February 2017: "I'm SO Goth..."

Okay, this definitely looks like an assignment from Snapes' "Defense Against the Dark Arts" class, and I think they all just failed...  or maybe they passed???

  

Bruce Campbell and a Cemetery Picnic

No, I didn't meet Bruce Campbell at a cemetery picnic!!  Instead, there were two Goth Meetup events this weekend that I attended.  With this group, it's either feast or famine; this week it appears to be a feast.

The first was last night, a Home Movie Night showing of two Bruce Campbell films: Bubba Hotep, followed by Alien Apocalypse.  We had five goths, two guests, and Daisy the pit bull in attendance at this one.  We had a very strange (but fun!) assortment of munchies, including chips, sodas, Chinese takeout, and some s'mores cupcakes I made in the afternoon.  The first movie was VERY different from what I expected (I'd watched Army of Darkness a few weeks ago, so I was expecting something like that).  Somehow, the idea of two old guys in a convalescent home who think they are really Elvis Presley and President John F. Kennedy taking on a soul-stealing mummy just never occurred to me as a legitimate storyline, but it was actually pretty good, and very funny.  What made it fun was that the whole thing was SO out there that you had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next!  After a brief intermission, we watched Alien Apocalypse, which I have to say was a disappointing letdown after Bubba Hotep.  There wasn't even very much ichor when they FINALLY got around to killing the human-sized, wasp-like aliens, which they did by shooting them with arrows, when all they really needed was a giant can of Raid.  Daisy didn't like it much, either; she went to sleep and snored through most of it. 

Today's event was our second Cemetery Picnic, held in a much larger cemetery than last time.  Rather unfortunately, the directions were not very clear, and we had trouble actually getting the group together as we got there on time but didn't realize there were two fountains, so we waited at the wrong one, and others got there late.  Again, seven adults showed up, but the pit bull was replaced by a small boy who was was much more enthusiastic and bouncy.  Fortunately, he was also fairly well-behaved, so what could have been a disaster (children are not really supposed to be brought to these events unless it's specifically mentioned that they are welcome) turned out to be a lovely, fairly peaceful get-together.  Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, and no one took pics while we were there, so I won't have any pictures to share.

Now I'm going to eat dinner and go to bed, as I'm so tired I'm falling asleep at the computer.  Fortunately, I'm on vacation this week, so I don't have to get up early tomorrow.  G'night.

Nosferatu vs. The Crow

No, this post is NOT about one of those weird "Godzilla vs. Bambi"-type fantasies!  I saw both 'Nosferatu' and 'The Crow' recently, and wanted to comment about them, but just couldn't resist the bizarre post title. 

'Nosferatu'

Made in 1922, 'Nosferatu' is an honest-to-goodness silent movie.  I'd never seen one before, so I found it fascinating for that alone.  The acting seems overdone and strange because they have to mime everything and make it 'bigger' since there is no dialog.  Some of the 'special effects' made me giggle, especially the way Nosferatu was made to glide around the castle as if he were on rollers (he probably WAS).  But considering how limited their ability to do special effects was back then compared to now, I think they did a pretty good job!

Most of the movie follows the story of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, very closely, so I'm assuming that's where they got the main storyline; the last part, however, is very different, and I honestly prefer it to Dracula's ending, which I found to be rather a fizzly letdown.  It's a little long, and does drag a bit in spots, but overall I found it to be fun and worth watching.

You can watch the full-length (1hour 32 mins) restored version of 'Nosferatu" here on YouTube.  Enjoy!

'The Crow'

What can I say about this movie that wouldn't sound totally inadequate?  It's not the most incredible film ever made, but I totally understand why it became a goth cult classic.  A rock star who comes back from the dead (and NOT as a ghost) to avenge the murders of himself and his fiancee by scumbag druglords makes a powerful hero.  My personal sense of justice gloried in his actions, and I loved it even more when he took the time to thank the police officer who had tried to solve the murders, and to help a mother and daughter get their lives and relationship back together.  His tearjerking return to his dead fiancee reminded me very much of the ending in the film 'Gladiator'.  In fact, I'm wondering if 'Gladiator' was actually based on this movie, since it was made in 2000, seven years after 'The Crow', but follows the plotline very closely.  The only thing about this movie I didn't care for was the language, but that's a personal thing, and it's probably very accurate, considering that most of the characters are criminals and lowlife.

You can watch 'The Crow' on YouTube, but it's divided into several parts (around ten, I think).  Rather than fuss with that, I recommend just renting/buying the DVD.

Have you seen either of these films?  What did you think of them?