I don't guess my best friend (worst enemy?) could call me a horror movie aficionado. I don't like slasher flicks because they all seem so similar--some teens get together, get friendly with each other, and eventually they all end up dead. Plus, there's blood. After the first couple of deaths, the film is thumpingly predictable and it just stops being scary.
But I am a huge fan of the Scottish actor David Tennant, who has starred in Broadchurch, The Escape Artist, and yeah, as the incomparable Doctor #10 in Doctor Who. He's also a regular on the Royal Shakespeare Company stage in London.
That said, Tennant also had a delicious role in the recent remake of the film Fright Night, starring Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin. I never saw the original Fright Night, but how could I resist this film, written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer veteran Marti Noxon and featuring some very attractive Brits?
In this truly frightening flick, Anton Yelchin plays a high school student whose new next-door neighbor just happens to be a vicious vampire beast (Farrell). Yelchin turns to the only source of information he has--alcoholic onstage illusionist and vampire killer Peter Vincent (Tennant).
Fright Night is perfect for Halloween month. Here are some of Tennant's wonderful scenes:
And here's the full trailer:
Leave the lights on.
NOTE: This film is rated R for language. While teen sex is hinted at, there's no nudity or graphic displays. The gore isn't graphic, either. But the scares are real, and if four-letter words bother you, don't watch.
Need more scares? Every Friday in October I'll serve up a new one. Search for the tag Scare of the Week to see them all.
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Showing posts with label David Tennant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Tennant. Show all posts
Friday, October 10, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Fun Friday: Tennant Reads Shakespeare
If you didn't know that April was National Poetry Month, well, you're probably in good company. Here's your poetry gift for today: Actor David Tennant reads Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" It's also David's birthday, for which we can thank his parents for giving us a great actor.
Yeah. You're welcome.
(Click here to get the iPad app, which showcases many different performers reading Shakespeare's sonnets.)
David Tennant is a Scottish-born actor known for his roles in Broadchurch, Doctor Who, and onstage as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. And loads of other wonderful stuff.
Yeah. You're welcome.
(Click here to get the iPad app, which showcases many different performers reading Shakespeare's sonnets.)
David Tennant is a Scottish-born actor known for his roles in Broadchurch, Doctor Who, and onstage as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. And loads of other wonderful stuff.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
50 Years of Me and Who
Like many other Earthlings, I wait with bated breath to view the 50th Anniversary Celebration Episode of the venerated British sci-fi TV show Doctor Who. (American Earthlings: Tune in to BBC America at 2:50 Eastern time / 1:50 Central this Saturday.) Like Who, I've been around (okay, almost) 50 years. Here's how we came together.
1963 : Doctor Who debuts on British television with William Hartnell in the title role as the original madman in the blue box. The unnamed Doctor, member of the ancient race of the Time Lords, but looking remarkably human, flies about in time and space in a time machine disguised as a police call box, which was a common enough sight in 1963 Britain.
1965 : I'm born. Some people notice. And one cat.
1989 : Doctor Who goes on hiatus. I don't notice because I never watch it.
1991 : I marry a rabid Doctor Who fan. In a haze of newly wedded bliss, I agree to watch reruns of a grainy-looking sci-fi series which features the same quarry, English woods, and underground tunnels to represent an infinite number of planets. The effects are laughable, the acting often bad, the writing frequently flawed, and the stories are interminable. Yet I cannot look away. The iconic-yet-changing doctor is an intriguing character and always delightful, from impish Patrick Troughton (Doctor #2) to the witty Tom Baker (Doctor #4) and kindly, youthful Peter Davison (Doctor #5). I yearn for these characters and stories to be brought to their full potential.
1994 : I'm pregnant with my first (and last) child. After an hour of thumbing through (read: arguing over) names one Saturday, my husband goes to take a shower. I happen upon the name Melanie, which I think is pretty. Under the showerhead, he runs through the names of all the Doctor's female companions, and happens upon Mel, companion to Drs. #6 and #7 (played by Bonnie Langford). Hubs comes out of the shower, I look up from the kitchen table, and together we say, "What about Melanie?" Forever after, he claims that our kid is named after a Doctor Who companion.
