Favorite Friday: Halloween aka the Best Holiday

First off, let me tell all of you readers out there that I am sorry for missing tactical Tuesday this week. I have about 4 papers due and as we speak I am relishing a certain amount of procrastination to share with you my treatise on Halloween. Furthermore, the next few weeks may contain a rather....sporadic....amount of posts, but bear with me, once school is out I'll be posting constantly due to boredom.

Anywho.

A Treatise on Halloween's Awesomeness

I'm weird. I like skeletons. I don't look away when they draw blood from my arm. I read ghost stories. I like gore and guts and big scary men with weird faces stabbing people. I like tinkly scary music. I enjoy cool crisp air augmented with the smell of burning leaves. I adore apple cider. I enjoy having an excuse to cuddle on the couch because I'm scared of the movie. My house is notorious for its kick ass candy selection. Cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin are some of my preferred spices. I like having nighttime longer than daytime. I relish being able to be outside for more than five minutes without getting a mosquito bite.

What does this add up to, ladies and gentlemen?

Halloween Rocks. End of Class. 

Still here? Oh. Well I guess I better give you some notes. 

Now let me get this across as simply and as organized as possible.

5 Reasons Why Halloween should take up half the calendar rather than Christmas:

1) Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins
2) Shopping is Fun
3) It's Nice Outside
4) Something for Everyone
5) Good Clean Fun

1) Have any of you people ever had a Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin? No? What is wrong with you? No, really. I'm genuinely asking. Because for those who have not discovered the sublime pleasure that is a Peanut Butter Pumpkin, I feel sorry for them. I feel that I must bring them a Pumpkin, unwrap it and feed it to them gently, explaining that yes they will now become one of us.  Okay, creepiness aside, allow me to explain. Once a year for about 2-3 months Reese's makes their Peanut Butter Cups in the shape of a pumpkin. Now what, you may ask, does that change? EVERYTHING. Now almost everyone has had a Reese's peanut butter cup in some way or another. When you bite into one, you are greeted with a snap on top and on bottom with a sublime peanut center, yes? Well, look at the pumpkin. It's a great deal larger than a cup, obviously. But it also NOT cup shaped. This is crucial. The pumpkin is made by making a peanut butter paste that is thicker than the peanut butter in the cup, because they add more peanuts to it. MEANING?! The pumpkin has more peanutty goodness! And on top of this, the peanut butter/chocolate ratio is higher, e.i. more peanut butter than chocolate. It's a creamy, delectable delight for anyone who is as much of a peanut butter fiend as I am.

 

Halloween shopping is not like this. This...is evil



2) Shopping during Halloween isn't stressful. It's FUN! What do you shop for during Halloween? Candy, Costumes and Decorations. It's chill. It's quiet. And most of the time you're surrounded by people who are as weird if not weirder than you are so there is little societal pressure to compete. Even if you wait until the last minute to buy a costume, the hustle and bustle of a costume shop is more to hurry towards a fun party or something instead of "I NEED THAT TOY SO MY DAUGHTER WILL KNOW I LOVE HER." It's a childlike enthusiasm to have fun and therefore---at least in my mind---its more genuine and worthwhile. The shopping season (which all things considered couldn't mean anything else but Christmas) for other holidays simply can't compete with Halloween.

......

3) Look outside. It is 72 degrees outside. There is a slight breeze that rustles through the autumn leaves that have just really started to fall to the ground in earnest. The sun is surrounded by a seemingly everlasting robin's egg blue sky. As daylight eases into night the crisp smell of forthcoming cold surrounds you. Leaves crackle and whisper as a chilly breeze blows. A toasty fire sounds like a good idea to you. Maybe wearing socks to bed or having a cup of warm cinnamon or pumpkin flavored beverage. No longer present is the incessant buzz of insects or the near constant chirp of birds. Instead the rustle to and fro of squirrels is all you hear, running up and across tree limbs securing fodder and lodging for when the temperature drops further. Pumpkins begin to appear everywhere: gas stations, grocery stores, porch steps and hay bales. You find an curious desire to carve one into a face, make it leer or grin at unsuspecting children. Skeletons laugh from trees and flower beds. Witches hang from tree limbs and bed sheet ghosts are draped over bushes and hedges. Cider sounds delicious now. And pies being to materialize on counters everywhere; pumpkin, pecan, apple and sweet potato.

This is why Halloween rocks.

4) There is something for everyone. This time of year is full of media based around the ever present spooky elements of this time of year. And not just movies or even just scary movies! Books, music, haunted houses, costume parties, movies, TV shows. The element of fun is inescapable. To be truthful, you'd really have to hate so many different things at once to not enjoy Halloween. Scary movies? Candy? Reading? Music? Haunted Houses? Dressing up? Watching movies or TV? Come on. Furthermore, the content and quality of the media associated with this holiday is nigh unmatchable with any other holiday during the year. Christmas is probably the only holiday that would even come close and to be honest with you, those kinds of movies only really appeal to the people who celebrate Christmas. Jews, agnostics, and atheists could feasibly enjoy Halloween and/or any of the aforementioned media, whereas these groups most likely would refrain from becoming too embroiled in any Christmas related media. Halloween has something for everyone!

