Monk Star Nabs Emmy Awards

A third award was given to someone who's originally from Wisconsin during the Emmy Award Sunday night. I don’t think he’s coming back to the dairy farm state soon.

I should be so proud. So should you.

Tony Shalhoub, a former resident of east-side Green Bay, nabs three trophies for his sentimental portrayal of Monk and he is quickly becoming a recognizable television icon.

Not bad for someone playing a guy who has more phobias than New York City has people.

Also not bad for something considered something of a comedy. With a slice of drama to it.
The TV show Monk is serious business though. It’s become an audience hit and even the critics love it. He’s got a place amongst famous detectives such as Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Lovejoy and Columbo. But Monk is a breed apart from the others.

Try spending the afternoon with Monk in the same room. You’ll find out why.

Yet he’s undeniably charming. And funny. There’s a wonderfully quirky thing about the series Monk that seems to grab you from the start. Though it took me a little longer to get hooked on the show. I love the series now. I think you should too.

My mom loves the series right from the start. That's how I got into the series. You can blame her for it.

You couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for Monk. And it’s sometimes cruel to laugh at his phobias multiplied a thousandth degree. But in the end, Monk always finds a way to overcome his problems and solves the case just before the credits would roll. You always find yourself cheering for him in the end.

He has his flaws. That’s what makes him interesting. Many, many flaws. So it’s not a perfect world for someone who’s haunted by the death of his murdered wife. But he tries to get back into the world, slowly, surely, hoping that he would be able to fit into normal life. It’s not an easy chore.

Monk developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder, afraid and more afraid of everything from germs, heights and even milk. The list is never-ending. His nervous health condition cost him a solid job as a prominent homicide detective on the San Francisco police force.

But he’s not alone in his efforts in putting a stop to crime. He has help from several people as he eases back into the routine of everyday life. There’s the current nurse-at-hand Natalie Taylor, Randall Disher, and former boss Leland Stottlemeyer.

It’s a good cast ensemble that heightens the show’s efforts in storytelling. Each of the characters plays off Monk very well. There’s a chemistry that builds around them and it feels like a family setting after a while. The show doesn’t rely on just the Monk character… everyone gets a shot at being in center stage. It’s good writing.

There’s something else that’s a rarity in today’s television… throughout the landscape of TV, few people don’t rely on guns. That’s what I admire most about Monk. He tends to set himself apart from the use of guns. It’s a good trait. I wish more people would do this. The only other character on TV that doesn’t spring to guns is the British science-fiction hit Doctor Who.

I got a lot of favorites as I’m catching up with my viewing of the TV series. Each episode does offer something. I enjoyed a few standouts like “Mr. Monk Gets Fired” which shows how he copes without a job or the Christmas extraganza “Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa.” Many of the episodes do appeal to emotional scenes adding dimension to the series.

Bad things can happen to the characters such as Stottlemeyer getting divorce papers from his wife during “Mr. Monk and the Captain’s Marriage.” Sometimes it can a jabbing, hurting feeling that claims these people. People do get hurt. That’s what makes these people human. And Monk is the most human of them all.

New episodes of Monk can be viewed on the USA channel on Friday nights and you can find the older shows on DVD. My mom—avid viewer and all—won’t be missing the latest case-cracking scenes of Monk. I’m sure she’ll be saving me a seat.

Lovecraft Lives!

They said it couldn’t be done.

That some of the stories were unfilmable. The task would be too great even for some of the greatest directors of all time. The material would just be too overwhelming.

Even some of the best would make a barely passing grade. Yet it happened.

It had to happen.

Someone took a film that could not be filmed, deemed to great of chore, and turned it into a cinematic triumph. Without cheating. Without reputation. They turned a well-known story into something of a milestone.

For years, and generations, no one touched H.P. Lovecraft’s story “Call of Cthulhu.” It would be crazy. That would be too insane. Like some of the characters in Lovecraft’s own stories who went mad from the very thoughts, scratching at the very surface of horror.

But someone did it. The Lovecraft Historical Society put into every loving detail and cranked out at the sweat of their own labors a masterpiece that could put Hollywood to shame. They made “Call of Cthulhu” into a movie. And it’s a snappy one at that. Very good stuff. Worthy of putting this film into horror fame.

Perhaps it was the mood in the story that was so unmistakable. It could be due to the absolute devotion of the source material from 1926. Maybe it was just a bunch of guys who wanted to make a dream come true through their own undying efforts.

The Lovecraft Historical Society put in three years to make this film, meticulously crafted, every scene counted for something. And even Cthulhu himself made an appearance at the end… as if the hand of the lords took it right out of Lovecraft’s own nightmare and put it on celluioid screen. The film has been show in various Film Festivals. It’s been well received by critics and audiences alike.

Basically the story centers around a narrator who follows his grandfather’s footsteps into putting together the final pieces of a puzzle before going mad. Through the streets of Providence, Rhode Island to the Louisiana swamps to the uncharted islands in the Pacific. Every step closer takes a piece of sanity away. But, as the old Providence scribe puts it, there are some things best left untouched, not be discovered through innocent eyes.

