Hope These Are Worth the Wait

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

I've already been surprised by the first new show of the season and have hope for quite a few others. I don't honestly have much to say about most of the new comedies coming up. "The Goldbergs" looks dreadful; "Dads" (oh, Seth... I'm not mad. I'm... disappointed...) and "The Millers" look even worse (poor Wil Arnet! He so deserves another good show...). Other comedies I'll likely avoid include "Super Fun Night;" "We Are Men;" "Welcome to the Family" (sorry Mary McCormack. I love you, but not enough  to sit through that) and "Enlisted." And I'll at least give "Trophy Wife;" "The Michael J. Fox Show;" "Brooklyn Nine Nine" and "Sean Saves the World" one or two episodes before deciding to continue, though I have very low expectations for all of them (and hope I'm wrong).

There are two new comedies that have caught my eye and hope won't suck. "Mom" features two amazing and talented favorites (Anna Farris and Alison Janey) as mother and daughter, both dealing with addiction recovery. Looks like the dark, hilarious kind of show I love. Which means it's got two seasons, tops. "The Crazy Ones" brings Robin Williams back to sitcom TV for the first time since "Mork and Mindy" and pairs him with Buffy as his daughter and partner in an advertising agency. I want to like it... I hope Williams is able to rein it in and let his costars have their moments. Plus, adorable James Wolk co-stars!

Among the new dramas, I won't bother with "Betrayal" or "Ironside," despite Blair Underwood being in it. The "Hawaii Five-Oh" reboot lightning isn't likely to strike a second time. Though I am looking forward to James Spader in "The Black List" and Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette (!!!!) in "Hostages," though with McDermott sadly less naked than he was in "American Horror Story."And I've already set the DVR for the pilot of "Lucky 7," a show about lottery winners that will either be brilliant or horribly cheesy or (if we're very lucky), both.

Of course, being the weirdo I am, Uncle P is most looking forward to the genre shows. I'm most likely to not bother seeing "Almost Human;" "The Originals" and "Witches of Eastend," But I will most certainly be adding ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - henceforth known on the Revenge as "MAoS" - to my DVR schedule with every hope that Joss Whedon can get enough cross-over appearances from the Marvel movies to make it all work. NBC adds a new title to their growing genre library just before Halloween. "Dracula," starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers looks like a very smart Steampunk-inspired adaptation of Stoker's characters. If it's as clever,cool and sexy as it looks, why not add another take on the archetype. And the CW joins the Mutant/Superhero sub-genre with "The Tomorrow People" which could be fun, if it's done as smartly as Chronicle and the first season of "Heroes."

So, what new shows are you looking forward to seeing? I'd love to know.

More, anon.
Prospero

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NBC Will Suck This Fall

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula

Unlike Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi movies, which by many are considered the 'bastards' of the film industry (despite often being the most profitable), Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi has always had a place on TV. And it seems like those genres are enjoying a renaissance of late, with the success of "The Walking Dead;" "Grimm;" "American Horror Story;" "The Vampire Diaries;" "True Blood;" "Dexter;" "Hannibal;" "Bates Motel" and "Game of Thrones" (to name a few).

As a child, the first Horror movie I can remember seeing was Tod Browning's 1931 classic Dracula, starring Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi. According to Answers.com. the story has been adapted 28 times on film, though their list doesn't include either version of Nosferatu, among others. And it doesn't touch on stage versions. Indeed, I've penned my own (as yet un-scored) musical adaptation, Children of the Night. Bram Stoker's classic novel wasn't the first vampire story committed to the page, it is certainly the most well-known.

This coming fall, NBC jumps on the Horror bandwagon with their own version of Dracula, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") as the Carpathian bloodsucker in a 13-episode series which has the iconic Count posing as an American entrepreneur intent on bringing science to naive Victorians while searching for revenge against the ancestors of those who cursed him in the first place (via). While an interesting take on the character, I hope the creators (whose credits include the phenomenal "Downton Abbey" and my beloved "Torchwood") are able to sustain their vision beyond a single season. It's somehow comforting to know we'll have the Count around again. A true classic never goes out of style.

Is it any surprise this story has endured for over 115 years? I think not. Who wouldn't want to be young, beautiful and powerful forever?

