I've cracked the case

So a while back, former big-time celebrity Brittany Murphy died under mysterious circumstances. She was alleged to have had an issue with drug addiction, but no drugs were found in her system at the time of her death. No illegal drugs, that is. Plenty of prescription drugs. But she was determined to have officially died of of acute pneumonia and severe anemia. Weird, but shit happens.

A lot of press focused on her tubby nut-job of a husband, Simon Monjack. A lesser celebrity with some producer/writer/director credits on his IMDB page. He seemed...well...guilty, for lack of a better word. Then he tried making money off of her memorial service. That didn't work out too well for him. He seemed to be in a downward spiral by his actions and appearance. Drugs, heart problems...all that shit.

So it wasn't much of a surprise when he wound up dead as well a couple of months ago. It was weird. He was a big news story when his wife died, but when he died the news was clearly bottom of the fold. I didn't hear about it until about a week after it happened. That doesn't mean much. I don't follow "celebrity" news all that much. Especially if the news doesn't involve boobs. Female boobs, that is.

But today I read that the official cause of Simon Monjack's death was announced by the coroner.

Acute pneumonia and severe anemia. Some prescription drugs in his system, but not enough to kill him.

JUST LIKE BRITTANY MURPHY!!!

:::cue the X-Files music:::

I don't know why no one else has figured this out, but I know who or what killed Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack.

It was the vampires from 30 Days of Night!

Think about it.  How does a relatively healthy young person get acute pneumonia?  Maybe they were exposed to the frigid elements of Northern Alaska in the winter while being pursued by blood-thirsty killers.  And that severe anemia?  Sounds like a vampire attack to me!  Oh sure, they were in sunny California when they both died.  But that's just details.  I'm more of a big picture guy.  And the big picture in these deaths screams vampires and freezing weather to me.

Mulder and Scully would be so proud of me.

Creepy Related News: Hey, guess what?  There's a new X-Files comic book mini-series out right now starring Mulder and Scully and guess who they go up against?  That's right...the vampires from 30 Days of Night!  Coincidence?  I don't believe in coincidence.  Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

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Note: Remember to play the Badgerdaddy Trivia Challenge every day. The truth is out there.

Låt den rätte komma in

There are some films that come into your life like a cool summer breeze. They are warm and wonderful and they make you feel alive ever so briefly. And then they are gone. And the memory of it follows soon after.

Then there are films that haunt you like a ghostly winter chill. Always tugging at the dark recesses of your soul. Something about them makes you want to stop and think about what it all meant, or read about it, or shut it out while you cower under the blankets in the middle of the night. Praying it will all go away.

Let the Right One In is a prime example of the latter.

On the surface it can be called a "coming of age" film or a "romance" or a "vampire" film, but it manages to transcend all of those genres. It truly is one of the more unique films I have seen in quite a long time.

The basic premise revolves around the budding friendship between a 12 year-old classic underdog and bully-bait named Oskar and his new neighbor. A young girl his own age named Eli. She is, to put it mildly, different. There is an instant and sad attraction between the two. He spends much of his time alone, pretending to battle his bully demons with a knife. She only comes out at night, dispensing wisdom far beyond her years on how he should deal with his problems. A bond is formed as only 12 year-olds can form them.

But, as she states more than once, Eli isn't a girl. She is a vampire. Living with her handler (who acts as a sort of father figure) in an apartment building like an exchange student with an aversion to sunlight. The dreariness of the situation is a living, breathing thing to the viewer. Especially as the film is set in the cold and dark winter of Scandinavia. Everything about the film is bleak. The weather, Oskar's school, the apartment complex, his torment at the hands of the sadistic bullies, poor Eli's existence...everything. Ingmar Bergman would have been proud of the overall aesthetic of this film. It was that bleak.

The filmmaker* also took some liberties with the mythos surrounding vampires. One that I found fascinating was his take on the vampire invitation. Believe me when I say that you have never seen something like this in a vampire film before. And since it involves an innocent looking young girl it makes it even creepier. Another shock was a scene that might normally raise a chuckle in a coming of age film. Oskar gets a glimpse of young Eli changing her clothes and what might have been a titillating moment for an inquisitive young boy on his way to manhood instead becomes a dark glimpse of Eli's deeper secret. Something truly too awful to contemplate.

Even if you don't enjoy a good vampire flick I would still recommend this one to just about anyone. Watch it in the original Swedish with English subtitles. The main characters aren't very chatty so it shouldn't be too much of an issue for those of you who hate subtitles. It's bleak, it's dark, it's triumphant (in a way), it's thought provoking. And it succeeds in haunting you. Which is exactly what I look for in a film. Especially a vampire film.

*I don't know if this was his choice or if it came from the author of the book. From reading the message boards there are some significant differences between the two although most reviewers seem to enjoy both.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the vampire kids are doing it.

True Blood

I just finished watching the premiere episode of HBO's True Blood, and I'm hooked. I was actually thinking about passing on the series. I had read a couple of negative reviews, and I really didn't want to get wrapped up with another TV show. Especially on Sunday night with the third season of Dexter just around the corner.

I'm glad I tuned it. It is exactly the kind of thing that is right up my alley. And it took me a while to realize what about it that I was loving, but it came to me toward the end of the episode.

It reminded me of a comic-book. A really good comic-book. Something along the lines of Garth Ennis' "Preacher" or Alan Moore's run on "Swamp Thing". It always seemed like the Brits just did "America" better in comic-books than actual Americans. Something about the wonder of it all, maybe.

That's neither here nor there for my point. None of the creators of this show are Brits. They are true Southerners, in fact. Charlaine Harris (her novels are the source material for the show) is from Mississippi and Alan Ball is from Atlanta. But I couldn't shake the feeling like I was seeing Ennis' or Moore's material up there on the television screen.

And that is about the biggest compliment I can give.

PS - I loved the "God Hates Fangs" sign outside the Church during the opening credits. I think this show is gonna have lots of real-life parallels about discrimination, sexual politics and race relations. How delicious!

Note - Can't get enough of the Presidential race? Try these guys on for size. It's not going to be for everyone, but hey...neither am I.