Will the Thrill's Best Movies of 2009

Here are my choices for the Top 10 Movies of 2009. Don't try cross-referencing this list with those of esteemed film critics with more refined tastes - I only include Thrillville-sanctioned flicks. Explore or ignore at your own peril:

1. BLACK DYNAMITE - I was honored to host the East Bay premiere of this all-new blaxploitation masterpiece, starring Michael Jai White (who co-wrote the pitch perfect screenplay with director Scott Sanders) as the titular badass mofo. 2. THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO - direct to DVD mini-masterpiece, this animated pop culture potpourri from the demented mind of Rob Zombie (based on his comic book) combines pretty much all of my favorite preoccupations - Space Age style, Mexican masked wrestlers, tits, monsters, tits, zombies, and more tits!3. WATCHMEN - I don't care what Alan Moore says, Zach Snyder's adaptation is a dead-on cinematic recreation of the comic book, from the casting to the costumes to the effects to the tone. I didn't care much for Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead or the homo-erotic fantasy epic 300, though both have their merits, but this time, he nailed it.4. DISTRICT 9 - like the best science fiction, this South African surprise combines righteous socio-political commentary with kickass effects and supercool aliens.5. STAR TREK - no one was more skeptical than I was when this was announced, since nobody is a bigger fan of TOS than I am - but by casting actors who embodied the most cherished characteristics of the original, magical ensemble, without mimicking the actors who portrayed them, director JJ Abrams pulled off a mini-miracle.6. PUBLIC ENEMIES - a stylish re-re-re-telling of the Dillinger legend starring my favorite contemporary actor, Johnny Depp, elegantly envisioned by one of my favorite directors, Michael Mann.7. DARK COUNTRY - originally conceived and shot as a 3-D film noir, director/star Thomas "The Punisher" Jane's uneven but entertaining B movie homage is like an EC Comics version of Edgar Ulmer's Detour, a pulpy drive-in delight, even viewed "flat" on DVD.8. DEAD SNOW - far more entertaining and original than the fun but over-rated mainstream hit Zombieland, this Norwegian entry in the long-dormant Nazi Zombie genre isn't perfect, with hit and miss humor, but the offbeat mix of gore and goofiness makes it satisfying enough.9. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS- speaking of Nazis...this is not my favorite Tarantino flick, since I'm just not a fan of the war film genre, but it's still a wild, compelling revenge-minded rewrite of history, and any new Tarantino flick would make this list automatically.10. ALIEN TRESPASS - hands down, the best 50s sci-fi flick since The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. It's not as funny, but the look and feel of it are winningly authentic.
RUNNERS UP: Sam Raimi's disappointing return to horror, DRAG ME TO HELL, still had its moments, even if it mostly played like an overblown episode of Tales From the Crypt; now this is more like it: Ti West's THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is a perfectly realized old school (70s/80s) grindhouse Satanic horror flick that you'd swear came out circa 1981 if you didn't know any better - genuinely unnerving and completely surprising; Chan-wook Park's erotic vampire saga THIRST, from Korea, is a first class freak show, hypnotic, hallucinatory and horrific; the aforementioned ZOMBIELAND just didn't live up to its own comedic potential, but again, with Woody Harrelson as a Natural Born Zombie Killer, it had to hit the mark a few times; Jennifer Lynch's SURVEILLANCE is every bit as disturbing and deranged as any movie made by her father, though technically, it's a 2008 release; TRICK 'R' TREAT is the best direct to DVD Halloween anthology flick I've ever seen; THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL: NEW ORLEANS, Werner Herzog's non-sequel to the Abel Ferrara flick, sports one of the worst titles of all time, but it also features Nic Cage doing what he does best: Crazy; and James Cameron's AVATAR is a surprisingly moving allegory, almost as impressive emotionally as it is visually, and it almost redeems him for making Titanic. Already a worldwide phenom, it doesn't need my props, though. I'd rather root for the underdogs. Cheers, Will the Thrill

