B's Remake Series-Blacula

What does Grace Jones, Aaliyah, Thandie Newton, Michad Brooks, Adina Porter, Rutina Wesley. Kat Graham, Edi Gathegi, Wesley Snipes, and Eddie Murphy all have in common? They've all played vampires on the big and small screen. The film they have to thank for making that possible is 1972's Blacula.

Starring William Marshall as the smooth laid-back title character. Blacula sparked an series of horror films within the blaxplotation genre during the '70's. The gist of the story is African Prince Maulade is working to free his people from slavery in 1780, but get's transformed into a vampire by Dracula and imprionsed in a crypt. Fast forward to 1972 and he's inadvertently released and comes across a woman named Tina played by Vonetta Mcgee, he believes to be the reincarnation of the wife he left behind.

Making his way around town with the fashion statement of his cape strapped to his back. He makes attempts to woo Tina while wrecking havoc on the town to survive, and keep who he really is a secret. This movie is prime for a reboot.

With the increased focus and embracing of Black culture, and the horror genre overdue for a new Black vampire. Blacula could be the horror film we didn't know we need. 

Maintain the African Prince character and make his personality that of a smooth lothario. Have him awaken in the 2020's unsure of where the hell he is, which has a clear Rip Van Winkle influence and could be used for some comedic effect. One thing the original film didn't address was how awakening centuries later affected Blacula as a person. He just went with the flow and instantly knew how use his new powers as a vampire.

A reboot should focus on the mental psyche of a vampire awakeing alone to a unfamiliar world, a vampire who was of royalty as a man, and show the growing pains of his new life. Keep the love story component of him just wanting to reunite with his true love, because people love a good love story. Throw in some gory bad ass vampire scenes and special effects of how they move, add in classic vampire lore and we have a new Blacula that a new generation can love.

Casting the role, as I mentioned earlier in the blog Blacula is one smooth guy, should a reboot ever occur a smooth fella like Idris Elba would have to play the part. There is an abundance of talented female actresses who could play his love interest so a reboot couldn't go wrong there.

Watching this film it was clear to me Eddie Murphy used it as inspiration when he crafted Vampire In Brooklyn. Maxmillian is the pinnacle of Black vampires for my generation, just as Blacula was for Eddie's generation. The film is by no means perfect but it sparked a sequel Scream Blacula Scream, so it certainly has a legacy. The DNA is there for a rebooted Blacula to be a success, let's hope someone realizes it and inspires a new generation of Black vampires and Black vampire fans.

 

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B's Top Five Vampire Movies

Auburn leaves are falling and the air is getting crisp. Apple cider and candy apples are in abundance. Those who like pumpkin flavor are on cloud nine. It's also Halloween season which means its time for horror marathons. One staple of horror films are vampires.

In pop culture zombies are the pinnacle creatures of the horror genre. Personally I've always preferred vampires and feel the love towards vampires is severely lacking. In all mediums the mythology behind vampires is what draws me in. They have certain rules to abide by in order to survive, they can morph from human form to demonic creatures or bats in a snap. Not all vampires die the same, some explode other's simply dust away, some scream like hell as their bodies burn. All playing a role in the deep mythology of the living dead.

Since I love movies and vampires here are my top 5 vampire movies.

1. The Lost Boys

The Lost Boys on the surface is a campy tonally completely 80's film. The clothes, the hair, the music, the famous beach concert scene all a product of it's times. The film still holds up well and damnit it is a fun ride in the process. Known for it's tagline "You'll never grow old, and you'll never die, but you must feed". The film has so much to offer, Keifer Sutherland who is an underrated actor brings a ice cold cool factor to vampire lead David. Jason Patric shows talent that lead to many thinking he would be a bigger star than he is. Jami Getz  plays her torn lover role well, let's not forget 80's superstars the two Corey's Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. 

The MTV style fast camera shots and quick cuts depictly how fast the vampires seek and destroy it's still an editing marvel. The theme song "Cry Little Sister" is infectious and you will find yourself humming it randomly. The house seige at the end of the film perfectly depicts the many ways vampires go out. Vampire lore in this film includes the "head vampire" of a pack who must be killed to save any half-vampires.

The movie is legendary and  sparked two too late too little sequels in the 2000's that attempted to cash in on name value. There has been a planned TV show in development at the CW for a few years that just can't get new life. One iteration for the show included a pretty cool idea of following the core vampires through various decades . Even if the show never gets off the ground, the demand for more Lost Boys content is there and the first film is undoubtledly a classic. 

