Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Films

  • Late Night Camp

    Late Night Camp

    Saturday night, after CFO, I met up with my fellow Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls ladies, Jenny and Rebecca, to go to a late night showing of the 1980’s cult slasher film, Sleepaway Camp which was followed by a live Q&A with Felissa Rose who starred as Angela in the film.

    Studio 35 is an amazing local privately owned movie theatre that also houses a bar and a pizza shop. They had a special drink menu for the event that included the Don’t Drown and the Camp Arawak. There were more, but I forgot to take a picture of the menu and can only remember the one’s I ordered. We shared a pizza called PELE’S CURSE which has a GARLIC EVOO base, house cheese, capicola ham, pineapple, ricotta, almonds, cinnamon. It might not have been my first choice but it was very good. We also shared a loaded popcorn that included reese’s pieces and m&ms. I bought myself a box of sweettarts.

    I was familiar with Sleepaway Camp, but had never seen it. I had an idea what the twist was, but had no idea how it played out in the film. The film is ridiculous, overacted, campy, and so much fun. I was not expecting the ending in any way, which made it almost more fun. Felissa Rose came out before the film to introduce it and give some fun little tidbits of info. She also found a member of the audience who knew absolutely nothing about the film, so she came back before the end of the film to watch his face as he saw the ending. After the film she did a Q&A which was great; she was open, warm and very funny. And she obviously has a lot of affection for the film that began her career. It was a great night and I am so glad Jenny suggested we go.

    Speaking of Ghosts, Girls, Ghouls a new episode should be dropping this week. Find us by searching for ZTOTV on your favorite podcast service.

  • 14 Days of Blogging

    14 Days of Blogging

    It’s Here!! The podcast I guested on is available to listen to here. It was a super fun and generally a great conversation. So check it out if you want.

    We are planning another live event for the podcast I will be cohosting Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls. We are going to do a live reading of Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe. This is because we are covering the 1964 Roger Corman film The Masque of The Red Death and Corman mixed two Poe short stories to make this film, the titular story and Hop-Frog. Makes sense, right?

    I have such a love affair with Poe, even though I am aware that as a person he was problematic. His aesthetic is so my style. The Raven was one of the first poems I ever memorized that wasn’t my own. I have multiple pieces of Poe merchandise, like an action figure and a Poe-ka Dot bag from the company Out of Print. I have multiple copies of the complete works from several different eras. The paper that would lead to my change to an English major was on The Fall of the House of Usher. I am a fan of Poe’s work and I am well aware that his history is problematic at best. Shrug. I am not attempting to justify him as a person, but as a writer he was very influential to me.

    So…If you are interested in listening to me read some Poe along with my fellow Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls ladies you can find the event here.

  • Magic Crabs and Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls

    Magic Crabs and Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls

    My friend, Jenny, has a podcast with her friend Jean-Paul called WTF Did I Just Watch on Zombie Take Over T.V. A couple of weeks ago she sent me a message asking if I would be interested in doing a guest spot on the podcast to talk about the 1999 Rom-Com Simply Irresistible starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Yeah, Buffy!!) and Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints and Powder…hmm…). I, of course, said yes and we began to make plans to record a podcast talking about this truly bizarre movie. We will be recording February 12 and it should be a fun conversation if you are interested.

    A couple of days after this I got another message from Jenny sent to myself and a couple other women asking if we would be interested in co-hosting a new podcast where we would talk about classic horror movies from the silent age through the 70s. Myself and Rebecca immediately said we would so we began to plot and plan. The result is Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls found for subscription here. We will be talking all things classical spooky like Vincent Price, Universal Horror, Silent Horror, modern remakes, and so much more. We are planning to record monthly and our first episode will be recorded in mid-March. We will also be holding a getting to know you Q&A February 13th on Facebook Live.

    I am very excited about this and what else might be coming in the next several months. If any of this sounds interesting to you please check us out.

  • On The Third Day of Blogmas:

    It’s that time of year…when I watch copious amounts of holiday movies and shows. Here are some of my favorite new holiday offerings.

    Dash & Lily (Netflix) – Based on the YA book Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (which I have not read) the series follows Dash and Lily as they pass a red journal back and forth in a series of getting to know you entries and interesting dares. Set in a magical holiday New York the series features mochi classes, underground Jewish punk shows, The Strand, and red majorette boots. I have watched the full series 3 times.

    Holidate (Netflix) – Emma Roberts stars in this rom-com about two people who agree to be each others holidate, a person you are not dating but take to holiday events so you can avoid the awkwardness of the holidays. Kristen Chenoweth makes an appearance as Emma’s perpetually single and serial dating aunt and is hysterical. The movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it is a good time and made me laugh.

    The Happiest Season (Hulu) – I had high hopes for this queer Christmas story. It had an amazing cast, director and writers, but something in it just didn’t sit completely right to me. Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza shine, and Kristen Stewart is grounded and charming, but I am not sure how I feel about the resolution. All I know is that Jane is the best thing, and she deserves better. Watch it, but be prepared to dislike some of the plot and how it plays out.

    Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix) – This is a fun musical journey with amazing costumes and an interesting plot. I was impressed with many of the singers and greatly enjoyed the whole experience. The very thirsty mail woman is a fun standout and a power house singer. I have a crush on Forest Whitaker now.

    Have you watched anything new this year? Have you watched any of these? What did you think?

  • Vampire Obsessed Girl Redux…Vamps on Film

    In my previous post I shared my favorite vampire fiction in books, so today I thought I would share my favorite vampire films. I love many different types of vampire movies; some that are serious and some that are campy fun. Vampires are some of my favorite folklore and I love even the most ridiculous forms they take. Here are some of my absolute favorites.

    Do you have a favorite vampire movie?

  • The Comedy Brilliance of What We Do In The Shadows

    In 2014 when a comedy film about a group of vampires sharing a home in the modern world was released I watched it eagerly having no idea what to expect. What I got was one of the funniest films I had ever seen. The film addressed how awkward it would be for them to fit in the modern world, how hard it can be to seduce a victim, and even the reason they always prey on virgins. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement lead an amazing cast who grasp the concept with such sincerity that the ridiculousness of the characters is tempered. It quickly became one of my favorite films.

    what-we-do-in-the-shadows-2

    Imagine then my excitement when it was announced that a TV series based on the films would be coming to FX. My excitement built as I found out that they had cast Matt Berry for the series. I had watched the series Toast of London on Netflix and kind of fallen in love with Matt. He can do bombastic and pompous better than possibly anyone. The very idea of him made me excited even as I was disappointed that Taika and Jemaine would not be returning.

    The series would prove to be just as funny as the film, and keeps much of the aesthetic that this is a reality show about Vampires being followed by a film crew. The vampires in question are quite old, and slightly complacent, and not altogether very threatening. In the series we are following the married vampires Lazslo and Nadja, Nandor and his familiar Guillermo, and their roommate Colin Robinson who is a psychic vampire who feeds on people by sucking their energy away by being incredibly boring. Guillermo is hoping that Nandor will eventually make him a vampire. Nadja, who is played wonderfully by the gorgeous Natasia Demetriou, can play exasperated with fangs with a passion rarely seen.

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    I want so badly to spoil a particular episode which involves the vampire council, but I won’t. Watch it, and then message me to discuss.