I am a fan of True Blood. I am also an avid reader. So it made sense that I wanted to read the books that spawned the series. Thanks to the awesomeness of ebay I have received the boxed set of this series.
Now, sadly, I have to say that Dead Until Dark is boring. It's an awesome book but it turns out True Blood stayed completely true to the novel. Which would've been more awesome had I not watched the series first. The whole mystery plot of who was killing the fangbangers had already been spoiled for me.
At least it gave me a chance to see what they changed in the leap from book to HBO. For instance, no Tara in the first book. She is in the series but has a smaller role. For instance, Sookie's brother Jason has a smaller role, he's still a suspect in the murders but the whole vamp blood/Amy Burley storyline was made up for the series. Tara also does not appear in the first book and Lafayette's is more of a peripheral character.
Nothing against the character of Tara but having Sookie with nobody close to her made her isolation and loneliness a little more believable.
I actually like the book's portrayal of Sookie and Bill's relationship better than the television's. Sookie is just a little more accepting of Bill's dark nature. When she learns that he killed a couple who attacked, she's just a little uncomfortable. Unlike the series where she completely freaks out.
Essentially Dead Until Dark covers the entire first season of True Blood. All in all it was a great book. But I was disappointed that I didn't discover the book series before the television series. I still suggest True Blood fans read this book, despite the spoilers.
That was just passion burning? Thank God, I thought I had to go the free clinic.
St. Elmo's Fire did the impossible, it ended the reign of the Brat Pack forever. Perhaps we weren't ready to accept our teen idols as grownups. Perhaps we weren't ready to accept John Bender as a yuppie Republican. Perhaps Joel (Bat Nipples) Schumacher really is an evil spirit and must be destroyed.
Our favorite Brat Packeteers (sans Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald) have graduated college and are ready to make their mark on the world.
Judd Nelson plays Alec Newberry, a Democrat turned Republican who wants to marry his live in girlfriend Leslie. However this doesn't stop him from banging every girl within ten feet of him. Judd Nelson glowers and snarls like an epileptic Elvis impersonator but never quite emotes.
Ally Sheedy'switchy weirdness is masked in the thankless role of Leslie. Leslie is a wanna be career woman who doesn't believe in marriage. Despite her character being terminally boring, she has two men fighting over her.
The other man is Kevin played by Andrew McCarthey with his perpetual deer-in-the-headlights gaze. Kevin is a sarcastic obituary writer who yearns to write something earth changing. Humorously the character with no life succeeds by writing an article on the meaning of life. He secretly lusts after Leslie and spends his time debating life and love with a neighborhood hooker.
Emilio Estevez ups his creep factor as law student, Kirby Kager. A chance meeting with a former crush causes him to become full on psycho. He drops out of law school, joins med school, works for a Korean gangster and goes back to law school all in one film. His stalking methods are rewarded though by a kiss from his beloved.
Demi Moore plays party girl, Jules. Jules is the talking handbook of '80s indulgence with her furs, coke, and pink Billy Idol inspired apartment. She is also under a mountain of stress and it culminates in a very '80s nervous breakdown reminiscent of a Bonnie Tyler video.
Mare Winningham plays Wendy the allegedly fat, virginal, heart of the movie. I say allegedly because in reality the actress was pregnant filming this movie. She's the typical rich girl yearning to be out on her own. She is also typically co-dependant on bad boy Billy.
Billy is played by Rob Lowe, chaos incarnate. The only married parent of the group, he blows through jobs and women like they are going out of style. But he only does that when he's not mangling his saxophone during awkward music numbers. Who didn't giggle hysterically when he left his friends to pursue his music career?
The movie in a word, maudlin, we don't even like these characters how can we root for them? Watching a bunch of Yuppies in trendy clothes and fab apartments complain about how hard life is not your typical post college experience. Why not show the real world of post college life? Medium wage jobs, that small apartment you can barely afford and eating Top Ramen more times that you need to.
Rather than fade away, this film continues to thrive. CBS is planning on making a series based on St. Elmo's Fire.
Jesse is a blond, beautiful, smart girl with a bright future. She's also a character in a Lifetime movie. I'm gonna sing the doom song now.
Jesse meets her roommate, Shanna, and the two hit if off. Even though Shanna is a sorority pledge and Jesse is a jock. Suddenly a gaggle of giggling teenagers burst in bearing champagne and plastic champagne glasses. It turns out the single glass of champagne was super fun and leads her down the windy path of self-destruction.
