| THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW "Good Night And Good Luck" by Mike Smith | |||
| COUCH POTATO CONFESSIONS The Halloween Horror Picture Show 2005....Game Show Cool by Vinnie Blesi | |||
| THE DROW All Hallows Eve! A Brief History of our Favorite Holiday by Dylan Jones | |||
| MIKE'S RANT That Boy's Good--Good and Terrible .... Rockin' Doctor Noah Drake .... Commercials .... It's All White in the NBA .... Movie Notes....Passing On....Jaws: The Story Part 38 by Mike Smith | |||
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Couch Potato goes Horror Show A sparsely attended event, at least during the day, it actually gave the show a sense of intimacy (and I am not talking about Debbie Rochon, well…maybe) and comfortable feel. Attendees were able to freely talk to the guests and network with the filmmakers present.
As I am not an Indy Horror fan I felt horribly inadequate at knowing who the guest “scream queens” were. Oddly enough they were all the most pleasant and nice bunch of celebrities I have had the opportunity to meet. Debbie Rochon, Denise Duff, Brinke Stevens, and Amy Lynn Best were all a pleasure to meet and talk to and my personal highlight of the show. Thanks!
I also was able to meet one of my longtime idols, Sam Kinison, www.screamingsam.com, who had immaculately risen from the dead.
The Movies: I caught the last few minutes of Web of Darkness which was laughable with its gay vampires and extended bad dialogue sequences. Following that was Katie Bird, Certifiable Crazy Person, a perverse, disturbing film that is ruined by its over use of tacky digital video editing tricks. I believe there is a good film here trying to crawl out of its own editing hell. The intense performances by all the actors are solid. If this film was edited in a more conventional manner and trimmed down a bit it could be a great film. For example: The useless scene in the forest went on way too long, and had too many crunchy tree leaves, negating any sense of tension or suspense the filmmaker may have intended. At one point I was ready to yell out loud, “Use the hammer already!”. There was actually sort of a message in this film, “reveal your true self” but it just got muddled in the bush league editing tricks.
Being infused with all that Indy Horror spirit has prompted me to start work on my first screenplay. If anyone wants to pay me a $5000 advance let me know!
Game Show Cool From time to time it is possible to catch some classic old game shows on GSN. Right now they have been playing “$100,000 Pyramid” reruns with guest Nipsey Russell. When Anne Bancroft passed away earlier this year GSN ran a tribute to her airing “Password” and “To Tell the Truth” episodes from 1962-63 that featured the charming star.
Of course you can tune in most any day and catch Gene Rayburn with his famous phallic microphone from “MatchGame 77” or the game show queen herself Kitty Carlyle.
Yes, you too can win fabulous prizes and cash! Just nowadays be prepared to eat maggots to do it!
Till next time, Keep the cathode ray home fires burning.
Many people have speculated that I might go postal one day, but this past Saturday I instead went Horror Show, attending the Halloween Horror Show at USF Special Events Center with our esteemed editor and fanboy Nolan B. Canova and Dr. Paul Bearer archivist Lonnie Dohlen.
This event also featured a Zombie Fashion Show created by local artist Orianna Kurrus, www.Oriannastudios.com. The fashion show was enjoyable and a crowd pleaser. I even saw Denise Duff up front grooving to that zombie fashion vibe. The Uncle Fester character with the lollipop creeped me out. Ms. Kurrus is one of the most original and innovative artists in the area. Enjoy her work before she moves on to bigger and better things. She is also currently showing some of her artwork at The Catherine Hickman Theater Gallery, 5501 27th Avenue South in Gulfport, FL.
The Game Show Network, now known as GSN, is probably the last thing you would expect to read about in this column, but in the annals of Pop and TV Culture, game shows hold their own legacy. It is no coincidence that the longest running TV show on the air right now is Bob Barker’s “The Price Is Right” (33 years and counting). We are a consumer driven society and we love see people win free stuff and money. You don’t even have to eat any worms to win fabulous prizes and cash on “The Price is Right”.
My favorite celebrity appearance was on “The Family Feud” with Richard Dawson with the stars of “Batman” against the stars of “Gilligan’s Island”. The stars of “Batman” featured none other than Mr. Vincent Price. Now that was cool.
"Couch Potato Confessions" is ©2005 by Vinnie Blesi. Couch Potato main graphic by Vin Blesi and Nolan Canova. Webpage design and all graphics herein (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.