movie: Teen Wolf
starring: Michael J. Fox, Jerry Levine
genre: Comedy,
year: 1985
format: DVD
plot: When high student Scott, finds out he comes from a family of werewolves, he has to learn how to balance this new side of himself, with how his neighbourhood now views him.
The first fifteen minutes, is basically how each piece of the first transformation is handled. The lead character has what at first appears as a wave of the flu during a high school basketball game, then when getting dressed he finds the first string of dog hair, and his sense of smell becomes heightened. From there, his sense of hearing is exposed as being overly sensitive when a kid begins playing with a dog whistle. As the night progresses, so does his nails, ears and fangs. After his first full transformation, which happens to be the night of the full moon, he learns that his dad is also a werewolf. After loosing his emotions and exposing his lycanthropy in public, his best friend Stiles decides to manipulate the situation to his advantage and turns him into a local celebrity. But before long, Scott learns people no longer see him for him, they only see the wolf.
This movie is a metaphor for puberty, self acceptance and how fame can strip you of yourself.
Our lead character is sort of caught between a rock and a hard place, given he's only popular when he's in wolf mode, but he himself doesn't necessarily want to be trapped in that image. He embraces it in the beginning, because of the attention it brings him from the girl he's been crushing on, while ignoring the one woman who likes him no matter how he looks. When he discovers he's only being used by his crush for his status, he begins to retreat away from his wolf side.
This also leads to a confrontation with the ex-boyfriend of his crush. Although Scott is able to keep from hurting him, he does lash out physically in what could have been a serious situation. That in itself scares Scott into not wanting to let his lycanthropy be his main personality trait.
Here is a story about someone who never really viewed themselves as an outsider, until everyone around them starts to treat them differently because of one emotional outburst. Once the neighbourhood sees our lead character for the first time as the wolf, it starts a chain reaction that branches out in all sides. Some people love the new side of him, some don't. In fact, one of his long time friends, becomes down right scared of him. This escalates the lead's sense of isolation, making him react less like Scott, and more like the celebrity people think he is. A scene that expresses this the best is when the drama teacher fires him when he refuses to perform in wolf mode.
There is a deeper bias of fear going on here too, with the sub-plot of his principal not trusting him simply because of a former rivalry the principal had with his father. It's that idea that some people never get past their own anxieties to see what you might have to offer.
As much as I've always loved this movie, I always thought it was a shame it didn't go deeper into the heart of the characters. Granted, this is an 80's teen comedy, and those rarely got past the one note stereotypes, relying more on the gags.
That's about it for now, I'll be back with another round next week.
314 Days till Hallowe'en 2018
Showing posts with label 1985. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1985. Show all posts
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Night Bleeds April 2017
Spudguns! It's that time again, for the all vampire book and movie club. This month's combo is the book The Vampire Lestat (1985) and the movie version Queen of the Damned (2002). Now, the movie actually is half of this book and half of the third book in The Vampire Chronicles.
I have to say, The Vampire Lestat, is my favourite book. I read this when it first came out; when I was 12. Most of it went over my head, but that didn't stop me from connecting to it. My copy ended up being a permanent fixture in my purse from the time I read it in 1986 until just a few years ago. I've read this four times completely in the last 31 years. It also coloured the spiritual path I ended up on.
Book: We open in 1985, with Lestat waking up after sixty years buried underground. His dreams have been affected by the radio news, and general conversations of the people living in the area around him. It's steeped his hunger in more than one way. Lestat is most drawn to the punk metal band living on his property, their music having coloured his dreams. He decides he wants to become the new lead singer, telling his new neighbours that he's going to write everything, and pay for everything. He then begins to tell the group about his life, and decides to write not just the music/lyrics of their album, but his autobiography as well. He's done this with the intent of stirring up trouble with the vampire community. We then are taken through flashbacks to his childhood in France, where he has runaway to join a group of traveling actors, where he falls in love with his best friend Nicolas; who has also runaway to become a musician. Nicolas's violin music has helped to propel them to a small theater, where Lestat is the lead actor and Nicolas is the head musician. Before long, Lestat is kidnapped and taken to a tower by the vampire Magnus. Magnus does not teach his new fledgling much other than telling him the most basic of rules, before setting fire to himself and dying. Lestat is then left to explore his new nature. Soon, Lestat returns to his friends at the theater and learns his mother Gabrielle is dying. He decides to turn her then. She's his first fledgling. Nicolas becomes his second, and for a few years they live in harmony. But Nicolas has become so depressed, he sets fire to himself as well. At this point, Lestat meets the ancient vampire Armand, who is the coven leader in the area. The coven proves to be lacking in their own own identity, until Lestat gifts them the theater. He then goes with Gabrielle to Egypt. Here, Lestat meets Marius, one of the oldest vampires on the planet. Marius tells Lestat about how he was turned, just as Armand had told him his own story. Marius also tells Lestat about Those Who Must Be Kept. The two first vampires, whom Marius is the caretaker of. Akasha and Enkil. Akasha and Enkil, have not moved or fed in hundreds of years, and have become like stone. Lestat does not let this stop him though as he plays music for them, causing Akasha to move for the first time in over a hundred years. Lestat is then turned out, banished from them, and goes to the New World. Here, he spends nearly a hundred years with his next two fledglings, Louis and Claudia, before Claudia's attempt to kill him. From here, Lestat confesses that he went underground for the first time in 1929. We are now back to the "present", and Lestat is getting ready for his first rock concert. He has openly broken all the rules of the ancient vampires, by telling mortals about them. This enrages the other vampires, and they have all begun showing up at the concert trying to kill him. But, each of his enemies suddenly bursts into flames, and Lestat believing it's Marius returns home to wait for his friend. When he is given a dream message of Marius trapped in ice, he learns that the one causing his enemies to burn is indeed Akasha awakened. His last image is of her grabbing him just as the sun is rising.
The main themes I got from this novel were desperation, vanity, loneliness, fear, grief, anxiety, wanting to be loved and fearing the ability of not being loved, and the ying-yang of spirituality. We are taken through every major religion from Christianity to Celtic beliefs to Egyptian beliefs to the lack of beliefs.
This novel manages to hand you every polarity there is in spiritual terms, from Armand's coven who claim to devote themselves to Satan but still follow Catholic ideals; to Dionysus, to Osiris and Isis's myth, to the Druidic worship of nature.
The very thread of the main relationship between Lestat and his mother Gabrielle is that of the Pagan views of the moon/sun stories and metaphor for the changing of the seasons. As his mother is dying of a wasting disease, the son rises to her aid; giving her this new rebirth. (the mother goddess with her lover/son with the death rebirth of the seasons) This is then paralleled with the characters of Akasha and Enkil, who are the center of the Isis/Osiris mythology. The god being struck down by his brother who chops him to bits, leaving his wife to piece him back together all but one part. Thus, he becomes the god of the dead/underworld. (as the vampires in The Chronicles can not have sex)
The male/female roles are very blended here as well. The female characters are very strong characters who as they become vampires become cold towards everyone else, while the male characters are the more emotional and passionate characters. And of course, this lends once again fittingly to the whole idea of the destruction side of the goddess, and the nurturing side of the god. In fact, all the female characters seem to be the ones in control of the situations. From Gabrielle being not just Lestat's mother, but the fact she directs their journey for most of it, and comments about how she could see the direction the world is headed. That she envisioned a new religion where the vampire was feeding openly and humans being little to nothing. (which of course is Akasha's grand goal later on) The mention of Claudia from the first novel, who demands to be given equal power as Lestat, feeling she is more deserving than he is given her being stuck as a child. To the female vampire in Armand's coven who is clearly more in charge than even he is.
When Marius is telling the story of when he first drank Akasha's blood hundreds of years before, how he fell to his knees kissing her hand, therefore becoming her most devoted follower. That is just another version of the Dracula/Renfield story line. Master and servant. This also finds its way in to the rest of the novel in a much subtler way. Lestat's human lawyer/banker is nothing more than another example of this pure devotion. Even though Roget does not know of Lestat's true nature, he still acts in the same way. Even Enkil is nothing more than an over barring bodyguard to Akasha in the end. The character of Enkil sits silently moving in a rage only when someone tries to come between himself and Akasha.
