Buttered Pop Culture

 It's almost impossible not to compare Near Dark with The Lost Boys. Both vampire movies came out in 1987. They both tell the story of a young man who gets entangled with a group of vampires because of his romantic interest in a female of the "pack". The young men both come from a single parent family unit and have a younger sibling intent on saving them. One movie has Corey Feldman in a role, the other was produced by Edward S. Feldman (though apparently the two are not related). There are siblings on the two though, as Joshua John Miller who plays Homer in Near dark is brothers with Jason Patric of The Lost Boys. But there are big differences, too. For starters, while both have achieved a kind of cult status over the years, The Lost Boys was very successful at the time of it's release while Near Dark was less well known and less celebrated. The Lost Boys is more traditional in it's portrayal of vampires, with the added twist of making them sort of a juvenile del

 Star Trek novels often run into the same issue as Marvel movies. They often take place between installments of shows or movie franchises, so these big important things happen only to never be spoken of again. This book has some of that. It also tries to develop a backstory for a character introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, and chose to give one that makes little sense. The half Romulan, half Vulcan Saavik was of course going to get stories focused on her. But this book sets her story right after Star Trek The Motion Picture, where Spock discovers her on a Romulan planet during an illegal Vulcan rescue mission. She is feral and speaks in a pidgin language. And her presence on this world is tied to a Romulan plot to start a war and wipe out the Federation. The book states there are 6 years between the events of The Motion Picture and it's story. Which means that if the events of WOK take place immediately after, which is not the sense given, they are 6 years (or more) as

 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang should have been a bigger movie.But the studio apparently did not have faith in it. And it doesn't take much imagination to see why, if one is being honest. Robert Downey Jr. was trying to make a comeback after years of substance abuse and arrests. Both co-star Val Kilmer and writer/director Shane Black were currently in a bit of a slump. And it's kind of a weird flick. It shares some dialogue DNA with Tarantino's movies, the plot is based on old noir pulp detective stories, it has hijinks that would not feel out of place in a t.v. sitcom were they not so dark, and a couple of zany sight gags that feel like they're right out a Leslie Nielsen Naked Gun movie. Robert Downey Jr's character narrates the movie, and in this capacity mentions he is in a movie several times. The movie is set at Christmas time, but this has nothing to do with the story, and the only impact on the movie is the occasional Santa hat worn by someone on-screen. When I conside

  While Dracula might be his best known work, it is not the only thing Bram Stoker wrote. And it's not even the only thing to get a movie adaptation. Ken Russell is known for making horny,deviant movies, so of course his 1988 loose adaptation of The Lair of the White Worm is both. Featuring a rape scene of a convent full of nuns against a psychedelic backdrop, a snake woman who dresses in vinyl dominatrix boots and slinky lingerie, a human sacrifice where the ritual involves a giant strap on dildo (even Russell apparently got cold feet occasionally, as no attempt was made to employ said dildo), and a weird throwaway pedophilia joke. A couple of future stars are in there (both Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant have ties to Dr. Who, as well as having worked together again in Paddington 2). And there are some on the cheap 80's special effects that look pretty good all things considered. The movie begins with archeology student Angus doing an impromptu dig at a bed and breakfast run by

  Before reading this book I didn't know that "adult" western was an ongoing genre in books. I thought I had purchased a good old fashioned western shot 'em up story. I was in for a bit of a shock. I'm no prude, but boy, this book was vulgar. And seemed to revel wallowing in it. It makes sense for the time period for many of the characters to be racist (excpet the title character who seems to be the only non-racist in the west), but there are times when it seems like the author was trying to win a bet about how many times he coulod include the "n word" in his book. And not only is Longarm, the protagonist, not racist, he is a superhuman sex machine as shown by his ability to bed every woman who crosses his path and spend hours pleasuring them over and over again in every position known. Less explicit, and only slightly more believable, Longarm also can read multiple books while spending an afternoon in court watching proceedings, and knows all the real d

  Wild Eyed Southern Boys was released in January 1981. The band was fronted by the brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zandt, and the southern rock roots show through a little on the album. Mostly though, it sounds like typical 80's radio rock. It's mostly unspectacular except for a few gems that continue to heard daily on classic rock radio. Hold On Loosely is the best song the band ever recorded. It kicks off with a great guitar riff, has the catchiest chorus, and has the biggest impact. There's a reason this is the one that ended up on all the compilation albums. First Time Around is dull by comparison and suffers by following directly after it on the record. The title track is okay, a little corny but not bad. It's catchy. Back Alley Sally is forgettable and doesn't impress much either way. Fantasy Girl is another classic rock radio staple. It's a good song, though not as good as a lot of songs that have been forgotten by radio programm

  If you are a fan of classic "golden age" Hollywood, names like Cary Grant, Gene Lockhart, Rosalind Russell, Howard Hawks, and Ralph Bellamy will ring an instant bell. You will also be familiar with "screwball" comedies. And if this is the case for you, His Girl Friday is a movie that you need to see. Based on a hit play titled The Front Page , which had been adapted into a movie once with the same name as the play, His Girl Friday came out in 1940. It was directed by Hawks, and was about newspaper reporters. The film is careful to mention with an opening screen card that it portrays reporters of a vague earlier time, and is not indicative of the behavior of newsies of the time. It doesn't quite mention what earlier era the movie is supposed to be set in. Rosalind Russell plays former ace reporter Hildy Johnson, who is leaving her job at the paper run by her ex-husband and ex-editor Walter Burns played by Cary Grant. She has fallen for and plans to