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Bram Stoker / Dracula / Fall 2013 / Horror / Movies / Series / Trailers / TV / Vampires with the title Dracula. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2013/05/nbc-will-suck-this-fall.html. Thanks!

Prospero's Essential Movie Guide Part 2

Director Tod Browning

Right up there with Science Fiction, Comedy and Drama, Horror movies played as much a part of early films as they do today.

Lon Chaney, "The Man of a Thousand Faces" was THE star of silent horror and his contribution to the genre is immeasurable. I was lucky enough to attend a screening of Phantom of the Opera at the Princeton chapel (really a Cathedral) with a live organ accompaniment, using the film's original score. The organist was a true professional, never skipping a beat when almost an entire reel was accidentally replayed. Chaney made an astounding number of silent genre films, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame; He Who Gets Slapped; The Unknown; London After Midnight (directed by Browning) and two versions of The Unholy Three (the original also directed by Browning). Chaney's son, Lon Chaney, Jr. had a lucrative career playing The Wolfman in the 40's and 50's, though he never rose to the height of his father's fame.

Sadly, not much footage remains from London After Midnight:



Luckily, Browning went on to direct two of the genre's iconic films: Dracula (Uncle P's introduction to horror) and the once-banned Freaks, both of which are readily available.

Of course there are those (Uncle P included) who think the Mexican Spanish Language version of 1931's Dracula (shot at night on Browning's sets) is superior in both tone and technical fimmaking:

I'll be moving on to more "talkies" in the next installment. Again, if you've never seen these films, I urge to seek them out.

More essentials, anon.
Prospero

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Argento Finally Loses It

That's Rutger Hauer as Abraham Van Helsing in Dario Argento's upcoming Dracula 3D. Argento is the director of what many consider to be the seminal giallo film, Suspiria. Argento's 20-odd other fims include the classics The Bird with the Crystal Plumage; Deep Red and Tenebre. His films usually feature American or British stars who speak English and are later dubbed into Italian (except in English speaking countries, where the Italian actors are dubbed in English). They also often feature his daughter Asia, who is best known in the U.S. for George A. Romero's Land of the Dead and Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.

While I understand the appeal of Argento's films, I don't really count myself a fan. They are often boring and make little sense, even after the killer is revealed, though they usually have an artistic flair rarely seen in American slasher movies. Of course, Argento's last film, 2009's Giallo (featuring Adrian Brody), was critically reviled and only released in the U.S. direct-to-DVD. It performed so poorly, Brody had to sue to claim his salary, blocking the DVD release until he received his contracted fees.

Argento is back, with his own take on the Bram Stoker novel, shooting in 3D. The movie stars Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong; Wanted) as Dracula; hunky Spaniard Unax Ugalde (Goya's Ghosts) as Harker and Asia Argento as Lucy, as well a bunch of Italian and German actors playing characters which cannot be found in Stoker's novel. Thanks to JA at My New Plaid Pants, here's the teaser trailer (which is still missing some key effects):

Wow. Okay, let's start with the positives: The film seems to have an old Hammer Studios vibe from the days when Christopher Lee played Dracula and Peter Cushing was Van Helsing. And there seems to be a bit of bare boobage for the str8 boys. And Rutger Hauer will always be badass. But that's all I got.

The negatives? I can't begin to count them. But, I will start with the GIANT EFFING PRAYING MANTIS!!! Seriously - WTF? I have read Stoker's novel several times. Hell, I even wrote the lyrics and libretto for a musical adaptation of it. I am intimately familiar with that novel and I can assure you that NO WHERE in "Dracula" is there a giant praying mantis. Seriously, this movie is just dying for the MT3K treatment, and it hasn't even been released.  I can only conclude that Argento has completely lost his mind. Either that, or he's pulling the greatest prank in film history. 

I really can't decide whether I want to see this movie or not. Will I laugh at it's obvious ineptitude or just be sad to see one of the most famous pieces of English literature get bastardized even worse than in Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula? Maybe if I see it with two smart-ass robots...

More, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article 3D / Bad / Dario Argento / Dracula / Giallo / Horror / Movies / Nonsense / Trailers with the title Dracula. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2011/12/argento-finally-loses-it.html. Thanks!