5) Now. When I say "Good Clean Fun" I'm guessing that most would either question my meaning or tell me outright that I am mistaken. Allow me to clarify.  The business of Halloween really has to do with enjoying the ability to be someone, somewhere or something else for a short while. Whether or not it's scared out of your pants in a haunted house or dressed up as the Lady GaGa for the neighborhood Halloween party, you get to step outside the normal for a time and enjoy yourself. That's all Halloween really is regardless of age. Some people may point out that ladies costumes have become "sexified" in past years and that horror movies contain large amounts of violence etc. And I agree but you're taking them out of context. Are the people watching horror movies people who would normally go around killing others in grotesque manners? No, of course not---THAT'S THE POINT! These films are escapist entertainment people. Meant to send adrenaline coursing through veins before ENDING. The End!! It's vicarious terror that has a time and place somewhere other than your living room. As for the sexy costumes, those are being worn by adults who do adult things. If you don't like the idea of dressing up as a sexy nurse, don't. But remember, costumes make you into someone else, at least for a while. I happen to think that the people who don those particular styles of costumes are attempting, at least somewhere deep inside to be something other than themselves or perhaps bring out a hidden part of themselves in a safe environment where EVERYONE is someone they aren't normally.

Well there you go, people. Enjoy your holiday because unfortunately these days Halloween and Thanksgiving rarely get more than a passing glance before the looming season of Christmas begins. Be safe and HAVE FUN!

I have to mention the pumpkins again...watch this video.

Favorite Friday: 28 Days Later

 Jello-O and Zombies.....lets discuss.

     I like apocalypse. I like that show "Life After People" on the History Channel. I like The Road by Cormac McCarthy (haven't seen the movie yet, but will ASAP). I like Planet of the Apes and The Road Warrior. I could live in the Thunderdome. I want to be Tank Girl. I liked Waterworld (yeah, don't hold it against me). Wall-E makes me tingly.


I love this cover

     But why? For me, there is just something so innately fascinating about viewing the world through the lens of destruction. I'm addicted to imagining what would happen to the world if society went kaput. When I watch these films I feel prepared, justified and safe. Like I somehow know something that other people don't. I prefer zombies films where society has already crumbled. Past the chaos and onto living on scavenged cat food and making weapons out of old car parts.

     So.



FAVORITE FRIDAY: 28 DAYS LATER

     I know this isn't a zombie movie (yes it is) because director Danny Boyle has constantly told everyone that is not a zombie movie (but it is). That being said, it is the most zombie-like post-apocalyptic movie about sick people who transfer their sickness (very zombie-like...because it is) to others.

     Okay kidding aside, this technically isn't a zombie movie. Not really. These bad-guys are really just very very sick people. They aren't killed and then reanimate. They die when you shoot them in the chest. They starve to death. They bleed out etc.  They also don't eat people. They just get angry and express it in a very rude way.



left to right, Gleeson, Murphy and Harris



     28 Days Later follows a group of people who after 4 weeks following the initial outbreak are seemingly the remaining survivors of an extremely contagious epidemic that has struck the United Kingdom. The virus, unlike anything ever seen before causes those afflicted (they are referred to as "the infected", never the "z-word") to become as so succinctly put at the beginning of the film "infected with rage." The disease is instantly contagious and the only cure is death.

     Jim (Cillian Murphy, Scarecrow from Batman Begins) wakes up from a coma alone in a hospital. As he wanders the streets, he is set upon by Selena (Naomie Harris, scary voodoo lady from Pirates of the Caribbean) whom he joins forces with and eventually Frank (Brendan Gleeson, Menelaus (Helen's hubby) from Troy) and his daughter Hannah. Together they travel across country towards the promise of safety. Without revealing too much, they meet trouble in the form of infected and not infected persons.

All alone.....

    But the reason I like this film so much is that it is personal.  The setting is real. Society has been rushed into evacuation and quarantine. Is that so hard to believe possible? Could a disease like that spring up somehow in the world? In the United States? To us? Oh yes. That makes it scary. You look out the window when you watch this movie, looking for furious red eyes.



that's just funny

 I know I said I was scared of zombies. But my fear somehow makes what these characters are going through much more real. I feel for them when they share moments of despair. I understand a father wearing riot gear to protect his kids. The confusion, anger and terror. You meet so many different crazy end of the world kind of people. Despairing people. "Screw it lets do this" people. Funny people. Good people. Really bad people.

