12 Years A Slave: McQueen...*My New Story Telling Crush*

This Review is Rated: "S" For Spoilers

After watching Shame and discovering who is the mastermind behind that piece of awesomeness, I rushed to review 12 Years a Slave, a movie I wanted to see last year, but never got around to do so. Steve McQueen is brilliant and is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors among others such as Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Josh Whedon and Guillermo del Toro

Take that slavery. I'm writing a book!

The fact is, I have known about this story for a while now due to some extensive research into slavery for a novel I was working on. Its a really interesting story about a black man who was born a free man and was forced into slavery. Because apparently white men still couldn't comprehend an educated, free black man walking on the same streets as them. The only way he was able to get out of it was managing to beg/convince a sailor to deliver a letter to his wife that he was still alive and needed help.

From there she was able to start the process of trying to locate him. However locating Solomon was impossible and they could not go any further until 12 years down the road, Solomon was fortunate to run into Mr. Bass, a Canadian who was an abolitionist and agree to write letters on his behalf to his wife in New York to help locate Solomon and bring him back home. The stakes were so high, Mr. Bass could not reveal his identity nor the location of where the letters came from so Master Epps would never find out who sent the letters. Master Epps fought with the court over his property claims, but in the end lost his right to keep owning Solomon.

Solomon's life as a slave was mainly up and down and was totally dependent on which master he served. This biography is interesting since slavery is always portrayed as "evil white person hitting black people the entire movie." Instead it reveals an interesting truth that not all slave owners were massive dickheads and some treated their workers with care. These owners were still in the wrong for owning slaves in the first place, but treatment and conditions go a long way if you are stuck in such a shit situation. At the time, it was a common place acceptable practice and we have to realize objectively that if one must own slaves/servants, one should at least not be a terror to them if they want their workers to be productive at all [which is and always was the end goal].

The preacher, Mr. William Ford [Benedict Cumberbatch]

His first master was not a bad guy. He was a preacher and a kind man. Solomon Northrup described him as one of the good ones, but he was caught up in the practices of the time and therefore owned slaves but didn't understand it was wrong. His second master was an angry twit, but Solomon was then sold to a third master after a while who was a complete shit. Its amazing what this man had to go through. This is a truly heroic tale about a man that is fighting to get back to his family against all odds of ever being found [and during those days, if you disappeared because you were kidnapped back into the slave trade, your chances were zilch of ever being found again].

Down and Dirty [Just How You Like It]:

The whole movie was downright close to perfect and straight forward. You get the jist of his story and how lucky he was to get out of his situation alive. The feels were real. Even though there were some parts that were zany and ironic in how they were portrayed, this movie is going to make you cry. You can't help but to feel for Solomon who is desperate to leave the horrible situation he found himself in. You will love every minute of this movie, its beautiful in so many ways and I am glad it was made justifiably by a great director and a group of outstanding actors.

Story Accuracy:

The rescue team has arrived, carriage style

I have read into this story before. For the most part, is played true to Solomon's tale. However there are differences. Solomon first wrote a letter and handed it to a sympathetic sailor before he was sold to his first master, alerting his wife to his situation in New York. So while the movie focuses on only Solomon's journey, his wife was in the works trying to get her husband back.

The person who really brings him back is Mr. Henry Northrup, the son of the man who freed Solomon's father in the past and his childhood friend. He also happens to be an attorney, which can't hurt. So its good they skipped all the court proceedings and nonsense involved after the fact. But I wish they showed more of his escape attempts. Even though Solomon was in a rather good position with his first master, he still attempted to escape multiple times. Because, yeah, this shit sucks.

Performances:

Great performances from the entire cast. I was superbly impressed by everyones skill level and capability.

This incredible man lived to escape ^

Chiwetel Ejiofor - Freaken amazing. His portrayal of Solomon was top notch. Even within the absence of dialogue you could feel his pain and the struggle behind trying to live through the ordeal. The ending where he finally was reunited with his family brought tears to my eyes. It was such a powerful, perfect ending because so much was portrayed in that one scene. The feeling that he was robbed on watching his kids grow up, watching his daughter marry, being there for her first born and of course not being there for his wife. You could tell that was all surmounted into one scene of remorse for missing out and relief for finally seeing them once again, alive and well.

