Granny Reviews Only Lovers Left Alive

                                                              

 

I love vampire stories as much as I do ghost stories. I was a big fan of the “Twilight Series” books and film franchise by Stephenie Meyer...yeah I know I hear the moaning out there, but I really liked the books.

I even liked the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris...even though the 7^th season of the True Blood television series and the last book were a big flop. Too bad it was because I loved  doing the review of the show and I loved Alexander Skarsgard’s vampire stud muffin, Eric Northman.

Last night I watched a film that I had only heard about, but never got to see. That was a big shame because “Only Lovers LeftAlive” which is written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton is a fabulously sensual different take on the fabled bloodsuckers.

Plot

The 2013 film which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival follows Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) a couple of vampires that are very much in love and have been married for centuries. They are living half a world apart from each other and while Adam lives in a rundown Victorian building in Detroit, Eve lives in Tangier. They are connected spiritually and emotionally even with the miles separating them.

                                                             

The modern humans’ blood has been contaminated by the unhealthy food that they consume and the dirty water that they drink. If Adam and Eve drink from humans, they will die and are forced to seek their blood supply from the local blood banks for a pretty price. Eve is fortunate to have a supplier, Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt) who was the real author of Shakespeare’s works.

                                                              

These vampires have lived for centuries and that means that they are very talented and learned entities who enjoy the finer things in life like music, books and art. Adam is a musician who has influenced the careers of many famous musicians and even a few scientists. He powers his car and house with technology pioneered by Tesla. Not wanting to reveal his whereabouts because of his music, he befriends a human Ian (Anton Yelchin) who buys expensive and famous instruments for Adam...

                                                               

Adam is in a funk after living for such a long time, but his wife Eve travels to Detroit to snap him out of his gloom. Things are going well with the two lovers until Eve’s younger sister/vampire Ava (MiaWasikowska) shows up. This vampire is your typical Los Angeles spoiled brat and it isn’t long before she drinks up all of Adam’s good blood supply. When Ava kills a human, Adam and Eve are forced to leave Detroit.

Conclusion

The handsome Tom Hiddleston is just deliciously perfect as a vampire and just as sexy as he was as Loki in the Marvel Universe Franchise, Tom Hiddleston plays his vampire as an intellect. Who says brains aren't a big turn on?

                                                             

                                                        

Tilda Swinton is one of those rare creatures who is so beautiful that you’re never quite sure if she is fully human. Together, Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton bring a new twist to an old tale and they do it with sensuality and style and, even when they do decide to feed, we are left cheering for their survival. Watch the film on demand...you will love it. 

Steampunk Granny Reviews The Arrival

                                                        

 

Yes, my little zombie snacks, it was another night of night being able to unwind enough to fall asleep. My youngest grandson, Nathan had spent a few days with me over the Labor Day weekend. We had a meeting with Chris Eilenstine, the director of Shadows of the Forest. Nathan has a bit part in the film in which I am also one of the writers...neat, right? We met two of the main stars that day Mac Lowery and Brandon Allentoff. It was a lot of fun, but a long day, and hence, the reason we were up late and caught this film.

 

The 1996 science fiction film, directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver, Lindsay Crouse, Teri Polo and Richard Schiff is an alien encounter film that deals with global climate change. No, it’s not about the Republican and Tea Party politicians who are constantly denying man’s direct effects on the world around us...but it could be why they are denying that there is a problem. They might be aliens.

Plot

Charlie Sheen plays Zane Zaminsky, a radio astronomer working for SETI, discovers evidence of intelligent alien life forms. The signal is coming from a star that is 14 light years from Earth. When he reports this to his boss (Ron Silver) he doesn’t believe him. It isn’t long before Zane is fired. He gets a job installing television satellite dishes and creates his own version of a SETI array.                                           

                                                            
Zane isn’t the only one noticing that the planet is going through some major warming. A climatologist, Ilana Green (Lindsay Crouse) finds a poppy field in the middle of the Arctic. Zane and Ilana figure out that someone is purposely melting the polar ice and it might have to do with the radio signals that Zane has been intercepting

Conclusion

I love Ron Silver in just about any show that he is in, but Charlie Sheen’s performance was a bit flat. The film was positively received when it came out and it could be because the special effects and the storyline were impressive.