2. Blade

Before Marvel Comics as a result of the MCU became the juggernaut that it is today, they were just trying to survive and sold film rights to help stay afloat. In the process came Blade released in 1998 and starring the 1990's Black king of action films Wesley Snipes. Blade is a Dhampir a half-human  half-vampire whose lifes mission is to eradicate the bloodsuckers of the world. He finds himself in a battle with Deacon Frost (bad ass name) played by Stephen Dorff who gives a vicious villain performance. 

Blade has kick ass action scenes, and more kick ass action scenes. It also gives the vampires of it's world a deep mythology and show how sophiscated their society is. They are wealthy, they have mere mortals who wish to be vampires doing their dirty work during the day. "Pure Bloods" or born vampires are considered superior to those who were converted. They keep archives of their history and worship their own religion and blood gods. 

The sequel delves deeper into the vampire culture in this film universe. The third film introduces the original vampire Dracula but falls very flat compared to the first two. Blade is considered a comic book movie above all else, but the inclusion of vampires give its horror attributes. 

Besides the two sequels, Blade also spawned a mini anime series and a  TV show in the mid 2000s starring rapper Sticky Fingaz.  Marhershala Ali is set to bring the character back in the MCU this decade.

3. Underworld Series

This film series all six of them have all the ingredients about vampire lore I love. A full mythology of origins, powers, hierarchies and way of life. Vampires in this film series having ruling elders who take turns hibernating and awakening to lead the species in their war against the lycans (werewolves). Both sides were the result of a genetic mutation centuries ago, and have established their own communities living alongside humans. 

The films are all about the action and have bare plots, especially the first one it's nothing more than a film trying to capitalize of the Matrix's aesthics and special effects, with a Romeo + Juliet love story. All set against the backdrop of a centuries long war between mythical creatures. Despite that I'll stop what I'm doing and watch these films when they come on. 

4. Fright Night

This vampire film released in 1985, and stars Chris Sarandon of Scarface fame and William Ragsdale as  an 80's lovable loser who is obessed with old school horror films,  he suspects something's not quite right with his new neighbor. He set's out on a mission to prove that his neighbor is a vampire and responsible for the recent abductions in the area.

Fright Night is 80's comedy/horror at it's finest. William Ragsdale plays his role well, and Chris Sarandon plays creepy vampire Jerry with enough convinction he wanted to drive a stake through his heart yourself. A sequel was released a few years later, followed by a remake in 2011 starring Colin Farrell and another sequel in 2013.

5. Once Bitten

Released in 1985 and starring Jim Carrey in his first film role as high schooler Mark. Once Bitten has the typical teenage tropes of the 1980's...a teenager just wanting to get laid. Mark has been desperate to lose virginity but his longtime girlfriend won't budge. At the same time there is a vampire countess played by Lauren Hutton who must drink the blood of a virgin three different times by Halloween to stay immortal. A bit of a spin on traditional vampire lore, the film follows Mark as he starts to slowly convert while still trying to get lucky.

Once Bitten isn't gory by any means, and it's a horror comedy but isn't really laugh out loud funny. It deserves some praise for switching up the vampire mythology just a bit on how some may survive. It's one of those films you can turn on and check out from reality for a couple hours. 

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Could Use Dinner And A Movie These Days

 

It's a Saturday Night, its  been a long week and I'm a bit washed. Flipping between cable and the few streaming services I subscribe to, I noticed the abundance of movies from the 80's up to the early 2000's that are played like clockwork on several stations (AMC, VH1, TBS, TNT). It got me thinking...it's time to bring back hosted movie programs. 

I'm not sure what the official name of these programs are called but they go back as far as the 1950's with horror films hosted by personalities. Back in the 90's to early 2000's there were several movie programming blocks hosted by various personalities. Famously airing B-movies and bygone classics, in between commercial breaks the hosts would have skits, interview guest, or just talk about random non-important facts regarding the movie playing. It was entertaining and for a young kid who was big into movies, and was seeing some of them for the first time was quite interesting. 

The USA network had USA Up All Night which aired on Friday and Saturday nights and over it's span was hosted by comedian Gilbert Gottfried and Rhonda Shear over it's time. Every Friday Night TBS had Dinner and A Movie a cool concept where dishes were crafted that fit into the theme of the movie playing. I saw Top Gun for the first time at 10 years old watching that show.

One of the more famous personalities to host these shows next to Elvira was Joe Bob Briggs with his Job Bob's Drive-In Theater program on premium cable channel The Movie Channel, and Monstervision on TNT. I saw way too many B-movies watching his program such as Toxic Avenger Trancers and Dollman . I saw the original Swamp Thing watching Monstervision, after seeing the sequel first and was in awe at the complete differences between the two films.