And it's funny! There are moments of quaint pleasure found in the simple act of eating peaches after months of soda and snack cakes. A soldier running away screaming like a girl while an infected chases him down a hallway. The pure zit-popping pleasure of a bad guy getting exactly what he deserves. A guy getting smacked over the head for fear of him biting a girl when he was actually kissing her. Slapstick end-of-the-world humor. Awesomeness.
Great down-played carnage and special effects coupled with truly scary infected persons. Their eyes are what get me. *shudder* It reveals what really scares us...ourselves! Real people scare us! OMG!



spoooky eyes!

 And yet. And yet. There is a depth to this film that as you watch it over and over again you find yourself seeing a different film each time. You notice different layers of destruction, toys laying in the mud, good-bye letters that you were too distracted to notice. Lines so simple:

"Infected with what!?"
"....Rage."

So simple. So effective.

And it is rage that is explored here, not zombies. Rage is what is so fascinating. It's not evil here that has filled these people. It's not a flesh-hungry violent zombie virus like in Dawn of the Dead. This a war movie. It's people killing people. It's just hyper-concentrated. Rage is a human thing. Animals don't get mad (to be specific I think they just really scared because they're scared). Plants don't get mad. Yes.

28 Days Later can be taken on two levels. A scary zombie-like movie full of action, suspense, gore and drama. Or as a treatise on the human condition by putting people in the worst of situations and seeing what happens.

Watch it alone or with people. It's like the Jell-O of scary zombie-esque movies. And there is always room for Jell-O.

Favorite Friday: Shaun of the Dead

   Ladies and Gentlemen: SHAUN OF THE DEAD

It's come to my attention that my favorites have become a little top heavy with the attractive undead and kickass living. So I've decided to even it out a bit with extremely unattractive undead, mostly to go with the upcoming Halloween season.



 

Funny as Hell



  I belong to a little group known as Zombiephobic's Anonymous or ZA.

Okay so that's a lie. There is no such thing as Zombiephobic's Anonymous or if there is it is so anonymous I don't know about it.

Anyway....as a young human I went through a phase where anything that remotely looked like a zombie scared the living crap out of me. This coupled with an overactive anxiety organ somewhere in my extremely irrational brain led me to hiding survival kits in the bathrooms of my house (and other people's houses....yeah I was weird). Part of my rehabilitation (coupled with a year of therapy) was a slow introduction into zombie media by my ever patient, zombie-snob of a boyfriend Patrick.

There's a point to this, I promise.

One of the earliest movies I could really stand was Shaun of the Dead. 

For some reason the combination of ridiculously amusing comedy and gory zombie flick didn't scare me. And ever since I have truly enjoyed the film.

  The reason zombie aficionados and regular movie-goers alike love Shaun of the Dead is because of the writing acumen and zombie-tastic obsession of those who created the film.


Yeah those are brain cupcakes


   It's like eating a cupcake made by a person who both is a great chef and really really loves cupcakes.

  The main character is a 28-year-old aimless department store salesmen named Shaun (Simon Pegg, who also co-wrote the script) whose personal troubles involving girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), stepfather Philip (Bill Nighy), roommate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars Phantom Menace) and best friend Ed (Nick Frost) coincide with the sudden onslaught of legions of the undead. He must save the people he loves and get his shit together all the while avoiding flesh-hungry zombies. It's like a funny Hugh Grant movie. With Zombies.



I'd kill the hipster zombies first



   First things first. The movie is just plain funny. The deft handling of comedic timing coupled with perfectly delicious gore and violence leaves one giggling constantly between groans of grossed out pleasure. It's witty comment plus gross out moment consistently keeping you entertained by double-teaming you with gore, violence, slapstick (or slap cricket bat) and sarcastic comments.

What makes the film even better is that its a zombie movie for REGULAR PEOPLE. We don't have Uzis and RPGs and tricked-out chain saws. We have cue sticks! We have bats! We scream like a girl when one-armed undead assailants enter our living room! As I watch this film it is like I know these people. You should know them too!!We all know a pretentious douche like "Pete" or a nice-guy lazy bum like "Shaun" or a stupid childish "Ed." But it is this familiarity that draws us into this film and makes it a zombie movie for the people, by the people. It's like the United States of Undead. It takes the movie to another level. Rooting for the dumb stoner character who knows how to survive from video games or revelling when the annoyingly bitchy guy gets eaten takes the film from "scary escapist entertainment" to "pleasantly gross roller coaster ride with some of your best friends." 



Um....Shaun....there are...oh you'll figure it out...



   Beyond its simple premise, the movie is both an homage to zombie films and a part of what has become the Zombie Renaissance in the last 6 years. It represents a culmination of a serious reinterest in zombie media that over the past few years has blossomed back into the spotlight (most zombie-snobs look down on those who have recently fallen for zombie movies. I roll my eyes at them because of their snootiness).  Zombies never really went away, they instead just fell away from the main spotlight. Shaun of the Dead is part of what brought zombies back into that spotlight.

