My favourites in music, art, literature, film - fine art and entertainment

Films

Animated films

TV series

PC games

Authors

Books

Comix

Poets

Music - albums

Artists (fine art)

Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

Films

It's not alwyas easy to categorize a film as some cross over into more than on genre,
so I've put these films where I feel appropriate.

Horror:

  • "Sidste time" ("The Last Hour") - Danish horror. The scariest film I've ever seen! Even when I watched it the 2nd time!
  • "Sleepy Hollow" (Dir: Tim Burton; w/Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken) - Scary, funny and very fast paced. Visually stunning.
  • "Sixth Sense" - The scariest film I've seen in a looong time
  • "Dark City" - Horror/SF. Dark indeed! And Weird!
  • "The Crow" (1994; w/Brandon Lee) - Gripping story, great atmosphere and music. Brandon Lee's performance is brilliant.
  • "Hideaway" (w/ Jeremy Sisto) - Cutest psychokiller I've ever seen! Great music. It's based on the book by Dean R. Koontz, and while the murder scenes in the book were more gruesom (like those in "Seven"), the ending in the film is better, IMO
  • "In the Mouth of Madness" (1995; Dir: John Carpenter)- Scary, very Lovecraft inspired horror film - didn't see this one with the lights off...
  • "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994; Dir: Kenneth Brannagh) - IMO the right amount of exaggerated drama - this is a gotic story.
  • "Warlock" (1988; w/ Julian Sands & Lori Singer) - Not a boring moment
  • "Night Breed" (1989; Dir: Clive Barker)
  • "The Omen" (1976) - A classic "evil kid" film; well, Damien is the antichrist; he's entitled to be bad...
  • "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" (1919) - A real classic
  • "Katt" ("Cat") - Danish horror.
  • "Nattevakten" ("The Night Watch") - Danish horror

Vampire films:

  • "Nosferatu" (1922; Dir: F. W. Murnau; w/Max Schreck (!))
  • "Vampires" (Dir: John Carpenter)
  • "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992; Dir: Francis Ford Coppola; w/Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman)
  • "Blade"
  • "Interview with the Vampire" (1994; Dir: Neil Jordan)
  • "Vampire Hunter D" (1985) - anime.
  • "The Fearless Vampire Killers, Or, Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck" (1966; Dir: Roman Polanski) - a hilarious comdy.

Science Fiction:

  • "Pitch Black" (2000; Dir: David Twohy; w/Vin Diesel, Claudia Black)- SF action/thriller; such suspense I sat on the edge and almost forgot to breath! The anti-hero Riddick is the most awesome, cool and sexy male character I've seen in a very long time - and I don't usually like men with muscles.
  • "Mr. Stitch" (w/Rutger Hauer) - An original take on the Frankenstein's monster theme, and interesting in the way it deals with identity and gender roles.
  • "Fifth element" - Original, great visually.
  • "Alien" (1979; Dir: Ridley Scott)- No matter how many times I see it, it's still as claustrophobic and nail-chewing.
  • "Blade Runner" (1982; Dir: Ridley Scott; w/Rutger Hauer) - SF film noir, futuristic dystopia, a classic.
  • "Terminator" (1984; Dir: James Cameron) - A classic, still cool.
  • "Event Horizon" - SF/Horror.
  • "Hardware" (1990) - Hey, it's got Carl McCoy in the opening sequence! Post-apocalypse SF.
  • "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951)

Fantasy:

  • "Company of Wolves" (1985; Dir: Neil Jordan)- Dark fantasy. A new take on "Little Red Riding Hood". Danielle Dax has a small part.
  • "Edward Scissorhands" (1990; Dir: Tim Burton, w/Johnny Depp, Vincent Price) - Modern Fantasy. Funny, romantic, tragic.
  • "The Princess Bride" (1987) - Very funny.
  • "Dark Crystal" (1983; Dir: Jim Henson, Frank Oz) - It's all puppets, excellent fantasy.
  • "Willow" (1988) - Epic Fantasy.
  • "Labyrinth" (1986; Dir: Jim Henson) - With David Bowie as the Goblin King (The girl should've kicked the brat and gone for the Goblin King...).
  • "Legend" (1986; Dir: Ridley Scott) - The villain, Darkness (Tim Curry), is really cool.
  • "Excalibur" (1981)
  • "Ladyhawke" (1985; w/Rutger Hauer) - Epic Fantasy.
  • "Highlander" (1986) - This one was great, but all the sequels... There should have been only one...
  • "Dragonheart" - I loved the film, such a wonderful dragon! Absolutely hate the end: they killed the dragon! Bastards!

