FISHING FOR AVOCADOS! –– C.A. BROADSTONE on FILMMAKING, WRITING, MUSIC –– POLITICAL HUMAN IDIOTS? –– and Other Things BCP/Texas POĒtrope! ***PLEASE SUBSCRIBE with your email below.
I recently picked up one of my all-time fav movies (dirt cheap at $7.50 on Amazon [now $11.50]) on
Blu-ray, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED. The film stars Mark Duplass and Aubrey
Plaza (who is another one of those movie-character-girls that's just for
me). (i.e.; the kind I never get, let alone hardly find in my life.) (The rare kind that actually, seriously, ask you if you'd go back in time with them.) (I said, yes.) (As you might notice, however, I'm still here.) (Safety not guaranteed––not with women, not with music, not with writing, not with filmmaking, not with... I guess that makes me more of a risk taker than I thought.)
At any rate...I know some consider this film very shallow. I don't. It
has great and insightful humor. And, bottom line is...well, many
throughout my life have wondered what I'm all about––hmmmm––I'm really not all that complicated. Just watch this film and you'll know a whole lot about the inside of me
and how I feel and how I work. By the end of this movie I always have a
tear in my eye and I think of just one girl. (Yeah, one of those ones
I'll never have.)
ALL NEW for 2016! –– From Feast Frenzy @ The Horror Food Network!
Well, it's been about a month and half since any new food, so let's
start with something light, spicy, and delicious to get the New Year
rolling: Gourmet Jalapeno Peanut Butter Sandwich. First, I
started with two fresh slices of Nature's Harvest 40 Calorie Multigrain
Bread. I spread a layer of spicy brown mustard on the bottom piece and
cut it in half, then added two slices (per half bread) of sharp cheddar
cheese, and then a leaf of fresh kale on each. On the top piece of
bread I spread a medium-thick layer of Loco Cowpoke Jalapeno Peanut
Butter (http://www.lococowpoke.com/old-homestead-peanut-butters.htm)
Great stuff! Slicing the bread in half, I place each halved piece on
top of the two bottom halves of the sandwich. Topping of each sandwich
half are thin slices of cucumber and one black olive, drizzled with
cayenne pepper.
As a side are two green onions, two
pepperoncinis for an extra kick, and at last a healthy helping of
Pretzel Crisps (Everything Deli Style). Outstanding!
NOTE:
Just as of this year, your local Ralphs now carries several flavors of
Pretzel Crisps. Give 'em a try, they're low calorie and only 1gm of fat
per serving. They're great with any sandwich or make an excellent
snack!
Hey, everyone! Check out my writing and video editing work station speaker shelf 2016, with the
addition of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe Bobbledhead (Limited Edition #856 of
1500)!Thanks Mom & Dad for the super inspiring, a la macabre Xmas gift! Now if I could just get to editing and writing some more (instead of nevermore).
Pretty cool combo, Poe and Burroughs! Check it out!
TERMINUS (2015 ––
Limited Release –– In Theaters January 22, 2016)
Starring JAI KOUTRAE ("Death's
Requiem", "Benjamin Troubles"), KENDRA APPLETON ("In Your
Dreams", "Blue World Order"), and TODD LASANCE ("Vampire
Diaries", "Spartacus: War Of The Damned"), TERMINUS is tautly
directed by MARC FURMIE ("Death's Requiem", "Airlock"). I've told this story
more than once, but here I go again, simply because MARC FURMIE and JAI KOUTRAE
are back to together on TERMINUS––each reprising their respective roles of
Director and Actor, as they did in DEATH'S REQUIEM (2003).
I first met Jai––by
pure chance––way back in 2004at the HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL and then later saw
DEATH'S REQUIEM––by pure chance––at the SHRIEKFEST FILM FESTIVAL (L.A. 2007)
and said to myself, "I know that guy!
I'm loving this movie, too! And
he'd be so great for so many film ideas I have!"
Jai Koutrae: "Death's Requiem"
How we reconnected after that, I don't quite
remember, but we did. And to this day
we’ve stayed in touch through that love/hate social media debauch known as
Facebook (often me asking him to read a story or script I've written). Also, to this day, I've maintained that Jai
would be perfect as the lead in my feature films COLOR OF FLAME and
RETARD––sadly both, as yet, unproduced.
