Random Ramblings from the Vault...

• So my absolute favorite TV channel, Turner Classic Movies, is set to blow the roof off this mutha in October, with a month-long tribute to Hammer Films, and a mind-blowing marathon of terror gems the entire Halloween weekend. I'll be devoting a post to it later this week, but suffice to say I'm beyond psyched.

• Speaking of Halloween, the B-Sol tradition of dressing up for the trick-or-treaters continues this year for the fifth time in a row, although I'm a bit stumped this time. I've been Superman, the Invisible Man, Indiana Jones and a zombie thus far. I'm thinking I might go vampire this year...

• The season finale of True Blood is just one week away, prolonged thanks to the Labor Day weekend. Don't want to give anything away, but I'm pretty bummed at the apparent loss of a couple of great characters. Nevertheless, I appreciate the reasons for it, from a dramatic point of view.

• Can I just say how glad I am that I not only subscribed to Time-Life's superb "Enchanted World" series of books back in the '80s, but also kept them all this time. It's an incredible series of tomes on various aspects of ancient folklore and myth, and if you should ever come across them in a garage sale somewhere, I heartily recommend snatching them up.

• Am I the only one who thinks it a damn shame that there was never an I Was a Teenage Gill Man?

• Haven't had an opportunity to catch The Last Exorcism yet, but I've been seeing some very divided reactions out there, which quite frankly are leaning toward the negative. I'm thinking I'll skip it this week and check out Machete instead.

• As a lifelong Tolkien worshiper, one of my greatest thrills in seeing Peter Jackson's superb trilogy realized on screen was having the Orcs of Middle-Earth come to life. Tolkien was never particularly descriptive as to what they actually looked like, and it was fun to witness Jackson's interpretation. Personally, I had always imagined them as looking something like the Gamorrean guards of Jabba the Hutt's palace...

• After being reminded of its greatness by a mention on Andre Dumas' blog The Horror Digest, I once again watched one of my all-time favorite films, Amadeus, and I have to say--that opening scene, in which Salieri tries to slit his own throat, might just be the goriest moment I've ever seen in a straight-up Oscar-bait type dramatic motion picture. Beautiful stuff.

• So...Clash of the Titans 2? Really? I mean, are they going to be just making up stuff and adding it to the original Perseus legend of Greek myth? Does Perseus find himself down on his luck, a washed-up, aging adventurer who must lace up the leather boots one more time to prove he can still go the distance? Hmmm...anyone know if Burt Young is available to play his slovenly brother-in-law?

• For those anxiously awaiting my opinions on Piranha 3-D--I know you're out there somewhere--just a little heads up. I wrote a review of the film for the blog Babbling About Books...And More, to which I've contributed in the past. From what I understand, the review should be posted some time tomorrow, so keep a look out for it!