Palm Springs: Old Vegas/Vegas: New Disneyland (Thrilling Holidays, Part 2)

I would love to someday retire to either Honolulu or Palm Springs, or at least maintain a second home in either, but most likely, it will be the latter, and I'm okay with that. Monica would get island fever in Hawaii, whereas I like the idea of physical isolation from the rest of the world. Palm Springs is somewhat remote but still on the mainland, close to LA where she could pursue her career as an actress, and most of all, it is a Midcentury Modern Oasis. Unlike Vegas, which has completely forsaken its original identity as a sinful, stylish adult playground in favor of a bloated behemoth of a family-friendly amusement park, Palm Springs remains a Hedonistic Hipster Haven, its stunning architecture preserved and promoted as a matter of civic (and gay!) pride. Recently for Monica's birthday trip we continued our project, staying in every room at our favorite home-away-from-home, the Orbit In. We started off six years ago when we stayed in The Rat Pack Room during my 40th Birthday Roast. This time it was the Albert Frey Lounge. It is extremely relaxing there, Orbitinis at dusk by the pool, watching an old Sinatra Xmas special in the room, etc. We had dinner and drinks at some fabulous joints, old and new - Tropicale, Trio, and best of all, circa59 at the newly restored, legendary resort the Riviera, once frequented by The Rat Pack and Elvis alike. We loved sitting in the Riviera's ultra-swank and retro-mod lobby bar the Starlite Lounge watching You Only Live Twice on the big screen (so our second life will be in Palm Springs?). The food and cocktails everywhere we went were top notch. Palm Springs is the manifestation of our space age lifestyle dreams. Then it was off to Disneyland, where Monica and I enjoyed her actual birthday. I often compare Las Vegas to Disneyland, in a negative sense, but unlike Vegas, Disneyland itself retains enough of its traditional, nostalgic charms to keep me us coming back every few years or so.

I was last in Disneyland for my own 43rd birthday, nearly four years ago. "Pirates of the Caribbean" was closed then for renovation, but I'm happy to report that it hasn't changed much, the addition of some Johnny Depp animatronics notwithstanding. Depp is my favorite modern actor - hell, he's everybody's favorite modern actor - so no beef there, especially since the attraction retained nearly all of its original appeal. Can't say the same for the Finding Nemo-ized "Submarine Voyage" - it starts out okay, with sunken tikis and the old school underwater panorama of fake fish seen through the porthole, but then it quickly turns into a 3-D cartoon for most of the ride. It was really boring! The only slightly redeeming factor was listening to a nice instrumental version of "Beyond the Sea" as we exited. Like the rest of Tomorrowland, no longer a stylish Space Age playground, this icon from my youth has been ruined beyond recognition, I'm sorry to report. I also was not enthralled by the Nightmare Before Christmas-ized "Haunted Mansion," typically my second favorite attraction. Someone did a spot-on Paul Frees impersonation for the narration, but it was way too much Tim Burton and not nearly enough old school Disney for my tastes. Nothing against the movie or Burton, as I'm a fan of both, it was just wasn't what I wanted from this particular ride. Fortunately this is only a seasonal change. My other favorite attractions are all in Adventureland, which remains my favorite area of the park - "The Enchanted Tiki Room," "Jungle Cruise" and "Indiana Jones." They remain classic and unadulterated.

Monica's favorite ride and the main reason for this trip - besides the fact she got in free for her birthday! - is "It's a Small World," all Christmas-ized for the holidays but in a very pleasing fashion, seamlessly mixing the original song with Christmas carols and adding gorgeous decorative touches to the existing set pieces. We went on that one twice. At night it was festively and brilliantly lit up - like me in Palm Springs...Happy Holidays from Palm Springs and "The Enchanted Tiki Room," annexes of Thrillville. It's a small world, after all. Cheers.

