FILM: WHAT'S HOT! WHAT'S NOT!

     Well I'm back home and enjoying a little down time after a long and arduous winter North of the 60^thparallel. Since getting back I have started back into my writing routine and taken the time to catch up on a few flicks I've been hearing about, but haven't had the time to watch.
     The first film I watched was a flick called Outpost Black Sun. Right from the get go. What a cool title! After all, it conjures up all sorts of thoughts, including remote outposts where bad things happen. Then I read the synopsis and was a little more excited.
     At the end of the second world war a German scientist has invented a machine that turns ordinary Nazi soldiers into immortal beings. Actually the immortal beings are actually Zombies dressed in Nazi uniforms and that conjures up the kid in me. Immediately I thought about the 1977 classic Shock Waves starring veteran horror mainstay Peter Cushing and I remembered how I loved the concept.

     This tale is set in present day and follows Lena (played by Catherine Steadman), an investigator tracking Nazi war criminals who stumbles upon a map that leads her to an unspecified part of Europe. Possibly the Balkans. When she arrives  she finds herself shaken down by local militia and as a result teams up with another sleuth named Wallace (played by Richard Coyle) who is hot on the trail of the scientist who has developed the technology.

     While I was willing to forgive the political correctness of casting a young pretty female in the role of Nazi hunter I could not get past the other flaws this film had. The characters are shallow lacking depth or personality. Even worse, the film really couldn't decide whether it was a horror flick or an action flick.  While I wasn't expecting blockbuster, I would have still liked a good creepshow  that harkened back to that 1974 flick with Nazi Zombies. Outpost Black Sun is actually a sequel to Outpost which was released in 2008 in which a group of mercenaries stumble upon the same Nazi Bunker. I can't give you a fair assessment of that film, but if its anything like the sequel I wouldn't be ordering the box set.  Better yet, pick up a copy of Shock Waves and check out some bitching Nazi Zombies that walk underwater and pop up in the most frightening of places.

     Now on to something a little darker and better acted. The second film I watched was an independent called: We need to talk about Kevin. 
   Well the title pretty much says it all doesn't it? Kevin is the son of Franklin and Eva played by John C Reilly and Tilda Swinton.  In reality, Reilly is really a supporting character, as it is carried by Swinton's character Eva along with outstanding support from Ezra Miller who plays teenage Kevin. 

    As the story unfolds we follow Eva through her solitary torment as she recounts her son's evolving sociopathic personality from a baby to a teenager. Their relationship is combative almost from birth. Though she she tries to connect with her son,he resists becoming increasingly cruel and aggressive. Franklin, Kevin's father, seems oblivious to his son's unusual behavior, until their youngest daughter loses an eye and Kevin shows no remorse.

Tilda Swinton (Eva) with Jasper Newell as (Young Kevin)

    Early on we know that something terrible has happened, but the film takes us in a number of directions through a series of flashbacks that peel back the many layers of dysfunction.
     Swinton carries the role of Eva with little effort and delivers a tortured and melancholy individual that is all too believable. Scorned by townspeople and haunted by memories, she has little to do but immerse herself in a haze of alcohol and prescription drugs.

    In the aftermath of real life school shootings, the most recent being Sandy Hook CT, there is a sinister message in this film that reminds us that such things are not restricted to fiction. It is also a reminder that the victims of such terrible tragedies are also the family of the perpetrator.

     Both Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller give outstanding performances in this film. The overall direction of the film was carried out flawlessly through a series of sequenced redirects.
     It is my understanding that the book, written by Lionel Shriver, is a number of correspondences with her estranged husband about Kevin's actions. I have not read it, but reviews of the 2003 publication are pretty solid. This may have made for a very difficult film adaption, but director screenwriter Lynne Ramsay with Rory Kinnear deliver a powerful adaption of the bestselling novel.     I highly recommend this film, if not for anything, but to watch Swinton deliver the goods. 

***

MJ Preston is the Author of the Horror Novel: THE EQUINOX

His new novel ACADIA EVENT is forecasted for release in late 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 RATED AS ONE OF THE 
BEST HORROR NOVELS TO HIT BOOKSHELVES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS!!
'The Equinox' is a tour de force of brilliant writing, fast-paced action, and gritty characterisation. 
Get your copy of The Equinox  
Sold in Hardcover and Trade Paperback
Click on the books below for more details

                       

Go North (cough cough) Young Man

 By MJ Preston

     Last year I ventured into the Northwest Territories to experience what it would be like to run the infamous Ice-roads as an Ice Road Trucker. When I got there I discovered that  the NWT is likely one of the most beautiful places on earth in the winter.  The sky is awash pastel colors and the night aglow with the majesty of the Northern Lights and I didn't regret it one bit, but in all honesty I decided to go ahead with this adventure for a number of reasons, but mainly for the following:

• I needed the money;
• I was thinking about walking away from the trucking industry and thought seeing the North would be nice way to finish my career; and
• I needed a little perspective and running up there afforded me the time to do some personal inventory and serious reflection.