  Shaun of the Dead is full of references to horror works spanning the last 6 decades including 28 Days Later (voice on the radio talks about rabid monkeys, referencing this film), Dawn of the Dead, An American Werewolf in London (the grocery store Shaun gets ice cream from is called "Landis" after John Landis, the movie's director) just to name a few. I mean come on...Romero liked this movie so much that he had Simon Pegg and the director Edgar Wright cameo in his movie Land of the Dead.

There are so many cameos that every time I watch it I see someone else who looks familiar and I end up googling it until I figure out who they were. So I was completely floored when I spotted this fellow in the back.

Yeah that's Chris Martin of Coldplay right there on the right hand side, blue jeans and gray shirt. Tee hee.

  As someone who really hasn't been immersed in zombie movies (I refuse to watch Cannibal Holocaust, since I KNOW it will give me nightmares) this movie is completely enjoyable for anyone, not just someone seeking out pop culture references or zombie-political-correctness (you zombie snobs and your "zombie rules"). If you just want to watch a HORROR MOVIE or a COMEDY or a HORROR COMEDY or a ZOMBIE COMEDY this film suits all those needs perfectly well.

I think that you should see this movie.

Enough said. Go forth, young people. Enjoy the gore. I give you my blessing!



Favorite Friday: Starship Troopers is Full of Bug-Killing Awesomeness

Favorite Friday: Starship Troopers


This is.....CASPER!!! (van dien...)

Now now. I know that if a) you've seen this movie and you probably think its stupid or b) you have no idea what this movie is and/or you thought the title said "Super Troopers...."

either way you'll just click away....just know that if you do..........

You don't know what you're missing!!!!!

Still here? Good.

First, the plot.

The film takes place in a future time where the Earth and humans are under attack by aliens from another planet that are essentially giant "bugs." The story follows a few young people--the foremost being a gentleman by the name of Johnny Rico (played with acumen by Casper van Dien whom you'll recognize as Bram from Sleepy Hollow) ---and some of his fellow high school graduates as the join the military in order to become Citizens. Citizens basically enjoy all of the rights that we ourselves (that is US citizens here and now) have that Civilians do not have---voting, having children, ability to run for office, etc. So yeah. Basically it goes from there.



Neil Patrick Harris is a psychic who kills bugs....any questions?

 The first film (the one I am reviewing now...right now...the one you're reading about) is taken (very vaguely) from the pages of an award-winning book by the same name originally published in 1959. That being said, you should read the book too as it is very good. The film itself was actually nominated for an Oscar (Best Visual Effects 1998).

Take That!
I digress.

This movie is not just a shoot-em-up romp through the universe where the good guys kill the bad guys who just happen to be big arachnid things filled with goop. Its a mental movie. It makes you think. Okay it makes you think about bugs. But beyond that it really is an inflated, over-the-top action-flick satire of the world. The film alludes (in a haha poke fun kind of way) to Nazi-propaganda and Nazi military. The draw of military service in the film for most is that it enables you to be a "citizen" where you enjoy the rights: baby-making, voting etc. It's very fascist and very delicious. Watch it as a statement on class-conflict in militaristic societies.
It's very deep.


Looks like someone took a nerf ball and liquified it

But all of that aside.....forget all of that for just a second.

The movie. Is. Awesome.

 I mean come on now. It's about people killing giant bugs filled with various shades of goop.  There's action. There's suspense.There's ridiculous action sequences of suspense and gore with a man whose given name is Casper Van Dien (his parents hated him). There's Neil Patrick Harris in what has probably been his most normal role ever....which is weird. There's really awesome concentrating faces by Denise Richards.

My favorite thing about Starship Troopers is the over-the-top. I mean come on now. Giant bugs sending an asteroid to kill us? Seriously?  Using a teeny-tiny nuke like an RPG to blow up stuff? That's just silly. But look beyooooond the silly---see it? There is the awesome!! The movie is just a 50's version of Gears of War! SEE! ISN"T IT COOL!?  The only thing it's missing is some poor Carmine guy getting his head chopped off!

BUUUUUUUGS!

But you find yourself enjoying it. Rooting for us! The movie is a rollicky thrill ride of perpetual awesome. Because who doesn't like a good war movie? Do you dislike Saving Private Ryan? Or Black Hawk Down? Perhaps Inglorious Basterds? Platoon? Apocalypse Now? Well this movie is like all of those pretty much....just about bugs....and the future....yeah you get my point.



CONCENTRATING FACE!!!



Try it. See it as an art piece about how we are secretly inside---especially if we didn't care about offending the people we were fighting in a war. If it was PC to kill cockroaches because they looked like the people we were sending troops to kill. Maybe then this movie would really be about us instead of merely being make believe.

If anything just for the random naked scene (which the actors only agreed to do if the director and crew were all naked while filming it--which they were haha). Which sadly, I will not post here. I'm cool but obviously not that cool.

Dracula: The Other White Meat



Lookit! Awesome hair!

