Morbid March Hare

Dr. No

2012-02-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Dr. No was the sixth Bond novel, the first to have a large amount of negative criticism and the first to be adapted into a movie, apparently because it seemed the easiest to make and there were legal problems with Thunderball. Dr. No is OTT and as usual Bond is presented as a womanizer who survives on luck more than wit, the woman, Honeychile Rider, is a lot like the movie version of Tiffany Case in that she wavers between brilliance and idiocy, switching between being helpful and hindering.

I don't know why it had such large scale criticism compared to its predecessors when it simply follows the basic formula the previous five novels established, following a cold, confident, womanizer secret agent as he struggles against larger than life villains and woos women who are usually presented as virtuous, virgin like and naive with grains of brassiness mixed in with their vulnerability and a streak of bravery and boldness. Honeychile Rider is naive and almost innocent to the world like Solitare but she has also been hardened to it thanks to a rape like Tiffany Case, though unlike Tiffany, this has not turned her cold to men. As with Tatiana Romanova she does try to aid Bond but is largely still a damsel in distress, and there is always the overarching feeling that Bond knows this girl is just a dalliance and will never be anything more.

Dr. No is a Fu Manchu inspired villain, creepy, insane and rich with metal pincers for hands, he caused himself misfortune by betraying members of a Chinese Tong gang he was in and survived only because his heart is on the right side and not the left, though he lost his hands for being a thief but kept the million he stole. He runs a secretive base on the island Crab Key with Chinese/Negro minions who have their own settlement here, and seem to have forgotten the outside world in a way. Dr. No is a typical madman villain, his goals are lofty and destructive and rather than kill Bond and Honey outright he instead sets Bond through a rigorous course to see how much the human body can withstand and leaves Honey to be feasted upon by crabs. I don't think he was any more ridiculous than Sir Hugo Drax or Mr. Big, Drax wanted to destroy London with a rocket, Dr. No sabotages American missiles and threatens to turn them on the world, and naturally both are working for the Soviets.

The movie followed it closely although they of course changed some things, leaving out some of the more fantastical elements and adding more womanizing to establish Bond as a ladies' man who is a flirt and will have sex even with the enemy (in the book Miss Taro is a very minor character and has no interaction with Bond, whilst in the movie she is the first Bond girl effectively as Bond does not sleep with Sylvia).

One reviewer called the book 'Sex, Snobbery and Sadism', which sounds more like Fleming as far as one newspaper article would have you believe, making Fleming out to be a misogynist who liked it rough basically, if true it would certainly explain some of his writing. In saying that, there's really not that much sex and despite the numerous descriptions of Honey, her continuous flirting, the temptation she presents with her naivety and the fact that she arrives on scene in the nude like 'Botticelli's Venus from behind', she and Bond do not get together until the end of the novel. As for the snobbery, Bond is a classy gentleman with a palette for food and wine and he always has been, this is nothing new to the series, it's just a part of Bond's character and whether a likeable trait or not it adds a dimension to his character. Sadism, well Dr. No is a sadistic character but he is the villain of the story so why not? He comes across as a twisted maniac prompting Bond to wonder if he is bad or just mad. It makes a memorable villain even if he is not that believable.

Honeychile Rider wavered between likeable and annoying, at times she comes across as clever and experienced, knowing everything about the nature of the land and mentioning that she has read the encyclopedias. She is brave although at times it is implied this is purely because she does not grasp the gravity of the situation she is in. Having spent her life being rared by her nanny in a basement and then alone, she knows about Jamaica but she knows little of the world and would obviously been out of place in a town or city, or anywhere other than this island on which she hunts for shells. She was not as annoying as Vesper and her movie persona is pretty close to her fictional counterpart, which was a plus, but sometimes her naivety and her obssession with bedding Bond began to grate. She is a character good for the novel she is in but she will not be missed.

I will say though that I prefer the movie, perhaps because Bond is more confident and humorous, granted in the novel he is bleak because he feels he is being punished for letting his guard down against Rosa Klebb, you see more characters, and Dr. No is slightly more believable in an excellent portrayal by the late Joseph Wiseman.

Bunraku

2012-01-23T07:32:00.001-08:00

So I like the more random movies, as mentioned with my brief review of The Warrior's Way and Bunraku did not disappoint with the randomness. For me it was like Quentin Tarantino tried to direct a kids' movie inspired by the tv series Batman (the Adam West one), Japan and Steampunk and set it in a world made from Origami. The reason I say kids' movie is not because it was any such thing but simply because it had action and violence but it was not as extreme as Kill Bill or Clockwork Orange. Throw in some video game homaging, West Side Story with punks and a combination of Western and Oriental starring a cowboy without a gun and a samurai without a sword and you have Bunraku in a nutshell.

Bunraku was made in 2010 and stars Gackt, Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Kevin McKidd, Ron Perlman and Demi Moore. Bunraku itself is a type Japanese puppet theater, which uses large, detailed puppets to tell a story. Unfortunately, this little gem lie so many other unusual artsy films flopped and pretty much went under the radar. Despite loving it I can see why, it has many flaws and it seems designed for a minor audience rather than the likes of Mission Impossible, Clash of the Titans etc, which are expensive Hollywood productions aimed at a wide audience, hoping to impress with action and special effects.

Bunraku for all the action it promises doesn't have much, as said the violence is largely toned down in comparison to say Kill Bill (and yet I've still read so many reviews complaining that it glorifies violence), to say that violent movies encourage violence is ridiculous, I love Kill Bill but it doesn't make me want to grab a sword and start a slaughter bath, it just simply looks cool and is fun to watch. Bunraku on the other hand has some good sequences but not enough for it to be properly called an action flick, the fight sequences are good but not brilliant (there have been better), and the action is largely tame.

The plot is also weak, a straightforward revenge flick featuring the typical drifter with no name (Josh Hartnett) who seems to have a grudge, the man looking to avenge his family and restore their glory, Yoshi (Gackt), who despite their differences join forces thanks to help from the bartender on the sidelines (Woody Harrelson) to bring down crime boss Nicola the Woodcutter who has the town in his power (Ron Perlman).

The film is set in a futuristic world where guns have been outlawed due to mankind's violence effectively destroying the world and causing it to be remade, but mankind's violent tendencies cannot be wiped out and instead people use swords, knives, axes and their hands to fight. Nicola is one of the men who has climbed his way up to power, he rarely shows his presence and when he do it's always with a hat in the guise of the Woodcutter. He dominates the town with his nine killers, the highest member of which is Killer No.2 (Kevin McKidd) and his minions the Red Suits. Nicola knows he is not immortal though and that he is vulnerable, never forgetting the words of an adversary, informing him that there is always someone more powerful than you. He accuses No.2 of trying to takeover, complains about having little interests save for one favourite Japanese restaurant and a weekly card game and Alexandra (Demi Moore), his courtesan who he wishes to impregnate to continue his legacy.

It was nice to see hints of the character's depth like that but alas the film never gave us enough on the characters, the females are the weakest, Alexandra seems to exist purely because the film needed a female lead. There is a hint in comic book fashion that she was once in love with the Bartender but when he picked a fight with Nicola that left him with a limp she was forced to give herself up to him to save the Bartender. Yet brief dialogue also suggests that she went willingly in an attempt to gain a better life for herself, though she acknowledges that it was a mistake as she is just a high priced whore. The other female is Yoshi's cousin Momoko, she hardly ever speaks in English and the Japanese dialogue has no subtitles so all we really get from her is that she is tough and brave but not strong, she could not save her father and ends up kidnapped by Killer No.2. There is a very brief hint of flirtation between her and the Drifter but nothing concrete.

This film is a visual treat and its strengths are in its imagery and settings. Deliberately looking like a theatre production and a mad pop-up book it combines stylish Western and Oriental imagery offering saloon doors, a Japanese garden complete with cherry blossom trees, sliding doors, a desert and more with an origami sky that makes me think of Scrapped Princess were the sky wasn't real and they were all in fact prisoners of the world.

For all its flaws it's worth a watch and I certainly enjoyed it, Kevin McKidd was fantastic and owned every scene he was in, Josh Hartnett shows improvement and though there's not much to his character he does it well, and Ron Perlman, as always, is great in his role as the villain. It's something different at any rate and could well become a cult film.

To me it was a lot like Kill Bill, Repo: The Generic Opera and Clockwork Orange, it's a revenge flick with minor boss killers to be wiped out before the main boss can be taken down, it's in a bleak future with posters of people hoping to get to power and being silenced by shady gangsters, it's violent in a world that hoped to wipe out violence and failed, and now finds itself at the mercy of a ruthless gang.

The Evil Dead

2012-01-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

I tried to introduce my boyfriend to this series recently, trying to get him to watch the second movie and then the third, of course he grew bored with both, barely paid attention and opted for having a bath or going on his computer instead.

It's a pretty basic plot throughout, the first movie is your bog standard horror- a group of teens go out to a remote cabin (Friday the 13th anyone) and accidentally play a tape recording quoting from The Book of The Dead/Naturan Demanto/Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which causes evil demons to be resurrected. Said demons go about tormenting and killing the teens one by one and possessing them turning them into deadites. The film ends with Ash as a questionable survivor who destroys the book in a fire thus causing the deadites to leave but he is then attacked by an unseen entity moving through the woods.

The sequel is mainly about Ash still in the cabin facing off evil though he is later joined by the professor whose voice was on the tape's daughter Annie, her research partner Ed and white trash Jake and Bobby Jo who guide them on a trail to the cabin when they find the bridge to it has been destroyed. A mixture of horror and comedy this time, it was mistaken as a remake of the first Evil Dead as the rights to the film were no longer director Sam Raimi's, so they had to reshoot an opening scene to explain the plot and Ash's predicament. This reshoot involved a new actress playing Linda, Ash's girlfriend, and left out the character's of Ash's sister Cheryl and friend Scotty and Scotty's girlfriend Shelly.

The third film, Army of Darkness, picked up where the second left of with Ash in medieval times, made into more of a comedy with less gore thanks to Warner Bros wanting a more easily marketable film, it also had to reshoot a prologue as again the rights to the second film were no longer Raimi's. Ash is caught by knight Arthur and his men and viewed as a minion of enemy Duke Henry, but Arthur's Wise Man thinks Ash is the prophesised saviour come to save them from the deadites. After proving himself worthy as a deadite slayer Ash is sent on a quest to find the Necronomicon, with instructions to say the words "Klaatu barada nikto" before taking the book, presumably to prevent its evil from unleashing. Ash goes on the quest as he believes the book is his only hope of returning home but of course when he finds it he says the words wrong and brings about an army of the undead, lead by his evil copy. After his love interest Shelia is captured and turned by deadites, Ash is guilted into building a defence army, using modern technology and persuading Arthur and Henry's forces to unite.
Successful, his army wins, the Army of Darkness are defeated and Ash is given the potion that will return him to his world providing he says the correct words "Klaatu barada nikto". Ash returns to the S-mart but admits to a colleague that he said the words not quite right, cue a deadite woman who Ash defeats and then the end of the film. There was an original ending where Ash ended up in a post-apocalyptic future but the studio deemed it too negative.

The third film was definitely campier and cheesier, more of a comedy spoof than anything and yet for me it was entertaining and an enjoyable addition to the series. After two films with Ash in the cabin in the woods the film needed something a little different.

Naturally, as some of you might know, The Evil Dead has fallen prey to the remake fad, although original creators Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert will have involvement as producers, although newcomer Fede Alvarez is set to direct. It involves the group of teens go to a cabin in the woods plot but is rumoured to feature Lily Collins as a female lead, thus removing the risk of comparisons to Ash, and is to centre round her drug addiction and the predicament of whether the deadites are real or just her hallucinations. Currently the release date is April 2013. I would like to see Evil Dead continue and I always imagined the best way to do it was by keeping to the basics that made it famous and having a group of teens go to a cabin in the woods despite how cliche that's become, and that a female lead would be best because no guy could ever top Ash. Even so I'm always sceptical with remakes, reboots and sequels but I will give it a chance nonetheless.

Frankly, The Evil Dead series have always been the only zombie styled films to catch my interest, The Dawn of the Dead lot just bored me, The Walking Dead didn't even hold my attention span past an episode, Twenty Eight Days Later didn't catch my interest and The Resident Evil films were luducrious and got progessively worse.

I think though what caught and held my interest was Ash, I have always loved Bruce Campbell, he is funny and charismatic, as Ash he is a survivor who develops into a hero as he wavers towards insanity and noticeably loses his grip on reality yet it is somehow comical rather than dark and he is most definitely entertaining.

What Do People Want To Read?

2012-01-19T06:46:00.001-08:00

So I am an avid reader and writer, I have a large collection of books from all genres (though mostly fantasy and vampire) and I have written stories in several genres. I've constantly been reading interviews from authors as well as book reviews in an attempt to figure out which of my books is most likely to be published.

One interview I read was by someone who had written a book inspired by Greek myth but they, to my dismay, described it as a fad that people would soon tire of like vampirism, all but admitted that they were just jumping on the bandwagon and even felt the need that someone had been paid a five figure sum to write a series inspired by Greek myth purely because of the success of Percy Jackson. It made me angry to see that they were clearly just writing for money, I feel the books like depth and characters when that is the case, that the only truly good books are the ones inspired by imagination and dreams not money. Of course I am not naive, I realise full well that the publishers and agents are focused on money not dreams, but surely readers feel books written for the sake of it are lacking whilst books written out of a passion and love have the adventure, characters and depth that they seek?

I have written vampire novels but I was not inspired by Twilight or Vampire Diaries, I started writing my series when I was 14, I abandoned it for a while thinking with the hype and the now obvious boredom with the genre that my books would be touted as yet another knock-off jumping on the bandwagon for money and that no one would believe that actually I had come with these characters and plots long before Twilight reared its head. And really, as I've stated before, for whatever reason I do like the Twilight series but to me it's not a vampire series and it's vampires have more in common with the ever popular faeries of fiction. I agree that every author deserves artistic license but surely there should be some blueprint to follow when writing about something that already exists in fiction and myth.

Regardless, I restarted my series because I loved my characters too much to quit, I enjoy writing their stories too much and perhaps when they eventually get published the fad will have died enough for them to stand a chance on their own rather than being just another stereotypical teen vampire series.

Still, with a desire to stand out, I am choosing to send off my sci-fi/fantasy/horror novel to several agents and publishers in the hope that its unique plot might garner some interest. Granted nothing in this world is unique anymore and everyone is inspired by something whether consciously or subconsciously but I still feel it is different and original.

Swans and Ravens

2012-01-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

So I've mentioned before that one of my favourite fairytales is The Seven Ravens and all its variants- The Twelve Brothers, The Six Swans, The Wild Swans, The Twelve Wild Ducks, Udea and her Seven Brothers and more, this story has variants all over the world. The basic plot is about a princess whose older brothers are turned into birds after her birth and she sets on a quest to find and rescue them.

I find it interesting that in The Twelve Brothers it is the father who is the villain opposed to a wicked stepmother as he builds coffins for his own twelve sons and vows that they shall be killed should the Queen birth a girl so that the girl might take the boys' possessions. Thanks to the Queen's warning to the youngest the boys successfully flee and are later found by their sister and in a surprising turn of events it is she who unwittingly condemns them to be ravens by plucking twelve flowers in a garden for them. She then has to take a vow of silence for twelve years and during the silence is spied by a king who virtually abducts her (although in some variants she gives a nod of consent to be his wife) then he allows his mother to claim that the girl's muteness is a sign of evil to the point that he condemns her to death. Luckily she is rescued by the return of her brothers who retake their form.

It is similiar with The Six Swans in that the girl takes a vow of silence for six years to restore her brothers to their true form and is effectively abducted by a king who falls in love with her beauty. Here she has two sons who are taken after birth by the king's mother who then smears her mouth with blood and says she has murdered them. After the second occurrence the king condemns his wife to death by burning. She takes with her the shirts she has been making for her brothers, one unfinished, and as she is about to be burned they arrive, she throws the shirts on them and they are returned to form, though one maintains a swan's wing, and the truth is revealed. In this story the brothers were turned in swans by the magic of an evil stepmother. In this version the brothers could take human form for fifteen minutes every evening.

In the Seven Ravens the brothers and sister are this time the children of peasants. Like The Twelve Brothers the brothers are condemned by their father, in fact it is he who brings about their transformation. They were sent out to fetch a jug of water to baptize their newly born sister with but dropped the jug in their haste and were too ashamed to return. The father cursed them to be ravens and so they were. The daughter grows up and rather than taking a vow of silence or mending shirts she sets out to find them, going through several trials before she reaches them and they return to home.

In The Wild Swans again it is an evil stepmother queen who turns the sons into swans, this time there are eleven, she tries to change the girl but fails and the girl is taken by her brothers to safety. Again she must take a vow of silence and knit shirts, out of nettles, for her brothers and again a king finds her and takes her, eventually proposing to her and marrying her. This time it is the Archbishop who accuses her of witchcraft not the king's mother, and he has her condemned to be burned. The swans rescue their sister and she puts the shirts over them restoring them to form, again one is left with a wing, but is then restored via a miracle. In this version the brothers could take human form at night.

In The Twelve Wild Ducks it is the queen who condemns her sons, saying she does not care what will happen to them so long as she has a daughter, so a troll witch turns them into ducks when the daughter is born. The daughter, known as Snow-white and Rosy-red bizzarely, learns of them, takes a vow of silence and begins to make them shirts to free them. A king finds her, takes her and marries her and she has three sons who are taken by the king's stepmother who frames the girl for murder. Again she is condemned and then rescued by the return of her brothers who are freed from their curse by the shirts. In this version the brothers who resume human form at night.

I find The Seven Ravens to present the most brave of the heroines as she actually sets out on a quest to free her brothers, going to the sun and the moon and the stars for help, climbing a glass mountain, sacrificing her finger in some versions to open the door, and then finally saving them. She is an active heroine opposed to the others who sit in silence for years making shirts, which whilst being noble and difficult, it is idle in a fashion.

I also find it interesting how there is always a different version as to how the brothers' curse is brought about- a father, the sister, a mother, a stepmother, the stories all offer something different, in one it is an accident, in another a spur of the moment curse not meant to be taken seriously, in another an act of jealousy or spite, and in another a bargain for a daughter. In some of them the brothers want to hate their sister because it is because of she that they were cast out and/or cursed but they cannot because it was not her fault, rather the fault of the parents, and she has gone out of her way to come and save them.

The abduction by a king and then the following marriage and birth of sons always bothered me because the girl was mute, she could not give consent to these and it always resulted in her life being put in danger as a spiteful mother/stepmother/Archbishop took her muteness as a sign of evil. The king was happy to accept her muteness up until that point but then allows his mind to be corrupted and turns on this wife who he effectively forced to be with him, and condemns her. Really if he had never taken her in the first place she could have continued her silence and shirt mending in peace. Also, despite how easily he turned against her, she always forgives him in the end after her brothers rescue her. One also wonders how a marriage happened without her verbal consent and indeed the creation of children.

I think a more lighthearted version of the tale could certainly make a good Disney movie, although they seem more interested in remakes at the moment. I think it and The Princess and the Pea would be strong contenders, although I admit trying to form a decent movie length plot out of The Princess and the Pea could be hard, certainly it goes largely ignored in literature and film adaptations.

You Only Live Twice

2012-01-10T06:49:00.000-08:00

Watched it last night, now wondering if I ever watched it the whole way through before, I remembered most of it but not quite the ending sequence, which seemed like an eternity of gunfire. It seems like a combination of Thunderball, Goldeneye and The Spy Who Loved Me, at least a little. Like Thunderball it had a big budget and together they were advertised as 'The two biggest Bonds of them all'. Scripted by Roal Dahl, who I believe knew Fleming, it was the first Bond movie to more or less completely deviate from the book.

Set in Japan, Bond fakes his death so he can try to solve the mystery of disappearing spacecraft in secret before a World War errupts over the matter. The US blame the Soviets but the UK have reason to believe that the source of origins lies in Japan. Cue an exotic adventure full of gunfire, helicopter sequences, ninjas and a secret volcano base with Japanese secret service leader Tiger Tanaka and agents Aki and Kissy. This marks the first on screen appearance of Blofeld, portrayed by Donald Pleasence, complete with baldness and creepy scar, and is the Bond film, which inspired Austin Powers.

Some people consider it over the top and boring, but frankly most Bond films are over the top, that's the entire point, none of the plots are all that plausible and it's no sense complaining that they are ridiculous. I wouldn't call it boring, flawed certainly but interesting enough. I think the racism is a little too hard to ignore from Bond becoming Japanese in a ridiculous and insulting manner that no one could ever fall for (terrible wig, constantly slumping to look short etc), to the fact that the extra women were always in their underwear (something they protested against doing until the producer persuaded them to) and the dialogue about women always coming second etc, it's just another sexist stereotype that have come to be staple in the films. Generally, I accept and ignore it, looking for the positive attributes in the women, so it's a little hypocritical to get antsy about it now.

Speaking of the women, Aki was wonderful, as a Bond girl she was beautiful, resourceful, tough and always there when Bond needed rescued. She was also mischievous and yet endearing and the romance between her and Bond was sweet, the disappointment that they could not be married in the fake ceremony was believable. Naturally, seeing her killed is a tragedy and it feels like a waste but then, it makes the loss more powerful because she was such a strong character and it is just following the tradition of one woman usually being killed off for knowing Bond. Suffice to say he does not mourn her much though he does avenge her, in fact when the marriage ceremony idea came up he only was sullen about it not because of Aki but because Tanaka told him his wife to be had the face of a pig. Whether Tanaka did this so Bond would keep his mind out of his pants or so that Aki would feel better about it who knows. Needless to say the wife is the stunning and cute Kissy, who never gets named in the film, and seeing her makes Bond quickly forget poor Aki.

Incidentally these two actresses were initially the other way round, Mie Hama was to be Aki, then named Suki, and Akiko Wakabayashi was to be Kissy, their roles were swapped when Mie struggled more than Akiko to learn English, since Kissy had less lines and on screen appearance despite being the Bond girl. It would make sense if they were not in fact dubbed over as was tradition of the films then, given foreign movies are dubbed in English all the time even having them mouth English for the sake of appearances seems silly when their voices are so obviously dubbed anyway, at least Kissy's certainly was, yes it looks better, but surely it was a minor point to push so hard for the actresses to speak English when it's not their voices you hear.

Kissy's character was a let down, in the book she is the main Bond girl, there is no Aki, and while Aki was a brilliant addition I think Kissy really should have had the most on screen time of the pair as she is the main girl but it's not the first time the main girl hasn't appeared until over halfway through the film (Goldfinger). Kissy is just there to look good in a bikini, you first see her in her solemn wedding outfit and after that it's just a bikini, at one point she has a dress over it when invading the volcano but at some point she inexplicably loses this and is back in her bikini. One thing we learn about Kissy is that she has a strong endurance, she manages to swim from a cave to the mountain, scale it with Bond and then retreat down it and swim back to the island, whilst being chased by helicopters and shot at, and then makes it all the way back again with Tanaka and all in a bikini. She then manages to survive the mad siege within the volcano despite only have a gun briefly and no physical protection.

Although I understand Aki was killed for impact, shock and to invoke emotion it would have been better if she had survived and either Kissy was killed or simply wasn't in it. Aki is the better character and she's the one you want to see Bond with, despite how quickly he forgets her. Plus the trio of Aki, Tanaka and Bond was a nice one. There is no romance with Kissy just the obvious typical attraction and very few details are revealed about her.

The villains are alright, Mr. Osato as a SPECTRE agent and the real main villain is decent, although a little incompetent, he and his agent/secretary have many opportunities to kill Bond and fail at every turn. Helga Brandt is the female villain but she's no femme fatale like predecessor Fiona Volpe, she has Bond in her clutches, tied to a chair and ready for torture but stupidly kisses him and lets him go, only to trap him on a plane and abandon him there. It would have been smarter to either torture him or just kill him, needless to say he escapes the plane and she pays the ultimate price for her failure as Blofeld sends her sleeping with the fishes. This strange releasing and betrayal of Bond weakens her character greatly, the kiss between them comes out of nowhere and just seems to be there to fit in with the whole idea of Bond hooking up with even the bad girls. As a SPECTRE agent she makes rash decisions and tries to throw the blame for them at her superior. Ernst Blofeld's appearance was memorable if brief but in the end he is a weak villain too, he has ample opportunities to shoot Bond but only tries to do it in public and in view of Bond's allies, and naturally Bond is saved by Tanaka. He then leaves to fight another day but not before triggering an explosion in the volcano that surely hampered his own escape.

It's an action film really, and certainly a welcome change from the dull Thunderball but it's hindered by stereotypes, racism and a plot too big to be believed that relies on explosions and helicopter sequences to carry it through and the Bond girl is swapped from a competent, attractive, tough agent to a woman with a few lines who exists only to be flaunted continuously in a bikini.

Disney's Cinderella

2012-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

So I rewatched it sooner than planned, definitely a lovely feel good film. For me Sleeping Beauty, which came out 9 years later in 1959 draws a lot of similarities with it, both heroines are blonde, they wear a pink dress and a blue dress, they have fairies who aid them and the villain is a female voiced by the same person, the talented Eleanor Audley, as well as the fairy, Verna Felton voiced the Fairy Godmother and Flora. It also bears similarities with Snow White in that both Cinders and Snow are servants within their own households, they have animal companions, the villain is a cruel stepmother, their prince is nameless (at least in the films), and they are based on the Charles Perrault version of their tales.

In saying that there is some debate as to whether Cinderella is blonde or strawberry blonde and whether her dress is blue or silver or white. Certainly after having watched it, it generally looks white and sparkly but in a couple of scenes, with the prince in one, it has a blue tint, in fact its noticeably blue with white shoulderpads. It's hard to tell if this was intentional or just the way the colouring looks because it's aged and if you google her hair and dress people still debate over it. Nowadays she is blonde with a distinctively blue dress, according to some the blonde can only be achieved digitally, which might be why it wasn't that way back in the day, and the blue dress was easier to market as the white/silver blended with the sparkles and magic surrounding it. Apparently her hair colour is known as 'burnt orange' and to me it seems to have retained this shade in the sequels, at least judging from screencaps.

I did enjoy this movie for its sweetness, the mice were cute although Gus got a little annoying, the transformation of the dress, the mice, Bruno, the horse and the pumpkin were as magical as remembered and Cinderella was a decent heroine. The prince alas was an empty vessel much like Snow White's, I read that he was planned to be a bigger character but it just never happened. I wonder though if maybe it's simply so young girls can imagine him however they want to, really making him Prince Charming, he is an empty slate for us all to envision however we wish.

I think what annoys me is that it is the Duke who goes out with the glass slipper to find the owner and not the prince himself, really for one who vowed to search the country for her he didn't do a lot of searching. Although it was wonderful when the slipper broke and Cinderella brought out the other one. I think she is a compassionate, forgiving, patient and courageous character, passive to a point but not as much as people think. She did her best to go to the ball after all, doing all those chores and finding a dress to wear (although it was the mice who fixed it for her), and it's not surprise that she reaches breaking point when the hard work does not pay off and her dreams are thwarted for no reason other than her stepfamily loathe her.

I also thought it was a nice touch that her stepmother did recognise her at the ball because really it's hard to swallow that neither she nor the stepsisters would despite having known her for most of her life. I get that obviously she's done up- new dress, make-up, hair etc and would be almost unrecognisable but I think if you were family, or practically family in a sense, you would still know the person.

Even though all the princesses were depicted in gold dresses I like this pic of just Cinderella because it connects to both the Perrault and Grimms versions were her dress was gold and silver, or just gold and her slippers were golden too in the Grimms version and earlier versions.

What's particularly interesting is that in both the Perrault version and the Grimms Cinderella's father is still alive and allowing her to suffer this abuse, the Perrault version says he was governed by his wife and Cinderella hid the abuse from him out of fear but how on earth could she hide that? Also in the Perrault version there are two balls and in the Grimms version there are three. In the Perrault version her stepsisters are forgiven for their abuse and marry lords but in the Grimms version they are punished and pigeons peck out their eyes at the wedding. In the Perrault version as with the Disney movie it is not the prince who goes out with the glass slipper but a servant instead whilst in the Grimms it is the prince but twice he mistakens a stepsister for Cinderella when both mutilate their feet to make them fit, it is only when the pigeons alert the prince to the blood that he realises his error.

