The 31 Monsters of Halloween: Vampires

You never grow old. You never die. It's fun to be a vampire.

10 Favorite Movie Characters

Will Pfeifer finds out about all the best memes. He's the one who got me started on the Album of the Year Music Meme and here's another cool one: List your top ten favorite movie characters. Not actors. Not movies. Characters.

Pfeifer doesn't mention a specific number to list, but following his links backwards it looks like it started as a list of ten. I need boundaries like that, so I've limited myself to ten as well.

I've also set up an additional rule for myself. I wanted to pick characters that - as far as I know - started life as movie characters. No Rogue; no James Bond; no Tarzan. That was hard to do in a couple of instances where I like the movie version of a character a lot more than the original version (Susan from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Daniel Day Lewis' version of Natty Bumppo for instance). But after much thought and pruning of a larger list, here's my top ten, more or less in the order that I discovered them.

1. Han Solo (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back)



Harrison Ford's not a big Han Solo fan. He says that Han's a one-note character and that he'd rather play Indiana Jones. I can respect that opinion from an actor's perspective, but as much as I like Indy, I'll take Han any day. He may only have one note, but I love that note. He's too cool for school, but has a heart of gold. He was the first movie character - maybe the first character from any medium - that I wanted to be.

Incidentally, I think Ford was absolutely right about Han's limited potential. That's why he was pretty much useless in Return of the Jedi (which is why I didn't list that movie up there next to his name). But he'll always be my favorite Star Wars character thanks to Star Wars and Empire.

2. John Bender (The Breakfast Club)



If Han was who I wanted to be as a kid, John Bender was who I wanted to be as a teenager. And why not? He's basically Han all over again. Scoundrel With a Heart of Gold and all that.

I was never as roguish as Han and Bender, but these two characters taught me to be okay with myself and not worry so much about what other people think. And that was a very handy tool for a teenager to have.

3. David (The Lost Boys)



I probably should be ashamed to say that the biggest thing I took away from David was his fashion sense. But I'm not.

Also, he was just very, very cool. For an evil bloodsucking vampire.

4. Larry Talbot (The Wolf Man)



I haven't learned any monumental lessons from Larry the Werewolf, but I love how tragic and tortured he is. God bless Lon Chaney Jr for how well he played this role. His hand-wringing, gut-wrenching self-loathing is the highlight of every Universal monster film he's in.

He totally sucks me into the story and I'm always rooting for him to figure out a way to beat the curse. And I'm always heart-broken when he fails.

5. Ilsa Lund (Casablanca)



This was a hard one to pick. I knew I wanted a character from Casablanca, but I was torn between four of them. Rick Blaine is one of my heroes in the mold of Han/Bender. He's also tortured like Larry Talbot. Captain Renault is another lovable rogue and one of my favorites.

I thought hard about picking Yvonne, Rick's girlfriend who hooks up with a Nazi soldier to make Rick jealous. Again, she's tortured. She's totally in love with Rick, but he's completely inaccessible to her. When she sobs while singing "La Marseillaise" I cry. Every single time. By the time she's shouting "Vive le France" at the end of the scene, I'm wiping my eyes and cursing myself for being such a baby. That could have been such a cheesy scene, but actress Madeleine Lebeau nails it. She not only makes me believe she's feeling it; she makes me feel it too.

Here. See what I mean.



But Ilsa... Ilsa made me fall in love with Ingrid Bergman. There are a couple of instances like that on this list where I followed actors' careers longer than I enjoyed them based on a single performance. Watch Ilsa in that scene above. I'm not even tempted to list Victor Laszlo as one of my favorite characters because frankly he's dull and unlovable. But in that scene, you see in Bergman's eyes what Ilsa sees in Victor. She may love Rick, but she admires the hell out of Victor and that's enough to create the movie's central conflict.

And that's why Ilsa's my favorite. She's got an impossible decision to make. She's in an untenable position that she in no way asked to be put in and the entire movie is gripping because you can't stand not knowing which way she's going to go. It haunts me.

There are a lot of reasons that Casablanca is my favorite movie of all time, but Ilsa's conflict is the biggest of them.

6. James McKay (The Big Country)



I mentioned before that I like Han Solo and John Bender because they're so comfortable with themselves and their status as outsiders. James McKay makes them seem like self-conscious, nervous little dweebs. Han actually does want to fit in with his new, rebel friends and Bender's self-confidence is largely a cover-up for deeper insecurities, but McKay will let his fiancé think he's a gutless coward because he refuses to put on a macho show for her.

I need to watch The Big Country again and see if that's pride or humility on McKay's part. I think it may be pride, but if it is, it's a very private pride that doesn't need anyone else to validate it.

7. Phil (Groundhog Day)



Now that I'm writing about each of these characters I'm detecting a pattern that I didn't notice when I was just picking the list. Phil doesn't start off as the kind of guy who doesn't care what people think about him. He's very concerned that people see him as sophisticated and cool. But he grows into that guy. And he also learns to value other people above himself, which is something I keep working on in my own life.

