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. 

What's Gilbert Up to Now?

                                                               

                                                                        

What's Gilbert Up to Now?

I'm getting ready to write the reviews for Season 4 of "The Walking Dead for Biff Bam Pop!; I can't wait to see Rick and the gang again on Sunday nights on AMC..

                                                                     

I'll also be doing the reviews for the new Sleepy Hollow series on Fox on September 16 at 9 p.m.


                                                                           

And the new Dracula series starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as our favorite blood sucker of all time. This show premieres October 25th on NBC following Grimm


                                                                       

For all my followers who enjoyed my article about the angry ghost
http://biffbampop.com/2013/08/08/gilbert-and-the-angry-ghost/

                                                     

                                     will probably like my newest story on Biff Bam Pop!


http://biffbampop.com/2013/08/22/gilberts-helpful-ghost-hunting-tips/

                                                                       

Let me know if you like this story. I'll be going on more investigations and promise to share my findings with you.

Episode Forty-seven of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                            

He couldn’t get enough of her blood, frantic, Edward bit into the flesh of her wrist to get at the warm liquid. He wanted more even though he heard her cry out for him to stop, but she sounded so far away and he was so thirsty.

“Let her go,” Tzaddik yelled out, but Edward ignored him, until something heavy hit the side of his head and all went black.

                                                                     

Edward heard Rita and Tzaddik talking. He tried to move but he was tied up and his head hurt like the dickens. What happened? He remembered that he was feeding...on her blood, but he had lost control…did he hurt her? He tried to focus on the room, but it spun wildly, making him dizzy. “Lilith”?

“Don’t move a muscle,” Rita ordered.

“Why would he would react this way? What went wrong?” Tzaddik asked someone. Edward heard the fear in the old man’s voice.

“Lilith?” Edward’s query was met with a swift kick to his side.

“Don’t move,” Rita warned.

“This wasn’t the first time that I fed him,” Lilith replied.

                                                                         

Thank God! She was alive. Edward turned his head towards the sound of her voice and called out to her. “Did I hurt you?”

Lilith and the Israeli soldier were arguing and Rita stood over him with her rifle aimed at his head. “For your sake, I hope you didn’t f_ _ _k up this mission.”

“Let me see him,” Lilith demanded. But as soon as she knelt next to Edward and touched his cheek, her sweet smell hit his nostrils and the blood lust hit, full force. “You’ll need to control your hunger, love, or they’ll kill you. Can you do this?”

                                                                           

Edward heard the click as Rita squeezed on the trigger. He shook his head, blinked his eyes, tried to get out of the madness he now found himself in and forced the hunger to the back recess of his mind. “I…I’ll try.”

                                                                                                                                                

                                                                           

Edward felt sick to his stomach, but he kept the hunger under control and watched as Lilith signaled to Tzaddik. The old man held a machete in his hand and as he leaned over Edward, warned, “If you try anything, I’ll kill you.”

Vampires, Ghosts and The Cabin in the Woods

                                                           

So Friday night, my ghost hunting friends and I took our two fledgling ghost hunters to the Vampire, Sex, and Ghost Tour. This is a tour offered by Joe Wojie for Grim Philly. It lasted around 90 minutes and Joe dazzled us with tales of the City’s past.

       Starting from the left, Blanche, Rita, Suzanne, ReRe, me, and Jean                                 

We know where the bodies are buried!! What the connection is between Bram Stoker and Philadelphia and many more interesting and fun facts. Sorry there weren’t any handsome vampires around for the sex part. I’m team Eric and no, he wasn’t there.

                                                   

                                                                                                    

Joe also offers a Blood a Beer Tour, which my group will be taking soon. Joe is a University Professor who has done extensive research on all the sites we had visited. I’ll be interviewing him in the next couple of days and will post this as soon as I do, but here is his picture.

                                                    

Okay, so I promised my teenage grandson I would take him to see The Cabin in the Woods.

                                                         
He promised me it wasn’t a slasher film. My definition of slasher and gore may differ from Joshua’s point of view,

                                                       
but this said, I’m glad I went to see this. This is a great movie with generous helpings of fright and comedy and it has lots of conspiracy tech stuff. Something like Chainsaw massacre meets the Geek Squad.

                                         Josh and I watching the film.