So in all three versions the prince is passive, despite citing the love at first sight and vowing not to rest until he finds her, he has the Duke seek her in the Disney film, a gentleman in Perrault and he has forgotten what she looks like in the Grimms version to the point of taking both her stepsisters for her. In The Slipper and the Rose he does not seek her out despite losing her twice either, it is his friend John who spies her with the slipper the first time and the Fairy Godmother who helps her back to him the second time. So can he really love her that much? Yet he his willing to marry her but no one else in all versions, even risking war in The Slipper and the Rose and his father's wrath in the Disney version, as well as the possiblity of no heirs in all of them. He is jaded about the matter at best and Cinderella seems more passionate about their romance than he but perhaps it is not love that drives her but rather the potential of escape from her life in servitude? If so who can blame her, it's not just that life in the palace is a dream for anyone but her life is wretched, any alternative would be better.

For me Cinderella is an admirable character, she is unflinching when dealing with her Stepmother, she knows her rights when it comes to the ball and defies her stepsisters' mockery, she does her chores without complaint despite how numerous they are, she preaches of forgiveness and tolerance when concerned with Lucifer, particularly to Bruno the dog, and says that she believes there is goodness even in him. Yes she is weak at times but we must remember she is a servant and living in a period were it wouldn't be easy for a woman to go off and live on her own starting with nothing, never mind that it is three against one and Lady Tremaine and her daughters could make things much worse. In such a situation she really had little choice but to go along with it and continue to hope for something better. I think she deserves to be happy because she is a kind person who has had a rough life.

The Slipper and the Rose

2012-01-07T08:25:00.001-08:00

A musical film version of Cinderella from 1976 starring Richard Chamberlain (of Musketeers fame) as Prince Edward, Gemma Craven (then an unknown, probably best known for Pennies From Heaven and recently Hollyoaks amongst many other British tv series) as Cinderella, Margaret Lockwood (in her last role) as the Stepmother, Sir Michael Hordern (Labyrinth, Gandhi, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Cleopatra) as the King, Lally Bowers as the Queen, Edith Evans as the Dowager Queen, Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave) as the Fairy Godmother, Christopher Gable (a famous ballet dancer and choreographer as well as actor) as John, Edward's valet and friend, and Rosalind Ayres (Titanic, Black Beauty) as stepsister Isobella and Sherrie Hewson (Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Crossroads) as stepsister Palatine.

It's hard to find this movie and whilst I've heard of it it was only today that I was able to see it as just by chance the wonderful Channel 5 was showing it, and thankfully with a surprisingly lack of adverts.

Well I have to say I loved it, the songs were catchy, the costumes and scenery were wonderful, Richard Chamberlain made a very dashing prince who actually *gasp* had a personality! I also loved his friend John and his plight at loving a woman who was of a higher station, a gender reversal of Prince Edward and Cinderella obviously. I loved how it managed to mix magic and politics as well giving the story more depth by showing that true love does not necessarily win so easily as by marrying a commoner Edward risked insulting other kingdoms, something which thankfully the story did not quite gloss over or forget. The mice and frog, brief as they were, were a delight and the addition of a dog companion for Cinderella was adorable.

The Fairy Godmother was my favourite yet, she was refined and witty with some of the best lines and it was fantastic seeing hints of her connections with other fairytale and mythical characters (Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights fame, Snow White) and how she explained why she didn't look a fairy. She really was a delight.

I will say Cinderella was a bit bland for my liking as, alas she usually is (save for Ever After), there's not much too her, she's meek and kind but does little for herself and without the Fairy Godmother she would be truly lost. Yet she does have some moments, particularly when she sacrifices her love and happiness for the kingdom, and when she forgives her stepmother and stepsisters because she is happy.

Overall, I am so glad I finally got to see this treasure and it is such a pity it's not more widely known, it deserves a proper easy to get dvd/blu-ray release and perhaps some book companions maybe showing us more about the film? Certainly, no remakes please though because I think it's perfect how it is.

It's renewed my interest in Cinderella at any rate and I might even give the Disney version another go. It's interesting to note that it was Charles Perrault who added the pumpkin, fairy godmother and glass slippers in 1697. The Grimms had a wishing tree instead of a fairy godmother, which had a bird that dropped whatever Cinderella wished for from the tree, this probably comes from the 1634 version by Giambattista Basile called Cenerentola whose heroine Zezolla is given her dress by a fairy in a tree she grew. The Grimms version also noted that Cinderella had at first a gold and silver dress and silk and silver slippers then she had a second and third dress, each more lovelier than the last and the third time she had golden slippers.

Slippers this link explains about how some people considered that Perrault's version was actually talking about fur slippers not glass and that glass was a mistranslation. It also mentions briefly how before Perrault the slippers were usually gold or not described. Kind of makes me think of the Wizard of Oz, in the books Dorothy's slippers were silver, they were changed to ruby to take advantage of the relatively new colour film, funny how such subtle changes have now become trademarks of the stories they are in.

Unsurprisingly following the increase in fairytale films and remakes, Cinderella is naturally up for film treatment again, apparently by Disney who desire to make a live action version.

More Bond- Thunderball

2012-01-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

Another James Bond post, gave Thunderball another go last night, I have to agree with most critics the underwater scenes are too many and begin to drag after I while. I remember reading a comment, I can't recall if it was a producer or director, but they said when making the movies they always wanted to make another From Russia With Love but always seemed to make another Thunderball, given that it is the highest grossing Bond movie of all time it's surely not a bad thing to follow that suit. I've heard a lot of conflicting info about the Bond movies, I read that Sean Connery's favourite was From Russia With Love but I also read that he felt his best performance was Thunderball, intriguing. Then of course most people cite Goldfinger as the best Bond movie, indeed the quintessential one but others say it's From Russia With Love.

Of course From Russia With Love probably owes a lot of its popularity due to JFK saying it was one of his favourite books. I've yet to read Thunderball, still got Dr. No and Goldfinger first but I know it's most infamous for being a source of controversy as there was a battle over the rights to it. Ian Fleming apparently adapted the novel from a script, which involved director/writer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham. Fleming published the book and McClory and Whittingham took legal action feeling that deserved some credit for the work. They eventually settled out of court with McClory getting the rights to literary and film productions and Fleming the rights to the novel as long as he acknowledged that it was based on the screenplay.

In 1965 the film Thunderball was made with McClory as one of the producers, and in 1983 he produced an unofficial remake of it called Never Say Never Again, with Sean Connery taking up the role of James Bond again.

For me it is entertaining but it's one of the weaker movies, the plot takes too long to get going, the Bond girl isn't in the movie much and has little impact save for constantly appearing in swimsuits and it's impossible to sympathise with her brother as he really got what he deserved. It's never clear why Domino is with Largo, she says she was attracted to him once, and there is an implication that it would be dangerous to leave him and yet she seems to enjoy life in the Bahamas just fine until, of course, James Bond seduces her and thus endangers her. He tries to get her to alert them to the bombs but she fails, and her only worthwhile moment is when she kills the villain with a harpoon gun, thus saving James from being shot.

The highlight is definitely femme fatale Fiona Volpe, played by Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi, who was one of the few females not to be dubbed. Originally meant to be Irish Fiona Kelly, she was changed to Italian in honour of the actress. Sexy, seductive, heartless, cruel and mocking with a biting tongue, Fiona really deserved a bigger appearance. She was a better villain than Largo and certainly more memorable, as a woman who finally matches up to Bond and despite bedding him does not fall for his charms, as she mockingly points out. She seduced him purely to keep him occcupied so that her minions would have time to arrive to hustle Bond out of the hotel, although why Bond slept with her is a mystery to me, he knew she was a villain by then after all. I guess it's like Fiona said, he thought he could make her change sides.

Fiona meets a dramatic end when Bond uses her as a human shield to stop himself from being shot by one of her minions, while they are dancing. That whole sequence with the carnival was definitely one of my favourites, and not just for the random dog peeing lol, it was edgy and exciting, watching Bond being tailed as Fiona follows his bloodtrail and he can only limp as he's been shot and he takes the desperate measure of trying to disappear into a crowd by dancing with a stranger but Fiona finds him. It was the edginess the film needed instead of all those underwater sequences.

It has the usual formula of Bond movies- Bond girl in bikini, bad girl, women for Bond to seduce just to show he's Bond, sharks, a menancing look villain, complete with eyepatch, a memorable introduction, complete with jetpack, a woman who gets killed for knowing Bond, gambling, exotic location, and the shady appearance of SPECTRE and Blofeld. Yet it falls flat for me, you don't see enough of the decent characters, Felix and Domino lack appearance and development, and the plot drags. I mean it's strange because the underwater sequences are only approx 20% of the movie in total and yet to mean it's seems like much more and I can't dismiss them as weighing down the plot and making me lose interest.

New Year

2012-01-05T03:45:00.001-08:00

A late Happy New Year! Not sure what to update with here, I'm egrossed with typing, reading and watching DVDs at the minute, I have so many, many books to read and thanks to my lovely boyfriend so many, many DVDs and blu-rays to watch, and so many stories to edit and type. Still devouring Greek myths, just finished Ovid, going to switch to the historical side of things soon, learning a bit more about how the Ancient Greeks actually lived. Also reading Runelight, the sequel to Runemarks, by Joanne Harris, and a book about Downton Abbey (love that show!). After that I'll be moving on to some short Steampunk stories, getting quite interested in that genre.

I think I know most Greek myths now, it's fascinating to see how each author, ancient and modern, rewrites and reinterprets stories. There are different versions of so many of them. It will be interesting to read more about the lives of the people who worshipped the gods. I'm blogging about them in my other blog 'The World of Myth' to help keep track of them and to refresh my memory.

Also, slowly working my way through Dante's Divine Comedy, I have quite a big copy of that book so it can't really be held up and read and so it's sadly neglected. It is an epic poem certainly with a lot of intriguing description and usage of characters from myth and history.

Going to send one of my stories off to an English agent now, so wish me luck!

Alexandre Dumas

2011-12-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well I hope everyone had a happy Christmas, mine was full of drama but happy too, Santa was certainly good as was my lovely and far too generous boyfriend who got me a pile of books, dvds and blu-rays, I don't even know where to begin with reading and watching it all! Hope you like my tree btw, couldn't resist the decorations.

Watched The Man in the Iron Mask and The Three Musketeers (1993) today, the first was brilliant, I was blown away by the scenery and the acting whilst the latter was meh, did not help that I watched it second. Compared to the 1973 The Three Musketeers there is just no comparison, pity since it did have a good cast- Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Oliver Platt, Chris O'Donnell, Tim Curry and Michael Wincott. For me it just tried to cram far too much in and the plot came across as rushed and Constance was barely in it, so was the Lord DeWinter's brother, although it was nice to have him appear at least, Buckingham wasn't there at all and Anne's relationship with him not once mentioned, instead the Cardinal seeks to marry her. It is a loose adaptation at best but then so is The Man in the Iron Mask to be fair with a subplot of a romance between Anne and D'Artagnan that never happened and yet I loved it in the movie, maybe because Gabriel Bryne was just so convincing in the role.

I'm definitely becoming a huge Alexandre Dumas fan, at least in terms of movie productions, I am ashamed to admit I have yet to read any of novels, I just have so many books to get through at the moment! Still he's on the list. I also can't wait to see the recent The Three Musketeers, despite reviews I still have hope.

I have to say my favourite films so far though are The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) and The Counte of Monte Cristo (2002), it is a disgrace how hard that is to find on dvd! The twists in that movie were numerable and fantastic, though I've heard it differs from the novel (like so many, many movies) it is easily one of the best movies I have ever seen, Jim Caviezel does not get the credit he deserves as an actor.

I'm a big fan of swashbuckling movies as well as sword and sandal, they're probably my favourite two genres if I'm honest despite my obvious love for vampire movies. So naturally any movies with the four musketeers really appeals, I also love period pieces and historical movies and shows, so extra bonus there, although most swashbuckling/sword and sandal movies are usually historical, albeit loosely.

I just wish there were more, more original ones especially rather than remakes and reboots.

Note

2011-12-19T04:33:00.001-08:00

Hey I know it's been a while just had so many issues with work and getting pressies, same old Christmas nonsense and I try to be organised but am thwarted by everyone else leaving everything until the last minute.

Also been busy watching Xena and, for the first time, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, the 1973 version with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Faye Dunaway and Raquel Welch. They are brilliant films, I've always loved the stories, really need to read the books properly though. They have a great mix of humour and action with the sequel bringing in the darker elements of the story. Naturally typing and drawing as well still, still dreaming of getting published thwarted in that regard too because publishers and agents require prepaid self-addressed stamped envelopes, sounds simple but not when you live in the UK and are looking to send to America and I imagine vice versa because naturally we only have UK stamps not American so it's impossible to prepay for the envelope gah.

I know you're thinking- why not stick to UK publishers/agents, well I am sending to some here too but truthfully there aren't many and most publishers request you have an agent first i.e no unsolicited work. So I shall continue on until success comes.

Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Sailor Moon Reboot

2011-12-02T03:55:00.000-08:00

Keeping up the manga posts I read the Sailor Moon manga for the first time, it's great that they are finally widely available in English. I thought by now I would have outgrown it having fallen in love with it eight years ago but nope, turns out I love it more than ever. The manga is a hundred times better than the anime (granted I've only seen the highly edited dubbed version) and has more depth that I was expecting. Given how quickly the plot proceeds it's amazing how much character development is in there. I'm only onto the second volume and already the four Shitennou are dead, Mamoru is possessed, and all the Senshi have united and discovered their identities. I can't wait to see what the next two volumes have in store, I can only imagine how they will stretch out the ending of the series to fill two volumes.

Personally I loved all the original designs but I can see how it was easier and simpler to have them in plainer uniforms and also it made sense to have them co-ordinate, still it was nice that initially even in the official manga Sailor Moon did start out with a mask and Sailor Venus kept her Sailor V pen to transform.

It's a pity the Shitennou did not get much development, they really were in and out of it, especially since they were brainswashed the whole time and you only really got a glimmer of Kunzite's true personality. It was nice to see the personalities of the Senshi coming out even though they were all introduced so quickly and one after the other you still get a real feel for their unique traits and you do see an equal amount of them.

The romance between Usagi and Mamoru is a lot more believable and less annoying than the anime made it out to be. Sailor Moon is a stronger heroine in the manga, not needing to be rescued quite as much, and overall the manga series is darker and more adult than I was expecting.

The story of the Moon Kingdom, the forbidden romance and the horrific, fatal ending of it, is truly tragic. You really do feel for Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion as their Romeo and Juliet styled romance plays out and ends in murder and suicide, leading to end of the Moon Kingdom forever.

The artwork is simply beautiful and it's great to see the addition of never before seen artwork at the end, it's interesting to see how much Sailor Moon's costume design developed, and it's also good to see explanations for certain translations.

The Tudors

2011-12-01T03:11:00.000-08:00

A guilty pleasure for me, definitely my favourite period in English history, this family were fascinating and I devour the fictional portrayals of them. Last night I rewatched Episode One of Henry VIII, a 2003 ITV production starring Ray Winstone, Helena Bonham Carter, David Suchet, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean, Mark Strong and Emily Blunt. I just purchased the dvd having not seen it since it was first aired all those years ago and I love it now as much as I did then.

Of all the films and shows out there Henry VIII and The Tudors are my favourites despite their numerous inaccuracies. I feel that Ray Winstone was perfect for Henry and that his accent takes an unfair bashing, it's not like Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman offered great English accents, and that Helena Bonham Carter did a terrific job as Anne Boleyn, although Natalie Dormer remains my favourite Anne.

Ray showed Henry as unstable, emotional, loving and yet cruel and cold and most definitely a womaniser. At first he is happy with Katherine of Aragon and seems understanding of the pain she inflicts on herself (wearing a hair shirt) because she believes that suffering will grant her a son but then he turns on her and blames her for their stillborn children as he starts to fall for Anne. Equally he loves Anne and promises that he is marrying her because he loves her not because he wants a son but when she fails to give him a son he turns on her too and blames her for her stillborn.

Helena shows a clever, cunning and bold spoken Anne who is not afraid to speak out against the king, saying that he broke up her marriage, that being at court is being in prison and implying that he has mistreated her sister. She shows Anne's fiery side and her ambition but also her emotional side as she turns to her brother for support and is reduced to tears almost constantly after the stillbirth of her son.

I like how they do include George and Mary and allude to Mary being pregnant with Henry's child and George and Anne being close, something which The Tudors did not really focus on. Mary was hardly mentioned and George was only really thrust into it towards the end of series 2 I guess because they felt they had to properly show him. It's interesting how both The Other Boleyn Girl (the book anyway) and The Tudors portray George as homosexual or at least bisexual when there is no evidence for this and one source actually writes that he was an infamous womanizer. It did make for an interesting twist though.

I still have yet to finish The Other Boleyn Girl novel it is good, interesting and full of detail and for a fictional story it is gripping but at times my interest with it has waned and I feel there's too much detail in the novel and it's unnecessarily long but I suppose the author just didn't want to leave anything out. The movie, the 2008 version, was for me a huge disappointment. For me it was woefully miscast, I only really liked Jim Sturgess as George, and I wish they had put an English cast in the main roles. Natalie Portman does look a little like Anne but her accent is grating and her performance lacklustre, and Scarlett does not fare much better. Eric Bana is alright as Henry but not at all how I pictured him. Really the best thing about the movie was the costumes.

Ultimately, Henry VIII does seem best remembered for his numerous wives and mistresses, which have inspired tales of tyranny, romance and scandal. Usually Henry ends up resembling a womanising, self-centred brute obssessed with a son who is negligent to many of the women in his life, and Anne is viewed as an ambitious, cruel whore, in ways this is accurate but there is a lot more depth to them and it is nice to see when books, tv series and films show that despite inaccuracies and exaggerations. As none of us were around at the time we rely heavily on sources, some of which could well have been made up or exaggerated as they were written by people who did not like Anne or Henry etc.

Paradise Kiss

2011-11-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

In happier news I was finally able to finish Paradise Kiss today at long last I was able to track down a moderately priced English copy of the 5th and final volume in the series and it arrived and was read today. I quite liked the ending for me it was realistic, happy and yet bittersweet and the characters were matched up how I would have liked them to.

As usual if you haven't read it then here be spoilers.

It is by the creator of the more famous Nana, Ai Yazawa, and follows Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka, a student trying to study hard to get into university who is brought into the world of fashion, modelling and design reluctantly by several members of the Paradise Kiss group. Eventually she finds herself falling in love with modelling and sacrificing her studying for this new passion much to her severe mother's chagrin. Worse still she falls for the charms of seductive, bisexual Jōji "George" Koizumi, a sadist who treats the women he likes meanly. He is an eighteen-year-old attending Yazagaku fashion school where he is a fashion designer who only designs clothes he likes rather than opening up to designing what the market needs. He is a bastard child and has a wealthy father and a rather relaxed outlook on life. He is cold and patronising and considers Yukari too dependent and immature.
Rounding up the cast are fellow fashion students Miwako Sakurada who looks and occasionally acts like a child, her boyfriend the punk Arashi Nagase who is jealous, overprotective, insecure, cynical and yet humorous, cross dresser and transgender Isabella Yamamoto whose real name is forbidden 'Daisuke' and who is supportive and kind, Yukari's classmate and Miwako and Arashi's former friend Hiroyuki Tokumori who Yukari has a crush on and who is in love with Miwako, and Kaori Asō a former fashion student who won a scholarship abroad and who is close friends with George.

The numerous love and plot twists are what kept me hooked on this manga, I found the relationships and personalities of the characters very realistic and it was much more important to me than the plot of whether they would win the fashion show and whether Yukari would chose her education or modelling. Even the supporting cast had the memorable moments and the humour was very tongue in cheek. It is a highly entertaining series and one I think most people could relate to.

I feel Yukari and George staying seperate in the end was best because as a couple their relationship was too fiery, they did not share the same goals ultimately and they fought more than anything. Yes their love was there and sincere but it was not enough to keep them together. I think if George could stop treating women in such a misyognist manner that he would work best with Kaori who is so obviously devoted to him. Going to his father to plead him to pay for his former mistress' lifestyle so that George can be free really is a sign of her love. It's a pity that she accepted that George just couldn't make women truly happy.

As for Yukari and Hiroyuki I feel they are meant to be especially when it becomes obvious that he has feelings for her too he just doesn't believe she could like him. It's interesting given how Yukari thinks he would never look at her but consider that she is a gorgeous, thin model dating another gorgeous model it's no surprise that Hiroyuki doesn't think he stands a chance.
Of the men Hiroyuki for me was the most loveable, he's kind, forgiving, understanding, sincere and smart and gives great advice. Although he is jealous of Arashi and Miwako and feels that Arashi took Miwako from him, which he did, he does ultimately forgive me and accept his offer back into their life, and he helps heal their relationship rather than take the opportunity to ruin it by giving Arashi advice on how to deal with their problems.

I feel the manga ended were it should have and though I'm sad to see it end it might have dragged if it had gone any further and it was nice to see how they turned out grown up.

Another Job Rant

2011-11-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

So people are meant to be on strike today and whilst the evidence of strikers is there the evidence of people using it as an excuse for a day off is also there, heavily evident in the supermarkets and shops. Coming up to Christmas I suppose it's forgiveable, probably these are people who don't care about striking but equally don't want to be singled out as the ones who traitorously went to work. I don't know and I don't pretend to know, I'm merely speculating.

It's my understanding that people are striking over their pensions being decreased, again understandable but I feel no sympathy or empathy for these people. Why? I have two jobs but I'm earning less than I was with just the one thanks to the tax company and the National Insurance, my future pretty much promises to have no pension in it at all, even with two jobs I can't afford a car, a house, I can't even afford Christmas presents or an engagement present for a friend because all my money is being taken from me. And no for those of you thinking 'well you will get it back' there's actually no guarantee that I will because what I have to earn in each job before I get taxed is dismally low, it would just be better for me to have the one job and do overtime, in fact if I did the same hours I am now in just my first job I wouldn't even get taxed. So why don't I? Because my first job doesn't offer overtime, they can't afford it.

So here I am working six to seven days a week doing two jobs I despise with no money to show for it and no guarantee that I ever will have money to show for it. One I've done for six years now, they are both retail so I'm no getting any new experience to impress a future employer with from them. I have no respect from either, I am on the lowest rung, no one cares for my education or my years of work experience. One job pesters me day and night constantly ringing me over and over, even when I'm actually at my other job, asking me to work when I told them I couldn't, cancelling shifts, changing them. They won't leave me alone, I'm super stressed, depressed and angry.

My resignation letter has been typed and printed off, I resist handing it only because I can't face the abuse- 'why do you accept the job in the first place? We've just hired new staff to train and it's coming up to xmas? You've wasted our time' etc, etc. Of course they're wasting my time, testing my sanity and I'm working for them for free thanks to the tax company screwing me over. Right now I'm praying desperately that I will find the metaphorical balls to hand in my notice tomorrow and just grit my teeth and face the abuse that might follow for my last week. Who can really tell? Maybe they'll be relieved to see me go, maybe the new Xmas staff will distract them from targetting me.

It's all speculation here rather than accusations, simply I'm miserable like so many, many others and I want it to end. I feel betrayed, I feel I studied hard for nothing that all my life has been a big waste.

R.I.P Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

On the 21st of November 2011 the world lost one of it's best novelists, an award winning author of sci-fi and fantasy, Anne McCaffrey really was one in a million paving the way for hundreds of authors to come. She changed the world of sci-fi and fantasy forever and proved with her first novel Restoree that female leads could be heroes rather than damsels, and with The White Dragon being one of the first sci-fi novels to land on New York Times Best Seller List she proved that sci-fi and fantasy fiction deserved to be taken just as seriously as any other. To quote Wikipedia, 'McCaffrey was the first woman to win any Nebula and the first woman to win a Hugo for a work of fiction.'

She is perhaps most famous for her Dragonriders of Pern series, which I first came across thanks to my dad who, knowing my insane love for dragons, bought me both Dragonflight, the first in the series, and The Skies of Pern. I was young at the time, just hitting my teens and I admit I largely found The Skies of Pern out of my depth and did not understand why I was reading about sci-fi when I had expected fantasy. Dragonflight however I devoured over and over, it still to this day remains my favourite in the series, I loved Lessa and F'lar, I loved how the dragons had personalities and could talk, everything about the book just reached out to me and pulled me in.

Now I love all the series, adoring its mixture of sci-fi and fantasy, it is the only sci-fi series I own and I am glad it was able to help me see that sci-fi could be more than Star Trek and Star Wars and that somehow dragons could fit into this wonderful and original world.

I am still collecting and reading the books, I find most of them in charity shops, which for me is a real surprise and treat, and I am happy enough to extend into her son Todd's continuation of the series. I love the fact that there are so many books in the series to devour I never get tired of them.

Anne McCaffrey wrote many different series of books, so many in fact that I am simply in awe. She was a groundbreaking author and will forever be immortalised in her fiction. Her talent will sorely be missed and it is unlikely that anyone will ever hold a candle to it. She opened up the world to sci-fi, tough female heroines and female writers and changed the world of fiction forever.

Near Dark

2011-11-22T16:25:00.000-08:00

Just watched this interesting western styled vampire flick and it was good. It reminds me of The Devil's Rejects a lot in that we are following a family of murderers as they run from the law and kill in brutal fashion and yet in a way we find ourselves rooting for them even though we really shouldn't.

Near Dark follows country boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) who picks up the almost ethereal Mae (Jenny Wright) who's new in town and seems a little extraordinary. They go for a drive together and she compells him to listen to the night calling it almost deafening and then remarks about the stars saying that she will be around to see them in a few billion years. Caleb innocently quips that he would like to be around for that too. Sensing dawn approaching, Mae freaks out and demands to be driven home, on the way Caleb grows frustrated with her lack of an explanation for her behaviour and stops the car refusing to drive any further unless he gets a kiss. Mae complies but gives him something more, she bites him before darting from the car and running off.

Caleb finds his car won't start and heads home, on the way however he seems to grow exhausted and his flesh starts looking charred. He collapses just as his sister and father notice him arriving but before they can help he is abducted into a camper van and has his first meeting with an unforgettable family.

This family are a bunch of redneck styled people- Jesse Hooker the leader (Lance Henriksen), his girlfriend Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), Severen (Bill Paxton) and the deceptively young looking Homer (Joshua John Miller). These aren't ordinary people however they are killers who need to drink blood to survive and cannot bear to be in sunlight and none of them are happy to have newcomer Caleb amongst them.

Caleb immediately struggles in their world torn between his love for Mae, his memories of his family and his desire to keep his humanity. He refuses to kill for blood and drinks from Mae instead but Jesse and the others will not have this, either Caleb kills to survive or they kill him.

So we follow Caleb struggling between wanting to fit in with his new family and wanting to return to his old one. He is driven by animalistic urges and his love for Mae whilst fighting with his conscience.

It's a good movie with decent shock scenes, gore and cast. The plot is a little thin and unoriginal but the misfit vampire family keep the movie going bringing a dark humour to it, Bill Paxton especially shines in his role as the insane, bloodthirsty Severen.

More of a cult flick it suffered from lack of publicity, a high rating and The Lost Boys being released around a similar time. Not the greatest vampire movie it is still one of the better ones and worth a watch. The romance story is less annoying than Twilight's being shoved into the background to make way for the disturbing, funny and original vampire family, and though the two leads are a little bland they're just doing what they can with the material and the rest of the cast more than makes up for it.

In terms of basic plot it is very similar to The Lost Boys, both films came out in 1987 and starred sons of Jason Miller- Jason Patric (The Lost Boys) and Joshua John Miller (Near Dark). They both featured a lead male who is lured into the vampiric lifestyle by a female vampire they fall for, they find themselves turning against their wishes into a vampire and are forced to choose between a vampire family and their human one. The Lost Boys was aimed at teens and so was more comedic and light hearted whilst Near Dark was a gritty western that had a much darker form of humour.

Near Dark Versus Lost Boys This is both an excellent review for Near Dark and a great comparison between Near Dark and The Lost Boys.

100th Post

2011-11-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what exactly to post about here, apparently I have randomly developed a severe allergy to dairy, not life threatening but certainly disheartening since it turns out almost everything I eat contains dairy. Now I will say the diagnosis is not official yet but it's looking pretty like that this is what I'm allergic too. Oh well in this world it's a minor ailment to suffer, pretty random though.