Comedy:

  • "Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975; w/Tim Curry) - It's hilarious!
  • "Evil Dead 2" (1987; Dir: Sam Raimi; w/ Bruce Cambell) - Horror/comedy.
  • "Army of Darkness" Evil Dead 3 (1993, Dir: Sam Raimi; w/Bruce Cambell) - Horror comedy. Fav line: "Klaatu Barada N*cough, cough*" (The "magic words" are actually taken from the classic SF film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951))
  • "Idle Hands" (199?) - Horror comedy, with Seth Green (Oz in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")
  • "Re-animator" (1985) - Based on H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West, Reanimator" comic horror
  • "Bride of Re-nimator" (1989) - More comic horror
  • "The Addams Family" (1991) - Excellent casting
  • "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971)- Based on the book by Roald Dahl - one of the more bizarre children's films I've seen, I'd have been scared witless if I saw it as a child
  • "Bad taste" (1987)- Horror comedy. Very gross, but hysterically funny
  • "Braindead" - Horror comedy. Another gross, but hysterically funny film
  • Anything by Monty Python

Other:

  • "The City of Lost Children" - Another dark and weird film
  • "Brazil" (1985; Dir: Terry Gilliams) - A weird, dystopic film
  • "The Elephant Man" (1980; Dir.: David Lynch) - Very touching & very sad
  • "Orlando"  (1993) - Oh, all those lovely period costumes! And an interesting comment on gender roles.
  • "Faust" (1926; Dir: F.W. Murnau)
  • "Velvet Goldmine" (w/Johnatan Rhys-Meyers)- The glory of the '70ties and Glam Rock

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Animated films & Anime

  • "Totoro" (Anime) - A very sweet and cute (in a positive way) film. I want to have a Totoro!!
  • "Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993; a Tim Burton film) - All hail the Pumpkin King!
  • "Wallace & Gromit - the Wrong Trousers" - A truly sinister penguin!
  • "Ghost in the Shell" (1995; Anime) - Cyberpunk.
  • "Toy Story" (1995) - The most hysterically funny film I've seen in ages.
  • "Mermaid Forest" (Anime) - Fantasy. Sad story.
  • "Laughing Target" (Anime) - Horror.
  • "Akira" (1990; Anime) - SF. Great story, but can be confusing at times.
  • "South Park" - Rude, vulgar and very funny.
  • "Pinky & the Brain" - from Animaniacs ("Stop that Pinky, or I shall have to hurt you!").
  • "Flåklypa Grand Prix" - the best Norwegian animated film.

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TV series

  • "Cleopatra 2525" - Most of the episodes where only half an hour and very fast-paced, but the setting/world concept was interesting and well thought out. It also looked great visually - the sets, the costumes and the effects. It's got 2 tough heroines, always good. Fav. character: the villain Creegan - very cool and sinister, and sexy (hey, I think so!)! The show ended far too soon. Shame.
  • "Lexx " (aka Tales from a Parallell Universe) - Bizzare, dark, funny, gory, sexy. With charaters like Zev - the most perfect and beautiful woman in the two universes, Kai - a very cool and dead handsome warrior (bad intentional pun), and Stan - who's realized he's only one little guy in a big, scary universe, so he's got a desperate urge to run away all the time. A terrible shame Eva Haberman (as Zev) disappeared early in the second season.
  • "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - Very entertaining, and exciting. Fav characters: Willow and Giles - a very british, and the coolest librarian, ever!
  • "Due South" (No. title: "Oppdrag Chicago") - Hilarious and sometimes rather bizarre. It turns a bit grim during the 2. season. Cute mountie!
  • "Gormenghast" - A truly brilliant BBC production, visually stunning. Johnathan Rhys-Meyers makes an impressive performance as the scheming Steerpike. Christopher Lee as Flay is as awesome as ever.
  • "Xena" - I wish I could fight like her! What a woman!
  • "Space: Above and Beyond"(No. title: Skvadron 58) - One of the best SF series I've seen. That it has a really cute guy in it (Cooper Hawkes) is no drawback either.
  • "Red Dwarf" - British science fiction. Very funny.
  • "Babylon 5" - Terribly exciting, and characters with depth. Though I lost interest during the 5th season... Fav character: Ivanova.
  • "Farscape" - SF. Lots of interesting, weird aliens, and large living spaceships. Fav. character: Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black).
  • "Millennium" - Frank Black, now there's a guy who gets invitied to cheer up a party... The end of that show was unbelieveably grim and depressing.
  • "Neverwhere" - Neil Gaiman's tv-series. Neat ideas, but low-budget look.
  • "American Gothic" (No. title: "Sheriffen i Trinity")
  • "Star Trek: Voyager" - Fav. character: Seven of Nine.
  • "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
  • "Earth - Final Conflict" - just seen 6 episodes; the Talons are such bastards, wonder what they're really up to...
  • "Battlestar Galactica" - mainly because of nostalgia.

