Movie Madness: Rosemary's Baby (1968)

HEY GUYS.

I FINISHED MY PHILOSOPHY MIDTERM PAPER.

Speaking about praying to Satan for good things to happen, guess what we're gonna talk about today?

I wasn't actually going to review this today, but I'm writing a paper about it for my literature class, so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone? *waits for the vegan police to get mad about that expression* Seriously, that happened a few days ago.

But anyway.

Trigger warning: This movie does have a rape scene in it, so please be aware.

'Rosemary's Baby' is about a young woman who gets pregnant, and fears that her husband and neighbours may be devil worshippers. As if being pregnant wasn't hard enough.

I'm not sure if you guys remember, but a while back I reviewed a book by Orson Scott Card and talked about how terrible people can make beautiful things in the world, and that you need to try to separate the two things. And, uh, the same thing kind of applies here. Roman Polanski is a huge sleaze bag, but that doesn't mean that his films aren't masterpieces all of a sudden. His (terrible) personal choices doesn't make this a good or bad film; they're two separate beasts, if you will.

So, now that that's out of the way.

Mia Farrow plays the beautiful young Rosemary Woodhouse, and she does a damn fine job. (Although I've always been biased in her favour ever since I found out that she starred in one of my favourite childhood movies.) One of the best stories about this film is how, when Rosemary is walking (while very pregnant) through New York traffic, that was real; Polanski had Mia Farrow walk through traffic because "no one would hit a pregnant lady". (Which is very true, actually.)

And I mean, it wouldn't be a 'Rosemary's Baby' review if I didn't talk about Ruth Gordon's performance. I mean, it's award winning! (Seriously, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Although I loved her the most in 'Harold and Maude'.) There's something disconcerting about seeing her and those other cheerful old people cheer for the birth of Satan's offspring and the death of God.

Now, this may be a bit slow for some people. (Eric doesn't care for the film at all.) And while I think it's obvious that Rosemary isn't hallucinating, some would argue that this is an incredibly psychological film that leaves you to wonder if she's crazy or if they're really all Satan worshippers. Regardless, I love the movie and definitely recommend watching it at least once, as it truly is an iconic film.

Sorry for posting this so late again; after that midterm paper, I just wanted to take a break and relax for a bit, hehe! If you have any suggestions or comments, leave me a message below or send me an email!

Have a Terrifying Tuesday, my pretties!

xo, Kate

Movie Madness: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Hi everyone! Sorry yettttt again for the delay - I'm running on very little sleep, and today was also my three year anniversary with my boyfriend. (Happy anniversary, sweetie!) That and I had class today, too.

Today I want to discuss a classic film, perhaps the parent of all zombie films (though the word zombie is not used once...).

Oh yeah, we're hitting this movie today. We're gonna talk about 'Night of the Living Dead'.

A group of people are trapped in a Pennsylvanian (of course) farmhouse that is brutally attacked by "ghouls", creatures of the undead.

Where to start with this?

Well, let's start with this - if you're the type who underestimates horror films (or zombie films in general), let's note that this film was chosen by the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (yeah, congress) for preservation in the National Film Registry.

I mean right there, that should show you that you should take this film pretty seriously. Especially if you look at the list of other films on the list - hate our government or love it, but if you look objectively, this is a list of good movies.

The first time I saw this, I kind of laughed it off at first. I thought it was cheesy. But just wait. You're gonna get hit by the second half of this, and suddenly BAM. It gets dark reeeeeeally quickly.

Let's also point out that - for 1968 - it was shocking to cast an African-American man as a lead. Perhaps this was to mirror the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, as some have suggested. (Especially when you consider the end of the film, as well.) (Others have suggested that events such as the Vietnam War were shown through this film, too.)

There were multiple scripts written for this (originally it started as a horror comedy), and Romero drew a lot of inspiration from the amazing book, 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson.

There was a bit of controversy when this was released - this was back before ratings (which pretty much came out right after this film, heh) and this was shown as a film that could easily be accessed by small children. Though we are definitely able to expose ourselves to violent imagery today, you have to remember that this wasn't as common back then - and a lot of children freaked out. Roger Ebert wrote a wonderful review in which he talked about this, and it's really eye-opening.