But some people are determined, not to be pushed away. There are gods in the universe that replaces the imagination. That the forces of good and evil no longer mattered. That mankind was slapped in the middle of it. And Cthulhu himself was the greatest, most frightening of Lovecraft’s pantheon of legends.

The film created by the historical society is also the stuff of legends.

“Call of Chthulhu” movie is silent. Filmed as if it’s in 1926. Just a year before talking pictures became dominant. So it’s made during Lovecraft’s time. Directed by Andrew Leman and a screenplay written by Sean Branney.

Making it into a silent movie is a smart move. Many times, in fan made films, the actor’s voices sound amateur. That they tend to sound like it’s been made in someone’s back yard.
Not this one. We don’t have to worry about hearing the actor’s voices. Not one word, indeed. Which helps to create a wonderful atmosphere.

There are some scenes which leaves scars into your memories. The scenes are haunting in B&W, leaving behind engravings of your creativity. It subscribes to things left in your imaginations. Just like Lovecraft’s own stories.

There’s the scenes of the madman in the psycho ward, holding his hands up in surrender of his own madness. There’s the swamps where the cultists worship the gods. Then there’s the ending where the greatest of Lovecraft’s gods come to life through stop-action animation. A kind of throw-back to Ray Harryhausen days.

It’s a heartfelt attempt in filmmaking. And it works. Despite a couple of flaws, such as the over-reliance of titles, the films carries the burden of reputation. That Lovecraft remains unfilmable until now. Thanks for a few braves souls. You can find it on DVD.

I'm surprised that some of the critics never read any of the Lovecraft stories when they were kids. Too busy playing football or baseball, I suppose. I suggest you should read some of the later Lovecraft tales between 1925 to 1937.

I remember reading "At the Mountains of Madness" well into the wee hours when I was a teenager. I couldn't put the book down. But I also couldn't get to sleep that night.

Take this movie home with you, kiddies, and prepare to be scared with delight. Then you’ll thank your "unlucky" stars that you’ve watched it in its glorious B&W. It owes much to mood and story. And a belief. Horror hasn’t been this good in a long time.

Too Much for the U.S. to handle?

Whether it’s scissors, needles or knifes, there’s a place for it in the horror genre.

There’s always more room for masters of horror in the field. Take controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike. He’s put audiences on edge with his no-punches-pulled creative visions.

Miike is a sick bastard.

An early film “Ichi the Killer” overstepped the boundaries and then some when it came to cruel and unusual punishment. It involved a sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer. He also self-mutilates. There’s nothing nice about this guy. But beyond the glossy vivisection of gore is visionary that belongs to Miike. No matter how outrageous, or disturbing, his stuff turns out to be, it’s still art to the Nth degree.

The United States could’ve been treated for the first time his work on Showtime channel. Thirteen short films of the Masters of Horros series were on the roster call—several established horror practitioners were invited to present their work. They were able to put a stamp in the deep abyss of the horror field by bringing their own vision to the series.

However, all but one episode was shown for the season this year.

That episode was called “Imprint” by Takashi Miike.

Why?

It was deemed to disturbing to show on television. The work was frankly too brutal for a wider audiences not used to the strong stuff. Showtime network decided to discard the episode in favor of not offending anyone.

Miike wasn’t very happy with the decision.

Something new could’ve been brought to the horror industry. Japanese horror, in many years since the breakout with “The Ringu,” offered a more creepy effect that often resembles the feeling of worms eating your way out of your guts. These films, with their different direction in the supernatural, were churning out some pretty good films with ghosts looking like leftover carcasses from the holocaust explosion.

Miike was riding the wave of that success. His work may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s still a representative work of art… created through the sweat of hard labor and creative thought.

He was turned down by Showtime. It was like an ungracious slap in the face for him.

But you can still see this episode in an upcoming DVD through the Masters of Horror series. It comes out on September 25. Click on to see cover for DVD.

The story involved an American journalist played by actor Billy Drago who is looking for a prostitute he fell in love with. He finds an island with a brothel and a blackest secret. He found the forbidden apple inside the garden. Much of it dealt with the horrible torture she had to go through… some parts include some grisly dental work by needles. Some facial disfiguring.

Even the sole creator of Masters of Horror Mick Garris was put off by some of the material. He didn’t much care for physical abuse brought on by the woman like an ungodly storm. The guy’s work can be offensively misogynistic. Garris had to look away from the screen while viewing this segment. That alone makes me want to see the episode even more. It’s called morbid curiosity.

But it’ll be a while before the DVD hits the shelves of your local retail stores. In the meantime, I could recommend you an older romance/horror film by the same director called “Audition” which helped him gain recognition worldwide. It’s about a nice guy who meets up with a woman of his dreams through a series of fake auditions.

Their relationship takes off. But it turns out that the woman isn’t who she claims to be. There’s plenty of sick twists.

You won’t easily forget Miike’s films. They leave you a little numbed. And you take a look at life differently. It’s a little unpleasant. But the films do make you think.

How often does a movie do that for you?