2005 : Master writer Russell T. Davies resurrects the Doctor for the BBC, casting Christopher Eccleston as war-damaged Doctor #9. The reboot is fast, funny, dazzling, and best of all, it has a huge heart. I loved it from the start because we the viewers experience everything through the eyes of a working-class British shopgirl who reacts as real people would: Part of her aches to go with her amazing new friend on fantastic adventures, and part of her clings to her family back on Earth.
2006 : I'm devastated to learn that our brand-new Doctor is already leaving the show. But when Doc #10 emerges from his TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) in the guise of actor David Tennant, the writing and the show itself get better and better.
2010 : I'm a bit heartbroken--okay, and panicky--when both David Tennant and master writer Russell T. Davies leave the show. Who can replace them? How will the show survive? Enter the madcap Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, and--who better?--Steven Moffatt, author of some of the best episodes ever, to run the joint. Add Karen Gillan as the Girl Who Waited, and we all heave a big sigh of relief.
2013 : Doctor Who is all about change. Matt Smith is moving on, and Peter Capaldi will take his place at Christmastime. But first, Doctors #10 and #11 will team up in the 50th Anniversary Special, "The Day of the Doctor."
And I write a blog post to say thank you to all the marvelous writers, actors, and crew folk who love this series and work to make it the best it can be. You've all taught me a lot about storytelling, about the strangeness of the universe, and yes, about fish fingers and custard.
1963 : Doctor Who debuts on British television with William Hartnell in the title role as the original madman in the blue box. The unnamed Doctor, member of the ancient race of the Time Lords, but looking remarkably human, flies about in time and space in a time machine disguised as a police call box, which was a common enough sight in 1963 Britain.
1965 : I'm born. Some people notice. And one cat.
1989 : Doctor Who goes on hiatus. I don't notice because I never watch it.
1991 : I marry a rabid Doctor Who fan. In a haze of newly wedded bliss, I agree to watch reruns of a grainy-looking sci-fi series which features the same quarry, English woods, and underground tunnels to represent an infinite number of planets. The effects are laughable, the acting often bad, the writing frequently flawed, and the stories are interminable. Yet I cannot look away. The iconic-yet-changing doctor is an intriguing character and always delightful, from impish Patrick Troughton (Doctor #2) to the witty Tom Baker (Doctor #4) and kindly, youthful Peter Davison (Doctor #5). I yearn for these characters and stories to be brought to their full potential.
1994 : I'm pregnant with my first (and last) child. After an hour of thumbing through (read: arguing over) names one Saturday, my husband goes to take a shower. I happen upon the name Melanie, which I think is pretty. Under the showerhead, he runs through the names of all the Doctor's female companions, and happens upon Mel, companion to Drs. #6 and #7 (played by Bonnie Langford). Hubs comes out of the shower, I look up from the kitchen table, and together we say, "What about Melanie?" Forever after, he claims that our kid is named after a Doctor Who companion.
2005 : Master writer Russell T. Davies resurrects the Doctor for the BBC, casting Christopher Eccleston as war-damaged Doctor #9. The reboot is fast, funny, dazzling, and best of all, it has a huge heart. I loved it from the start because we the viewers experience everything through the eyes of a working-class British shopgirl who reacts as real people would: Part of her aches to go with her amazing new friend on fantastic adventures, and part of her clings to her family back on Earth.
2006 : I'm devastated to learn that our brand-new Doctor is already leaving the show. But when Doc #10 emerges from his TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) in the guise of actor David Tennant, the writing and the show itself get better and better.