                                                    

There was a brief nudity scene, so Granny that I am, I told Josh to cover his eyes.

                                                   
Yeah right. He was peeking between his fingers forcing me to re-enact a scene from the Exorcist.

                                                

Our favorite character in the movie was Fran Kranz.

                                            
     You’ll need to see the film to find out why. So if you have a free weekend coming up, go on a tour with Grim Philly and head out to the movies to see The Cabin in the Woods.
     Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that on the way home, I got in trouble with my daughter again for talking to strangers while riding the PATCO.

                                                 
   
                      

 

Where is my Lucky Charm?

I really don’t have a lucky charm, but this week I sure as hell needed one. It started this past Friday when my husband notified me while I was working, that my “older than dirt computer” had joined the ranks of the dearly departed.

                                            

“Can’t you fix it?” I asked, maybe demanded would be closer to the truth. My husband is the go to person when I run into a tech problem while working on my book or blog.

                                                

“It’s time to get a new one,” he countered. “We’ll talk more when you get done work.”

Since I’m so tech challenged, which is really aggravating for me because I’m so very interested in everything techie, I went with the only possible solution and shopped for a new computer. Long story short, I’m happy with the one I purchased, but not happy with being haunted by the spirit of the old computer.

                                            

My husband was able to rescue my manuscript, synopsis, agent’s letter and short stories from the old computer and transfer them to the new, but some of my pictures and e-mail contacts including, Zombie Squad, Unicef, Somaly mam are now floating around in space and only God knows what happened to the lesson plans I had written while working at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

                                               

Maybe the astronauts on the Russian space station are enjoying my notes on the dioramas of the Academy.

                                                     

Since I’m on a rant right now, I might as well mention how much I hate the new time line on Facebook.

                                                   

Is it just me? I don’t think so. What can we do? Where do we protest this change? Should I ask Occupy Wall Street for some pointers? I had mentioned to my sister, who is just as upset with the timeline, that I was tempted to write a letter to Mr. Mark Zuckerberg. It would go like this:

Dear Sir:

I’m so very happy that you gave us a fun way to connect with the rest of the world, but please give us back the old facebook page. We’re either too busy or too old to learn new tricks. Hell, I can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time, so please return us to those happier days when I could easily scan the page and participate with my friends and family. Everyone will jump for joy.

Not too change the subject, I’ve somehow misplaced my level six vampire and my webkin puppy named Zeppie.

    

They’re hidden somewhere on Facebook, lost forever among the misplaced requests for Farmville…or maybe the Russian Astronauts are enjoying their company along with my missing files.

                                                 

Wish me luck, I’m sending you this blog from my new computer…oops what did I just hit?

 

Show a little love for your Zombie

    This is a strange blog, but be patient and I'll explain the title of this post.

     Thursday night at 10 p.m. I went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn part one, based on the fourth of the Twilight books. I went with my daughter ReRe, and my niece Beverly, great niece Samantha, and their friends. You'll realize how devoted we are to the Twilight movies when I tell you, we have been to every midnight opening for every movie.

     I and my daughter are Team Edward, while others in our group lean towards Team Jacob. What can I say, I love the books and the movies. I enjoy the feelings of togetherness at these midnight showings. Everyone is happy, and strangers act like old friends while at the theatre, all is well in the world. I'm also a True Blood fan, enjoying the books more so than the HBO version, but let me return to my title.

     The next day, which was Friday, I picked up the three grandsons Jimmy age 17, Joshua age 15, and Nathan who is 9 but thinks he's 21. I took them out for ice cream and while waiting for our order we talked about the movie.

     "Vampires don't sparkle," Jimmy reminded me, adding "It's a dumb movie."

     "Don't worry, no one sparkled last night...but," I replied, and then updated them on what happened in the movie.

     "Were the monsters always handsome, and did they have fan clubs for vampires when you were young?" asked Nathan.

     "Well...no...they were scary and ugly. We never thought of them as handsome," I replied and then began to think of the movies which were showing when I was the age of the boys.

     When my sisters, brother and I would go to the Broadway Theatre on Broad and Snyder in South Philadelphia on a Saturday afternoon, we went there to be frightened, and believe me, we got our money's worth. You paid fifty cents to watch two films and a cartoon. The vampire movies we watched were either the old ones with Bela Lugosi, or a newer version presented by Hammer Films showing Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. These actors portrayed Dracular as something to be feared and not viewed as a lover. Sorry to say, there was no team 'Bela'.

