Damn, we need more posts here. I wonder if the problem is our lack of recurring segments like “Top Ten Thursdays” (Rest in peace) or “Classic Album Tuesday” (Current status unknown) anyhow, here’s my rant about a subject that’s not necessarily new but a matter that I’m finally just fed up with and ready to vent some of my primal rage.

Vampires! What’s with everyone’s current obsession with these undead bloodsuckers? It seems like I can’t read a single magazine or surf the web without hearing about Twilight or HBO’s current hit True Blood, only followed by a whole slew of other shows like CW’s Vampire Diaries and what have you… And though I can’t say I’ve actually seen any of these I’m just fed up hearing about them.

So what was the final straw here? I went to take my lunch break yesterday when I came across the latest Entertainment Weekly. Of course it had Robert Pattinson from Twilight on the cover, along with the male lead from True Blood with a caption reading “Top 20 Greatest Vampires” underneath. So I figure “That’s a no brainer it’s got to be Count Dracula and who’s performance is more iconic than that of the late great Bela Lugosi?” Was he number one? No, he wasn’t even number two and was only one spot ahead of who else but Mr. Twilight himself. Instead the list opted for Lestat from Anne Rice’s vampire chronicle novels stating that “Without Lestat there would be no Edward Cullen in Twilight.” Oh yeah you can thank Lestat for spawning some of the most emoesque vampires but not Bela Lugosi for essentially making the vampire character famous in the first place. How often have you seen a vampire in any medium speaking with a thick Hungarian accent? Charming and sinister, with black slicked hair and a long dark cape? That was all him baby and people need to recognize that.

Now sure this was just one article, probably written by somebody who didn’t care to delve deeply into the subject but I’m starting to think that this modern vampire craze has forever tarnished the legacy of these dark creatures. Vampires can still be sensitive and charming but they should still have that monstrous edge and I just don’t see that any more. I’ve seen clips from some of these movies and shows where the vampires walk around in broad daylight for god’s sake! I’ve always felt that was one of the most compelling elements of vampires but it’s like people don’t even care anymore, I guess it’s too hard to write a story that only takes place at night. So with no need for coffins I assume that garlic isn’t an issue either, do they even turn into bats? What’s next werewolves that turn into werewolves just whenever they feel like it? Unless the ones in Twilight already do that too.

I’m saying all this not because I’m a die-hard fan of vampires or anything. Really the only the vampire movies I like are the some of the old Universal films and a few of the weirder flicks like Fright Night or Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark. I see this whole thing more as straight up disrespect for the folklore and people like Bram Stoker and Bela Lugosi who made these creatures popular in the first place.

I can only pray that this current vampire fad will die off after these movies and shows run their course but where will vampires stand for future generations? Will people still appreciate the classic characters? Or will they see vampires as emos with superhuman abilities? Right now it appears that the latter is most likely and that I must say is a real pain in the neck.

Up above is a sweet new trailer for The Beatles: Rock Band. You enjoy that shit? Me too. Can’t wait. I’ve been blown away by just how great this game looks beyond the basic gameplay, and that video is a great showcase. And the good folks at Harmonix aren’t stopping there either, with a bitchin’ batch of new tunes out for DLC next week.

The highlight for me is “Magic Bus (Live at Leeds).” That song is definitely one of my favorites by The Who, and I’ve been waiting for a somewhat longer song to rock with all summer. There’s some other great stuff comin’ too, take a peak:

• “Clint Eastwood” – Gorillaz
• “Feel Good, Inc.” – Gorillaz
• “Re-Hash” – Gorillaz
• “Piece of My Heart” – Janis Joplin
• “White Rabit” – Jefferson Airplane
• “Chest Fever (Live)” – The Band
• “Magic Bus (Live at Leeds)” – The Who

Needless to say, it will continue to be an expensive summer for me.

Just heard this a moment ago and I thought you guys would be elated to hear this news. The Bens are out. For those of you that haven’t been following the saga of At the Movies, the Bens are these two poor film critics that ran that once great bastion of film criticism into the ground over the last year. Well, no more. They are out. Guess who’s in?

A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips. The obvious choices. I’m not gonna lie, I actually do find this somewhat exciting, as I enjoyed watching those two as guest critics with Roeper not too long ago. Sure, you could argue that it might be more fun to get a critic who’s a little more out there, like Robert Wilonsky, but for my money Tony and Mike are the best two choices, excluding Roeper and Ebert, of course.

If they make some more strategic changes to this show, I might start watching again. The switch happens September 7.

John Hughes
1950-2009

Today I was quite saddened to hear that Writer/Director John Hughes passed away. The man behind such 80s classics as; Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, along with penning the scripts to Home Alone and National Lampoon’s: Vacation and Christmas Vacation died earlier today from a heart attack while on a morning walk in Manhattan, he was 59 years old.

Regarded mostly for his films portraying teens in an affectionate and idealized fashion, often set in or around the Chicago area, John Hughes quickly gained a reputation as one of the most talented screenwriters of his time. Hughes’ various ensemble comedies helped propel such actors as Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson and Macaulay Culkin and frequently liked to cast the same actors, most notably Anthony Michael Hall and of course the late great John Candy.

He’d become somewhat of a recluse in his later years, rarely giving interviews of being photographed but with such a great body of work did he need to do anymore? I would of loved to see Hughes make a comeback film someday but perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be. Either way he’ll always be one of the greatest comedy writer/directors in my book and easily the greatest “Teen Movie” filmmaker of all time.