tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post6888833510537463450..comments2015-01-19T07:44:04.414-08:00Comments on The Nostalgic Attic: My Best Friend is a Vampire (1987)JP Mulvanettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-87457979895452495422014-07-22T04:44:36.494-07:002014-07-22T04:44:36.494-07:00Craig, I've a feeling you would get a chuckle ...Craig, I've a feeling you would get a chuckle out of this one. I used to watch Benson quite a bit (it ran on lunch time tv over here for yonks, so I used to see it on break from school) but I just don'r recall Auberjonois at all. Which is a shame, he really brings a great tone to this film. Will be keeping an eye out for him in the future.JP Mulvanettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-30012053134132591902014-07-20T19:43:25.118-07:002014-07-20T19:43:25.118-07:00I've not seen this one - but the nostalgia fac...I've not seen this one - but the nostalgia factor alone would draw me in now. Rene Auberjonois was in the original movie M*A*S*H* and several other 70's movies, but first became well known in America as the saucy Clayton Endicott III on the long running sitcom Benson. He did have a run on Star Trek Deep Space Nine in the 90's, and was recently a fine supporting regular on the James Spader/William Shatner legal series Boston Legal. Great actor - and a nice man - met him briefly when he came to town before Deep Space Nine to guest on a Matlock episode here. And I'm with both of you - Near Dark FTW!Craig Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037542638067599437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-57050764992161312502014-05-20T02:56:34.215-07:002014-05-20T02:56:34.215-07:00Wes, I agree on the difficulty of horror comedy, a...Wes, I agree on the difficulty of horror comedy, and to me, the golden age for it was the 80's, when generally there was an attempt to do both right. Whether they were successful or not... well, that's personal taste I guess! I went off comedy completely for years, and it was mainly to do with how American comedy had changed over the last ten years or so. I found myself being more disgusted by some of the characters than anything else... and I think a lot of it has to do with the current mentality of casting the most unobtainable, gorgeous looking people in these films. Even watching TED recently, which is fairly harmless, I got very irritated that even bit parts were filled with ridiculously hot women (all the leads co-workers, for example). I mean, the likes of Molly Ringwald and Demi Moore (before her surgery) were attractive, but realistic, leading ladies. As a teen I felt I could relate to them, and found the comedy worked better for it. Nowadays, everyone looks like a preppy douche bag or cheerleader, even the allegedly 'unattractive' characters. The closest we get to an Anthony Micheal Hall these days is the likes of Jonah Hill and Micahel Cera... and unsurprisingly, I find them quite good to watch.<br /><br />I think you should really dive into some of these flicks - Fright Night and Vamp are no brainers to be honest. Fright Night is one of my favorites from that decade, and Vamp is an unusual one, even if you don't 'love' the film I think you will really dig the cinematography. I too really enjoy Lost Boys, but yeah, Near Dark is in a league of its own. <br /><br />You know, I struggled with Rene Auberjonois (and not just with the spelling or pronounciation of his name!) as he was great in this film, but I couldn't figure out if I had seen him in anything or not. Turns out he has done a heap of VO work, but I've never seen him in anything myself. It might seem strange, but I'm not very well versed in Star Trek! But I'll definitely check out the Altman flick. Thanks for the heads up! JP Mulvanettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-26881194809689925722014-05-20T01:49:22.205-07:002014-05-20T01:49:22.205-07:00John, this one is absolutely new to me. After I fi...John, this one is absolutely new to me. After I finished the post, I immediately went off to search for a pic of the UK VHS thinking I might know this by another sleeve, but it seems this went out with the US poster at the top of this review. Hmm, I missed this one ! Horror comedies are a tricky proposition, and I must admit the comedy part of the mixture has always been a deal breaker for me, not being a big comedy guy. Still this looks kinda watchable and it’s always a draw with David Warner’s on board - he’s one of those actors who’s likely to turn up in anything from <b><i>Straw Dogs</i></b> to <b><i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II</i></b>. I’m a <b><i>Star Trek The Next Generation</i></b> guy so I’m especially fond of his guest appearance as an alien interrogator taking sadistic delight extracting information from Patrick Stewart’s captured Enterprise captain – 45mins of incredible television… I’ve been lax on my 80’s vampires films and I must admit I’ve never seen <b><i>Fright Night</i></b> or to a lesser degree <b><i>Vamp</i></b>. I remember being on a forum last year and someone had asked people to choose sides - <b><i>Lost Boys</i></b> or <b><i>Near Dark</i></b> ? I like <b><i>Lost Boys</i></b>, I have it on DVD and I wheel it out every few years (which magically takes me back to where and when I first saw it, and who with) but I’m easily a <b><i>Near Dark</i></b> guy – it’s one of the best films of the 80’s, vampires or no. I watched <b><i>The Hitcher</i></b> two weekends back and I really had the urge to see <b><i>Near Dark</i></b> again... Nice to see a ghoulish looking René Auberjonois in the third pic, another great actor, and a great face, as well as another <b><i>Star Trek</i></b> alumnus – I actually watched him quite recently in Robert Altman’s Bergmanesque film <b><i>Images</i></b>, playing a harassed husband dealing with a schizoid Susannah York – an incredible film. He also appeared in Altman’s <b><i>Brewster McCloud</i></b>, delivering what must be one of the nuttiest performances I’ve ever seen in an American film…Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502948357255970132noreply@blogger.com