Bram Stoker’s Dracula and his get

I have a strict rule on spoilers: I don’t post them, so what you’ll see below is tiny reviews/praise of a few genre classics.

The Vampire has been sitting atop a skeletal throne for the last ten years or so, thanks to mainstream successes such as Blade, Van Helsing and most recently the Twilight Saga, and has seen more depictions than Two-Face in a mirror maze, and so I want to highlight a few hidden or neglected gems of the blood-sucking genre. 

First and foremost I’d like to herald a little film called From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), a film written by the great Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez, which I feel, is a little different to the common fare on our screens these days. The film stars George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and the old timer Harvey Keitel and chronicles the journey of two merciless criminals as they crime spree their way towards Mexico, encountering a Keitel’s character and family along the way, who they quickly take up as hostages. The movie is a prime example of the recent blending of genres; it all starts off with a thriller feel before one thing leads to another and the group find themselves in a fight for survival against a horde of transforming vampires. As you’d expect from a Tarantino film, strong language, gory scenes and feet fetishes are aplenty. From Dusk Till Dawn is one of those films that seemingly divides audiences; but stick with it and you’ll find yourself enjoying a slapstick stake-fuelled bonanza. Lastly, but definitely by no means in the least, is that the voluptuous Selma Hayek makes an appearance and a lasting impression in this film.   


Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark (1987) is a vampire movie that stars Lance Henriksen! Need I say any more? This is most assuredly one of those films that has been lost to the general populace, perhaps due to it being released in the same year that the fantastic The Lost Boys was released, and is a film that simply gets vampires right. They’re portrayed as outsiders, roamers, killers and having that unexplainable lure to the opposite sex without it all getting a little too much antsy teenager. Of course I don’t really have to praise Bigelow’s directorial skills, as she’s been awarded an Academy Award for the direction of The Hurt Locker, so it’s safe to say this film looks good: rough, realised and realistic. Adrian Pasdar of Heroes fame stars as the film’s lead, Caleb.


The last film I want to plug in this post is a film directed by the Mexican who brought you Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy films so even if you had no knowledge of it you can imagine it’s going to have a distinct sombre and gothic palette. Made in 1996 Cronos, unlike a great many vampire flicks goes away with the idea of being turned by a Maker, instead imparting the gift of eternal life through means of a device. The film is as much about the device’s history as it is the familial struggles between the two conflicting families, and so a number of shots show the creation of this vampire-trigger. This is a far more muted, character driven tale than that of the two mentioned above and in my opinion has a greater connection with early films like Nosferatu. Guillermo Del Toro has weaved a dramatic, emotive narrative and if you were but to pick one of these three to take a chance on, this would be the one I implore you to watch.

Of course there are so many hidden, forgotten or neglected vampire films out there that I couldn’t write about them all so I cherry-picked a few notable ones.  

Extra shout-out: Buffy, Angel, True Blood are a few known shows but definitely worth a watch.

Take a chance,

Ashley Bullen-Cutting

Films mentioned in this post:

• Blade
• Van Helsing
• The Twilight Saga
• From Dusk Till Dawn
• Near Dark
• The Hurt Locker
• Pan’s Labyrinth
• Hellboy
• Cronos
• Nosferatu

Television shows mentioned in this post:

• Buffy
• Angel
• True Blood

Notable names mentioned in this post:

• Bram Stoker
• Quentin Tarantino
• Robert Rodriguez
• George Clooney
• Harvey Keitel
• Selma Hayek
• Kathryn Bigelow
• Adrian Pasdar
• Guillermo Del Toro

Galactica flies again

Since Caprica's cancellation, Battlestar fans have either had to revisit Ron Moore's brilliant series or wallow in self-pity for what they may have once been able to witness, but for wallow no longer! The suprisingly great Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, a prequel web-series, can now satiate that Adama hunger.

The web-series follows a much younger Bill Adama during the First Cylon War, a war between man and man-made robots for those of you unaware, and his first conflict with crew, authority and Cylon. Fans will see a few references to both Caprica and Battlestar Galactica here and there layered throughout, but Blood and Chrome is its own entity and so I've read they will be few and far between. For more information on nods to the other shows and what the series went through to make it to the air check out Den of Geeks article on the matter: 
 http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/battlestar-galactica-blood-and-chrome/23464/david-eick-sets-the-record-straight-on-battlestar-galactica-blood-and-chrome

However, BEWARE spoilers bountiful within but are clearly captioned as so, so read with care.

Adama is played by the English actor Luke Pasqualino of Skins and The Borgias fame and his co-pilot Coker by Ben Cotton.