                                                             

                                                     

Look, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know our planet is in big trouble. We don’t have to be scientists either to see with our own eyes what we’re doing to our planet. Sea levels are rising, temperatures are rising, which affects our crops, oceans are warming which will eventually kill the fish, we’re experiencing more extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures could contribute to the spread of diseases, loss of livestock and crops. I think for a science fiction film, The Arrival, covered most of this, which was impressive to me as a concerned citizen of this planet.

                                                       

                                                    

In the film, the aliens had taken over most positions of power, which helped them to deny that there was anything wrong with the melting ice caps and, since our own politicians keep denying climate change, I’ve been wondering if maybe Congress has been taken over by aliens. What do you think?

                                                        
Watch The Arrival. I think you’ll like it in spite of Charlie Sheen.

 

 

 

The Giver vs. Miss Meadows

                                                              

                                                

Nothing keeps Steampunk Granny down and out, except a nasty, nasty cold. All my plans for a fun filled beautiful summer day derailed, I spent my time on my sofa alternating between long bouts of a drug induced slumber (prescribed) and watching films. Luckily, I was able to watch two never before seen (by me) films. They were both a pleasant surprise as I had never seen upcoming trailers for either one. Did they help poor Granny forget her misery?

The Giver

This 2014 film was directed by Phillip Noyce and was based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Lois Lowry. It stared Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and, to my surprise, True Blood’s very own Viking vampire Alexander Skarsgard. Yeah Team Eric!

                                                            

Plot

In the not too distant future, the survivors of an unnamed disaster are resettled in communities where all past memories have been removed and the people drugged in order to make them docile. Everyone is taught proper manners and speech and all conflict is forbidden. From the moment of birth, a person’s life is planned out for them. Teenagers are assigned to lifelong careers on the day of graduation. Only one person holds all the memories and records of what life was like before the “The Ruin” and now he must take in a new apprentice to train.

Not everything is as peachy fine as you would expect in such a hassle free Utopia, and not everyone conforms. Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is one of these non-conformists. Jonas has been assigned the job of Receiver of Memories. He is to learn about all past memories from The Giver (Jeff Bridges). People who disobey or infants that fail to thrive are sent to Elsewhere.

                                                           

As Jonas learns about emotions, good and bad, his father (Alexander Skarsgard) takes pity on a baby who is failing to thrive and brings the infant home with the hopes of a second chance. If the baby does not thrive, he will be killed. Jonas, against the rules, shares what he’s learned about emotions with the baby boy and the girl that he loves, Fiona (Odeya Rush).

Conclusion

Jonas has one chance to save the baby that he bonded with, but it means his traveling into dangerous territory. Will Jonas succeed? Will Fiona be executed? You can catch this little gem on Demand.

                                                            

Miss Meadows

This is a 2014 film directed by Karen Leigh Hopkins and staring Katie Holmes, James Badge Dale, Callan Mulvey and Stephen Bishop.

Plot

This is a vigilante film with a twist. Katie Holmes plays the part of Miss Mary Meadows, a first-grade teacher who is the pinnacle of prim and proper. Miss Meadows is loved by everyone in town. She is soft spoken and generally interested in what goes on in her neighborhood and with her students. Miss Meadows wears 50’s style clothing, white gloves and tap shoes and, she is a dutiful daughter who calls her mother every day.

                                                         

When bad people begin to pile up in the local morgue, the sheriff (James Badge Dale) becomes suspicious of, but also falls in love with the teacher. Their one time sexual encounter leaves our teacher pregnant. Miss Meadows becomes alarmed when an ex-con moves into her neighborhood. She starts tracking Skylar’s (Callan Mulvey) movements to make sure no harm will come to her students.