The last program aired on cable like this I'm aware of  was Casino Cinema on SpikeTV in the mid 2000's. In 2018 horror streaming service Shudder bought Joe Bob Briggs back for The Last Drive-In Times have changed and with so much content out there, cable steadily losing ground to streaming services, and several talented entertaining personalities out there. Now's a good as time as any to bring these type's of programs back, and give washed individuals like myself some nostalgia and something to look forward to on Saturday nights when nothing else is on.

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B's Remake Series: Universal Soldier

 Hollywood is the king of recycling. Every year there are movies and TV series in development, that are remakes, sequels, or spiritual continuations of successful properties.

This often done to invoke nostalgia, connect a property to a new generation. Or the biggest reasons, money and Hollywood is out of fresh ideas. When films are remade it's often to bring famous films to a new generation. Update a film that had a good plot and just failed in execution, or the technology wasnt there to fully flesh out the film. I will be providing a series of films, I believe are ripe for a remake in my "B's Remake Series". 

Starting off is 1992's "Universal Soldier"  starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. At the time Jean was becoming one of Hollywood's reliable action stars, while Dolph was not a bankable action star but had the size, menace, and enough acting to be a bad ass foe when one is needed. The poster featuring the two with machine guns in their hand, and their target head sets (dont know the actual term for them) and the trailer was all they needed to draw audiences in.

The film follows the two as reanimated soldiers amongst a team used for a secret military program. Both go rogue in their own way against the program, and against one another. The film put Jean Claudes martial arts skills against Dolph's brute force. There is some serviceable action scenes in the film, including the opening hostage scene, and a motel shootout. The Hoover Dam scene still holds up today with the introduction of the soldiers, the scene of them repealing down the Hoover Dam face first is a cool ass visual to this day. 

Where I think the film is ready for a remake almost thirty years later, is the technology behind reviving the characters  of Jean and Dolph. DNA engineering, stem cell use, and cybernetics are even more prevalent and has supporters and opponets more today than back in 1992. Even watching the movie when I was younger, I was intrigued by the idea of the 'Unisol" program as it's called in the movie. On the DVD there is a deleted scene where Jeans character meets the doctor who oversaw the program, it does provide some context but I believe was left out for pacing purposes. As such the movie leaves just enough information to let viewers know, theres way more to the story of that program. How their chosen, how their controlled, exactly what was done to these soldiers. It's a whole mythology behind it that should be explored further.

The film could also touch on the experiences of soldiers when their in war and the mental effects of it. The effects of PTSD is hinted at in the original, but I think there just wasnt enough known about it back then to elaborate on it in the film. That could be a subplot in a remake and play a role in the soldiers going rogue. 

There was a direct sequel released in 1999, that other then starring Van Damme didnt really connect with the original. Hell it left more questions then answers, if you're trying to make sense of the connection between the two. There's also been some straight to cable and DVD interations, that dont meet the standard the first film set. With Hollywood looking for old properties to revive, now is the perfect time for Universal Soldier. 

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Give Master P His Flowers Now

 

BET's recent 5 part docuseries No Limit Chronicles, reminded me of something I think most people have forgotten. Master P was and is Thee motherfuckin' man.

Watching this series made me remember just how much Master P and No Limit was everywhere in the late 90s.  Not a lyrical rapper by far, he found a style that worked for him, and knew how to play the game enough to stay in his lane and get paid. 

The guy is a shrewd O.G. who wanted to become not just rich, but wealthy and make sure he bought his people along with him. Negotiating with priority records to own his masters from the beginning, and keeping 85% of record sales. Buying his artists houses upon them signing with No Limit, paying over 350k to get Snoop Dogg out of his death row deal. Negotiating a $2 million deal with WCW to make two appearances. He knows the art of the hustle in the business world.

He aimed not only to take over music, but clothing, sports agency's, toys, hotlines, film actor, writer, and producer. A comedy tour promoter, real estate investor, and so much more. Since he and Diddy (then Puff Daddy) respective labels were hot at the same time, and they were both branching out at the same time. Diddy gets more kudos for his entrepreneurial hustle.

If I was a betting man and you asked me, Diddy always had the drive but he learned some hustling tips from Master P. Same goes for Jay-Z who followed in P's footsteps with his own shoe line, and later sports agency among other ventures. Same goes for 50 Cent and any other rap musicians who became entrepeneurs they looked at the blueprint Master P set. 