Shanna begs Jesse to attend a party with her. Jesse can't, she has a 10:30 class in the morning. Jesse, you bloody amateur, you can party and still attend a 10:30 class, stop whining, and start binge drinking like Lifetime told you.
Soon Shanna and Jesse are three sheets to the wind and grooving to the most generic dance music that Lifetime likely got at a clearance sale. Oh horror of horrors, Jesse wakes up at 10:16 am and is late for class. She meets a nice guy named Colin who saves her from falling asleep in class.
Jesse tries to straighten up and fly right but misses the fun that booze and parties brought her. Shanna meets a guy and is rarely home. While having coffee with Shanna, Jesse notices Colin playing guitar on the street. If his tuition is reliant on his musician skills, he better drop out right this minute.
We cut back to poor Nancy Travis whose whole storyline so far consists of her missing her daughter. Lifetime wasting Nancy Travis' talent since 2007. At Shanna's bequest, Jesse agrees to go to a fraternity luau. Plastic cups of daiquiri goodness follow.
Jesse goes on a double date with Shanna and a couple of cardboard cutout studs. A nervous Jesse takes a swig out of a flask. Colin is there performing and gives Jesse an impromptu serenade.
Jesse gets drunk, loses her virginity to the cardboard cutout, and misses class. Of course, cardboard cutout doesn't call and Jesse begins to spend time with Colin who doesn't drink. Cardboard cutout finally calls and she ditches Colin. She only orders a Diet Coke, but no fear cardboard cutout has a flask. The flask to student ratio is very high at this college.
It turns out cardboard cutout has a girlfriend. Jesse mopes to a sad, generic, Sade ripoff until she gets the strength to party again. She drinks, falls asleep in class, and avoids her mother's calls.
Shanna and Jesse vow to stay at school and have a sober Thanksgiving with Chinese food and Spanish soap operas. Jesse goes home for Christmas and lies to her mom that she doesn't drink. Shanna gives her a fake ID as a gift. Colin asks Jesse out a date but she decides to hit the bars instead.
Jesse hooks up with some random guy and loses her cell phone. Nancy Travis wastes some more talent waiting by the phone. Jesse is horrified that she hooked up with someone she didn't know.
Nancy Travis finally does something in this movie. She goes up to surprise her daughter only to find her drunk. Jesse insults her mom who leaves but tells her that this isn't over. Shanna begs Jesse to lie to her mom and go to San Diego for a sober spring break. Sure, all the college girls go to spring break to avoid drinking.
5 seconds later, she is drunk again. She enters a wet t-shirt contest and flashes the crowd, unaware that a video camera is filming. Of course all that drinking catches up with her and she doesn't make the track team. Jesse's dirty video hits the Internet and her mother orders her to stop drinking or she'll stop paying for college.
Jesse heads to the frat for a non-drinking night of movie watching. Yes, lots of girls who want to quit drinking go to a frat to avoid alcohol. She sees cardboard cutout macking on some random girl and decides to drink.
Jesse's mom looks up binge drinking on the Internet. The viewers are bombarded with a bunch of statistics. Sexual assaults, vandalism, and death, oh my. Someone asks a frat brother to move his car, Jesse insists that he's too drunk and does it instead. She crashes into a fire hydrant and the campus police arrive.
Jesse only gets probation though and promises her mom that she'll go to counseling. In a guitar driven montage, she gets her act together and hooks up with Colin. As the school year ends, Shanna invites Jesse to a party on the roof, Jesse declines. Shanna swears that she'll only have a couple. Why do I suddenly get the feeling that Shanna's gonna go squish?
Jesse and Colin wind up attending the party and are greeted by a drunk Shanna. Jesse is kind of disgusted by the way the girls are behaving and leaves. Shanna doesn't go squish but instead goes to the frat house for more booze.
Colin admits that he used to be a drinker and lost his scholarship and girlfriend because of it. She kisses him. We see Shanna showing up at another party. Shanna succumbs to sweet lady alcohol poisoning.
Everyone learns a larger lesson in life. And once again Lifetime cruelly snatches two hours our of my life.
In this film, we meet promising musician, Jason Kempler. Jason is played by Brian Austin Green who not only failed at rapping but also lip syching. At one of his gigs he meets Melanie Crane played by Nicholle Tom and sparks fly.
