Movie Marathon

When A Stranger Calls: Pathetic

Jill Johnson is grounded for running up the phone bill. Her punishment: babysit for the Mandrakises. In the course of her babysitting, she receives calls from a stranger. Initially, she thought it was just a prank call; but the calls become scary, threatening even. Jill reports to the police, who helped trace the call. What the police tell her later terrify her.

Officer Burroughs: Jill, Jill! We traced the call! It’s coming from inside the house! Do you hear me? It’s coming from inside the house!

Things to do to amuse yourself:

1. Watch this alone, at night, with the lights out.
2. Psych yourself before popping in the disc; this mantra could help: I’m going to watch a scary movie.
3. Turn the volume up, especially when the musical score attempts feebly to make Jill’s every turn suspenseful.
4. Scream at the top of your lungs, just to let the neighbours know that you’re watching a really, really scary movie.

This is one movie which pathetically attempts to scare its viewers and miserably fails to do so.

~~~~~

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: Delightful & Dark

Willy Wonka’s chocolates are loved by almost everyone everywhere in the globe. The factory, however, closed down due to spies on Slugworth’s side. Slugworth is Wonka’s greatest enemy in the trade of chocolates. Mysteriously, the factory operates again but not one worker has been seen entering the factory premises. An even bigger surprise is Wonka’s decision to open his factory to five lucky winners of the Golden Ticket he had scattered all over the globe inside Wonka chocolates.

Soon, four children from countries around the world find the golden tickets. Good-natured but poor Charlie Bucket finds the last one, just when he least expected it. As soon as he finds the ticket, a mysterious man, who turns out to be Slugworth, approaches him and offers him riches beyond his imagination in exchange for Wonka’s  Everlasting Gobstopper. Now this Everlasting Gobstopper is said to be Wonka’s most secret and deadliest invention; this gobstopper will be the end of Slugworth’s industry.

The five children, accompanied by their guardians, enter the famous Wonka chocolate factory where they meet the renowned but eccentric Willy Wonka. They are then given a guided tour of the factory’s many wonders and secrets. They are also given a chance to try out Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstopper. One by one, however, the children drop from the race, so to speak, due to bad qualities they possess. The last one to remain is Charlie but he is told off by Wonka because he and his grandfather Joe chanced a sip of the drink when they were specifically told not to. In a selfless gesture, Charlie returns his gobstopper. A man steps into the office and Charlie is surprised to see Slugworth, who, it turns out, is not really Slugworth, but Wonka’s trusted man who posed as Slugworth to test the kids. Wonka smiles at Charlie and announces him to have passed the test. The award: the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory itself.

Willy Wonka: So who can I trust to run the factory when I leave and take care of the Oompa Loopa’s for me? Not a grown-up. A grown-up would want to do everything his own way, not mine. So that’s why I decided a long time ago that I had to find a child. A very honest, loving child, to whom I could tell all my most precious candy-making secrets.

A cursory glance will make a viewer think that this is one delightful children’s movie. Imagination runs wild in this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s a 1971 film, long before I was even born, but the effects have showcased brilliance when it comes to putting together a set worthy to be described a ‘world of pure imagination’. However, a closer look at the plot tells us that this is not just a children’s movie. Adults can learn from the lessons this movie so subtly inserts amidst colourful candy canes, eye-popping gummy bears, luscious chocolates trees, and entertaining oompa loopa’s.  What makes this movie a bit disturbing is the seemingly perverse manner in which Willy Wonka punishes those ‘naughty, nasty’ kids. I guess you need this kind of dramatics to drive home a point.

~~~~~

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Visually lustful

1462: With the downfall of Constantinople rises Prince Vlad, the Impaler,  who is to do battle with the invading Turks. His bride, Elizabeta, is left in the castle waiting for her prince’s return. By some twisted act of revenge, the Turks deliver a message to Elizabeta informing her of the death of the prince, when in actuality, the prince and his troops won the battle. Heartbroken, Elizabeta hurls herself  to her death. The prince returns devastated, questioning his faith. The refusal of the priests to bless Elizabeta resulted in the prince denouncing God and the Church. He vows to wait forever for his bride.

1897: Jonathan Harker is commissioned by his law office to close the deal on properties bought by the Count who lives in Transylvania. He thus travels to the castle, meets Count Dracula, and by the time he steps into the Count’s abode, he has sealed his fate. When the Count sees a photograph of Harker’s fiancee, Mina Murray, he sees his dead bride from four centuries past, and knows his long wait is over. Count Dracula leaves Harker a prisoner and sets off for London to find his bride.

Mina’s best friend, Lucy, is a free spirited girl. Suddenly, however, she has been showing signs of anemia but Dr. Jack Seward is bewildered as he finds no cause for it. He calls upon his mentor, Abraham Van Helsing, for enlightenment. Soon, Van Helsing’s findings lead him to conclude the existence of vampires or nosferatu. Meanwhile, Mina is entertained and strangely enthralled by the attention given her by Prince Vlad. She feels she has known him for a long time. Back in Transylvania, Harker escapes the castle and seeks refuge at a convent. He writes to Mina for her to travel to the convent where they are to  immediately wed. This angers Prince Vlad and he seeks revenge on Lucy, finally condemning her to eternal damnation. The battle with the vampire begins. Mina and Harker return to London, and Harker teams up with Van Helsing to hunt for Count Dracula. Mina, however, has already fallen for the Prince:

Mina: I want to be what you are, see what you see, love what you love.

Count Dracula gives Mina eternal life from his own vampire blood. The battle goes back to Transylvania, where Van Helsing and his men race before sunset to kill Dracula. Harker is able to slit Dracula’s throat, and one was able to stab his heart with a sword. Mina stops them from completely destroying him. She goes with Dracula inside the castle, but it is too late. To finally give him peace, Mina drives the sword into Dracula’s heart and beheads him.

I have always been fascinated by vampires and their history. I guess you can say I hunger for any information about them. This movie, however, did not satisfy that hunger. I already know about Vlad the Impaler, having read about him on a Reader’s Digest book. So there was nothing new in this film, information-wise. The romance angle though has been put into the fore, and it can be a very welcome respite from all the gore showcased in this movie. Do not attempt to see any logic and reason in the story-telling because there are none. What you get are intricate visual effects, and erotic neck-biting and body-devouring. What blew me away was the song, Love Song For A Vampire, by Annie Lennox. The haunting tone emits sadness and longing. Check out the video.