ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, APRIL 14, 2010 With its leisurely pace, melancholy score, and low-key lead actor, The Eclipse is a curious supernatural drama that quietly lulls you into complacency. But just try holding onto your popcorn when its horrors are unleashed. The magnetic Ciarán Hinds of There Will Be Blood stars as Michael, a soft-spoken carpentry teacher in … Continue reading Horror review: The Eclipse
Tag: 2010
Human suffering abounds in ski-hill horror of Frozen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 3, 2010 By Steve Newton After suffering through his witless 2007 gore fest, Hatchet, I didn’t have high hopes for writer-director Adam Green’s Frozen. I knew it was a skiing-related horror flick, so I pictured an axe-wielding maniac lunging from behind trees and turning the slopes bright red with blood. Man, was I … Continue reading Human suffering abounds in ski-hill horror of Frozen
Horror review: The Crazies
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, FEB. 24, 2010 If you’ve never been particularly concerned about the safety of your drinking water, The Crazies might make you think again. It’s a rip-roaring, topnotch terror fest that’s sure to boost sales of Brita filters. Smalltown Iowa sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is cheerfully mingling with citizens at the local ballpark … Continue reading Horror review: The Crazies
Radha Mitchell got to explore all her inner angst in the horror remake The Crazies
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 24, 2010 By Steve Newton Radha Mitchell is no Hollywood scream queen, but the 36-year-old Aussie—noted for her leading role in Woody Allen’s 2004 comedy-drama Melinda and Melinda—has taken on her fair share of fierce monsters and supernatural forces. She had her first genre role in 2000’s Pitch Black, playing a downed space … Continue reading Radha Mitchell got to explore all her inner angst in the horror remake The Crazies
Horror review: Legion
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 22, 2010 In a recent review of Daybreakers, I mentioned that the promising but flawed vampire flick featured “the most entertaining exploding-body scene ever”. Well, it looks like 2010 is gearing up to be a banner year for exploding-body scenes, because Legion—no relation to The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty’s 1983 novel—sports a … Continue reading Horror review: Legion
Horror review: Daybreakers
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 6, 2010 When it comes to vampire flicks, I prefer the down ’n’ dirty kind. Screw the refined elegance of Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Interview With the Vampire; give me the gritty backwoods bloodsucking of Near Dark any day. I want to hear undead biker Bill Paxton bellow, “I hate it when they ain’t been … Continue reading Horror review: Daybreakers
Alice Cooper finally gets nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 28, 2010 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper released a string of amazing albums in the early '70s—including Love It to the Death, School's Out, Killer, and Billion Dollar Babies—but the brainiacs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame waited until today to nominate the shock-rock king for inclusion in their fancy pants institution. … Continue reading Alice Cooper finally gets nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Aussie roots artist Xavier Rudd found new sunshine and an African groove on Koonyum Sun
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 2, 2010 By Steve Newton In the booklet that accompanies Xavier Rudd’s new CD, Koonyum Sun, there’s a picture of the Aussie roots artist in concert at an outdoor venue in Banff. He’s laying down some lap-slide guitar while his young sons Joaquin and Finojet bust moves across the stage floor. They … Continue reading Aussie roots artist Xavier Rudd found new sunshine and an African groove on Koonyum Sun
“I know it’s not Aerosmith,” says Joe Perry of his Project, “but it’s still rock ’n’ roll.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 20, 2010 By Steve Newton When Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler took a tumble off a catwalk during a concert in South Dakota last August, injuring his head, neck, and shoulder, the status of the iconic ’70s hard rock act suffered too. In the last few years various health issues have beset … Continue reading “I know it’s not Aerosmith,” says Joe Perry of his Project, “but it’s still rock ’n’ roll.”
Jonny Lang says he’s stolen countless things from Buddy Guy, but he’s never been a Strat guy
“I've never been a Strat guy. That's the Catch-22 there. I tried to bring a Strat out for that Hendrix thing and I couldn't do it, man.”
Rob Zombie on horror movies, Alice Cooper, and the Gruesome Twosome Tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 28, 2010 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper is a born-again Christian and a staunch Republican. Rob Zombie most certainly is not. But that hasn’t stopped them from combining their passions for heavy music and the macabre in a shock-rock extravaganza called the Gruesome Twosome Tour. “We’ve known each other for 16 … Continue reading Rob Zombie on horror movies, Alice Cooper, and the Gruesome Twosome Tour
Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper offer tale of two merch tables in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 2, 2010 You can learn a lot about rock stars by what they’re willing to offer up for cold hard cash. Scanning a merch table at Saturday’s (May 1) Gruesome Twosome show I noticed Alice Cooper was flogging T-shirts that read “Love It to Death Tour 1971”. Now, even for … Continue reading Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper offer tale of two merch tables in Vancouver
The Eagles leave Vancouver fans with an uneasy feeling
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 10, 2010 In my favourite movie of all time, The Big Lebowski, the main character—brilliantly played by Jeff Bridges—is a scruffy SoCal slacker named “the Dude” who loves Creedence Clearwater Revival but has no time at all for the Eagles. In fact, he gets yanked from a cab and left … Continue reading The Eagles leave Vancouver fans with an uneasy feeling