I actually loved the idea that we come full circle with the little "families" that Lestat has. In this novel, (which even though it's book two, it's first in the story's timeline arch) we see Lestat with his fledgling mother who is this blonde wild creature, and his dark haired depressed best friend/lover Nicolas. And in Interview with the Vampire, we find Lestat in a family with dark haired depressed best friend/lover Louis and the child fledgling Claudia who is this blonde wild creature. I thought the direct parallel was a brilliant link to the chain. And once again, comes to the idea that it's a metaphor for the old myths of the changing of seasons, the cycles that constantly repeat themselves. (the women he can never possess, never understand, never get over and never control)
I also love beyond words, the fact Lestat is a telling of Dionysus. It's not just something the character refers to, but is in part woven directly into the whole make up of the plot. There is a section on page 330 where Lestat is thinking about the myths and stories of Osiris and Dionysus comparing them. "This god Osiris was the god of wine to the Egyptians, the one later called Dionysus by the Greeks. And Dionysus was the 'dark god' of the theater, the devil god whom Nicki described to me when we were boys at home. And now had the theater full of vampires in Paris. Oh it was too rich. I couldn't wait to tell it to Gabrielle." It's the character of Nicolas who brings up the whole idea of becoming a Dionysusian. Of throwing their breeding to the wind and diving into the arts, living in a frenzied state of that of actors and musicians. And then we see Nicolas fail to reach his own ideals as Lestat embodies them effortlessly.
movie: it's the year 2000, and Lestat has been in a self induced coma for most of the 1900's. He is drawn to the goth band who are down the road from his hiding place, and decides to join them. As the band gets ready for their first concert, a group of paranormal scholars, called the Talamasca, are worried about the sudden rise in paranormal activity. They have been watching for hundreds of years, chronicling the most powerful vampires and witches around. Jessie is still new to the Talamasca, but very eager to take on the task of being Lestat's watcher. She soon becomes involved with him on a personal basis. Jessie also feels connected to other members of the vampire society, experiencing odd dreams of her family and members of the biggest vampire coven. On the other side of the planet, Akasha the first vampire, has been awoken from a three thousand year sleep by the sounds of Lestat's music. She frees herself from the confines of her hideout and begins searching for him. Everyone ends up at Lestat's concert. The members of the Talamasca, Jessie, Akasha, Marius, Armand, Pandora, and Jessie's aunt Maharet. We learn that Maharet is one of the oldest vampires, created at the same time as Akasha, and therefore Jessie's dreams are more than she has believed. Akasha then kidnaps Lestat, promising to make him her new king, as she begins to create her version of a new world run by vampires. Everything comes to a head in Maharet's underground mansion, as the vampires declare war on each other.
Since this film is the combination of books 2 and 3 in the series, it is a bit unbalanced. I do like this film, the ideas are there they just could have been polished a bit more. I didn't care for the way they did the character of Jessie at all. Nor did I overly click with the "goth scene" they threw them into. That's something I would have kept to the original a bit more, having it either still in the 1980's rock style or better yet, given it was done in 2000-2001 I would have maybe set it in the very late 1970's.
One of the big differences in the movie to the book is the fact they combine two of the vampires; Magnus and Marius, making them one character. (Another is that they completely removed the main story of the twins from book 3.)
The fact they had a different actor playing Lestat in this movie from the first (as well as Armand. Who are the only two characters brought over from the first movie) actually makes sense to me. This story is suppose to be a good hundred years after the first movie. Lestat is in a different state of mind, he's grown, had major loss, basically been through a divorce (yes I'm comparing the idea of Louis leaving him to a divorce) and pretty much has a different attitude. Having Stuart Townsend playing Lestat as the rock star works. He looks like he could be Jim Morrison. (though I would have loved loved loved to have seen Val Kilmer in this role)
My favourite scenes are pretty much the ones between Lestat and Marius (Vincent Perez from Crow 2 City of Angels) Perez brings a nice balance of slyness to the role. Almost as if he's playing a cat and mouse game that no one really realizes they are part of. The term seductively bored, could easily be used for the way he presents the character. He manages to say more with a tilt of his chin and down casting his eyes, then some of the other actors do with a full monologue.
The big themes I got out of this film were acceptance of self, and the feeling of belonging. You almost get the idea that they were subtly exploring oppression, but it gets lost somewhere along the way. You also completely loose any of the spiritual aspects from the novel Vampire Lestat. All the questions on what is good/evil, all the metaphors and myths about world religions are completely missing here.
And that's about all for now. Our next combo will be in June, and it's Witches of Eastwick, both book and movie. But I'll be back later in the week with the official announcement post for it.
I have to say, The Vampire Lestat, is my favourite book. I read this when it first came out; when I was 12. Most of it went over my head, but that didn't stop me from connecting to it. My copy ended up being a permanent fixture in my purse from the time I read it in 1986 until just a few years ago. I've read this four times completely in the last 31 years. It also coloured the spiritual path I ended up on.
Book: We open in 1985, with Lestat waking up after sixty years buried underground. His dreams have been affected by the radio news, and general conversations of the people living in the area around him. It's steeped his hunger in more than one way. Lestat is most drawn to the punk metal band living on his property, their music having coloured his dreams. He decides he wants to become the new lead singer, telling his new neighbours that he's going to write everything, and pay for everything. He then begins to tell the group about his life, and decides to write not just the music/lyrics of their album, but his autobiography as well. He's done this with the intent of stirring up trouble with the vampire community. We then are taken through flashbacks to his childhood in France, where he has runaway to join a group of traveling actors, where he falls in love with his best friend Nicolas; who has also runaway to become a musician. Nicolas's violin music has helped to propel them to a small theater, where Lestat is the lead actor and Nicolas is the head musician. Before long, Lestat is kidnapped and taken to a tower by the vampire Magnus. Magnus does not teach his new fledgling much other than telling him the most basic of rules, before setting fire to himself and dying. Lestat is then left to explore his new nature. Soon, Lestat returns to his friends at the theater and learns his mother Gabrielle is dying. He decides to turn her then. She's his first fledgling. Nicolas becomes his second, and for a few years they live in harmony. But Nicolas has become so depressed, he sets fire to himself as well. At this point, Lestat meets the ancient vampire Armand, who is the coven leader in the area. The coven proves to be lacking in their own own identity, until Lestat gifts them the theater. He then goes with Gabrielle to Egypt. Here, Lestat meets Marius, one of the oldest vampires on the planet. Marius tells Lestat about how he was turned, just as Armand had told him his own story. Marius also tells Lestat about Those Who Must Be Kept. The two first vampires, whom Marius is the caretaker of. Akasha and Enkil. Akasha and Enkil, have not moved or fed in hundreds of years, and have become like stone. Lestat does not let this stop him though as he plays music for them, causing Akasha to move for the first time in over a hundred years. Lestat is then turned out, banished from them, and goes to the New World. Here, he spends nearly a hundred years with his next two fledglings, Louis and Claudia, before Claudia's attempt to kill him. From here, Lestat confesses that he went underground for the first time in 1929. We are now back to the "present", and Lestat is getting ready for his first rock concert. He has openly broken all the rules of the ancient vampires, by telling mortals about them. This enrages the other vampires, and they have all begun showing up at the concert trying to kill him. But, each of his enemies suddenly bursts into flames, and Lestat believing it's Marius returns home to wait for his friend. When he is given a dream message of Marius trapped in ice, he learns that the one causing his enemies to burn is indeed Akasha awakened. His last image is of her grabbing him just as the sun is rising.
The main themes I got from this novel were desperation, vanity, loneliness, fear, grief, anxiety, wanting to be loved and fearing the ability of not being loved, and the ying-yang of spirituality. We are taken through every major religion from Christianity to Celtic beliefs to Egyptian beliefs to the lack of beliefs.
This novel manages to hand you every polarity there is in spiritual terms, from Armand's coven who claim to devote themselves to Satan but still follow Catholic ideals; to Dionysus, to Osiris and Isis's myth, to the Druidic worship of nature.