 You ever watch a movie when you were a kid and then watch it again?

I like Dracula. I do not however, like the novel Dracula. Bram Stoker, besides being thoroughly obsessive and a little bit of a drinker, has a writing style that magically induces me to into the uncontrollable urge to nap.  But I do however like movies based on Dracula. There's something about the visual stimuli combined with gothic elements that really draws my attention.

That being said I saw Dracula (1979) on the Sci-Fi Channel (before it changed to SYFY....lame). So I missed the R-rated-ness of the original version along with the no commercials bit.

So. Onward.

......

I like Frank Langella. I've never really felt jipped by whatever film in which he stars. Mostly because he tries so very hard to BE whatever he is supposed to be (watch him as Nixon, his jaw does wabble quite convincingly).  His portrayal of Dracula (without bothering to stubble over a middle European accent, like Gary Oldman or Leslie Nielsen in their respective Dracula movies) is both creepy and debonair and almost sexy (the hair style is distracting, but that could just be my ADD). 



MY KINGDOM FOR AN OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR!



The film is actually based on a play that is based on the original book by Bram Stoker. It is in effect a more thorough version of an earlier film starring Bela Legosi, though not quite as thorough a version of the Francis Ford Coppla version from the 90s (oh Keanu, your acting ability=your hair).  The movie has a talented cast (featuring none other than Sir Laurence Olivier as Dr. Van Helsing) that really does their best bring the script to fruition. Granted, the script is not fantastic. The dialogue at times comes across as goofy when its supposed to be deep and scary. And the dramatic scenes are occasionally marred by the use of late 70s special effects. However, the movie is creepy sometimes. I mean just "eeeeeeek" moments where you go ".....hey....what are you....where you goin' with that.....holy crap?!" Watching Renfield shove a big fat cockroach into his mouth and lick his fingers was about enough to make me retch.

Close the damn door!

The reason I like this movie is because you already know what is going to happen. You know that Frank Langella is Dracula, a blood-thirsty vampire who is going to drain several of the supporting female cast members dry of their vital bodily fluids. This is why the movie is so creepy. It's like going to a haunted house. You know you're going to be scared--thus the suspension builds and increases the overall thrill.

Now granted the movie does overuse some of the special effects and they tend to detract from the overall viewing experience. But in truth I find that the kitchy bat scene with Renfield thoroughly amusing.

As far as perfect Dracula movies, this is not it---but to be honest I don't think there is a Dracula movie that is perfect for everyone. This, however, is one of the better versions available based in a roundabout way on the original story (no Dracula 2000 doesn't count, pun intended).  Give it a try and I'm sure you won't be disappointed

Favorite Friday: Cobra=Stallone Makes Everything Better

I'll have you know....I am a girl. DO NOT RUN!

But if you didn't know that about me (besides being concerned with whether or not PMS affects my decisions concerning movie choice) you probably wouldn't think my obsession with all things creepy, crawly and in the case of this particular post slurred and full of brooklyn accent was all that weird.

But I'm still a girl. And I'm not going to go all "glass ceiling" on you. Well I will, but I'll be breaking the glass ceiling with a nice .38 special with a pretty pink grip on it. Because I'm a girl. Get it?

Anyway, when I tell people that my favorite Sylvester Stallone movie is Cobra they look at me blankly for a few seconds before going "really?" That is if they even know what movie I'm talking about.

tee hee

 For you see Cobra is not critically appreciated movie. It isn't a fan favorite or cult classic. It isn't even really all that well known. When I found it in BIG LOTS on DVD for 3$, well....I think that I found it at BIG LOTS for 3$ is enough of an explanation. 

Why do I like it, do you ask? Because it's ridiculous and AWESOME! Stallone (at his cutest, which is saying a lot) plays an LAPD officer named Marion Cobretti in his totally awesome mirrored cop sunglasses (I have a pair because of this movie, btw) goes around Los Angeles killing bad guys with a big fat gun (toting Cobra handguns which I wanted desperately and couldn't understand why my mom wouldn't buy them for me) and chewing on a match the entire time. Because that is the definition of badass. Did I mention that Stallone originally wrote this as the script to Beverly Hills Cop? Once you see this movie, imagine the Eddie Murphy laugh coming out around a chewed-on match.  I digress.

Brian Thompson = jawline of doom!



Brigitte Nielsen (who shortly before this film had married Mr. Stallone, which may or may not have had something to do with her casting....you know her as the tall blond who made out with Flavor Flav all the time on VH1) is on the naughty list of a creepy gang of supremacists helmed by a knife-happy Brian Thompson (he was the punk Arnold took the clothes from in the first Terminator movie). They're trying to kill her because she saw them do something bad and supremacist-y. So of course Cobretti or nickname "Cobra" has to keep her safe and .....bada bing...romantic interest and then well it kind of goes on from there.

I like to think a man would carry a gun around like that to protect me.



