The Black Devil Doll that wouldn't die

Cue the scary music. Get that screeching cat ready to leap from the closet. And for Rob Zombie's sake, get those meat cleavers sharpened.

Like Ash in a Sam Raimi Evil Dead flick, I'm going where things may get a little hairy.

Got an invitation from Mike Olsson, host of HorrorMovieFans.com Radio, to discuss my recent posting on the slasher-sex flick Black Devil Doll. You know, the one that inspired dozens of gorehounds, including one of the movie's producers, to respond with, shall we say, colorful vitriol.

"I have some differing opinions on the film and I believe we could have an interesting and respectful discussion," Olesson messaged.

And I'm always up for that.

So, Sunday night at 10 p.m. EST -- I should've told Mike that's too late for a fuddy-duddy like me to stay up -- I'll spend 30 minutes to an hour swapping thoughts on Black Devil Doll and why I believe that the freedom of expression that so many BDD supporters cited doesn't necessarily mean freedom of exhibition, especially in a community like St. Pete where racial division simmers each day.

You can eavesdrop by clicking this link: BlogTalkRadio.com and turning up the volume. Should be fun. Especially since Mike accepts listener calls (646-716-7438) and there's no 7-second delay.

Jimmy Buffett vs. REO Speedwagon? No contest!

But we're making it one. Stuck in the '80s ("mired" is more like it) guy Steve Spears came up with a great idea for next Thursday's Weekend section: a battle royale among the dozen or so musical acts coming to Tampa Bay soon in a whirlwind of concerts.

First prize: Being named THE concert to see. Second prize: Set of steak knives. Third prize: You're fired. (Thanks, Glengarry Glen Ross.)

Of course, Spears thinks he can rig the fight by taking REO Speedwagon (who rocked in the '70s before synth-selling out) and choosing to square off against my guy -- the mango maestro, the tropical Toscanini, the one and only because nobody else could be so damn cool, Jimmy Buffett. (At least he didn't get his name from a truck.)

Isn't that just like an '80s guy; bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Anyway, I'm putting out a call on the Coconut Telegraph to all Parrot Heads, asking for their best reasons why Jimmy (friends call him that, and we're all his friends) is the only concert anyone should be concerned about seeing. Apart from the home-state advantage, that is.

I listen to Radio Margaritaville (XM-55 or Sirius-31) every day for my Jimmy fix. Sent a note to program director Steve Huntington asking the station to spread the word among Parrot Heads worldwide about the Jimmy vs. REO throwdown. Hoping that millions will visit this blog and leave some thoughts, just to let Spears know the magnitude of the whoopa$$ keg he just tapped.

Check out his argument by clicking here. Don't let me down, sun-drenched ladies and gents.

Right Side of the Tracks with the Greg Billings Band

I used to be Sean Daly in a previous life but wouldn't swap it for now.

I used to write about what was then pop music, spending more hours than anyone except talent and roadies backstage, and in stadium seats (or behind Alex Van Halen's drum kit) than most folks who'd camp in line for tickets before the "Internets" made wussies of us all.

Way back before emo, techno and Corbin Bufo, pop music was rock'n'roll, played from the crotch in dive bars that never knew what Vivanno is, and wouldn't have the ingredients to mix one if you explained it. Back when you could wave a flaming lighter at a show without thinking it's cliche', or being factitious.

Kind of like tonight's (or last night's; don't check this post's timecode) CD debut party for the Greg Billings Band's new release, at one of the most elegant dives I've visited in a while, Cuso's Club and Cantina in Indian Rocks Beach. The kind of place where you belly up to the bar and the last one puking is the winner.

Anyway, Greg Billings once fronted the possibly greatest rock'n'roll band Tampa Bay ever produced: Stranger (that's him on the far-out right), and later Damn the Torpedoes. Greg has much less hair these days but still has a lot of die-hard fans and friends packing the place, including Tampa Bay Bucs great Mike Alstott, who looked quite at ease at Cuso's.

Stranger put out five kickass LPs -- yes, vinyl -- in the 1980's, defying the Flock of Seagulls mentality of folks who couldn't keep up. I first met Greg at a raucous Stranger LP release party at some downtown Tampa joint that later became a yuppie fern bar and now is thankfully deserted. I remember the groupies and not much else.

But I do remember that time around Tampa Bay, when bands like Deloris Telescope, Savatage (RIP, Criss Oliva) and Men from Earth, plus the occasional soloist like Schascle, had us looking like the next Athens (Ga., not Greece), with record deals and glowing Kerrang, Spin or Rolling Stone reviews, even Johnny G. Lyon sporting a movie soundtrack tune. Possibly those other bands possessed more artistry than Stranger, but none would get a party started quicker, sustained and cleaned-up later than Stranger.

Greg and his eponymous band literally bring back that feeling with the new CD (although he occasionally slipped Tuesday and called it a "record"), Do-Overs. The title hints what happens: Greg and the guys rework some of Stranger and DTT's' greatest hits -- Wrong Side of the Tracks, Lightnin' in My Pocket, Okechobee Whisky among them -- plus covers of In the Midnight Hour, Walkin' Shoes and Rock and Roll to create a heckuva party disc, nostalgic or not.

The band zipped through most of the tracks (at least that I could tell between fresh-air breaks). And for a while I was back at the old Rock-It Club on Dale Mabry again, watching shady ladies and shadier gentlemen copping feels on the dance floor, full of the drink and the hour and the music. I'm not saying that generation does it any better than today's but I hope the kids do it as sincerely.

Bedtime now. Gotta see Woody Allen's new movie at 10 a.m. then The Sisterhood of the Unhemmed Pants or something like that.

Could be worse. I could've spent tonight watching Brideshead Revisited.

Standing up for Red Dawn

You guys know I've always stuck it (in the 80's) to Steve Spears for his boundless admiration for the 1984 movie Red Dawn.

Now comes an intruder to the party who can't hold a candle to psycho-Soviet troops yet demands to be addressed with swift retaliation.

Today's page 2A had a Red Dawn-related item from our gossipy The Jizz -- oops -- The Juice. (Sorry, I was thinking about Max Rebo's brand of Star Wars swing music, or perhaps a birding technique, or maybe a characteristic impression left by an animal or plant. Where's your head at?)

Anyway, The Juice reported a remake is in the works. While I'll agree that's a bad idea, I take exception to the description of Red Dawn's original cast (Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey) as "an unbelievably amazing cast of unfulfilled promises." (The Juice did give Patrick Swayze a backhanded compliment, though. I expected some kind of cancer gag.)

I submit that collectively starring in some of Hollywood's most memorable movies (Platoon, Wall Street, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Outsiders and E.T.) not to mention, in Sheen's case, headlining the top TV comedy today, is more than most actors can brag about. Definitely more than any gossip blogger.

Can't wait for Spears' response to this cyber-sacrilege of his favorite flick. But I've got his back.

WOLVERINES!

The Susan Lucci of Academy Awards

Just one final Oscars story, and I don't even have the oomph to write it. But it's a nice one.

Kevin O'Connell isn't a household name but he's a sound mixer who was at the Kodak Theatre Sunday night with his 20th Academy Award nomination, this one for Transformers. T-w-e-n-t-y.

How many Oscars does Mr. O'Connell have on his mantle? Zero. Z-e-r-o.

Is he bitter? Not at all, for a very nice reason that Ray Richmond of the Hollywood Reporter posted today on his blog. Check it out then tell me you won't be pulling for this guy next year.

Hear ye! Hear ye! Oscars podcast is on!

Stuck in the 80's guru Steve Spears is stuck with me in this week's podcast, available by clicking here or through some kind of iPod contraption that the kids like these days. I was sitting in for Sean Daly during his paternity leave (which worked out better than the paternity suit a few years ago).

We had a great time going through his fave decade's Oscar winners, from Ordinary People to Driving Miss Daisy, and giving props to movies like Raging Bull and Raiders of the Lost Ark that should've won. I also get to tell my favorite Jack Nicholson story from the Oscars.

I had so much fun, I'm hoping Daly procreates again soon.

2007's top-10 films... almost

I won't make it that easy on you. That's how I roll.

But I spent much of the day getting my 10-best list for 2007 concocted. Still have The Savages on DVD and The Great Debaters on Monday (supposedly the first day of vacation) to see if they sneak in. Saw Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story last night and it won't make the list but, like the first Austin Powers, it's one I'll probably watch more than the top-10 picks and it'll make a better Halloween costume.

Did I ever tell you about my three wins in costume contests dressed like the International Man of Mystery? Remind me sometime.