So I've been engrossing myself with Greek mythology, blogging and reading about it, currently working my way through Jason and the Golden Fleece and I have works by Ovid and Hesiod on the way, all researching so that one of my stories can be as accurate as possible. I'm also reading the last volume in The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin- The Kingdom of Gods. What a series! This author never loses their touch, each book just offers more, giving new, memorable characters and developing the highly interesting world of Sky as we follow generations of the powerful Arameri family whilst staying with the ever changing gods who have switched from gods to slaves and back to gods, fighting their own power base, especially amongst the three, and dealing with/creating demons and godlings. It's a wonderful series and I'm sad to see it end, I really can't wait to see what's next for this author.

I also saw Breaking Dawn Part 1, it's definitely a so bad it's good in a way film, it was the weakest book of the series and I'm glad to say the film is better although the CGI effects are dodgy at times, the film does drag at points since there's little to no action and I'm sorry but I don't think Kristen Stewart or Robert Pattinson are even slightly talented, at least not in this series.

I've expressed my opinions over this series many times before, it really is a love hate relationship, I've read the books and seen all the movies to date, which proves there is definitely something keeping me interested in it and yet I have so many problems with it. Perhaps I am simply bias because I am a major fan of vampire lore, fiction and film, and I feel Twilight has undermined this genre and changed it for the worse, the amount of copycat shows, books, films etc is ridiculous, still each to their own. It's not like vampires haven't changed over the years before Twilight, The Lost Boys and Fright Night gave us the teen years were it was teenagers versus vamps, Anne Rice gave us the morbid, tragic vampires, Blade, Van Helsing, and Buffy focused on the hunters but made their vampires modern and smart and so forth.

Snow White and the Huntsman was a trailer of course, I've seen the trailer before, seems it's thrown most of its budget into pretty impressive looking CGI. Charlize Theron looks stunning as the queen, but it's problematic in a way as Kristen looks like a plain jane compared to her, really anyone would, but I suppose the point is that Snow White is not yet the fairest but will become the fairest one day. It's definitely decided to be a dark, gritty version of the myth turning Disney on its head offering a warrior rather than a nature loving princess. I mean on the poster she's in armour with a sword and shield, since when is that Snow White? That could be any medieval action movie, but Snow White? I'm not sure how to identify with it.

Also the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) featured extensively in the trailer but I didn't once notice the prince (Sam Claflin) or the dwarves, who I'm most interested in given the impressive cast. I guess the real question is with the Huntsman being her mentor is there going to be a tiresome love triangle with him and the prince, the kind Twilight made so infamous and repetitive, I sincerely hope not but it's hard to see it happening any other way.

Mirror, Mirror on the other hand, the Lily Collins version, seems to be a comedic, light hearted film aimed at kids rather, although given the director Tarsem Singh helmed the recent Immortals I'd be surprised if there wasn't extensive CGI in this version too. Lily Collins' Snow White seems to fit in with the traditional image of a young, innocent princess, Julia Roberts' Queen is less evil and more insecure, certainly comical but in an irritating fashion, I think Disney did the Evil Queen best.

Still all this is just based on the trailers, in truth I have every intention of seeing both movies simply out of curiosity. Snow White has never been my favourite tale although rewatching the Disney movie and Snow White: A Tale of Terror have given me new respect for it. It is a wonderful fairytale in a way, you have the villain, the pure heroine, the fantasy addition of the dwarves and the hag, the horror and tragedy of the hag's repeated attempts to kill Snow White and eventual success and of course the romance and happy ever after with a prince who appears out of nowhere to save the day.

Also I recently bought Skyrim, it's pretty much consumed me, it, Dragon Age and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines are the only roleplaying games I've played, they're just too damn addictive. It's a bit buggy but the graphics are amazing and it just seems neverending but in a good way, perhaps too good.

Immortals

2011-11-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

Here be Spoilers- as always

The latest to join the Greek mythology bandwagon, it follows Clash of the Titans in more than one way, it takes a popular Greek hero and proceeds to largely ignore the myths surrounding them. Immortals follows Theseus, a human who finds himself faced with the impossible task of beating Hyperion, apparently the king of Crete, who has gathered a large army and is intent of finding the Epirus Bow to free the Titans. Theseus is fuelled by the desire to avenge his murdered mother and probably the own brief slavery he endured in the salt mines under Hyperion's men. He is joined by Phaedra, a Sibyl oracle (not the daughter of Minos and sister of Ariadne), the thief Stavros and some other one-dimensional characters who don't really last. Also in this story are the gods though their appearances are brief and only Zeus and Athena are named. The gods want to help Theseus to stop Hyperion but Zeus has decreed that they cannot interfere as gods and that mankind must help itself.

The movie largely wavers between fantasy and realism not quite comitting to either making it a disappointment for some and a joy for others. After all there are gods in this but they can die, there are Titans but they look like men, there is a man wearing a bull headed mask but he is no minotaur, there is a sibyl/prophetess but her powers vanish pretty quickly once she gives up her virginity, there is a bow that can conjure powerful arrows instantly but it gets little use, and there is a labyrinth but its a burial setting rather than a terrifying maze of death. Its gritty, gory and bloody but at the same time the heroes are always well polished, tanned, gleaming and toned with rarely a hair out of place save for one brief moment when they are covered in oil (or tar), it does not matter than these people are meant to be peasants, convicts, slaves at one point.

So we have similarities to Clash, here Zeus is a father figure rather than an actual father, he takes the guise of an Old Man (John Hurt) who helps train Theseus and always seems to have watched over him but like the Zeus of CotT this Zeus does not want to help mankind, at least not directly, he's not as severe, he has not rejected mankind hatefully but really he may as well have. This Zeus would rather wait until it's all but too late and his whole family is dead before he does anything.

Immortals is a visual treat really up there with Thor and the 300, incidentally the similarities between Immortals and 300 are not coincidental as they share producer Mark Canton. The special effects and fight sequences are amazing and the CGI isn't too shoddy but they could have done more especially with the Titans, which were a severe let down. In myth the Titans were the parents and later foes of the gods, they were personifications more than anything else being associated with many things, Helios the sun, Selene the moon, Gaia the earth, Hyperion the light, to name a few, none of these Titans are in this movie. These Titans are human sized and shaped and remind me of the Frost Giants in Thor more than anything. They are virtual clones of each other with no differences and are kept in a box styled prison, which Hyperion breaks with the Epirus Bow. Once they are free they and the gods begin slaughtering each other, which prompts the question- if they could be killed why weren't they? If they are so dangerous why were they allowed to live? Also there are a set number in the box but once it's open they seem to grow in numbers.

After the excellent effects of the God of War games it would have been great to see some proper Titans in the movie, certainly it would have made the gods' fear of them more understandable and believable.

Also, another problem, as mentioned the gods are killed, they are basically slightly stronger mortals with the exception of Zeus and there are few of them in this movie- Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Ares (spelt Aries for some reason), and Heracles, but only Zeus and Athena are named. It's a real pity given this is a Greek myth movie and it would be nice to actually see the gods given that they are given plenty of stories and colourful personalities. It's hard to find them at all in Hollywood, Troy (2004) ignored them completely (and the general story of Troy really), Clash of the Titans showed us some but gave them little scenes or dialogue save for Zeus and Hades (who was typically and wrongly depicted as a villain) and alas The Immortals fares little better.

Asides from capturing the close relationship between Zeus and Athena it casts the gods to one side, the fact that Theseus was Poseidon's son is ignored, here he is the result of his mother being raped by villagers. Ares, who was loathed by most gods and was a lover of carnage sides with mankind and is killed for it by Zeus because the gods cannot interfere, yes he is killed. Despite being Zeus' alleged favourite son Heracles is never really shown with Zeus and his death is passed over, Zeus shows him none of the love he shows for Athena, in fact he shows none of them that love and it is only Athena's body that he saves. No other gods are shown, which really is disappointing.

Their costumes were interesting borderlining on ridiculous and tacky at times though they were different, standing out better than standard armour they reminded me a little of the Saint Seiya costumes. I also loved the scenery of Olympus, what little glimpses we got of it were wonderful and pretty breathtaking. It's a pity their individual traits and powers were passed over, not once does Zeus wield a lightning bolt.

Mickey Rourke did a great job as the villain in my opinion, a pity they called him Hyperion and then made him King of Crete, Hyperion was a Titan, not alright he's just named after him fair enough but king of Crete? Come on, that was Minos during Theseus' time and since he went to Crete to save the Athenians from being sacrifices to this king and the minotaur, why not call him Minos? Probably because Hyperion could really be king of anywhere it doesn't matter, he's a freaking nomad he travels with his massive army whose loyalty to him really is puzzling given that he very openly treats them with contempt and abuse, they are expendable he kills several of them out of anger, one to keep him silent, they are just numbers to him.

So why do they follow him? We never really know, we only get an insight via traitor Lysander who comes from Theseus' village to join Hyperion's army only to find out this king he looked up is not what he expected. Lysander effectively becomes a tortured slave and he seems to stay with Hyperion because he has no choice, but the rest of them? Who knows? Do they really believe that this psychotic dictator is going to give them a better world by setting free the Titans? Another point, and this really is nitpicking at this point, but most people in this world don't believe in the gods so why do they believe in the titans? Granted the king Theseus briefly tries to persuade dismisses it all but what exactly does everyone else think? And why even bother freeing the Titans, Hyperion has a HUGE army at his disposal, why not just conquer that? Oh but he wants revenge against gods he's never met and doesn't overly believe him because when his family were sick the gods did not spare them but watched as they slowly died.

Also, mentioning Titans and gods and having two characters who are named after Titans- Hyperion and Helios- is just confusing especially when only two gods are named, you really are just wondering who is who throughout this movie.

Jumping to the other characters, Phaedra, the female lead, is played by Frieda Pinto, an actress who seems to be quite selective with her filmography and it is to her credit as she hasn't done too bad (Slumdog Millionaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), she is beautiful in this movie but not much else. Phaedra is a Sibyl, an oracle who Hyperion wants as he believes she can lead him to the Epirus Bow with her prophetic gift. Phaedra lives with three other women who are decoys, no one knows which of them is the real oracle, they help her, Theseus and the others escape from the salt mines but fail to escape themselves, choosing to stay either to fight, delay the soldiers or perhaps simply to deceive as they all claim to be the oracle. Hyperion of course reaches the obvious conclusion that the one who is missing is the one he wants and he has them tortured and killed inside a bull that is heated up below. Why Hyperion didn't have them better guarded or tortured into confession in the first place, who knows?

Phaedra is the love interest, an underdeveloped one she pretty much jumps into bed with Theseus as soon as she meets him, and loses her gift with her virginity, claiming that she wants to see the world with her own eyes and views her 'gift' basically as a curse. She exists simply because the film feels it needs a female lead and a love interest but really she's not much use and once her gift is gone she fades into the background.

Stavros is the only other character who gets any really development, played by the wonderful and rarely seen Stephen Dorff who seems to be making a comeback, he is a thief and one of the slaves in the salt mines. He joins the group because he thinks it's better to be with mad men than against them but apart from that he doesn't give many other reasons. Personally you would think he might take his chance to get as far away from Hyperion and his army as possible. He is bitter towards the gods because he asked for a horse and didn't get it (yep the gods are like Santa here). Despite being a thief he doesn't steal anything until the end of the movie, then he steals the bow but who cares? Because no one needs it at this point and Zeus destroys it, or simply forces it into a wall, which is later buried underground, either way Stavros here dies for nothing. He had some potential as the comedic factor but he just did not get enough lines or on screen time to have any impact.

I will say that Luke Evans almost stole the show (incidentally he has a lesser role as Apollo in Clash of the Titans) he plays Zeus, a rather young looking one, which I consider a welcome change whilst others were unsettled by this preferring the familiar image of a white bearded thunder god. Zeus is a god after all so why shouldn't he look young and good? Granted maybe the war with the titans and then the giants aged him or maybe he prefers to look old and wise because he's the king, well hey he's mythical so it's up for interpretation. Luke Evans has a powerful on screen presence, he is a very talented actor and I hope he goes far, he does a good job of showing Zeus' conflicting emotions, his devotion to Athena and his fondness for Theseus whilst expressing his rage for Ares breaking the law, killing him almost without thought. He is a flawed god, human in a way, yet he finally shows some power at the end, bringing down the giant statues on top of the titans before vanishing back to Olympus with Athena's body (that's right the other gods were left to join the forgotten rubble).

Isabel Lucas isn't bad as Athena, it's not how I imagined the war goddess, but she does a decent job with the material even if this goddess only seems interested in placating her father whilst the Athena of myth had a stubborn streak to her and was most certainly a warrior and Twilight fans will probably be pleased with Kellan Lutz's turn as Poseidon, ridiculous headgear aside, he does do some sufficient ass kicking before he is abandoned by Zeus who frankly would rather save Athena's corpse than try to rescue his still living brother.

Overall, Immortals falls into many of the traps that Clash of the Titans did and there is no avoiding a comparison between the two, it lacks depth and character development and you don't learn enough about the hero to care much about his fate, the villains are psychotic rather than cunning and these films rely on CGI to carry them through rather than their characters who are there to get knocked off one by one. Like 300 it shows some impress imagery and graphic fight sequences, sacrificing plot for action, it is artistic more than anything else.

Yet for all my complaints I did still like it in a way, the imagery is too good to ignore and turning the minotaur into a man wearing a bull mask was interesting enough, granted I would have preferred the real thing, but for those who can barely swallow the idea of gods I suppose it's welcome realism. I felt more could have been done with a lot of the cast though and that the balance between realism and fantasy was never properly found. The additional moments of gore and horror made it a little edgier than Clash and a bit more memorable and it helped make Hyperion stand out even more as a villain. For me it is worth a watch but it's nothing different.

Dreams

2011-11-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

I recently got rejected for one of my dream jobs, just another side effect of this economy, it was only an Xmas job and I know I was qualified for it, over qualified, and they said as much but they still rejected me, the implication I got was that they had hired staff before even looking at my application, in fact I believe they just rehired past staff as many places are prone to doing this day.

I currently have 2 part-time jobs and together they don't even come close to meeting ends, I get eighteen hours a week at a push, and needless to say I despise them both, one is just for Xmas but I'm quitting it, it's really not worth it.

Now I'm back to where I've been for the past two years wondering why I even went to uni, regretting not going back, regretting a lot of choices I've made really and wondering if my lack of success is because of my choices, the economy or both.

I'm struggling hard to choose a career path I've had to rule out many things I wanted to do- archaelogist, researcher, fashion designer, comic book artist- and I'm still struggling on with the writing wondering if even one book will make it. It makes me depressed, frustrated and angry and I look at my nieces and pray hard that unlike me they won't be forced to abandon their dreams and accept a very bitter reality.

I know I am still young and I have time to pursue something but I don't have the money to go back and do an art degree or a PHD or a Masters and my parents aren't all that supportive on the art front. As much as I love History I feel Art is what I should have always done, difficult as it is, it and writing are my passions. Or perhaps Journalism, I have no desires to be a Journalist but I know many published writers started off as one so perhaps it could have made getting published easier, who knows?

I know I am far from alone with my frustrations and despair but knowing that does not make me feel any less lonely or any less of a failure.

Sisters Red

2011-11-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce tells a familiar story through two sisters- Scarlett and Rosie March whose lives were forever changed when a man came calling at their grandmother's house one day. Now forced to face that there are darker things in reality, the sisters become hunters, specifically of Fenris, werewolves, who haunt their sleepy home in Ellison. Things are changing though, the attacks are becoming more frequent and the Fenris are growing in number and Scarlett is determined to find out why and stop them. Rosie however is becoming a little distracted with their childhood friend Silas, son of the woodsman who saved them, and also a Fenris hunter. Scarlett is driven by her own figurative and literative scarring, she knows she can never fit into the real world but Rosie is still unmarred and Silas' reminder that there is another world out there is all too tempting.

I loved this book, for most of the way I could not put it down although when it drew to its climax I must admit I grew a little bored. The idea of Red Riding Hood becoming a wolf/werewolf hunter is not new, Syfy have done a show about it, American McGee appeared to make a game in a similar vein and there are others. However, it still made for an exiciting read as you heard the story switching from between the POV of Rosie and Scarlett, two very different sisters. Scarlett has been hardened by her traumatic past and makes for a strong lead whilst Rosie seems to hunt mostly out of guilt and loyalty as she feels she owes Scarlett her life and that Scarlett paid for it very dearly by becoming scarred and losing sight in one eye. Rosie is a little young and naive and when she falls for Silas it is understandable but at the same time she is irritating at times and it's not hard to see why Scarlett grows angry with her.

Silas is alright as the male lead, he is a woodsman whose family was broken up when his father left him the house and his siblings nothing, he misses his family but makes little attempt to make amends. You never meet them, save for his father, and all you learn about Silas is what Rosie and Scarlett know about him and think of him. He is Scarlett's partner though she feels he betrayed her by leaving Ellison for a while, and he becomes Rosie's love interest. It's an interesting romance but he never has any competition for her affections and neither does she for his because there aren't really any other characters in the book, due to the nature of their lives they are largely loners, too afraid to drag others into such a nightmarish and dangerous world.

Overall it is a good read and I would recommend it to LRRH and werewolf fans, there's enough to get you hooked and keep you interested though it lags at times and there are some points when you have to suspend your disbelief, well obviously it's a fictional werewolf novel, but it's better than a lot of other werewolf novels out there and it's not purely oriented around sex. It's more about the length to which Rosie and Scarlett's bonds are pushed and how they find out there are a lot more different than they realised, combined with their mixed feelings towards Silas as both a welcome addition to the team and a nuisance who may ultimately divide them forever.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Oh wow over 10,000 views I can't believe it! Of course I don't know who's been viewing or what it is any of you like about this blog but thanks for the views anyone, it's great to know people are visiting!

Happy Halloween as well, unfortunately I have been working over the weekend and I am working tomorrow and Tues, so there was no outright mad partying. Did still manage to attend two parties yesterday though, my dad's birthday one, which was supposed to be a costume party but only I went in costume so little humiliating and then a friend's party after that in which lots of people were in costume so yay!

Strangely I felt in person that my wolf tail rocked but my ears sucked but in the photos the ears seem to look good whilst the tail, not so much. The cloak managed to hide the tail pin so it really did look I had grown a tail, which was great but sadly no photos really demonstrating that since I'm holding the tail up in them to show it's there lol.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy Halloween whatever you are doing or have been doing!

30 Days of Night

2011-10-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

Just rewatched 30 Days of Night in hi-def, haven't seen it since it first came out in 2007. Despite it's flaws I still love it because it gives us vampires who are monsters, they are cruel, sadistic, animalistic, predatory and without mercy, they are vulnerable to beheadings and the sun, well ultra violet light really, and they do not sparkle and avoid blood! I've stated before that as mythical creatures vampires are up to interpretation but really they should follow some sort of blueprint, which for me would be the undead who drink blood and have weaknesses to light and are clever and cunning monsters. I think what makes vampires great are how easily they can deceive with their human exterior and how they maintain a humane intelligent, in fact they may even develop on from that but ultimately they are monsters and as such lack mercy, compassion and attachments.

I think 30 Days of Night offers an interesting combination giving us vampires that almost look human save for their shark teeth and soulless eyes, they are intelligent but they hunt in a pack like wolves communicating with sounds and gestures more than words. When they talk their language is old, strange and unknown and they use it to mock humans even though the humans do not understand it, it's sadistic, chilling and in a way ironic as the humans seem to interpret their sounds and gestures better than their words.

The vampires have their entrance made easy by mad human minion The Stranger (Ben Foster) a man with a Cajun accent who has lost all sanity and thinks that if he sets the town up for slaughter he will be rewarded by being turned. He does not stop to consider that maybe these callous creatures actually might not make an exception for him and that once he has weakened the town he has lost all purpose to them. The Stranger steals all the satellite phones, murders the sled dogs, and effectively cripples the town. The Stranger is thrown in jail by Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett) but it's not enough, their electricity fails and people start showing up dead and an obvious problem is at hand.

One would think they might have questioned The Stranger sooner, things go wrong when he shows up but instead of properly demanding answers they wait until it's too late, silly, silly.

The residents are told to go to their homes if they have a generator or to unite in the diner if they don't but it's too late. A string of fast and brutal attacks begin and we townspeople dragged from their homes and slaughtered in union until the snow is stained red and the main street is littered with bodies. The numbers wittle down and we are mostly following Eben; his ex-wife Stella (Melissa George), a fire marshal; Eben's younger brother Jake; outsider Beau; helicopter pilot and tourist guide Wilson, and his dementia suffering father Isaac; Doc, the somewhat bully of the group; Carter, a man who's has hidden the fact that his family died in a car crash; Billy, a cop who murders his family so the vampires can't, and two women who I think are called Denise and Lucy.

The problem with all these characters is a major lack of development and that none of them really have anything redeeming about them that makes you think they should live. Carter for example confesses when he is turning into a vampire, a fact that he kept quiet, that his family are actually dead and that he wants to join them, but rather than sacrifice himself as a distraction or something like Beau he ends up getting vamped and has Eben kill him because he can't be immortal. Pathetic, if he wanted to die he should have done it nobly. Billy is of a similar vein, he kills his whole family and signals for help, one might have thought he would have tried that before, and then he doesn't sacrifice himself or even try to help those he's with until the very end when he's bitten, then his destruction of the vampire, in a shredder, is as much about revenge as it is about trying to help his friends. His only aid was the unintentional gift of vampire blood to Eben.

It's the vampires who make this movie, though their names are never given in the movie, they are leader Marlow (played wonderfully by the great Danny Huston), Iris, Arvin, Zurial and others, including a disturbing young vamp girl and some turned townspeople, including John who had a rather gory death amongst some swings. These vampires are clever, fast, ruthless killers, they stake out the town out of greed, they play with the survivors and use them as bait and because they cannot leave witnesses they burn the town, which shows they aren't braindead monsters, they are smart. In a strange way they are like the Jurassic Park raptors with their organisation skills, their pack instincts, their ability to set traps and use bait and their guttural cries.

This movie offers plenty of blood, gore and suspense with villains that are near unstoppable, personally I did not like the ending, I didn't care enough for Eben to be upset when he died or be touched by his self-sacrifice and I don't think Marlow would have died so easily. I think an ending with the vampires winning would have been better but it's so rare for the villains to win. I would have also liked to have learned more about the vampires themselves but I guess that would have taken away the mystery and maybe made them too human.

30 Days of Night is based on a comic book series, which I have not read and probably won't, I know there are some differences between it and the film and that it continues on with several more series, and a book series. So I guess if you're really seeking more or interested in more details you could explore those. There is also a sequel movie 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, based on the comic book sequel but I've heard only poor reviews. Personally I would just be happy to see another vampire movie like this where we have some real monstrous villains rather than pansy good guys, stereotype goths, or vampires so human that they have jobs. Don't get be wrong I do love other vampire movies and novels, as I've stated many times, but it would just be nice to see vampires go back to their roots as monsters once in a while, given that is how they started out.

Truthfully I don't think vampires will ever truly be scary on screen but still movies with them as the villains are still rare and usually entertaining gems.

Supernatural Origins

2011-10-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

I got two books cheap- one all about werewolves and one all about vampires, I finished the vampire one and it wasn't bad although when it went into real life killers who thought they were vampires it got just a little too gory for my liking, especially disturbing especially since it's not a long book and it's large and quite colourful with lots of pictures on the front so I'd say any child could easily get it. Of course maybe I'm just being too old-fashioned in not wanting youngesters to be reading about serial killers :-P

Anyway that and seeing a lot of movies basing their vampires' origins in Egypt and indeed some novels, I began to wonder where the myths did spawn from. I found quite a lot of useful websites on the topic and it seems likely that they came from ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilisation, although images and writings of them certainly do crop up in ancient Egypt and Persia and all around the world really.

Two wonderful links on vampire origins and myths are- Historical Vampires and Vampires in History. As you can tell vampires did originate from Dracula, in fact Dracula was no more the first published novel on vampires than Nosferatu was the first movie, in fact the vampire is said to have first appeared in 18th century poetry, it is thought to have been Der Vampir by Heinrich August Ossenfelder in 1748 and the first novel was in fact John Polidori's The Vampyre, in 1819, the first film was Le Manoir du diable/ The Haunted Castle (1896), although Vampire of the Coast (1909) is given as the first silent vampire film.

People believe vampires are described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the quote is given as: 'he man whose corpse lieth in the desert -
Thou and I have often seen such a one -
His spirit resteth not in the earth;
The man whose spirit hath none to care for it -
Thou and I have often seen such a one;
The dregs of the vessel - the leavings of the feast
And that which is cast out into the street are his food.'

Now it's a loose description of a possible aspect of vampires, the key line being 'his spirit resteth not in the earth'. However, suggesting this means vampires is a guess, it could just mean ghosts. Edimmu/Ekimmu were a type of utukku (ghost/demon) in Summerian myth, they were vengeful ghosts who had died violently or been ignored in death i.e not received their proper rites and were thought to cause disease and possess people.

The Epic of Gilgamesh was a Messopotamian poem thought to be based around Summerian myths, it centred on Gilgamesh king of Uruk's quest for immortality as he undertook quests with Enkidu, his equal created by the gods. It may have come from as far back as 2150-2000 BC ans is given on twelve tablets, although it is thought that the final tablet may have been the start of a sequel or a rewrite and often is not included as part of the official tale.

Lilith, widely considered as the mother of vampires, appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh, briefly as one of three beings that plagues a tree, including a dragon and a zu bird, Lilith destroys her house and flees when Gilgamesh comes along and vanquishes the dragon and caused the bird to flee.
Lili (male) and lilitu (female) were used as names for spirits or demons in Mesopotamian myth, the lilitu were storm demons with bird talons and wings that spread disease, and preyed on women and children. There were also descriptions of lilitu demons who were maiden women that had sex with men, a little like succubi.

It seems that the demonic Lilith was merged with the Biblical one, a woman given as Adam's first wife who felt that she and Adam should be equal and refuses to submit to them, she then becomes wife either to the demon Asmodeus or the angel Samael and with them has demonic children. It also said that she may have had demon offspring with Adam and/or Cain.

Similiar to Lilith are the Lamia and Lamashtu. The Lamashtu also comes from Mesopotamian mythology and was a female demon or demigoddess who kidnapped breastfeeding children and sucked their bones and drank their blood, this clear reference to drinking blood of course creates an obvious link to vampires. She was thought to have a hairy body, a lioness' head with donkey's teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and the talons of a bird. She was also thought to kill women in childbirth and spread disease.

The Lamia was a Libyan queen in Greek mythology, a lover of Zeus she was cursed by Hera, the goddess killed her children and then either gave her an appetite for children or she developed it in her madness. Zeus out of pity gave her the ability to remove her eyes since Hera would not let her close them, so that she could stop seeing dead children. Lamia was also a word used for demons that ate people and had serpentine bodies. One popular Greek story mentions a man called Menippus who falls in love with a woman and is about to marry her but his friend Apollonius is suspicious and accuses her of being a lamia, she admits that she is one and she only wanted Menippus for his blood.

Werewolves (wer or were- meaning man) also known as lycanthropes as the most popular type of therianthropes (beast-men) and it is believed their origins come from the Ancient Greek story of King Lycaon, who also gave lycanthropes their name.

King Lycaon was a king of Arcadia who thought to trick Zeus when he came to dine with him, he had his youngest son killed and his body parts mixed into the food. Zeus of course was not fooled and in his rage turned Lycaon into a wolf, his fifty sons were either killed or turned into wolves as well and afterwards Zeus may have called the deluge, a great flood that destroyed all but a few men.

In the Greek tales there were other mentions of werewolves, Herodotus mentioned the Neuri, a tribe of people who turned into wolves once a year.

Throughout the world and over time there have been accounts of werewolves and other therianthropes and shapeshifters, signs included the meeting of eyebrows in the middle, long fingernails, and fur in wounds. There is such a thing as clinical lycanthropy, which involves people who believe they had turned into animals and act in such a manner, and there is werewolf syndrome, properly known as Hypertrichosis, which causes a large, unnatural growth of hair on one's face.

There were many ways to become a werewolf, drinking from the pawprint of one, putting on a wolfskin or a magical salve, usually thought to have been obtained from the devil, sleeping under the full moon or being bitten, although this a much more modern idea. The idea of them being weak to silver did not appear until the 19th century, they were usually killed in ordinary ways. Wolfbane and exhaustion were amongst the given cures.

Linking to vampire myth, in Europe it was thought that a dead werewolf could come back as a vampire unless they were cremated or beheaded. The first werewolf novel was quite possibly Bisclavret 'The Werewolf' a twelfth century French tale in which the werewolf is a victim rather than a villain, cursed by his wife. Satyricon, a Latin collection of poetry from 61 A.D by Gaius Petronius or Titus Petronius mentions werewolves.