The very thread of the main relationship between Lestat and his mother Gabrielle is that of the Pagan views of the moon/sun stories and metaphor for the changing of the seasons. As his mother is dying of a wasting disease, the son rises to her aid; giving her this new rebirth. (the mother goddess with her lover/son with the death rebirth of the seasons) This is then paralleled with the characters of Akasha and Enkil, who are the center of the Isis/Osiris mythology. The god being struck down by his brother who chops him to bits, leaving his wife to piece him back together all but one part. Thus, he becomes the god of the dead/underworld. (as the vampires in The Chronicles can not have sex)
The male/female roles are very blended here as well. The female characters are very strong characters who as they become vampires become cold towards everyone else, while the male characters are the more emotional and passionate characters. And of course, this lends once again fittingly to the whole idea of the destruction side of the goddess, and the nurturing side of the god. In fact, all the female characters seem to be the ones in control of the situations. From Gabrielle being not just Lestat's mother, but the fact she directs their journey for most of it, and comments about how she could see the direction the world is headed. That she envisioned a new religion where the vampire was feeding openly and humans being little to nothing. (which of course is Akasha's grand goal later on) The mention of Claudia from the first novel, who demands to be given equal power as Lestat, feeling she is more deserving than he is given her being stuck as a child. To the female vampire in Armand's coven who is clearly more in charge than even he is.
When Marius is telling the story of when he first drank Akasha's blood hundreds of years before, how he fell to his knees kissing her hand, therefore becoming her most devoted follower. That is just another version of the Dracula/Renfield story line. Master and servant. This also finds its way in to the rest of the novel in a much subtler way. Lestat's human lawyer/banker is nothing more than another example of this pure devotion. Even though Roget does not know of Lestat's true nature, he still acts in the same way. Even Enkil is nothing more than an over barring bodyguard to Akasha in the end. The character of Enkil sits silently moving in a rage only when someone tries to come between himself and Akasha.
I actually loved the idea that we come full circle with the little "families" that Lestat has. In this novel, (which even though it's book two, it's first in the story's timeline arch) we see Lestat with his fledgling mother who is this blonde wild creature, and his dark haired depressed best friend/lover Nicolas. And in Interview with the Vampire, we find Lestat in a family with dark haired depressed best friend/lover Louis and the child fledgling Claudia who is this blonde wild creature. I thought the direct parallel was a brilliant link to the chain. And once again, comes to the idea that it's a metaphor for the old myths of the changing of seasons, the cycles that constantly repeat themselves. (the women he can never possess, never understand, never get over and never control)
I also love beyond words, the fact Lestat is a telling of Dionysus. It's not just something the character refers to, but is in part woven directly into the whole make up of the plot. There is a section on page 330 where Lestat is thinking about the myths and stories of Osiris and Dionysus comparing them. "This god Osiris was the god of wine to the Egyptians, the one later called Dionysus by the Greeks. And Dionysus was the 'dark god' of the theater, the devil god whom Nicki described to me when we were boys at home. And now had the theater full of vampires in Paris. Oh it was too rich. I couldn't wait to tell it to Gabrielle." It's the character of Nicolas who brings up the whole idea of becoming a Dionysusian. Of throwing their breeding to the wind and diving into the arts, living in a frenzied state of that of actors and musicians. And then we see Nicolas fail to reach his own ideals as Lestat embodies them effortlessly.
movie: it's the year 2000, and Lestat has been in a self induced coma for most of the 1900's. He is drawn to the goth band who are down the road from his hiding place, and decides to join them. As the band gets ready for their first concert, a group of paranormal scholars, called the Talamasca, are worried about the sudden rise in paranormal activity. They have been watching for hundreds of years, chronicling the most powerful vampires and witches around. Jessie is still new to the Talamasca, but very eager to take on the task of being Lestat's watcher. She soon becomes involved with him on a personal basis. Jessie also feels connected to other members of the vampire society, experiencing odd dreams of her family and members of the biggest vampire coven. On the other side of the planet, Akasha the first vampire, has been awoken from a three thousand year sleep by the sounds of Lestat's music. She frees herself from the confines of her hideout and begins searching for him. Everyone ends up at Lestat's concert. The members of the Talamasca, Jessie, Akasha, Marius, Armand, Pandora, and Jessie's aunt Maharet. We learn that Maharet is one of the oldest vampires, created at the same time as Akasha, and therefore Jessie's dreams are more than she has believed. Akasha then kidnaps Lestat, promising to make him her new king, as she begins to create her version of a new world run by vampires. Everything comes to a head in Maharet's underground mansion, as the vampires declare war on each other.
Since this film is the combination of books 2 and 3 in the series, it is a bit unbalanced. I do like this film, the ideas are there they just could have been polished a bit more. I didn't care for the way they did the character of Jessie at all. Nor did I overly click with the "goth scene" they threw them into. That's something I would have kept to the original a bit more, having it either still in the 1980's rock style or better yet, given it was done in 2000-2001 I would have maybe set it in the very late 1970's.
One of the big differences in the movie to the book is the fact they combine two of the vampires; Magnus and Marius, making them one character. (Another is that they completely removed the main story of the twins from book 3.)
The fact they had a different actor playing Lestat in this movie from the first (as well as Armand. Who are the only two characters brought over from the first movie) actually makes sense to me. This story is suppose to be a good hundred years after the first movie. Lestat is in a different state of mind, he's grown, had major loss, basically been through a divorce (yes I'm comparing the idea of Louis leaving him to a divorce) and pretty much has a different attitude. Having Stuart Townsend playing Lestat as the rock star works. He looks like he could be Jim Morrison. (though I would have loved loved loved to have seen Val Kilmer in this role)
My favourite scenes are pretty much the ones between Lestat and Marius (Vincent Perez from Crow 2 City of Angels) Perez brings a nice balance of slyness to the role. Almost as if he's playing a cat and mouse game that no one really realizes they are part of. The term seductively bored, could easily be used for the way he presents the character. He manages to say more with a tilt of his chin and down casting his eyes, then some of the other actors do with a full monologue.
The big themes I got out of this film were acceptance of self, and the feeling of belonging. You almost get the idea that they were subtly exploring oppression, but it gets lost somewhere along the way. You also completely loose any of the spiritual aspects from the novel Vampire Lestat. All the questions on what is good/evil, all the metaphors and myths about world religions are completely missing here.
And that's about all for now. Our next combo will be in June, and it's Witches of Eastwick, both book and movie. But I'll be back later in the week with the official announcement post for it.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Hallowe'en Week p5 (night bleeds)
So this is day 5 of the blog's Hallowe'en week, and it happens to be the monthly vampire book/movie club day. And I have a confession to make...I did not finish reading the book. I know, I'm the host to book club, but I failed to do my own homework before hand, and did not realize the book is 700 pages long. When I added it to the list, I thought it was one of Stephen King's shorter novellas. So I ran out of time, and never finished the book half of the combo this month.
I did however, get around to Fright Night, and decided to give you a "what that movie inspired me to do" dish to soften the blow of no book half... The combo was suppose to be that of the neighbourhood being taken over by a vampire and no one believing the one person who knew.
What I am going to do, since I never officially listed anything for next month's combo, I'm going to extend this month's into next, and offer the choice of doing the originally planned combo of the book Frankenstein, and the 1994 movie version Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.( starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert De Niro) So if you want to join in next month's Night Bleeds, it's a choice of Fright Night/Salem's Lot or Frankenstein. And since I've only got myself to blame for not finishing my homework...I'll be covering both.
Fright Night (1985): Charlie Brewster is obsessed with vampires. When he spots the new neighbours moving a coffin in next door, he becomes obsessed with proving there is a vampire living there. When he goes to the police, telling them about the murdered prostitutes last being seen at the neighbour's, no one believes him. Turning to his local hero, a late night horror host Peter Vincent, Charlie finds himself in a battle for not just his own soul, but that of those closest to him.
The key elements in this movie are belief, respect, loyalty, courage, desperation and obsession. This is probably the best bridge between the way horror movies had been and the direction they turned in the late 80's going forward. The vampire movies started to turn from the point of view of the hunters to that of the vampires, not too mention, the vampires went from being the village terrors to becoming slick, sexy, desirable ideals. The scenes with the character of Peter Vincent, do play out more like the classic vampire movies, with him having to prove that the vampire is indeed a supernatural creature. As well, as fighting off the Renfield character of Evil Ed. The apartment Peter Vincent (classic combo name of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing) is decorated to remind you of the old Hammer style films, as there were always garlic and crosses prominent throughout the "old inns, churches, castles". The big theme in those old style films, was always having to save the soul of the virginal girls, which in itself was a metaphor for losing your virginity and becoming "an adult". We see this played out in the character of Amy. When the movie opens, we see her ready to give herself to Charlie, who's distracted by his "childish obsession" with vampires as he sees the neighbours move in with a coffin. Amy, later in the infamously cool dance club scene, is in turn seduced by the older man, and turned into a vampire. The dance scene in itself is very erotic and more than suggestive to the idea that she has "lost her virginity" to him. When we next see her, she's dressed similar to the "brides" in most classic vampire movies, and it's once again Peter Vincent who raises a cross shying her away.