Black Christmas...White Kwanzaa (Thrilling Holidays, Part 1)

December 2009 marks not only the end of a tumultuous year, but a turbulent decade as well. Monica and I decided to end it with a bang instead of a whimper. This year we suffered the deaths of dear friends and the demise of the beloved movie theaters I worked for, but it also introduced new beginnings, like my association with Forbidden Island and the Conga Lounge (the latter being headquarters for our ongoing Oakland Mai Tai campaign), as well as the Thrillville road shows. This past ten years (the "Aughts"? - this is the first identity-challenged decade of my 46 years!) gave us 9/11, Katrina, Bush-Cheney, and the economic meltdown, but it also gave us President Obama (whose record is spotty so far, IMO), The Dark Knight along with many other great genre flicks, and the bulk of Thrillville's successful, memorable run at Speakeasy Theaters - not mention my wedding to the Tiki Goddess on May 31, 2001. All in all, plenty of reasons to reflect - and to celebrate.



At the top of the month, Monica and I returned to the Cal-Neva Resort in North Tahoe, site of our wedding, after visiting it this past summer amid rumors of its possible closure/renovation. We like it when it's all dolled up for the holidays, so we spent the night there, just relaxing and reminiscing.

My two shows featuring the 1974 classic Black Christmas, at the 4 Star Theater in San Francisco (with Project Pimento) and the Camera 3 Cinema in San Jose, went well - not heavily attended, but the crowds were very enthusiastic and appreciative, as has been the case with most of my road shows this year (here's hoping this trend goes on the upswing in 2010.)

Our Sinatra Birthday Party at Kingman's Ivy Room was a very successful shindig - friends, strangers and hipsters hob-nobbed, sipping stellar cocktails and swayin' to swingin' music (and vice versa) in a swank, sultry atmosphere as Rat Pack flicks played on the bar TVs. Mark Klein, AKA "Dino Manelli" performed for the first time with the Lori Carsillo Trio (Lori is AKA "Lola Bombay" of Project Pimento.) It was a classy, sassy affair - a great way to kick off my new association with the bar where I officially met Monica at an Elvis Bday Bash on January 8, 1998. Looking forward to our Mad Men Party at the Ivy Room (with Project Pimento) this coming January 23, more on that later.

Every year since 1992 or so, I've been designing Elvis-themed Xmas cards for the computer consulting company 42inc, run by my pal Cory Levenberg, to give to his clients. I also send them out to friends and family, generally with a personalized photo insert. You can see previous Elvis cards online here. This year's edition featured an updated phot0-shopped version of the infamous Nixon-Elvis photograph - with President Obama. Caption: "I'm Dreaming of a White Kwanzaa." As you can deduce, the cards are irreverent, but all in good fun.

Speaking of good fun, after all this, Monica and I headed South for Southern California to celebrate her 37th birthday (December 15) at two of our favorite spots, Palm Springs and Disneyland. More on that in the next blog. I'm exhausted from all this celebration and relaxation. Cheers, Will

Thrillville Express (interview)

Rachel Swan recently wrote a profile of yours truly which appears in this week's edition of the East Bay Express, you can read it here. The past, present and future of Thrillville, the Tiki Goddess, our pad, the Mai Tai campaign, and the Parkway are all discussed. Also, if so inclined, check out this recent interview on Voodoo Idol's Pirate Cat Radio show, "Brood of the Mau Mau," you can download/listen it to it here. The show features a lot of cool, rare garage/surf music, too.

All this publicity has yet to result in large, steady crowds at my San Francisco/San Jose road shows (though they have been quite enthusiastic). This traveling schedule is exhausting and so far, not particularly lucrative. Fun, though, and I'll keep taking advantage of all these opportunities for the foreseeable future but at some point, economic reality will kick in, and I be forced to reassess my priorities, commitments and investments, career-wise. Pretty much ever year around this time I seriously consider hanging up the fez for good, but something always keeps me going. Namely, YOU. We'll see what 2010 has in store, hopefully something less tumultuous than 2009. It's been a very strange year. Please spread the thrills. Cheers.
(Photos by Joseph Schell)