Finally, we'll wrap this up by briefly discussing my favourite thing in zombie movies - the unknown cause. The wonderful (and addicting) website tvtropes actually gives us a list of common zombie archetypes, and yet they don't really seem to discuss the unknown cause. (They quickly mention it in the flesh-eating section, but I think it should have its own section.)

I think the unknown cause is the scariest. If you don't know what caused them to appear, it's a lot harder to make them disappear, hmm? Though the film discusses the possibility of radioactivity, they don't know. And you're left to never know. Some may disregard this as "lazy writing", but I prefer being left to my own imagination.

You can actually watch it for free on YouTube (due to an unfortunate error back in the day, the film is actually in the public domain) in addition to streaming it on Netflix. Really, this is one of the easiest films to get access to, hurray! (And I mean, I doubt Romero's really hurtin' too much from this, though I'd be crying inside.)

Hope you all enjoyed this! If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to leave me a message below or send me an email!

xo, Kate

Movie Madness: American Mary (2012)

So, last night my friend Chelsie said she'd be curious about my review on this film, so I decided to give it a go! (Sorry about posting this so late in the day, this philosophy paper is absolutely destroying me.)

A warning to my vegan friends: You might want to avoid this - or at least fast forward through the opening credits. I mean, there's a raw turkey in these credits, so uhhhh.

Trigger warning: This movie does have a rape scene in it, so please be aware.

Mary is a medical student who is, surprise, behind on some of her bills. In order to make some extra cash, she takes jobs performing some... rather "unconventional" surgeries. After she is raped at a party by her professor, she quits medical school and solely commits herself to body modification surgeries.

You know, does anyone else think that Katharine Isabelle sounds a little bit like Emma Stone?

That being said, there's actually a lot I liked about this film. I thought Ms. Isabelle's performance was entertaining (though I thought the idea of her performing intense surgeries in a skimpy outfit were really unnecessary and actually took away from the seriousness of the film - I mean I know they're taking place in the basement of a strip club, but...).

And I'll admit, I did chuckle over the Mengele reference. (If you don't know of Dr. Mengele, educate yourself a little bit here - if you dare.)

One thing that did shock me about this film is that it's actually not terribly gory - you rarely see any actual blood. (There is a torture scene about an hour in though that's pretty grim, though. I will admit I'm pretty weak against um, hooks through the skin, though. That's just something that makes me twitchy, but maybe it wouldn't bother you as much.)

It slows down a little bit near the end, but it's still pretty interesting.

So, sorry again for posting this so late in the day! Tomorrow will probably be the same story - it's my three year anniversary with my boyfriend, so I have that and I have to go to school for class and I have to keep working on this philosophy paper.

If you have any recommendations, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email!

Thank you, lovelies!

xo, Kate

Sailor Moon Saturday #15!

So, I completely forgot that it was Saturday.

This philosophy midterm paper is driving me ABSOLUTELY BATTY. I, apparently, had philosophy. Go figure. (Sorry dad.) Or maybe I just hate Socrates/Plato. Who knows. Either way, I'm inwardly screaming while I write this stupid paper. I'm going nuts.

On the plus side, this is thankfully a Sailor Moon Saturday entry, so hopefully this won't take too long!

Warning: This post is spoiler-heavy for those who have never seen the 90s show or read the manga.

Today, we'll be talking about Jadeite.

Okay, let's start with the character and his background before we delve into anything else.

So, you guys know he works for Queen Beryl in the Dark Kingdom, right? Well, he was originally actually one of Prince Endymion's generals/bodyguards. (They actually cut this whole aspect from the 90s show, so I'm curious to see if they'll bring it back into this one.) Also (and I have mentioned this before although I think mixed them up; my bad, but I'm too stressed at the moment to go back and check/edit), there have been suspicions about these bodyguards being in romantic relationships with some of the Sailor Scouts.

Supposedly, Jadeite was in a romantic relationship with Rei/Sailor Mars. This is based around an illustration that the mangaka, Naoko Takeuchi, drew at the conclusion of the series. Though there is a lot of debate about whether or not these relationships are canon or not, there is supposed evidence (again, too lazy to skim read the manga at the moment) that Jadeite's relationship with Rei is canon. (If anyone else that isn't, you know, buried in schoolwork can send some evidence this way, that'd be awesome.)

He actually dies in the manga (along with the other guards, who I will discuss more in detail in the future) and his body, along with the others, is turned into a precious stone. He does redeem himself and become "good" again, and helps Mamoru throughout the manga in spirit.