The Werewolf was the first werewolf film, it is a silent movie from 1913, which is lost.

Vampire Hunters

2011-10-21T04:40:00.001-07:00

Where there are vampires there are usually hunters in books, comics and the movies, they are usually the heroes armed to the teeth with crossbows, stakes, knives, crosses, holy water and the occasional swords and guns. What kind do you prefer though? The rough, tough gun-ho, Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing,James Woods' Jack Crow, and the modern, tough and sassy, Anita Blake, or Damali Richards; the traditional believer, Peter Cushing's Van Helsing and Roddy McDowall's Peter Vincent; the eccentric, Anthony Hopkins' Van Helsing or maybe the gothic, reluctant, drunkard, David Tennant's Peter Vincent or the combo of crazy, gun-ho believers, Jamison Newlander and Corey Feldman's the Frog Brothers? These are just some of the ones I can think of that have cropped out over the years, as Dracula seems to be the quintessential vampire so does his rival Professor Abraham Van Helsing seem to be the quintessential vampire hunter.

Hugh Jackman's Gabriel Van Helsing a hunter of general monsters with lost memories he takes out Mr. Hyde before being dispatched to hunt Dracula, along the way he faces werewolves and falls in love with gypsy Anna whose family are tied to Dracula and who she is determined to kill. Gabriel is relieved to be the literal Gabriel, the Left Hand of God, and becomes a werewolf, he is cured by Anna but kills her in the process. An interesting twist on Van Helsing and the general Dracula mythos with a combination of werewolves and Frankenstein's monster for added fun, this movie was colourful and exciting but lacked a decent plot.

Hugh Jackman portrayed an interesting form of vampire hunter, a true hunter and fighter working for the Knights of the Holy Order with all the weapons he could need at his disposal. He was both the hero and the villain in the end killing his enemy Dracula but also his love Anna, ending on the note that asides from his monk sidekick Carl he should probably stay alone, as his line of work is just too dangerous. His love for Anna and his loss of memories brought some depth to the character and his change into a werewolf and the revelation that he really was Gabriel brought some supernatural aspects to his character making him a worthy foe for supernatural creatures but it also took the humanity out of him. Anna's role compared to his seemed to make it clear that only someone less than human could successfully fight and destroy the likes of Dracula.

Jack Crow comes from the movie John Carpenter's Vampires, based on the novel Vampire$ by John Steakley. He is portrayed by James Woods and is the head of the Catholic Church's team of vampire hunters. He is hunting master vampire Valek who hopes to use an old cross to give him the power to walk in daylight. Jack is a tough, gritty hunter with little compassion, he witnessed a vampire turning his father and killing his mother and then was forced to slay his own father. At the end of the movie he does successfully slay Valek and then vows to come after Katrina, his link to Valek throughout the movie, and former friend and hunter Anthony Montoya who Katrina has turned, but he agrees to give them a two day start. It shows some mercy from the character but also shows his devotion to his job. He is ruthless in the end, savage, a mercenary and a pack leader. Perhaps he's what a vampire hunter needs to be, without attachments and emotions to deal with the dark nature of his job.

Anita Blake comes from Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, which as far as I'm aware is really the first fictional series to have vampires and other supernatural creatures living amongst humans with their knowledge. I realise the likes of Vampire the Masquerade did have humans who were aware of vampires and the like, but with Anita Blake it's all humans not just the select few, and in this series there's a thin line between vampires being considered citizens or monsters.

There are 20 books in the series at the moment although to be honest you could stop somewhere around 8 or 10, I personally made it as far as 17 before I gave up. The books you see gradually go from crime/horror to heavy erotica and Anita is currently so steeped in lovers that I don't think it will be able to go back. However, that all being said you really should give this series a go. It also has a comic book adapatation series currenly ongoing.

Anita Blake herself is a small, pale, mixed heritage and dark haired twenty-something Christian necromancer, she raises the dead for a living as an animator, is the go to vampire Executioner and is a retainer for the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team. Over the series she develops into something less than human as she develops new powers and becomes sought after by more than a few supernatural creatures. As a character she is bold, funny, witty, clever and highly skilled both with guns, and in judo and kenpo. She starts off as somewhat jaded viewing the world mostly in terms of black and white, she sees the vampires as monsters but overtime her opinion begins to change and she is caught between identifying monsters, friends and even lovers amongst the supernatural as well as trying to solve crime, avoid danger and do her job. She's a tough, admirable character and definitely one of my favourites from any fictional series.

Damali Richards comes The Vampire Huntress Legend Series by L.A. Banks, currently there are twelve books in the series. Damali herself is a twentysomething African-American spoken word artist who with her bandmates also hunts vampires, she is The Neteru, not unlike the Slayer from the Buffy franchise, The Neteru is born every thousand years to fight The Dark Realms. She has had a tough life having been orphaned and fostered before she finally settles with her group of guardians who are part of her band team and have their own special abilities, but rather than be bitter about her shady past she draws from it and is inspired by it in her work.

Despite being a long series this series doesn't seem to have the love or popularity it deserves although with an alleged upcoming movie that might soon change. It has received unfair comparison to Buffy, come on people Buffy did not invent the vampire hunter genre and it doesn't have rights to female vampire hunters, but really this series is much more adult, darker and complex. The romance is bitter and realistic and the male love interest is far from Mr. One Dimensional Perfect, he's certainly no Edward or Angel.

Damali herself is a good lead, she's clever, tough and interesting, loyal and willing to keep herself open to love despite the hardships she has suffered.

Peter Cushing's Van Helsing first appeared in 1958's Dracula, also known as The Horror of Dracula, this was the first movie to pit him against Christopher Lee in his first performance as Dracula. Cushing later portrayed this role again in 1960's The Brides of Dracula, 1972's Dracula AD 1972, 1973's The Satanic Rites of Dracula, and 1974's The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. His advesary wasn't just Dracula but Dracula's Brides and the Seven Golden Vampire minions of Dracula as well.

He is usually just known as Dr. Van Helsing although in Dracula AD 1972 he is known as Lawrence Van Helsing and Peter plays both him and his descendant Lorrimer Van Helsing and has a daughter called Jessica, it is this Van Helsing who then appears in The Satanic Rites of Dracula, these two and the original 1958 Dracula were the three movies to feature both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Van Helsing and Dracula.

I'll admit it's been a while since I've watched any of these movies so suffice to say I can only sum up Peter Cushing's portrayal a little, simply he's brilliant and my favourite of the vampire hunters, he's clever, well-educated, determined, willing to make sacrifices and perhaps so dedicated in thwarting Dracula that he's somewhat distant, although there is a certain warmth towards his granddaughter Jessica. This man is a true vampire hunter though, he's neither cocky nor gun-ho, just wise and determined and all too aware of the reality he and the world face if Dracula is not defeated.

Peter Vincent is a reluctant vampire hunter played by Roddy McDowall in Fright Night (1985) and its sequel Fright Night: Part II (1988). In fact he's actually the host of tv show Fright Night and a horror actor, who's down on his luck and facing cancellation. Charley, a huge fan of Peter, turns to him for help when he discovers his new neighbour Jerry Dandridge is a vampire, at first Peter is dismissive, refusing to believe in such things, and he only helps when Charley's girlfriend Amy offers him money. After meeting Jerry however Peter discovers the truth thanks to his handheld mirror, Jerry is indeed a vampire.

Peter flees the scene and wants nothing to do with it until vamped out Evil Ed comes calling at his door and Jerry kidnaps Amy prompting Charley to return to Peter for help. Peter is reluctant but he does eventually go to face his fears and don the mantle of Vampire Killer.

In both the movies Peter Vincent shows both cowardice and bravery, he's a realistic character, he knows he could be killed and naturally is reluctant to go to his death. Yet he also knows that if he doesn't do something people could be killed, including Charley who he forms a bond with, so he forces himself to take action despite the potential consequences. He is a vampire expert thanks to his vested time on Fright Night and his obvious personal interest in vampire lore and movies. Yet he is not Buffy, Anita or Van Helsing, he takes his time rushing into action to kill the vampires and when he does battle with them it's a gritty, close struggle and he is forced to use all his wits to win.

He's a loveable character, vulnerable and endearing and childlike in ways yet he knows he's the only adult hero and with that comes a responsibility he has to handle, and he does in both movies with succession. Even when he loses his show and faces losing his home he still doesn't give up and keeps going to the bitter end despite what believing in vampires has put him through.

Abraham Van Helsing as portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), his portrayal of the Dutch eccentric vampire expert is probably the most faithful of them all. Van Helsing is a doctor and the teacher of Dr. John Seward, he enters the story when Seward asks for his expertise with Lucy. He realises the truth of Lucy's illness and tries in vain to save her. He is an arbitrary, well learned man, he has a dark sense of humour and always manages to keep his head and shows little fear. He stakes and behead the vampire 'brides' and thus establishes himself as a serious, brutal vampire hunter. He also acts as a sufficient protector for Mina when the 'brides' try to lure her to them. Sir Anthony Hopkins plays him to perfection capturing his brutality, his eccentricity, his disturbing sense of humour, his intelligence and his controlling nature. He is a natural leader amongst the frightened men.

Thus we come to 2011's incarnation of Peter Vincent as played by David Tennant somewhat channelling Johnny Depp and Russell Brand before he and his character finally come into their own. This Peter Vincent starts off as a gothic styled magician with his own show in Las Vegas, he is a constantly swearing drunk who refuses to believe Charley until he sees some photographic evidence, and invites Charley back to give him advice, even then he is very reluctant to do battle and when Jerry and Ed visit them all in his home he hides in the panic room leaving his girlfriend Ginger, Charley and Amy to the vampires' mercy. After Amy is taken Charley once again implores Peter to help but he refuses, telling him that his parents were murdered by a vampire.

Peter finds some bravery and joins Charley for a showdown in the end and helps Charley defeat Jerry once and for all. Unlike his predecessor who destroyed Evil Ed (if you ignore the Easter Egg ending with Ed's laughter) this Vincent kills no vampires himself, he just helps destroy Jerry.

At first he is a somewhat annoying two-dimensional, sterotypical character, the brash mouthed drunkard goth but as the film progresses he is given some history and depth and when he swaps his magician look for that of a vampire killer he really comes into his own. He is not an endearing as his predecessor lacking his compassion, sensitivity and somewhat adorable, bumbling nature, instead he is cold, cruel at times and selfish to the point of leaving others to die and though his traumatic past does not make these actions forgiveable it does give us some understanding to this tough shell he has created for himself.

Though he has chosen to deny the existence of vampires for the sake of his own sanity his belief on them is very evident as Charley points out he keeps way too many artefacts and weapons for a non-believer, a little like his predecessor who had a mix of weapons and film props. In the end he accepts that he just can't run from the truth and he faces the vampires and helps avenge his parents.

The Frog Brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander) Frog, are two comic book store owners, rather they run it on behalf of their baked parents, who are actually vampire hunters, who warn Sam about the vampires in Santa Carla. When Sam suspects his brother of becoming a vampire he comes to these two eccentric, over the top brothers for aid, and together they go the vampires' lair and kill Marko and then prepare for David and the others' wrath with holy water, garlic, crosses and stake. With Sam and his brother Michael they have a successful, bloody showdown with David, Paul and Dwayne in Grandpa's home.

These two are loveable nuts perfect for a teenaged movie about vampires, since the vampires are eternal teens it makes sense for the hunters to be teens too. Their expertise in vampire lore comes from comic books and although they claim to be experts it does seem like Marko is their first real confrontation with a vampire and they staked him when he was asleep, a little one sided battle really. Still these guys are great they're funny, crazy and though they act brave who can forget when Paul made them fall to the bathroom clutching each other and screaming? They are also dedicated to their work to the point of threatening to end Star, Michael and Laddie on numerous occasions. Yet for all their boldness they still do answer to newcomer Sam who keeps a somewhat more stable frame of mind.

These boys simply don't exist in a logical world, in their world vampires exist and teenagers can defeat them if they're clever and resourceful enough. They're also few of the hunters who actually have partners who are all on equal terms.

I could go on with my list here but it's long enough, and yes I know I haven't mentioned Buffy Summers and her slayer allies- Kendra, Faith and those slayers in the final series, but I think Buffy is popular enough to speak for herself.

Fright Night: Part II

2011-10-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely developing an odd sort of affinity for this series and its subsequent remake. I just watched the rare Fright Night: Part II last night and I have to say I loved it, more that the first one even. This sequel carries on from the first movie only Charley is now at college and he is no longer dating Amy but has moved on to psychiatry student Alex, and he has fallen into denial about Jerry being a vampire. Instead Charley has attended therapy for 3 years and convinced himself that Jerry was a psychotic cult leader/serial killer not a vampire and that Peter Vincent is deluded and killed Evil Ed in self-defence not because he was a vampire. It's a little hard to swallow that Charley would opt for such denial on the one hand but on the other I guess if you think about it, would you really accept that your neighbour was a vampire or would you opt for the slightly safer explanation?

Cue the arrival of Regine a mysterious, sexy woman who keeps cropping up both in Charley's dreams and reality and seems to be less than natural. At first Charley and Peter become convinced that she and her crew are vampires but when they gatecrash a party Regine informs them that she is actually an actress and as they see fake teeth and contacts galore around them they accept that it's all an act and Charley leaves, realising that he has neglected his girlfriend too long for this fantasy. Peter Vincent however stays and with the help of his trusty mirror he discovers the truth, vampires are back to plague them.

It's not just a coincidence either, Regine is Jerry's vengeful sister who wants to turn Charley so that she can torture him forever. For a sequel it's quite brilliant and despite the absence of Evil Ed and Amy there are more than enough new characters to grab your attention, Regine's vampire crew are particularly unique and brilliant, including shifter Louie who has a crush on Alex, androgynous roller skater Belle and bug devouring ghoul Bozworth. It pays homage to the first movie with Louie going wolf like Ed, though unfortunately he never makes a full shift and Bozworth being a creepy ghoul guardian like Billy Cole and of course you have Charley and Peter Vincent, played again by William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall respectively.

This is a rare gem and not just because it's so difficult to find and lacks a decent DVD release but because it's a sequel that's actually good and worthy of the original. It has humour and horror and some memorable characters, it's not often you see a roller skating vampire, and Regine is wonderful as the villain and played beautiful by Julie Carmen, she's sufficiently creepy and sexy at the same time, and in my opinion a worthy successor to Jerry, she and Charley even do an infamous dance much like Jerry and Amy's. Peter Vincent really shines as a character in this sequel, he's quirky, funny, loyal and brave when it counts and generally is just a loveable character, I actually love him a lot more in this one than I did in Fright Night.

It would have been nice to see Charley fully vamp out but it probably wouldn't have looked good having the hero turn into the villain and kill his girlfriend, still it would have set things up for a third movie pretty good and it might have been nice to have some explanation for Amy's absence rather than just ignoring her existence. Plus some additional mourning for friend Ed but hey it's a movie, there are flaws, and it's a cheesy eighties movie that doesn't take itself too seriously either.

If you can find it definitely give it a go, it deserves much more praise and attention than it's received over the years and unlike certain movies these days it keeps vampires as monsters and gives you action over romance though there's just enough romance to keep the story fresh nonetheless.

Steampunk

2011-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

I've always been aware of Steampunk fashion but only recently have I fallen completely in love with it. To me it seems to be cowboys/cowgirls, saloon girls, explorers and pirates meets goth, probably best described as Neo-Victorian i.e Victorian fashions and conduct in a modern world. Corsets, waistcoats, bustles, hats, cameos, military based clothes, pocket watches, belts, goggles and holsters all seem popular fashion choices and shades of browns and blacks seem most popular although really there is no set style. I know steampunk is much more than just a type of fashion, there's steampunk music, steampunk fashion and art amongst other things.

I came across this wonderful Steampunk Red Riding Hood costume today, which is just brilliant and if I could get it I would, it's different and pretty funky. Inspired by it I pieced together my own idea of a steampunk Red Riding Hood.
Steampunk Red

It's just another idea for Halloween really or a costume party, if you've got the time and money a Gothic, Steampunk or Victorian style Red Riding Hood might just be the ticket for scoring some originality points.

This one is from Etsy although I don't think it's there anymore, it's very cute and well made, I like the idea of a capelet instead of a cloak, although it's handier the cloak does keep you warmer, I think my current one that goes to the waist is the perfect size, the one before it went right down to my ankles and though it had a fantastic swishing effect it dragged on the ground and got dirty. The one above or something like it could be for a Victorian styled Red or you could add some belts, cogwheel jewellery, maybe a pocket watch and some goggles to steampunk it along with a stylish skirt and shoes or boots.

Cult Movies

2011-10-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm looking for some more dark cult fantasy styled movies to entertain me and judging from imdb I'm not alone. Someone mentioned they're trying to track down a LRRH styled movie they once saw with a girlfriend chased down by her werewolf boyfriend, it sounds good but no one seems to know what it is, I'd certainly like to see it if it really is werewolf related.

Cult movies I'm particularly fond of:

The Company of Wolves (1984)

I've spoken about this so often that I feel I don't need to add any more here.

Ginger Snaps (2000)

A terrific indie movie mixing a girl's transformation into a werewolf with her coming of age whilst her sister Brigitte and new friend Sam strive to find a cure in time. It's dark and funny at the same time with a great cast- Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Kris Lemche and Mimi Rogers. It's a smart film with interesting leading characters, the outsiders Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald, morbid siblings who spend their time faking their deaths for school projects and planning their suicide. It shows Ginger's gradual development from outsider to a hottie and how she deals with this and actually seems to be interested in the attention when she promised her sister that she would never become like that. It also shows shy Brigitte's loyalty and devotion to her sister even when Ginger is less than pleasant to her and her growing friendship with local drug supplier Sam, a strange but pretty cool character.

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

French film based on the numerous tales of man-eating wolves that roamed France in the 18th century, particularly the Beast of Gévaudan. This film offers its own clever version of events as two hunters, the knight Grégoire de Fronsac and his Iroquois companion Mani, come to Gévaudan to hunt down this mysterious beast. It contains romance, conspiracies, a secret society and some brilliant twists. It is a movie not just about horror but about political plots. It stars- Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci and Émilie Dequenne.

Labyrinth (1986)

Whimsical children's movie by Jim Henson starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. It follows Sarah who accidentally invokes the goblins to take away her baby brother Toby, to get him back she has to find her way through the Goblin King Jareth's Labyrinth in thirteen hours. Along the way she is hindered and helped by the residents including Hoggle a dwarf with a penchant for jewellery, Ludo a beast who was being tormented by goblins, Sir Didymus a fox knight and his steed, the Old English sheepdog Ambrosius.

It's a film were the rules and scenery change, there's no real logic and the settings are fantastical including Jareth's Escher styled stair filled castle and the numerous watching eyes on the walls. I love this movie because of the labyrinth itself, ever since the story of Theseus and the Minotaur I've always been fascinated and a little scared off, of the idea of a maze so large and confusing, especially one that could shift its walls and doors at will. Yet in this movie it's so much more, it's home to so many wonderful and disturbing creatures, it's a magical world you almost want to get lost in.

Heathers (1989)

So it's not fantasy or horror, rather it's a dark comedy starring Christian Slater and Winona Ryder as two high school students with a very amorous attraction to one another who both happen to be fed up with the popular kids. Veronica is the odd one out in a clique made up of her and the three Heathers, part of her wants to fit in with them and forget her former life as a geek with old friend Betty Finn, and part of her wants to go back to that simpler life. When she fails to be seduced by a college boy, head Heather promises Veronica that her popularity is over. Cue the start of a trend of suicide/murders caused by newcomer J.D and a seemingly naive Veronica.

This film is witty and clever it shows how silly teenaged ideals can be and yet at the same time it also shows a seriousness to high school life, how miserable the popular kids can make things and how some people only seem to achieve depth in death, and worse how people know you so little that they do not even suspect maybe your suicide letter was feigned.

It's disturbing, it's full of stereotypes and yet it's quite brilliant at the same time as we watch Veronica struggle with what is right and what she secretly wants to see happen, after all Heather Chandler was promising to effectively ruin Veronica's high school life so was Veronica really so regretful about killing her? As for J.D, is this just a new scheme for him to end his boredom or has he done this before?

Yes it's dark but it's not meant to be taken seriously, it's taking an ironic stab at the restrictions of society and the cliques people force upon themselves, most notably in high school and runs with the stereotypes that the popular girls are power hungry bitches, at least one is a cheerleader, the villains are the outsiders who refuse to conform, never fit in and are ironically clever and well-learned, parents and the authorities notice nothing and if you're not popular no one cares.

The Addiction (1995)

I think I've already covered this one enough before but it is a brilliant metaphorical vampire flick starring Lili Taylor, Edie Falco, Paul Calderón and Christopher Walken. It offers up some interesting comparisons and thoughts about philosophy, religion and drug addiction.

Trick R Treat (2007)

Discussed before, excellent Halloween themed horror movie.

Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997)

Fairly self-explanatory, discussed before

The Hunger

2011-10-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Another 80s vampire flick, this time from 1983, it was director Tony Scott's first film and stars David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon with a very small early appearance from Willem Dafoe. It is based on the novel by Whitley Strieber who recently gave the novel two sequels- The Last Vampire (2001) and Lilith's Dream: A Tale of the Vampire Life (2003), he also wrote Wolfen, which was adapted into a film.

I did expect more from this film, it started off with that wonderful Bela Lugosi's Dead song by Bauhaus, which set an appropriate mood, we see Bauhaus performing at a club that two people are at- Miriam and John, they seem to pick up a partner each and head back to the same place. There they make strange kills involving slashing the throats of their victims with daggers hidden inside ankh pendants, these scenes are mixed in with disturbing imagery of a monkey mauling another to death. At first these scenes are left unexplained but then we are introduced to Dr. Sarah Roberts who is studying aging disorders and hoping to cure them.

The basis of the plot is that Miriam is a vampire who takes on companions and gives them long life, she tells them it will be forever but it's now how they think, after a certain number of years of eternal youth, in John's case 200, her companions suddenly stop sleeping and age rapidly, they then find themselves trapped as decrepit, animated husks. This is their eternity. John goes to Dr. Sarah for help thinking her research can help him but she dismisses him and he leaves. He collapses before Miriam and unable to put him out of his misery she instead carries him upstairs and puts him in a coffin amongst other coffins, which contain all of her other lovers. Miriam loves them too much to lose them completely and so she keeps them all near.

Dr. Roberts, feeling guilty about her treatment of John, shows up on his doorstep and is greeted by Miriam who says John has gone to Switzerland for medical help, and so the bizzare, erotic relationship between Sarah and Miriam begins as Sarah finds herself drawn to Miriam, convinced she is phoning her when the phone does not ring and finding herself on her doorstep again. Miriam needs a new companion and she plans for Sarah to fill that role since her previous choice, teenaged music student Alice, has been killed by John in a last ditch attempt to restore his youth.

This film really could have been so much more, it hints at a certain depth and originality that apparently the book has, but it never quite reaches it. Quite simply it's too vague, it jumps about too much and the ending is just awkward in a way and the opening was just too long. It's an artistic movie that has become a cult favourite probably because it's gothic, artistic and original with risky themes of lesbianism, horror and despair mixed into it.

If you have not heard of it or seen it you soon might as surprise surprise it's up for a remake/reboot (at the moment details are vague), although for fans of the original it might be a comfort to know that original director Tony Scott plans to be on board as a producer and that original author Whitley Strieber is to write the screenplay or at least has connections with it.

What I liked about The Hunger was the Egyptian connections, like with Vamp this is never delved into just hinted at with the wearing of Ankh pendants and the brief imagery of Miriam in Nefertiti inspired Egyptian garb. There are brief shots of her and John in the past presumably somewhere in Europe, Wikipedia says it is 18th century France when they met when John was a cellist. All these hints in the movie were wonderful but they could have done with a little more explanation, sometimes it is better to hold back but in this case they could have offered a little more at least.

The film never really explains why John ages and Miriam doesn't, simply put she is a vampire, one of a kind, her companions are not they merely have their aging prolonged for some years by her blood but they do not have eternal youth just eternity and after a point they will rapidly age. Whether or not they can be killed or not without Miriam's demise remains a mystery in the film it seems as if she just won't kill them rather than can't because she is too in love with them to truly end them, selfish as it is.

I think the cast did the best they could with a confusing script, David Bowie in particular stands out, but for me this film was a disappointment and could have been so much more out there. It's different to the point of reminding of The Addiction, another very different vampire movie that tries to offer a more plausible version of vampires, but The Hunger just is nowhere near as good, it seems to abandon those hints of Miriam being far different from your typical vampire in exchange for sloppy scenes of Miriam's strange and sudden relationship with Sarah as their growing relationship eclipses any other plotlines in the film.

Codename: Sailor V

2011-10-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

So Sailor V has finally got a much deserved official English release in two volumes, the first of which I have just finished reading. It has been re-released by Kodansha Comics USA who are also re-releasing the long out of print Sailor Moon manga, which I can't wait to finally get hold of.

For me Sailor V and Sailor Moon were the ones that started my love for anime and manga, without them I might not have ever known Fushigi Yuugi, Paradise Kiss, Nana, Hellsing or Slayers, to name a few. It was a fun anime with quirky, humorous and yet tough magical girl heroines, with enough myth, monsters and magic to keep up my interest. Although the villains seem somewaht two-dimensional it seems the manga did give them a little more depth, you've just got to watch out for it.

Although, I first watched the anime at 15 and started my first fanfics then too I do think I will ever stop loving it.

Sailor V is a curious heroine as she is very like Sailor Moon and indeed she says 'Moon Power, Transform' to transform, has a crescent moon on her forehead and uses a crescent moon compact to attack and she also has a cat companion with a crescent moon on his forehead. Ditzy, greedy, lazy and idol obsessed, she is incorrectly viewed as a Sailor Moon knock-off. In fact the Sailor V manga was created first then the Sailor Moon manga started running along side it but as the Sailor Moon manga grew in popularity and Sailor V was incorporated into it as Sailor Venus, the publication of the Sailor V manga waned and it was actually finished after the Sailor Moon manga even though it was much shorter, first at 3 volumes, later re-released as just two.

Sailor V/Minako Aino and Sailor Moon/Usagi Tsukino do have differences though. Sailor V is the born leader of the Senshi, she is more graceful and athletic and she is not clumsy or a cry baby. She also a lot more depth to her and really is the most mature of the Senshi having loved and lost before any of them and having spent a lot of time as a lone Senshi.

Codename: Sailor V is a short manga series that follows Aino Minako a thirteen-year-old high school student whose simple life changes when a talking cat informs her that she a destined warrior who must help the world find peace, this warrior is sailor suited Sailor V, though as her opening speech tells us her real name is Sailor Venus, Sailor V is just a codename. It is comical offering us a plucky lead who considers chasing idols more important than world peace, luckily for her these two interests coincide more often than not. She is young and prone to falling in love very easily and jumping from interest to interest whilst her schoolwork slides. She is a fun lead though and you can see her personality and depth developing as she starts to take her duties more seriously.

I think Sailor V deserved more interest than she got and it's nice to see that with this English release that just might happen. Overall it's light hearted but there's definitely a touch of seriousness towards the end and it's great to see all the cameos from the future Senshi as well as hints of their future together. There are a lot of similiarities between it and Sailor Moon such as Minako's parents looking exactly like Usagi's, both of them having cat guardians, Artemis and Luna respectively, Minako's geek friend Amanao being exactly like Usagi's geek friend Umino and Minako's best friend Hikaru looking like Ami's identical twin. This is to be expected though, Sailor V seems to have been the prototype for Sailor Moon after all.

Movies for Halloween

2011-10-02T03:56:00.001-07:00

With Halloween approaching I think it's time to get into the mood by watching some good horrors so here's a list of suggestions for anyone looking to get into the spirit.

Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow

First on my list of viewing, I am in love with this movie, Tim Burton is my favourite director and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favourite stories and the headless horseman one of my favourite mythical spooks.

It stars Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, a policeman sent from New York to the village of Sleepy Hollow to solve the murders going on there, the villagers believe its a genuine ghost doing the killing but Crane thinks logical will prove otherwise. Christina Ricci is the bewitching Katrina Van Tassel, only child of Baltus Van Tassel who is the richest man in the village and, after Peter Van Garret's death, he is the new leader. Sir Michael Gambon plays Baltus, Miranda Richardson plays his second wife, and the wonderful Christopher Walken does an excellent and memorable turn as the very creepy Hessian Horseman.

This film is gripping, terrifying and funny with great comedic moments mixed in with genuine moments of horror. The setting is dark, gothic, creepy and almost surreal and the special effects are always believable, especially the headless horseman himself. The plot is engaging with some unpredictable twists and even when you know the story it's still just as wonderful watching it all over again. It sets a dark, spooky mood perfectly but it's not a mindless slasher horror like so many other movies, instead it has a likeable cast and a genuine plot worth following.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Another Tim Burton gem, it's been marketed and re-released numerous times both as a Halloween and a Christmas movie (Disney will get money any way it can lol) but chiefly despite being set at Christmas time really it's a Halloween movie.

This movie follows Jack Skellington (Christopher Sarandon) the pumpkin king and chief organiser of Halloween who lives in Halloween Town. Jack is bored with Halloween though and he wants something more, an accidental trip through a tree puts him in Christmas land where Jack finds a magical and strange land ruled by one "Sandy Claws", he falls in love with the idea of Christmas and returns to Halloween Town and persuades this residents that they must now prepare for Christmas as he plans to usurp the role of "Sandy Claws". Everyone but Sally (Catherine O'Hara) a mischievous creation of Doctor Finklestein's (the late William Hickey) thinks this is a great idea but Sally, who is secretly in love with Jack, thinks something will go wrong. She's right of course as Oogie Boogie (Ken Page) the Boogieman is not a fan of Jack's and he has his minions Lock, Shock and Barrel kidnap Santa Claus in an attempt to interfere with Jack's plans.

The Nightmare Before Christmas never gets old, it has a lot of memorable, creative imagery especially the Halloween Town residents and Halloween Town itself and the songs and music, created by Danny Elfman, are just perfect, they're simply beautiful and well-suited to the movie. It's a darker kids' movie but the overall tone is light hearted and there is a good message in there. It's Tim Burton's quintessential movie really, it's everything that he is- weird, original, funny, gothic and wonderful.

Trick R Treat

This movie struggled to get released, the date kept getting pushed back and eventually instead of getting it's deserved cinematic release it just went straight-to-dvd and as a result unfortunately a lot of people missed it. There was a lot of hype but that just didn't seem to do enough for it.

Apart from Halloween this the only movie I know that actually seems to be based around the holiday, only unlike Halloween it actually deals directly with All Hallow's Eve, originally known as Samhain. It stars a variety of famous people including Dylan Baker, Leslie Bibb, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox.

Set on Halloween night it follows four different stories, all tied together via Sam, a disturbing child-sized pumpkin headed creature who carries a sack with him, and appears in all the segments. There's a gripping opening sequence, which quickly lets you know just what's in store, then the stories begin. The Principal, a chilling tale about a principal who likes to poison kids and has a strange relationship with his son. The School Bus Massacre, which follows four kids trying to play a prank on outsider Rhonda by taking her to a place were a school bus with eight mentally disabled children was deliberately crashed by the driver at the request of the parents. Surprise Party, which follows self-conscious virgin Laurie and her friends heading to a Halloween party in the woods, Laurie goes alone and is sprung upon by a vampire but there is more to Laurie than meets the eye. Meet Sam is the last of the stories and follows grumpy Mr. Kreeg who gets a strange trick or treater at his door who isn't too happy to leave without a treat. Then follows the Conclusion.

Trick R Treat is clever and refreshingly original, it's great to finally see a movie deal with Halloween, there just aren't enough of them and think how many Christmas movies there are, it's ridiculous! It's stories are interwoven flawlessly, and it's quite cool to see certain characters popping up in the background of others' stories reminding us that this is all occurring on the same night, in the same town.

The cast do a great job with the material, especially Quinn Lord as Sam, he's fantastically creepy. It deserves a sequel and is apparently getting one and it's just a shame it never got the cinematic release it deserved. It has so many Halloween concepts in there and for those who don't know much the holiday and its origins it's certainly a good teacher, for example did you know why pumpkins were lit? No? Well watch the movie!

The Halloween Tree

This is an oldie, a 1993 kids' animated movie it's still good for adults. It's based on the same named book by Ray Bradbury and follows four children in costume who learn the origins of Halloween when their sickly friend is taken from them. They are guided by one Mr. Moundshroud (Leonard Nimoy) who takes them through time after their friend Pip and throughout the world teaching them the origins of their costumes- a skeleton, a witch, a mummy and a gargoyle.

I've only seen this once because bizzarely it's hardly ever shown despite being both entertaining and educational. I do believe it is on youtube if you can't find it anywhere else. It's great for the kids especially.

Hocus Pocus

Another 1993 movie, a Disney one set on All Hallow's Eve it follows Max, his sister Dani, his crush Allison and a talking cat known as Thackery Binx as they are chased by three witch sisters who want their spell book back. It is Max who accidentally brought the sisters back by lighting a black candle in their home after Allison told them a virgin doing so on Halloween would bring them back and he of course sought to dispute the tale.

Starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters- Winifred, Sarah and Mary, three sisters who kept their youth by sucking it out of children until Thackery's villagers hung them after he and his sister disappeared, they return 300 years later to cause chaos in Salem once more. It also stars Omri Katz, a young Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Doug Jones and the voice of Jason Marsden.

This movie is just plain good fun it is scary in parts but not too for the kids and it's not too childish for adults not to enjoy it either, I loved it as a child, I was 5 when it came out, and I've loved it ever since.

A Poem- The Blip

2011-09-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

I am the loser who wanted to be invisible
I am the one who is flawed, who prays to be good at something
And fails at every turn
Every trait of mine is a curse, every quirk, hateful
I am loathed, I am mocked, I am pitied
I am inferior, weird and useless to society
I am not pretty
I am not sociable
I am not popular
I am another blip of society, another cog in a forgotten rusting wheel
I was born, I live, I will die, and I will forever be another number
Another statistic, barely a memory
I have had no input in the world, I only make it worse
Everything I do is annoying, pointless and futile
I pray for goodness, I pray to be kind, I pray to be loved
I receive irony in response
I can wish to be all that they want but there is no godmother for me

Vamp

2011-09-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

1985- Fright Night, 1986- Vamp, 1987- The Lost Boys, three similar and yet different wonderful vampire movies of the 80s that helped push vamp craze to its height and introduced to a new kind of vampire- one with a twisted face, yellow eyes, monstrous teeth and yet still with sex appeal only these vampires are less charming than Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee's Draculas, these vampires were crude, vulgar at times, openly violent, monstrous, without fear and without pretence, only too happy to show our witless heroes exactly what they were. Whilst Dracula adapted some pretense, killing poor Lucy in privacy, his true nature known only by Jonathan Harker and suspected by Van Helsing, these vampires were happy to be a lot more open with their demonic, bloodthirsty sides.

Last night I finally got to see Vamp and what a treat, it really is up there with The Lost Boys and Fright Night, an underappreciated, little known gem of a movie with the perfect mix of horror and comedy and the all too familiar, funky eighties background. Eighties vampire movies are definitely my favourite of the genre though I do certainly love the Hammer movies.

So back to Vamp, if you haven't heard of it you just might soon as it's recently been re-released on dvd and released on blu-ray, it stars Grace Jones (A View to a Kill), Chris Makepeace (Meatballs, My Bodyguard), Robert Rusler (Weird Science, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Babylon 5), Dedee Pfeiffer (Michelle's younger sister, Cybill) with support from Gedde Watanabe (Sixteen Candles), Billy Drago (Charmed, The Untouchables, The Hills Have Eyes remake) and Sandy Baron (Seinfeld).

It follows two college students, Keith and AJ, who in an attempt to end their boredom and get initiated into a fraternity, after telling the frat members that their idea of initiation is dull and they should be getting members to give them something, in this case booze and a stripper. They need transport though so they go to Duncan a rich kid with no friends, who agrees to drive them if they'll be his friends for a week. Cue a bizzare tornado styled wild car spinning trip into a disturbing looking place where the shops close at sunset and the police don't want to be.

It's here that the come across trouble with gang members, headed by the albino Snow, in a cafe just for looking at a weirdly toothed girl the wrong way, escaping from that they enter a nightclub and their night gets stranger. Here is a wisecracking barman who wants to run a club in Vegas, a waitress who claims to know Keith but he doesn't know her, a huge looking bouncer with a crush on the owner, some bodybuilder styled strippers, some overly persuasive waitresses and the most memorable one of all, a dancer who arrives with a red bob styled wig, white make-up over her face, bold red lips and as we see when she strips, white swirling bodypaint and underwear made of curled wire. It's bizzare, crazy, dark and memorable and as the boys soon discover, life threatening.

The main attraction as it turns out is actually vampire Queen Katrina, a silent but deadly killer whose staff, the club owners, are a mixture of vampires and willing slaves who bring her the patrons as food. After all, as barman Vic later explains, the patrons are drug addicts, alcoholics, and the scum of society who won't be missed because who tells someone they're going to a strip club? AJ is selected by a beautiful waitress to be Katrina's next victim, Katrina at first seems to seduce him, undressing him on her bed and licking him but then she sinks her fangs in and AJ becomes dinner. AJ however wasn't alone and Keith is determined to find out what happened to him much to the vampires' chagrin.

The waitress is killed for picking a victim with friends in a rather dramatic and bloody fashion and the vampires attempt to subdue Keith who ends up travelling with Amaretto, the waitress who knows him, to a creepy hotel and then back again. He also has a trip in a sewer glowing in surreal pink and green, which just helps enforce the imagery that wherever Keith is it's not normal.

Vamp is great for many reasons, the characters are enjoyable and brassy, neither Keith nor Amaretto suffer from any annoying damsel styled moments, except towards the very end and even then Amaretto still manages to show some guts. Keith and AJ are a good comedic act when they are together, their close friendship is believable and the actors do well in portraying this relationship in a short time. Keith makes for a good lead, he has his moments of bumbling about but he's tough and resourceful, unlike many other vampire movies, the lead in this one has the sense to call the police despite the ridiculousness of his situation, he's also pretty good at archery and his loyalty is deep and just increases his likeability.

Amaretto is a cute, funny leading lady, she might be a bit naive to not notice she's working in a club full of vamps but when the killing starts far from curling up in a ball and crying she's happy to help Keith all the way even if it means burning down the club, almost getting crushed in a car and going into the sewers. I really loved her as a lead, perhaps because of Dedee Pfeiffer's contagious charm, even when she's hassling Keith about his bad memory at the wrong time it's still hard to dislike her. She's street smart and she's not self-pitying about her line of work or anything like that, in fact she's pretty optimistic and happy-go-lucky.

Duncan is good for the comedic factor as the friendless companion who promptly gets so drunk that even when he's told AJ is dead he's unfazed. His whole turning into a vampire came out of nowhere though but I suppose he was left alone for most of the film so who knew what he got up to.

Katrina is a fantastic villain, she's memorable without even speaking, creepy, disturbing and erotic in an unnatural way, her dance is not so much sultry as disturbing and yet it serves its purpose in that you do not want to look away. I liked the hints at her personality and past with the Egyptian decor in her room and tomb and the artwork of her in her room as well as her strange, funky and painful looking fashion sense. She reminds of Akasha from Queen of the Damned, her costume in the movie version, her Egyptian origins and of course her title as a Queen of vampires.

Although Vamp does predate the book Queen of the Damned I imagine it had no bearing on Akasha's bearings but as for the film version of Queen of the Damned I'd say there was definitely a slight hint of inspiration for Akasha's costume.

Vamp also infamously inspired the better known Robert Rodriguez flick From Dusk Till Dawn, which features some people ending up in a stripclub that is actually run by vampires including their queen Satanico Pandemonium who performs a memorable dance before vamping out and whilst one of our two leading men escapes the other is turned into a vampire.

Overall it's just a great movie it's got the right mix of horror, comedy and the cheese that only the eighties could dish out in such entertaining fashion. It's beautifully casted and it's better than most modern vampire movies. It doesn't take itself too seriously and has so many memorable scenes and characters.

I particularly loved its subtle hinting at the vampires themselves, if you pay enough attention you will notice little snippets that imply characteristics of these beings and their servants. It's like Fright Night in the respect that it gives you the right amount of history and development, it's a movie not a novel so it has limited time to develop its characters and their backgrounds but it does what it can with the time limit and leaves you hungry for more information. These vampires appear to be solitary creatures despite working together and sleeping together underground, as Amaretto says they don't speak to her, they're purposely cold, ignorant and largely silent and from what we gather from the barman/manager Vic their existence is somewhat mundane, feeding on loner bar patrons who no one will miss and they aren't the only vampires in the world, there are plenty more of them out there. He longs for Vegas seeking a bigger, brighter life but Katrina, the silent queen, seems happy with their smaller joint, perhaps because it is less risky or perhaps because she is content.

It's a movie that deserves a lot more recognition than it's received and hopefully with the re-release it will finally get that attention.

The Iron King

2011-09-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

I've just finished The Iron King, first in the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, a series which is largely inspired by the Western fairy myths, most famously popularised by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'd heard of The Iron King for a while but only purchased it recently when it was on offer in Waterstone's, it is a young adult fantasy book that people seem to be trying to force into a Twilight styled love triangle based book when really it's not. The story follows Meghan Chase, recently turned sixteen-year-old whose brother is abducted on her birthday and replaced by a rather creepy looking clone, better still the hot guy at school who she has a major crush on has just humiliated her and her best friend Robbie has turned out to be someone else- the fairy trickster Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck.

At first I found this novel addictive, each page gripped me as new fairy creatures popped out and adventure seemed to be in every chapter but then my attention span with it started to wane, particularly as the lead character started to grate on my nerves. Meghan is only sixteen, which excuses some of her behaviour but not all, she is annoyingly naive, she does not seem to listen to any warnings, she is forever repeating the same mistakes and she has questionable values. Puck is always trying to do his best for her, he risks his freedom for her and then his life, he tries to cheer her up and he tries to be supportive and yet she effectively shunts him to one side, is rather unforgiving of his trickster side, is quick to blame him for most things and when he's out of the book there's not a whole lot of mentioning of him, why? Because of Ash, the cold, broody fairy prince of the winter court i.e the Unseelie kingdom, son of Mab,and essential bad boy who's both an ally and a friend.

Ash for me was a stereotype, there's not a whole lot going on with his personality save for having an intense hatred for Puck and when the reason for that is finally explained it's just a cliche. Ash goes throughout the book from being the guy who tried to kill Meghan to the guy who gives his all to defend her, it's a forced romance you can see coming from a mile away, Ash almost just exists to be the romantic interest, it's just not a believable development.

Yes I would have preferred Meghan to get with Robin if only so we could see more of him because he's my favourite character from the book. Robin is funny, smart and a clever mixture of kind and mischievous, he does go too far more than once but I feel that's in perfect style with the original Puck's origins. After all until Shakespeare Robin Goodfellow and Puck were two different entities, one being a cheery kind trickster and the other a lot crueller. I feel Julie Kagawa balances the two aspects perfectly in her presentation of Puck. At first he's the lead guy, Meghan's best friend under the alias of Robbie Goodfell, he's always been by her side, watching her and waiting for her sixteenth birthday. He was meant to wipe all traces of fairy from her on her birthday under orders of Oberon but he disobeyed because then Meghan would just forget about her brother and he would remain unrescued.

Puck for me is the real hero not Ash, he does all he can for Meghan and he's the comedic aspect of the story. However, unlike so many others I don't think there's any love triangle with Puck, Meghan and Ash, at least not in this book, maybe it happens later on in the series. Puck is just her friend and though there's some noted angry glances from him when Meghan is close to Ash for example when he grabs her when she slips, I think that's more Puck being wary of her developing a relationship with someone who wants to kill him as opposed to jealousy driven by his own feelings for Meghan. Meghan for her part never shows any interest of that kind in Puck.

Also, the twists of Meghan's character were cliches too, she's Oberon's daughter, predictable and too glossed over to be of any real importance. Oberon is in and out of the story far too quickly and there's nothing between him and Meghan. She's half-fey and that's all the significance of that until later on when we realise she's a half-fey who has no weakness to iron unlike every other fey it seems, which apparently is why Mab Queen of the Unseelie Court wants her and why Oberon King of the Seelie Court wanted her ties to the Nevernever cut because he fears she will be used against him. However with the new threat of Iron fey to Nevernever maybe Meghan's special immunity will prove useful after all. And bingo, you guessed it, as the heroine she's obviously got some superpowerful untapped powers to be unleashed, another irritating cliche that thankful wasn't really shown until the end and even then it was mercifully restrained. I like heroines who are different but the not the all powerful verging on being a Mary Sue kind who have no weaknesses.

Still I'm being too negative here, which is especially harsh since I did actually like this book overall, certainly enough to get the sequel. It's similarities to Labyrinth, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland were obvious but entertaining to a point, they were a nice tribute all though at times they took away from any originality the story had. Although Grimalkin is like the Cheshire Cat, that's probably because the Grimalkins and Cat Siths of myth helped inspire the Cheshire Cat, so that kind of comparison was probably unavoidable. As for looking for her brother as did the heroine of Labyrinth, it's a plot device and it's hardly unique to Labyrinth, so I think that too can be overlooked although the pack rats, beings who collect trash on their backs, well that was maybe too similar.

It is a good book and one of the few I've found that have Oberon, Titania and Puck in them. I've always loved tales about these characters, A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favourite Shakespeare play and I love the 1999 movie version of it with Michelle Pfeiffer, Ruper Everett, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, Christian Bale, Dominic West, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Sophie Marceau and David Strathairn. I also love their appearances in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics and the wonderful highly underrated Disney cartoon series Gargoyles.

Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2011-09-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

I rewatched the Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie, must be years since I last seen it, in truth I'd forgotten most of it except the basic plot. The artwork and animation is simply stunning, the imagery is so beautiful even by today's standards and I'm in awe of the work those artists and animators must have put into this movie. I love all the settings and I adored how the animals were shown, even the spider and fly looked cute! The freaky scene in the woods was gothic and a good use of bringing metaphors to life, those trees really did look terrifying and of course the scene of the Queen turning into the crone was as scary and amazing as I remembered.

I never liked Snow White much as a child, it just didn't hold my attention but now I have a new respect for it, and a new respect for heroine I usually panned as dull and useless. She is resourceful, grateful, cheerful and always optimistic, in truth she's almost perfect and shows very admirable traits. Yes she is naive but she is young, she has suffered a hard life and in the end who can blame her for risking a bite on the apple in the hope that it will make her dreams come true. She suffered a lot of hardships under the Queen, being turned into a scullery maid when she was a princess, and then being forced to flee into an unknown forest for her life where she ends becoming the effective maid to seven dwarfs.

I love how her relationship with the dwarfs managed to develop in such a short span, it was believable and yet they only spent two days together, it was amusing to see even Grumpy come round to her. In the end she was a beloved friend, a sister and a mother even, telling them when to go to bed and to wash their hands before supper, and yet in turn being protected by them.

The Queen's death was horrific and yet I felt being killed by nature wasn't enough, in the book she is forced to dance until her death in hot shoes and whilst they obviously couldn't show that it would have been better if the dwarfs or prince had killed her but again they probably couldn't show that. I thought the vultures being there and watching her before her death was quite prophetic and creepy.

The prince's lack of character and appearance is disappointing but I read it because they just couldn't animate him realistically so I guess it's understandable. In the original story he has even less of appearance and is actually rather perverse, he shows up right at the end and falls in love with her comatose body taking it for himself, it is as she is being moved that the apple is dislodged from her throat, no true love's kiss there.

I find looking back on Snow White that the later Disney films definitely took a lot from it in ways. Wendy's role as a mother figure to the Lost Boys is much like Snow White's to the dwarfs, Prince Phillip resembles the prince a lot, they both have brown hair, red cloaks and white steeds, being a sleeping princess obviously ties in with Sleeping Beauty and Maleficient is very like Queen Grimhilde, I would even suggest Grimhilde was a prototype for her in a way. Now I know Wendy and Sleeping Beauty's characters are from their own stories and that the Disney Snow White movie did not inspire them but I just feel in terms of their Disney counterparts there are connections.

Although I have never had much of an affinity for this fairytale in general I have had some interest in it recently due to the two upcoming movies. I've also liked the symbolism of the apple as a thing of desire and evil, it ties in with the Adam and Eve story but also with The Judgement of Paris where Eris causes disagreement amongst Athena, Hera and Aphrodite by tossing a golden apple labelled 'For the fairest' amongst them. And who is Snow White? The fairest of them all. It's easy to see with that in mind why an apple was chosen to be the wicked fruit that delivered the sleeping death to Snow White.

The ending did leave me puzzled though, the way it focused on a golden castle seemingly in the sky, whether it was just the way it was animated or if this was intentional I don't know. I know one poster suggested that Snow White was dead and that the ending was her dream/her heaven, an interesting theory definitely. I like it but I disagree, Disney does happy endings after all, surely it's first movie wouldn't turn out to be a farce of that, I'd say the castle was just meant to be their future castle. I did like how the prince came to pay tribute to her, kissing her and bowing down solemnly with the dwarfs, obviously not realising the power of his kiss. It was sad and respectful, especially tragic since he had been trying to find her all that time and only seemed to have found her too late. That small addition at the start of their first meeting made all the difference really, since him finding her at the end wasn't as creepy as the original tale.

The Lost Boys

2011-09-21T15:00:00.001-07:00

So I've created a new blog- The World of Myth- to put up posts mostly about Greek and Roman myth in an attempt to share what I have learned about both, hopefully in a simplified and useful manner, and also interesting of course.

I also, in keeping in line with my recent movie trend, rewatched The Lost Boys, I have to say there was quite a bit I'd forgotten about it, mainly Laddie's entire existence, but I still love it as much as ever. Like the original Fright Night it's a true 80s movie and if they remade it, it would be completely different. It's cheesy, funny and yet dark and horrific too with a pretty good plot and cast. I just wish the lost boys themselves had had more development, and Alan Frog too, he really loses out to Edgar especially in the unspeakable sequels.

For those of you who don't know the plot:

The Emerson family are forced to move to Santa Carla to move in with grandpa following a bad divorce, they include newly single Lucy Emerson and her sons Michael and Sam along with husky Nanook. There is something less than ordinary about Santa Carla however, never mind the disturbing goth and hippie people prowling around there's a suspiciously high amount of MISSING people flyers.

Trying to fit in, Lucy gets a job at the local video store whilst her sons try to blend in with the locals, Michael chases after mysterious and beautiful Star whilst Sam stumbles across a comic book shop run by brothers Edgar and Alan Frog who bluntly suggest Sam start looking at the vampire comics since it might give him some survival tips.

Cue a strange group of punkish motor cycling boys- Marko, Paul, Dwayne and their leader David, whom Star is attached to, and who develop a disturbing interest in Michael. Desiring Star enough to take the risks, Michael follows these boys to their den in a hotel sunken underground and there he is offered blood in the form of wine and takes a drink he might forget.

Luckily for Michael, when he shows symptoms of being a creature of the night his brother knows who to call for help, the self-proclaimed vampire hunters the Frog brothers. So begin a hunt to find and kill the head vampire before Michael, Star, and the child Laddie give into their bloodlust, make their first kill and become full fledgling vampires.

I love The Lost Boys, the vampires are monsters here but they are still entertaining, likeable in a way and fun to watch, especially David, the twist at the end is good and the supporting characters of grandpa and the Frog brothers are great. The soundtrack is unbeatable and the fairground and sunken hotel settings really captured the essence of the film.

My problems with it would be the existence of Laddie, and the sadly lacking development of the lost boys' characters. Laddie barely speaks in the movie and he is little more than background material, I get that he's meant to be a companion for Star but seriously why would she want a little boy as a companion? I think it's more likely they used him to insure that Star would not readily flee from them, she would have to take Laddie with her and given that they're both half-vampires, she might be willing to exist that way without guidance but she couldn't do it to him. Either way, Laddie may as well have not been in the film, he would not have been missed. As for the lost boys, it would have been nice to know a bit more about them, how old they were, when they were turned, maybe if they knew each other as humans, why Max or David singled them out and maybe something more about their personalities, I mean Dwayne hardly spoke. In fact out of Dwayne, Marko and Paul, Marko had the most lines and he died first!

What I really loved learning was that part of this was inspired by the idea of Peter Pan being a vampire, since Peter Pan never grew old, could fly and visited Wendy and the others at night, something I never really considered, but it's a pretty great idea. In fact, according to Wikipedia, in the original script David was called Peter and the brothers were Michael and John (not Sam) and their mother was called Wendy instead of Lucy. I think the changes were made when the director decided he wanted teenaged vampires rather than children.

You know I have to say I quite liked Star as the female lead, she was a nice sort of boho styled innocent woman reluctantly caught up in a dark world. She wasn't stunning but wooden and empty like many female leads of today, though she definitely was beautiful, she had more of a natural beauty rather than hours of hair and make-up work and it worked better, Star was ethereal in a way, supernatural but not like David and the others. You could understand her character and her desperation to find salvation even if it meant risking Michael and you could believe the romance growing between them as they become bound together due to being half-vampires. I always wondered if she was meant to be David's girlfriend though and if that was how she ended up in the group, and the only reason David didn't have Michael killed was because Max wanted him in the group.

I would love to read the book as I've heard it offers more character development, but it's quite hard to find.

The Significance of Costumes

2011-09-16T05:21:00.001-07:00

So I'm keen on fashion, fairytales and Disney and I can't help but wonder how important clothes are for identifying characters especially with Halloween coming up and giving people the chance to dress as their favourite characters. Now I have blogged about this before with regards to Little Red Riding Hood and Alice in Wonderland, Not As We Know Them and this is a continuation of that post.

Going back to Alice in Wonderland I noticed several images of her in a red dress, one being a live action film, others being lobby cards from the Disney film and let's not forget Um's dress in Tim Burton's film, a sharp contrast to her blue dress.

As you can see the lobby cards got certain other colours wrong too.

The 1985 film version deliberately placed Alice in a red dress however.

It starred Natalie Gregory as Alice and had her wear a blonde wig for the role showing that the original coloured illustrations and Disney movie had had some influences.

Although it seems there's a possiblity that Alice's dress was coloured red after yellow but before blue because the 1898 cover of the book does show her in a red dress.

The 1999 version starring Tina Majorino had Alice in a yellow dress, perhaps in homage to the original coloured illustrations, which were in The Nursery "Alice" and featured Alice in a yellow dress.

So how do you prefer Alice- in a yellow, red or blue dress? And does it really matter, if the dress had been yellow or red would the outfit of Alice still be iconic? Perhaps it might be more so, after all that blue dress is Dorothy's too. For Halloween costumes would people just wear a yellow or red dress instead or would those outfits become mixed up with Goldilocks or the Queen of Hearts costumes? It's amusing because if you did want to pay homage to the original Alice in Wonderland Nursery costume you could just wear a Goldilocks one, they're very similar.

Now though I have focused on Alice here she isn't the only one I've noticed with varying costumes. Snow White for example, if you want a Snow White costume for Halloween chances are you will find one that's coloured red, yellow and blue and is based around the Disney image of Snow White. Here are two images I found though of the Disney Snow White in her outfit with different colouring.

Now this whole image does lack colour I admit but you can see it is the same design as the iconic Snow White dress. It seems to be more in common with this maid's dress she wears at the start of the film, which is a strange choice to show on a poster.

This one is a bizzare variant, keeping the blue top but turning the sleeves pink and the yellow skirt pink and turning the red teardrops on the sleeves and the red hairband gold. Whether a different design or a colour error I'm not sure what the explanation behind this is. According to one website it was for the 50th anniversary in 1987.

I find the year for the latter ironic because a little known version of the film starring Sarah Patterson of The Company of Wolves fame was released then and her costume is very similiar to the one in the poster.

From Russia With Love Reviewed

2011-09-16T04:31:00.001-07:00

I finally finished From Russia with Love and what an ending! It is indeed of the best books in the series and I can see why it is considered the best by some, most notably the late JFK was a renouned fan. Full of action mixed with romance, fantastic characters, drama, suspense and mystery this book really does have it all.

There are differences between the novel and film, most obviously the change from SMERSH to SPECTRE for the film (SPECTRE did exist in the novels but not in this one) and the addition of Blofeld is added as the head villain in the movie, Rene Mathis appears in the book but not the movie and Kronsteen gets to live in the book. Mostly though, the film was very close to the novel and is probably the closest to the books out of all the films.

I did like Tatiana Romanova (named after the late Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova) as a Bond girl, she is tough in her own way, refusing to reveal everything to Bond despite her feelings for him because she is not so naive as to think that he might not ditch her once she does. Despite her initial nerves about seducing Bond she does so in a bold and memorable way, finding guts when she needs to. It never really becomes directly clear however if Tatiana ever truly suspects that she is just a dispensible pawn of SMERSH and unlike in the movie when she does realise the truth and exacts a justifable revenge on Klebb whilst simultaneously saving Bond she has no such moment of glory in the book, and we leave her character still sedated thanks to Grant's drugs and now a prisoner of the British government.

I also think Daniela Bianchi did a great job portraying her even if she was dubbed. It's strange because in the book Tatiana is brunette and to me Daniela, a blonde, actually looks more like how I picture Tiffany Case from the novel Diamonds are Forever to be. It was interesting to learn that apparently Tatiana Romanova and Vesper Lynd were both inspired by Ian Fleming's spy friend Christine Granville

Darko Kerim's character was a flawed but likeable man and his death was painful and tragic, even though I knew it happened in the movie I kept hoping he would live in the book because he was such a joyous character to read. I have to say Pedro Armendariz really did him justice in the film. I did the film addition that he was actually killed by Red Grant who staged it to look like he and a SMERSH/SPECTRE agent had killed each other because in the book it just seemed foolish that he was ambushed by someone he knew to be a dangerous agent.

The gypsy fight and the train sequence were great additions to both the book and film and I was happy enough when the novel left off just after the train sequence without the additional boat scene in the movie. As I said, the ending of the novel is great and shocking and at the time must have been a real cliffhanger for audiences as Bond is stabbed by a poisoned knife in Rosa Klebb's boot and he seems to pass out and there the novel ends leaving readers to ponder if Bond survives the poison or not.

I also felt that the idea that SMERSH/SPECTRE wanted to humiliate, even ruin MI6 by staging a romance between two rival spies that leads to a murder suicide between them after watch video footage of them having sex is released to the public whilst members of MI6 are also destroyed by a fake Spektor, a decoding device, was a bit flat and hard to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I did love the novel and film, but this plot device is a little stale, although admittedly somewhat more believable than the later films at least. Still it was certainly exotic having a beautiful femme fatale spy fall in love with the tough spy hero and vice versa.

Musings

2011-09-15T03:37:00.000-07:00

So I've just started watching MTV's new series Awkward with my sister and I have to say the lead character really reminds me of a young Carrie Bradshaw with her blogging about her life, and I wonder if it was inspired a little by Sex and the City or if it's just appealing to the popular blogger crowd.

It's funny I created this blog because I initially hoped to be a Carrie Bradshaw myself, that kind of journalism was one of my dream jobs, the other being a historical researcher on tv, and yet this blog seems to have become more a movie/book reviewing blog along with tidbits about LRH and Alice in Wonderland mixed in with random ranting fragments of my life. As it is my blog and it exists for all my random thoughts I make no apology for such a chaotic setup and yet I wonder what's more appealing- a blog that's personal or a blog that's informative about topics of interest?

I for one seem to read blogs about certain topics- fairytales, books, movies, gothic fashion- and yet I am always interested when I see blogs about people's lives, it's always fascinating to hear how other people live and think and what their views on the world on are and if maybe they love uni or their career while you hates yours or vice versa, it's nice to have a comparison and it's very interesting whether they are halfway around the world or just a short jump over the water.

Yet it is these personal blogs that are infrequently updated, whether it's because they're too afraid to get too personal or they find their thoughts might bore too many people or something else I don't know. Indeed my personal thoughts appear very infrequently here compared to movie and book reviews, I guess because I am afraid to get too personal at times and also I don't wish to bore people. Yet I remind myself, no one is being forced to read this so if it is boring it can be ignored.

Fright Night V Fright Night

2011-09-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here be spoilers! (As always).

So I finally got the original 1985 Fright Night on dvd and watched it last night with my boyfriend. It was good, a typical, cheesy, fun eighties horror movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. Compared to the remake I honestly don't know my preference, I think because the original seems dated to me and I saw the remake first I would lean towards the remake.

Amy is not as fun in the original, she never has the moment of bravado that the Amy of the remake does, but on the other hand she is more believable, after all how like is it that you would be able to get a mace to fight with? Alright so in the remake Peter Vincent has a museum of vampire weapons but I'm just not buying that. I felt that the original Amy just came across as a better partner for dorky Charley, she shows her frustration at his vampire obssession more, her lack of support rather than the complete support remake Amy gives is more believable frankly and I feel the seduction scene between her and Jerry in the club was more hypnotising and sexy than in the remake.

The remake also reverses the roles of Evil Ed and Charley, in the original it is Charley who believes his neighbour is a vampire and Ed is his doubting friend. This seems more logical since it is Charley who lives beside Jerry after all, in the remake Ed just seems to accuse Jerry of being a vampire out of nowhere, and whilst it is later explained that he was effectively stalking Jerry when he moved in and caught him not appearing on film there's no real explanation as to why he thought Jerry should be filmed or stalked. Yes people disappeared when the new guy came to town but I think Ed just jumped the gun. In the original however Charley had the evidence of the coffin, the weird looking Billy Cole, the scream, the scene with Jerry's vampire nails, the obvious disposing of bodies and the disappearance of the prostitute.

The special effects in the original were superb, even by today's standards. The vampires looked monstrous and freaky and yet also sexy, and Ed's transformation back from a wolf was better than any werewolf sequences I've seen in the 90s/00s (btw Ed is not a werewolf, he is a vampire who can turn into a wolf much like Dracula). The remake's vampire effects were good but the CGI was pointless and I missed the traditional methods, I think they were realistic enough. Also, the addition of shapeshifting, Ed into a wolf and Jerry into a bat, in the original was a nice touch and the perfect homage to Dracula and it's a pity it was abandoned in the remake. It was probably because they either thought it would look ridiculous or that people simply would not get it and would mistake Ed for a werewolf.

Speaking of Ed I don't know which perfomance I prefer- Christopher Mintz-Plasse's brief appearance or Stephen Geoffreys' over the top, verging on annoying one. In the original Ed is Charley's friend although it seems that the friendship is verging on ending because they don't hang out, it's more of a case of Ed popping up in a diner, and Ed seems happier to mock Charley than support him. However, he does go with Amy to fetch Peter Vincent in an attempt to help Charley realise that Jerry isn't a vampire (how wrong they were) and he does go with Charley to walk Amy home but in the end Charley's paranoia is too much for him and he seals his own fate by taking a dangerous shortcut into a dark alleyway where Jerry attacks and turns him. In the remake it is Ed who believes Jerry is a vampire and he is an ex best friend of Charley's who Charley ignores and avoids until Ed blackmails him with video footage of their youth spent together playing superheroes. It is Charley's ignorance that seals Ed's fate this time as he ignores Ed's warnings until it is too late and Jerry turns him.

The scene with Jerry and Ed do have some similarities in the original and remake in that Jerry seems to get to Ed, telling him he won't be bullied anymore. It's more poignant in the original as Ed actually cries before willingly succuming to the vampire whilst in the remake he shows only fear and never seems to willingly accept his fate though later on he says Jerry got to him. As a vampire in the original he maintains his mocking persona with that horrid laugh and has a dramatic showdown with Peter Vincent which involves him taking on the form of a wolf before Peter finally slays him and he dies in a pitiful and dramatic manner as he returns to human form. In the remake Ed in vampire mode just seems a bit of a joke, his body is gradually deformed to the point of him being armless and with a broken neck before he finally meets his end, which was so undramatic I scarcely remember it and it wasn't at the hands of Peter Vincent but Charley instead.

Peter Vincent gets a complete transformation in the remake going from washed up tv horror post played wonderfully by the late great Roddy McDowell to a washed up, drunken magician with an occult theme played charmingly by David Tennant. Roddy McDowell's Peter Vincent was timid and yet adorable, he was on his way out and struggling to pay bills to the point of visiting Jerry because Amy paid him not because Charley begged him to. He goes from a coward to a hero in the end, smiting Ed and helping to thwart Jerry and restore Amy too, using his knowledge of vampire lore. In the remake Peter Vincent is convinced about Jerry by compelling photographs Charley shows him, of course they could all be photoshopped except for one, which depicts a mural Peter seems familiar with. Furthermore, Peter Vincent in the remake is a collector of weapons and artifacts whilst the original Peter Vincent had horror film memorabilia.

I loved both Peter Vincents but I felt the one in the remake was developed more as he was given the added dark past of having his family slain by a vampire, Jerry as it turns out. Although it's maybe a bit of a sterotype plot twist at this point I still enjoyed it, I thought it explained Peter a bit better. Although being prone to swearing and alcholism wasn't exactly a good addition and missed its mark a few times when used for humour.

Jerry is different in the original as well, he's the sauve murderous neighbour still but he talks of giving a choice to Charley and spares him on more than one occasion and he is drawn to Amy because she is like a woman he onced loved whose portrait he still has, which shows he's more than a one-dimensional monster (it was the wonderful Chris Sarandon who actually suggested the addition to Jerry as he wanted the character to have depth). In the remake Jerry is a monster, plain and simple, his identity as a potentially normal neighbour is removed as he does not even have a last name, he is just the mysterious and creepy Jerry, but at least the movie attempts to explain why we never see him during the day as he claims to work during the night. This Jerry was described by the director as being like Jaws, he's a monster who kills to survive, that's it, there's no real depth there. Also, he's made all the creepier by being a loner and having disturbing storage space for his victims, two changes which I actually loved, seeing one of his victims captive in one of those small chambers was chilling.

The Jerry of the remake however does have a goal, he is of a particular breed of vampire, one who wants to repopulate his kind and he is quite happy to turn whoever for the sake of numbers including the local bully, Ed and Amy amongst others, yet he is not desperate as to stop one of them (the local strip dancer) from being turned to dust in a failed rescue, a bit of a contrast but then he was probably trying to teach Charley a lesson. The original Jerry however only turns Ed and Amy, he's not that desperate to repopulate, if anything I feel he considers it generally to be a curse although in the case of Ed he considered a gift and he may have thought Ed would be a useful pawn, it's never fully elaborated on.

The original movie moves at a slower pace and attempts to develop the relationships and personalities between Charley, Amy and Ed, it gives more screen time to Ed and makes Peter Vincent a little more sympathetic. The remake however reduces Ed to something of a cameo role, turns Charley into a social climber because apparently that's easier to relate to than an outsider, makes Amy a babe out of Charley's reach who for some reason puts up with his crap, gives Charley's mother a much bigger role that makes her less believable too and fills the movie with a lot of action, some fantastic and some unnecessary.

Overall, I love them both, if I'd seen the original first maybe I'd prefer it, maybe not. As I said it's very dated in a cheesy way, The Lost Boys is dated too but for some reason I consider that part of its charm rather than a flaw. The original seems to strive for more subtle personality hints and develops and a homosexual undertone, which only adds to its depth, the remake eliminates all of this and only Peter Vincent is given any sort of depth or development. Casting wise they're both good, though the Ed of the remake is much less annoying he's also a lot less prominent and nowhere near as funny as the original but remake Amy gets a moment of toughness that the original lacks, though the original's character is just so much more acceptable and believable, you can accept her dating Charley and trying to help with his vampire delusions, the remake Amy the mind boggles as to why she tolerates his crap. Both Charleys are weak leads in the end, they're annoying, and they don't treat their friends or girlfriends well and although both have moments were they're not so bad it's not enough.

Here's a link to an excellent article, which compares both movies.

Vampires- How Do You Prefer Them?

2011-09-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

I have discussed vampires many times on this blog, being that they are one of my favourite interests and I have to ask what are people looking for when they read a vampire novel or see a movie?

My boyfriend for one rejects them completely, saying that he cannot accept vampire movies because vampires are so unbelievable, I find this hard to go with since he's a fan of Planet of the Apes, which I find hard to swallow, and other equally fictional and implausible movies, yet he likes the Fright Night remake and Daybreakers.

The Twilight novels seemed to have resparked this debate over and over- what does it take to be qualified as a vampire? I argued that they were more like the recently popular fictional portrayal of fairies rather than vampires but my friend said since vampires weren't real and therefore there was no prototype then it was up for interpretation and they could effectively be what they wanted. I then responded that there did need to be some sort of blueprint to seperate them from other fictional beings such as werewolves, witches, and fairies, after all werewolves aren't real but a story with a werewolf that never becomes a wolf or at least part wolf wouldn't be much good, would it?

I have mentioned my favourite vampire novels before- Bram Stoker's Dracula, Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, and Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series (at least to a point)amongst others. They are all different, Bram Stoker's Dracula gives us the quitessential vampires- the male is a noble, charming, seductive gentleman who's really a monster quite happy to drive men to madness, leave them prisoners to his vampire brides, force three men to watch the love of their life slowly die and so on, and then the females are presented to us as seductive sirens, succubuses even who are cruel and sadistic child killers amongst other things.

The Vampire Chronicles was the most infamous saga to give us a different side to vampires, here they are depressed, gothic immortals, driven to despair by lengthy lives full of grief, loss and pain and yet they are monsters too, particularly the brat prince Lestat who actually enjoys his existence unlike his sombre vampire child Louis and yet for all the rivalry between them it is Lestat who needs Louis, expressing a weak form of dependence upon him even as he torments him. Louis' last encounter with Lestat shows a weaker form of the brat prince struggling to fit into an ever developing world.

In IwtV we are shown vampires that are unintelligible monsters and yet they are not so vile as their sharper witted counterparts. Louis and Claudia attempt to kill their own sire in a graphic fashion involving poison and later fire, and later Claudia receives a sad comeuppance for it as when they reach a theatre of vampires, one Santiago, suspects what they have done and when Lestat shows up to confirm this; Louis, the recently turned Madeline, and Claudia are taken captive and Louis is locked in a coffin to starve whilst Madeline and Claudia are left to burn in the sun. Louis does escape but he is forever scarred by this.

IwtV gives us many different vampires, all of them showing human traits but they have the ugly nature of humans more than the good, probably driven to evil given their need to kill to exist, even Louis, the best of the worst, shows dark traits at times though not to the extent of the half-mad Lestat. Claudia presents to us the idea of being a child forever and shows that it is not the blessing some would think it is but an unending nightmare. Claudia seems to be the quitessential child vampire, a monster of monsters, in the movie particularly it is disturbing watching how she kills with such joy.

Anita Blake gives us another mixture of vampires, this time in a more modern futuristic world where people accept that vampires, werewolves and other such supernatural creatures exist. Here we have Anita Blake, a necromancer and a vampire executioner who has an uneasy alliance that develops into a romance with Jean Claude, one of the sexiest vampires in fiction. Many of the vampires here are described as almost godlike in terms of looks, even the half-scarred Asher is seen as handsome and otherworldly, it also delves into that idea of vampires being gay or bisexual that Anne Rice's novels popularised, although there are exceptions. The vampires are monsters here too, some of the main villains in the novels, and equally there are minor vampires who asked to be turned because they wanted to be handsome and powerful but instead they remain novel, beauty is not always a gift of vampires. Mixing up action, horror, religious and romance, the Anita Blake started as an addictive crime series full of brilliantly described and memorable characters.

The vampires are described as descending down certain lines, some have the ability to be Masters, and some will never be that powerful. They are ruled by a council and have a mysterious First,that is Mother Darkness who is not quite as prominent as Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned. The vampire Council was an excellent addition and always wanted to see more of its twisted, disturbing members. Unfortunately, the series took a downward slant delving into the erotic more and more until sex became the prominent plot instead of crimes. Still, Anita Blake enhanced the idea of vampires as sex symbols but also gave us knew by putting them into a modern crime world setting yet still keeping them somewhat old-fashioned and traditional in terms of their language, fashion and authority in some cases. I certainly believe it helped inspire True Blood and other modern-day styled vampire novels that have cropped up in recent years.

I wonder if Anita Blake's vampire Council maybe inspired Twilight's Volturi or if the idea just came about from the concept that vampires were once humans and like humans they have come to the idea that they should be governed in some way, certainly it's a popular idea that vampires should have some kind of monarch or government.

That brings me to the similarities between vampire novels and movies, even ones that appear different on the surface. Twilight for example has that classic mortal girl falls in love with vampire male, it's not original, nor is it the star-crossed lovers some people like to think it is. True Blood's done it since and The Lost Boys and Near Dark both did it prior, as did the Francis Ford Coppola version of Dracula, although with The Lost Boys and Near Dark it was human male falls for female vampire, and only in Dracula did the lovers fail to get their happy ever after, although True Blood may have changed, I don't really know. Anita Blake did it too with female human falls for male vampire but then it went off tangent with that romance and Anita is now less than human and with many lovers it would seem. It's naturally a popular concept that everyone wants to create a story about, it's the forbidden romance.

Next it also seems that the hero/heroine isn't dealing with one vampire on their lonesome but a group of friends or family, we have the Cullens in Twilight, Lestat, Louis and Claudia in Interview, along with the theatre group, the Lost Boys in er The Lost Boys, the coven in Underworld, and the group in Near Dark. Even Dracula had his brides for all his claims of lonliness and Jerry Dandridge had his bodyguard (at least in the original). I guess this comes from the concept that vampires still have that desire to socialise that humans have and an ache perhaps for a family, as seems to have been the case in IwtV. Of course some humans do desire solitude and so too do some vampires in the end.

So with all these similarities and differences, again I ask what are people looking for? Do you miss the traditional vampires who could be held back with garlic and crosses, could not cross running water or enter houses without an invite, and could be slain with stakes or do you enjoy the idea that they are stronger than this and have evolved with the times? Maybe you love the ultra modern vampires of the likes of Underworld who use guns with liquid silver to fight werewolves and in turn are shot back at with liquid UV light or somehting similiar. Or maybe the modern yet monstrous vampires of Anita Blake inspires you, they live in a modern setting yet many of them wear old-fashioned clothes and rather than use guns they have their own powers. Is it romance or horror you are after or both? Do you prefer Edward, Dracula or perhaps another?

I myself and somewhere in the middle of it all, the Fright Night remake, The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Addiction and Interview with the Vampire are my favourite movies. I find the Underworld and Twilight series watchable but I do not own either of them, they just have not captivated my attention enough. I am an avid fan of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (really wish they would remake it) I guess because it's a nice mix of horror and crime with the right amount of comedy and you get to talk to so many well designed characters and frankly it's one of the more real interpretations of vampires, plus the idea of different clans along with different leaders was original to an extent. I say an extent, because as I've already stated, different rulers and races etc just stems from what we have as humans crossing over into the vampire world and a lot of authors/creators have jumped on board with those concepts. Fright Night for example mentioned different vampire breeds, not clans or races, but another version if you will of a similar idea and Anita Blake mentions vampires having powers based around their lineage. So we have breeds, clans, races, lineages etc, all of which I love as brings diversity even amongst the vampires.

I guess for me I like vampires to be the villains or anti-heroes, I don't mind them being a love interest as well but so long as they retain some sort of darker nature ala Jean-Claude, I'm just not a fan of a goody two shoes all out hero ala Edward Cullen (sorry Edward fans) or some totally screwed up psychotic romantic ala Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's film (the novel Dracula remains amazing). I don't mind too much modernising or a little humanizing but I think the likes of Underworld took it too far (Selene, the vampire heroine fainted in the first movie, I mean seriously, she's a vampire, how weak must she be) and though I don't mind seeing vamps using an array of arsenal to fight with it's always good to see them getting the fangs out and showing some supernatural abilities as well.

New Red Riding Hood Costumes Part 2

2011-09-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you're looking to do a different style of Little Red this year, this Fairytale Riding Hood costume might just be the thing, offering a cute blue dress with storybook styled illustrations on the bottom, it harps back to some of the earlier illustrations where Red is given a blue dress albeit usually with a white apron. Admittedly the capulet isn't much to look at but you could always buy your own hooded cloak or capulet to go with the dress if you really wanted.

I notice more than me would like a costume similar or identical to Laurie in Trick R Treat. Naturally such a number, being velvet, would cost a fortune and alas there are no replicas at the moment. It is different though, opting for the all red look rather than red, black and white.

There are more than a few all red costumes out there though if that's the look you're going for. I feel this gothic number, finally more easily available in an adult size, comes the closest to Laurie's. Of the many costumes out there it is my second favourite, it's different, edgy and gothic and it's not slutty yet it's certainly attention grabbing.

This costume here also comes pretty close although it has a black corset that Laurie's does not, it's still similar and it's cute and cheap.

When it comes to a Little Red Riding Hood costume it is the cape/hood/cloak/capulet that is key, you can buy one seperate, although the costumes do come with one of course. There is a lengthy one easily available, which is great for warmth and swishes in an awesome way but it could trip you and it does get stained very easily. If you don't want to be tripped up you could have one to your waist or even a capulet just past your shoulders, as many of the costumes do. It does not matter the length (as Amanda Seyfried showed us with her varying cloak) just make sure it's red. Equally, material wise velour is the most snug and best looking whilst the faux silk is the tackiest but most common and cheapest. Velvet is probably best reserved for a more sophisticated party as you would not want it stained.

Once you pick your costume don't forget accessories, online you can get a wolf's head in a basket, a silk purse designed in a basket shape, numerous baskets, glittering Dorothy styled red shoes, red bowed stockings or socks, and wolf teddies. Basket wise is you're going out a small, cheap one would be best or a purse/handbag designed in a basket shape so that way you only have one thing to carry. Wolf ears and tails also make for a great more original addition but it does seem to be hard to find any decent ones and there are only two costumes out there with them already there, a child's one and a tween one.

If you want to make your own costume from scratch I would opt for a pleated red skirt, a white gypsy styled top, an underbust black corset and a red hooded cloak or capulet with either black or red shoes or black boots. You could also opt for a red skirt with matching corset or you could try to create you own variation. The only thing that needs to be red is the hood and cloak but red, black and white are usually pretty good colour combos for this costume.

New Red Riding Hood Costumes

2011-09-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

So we're approaching my favourite holiday and naturally I've had a look at the latest Red Riding Hood costumes to see if there are any decent ones out since interest has been renewed thanks in part to the Catherine Hardwicke movie.

This is this year's delux costume replacing the rather dull long, black skirt and red velvet corset combo, and as gorgeous as it is it's also this year's most expensive coming in at roughly $200/£124 depending on where you get it from, it's also quite tricky to find probably because of that price tag. It is made with real velvet rather than velour, which explains the price but it does not come with the stockings or basket, as none of them do. I have to admit it's the only mostly red costume that I really love, generally I prefer the additional black half-corset as it adds a nice contrast whereas all red is too much but on this it really works, probably because there is black in the skirt and black lacing to break things up. I'm not too sure about the lingere styled red ruffles at the bottom, they take away some of the style of the costume, although they probably add some dignity. My favourite piece is the rose in the centre of the chest and that gorgeous capulet.

Next is the cheaper version of the deluxe costume, a more affordable $60/£38, it's called Divine Miss Red Riding Hood. I'm not a fan of this one, I think it looks tacky and the red silk with black lace short sleeves and corset details just clash with the black Xs over the white, and like with the other, the red ruffle trim just looks tacky. I'm not sure what the material is but it looks like faux silk, which from experience looks awful in reality unlike the photographs and certainly does not justify the £60-70 price tag some online stores have slapped on it. I also hate the red bows and black cuffs on the sleeves, the sleeves just don't look like they belong.

This one, Sexy Red Hot Riding Hood, is cheap, simple and cute, following the basic formula of red skirt, white gyspy top, black corset and red hood. It does look cheaply made and the top is probably shorter than it looks and the skirt higher but that is the risk with these costumes. The capulet is far too short for my liking but some might prefer it. For a costume you're only going to wear one night it would probably do the job for most people.

In my case I'm going to stick to the costume I have (though it is tempting to wear my Girl Scout costume again) but I'll be adding wolf ears and tail and getting a basket.

Fright Night

2011-09-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

I just saw Fright Night and I'll say right now it was amazing. Now I haven't seen the original (hoping to rectify that soon) so I can't compare but I'm happy with that because I feel when you love a movie you're usually just disappointed when it's remade, I think remakes need to be enjoyed as stand alones these days because if you keep comparing them to the original you will find flaws and you just won't enjoy it.

It was damn good to finally see a movie were the vampire was a proper bloodsucking villain rather than a sparkling hero (extra great to hear a subtle dig at Twilight in the movie) and it was nice to see a movie that was a decent mixture of horror, comedy and action. Fright Night really delivers as a vampire movie, you've got a creepy yet sexy vampire, a hero and heroine whose romance is already set so you don't have to be bored by its development, the eccentric vampire hunter scarred by a dark past and the geek who knows the truth but who no one believes.

It's the perfect character mix with the perfect cast, Colin Farrell could not have done a better job as Jerry, he was scary, he was seductive and he was a genuine psycho in the end, Anton Yelchin was a good lead, although Charley was a bit of a tool at times he's not hateful, Toni Collette did a good job in the supporting role of his understanding mother, Imogen Poots offered up a rare strong female lead who does not subject us to annoying moments of screaming and whining (this girl wields an axe and a mace), David Tennant is perfect as washout vampire expert turned Las Vegas magician Peter Vincent and Christopher Mintz-Plasse rounds up the cast as sadly underused Evil Ed the geek who knows what's really going on and pays a dear price for his knowledge.

Like all movies it is flawed but the flaws are minor, the 3-D was a bit pointless, for me anyway, the glasses just made everything darker and though there were some cool moments there weren't enough to justify the extra money. Also, Charley is not the best lead, though Anton does a great job with the material, it's hard to relate to Charley he's borderline sweet guy/dick, a former geek he dropped his dorkish life style to impress Amy and since then he's been avoiding all his old friends and when one disappears he's not all that bothered and when the other, Ed, tries to convince him of what's going on he doesn't show much interest. Admittedly, it would be hard to believe someone telling you your neighbour is a vampire, but he doesn't even give Ed the time of day. Still, his moments of trying to protect his mum and Amy and risking himself for a neighbour are endearing and he is a brave character in the end. David Tennant, great as he is, seems to be chanelling Russel Brand and whilst at times it's fun at other times it's a tad annoying, David does do a great job but sometimes you find yourself wishing his character was less of an alcoholic prick, although with his back story you do understand it a little. That being said he and his girlfriend do bring a lot of humour to the movie.

Even if you're not a vampire fan I would still recommend catching this flick (my boyfriend loathes vampire movies but he liked this one), it's just a good movie and I would rank it up there with The Lost Boys having the same strange dark humour and cheesy yet loveable style.

For me it's the movie I've been waiting for since Twilight seems to have turned the vampire genre on itself it's nice to see vampires as the monstrous villains again and even though I do love Anne Rice's tragic vampire ala Interview with the Vampire the more twisted evil vampires still do it best.

Books Galore

2011-08-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, I've been occupying myself mostly with typing stories but also with finally working my way through some of the t.v boxsets I own as well as playing Assassin's Creed: The Brotherhood. I have to say I love those games though to my shameful admittance I haven't actually completely any of them, I always get distracted by some other game (God of War, Dragon Age, Alice). I do love the historical setting, especially since I'm actually watching The Borgias show on t.v, they are the main villains in Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, and it's interesting to see the different portrayals.

That being said I've also been busy trying to do some artwork (I'm determined to both crack Photoshop and improve my general drawing skills) and reading, finished Wolfsangel and still cracking on with From Russia With Love and the Everworld series, which is highly underrated, I guess because it's old, hard to market and hard to determine the audience, I would say older teenagers since the lead characters are all teenagers but there's enough violence, graphic scenes and implied language to maybe keep it 15+ but I don't know since kids seem more exposed and immune to stuff like that these days so maybe some 9 year olds could happily read it, I couldn't say for sure.

Everworld, for those of you who don't know, is a 12 book series by K.A Applegate who also wrote the Animorph series, it was written and published 1999-2001 so it's about ten years old, which is why you might not have come across it these days. Everworld came about when the gods of Earth decided to up and form a new world called Everworld, they went with all their mythical animals and human worshippers and for a time found peace there until they are found by several alien species and whilst some of these meant no harm there was one, an alien god called Ka Anor who gained everyone's attention because Ka Anor eats gods. One god, Loki, not wanting to be next in line for Ka Anor's breakfast, tries to find a way to open the portal between Everworld and Earth to go back and he finds in the form of the witch Senna Wales.

When Loki's son Fenrir tries to drag Senna to Everworld however she does not go alone, her half-sister April, her boyfriend David, her ex-boyfriend Christopher and schoolmate Jalil are all taken into Everworld with her and so their adventure begins.

