La Jetee (1963)

Filed Under BBT, Jetpacks, Soylent Screen, Jef Taylor, Art, futuristic dystopias, Time travel | 3 Comments

BBT critic Jef Taylor
watches an art film–don’t worry, it’s short!

In the subterranean society that survives beneath the radioactive wreckage left after World War Three, human beings are experimented on.  "The outcome was disappointment for some, death for others, and for others, madness."  But one man’s obsession with a childhood event makes him different, and the experiments on him are successful: he becomes a time traveller.

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Murder Party (2007); Also: The Naturalist Presents three horror movies no one else would recommend

Filed Under BBT Magazine, New York, Soylent Screen, Jef Taylor, Art, Halloween, Brooklyn, Murder as Art, Murder Party, Lake Placid, Kingdom of the Spiders, The Blob, Extraterrestrial slime mold plasmodium, Big Bill Shatner | 7 Comments

Movie Reviews with BBT Critic Jef Taylor

My original plan for this late October Soylent Screen column was to do "The Naturalist Presents," in other words a bunch of horror movies that no one but me would dare to recommend.  And don’t worry, I’ll still do so with a shortened list, but in between thinking of the idea and deadline time something happened to derail my train of thought.  That something was Murder Party, an indie horror comedy that deserves to be reviewed and recommended now, so that you wonderful BBT readers will be aware of it and have a chance to rent the dvd before Halloween.

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Wickedly Yours: Fingers, Hands, and a Strawberry Man

Filed Under BBT, Blogging, Joe Hill, Myspace, Art, Reviews | 6 Comments

Necon and a Jar of Flies

So much to share with you, and so little time. I was going to tell you about my extraordinary weekend at Necon, The Northeastern Writers’ Conference in Bristol, Rhode Island, but alas, as the cliche goes, "What happens at Necon stays at Necon." Suffice to say, I slept too little, laughed my arse off (if only that were literal), spent quality time with the best in the business, and can’t wait to go back next year. Just look at that line-up, kids…and they’re already half-sold-out for next year!

Now, to the Jar. My friend, Jack Kincaid, is doing a wickedly interesting writing project over at MySpace, JAR OF FLIES, which apparently, although unrelated to the story, it’s also the name of an album by Alice in Chains (I’m old and sadly uninformed). The talented and mysterious, Mr. Kincaid, is offering some of his fine work for the small pittance of a mouse click. It’s compelling stuff. He got me with the wild visual of the four-fingered man in our opening pic, and the excellent video trailer - HERE.

Jack’s just getting started with the first installments of the epic, so stop by and have a gander - JAR OF FLIES - Opener and Episode One.

NOTE: At the time of this writing, the links to Jar of Flies is glitching at MySpace. Hopefully, Tom and the MySpace minions will have the problem sorted out by the time you’re ready to visit. If not, please come back for another click. I’m sure it will be back in order…eventually. Argh…

Mr. Hands

Last week, I reported on the upcoming horror goodness of MR. HANDS over at, Yada, Too, but it deserves another mention here.

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Blow On It: Are Videogames Art? Who Cares!

Filed Under Video Games, Blow On It, Feargus Home, Jack Thompson, Art | 9 Comments

Blow on it 2

I dare you, really dare you, to read online gaming publications regularly between right around a little before Christmas until early spring[i]. I can guarantee you that the amount of articles you will read regarding the raging games-as-art debate (and the subsequent user comments) will succeed in convincing you of a few things. The first thing you may be convinced of is that some 14 year-old chronic bigot with a Napoleon complex and the sweet release of internet anonymity may not be the best person to advocate any cause, video-game-related or not. The second thing you may be convinced of, after reading literally hundreds of editorials, is that the debate (though supposedly “raging”) is moving at a glacial pace. It looks like this-
 
Art Jerk: Video games aren’t art because there is no singular vision.
 

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