The film is not Schindler's List okay? It's an action flick full of delicious 80s drama and gun toting with sweaty scary headband wearing bad guys. It's like Karate Kid minus heartwarming tale....and with lots and lots of guns. And murder.

However, the film is fun! You don't need to have your mind challenged to be truely enjoy watching Stallone wander about being badass. And the perfectly creepy and slightly Schwarzenegger-esque Thompson is definitely worth dealing with Stallone making out with his wife during the whole movie. Ew.

Give the movie a chance and to be honest with you I don't forsee you disliking it all that much if at all. It's a perfectly enjoyable film, just don't expect yourself to become intellectually bettered by watching it---which isn't all that different than watching G.I. Joe or whatever. I like action movies, even ones with little or no plot. And to be honest with you watching Stallone beat the crap out of people makes me feel better about my day!

enjoy!!

PS: Got a movie you want me to watch? Disagree with me? Let me know! Comment on my Facebook or right here on my blog! I'll be happy to reply!!

Favorite Friday: The Lost Boys

 I really like vampire movies that are ridiculous.
The Lost Boys certainly fits the bill for ridiculous vampire movies. And it is definitely worth the time to watch and enjoy, preferably with a couple of friends so the silliness can be fully enjoyed.

I won't bother going over the plot since there IS so little of one. Sustain it to say that the movie is about vampires and teenagers dying (if only this were the plot of Twilight). Instead I will go over the points of why this movie is a must-see.

If only....

Anyway, I digress. On to the points of interest!!

Corey Haim on the left, Corey Feldman on the right

1) The Coreys

If I were to hold up any pop film released in the 80s and early 90s that wasn't directed by John Hughes and ask you to randomly select one, the one picked would probably have one if not both of the Coreys.

These two are quintessential 80s pop culture icons, merely for the fact that they are a reflection of everything that is good and bad about the 80s. Separately these two are cinema gold, starring in several respected films (Haim in Lucas, Feldman in Stand by Me). But together? Together they are magic. Poofy hair full of aqua net, outsized jackets in pastel colors and big Ray Ban sunglasses.  Every movie these two did together is sheer 80s gold. The Lost Boys marks their first acting foray together and it is by far my favorite. The two of them together have a humorous teenage chemistry (Feldman with his deep Rambo-voice explaining calmly that they'll have to stake all the vampires before sunrise). It provides a lovely comedic element that makes this film memorable.

Marko played by Alex Winter--that's a mullet

HOO! Look at that feathering!

2) The Costumes and the Hair

Aren't they cute?

Okay let me explain something. The costumes are exceptionally over-the-top goofy and of course FANTASTIC! And who could possibly forget that hair. I mean come on, there was so much hair spray its a wonder the set wasn't officially declared a threat to the ozone layer. I absolutely love Marko's jacket (which sold on eBay last year for several thousand dollars) which looks like a craft project on crack (which it probably was....it WAS the 80s). That on top of Kiefer's badass hair cut and equally awesome black trench coat.

The film is a snippet of an era; a snapshot in time that really helps define what is quintessential 80s.

3) Acting Gems like Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann and Kiefer Sutherland
Ah yes, I thoroughly enjoy all of these actors for their bit and starring roles in some of the world's greater films and/or television shows. Dianne Wiest and Edward Herrmann are notable for their television appearances (Herrman does voice overs for the History Channel all the time). Kiefer Sutherland went on after this film to be a greatly accredited actor in the 90s and especially when he was cast as Jack Bauer in 24. 

4) Ridiculously awesome special effects

Kiefer + contacts = awesome

I'm a sucker for cheesy but well used special effects in any of my movies. The Lost Boys is not exception. Whether its the over the top Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque vampire look or the Jason Patric floating in the air or Alex Winter getting staked by an over-zealous Corey Feldman, one can not escape the thoroughly cartoonish way vampires are depicted in this film. The effects set the film apart from other equally campy vampire films of the same era because of the way the director uses the special effects in way that embellishes the film (wow, go figure) instead of overwhelming the film (cough Avatar cough).

As it stands one of my favorite 80s vampire films and certainly one of my favorite vampire movies in general. Definitely worth watching!

Favorite Friday #3: Excalibur

I love this poster.

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FAVORITE FRIDAY!!!

Today's fantastic feature film for Friday feasting: Excalibur!!

Excalibur is in my opinion the best version of the King Arthur story on film. Many would say "but what about King Arthur with Clive Owen?" NO! Guinevere did not cover herself in blue finger paint."But what about First Knight?" Richard Gere trying to talk with English accent is FAR too distracting.

There are no other really good live action King Arthur films worth mentioning here beyond a musical or two.

Nope. Excalibur is as close to the original fairy tale/legion of Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory as any film I've seen worth any salt. On top of that the movie is actually a good movie.

Their prop master must have been pissed: look at all the mud!