Melanie fails as an artist judging from an awful picture that she draws of Jason. They share a sickeningly sweet kiss and off to his daddy's yacht they go. It only takes moments for the two of them to knock boots. They don't have a condom, hence the title.
The next day, Melanie goes to see Jason again. But she catches him soulfully singing to another girl and her heart is broken. We learn a little more about Jason, college student, car salesman, and future rock star. Of course, if you have a bright future in a Lifetime movie, you're doomed.
Right on schedule, Melanie misses her period and feels nauseous. She breaks the news to Jason who doesn't want to believe that the baby is his. He reminds Melanie that she hooked up with him 5 minutes after they met. All he can offer her is money and a ride to the abortion clinic.
She goes to the abortion clinic with her best friend but chickens out. In the very next scene, the baby has been born. Fastest Lifetime pregnancy ever. Melanie's mom had Melanie at 15 and is none too keen on having the baby there. When Melanie is not arguing with her mother, she is stalking Jason, whose future is getting brighter by the minute.
Melanie and her mom argue some more and Melanie packs her bags and leaves a note. She waits outside Jason's house and watches him hooking up with a girl through the windows. When he is alone, she knocks on the door, shoves the baby at him and takes off.
Since Jason does not know her last name or where she lives, he's stuck with the kid. He has to get a DNA test and foster care is full. He goes to Melanie's former work but the boss won't give out that information. He runs into Melanie's best friend who takes him to see Melanie's mom. Melanie's mom not only does not care where her wayward daughter is, she shows no interest in her grandson either.
While Melanie flees to California, David's life gets progressively worse. His dad fires him from the car lot and also fires the baby's nanny. His band also can't deal with his drama and kick him out of the group.
The DNA tests come back and Jason Kempler.....you are the father. "MazelTov" the doctor tells him. I am disappointed, Faye Grant is in this movie but she really doesn't do anything except bitch about the baby. I loved her in V.
Single fatherhood gets to be too much for Jason, and he thinks about abandoning the baby but doesn't. Jason's father kicks him out of the house and he rents a rickety old houseboat. Which is the perfect environment for an infant. While moving in, he nearly drops the baby and his prized guitar in the water. He can only save one and chooses the baby. Since he sucks as a musician, it was the best choice he ever made.
As father and son bond, Melanie leaves Cali and starts working her way home. At Melanie's bequest her best friend goes to visit Jason. She's impressed by his parenting skills after he saves the baby from touching a hot cup of coffee.
Needing work he applies to be a model home salesman but instead winds up as a construction worker. His co-workers hate his Yuppie ass, I don't blame them even I hate his Yuppie ass. Melanie takes a job at a small diner. Jason convinces Melanie's mom to sit for the baby.
Jason's goes to a friend's party and ends up drunk in the backseat of a car with a chick. He doesn't have a condom but she doesn't mind. But Jason has learned a larger lesson in life and hightails it out of there. He arrives drunk and tries to take the baby home, Melanie's mom stops him and makes him stay there. The next day, she tells that he has got to be grow up and be a better father.
Things get tougher for Jason, his electricity is shut off, his son has to go the ER, and he loses his job when he doesn't call or show up for work for three days. For someone who desperately needs money, he is all blase' about the job. The world is so cruel to Unwed Fathers, that much is true.
Melanie confides in her co-worker what she did and the co-worker offers to let her move into her house with the baby. Melanie swoops back in expecting to be welcomed back with open arms. Both her mother and her best friend urge her to leave Jason and the baby alone.
Melanie has the privilege of being the most annoying Lifetime character ever. All she does is pout and whine. I actually cheer Jason on when he takes off with the kid. But having little cash, he has to face things that no Yuppie should. Seedy hotel rooms, filthy rest stop bathrooms, and having to sleep in his car.
After a cop busts him sleeping in his car, he decides to return back home. The cop is an idiot, Jason's name is not on the birth certificate and he has no proof that the baby is his. Logic, we don't need no stinking logic.
Eventually they strike a deal, Jason moves closer to Melanie. He gets his name on the birth certificate and they all live happily ever after. Do you wonder how this piece of crap got made? Four simple words Brian Austin Green Productions. Lifetime....it's fantastic.