From the drivers seat of the Blue Western Star

     A year later I am getting ready to do it all over again and from there I'm not sure where I will go, but I do know that this year will be different then the last.

     Going North also became the seed from which my new novel is growing quite rapidly. Unfortunately, once I get up onto the ice, I will not be able to write or do all the other extra-curricular such as hanging with the folks at Dark Discussions or getting into a book or two. So Acadia Event will be put down for awhile, at least in the conventional sense. I will not be pounding away on the keyboard, but I may use my voice recognition program for all the little eureka moments I tend to have when I'm driving.

     What I will be doing again this year is donning my camera and taking a whole hockey sock, excuse the pun, of new pictures. I've got a brand new tripod I'm dying to try out and I've gained a little more experience with the equipment. So that should fun.

The now retired Mackenzie Ferry crossing in low water conditions

     Hopefully, by the time I get back my website will be back up to par. This has been a shitty year in technology. The attack (unprovoked I might add) on my website completely screwed up everything I was putting together this year which included podcasting THE EQUINOX. Then four days ago my laptop took a nose dive and I was forced to format it. Thankfully I had all the important stuff backed up, but I lost a whole bunch of music and pretty much every email address I didn't know by heart. To add insult to injury I sent a collective email out to everyone before zero hour and managed to screw up the address. At any rate my website email is back up and running if you need to contact me and I'll add you to my address book. Again.

     Send your email to mjprestonATmjpreston.net

A view from the diamond mine. Maintenance Building

     So in 2013 I have some short term goals. First of all I want to be home more, I haven't figured out if that facilitates a move or a change of career. I guess we'll figure it out. I'm going to have Acadia Event ready for publication this year and I am going to start back on two books waiting in the wings. One is a thriller horror called: 4 and the other straight book based loosely on my own life.

     I also want to get back to doing the things I enjoy doing. I've only been on board three times with the guys at Dark Discussions, but I want to join them at their roundtable when they'll have me. These folks are first rate and knowledgeable? Man they put me to shame. Philip, Eric, and Mike, you guys rock.
     I'll also be downloading the podcasts I have come to know and love. Dark Discussions,  The Askancity Podcast and few new ones as well like Scary Scribes and Horror Etc.  The folks on these sites, among others, will be joining me as I run across the barrens just south of the Arctic Circle.

     So that about wraps for this blog up. Happy New Year to all, may 2013 be all you want it to be.

*** 

MJ Preston is the Author of the Horror Novel: THE EQUINOX

His new novel ACADIA EVENT is forecasted for release in late 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 RATED AS ONE OF THE 
BEST HORROR NOVELS TO HIT BOOKSHELVES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS!!
'The Equinox' is a tour de force of brilliant writing, fast-paced action, and gritty characterisation. 
Get your copy of The Equinox  
Sold in Hardcover and Trade Paperback
Click on the books below for more details

                       

I CAN'T THINK OF A SUITABLE TITLE 

So here goes...

This Christmas I went to see a friend of mine whom I've known since leaving the Army back in 1998. Its funny how time flies, back then I still smoked cigarettes and wasn't packing around the middle aged gut I now sport. I had just started into a new career as a truck driver and somehow  me and this fellow became friends. Actually there was a minor accident involved, but that is another story for another day.

When I published: THE EQUINOX this fellow came out for my book signing and called me a few weeks after he bought the book and said. "I really enjoyed your book Mark," then added. "I didn't think I would, but I did."

When I asked him why, his answer was honest.

"I didn't buy the book because I thought it would be good, I bought it because you wrote it and your a friend. So I thought, even if it's a piece of shit, its Marks book, so I'm going to buy it."

"I remember you telling me, that if it was a shitty book you'd tell me," I replied laughing.

"Well it isn't a shitty book, I was surprised, I was sucked right in. In fact I can't wait for the next one."

