From horror movie fans, I've heard mostly good things about the Nic Cage movie Mandy. I've been planning to watch it for a while, and I wanted to go in blind. I knew he was in it and it was gory ~ that's it. After I saw his performance in Color Out of Space, I think he's cemented his place in the horror movie genre and let me just say Mandy is a 1980s-heavy metal-fantasy-nightmare-revenge-love story, so a little bit for everyone. No really, it is!

***SPOILER ALERT***

This movie is divided into three parts, the first is The Shadow Mountains 1983, where we see Red played by Nic Cage and his girlfriend Mandy played by a haunting Andrea Riseborough and their comfortable understanding relationship. They have a big cabin the the woods that's covered in widows so you're practically outside. It feels early 1980s with Regan on the radio, the woods, nature, and the remnants of the 1970s interest in the occult floating around in the air.

Mandy is a fantasy artist. She draws things you would see on heavy metal album covers or on the side of 1970s vans. She wears metal band T shirts, reads fantasy books, and has long black straight hair that gives off witchy vibes. She also has a scar on her face that's never quite explained, but we do know that her father liked to kill defenseless animals. (She talks about it, but thank goodness it's not shown in a flash back. Yikes.) Her character is mysterious and hypnotizing. She has an unspoken history that's captivating. Her interaction with Cage makes his acting seem wooden, almost bored, but don't worry he's showcased in the second and third parts of the movie. The next segment is called Children of the New Dawn.

We are then introduced to this cult when they drive by Mandy walking down the road. The leader, Jeremiah, can't stop thinking about her. He tells one of his cult members to kidnap her and bring her to him. Brother Swan uses the Horn of Abraxas (a sort of flute type thing) to summon a demon biker gang called the Black Skulls. The cult sacrifices one of their own to the biker gang so the gang will help kidnap Mandy. A "Blood for blood" deal. When we see the bikers about to home invade the cabin it's reminiscent of the killing scene from The Lost Boys. Already this movie is invading the soft space in my heart.

Mandy (2018)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Of course they successfully kidnap Mandy and they put drops in her eye and sting her with the biggest bug I've ever seen. (Gross.) She starts hallucinating. (Really drugging her is the only way they could ever get her to stay there.) Jeremiah says that she called out to him "silently" and he plays her his album. We find out the cult leader was a musician, but he wasn't successful in the way he wanted to be so he forms this cult instead. He thinks he can take anything he wants because the voice inside his head told him he could. Mandy laughs at the music and at him, humiliating him in front of his followers.

Meanwhile Red is tied up with barbed wire outside. The cult has Mandy in a sleeping bag, they hang her up and set her on fire for Red to watch. She's burned to ash and they stab Red and leave him tied up. Eventually he frees himself and vows to seek revenge on the bikers and the cult. Now it begins. He has an emotionally charged screaming session in the bathroom in his cabin and it's AMAZING. Just look!

Using this bathroom to prep in the morning for work would def keep me awake and raring to go!

I love it.

This is the Nic Cage I want to see in movies! The over-the-top psychotic rage acted out in his underwear in a day-glo bathroom. Scenes like this give me life! Now you know something big is going to happen.

Red goes to his old friend and picks up some weapons. You don't find out how they know each other or why his friend is storing his weapons or how he knows how to forge a scythe thingy, but that isn't the point ~ you don't care! You just want to see him use the stuff! We also find out from his friend that the bikers were once people and bad LSD caused them to turn into demons that like pain. Um ok. Hellraiser much? Again this movie comes for my heart.

In the final third part of the movie called Mandy, it's the action fight sequence that's been building up. Red finds the bikers, then offs them one at a time, he even takes one down single handedly! The one is so coked out watching porn it's hard to believe they can get their shit together to be called by the Horn of Abraxas. Anyway, Red is covered in blood, and reminds me of Ash from The Evil Dead  (1981) AND there's even a chainsaw fight! Now this movie really has me hooked.

Nic Cage covered in blood and being crazy. 