Tamara is by far one of the strangest films I have had the pleasure to watch. It's a not a top notch horror film but it is still quite entertaining. It harkens back to a simpler time where horror were just slice and dice and didn't take itself that seriously. It's got the flippant humor that Jennifer's Body tried for, and the envelope pushing violence that made May awesome.
Tamara is an unpopular and bullied high school student who just happens to dabble in witchcraft. When she inadvertently exposes the football teams steroid use, the jocks plan revenge. However, their prank goes horrible wrong and Tamara winds up dead. Her murderers refuse to give up their bright futures and bury her in the woods. They are horrified when she returns sexy, powerful, and with an ax to grind.
For starters, Jenna Dewan who plays Tamara is awesome. As a nerdy girl bullied by her peers, you genuinely feel sorry for her. And when she comes back to claim her vengeance you root for her. She is so sexy and entertaining and it really doesn't matter that she's not that scary. Most of the cast is unknown with the exception of Chad Faust who starred in the film, Saved. Not having too many big actors gives the film a fresher feel.
The movie is predictable. You'll probably guess every twist and turn but it will still be entertaining. There are some scenes that push the limits in this film. If you are easily grossed out, I recommend not watching this film.
I reccomend this film for people who enjoy films like May, Teeth, and Jennifer's Body. It's fun, cheesy, and so bad that it is awesome. It is one of the few horror movies released in the last few years that I genuinely liked.
I've seen the greatest horror movies of my generation destroyed by remakes. (My apologies to Allen Ginsberg). I am an '80s movie fan forced to watch my favorite villains blandly remade in order to entice a new generation. They did it to Michael, they did it to Jason, and now poor Freddy is next up on the block.
There are young horror viewers out there who may be intrigued by the remake and want to rent some of the earlier installments. I present to you the Nightmare On Elm Street Guide.
Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) Teenager Nancy finds herself the target of a supernatural menace who can kill people in their dreams.
The Good: The film belongs to Heather Langenkemp who plays Nancy. Unlike a lot of final girls in horror films, she is smart, creative, and can definitely hold her own. This film is dark and does not contain too many of the one liners that would eventually turn Freddy into a less scary version of Carrot Top. Freddy will never be scarier than he is in this film. You simply cannot watch the remake without seeing this one as the remake borrows heavily from the first film.
The Bad: There are some scenes such as Nancy encountering the corpse of her best friend, that are simply there for gross out value. These scenes stop the film cold and it takes a while to get back into it.
Notable Stars: This is film marks the movie debut of Johnny Depp who plays Nancy's boyfriend Glen. John Saxon lends his awesome presence to the film as Nancy's father.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985): Fiveyearsafter the events of the first movie, teenager Jesse moves into the neighborhood. Freddy's back and he has big plans for Jesse.
The Good: The poster looks pretty cool, meh, I have nothing.
The Bad: The majority of this film is bad. It has the lowest death count of the series. Two major character deaths and a quick massacre of some unnamed extras. There is a scene with an exploding parakeet and this awkward dance scene.
What really hinders the film is the homoerotic subtext that runs throughout the film. Jesse has more chemistry with his best friend Grady than his supposed love interest. He wanders into an S&M bar where he encounters his sadistic coach who takes him back to the gym. I always suspected that the character of Jesse was intended to be gay but the studio wouldn't allow it.
Notable Stars: Soap Star Christie Clark plays Jesse's younger sister. Jo Ann Willette from Just The Ten Of Us shows up briefly. Jo Ann would co-star with other Nightmare alumni such as Heather Langenkemp and Brooke Theiss.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987): The last remaining Elm street children have been placed in a mental hospital due to dream psychosis. Nancy returns to the series intent on beating Freddy once and for all.
The Good: Heather Langenkemp returns to the series as Nancy. This film should have been the direct sequel to the first as opposed to the piece of crap they did air. The film has some creative death scenes and some great one liners. At this point Freddy is scary/funny but not as cartoonish as he eventually becomes.
The Bad: I know that nudity is traditional in these films, but not a requirement. There is one topless scene that doesn't fit in with the pace of the films and stops the movie cold.
Notable Stars: A then unknown Lawrence Fishburne stars as an orderly. Along with Langenkemp, John Saxon reprises his role from the original film. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, the main heroine of the film. There is a hysterical cameo by Dick Cavett and Zsa Zsa Gabor
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master(1988): Kristen is out of the mental hospital and is trying to get over Freddy. But how do you get over something when it hasn't yet ended?