We were 3000 kilometres apart when that phone call happened, roughly 1500 miles for my friends to the South. That phone call meant quite a bit, because it came from a friend who wasn't afraid to hurt my feelings. This guy has always been like that, sometimes we'd get into heated discussions because he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, but though we rarely see each other I was always happy to chew the rag over the phone to see how things were going.

It had been a few months since we talked and my wife got a phone message from his lady. I've known her as long as I known him, Actually I knew both of them before they became a couple. They are good for each other, friends, partners, lovers.
The message was short and mysterious: 'Hi Karen, can you give me a call, I need to tell you something.'

My heart sank when I heard this.

My first thought was that he'd suffered a heart attack or been in a wreck, but I placed that call and got news that no parent wants to hear. His youngest son was in palliative care in the final stages of terminal cancer. Having had a few beers and still in the throes of jet lag I wasn't able to get down to the hospital until the next day. We rolled in not long after suppertime and entered a room where the family held vigil for this young man who was no longer conscious, but still fighting. The cancer had spread throughout his body, in his organs, his brain and they had operated after two of the tumors burst. Here was this young man, married only a few years, father of two young kids who sat next to their dad as he was being kept alive on tracheostomy care while they filled him with drugs to manage any pain he might have.

A lump formed in my throat, I looked across at my pal and said. "Jesus Christ man,

I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say."

He smiled. "You don't have to say nothing man. It's not your fault."

I gave him a hug and my wife and I both choked back the tears.

He and his lady went with us into the hall and we talked as other family members moved in and out of the room. His other son showed up with his kids and I thought to myself how sad it was that little children who should be hanging stockings or out playing in the snow should have to stand vigil because their dad who was far too young was finally succumbing to a battle he had fought with cancer over a number of years.

The visit went on for about an hour and a half, not wanting to keep them we excused ourselves and wandered back down to our car. I can't tell you how sad all of this makes me and without asking permission of my friend I can't divulge his name or that of his son, although later on I may update this blog if my friend permits it.

This morning I got a message that this young man finally passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. While  he died far too young and leaves behind a very young family, I am happy to know that his Dad (my friend) was there with him until the very end.

I would like to encourage everyone to give generously to the Cancer Society as they work to find new treatments and cures for this terrible disease that takes so many lives every year.

May the New Year bring you and yours health and prosperity.

M(Mark) J Preston

Website Woes and Internet Foes

     At the end of 2012 I find myself at a bit of a disadvantage, thanks greatly to someone hacking my website and getting it listed as an attack site on Google. I'm not really sure what the motivation was, but after numerous attempts to plug the security issues I finally made a decision to pull the site right down and my webmaster is now working to get the site up and running.
     Unfortunately, once you are painted with this scarlet letter it takes 3 months to get off the Google shit list. Anyhow, it is what it is and for the time being I will be using my blog here to update folks on what is happening.
     So, with that said here is a quick update on what I am doing in the year 2013.


ACADIA EVENT

     I am still hard at work on ACADIA EVENT and it is coming together quite well in that I have the entire book figured out and the finish line in my sights. As with: THE EQUINOX I am vetting each chapter through a fellow writer and he is offering feedback. Acadia should be finished sometime in 2013 and once the drafts are completed I may actually include some artwork to accompany the book.
     I would be done the book much sooner if I didn't have a pesky day job, but if you're not a full time writer with an awesome contract to see you through and movie producers beating on your door that is the cross you must bear. Just spitballing here, but if everyone would go to Amazon and buy five copies of Equinox that would certainly lessen the need for that pesky day job. What? Your credit cards are maxed out from Christmas Shopping? Did you buy someone you love a copy of The Equinox? Enough said...

PODCASTING THE EQUINOX 

     This is a new project I am really excited about.  In the New Year I am going to podcast the entire Equinox in an episodic chapter a week.
     I came by the idea after being asked if I would consider turning THE EQUINOX into an audio book for those who do not have the time to sit down and read the book. Yes, there are those people. Truck drivers and people who work long days don't have time to curl up with a book would certainly benefit from an audio version. I, myself have been listening to a great deal of audiobooks as I spend long days on the road and want to keep up on stimulating my imagination. After getting past the fact that I hate the sound of my own voice (yes I'm the narrator) I am now more comfortable with reading aloud, so it will be you the listener who will have to get past the cringe factor.
     Along with podcasting THE EQUINOX, I am also reaching out to the many Podcast sites out there who want to do a bit of cross pollination, in that if you help me get the word out I will feature your site before reading a chapter. Anyhow there will be more to follow after I get some of the technical stuff figured out, including getting it up on iTunes and making it available on the new secure site my webmaster is now hard at work on.

