“Even a man who is pure of heart,
and says his prayers by night,
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms,
and the autumn moon is bright.”
No, Abbot and Costello were not in this one.
Just Benecio del Toro, Hugo Weaving, Anthony Hopkins, and Emilt Blunt.
Considering such a superb cast I think they could have done a little bit better but nonetheless it was still a fantastic film.
First of all I never would have picked Benecio out of thin air for the role of The Wolfman. Yet it was an excellent choice. He has a surprisingly similar presence to Lon Cheney Jr. that I never would have known. It's not so much that they look or sound the same; it's that they have the same sad eyes. This is essential for The Wolfman. It's not essential for a werewolf in general but it is for The Wolfman specifically.
The movie was very classic. The cinematography and art direction was superb. It really felt like it was created when it took place. They didn't over modernize. I think a modernized version would be neat as well but that's a whole different monster, literally.
If I may quote my own paper-- "Film werewolves are represented in three ways: the classic wolf man, the genuine wolf, and most cinematically friendly—the monster werewolf."
Examples of these are: The Wolfman (1941)as the classic, The Wolf (1994)as the genuine, and American Werewolf in London as the monster.
This new Benecio werewolf is the first incarnation I've seen of a combination classic and monster werewolf. It was a really brilliant way to keep it looking classic and believable (as far as monsters go) while making it more appealing and less ridiculous to the 2010 audience as opposed to the 1941 audience.
Yes, it's slow as some of the reviews have said but that's part of the charm. There is essentially nothing thrilling about Mr. Talbot....except when there's a full moon. That is the essence of what makes the story of The Wolfman a classic.
Any one of us can keep a monster within us, no matter how pure at heart we are.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Life is "strange and offputting." Like Dracula says...
Nobody will know what that means but nobody reads this anyway so not a problem.
My house is messy. And it's so full of stuff. Why do I have all this stuff? I must do something about it. Of course if I trade in my little orange couch for my friend's giant cushy couch then it'll be even more packed full in here. But cushy. Another round of purging is on my mental to do list. I still miss my shack.
Fact is, I will always miss my shack. I try to keep the thought, that life will never be like it was, contained in a little box in my brain. But my brain makes a crappy box and it doesn't work at all.
One of my thoughtful friends recently was concerned about me getting hurt in just your average life stuff. I explained that nothing I get myself in to will ever be as bad as the horrible torture of being parted from those whom you love more than life itself. Loving things more than life itself comes with quite a disadvantage when you're not with them. As I said to Lindsay, one of my most beloved, we are a broken family and we always will be. But, life goes on even if there's not much of a point to it. With that in mind at all times I attempt normalcy...for ME anyway.
KJ normal is not regular normal but that's the only thing I have available that I can willingly embrace and enjoy. In the meantime I just find things that amuse me. Friends, movies, boys, booze, whatever. Not really good enough but...good enough.
I also wait for summer. Sun. Warm.
I've never had such a hatred for the cold yuckyness. I don't know what is different about this year but I'm about ready to pack up and get out. (I'm almost always ready for that but this is more specific.)
Strange and interesting complications give me a reason to keep tuning in for my next episode. Unfortunately they are a bit too interesting to be blogged about but feel free to find me for a private chat. :)
If I do something that seems questionable, that means it's worth the risk. This is something that SO many people have yet to learn of me. Soak it up. Please.
My house is messy. And it's so full of stuff. Why do I have all this stuff? I must do something about it. Of course if I trade in my little orange couch for my friend's giant cushy couch then it'll be even more packed full in here. But cushy. Another round of purging is on my mental to do list. I still miss my shack.
Fact is, I will always miss my shack. I try to keep the thought, that life will never be like it was, contained in a little box in my brain. But my brain makes a crappy box and it doesn't work at all.
One of my thoughtful friends recently was concerned about me getting hurt in just your average life stuff. I explained that nothing I get myself in to will ever be as bad as the horrible torture of being parted from those whom you love more than life itself. Loving things more than life itself comes with quite a disadvantage when you're not with them. As I said to Lindsay, one of my most beloved, we are a broken family and we always will be. But, life goes on even if there's not much of a point to it. With that in mind at all times I attempt normalcy...for ME anyway.
KJ normal is not regular normal but that's the only thing I have available that I can willingly embrace and enjoy. In the meantime I just find things that amuse me. Friends, movies, boys, booze, whatever. Not really good enough but...good enough.
