Words Seem Out Of Place

Tales from the Crypt (1972) is a delightful little horror anthology, the sort of film that was quite popular in the 1970s but isn't made nearly as often today. Each segment, based on the old EC Comics series, is true to the original's spirit, capturing that magnificently English sense of the macabre to perfection. For me though, one segment stands out above the rest, the first one, "...And All Through the House". Out of all the segments in the film, this one makes best use of its short running time, small cast, and limited setting—all of the action takes place in one house on Christmas Eve. Yet even more than it being the epitome of the perfect short horror story—an art form unto itself, and one that few have ever mastered—it also features one of the most fabulous actresses to ever sashay across the screen: Joan Collins. Every holiday season, I'm fascinated with images like the one above, which juxtapose the merry trappings of the season with powerful,...

The trailer for I, Tonya is absolutely bonkers , both heartbreaking and hilarious, and I want to give Margot Robbie  all the awards based on this small sampling of her work in the film. To me, and again based on these few minutes of scenes, it has a similar vibe to Gus Van Sant's To Die For, which featured a jaw-dropping Nicole Kidman performance . Both films seem to be about mentally unstable women obsessed with fame or fortune who resort to some form of illegality—murder in To Die For , clubbing Nancy Kerrigan in the knees in I, Tonya —to further their careers. Kidman's work in To Die For is, pardon the pun, to die for. I may be reading too much into a trailer, but it's looking like Robbie could turn in a similarly exceptional performance in a similarly challenging role. For that and other reasons, I'm chomping at the bit to see this movie. It opens Friday. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait several months to see it on-de...