropriately titled as I do! Enjoy the doodles below!

If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
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