Music | Billy Idol | PASS

Amazing career, amazing musician. One of my favorites! Some critics didn't like Cyberpunk, but I did, as well as every other album and all of his work with other musicians. Devil's Playground is my favorite album, hands down. That picture is from the wax museum.

Movie | One Hour Photo | PASS

Seriously creepy, excellently made. Williams is marvelous, as usual.

Tiny Trivia: they used Pontiac Aztecs for cop cars! Ha ha ha!

But, seriously creepy.

Movie | The Illustrated Man | PASS

I'm familiar with the original story by Ray Bradbury and I swear I've read a graphic novel adaptation of it somewhere along the way (Howard Chaykin rings a bell), but I'd never seen the movie starring Rod Steiger. Now I have and I'm glad I did. Although it's very, very slow and just downright oddball in many places, it's really a very intriguing movie.

Movie | Black Sheep | PASS

Great creature feature from New Zealand, starring mutant killer sheep. Although billed (and in fact) a horror comedy, there isn't a lot of ha ha. More baa baa, if you get my drift. Still, it was shear fun. Very gory, great cast, not that scary. I wool recommend this to friends that like outrageous horror like The Revenant. A PASS!

Movie | Sexy Beast | PASS

I'll see just about anything Ray Winstone is in. And Danny Huston, too. Two of my favorite actors at the moment, Huston is not in this movie but Winstone is. Even though Ben Kingsley is featured on most of the promo posters, this is really Winstone's show and he's amazing in this crime drama that's heavy on the drama. In fact, there's barely any scenes involving the crime. Lots of foul language, some violence, but just brilliant. Fantastic soundtrack by UNKLE and featuring that great song by The Stranglers, "Peaches". I love that song!

A very good, highly stylish and smart movie (for adults).

Movie | How to Make a Monster | Pass

Hilariously, the most fictitious and unbelievable part of this movie weren't the monsters and the murders, but the opening scenes; a creative person is given repeated accolades at his job. That could never happen! Unbelievable! Still, this was rather a fun movie and I loved when they changed to color. It made it feel very odd - just perfect for the scene. Not gory, not scary, but the end was creepy.

Cars | Scott D's 1970 Olds 98 | PASS

Fashion | Vans Shoes | PASS

Radical!

Movie | Wild Zero | PASS

Intentionally bad, utterly insane, violent Japanese punk rock/rockabilly (plus some great surf guitar) comedy zombie...uh...movie. Crazy fun, especially the music. Amazing amount of posturing and hair combing...almost to the point of it being a tick. Rock and Roll!!!

Fashion | Band Pins | PASS

Remember these?

Movie | Mimic 2 | Pass

Decent enough sequel. I really liked how they picked up with a supporting character from the original. And the replacement actress (none of the originals returned) did a pretty good job integrating the little nuances. A lot of people wouldn't like this one as much as the first (and I don't know how many would like the first one!). It wanders a bit towards "B-movie". Still, I rather enjoyed it.

TV | Dirk Gently | PASS

I liked this a lot, while NK just thought it was okay. Reminded me a bit of Monk, Psych and of course, Sherlock Holmes. Very stylish (without being overly so). Based on the Douglas Adams books. Only three episodes. What the heck?!? I hope there are more.

TV | Eagleheart | Pass

Gross-out slapstick that bears more than a passing resemblance (homage) to Walker, Texas Ranger. It tries a bit too hard, but fortunately, the episodes are short. This kind of humor is so hit or miss. You may love it, while the next person would find it repulsive. I thought it was funny enough to try again. We'll see how long that lasts.

Official website.

Movie | Mimic | Pass

Good creature feature. But, I still can't figure out why I can't seem to connect to the movies of Guillermo del Toro. Is it a lack of depth in the character development? I just don't know!

Music | Rad & Kell | PASS

Great local musicians (and the son of one of my students)!

Movie | Friendly Persuasion | Pass

Thanks JR, for the recommendation!