(This pic is a little fuzzy because I photographed it from my TV)

Bruce Campbell covered in blood and being Bruce Campbell.

After killing all the bikers, Red snorts some cocaine and finds the "real" drugs in a jar. He takes a tiny taste and it melts his face off....figuratively and visually. Then Red goes to the LSD maker to find the cult. It's a trippy scene ~ there's even a lion!

The cult members are holed up in a church that has underground tunnels. He kills some of the members, but not all. Does this mean there will be a sequel? He dramatically kills Jeremiah and says "I'm your God now", then walks away in slow motion as the church burns. Kinda epic.

There's a lot to unpack in this phantasmagorical movie. It's interspersed with cartoon dream sequences, a cheddar goblin, and psychedelic colors. Red truly becomes one of the characters in a fantasy novel that Mandy reads about. It's a wild ride. I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 boxes of mac and cheese ~ only because I want more back story on the characters, Mandy was stupid for essentially telling the cult where she lives, and their cabin has bad feng shui with couches facing away from doors and windows. Anyho...

Here's the trailer...

My curiosity got the best of me when I saw Netflix made a movie called #cats_the_mewvie. It's not my style to care about Instagram celebrities, but this movie is about celebrity cats, so of course, I'm in!

The movie ~ or should I say mewvie ~ is a documentary interviewing famous cats and their owners, but also talking to social media experts and how cats have become the "happy" part of the internet.

It shows Mike, Lil Bub's owner, who I met in real life and he's a super cool guy. He talks about how Bub is an inspiration ~ or should I say inspurration ~ with her determination and challenges. She was only supposed to live a couple of months, but ended up living seven years! She was the first cat born with her rare disease, and she was studied to help doctors learn more about how it also effects people born with it. Her meet and greets and merchandise helped raise a lot of money for disabled cats too! How great is that?! Cats can be more than just models for cute pictures, they can have a purpose too ~ or should I say purrpose? Good job Bub, R.I.P.

I cherish this picture so much, it lives on my desktop at work.

The movie spends a lot of time with the catsofinstagram creators, who are kind of annoying. They keep saying how "weird" their cat Pudge is. Yes, THAT Pudge, the famous cat. Of course, Pudge is well known because she's owned by the creators of catsofinstagram, and they are constantly promoting her, and the latest cat trends. (Which quite honestly I don't understand "cat trends", cats are cats.) I found it odd the way they talked about Pudge, I guess I just have a special bond with my cats, and I don't think they are weird at all. I get my cats and they get me. Maybe Pudge doesn't want to be in the spotlight.

Adorable Pudge.

Other experts on famous cats they spoke with were the curator from the Museum of the Moving Image and how he organized an exhibition in 2015 called How Cats Took Over the Internet. I wish I could have been there for that! The movie also recognizes the "meme librarian" from tumblr that works for the page Boys with Beards and Cats, and that literally is all that's on her page, bearded guys with cats. They quickly talk to the creator of the Infinite Cat Project, how viral cat memes took over the internet in 2004, the lol speak of cats, the editor for the Animal section on Buzzfeed, a talent agent for "pet influencers", and the kittenlady. I adore the kitten lady because she's all about educating people on cats and kittens. I've been following her for a long time ~ or should I say fur a long time? She even writes books!

The movie delves into the social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram too. YouTube was created to transcends language with videos that can be taken with your phone. In 2010 Instagram was launched and cat owners now have a time to shine and show off their cats. Cat owners are relatable, and people are excited about posting their cats. It's as simple as that. All cats are beautiful, but of course their owners think they are extra special and can breakthrough to become the world's most popular cat, but it's not that simple. It's kind of sad and what Mike says at the end of the movie makes sense. So many cat owners want to make their cats famous, but is it good for the cat? Not always. Now we are in the next generation of Instagram cats and it seems your cat has to have a quirk to make it stand out since there are so many cats online. You need to have a defined brand and it takes a ton of time to photograph cats and edit the pictures. It has become work.