                                                               

As the sheriff and deputies try to trace the gun that is used in all the killings not knowing that the weapon is in Miss Meadows’ stylish purse, we learn of the events that led the teacher to take the law into her own hands.

Conclusion

I think you should definitely see this film for the surprise ending. Katie Holmes, who is now sans Tom Cruise, was amazing as Miss Meadows and, I’m happy that I got to see her in back to back films.

As to my question, did the films help me forget the misery of my nasty cold? Yes! If you have to be stuck in the house, these two films definitely did the job, but you don't have to be sick to watch them. Both get a four star **** rating from me.

 

Frailty

                                                         

I was able to take a few hours away from my writing today. I don’t usually like taking breaks my stories to do something as boring as life, but I’m afraid if I don’t take these breaks, I might disappear into the matrix. I made a cup of tea, flopped on the sofa and watched a show that I’d seen a few years back. I’m glad that I did.

                                                         

Frailty is an American thriller that was in theatres in 2002. That’s not where I saw this gem, but home on cable. The film directed and starring Bill Paxton, also featured Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O’Leary, Jeremy Sumpter and Levi Kries.

Plot

There is a serial killer, known at the God’s Hand killer, on the loose and a FBI Agent on his trail. Agent Wesley Doyle (Booth) gets a visit from a man who claims to be Fenton Meiks (McConaughey). He claims that he knows who is doing the killings. From that moment on, the viewer is taken on a journey of righteous horror.

                                                                

In a series of flashbacks, the man who calls himself Fenton tells Doyle about his father and the messages he received from an angel. Dad (Bill Paxton) wakes up one day to tell his motherless boys that he’s been assigned the job of being God’s Hand; assassin; demon slayer.  Dad tells his young sons that God will show him who to kill. The people, who are marked for death according to dad, are not human. They are demons. While young Adam (Jeremy Sumpter) believes in dad’s message, his older brother, young Fenton (Matt O’Leary) does not. Dad takes the boys on his demon killing trips and, the effect on both children makes one of them a serial killer. Which one of the boys is the God’s Hand killer is the whole plot, and what a plot it is.

Conclusion

There are plots within plots and the viewer is dragged along with little Fenton  and Adam to witness their father’s mission of doing God’s work. Bill Paxton did an outstanding job as director and actor. This is horror at its best. Not because of the killings, but because we have already seen on the news, many examples of maniacal religious fanatics doing God’s work. It makes one question the whole good vs. evil thing.

                                                             

I have to say that this particular film made me a big fan of Matthew McConaughey. In Frailty. Watch the film. It is a good horror story with one hell of a twist.

Steampunk Granny’s Review of Spy

                                                       

I’m not a big fan of Melissa McCarthy. I’ve never watched Gilmore Girls or Mike & Molly, but I did see her in The Heat with Sandra Bullock and in Identity Thief with Jason Bateman. I wasn’t that impressed. Tonight, my opinion of Melissa McCarthy changed, and for the better.

                                                           

My daughter and I went to see her new film, Spy, starring Jude Law, Jessica Chaffin, Rose Byrne and Jason Statham. The film, directed by Paul Feig, played out just like a real James Bond film with plenty of intrigue, assassinations and explosions to make everyone happy.

                                                           

Maybe, it was the director, or maybe, Melissa had found her niche in films, but whatever it was; I truly enjoyed her performance in this film. She wasn’t so over the top with her cursing or rudeness that can sometimes be overwhelming. She was just perfect with her one-line zingers and, the interaction between her and Jason Statham was one of the highlights of the film.

                                                            

      

My daughter and I laughed so hard, we want to go back and see Spy a second time. This movie is definitely perfect for a girls’ night out. I’m sending out the call to all my female friends and relatives to join me for a night at the movies spent with the talented Melissa McCarthy. It’s a blast!!!

