Aug
Get your popcorn, we’re going to the movies with Sophie
Wow, that last blog was a lot of fun, folks. Thanks for the help. If any of your titles are chosen, I’ll be sure to post the winner here and you can email me privately to claim your “prize”.
Something occurred to me after I wrote my last blog. I said I rarely read paranormals, which is true, but I forgot about movies - particularly films dealing with paranormal elements. Whoa! LOVE ‘EM. Flicks that deal with the paranormal leave me spellbound. Horror movies, in particular, I’ve always liked. Ironically, they scare my husband, so I usually watch them when he’s out of town on business. And my daughter’s in bed. At night. When I’m alone. In a quiet house. Yes, I scare myself witless! Crazy, huh? But there’s something about them. I’m not talking about horror movies that deal with the grotesque and grisly just for the heck of it. I mean ones with plots - even better if there’s a love interest in the mix, no? Gothika, The Shining, Aliens, The Village, From Dusk til’ Dawn, and my favorite… are you ready? This is not just my favorite horror-type movie, but one of my favorite movies out of all film genres - period. It’s called 28 Days Later.
All I can say is about this movie is “Oh - my - goodness!” When I sat down to watch it, I had no idea what I was in store for. I was prepared for a horror movie that would give me nightmares
- as usual… but not so. It stars Cillian Murphy - easy on the eyes, I must say - especially in this movie. Brendan Gleeson, a great Irish actor. And lovely Naomie Harris. On the surface, it’s a zombie movie. But at its core, it’s a love story about two people who meet amidst a horrifying reality. A genuine survival story. The heroine is this tough, hard as nails “don’t-worry-I’ll-kill-you-without-a-blink-if-you-get-infected” woman that you want so badly to soften, to show a scrap of tenderness, but in the face of everything, you understand why she’s the way she is - a woman without hope. In the beginning, the hero is this guy still full of hope, almost a bit “soft” in the face of all the horror and devastation around them… but whoa, step back when his woman is threatened. He turns into the supreme alpha male. It’s superb. And more importantly - it has a happily ever after. So many horror movies don’t. Or the ending is left ambiguous. Not so here.
If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. There is a bit of gore/violence, but not nearly as bad as some horror movies out there. It’s a bit jarring in the beginning, but I think that also makes the love story all the more gratifying. The setting is grim and the danger is real. The hero and heroine truly have a lot to overcome, both externally and internally. I plan to use it as a guide for writing my paranormals, which are more action oriented.
My critique partner who reads everything I’ve ever written once said that my paranormal book had a very cinematic feel to it. Maybe this is how I can love writing paranormals. I see my paranormal playing out as a movie in my head. That’s the case with whatever I write - to an extent — but because my paranormals are in a contemporary setting, the images are somewhat clearer. My cp also teases me that I’m going to write a zombie love story. Hmm. Maybe. If it can be as good as 28 Days Later, I just might. 
Now what to talk about next? Back to historicals, shall we? Before you decide that I’m truly too dark and morbid an individual. Just to throw you off, I’ll confess that another favorite movie of mine is Love Actually. Nothing too grim there, huh? And in case you’re curious, I’ve included a full list of my top ten movies on my website. Check it out at www.sophiejordan.net. If you haven’t already, gets some popcorn and settle in to watch all the movies on that list!
Tune in tomorrow!
Sophie
Sophie, I love that movie too! It’s one of my favourite horror flicks. I think the scene where the guy is walking through a deserted London is amazing. (And the music is so creepy in that setting!) Especially since you’d NEVER see London that deserted!
I like horror movies too, especially with a supernatural element. A lot of times they’re not all that good, and I hate it when they end with the ‘bad guys’ winning. But every now and then you find a gem like this one.
Love Actually is great, even if it’s a totally different genre.. hehe.
If you like horror films, you really should see this British spoof on zombie movies called Shaun of the Dead. It’s hilarious! (In the subtle, British way of course..)
“We don’t use the Z word!” (zombie)
Emily
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:09 pmSHAUN OF THE DEAD rocks. Ditto 28 DAYS LATER (I’ll watch anything with Cillian Murphy, even the dreadful RED EYE).
I too am a sucker for paranormal movies. I even watched UNDERWEAR REVOLUTION (whoops, I mean UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION), and the sadly terrible VAN HELSING (who knew Hugh Jackman could make a movie that sucked?). But my god how I loved BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, outrageous as it was.
I’ve been learning to appreciate horror films from my sister (though she’s more of a bad horror film , a la MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE, devotee). What I don’t like is when I’m not scared cause I know the answer (like with HIGH TENSION where I pretty much knew halfway in we were dealing with a French version of IDENTITY; two bad films for the price of, well. Two; bummer).
