Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks was a comedian from Texas who rose to at prominence in the 80s. He was "controversial," in that he talked a lot about politics, society, and drugs. He unleashed his wrath on the first two, and as for drugs, he was a major opponent of the hypocrisy surrounding drugs. Although his comedy could be angry, bitter, and often vulgar, he still strangely seemed to come at the whole thing from a place of love and compassion (hence the book's title). His comedy seemed to reflect an exasperation at the decline of society, but he seemed to genuinely want to change things for the better. Read more [...]

Postapocalyterature

It's been fairly quiet around here this week... almost too quiet. If Cinematic Attic were a movie, I'd be walking down a deserted street, sidestepping newspapers proclaiming an imminent zombie apocalypse. I'd have no idea how I got here, and I'd have no idea what to do. Then suddenly, a mutant vampire would grab at my leg from a sewer grate! OK, I guess it's not been that quiet here, and I imagine we writers got all hot and bothered for the Oscars and then ended up taking this week off to recover Read more [...]

Sitzman: Book Vs. Movie: “Casino Royale”

(She's not really purple, though. This isn't Star Wars.)I'll try to write a short, fast review for this, but that's what I say every time.OK, I just recently read Casino Royale by Ian Fleming for Sitzbook. It was OK; not that great, but also somehow addicting. It was published in 1953, and the (2nd) movie version came out in 2006, so there are obviously going to be some differences, especially in things like technology. But the movie was very different.The main characters are the same, at least Read more [...]