The New Ladies of Fairy Tales

                                                           

In the olden days, the formula for a successful fairy tale was: Princess in trouble + Brave Prince Charming + Prince rescues Princess =  Happy Ever After. Yeah, right!

Maybe I bought this formula when I was five years old, but by the age of ten. I knew better. I was a child from the era that gave us, The Korean War, The Cold War,  Civil Right's Movement, the bra burning Women's Liberation Movement, the Space Program and, last but not least, the war in Vietnam. You realized right away that the world did not offer happy ending fairy tales. I was born to Italian Immigrants in good ole South Philly. We were a middle class working family. The entire family worked in my father's grocery store. As soon as we four siblings reached the age of seven, my father tied an apron around our waist and said, "Get to work!" 

                                                          

We four kids worked seven days a week along with my mother and father, the famous Fred and Lucy.  We went to Catholic school where the nuns focused on teaching the necessary skills to turn us into productive tax payers, even if they had to beat the lesson plans into our skulls. The nuns of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had no patience for fragile princesses in their classes and, they tolerated a Prince Charming even less.

                                                                     

South Philly girls were tough. We had to be. The world in which we lived in was not conductive to princesses or fairy tales. Unfortunately, the Disney Fairy Tales from my generation, did not mirror my upbringing or my daughter's. Sad! I was never a weak maiden in need of rescuing. I was the one usually rescuing others. This may be why I love "The Walking Dead's female heroines Carol and Michonne. 

I brought up my daughter to be a strong woman, also. She's a tiny package looking more like Snow White...that is until you try to hurt her family...then she becomes Wonder Woman... who will gladly send you flying into the next fairy tale. So you can imagine our opinion of weak princesses in Disney Films.

                                                                

This is why we both enjoyed Walt Disney new take on "Doesn't Need Saving" Princesses. Here are two samples

Yes indeed! Walt Disney Pictures/ Roth Films has brought fairy tales into the future and Malificent was proof of this. Women have always been able to do the same jobs as men and, just recently, the military said women could fight on the front lines.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/24/us-military-lifts-ban-women-combat

                                                                  

It was with the premier of the film Malificent starring Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning and Sam Riley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maleficent_(film) that I noticed the new direction,  the Disney Studio had taken.

It was Angelina Jolie's Malificent's kiss that woke the princess, and then, saved Princess Aurora from the selfish, demonic King Stefan. It didn't matter that it was Malificent who placed the curse on Aurora in the first place; Malificent was a little pissed off with the treacherous Stefan for stealing her powerful wings by the time Aurora was born. She took her revenge out on the person she assumed meant the world to Stefan.

                                                                 

What Malificent didn't count on was for her and her shape changing familiar (Sam Riley) to become the secret protectors of baby Aurora. The infant's guardians, who were also fairies, were comically incompetent. Malificent grew to love the child and the child, her.

In the end, it was the love of a strong woman who saved the fair Princess Aurora and her Prince Charming. This was the best version of Sleepy Beauty that I've seen yet.
Angelina Jolie did a stunning job in the film as the angry fairy queen of the forest who falls in love with the child she' cursed. Love conquers all!

                                                               

This past weekend I went to see Cinderella with my niece and great niece. I had wondered if Disney Studio would do as good a job with this film as they did with Malificent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(2015_film)

Cinderella which starred Lily James in the title role was a visual feast for these old tired eyes. Richard Madden (Game of Throne's Rob Stark), Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter and the very talented Nonso Anozie from the series Dracula.

The story went by the normal formula of princess saved by prince except for a few twists which I picked up on right away. Yes, the stepmother played deliciously wicked by Cate Blanchett was selfish and abusive to Cinderella, but we see what sparked the hatred.