There's a profound connection there, I think. Putting the needs of other people in front of your own somehow eliminates the selfish desire to have them think nice things about you.

8. Lucy Moderatz (While You Were Sleeping)



I was a huge Sandra Bullock fan for a long time and it's mostly because of this movie. Sure the premise is far-fetched, but Bullock's performance as a woman suffering from profound loneliness is absolutely grounded and real. I don't cry during While You Were Sleeping, but I get a little misty at the end when she comes clean at the wedding and talks about being part of a family and not having had that "in a really long time."



Like Yvonne in Casablanca, she makes me feel it with her and I love that. My heart goes out to her, so I love the character too.

9. Elizabeth Swan (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy)



Butt-kicking pirate girl. Played by Keira Knightley.

Sometimes these things don't need a ton of analysis.

10. Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)



By the time this movie came around I'd learned that one amazing performance doesn't mean I'm going to love every single thing an actor does. But if I'd seen it ten years earlier I'd have a huge collection right now of every obscure little film that Hilary Swank's been in.

Man, I love Maggie. I love her for struggling through her life and never losing her belief in herself when every... single... person... in her life was telling her that she was no damn good. It breaks my heart what happens to her at the end, but it in no way diminishes my love for her.

So, those are my favorite movie characters of all time. Who are yours?

Lost Boys: The Prequel?

This is way old, but maybe you were like me and missed it the first time. The Lost Boys is probably my favorite vampire movie of all time. I say "probably" because I haven't revisited it in a while to see if it holds up, but I was at exactly the right age during the '80s to think those were the coolest dang vampires that ever lived. Especially Kiefer Sutherland as David. Mullet and all.

When the direct-to-DVD sequel came out last year, I felt about it like Kiefer did. "Lost Boys was a massive part of my life ... You can’t crap on that. And I’m not going to go out and do a cameo in a DVD release sequel." And I wasn't going to go out and watch a DVD release sequel. I have a lot of younger friends who identified with the Frog Bros. or the two Coreys and were just happy to see them on screen again, but for me it was all about the older kids: David and Star and poor, peer-pressured Michael. Without any of them, Lost Boys: The Tribe held zero attraction to me.

But Kiefer's idea about a prequel is something I'd want to watch. According to /Film, "Sutherland says Joel Schumacher suggested a film focusing on David as a mortal, before he turned into an evergreen vampire. A major plot point would have been the earthquake that birthed the vampire clan’s cavern/Jim Morrison shrine."

A lot of comics fans react to Joel Schumacher's name like a vampire to a cross, but that's because of his Batman movies. I'd love to see Schumacher take another - ahem - "stab" at The Lost Boys, whether prequel or sequel. As long as it's got Kiefer in it, I'm there.

Then again, as long as it has Kiefer in it, I'd watch an Uwe Boll Lost Boys movie.

Awesome List: Mermaid Island, Zatanna ongoing, John Carter of Pixar, Burn Notice novels, new Holmes movie, and more

Mermaid Island



There aren't enough mermaid movies featuring giant sea monsters, if you ask me. Too bad the Catwoman director has to be the one making it.

Zatanna ongoing?

Great news!

Captain Carrot and the Final Ark was definitely an entertaining little series. Any plans to pick up on it's mysterious ending? Didio hopes so, "Did we ever announce the Zatanna book?" The panel became confused. Did they just slip up? It was said something with Paul Dini and Zatanna was a possibility during the NY Comic Con panel but no, nothing had actually been announced. Didio needed to go hypothetical again, "If Zatanna had her own book, you might see something along those lines somewhere down the road. Just saying if."

"You could be happy here. I could take care of you. I wouldn't let anybody hurt... AAAH! NO, ET! NO!" *SPLURCH!*



Eliot's new friend.

Pixar's John Carter of Mars movie confirmed

According to The Pixar Blog:

The disclosure came at the end of the short, but extremely enjoyable, discussion (excerpts of which will be published here soon), when a writer from Suite101.com asked about [writer/director Andrew Stanton's (Finding Nemo, WALL-E)'s] next project, to which Stanton mentioned (not too loudly) 'John Carter of Mars'.

Doubting what I'm hearing, I interject, "What is that?" "John Carter of Mars", Stanton replies. "You're confirming John Carter? Are you serious?" At this point, I turn my tape recorder back on, "...say that on tape!", I tell him. Stanton: "I am writing John Carter of Mars right now." "Oh man, you just doubled my page views!", I say. Everybody laughs.

Cannot wait.

Skulduggery Pleasant



There's always room on my bookshelf for a skull-faced detective.

The future's getting closer all the time

I've been wanting an excuse to finally visit Disneyland and Vegas. A 300 mph levitating train ought to do the trick nicely.

Burn Notice novels


I'm a big freaking Burn Notice geek, so I'm way tempted by the idea of continuing Michael Westen's adventures via novels. These things are rarely as satisfying as watching the show, but I suspect that my curiosity may make me find out for myself this time. (Thanks to Double O Section for the heads up.)