Each book is told from one of the four characters' POV as they travel through Everworld dealing with gods, people and creatures of numerous pantheons, and the minions of Ka Anor, his zealots the Hetwans. They deal with Loki, Fenrir, Jormungand, Huitzilopoctli, Hel, Nidhoggr, Merlin, Galahad, Ganymede, Dionysus, nymphs, satyrs, fairies, leprechauns, disturbing aliens, dragons and more as they journey through Everworld trying hopelessly to find a way home. Weirder still, every time they sleep in Everworld they find themselves back on Earth where they same to be carrying on with their lives, all except for Senna.

It's an original story, unhindered by the PC crowds of today mercifully, which means it is liberal with its slang and references and not afraid to include casual racism, and homophobic remarks, some in jest, others meant more seriously. However, it is not promoting such negative things (and neither do I) it just merely shows the twisted humour some teenagers do have whilst also bringing to light such issues without making a crusade out of it (David is a Jew and Jalil is black and their offence to such insults is noted but they know when it's humour and they know when it's gone too far. It also deals with the issues in a more serious, darker manner by introducing neo-Nazis). It is realistic in its characters with their thoughts and dialogues, rather than acting like teenagers don't swear or think about sex as some books of today seem to. It is not promoting anything negative it is just real and current for its time, you really can believe for a moment that these characters exist and are caught up some horrific mythological mess.

I would recommend it for any fans of mythology, fantasy or adventure, it has everything- humour, action, horror, angst, drama, romance and every book brings out a new revelation, a new side to the characters, a new twist and a new development. These books never get boring and they're almost impossible to put down.

Backtracking to Wolfsangel, it proved to be a very dark, gritty but addictive and realistic book and though I liked the overall plot I did not think the book needed to be so long, I do like long books but only when the length is necessary and it's exciting instead of overkill with the detail, I digest details with relish but there is a point when you do go, ok I get the point. I think dragging out the plot was an attempt to creat suspense and in one way it worked as of course I just kept turning the page addictively but in another way it failed because I stopped really taking in the book at times just reading to get to a certain point because I'd grown fed up with being strung along. Also the ending and the big twist just was not original for me, I'd already seen it in Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass, and though I understand it's impossible to be original these days and it's all too easy for people to have the same idea it still bugged me because I was expecting something better.

Don't get me wrong I did love Wolfsangel and I've bought the sequel Fenrir even though it is set 100 years in the future, I'm still dying to know what comes next, yet Wolfsangel is still flawed. If you want something happy don't go for it, but if you want action and drama it's perfect. Also, another minor point, I was disappointed that the Norse gods did not get some more appearances and mentionings in the book but obviously the author did not want to do that, it's not a flaw it's just something I would have liked to have seen. So far it is one of the best novels based around Norse mythology that I have read, it really captures the end of days, warrior hardened outlook that the Vikings seemed to have.

Sleeping Beauty Versus Snow White

2011-08-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have to say Sleeping Beauty is definitely my favourite of the older Disney movies and Aurora is one of my favourite Disney princesses (Jasmine and Rapunzel are the 2 favourites). Sleeping Beauty had what Snow White lacked and what Walt Disney wanted in some cases- the prince's capture and escape, the made up 'Prince Buckethead' and the dancing in the clouds. They are both very similar movies featuring a heroine who spends a good deal of the movie asleep, a heroic prince and a female villain with magic powers.

Even as a child I didn't really like Snow White to me it was too short and boring, of course now I realise why it was short and lacking compared to the movies then, given when it was made it really was a breakthrough movie and though I can appreciate it now it still wouldn't be in my top ten Disney movies.

Snow White is a dull heroine at best although her cheerful attitude shining through her depressing circumstances, existing as a scullery maid under her own stepmother after the death of her father, is admirable it's not enough to win you over a highly undeveloped character. Snow White is the quintessential princess she's beautiful, she can sing, she is forever cheery, she has a challenging life, she is a friend of the animals, she is good natured and she charms everyone around her except the villain of course. It is her beauty that causes Queen Grimhilde's intense jealousy, she loathes no longer being the fairest in the land and she is willing to kill to restore herself to the position of most beautiful. Here is a chance for some inner beauty metaphor that Disney does not go for it, it's all about the physical- Snow White and Queen Grimhilde are both beautiful until Grimhilde goes so far as to transform herself into an ugly hag to destroy Snow White. The irony here is obvious and poignant and I don't think many of us will ever forget the image of the ugly crone clutching that deadly apple.

What was really interesting to learn was that Queen Grimhilde's appearance was inspired by Helen Graham's in She the 1935 film version based on the H. Rider Haggard novel, which I think was the first version of the novel with sound. It was in black and white but a colour version was released in 2006. Most people however, including me, are probably more familiar with the 1965 Hammer production starring Ursula Andress in the familiar role.

In Sleeping Beauty the villain is the evil fairy Maleficent, an infamous villain these days she is usually voted as the no.1 Disney villain. She loathes Princess Aurora because she was not invited to her christening, spurned, she sought vengeance by showing up anyway and cursing Aurora to prick her finger on a spindle on her sixteenth birthday and die. A curse that was averted by the third fairy Merryweather who said that she would not die by would instead fall into a deep sleep to be awakened by love's true kiss. Maleficent makes for a wonderful and terrific villain due to her numerous actions including cursing the baby Aurora, luring her to the spinning wheel, kidnapping and imprisoning the prince to prevent his rescuing of her, encaging the palace in thorns and turning into a dragon to fight Prince Phillip. She is given a terrific, tall, dark, gothic appearance complete with green skin and horns, she has her wicked looking crow companion Diablo and she has that wonderfully creepy looking castle with those monstrous henchmen.

Compared to her the evil queen in Snow White fades a little, she has a castle but you don't see much of it, she lacks henchmen although she has the Huntsman and the magic mirror for minions and her crone appearance just doesn't match up to the huge, fearsome, black dragon. Whilst Maleficent is motivated by revenge, she is motivated by envy and vanity. Her dialogue is less giving her a creepier appearance in a way, as it is harder to gage her thoughts and being driven to murder by vanity just makes her seem crazier somehow.

The original Sleeping Beauty tale bears other things in common with Snow White too, in the second part of the tale when she and her children are living with her husband his ogre stepmother asks the cook to kill and feed her them one by one when the husband is absent. The cook substitutes them with animals instead much akin to how the Huntsman in Snow White substituted her heart with one of a boar's.

I feel that Sleeping Beauty comes across as the better film for many reasons. One is that the prince and princess actually meet before the curse and alright their meeting is brief, it still makes their love a little bit more believable than Snow and the prince, granted they did meet before her curse when he heard her singing at the wishing well, but they didn't really speak. Prince Philip has a much bigger role than the nameless prince of Snow White making him a lot more likeable and Aurora/Briar Rose has a bit more of a personality than Snow White. Although the dwarves make for admirable and amusing supporting characters I don't think they are as funny as the three fairies Fauna, Flora and Merryweather, each of whom stands out in their own way with individual personalities and appearances. Furthermore, Sleeping Beauty had a much better climax with the dragon who is killed by the hero unlike the queen of Snow White who was killed by nature, a lightning strike sent her off a cliff to her doom. Thus Prince Philip is established as the hero whilst Snow White's prince realistically does damn all to help her he just comes along at the right time.

In terms of general story I love both, the original versions of Snow White have more drama with the queen with her trying to kill Snow White with laces and a poisoned comb before using that infamous apple. Sleeping Beauty is a darker tale with the prince raping her and abandoning her again leaving her to be awakened when one of her newborn twins sucks the flax from her finger. It then adds a second part which takes place after the prince has returned for his new family and taken them back to his realm where they suffer the wrath of his jealous stepmother/wife who is an ogre who tries to have them killed. I think the story could have done without the additional stepmother figure as the evil fairy sufficed as a villain and never really got her comeuppance. The rape was an interesting twist that most retellings have ignored, ending the story with true love's kiss instead, although even in the original version the princess does not seem to be bothered to awaken with twins.

Fushigi Yuugi- essay, review

2011-08-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Fushigi Yuugi, one of my endearing loves, it was the first complete anime series I owned, the first series a birthday present from my father and the second a purchase made right after I finished the first. I haven't watched it in about 2 or 3 years but I've recently had a renewed interest in it after coming across an old fanfic I did, it made me look up other fanfics I'd read on it and then of course I had a look at all the pictures I'd collected over the years never mind my own cringe worthy fanart and now I'm eager to go back into the magical world of the book Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho also known as The Universe of the Four Gods or Four Gods of Heaven and Earth.

Fushigi Yuugi for me was inspiring it had humour, horror, romance, drama and tragedy, it made you attached to the characters as you watched them grow and develop together and it had an intriguing original plot that just sucked you in. As I stated in an early post it was a friend who introduced me to this anime, she was a fanatic without even seeing it having downloaded pictures and sound bytes before she was actually able to purchase it (in those days no one trusted the internet for being safe to order off, and we didn't have anime over here back then) and ironically it was a picture of Suzaku the red bird god which made me interested because I love fire birds, phoenixes and mythologies.

Once I learned more about the plot I knew I had to see it and when I did I wasn't let down (by the way though my dvd has dub and sub I watched it dubbed and unlike a lot of people I wasn't bothered by it), it was everything I had thought it would be and more and I was only sad that the OVAs were such a let down (especially Eikoden which was based on a series of light novels by Megumi Nishizaki rather than Yuu Watase's works, whilst the first OVA was a stand alone work, really confusing at that, and the second followed the remaining volumes of the manga). It's strange the way the manga just continued on, I feel the anime ended it at the right point really. All that stuff with Tenkou and Taka's memories was just annoying really.

Once done with the anime and the OVAs I then set about reading translations of Megumi's novels online (they still aren't officially available in English) and reading the manga, which is fantastic and truthfully even better than the anime. I have to say the light novels are really good too, it was great to get a better look at the characters and learn about their pasts and it's just a pity they're not more widely available.

Done with Fushigi Yuugi I struggled to find a replacement, I wanted more, I wanted something that had that balance of fun, action and drama with a fantasy element but alas nothing seemed to fit until Genbu Kaiden came along. The manga prequel it shows Yuu Watase's skills as a story teller really have developed, her characters and their relationships are much more believable and less annoying, the adventure is darker and grittier and the lead, Takiko, is better than Miaka making for a stronger less deluded lead. Plus knowing how the plot has to end just make the story more dramatic and intense, especially since you really do feel for Takiko and the others. I can't wait until volume 10 is finally released and maybe once Genbu Kaiden is done Yuu may reward us with the Byakko no miko Suzano's tale.

Fushigi Yuugi has been dealt praise and criticism for its plot and characters creating interesting and passionate debates, some people found Miaka and Tamahome's romance annoying and repetitive, others enjoyed its sweet nature, some people loved Miaka, others loathed her naivety and some loathed Yui even going so far as to call her a bitch and a whore. It's interesting to see the emotions fiction can create in people, the arguments and debates and essays they inspire and Fushigi Yuugi has certainly inspired more than its fair share.

I myself would be tempted to create a website of commentary, trivia, essays and artwork if I could make the effort. I've visited a good many of shrines which offer up new trivia and debates each time I seem to come across them.

For my part I was a big fan of Yui and I feel she is grossly misunderstood, probably because she's the enemy rather than the heroine so people instinctively want to hate her. Miaka did suffer trials in the Universe of the Four Gods but compared to Yui her time there was a breeze, Yui did not find warm, loving allies, she was alone, she was attacked and thought she was raped, Miaka on the other hand found herself amongst friends, her greatest trial was stabbing herself to destroy her darker side, a moment which Yui helped her through. Worst of all after waiting three months for Miaka's return when they are finally reunited Yui witnesses a tender moment between Miaka and Tamahome during which Miaka says she only came back for him, heartbreaking for Yui and a definitive turning point. Yui is smart but she is only human and it is no surprise that Nakago takes advantage of her anger and grief twisting her into Miaka's rival. Yes Yui deserves to bear responsiblity for her actions but I think they are understandable.

Yui stood out to me as a character who really suffered and changed whilst Miaka, though I don't hate her, is certainly annoying and whiny and her love with Tamahome is just sickening and unbelievable, it comes out of nowhere when they hardly know each other and they never shut up about it. Yui's love for him however is not really a love for him, it is Miaka she loves and she will do anything, even seperate Tamahome and Miaka, to win Miaka back, a realisation she acknowledges towards the end. Although Miaka had her moments and provided great entertainment as a light hearted, comical character and I will admit the series would not be the same without her.

Of the four mikos, Takiko is my favourite but of course very little is known about Suzuno so it's impossible to know how likeable she might be. Takiko is the strongest and bravest of the mikos, she is not afraid to fight, she does not let the fact that she is ill and facing death stop her from achieving her goals, and she is willing to push on with destiny even though she and her seishi are viewed as cursed. She really does her best to find her seishi and persuade them to follow destiny and her love with Uruki is much more poignant and believable than Miaka and Tamahome's romance.

Diamonds, Diamonds

2011-08-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm just back from a brilliant, expensive, exhausting and exciting holiday in America, which was basically a week in Washington, 3 days in Florida, 2 in New Jersey and then another 1 in Washington. I finally got to see Disney's Magic Kingdom after 23 long years of waiting (no my parents never took me as a child) and whilst it is realistically for kids with pretty much no rides for adults I still loved the experience though Universal and the Islands of Adventure were definitely the best (loved The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Jurassic Park). Anyway back home now rundown with a sinus infection and sunburn but it's all good.

Finished off Diamonds Are Forever at long last and am currently hooked on Wolfsangel by M.D Lachlan, it has to be one of the best novels based around Norse mythology out there. It's exciting, adventurous and original with werewolves, warriors, witches and mad gods and ample appearances from my favourite mythological being- Loki. If you're a fan of the Norse myths, vikings or werewolves you must check this out.

Focusing on Diamonds are Forever I have to say it is my favourite of the novels so far, it was fun and exciting to read with rarely a dull moment and it had a fantastic Bond Girl, also my favourite so far of the novels' Bond Girls. Here Tiffany Case is a smart grey eyed blonde with a tough exterior and a no nonsense nature although there is a softer side to her, she mostly keeps it back, hardened by a dark past. I'll admit I found some of the dialogue in the novel puzzling and I don't know whether it's just me or it's something that only made sense in the time period, but these pieces were few and far between. Tiffany's character is flawed, she switches between hot and cold a little too often at times, contradicting herself almost immediately or stating she didn't mean what she said and going back on it too often, it's like short burts of mood swings. Still it didn't make much of a dent in the character of a otherwise brilliant Bond Girl. She is resourceful, cool headed, intelligent and independent.

The Spangled Mob made for interesting villains and I really think it's a pity they weren't in the film, Blofeld is a great villain but he had his moment in You Only Live Twice, I think they could have put him aside for the novel villains. Also the diamond smuggling plot was a lot more believable that diamonds being used in a lazer satellite and it was still exciting. Felix Leiter was great in the book, I just love how his character has developed, even after the horrific shark attack in Live and Let Die he is still very much a key player in the novel, resourceful, highly useful and still productive working for a detective agency investigating horse racing fixes.

Tiffany for me was a much better canditate to be Bond's love than Vesper Lynd (at least novel wise) Vesper was just bland, weak and pathetic to me whilst Tiffany stands strong even when tangled up in the middle of the mob, she shows no qualms about betraying them and expresses little fear even after she herself suffers at their hands. She is certainly no bimbo or simpering damsel, she is vulnerable but in a believable manner rather than one that borderlines on irritating. It's almost a pity she doesn't stick around for the rest of the series, although it will be interesting to see what the other Bond Girls are like and it just wouldn't be the same if Bond had settled down for longer than one book/movie.

I have to stay I find it ironic that in concept art for the movie and the posters there is a blonde a redhead with Bond given that Tiffany was a blonde in the novel but a redhead in the movie. I also find it strange since there's no blonde girl in the movie, the secondary Bond girl Plenty O'toole is a brunette. I suppose the art did come before casting but still many other posters did seem to be of the actual Bond girls rather than an idea of them.

Wonderland

2011-07-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

So I've been playing American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns, part of it seems brilliant but part of it not so much. Visually it's a real treat with numerous creepy nods to the book including a frozen Tundraful level which seems to be Alice's frozen tears as the members of the Caucus race are here in morbid form. The March Hare and Dormouse have their characters expanded as villains who have taken over Hatter's domain but alas they still aren't in much for my liking and though their steampunk appearances are ingenius being me I would have preferred something gothic but I suppose that's a stereotype and gothic Malice in Wonderland as it were has been done numerous times so I suppose McGee thought to do something different with a mixture of goth and steampunk. I do love steampunk mind, especially in movies, and I would like to see more of it in the media. I also couldn't help but wonder if the March Hare's Scottish accent has anything to do with his Scottish accent in Tim Burton's Wonderland.

Alice also has numerous dresses including the original dark blue number, and some downloadable ones, these are creative and were nice to see along with Alice's smart new haircut, though the hair did vary in length, which I felt helped emphasise her madness. You really don't know what's real and what's dream. It was also wonderful seeing some of the Victorian streets.

That being said it would have been nice to explore more in all these wonderful dark settings and talk to more characters and generally interact more rather than it all being background. Hunting for memories, pig snouts and bottles through keyholes, over toadstools and in boxes and corners is fun but I just felt it got repetitive and it would have been nice to have more with some added side adventures.

Also I absolutely loathe the gliding/jumping thing it's too hard to control and guide Alice doing this and I died so often failing to land properly and the camera work seems a little tricky. Yet like it's predecessor it is still a must have for any Alice in Wonderland fan, particularly those who love a darker version but most definitely not for children.

Another noteable addition was how Alice always seemed more comfortable in Wonderland, she is strong, cynical and no-nonsense when talking to the characters but when in the real world she is scared and unsure, much more at home in Wonderland, which made her character all the more strange and yet delightful.

Since the original game all the characters have received an update in appearance giving them more detail and improvement, which was nice to see particularly with the March Hare and Mock Turtle. Although, Cheshire has not changed much nor the White Rabbit who tragically is hardly in the game.

I find it amusing comparing all the portrayals of Alice in Wonderland and how the characters switch about, in the Disney movie the March Hare is just as prominent to the Hatter and they both have a modest amount of scenes though they yield to the White Rabbit's onscreen time, in the Looking Glass Wars novels by Frank Beddor is important as Alyss' bodyguard and even earned his own spin-off comic, the White Rabbit is the downplayed royal tutor, the Cheshire Cat is an assassin and the March Hare and Dormouse amongst others have not even appeared. Ironically in Syfy's Alice the March Hare was an assassin, and the White Rabbit also works for the Queen but he is a straightforward villain. In this series the Hatter, following popular opinion, is the love interest for Alice, though Jack of Hearts gets a much more prominent role than usual.

Tim Burton's movie shows the characters largely as they were in the book and whilst it acts as a sequel with Alice returning to Wonderland it plays out much like the original story as Alice repeats her actions as she does not remember Wonderland, it offers my favourite look for the March Hare, though as with so many versions, is appearance is minor whilst the Hatter's role is extended to a leading role.

Zenoscope's comic series shows the White Rabbit in animal form with a small role, the Cat as a monstrous villain, the Hatter's role is taken on by several people, always as an insane but prominent character and the March Hare and Dormouse are reserved to an appearance in Tales from Wonderland- Mad Hatter. These comics, the original McGee game and Tim Burton's movie all also have the Jabberwocky as a villain, in the latter two he is a secondary villain but in the comics he seems to be the main one.

I find it a shame that the McGee Alice may never get turned into a movie and that Looking Glass Wars may fall upon the same fate, as both would have been interesting to see but alas with Tim Burton's version these seemed to have slipped into the cracks along with Joseph Bat's A Tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Like most people I am sick of seeing the same thing in the movies but I still think it's a pity that these movies might never appear, hypocritical I know, but I feel they had potential, especially Joseph Bat's, which promised to be the horror Catherine Hardwicke's failed to be.

Dr. No

2011-07-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the Bond theme, I watched Dr.No today, it's only the second time I've seen it, checked out the behind the scenes extras as well, quite interesting seeing how everyone was casted and why they picked Dr.No out of all the novels to do first. Compared to the later movies it's a little dull and short with characters that lack development and many of them are in and out of it pretty quickly. Still for the first ever Bond movie it's not hard how to see how it started an infamous money making franchise. It introduces Bond perfectly as charming, ruthless, dry humoured, clever and yet flawed, he does after all get captured by Dr. No's minions and fails to protect Quarrel. It also gives us the first of the Bond girls and easily the most popular, Honey Ryder, who doesn't even come into the movie until halfway through it.

Although Honey is best remembered for that bikini scene she is actually quite a decent, tough Bond girl, she shows up with a knife, makes it clear that she is quite capable of defending herself and is quick to put Bond in his place. We learn that Honey got her revenge on a rapist via a black widow and that she has evaded Dr. No's minions so far to the point of them losing interest in her and it is only when she gets involved with Bond that she gets caught. She is also smart though she admits lacking a tutor she says she has read all of the encyclopedia and is probably smarter than Bond. She does have her damsel moments of admitting she is scared and being cuffed up for Bond to save but that only shows she is human. It is a pity her voice was dubbed as Ursula Andress did and does speak perfect English, it was simply a case of having too thick an accent (she was meant to be from Jamaica, all other women bar Moneypenny and later Bond girls Daniela Bianchi (Tatiana Romanova), Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson), Claudine Auger (Domino) and apparently Mie Hama (Kissy) were also dubbed.

I quite liked the glamour girl Sylvia Trench, she came across a rich, cocky lady who is witty, bold, charming and brassy. She appears in the movie before Bond as a card player, she is losing but is not bothered by her financial loss. She attempts to charm Bond and later surprises him in his apartment playing golf seemingly in just a shirt. Bond tells her it's the right idea but wrong time though he does seem to make time for her as the screen cuts to black, it's hard to tell if it meant he slept with her though it seems not as Sylvia is effectively the 'almost as Bond girl' and Miss Taro is listed as his first conquest movie wise. Sylvia later appeared in From Russia With Love very briefly again, she was meant to be a recurring character, in an ongoing gag fashion as always almost hooking up with Bond but being thwarted by something else but alas the idea was scrapped. It's a pity really because I feel if properly developed Sylvia Trench could have been a worthy ally for Bond, maybe even upgraded to a Bond girl in her own right just as Goodnight was in the novels. She is also the one who helps Bond give his introduction 'Bond, James Bond' as she gives hers first as 'Trench, Sylvia Trench'.

I also enjoyed the way Dr. No came across as this ever watching, prominent villain before you even saw him with numerous minions at his beck and call ranging from beautiful women (Miss Taro, The Photographer) to the standard creepy minions (The Three Blind Mice) and of course the ones in good positions (the airport driver Mr. Jones and Professor Dent) he is obviously a cunning man with an excellently put together organisation with people and high low who fear him enough to risk torture and death before betraying him. Then when you do finally see him he does not disappoint, portrayed wonderfully by Joseph Wiseman, although I don't approve of the non-PC tradition of white people playing other ethnics, yellow-face as it were, it was pretty standard in those days and Joseph Wiseman despite the make-up still showed himself as a talented actor. Dr.No is your typical rich madman villain with shadowy superiors. His onscreen presence was even briefer than Honey Ryder's and yet he is memorable, making the most of his few scenes presenting himself as the seemingly perfect host who has his prisoners comfortably settled in lavish bedrooms with breakfast before they are drugged by the coffee, next he offers them a fancy dinner before he has Honey dragged off by the guards and Bond beaten up by them, what a contrast.

I quite liked Jack Lord's brief perfomance as Felix Leiter and would have liked to see him in the role again but apparently he demanded a bigger role and more money, which is why he was recasted but who knows how true that is, after all there have been many actors as Felix. His proper introduction, sneaking up behind Bond with a gun when he was gotten the best of Quarrel and the cook, was good showing him as a tough agent just as skilled as Bond. I've always liked the character of Felix and it was a pity to see him so badly put out of action in the second novel Live and Let Die (though he does return in Diamonds are Forever missing an arm and part of a leg) so it's good to see him so many times in the Bond movies.

Basically, Dr. No is flawed but even now it's easy to see how it started such an amazing franchise with excellent casting, numerous memorable moments and the start of a popular formula that included a sexy Bond girl, a slightly OTT villain, action, sex appeal, dark humour and of course a hero full of charm, wit and danger.

Snow White, Snow Warrior?

2011-07-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

So I've noticed some blog updates about the two Snow White movies coming out, mainly SurLaLune Snow White post and I'm not impressed, obviously as a lover of fairytales and movies I do intend to give both a chance but seriously what are they trying to achieve? Why is the Kristin Stewart one seemingly completely upending the tale? What's the point in calling it Snow White when it's nothing like it? I know film makers like to go one about updating, rebooting, modernizing, transforming (whatever word you like) fairytales for the modern audience to please old fans, gain new ones, give the stories more depth, more edge blah, blah, blah and there's a difference between altering a story and just creating something new and giving it a familiar title in the hopes of bringing in an audience.

Snow White, like most fairytales, has numerous variants and the version people know best is the Disney one but at its core it is about a beautiful princess whose beauty threatens her mother/stepmother the evil queen who forces her to flee for her life, sending a huntsman to kill her. Said huntsman attempts to kill her, fails and gives the queen a pig's heart instead of Snow White. Snow White then, to cut the already relatively short story short, finds shelter with seven dwarves, is almost killed by laces, then a comb before being sent into a deathly sleep or coma by an apple, all courtsey of the evil queen. A handsome prince then comes by and sees her in her glass coffin and desires her, then with the movement of the coffin the apple piece is dislodged (or if you prefer she is awakened with a kiss ala Sleeping Beauty style) and the evil queen gets her comeuppance.

Snow White as we know is the fairest in the land, a kind hearted princess who is essentially a damsel, her only crime is being beautiful but it is enough for the evil queen to want her dead. She is saved from the laces and comb by the dwarves before the prince's servants inadvertently dislodge the apple piece from her throat, or in the case of Disney he resurrects her with a kiss of true love.

That is essentially Snow White. Now I don't mind her being given a bit more of a personality than that and maybe getting some sort of toughness to her but turning her into an armoured warrior, seriously? That's not Snow White and making the hunstman her friend? Why? I mean alright, this film wants to be different but why rewrite the story completely, why not just do your own fairytale styled story that is its own thing instead of creating something and sticking a label on it that fits in with what's trending now and let's face it, Little Red Riding Hood might have been a plot but it seems to have set the gears in motion for a sudden surge of fairytale love. After all we also have Lily Collins' Snow White movie, the Grimm series, the Ever After series and probably a Little Mermaid movie in the mix as well, who knows?

Now I have a lot of faith in the t.v series but the movies just seem to be more of Hollywood is running out of ideas and producing mediocre crap, LRRH could have been so much better instead it was tame and clearly trying to bring in the Twilight fans, and one would definitely worry of Snow White doing the same after all the Kristin Stewart version has a prince as well as an ally Huntsman so can we expect another love triangle?

As for Lily Collins' version with Julia Roberts as the evil queen, well there only seems to be one image of it so far and whilst Lily does indeed look Snow White in it I'm curious to see more before I'm interested, like so many undoubtedly. I mean will it be a safe, family fun movie for the kids? I imagine so, the opposite to the action promised with Kristin Stewart's but we will see.

I imagine my favourite version will remain Snow White: A Tale of Terror, yes it too moved away from the story but it kept the main elements, Snow White (Lilli) is not a princess but a noble's daughter she maintains the element of being of society, a woman who might be mischievous, rude and flawed but is good and ignorant to the ways of the world, she develops into a more caring woman much like the Snow White of Disney though her setting is much grittier. I feel this movie's dark elements channelled the original dark fairytales, something both of these new movies will probably be too afraid to do. As far as Kristin Stewart's version might stretch it will probably keep within the safety zone that LRRH did with limited violence and sexual scenes. Of course as I have many times movies do not need guts, gore and sex to be good, certainly many horror movies are ruined and cheapened by too much of this, but the original fairytales were like this, they were violent, dark, often with unhappy endings, warning people about their own sexuality as well as the horrors of a cruel world. They had meanings behind them and lessons within them that the Hollywood films lack.

Back to Bond

2011-07-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm now reading Diamonds are Forever and so far so good though I haven't read much, it's obviously going to be different from the movie but then all the Bond books are. I'm intrigued by Tiffany Case, in the movie she was gorgeous and charming but frankly useless, a jewel thief turned damsel in distress in the end who more than often foiled Bond's plans when she was meant to be helping them. The blurb of the book implies that whilst Tiffany is involved with the jewel smuggling still she is going to be much more adept at helping Bond than her movie character and her first introduction shows her as an almost sad, cold eyed blonde beauty with sinful lips and grey eyes who almost unwillingly agrees to have dinner with Bond. Also there is no Blofeld or satellite.