(Anyone have any money?) OK, my
"Tale Of Jai" has been retold one more time, I've piggybacked a
little shameless self-promotion on Mr. Koutrae & Mr. Furmie, and I can now move
forward on this review of TERMINUS, with a smattering of peace in my dark heart
and still darker mind. So... What can I say about
TERMINUS? The logline reads (and I quote
IMDB here): "Following
a near-fatal accident, David Chamberlain makes an unprecedented discovery that
will not only determine the fate of his family, but of mankind."
Well, that's your typical movie sound-bite that makes
Hollywood film producers wet their pants by telling the ADHD public everything
and nothing in one sentence. So let me
fatten that up a bit and clarify (not really any spoilers here, so do not fret). After the so called "near-fatal
accident" JAI KOUTRAE drags himself from his overturned vehicle, in effort
to follow the lead of some mystery figure (person?) who may or may not be a
mere hallucination brought on by a major concussion. Rebuffing the likely delusions perpetrated by
brain injury, JAI manages to find himself a life-giving "pod". This "pod"––obvious to any Sci-Fi
geek or anyone not suffering brain trauma––has to be from outerspace. OK, now that's all I'm willing to reveal
about the story. Go find TERMINUS and
watch it, if you want to know more. It's
worth the search. On that note...
Director: Marc Furmie
MARC FURMIE's directing is motivated and inspired, which is
somewhat belied by the cerebral quality of the film––my latter point meaning, MR.
FURMIE places a greater emphasis on the drama and the characters driving the
story, than the trappings of the typical Sci-Fi CG effects heavy, alien
monsters laden, blah-blah-uhggg, movie. Thank
you, sir, for your impassioned focus.
Which brings me to JAI KOTURAE.
Actor: Jai Koutrae
JAI has again pulled off an intense performance; one that often
appears as placid as a cold lake, but flares with explosive poignancy revealing
just how much pain his character is suffering right below the waterline. His portrayal of DAVID CHAMBERLAIN, an
out-of-work, small town, backwoodsie, middle-American tough-guy-with-a-broken-heart,
is realistic to a T. And although JAI is
an Aussie from Downunder, his American accent is flawless.
Actress: Kendra Appleton
The next outstanding performance comes from actress KENDRA
APPLETON, who plays DAVID's (Jai's) equally heartbroken and nearly estranged
daughter. Her character, ANNABELLE
CHAMBERLAIN, is truly the pivot (the heart) around which TERMINUS arcs. KENDRA exudes great depth of sentiment, but
not cheap sentimentality. She's young,
beautiful, and full of hope and compassion for her father, but is also haunted
by her equally tormented soul. And when
it comes down to the wire, like her father, she can be pretty damn tough and
merciless in a fight, too.
Actor: Todd Lasance
Our third lead in TERMINUS is actor TODD LASANCE. His performance of the itinerant––potential
danger and baddie––ZACH, is solid as a rock.
At first an angry loser coming from nowhere, and on his way to some
other nowhere, he quickly reveals his deeper pain and compassion, as well as
his hard-boiled anger at the world. The human
destruction he has witnessed, and been participant in, has scarred him emotionally,
very nearly to the point of no return. In TERMINUS the planet is on the brink of global nuclear
war. This is only a backdrop at first,
but eventually floats to the forefront as a very real possibility. Overall, TERMINUS is populated with dark
characters trying to make there way through an even bleaker world; each
fighting for hope and life in their own way.
Even the FBI agents threaded throughout the film, are doing their
damnedest to perpetuate hope and life, although their poor decisions and near
radicalism constantly made me wonder if they weren't the true evil in the
story. Possibly they were MARC FURMIE's
way of holding up a simple mirror to reflect back the infinitely complex
nihilism and savagery that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time.
I highly recommend TERMINUS for its grim, yet inspired
view. Its morbidity and its sometimes-violent
passions and compassion. The film is not
unlike a single flower that somehow blooms in the middle of a deep, dark death-valley.
While working on a description of the main character in my new story, A CATCH IN TIME, I became very curious if ostriches really did bury their heads in the sand. Well, after a little research it seems that's just an old wives' tale. According to Wonderopolis.org: "Have you ever heard someone say that someone has their head buried in the sand? Do they mean that another person has literally buried their head in a hole in the ground and covered it with sand? Of course not!
