Nosferatu

Yesterday was a busy day. We went down to see my mother for her birthday l which meant we also got to see my youngest brother and his partner as well. The older of my two brothers has communicated with me on WhatsApp but has not spoken to me in a while, which is better that what has happened with my Mum as he has not spoken to her in ages.  

My Mother did ask me to get my brother to speak to her, but gave up when I told her not to keep annoying him. She then asked my wife to get him to speak to her, but my wife explained why she could not do so.  But is was a nice get together.

Later, when back at home I went out to watch Nosferatu. I only knew it was a film about a vampire.  I do like watching films knowing little about them, but I should have learned before that this was a remake of a film based on the book Dracula, which explained the many similarities to the film (I have read the book decades ago and cannot remember all its details to compare).  

It was shot very well, the plot essentially is the same as Dracula, but there are some differences. When comparing this to the film from 1992, there are some bits which are better, and some which are not. In fact, I would find it hard to pick which film I would rather see. 

It was interesting that many of the people who went to watch it met a stereotype, which I do not meet, well, to look at anyway. I had asked the rest of my family if they wanted to watch it and they declined. That was just as well as when I booked my seat, there were just a few left and if they came, we would have been sitting in different parts of the screen, or would have been right at the front. And not meeting the stereotype, we would have stuck out like sore thumbs! I know my wife would not have liked it as much as I did. My kids may like it in years to come, but again, I doubt that this is a film for them. 

Happy new year

Greetings all! It is the first day of 2025 and I am the only one awake in our house. Weather permitting, we are to travel to London later today to see my mother for her birthday. We had friends round to see in the new year, Leia having Louie round and they two got on mostly, until I set them off!

My wife had been in Elvedon the night before and I slept badly as a result, which meant that I passed out after midnight. But, I made it till then. My son had friends round and they left in the early hours of the morning, my daughter is probably sleeping off her celebrations last night!

I hope that all goes well this year. While everyone can say that the last one could have been better, I am grateful for the last year for others across the globe have had a worse time than me.

Anyway, happy new year to you all! 

Heretiks

This film is also called The Covenant and it is hard to find reviews due to there being other films with this name.

I liked it. But, I doubt I will ever watch it again. It is slow, it builds up to what is to happen, creating an air of mystery, but when the horror starts, the limits of the budget on special effects is obvious. But those limited do not detract from the enjoyment of the film.

With the film being about a nun, it will be compared to others, an example being Immaculate, and if I had to pick, most days, I would pick the other film. But the reason I say most days is that this is almost as good. 

I am glad I watched it, and it has given me ideas for the role playing games I am in charge of. 

How Brexit brought the EU together

Technically, the title of this post is misleading.  The EU has differences and has had some big problems, notably with Hungary.  BUT, many eurosceptic parties in EU nations have changed their mind on leaving the EU after seeing how the UK imposed economic sanctions on itself by leaving it.  

Basically, Brexit has been such a nightmare, that other nations have decided they are better in the EU rather than going it alone like we have in the UK.  

Christmas is over

Christmas is over.  My mother came up with my brother and his partner.  My wife had been cooking like a demon but sadly, things were not as ready as we would like when they arrived. My mother tried to help, but her mobility is not ideal and I had to get her to rest.  But she spent time speaking to me and also spent time with the children.

It was great seeing my brother again, his partner is amazing and she brought an incredible bottle of wine. In fact, I look forwards to them coming again. Anyway, time to relax now...

Byzantium

This is an interesting take on vampire films.  Much better than the Twilight series, but if you are someone who likes sparkly vampires, do not watch this.  The film is slow, but engaging, filmed well, it is has similarities, but is not close to an arthouse film in the way it is put together.  There is violence and gore, but it is not really a horror film, and if that is what you are seeking, again, do not watch it.  

I am glad I have watched it, but I doubt that I will be called back to this.  If you are interested in a slightly different take on the vampire genre, this is a film to watch. 

M3GAN

I really liked this film.  In fact, I liked it more than Childs Play, which has a lot of similarities.  Yes, the film is predictable, but it is put together well, the story knitting together with few of the plot holes as seen in Childs Play.  

While I am not sure that I would watch this again, I would have loved to have seen this on the big screen (there is no need to watch it there however) and it is a film I would highly recommend to others who like horror.  Childs Play had more laughs, but this was a better film by far.