Fright Night 2011

That's right boys and girls, welcome to "Fright Night"!

I personally am a fan of the original 1985 film, and hoped that the 2011 remake would do it justice... and guess what? I did, at least in my opinion. It is the perfect mix of thrills and giggles, and maybe even better then the original. But to be totally honest with you there really is no comparing the two. The films only share a few things and those being their title, character names, and main plot. Other then that they are two different movies, so much so that I have a difficult time calling the 2011 flick a remake. Maybe a retooling would be a better term. Let me put it this way, the 2011 "Fright Night" has more fangs.

Colin Ferrell gives a good performance as the menacing vampire Jerry, and Anton Yelchin was the perfect choice for the lead role Charley Brewster. Yelchin really brought Charley to life, and made him believable and lovable. But I think the break-out performance in the movie came from David Tennant as a much darker and deeper Peter Vincent. Tennant brought Peter Vincent to a new level, and really made you love and hate the character at the same time. I know that is conflicting, but that is Peter Vincent... isn't it? Last but not least I have to give a hand to Imogen Poots whom played the role of Charley's out-of-his-league girlfriend Amy.

I am only going to give one spoiler for those of you that have not yet seen the film, and that is to watch for Chris Sarandon (the original Jerry Dandrige), who makes a cameo in the film and becomes a quick snack for Ferrell.

The box office for the film was surprisingly low, coming in at a little over $37 million, on a $30 million budget. But don't let that fool you, "Fright Night" 2011 is well worth your time to watch. It is pure entertainment at it's best. I know for one that I will be watching it again and again, and again.

I have no choice but to give Fright Night 2011 a grand total of 5 stars.

Vampire Diaries Season 3 Episode 5

Episode 5 got pretty dark, taking us deeper into the depths of the ancient curse. Klaus and company return to town, taking over the school after realizing that Stefan had been hiding the fact that Elena is still alive. Bonnie also comes home, just in time for her and Matt to walk into Klaus’ trap. He needs her to find a way around the curse so he can create more hybrids. To make sure Bonnie does as he wants, Klaus turns Tyler, giving her 20 minutes to find the answer, or Tyler dies. The problem is that Bonnie can no longer speak to the dead witches, cut out of the circle since she brought Jeremy back from the dead. But as Matt quickly reminds her… Jeremy can speak to the dead.

Problem number two, Katherine has kidnapped Jeremy for the same purpose, but with the defeat of Klaus as the goal. With a little persuasion from Damon, the ghost of Anna tells them of the one man Klaus fears… Michael, a vampire hunter that is himself a vampire.

Back at the school, unable to find Jeremy, Matt comes up with his own plan. With a weight chained to his waist, Matt jumps into the school pool, hoping that Bonnie’s CPR training is up for the task. The clock is ticking down, but not only Tyler’s life is at stake. Klaus forced Stefan to switch off his emotions, severing the only tie he still had with Elena, and when the clock reaches zero, Stefan is to feed on Elena. When zero minute comes, Matt is told by his sister that the old witch said the ganger must die. Bonnie tells Klaus, just as Stefan takes Elena as his snack.

Damon makes it back to find Klaus outside the hospital, where Elena is donating blood to the hybrid cause. Klaus was no idiot, he knew the witch hated him, and instead of killing Elena, he fed her blood to Tyler… Surprise, the transformation was successful. Damon once again confronts Klaus, and just as Klaus is about to send Damon packing from this world for the last time, Damon tells him about Michael. Klaus is gone in a blink. Damon retrieves Elena from the hospital, bringing her home. As things are getting cozy between them Stefan enters the room. Yep… Elena is once again under Stefan’s protection, only now it isn’t for love, but orders from Klaus.

The episode ends with Katherine waking Michael from where he had been entombed by a witch. Oh, did I forget to mention that Rebekah is intensely jealous of Elena, and more than willing to rip her throat out without pause.

The flow of this season seems much more intense then the last, darker, deadlier, and the cast is making the transition very well.

Vampire Diaries Season 3 Episode 3

Episode 3 takes us deeper into Stefan’s evil past. While Elena and Damon track Klaus and Stephen to Chicago, with a little help from Katherine, we learn that Klaus was not the first original vampire Stefan has known. The first was Rebecca, Klaus’ little sister. Not only did Stefan know her but was in love with her, and even more surprising was best friends with Klaus. All of which had been block from his memory by Klaus all those years ago, but are back now, and so is Rebecca (Claire Holt). Meanwhile Caroline is locked away being tortured by her father in an attempt to cure her craving for human blood. His idea? Reset her mind that blood equals pain. Every time she vamps-out when he sticks a bag of blood under her nose, daddy simply opens the shutters, letting the sunlight fry his little girl. After a full day Caroline is rescued by her mother and Tyler.

Elena finally gets her face-to-face with Stefan, but she doesn’t like the results. He lets her know that in no way or form will things be the same again, and to just let him go. Of course that is before he is reunited with Rebecca. This is proving to be the best season of Vamp Diaries yet, with more twists to come I am sure.

