Do You Ever Wonder Where Vampires Come From?
Here’s a great quote from a film that explains it all:
“One day I was selling my wares, and I walked past this old, creepy castle, and I look at it and think, “‘Very old and creepy”. And then this creature flies at me! It dragged me back to this dark dungeon, and bit into my neck. And just at the point of death… this creature forced me to suck its foul blood. And then it opened it’s wings, like this, and hovered above me screeching, “Now… You are vampire!” And it was Petyr. And we’re still friends today.”
“Cult Movie Monday” celebrates the brilliance of Best Picture and Best Screenplay – nominated Director/Actor/Writer Taika Waititi!
I will be delving into “JoJo Rabbit” in a moment – it is, after all, nominated for Best Picture among its SIX Academy Award nominations – and Waititi is brilliant as “Adolf” in the film.
But let’s begin with Waititi’s hilarious “mockumentary” about life as a Vampire!
What We Do In The Shadows!
This 2014 film from New Zealand is HILARIOUS…telling the story of Viago, Deacon and Vladislav – vampires who are finding that modern life is making it hard to be a bloodsucker!
Check out the trailer:
Vladislav is played by co-director/writer Jemaine Clement (on the left), and Viago is the film’s co-director/writer Taika Waititi (on the right) – who head up a household of vampires, snuggling to make sense of modern times.
The film is full of hilarious sight gags and funny observations.
For example, Viago explains how a Vampire makes fashion choices:
Viago: “Yeah some of our clothes are from victims. You might bite someone and then, you think, ‘Oooh, those are some nice pants!’.”
The movie is a mix of great one-liners and hilarious situations – especially when the group clash with a gang of werewolves who also live in town!
After insults are hurled, the head of the werewolves reminds his brood that they do NOT use bad language:
Anton, werewolf: [to all the werewolves] What are we? We’re…
[All, together]
Anton, werewolf: We’re Werewolves, not Swear-Wolves.
As IMDB revealed:
Co-Writers and Director Clement and Waititi wrote 150 pages of script but chose not to show it to a single person involved in the film (both crew and cast). This was to keep things spontaneous and to allow the actors to be surprised by the events unfolding before their eyes.
“What We Do In The Shadows” is one of my favorites – right up there with three other brilliant “mockumentaries” – “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Waiting For Guffman” and “Best In Show!”!
After “Shadows”, Waititi directed what many feel to be among the best of ALL Marvel films:
The film was a massive hit, which gave the Director a chance to make a film he wrote almost a decade earlier – which has led him to Oscar’s front door!
The Brilliant “JoJo Rabbit!”
Yes, when the film’s plot was revealed, there was immediate outcry: how could anyone make a movie about a young German boy whose best friend was Adolf Hitler?
Well, Waititi did and it’s my favorite film of 2019.
Here is the trailer:
12 year old Roman Griffin Davis is phenomenal as JoJo Rabbit, and Director Taika Waititi plays “Adolf”, his best friend and mentor!
The film takes place during WW2, and while this may sound distateful, its ANYTHING BUT: it’s a razor sharp dissection of war and hero worship, through the eyes of a young boy who is living in a world where a mad Dictator leads his country…sound familiar?
Accoring to the great website IMDB:
When Taika Waititi, who is Maori/Jewish, was asked about why he chose to play the role of Adolf Hitler, he said “The answer’s simple, what better ‘fuck you’ to the guy?”
The all-star cast includes Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Scarlett Johansson, who plays JoJo’s Mom. She is hiding a young Jewish girl in her attic during the war. As the girl tells JoJo at one point:
“You’re not a Nazi, Jojo. You’re a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club.”
As I said, “JoJo Rabbit” is my best film of 2019, which says a lot because I LOVED “Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood” as well.
And as for “Shadows”, it’s a mockumentary as good as this one:
“This Is Spinal Tap” is one of the best comedies of all time…click here to see the trailer and lots of trivia about the film that “goes to eleven”:
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Leave a comment and let me know if you’ve seen “JoJo Rabbit!”
Categories: Academy Awards, Art, Awards, Books / Media, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Movies, Obscure Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
JoJo Rabbit sounds very good, John. I will look out for it.
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I am not a great comedy film lover but JoJo Rabbit appeals to me although it isn’t ready for download here yet…
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Carol, it’s a “dark comedy”, so you can expect a powerful experience I promise…
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I love Jojo Rabbit! I think it’s a brilliant look at things from the POV of a young German boy – and probably many young people in Germany during the war who supported it. Maybe they’re not all cruel, maybe some were misinformed… It’s a very refreshing point of view, and very human. Also I love the actors who played Jojo and his adorable chubby friend.
I absolutely adore the “Shadows” TV show. So entertaining!
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Thanks for commenting! I agree, it showed what life was like living under an evil Dictator…you can’t demonize everyone, you have to understand what life was like living there…so we don’t go through it again!
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Exactly! And he did it in as wholesomely as he could for a movie involving this subject matter. 🙂
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That’s a great point – when the film was first released, people rushed to conclude that Hitler was a “funny, quirky” character – when of course the point of the film is anything but…thanks again for your insight!
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I can’t wait to see Jo-Jo!
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It’s a powerful film! Thanks for commenting!
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I live his work and will check out shadows ASAP. I loved Jini, as you know and I also love his wilderpeoole movie. Spinal tap – yes!
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I hope you like it! Thanks as always for commenting!
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I can’t wait to see Jo-Jo!
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It’s incredibly powerful!
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I am looking forward to ‘Jo Jo’.
They made a TV series of ‘Shadows’ here. Over the weeks, the jokes got a bit thin, despite a good cast.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005bkw
Best wishes, Pete.
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Same show aired here Pete and I chose not to engage…the film did all I needed it to do!
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I quite like him. Shadows was so-so, fairly watchable but I’m pretty sure towards the end I was drifting away a little. I liked the original edge to it though. Thanks for the reminder on JoJo Rabbit, I need to check that one out. x
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I appreciate your POV but can’t agree, as “Shadows” is one of the best in a very small pool of great “Mockumentaries” – but again, I appreciate you sharing your opinion, that’s what makes us all so different – I mean, some people don’t like Egg Yoke Fish Skins either!
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