They move to the back of the store to, thank god, the bathroom that doesn’t really lock. The door is already partially open. White Trash’s foot must have kicked it when he fell. That is where is now; on his back, his face contorting with discomfort. A black pistol is visible on the floor, nudging against the White Trash hat. A gold bullet casing rests in the corner. Everything about the boy is now revealed on the dirty bathroom tile.
and in the morning I’ll wake up, brush my teeth
do my make-up and say good morning, honey
I made coffee, I put it in your favorite mug
blissfully unaware of the night before
100 WORD FILM REVIEWS / The Kid
A brother and sister on the run cross paths with William Bonney and Pat Garrett in Vincent D’Onofrio’s The Kid. Dane DeHaan and Ethan Hawke occupy supporting roles as the outlaw-lawman duo, imbuing their characters with depth. Although the film’s pace slackens and the third act contains a standard rescue plot, there is still plenty to admire. Cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd’s adeptly captures New Mexico’s landscape, and Chris Pratt plays against type as a villain. More straightforward than revisionist, D’Onofrio’s Western may not add anything new to Billy the Kid’s legend, but it is an occasionally entertaining yarn.
100 WORD FILM REVIEWS / The Pale Door
The Dalton Gang literally gets caught with their pants down in a brothel run by witches. While I welcome more horror-westerns hybrids, The Pale Door shoots blanks from a double-barrel shotgun. An interesting concept is betrayed by poor writing and laughable situations, not to mention special effects that present witches as haggard burnt bodies. It’s nice to see Stan Shaw from The Monster Squad and other recognizable actors appearing in new projects, but their talents are wasted here. Distributed by RLJE Films and Shudder—which gave us Mandy, Color Out of Space, and Psycho Gorman—I expect better.
COMICS / Mr. Butterchips / Alex Schumacher / February 2021
Mr. Butterchips faces the real fears of 2021 in the latest from Alex Schumacher!
FILM / Zora's Super Short Show / Black History Short Films / Zora Satchell
Zora’s Super Short Show returns this month to Drunk Monkeys! To celebrate Black History Month, Zora shares her favorite black film shorts.
So often, victims of sexual abuse are asked to hold space for the abusers. Maybe they have changed! They are still human! They don’t deserve to be defined by their shortcomings! So often they are asked over and over to step back into the shadows so the discussion can be about how much we can reform rapists, and how much we should allow them back into our society.
Adoptive father Matthew Cuthbert is pleasantly baffled by young Anne, appreciating her imagination and gregariousness as a contrast to his own stammering but warm shyness. He also understands that she sometimes needs protection, but that protection is rarely (if ever) about punching out some bad guy. His protection is a mix of patience and generosity.
FILM / Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo / February 2021 / Gabriel Ricard
Gabriel gives up another roundup of fascinating short films in this month’s Captain Canada’s Movie Rodeo.
Water pours in from the broken window like a geyser. The closer she gets into the low lighting, she recognizes Cake and Willow floating on the water. When they get hungry, they like to hover near the top, their fins and backs peeking out of the water in expectation. But they’re dead.
On top of that, when you stopped at the Speedway, peeing was part of the ritual, but this time with all that Taco Bell you forgot that part, and now, heading in the right direction, you have to find a place to pee, so you stop drinking the Pepsi and just sit there perturbed.
Funny, accessing memories of the old tales has led me to remember how I got here - everything that had lead to this. I made the mistake with intention, to go out there alone and look at the stars. I feel my body again, or felt my body as I slid my hand across the dips in the cold rock where he crouched. Dusk approached and something called me over.
Cal was quiet after. In the dark, he sat in his boxers at the same end of the couch where he’d stood before submitting. I graciously retracted into the other end and reviewed his presentation while wearing his shirt. I pointed out what was persuasive and what wasn’t, why Jefferson knew the client wouldn’t buy it. I typed over his thoughts. Deleted shapes. Inserted slides.
I met Lark and Rachel in a Prodigy chatroom in 1994. They were real-life friends who lived in Staten Island and I deduced that Lark was the cooler one, mostly — okay, only — because of her unconventional, super-hip name. Imagine the confidence of someone named after a striking songbird?
100 WORD FILM REVIEWS / Psycho Goreman
In the darkest realm of the universe, in the obsidian-black horror of the unknown, Hellraiser and Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy had a baby, which went on to have a baby with Terrorvision. That spawn of unholy coupling went on to mate with Masters of the Universe, which went on to beget every monster from that one scene in Neverending Story when they have to figure out who will save the Childlike Empress. From that lineage came a child that wanted to make a Troma movie, but with a budget. And thus, you have Psycho Goreman. It fucking rules.
bad relationships
spark good poetry:
stir my emotions,
mix words inside me.
And
yet, I couldn’t ask for a better
batch of badgers to share
a festering wound with.
I have the profanities
for all eight occurrences
of Emily.