August 23rd, 2006 at 1:57 pm28 Days Later is indeed a great little movie, and also one of my faves .. I’m predisposed to like zombie movies, but even in that subset this one just has a special place
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:23 pmI checked out your movie list and have to agree with several of the ones you chose…especially Shenandoah and The Searchers…great films.
I have never seen 28 Days Later.
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:40 pmSophie, I know exactly how you feel! My hubby will NOT watch any scary or freaky movies. I have to watch them with my sisters. Despite the fact that Cillian Murphy creeps me out, I’ll rent 28 DAYS LATER since you recommended it.
My hubby and I do enjoy watching paranormal movies together, though…and that includes VAN HELSING.
BTW, I love REAR WINDOW. One of my all-time faves. You can’t beat Jimmy Stewart!
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:09 pmEmmie,
I haven’t seen Shaun of the Dead — heard of it though, but didn’t realize it was a spoof. Sounds fun!
Kalen,
I almost convinced DH to go see Brotherhood of the Wolf with me. Almost. I totally forgot about it after that. Is it really wonderful?? Yay! Now I have to find it.
Jennifer,
You must be an old movie buff like me! The Searchers was great …and Shenandoah has always had me wanting to write a book that has a huge family in it — with a dad like Jimmy Stewart.
Andrea, our hubbies sound like peas in a pod. He even got scared when I made him watch Rear Window. LOL. Er, better not let him read this blog … he might be embarrassed.
Sophie
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:38 pmBROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is great, so long as you can let go of reality and history (which I can sometimes have a little trouble with . . .). The hot Asian guy playing the Native American sidekick kind of bugged me (harkening back to when all NA’s were played by white guys in bad wigs), as did the made-up NA religion/mythology. But the costumes are great and the story is awesome.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD is totally a spoof. And a great one. The ode to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (“We’re coming to get you, Barbara) is brilliantly done. If those of you who like SOTD haven’t seen the TV show SPACED yet (it’s on BBC America) you should check it out. It’s by the same guys, stars all the same actors, and is just freaken fantastic.
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:04 pmWell the one movie that I could see over and over again in BBC’s Jane Eyre with Timothy Dalton in his pride. Dang, what a great “chick flick”!
Great post Sophie, I’m off to check your list of favorite movies right now.
Michelle
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:24 pmAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH A POST WHERE CILLIAN MURPHY IS MENTIONED WITH HAPPY HAPPY WORDS!!!
Far, far, FAR too often his name is followed by the words, “The creepy guy?” I feel sorry for him and his gorgeous self. Hm…maybe I should write a book about it. *wink*
Okay. Obviously…I have a thing for CM. (Also an Irish actor, my friend!) GOD. I know he’s a little creepy-looking, but only in a GOOD way. He’s my avatar on the Avon board and my secret fantasy man at night…ok, I’m kidding. But I do watch creepy movies (which I hate, despite my next sentence) just to see HIM in them.
Kalen–I’ve seen pretty much every movie you mentioned in the first post. Sweet!
OK, back to CM. Sigh. The thing about Red Eye is that it seemed like it was a legitimate suspense movie, until she stabs him. Then it went spoof-zombie all the way.
God I love that guy.
Back to work
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:48 pmI have to admit that I never even *knew* who Cillian Murphy WAS until you introduced me to him, Lacey. (You can tell how many movies I watch in a year, LOL! Not zero, but pretty close, and mostly they are kid-appropriate, which limits your options. Though I must say, I was surprised not to see _The Princess Bride_ on anyone’s list yet!)
You know who my new hottie is (and I haven’t thought a celebrity truly hot in YEARS)? Dave Navarro. I saw a photo of him in the LA Times a week or two ago (which, alas, I cannot find on the Internet to link to) and every gland in my body went into overload, my friend. I even like his tatoos, and that’s saying something.
That photo of him should appear in the dictionary under the entry for “devilishly handsome”. Whew!
August 23rd, 2006 at 5:22 pmHi everyone!
I liked 28 days later as well. I don’t buy that many dvds but that one is one I picked up when it come out. On the zombie movie topic, I also liked the original, Night of the Living Dead. Resident Evil (the first one) was pretty good too.
I must agree, Van Helsing was so dissapointing but Hugh Jackman was worth sitting through the whole thing *g*
Isabel
August 23rd, 2006 at 7:47 pmI haven’t seen any from your list except one, and I only finally saw it a couple months ago. . . Bridget Jones’s Diary. Oh yeah. . . but then it probably has something to do with the fact I also finally saw Pride and Prejudice back in February. . . that 1995 version, I mean.
August 24th, 2006 at 4:00 amLois
good blog
March 15th, 2007 at 4:27 am