There's a great line midway in the film, where the vampire Jerry Dandrige tells Peter Vincent that in order for the cross to work on him, Vincent needs to have faith in it. Lending to the idea, that because of him being an actor, he's lost all faith in anything other than the material. This line is repeated later on near the end, when Vincent does in fact hold Jerry Dandrige back for a few moments with the cross. I have to point out, that both Evil Ed and Amy are easily affected by the simple sight of the cross, implying one of two things; either because they are fledglings and therefore weaker, the cross has a lot of power over them; or their own faith and belief in the image of the cross is what causes them to buckle. Suggesting highly that the power of suggestion is greater than the sword. (you can also argue on a third idea, that because Dandrige is such an old creature, the Christian god has no power over him as he predates Christianity/has other religious beliefs)
The opening scene, also shows us a thin line between obsession and desires or even that of basic needs. As Charlie is easily distracted by what's going on outside of his window, ignoring his girlfriend. Sex becomes less a need for him as he lets himself become engulfed with his obsessions. We also have a vampire movie playing in the background of the opening scene, with "Mr. Peter Vincent the Great Vampire Hunter" who is shown holding his stake backwards as he begins to kill a vamp. This again gives to the idea of not paying attention to your surroundings, and not paying attention to the situation at hand. It goes on to lend to the idea that your personal heroes are fallible. In the end of it all, the cowardly "movie hero" Peter Vincent, turns out to be the real hero of the plot, as he's the one who kills the vampires. He does this because he's left with no choice not because he's brave and strong. His desperation is foreshadowed when he takes the kid's money to help Charlie to begin with because he's beyond broke. And again this shows you how he's lost faith in anything that isn't of the material world.
I have a recipe...there is a bit more food than you would have first thought, mostly in the first half of the film. From casseroles, to burgers, chips, sloppy joes, fruit, beer, fries, pop, and a few drinks at the dance club. Because we see the character of Jerry Dandrige eating apples more than a few times, I thought I'd make an Apple Brown Betty.
Slice up 3 to 6 large apples, placing them on the bottom of a pie dish, if you'd like you can add a light sprinkle of lemon juice to them to keep them from turning brown while you proceed,
Sprinkle both 2 teaspoons white sugar and cinnamon on them. You may add a pinch of nutmeg if you wish.
mix together 4 tablespoons butter, 2/3 cup of brown sugar and 8 tablespoons flour into a crumbled mixture, spreading over the top.
Bake roughly 45 minutes at 350degrees depending on your oven.
I know, so simple it hurts right?
I know my essay sort of blows this time around too. I've got bit more I want to say on Fright Night, which I will try to cover when I do the second part of this next month. I just didn't realize the book Salem's Lot was as long as it is, and just didn't allow myself enough time to get through it.
As I said, I'll extend this month's book club/movie combo to the end of November, and let anyone who wants to join in have a choice between it and Frankenstein. More on that later in the week with the official post.
Don't forget to check out Heather's offerings over on All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, this month, (here) she actually did the homework.
I did however, get around to Fright Night, and decided to give you a "what that movie inspired me to do" dish to soften the blow of no book half... The combo was suppose to be that of the neighbourhood being taken over by a vampire and no one believing the one person who knew.
What I am going to do, since I never officially listed anything for next month's combo, I'm going to extend this month's into next, and offer the choice of doing the originally planned combo of the book Frankenstein, and the 1994 movie version Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.( starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert De Niro) So if you want to join in next month's Night Bleeds, it's a choice of Fright Night/Salem's Lot or Frankenstein. And since I've only got myself to blame for not finishing my homework...I'll be covering both.
The key elements in this movie are belief, respect, loyalty, courage, desperation and obsession. This is probably the best bridge between the way horror movies had been and the direction they turned in the late 80's going forward. The vampire movies started to turn from the point of view of the hunters to that of the vampires, not too mention, the vampires went from being the village terrors to becoming slick, sexy, desirable ideals. The scenes with the character of Peter Vincent, do play out more like the classic vampire movies, with him having to prove that the vampire is indeed a supernatural creature. As well, as fighting off the Renfield character of Evil Ed. The apartment Peter Vincent (classic combo name of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing) is decorated to remind you of the old Hammer style films, as there were always garlic and crosses prominent throughout the "old inns, churches, castles". The big theme in those old style films, was always having to save the soul of the virginal girls, which in itself was a metaphor for losing your virginity and becoming "an adult". We see this played out in the character of Amy. When the movie opens, we see her ready to give herself to Charlie, who's distracted by his "childish obsession" with vampires as he sees the neighbours move in with a coffin. Amy, later in the infamously cool dance club scene, is in turn seduced by the older man, and turned into a vampire. The dance scene in itself is very erotic and more than suggestive to the idea that she has "lost her virginity" to him. When we next see her, she's dressed similar to the "brides" in most classic vampire movies, and it's once again Peter Vincent who raises a cross shying her away.
There's a great line midway in the film, where the vampire Jerry Dandrige tells Peter Vincent that in order for the cross to work on him, Vincent needs to have faith in it. Lending to the idea, that because of him being an actor, he's lost all faith in anything other than the material. This line is repeated later on near the end, when Vincent does in fact hold Jerry Dandrige back for a few moments with the cross. I have to point out, that both Evil Ed and Amy are easily affected by the simple sight of the cross, implying one of two things; either because they are fledglings and therefore weaker, the cross has a lot of power over them; or their own faith and belief in the image of the cross is what causes them to buckle. Suggesting highly that the power of suggestion is greater than the sword. (you can also argue on a third idea, that because Dandrige is such an old creature, the Christian god has no power over him as he predates Christianity/has other religious beliefs)
The opening scene, also shows us a thin line between obsession and desires or even that of basic needs. As Charlie is easily distracted by what's going on outside of his window, ignoring his girlfriend. Sex becomes less a need for him as he lets himself become engulfed with his obsessions. We also have a vampire movie playing in the background of the opening scene, with "Mr. Peter Vincent the Great Vampire Hunter" who is shown holding his stake backwards as he begins to kill a vamp. This again gives to the idea of not paying attention to your surroundings, and not paying attention to the situation at hand. It goes on to lend to the idea that your personal heroes are fallible. In the end of it all, the cowardly "movie hero" Peter Vincent, turns out to be the real hero of the plot, as he's the one who kills the vampires. He does this because he's left with no choice not because he's brave and strong. His desperation is foreshadowed when he takes the kid's money to help Charlie to begin with because he's beyond broke. And again this shows you how he's lost faith in anything that isn't of the material world.
I have a recipe...there is a bit more food than you would have first thought, mostly in the first half of the film. From casseroles, to burgers, chips, sloppy joes, fruit, beer, fries, pop, and a few drinks at the dance club. Because we see the character of Jerry Dandrige eating apples more than a few times, I thought I'd make an Apple Brown Betty.
Slice up 3 to 6 large apples, placing them on the bottom of a pie dish, if you'd like you can add a light sprinkle of lemon juice to them to keep them from turning brown while you proceed,
Bake roughly 45 minutes at 350degrees depending on your oven.
I know, so simple it hurts right?
As I said, I'll extend this month's book club/movie combo to the end of November, and let anyone who wants to join in have a choice between it and Frankenstein. More on that later in the week with the official post.
Don't forget to check out Heather's offerings over on All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, this month, (here) she actually did the homework.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
year 5 day 128 (April Food n Flix)
This month's Food n'Flix selection is Tampopo, and is being hosted by Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
One Movie A Day Challenge part -
movie: Tampopo
starring: Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho
genre:undefinable, Drama,
year: 1985
format: online
plot: A widow who is struggling with her ramen shop, gets a helping hand from some strangers.
The main story makes sense. And if you've seen the 2008 movie Ramen Girl, which you can basically call a remake, then you're golden.
Now, I said "main story" because, there are a bunch of little commercial breaks that go nowhere and are frealing pointless. Story #2, which is about a couple having an affair and playing sexual food games, is the only thread that actually connects as the one character gets shot on the doorstep of the noodle shop. Story #3 - is just a dude who goes to the dentist then becomes a predator offering a little kid ice cream while eyeing them in a disturbing way. Story #4- is the zombie wife who wakes from the brink of death to make one last meal for her family. Story #5- is about a con artist who gets arrested in a restaurant. Story #6- is a bunch of business men who are made fools of by their lowly assistant when he is seen ordering a big French meal when none of the rest could read the menu. Story #7- is a grocery store check out guy trying to catch an old woman who keeps squeezing the softer foods.
