By Jon Longhi

Welcome to this month’s Having A Movie Moment With Jon Longhi, where I review recent Blu-ray releases. This month I look at two fantastic British films.

The Horror Of Dracula, Warner Archive:
There have been some nice recent releases of Hammer horror films and this is one of the best of them. This was the first of many vampire movies that Hammer produced and in many ways it is a template for the horror films that came after it. The Hammer dream crew worked on this: screenplay by Jimmy Sangster, produced by Anthony Hinds, and directed by Terence Fisher. These three men were behind the very best Hammer films. But it's the movie's two central stars, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, who really make this work. Their dynamic was at the core of Hammer's best films and anything that the two of them star in is worth watching.

When this was released in 1958, it was a huge commercial and critical success and, along with 1957's Curse Of Frankenstein, led to Hammer reinventing the classic Universal monsters in lurid modern technicolor. The plot of this sticks pretty close to Bram Stoker's original novel, but where it radically departs from the source material is in its tone. One of the most unsettling things about this movie is Terence Fisher's decision to portray vampirism as a sexualized form of addiction. The victims of Dracula are overcome with a lust where they can't wait for him to come each night and suck their blood, and the portrayals of this behavior are truly disturbing. Christopher Lee's acting is central to this vision; his Dracula can be handsome and charming or an unrelenting sexual predator whose frenzied hunger is almost animalistic. Other than possibly Bela Lugosi, I think that Christopher Lee is the best actor who has ever donned Dracula's cape. Peter Cushing is like the other half of the circle. His vulnerability and humanity are the perfect foil for Lee's undead villain. Watching the two of them playing off each other is pure pleasure. This film works on every level. Even the cinematography is marvelous with every scene soaked in rich gothic colors, which look fantastic in this hi-def remaster. If you have never watched a Hammer horror film, this is a perfect one to start with. It is one of the five best vampire movies ever made.

Amoebapalooza SF is back with more Amoebite-powered musical mayhem on Sunday, February 17th. We’re keeping things very local and throwing this shindig directly across the street at Milk Bar (1840 Haight St.). Doors open to the public at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. Admission is just $5. This is a 21+ event.

This annual celebration of the talented Amoeba employees and FOBs (Friends of Amoeba) is always a hoot and this year's line-up is action-packed. From a provacative live reading by author Jon Longhi to a screening of filmmaker Steven Anguiano's short film to raucous live sets from Use Kleenex (Kleenex coverband), Top Fo'ties (AKA Jesus Dude Mom), novelty rock giants Alan's Cousin, Combo (Michael Cruz and Keith Frerichs), Eli & Adam Play Folk Music, and a mysterious project called I Have Crabs, this is shaping up to be one of the most legendary nights yet.

Thank you to our pals over at SIR for providing our musical back line!

Band spotlight: Alan's Cousin
Imagine Flight Of The Conchords and Tenacious D have a baby, and meanwhile, James Taylor and Sugar Ray have a baby. Those two babies get it on and have baby, but they realize, "Hold up, we were born a few days ago, we simply cannot raise a child." Said baby is given up for adoption and raised by Bob Dylan and The Beatles. That baby is Alan's Cousin.

By Kai Wada Roath
Ambassador of Confusion Hill and host of the Super Shangri-La Show

"Knowing her fate, Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth,
On board were the Twelve: The poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist,
the magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends.
Though Gods they were...
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind,
Let us rejoice and let us sing and dance and ring in the new...Hail Atlantis!"
~ Donovan, "Atlantis," 1968

Were you too thwacking the side of your head to get the salt water and crummy dialogue out of your brain after seeing the new DC AquaDude movie? Good grief, give me a 1966 Marvel Sub-Mariner cartoon on VHS any day over that overload of computer-graphic garbage...for nothing beats the fear of being trapped in the Quagmire of Doom!

Not to mention, the fear of being killed by a giant man-eating clam, much like the lyrics to "Leah," my favorite Roy Orbison song.



Like many, my first introductions to Atlantis as a kid were from watching In Search of with Leonard Nimoy and Arthur C. Clarke giving his theory on the lost continent while twirling a rainbow parasol and strolling on a beach in Sri Lanka. It was not till I was in my mid-20's that I discovered such breathtakingly "beautiful" films as Beyond Atlantis (1973), The Giant of Metropolis (1961), Warlords of Atlantis (1978), and the George Pal classic Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961) with the menacing Giant Death-Ray Crystal! Mind you, what takes my breath away may just give you bad breath...but it's worth it, much like chewing on Riley's delicious Jalapeno beef jerky.

Noise Pop Festival, the San Francisco Bay Area’s premiere indie music and arts festival, returns with events all over San Francisco and Oakland from February 25 to March 3! Check out shows throughout the week from renown national acts and up-and-coming Bay Area artists.

This year's line-up includes live shows from Beirut, Bob Mould, Teenage Fanclub, Saul Williams, Albert Hammond Jr., Baths, Princess Nokia, The She's, Fruit Bats & Vetiver, and many more!

Check out the full schedule of events HERE. General Admission, Super Fan, and Super Fam badges are on sale now, as well as tickets for individual shows.

Win a pair of General Festival Badges HERE on Amoeba.com! Contest ends February 14th.