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER

     Just before Christmas I announced that anyone who bought a copy of THE EQUINOX and emailed me a copy of their proof of purchase would have their name tossed into a hat and one lucky individual would get a signed Hardcover Library Edition of THE EQUINOX. This Library edition was a special order I had made for my private collection and is not available to the general public. On occasion I have fired off a couple copies of this finely crafted book to certain individuals, but there are many in existence. Four have been sent out and I hold a couple in my private library. 
     Dave MacNeil, of New Glasgow Nova Scotia had his name drawn and will get his signed copy sometime in the New Year. Congratulations Dave! As I said on Facebook, not only did the world not end, but you scored a cool collectable.


FACEBOOK AND SOCIAL MEDIA

      Like many I have embraced social media including Facebook and Twitter. I'm still trying to figure out the practical application of twitter, I've only got 90 something followers, but Facebook is a regular regime where I love interacting with people. When I say interacting, that doesn't mean I want to play Mafia Wars or Farmville. I think that stuff sucks and I don't have time to tend to virtual goats or wack people who might flip for the cops. I do however like looking at internet pictures, listrening to interesting podcasts about movies and when all else fails just prodding one another with the occasional dig.
      In addition to my Facebook page I also have a group called: Acadia Event Updates and Artwork that anyone on Facebook can join. It is in the section I post new artwork and give updates on how the book is coming along.  I also have taken to posting photographs, an amateur past time of mine at my new Flickr Page

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS

      Well, we're winding down to the big day and I'm sure all of you out there are as happy as I am to eat too much, maybe drink too much and enjoy having your immediate family close at hand. My wishes go out to all this holiday season, I hope you find comfort in the sanctity of those you love. 
      Not all of us are blessed with good fortune this season. Two days ago I visited a friend whose son is in the last stages of terminal cancer. It was heartbreaking to see my friend this way and to see his son so young, with little kids in such a state. May the strength of their family see them through these very difficult times. Not to get sanctimonious, but if you are with the ones you love, remember that someone else may not be as a fortunate.

Merry Christmas

Mark aka MJ Preston

     

Movies: What's hot what's not!

     I saw three movies this week and thought I would share my feelings about whether or not they are worth checking out. Here they are in no particular order.

THE GREY- Directed by Joe Carnahan - Starring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo

Screenplay by Joe Carnahan and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers

    The Grey with Liam Neeson is about a hunter along with a group of oil roughnecks who find themselves fighting for their lives after their commercial flight crashes into the Alaskan tundra.
     The film introduces us to a skilled hunter named Ottaway (played by Neeson)  who culls wolves in and around the oil patch, but the sharp shooter is an individual in deep mourning at the loss of his wife and in fact somewhat suicidal.
     When the plane crashes it seems things can't get any worse until a pack of wolves begin stalking the survivors as if they were a herd instead of man. Without his rifle Ottaway attempts to prepare the men for the impending danger, but this does not come without at least some resistance by one member named Diaz. As the group undergoes a bit of alpha-male infighting the wolves attack and the men realize that their only strength is in numbers. It is at this point they decide to that they will not survive the elements or the wolves if they do not try and hike out of the barrens.
     Overall, 'The Grey' is a stunning film to watch and Neeson carries his character forward under the direction of Joe Carnahan quite effectively. The backdrop of Alaskan landscape does well to illustrate the cold and elements the men face as they are systematically killed by the relentless wolf pack. There are few flaws in the script, most notably was the decision to leave the crashed aircraft to get to safety. The fact that it was a source of refuge from the wolves and the elements is dwarfed only by the fact that all commercial aircraft have transponders which would surely have led to rescue.
     That aside, I would recommend this film to anyone looking for a good bout of pulse pounding entertainment. Liam Neeson, along with actors Frank Grillo, Dallas Roberts and Dermot Mulroney carry this tale of survival to an ending that is both unexpected and very refreshing.

RATING (Definitely worth seeing)
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THE DARKEST HOUR  Directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmambetoy.