He may have had some missteps with some business ventures, but Master P just wants to sit back and make money. He's helping out the community in anyway he can. He's still making business moves such as investing in potto chip brand Rap Snacks, and ramen noodles brand Rap Icons.  Buying a indy wrestling promotion House of Glory (HOG) in October of 2019. Earlier this summer he announced his own brand of Rice "Uncle P's Louisana Seasoned Rice".  He has created a legacy  for himself and proved he is the last don. Let's give him his flowers while we can. 

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Don't Sleep on Physical Home Media Discs

When Covid-19 hit earlier this year it turned the world upside down. Due to various lockdown measures put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus, more people are at home watching TV. Since many films and television shows had to halt filming during the height of the pandemic, viewers have either binged watch shows that have been on their "to watch" list for quite some time or revisit old programs. And their are several options out there to watch programs on cable,  Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and CBS All Access. There are specialty streaming services such as BET plus, ESPN plus, WWE network, UFC fight pass and a host of more. In the middle of the pandemic two conglemerates have released their streaming services WarnerMedia with HBO Max and NBCUniversal with Peacock.

Even with all these programming options, and vast libraries of films and programs to choose from. I've found myself resorting to my good ol collection of movies I've gathered over the years to watch. Many times when looking for something to watch, I either get tired of watching the same old stuff, get tired of searching for something to watch, or what I want to watch either isn't available or you have to pay for and the movie is 10 years or older. And, I've reached my streaming service max and refuse to get any additional ones.

I said the hell with all of that and  I'll just dust off the collection. I've recently watched movies like Strictly Business, Little Big League, Hangin' With the Homeboys, Camp Nowhere, Above The Rim and Street Kings among a few others. For some reason  they all popped in my head randomly and I said I want to watch them. all hard to come by on streaming services or Cable plays them edited or wants you to rent or buy. Thank god I have all of them on DVD.

 As technology and cloud services have advanced, downloading and streaming movies have quickly outpaced physical media. It's understandable as digital copies reduce clutter in the home, but for me there is something about getting up and inserting a blu ray or DVD into the player. I just love the idea of grabbing a movie I haven't seen in a long time, popping it in and watching it. Some may say you get the same feeling with streaming, I'm willing to fall on the sword that it's not.

Ever since I was a kid if I had extra money I would go buy a VHS, what I want for christmas? a few movies of my favorites or a movie I've never seen before but likely will enjoy. To this day if I stumble across relics like Suncoast or FYE I'm likely to be in there a while. I've built a nice collection of films, and never intend to let them go. I even held onto a few VHS for nostalgia purposes.

Streaming maybe the present and the future, but home media definitely has a place in the ecosystem of entertainment. If you have a few physical discs or actually like building a collection, hold on to them you never know when having those movies will come in handy. 

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Random Thoughts Of A Expectant Dad

In late Febuary my wife and I found out she was pregnant with our first child. Mannn the rush of emotions that come shooting at you in that moment is honestly alot to take in.

From selfish thoughts like there goes my plans I had this year. To ok, what do we need to do to prepare for this? I started thinking about shit I needed to get together, to give my child the best life I can give em. Start saving for college, so hopefully they won't have to worry about student loans. Start saving for family vacations, so I can provide memories and experiences. All the geek stuff I can't wait to introduce and share (ninja turtles, pro wrestling, movies, and superheroes among others).

I thought about my own insecurities I need to work on (yes you can still have them in your thirties). So that I don't subconsciously pass them on to my child.

I've been reading as much as I could about pregnancy, particularly in the early months. How often do babies sleep in the womb? The growth process in the womb, things dad's can do to support their significant other. I went to the first doctors visit in early March nervous as hell and overwhelmed but excited...then covid hit.

Since then I haven't been able to go to the appointments. I missed hearing the baby's heartbeat and sonograms, thanks to the power of technology I've heard recordings of the heartbeat and could facetime during sonogram visits. However, it's not the same and I'm annoyed I'm missing the in person part of the process.

The months have passed and my wife belly grows. I rub her stomach every night and "talk" to my daughter. A few things have spring upon me,first is how the parental instinct to be a protector automatically kicks in. Although she is not here yet, my job is to make sure my wife is safe and doing good and in turn my daughter. The second is how you could love someone you haven't met yet so much. I can only imagine the feeling once she is born.

If you haven't realized by now I'm gonna be a "sucker" for my child....and I'm A-ok with that. October also can't come soon enough and I'm patiently but impatiently waiting for the due date to come.

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