                                                                       

When Cinderella's father (Ben Chaplin) died away from home, he sent one special gift back and that was for his daughter. The wife received nothing, not even a note proclaiming his love. Lady Tremaine lets slip that she was a happy wife and mother to her true love, first husband, until his untimely death.  Maybe she married Cinderella's father for convenience and security for her and her two brats, but I think she had also allowed herself to dare fall in love again with husband #2.  Lady Tremaine realized that she was not treasured and she took out her revenge on Cinderella. 

                                                              

Cinderella was a sweet, forgiving girl, but her courage did not reveal itself in battle. No, Cinderella proved her bravery with her refusal to allow Lady Tremaine to take advantage of the king's love for her. Cinderella was willing to stay the family slave in order to protect the new king. Bravery comes in all forms and I'm hoping we will see more kick ass princesses on the horizon.

Side note: I wasn't sure what my great niece took home from the film. This being her second movie date of the year with me. Yesterday, she came home from school and asked me to dance with her; a waltz; just like Cinderella and Kit danced. I asked her if I was to play the part of Prince Kit because I would need to lead the waltz. Isabella looked me straight in the eye and said, "Aunt Marie, I'm a princess and I'll lead my own waltz."

                                                           

Damn right, you will!!! Long live the Warrior Queen! 

Steampunk Granny's Review of Babette's Feast

                                                           

I love watching foreign films. Babette’s Feast premiered in 1987 as Babettes gaestebud. It is a Danish film directed by Gabriel Axel and produced by Just Betzer, Bo Christensen and Benni Korzen. It’s based on a story by Isak Dinesen (Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke). It was the first Danish film to win The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Plot

The film starred Birgitte Federspiel as Martine and Bodil Kjer as Philippa as two elderly, pious, Christian sisters who lived in a small village in 19^th century Denmark. Their father, who was a pastor, is now dead and the sisters are now providing for the congregation. He was a selfish man and turned away all the suitors that came to the village wishing to marry his beautiful daughters.

                                                                        

Many years later, the spinster sisters receive a letter from Achille Papin, the opera star from Paris who had fell in love with Philippa. The woman who delivers this letter, Babette Hersant (Stephane Audran) is a refugee from the bloody French Revolution. He begs the sisters to take Babette in as a housekeeper. The sisters can’t afford a housekeeper, but Babette solves that little problem by working for free.

Babette came to the sisters with only a small suitcase and a lottery ticket. A friend in Paris buys her a new ticket each year. She never tells the sisters what she did in Paris before coming to the desolate village of Jutland. Over time, the sisters consider this quiet French woman as a friend. They don’t understand her ways, but they really care about her.

Babette

You can tell from the start that Babette was from the upper class in Paris by the way she carries herself with people and by the way she cooks. As caretakers of their father’s congregation, the sisters delivered food to the shut-ins. Their cooking leaves much to be desired. It sucks! But, when you’re bedridden, you eat what you’re given. Babette takes over the cooking and the delivery of the food to shut-ins. The food is good; the meals slurped up in pleasure. The sisters never know how to handle the modest but tasty variations of their menus. Their bland meals considered more appropriate for a Christian home.

                                                                          

One day, Babette receives word that she’s won the lottery. 10,000 francs is a lot of money and, I expected Babette to use that money to go back to Paris or anywhere other than Jutland, but she didn’t. The sisters have been good to her and even though the congregation considered her strange, they opened their hearts to Babette as well. Babette has her nephew spend the money on food. Babette plans to create a feast for the village.

The Dinner


Babette has a choice, return to Paris and her old lifestyle or prepare a feast for the sisters who took her in. Babette picked the feast. The sisters invite the congregation to this feast including one of Martine’s former suitors who is now a famous general married to a member of the Queen’s court. Lorens (Jarl Kulle) is in the village visiting his aunt. Lorens is a man of the world and familiar with gourmet dishes. While the other guests eat, but withhold complements because they think the food, overly lavish, unchristian and perhaps sinful, the general raves over each dish that is served. He has good reason to be so enchanted.

