Insomnia Numb and drowsy, I lift the bottle to my lips. Source: Lispector, Clarice. Água Viva. 1973. Translated by Stefan Tobler, New Directions, 2012, pp. 24-26.

The Three Mothers Within the dance academy you lie in waiting, concealed by blue and crimson velvet walls, . . . Philip Marlow, Retired Tossing his Royal Stetson on the opposite chair, . . .

Grandaddy likes licrish. He makes his own in the shed out back the house. I aint loud inside. Says it’s outta bounds like in freeze tag. One time he go to town to sell licrish. I snuck in. Inside wuv a table. An buckits with what look like molassus. The licrish wuz inside a fridge. I tried one. It wuz chewy an tasted yucky an sticky an lumpy. It stand my fingers red an black. Like when I cut my hands at recess.

Along the cliffs of Ceann Sibéal herds of sheep graze, weighed down by crimped fleece. Rough-hewn Celtic crosses, slathered in dust and moss, peek out from brittle underbrush. A boat slices through still bay waters, inboard motor stirring up foam as the throttle is revved. A gray dorsal fin approaches the vessel. With a barrel roll and flick of his flukes, Fungie the bottlenose dolphin launches into the air, slips back under the surface, and reemerges to nuzzle starboard and port sides with his rostrum. The Ring of Kerry is bathed in gold as Dingle’s red and white lighthouse guides Fungie back to the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the darkened theater auditorium, Harris Smith (’13) scanned the rolling credits. Under ‘Set Lighting Technicians’ for the Hollywood unit, his name prominently appeared. He leaned back in his seat and felt a sense of accomplishment. He had just attended a special 70mm IMAX screening for the most important film of his career so far: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Things came full circle for adjunct literature professor and PLNU alum Eddie Matthews, Ph.D., (’14) on April 13, 2023 in a way he had never dreamed. He found himself in PLNU’s Colt Auditorium sitting across from journalism professor Dean Nelson, PhD. As a student, Matthews would sit in silent rapture during Nelson’s interviews at PLNU’s annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea. But this time, he was the subject being interviewed as an audience of colleagues and friends listened intently. The occasion: the U.S. book launch of his debut novel, Border Memories, published by Watermark Press. . . . The novel represents the culmination of Matthew’s educational and writing journey thus far.

Grand Island youth programs are assisting children of parents receiving addiction treatment for substance use disorders.

Noriko Shinohara could have done anything when she arrived in New York City as a 19-year-old art student. She chose to devote her life to avant-garde artist Ushio Shinohara, 22 years her senior and famous for his “boxing” paintings. Their 40-year marriage, plagued by alcoholism, an unstable lifestyle, and the sacrifices required to create their art, is chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer.

Fired Up! remains one of my favorite films from when I was in high school. Most people who know me might shake their heads in confusion as to why I love this movie. The film follows two philandering high school football jocks named Nick and Shawn (Eric Christian Olsen and Nicholas D’Agosto, both pushing 30), who ditch football camp for cheer camp to hook up with girls. Along the way, they learn the meaning of friendship, teamwork, love, and how to become better people.

After working on a variety of horror projects in the 1990s, Dario Argento returned to the genre that made his name with Sleepless (Non Ho Sonno) in 2001.

Film Editor Sean Woodard goes down the mean streets of Los Angeles to uncover the seedy underworld of Brian De Palma’s adaptation of the James Ellroy novel, The Black Dahlia, for April’s “Finding the Sacred Among the Profane.”

In this month’s Once Upon a Time in Film Scoring, Sean explores the role of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music in the biopic Immortal Beloved.

Robbie Robertson fondly look back at the formation of The Band. The Rock ‘n’ Roll outfit was previously the focus of Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed concert film, The Last Waltz. This new documentary serves as a wonderful introduction to those unfamiliar with the group.

Alexandre O. Philippe’s latest documentary, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist, excels expectations. At once an intimate conversation with the acclaimed filmmaker, the documentary is also a love letter to the power of cinema and how it compels viewers to grapple with issues of faith, horror, and morality.

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s (Aquarias) latest film (co-directed with Juliano Dornellos) is a meditation on the socio-political state in Brazil, the importance of community, and the effects of violence. Shortlisted for Brazil’s official entry for best foreign language film for the 2020 Academy Awards, Bacurau has garnered acclaim from audiences and critics alike since its premiere at Cannes, where it tied for a Jury Prize.

