I Pooped

Well, clearly I didn't make good on my Halloween 2011 promise and you can see the fallout from that above. Yes. I pooped out on that.

The reason I pooped is not only work-related but art-related, too. Yep. There's a new gig in town. And I can't really say too much about it at this point, but it's a good fit and it's on the big side, so I'll be working on and off and, when I get the word, I'll spill the beans, or at least throw some sketches on the ol' blog.

In the meantime, I'll have a sketch-dump coming up soon, so look forward to that.

What more can I say? The only movie I've really seen for a while is Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, and I uber-highly recommend it.

Aside from that, stay tuned. Cool things are afoot!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Lynch

An open question: why are David Lynch's films not widely considered as horror films starting with the very obvious and terrifying Eraserhead? Seems to me the man makes horror films. Are they too artsy or something? Because, to me, at least, he sustains a disturbing mood and terrifying imagery in pretty much everything he does. Anybody?

Oh, and, hey, I'll get back to the Halloween 2011 posts on Monday. Just wanted to pop in and wonder about David Lynch. He's really something, eh?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 6 and 7 - The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

HOLY CRAP, I missed a day! Sorry, I've been super busy with all sorts of madness that I won't get into here.

So, because I missed a day, you're getting TWO MOVIE SKETCHES for the PRICE OF NOTHING! Because, really - because of the internet, no one pays for artwork anymore, do they? And just because that very idea has dispirited me at the moment, you're going to have settle for drawings I did a while ago that you may (or may not have) already seen. But they're good ones.

Well that and, also, because I'm super busy, so you're going to have to put up with two older sketches and, admittedly, they're both taken from the second Evil Dead film, but, hey, those movies aren't exactly obscure (well, not anymore they're not due to the multitude of DVD and BluRay reissues they've got floating around), so I don't think I have to do any plot synopses, do I? Do I really? Is there anyone reading this right now who hasn't actually seen these two movies and their towering, amazing third part Army of Darkness (formerly titled The Medieval Dead)?

Sam Raimi's a genius, these movies are awesome, and if you haven't seen any of them, I suggest starting with the second one - Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn - because it's essentially a higher budgeted remake of the first film, and it leads straight into Army of Darkness. So watch those back to back. If you want more (low-budget) awesomeness, then check out the first film afterwards.

But, hey, I know you guys reading are cool and have already seen these movies, because these movies are ABSOLUTELY AWESOME in every conceivable way.

If you haven't watched them by the time I get back you are lame. I'm serious. You're a lame, lamey lame-o. Take that, people-who-haven't-seen-awesomeness.

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 5 - Let's Scare Jessica to Death

Misleading title and absolutely terrible poster nonwithstanding, 1971's Let's Scare Jessica to Death (directed by John D. Hancock) is one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen. Seriously. It's up there with Kubrick's The Shining, though not as powerful and bombastic. Jessica is a more subtle, eerie film.

Jessica (actress Zohra Lampert in one of the best female performances in a film OF ALL TIME) just got out of a mental institution and her hippie husband and friend move into a house in the middle of nowheresville to "get away from it all" and get a "fresh start". Jessica's mind narrates, and her performance is astonishing as she clearly is taking cues from the other characters as to how to act "normal" instead of "crazy" for fear her "crazy" is showing. I've never seen a performance so pitch perfect, I think, maybe in my life.

The townspeople of nowheresville don't take a liking to hippies, but, hey - it's 1971 and the Manson thing kind of killed a lot of the Love Generation thing by that point, and this movie takes that idea and goes full tilt boogie on how the hippie thing did not, in fact, work out for anyone at all.

Jessica starts to believe that a woman squatter, living in the house when they arrive, may actually be a ghostly vampire. Is Jessica crazy? Is the woman a vampire? A ghost? And why does everyone seem so attracted to her?

And what's with the creepy little girl in white running around the garden (pictured above)?

I've never seen a movie that has such a fantastically creepy tone. So if creepy is what you're looking for, creepy is what you'll get. I can't stress enough how creepy this movie is. And Lampert's performance is so good that I ended up totally feeling really, really sorry for her. She's SOOOOO good in this movie! She carries the thing off terrifically. Anyone who's wondered at one point or another as to whether they're insane or not will understand this performance and this movie.

But sometimes, just because you're paranoid, like Jessica, doesn't mean everyone isn't out to get you...

Watch this movie, folks. Sit in a dark room, quiet your life down, and sit through it. Feel the creepy. And pray for poor Jessica's mind.

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 4 - Suspiria

Okay, okay. Another Italian horror movie! SUSPIRIA (1977)!!!! The image above is the least frightening one from the film, seriously. This movie is all about color and atmosphere. Less so about logic, however.

But that doesn't matter, because the movie ROCKS!