This looks like an episode of cheaters

Lupita Nyong'o  - A stunning actress. She is fairly new to the scene, but her portrayal of Patsy was well done. My heart broke when all she wanted was a bar of soap so she could wash herself with and how she was beaten for leaving the property. I could see the relief in her eyes when she asked Solomon to kill her so she could find some type of release from the hell she was living in. She had done an amazing job and was a great memorable character that left a lasting impression on me as I'm sure the rest of the audience.

Getting a little close there, aren't we Mr. Epps?

Michael Fassbender - This dude seems to have a bromance going on with the director as I found out he has participated in all 3 of McQueen's films. The man is stunningly versatile, but he seems to be cornered in sexualized roles at times. He plays the ruthless Master Epps and seems to have a rapey vibe for Patsy. Master Epps is a controlling, ruthless, violent, drunk who tortures his workers as much as he can to make them fear him and pick more cotton [because they got to pick that cotton and pick it now!]. Even Brad Pitt's character Bass had to be cautious of how he discussed the condition of his workers around him. He sometimes is unintentionally hilarious as brutal as he was. He plays the part well with great intensity and viciousness. And that red beard, oh my. Can I love an evil man's facial hair and still hate his personality at the same time? Why yes, yes I can.


The Underground Railroad of Sins:

1. Was She Taking Advantage of Him?

First five minutes of this film, some woman grabs our hero and has silent sex with him. Then cries about it. My mind is confoosed! Woman, you forced yourself on him, and now you are crying in shame? Pick a side damn it!

The mad hatters are taking Solomon to the dark world

2. Do You Want to Get Roofied? Because This is How You Get Roofied.

So Solomon gets courted by some circus gentlemen that wine and dine him and the scene is set up in a way where you feel like this dude is about to get roofied, thrown in a sack and taken to banjo land at any moment. Seriously, stop with the wine.

3. Run N***** Run 

Worst song ever. I sort of chuckled at this part because of how ridiculously horrible this song was and the irony of the message involved. Like seriously? Do we need to sing that song and make everyone clap to it while every ones working? What kind of asshole sings this song? A super asshole, that's what. Paul Dano as Master Tibaut is a horrible jerk, but a funny horrible jerk.

4. So...Just Let Him Hang There?

Seriously? Hes just hanging there and everyone's just going about business as usual? Rough, man. Rough. Kids are playing in the background, people are looking, but nobody is helping. Except a woman who quickly gives him water and bolts away before she is seen. He literally hangs there the whole day so Master Ford can cut him down. Holy crap..why didnt they just cut him down right then and there?

5. Midnight Dance

So Master Epps is an absurd prick. He decides to wake everyone up to have a dance in his house and you could tell everyone was seriously annoyed at this. Their faces were lifeless and tired. Like seriously what's wrong with this guy..and hes totally got the creepers boner for Patsy [all of that cotton picking power in one tiny body just makes him super hard I guess. Watch out guys, if you pick more cotton he may go after you too]. Eww. I like you Fassbender but you got the creepy stare going on in this movie too. You are also a psycho...a funny psycho, but a psycho none the less.

Paul Dano asks if the man is an engineer or a you know what..

6. He Totally Schooled Him

Paul Dano's southern asshole character argues with Solomon about pushing the logs through the river to save money with the owner and wins out, making Paul's character look like a dumb ass. That was awesome. The owner was impressed and let him do it. haha. He schooled him a second time in the movie too..Paul Dano is such a good coward archetype actor.

7. What a Sissy

Epps can't strike his own favorite girl in the slave bunch so he makes Solomon strike her instead and threatens his life and everyone else's if he doesn't strike her harder. What a shit. Of course he is egged on by his super jealous wife that tortures Patsy every turn she gets.