Now, I'm sure many of you have noticed this or looked it up, but his name is actually a mineral! (And I'm taking a geology class at the moment purely because I'm a Sailor Moon nerd. Well, that and I needed a lab. But anyway.)

Let's talk about this mineral, shall we? (You're about to get a geology lesson, kids!)

So, in geology there's this thing called the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. To put it simply, it shows you how "hard" the mineral is. Softer ones, like talc, can be scratched into simply with your fingernail. Others, however, can make deep scratches in glass. They're "tougher", in a sense.

With that quickie science lesson in mind, jadeite ranges between 6.5-7.0. Now, if I remember correctly (because my textbook is alllllll the way downstairs!), you'd basically need to cut into that with a damn knife. You couldn't make an indent with your fingernail, or a penny. This is NOT a weak mineral. Too bad the same can't be said about the Sailor Moon character. (I mean, he's all about weakness and falling to temptation.)

Oh, and HEY. The Latin name for jadeite (lapis nephriticus) gives us nephrite! (Did Takeuchi actually do this much research? Or was she lucky and just pulled some names out of a hat, or?)

Jadeite is also a metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have "changed"; the original rock (which could be igneous, sedimentary, or a different metamorphic rock) is exposed to heat or pressure and "changes"! Like magic! POOF. So, under pressure, jadeite can change. (Heh, like how Jadeite can change from being "good" to "evil" with some pressure.)

Anyway, enough with the science lesson!

I hope you guys have a fun Saturday (don't forget, tonight's a new episode of Doctor Who!), and feel free to leave comments below or send me an email!

xo, Kate

Movie Madness: Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)

This month, I've been reviewing a lot of movies on Netflix. I'd randomly pick horror movies and go with it, but I haven't actually talked about anything so far that I've previously seen.

Well, that's changing today! I'm working on my philosophy midterm paper, so I wanted to actually put on something that I knew I'd enjoy.

I LOVE this movie. Love, love, love. At a whopping 240 minutes (4 hours!), 'Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy' is an amazing in-depth documentary that goes behind the scenes of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The beautiful Heather Langenkamp (who famously played Nancy in the series) narrates this behind-the-scenes adventure and leaves us with so much fascinating information.

This is an AMAZING movie. Despite the hefty time, I watch this allllllll the time. (I actually fall asleep with this on in the background a lot.) It never drags and everyone is entertaining and informative. This is for people who have either seen all of the Nightmare on Elm Street films or just have an interest in them in general. You don't really need to see them all to enjoy this (I hadn't when I had originally watched this!).

A lot of people write off horror movies as being dumb or cheesy. Especially films like the ones in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. And to be honest, I get it. I get why people think they're stupid films or not really "serious". But when you watch this, you'll be surprised at how much thought is actually put into this stuff. This is one of the movies I might show to someone (or, perhaps because it's so long, show clips) who underestimates the horror genre. Many of the cast and crew of these films talk about their messages about suicide and drug use; they talk of their literary and other film references (specifically, they talk of Shakespeare and Ray Harryhausen's work).

Maybe I'm biased though. I'm a huge Wes Craven fan. He's one of those people I wish I could be friends with and I regret that I'll never get to meet him. The idea of this gentle and well-spoken man creating these horrors is absolutely fascinating to me, and I always wanted to go out and have lunch with him and just talk.

This is a film that every horror fan should set aside some time for and watch. You'll have much more respect for this franchise than you probably did beforehand. Even if some of it seems corny and lame, there was a lot of love and time put into it, and it's astonishing.

I hope you guys all check this movie out (like I said, it's on Netflix!) and enjoy it as much as I did.

If you have any suggestions for horror movies, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email!

Have a lovely day, everyone.

xo, Kate

Review Day: Treeline Cheese (Classic)

Hello everyone! I'm taking a break from the horror movie marathon to talk about something awesome: FOOD.

I'm sure that many of us will be attending or hosting Halloween parties. (I'm doing both, heh.) So, we need to figure out some party foods, right?

For my Halloween party, I have been toying with the idea of making a vegan cheese platter and being a little fancy! You know, really showing off that I've finally reached adulthood. Cheese platters are one of those things that make you feel fancy and sophisticated, even if you're only serving slices of Velveeta or something like that.

Now, I'll probably be making most of these cheeses myself, but when I was at Whole Foods the other day I decided to take a plunge and try a vegan cheese that's supposed to be very good.