Vampire Diaries season 3 ep 2

Okay... What was Elena thinking? Who in their right mind would go into the mountains two hours before sunset, on the night of a full moon, hunting down a pack of werewolves? An idiot that's who... As I watched her and her band head up the hill side through the trees I just kept thinking "it's dumb, dumber, and dumbest."

At least we did learn that Klaus can't make his arm of hybrids, at least not yet. That was a good thing, but I have an idea when he realizes Elena is still alive he is going to put two and two together and it is going to equal Elena must die, for real this time. That should bring "The Ripper" back on the wagon again, and back at his brother's side where he belongs.

I will have more on episode 2 a little later, but that is it for now. This will be my last post until October, we are moving this weekend, and my IP company (Time Warner) doesn't have an opening for service until the first. Sucks for sure, last time it was 2 weeks, and turned into 3 weeks before we got our service. It better not happen again, you will know if it does...

Vampire Diaries Season 3 Spoilers

Yeah that's right, Vampire Diaries is back with season 3 on September 15, 2011 at 8/7c. What do we have to look forward to? Well...
In a recent interview Kayla Ewell (Vicki) stated that there will be new twists and turns coming, that season 3 is jam packed with action and romance, and Vicki will be right in the middle of it. She also stated that Vicki will come back as more than a ghost at some point, with vengeance on her mind for being cheated out of life. "It's gonna be wild." Kayla said.

Want more? Fine, episode 1 of the third season will be titled "The Birthday". Caroline will be busy planning Elena's 18th birthday party. Nothing knew there, right? That's what she does best. However, Elena will be focused on finding anything that will help her find Stefan. Damon will also be searching for his brother, while trying to protect Elena, and keep her from drawing Klaus' attention.

Still want more? Okay...

Meanwhile, Klaus and Stefan are trailing a werewolf named Ray Sutton (David Gallagher), who is working with Matt at the Mystic Grill. Jeremy will struggle to understand why he is seeing the ghosts of Vicki and Anna, since being brought back from death by Bonnie. Alaric will be doing his best to watch over Elena and Jeremy, while coping with his grief over Jenna. Finally, Caroline and Tyler will face a new and unexpected challenge.

Priest

On May 13, 2011 in the US and Canada, after many postponements, "Priest" unleashed its furry in the theaters. Shot on a $60 million budget, and only grossing a little over $76 million world wide, "Priest" was not a smash hit. Regardless of the box office totals and the critics trashing the film, I believe "Priest" is worth your time. If you think all vampires should be like Edward, then this movie isn't for you, but if you have an open mind this flick is. "Priest" is loosely based off of the Korean comics with the same title, by Min Woo Hyung, an has a post apocalyptic feel to it.

The film takes place in an alternate Earth where humans and vampires have always existed, an been at war. The Vampires being much stronger and faster had the upper hand for centuries. But then the humans found their ultimate weapon within the catholic church. Humans with special abilities were taken in by the church, taught the word of god, and trained to defeat the vampire menace. These special people, humanities warriors, were called Priest. The Warrior Priest did as they were trained, wiped out the vampires hive by hive. Those few Vamps that remained were locked away in camps ( or reservations) out in the wastelands. With the world safe there was no more need for these Priest. They were ordered back into society where they were feared and loathed by the people they protected.

Then one night a pack of rogue vampires attack a family in the wastelands. The father (Stephen Moyer) left for dead, mother killed, and the young girl (Lily Collins) taken. The girl's boy friend and wasteland sheriff (Cam Gigandet) seeks out the girl's uncle, one of the warrior Priest (Paul Bettany). When the Monsignor (Christopher Plummer) denies the Priest's request to go after the girl, he turns his back on the church, and the battle begins.

The special effects and CGI in this film are great, and by the way, all the vampires are done in CGI - except Black Hat (Karl Urban), the new leader of the vampires, and former Priest. The vampires are not typical, other than their thrust for human blood. They are animalistic, eyeless cave dwellers, with a pack mentality, and ruled by a queen. The sun is still a foe, but not deadly. A human that has been bitten, and survived, is know as a familiar. They are neither vampire or human, but something in between. The only exception is Black Hat.

But enough of the spoilers... "Priest" is packed full of action, with very few, and brief slow points. The cinematography is a wonder on the eyes, the writing is great, and the film is topped off with strong performances by all. Don't be fooled by the critics, as many are, if you like action, blood thirst vamps, and a real honest to god hero that knows how to kick ass, "Priest" will deliver.

"Priest" also stars Maggie Q as the warrior priestess, was written by Cory Goodman, and directed by Scott Stewart. "Priest" stands as the most expensive production from Screen Gems, to date.

I give "Priest" 4 1/2 stars...

True Blood

Or should I say Tru Blood. After all that is where the name is to come from, right? The name of the synthetic blood, bottle and sold across the country. That is my first complaint about the show. Why change the spelling in the title? Too corny? Why would that matter, this show is as corny as it gets. Again I didn't watch the show when it first aired. But I had heard some much about it that I took the time to watch the first season one night. Okay, I didn't make it past episode 3. I quickly found myself wondering what the fans of the show seen that I didn't. So I gave it another shot the next day. I literally had to force myself to make it half way through episode 4, and that was as far as I went.