Anyway, here's the intro for this year's list, or part of it. We're a bit ahead of schedule this year, disrupting down time, because Daly and Deggans -- the Gold Dust Twins -- had their thoughts together sooner. I love 'em for it in the long run. Our respective picks for our beats will run Dec. 21 in Floridian:

 

"I’m composing my list of 2007’s top-10 films and Javier Bardem’s psycho killer from No Country for Old Men keeps popping into my mind.

He blankly stares into my eyes, flips and catches a shiny coin then sinisterly whispers: “Call it.”

I know what happened when folks made the wrong choice in the movie.

The stakes aren’t nearly as high for me.

But choosing a No. 1 movie among the deepest roster of candidates in years comes down to a heads-or-tails proposition.

On one side of the coin is Joel and Ethan Coen’s deadly quiet immorality tale, No Country for Old Men. On the other is Sean Penn’s Into the Wild that emotionally affected me more than any film in years.

I should’ve known 2007 would end with a predicament like this."

The Patriots ain't got nuthin' on me

Gotta brag about going 8-0 in fantasy football this weekend, my first perfecto of the season. Deeply satisfying was my come-from-behind victory over Times pop music critic Sean Daly, whose affection for New England players proved costly during their bye week.

I was down 26 points before Monday night's game. Picked up Seattle's defense on a hunch and they tossed the shutout I promised Daly yesterday. Also picked up Maurice Morris, whose TD and 103 total yards made the difference.

Almost made sitting through August Rush worthwhile.

The food bloggers have their movie picks and I have mine

Check out Laura Reiley's current blog posting with her picks for the best food-related movies of all time. The Snack Pack bunch in TBT chimed in with their choices.

Me, I like to be different, and gross.

Here are my fast choices for the best vomit-related movie scenes of all time:

The Exorcist -- The greatest movie puke of all time, limited in its color and consistency by the pea soup effects but certainly memorable.
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life -- If Linda Blair is the queen of movie barf, Mr. Creosote (Terry Jones) is the king. "Get me a bucket!"
Team America: World Police -- Marionette sex got even kinkier on the unrated DVD version. Messier, too.
Stand By Me - Wil Wheaton's campfire story about a blueberry (I think) pie eating contest gone grossly wrong.
The Witches of Eastwick -- Veronica Cartwright projectile barfing cherries on the devil's -- i.e. Jack Nicholson's -- command.
The Invasion - The most recent regurgitation flick (and Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake), with an extraterrestrial virus spread by puking into victims' faces.

So, what are your (urp) best Technicolor yawn choices?

BLOG BATTLE: What was the most patriotic movie of the 1980s?

Oh, that Steve Spears has bitten off more than he can chew, challenging moi to a Fourth of July blog battle about movies. Paraphrasing another 80s' flick: "Isn't that just like a podcaster? Brings a knife to a gunfight." 

Choosing his own weapon, Steve (aka Mr. Stuck in the '80s) wants our choices of his fave decade's most patriotic films. He has five personal picks on his site that should be good for a chuckle. My thoughts on his choices are parenthetically weaved into mine:

1.The Right Stuff (1983) - Like cowboys going west, the Mercury astronauts embodied courage, swagger and determination for a changing and challenged nation. No bombs bursting in air, but the rockets' red glare illuminated the best aspects of us. (As opposed to First Blood, which dimmed them.)

2. Rocky IV (1985) - Are you ready to Cold War rumble? Soviet semi-cyborg Ivan Drago fell harder than the Berlin Wall after Rocky Balboa dished out truth, justice and the American uppercut. Extra credit for the Italian Stallion's star spangled boxing trunks. (And he could kick those teen commandos in Red Dawn all the way to Moscow.)

3. Glory (1989) - Ferris Bueller grows up to lead an African-American brigade into Civil War history. The sacrifice of these troops to preserve the Union - despite racism on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line - is a sterling example of patriotism. (Lou Gossett, Jr. in Iron Eagle had an easier tour of duty as a result.)

4. Born on the Fourth of July (1989) - Nothing is more patriotic than a soldier (Tom Cruise) fighting for his country, unless it is the same soldier realizing a mistaken war and protesting against it. (Calling Cruise's Top Gun patriotic is like calling Paris Hilton another Jane Fonda.)

5. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - Compassion is a frequent casualty of war. Not in this flick, in which an irreverent U.S. Armed Force Radio deejay (Robin Williams) demonstrates what sets us apart from the evildoers, when the system allows it to happen. (Therefore, why is the unfriendly fire in Platoon patriotic?)

Click here to see Steve's arguments. Tell us who won the battle. And add your choices too.