8. Is That His Child?

At one point Fassbender is holding a little black girl and treating her to candy. Was that his kid that he had with Patsy or was that just a kid in general? I mean, is this what the wife was P'Od about? Because I can't imagine him being with Patsy that many times without her getting pregnant at some point.

9. Benedict's Accent

I have to admit, he is terrible at the southern accent. I love his voice, but you could tell he was struggling to get it right. Sometimes it was just his regular voice that came out and sometimes he just barely grasped it. Its not a huge deal since his role was limited, but I am not familiar how southern Mr. Ford was or was he a possible immigrant. My assumption was his family was established if he had property.

A free family is a dapper family

Overall 12 Years a Slave was a great movie and deserved the recognition it got. Its really not about "Hey guys, slavery is bad! Look at this!" like a lot of these kind of stories are. It was really a different kind of story about a man who was kidnapped and lost his freedom. A freedom he always had and knew no other way. It would be very similar to the underground sex trafficking that happens. You just can't comprehend the abuse, the injustice and how nobody seems to give a shit how you feel about the situation. This situation was real even though there were free black men/women during that time, it was still uncommon and despised in plenty of circles. People might ask about why the slaves didn't escape? Or rise up and kill their master?

Well slave masters then WERE afraid of these things possibly happening and that is why they beat their slaves down physically and morally to make it difficult to leave. The threat of escaping and getting caught, then executed was very real. People were afraid, illiterate and kept in the dark. Because a smart black person was a dangerous black person to a slave owner. Its really the same nonsense that goes on even in todays culture. The more you keep people stupid, the easier they are to control. Its an age old theme that never seems to die. The educated will always be more bitchy and yammering about their rights than those who don't know them at all.

And when you have generations upon generations that are stuck in that cycle of life, your children don't understand what freedom is. So even if they were given it, they wouldn't know what to do with it. This is what happened in the slave colonies today that organizations are working to eliminate [yes some colonies do exist even though slavery is outlawed everywhere]. They have no skills, no education, no understanding of the world. They become fearful because they don't know how to survive in a world free of an oppressive master. Its very easy to run back and just let the master take care of you instead of try to figure it out on your own. Not everyone is designed to walk out of slavery with the capability to live a regular life. And this is incredibly sad. Luckily the men/women who figured it out before hand and became part of the abolitionist movement helped slaves escape and gave them the support they needed. And ex-slaves need a lot of support to transition into a world free of boundaries.

The Happy Dance...this all star cast won 213 awards total

Solomon was exceptionally lucky that he knew what freedom looked like and therefore he faught for it the entire 12 years he was caught up in the slave driven plantations of Louisiana. He was educated, had skills, and was beyond the level of everyone there. He had the capability to escape, the others did not.

Unfortunately Solomon could not push the court system to prosecute his kidnappers and therefore the men responsible were let go. Today this kind of activity would be hard to let go because we all believe fervently in our own freedom. But during that time, freedom wasn't always guaranteed. It still isn't. Its why people still fight for it on a daily basis. Freedom is not just a physical aspect, its also a state of mind. The state of mind only a free man/woman could understand.

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DnD Rating: 9.8/1O

DVD/Blueray: Available now!

Shame - Hey! Everybody's Naked!

The pervy look he gives the entire movie. Hide yo kids!

So recently I discovered how much I like obscure movies that are about fringe related subjects And man, I've been finding them everywhere lately! Most of the films I end up checking out are likely disturbing, strange, or uniquely artistic. That is when I found the movie "Shame," a movie I never even heard of until this past weekend. And for good reason. This movie is not for everyone and if you don't have an ability to be objective you could say in certain instances its downright screwed up in how mentally sick this character and story is.

While many would think this movie is just some smut film about a guy who has too much sex, I find it more of a great way to address the issue of mental/physiological disorders that impair a person from having normal relationships due to the shame they bring upon themselves. Sex is only a vehicle but the addiction tells the story of a person who is in desperate need for help, but refuses to address it until now. It is the best performance I have ever seen Michael Fassbender in [although that's subjective since I haven't seen everything he has ever done] and its definitely teetering the line between pornographic and a deep message of how disturbing/destructive a sexual addiction can be.


