PopaHALLics #91 "Rock n Troll"
A solo Steve discusses the Norwegian monster movie "Troll" and the debate about what its popularity means for foreign-language films on Netflix. If you've got reading time during the holidays, he also talks about some books worth curling up with.

Streaming:

• "Troll," Netflix. Humans screwing around with nature accidentally awaken an ancient evil deep within the mountain.  Cliched and derivative, but if you go into it expecting a B monster movie, you won't be disappointed.

Books:

• "Billy Summers," by Stephen King. A hitman takes one final job—which naturally goes wrong. King has fun breathing life into a tired trope and talking about the writing life.
• "The Girl in Red," by Christina Henry. In this clever riff on Red Riding Hood, a teenage girl heads for her grandmother's house when the apocalypse hits.
• "Round Ireland with a Fridge," by Tony Hawks. The bet that a British comedian couldn't hitchhike around Ireland with a fridge results in a light, funny travelogue mainly about the Irish people.
• "Dracul," by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. A prequel to "Dracula" co-written by Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew suggests Bram was writing about vampires from first-knowledge.
• "Honey Don't," by Tim Sandlin. When a president accidentally dies after having sex with a young woman, she, her wanna-be mobster boyfriend, an over-the-hill journalist and a gay NFL player try to get rid of the evidence. This absurdist Carl Hiassen-like romp pokes fun at Washington, D.C.,  and modern life.