dark humor – Griffin's Nest

What can I say, sometimes only the dark will do. I am a big fan of the show and was sad when it ended so, I went looking for the books that inspired the show. I’m disappointed to see so few have been written and hope more are on the way. I guess we’ll see.

By the way, as I write this, I have a couple of guys doing some carpentry work close to my window and one of them is singing horribly off key. I can only hear it when the saw is off so here’s to the saw running a lot! I can handle that better than the horrible singing.

Anyway, this book was everything I’d hope for: the birth of Dexter and his Dark Passenger! It gives you the great back story with just the right amount of flare and twisted darkness. Imagine how a police officer, sworn to do his duty yet tired of seeing all his hard work thrown out by corrupt people within the system that is supposed to support him in his efforts to punish those who are threats to society for their crimes. Then, imagine this same officer, tired off constantly losing and almost at his wits end, adopting a little orphan – a witness to a horrific murder and victim of the aftermath. This self same orphan who, as he grows older, is found out by his law and order adopted dad to be a threat to society in the making. What do you do?

If you watched even one episode of Dexter, you know what this poor yet honorable man did, and I, for one, think it was a great idea the writer had. If you look at the incredible Hannibal Lecter character – he is finesse and polish, refined and educated – and a cannibal who is very select about whom he devours. Dexter is a serial killer with only one type of victim – fellow killers. You have to love the irony!

The author has made Dexter believable and interesting – a bit of dark humor in the thoughts running through his head as he gives the reader his inner dialogue. He is as charming as he can be, admits he’s not as “human” seeming as everyone else, but he’s appealing just the same.

The book plot isn’t just about Dexter killing someone – oh no. There is a story here, a purpose behind what he does. He is a Blood Splatter Specialist and he assists his police officer adopted sister with her cases – when she needs him. The book starts with a murder, one committed by Dexter, and then moves on to more murders – not Dexter’s handiwork but oh so close!! It takes both Dexter and his sister, Deborah, to figure out the murderer….and I will not spoil the ending for you!

This book, as you can tell, is one I highly recommend even if you’ve either never seen the show or, don’t like the show for whatever reason. 🙂 I’m working on getting the next one in the series.

That’s it for now my friends, see you on the flipside and remember, please, your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Before I begin, let me just say that this movie review in no way advocates suicide, or self murder as it used to be called and should still be imho. If you are feeling suicidal, please, get help!! I know how hard it is to reach out and ask for the help you need, I tried to murder myself three times; the last time would’ve killed me if I hadn’t been found in time. It was then, in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm and tears running down my face from all the pain, inside and out, that I finally asked for help. I don’t want you to even get that close. Talk to someone, anyone!

If need be, call the Suicide Hotline:1-800-273-8255

You are not alone, I promise.

Now, to the review:

I was sitting here, bored to tears, and I hopped on Hulu just to see what movie might catch my eye. I scrolled through a bunch before I saw the grouping called Cult Classics. It looked interesting so, I started looking for movies I knew. I ended up seeing this really odd movie title: Wristcutters: A Love Story. Wait, this was a Cult Classic?? Why hadn’t I heard of it before if it was good enough to be called that? Surely, one of my friends has seen it before. I’m going to ask Joshua today; he seems to be up on all the odd and rarely seen movies.

So, this movie is a dark comedy like Pulp Fiction or Juno – fair warning. It’s also pretty weird – just like Pulp Fiction. It stars Patrick Fugit as Zia, our erstwhile hero. He is known for his roles in Gone Girl and Almost Famous. I haven’t seen either one. There is Shannyn Sossamon as Mikal, our leading lady. She is known for her roles in Wayward Pines and A Knight’s Tale. I’ve watched bits of the first and all of the second. Then, to round out our trio of leading actors/actresses is Shea Whigham as Eugene. He is known for his roles in Take Shelter and Non-Stop. I’ve not seen either one of those before.

The movie is produced by No Matters Pictures, Crispy Films and Adam Sherman Inc. The soundtrack mostly features songs performed by Gogol Bordello(never heard of them) including the song the actors sing or listen to so much it became annoying: Roof n Underground. The rest of the songs were fairly weird too if you paid attention to them.

Now, the movie begins with our young lad, Zia, offing himself (their words, not mine). His only reaction as he lay on the bathroom floor bleeding out is not that he was dieing, it was that he’d left dust bunnies behind the bathroom door after meticulously cleaning his efficiency apartment. Cue the weirdness.

Zia narrates some of the movie by the way. He ends up in a city just like the one he left, living a life just like he’d led before – only they’re worse. Not one person every smiles, not because they’re happy anyway. Not one person is happy. This place is like limbo for all the people who have committed suicide.

Zia meets Eugene in a dive bar, and after sharing how they killed themselves – Eugene’s death is NOT something anyone should do – they become friends. They go on a journey looking for Zia’s ex girlfriend, Desiree, when he finds out she also committed suicide. He had been in a relationship with her before he killed himself.

Anyway, they’re go off looking for Desiree in the countryside because Zia is sure she’s not in the city they were in. Along the way, they pick up Mikal who is hitchhiking. She tells them she’s not a suicide and she’s looking for the People In Charge(PIC) because she’d been sent there by mistake. She didn’t off herself, she OD’ed. Cue more weirdness .

Along the way to finding both Desiree and the People In Charge, Zia finds himself in love with Mikal – she reminds him of the nice things of life that he was now missing.

I won’t ruin the movie for you. It’s not all doom and gloom. It’s more like watching a train wreck and not being able to pull your eyes away from the horror and mayhem you believe you’re about to see. Relax, it’s not all that bad.

I’d rate this movie a 3 out of 5 simply because the only thing I really liked about it was the acting. This is definitely a character driven movie. Enjoy, or not. Drop me a line either way if you do watch it and want to share your feelings about it.

Time to fly so see you all on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!