The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes, 2009)

Eh. This is the concluding movie in the adaptation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, about a tormented goth girl genius and the ugly underbelly of Swedish society. It wraps the story up, but it's by the numbers. We find out who was responsible for Lisbeth Salander's mistreatment as a child and young adult, and why they did it. As hinted previously, it's a right wing conspiracy, but a strangely toothless one. Despite a couple of interesting characters and a few good scenes, there wasn't much drama or suspense to it. Good defeats evil, yay! Probably the most interesting thing about it continued to be Lisbeth's inability to relate to other human beings, but even that felt a bit rote here. On some level this chapter is about her dependence on others to help her despite her inability to trust or understand anyone, but it never really explores the dimensions of that.

Still worth seeing as the conclusion of the story, but kind of a damp squib in its own right.

The Plastic Coat in Film and Fantasy

This one's for kdotdammit, who posted some screencaps of Joan Bennett wearing a plastic coat in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945). Behold Michèle Morgan in Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938). This theme of femme fatales in plastic coats was picked up by Ridley Scott in Blade Runner (1982). Any others?


Port of Shadows (Le quai des brumes, 1938)

Have Chapbook, Will Travel

(Click twice for best viewing.)

Well, gang, I am officially on vacation for three weeks. Tomorrow afternoon I'm headed to the airport to start my trip to London, Brussels, Antwerp, Nottingham, Boston, Toronto, and then home again -- and then on to Oregon for Thanksgiving a couple days after that. A long and winding trip. I'm in full panic mode, trying to get everything ready to go.

One thing that's ready -- just printed today -- is a chapbook that carl and I put together. That's the cover above. What is it? A remix of text from AE van Vogt's The Weapon Makers and line drawings from various pulp and SF sources. A weird pulp avant garde dream. Well, hell, it's something to hand you if you hand me a fanzine, so beware. At least it looks cool, thanks to carl.

See some of you soon! I am stoked! (Now I just need to get packed.)