it's not life that matters but the journey...

I was having a conversation with wolfpurplemoon (well it was here on LJ, but still nonetheless resembling a conversation) the other day about the current Hollywood vampire band-wagon. Everywhere you look there's new vampire movies, remakes of movies, or tv shows shows, most spawing from books or series of books about the sexy supernatural beings. both of us decided that we weren't complaining about all the movies and shows - I for one have had a fascination with vampires since I was old enough to watch the 1979 version of Dracula with Frank Langella - and then there was The Hunger and Fright Night, and The Lost Boys and Near Dark... all great movies. And then there was the remake of the series Dark Shadows back in 1991 -I used to videotape those religiously - I thought vampires were so romantic. I wasn't a huge fan of Anne Rice - I tried reading the books and was bored to tears. The Interview with the Vampire also bored me - and Tom Cruise as a vampire - yuck!

Flash forward to now: I know that Twilight (which may be the cause of all this recent vampire hype) will have a movie sequel soon, there's a new movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer coming, True Blood season 2 starts this weekend (yay!!!), and Vampire Diaries will be starting soon on the CW. And there's a remake planned of the movie I reviewed the other day, Let the Right One In . Hollywood can't just leave a good thing alone. is all this hollywood vampire hype too much? Does it make it fun anymore for all us gothic vampire lovers??

and now... just this morning I hear that Johnny Depp has been chosen for yet another Dark Shadows remake, this time a movie with Tim Burton directing. but will it work? Is Johnny Depp the right guy to play Barnabas Collins? does anyone remember the original Dark Shadows series, that aired from 1966 to 1971? It was a serial - a daily show, not even a weekly show. Can they take this concept and put it into a 2-hour movie? again don't get me wrong - I loved the Dark Shadows tv show, with Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins. My mom was a fan of the original series too!
I'm a sucker for gothic, old-fashioned vampire stories - I love dark, scary castles, and fog, and Victorian-era fashions. I don't really like vampire stories set in modern high school halls. And Johnny Depp as a vampire - now that would be hot! could be interesting to see how this pans out.

And now for something completely different - I watched the movie Lars and the Real Girl last night and loved it!

Basically, it's about a guy and his doll. More specifically, a very shy guy named Lars (played by Ryan Gosling in a perfect performance) who has trouble connecting to people, forms a relationship with a life-like doll he buys on the internet. Sounds crazy, but it's one of the sweetest, funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Both of Lars' parents are gone, and he lives alone in the garage of his brother and sister-in-law's home. He has a job, and seems to be a functioning adult. But he's painfully shy and afraid of human contact. His pregnant sister-in-law Karin (played by an absolutely loveable and adorable Emily Morimer) is worried that Lars spends too much time alone, so she invites him for breakfast and dinner and dotes on him. His brother Gus thinks that Lars just wants to be left alone. They are both thrilled to find out that Lars has a new friend. But when Lars brings his new "girlfriend" Bianca to meet Gus and Karin, they must then figure out how to deal with Lars's delusion, and soon the whole town is treating Bianca as if she's the real deal.

what works about this movie is not just the story, which at face value might seem laughable. But it's the deeper ideas, of learning to love and be loved, and also learning to accept people for who they are. Poor Lars never had any affection as a child, and he's never learned how to really connect with anyone. While most guys buy life-sized dolls for sex companions, sweet Lars won't even share a bed with Bianca in the beginning. Bianca is more than just a companion for him; she's a lesson in how to love someone. She teaches Lars so much about accepting people, and in the process, others learn a lot from Lars and Bianca's relationship. The other thing that works is the characters, and the performances. It's such a simple plot, but the characters are complex, and Ryan especially does such a fantastic job of playing the delusional guy, who has no idea that Bianca is a delusion. To him she's more real than any living creature. it's an amazing performance - he sings, he cries.. he's just great! I don't want to give away too many more details - because I recommend this movie highly!