Now everyone knows the Arthurian legend, at least to some degree, so I don't really need to go over the plot to the film. I know it's always a concern when movies come out about stories that have been done a million times that they're boring or overdone or trying to be original or whatever. That being said, what I really like about Excalibur is how new it feels without being too different from the King Arthur stories we all know and love. Don't misunderstand, they don't make up things and add in new stuff (like in King Arthur(2004)--trying to make the square peg of Arthurian legend fit into the round hole of written roman/Briton history *rolls eyes*). It's merely the actual old story with awesome 80's over-the-top film-making. The same special effects that made the Conan movies fan-favorites. Huge messy, dirty, bloody fighting scenes where you have to squint to make sure that yes that IS Patrick Stewart under all that dirt and blood fighting with a big sword. No slo-mo, close up on hero's face with hair flipping as he spins around to look at the battle-field carnage. Nope! We've got something 10X better!!! Gross, "we're ruining the suits of armor" sets, unabashedly bloody battle scenes involving severed limbs and other delectably fake movie-carnage. Knowing what happens helps you appreciate the finer details of the film--like coming back to look at a picture on a wall for a second time.

Helen Mirren as Morgana--she was smokin'!

Now I mentioned Patrick Stewart, which brings me to another point. These aren't unknown actors, playing these characters. These are modern day heavy weights portraying characters like Gawain (Liam Neeson), Morgana (Helen Mirren), Leondegrance (Patrick Stewart), Lot (Ciaran Hinds), and King Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne). While virtually un-cultified at this point (Neeson would later have roles in Taken (2008), Batman Begins (2005), and Gangs of New York (2002); Mirren
in Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), The Queen (2006), and Red (2010); Stewart in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94) and the X-Men films ; Hinds in HBO's Rome (2005-07), Munich (2005), and Miami Vice (2006); Byrne in Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), End of Days (1999), and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)), these actors are recognizable film figures today. As Hollywood and stage contenders (Nicol Williamson, who played Merlin, was a huge stage actor though he was notable as Coliostro in Spawn (1997)) these actors brought weight to the film, illuminating the otherwise unknown actors (though Byrne and Nieson were fairly unknown at the time).

Clay and Boorman as Lancelot and Guinevere

As for the remaining cast-- just because the other cast members, most notably all the leading roles Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred, aren't anyone incredibly famous doesn't mean they suck. Because they don't. These actors realize that this film would be their crowning glory (pun intended) and so they act their hearts out--to great effect. Nigel Terry as Arthur, Katrina Boorman as Guinevere and Nicholas Clay as Lancelot create the perfect chemistry, artistry and tragic drama one would expect with Camelot's royal love triangle. It's just magic to watch.

Nigel Terry as King Arthur

It goes without saying that I love this movie. Give it a try and I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do.  It's a fairy tale for grown ups that always satisfies my desire for fantasy, metal on metal action and tragic drama. Enjoy!

Favorite Friday #3: The Godfather

The Godfather (1972)

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

"Maunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday"

"Fredo, you're my older brother and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever."

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone

The Godfather entered my life as I was emerging as a child into a young woman. Thus where others of my age or older were introduced to films like Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Can't Hardly Wait, or She's All That or if they're luckier films like The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink or Sixteen Candles---I watched films like Braveheart, Die Hard, Blood Sport and of course The Godfather. It brought with it a certain understanding of two things: Italians are scary and mob films are fantastic. You name it and I can find you a mob film that you would no doubt enjoy. And they certainly aren't a solely old fashion film style--The Departed (2006) is a more recent addition to the genre. And like myself the director of that film, Martin Scorsese, is also a great fan of The Godfather.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone

But why is the film so great? Where is the proof of its perpetual immortality?

Here's my theory: anybody who is not a complete idiot or hermit knows of The Godfather. If you say it to someone, most likely even if they don't know who is in it (even though most people know at least that Brando or Pacino is), they know that the movie is about gangsters or Sicilians. It takes a lot for a movie which a great deal of people who have never seen in its entirety (my mother for instance) can quote lines from it. Many people may not have seen this film, but they still know what the negative connotation of a "Godfather" is or that there are mob families in New York that are Sicilian or Italian. If they're lucky or at least a little more close to movie freaks (such as myself) they'll be able to quote any of the lines mentioned above.

"I believe in America. America has made me my fortune." Sorry. Those are the opening lines. I love them. I digress.

Pacino, Brando, Caan and Cazale (left to right)

The Godfather was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino (then unknown at the time), Robert Duvall, James Caan and Diane Keaton. The film was based on a 1969 novel written by Mario Puzo. It was awarded Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Puzo and Coppola---further proof that the author of a book needs to at least be involved for the movie adaptation to worth anything).