2010 : I'm a bit heartbroken--okay, and panicky--when both David Tennant and master writer Russell T. Davies leave the show. Who can replace them? How will the show survive? Enter the madcap Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, and--who better?--Steven Moffatt, author of some of the best episodes ever, to run the joint. Add Karen Gillan as the Girl Who Waited, and we all heave a big sigh of relief.
2013 : Doctor Who is all about change. Matt Smith is moving on, and Peter Capaldi will take his place at Christmastime. But first, Doctors #10 and #11 will team up in the 50th Anniversary Special, "The Day of the Doctor."
And I write a blog post to say thank you to all the marvelous writers, actors, and crew folk who love this series and work to make it the best it can be. You've all taught me a lot about storytelling, about the strangeness of the universe, and yes, about fish fingers and custard.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Thank-You Thursday: The Fun of Writing
Happy November! It's the month of gratitude. Each Thursday this month, I'll tell you one thing that is fantastic and wonderful about the writing life that I'm grateful for.
Notice that I didn't say the professional writer life. Because that's an entirely different animal. The writing life is that experience--whether it's once a week, every day for 10 minutes, or your real-life, 9-to-5 job--that you have while writing. Publication is optional.
Today: I'm grateful for the writing life because
it's fun
That's right. The rest of the year, we can moan and groan about the agonies of writing, sitting over our typewriters and opening our veins, or banging our heads on desktops, the self-doubt, the isolation, whatever.
But at the end of the day, it IS fun.
Writers get to play, just like when we were kids, except we get to play forever. We get to close the door on the realities of our small lives and soar into wide-open vistas full of anything we want. Our imaginations allow us to create our own fun. We can time-travel to a 13th-century Russian monastery or a 25th-century Mars colony. We can fall in love or comfort children or fight Nazis. We can even save the universe using a kettle and some string.
I wake up every day wondering, What will I make today? A sad world? A happy moment? Will I scare people, enrich people, disgust people? Or just pour sand through a dumptruck in my own private sandbox?
The choices are ours. And they're marvelous. Be grateful that you get to do this, even for a few minutes at a time. Because frankly, if we were in it for the money or the fame, most of us--um, 98 percent of us, maybe?--wouldn't be doing it at all.
video clip is from Time Crash, that fabulous mini-episode of Doctor Who written by one of the most fun-loving writers I know--Steven Moffatt-- and starring David Tennant as Doctor #10 and Peter Davison as Doctor #5. Thanks to kaitlinmj for the video. Watch the full episode here (about 8 minutes long).
Notice that I didn't say the professional writer life. Because that's an entirely different animal. The writing life is that experience--whether it's once a week, every day for 10 minutes, or your real-life, 9-to-5 job--that you have while writing. Publication is optional.
Today: I'm grateful for the writing life because
it's fun
That's right. The rest of the year, we can moan and groan about the agonies of writing, sitting over our typewriters and opening our veins, or banging our heads on desktops, the self-doubt, the isolation, whatever.
But at the end of the day, it IS fun.
Writers get to play, just like when we were kids, except we get to play forever. We get to close the door on the realities of our small lives and soar into wide-open vistas full of anything we want. Our imaginations allow us to create our own fun. We can time-travel to a 13th-century Russian monastery or a 25th-century Mars colony. We can fall in love or comfort children or fight Nazis. We can even save the universe using a kettle and some string.
I wake up every day wondering, What will I make today? A sad world? A happy moment? Will I scare people, enrich people, disgust people? Or just pour sand through a dumptruck in my own private sandbox?
The choices are ours. And they're marvelous. Be grateful that you get to do this, even for a few minutes at a time. Because frankly, if we were in it for the money or the fame, most of us--um, 98 percent of us, maybe?--wouldn't be doing it at all.
video clip is from Time Crash, that fabulous mini-episode of Doctor Who written by one of the most fun-loving writers I know--Steven Moffatt-- and starring David Tennant as Doctor #10 and Peter Davison as Doctor #5. Thanks to kaitlinmj for the video. Watch the full episode here (about 8 minutes long).
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