11 min in - We are Getting Down and Dirty:

My man, Steve, rocking the beanie hat on a subway train.

This movie definitely doesn't leave much to the imagination, but it also doesn't really glorify the sexual shock either. Its done in a way where you know the character is doing something wrong or he's clearly messed up. Steve McQueen [the director/writer] makes it clear in his story telling that this is not meant to be some ridiculously perverted biopic of a wealthy, successful man. There are sexually charged moments, but all of them are used to reveal more about the character and his addiction.

But it does take a bit to get over the shock. In the first 3 minutes you already see Fassbender's character "Brandon," in full frontal nude and without a stunt double in sight. Then it pushes through his daily life of sex with a prostitute, sex with random strangers, Fassbender stalking a lady in a subway station like a creepy perv, two implied masturbation scenes and a montage of full frontal shots. This hit of over sexualized moments reveals a lot about the frequency of his needs and how it is disrupted when his sister, Sissy, comes to visit him later in the movie.

Overall I would say its a film of personal taste and rated at NC-17 due to the clearly graphic nature of the film's disturbing premise. Fassbender is a lightning rod in this movie and I feel he captures the role very well in his performance. Carey Mulligan also gives a superb performance as his emotionally needy sister, Sissy, who screws up his every day life flow with her crazy, needy emo self. However if you can get through that, its very well done and Steve McQueen impressed the hell out of me with his story telling. I feel a light influence of American Psycho exists in the film except a lot more disturbing/depressing instead of disturbing/uncomfortably funny.


Male Sexualization:

I think what makes this film really good is the choice to use of a male instead of a female. Now I'm not saying that because of, "Yay, naked man!" but more of the fact that people have the perception that it is natural for men to always be turned on, while some may have a critical issue in their psyche that needs addressing. Anything in the male realm is often downplayed as "not that important" and "man up you sissy" which makes it harder for men to seek treatment or help with problems of any kind, whether sexual or not.

Sissy, you are emo. You are going to have to die.

Women, on the other hand, are often portrayed as victims and within Brandon's sister, Sissy, there is an entirely different set of issues that is addressed and parallels Brandon's own addiction. Their personalities seem to clash quite a bit in the movie. She is emotionally needy, but loving and open about her feelings while he is emotionally closeted, willfully ignorant and private. This dynamic eventually deteriorates their relationship as Brandon is forced to address his issues now that he can no longer hide them in the safety of his apartment.


Why the Sex is Not the Only Reason to Watch:

There are some really smoking hot scenes in this movie, but most of them curtail your interest by either given creepy vibes or disturbing/depressing notes after a while. For example, the hottest scene in the movie turns into a failed moment where Brandon decides he can't seem to handle a real chick in his bed [a beautiful black woman named Marianne] that he likes and goes flat. She leaves disappointed and so does the audience!

He woos her with a nice view of the river then fails.

Which brings me to my next point. I REALLY like the fact that twice in this movie he was with a beautiful black beauty. Granted one was a prostitute, but the other was an intelligent, kind, sexy woman that he totally couldn't go further with. A real shame, but a good reason to drive the character onward into his spiral of despair. I don't see enough interracial coupling in entertainment, but its been getting better. We are starting to see a more driving demand for it in the past ten years since a lot of people now identify themselves as bi-racial or mixed ethnicity.

As a mixed ethnicity woman living in the melting pot capital of the world, I'm really proud to see that area continue to grow. Walking Dead has it with Glenn and Maggie, we have seen it in Guardians of the Galaxy this past summer between Peter and Gamora, and I hope to continue to see even more in the future. Its starting to feel more natural in how they address it instead of a forced coupling just because - RACIAL EQUALITY.