Starring Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella

     Two young tech savvy businessmen go to Moscow to sell their social networking program to investors only to find they've been screwed over by the middle man they thought was helping get a footprint in the Russian Capital.
     What do young men who've been screwed over for billions do when this happens? Well, they go 'Clubbing' of course and drown their sorrows in vodka and woman, but that gets interupted by an alien invasion that sucks all the electricity out of the power grid and vaporizes humans when touched by the invisible entities. Luckily, the main characters manage to take refuge in a basement while Moscow and the rest of the world falls victim to the invasion.
     Don't get me wrong, I like a good invasion flick as much as the next guy or gal, but this movie had some real time-line issues that left me (the guy who smoked up in science) wondering if the writers had a smick about anything.
     First off, the world gets wiped out in a day, or is it a week, a month? I don't really know, but what we do know is that during that rather murky time-line while our characters were hiding out in the basement some people, in particularly a fat Russian plummer has already developed a microwave gun that disables the aliens force field.
     It was from this point that I began to think: "Oh man, guess I gotta watch it until the end."
     And I did and it sucked.

RATING (Not worth seeing)
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THE CABIN IN THE WOODS 
Directed by Drew Goddard
Starring Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison

     Five friends set out for a cabin in the woods that is no doubt going to be a haven for serial killers, zombie families, or whatever horror might horror might suit your fancy.
     If you go to see Cabin in the Woods thinking that you are going to be watching another 70's style slasher film, then guess again. This movie is filled with gore, laughs, and right from the get go you are in on the fact that the five teens destiny is already preordained by scientists working behind the scenes to deliver the particular path they take.
     It plays like a slasher film, whilst the command center below the cabin controls who lives and who dies, but the bigger story is that the film basically says that every slasher movie, creature feature and monster film is real and that the command center is delivering these teenagers to slaughter to serve a higher purpose. I won't ruin that for you, but will say that Fran Kranz, who plays 'Marty' the classic stoner actually steals the spotlight with his  laid back humor and witty responses that are tempered by whatever brand of weed it is that he is smoking in his travel-mug/bong.
     I loved this film, it was a funny interesting and when it was all over I actually heard the audience clapping when the credits rolled. If you're a horror fan who has a sense of humor you will like this movie.

RATING (Definitely worth seeing)  
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Well it's Christmas, and in the spirit of giving I have decided to do something radical. Call me crazy, but I am going to give away 100 free E-Versions of my book.

So, what's the catch right? No catch whatsoever. The first 100 people to email me using the form on this page will get a Kindle, Epub or PDF version of THE EQUINOX.

Why am I doing this? I am doing this because I am an Independent Writer and I want people to enjoy my work. Without the backing of a major publicity firm I have decided to take matters into my own hands. The way I see it -- the more people who read my book -- the more word of mouth it gets and thus, the more advertising it gets..

So, fill out the form, be one of the first 100 and you'll get a free E-copy of the book in a format of your choosing. [One copy only per applicant]


Oh and I almost forgot, in the spirit of giving, I am going to add one more thing to stuff in your stocking. If you are one of the 100 who enter your name for a free E-Copy of THE EQUINOX, your name will also be entered into a draw for a signed 6 X 9 trade paperback.

No catch, no spam, just my gift to you this Holiday Season.

Better get at it because the moment we hit the 100 mark the giveaway ends.

Happy Holidays.

MJ Preston

Here's the link:
E-Book Giveaway

The skin-walker of Spirit Woods

Note: As the creature evolves, I will update this blog along with new pictures so check back.

Entry # 1

    Halloween is coming. Okay it's still a little under two months away, but I have started getting ready. Every year I set up something new so that when the kids come down the street they know that there really is a monster living in my house who likes to keep all the candy for himself.

    This year I have decided to add the skin-walker to my crowd of spiders, serial killers, and demon babies. Now the the novel is out there I figured that I would try and create the creature that runs amok killing and eating the lower intestinal track of it's victims whilst letting out it's signature shreik.

    So far the head has come together nicely, although I may have to make a couple adjustments to the teeth and add a bit more rot. I expect that the creature will be approximately 7' tall, a little shorter than the creature in the novel, but hell I gotta store this thing after tear down.

    Building the head has been a bit tricky, rolling on layer after layer of latex and trying to get  the look and texture right, but it seems to be coming together okay and once I actually airbrush it I'll be able to get the texture of its rotted flesh just right.

    In my next entry I will put a few shots of the torso and the progress I make with that.

Entry #2

    I have now  added several layers of latex to the creatures face and started developing the torso. This is a slow process, as I have to wait for each layer of latex to dry before putting on another.

    This is actually quite a daunting task, because it is very time consuming.  While waiting for the torso to dry I started developing the talon-like claws and after forming the arms from chicken wire, plaster, later, cotton baton and burlap I attached the the claws which you will see in the next string of photos.