They interview owners that seem almost desperate to make their cats famous, like fatcathercules (who is a cute chonky boi) and RuPaws Drag Race. I'm sure after this movie, the publicity ~ or should I say purrplicity ~ should help!

Fat Cat Hercules and his 27 lbs.

Some of the other cats featured are Nala, Oscar & Klaus, Suki the Adventure Cat, Monty Happiness, Homer the Blind Wonder Cat, benbencatcat, Atchoum, Nathan the Beach Cat and more! So if you want to watch cats, or see who own's the famous ones, it's a great movie.

I firmly believe cats connect people. They bring joy and happiness by their cuteness, purrsonality and independence. If you win over a cat, you're good people.

(I'm sorry I couldn't find a trailer for it.)

I discovered Pussweek when I went for a visit to the Buckminster Cat Cafe a couple months ago. I just had to know more about this thoughtfully laid out cat magazine! A magazine written by cats for cats?! I was intrigued and ordered the Deluxe Pack that comes with seven magazines, a small poster, magnet, two stickers, holiday cards, and a bow tie. I just had to have it all!

I'll just start by saying the box came packaged beautifully. If you you've ever seen me unbox makeup or subscription boxes in my other blogs you know I really appreciate packaging.

This magazine puts a smile on my face in these uncertain times. 

It really gets in and asks the important questions...

They even featured my girl Lil Bub on one of the covers!

It's very funny and the pictures are high quality. Did I mention there's a centerfold?! Scandalous!

I tried to put the bow tie on little Ginger, 

but she was not about to pose, and in true cat form 

she just fell asleep.

I don't think she likes the magazine as much as I do. Oh well, so much for a cat magazine for cats.

Last year I sponsored a kickstarter for a documentary about iconic 1980s horror movies called In Search of Darkness. I received a digital and DVD copy and decided to watch it. You have to really like 80s horror and documentaries since it's about 4.5 hours long! Honestly it's really not a problem for me, especially since this movie is peppered with famous horror movie actors, directors, writers trailers, and behind the scenes...AND Elvira is in it!

(See this picture. I'm that Gen X kid that had to entertain themselves, parked in front of the TV for hours absorbing all the horror I possibly can.)

This movie follows the decade year by year interviewing people about their involvement in certain iconic movies, discussing the elaborate and inventive horror movies of the 1980s. It also highlights how horror movies can be a coping mechanism for dealing with real life, the thrill of finally being able to buy and curate your movie selection because of VHS tapes, how influential the VHS cover art was, the practical special effects, how horror dipped it's toes in 3D, the horror villain franchise, the rise of the scream queen or final girl, the soundtracks, the dedicated and inclusive fandoms and MORE!

Yes it covers the expected Fri the 13ths and Halloweens, and they mentioned a couple movies I always meant to see and forgot about. I can now say that they've been added to the elusive "list" that I have of things I'll eventually watch. (Seriously though, I do have a list.)

Some movies that I was surprised to see included in this "iconic" list are Fade to Black, Full Moon High, Q: The Winged Serpent, Dolls, and 976 Evil. I am glad that they included the Troma Films too. Once you see any of those, they stick with you like slime.

It'll be interesting to see where contemporary horror movies develop in terms of story lines. The 1980s seemed to be rich with innovative new ideas and lately movies seem to be lazy with remakes. The horror community is hungry for original ideas. Anything new is exciting and welcomed with open arms, because of the fact it's different! (At least that's how I feel.)

The other thing to think about is VHS tapes. They are destroyed and lost. So many B horror movies are not being transferred to a new medium and shared. So many stories will be forgotten. I give it 5 out of 5 Be Kind Rewind stickers. Also I don't know how they made it only 4.5 hours. It could easily be 10!

Here's the trailer...

I was so excited to see my name in the credits!!! (I'm a super dork.)

Currently the same collaborators are collecting money through a kickstarter for a 1980s Sci Fi version called In Search of Tomorrow. You can find information about donating here.