 ^ The best part of the movie by far ^

My last point to watch this movie is for the downward spiral effect. I love the falling from grace moments of a character that show their true desperation despite all odds to hide it. Every director does it differently in how they construct the stumbling moments and how they conclude the story. Perhaps we can even state that the roots spring from the heart of the tragic character archetype itself.

These stories are always fun to watch for me and I know every step of the way. When they start to lose control of their poise and unravel before the audience's eyes. The scenes that become more disturbing and vile as their addiction/affliction starts taking over. Brandon does some really desperate shit along the way, getting his ass beat for openly trying to pick up a guy's girlfriend and jumping into a gay club after being denied into a club just to fulfill a need. The movie is intentionally uncomfortable to make you not feel good about what is happening here. In the last sex scene where he is with two prostitutes, you could see literally pain and suffering on his face toward the end.


Wandering Thoughts in the Bedroom:

Thin Walls - 

Sissy and Brandon's besty bro have to be the loudest people in New York, because Brandon should not have been able to hear his sister getting it on so easily in an expensive flat like that. I would call in a noise complaint and then hose them the hell out of my room. GET A HOTEL, pricks. Not on my bed.

That Waiter - 

Needs to shut up! He is super annoying. He just keeps popping in and taking over the scene. Like dude...go away. I don't care about you. I don't care what you recommend. I don't care about your stupid apron or how much wine you poured..[and you poured a lot, you drunk]. Just go away. Also he seemed to emphasize on the wine "Pinot Nior is light if you like it like, light." That seems like a weird comment to make. Almost as if he is wasn't approving of Brandon's date. What's interesting is if you look at the scene as a whole, everyone in the room is white except the guy who pours water in their glass and Marianne.

Look out Tom Cruise, Fassbender is beating you at the run!

The Run - 

Is the equivalent of a cold shower for this movie. When your sister is getting banged by your married boss, the run is the perfect way to blow off steam. I think that is maybe the reason Bradley Cooper did a whole lot of that in the movie, Silver Lining Playbook, he needed lots of cold showers. Lots...of...cold...showers.

Chinese Food, Beer and Porn - 

Can this guy get any more bachelor or what? Seriously. That is what every bachelor in the world does before he either A. gets married, B. finds a girl to play house with, C. learns to cook himself.

Clearly Its the Intern - 

Brandon's IT bros found a super collection of porn on his computer at work and they totally blame this shit on everyone else. Like WOW. He hides it so well that his friend's can't even imagine him being a sex addict and clearly it must be the intern's fault. The most hilarious part is his boss is like "what kind of sick pervert does that?" while he is trying to dog every woman in New York. The irony is amusing. You also want to hear another irony? Porn sites are the least likely websites to get a virus from. Brandon is clearly surfing a p2p site or reddit with AOL, which I consider a virus in itself.

THAT STRING! - 

In a scene where Brandon and Sissy are waiting for the train he has a string on his coat that NEVER gets addressed. I could not help, but STARE at the string the entire conversation. I was hoping it was there for a reason, but it was not. WHY. Why did they not cut it? WHY? #militaryuniformtrauma

^ Pervy boss alert, he loves emotionally wounded, easy girls

Brandon Should Have Punched His Boss - 

The fact that Brandon's boss hounded after his sister should have given him a license to knock him out. The guy is clearly a dog and a desperate one at that. He's practically begging the girls to get with him and seems to suck at it. I'm really surprised he just let it happen and then got pissy with his sister after the fact.

Cleaning the Toilet because HYGIENE - 

Is this a man thing? He doesn't even sit on the toilet, why is he cleaning it furiously before he takes care of himself? I don't understand.

The Chinese Food Copulated - 

In one scene Brandon has a Chinese food take out box that is probably filled with chow mein [although listening to the sound of the stirring, there is clearly nothing in the box], in the second scene he has a second box on the table as well. Apparently he poured water on it and fed box 1 after midnight and box 2 was born.

The Entertainment Shelf - 

Brandon has a ton of records, CDs and books. A closer look at all of them one of the books says. "Moo" as its title. And he has a cheap RCA TV. I guess all of that money spent on hookers makes him poor and he can't afford a decent television.