The story takes place over the years 1945-55 and chronicles the Corleone family, a fictional Sicilian mob family.  The story begins at the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter, Connie. Through this massive family event (so large that FBI agents lie waiting outside checking license plates for who showed up) we are introduced to the ritual and respect that the Corleone family and especially Don Vito Corleone (Brando) or The Godfather. We are also introduced to the interesting family dynamic of Don Corleone's children, Michael (Al Pacino), Santino or "Sonny" (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale), and Connie (Talia Shire).  As the film progresses we are allowed into more and more intimate settings--one begins to feel as a fly on the wall as there is domestic violence, adultery, marriage and the death of a parent. If this movie were about any other family it could be a comedy of errors, almost like It's a Wonderful Life. If you subtract everything but the basic events, it would be funny. Michael was never supposed to be in the family business, but when Vito Corleone is "removed from office" for saying no to a business transaction, Michael is forced to become involved. Furthermore Michael's elder brothers are both inept at being the head of the business, so as time goes by Michael eventually becomes the de facto and then finally the official head of the family. The family could own a landscaping business for all the intimacy of this kind of drama--thus its charm.

"Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes"

Now take the family drama and add in murder, explosions, more murder, drama, lying, backstabbing, hairy arms, guns, Garrot wire, screaming, punching and a lot of Italians and voila you've got the best movie ever made (according to pretty much every AFI and Film Institute list in existence).

What makes this film so great for me as I'm sure it is with everyone else is the humanity of the characters. It would have been so easy for anyone to have made these people monsters, since in all honesty they are that exactly. Instead we find ourselves immersed in their lives, rooting for them even though it means murder is condoned. These gangsters are just people; their language is Italian and murder. And we love them for it!

Furthermore the film is grossly different than those before it (and you can see this film's influence on pretty much all since--especially Goodfellas (1990) and Mobsters (1991)--both of which are excellent by the way) because it is a gangster's tale told from inside. Not from an outsider's perspective, detailing how a high-rolling mobster goes from a time of flippant murder, robbery and mayhem to a life of jail and punishment. Michael is not punished at the end of the film--in fact no one gets caught by any authority whatsoever--except by mob-family justice. As for realism in the genre? I mean come on. The Gambino family liked this movie! O.M.G.

The Godfather is a classic of modern film making, a piece of whether or not you like mob movies or crime dramas or what have you.

Now go out, get some cannoli, make some spaghetti and sit down to watch this film. Capisce?

Favorite Friday: Perfect Creature

Favorite Friday #2

I've thought long and hard about which fantastic feature film I should promote on this, the second Favorite Friday and have come to the decision that it shall be:

 

Perfect Creature (2006)

As some may have noticed, I have an obsession with Vampires. So when my boyfriend (calling him a zombie enthusiast is like calling Hitler anti-social) introduced me to this film when we first started dating (the poor soul not realizing how obsessed I was with vampires at this point) I fell inrepreably in love.

There's steampunk, there's bloodshed, there's love, there's monsters; this movie's got everything

The film takes place in a steampunkish city where human beings coexist with a superior, peaceful race that feeds on human blood called "Brothers." The film plot follows a female police officer and a male Brother investigating murders linked to a rogue Brother vampire.

Why I like this film:

1) Setting

2) Lack of Special Effects

3) Different Angle

First things first: I really like steampunk. I just do. It's silly but ever since the film debaucle Wild Wild West (1999) with Will Smith and Kevin Kline using awesome future/past weapons to kill Dr. Lovelace I have loved steampunk. Using futuristic technology in congress with a Victorian-esque time setting is just utter poetry, especially in this film. I want a giant projectile hurling weapon that looks like a battleship cannon but runs on steam.  I just do. I like bulky looking hand-guns that shoot shiny bullets full of poison. I can't help it.

Brother Silas played by Dougary Scott

Secondly, I thoroughly enjoy the lack of special effects in this film. The fascinating thing is there was a ton of times where somone could have spent a million dollars to create some huge special effect to make the scene more than what it needs to be. Leaving out a ton of CGI is especially difficult in steampunk films because the temptation to use CGI to create steam powered versions of modern machines is great. This is also important because instead of the CGI vampire (like in Van Helsing, another steampunk wannabe) or make-up effects vampire (From Dust til Dawn) we have actors in simple make-up. The balance is poignant and refreshing.

Detective Lilly Squires played by Saffron Burrows

Lastly I love that this film isn't completely centered around the vampires as superior beings with the humans being all weak and helpess. Both halves of the relationship have great strengths and weaknesses. Brother Edgar (played by Dougary Scott of Mission Impossible II fame) is the stronger of the investigative duo, but his weaknesses concerning understanding unpredictable emotions contrast sharply with the physically weaker but infinately (and obviously) more human detective Lily Squires (Saffron Burrows of Troy fame).
The duality gives the film grace and makes it wholy different than many other vampire films that I've seen.

Perfect Creature is an utterly satisfying film that provides the vampire lover with something besides Twilight and Interview with the Vampire to enjoy.

Give it a shot; it makes a great date movie!