I must admit, I’ve never really been a huge fan of Johnny Depp’s weird characters – not Captain Jack Sparrow or Willie Wonka and certainly not Sweeney Todd, which, by the way, is the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Gelle and I hated it so much that we had to watch another movie in the cinema right after watching it, just so that we could get it out of our system and not have nightmares about it that night. But then again I’ve never really been a fan of gothic or horror stuff. For this reason, Dark Shadows did not appeal to me, but since it seemed funny and since my friends wanted to see it, I decided to go.
The story is about Barnabus Collins, a man cursed by a witch to become a vampire when he dares to scorn her love. He is trapped in a coffin for 200 – okay, let’s not exaggerate, only 196 – years till he is accidentally freed, whereupon he decides to return to his dysfunctional descendants and help return their family to their former glory. This is not as easy as he thinks, however, because the witch who cursed him is still alive, and so is her love/hate for him and his blood.
It was actually quite funny in certain parts, especially the fish-out-of-water hilarity that ensues when a man from the 18th century wakes up to find himself in 1972. The cinematography and special effects were quite good, too, though I was not particularly fond of Barnabus’s chalky white complexion and harshly drawn too-obvious face contouring. But I suppose vampires must look like that. Nevertheless, there was something about the movie that made it quite… just okay, to me. It wasn’t a complete waste of time or money but if I wouldn’t exactly tell people to go watch it or they’ll miss out on a lot, if you know what I mean.
After the movie, we grabbed lunch at Popeye’s, our favorite chicken joint. I love their fried chicken and french fries (which has a crispy coating unlike other fries) and gravy. The cashier happened to be a Filipino, and he was really friendly and helpful, suggesting what best combo to order. Then we forgot to order gravy, which needs to be ordered separately for 50 cents, and when Dred and I simultaneously said, “Kuya,” to order it, he asked us how many, even before we said anything, probably because he overheard us speaking about it. I said one and rummaged in my coin purse for change to which he said, “No need, it’s okay, it’s on me.” Aww how nice of him!
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| Lunch at Popeye’s, our favorite fried chicken joint |
During the meal we discussed the movie and I suggested speaking in formal old English like Barnabus, saying, “Let us endeavor to speak in old English, shall we not?” Nantoy replied, “Silent I shall become.” I laughed when I realized, “Wait… that’s not old English, that’s Yoda!” I realized, also, that whenever I tried to speak old English, it made me affect a British accent; why is that? At one point when I did so in Watson’s, though, Dred and Nantoy ran and hid from me because they did not know how to respond. Haha.
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