Jessica Harper (of Stardust Memories and Inserts) attends an exclusive ballet school in Germany that is actually a front for a coven of witches led by Mother Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs, who is the oldest and wisest of the Three Mothers. Some scary, weird-ass shit then ensues, and it's all beautifully executed and photographed by Dario Argento, using the very last technicolor processing in Italy. Bold, primary colors seep through every shot of the film, and it plays more like a fairy tale than a horror movie. It's pure awesomeness from beginning to end for anyone who likes beautiful, weird movies. Seriously. It's just gorgeous to look at. The movie casts a spell on you, if you let it, and is incredibly re-watchable.

Now, Argento would follow this film up with the sequel Inferno in 1980, which is almost as good, in my opinion. It focuses on Mother Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness - who lives in New York. It also features a cameo by Mother Lachrymarum in a scene in Rome that Argento would later get to 20 years later, in 2007, when he completed the trilogy with the completely underrated (in my opinion) and wackadoo Mother of Tears (AKA The Third Mother) which features the final mother, Mother Lachrymarum, and takes place in Rome. I loved this one, too, despite how harshly it was received by critics, and found it fit in with the other two movies just fine.

All the movies in the trilogy connect, and all have a dreamy logic to them that doesn't quite work - but they're all innovative and brilliantly shot. Movies like no other movies you'll ever see. Check them out, starting with Suspiria!

I should add, again, that Quentin Tarantino ripped off a LOT of shots from this film for Kill Bill. A lot. Seriously. He must like weird Italian horror movies as much as I do.

Regardless, look up "The Three Mothers" on Wikipedia. There's some really cool info about the history of the idea, and the links with actual history and mythology. It's cool stuff.

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 3 - The Beyond

Yes, that's a little girl who just got her head blown off! Yes, it's in extreme close-up in this outrageous Italian masterpiece The Beyond (1981) (AKA L'aldilà, AKA Seven Doors of Death) by director Lucio Fulci (I realize this October thing is quickly becoming more about Italian horror movies then plain old horror movies, but - hey - I love 'em!).

The Beyond is a weird-ass, trippy, but beautiful horror movie set in during the renovation of a Louisiana hotel that lies over one of the seven gates of Hell. It's a loose sequel to Fulci's City of the Living Dead, and was followed by the last "gates of Hell" Fulci movie House by the Cemetery, (also 1981), which I don't dig too much.

The Beyond was beloved so much by Quentin Tarantino, that he actually got midnight screenings of it going in 1998 and it made a respectable $1 million during its run. A lot of money for a 1981 gore movie that no one's heard of, yeah?

But, boy, this movie brings the weirdness. Everything you like (or don't like) about Fulci reigns supreme in this sucker, and it's best to go into it with no preconceptions regarding plot. Because there really isn't much of one - if there is, it's definitely non-linear and uses a lot of dream logic. There are zombies, alchemists, satanic painters, a blind woman with a ferocious dog, and killer tarantulas(!). The movie has everything, and it's beautifully shot from beginning to end with tremendous atmostphere. It's like if David Lynch made a gore movie - this would be the one. Forget about logic and coherence, and just go with it! Yeah, baby!

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 2 - Bloody Pit of Horror

Behold! The Crimson Executioner! Bloody Pit of Horror (1965), yet another Italian masterpiece of crap (original title Il Boia Scarlatto), is a big mess of a movie, but a lot of fun.

Revived when a photo crew dismantles a seal to a coffin in an old,dark castle dungeon they're shooting in, The Crimson Executioner's spirit possesses the body of the castle's owner and torture chamber goodness ensues with hot chicks, stupid guys, and a muscle-bound buffoon stalking and killing pretty much everyone (Mickey Hargitay - Mariska's dad and Jayne Mansfield's husband - before she was beheaded in a terrible car accident, of course. I can't imagine he'd be her husband when she had no head afterwards).

This kitschy piece of 60's shlock is (unintentionally) hilarious and fun! Check out Bloody Pit of Horror if you ever have the chance. It's a wild ride, and stupid as hell!

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

OCTOBER 2011 HORROR SKETCH 1 - City of the Living Dead

Catriona MacColl drooling wildly in the opening seance sequence of Lucio Fulci's amazing 1980 film City of the Living Dead (AKA Paura nella città dei morti viventi AKA The Gates of Hell). A fantastic movie that Quentin Tarantino stole from pretty exclusively for Kill Bill: Volume 2 almost shot-for-shot in the "buried alive" sequence. A great spaghetti zombie movie!

In honor of my favorite holiday Halloween, every day this October here on BRAIN POOP I'm going to provide a sketch and a little info from an obscure (and maybe not-so-obscure) horror movie that I love! EVERY SINGLE DAY of October! Stay tuned!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Two Filmmakers Died Yesterday

Filmmakers Blake Edwards and Jean Rollin are dead as of yesterday. Bums me out.