I was sort of grossed out by the egg yolk scene from story #2, (which ironically lead to some really interesting inside jokes) which is being used as a metaphor for oral sex, along with the scene after it involving just the man eating a raw oyster from the palm of a different woman, teenaged at that. Not saying there wasn't some skill involved in keeping the yolk from breaking but...I really didn't need to see it passed back and forth between the couple's mouths for over a minute. And what the hell did the giant prawn under glass really have to do with anything? Who in their right mind is turned on by a giant sea bug crawling on them?
And story #7 is obviously a masturbation metaphor. Funnier than some of the others.
what did I learn? I officially hate Japanese movies
The Food n'Flix part of the challenge
notes- pork, grapes, potato chips, pears, curry (mentioned) ramen, seaweed, onions, noodles, beer, tofu, rice, eggs, pickles, seafood, salad, escargot, mushroom,walnuts, apples, sausage, spaghetti, cheese, bread and butter, salt, citrus, shrimp, wonton dumplings, bean sprouts, coffee, chicken, sardines, cabbage, wine, rice omelette, pomegranate, tomato, papaya, oysters, ice cream, carrots, turtle, BBQ, lettuce wraps, peaches, jams, ginger, cake, leeks, pastry, octopus, bone marrow, yams, wild boar.
Right off, I swore to Heather that I would not make ramen for this challenge. That was before I even watched the film, and yes she kept me at my word. I really don't understand why this movie gets praised as such a respectable film? I understand that in the early 80's, real foodie movies were not as popular as they are now, but still. This movie is just weird.
And with that said, I decided to make cookies. My inspiration came from two scenes, the scene where they are making turtle soup, and the guy comments that you should never get your fingers near the mouth because they will snap them off, had me thinking of snapping turtles for hours. And there are a few scenes where someone is chopping up ginger. So ...gingersnaps.
I took my recipe from Joy of Cooking page 767
1 and 3/4 c flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking Soda
salt dash of
2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 stick unsalted butter softened
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
splash of lemon juice
Mix all until blended one colour.
form dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet,
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 325degrees depending on your oven. (recipe called for 350degrees for 12minutes but I found that burned everything too quick)
And guess what....May, I get to host once again! My selection for next month's Food n'Flix is Witches of Eastwick. I can't wait to see what kind of witch-tastic ideas everyone comes up with.
One Movie A Day Challenge part -
movie: Tampopo
starring: Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho
genre:undefinable, Drama,
year: 1985
format: online
plot: A widow who is struggling with her ramen shop, gets a helping hand from some strangers.
The main story makes sense. And if you've seen the 2008 movie Ramen Girl, which you can basically call a remake, then you're golden.
Now, I said "main story" because, there are a bunch of little commercial breaks that go nowhere and are frealing pointless. Story #2, which is about a couple having an affair and playing sexual food games, is the only thread that actually connects as the one character gets shot on the doorstep of the noodle shop. Story #3 - is just a dude who goes to the dentist then becomes a predator offering a little kid ice cream while eyeing them in a disturbing way. Story #4- is the zombie wife who wakes from the brink of death to make one last meal for her family. Story #5- is about a con artist who gets arrested in a restaurant. Story #6- is a bunch of business men who are made fools of by their lowly assistant when he is seen ordering a big French meal when none of the rest could read the menu. Story #7- is a grocery store check out guy trying to catch an old woman who keeps squeezing the softer foods.
I was sort of grossed out by the egg yolk scene from story #2, (which ironically lead to some really interesting inside jokes) which is being used as a metaphor for oral sex, along with the scene after it involving just the man eating a raw oyster from the palm of a different woman, teenaged at that. Not saying there wasn't some skill involved in keeping the yolk from breaking but...I really didn't need to see it passed back and forth between the couple's mouths for over a minute. And what the hell did the giant prawn under glass really have to do with anything? Who in their right mind is turned on by a giant sea bug crawling on them?
And story #7 is obviously a masturbation metaphor. Funnier than some of the others.
what did I learn? I officially hate Japanese movies
The Food n'Flix part of the challenge
notes- pork, grapes, potato chips, pears, curry (mentioned) ramen, seaweed, onions, noodles, beer, tofu, rice, eggs, pickles, seafood, salad, escargot, mushroom,walnuts, apples, sausage, spaghetti, cheese, bread and butter, salt, citrus, shrimp, wonton dumplings, bean sprouts, coffee, chicken, sardines, cabbage, wine, rice omelette, pomegranate, tomato, papaya, oysters, ice cream, carrots, turtle, BBQ, lettuce wraps, peaches, jams, ginger, cake, leeks, pastry, octopus, bone marrow, yams, wild boar.
Right off, I swore to Heather that I would not make ramen for this challenge. That was before I even watched the film, and yes she kept me at my word. I really don't understand why this movie gets praised as such a respectable film? I understand that in the early 80's, real foodie movies were not as popular as they are now, but still. This movie is just weird.
And with that said, I decided to make cookies. My inspiration came from two scenes, the scene where they are making turtle soup, and the guy comments that you should never get your fingers near the mouth because they will snap them off, had me thinking of snapping turtles for hours. And there are a few scenes where someone is chopping up ginger. So ...gingersnaps.
I took my recipe from Joy of Cooking page 767
1 and 3/4 c flour3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking Soda
salt dash of
2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 stick unsalted butter softened
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
splash of lemon juice
Mix all until blended one colour.
form dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet,
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 325degrees depending on your oven. (recipe called for 350degrees for 12minutes but I found that burned everything too quick)
Saturday, March 5, 2016
year 5 day 94
movie: Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome
starring:Mel Gibson, Tina Turner
genre:Sci-fi, Action
year:1985
format: Hollywood Suites Channel
plot: After being forced to take part in a fight to the death, a man is exiled to the desert where upon he discovers a tribe of kids.
We go from survival of the smartest to survival of the youngest. I have to say, liked this one better then part 2. There was a tad more store and more dialogue in this one, but I'm guessing that a big car chase at the end is the trademark for these Mad Max movies then?
Things are slightly more civilized in this movie compared to the previous one, as at lest ten years seems to have past and there are "cities" being built. The fact the city is run on animal manure shows that they started to progress from just fighting over the gasoline in the previous one.
Our main bad guy, played by Tina Turner, isn't completely a typical bad guy. She starts off being humiliated by the character who runs the mining farm, and simply wants him out of her hair. But when Max fails to deliver on the hit, she comes across as having another agenda. Which, we never truly find out if she actually does, as she seems to give up the fight.
The kids tribe annoyed me. The tribe starts off with a crazy language from being isolated for so long, then suddenly mid way through the movie they can all talk normal. I found that just jarring.
what did I learn? That old Duran Duran video for Wild Boys totally makes sense now.
starring:Mel Gibson, Tina Turner
genre:Sci-fi, Action
year:1985
format: Hollywood Suites Channel
plot: After being forced to take part in a fight to the death, a man is exiled to the desert where upon he discovers a tribe of kids.
We go from survival of the smartest to survival of the youngest. I have to say, liked this one better then part 2. There was a tad more store and more dialogue in this one, but I'm guessing that a big car chase at the end is the trademark for these Mad Max movies then?
Things are slightly more civilized in this movie compared to the previous one, as at lest ten years seems to have past and there are "cities" being built. The fact the city is run on animal manure shows that they started to progress from just fighting over the gasoline in the previous one.
Our main bad guy, played by Tina Turner, isn't completely a typical bad guy. She starts off being humiliated by the character who runs the mining farm, and simply wants him out of her hair. But when Max fails to deliver on the hit, she comes across as having another agenda. Which, we never truly find out if she actually does, as she seems to give up the fight.
The kids tribe annoyed me. The tribe starts off with a crazy language from being isolated for so long, then suddenly mid way through the movie they can all talk normal. I found that just jarring.
what did I learn? That old Duran Duran video for Wild Boys totally makes sense now.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Year 5 Day 27
movie: Police Academy 2 Their First Assignment
starring: Steve Guttenberg, Bobcat Goldthwait
genre: Comedy,
year:1985
format: TV Edit
plot: A group of rookie cops have to prove themselves when faced with a gang of petty criminals who start terrorizing the town; while dealing with sabotage from one of their own.