    Even later, the vampires and werewolves on film and in books were the things which kept you awake at night, and trembling under your covers. Here is just a small sampling: Nosferatu, Salem's lot, Lost boys, Fright night, American werewolf in London, and Dog Soldiers.

     "So grandmom are the zombies in your second book going to be sexy?" Joshua teased.

     "Who would love a zombie?" I asked, telling them about the best zombie movie ever, "The night of the living dead" a film by George Romero released in 1968.

     "Well, they can be funny. You liked Shaun of the Dead," Jimmy reminded me.

     "Funny, yes. Sexy, no," I said, my mind working on how to present a likable zombie.

     The older boys are into the Walking Dead, a well written zombie show, and as I noted in my past blogs, are into the zombie apocalypse. I've recently joined a group, which use the premise of a zombie uprising,to teach large groups to prepare for all types of natural disasters, such as Katrina. We can't always depend on the Government to help, especially if all lines of communication are down.

     "Come on grandmom make your zombies, fun," Nathan urged.

     "It would be easier to make a toothache look like fun," I mumbled, but after spending some time thinking about the poor mindless rotting lumps of flesh, who would play a part in my second book, I promised the boys I would do my best to add some personality to my zombies.

    "So lets hear it for the Zombies! They're dying to love you, as their next meal. Share a little love with them."

    

    

    
  

    

Where are you Zeppie?

                                                             

A few weeks back, I posted about watching my grandsons while my daughter and  son-in-law went on a second honeyomoon. On the second night of babysitting duty, after playing Judge Judy and designating who was going to play what on the large flat screen, I left the 17 year old down in the living room while his brothers and I called it a night.
I awoke to hear him yelling. Who was he speaking to? I found him in front of the T.V. carrying on a conversation.

"Who are talking to?" I asked, curious since it was only the two of us in the room.

"Dominic," he replied, his attention on the screen.

"Okay...," I replied, wondering if I should bother the parents to inform them their eldest was speaking to the television.

"Dominic, said hello," my grandson informed me.

"He can see me through the T.V?" I asked, and waved to the set.

"Oh my God," he replied, laughing his head off as he informed Dominic that I was waving to the T.V. set, and then turned around to show me the head set he was wearing, and after he explained how he was simutaneously playing this game with several of his friends, I made my way back to bed, my geek level at a new low.

The next day, the two younger boys were showing me a game called the legend of Zelda, the twilight princess.

"Who kidnapped her? Does Link get to marry her when he saves her? Can you talk to your friends on the T.V. when you're playing this game?" I asked a lot of questions, but their stunned expressions confirmed that I was game challenged, so I left the room and went to make myself a cup of tea.

This brings me to Zeppie, my webkin puppy. A few years ago, the youngest grandson asked me to buy myself a webkin so I would be able to send his webkin, e-mails and gifts. I did what any grandmother would do for a grandchild, and bought myself a webkin. What he failed to tell me was I had to take care of this puppy on line. Not only was I forced to buy furniture and sign Zeppie up for after school projects, but I had to do farming to feed this puppy. If I failed to keep the puppy well fed and entertained, I was called into the Doctor's office. It's really embarrassing to have a cartoon doctor tell you that your cartoon puppy is sick.

I found myself stressing out when days would pass, and because I was busy in real life, my imaginary plants would begin to die and I would have to rake and water and nurse the farm back to health. On top of this stress, my oldest granddaughter who was in college at the time, asked my to join her vampire group on facebook.

I had to fight zombies, werewolves, and other vampires to move up the ranks, and would send out requests to my facebook friends to please allow me to bite their neck to enable me to gain more points, but only a few agreed. Between trying to find the time to care for both my online dependents, I even considered using the vampires to to do the farming for my webkin site.

Busy with work, I went on my sites less and less, until one day, I could no longer pull up my webkin puppy, and God only knows where my level six vampire went to.

So for my facebook friends, please don't take it personal when I don't help you with farmville. I'm having major guilt trips as it is, and all I can hope for is that Zeppie is happy in Webkin heaven, and that my vampire got a bit part on True Blood and is doing well.