Now, I'll admit that I've never been a cheese expert, really. (Is there a cheese equivalent to, say, a sommelier?) I only know what I like.

So, I purchased this primarily because it was the cheapest (there are some other vegan cheeses they have that I still need to review, too). It's also a pretty small portion. It also has a great reputation though. It's cashew-based (though I'm upstairs at the moment, so I'm not going to claim it's soy-free).

This is what you'll see what you take it out of the box. It's wrapped nicely in this waxy paper, and the label makes you feel all ~*swanky*~.

It was much harder than I expected. When I purchased it, I had been imagining it'd be soft, like brie. (This was also one of those times I wish I had a cheese knife.)

I first tried a plain slice of this - nothing fancy. And it was not love at first bite. It has an incredibly unpleasant first taste (it might be the mesquite flavouring, but it was almost too lemon-y and sweet) but then it melts into this nice flavour that, as Eric pointed out to me, is a bit like cream cheese. He despised it when he tried it - he spit it into the sink.

I was about ready to throw it out completely, but then I remembered I had some Saltines down in the media room (I like snacking on them, I'm weird). I cut a slice and put it on the cracker, and the flavour was instantly better. The salt from the cracker kind of negates that overwhelming first bite, so all you're left with is the smooth bit at the end. Unfortunately I had no red grapes in the house, but if you tried cracker-cheese-grape, it'd probably be rather nice too.

So, what's the verdict?

I will not be serving this at my Halloween party and would probably not purchase it again, but I would not turn it away if someone gave me some. I'd like to perhaps try experimenting with it in recipes and such, but for now I'm rather lukewarm with it in general. (Which, by the way - when serving this, it's recommended that you serve it right out of the fridge. I'm curious what it would be like at room temperature, though.)

Terribly sorry if this review has burst any bubbles! I'm glad I finally tried this brand though, and I'd be interested in trying some of their other flavours. But there was just no love connection here.

If you've tried this before and loved/hated it, let me know! And if you have any suggestions for the blog, feel free to leave me a comment below or send me an email!

Until tomorrow, loves!

xo, Kate

Edit: As an extra treat, because this review was disappointing, here's a picture of Catsby.

Meow.

Edit #2: I've now tried this shredded up into pasta and on top of pizza, and it was mild and nice so I recommend that as well!

Movie Madness: Fright Night (1985)

Okay, so somehow I've never seen this.

I KNOW, right? I mean it has Chris Sarandon in it (ugh yes he's so handsome) and then they remade it and Anton Yelchin and David Tennant are in that!? Come on, I need to hop on this wagon. This is one of those cult classics I've just never gotten around to watching, but I've always been really excited about it and I'm glad Netflix pulled this up for me today.

'Fright Night' is about a boy named Charley (played by William Ragsdale) that has convinced himself that his new neighbour, Jerry (played by Chris Sarandon, drool) is a vampire. If Chris Sarandon was a vampire, I'd probably fall for the act too, ugh. His good looks would lure me away from everything!

I know the other day when I talked about 'The Frighteners', I said that I loved the films of the 90s, but I actually really like the 80s, too. (Basically I think I love every decade but the 70s.)

I loved this. I typically like cult classics, so I EXPECTED to like this too. And there were parts of this that were so wonderfully cheesy (like when the mom offers Charley a valium to help him sleep, the fact that Jerry is hesitant to kill Charley and his mom - I mean, he hears her voice and what is he actually worried about though? HE COULD JUST KILL HER TOO???? - and so on).

Roddy McDowall is so fantastically overdramatic in this, it makes me giddy. It's quite charming, really. I wish he was still alive. He's cute and funny! He's kind of got a "Vincent Price vampire hunter" thing going on here.

(Man, if I was Amy, I'd totally fall for the act that Jerry gives her. Whoopsie. And her vampire face near the end actually freaked me out a bit, ha!)

Also, there are times where I'm like "Why is this rated R?" and thennnnn I realize why, ahahaha.

Oh, and a warning to my vegan/animal-loving friends: There IS a scene with violence towards an animal in this. I think it looks (thankfully) fake, but I figured I'd give a warning regardless.

I hope you liked this review! Make sure to keep checking up this month for more reviews, recipes, and crafts! And if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email.

Have a Weird Wednesday, guys!

xo, Kate