OTTO BINDER: THE LIFE AND WORK OF A COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION VISIONARY

 

OTTO BINDER: THE LIFE AND WORK OF A COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION VISIONARY. Bill Schelly. North Atlantic Books; 2016. 

Otto Binder was a science fact, science fiction, and comic book writer -- one of the most prolific in the business -- who began by writing for the pulp magazines and then turned to comics when they paid more money. He wrote more stories about Captain Marvel and his friends and enemies than anyone else, and at DC Comics was instrumental in adding characters and interesting developments to the Superman mythos. Later on he wrote science articles, as well as books on investigations into UFOs. Binder's personal life was often beset with both financial and private problems, and he suffered one terrible family tragedy that nearly derailed him. This is a respectful, absorbing, well-written and researched biography that gives Binder his due while also giving an honest assessment of his work, both good and bad. This is far more than a "fan-boy's" tribute, but a fully-realized biographical and career study of an important figure in both science fiction and comic book circles. 

Verdict: Excellent Binder biography. ***1/2. 

SHIN GODZILLA

Godzilla

SHIN GODZILLA (2016). Directors: Hideaki Anno; Shinji Higuchi. 

"There is no danger of the creature coming ashore."

A sea monster that walks around on all fours and looks rather silly metamorphoses into the familiar creature we know as Godzilla in a film that pretty much ignores all of the earlier Godzilla movies, be they American or Japanese, as this one is. Eventually the big guy develops the ability to shoot lasers from its back, dorsal fins, and tail in addition to its fiery breath after it consumes radioactive material. In time the United States military is called in, but Japanese authorities aren't thrilled when they suggest dropping a nuclear bomb on Tokyo. Meanwhile everyone talks, deciding exactly what the creature is, what to do with it, and so on and so on ad nauseam, talk, talk and more talk with a few moments of the monster doing its thing.

In a word, Shin Godzilla talks itself to death, and while the FX work is superior to that of previous Japanese Godzilla films, the movie is still quite dull. The actors do the best they can. 

Verdict: Could be the most tedious Godzilla movie ever made. *1/2. 

HER LAST WILL

Most of the cast of Her Last Will

HER LAST WILL (aka Beneficiary/2016). Director: Anthony DiBlasi. 

Dina Cotton (Harriet Samson Harris) is a wealthy widow who keeps strict control over the lives of her three children -- or else. When she announces that she's leaving millions -- annually -- to the Philharmonic, her daughter Iona (Fiona Dourif of Cult of Chucky) exclaims that it's their (her children's) money, to which Dina replies that it's actually hers. Dina won't tolerate that one son, Harold (Michael Grazeidei), is gay, so he has to meet up with boyfriends in secret. The other son, Gil (Patrick Fischier), is a creep who constantly cheats on his wife; his latest conquest is his mother's lawyer, Leslie (Lauren Bowles). Dina may be an unsympathetic harridan, but her three children are spineless losers who allow her to dictate their every action. Together they decide to hire Maggie (Rya Kihlstedt) -- a woman with a past (both in the Army and in the penitentiary) -- to rig their mother's mansion in order to drive her crazy. Then her will can be declared invalid.

Samson and Grazeidei

Her Last Will is well-acted and suspenseful, with some very interesting twists. Harriet Samson Harris made her mark in sitcoms as a brash and sarcastic character but while the plot certainly contains occasions for comedy, the movie is basically played straight. In spite of this, Samson gives a very good performance. Patrick Fischier, who plays Gil, wrote the story for the film. Her Last Will was apparently released in theaters, but it comes off more like an above-average made-for-cable movie. In any case, it's quite entertaining. 

Verdict: Nasty people doing nasty things -- and loving it! ***. 

ROBERT BLOCH'S PSYCHO SANITARIUM

Robert Bloch's PSYCHO SANITARIUM. Chet Williamson. St. Martin/s/Thomas Dunne; 2016.

After Norman Bates has been arrested for the murder of Mary Crane and private eye Arbogast -- as related in the novel "Psycho" -- he is placed in a sanitarium for the criminally insane. There he hardly says a word, but one of the kinder doctors, Reed, and a lovely nurse, Marie, are able to do a lot to draw him out of his shell. On the other hand, the head nurse and chief attendant, busy having an affair, are less sympathetic toward all of their charges, Norman included. The head of the institute, the opera-loving Dr. Goldberg, is an old-fashioned headshrinker who thinks electro-shock therapy, now in disfavor, is a preferable method of treatment. Norman gets a surprise when Dr. Reed tells him that his heretofore unknown half-brother Robert is here to see him. Initially overjoyed to discover that he has family, Norman is afraid that Robert is responsible when some of the staff and patients in the institute start disappearing. 

This suspenseful, well-written chiller takes Robert Bloch's characters and concepts and runs with them in a very satisfying mystery with a well-developed Norman Bates. Williamson also comes up with a number of clever twists. The "literary" Norman Bates is chubby and middle-aged, but Alfred Hitchcock turned him into a younger and more attractive fellow in his classic film version. This book keeps Norman as Bloch intended him to be, a variation on the real-life serial killer Ed Gein. This is certainly one of the best of the sequels to Bloch's highly-influential storyline. 

Verdict: Creepy, well-constructed, and absorbing. ***1/2. 

BLAIR WITCH (2016)

BLAIR WITCH (2016). Director: Adam Wingard. 

In this second sequel (after Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) to The Blair Witch Project, James (James Allen McCune), goes with friends to see if he can find his long-missing sister, Heather, who disappeared 15 years ago in the woods supposedly haunted by the Blair Witch, who was murdered there many, many years before. The group, which includes Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid), hooks up with two locals, Lane (Wes Robinson) and  Talia (Valorie Curry), who are more familiar with the area. These last two fake a little evidence at first to get the group intrigued, but eventually when weird things begin to happen it is clear that they couldn't be behind the mysterious and frightening happenings. James is determined to find the spooky house that appeared in the original found footage (that forms the first movie) and he does -- more's the pity. 

the talented cast of Blair Witch

As found footage movies go, Blair Witch is better than most, and while the film engendered some serious hate, I found it much better and more professional than the original. If I recall correctly, the 1999 movie meandered along and was somewhat boring with only a creepy final few minutes, but Blair Witch manages to sustain the eerie atmosphere and tension almost throughout the entire movie. The climax, especially the discovery and exploration of the horrible old house, not to mention a bit when Lisa (Callie Hernandez) crawls her way through a narrow underground tunnel to, hopefully, escape and you get the disquieting feeling that you're down there with her, is marvelously effective and chilling (excruciating for claustrophobes). All of the actors are on top of things. The movie includes a drone camera that can fly over the woods to give the group some aerial views, but this doesn't add too much to the movie, and there's a little gore as well. 

Verdict: Atmospheric and suspenseful and for my money much better than the original film. ***. 

THE KNIFE SLIPPED Erle Stanley Gardner

THE KNIFE SLIPPED. A Cool and Lam novel by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner). Written 1939. Hard Case Crime/Titan; 2016.

NOTE: On occasion B Movie Nightmare will review genre books as well as movies. 

Erle Stanley Gardner is most famous as the creator of Perry Mason, but he also wrote many books in a crime series devoted to the exploits of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Cool is a obese but solid middle-aged woman who has a tough, no-nonsense approach and is primarily concerned with making money for herself through her small detective agency that takes cases other agencies won't touch, such as divorces and political assignments. Her chief operative is the much younger and smaller Donald Cool, a twenty-something who may be short but is still good-looking enough to attract many of the ladies he encounters. He, however, is not that much good in a fight and "the little runt," as Bertha calls him, takes a beating more than once. 

The Knife Slipped was originally to be published as the second in the series, but the publisher rejected it, finding Cool's depiction too mercenary and sordid, among other things. The book was not published (posthumously) until many years later. The Knife Slipped has Cool and Lam taking on a woman client who feels that her son-in-law is cheating on her daughter with a blond. This son-in-law is later murdered, and there are numerous suspects, including a switchboard operator at his apartment house that Donald becomes stuck on. Lam has an almost 21st century attitude toward women and their sexuality, and Cool is cynical (or realistic) about certain aspects of life and love. The Knife Slipped is entertaining and well-written, but frankly it seems a cut below similar books by, say, Raymond Chandler. I've read only one other Cool and Lam book and felt the same way -- good but forgettable. 

However, if you're crazy about private detective fiction, I must say that Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are unusual operatives and highly interesting characters. That alone makes their stories of interest. And one of these days I may pick up another one in the series.

Verdict: Perry Mason might be appalled by these two. **3/4.