So, yeah, nobody seems to cover up in this family...

Sissy's Shower Scene - 

There are so many weird pick ups in this scene. First of all....she is in the shower with the curtain OPEN. I know its a movie...but she is SHOWERING WITHOUT THE CURTAIN! His floor must be totally sopping wet. On top of this you see "Shampoo" on one of the bottles next to the Dove body wash which is so generic its hilarious. She even comments on it not for the name, but whatever awful brand it is. And shes showering with some bracelets on because....women, am I right?

You Like Your Sugar? - 

Dude, she is telling you to stop shaking the damn sugar for 1O minutes every morning. Its broken up already. Quit it!

Consistencies - 

I have to say the movie has done phenomenally with consistency, I tend to like to look at the background of movies and see if things appear or reappear. For the most part they have done a pretty decent job at getting almost everything right.

Clearly he doesn't want to go up there.

Overall the movie is not unique, but still an interesting and engaging story about a subject that isn't talked about enough. This is about how mental trauma due to a horrifying childhood/ experience can really shape the type of person you become whether you have control of that or not. It manifests in multiple ways and for some, addiction is the only escape and temporary relief for the pain one suffers in their own life.

Its a form of ignoring the past instead of accepting it for what it is and considering that it does not have to be your future. For Brandon, every time he felt emotion he replaced it with the empty need for desire and it only got worse when his sister needed him most. His break down was purely the most breath taking part of the movie because it was the first time we saw him show deep, troubling emotion. He was essentially burnt down, hitting rock bottom and admitting defeat to this severe problem. The ending is considerably vague, but we assume instead of Brandon pursuing the woman on the train like he did in the beginning, we like to think he paused for a moment and decided not to. A step in the right direction perhaps, but still a long way from recovery.

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DnD Rating: 9/1O

DVD/BlueRay: Available Now!

Double Feature: Midnight in Paris / Only Lovers Left Alive

 

Midnight In Paris - Nostalgia IS What its Cracked up to be

Midnight in Paris is one of the rare treats you will find in a movie these days, one that is both beautiful and classy while letting your imagination fly. Midnight In Paris is a wonderful movie about a nostalgic screenwriter who takes a vacation to Paris with his fiance and her conservative parents, hoping to find inspiration for his novel. At one point he gets lost in the streets of Paris while trying to walk home by himself and gets invited into a car that ends up transporting him to Paris in the 192Os. Here is where he meets his idols, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, along with a whole host of legends such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Cole Porter and more. The music is just darling, the era is so much fun to watch, and check out Hemingway! Whoa! What a man. haha. Kind of screws up the grading curve in the gender, I must say. Too bad his life didn't end so well.

A night out with Hemingway is always a blast of manliness

This movie was magical for anyone who is a writer and has a love for previous eras in history. Beautifully written and directed by Woody Allen, it has a large swath of famous actors in it such as Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody, Rachel McAdams, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates and more. They all play their roles beautifully and are strikingly well-casted for the people they portrayed. The story line is romantically kind, gentle and nicely done. Even the ending is quite satisfying even though things didn't work out as much as I imagined them to.

The only annoying thing about the movie is Rachel McAdam's character, Inez. The woman is incredibly annoying and stereotypical of a gold digging, materialistic female. Now I know she is basically the catalyst that makes Gil reflect on his life before marrying a woman of this type, but her character really frustrated the hell out of me. Which I guess is a good job to Rachel since that's probably what they were going for. Also Michael Sheen was awesome as the smug, pseudo-intellectual, Paul. He sounds like he would make a great intelligence professional, he's got diarrhea of the mouth. He can't help, but to spill knowledge whether people care or not. haha.