TV | Sitcoms | Fail

For various reasons, I dislike several currently popular sitcoms. People recommended them to me, I tried them a couple of times and they just didn't click. I didn't find them funny. Yet, I like similar shows. Go figure. Comedy is selective and objective. If you love them, that's no problem. I'm glad! Anyway, to avoid further discussion, here is a list of shows that are not my favorites:

• Community
• Parks and Rec
• 30 Rock
• The Middle
• The Big Bang Theory

Sorry!

Movie | Return of the Living Dead 3 | Fail

Had high hopes for this one, but it turned out to be pretty bad. I didn't care about any of the characters, the acting was poor and a boom mike wandered into scenes with regularity. Bummer. The first two were definitely worth seeing. This one, not so much.

Movie | Return of the Living Dead 2 | Pass

I actually enjoyed this more than the original, mainly because of all the humor that referenced the first movie. They got some really great bands to be part of the soundtrack, but their music wasn't featured much. Makes no sense! Still, I thought this was far funnier and the 80s clothing and style were great.

TV | Whites | PASS

Not fall down funny, but the fantastic cast make up for that. Other than the awesome Alan Davies, you've got Katherine Parkinson from The IT Crowd and Matt King from Spirited, who also wrote this. Tragically cancelled by morons in suits.

TV | Scandal | Fail

Boring. The only remotely interesting thing is the presence of Guillermo Díaz.

Movie | Return of the Living Dead | Pass

Undoubtedly a classic. Surprising, since this is a ripoff of the Romero franchise. But, it was good enough that it has a following all unto itself. It's too bad Dan O'Bannon didn't direct more. Is it a great movie? No. And the humor falls a bit flat nowadays. Still, the line, "Send more cops..." is classic! But, why oh why didn't they use punk rock for the soundtrack?!?

Movie | The Revenant | PASS

If you loved An American Werewolf in London, then you absolutely must see this movie! What the heck happens? How do movies this great slip through the cracks? Another good movie to compare this to is Shaun of the Dead. Those other two movies deserve super cult classic status and so does this one!

TV | Holliston | Pass

Everything about this TV show is bad. I mean, really bad. The acting, the horrifically annoying laugh track...it goes on and on and on. And yet, there's something charming here. If you like the sincerity of poorly made indie movies, especially of the horror variety, and you like ridiculously lame sitcoms, then this might intrigue you. I almost turned the pilot off several times. The reason that I didn't is because of the bits of character development that happened. As long as they keep that up, they might have a chance of staying on and getting better at...everything. Oh, and I think the intended audience will require the gore that is on display here.

Movie | Blind Fury | PASS

It's been too many years since I've seen this movie and when it popped up on cable, I had to watch it again. A complete ripoff of Zatoichi, Rutger Hauer is still the man, the cast is superb (mostly) and though it's cheesy and dated, this is still a fun movie in just about every way and a cult classic.

Movie | Day of the Dead (1985) | Pass

A great premise, very good cinematography (even though it is of a lower visual quality) are only slightly marred by some rather cheesy acting and a dated (though still highly enjoyable) soundtrack. So superior to the remake. The third in the Romero franchise, it's probably for zombie genre fans only. I needed a fix since the season two finale of The Walking Dead and this fit the bill just fine. I'd love to see it remade (again), with more style and intrigue. This movie deserves it.

Movie | The Terminal | PASS

Excellent, despite the preposterous elements and the painfully real cruelty people exhibit. Zeta-Jones adds nothing to the film, but Hanks, Tucci and the supporting cast are outstanding.

Movie | Dust Devil | Pass

Same director as Hardware. Here, instead of a sci-fi psychedelic horror movie, we get a supernatural psychedelic horror movie. Despite some slightly dated moments and some less than flowing editing, this is a pretty good flick. There are some pretty gory moments, implied and visual, but this is not your normal slasher. It's too bad that the director really didn't do much after this. His usage of the cyberpunk outlook was truly intriguing and unique.

Movie | The Thing From Another World | PASS

The 1951 classic! Despite the period patter, there's real tension here.