The series is free to view and is currently on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Episode 1 is embedded below:

So say we all,

Ashley Bullen-Cutting

Television shows mentioned in this post:

• Caprica
•  Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome
• Battlestar Galactica
• Skins
• The Borgias

Websites mentioned in this post:

• Den of Geek - http://denofgeek.com/ 

Notable names mentioned in this post: 

• Ron Moore
•  Luke Pasqualino
•  Ben Cotton

Calling for Superman

I've been a fan of Kal-El for as long as I can remember, when I first saw Richard Donner's interpretation of the Kryptonian's self-discovery and maturation on a foreign planet I found myself smitten with the idea of the super-hero. Like Marvel Comic's Steve Rogers, Clark Kent, is the hero all the others wishes he/she could be; he's the selfless, appreciative, loving, dependable icon that Batman or Tony Stark could never be. His Daily Planet persona isn't so much a secret identity rather a hope that he can fit in within our world; he was brought up here, taught how to be a real gentleman here and has known this planet like he shall never know his own. Clark Kent isn't a suit to be thrown on like Bruce Wayne's womanizing ways, but a part of Kal-El's insecurities: Kent is a clumsy but well-loved oaf who always means to do well, he sits a step further within society than Superman but still a hairbreadth away from everyone else. Fitting in, is all Clark has ever wanted to do, but something he shall never be able to do so long as he moonlights as America's greatest hero, so he counteracts this with the only way he can: he comes clean with those closest to him. Jonathan and Martha Kent, Lois, Bruce and the majority of the Justice League are his closest and most estranged acquaintances; they know more than most but only what Clark's willing to divulge.

Superman will never trouble those with knowledge that may endanger them, and that includes his own social, cultural or biological problems; his conscience is his greatest enemy, forget Luthor. Even the most super of super-men can have super insecurities.

So, when I heard Chris Nolan of The Dark Knight fame, would be shepherding Zack Snyder's vision of our most beloved of heroes, I found myself feeling giddy with excitement. Snyder gets a lot of criticism, some of it founded, some of it not, but the man's done a great service to the comic-book movie genre with his work on the love-it or hate-it 300 and the 'unfilmable' Watchmen. Don't get me wrong, both films have significant flaws, but both have captured something all those who can remember reading a comic before the Fantastic Four, X-Men or Iron Man movies were released, have longed to see.
Who would have ever believed Alan Moore's Watchmen would be a mainstream film fifteen years ago?
Snyder did as good as one could have hoped with the material, save for one laughably composed scene featuring Nite Owl and Silk Spectre aboard the Archie (the less we say, the better), and so I eagerly await his interpretation of the Man of Steel and hope it can blend The Dark Knight's storytelling with Donner's romanticism.

Having watched the below trailer a great many times, getting the same Terrence Malick feel that almost everyone is receiving, I continue to feel I can stand by Snyder in this endeavour. Superman, is a hard nut to crack but my early impressions from the Man of Steel trailer is that the filmmakers seem to get Superman and that by placing him away from society, in what looks like to be a solitary career, they are able to play up that key sense of isolation that is paramount to his psyche. Clark having a beard is also a welcome sight, although I can already hear the inquisitive roars of fans asking; 'But...but how does he shave?'
That aside, the Malick feel associated with the peaceful music and nature-focused shots helps depict this film as a personal journey for our hero. A thought than bloomed while rewatching this recently is how Superman is willing to go the extra mile to protect not just humans but every living creature, like butterflies for instance and this ties into Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (sorry) where Superman decides to rid the world of nuclear weapons for our own good. He has to make the hard choices that nobody else can, his responsibility is to keep Earth safe no matter what.

Kal-El is a character dear to a lot of hearts and no doubt has a lot of different meanings for each and every individual, so please if this contrasts with your own feelings on the matter do not ridicule or harshly criticise but please offer your own interpretations in the comment section.

I'll end the post with the beautifully shot but hardly revealing trailer for Man of Steel (2013):

 

Have anything to say on the matter? Drop a comment and I'll do my best to reply!

Ashley Bullen-Cutting

Films mentioned in this post:

• Superman
• The Dark Knight
• 300
• Watchmen
• Fantastic Four
• X-Men
• Iron Man
• Man of Steel 
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Key names mentioned in this post:

• Richard Donner
• Chris Nolan
• Zack Snyder
• Alan Moore 
• Terrence Malick 

An Introductory Babble

It is a rare and often ridiculed person that openly names themself a geek; you might receive the derision of the many Jocks or the simple ignorance of any of the opposite sex, simply because you don't mind sitting back to watch Marty McFly or Sarah Connor do their thing. More recently, however, there has been a subtle yet noticeable incline in those who willing to stand up and really say that their favourite film is Star Wars or that they could list all thirteen dwarf's in The Hobbit. And this is fantastic!
Being a geek shouldn't mean you have to rub shoulders with the unfortunate Untouchables, after all is really different that one person can like football (soccer, for all you US readers) or The X-Factor and receive little or no heckling than a fan of The Abyss. 

The Urban Dictionary's first definition of the term 'geek' is a case in point:

"The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult"

                                   - Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geek

This blog isn't meant to be a hate-filled place where geeks can come and please leaving trolling messages for all the people that have wronged them in their life, but a place where lovers of the arts, whether they be TV, video games, film or music, can come and catch some cool news, chat to others like them and potentially hear about stuff they hadn't yet been able to check out.

Hello, Welcome and May the Force be with you

Ashley Bullen-Cutting.

Films mentioned in this post:

• Back to the Future
• The Terminator
• The Abyss

 Novels mentioned in this post:

• The Hobbit

Television shows mentioned in this post:

• The X-Factor