Some movies become so ingrained in the cultural collective that we almost forget they're a movie. Like, my friend had never seen Highlander and knew next to nothing about it, but even he had heard, "There can only be one." But Highlander is indeed a movie, and one I hadn't seen in something like two decades, so I figured it was time to rewatch it. And it was totally worth it, if no other reason than I got to see goth biker Mr. Clancy Brown. You can see it, but I'm swooning.
immortality
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
At the beginning of December, I was finishing up a week of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari movies so I said that December wouldn't be just Christmas/winter holiday movies. That was also said because I want to talk about Spider-Man: No Way Home when I see it as well, but then... death happened. Ms. Anne Rice, author of The Vampire Chronicles, died this past Saturday at the age of 80. Interview with the Vampire has always been on my list of films to talk about on the blog, so now seemed as good a time as any, as a sort of memorial.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Did you know that there was a third Mummy film starring Mr. Brendan Fraser? I'm pretty sure I didn't before starting Mummy Mondays. Released 7 years after The Mummy Returns and not directed by Stephen Sommers--the director of the first two films--this really does feel like an unnecessary addition just so it can be called a trilogy. Which is a bit of a shame because despite this film getting negative reviews, I didn't think it was that bad.
The Wolverine (2013)
Speaking honestly, I'm not a Wolverine fan. The character has his moments, sure, but he's never really resonated with me. I like Cyclops, a loyal leader until the world beats him down enough that he's forced to make tough choices. Wolverine makes nothing but tough choices, and the decision to put himself in charge of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning in the comics was so laughably bad that I'm surprised Storm and Kate Pryde took as long as they did to take control of it away from him. What I'm saying is it takes a really damn good story for me to care about Wolverine, and this movie was pretty close to that.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
So X-Men: The Last Stand was not very good. I know, the hottest of hot takes. So I'm sure the stakes while making X-Men Origins: Wolverine were high as a result. 20th Century Fox needed to this to be good, damn it! This could be the start of an entire X-Men Origins, or possibly lead to an X-Men 4! That's obviously not what happened, in part because this film was... Well, I'll hold off on my opinion 'til later for dramatic effect.
The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)
The theme this week is "movies I've been dragging my feet on watching." We start by opening the tomb of Mummy Mondays, an event that's been collecting dust since early March. Back before the coronavirus, I'd have people over at my house every Monday for Movie Night, a tradition we had been keeping for over a decade. But actually contracting the virus, social distancing, and high risk jobs have done what years couldn't do: Movie Night is on indefinite hold. I could've watched these Mummy movies by myself at any point, but it's the principle of it, you know? Reviewing this alone means I finally admit that I have no idea when we'll all get together again. But here this is, for better or worse. Mummy Mondays are back! Hooray...
The Old Guard (2020)
I first heard about this movie on Facebook when a (gay) friend had posted an article about it and the preview image was two male characters kissing. That was really all I needed to know, so I logged onto Netflix and watched it. And that, as it turns out, was the right decision!
Chwineka Watches 