Diamonds are Forever is one of the first Bond films I remember seeing on t.v when I was younger during ITV's numerous summer Bond movie runs (it's thanks to them that I was able to eventually experience and get hooked on the James Bond films), I always remembered the scene in the hotel room with the fish tank, then a scene with the Blofeld clones, and it just always stuck in my mind as a movie to properly watch. Of course it was a while before I eventually got round to it and my reaction was mixed.

Tiffany Case started off as an intelligent, cunning woman who was a tad self-centered, a sexy jewel thief she started out as promising but tragically went downhill, her switching sides grew tiresome and her character turned stupid and became little more than eye candy starting the trend that Mary Goodnight would follow of being a captured damsel in a bikini. Jill St John is a fabulous actress and it's just a pity she never really got to show off this talent as her character was changed and downplayed too much. I think she really could have been a brilliant ally to Bond up there with Anya Amasova, Wai Lin and Jinx.

Tiffany Case in the movies is mostly memorable for two bikinis- a purple one and a red and purple one- a bumbling scene with a gun she can neither hold nor fire, her confusion over who she is actually working for and the iconic image of her holding a diamond up to her eye with a mischievous smile. I know many women complain that Bond girls are shallow stereotypes who are little more than eye candy and that Tiffany seems to fit in with this but I disagree. Yes sometimes these bikini and low cut top scenes are painfully obvious and questionable (Mary Goodnight's being the most puzzling, seriously where did that bikini come from? Did Scaramanga just happen to keep bikinis in her size just in case or was it underneath her clothes for some inexplicable reason?) just because these women are good looking doesn't make them brainless idiots or characters in danger of making women thinking they only exist to be oggled etc. Tiffany is still tough and cunning, at least at the start, she is a jewel thief after all, she does attempt to wield a gun and when she is Blofeld's guest and knows she will betray him she is cool throughout showing little nerves, and Goodnight is a member of the Secret Service and does manage to fit a tracker to Scaramanga's car, though she did get pushed in the trunk after.

Then of course there's secondary Bond girl Plenty O'Toole (Lana Wood) representing all double entendre named Bond girls, she's in and out of the movie pretty quickly as a rather generously endowed young woman who charms men out of their money. A couple of her scenes were deleted which made her character and her fate a little confusing. She actually had dinner with Bond and did go to his hotel room. She was then unceremoniously tossed naked from the room by some thugs and miraculously landed in the pool (which you see in the edited version). She did return to the room for her clothes and saw Bond with Tiffany which helps explain how she wound up dead in Tiffany's pool, presumably she went to her house for revenge and then, as is explained, Mister Wint and Kidd drowned her thinking she was Tiffany.

Plenty represents the tragically killed secondary Bond girls- Paula Caplan, Tilly and Jill Masterson, Aki, Tracy Bond and those that followed- Andrea Anders, Felicca, Corinne Dufour, Countess Lisl, Paris Carver, Vesper Lynd (book wise she is first) Solange and most recently Strawberry Fields. The ones who are gone but not forgotten and whom it is suggested subtly in some movies that Bond does angst over. Their appearances and deaths are a reminder that it is not all fun, games and sex with Bond, being with him is very much a risk even if it's only for a short period as was the case for some of these ill-fated women. Even if it unfortunately cuts short their development it does help develop Bond's character as we see that with Plenty he feels no guilt, she may have been mistaken for Tiffany but she was at her house out of jealousy over Bond, with Solange he shows no remorse though M pointedly tells him she was tortured perhaps to make him curb his womanizing even if it is to get answers and yet with Fields he firmly says it must be said that she died in duty but with Vesper and Tracy it is a bitter pain he may never get over.

Overall I think the movie has taken an unfair bashing, it's fun, there's plenty of action, the Howard Hughes styled Willard Whyte was a nice addition, Thumper and Bambi were fantastic and even Mister Wint and Kidd had their moments. Yes it was camp but the Bond films were never really dark until Dalton's movies, and yes the plot was a tad ridiculous but most of the Bond plots are, the villains are OTT and their goals farfetched but it's part of the movies, you have to suspend belief to enjoy these things.

Admittedly it's not a favourite Bond movie of mine but it is still wonderfully enjoyable despite its flaws, although I think the book will prove better unlike Casino Royale. I think I would call it a secret favourite of the Bond films in a way for me, perhaps because it stands out in my memory as one of the Bond films that helped me find the series and because I love the Las Vegas setting.

Woe of the Writer II

2011-07-22T05:10:00.000-07:00

I'm an artist and a writer and yet I am very private about my ideas because I have this strong fear that people will steal them, which isn't even driven about from me being so full of myself to think my ideas are worth stealing so much as I am simply a paranoid individual. Only my fanfics and fanart ever see publication on the internet despite my boyfriend constantly telling me to at least put part of my work out there because it's how people get noticed. So I keep wondering if it is worth the risk, I know of many people who have done it, some have simply done it because they have given up on trying to struggle into the notoriously difficult world of publication and are happy enough to have their work read in whatever manner and others have done in the hope of being noticed and apparently it has worked for some. For example, there is one fantastic fantasy novel I once read on Elfwood, then it was taken off the site, I believe because the author did want it published, many years later they have finally put it back up but on their own site this time and I am re-reading it. They have even begun adding the sequel, which makes me think they are happy enough just to have their work read. Or maybe because it's old they find it flawed and have better stories in the pipeline they wish to get published.

I have been typing and writing stories since I was 14, I have many completed books which are definitely not worth publishing, they show my youth and my lack of writing skills too much and comparing them to my later works is almost painful and yet inspiring too as it reminds me how much I have grown and improved. The same goes for my artwork, flawed as it is it has certainly come a long way.

So focusing on my current stories, should I put some of them online and run the risk? Should I accept it is better to have them read in any form than not read at all? Or should I keep holding back and continue pushing for publication?

Book Rant

2011-07-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

So I finished Anno Dracula a while ago, a little disappointing for a book based around the premise that Dracula defeats Van Helsing and the others and takes over England, Dracula really isn't in it much, he has a terrific appearance towards the end but of course he is only all powerful to all but Genevieve because she is older than him and therefore better (seriously I know plenty of people lacked her character but I found her ridiculous, charmless and far too Mary Sue). Overall it was a good but flawed read but it's intrigued me enough to seek out the sequel when I get a chance. I have quite a lot of books to get through including the latest Game of Thrones novel- A Dance with Dragons. I'm currently reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K Jemisin and it is fantastic, not what I expected I admit but brilliant, I just can't put it down and already I can't wait to get my hands on the sequels.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, first novel of The Inheritance trilogy, focuses on Yeine, a girl called from her home by her grandfather to the city of Sky where she is chosen to compete with her cousins as heir to Sky, the domain her grandfather rules over as effective supreme ruler. It's not so simple though as there are plenty of twists about never mind the fact that to succeed one must be prepared to shed blood. Further complicating things are Yeine's quest to solve the riddle of her mother both her life and her murder and the strange captive gods of Sky who have a vested interest in Yeine.

I love this novel because it's gripping, exciting, steamy and not afraid to shy away from violence or sex without making it too gory or trashy. The characters are great, particular Yeine who is a wonderful and believable heroine, I'll admit the way tells the Yeine tells the tale occasionally out of context as she adds bits of pieces and digresses about myths might be believable but it can be annoying too and slightly confusing, still it's only a little flaw.

Already this book had bounded into my top books of all time, it's just so good, the perfect length with the right amount of detail, it does not ramble too much or bog you down with too much detail that you might forget and the main characters are memorable, particularly the gods.

Chiefly it is a romance story though which the title and brief description do mislead you from, I've read comments saying people were expecting a fantasy novel full of countries and people, I for one was expecting a lengthy fantasy novel centred around politics, backstabbing and bloodshed but I was not disappointed when it turned out to be a little different. As mentioned the politics, questionable loyalties and violence etc are within the novel but they do play a backstory to the romance going on. However it is only the first of a trilogy so who knows, the sequels might expand upon the kingdom and offer up some more characters to devour.

Frankly I would be more than happy if my debut novel were half as good or successful.

Considering my favourite/top novels of all time they would be- Blind Beauty by K M Peyton, Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. Series wise it would be Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Anita Blake by Laurell K Hamilton, the Tortall series by Tamora Pierce, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and lately Everworld by K.A Applegate. There are many other books I love but if I had to pick a few those would be it.

I suppose it's a surprise Dracula didn't quite make the cut but whilst it is the best gothic novel I've read and in my opinion far superior to the bland, hard to believe, full of coincidences Frankenstein, it still does drag too much in parts. It starts off exciting but then the plot lags for ages before finally picking up again and whilst reading diary entries and newspaper clippings is entertaining and different I'm happiest when a book just sticks to either first hand or third hand without constant switching between POVs and telling the story out of order, which Dracula does not do btw.

It will always be great in many ways and it's certainly stood the test of time but whilst I own it and love it, it's not exciting enough for me and characters I wanted developed never were, such as Lucy, Quincey and Arthur. Plus Lucy and Mina were just too hard to accept as believable in their perfect innocent manner, it's a sterotype from the age though, after all Dracula was written a long time ago.

Images

2011-07-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking I haven't watched any anime in a while and then I started thinking about what had drawn me to certain anime in the first place, generally it was pictures either shown to me by a friend or found while browsing on the internet. Sailor Moon for example was a combo of it being one of the few things on t.v, a friend's obsessive interest and this pic she showed me:

I just thought wow she looks funky and colourful, I loved her costume and I became intrigued. Of course when I started watching the anime Sailor V was not in it, the closest was Sailor Venus wearing her old V-mask, though in the original Japanese series an episode was devoted to Sailor V who had been the first Senshi and lived in England. Since this was the days of dial-up and before tumblr and wikipedia etc it was hard to find any images of Sailor V or her origins and it was a while before I learnt that she was indeed the first Senshi and had her own manga, which I had to read online as there is no English translation of it (one is finally scheduled though). I also learnt that the Senshi originally all had different costumes but presumably that was too awkward. So the obsession began and continues though to a lesser extent and Sailor V remains my favourite, I guess because she was the first and as Sailor V there was so much to her, more than we see when she's Sailor Venus.

Next was Fushigi Yuugi, the same friend introduced me to it, she had images and sound bytes but it was a while before she finally got the series and it cost her enough money. For me it was one of the first things I got on Amazon, my dad bought the first series for me and then eventually the second and it was and still is one of the best anime I have seen. The image:

I have always loved mythology and fantasy and something with a phoenix that looks this cool is going to win my interest. When I heard Fushigi Yuugi had a phoenix god and a dragon god I immediately had to find out what it was so I read about it and when I learned it was a plot focused around two girls getting sucked into a book well I had to have it given it's what I, like most book lovers, dream of. I was not disappointed and though the OVAs weren't much the manga prequel Genbu Kaiden is just fantastic, can't wait for the next volume after a lengthy delay.

These are just examples of how a simple image has drawn me to something, an important thing since it's how people's eyes become drawn into books and movies, a clever cover or poster, it sounds trivial but you see the image before you read the summary and sometimes a good image is all you need. It's also ironic given that Sailor V and Suzaku did not play big roles in their respective anime/manga (that is to say just Sailor V, obviously Minako Aino/Sailor Venus was very prominent) and yet their images drew me into these much loved series and made me a fan.

Art, photography etc are very important and powerful things, there are countless fantasy pictures out there which have inspired me, just reminding me that fantasy is limitless, magical, mysterious and exciting. Equally there is much excellent anime fanart which helps to encourage me to push on with my own work, helping me to set a goal and reminding me that it is possible to do good art and that everyone starts from somewhere.

Reading and Writing

2011-07-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Almost finished with Anno Dracula, being reading it on and off which is why it's been taking so long but it is an addictive read, the plot has picked up though Genevive is no less annoying and a romance with her and Charles just seems to have been forced, it's not believable to me. I absolutely love the way the transformation into a vampire is described here, reminds me of Anne Rice's description with the loss of all bodily fluids and then the overpowering thirst that naturally follows. For a while the vampires just seemed to be a background point, hey they're there but it's not as important as the rest of the story, but now they have really come back into it. Wonderful Count Orlok cameo as well, bless his creepy undead heart.

I have so many more books to read, feel I need to get back to fantasy, I feel a little starved for fantasy. Need to do some more typing too, have become too engrossed with my fanfic, need to focus on my original stories more if I ever want to get published. Going through a bit of a writer's block though, I know what's going to happen with my stories it's just getting there argh.

Plus I feel they need more adventure, I'm getting bogged down with character development and moving the plot on in a believable way, it needs to be done but it's so hard to do without spicing it up a little. Can't have action nonstop it's a book not a movie lol.

Saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon and X-Men: First Class, the latter was definitely better. Transformers had some awe striking action sequences and superb graphics but the plot was a little too thin and repetitive, same old Autobots versus Decepticons, Optimus Prime has angst issues and doubts over his leadership role, they all mourn for Cybertron, Sam has a personality disorder and feels unappreciated and yet still somehow manages to pull a hot, dumb and pointless girlfriend (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is an underwear model who has never acted before, both points show). Still it's entertaining enough even if it is much darker than the previous two and not for the younger kids in my opinion. X-Men by contrast manages to give us some interesting characters with an excellent cast, Magneto and Professor X are just as good as ever and James Mcavoy and Michael Fassbender have no problem with taking over Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen. It has great action scenes too and decent graphics when needed and Kevin Bacon does a surprising turn as a German villain, he's wonderful in the role. Emma Frost seemed completely pointless save for demonstrating a weak psychic rival to Professor X and Moira McTaggert was even more pointless as a love interest.

Still they're both good movies overall though I think I might still prefer X-Men 2 to X-Men: First Class.

The Company of Wolves Imagery

2011-07-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to share this image when I found it though I wasn't sure how to work it into a post. I was looking for The Company of Wolves posters and I came across this one, which is a Japanese poster for the movie. Now it was not for sale and I don't where you can buy it from, I imagine at this point it's quite old and rare.

Although it takes away from the poignant Red Riding Hood image present in many of the other posters I still love it because it has a wolf on it, whilst the others that I have seen just have Stephen Rea's character caught between change as a wolf seems to come out of him. Although on that particularly poster the girl really does not look like Rosaleen whilst the above poster is most undoubtedly her.

The first poster is just so beautiful, dark and creepy, the wolf looks unthreatening and yet Rosaleen looks so afraid and yet part of her seems at home. I also like how the imagery has flowers and a white cloak, it's almost like she is a bride, certainly an interesting concept and a partnership that the movie did hint at.

This one I also love as it tries to combine most of the movie's imagery and shows it all to be a strange, dark dream. The use of blue helps the poster to stand out whilst still remaining dark, the wolf walking up the path is ironic given the popular idea of not straying from the path but if you stay on this one you're with the wolf, and the Grandmother seems to be holding up a book as if to ward something of it, perhaps it's the idea of saying that there's no danger because it's all only a story surely. Combine that with the violent imagery of two werewolf transformations and it's quite a surprise to see how peaceful the sleeping Rosaleen looks and again she is clothed in white, a symbol of purity whilst her alter ego watches on with a haunted expression clearly cloaked in red. A clear comparison of the experienced Rosaleen being wiser and more alert than the innocent dreamer. Of course you always have the church with the moon lingering near it, the naked feral woman and the mirror, a symbol of the vanity that Rosaleen is starting to show. All of these are poignant images in the film.

I feel these are all great posters summing up what the movie is about and conveying some of the symbolism into them, showing Rosaleen in white to express her innocent, pure nature, showing the wolf as tame and the werewolf as wild combined with imagery of growing up, maturing mixed with the logical and religious church combined with the cursed moon and the fairytale book, showing a contrast of ideals. No doubt I'm reading too much into all this but I'm not so sure the movie is after all very symbolic and metaphorical as are the short stories it is based upon. It's all about growing up, following your own instincts and deciding for yourself who is dangerous and who is not whilst struggling with your growing sexuality as you are caught between childhood and adulthood. It's what many people think Little Red Riding Hood is all about really, something which the Catherine Hardwicke movie touched upon but largely missed in favour of a who is it/who dunnit plot that The Company of Wolves does not trifle with. We know who the wolves are even if the heroine Rosaleen does not, we see and understand the irony of the Huntsman now being placed in the role of the wolf but yet he is not a straightforward villain, even though he kills the Grandmother Rosaleen is still hesitant to harm him because she desires and though she does shoot him ultimately she becomes a wolf with him.

In the end when the sleeping Rosaleen awakes to find wolves crashing into her room we have to wonder was it all just a dream or a story? And is this reality now that even when she is awake the wolves still come together or is she still having a dream within a dream?

Bela Lugosi's Dracula

2011-07-07T06:45:00.001-07:00

I finally watched Bela Lugosi's Dracula (1931) for the first time and it's about time really that I saw the performance that effectively created the popular image we have of Dracula today as a charming foreign gentleman who speaks in a slow, dramatic, heavily accented voice that hides his murderous nature. Being an old movie that was plagued with problems most infamously director Tod Browning's grief over planned star and friend Lon Chaney's death and the Great Depression.

It opens with the main theme from Swan Lake setting the scene for a dramatic movie, interestingly the first vampire we see is not Dracula but one of the brides before he makes his appearance with a hand poking out of a coffin then we see him standing there with his infamous creepy gaze. There is lots of strange and gothic imagery in this film the castle and Carthax Abbey make for beautiful, dark settings with huge cobwebs, broken staircases and coffins. Interestingly are the appearance of opossums and armadillos in Transylvania, as hilarious as that is by today's standards, apparently it was done because back then to the American and English audience obviously these creatures would have been a very strange sight indeed thus fitting in with the idea that this place is somewhere odd and unusual. Interestingly its predecessor Nosferatu used the same trick with a stripped hyena which was meant to be a werewolf.

As with many productions of the novel it does not follow the novel directly, Renfield is the lawyer who goes to Castle Dracula and is driven mad not Jonathan Harker, the ship's name is changed from the Demeter to the Vesta, Lucy has no suitors and Mina is the daughter of Dr. Seward plus there is the introduction of characters such as Martin, a comical worker at the Sanitarium, a maid and a nurse. Aside from Bela Lugosi's magnetic performance as Dracula, Dwight Frye's Renfield is the one to watch out for he does the transition from gentleman to lunatic beautiful and his crazy eyes and insane laugh are chillingly memorable along with his insane mutterings.

There are many memorable lines from this movie including Dracula's 'To die, to be *really* dead, that must be glorious!' and 'There are far worse things awaiting man than death.' These beautiful dark lines are poignant offering a slight insight into Dracula himself showing a streak of humanity as if he longs for death and is tired of immortality. My favourite line was Van Helsing's 'The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.' So true, it reminds of the line in Usual Suspects 'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.' Both are clever lines to ponder.

The cast of Dracula is noteable enough, Helen Chandler as Mina offered an interesting jump between innocent victim and loving loyal daughter and fiancee to slightly crazy, almost sexy vampire victim who at tries to lure her unsuspecting fiance close to her so she can bite him. She does well as the Mina who scorns Van Helsing and goes outside speaking wildly of feeling better than ever. Frances Dade as Lucy is largely forgettable although the scene of her wandering in the graveyard as Martin recounts the kidnapping of children by a woman in white, is a frightening scene. Lucy's fate was left largely unexplained although when Van Helsing stays in Carthax Abbey at the end it is possible he stayed to finish off Lucy, apparently the script did have a scene in which he killed her in the graveyard.

Disappointingly all of Dracula's attacks happen off screen as does his death, you do not ever actually see him bite anyone and though you hear his death moans you do not actually see his face as Van Helsing hammers the stake in, presumably this was all to do with censoring, lack of special effects abilities at the time and a limit to how much horror people could bear. Nonetheless Bela Lugosi still creates an imposing Dracula who can scare you with just a stare, he never once blinks despite the fact that to create this haunting look pencil spotlights were shone into his eyes. Bela Lugosi is not just the quintessential Dracula but the quintessential vampire in many ways, just as Dracula was not the first fictional vampire so Bela Lugosi was not the first vampire on screen but, asides from a noteable mention to the infamous Max Schreck's Nosferatu (not the first ever vampire film, this was 1909 silent movie Vampire of the Coast), he is the most memorable of the early on screen vampires.

These are the brides, they are named as brides within the movie, their appearance is brief, one is at the start of the movie and they have a moment when they try to attack an unconscious Renfield but are stopped by Dracula. Sadly their appearance is very limited and without words but still they are rather striking and ghoulish, creepy and not sex demons like in Francis Ford Coppola's version.

Although the brides are infamous by now the only movie in which they had any real impact was Stephen Sommers' Van Helsing in which they portrayed as a blonde, a brunette and a redhead and are even given names- Marishka, Aleera, and Verona, in this movie they are his loyal, somewhat psychotic minions and whilst they do get great bridal like costumes they aren't all that scary or creepy having the least fear factor out of all the brides within the Dracula movies.

In the novel, as stated, they three vampire women were never mentioned as being brides, indeed it's implied they are relations, perhaps two of them are even daughters. Two are brunette and one is a blonde and the leader of the trio. Their main appearances involve their attempt to feed on Jonathan, their imprisonment of him and then their attempt to lure Mina to their side and their murder of Mina and Van Helsing's horses which ultimately leads to their demise when Van Helsing stakes and beheads them in their tombs. I feel their characters could have been expanded upon both in the novels and movies, typically they are stereotyped as femme fatales, they are seductive, animalistic, beautiful, bloodthirsty and sex crazed at times. I assume their roles are downplayed both in the novel and movies due to Lucy taking the helm of the female vampire, as we see her first as a human and then as a vampire it's more interesting because the effects of the transformation are obvious whereas with the three you have no clue as to their background or what they were like as humans so it's impossible to tell if being a vampire made them wild, lustful and seductive or if perhaps they were this way to begin with. Lucy stands alone for the female vampires, the gender counterpart to Dracula as Mina never really turns.

Friendship

2011-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

When I look at photos I get sad and nostalgic, once upon a time I hung out with a large group of friends and I was the renouned photographer of the group, though many complained about the photos when my camera was broke and months went by without photos they complained more and admitted they loved my photos for the humour and the memories.

I miss that group of friends and though there was no falling about it was just life's natural course that seperated some of us, many of them still hang out but I only keep in touch with one other who also left the group as it were. Location, jobs and relationships all played a factor in our seperation but that's just the way life goes. I have many other friends who once had that group too and ended up being the one who left though as far as they know some of the group still hang out and I was always told by these friends that my group and I would one day part ways too.

I naively thought despite the divisions, catty alliances, dating, flirting, break-ups and backstabbing that went on the core of the group would still stay together and that I would very much still be there with them throughout the years. One of the group even suggested we would all get houses on the same street and raise our kids together, a novel idea but clearly one that would not be.

I do not regret that I parted ways with them but I do miss them especially when I see photos of us together and worse more up-to-date photos of them without me but with others I don't know. It is silly given it was my choice to drift away and it's one I don't regret but still the feeling is there. I guess it's that simple desire to have life go exactly the way you want, to work around you with no errors. Of course that is not life.

I do of course have great friends now, close friends who I would like to think will be with me in years to come, there is no group with them and life is much easier for it, no backstabbing, no alliances, no flirting that leads to fall outs etc, etc. We hang out seperately and we all have other friends and it's great. And of course as we grow up we are becoming more devoted to jobs and boyfriends and I guess that's how we know we are truly close because we still find time for each other. That is the proof of friendship really when you make the time for the ones that matter.

Vampire and Werewolf Lit

2011-07-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading a good book about vampires and have now moved on to a similar one about werewolves, can't help but be prompted to consider the books and movies about both that I love and loathe and all the different versions of vampires and lycanthropes in fiction.

Also reading Kim Newman's Anno Dracula, it's so long and to be honest I did expect better. It's a brilliant idea, it really is but there's too much going on and with the constant switching about of characters you don't get confused just a little frustrated. It's a homage to the fiction of the Victorian period including many other fictional characters famous in novels and movies and some real ones too (Dracula himself, Queen Victoria, Lord Ruthven, Sherlock Holmes, Bram Stoker, to name just a few) and it seems a homage to the popular Victorian novels.

The basic plot presents of with the scenario of Van Helsing and the others having failed to destroy Dracula and what followed, Dracula is now Prince Consort, husband to Queen Victoria and England is now run by vampires and increasing pressure is put on the humans to turn. Thrown into the midst is Jack the Ripper, a man hell bent on killing vampire prostitutes, the reader knows who it is and despite how obvious it becomes annoyingly the characters have yet to figure it out (it really is obvious from a victim practically identifying him to the police guessing his profession and the fact that this man obviously has motive).

Also the OC Geneviève Dieudonné is a complete Mary Sue, she is one of the most annoying characters in fiction I have ever come across and every chapter with her in it is just frustrating. She is overwhelmingly perfect, beautiful, cold, powerful, strong and better than Dracula himself because his bloodline is sullied and destroys his vampiric descendents whilst hers is pure and just wonderful and she's important enough for everyone to turn to her for aid including the police and the mysterious Charles Beauregard who works for a secret organisation. Even a high member of Dracula's Carpathian Guard has respect for her. And of course she is charitable given money to the poor and crying over the death of a young vampire and so on. Her perfection is laid on thick and her purpose is hard to figure out.

Another disappointment is that Dracula himself has yet to make an appearance and I've already found out that he makes few, I guess he is more of a plot device really, which is a pity. The novel really is a homage to so many things mainly all the vampires there are in fiction, characters from Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, Salem's Lot, Carmilla, Mr. Vampire, Nosferatu, Varney the Vampire, They Thirst and more make appearances or are given mentions amongst other infamous fictional characters. The book seems to have become wrapped up in these tributes make itself hard to stand out as an original piece of work.

Still whilst it's not a 'mustn't put down book' or 5 out 5 novel it is still an enjoyable read and I'm happy enough to keep going with it, I especially love Arthur Goldaming nee Holmwood and Lord Ruthven and the plot is decent and the descriptions detailed captured the gritty, foggy underworld of Victorian England. According to Wikipedia it's known as Gaslamp fantasy, a sub genre, a Victorian/Edwarian fantasy that is often quite Gothic but not steampunk despite similarities.

I guess when I read a vampire novel I want a Gothic horror with elements of romance and tragedy but not to the extent of being emo or simpering lovey-dovey ala Twilight. For me that's Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. I also loved the modern version in the early Anita Blake books, still horror and somewhat twisted in nature her vampires come across as handsome, charming, cunning devils, some are allies, some are villains, it's a good mix set in a modern day where vampires, demons, lycanthropes and other creatures are accepted in the real world but not always welcomed and before the series went off tangent the crime element really made the books work.

I have a large collection of vampire and werewolf novels and though I'd like to list and review them all it would be a bit of ramble really though no doubt I will do it one day. With werewolves I find it harder to find decent novels and even harder to find decent movies though there has been a revival thanks to Twilight and Little Red Riding Hood. The best for me are October Moon and it's sequel Wolf Moon by Michael Scott, Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and The Werewolf's Kiss by Cheri Scotch. The latter is part of a trilogy and though the individual books are hard to find the trilogy is being re-released as The Voodoo Moon Trilogy. I have not read the sequels, they are in my amazon basket right now. I have read and own other books but whilst some are entertaining enough I feel let down by werewolf fiction.

With vampire fiction The Vampire Chronicles, Anita Blake and The Vampire Huntress Legend series by L.A Banks, one day I may get past the first 3. The latter is brilliant but I just have too many books to read at the moment before I continue with it, it's about Damali Richards a rising star who is a Neteru aka a vampire huntress who has to fight evil with her guardians who also have their own special powers. The first in the series is Minion which I noticed a lot of poeple on Amazon called a rocky start but if you like Buffy and Anita Blake, as many reviewers point out, you should stick with this series because it does get better and apparently just keeps improving unlike Anita Blake which alas went downhill.

Despite this I still rate Anita Blake as my favourite vampire series, the first 8 are just fantastic books and it is such a pity they turned to sex and lost their crime/horror focus turning Anita from religious detective/necromancer/vampire execution to a succubus who has a harem. Naturally The Vampire Chronicles comes next and unlike many reviewers I did not have a problem with the latter books- Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, the division in opinion seems to have resulted in this being the end of the series alas that or Anne Rice simply wished that to be its conclusion.

I am a lover of books and movies as is very noticeable here and likewise I am a lover of writing who one day hopes to achieve the status of my of my literary idols, I write for love not for money but naturally it is the intake of money which paves the way for the success of books.