I remember seeing this way back when it first came out, and never really thought of it as a buddy movie before. Actually, more like a bunch of little buddy movies all squashed up together. This sort of manages to break up the storyline into a couple littler ones. Such as the romance between the one set of partners, as well as the sabotage storyline that Guttenberg's character seems to be at the center of.
Some of the gags are simple, but work because of it. Such as the scene in the sushi shop where the pet goldfish begins to boil because it was accidentally placed on the grill side of the table. Bonus, it's one of those movies that used a montage to get the point across of the story, not just for the sake of using one.
Michael Winslow and Bobcat Goldthwait steal their scenes, and to be honest, who most people think of when they think of this film series.
There's something innocent about movies from that era that never really trickled down into modern films. I miss that.
what do i think i learned? Movies in the 80's were so much funnier.
starring: Steve Guttenberg, Bobcat Goldthwait
genre: Comedy,
year:1985
format: TV Edit
plot: A group of rookie cops have to prove themselves when faced with a gang of petty criminals who start terrorizing the town; while dealing with sabotage from one of their own.
I remember seeing this way back when it first came out, and never really thought of it as a buddy movie before. Actually, more like a bunch of little buddy movies all squashed up together. This sort of manages to break up the storyline into a couple littler ones. Such as the romance between the one set of partners, as well as the sabotage storyline that Guttenberg's character seems to be at the center of.
Some of the gags are simple, but work because of it. Such as the scene in the sushi shop where the pet goldfish begins to boil because it was accidentally placed on the grill side of the table. Bonus, it's one of those movies that used a montage to get the point across of the story, not just for the sake of using one.
Michael Winslow and Bobcat Goldthwait steal their scenes, and to be honest, who most people think of when they think of this film series.
There's something innocent about movies from that era that never really trickled down into modern films. I miss that.
what do i think i learned? Movies in the 80's were so much funnier.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Theme Week p2-Frankenstein
The Bride
plot: After creating his second creature, a fire breaks out in the tower lab, destroying it, and killing the staff. Charlies Frankenstein, along with his second creature a female he names Eva, return to the family home, while the first creature, Viktor, runs off into the woods for safety. Before long, Viktor meets up with a man on his way to join the circus and he convinces Viktor to do the same, leaving Eva to the mercy of a jealous Frankenstein.
This is the 1985 drama starring Jennifer Beals and Clancy Brown. Based on the classic novel by Mary Shelley.
The film parallels the two creature's journey of self discovery. Viktor isn't given his name until after he meets up with the dwarf Rinaldo and is on his way to join the circus. While, Eva is given an identity right off the bat. Almost targeting the importance of how some people are forced to find themselves, while others are never given the real chance to do so.
The big theme here is loneliness. Each of the creatures feeling the separation from the rest of the world in different ways. While Viktor's journey takes a gentler road, showing him kindness in the most basic human ways, Eva's journey takes a harsher one, exposing the lies and greed that can hide behind the wall of society.
One thing I always loved about this movie, and wished had been given a little more respect; is the fact the two creatures are linked. Each feeling the pains/joys of the others. Like the scene where Eva shows a skill for horses, and how Viktor becomes obsessed with the idea of horses from that point on. Or how when Viktor and Rinaldo begin traveling to Budapest, we see Eva giggling as she follows the map of the same area. It would lead you to assume that the empathic/psychic bond they unknowingly share is suppose to be a soulmate bond.
As each of the creatures learn to become more independent, they find their way back "home" to each other.
This version of the doctor isn't just a "madman" per say, as much as he is cold and heartless. Sting's performance in this as the jealous abusive baron, leaves you thinking he's completely soulless. The character practically borders on being a psychopath.
This is not a happy movie. It's gritty, unkind, and at times disloyal. But, I think that's what makes it such an interesting take on the classic story. One of the few versions of Frankenstein I've come across that actually remembers there is a lesson in it.
plot: After creating his second creature, a fire breaks out in the tower lab, destroying it, and killing the staff. Charlies Frankenstein, along with his second creature a female he names Eva, return to the family home, while the first creature, Viktor, runs off into the woods for safety. Before long, Viktor meets up with a man on his way to join the circus and he convinces Viktor to do the same, leaving Eva to the mercy of a jealous Frankenstein.
This is the 1985 drama starring Jennifer Beals and Clancy Brown. Based on the classic novel by Mary Shelley.
The film parallels the two creature's journey of self discovery. Viktor isn't given his name until after he meets up with the dwarf Rinaldo and is on his way to join the circus. While, Eva is given an identity right off the bat. Almost targeting the importance of how some people are forced to find themselves, while others are never given the real chance to do so.
The big theme here is loneliness. Each of the creatures feeling the separation from the rest of the world in different ways. While Viktor's journey takes a gentler road, showing him kindness in the most basic human ways, Eva's journey takes a harsher one, exposing the lies and greed that can hide behind the wall of society.
One thing I always loved about this movie, and wished had been given a little more respect; is the fact the two creatures are linked. Each feeling the pains/joys of the others. Like the scene where Eva shows a skill for horses, and how Viktor becomes obsessed with the idea of horses from that point on. Or how when Viktor and Rinaldo begin traveling to Budapest, we see Eva giggling as she follows the map of the same area. It would lead you to assume that the empathic/psychic bond they unknowingly share is suppose to be a soulmate bond.
As each of the creatures learn to become more independent, they find their way back "home" to each other.
This version of the doctor isn't just a "madman" per say, as much as he is cold and heartless. Sting's performance in this as the jealous abusive baron, leaves you thinking he's completely soulless. The character practically borders on being a psychopath.
This is not a happy movie. It's gritty, unkind, and at times disloyal. But, I think that's what makes it such an interesting take on the classic story. One of the few versions of Frankenstein I've come across that actually remembers there is a lesson in it.
Friday, May 1, 2015
May Food n Flix/ Theme Week
I will never betray my goon dock friends
We'll stick together till the whole world ends
Through heaven or hell or nuclear war
Good pals like us will stick like tar
In the city or country or forest or boonies
I'm proudly declared a fellow goonie.
30 years later and I still remember it. Scary right! GirliChef is hosting Food n Flix this month, and if you haven't figured it out yet, her pick is the Goonies. You might remember the first year of the blog (Sept 10th 2012) I did the Goonies as the quote of the day. I also mentioned it on my top 5 Corey Feldman movies, and top 5 movie nerds.
Normally, I give a heads up few days or so before I post the actual post for it, but...it's the Goonies! I'm sure I'll think of another dish or two and wish I had waited but...I sort of wanted this to kick off my theme week as well.
This should have been the easiest Food n Flix selection for me. And anyone who knows me, or even knew me 30 years ago, knows how obsessed I've been with this movie over the decades. I mean O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D! to the point of wearing out a couple vhs copies, a couple of dvd copies, reenacting scenes in drama class (when I was 12) to collecting everything I could get my hands on back in the day when it first came out in cinemas. I ate more goonies chocolate bars then any person should ever admit to. (which I recently learned was just a Canadian thing! And basically just a Baby Ruth in a "Sloth" wrapper)
So, this is part of both Food n Flix series of posts, and my personal theme week; which this week is Corey Feldman movies.
Now, I said this "should have been the easiest" Food n Flix selection for me, but it was the hardest so far, this movie being what it is to me.
Plot: About to loose their homes, a group of kids- Mikey, Brand, Mouth, Data, Steph, Andy and Chunk- find a treasure map in Mikey's attic. The excitement leads to them believing they can save their homes if they find a 300 year old buried treasure that no one else was able to. As they follow the map and begin their adventure, they stumble upon a family of ex-cons-the Fratellis- who are running a counterfeiting scheme. They also find a dead body in the ice-cream freezer. The kids realize the basement of the hideout is the entrance to the treasure. Chunk gets left behind to inform the police, but is kidnapped by the Fratellis, and stuck into a room with Sloth, the youngest Fratelli son who is deformed. The Fratellis then decide to track down the rest of the gang in the underground tunnels. Before long, everyone ends up finding out "x" really does mark the spot as a fight for the treasure begins.
Okay...little excited here, but here's my notes for the classic 1985 adventure starring Corey Feldman and Sean Astin...