When crime films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas serve as the benchmark for quality crime dramas, it can be daunting for other genre efforts to follow.

Can you think of a more iconic American horror villain than Jason Voorhees? Released this past October by University Press of Mississippi to coincide with Friday the 13th’s 40th anniversary, Wickham Clayton’s See! Hear! Cut! Kill! Experiencing Friday the 13th provides readers with 238 pages of generous overview and detailed analysis on the popular horror franchise.

Jeffrey C. Isaac, professor of Indiana University, Bloomington, and former editor of Perspectives on Politics, has a series of essays and opinion pieces called #AgainstTrump: Notes from Year One. In one respect, the American public have heard many of his arguments elsewhere. But as an artifact of its time, perhaps readers can see how journalists like himself who were labeled “enemies of the people” used their resources and writing abilities to document this important era of American history.

But amid all the covers of classics your mother should know, there are a few musical gifts hidden deep within the Christmas tree boughs if anyone wishes to search for them. One of those songs is Jim Croce’s “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.” It remains one of my favorite songs he composed. Recorded in 1973, the song serves as the closing track of Croce’s Life and Times album. The record, which also contained the No. 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” proved to be one of the singer-songwriter’s most commercially successful.

Pam Jones’s Andermatt County: Two Parables revives the Southern Gothic tradition. The collection’s Ye Shall Be As Gods and Happy Birthday, Dear Bitsy are narrative and thematic polar opposites, but complement each other well.

Film editor Sean Woodard shares an engaging conversation with author Troy Howarth about his latest book on giallo cinema.

Drunk Monkeys staff writer Sean Woodard had the opportunity to speak with horror film and folklore expert Mikel J. Koven to coincide with Sean’s film column on Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling. Mikel J. Koven is senior lecturer on Film Studies at the University of Worcester in the U.K. and author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film and Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends. Join us as we delve into the macabre territory of the Italian Giallo genre.

Drunk Monkeys staff writer Sean Woodard had the opportunity to speak with author Pam Jones in conjunction with his review of her latest book, Andermatt County: Two Parables. A native of Connecticut, Jones studied Creative Writing at Hampshire College. She now lives in Texas, where the fictional Andermatt County of her work is located.

Drunk Monkeys had the opportunity to speak with Kathryn Prescott about her recent short film, “Dear You.” Prescott is known for her work in film and television, notably appearing in Skins, 24:Legacy, Finding Carter, and most recently in AMC’s The Son. “Dear You” has a strong emotional impact despite its 4-minute running time.

In this episode of H. P. Lovecast Presentations: Transmissions hosts Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak interview Sean Woodard about his essay "Journeys into Depravity in (Post)Colonial Australia: Colonizer versus Colonized Identity and “Otherness” in Wake in Fright and The Nightingale" and Josh Spiegel about his book Timelines of Terror: The Fractured Continuities of Horror Film Sequels.

Bloodstained Narratives: The Giallo Film in Italy and Abroad, a collection of critical essays edited by Matthew Edwards and Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, features in-depth exploration from cinematic intellectuals, academics, and filmmakers. Sean Woodard found inspiration for this chapter in the Japanese anime Perfect Blue, where he noticed multiple connections to and influences from Giallo.

“KTFC: Scene Selections” is a series of conversations between Anthony McKelroy, Miquela Davis, and a rotating cast of friends of The Frida Cinema. Tune in as we dissect shot compositions, overanalyze subtext, and wait for our coronavirus vaccines. Scene Selections is honored to welcome Dr. Kevin O’Brien to the show to discuss the best of Soviet Cinema. Dr. O’Brien has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and also studied at St. Petersburg University in Russia. He teaches course topics on 19th and 20th century Russian literature, poetry, and the 20th Century Russian avant-garde.

“KTFC: Scene Selections” is a series of conversations between Anthony McKelroy, Miquela Davis, and a rotating cast of friends of The Frida Cinema. Tune in as we dissect shot compositions, overanalyze subtext, and wait for our coronavirus vaccines. With Paul Verhoeven’s newest film Benedetta premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year, The Frida Cinema brings his most iconic works back to the big screen! Anthony & Miquela welcome Blog Writer Sean Woodard to the show for his first appearance as we discuss the best scenes of Robocop, Showgirls, and more!