The mystery of the magical street at midnight is an interesting plot device in itself as a motive for transportation into another time. We all have wanted to go to a different world at times and writers are finding unique ways to bring us into that special world. In Harry Potter it was the train station platforms serving as a portal. For this movie, its a transportation vehicle of some sort from that era. For the 192Os it was a lavish 192Os style car, for other eras, I wonder how much simpler the vehicles become? Perhaps they strip down to horses and so on. I would have eagerly loved to be a part of a different era for the night. Especially with such friendly people that want to invite me to parties! Let me get ready to do the Charleston!

Reading the sheeple's opinions on the internets, some have stated that this film seemed anti-American, but I don't think it has anything to do with American sentiment at all. It has to do with learning to deal with the present and being honest with oneself. Hemingway and Fitzgerald were awesome as characters and Dali was just perfect with his line, 'I see rhinoceros!" If you have no idea who these people are, I suggest you check them out before you watch the film or it won't have as strong of an impact on you.

If you are looking for something that is subtly romantic, nostalgic and a dreamer's type of story, this is the movie for you. As a writer, you will love the premise and it delivers exactly what you hoped it would. So if you have time, I think everyone should check this movie out. You won't regret it.

DnD Rating: 9/1O

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Only Lovers Left Alive - The Plotless Vampire Movie That Holds Your Attention

For those that are into vampires, here comes a sexy story that has no plot, but still piques your interest. The story revolves around vampires, Adam and Eve in the backdrop of Tangier, Morocco and Detroit Michigan. When Adam contemplates suicide, Eve travels to him to cheer him up. The two are reunited in loving embrace, but not for long when Eve's obnoxious sister, Ava visits and screws everything up. I guess even vampires have relatives they hate.

The movie is ungodly slow with the passage of time, has no real defining plot, but the characters are interesting enough for you to continue watching. It feels like you are just peeping into their lives and seeing the craziness of what eternity looks like. Adam is a depressed, reclusive musician that drones on about how horrible people are and refers all of them as "zombies" while Eve is more the free, loving spirit that seems to be the only thing that puts a smile on his face. He tinkers with instruments like a backwater scientist while she voraciously reads and has stacks of books lying everywhere in her room. They are lovers separated and yet need each other like two spiritually intertwined addicts.

The Sexy Vampire Couple

This is not the type of movie for everybody and some may not appreciate, nor understand the quality of the story involved. For those that need clean defining lines in a movie, this would be a terrible pick due to how abstract it is. Nothing major really happens and the most interesting thing that does is Eve's sister coming to visit [which at several points I swore Adam was going to murder her in cold blood].

However it is still enjoyable. Tom Hiddleston, who plays Adam, is great in this movie as the brooding, complex vampire. Tilda Swinton also does an amazing job as the patient and sweet-hearted lover. They both seem so chic and cool in their eternal brooding sort of way. They are weird stereotypes of the dark and brooding, hot, rock musician and the hippy Californian that found yoga, tea, and spirituality. Both of them seem to take to blood like heroin addicts looking for the next hit, which is different and interesting as a concept alone considering blood lust and feeding for vampires has always been a carnal thing. Here it seems more like a euphoric addiction that keeps them moving and without it, they suffer and become unmovable.

What is interesting is how much these two have saw over the centuries and the understanding of why Adam is so bitter. Many people he influenced has been persecuted or died over the years. The movie also has a heavy avant garde feel and surrounds itself with the sound of music/creative passion being the heart of the story telling, influencing the feel of each scene. This is a character driven piece and watching the couple in this movie is seductive in itself. They are a naturally beautiful, smoldering couple.

What the story also leaves behind are so many questions. How many vampires still exist in their world? What would they think of the culture of vampires in todays entertainment? How does Adam get money for his music if he is incredibly reclusive and only deals with Ian exclusively? Why are these two separated? What happens if they can't find anymore blood sources? Do they become so weak they start deteriorating? Do they become more animalistic? Does drinking blood compare to a high with drugs or more of a satisfying of hunger? Does Adam and Eve have sex [it was kind of implied...but I'm not even sure at this point]? And is Adam and Eve a coincidental name?

DnD Rating: 8/1O

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What did you think of these movies? Was Midnight in Paris what you expected? What about Only Lovers Left Behind?