Baby Ruth bars, pizza, "turkey" (the opening scene the cop says turkey) "hangman's bluff" (same opening scene where we see Jake faking his own death) crackers, crab, strawberry milkshakes, chips, "vegan sausage" (the statue that Chunk breaks) pop, corn (hanging as a wall decoration on the outside of Mikey's house) "gumballs"(there are a few booby traps that have canon balls) chicken/eggs, tongue, "truffle shuffle", "fondue" (hearing Copperpot over and over just made me think of it) whipped cream, coffee, "that's what I said salad" (Mikey and his mom constantly say "that's what I said" whenever they get a sentence wrong) matzo balls, "shut up chunk cake" (they tell him constantly to shut up) twinkies, veal scallopini, wine, fettuccine, ice-cream, "Sloth's platter" (hard to see on my screen, but I always thought it meant to look like it was leftovers of potatoes, cabbage, eggs and beets...) "cobweb soup" (there's a few scenes where they are in the tunnels with both spiderwebs and water which never made sense cause wouldn't that much water melt the webs?) chocolate sauce, "counterfeit confetti cake", water (it's everywhere!) tomatoes, "nuts and bolts" (the scene where Andy goes crazy in the tunnels talking about her body) "skeleton keys", "fried bat wings" (the bats fly out of the tunnels into the hideout) "salt water taffy", "shish kabob" (Data falling with his pinchers of peril onto the spikes) "organ meat", "mudslides" (the drink because of the waterfall scene) "peanut brittle" (Data falling through the ships deck) rum, "Captain Chunk's Brownies"(Chunk has a lot of chocolate related scenes and he does wear the captain's hat) sushi (Data mentions an octopus in the scene where they are rescued, plus the old music video has one plus if you are a freaky-geek like me and watch the deleted scenes there's an octopus)
And with so much water, all I could think was soup. I also couldn't get the shot of the character Steph fishing for crab out of my head. I thought of chowder. But, since I'm vegetarian, I was struggling to figure out how to make a vegetarian one...then remembered the corn decoration on the house. So I decided to make "Chunky" corn chowder and biscuits.
Biscuits
1/2 pound butter
4 and a half teaspoon baking powder
4 cup flour
3 tablespoon sugar
vanilla
1 egg
half cup milk
Form dough, roll out and shape, bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes depending on your oven.
Being the ghoul that I am, having Hallowe'en cookie cutters, I tried to make the biscuits shaped like skulls...only they didn't really turn out looking like that as much as just thick.
"Chunky" Corn Chowder
1 medium onion chopped
2 large potatoes peeled and cut
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 tablespoon butter
salt water
4 cups milk
1 large can of corn
black pepper
2 tablespoon flour
Boil potato in salt water for about 10 minutes until it starts to become tender, drain,
add milk to cover them, simmer for 5 minutes,
add corn, onions, celery, black pepper and cover simmering for another 15 minutes.
Take off of the heat, and add butter and flour stirring till blended.
The original recipe called for corn on the cob to be added and boiled in the soup, letting the corn fall off naturally, but I took the easy route on the corn, plus I had canned corn in the kitchen and wanted to use it up.
You will notice, some of my Goonies collectables here.
The magazine which has been taped back together more then once, half the lining from the soundtrack, the spoken script on 45 record...I couldn't find my actual soundtrack which was a record as well or my novelizations, of which I have two. One is the "movie tie-in" and the other is the full "script novelization". Somewhere in the amount of stuff I own, I also have a few of the collectors cards, the 6 poster set, the old case to the worn out vhs copy and one single wrapper from the chocolate bar.
Told you I was...er I suppose I have to admit still slightly am obsessed with this movie...Okay a lot obsessed with it still all these years later.
And you can see I made one biscuit with raisins to try to make it more "skeleton" like and represent the key they use to unlock some of the tunnels, but...One Eyed Willie he's not.
That's my take on a Goonies' dinner, and don't forget it's Corey Feldman theme week here.
And as I always say, not the prettiest dish on the table but "good enough for me"
till later...
We'll stick together till the whole world ends
Through heaven or hell or nuclear war
Good pals like us will stick like tar
In the city or country or forest or boonies
I'm proudly declared a fellow goonie.
30 years later and I still remember it. Scary right! GirliChef is hosting Food n Flix this month, and if you haven't figured it out yet, her pick is the Goonies. You might remember the first year of the blog (Sept 10th 2012) I did the Goonies as the quote of the day. I also mentioned it on my top 5 Corey Feldman movies, and top 5 movie nerds.Normally, I give a heads up few days or so before I post the actual post for it, but...it's the Goonies! I'm sure I'll think of another dish or two and wish I had waited but...I sort of wanted this to kick off my theme week as well.
This should have been the easiest Food n Flix selection for me. And anyone who knows me, or even knew me 30 years ago, knows how obsessed I've been with this movie over the decades. I mean O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D! to the point of wearing out a couple vhs copies, a couple of dvd copies, reenacting scenes in drama class (when I was 12) to collecting everything I could get my hands on back in the day when it first came out in cinemas. I ate more goonies chocolate bars then any person should ever admit to. (which I recently learned was just a Canadian thing! And basically just a Baby Ruth in a "Sloth" wrapper)
So, this is part of both Food n Flix series of posts, and my personal theme week; which this week is Corey Feldman movies.
Now, I said this "should have been the easiest" Food n Flix selection for me, but it was the hardest so far, this movie being what it is to me.
Plot: About to loose their homes, a group of kids- Mikey, Brand, Mouth, Data, Steph, Andy and Chunk- find a treasure map in Mikey's attic. The excitement leads to them believing they can save their homes if they find a 300 year old buried treasure that no one else was able to. As they follow the map and begin their adventure, they stumble upon a family of ex-cons-the Fratellis- who are running a counterfeiting scheme. They also find a dead body in the ice-cream freezer. The kids realize the basement of the hideout is the entrance to the treasure. Chunk gets left behind to inform the police, but is kidnapped by the Fratellis, and stuck into a room with Sloth, the youngest Fratelli son who is deformed. The Fratellis then decide to track down the rest of the gang in the underground tunnels. Before long, everyone ends up finding out "x" really does mark the spot as a fight for the treasure begins.
Okay...little excited here, but here's my notes for the classic 1985 adventure starring Corey Feldman and Sean Astin...
Baby Ruth bars, pizza, "turkey" (the opening scene the cop says turkey) "hangman's bluff" (same opening scene where we see Jake faking his own death) crackers, crab, strawberry milkshakes, chips, "vegan sausage" (the statue that Chunk breaks) pop, corn (hanging as a wall decoration on the outside of Mikey's house) "gumballs"(there are a few booby traps that have canon balls) chicken/eggs, tongue, "truffle shuffle", "fondue" (hearing Copperpot over and over just made me think of it) whipped cream, coffee, "that's what I said salad" (Mikey and his mom constantly say "that's what I said" whenever they get a sentence wrong) matzo balls, "shut up chunk cake" (they tell him constantly to shut up) twinkies, veal scallopini, wine, fettuccine, ice-cream, "Sloth's platter" (hard to see on my screen, but I always thought it meant to look like it was leftovers of potatoes, cabbage, eggs and beets...) "cobweb soup" (there's a few scenes where they are in the tunnels with both spiderwebs and water which never made sense cause wouldn't that much water melt the webs?) chocolate sauce, "counterfeit confetti cake", water (it's everywhere!) tomatoes, "nuts and bolts" (the scene where Andy goes crazy in the tunnels talking about her body) "skeleton keys", "fried bat wings" (the bats fly out of the tunnels into the hideout) "salt water taffy", "shish kabob" (Data falling with his pinchers of peril onto the spikes) "organ meat", "mudslides" (the drink because of the waterfall scene) "peanut brittle" (Data falling through the ships deck) rum, "Captain Chunk's Brownies"(Chunk has a lot of chocolate related scenes and he does wear the captain's hat) sushi (Data mentions an octopus in the scene where they are rescued, plus the old music video has one plus if you are a freaky-geek like me and watch the deleted scenes there's an octopus)
And with so much water, all I could think was soup. I also couldn't get the shot of the character Steph fishing for crab out of my head. I thought of chowder. But, since I'm vegetarian, I was struggling to figure out how to make a vegetarian one...then remembered the corn decoration on the house. So I decided to make "Chunky" corn chowder and biscuits.
Biscuits
1/2 pound butter
4 and a half teaspoon baking powder
4 cup flour
3 tablespoon sugar
vanilla
1 egg
half cup milk
Form dough, roll out and shape, bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes depending on your oven.