The Good: I am going to say it, Nightmare On Elm Street 4 is my favorite of the franchise. I'll give all you horror enthusiasts time to gather together the torch bearing mob. The film has some entertaining and fun characters. The death scenes are creative and there is a kick ass soundtrack featuring Blondie, Divinyls, Dramarama, and Sinead O'Connor. This films also introduces Alice who is my second favorite final girl of the series.
The Bad: There are a couple of unnecessarily cheesy scenes such as a dog pissing Freddy to life and a naked girl trapped in a water bed. If you have a bug phobia do not watch this movie. Just don't.
Notable Stars: Tuesday Knight takes over for Patricia Arquette as Kristen. Brooke Theiss stars as bug phobic bad girl. General Hospital star Cheryl Richardson appears in a blink and you will miss it role.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989): Freddy is back to his old tricks. He has a new way of killing the Elm Street children, by using the dreams of Alice's unborn child.
The Good: Well Lisa Wilcox reprises her role as Alice, I always loved her
The Bad: I wanted to like this film, I really did. It's a direct sequel to my favorite movie and I love the heroine. I wanted to like this movie but couldn't. It's boring with unlikable characters, the deaths are less creative and more revolting. Freddy has officially become a cartoon cracking more one liners than actually killing.
Notable Stars: Lisa Wilcox reprises her role as Alice. Kelly Minter (who was awesome whatever happened to her?) also stars.
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991): Ten years have passed and all the Elm Street children are dead. Except for one boy who Freddy plans on using to escape Elm Street and enter the real world.
The Good: I got to see this in the theater and the 3D section was all kinds of awesome.
The Bad: The 3D section only lasted 20 minutes and the rest of the film is sub par. It suffers from an uneven script, way too cartoonish death scenes and way to many celebrity cameos. The montage of all his movies during the credits were more interesting. By the way the tag line: They Saved The Best For Last is a lie. And lies make baby Jesus cry.
Notable Stars: Lisa Zane, Yaphet Cotto, and Breckin Meyer star. Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Roseanne and Tom Arnold show up for cameos.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994): Welcome to the real world, where Freddy is just a movie and Heather Langenkemp is just an actress. But when the line between fiction and reality blur, Heather fights to save her son.
The Good: This was a great movie, a wonderful homage to the original. It's great to see some of the behind the scenes members of the Nightmare franchise get their moment in the sun. There are so many cameos by former Nightmare alumni that it's almost like Where's Waldo? Heather Langenkemp is phenomenal.
The Bad: Not enough Freddy but I guess that was the point of the movie.
Notable Stars: John Saxon plays himself and briefly reprises his fictional role. Wes Craven and Robert Englind play themselves in the movie. Miko Hughes stars as her son. Tracy Middendorf plays the role of a babysitter who reenacts one of Freddy's iconic death scenes.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003): Everything that could be said about this monstrosity can be found in my Friday The 13th Movie Guide.
Feeling nostalgic I decided to Netflix Blossoms Season 1 & 2. On the DVD, I found the shows original pilot. The show that a lot of us grew up watching started out completely different.
To start things off, Blossom's parents are still together and played by different actors. Blossom's mom is named Barbara and works in the film industry. She is played by some actress named Barrie Youngfellow.
Blossom's father is named Terry Russo and is an accountant not a musician. He is played by Richard Masur who starred in IT and My Girl 1 & 2. Nothing against Ted Wass but I would've enjoyed seeing Richard keep this role. Why, because I have had this weird unexplained crush on the actor for years.
Joey Lawrence still plays Blossom's brother but is called Donnie and he seems a bit more intelligent than the character ended up being. He also rocks the mullet in the pilot. Anthony is also played by the same actor and is essentially the same character.
Six is still played by Jenna Von Oy but is tad bit dirtier than she ended up being. According to her character, she was named Six because that was how many beers it took for her dad to conceive her. She also claims that a more popular girl could breastfeed the homeless as a contribution to society. She's not the only character with PG 13 dialogue, Blossom's mother refers to pleasuring herself on occasion.
While I enjoyed watching the pilot I can see why they changed it. A precocious girl with the typical suburban family, it's been done. A precocious girl and her two brothers being raised by a single musician father was a fresher and more unique approach to the show.