"What in the world are they talking about then? When people say someone has their head buried in the sand,
they are claiming that the person is ignoring obvious facts or refusing
to accept advice, hoping that simply denying the existence of a problem
will make it go away.
"This popular metaphor is believed to have originated with observations of ostriches that appear to bury their heads in the sand to avoid predators. Some people think this behavior results from the fact that ostriches are so stupid that they believe burying their heads will make them invisible to predators. In other words, if they can't see the predators, then the predators can't see them.
"Animal experts, however, will tell you that this belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid predators is nothing more than a myth. After all, if an ostrich buried its head in the sand, it would soon die of asphyxiation. Given what we know about ostriches, though, it's easy to see how this myth got started.
"Ostriches
are the largest and heaviest living birds in the world. Despite
standing seven to nine feet tall and weighing as much as 350 pounds,
these birds have relatively small heads. When nesting, they dig shallow holes in the ground to use as nests for their eggs. They use their beaks to turn their eggs several times each day. From a distance, an ostrich leaning into a hole to turn an egg could easily look like it's burying its head in the sand!"
According to The-Line-Up.com: "Beneath the bustling streets of Palermo is a massive monument to the dead where over 8,000 corpses line the catacomb walls.
"Palermo, on Sicily’s northwestern coast, is a city rich in distinct
cultural traditions—a result of centuries worth of influence from
Romans, Phoenicians, Arabs, and Italians. A seaside town, Palermo easily
attracts visitors with its sandy shores, abundant sunshine, and ancient
architectural marvels.
"Beneath the bustling streets of this charming city, however, is
something quite macabre—a place where the dead remain frozen in time."
WOW! Only halfway through January 2016 and already too many have passed
on: Vilmos Zsigmond (85, master cinematographer), David Bowie (69,
music icon), Alan Rickman (69, actor extraordinaire), and others. Off
to a banner year, it seems. Rest In Peace to all. May they be in a better place. From the INQUISTR.com: "The world woke up to horrible news on
Thursday morning, and it was that well-known actor Alan Rickman had
passed away. This tragic news comes mere days after David Bowie,
a music icon, also passed away. Oddly enough, both stars died of cancer
and at the age of 69. Most times, a list of celebrity deaths comes out
at the end of the year, but 2016 already has already brought out more
than its fair share." Read more here:
Also, checkout this great documentary on cinematogrophers Vilmos Zsigmond & Laszlo Kovaks: NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS (Currently Streaming On NETFLIX) -
Yup! It's 2016. And here we go again! Things are looking a bit dark and morose right now, but there is, nonetheless, much for me to accomplish this year. Let's see what happens. And enjoy a little literary surprise below just to get things off on the right foot. Best of luck to everyone riding the precarious rails of a new year.
WRITING UPDATE:
"A CATCH IN TIME"
by
Christopher Alan Broadstone
Well, it's 2016 and I've been working on finally committing my long-short-story/novella(?) to the written word. With any luck, and some hard work, the completed story will be available on Amazon in Kindle format by March. As an enticement, I am –– for the first time ever –– offering a taste test: Chapter One from A Catch In Time. I hope you enjoy this wee bit launching my new horror, which takes place at one of the most haunted places on earth: the Hotel Del Salto Taquendama in Colombia, more quaintly known as Hotel Bochica. (Special thanks to Judith Herman, BCP: Team-UK, for beta-reading this excerpt. :D) Read CHAPTER ONE from A CATCH IN TIME here: www.blackcabproductions.com/Words_CIT_Chapter-One/A-Catch-In-Time_Chapter-One_Broadstone.pdf Also, enjoy this YouTube video
showing outstanding footage of the Tequendama Falls and the Hotel
Bochica. Quite outstanding! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov5ZSFfmTk4
HOW ABOUT SOME MORE CREEPY PLACES TO EXPLORE?
#7 –– The Suicidal Forrest (Mt. Fuji, Japan)
"Located near Mt. Fuji in Japan, this forest is both eerily quiet and
creepy. There are no joyful sounds of nature, only a deep silence. It’s
the most popular place to commit suicide in Japan and since it’s so deep
and confusing to navigate, occasionally hikers and tourists will come
across corpses and bones." -