Blake Edwards made Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961, the Pink Panther films, Victor/Victoria and my favorite of his movies - "10", among many other things. He was a comic genius most of the time, whether he was writing, producing or directing, but also had a tremendous versatility, making dramatically different movies like The Days of Wine and Roses and Experiment in Terror (both 1962). He was married to Mary Poppins for goodness sakes, so he must've been doing something right.

Jean Rollin was considered the first French horror filmmaker. His debut film The Rape of the Vampire caused a literal riot when an irate audience - not knowing whether they were seeing art, horror, or crap - threw objects at the screen, tearing it down. He made several other films revolving around vampires throughout the 1970s including a personal fave called Requiem for a Vampire, The Nude Vampire, and Shiver of the Vampires. He also made a little movie called The Living Dead Girl, which is now well-known due to the Rob Zombie homage song of the same name. Night of the Hunted is good, too, and totally worth checking out. It's about people losing their memory and personalities after a radiation leak and is actually probably his most well done and accessible movie. His films overall were different, delirious, artsy, colorful, slow, ponderous, and completely insane with rampant nudity and blood, and it's a shame he won't be making any more.

So much creative energy, and now it's gone. Consider me bummed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

SCOTT PILGRIM

Just wanted to pop in real quick and tell everybody that I just saw Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, and it ROCKS BALLS! It's seriously the most fun I've ever had at the movies! It's flat-out terrific. I've always liked Edgar Wright's stuff with Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz, but he's really outdone himself here and joined the ranks of Great Directors! Go check out Scott Pilgrim if you want to have a mind-blowingly fantastically fun two hours!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

INCEPTION is FREAKIN' AWESOME

I just saw Christopher Nolan's Inception, and it is one of the best, most original, most exciting, and most thought-provoking movie I've seen in a long, long time. Perhaps the best movie I've ever seen, but, then again, I like the mind-bendy-dream kinda stuff. Regardless - go see it. Preferably at an IMAX theater. It's not in 3D or anything silly like that, but it does scream to be big because it is big. And spectacular. I'll be seeing it a few more times in the theater, I think. And I hate going to theaters these days, but that's how damn good it is. And I think multiple viewings will be rewarding.

Go see it.

Completely unrelated: no work doodle today. I was pretty busy at work doing work, actually, but here's something I doodled at home.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

I Have A Beef: Law Abiding Citizen

I just saw Law Abiding Citizen, and it made me dumber.

Jamie Foxx plays an attorney for the city of Philadelphia - not a detective, or a private investigator, although you'd never know it. At one point the Mystical Mayor of Philly actually appoints him the magical District Attorney of Philly at a Super Secret Midnight Meeting before single-handedly putting the city under martial law due to an incredibly low-level threat. And this is only one of the less-stupid things about this movie.

This movie is just plain painful for anyone who knows anything whatsoever about the United States' judicial system.

ARRRGH! Why did a 12-year-old watch an episode of CSI:Miami and decide to use all of his or her knowledge of law to write Law Abiding Citizen? It plumbs the depths of stupidity! ARRRRGH!

All this being said, there is a really cool death By cellphone (????) moment in the film, not to mention multiple magical exploding cars.

And Philadelphia's District Attorney Jamie Foxx does, indeed utter the line, "fuck his civil rights" regarding the chief suspect (Gerard Butler) in the case Foxx is, for some reason, investigating prior to breaking and entering and discovering all sorts of ridiculous evidence against said suspect that would then be rendered completely inadmissable in court.

So I guess the movie has being retarded going for it, at the very least.

Avoid this thing at all costs, unless you're an absolute moron.

I'm not even that smart, and even I know that this movie is a fucking stupid pile of shit. I can't imagine what the rest of the populace thinks of this travesty.

Ugh. I'm almost completely done watching movies at this point.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

KICK-ASS

Just wanted to drop in real quick to say that I just saw Kick-Ass, and it thoroughly kicks ass in all ways. It is appropriately named, my friends. Great movie!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Clash of the Titans 2010

Just got back (a while ago, now that I look at the time) from a late screening of Clash of the Titans and it's a helluva good time. It barely resembles the old-ish Harry Hamlin/Laurence Olivier one from the early 80s, and even less so my favorite Harryhausen flick Jason and the Argonauts from the 60s, although that stupid-ass clockwork owl thing showed up for a couple of seconds for a giggle.

But hot damn, it's an awesome fun good time of a movie! The only effects-work that was a little off seemed to be Medusa, but everything else looked amazing. I do miss Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion, sure, but, dude, this movie is so much fun that I barely remembered to miss it.

Liam Neeson and every-entrance-is-a-showstopper Ralph Fiennes, especially, are good. Whoever they got to play Io was hot as all hell and all properly ethereal to boot. And, hey, Aussie Sam Worthington's looking at three for three rock-balls movies in a row now following Terminator Salvation and Avatar.