Being the ghoul that I am, having Hallowe'en cookie cutters, I tried to make the biscuits shaped like skulls...only they didn't really turn out looking like that as much as just thick.
"Chunky" Corn Chowder
1 medium onion chopped
2 large potatoes peeled and cut
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 tablespoon butter
salt water
4 cups milk
1 large can of corn
black pepper
2 tablespoon flour
Boil potato in salt water for about 10 minutes until it starts to become tender, drain,
add milk to cover them, simmer for 5 minutes,
add corn, onions, celery, black pepper and cover simmering for another 15 minutes.
Take off of the heat, and add butter and flour stirring till blended.
The original recipe called for corn on the cob to be added and boiled in the soup, letting the corn fall off naturally, but I took the easy route on the corn, plus I had canned corn in the kitchen and wanted to use it up.
You will notice, some of my Goonies collectables here.
The magazine which has been taped back together more then once, half the lining from the soundtrack, the spoken script on 45 record...I couldn't find my actual soundtrack which was a record as well or my novelizations, of which I have two. One is the "movie tie-in" and the other is the full "script novelization". Somewhere in the amount of stuff I own, I also have a few of the collectors cards, the 6 poster set, the old case to the worn out vhs copy and one single wrapper from the chocolate bar.Told you I was...er I suppose I have to admit still slightly am obsessed with this movie...Okay a lot obsessed with it still all these years later.
And you can see I made one biscuit with raisins to try to make it more "skeleton" like and represent the key they use to unlock some of the tunnels, but...One Eyed Willie he's not.
That's my take on a Goonies' dinner, and don't forget it's Corey Feldman theme week here.
And as I always say, not the prettiest dish on the table but "good enough for me"
till later...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Year 3 Day 49
movie: Silverado
starring: Kevin Kline, Linda Hunt
genre: Western
year:1985
format: TV edit
plot: After being ambushed by a group of unknown horsemen, Emmett begins a trek towards the town of Silverado where his sister lives, along the way he meets up with a man who was attacked by the same unknown group of horsemen. Emmett has to break his brother out of jail, and help yet another cowboy with ranch stealers. The group find themselves the unlikely heroes of the town, each finding his own version of peace.
A western. Rarely have I seen a Kevin Costner film where he plays anything other then the straight laced hero, but he was the screwball in this film.
I don't know if it was where this was a tv edit or if it was the decade the film was made in, but there were a lot of spots that went to black, the kind you see right before a commercial break only there was none. There was dead air for chunks of this viewing. And it was very distracting for me personally.
I get the feeling this wanted to be a buddy movie, but just never found it's footing. It was funny enough, the plot was there be it a bit dragged out at times, and the Kevin Kline lead was the most dimensional of the characters.
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
starring: Kevin Kline, Linda Hunt
genre: Western
year:1985
format: TV edit
plot: After being ambushed by a group of unknown horsemen, Emmett begins a trek towards the town of Silverado where his sister lives, along the way he meets up with a man who was attacked by the same unknown group of horsemen. Emmett has to break his brother out of jail, and help yet another cowboy with ranch stealers. The group find themselves the unlikely heroes of the town, each finding his own version of peace.
A western. Rarely have I seen a Kevin Costner film where he plays anything other then the straight laced hero, but he was the screwball in this film.
I don't know if it was where this was a tv edit or if it was the decade the film was made in, but there were a lot of spots that went to black, the kind you see right before a commercial break only there was none. There was dead air for chunks of this viewing. And it was very distracting for me personally.
I get the feeling this wanted to be a buddy movie, but just never found it's footing. It was funny enough, the plot was there be it a bit dragged out at times, and the Kevin Kline lead was the most dimensional of the characters.
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween Night part 2
Hallowe'en Week
Hallowe'en Movie Marathon- movie 2
movie: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Freddy's Revenge
starring: Mark Patton, Robert Englund
genre: Horror
year: 1985
format: DVD
plot: Jesse moves into Nancy's old place, and starts to become possessed by Freddy, soon everyone around him is turning up dead.
This is one of my favourite of the NOES films.
Elm Street has made a name for itself as being able to balance on the horror and dark humour, and this is one of the darker stories in the series.
I've always found the Elm Street films to have vampiric tones, but this one even more so because of Freddy weaseling his way into the real world by taking over the physical body of the lead character.
I know that many fans and critics have had negative reactions to it, because of the fact Freddy does crossover to the real world more, and the controversy of the bi-sexual themes; but these elements play strongly to the vampiric manipulation. The lead character is not sure of himself, and because of not being open, he's more susceptible to Freddy's manipulation.
This film also fits heavily into the sub-genre of the 80's that dealt with possession/and poltergeists (such as the scene at the shower scene and gym scene)
what do i think i learned from this film?
Sometimes everyone has an identity crisis.
Check back in at 10pm for the next movie...
Hallowe'en Movie Marathon- movie 2
movie: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Freddy's Revenge
starring: Mark Patton, Robert Englund
genre: Horror
year: 1985
format: DVD
This is one of my favourite of the NOES films.
Elm Street has made a name for itself as being able to balance on the horror and dark humour, and this is one of the darker stories in the series.
I've always found the Elm Street films to have vampiric tones, but this one even more so because of Freddy weaseling his way into the real world by taking over the physical body of the lead character.
I know that many fans and critics have had negative reactions to it, because of the fact Freddy does crossover to the real world more, and the controversy of the bi-sexual themes; but these elements play strongly to the vampiric manipulation. The lead character is not sure of himself, and because of not being open, he's more susceptible to Freddy's manipulation.
This film also fits heavily into the sub-genre of the 80's that dealt with possession/and poltergeists (such as the scene at the shower scene and gym scene)
what do i think i learned from this film?
Sometimes everyone has an identity crisis.
Check back in at 10pm for the next movie...
Monday, September 10, 2012
Quote for the day- Sept 10th
Another round of randomess from the ghoul next door...
Today's quote is from the The Goonies. (1985)
Mouth -"This was my dream. My wish, and it never came true. I'm taking it back, I'm taking them all back."
The really scary part is I know the Goonie Oath by heart after almost 30 years....
I will never betray my goon-dock friends,
We'll stick together till the whole world ends,
Through heaven and hell,
And nuclear war,
Good pals like us will stick like tar,
In the city, or country, or forest or boonie,
I'm proudly declared a fellow Goonie.
My dorkdom knows no boundaries
Monday, July 16, 2012
Over Coffee- July 16th
I was checking out a few new items on the Cineplex site, and saw they have a game or community or something, where you can leave your favourite quote from your favourite films.
I thought, brilliant! But when I went to leave mine, it sent me to Facebook.
I don't care for that. Just don't understand why everything on the damned planet needs to be connected to Facebook?
But, I still think the idea of having a favourite movie quote is a great thing.
So here is one of my favourite movie quotes.
"What kind of a name is Jonny Gunn?" - Jack Deth
"What kind of a name is Jack Deth?" - Leena
from the 1985 film TRANCERS
I also think the tagline from the movie trailer is brilliant "Jack Deth is back, and he's never even been here before"
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Day 55
Movie: Transylvania 6-5000
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr
Genre: Comedy,
Year: 1985
Format: DVD
Plot: Two tabloid reporters are sent to Transylvania to cover what might be a Frankenstein sighting and in the process uncover a crazy group of misfits.
This is another one of those movies I would not have thought about other then the fact it was part of my 6 pack DVD - Fright Pack.
This movie is slapstick camp at it's finest with more crackerjack jokes and one liners then you would think could be packed into a scant hour and a half.
I laughed out loud at the silliness of the physical comedy by Michael Richards and the comedic timing of both John Byner and Carole Kane.
What do I think I learned from this film?
Sometimes the tabloids get at lest half of the story right as there is a bit of truth in every rumour.
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr
Genre: Comedy,
Year: 1985
Format: DVD
Plot: Two tabloid reporters are sent to Transylvania to cover what might be a Frankenstein sighting and in the process uncover a crazy group of misfits.
This is another one of those movies I would not have thought about other then the fact it was part of my 6 pack DVD - Fright Pack.
This movie is slapstick camp at it's finest with more crackerjack jokes and one liners then you would think could be packed into a scant hour and a half.
I laughed out loud at the silliness of the physical comedy by Michael Richards and the comedic timing of both John Byner and Carole Kane.
What do I think I learned from this film?
Sometimes the tabloids get at lest half of the story right as there is a bit of truth in every rumour.
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