I also wait for summer. Sun. Warm.
I've never had such a hatred for the cold yuckyness. I don't know what is different about this year but I'm about ready to pack up and get out. (I'm almost always ready for that but this is more specific.)
Strange and interesting complications give me a reason to keep tuning in for my next episode. Unfortunately they are a bit too interesting to be blogged about but feel free to find me for a private chat. :)
If I do something that seems questionable, that means it's worth the risk. This is something that SO many people have yet to learn of me. Soak it up. Please.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Junk and Stuff
I told Sheena that I couldn't remember what I was going to blog about and "junk and stuff" was her suggestion so that works for me.
Here's a list of things that I've thought about writing about and haven't gotten to yet:
~I wrote about my first dream of 2010 but I was going to write about my first scary/apocalyptic dream of 2010. The end of the world apparently happens at my place of employment. Based on my feelings about that place it's not all that surprising. There was bodies hanging from the ceiling and chunks of ice flying over the horizon on to the building. It was pretty wicked crazy. I only wish I could film it.
~Things we liked better "Before":
Tiger Woods before the trashy women.
PeeWee before the wanking.
Michael Jackson before the...whiteness and strange relationships with children.
Olsen Twins before puberty.
Arnold before the politics.
Britney before K-Fed and the mental breakdown.
Lindsay Lohan before the trashy phase, when she still had freckles.
Christian Bale before the tantrum.
Television before Reality.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I have on the list so far.
~As a follow up to things we liked before is things we didn't like UNTIL:
Bob Saget until his disturbing appearance in The Aristocrats.
Chuck Norris until...what? Chin jokes? I don't know what happened there but I'm glad it went away.
Mickey Roark until The Wrestler. I liked Mickey but he wasn't getting the respect he deserved until then.
Charlie Sheen until Two and a Half Men. *See Mickey Roark explanation.
Hugh Grant until the prostitute? Should this go in the other catagory? I'm thinking not.
I didn't have as much time to develop this list but feel free to add to it.
~With the assistance of Ed I will hopefully come up with a list of words that should have opposites:
disgruntled vs gruntled: "My job makes me feel fulfilled and gruntled."
disturbed vs turbed: "I'm totally relaxed and turbed."
disgusting/disgusted vs gusting/gusted: "That was a gusting meal you prepared Yvonne."
Get it?
I had a nice day on Friday. I met a geek. All is somewhat more normal in the world.
That's about all I've got for now.
Here's a list of things that I've thought about writing about and haven't gotten to yet:
~I wrote about my first dream of 2010 but I was going to write about my first scary/apocalyptic dream of 2010. The end of the world apparently happens at my place of employment. Based on my feelings about that place it's not all that surprising. There was bodies hanging from the ceiling and chunks of ice flying over the horizon on to the building. It was pretty wicked crazy. I only wish I could film it.
~Things we liked better "Before":
Tiger Woods before the trashy women.
PeeWee before the wanking.
Michael Jackson before the...whiteness and strange relationships with children.
Olsen Twins before puberty.
Arnold before the politics.
Britney before K-Fed and the mental breakdown.
Lindsay Lohan before the trashy phase, when she still had freckles.
Christian Bale before the tantrum.
Television before Reality.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I have on the list so far.
~As a follow up to things we liked before is things we didn't like UNTIL:
Bob Saget until his disturbing appearance in The Aristocrats.
Chuck Norris until...what? Chin jokes? I don't know what happened there but I'm glad it went away.
Mickey Roark until The Wrestler. I liked Mickey but he wasn't getting the respect he deserved until then.
Charlie Sheen until Two and a Half Men. *See Mickey Roark explanation.
Hugh Grant until the prostitute? Should this go in the other catagory? I'm thinking not.
I didn't have as much time to develop this list but feel free to add to it.
~With the assistance of Ed I will hopefully come up with a list of words that should have opposites:
disgruntled vs gruntled: "My job makes me feel fulfilled and gruntled."
disturbed vs turbed: "I'm totally relaxed and turbed."
disgusting/disgusted vs gusting/gusted: "That was a gusting meal you prepared Yvonne."
Get it?
I had a nice day on Friday. I met a geek. All is somewhat more normal in the world.
That's about all I've got for now.
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