Byzantium: A Tale Of Two Vampires

Vampire films have certainly seen better days, I mean the past 6 years Twilight has spent bastardising the genre. As a fan of vampire films and television from such a young age I really did fear for the genre, will it be able to bounce back? Fortunately for us real fans there have been releases that are quite good, probably not as successful, but hey, the world is an unfair place. We've had Let The Right One In, Daybreakers, Fright Night (remake) and the up and coming Only Lovers Left Alive which our very own Matt Edwards has written about. I'd like to dedicate this post to Byzantium, which I discovered this week and absolutely adored and follows two vampires, Clara (Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan), who have spent two centuries on the run from an unknown force.

The film has a unique take on vampires, changing the way the being's change when they are becoming the deadly animals that they are as well as the conversions process from human to vampire. It's a complete departure from vampires in media before it but done incredibly well. The vampires are actually a little scary (I'm dead inside so I don't scare that easy) which is always a plus. I feel that the only time a vampire is allowed to not be scary is when it's a comedy, or the character is used for comedic effect, but usually there should really be a mix of fear and laughter (see Spike in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Clara's unexpected temper did have me on the edge of my seat quite a bit, even from the opening of the film, but the film didn't just show the lack of humanity within vampires, but in humanity itself through the character of The Captain (Johnny Lee Miller) and it was intriguing to watch.

Kevin Bacon Is Awesome. That's All That Needs To Be Said.

Seeing this ad at my local bus stop just reminded me how awesome this guy is, and I could really just stop there but I'll try and elaborate without gushing too much. I remember the first time I watched him in something, I was about 8 or 9 and it was Footloose and man was he mesmerising, he was probably the main reason I loved that film and no remake would ever top the original. To be fair that's true for a lot of remakes these days. That's not the only reason he is commendable, he has had a solid career for the last 30 years, featuring in films that have garnered critical acclaim and audience adoration which has rubbed off on him. In my eyes anything bad he dies just would never stack up to the good, proof of that is The Following and the fact that he is the face of EE (and evil phone company). You've probably read my thoughts on The Following and I think anyone who knows you can tell you my issues with EE. The company is terrible and I've been with them for years but I hate it, hate it, hate it. My friend actually works for them but that doesn't even quell my anger and hate towards them, the only thing that keeps me with then is Mr Kevin Bacon. Yes, I'm such a fan of his that I stay with the company just because he endorses them, I never thought I'd be the type of fan to blindly follow everything that an actor is involved in (specifically endorsements) but in his case I do. When I compare myself to people by silly One Direction and Justin Bieber memorabilia, I realise that my slight obsession isn't wrong because the person I'm following like a drone is Kevin Bacon. He's Awesome!

Live Long and Blog! 

Dexter Should've Ended At Season 4

*spoilers from season 4-8 below. Will try and keep spoilers from season 8 to a minimum*

It should come as no surprise that I watch Dexter, I think i've mentioned it a couple of times and also mentioned my fascination with serial killers. When I first started watching the show I was enamoured, there's nothing better than a good anti hero and trying to decipher Dexter's psyche was fascinating which is why it pains me to say that the show really should've ended at season 4. You see Dexter isn't just about Dexter and his thoughts and feelings, it's about the whole ensemble and ever since season 4 I think the character of Dexter, as well as the others that feature in the show, has gone downhill. Characters that were introduced that had so much promise have also ended up being, well how should I put this, pants.

Is There A Place For Homosexuals In Cinema?

Wentworth Millar coming out as gay (seriously, didn't know that was a secret) made me pose this question and the most simple answer is yes. Unfortunately reading comments regarding him as well as other gay actors/actresses is ridiculously depressing because I see others are stuck in the middle ages and don't feel this way. I've read numerous comments saying that his career is now dead, he will no longer be able to play a romantic lead, how people will no longer watch his films ect. and its stifling. I don't think I've ever interacted with anyone so prejudice and I come from a conservative family, in fact one member actually made a disgusting comment about homosexuals and I have yet to speak to her since that incident.

They are actors, they play characters that a far removed from themselves. I don't understand why their sexual preference, something that is part of their personal lives should affect that, and for me it doesn't. As I mentioned before, I thought he was out already and that never affected my viewing of Prison Break and I had many friends that also watched the show, knowing full well his orientation and it made no difference to them. He was playing a character so his personal life didn't come into it for me. To the people that are saying he should never have played Michael Schofield I have a question for you, should any of those actors been given those roles because they had never broken out of prison? It's pretty much exactly the same thing as you saying that he can't play a straight guy because he's gay. Should these actors play fugitives when they aren't? I bet there would be an uproar if they had actually cast actors that were serial killers and child molesters on the show.

Ben Affleck Braving Comic Book Territory Once Again

A couple of days ago when I heard that Ben Affleck had been cast as the new Batman in the Batman Vs. Superman I was ready to bust a gut and write a scathing post about it. I'd discussed before about how I didn't really want another incarnation of Batman so soon after Bales, and I figured I wouldn't really be accepting of any casting decisions so why would you listen to me? My opinion is biased right?

Well, I've had time to think about it and I think he could actually be ok. I know most people are throwing Daredevil out there as a reason for him to not be Batman, but come on, it wasn't just him involved in that film, I'd actually go as far as saying he had little to no say in it. So how on Earth can he take the blame for that atrocity? Think it through. Affleck's reputation to a major hit after the Daredevil film, I'm pretty sure the other bombs he was in didn't help but in recent years he has gained a significant amount of credibility due to his producing, writing, directing and acting, he has become a true auteur. Because of this I don't think that he would attach himself to the film/franchise if he had any doubts about it, he must actually have faith in the character, and I think he'll probably have a say in the direction that he would like the character to go. And would he really sign onto another comic book movie if he didn't feel it was worth it? Even though I don't like the idea of rebooted the character so quickly I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, and I think you should to. Also, he did this:




How could you not give this guy a chance? Live Long and Blog!

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One Not To Watch: Bad Teacher

Recently I posted about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a show that I'm looking forward to that starts this September and recommeded it to all you lovely readers. I figured seeing as though I'm telling you what to watch, I could also tell you what not to watch, and Bad Teacher (TV show. And movie I guess. Don't pay for it at least) is one of them.

The film itself was so-so, in my eyes it wasn't good, it wasn't bad but it was a way to kill an hour and a half. I probably wouldn't watch it again, and to be honest I don't really remember that much of it. There was no joke that stuck out at me and I know that the dry humping scene was supposed to be funny but it was pretty much just cringeworthy. Because of this I don't quite understand why theres a TV spin off in the works, I mean the film that it's based on wasn't much! It's not like it gave way to unlimited storylines, it's probably just going to be about a bitch who meets a guy she wouldn't usually look twice at, their relationship is fairly antagonistic to begin with but they fall in love and she becomes a better person. With innuendoes thrown in of course. The casting of Ari Gaynor is also quite puzzling because, even though she's lovable and I've adored her since Nick And Norahs Infinite Playlist, she's in her twenties. Isn't Bad Teacher about a teacher that's over the hill? Is this a prequel? Do I really care? No.


Live Long And Blog. I doubt Bad Teacher will.

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X-Men And Fantastic Four Share The Big Screen?

Comic book movies are all the rage nowadays, I mean we've blogged about it on numerous occasions but can we all just admit that the Fantastic Four and certain X-Men films were rubbish? That's not opinion, it's fact! And now we have the news that the Fantastic Four reboot will feature in the same universe as X-Men. *sigh*. Why? Just why? I'm not saying that they can't be in a universe together because they clearly can.