Wizard World Chicago

I'll be heading to WWChicago in another week. If my vacationing luck holds up like it has so far this year, I expect aliens to take over the convention center and hold us all hostage. But at least I'll have Warren Ellis to keep me company. He's making a rare convention appearance there this year.

Via his email newsletter:

I'm at the Chicago con next week, and I'll be doing one of my marathon Q&A talks on the Friday night. Details:

The talk is actually at the convention center. We don't have a room number -- they're actually going to be removing walls from adjoining rooms to make a monster hall that'll seat 1500.

The room will open at 9PM. There will be a bar in this room, so people can get good and drunk before I go on.

I go on at 9.30PM. And we will just bullshit until they throw us out.

This is NOT a ticketed event. No-one is on the door, I'm told. First come, first seated.

Lord help me; I sorta want to see Lost Boys 2 now



I don't really know why and I can't defend it, but seeing pictures of the older Frog Bros. and their new vampire enemies has me kind of curious.

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie will be directing a Holmes movie for Warner Bros. who're comparing it to Batman Begins in tone. They say it'll focus more on Holmes' adventurous, swashbuckling side. I think that's a valid approach, so now the question is, who to play Holmes?

As soon as I heard Ritchie's name, my mind went to Jason Statham, whom I love, but think would be pretty awful for the role. Hugh Laurie would be a great - if obvious - choice though. What do you think?

Links du Jour: Land of the Lost movie, Lost Boys 2, and “Woo hoo, Black Canary! Whoopee!”

Horror

• The world so does not need a Lost Boys 2, with or without Corey Feldman. In fact, since I have no plans of ever seeing it, let's just pretend I never saw that announcement and that it doesn't exist.

Fantasy

• Today is Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie's birthday. He would've been 147.

Science Fiction

• Whenever I occasionally revisit Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, it's never as good as I remembered it from childhood. But Nuno Plati reminds me that visually, Yondu is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters. It's the sail-head. Same reason this is my favorite dinosaur.
• I love Robert Rodriguez, but I'm concerned about his next couple of projects. The closest that Will Farrell should get to a Land of the Lost movie is his Marshal Willenholly character from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Yeah, Land of the Lost was kind of silly, but it wasn't meant to be and a fun, but straightforward treatment of it would be much better than a comedy. I just hope the live-action Jetsons movie is better than the Flintstones one.

Superheroes

• Wizard has a great round-table discussion on the topic of Green Arrow's upcoming proposal to Black Canary. They have comments by everyone from Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams to Andy Diggle and Tony Bedard. It's a pretty comprehensive look at a complicated subject and, as you'd expect, not everyone agrees. A couple of interesting things from Green Arrow's history that I didn't know: 1) though Chuck Dixon's always been vocal about not particularly liking Ollie, it was DC editorial and not Dixon who decided to kill Green Arrow back in the day, and 2) Judd Winick was always supposed to have followed Kevin Smith as Green Arrow writer, but DC thought they needed a "buffer" to keep fans from eating Winick alive after Smith, so they brought in Brad Meltzer.
• This report from a comics-movie roundtable is heavily skewed towards movies based on Marvel Comics, but that's to be expected when three of the four panelists are Thomas Hayden Church (from Marvel's Spider-Man 3), Zak Penn (who wrote the X-Men movies), and Marvel EiC Joe Quesada. But while it may not be balanced, at least it's got some interesting news about the villain from the new Hulk movie. Hint: he may not be a snowman, but he's certainly abominable.
• As a Christian, I find the idea of Spider-Man's lending a hand in treasured Bible stories to be absolutely hilarious. Especially the bit where the Hulk helps to part the Red Sea.
• Grant Morrison points out one of the wonderful possibilities to come out of 52: "We all wanted to do something new with the multiple Earths so what you've already seen in 52 is simply the tip of the iceberg - each parallel world now has its own huge new backstory and characters and each could basically form the foundation for a complete line of new books. If you like the ongoing soap opera dynamics of New Earth, you can watch Mary Marvel turning to the dark side as her skirt gets shorter and shorter, or you can buy the Earth 5 line of books featuring more iconic versions of the Marvel Family." I hope so, Grant. I hope so. 'Cause honestly, I'd read both. There's much, much more in the link. Easily the best of Newsarama's "exit interviews" of the 52 creative team.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

• Speaking of exit interviews, there's a really nice one with Lauren Graham at TV Guide. She talks very candidly about Gilmore Girls and why it's ending, as well as her plans for the future.
• One of the reasons I don't talk much about TV shows here is that I TiVo them all and watch them at my convenience. That means that I'm not up on the latest spoilers and whatnot, but I'm also not at the mercy of TV programmers when it comes to my schedule. I'm perfectly happy with that trade off. And, apparently, so are a lot of other folks, which is totally screwing up the Neilsen ratings, because they aren't doing a great job of taking TiVo and other DVR systems (not to mention iTunes) into account. The article in the link paints a gloomy picture, as if TV is dying as a medium, but reality is that the measurement system is just going to have to take a few years to catch up to new trends, at which point everything will balance out. Interesting article.