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PC games:

  • "The Sims" - I never tire of this one.
  • "Diablo 2"
  • "Den lengste reisen" (The Longest Journey") - Great atmosphere, great story. Hope they make a sequel.
  • "Myst" - great atmosphere.
  • "Riven" (Myst 2)
  • "The Dig"
  • "Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within"
  • Discworld 1 & 2
  • "Phantasmagoria" 1 & 2 ("A Puzzle of Flesh")
  • "D"
  • "The Blackstone Chronicles"
  • "Might and Magic 7"
  • "Pharao" - I can spend hours playing this, but it's rather boring when all you have to do is wait for the damned pyramids to be finished.


Authors:

  • Freda Warrington
  • Phil Rickman
  • C. S. Friedman
  • Jo Clayton
  • Anne Logston
  • Maggie Furey
  • Elisabeth Hand
  • Lousie Cooper - The Chaos vs. Order books, and the Indigo series
  • Barbara Hambly
  • Tanith Lee
  • Joan D. Vinge
  • Stephen King
  • Ogdred Weary (Edward Gorey) - delightfully morbid little books
  • Marion Zimmer Bradley

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Books:

  • "The Rainbow Gate" - Freda Warrington. There's some parts which reminds me of my own childhood.
  • "Good Omens" - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (Comedy/Modern Fantasy)
  • "Waking the Moon" - Elisabeth Hand. Dark moon goddess and reborn love (Modern Fantasy)
  • "Villains by Necessity" - Eve Forward. Good and Light has finally won completely, and a band of villains goes on a quest to bring Evil and Darkness back - Yesss, brilliant! (Fantasy Comedy)

Trilogies:

  • "The Axis Trilogy" ("BattleAxe", "Enchanter", "Starman")- Sara Douglass
  • "The Book of Ash" ("A Secret Story", "Carthage Ascendant", "The Wild machines")- Mary Gentle
  • "The Crown of Stars" ("King's Dragon", "Prince of Dogs" & "The Burning Stone")- Kate Elliott
  • "The Time Master" ("The Initiate", "The Outcast", "The Master") - Louise Cooper. The struggle between the Chaos gods and the Order gods. Go, Chaos, go! :-)
  • "The Farseer Trilogy" ("Assassin's Apprentice", "Royal Assassin", "Assassin's Quest") - Robin Hobb. Fascinating court/political intrigues
  • "The Coldfire Trilogy" ("Black Sun Rising", "When True Night Falls", "Crown of Shadows") - C.S. Friedman. The most interesting, cruel, ruthless and gorgeous villain ever?!"
  • "The Darkangel Trilogy" ("Darkangel", "A Gathering of Gargoyles", "The Pearl of the Soul of the World")- Meredith Ann Pierce. Dark, futuristic Fantasty - magic and vampires on a dying moon
  • "The Hyperion Cantos" ("Hyperion", "The Fall of Hyperion", "The Rise of Endymion"- Dan Simmons. The terrible, merciless Shrike on Hyperion, Keats 'reborn' & a sinister conspiracy (SF)
  • "The Chronicles of Tornor" ("Watchtower", "The Dancers of Arun", "The Northern Girl") - Elisabeth A. Lynn
  • The "Wraeththu" trilogy - Storm Constantine

Series:

  • The "Sholan Alliance" series ("Turning Point", "Fortune's Wheel", "Fire Margins", etc.) - Lisanne Norman (SF)
  • "The Fey"-series - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. No dainty creatures falalalalaing and frolicking around trees here!
  • "Anita Blake" series ("The Laughing Corpse", "Guilty Pleasures", "Circus of the Damned", etc).- Laurell K. Hamilton. Anita Blake: small, cute and deadly; vampire hunter and necromancer (Horror)
  • The "Nightrunner" series ("Luck in the Shadows", "Stalking Darkness", "Trairor's Moon") - Lynn Flewelling. Seregil's my fav character; a beautiful, decadent rogue thief/spy
  • "Sing the Four Quarters", "Fifth Quarter", "No Quarter", "The Quartered Sea"- Tanya Huff. Song magic!
  • The "Darkover" series ("Heritage of Hastur", "Sharra's Exile", etc.) - Marion Zimmer Bradley (SF/Fantasy)
  • "Discworld" novels - Terry Pratchett
  • The "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" books - Fritz Leiber
  • The "Deverry" series - Katherine Kerr
  • The "Uplift" books - David Brin (SF)


[TOP]

Comix - Series & Graphic Novels

  • "A Distant Soil" by Colleen Doran. Pretty things with long hair!!! beautiful B/W artwork.
  • "Aria"
  • "Poison Elves" by Drew Hayes. Dead cool pretty things with long hair, pointy ears and swords!!! Elves with attitudes - no falalalalaing and prancing around trees here, ooh noo.
  • "The Crow" by J. O'Barr. The most Gothic graphic story ever.
  • "Enigma" by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo. A strange, dark and romantic tale
  • "Camelot 3000" by Mike W. Barr and Briand Bolland. The return of King Arthur and an alien invation - a cool mix of SF and Fantasy
  • "Moonshadow" by J.M. DeMatteis, Jon J. Muth and Kevin Nowlan. Odd story, lovely art
  • "Baker Street" by Guy Davis and Gary Reed. A female gothpunk "Sherlock Holmes"
  • "Sandman" & "Death" by Neil Gaiman. Gee, that came as a surprise I bet. I especially like "Sandman: The Dollhouse"
  • "V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. A grim story set in a grim future
  • "Bone" by Jeff Smith. Never have I seen such "simple" lines convey so much emotion - and the coolest dragon ever
  • "Wandering Star" by Teri S. Woods
  • "The Ballad of Halo Jones" by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson. An SF story about an ordinary young woman who goes out into space and becomes a legend


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Music albums & artists

  • "Frozen" - Ivoux
  • "Serpentine Gallery" - Switchblade Symphony
  •  "Serenade for the Dead" - Leather Strip
  •  "Elyria" - Faith and the Muse
  • "Songs for a Black Planet" (collection)
  • "The Whip" (collection)
  • "Pretty Hate Machine" - Nine Inch Nails
  • "The Dreaming" - Kate Bush
  • "Little Earthquakes" - Tori Amos
  • "Misplaced Childhood" - Marillion
  • "Anthem", "Changeling" - Toyah
  • "Brilliant Trees" - David Sylvian


[TOP]

Poets:

  • Emily Dickinson
  • Joolz
  • John Keats
  • Lord Alfred Tennyson
  • Christina Rossetti
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley
  • Lord Byron


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Artists:

  • Antoni Gaudi (architecture). Especially "La Sagrada Familia" (the most megalomaniac church-building project ever?) and "Parc Güell" in Barcelona
  • Brom - Contemporary painter. Has made several book covers for fantasy books.
  • Erte - the bronze sculptures. F.ex.: "Moonlight", "Le Soleil", "Le Masque", "Firebird", "Autumn" and "L'Amour"
  • Aubrey Beardsley. Especially his illustrations to "Le Morte D'Arthur" and "Salome"
  • Albrecht Dührer
  • Hieronymous Bosch
  • Evelyn DeMorgan - a painter in the Pre-Raphaelite tradition

  • [TOP]

    Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

    • "The Lady of Shalott" - William Holman Hunt (1886-1905)
    • "The Death of Chatterton" - Henry Wallis (1856)
    • "The Lady of Shalott" - John William Waterhouse (1888)
    • "Ophelia" - Sir John Everett Millais (1852)
    • "Day Dream" - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1878)


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    Last update: 19. March 2003