I'm kind of hoping they do a series of kickass Greek and Roman mythology movies now. This thing is just a ton of fun. If you're looking for a good, fun time at the movies right now, then you could do a whole lot worse.

Unleash the Kraken, people. Unleash it!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

The Last Picture Show

Why on Earth did it take me so long to get around to watching The Last Picture Show? It's such an amazingly good movie. If you haven't seen it already, go and watch it. It's heartbreakingly good.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Avatar

Just saw Jim Cameron's Avatar in IMAX 3D.

It is the bees' knees, people. It is the coolest damn thing I've ever seen.

Do yourself a favor, and go see it in IMAX 3D!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

While I Was Away

Huzzah! I've returned from the Deep South safely and soundly! Above are a few doodles I did during the trip here and there. They're pretty random. Nothing spectacular.

I got to watch New Moon, and it's a million times better than its predecessor Twilight, which really ain't saying much. But it was so much better, and stayed faithful to the source material. I was really happy with it.

Also finally caught 2012, and it's a pretty great disaster movie as far as disaster movies go. Yeah, it's completely preposterous, but who cares when the world is ending?! It's great entertainment, though a bit on the long side.

Also saw the Pixar flick Up and was amazed at how good it was. It really hits you pretty hard with the sadness and then the funny. A realy great flick.

Also watched the first season of Castle with Nathan Fillion, and I must admit that I'm hooked. Really great stuff.

Finally saw a few epidodes of HBO's True Blood and the jury's still out until I see some more. I did enjoy what I saw, though.

Anywho - I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Fluffer Nutter and Teenage Mudda

Boy, Teenage Mother was crazy! Crazy goodness, that is. Actually, as a friend put it, it's really just 9 minutes of trouble. Nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - happens for most of the running time until they show the birthing footage towards the end of the flick which is just out-of-this-world incredible and disgusting. We're talking a huge closeup. Bigtime. Gooey. Wow.

Ultimately, it's one of those drive-in flicks where the trailer is about 10 million times better than the actual movie, but we had a great time watching nonetheless. A really great time had by all.

And, hey, they actually had a 35mm print of the thing! Where the hell did they find that? Fantastic.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Completely Nonsensical Page Of Wonders

Above is the completed sketchbook page from my last post. No, it doesn't make any sense to me, either.

In other news, I saw Where the Wild Things Are and I thought it was really great. Not so much while I was watching it, but upon reflection, really. It's one of those that has to stew a little and digest before you really decide how much you like it. And I like it a lot. It's ultimately a sad movie about growing up, being responsible, and how quickly innocent fun can turn into terrifying ordeal. Yay for Wild Things.

Thanks to the wonder that is Netflix Instantly Watchable, I also watched Cashback, which I thought was really kind of brilliant. It really, really hit me the right way. Highly recommended.

Also re-watched The Beastmaster and Dreamscape. Both movies from my childhood and both I still like, though they don't hold up nearly as well as I wanted them too.

I did re-watch Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life with Meryl Streep and it decidedly does hold up incredibly well. If you haven't seen that one, then I pity you, fool.

I also completed watching the first season of HBO's spectacular Rome. Boy howdy, that's a fantastic gladiator scene in the second-to-the-last episode. Wow. What an incredible show. On to the second and final season now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at terbybrown@yahoo.com

Really, Fool?

A friend texts me after reading yesterday's post: "The IMAX screen at the Siam Paragon in Bangkok also let's you choose your seat."

So, when in Bangkok, folks, don't hesitate to see a movie in a theater. The Siam Paragon, to be exact (it's where said friend saw The Dark Knight last summer, hassle-free).

In other news, I finally got a chance to see Roman Polanski's Repulsion starring a very young Catherine Deneuve. Is it just me, or is she the most beautiful woman in the world, circa 1965? I don't think it's just me.

You wanna see somebody go nutso, then watch this movie! It's a doozy! Say what you will about Polanski (I personally prefer not to confuse the art with the artist), this movie is incredible. I now own the Criterion edition of it on DVD, and am happy as a clam about it. I can only imagine this movie knocking people on their asses back in 1965. A really stunning study of a woman going bonkers. Highly recommended.

Oh, and I do have an opinion about this Polanski business, in case you're wondering. I think everyone should leave him the hell alone and just let him keep making movies. His "victim" has told the world that they have privately settled the entire matter amicably between themselves years ago and that she wants everyone to chill the hell out. That's good enough for me, people. And, regardless of all that, he's still an amazing filmmaker, so all this recent business certainly ain't gonna stop me from enjoying his films. And it shouldn't stop you from doing likewise. Separate the art from the artist if you need to, people, and check out Repulsion. It's freakin' amazing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you would like to purchase originals, prints, or commission artwork, you can contact me at
terbybrown@yahoo.com