                                                                        
                                                                     

Babette, before the revolution, was the head chef of the Café Anglasis. As Babette works her magic in the kitchen, we are no longer a woman preparing a meal. Babette takes that food and creates a love story for the senses that is just as beautiful as any painting in the Louvre. By the time desert is served, the frugal congregation realizes this simple truth and they leave the sisters’ home satisfied physically and spiritually.

                                                                         

                                                                      

The story is simple, but it draws you in gently stirring your appetite and your soul into a soufflé of delight. You should do yourself a favor and rent this film if you can. Do it on an empty stomach. Then while the credits role at the end, enter your kitchen and create your own masterpiece.

 

Steampunk Granny reviews Take Shelter

                                                             

 

There are three things people learn right away about me. I have nine grandchildren who I love dearly. I’m a ghost investigator. I belong to the Zombie Squad and I’m prepared for any emergency be it “The Storm of the Century” or a zombie apocalypse. I love watching movies and television shows about surviving said apocalypse, but a few nights ago, I was surprised to find this little gem as I flipped through the cable guide looking for something good to watch.

                                                                      

Take Shelter is a 2011 film written and directed my Jeff Nichols and stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. It begins with a young father having a series of strange dreams that foretell something horrible just over the horizon. I was hooked right away and decided to give this film a view, because I’ve also had warning dreams, and lately, they’ve been getting worse; more on that later.

Plot

Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) and his family live in Lagrange Ohio. He has a good job, but that doesn’t mean shit because the bills always seem more than the money coming in. His wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) makes extra money by selling home crafted items at a flea market. Their daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart) is deaf. Every penny they make is put aside to get Hannah her implants in order for her to hear. Curtis has a mom who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. She’s been institutionalized for a while now, but Curtis is afraid that he may be exhibiting traits of schizophrenia.

                                                                  

Curtis is having dreams; bad dreams that have to do with a nasty storm that is coming his way. The rain that is coming will make people and animals violent. He begins having visions while awake which isn’t helping him with the job he so desperately needs to keep, but there might be a solution. Curtis has an old storm shelter in the back yard.

                                                                      

Curtis risks his marriage, job and friends by obsessing over this storm shelter. Even with the help of a counselor at the free clinic and medication, the visions keep coming. Curtis has stocked his storm shelter with enough supplies to last a few weeks. His storm shelter is now Zombie Ready. But due to some bad choices, Curtis loses his job and the financial support needed for his daughter’s surgery. His friend Dewart (Shea Whigham) finally gives up on Curtis after Curtis betrays him.

Conclusion

There is a storm, but it’s not the one that Curtis dreams of. That will come later. When Curtis is afraid to leave the storm shelter after the all clear message is sent out after a bad hurricane, Samantha gets him to see a psychiatrist. The doctor tells the couple that they should take a vacation and get away from the bomb shelter and, Curtis will also have to be admitted to a mental facility for a bit. Curtis goes on this vacation to save what’s left of his marriage. While at Myrtle Beach, Samantha realizes that maybe they should have stayed in that shelter. Please see the film. The acting, scenery and writing are excellent. This thriller was nominated for four Saturn Awards including Best Horror or Thriller Film and Best Actress for Chastain and Best Actor for Shannon and Best Writing for Nichols.

                                                               

This film struck a nerve with me. My friends and I, who are also clairvoyant, have been talking about what we’ve been sensing. There is something big coming, and no, it’s not the end of the world. I feel that people are finally waking up and realizing that for a very long time we’ve been fed a load of dog doo by organized religion and by our political leaders. The rich are getting richer and the poor are left to suffer this unbridled greed.

 My father was in his early nineties when he died. He was a smart man. He read all the newspapers even foreign ones. A few days before he died, he said, “I’ve been having these dreams. There is a bad storm coming. There is going to be a war between the rich and the poor in this country." I tried to change the subject, thinking it was the medications Fred was on for hospice, but in reality, he was clear minded on everything else; why not this.

This movie was great. Watch it. I’ll be busy checking out my storm shelter.