Come on, I had never witnessed such bad acting, terrible accents, horrific writing, and so much down grading stereotyping in a hit show, in my life. Maybe it is because the show is on HBO and allows nudity, and foul language, and that keeps it going. You know the old saying "Sex sells", that is a proven point here. I can not see any other reason for the shows success. Of course I have to give it to the actors, Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), and Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton) for at least trying to bring the characters to life. An actor is only as good as their script allows them to be. I mean come on, the characters read off like a porn line up, and the story line is running right along side.

I'm sure I will catch a lot of flack from this, but I have to be honest about what I think. Sorry True Blood fans... But if you want to see what good writing is for a vampire tale, check out The Vampire Diaries.

Being Human, The Doctor Who Connection

There has been a couple hit shows that came from the Doctor Who line up... Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures. But how does Being Human tie in, you ask? Well let me start with Russell Tovey (George), the man of contradiction. Or should I say werewolf. A sweet but dull guy, that is until the full moon rises, and one of the stars of the hit show Being Human. But Being Human wasn't Russell's first appearance on a hit TV show. He had a guest role in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas Special 'Voyage of the Damned', and reprised his role as Midshipman Alonso Frame in the 2009/2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special 'The End of Time'. Russell T Davies, Doctor Who executive producer and lead writer, suggested Russell Tovey as a future replacement for David Tennant. Of course the role of the Eleventh Doctor went to Matt Smith instead, but can you imagine what kind of Doctor Tovey would have made.

Next we have Lenora Crichlow, who plays the lovely and sensual spirit, Annie. Lenora as found her way into the mad capped Doctor's world in 2007. She guest starred in the episode 'Gridlock', were the entire population of the city was stuck in a traffic jam, and had been for generations.

Now lastly, but certainly not least, we have Sinead Keenan. The fightsty girlfriend of George - Nina. Keenan also had a guest role in the 2009/2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special 'The end of Time' as Addams. I have to admit, she made a pretty darn cute Cactus.

Being Human vs Being Human

Title a little confusing? It won't be for long.

Early this year I caught a new Syfy series called Being Human. A tale of a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living in the same home. And as the shows title depicts, their are all doing their best to resume normal human lives. Well we all know that's not going to work, opening many possibilities for the show. I liked what I saw right from the start, but again as has happened so many time to me, I missed the first episode. So like any true fan would I search out what I had missed. Not only did I find the pilot, but I found out that Being Human started in the UK on the BBC two year earlier. That's right, Being Human UK was on it's third season. So what would you do? If your like me, you watch the UK to get more of the story. But the problem was that it was a different story. The principles were the same of course. Vampire, werewolf, and ghost living together under the same roof, the vampire and werewolf even had the same jobs. The character personalities were nearly exact as well, but they were completely different characters at the same time. Here in the US Sam Witwer plays Aidan the vampire, in the UK it's Aidan Turner as Mitchell. Sam Huntington is Josh the werewolf in US, and Russell Tovey is George over the pound. Then you have the lovely and very talented Lenora Crichlow as Annie the ghost on BBC, where as on Syfy Meghan Rath is the tempting poltergeist Sally.

Parts of the story line parallel each other, but for the most part they are entirely different tales. Point in question. In the US version, Aiden befriends a young neighborhood boy that is being bullied. Of course things go wrong, and by the end the boy is dieing. Aiden turns down the boy's mother's request to save his live. But of course Aiden's vamp-girlfriend turns the boy anyway. At the end of the episode Aiden takes the boy out into the woods, to teach him to hunt, but in reality it is a one way trip for the young vampire. He kills the lad. Now this is much the same in the UK take, but Mitchell turns the boy himself, explains it all to the mother and then sends them off on a train to start a new life. That my friends is just one example of very many differences.

Most of my family has watched both Being Human series with me, and we all like both of them, but I have to be honest - We all lean towards the original UK version on the show. Watch it and you will see what I mean. There just seem to be more depth to the characters and the story, rather than relying on the violence to carry the show. Please let me know what you think.

The Vampire Diaries

First I have to say that I just watched the first episode of The Vampire Diaries a few months ago. I had heard of the show, seen some previews, but wrote it off as another teen vampdrama riding on the skirt tails of Twilight. Wow was I ever wrong. This show has fangs as well as heart, and follows the same guidelines that I do in my own writing. Strong, believable characters - don't let the gore fuel the story - and lastly that no character is truly safe. Although there are similarities between Diaries and Twilight, the differences are obvious in the first episode. The casting could not have been better, and the writing is so strong it makes it easy to believe. If you are like me and passed up this show, I suggest that you go out and pick up the first two seasons. But make sure you don't start watching until you have a couple of free days. Why? Because once you start watching you won't want to stop. Season three will be kicking off soon, but I am sure not soon enough for its fan base.

I have much more to say about this series, but that will come in later bogs. So keep checking back.