Vampires, A Poet, Magicians, A Priest, A Singer & A Missionary

Cocaine Princess here.

I hope all my loyal and dear readers had a fantastic weekend like I did. I went away on a little getaway. I did it on a whim, no where really far, it was within driving distance.

I'm still in my catch up phrase and one of the things I wanted to catch up on was watching movies. I seized a number of DVDs from the still have to watch pile and spent yesterday and part of today watching them, and because the satellite was down no thanks to Mother Nature. She's been very moody. One day it's sunny and bright with a high of +12C and (yes I know it doesn't exactly scream heat wave but truth be told for us it does) the next day it's cold, windy and wet with a high of only +2C. I thought this is a good time as any to watch them.

Before watching any movie at home you need to set the mood and for me that is snuggling in the blanket and of course you need movie food. My fridge is always stocked with Diet Dr. Pepper so the beverages were taken care of and for food I usually zap a bag of unsalted and unbuttered popcorn but not this time. I still had my one freebie: eating anything without feeling guilty. (The gross goose didn't count) I browsed through 20 different take out menus before deciding. I ordered the roasted chicken burger served on a kaiser bun with lettuce, tomato, hot pepper rings and extra mayo with beer battered onion rings and cole slaw on the side. If I could only eat food like that everyday without worrying about gaining a pound.

This first DVD should give you a good indication just how far behind I am.

Queen of the Damned (2002)

Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Vincent Perez

The Vampire Lestat played by Stuart Townsend is awakened after years of being asleep by the sound of a rock band in which he proceeds to take over. Achieving world wide fame and being labelled a rock God he announces to the world he is a real life vampire, angering the other vampires who caution him they will not put up with his ostentatious lifestyle. Lestat with his music accidentally awakens the Queen of all vampires Akasha (Aaliyah) who wants two things, Lestat to be her King and for vampires to dominate the world.

The movie has aired at least a gazillion times on TV and I managed to avoid watching it just so I could watch the uncut version on DVD. Unfortunately it was R&B singer Aaliyah's last film before she was killed in a plane crash and was released six months after her death. The film is dedicated to her memory. I've seen Interview with the Vampire and thought Stuart Townsend did a far better job playing Lestat than Tom Cruise.

The Libertine (2005)

Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton, Rosamund Pike

I absolutely love actor Johnny Depp and am a huge fan of his so I was surprised when I found this movie for the reason that I had never heard of it. The Libertine was released all over Europe but had a limited run in North America. Johnny Depp plays John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester in the court of King Charles II of England. John Malkovich plays the King who tries to prevent the Earl from destroying his status as King. The film's tag line: He didn't resist temptation. He pursued it. Every bit is true. Johnny is sensational playing a morally corrupt, drunkard, sexually active cynical poet.

The Prestige (2006)

Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are rival magicians in 19th century London whose intense rivalry leads them to a life long battle for each others trade secret. This film was awesome from beginning to end.

I was in no particular mood to watch these next two films in fact I had no plans of watching them ever. My sister bought them a while back: Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist and Exorcist: The Beginning. She suggested I watch them. I said to her, 'no thanks but I'll pass.' I still haven't forgiven her for making me watch The Exorcist at such a young age and because of that film till this day I can't sleep until my closet door is tightly shut. What can I say, some childhood traumas stay with you into adult hood. She continued, 'it sets the story for The Exorcist and explains many things.' 'What makes you think I'm even interested?' I replied. I decided to watch them both in broad daylight with the blinds raised high.

Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist (2004)

Stellan Skarsgard, Gabrielle Mann

The studio behind Dominion decided to release this prequel version straight to DVD (after The Beginning was theatrically released) when it received less than favorable reviews with a test audience. I didn't like it either. I found it a little slow and kind of boring.

Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Stellan Skarsgard, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy, Ralph Brown

Stellan Skarsgard plays the very young Father Merrin (the same character who exorcises Linda Blair's character 30-40 years later in The Exorcist) who loses his faith in God after witnessing the horrors of World War II. He travels to East Africa after being approached by an antiquities collector who requests he take over a British excavation site. While there he comes face to face with the devil.

What did I think of the film?....I LOVED IT! I even surprised myself. I admit I was a little hesitant because I was afraid after watching it I would be sleeping with the lights on for the rest of my life.

El Cantante (2007)
Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony

I remember reading the reviews and nearly every critic praised Jennifer's performance and predicated she would be nominated for her second Golden Globe and her first Oscar nomination. Neither happened. The biopic stars Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. El Cantante is based on the life of salsa singer Hector Lavoe's (M.Anthony) rise to fame in the music industry. Jennifer plays his wife Puchi. Her performance was amazing. It's ashame she and the film didn't get the recognition they both deserved.

Shanghai Surprise (1986)
Madonna, Sean Penn, Paul Freeman, Richard Griffiths, Philip Sayer

Those of you who know me, you know my favorite entertainer is The Material Girl so you would think I would have seen all her films, right? WRONG! I never saw Shanghai Surprise and by chance I came across the special edition DVD last April. It features a very young Madonna and her then husband Sean Penn. Before viewing it I wanted to read some of the critics reviews because the only thing I do remember is McDonalds (up here) promoting the film by introducing Shanghai dipping sauce with their McNuggets and the McNuggets came in a Chinese style take out box and a fortune cookie. Instead of reading your fortune you would read if you won a prize or not. The prize was usually a free hamburger, fries or a sundae and the grand prize a trip to Shanghai. Anyways, in the film Madonna plays a missionary and Sean is a fast talking fortune hunter.

I don't like or hate a film because a critic says so. I prefer to make up my own mind. As I read through the reviews there was not one positive thing said about the movie.

It wasn't all that bad.

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess