Halloween Double Feature Ideas

A few weeks ago I posted about a Movie Bingo Party night for you and your friends, but wanted to include some details I had used for my own Halloween/Horror themed bash.

Instead of letting my friends vote on the two films, I just picked two on my own. I wanted to pick a scarier one to show first, followed by something more creepy and Science Fiction. Depending on the palates of your guests, you might want to do it this way, too. I have a few friends who are a... 

I also created different Bingo sheets for these based on general horror themes and also the movies. My friends tend to get way too competitive, so I need to work on making my choices more obscure and harder to get.

If you want more details, go to my original post: Bingo Movie Party <3

Horror/Halloween Movie Ideas:

• The Fly

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre

• Rosemary's Baby

• The Shining

• Last House on the Left

• The Evil Dead

• Funny Games

• The Descent 

• Halloween

• The Exorcist

• The Blair Witch Project

• Psycho

• Bride of Frankenstein 

• Alien

Five Movies I Watched for the Sex... but ended up feeling depressed or disturbed.

5) Titanic
This is one that I anticipated as an adolescent, excited at the prospect of a PG-13 flick with the hottie who was in Growing Pains. The hype for this film was huge and it was a monumental success, despite the fact that we all know how it ends and it is incredibly depressing. We all held out hope that Jack would make it in the end, but instead we end up feeling just as miserable as we did at the end of another classic movie without a happy ending, An Affair to Remember.

This movie was released on two VHS tapes and I would often only watch the first one, just to avoid the terrible drowning sequences and the inevitable freezing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite the depressing nature of this film, you can't forget the flirting that Jack and Rose started with on that ship, ultimately drawing naughty pictures and having steamy sex in the back of a car. Cue hand print!

4) Brokeback Mountain

Despite the fact that I am not a homosexual male, I have always been very intrigued by these scenarios... especially when Jake Gylenhaal and Heath Ledger (RIP) are involved. This is another one I suppose I should have known could not end well, i.e. where they live, the time period, the fact that they are both married and live double lives, etc.

The passion between the two actors is palpable, passionate, and worth sitting through the painful ending. Another movie where one should perhaps just enjoy watching Enis and Jack on Brokeback Mountain, a place away from the rest of civilization where they can be themselves... and turn off the DVD player once they both get married.

3) Secretary

I remember being in the video store and seeing the cover for Secretary and being very intrigued. If you haven't noticed through the subtly of my posts, I am a bit of a naughty soul. I thought this might be kind of a fun play on a BDSM relationship, starring another talented Gylenhaal. Who doesn't love a little power play or boss/secretary relationships in film? Sexy, right? No, totally wrong. This movie is minimally sexy and is more of an insight into the lives of two characters with mental illness that makes you feel like a creepy voyeur.

When Gylenhaal's character is in need of a masochistic fix and takes a boiling hot water kettle to her inner thigh, I nearly barf every time. But I guess in a way it is comforting in the end to know that this sadist and masochist find love and are oddly perfect for each other.

2) Nymphomaniac

Okay, so I knew a bit what I was getting into with a Lars Von Trier movie. But, when I heard that there was graphic sex in an art film, I was on board. Not going to lie, Part I is pretty disturbing, but there are several parts that are very fun to watch and titillating. My favorite might be when the main character, Joe, and her friend try to sleep with as many men as they can while on a train. Not something that I would say is a good idea, but makes for interesting cinema.

Part II is a completely different story. There is nothing sexy about Part II. I was too disturbed to be depressed for this character.

1) Shame

I chose this film for a relaxing afternoon alone at home. I had heard that there was full-frontal Fassbender in the opening scene... say no more. He is my dream. I was so excited.

The movie starts off somewhat normal, just a guy with a sex addiction. Then it gets more and more disturbing, with the introduction of his sister and the strange relationship they share to the climactic scenes in which we see just how far this character will go to get a fix. All cats look the same in the dark? Right?

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below!

Bingo Movie Party

When I feel like celebrating life with my comrades for no reason, I organize a small movie party. It's always a hit-- filled with drinks, games, fun, and film! Want to throw one? See how I do it.

• Movie Theme & Double Feature

• I usually pick some sort of a movie theme, like Summer Blockbusters and Horror Flicks. In the past I have sent out invitations for friends to text in their votes for the top two films or just selected two on my own. 

• Other theme ideas include: Musicals, Actor or Actress, Cartoons, 80's Movies, Aliens, Slapstick Comedy, Directors, Oscar Favorites, Movies So Bad They Rule!

• Two movies- twenty minutes in between. This is a chance to not have to sit silently either, this movie party is filled with laughs and fun.

• See one of my invitations below!

• Bingo & Prizes

• During the movie I have a Bingo game. There is a sheet with different things that could happen during a movie of that type or genre. First person to get Bingo wins! I usually get several prizes though, so I continue until four people have won.

• I scour Target and the Dollar Store for the best, cheap prizes. This time we had a special pizza microwave reheater, whoopee cushions, Legos, novelty socks and nail polish etc. Whatever you think!

• This is the link to my favorite Bingo Card Generator --> Bingo Card Generator

• Drinks & Snacks

• Have fun with it! You can go over-the-top and have everything match or just make your favorites.

• This time we had deviled eggs, mint juleps, chips and dip, cheese and meat platters, homemade cookies, & vodka fruit punch with Prosecco and sherbet!

Got some good ideas? Share it below! End up giving it a whirl? Comment below!

Five Random Cool Things I Want and You Should Get Me

5. This amazing bar of soap to wash away the blood after a good murder. Lady Macbeth Guest Soap

4. This chair to cuddle with my cats and watch all of my favorite movies and shows in. Cuddle Couch 
3. I am a butter addict and this seems like it would solve so many bread and butter problems.Butter Up

2. This dress to walk around town and sip coffee in, while subtly flirting with a handsome passerby. Retro Dress

1.This sweatshirt is the ultimate though... everything on this site is so good! Books & Cats

Vital Quotes for Your Every Day Life... Or Maybe Just Some of Shemp's Favorites

"Measure twice, cut once." - Norm Abrams, This Old House

"You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans, and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides, you will play golf, and enjoy hot hors d'oeuvres. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, "Do not trust the Pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller."  -Wednesday Addams, Addams Family Values

“There was an awful suspicion in my mind that I'd finally gone over the hump, and the worst thing about it was that I didn't feel tragic at all, but only weary, and sort of comfortably detached.” -Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary

"I know." -Han Solo, Empire Strikes Back

"It's beyond my control." -Vicomte de Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons 

"Where's your will to be weird?" - Jim Morrison

"There's nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex." 

- Billy Joel

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" -Benjamin, The Graduate

"So come to the lab and see what's on the slab. I see you quiver with antici...pation." -Dr. Frank N. Furter, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.” -Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

"I am a pagan. I am a Greek. I love the ancients not for their pediments or their poetry, but because in their world Venus could love Paris one day and Anchises the next. Because they're not the moderns, who live in their mind, and because they're the opposite of Christians, who live on a cross. I don't live in my mind, or on a cross. I live on this divan. In this dress. In these stockings and these shoes. I want to live the way Helen and Aspasia lived, not the twisted women of today, who are never happy and never give happiness. Who won't admit that they want love without limit. Why should I forgo any possible pleasure, abstain from any sensual experience? I'm young, I'm rich, and I'm beautiful and I shall make the most of that. I shall deny myself nothing." 

- Vanda, Venus in Fur (Play)

"Why should Caesar just get to stomp around like a giant while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar, right? Brutus is just as smart as Caesar, people totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar, and when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody because that's not what Rome is about! We should totally just STAB CAESAR!"

-Gretchen Weiners, Mean Girls

"What does it matter how many lovers you have if none of them gives you the universe?" -Jacques Lacan

Bewitched and Mad Men

Bewitched ran from 1962 to 1974 for eight seasons, set in the time period in which it was filmed. It centered on Samantha Stevens, a witch-turned-housewife who vowed to not use magic to meddle in the life of her Ad Man, Darren. Of course Samantha always resorted to magic at some turning point each episode. Who wouldn’t?! Comedy ensues! 

Man Men ran from 2007-2015 and had seven critically successful seasons that were set in the 1960’s. Although Mad Men involves many different characters and plot twists, the beginning of the series (and a lot thereafter) centers on Don Draper and his wife Betty. Betty is a suburban housewife, with no magic except for her killer good looks, and Don is a successful Ad Man on Madison Avenue in NYC with some pretty dark secrets. Drama ensues!

Bewitched and Mad Men- More Similar Than Different?

While watching a rerun of Bewitched on DVD the other week, I was struck by a sudden and strange connection- Bewitched and Mad Men. It got the old wheels in my brain turning and it inspired me to make the list below. Let’s go to a world where smoking and drinking during the day was okay, political change was underway, and life just seemed more interesting (at least to me).

The Advertising Industry- Darren Stevens and Don Draper

Both leading men work in the advertising industry in the Big Apple on Madison Avenue in the 60's. Advertising is a HUGE part of Mad Men and Bewitched as well. Although Bewitched doesn’t center on Darren’s occupation, issues in the workplace often become situations for Samantha to resort to her magic powers.

Male Bosses with White Hair- Roger Sterling and Larry Tate

Coincidence? I suppose white hair on a man symbolizes wisdom with age or something like that… and a silver fox is always a welcome addition to a television show. 

Sexy Housewives- Betty Draper and Samantha Stevens

I think that the style and look of Samantha and Betty are probably just a reflection of the times, but how ironic is that both shows boast pretty, well-dressed blondes?

Don’t Betty and Don even kind of look like Samantha and Darren… 

only more polished and cooler?

Can you think of more connections? Leave a comment below!

5 Steamy Reads to Divert You

1) Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (*****)

This one has always been one of my favorites because it brings you to an old world, filled with gods, mythology, an unlikely heroine, mystery and a new interpretation of sexuality. You will not regret your time in Terre D'Ange with Phedre as you go through her journey to self-discovery and saving those she loves and the kingdom she lives in.

"When Love cast me out, it was Cruelty who took pity on me."

In a kingdom born of angels, Phedre is an anguisette, cursed or blessed to find pleasure in pain. Sold to the Court of Night Blooming Flowers, her fate as a beautiful but anonymous courtesan was sealed. Her bond was purchased by the nobleman Anafiel Delauney, who recognized the scarlet mote in Phedre's eye as the rare mark of one touched by a powerful deity. Under Delauney's patronage she is trained in history, politics, language, and the use of body and mind as the ultimate weapon of subterfuge in a dangerous game of courtly intrigue.

Guided into the bed chambers of Terre D'Ange's most influential nobles, Phedre uncovers a conspiracy against the throne so vast that even her teacher cannot see the whole of it. As her nation is besieged by invading hordes from the north, the most unthinkable threat to her beloved home comes from traitors within. Betrayed and blindsided by her own longings, only Phedre and her trusted bodyguard Josselin are left to cross borders and warring armies in a race to stop the final blow from falling.

Enter a lush world of pleasure houses, ambitious warlords, scheming courtiers, and the harsh justice of blessed deities through the eyes of a heroine like no other. Sprawling and darkly sensual, Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart is the start of a truly original fantasy series. (AMAZON summary)

2) Emanuelle  by Emanuelle Arsan (****)

It's a classic for a reason. Any lover of the genre should give this one a read. Emmanuelle is just so beautifully written, especially the descriptions of the titular character's clothing and appearance. There are long chapters of philosophy as it pertains to romance, erotica, and love- but those are just as good as the rest of the more juicy content. 

I also love a novel that starts on a high note... mile high club style. 

This classic book of erotica is, alongside Story of O, the most famous French underground novel of the late twentieth century and a work of seductive literary merit.

It begins with nineteen-year-old Emmanuelle’s flight from London to join her husband in Bangkok. On the airplane, she is seduced by the passenger seated next to her. By the time they land, she has indulged her irrepressible and insatiable sexual appetite, embarking on an odyssey of hedonistic sensual discovery that takes her from the arms of her husband to intimate encounters with the wives of his business associates, to further explorations wherein the philosophical and aesthetic facets of eroticism are expounded—and enacted—to the fullest degree.

Intoxicating and intelligent, Emmanuelle, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies since its initial clandestine publication in France, follows one woman’s liberation from unconscious to intensely conscious sexuality. (AMAZON summary)

3) Exit to Eden by Anne Rice (****)

AKA my dream vacation. It is the ultimate escape into a world of classy BDSM where the self is totally surrendered... and love?

The bold erotic masterpiece by #1 New York Times bestselling author Anne Rice writing as Anne Rampling

They call her the Perfectionist. A stunning, mysterious, and fearless sexual adventurer, Lisa is founder and supreme mistress of The Club—an exclusive island resort where forbidden fantasy meets willing flesh. Here eager participants who can afford life's most exquisite luxuries can experience the breathtaking pleasures of surrender and submission. Here nothing is taboo.

A thrill-seeking photojournalist, Elliott risks his life daily in the most dangerous, war-torn regions on Earth. Now he has come to Paradise to explore his most savage and vulnerable sexual self, committed to the ultimate plunge into personal risk. (AMAZON summary)

4) At Any Price by Brenna Aubrey (***)

This pick is just fun! It combines geeky gamer themes with contemporary romance. Perfect for gals like me who are into video games, SciFi, nerds, and hot men! 

Achievement Unlocked: Geek Virgin

When Mia Strong, proud geek-girl and popular gaming blogger, auctions off her virginity online, she knows she'll make waves. But what she will not be making is a love connection. Her rules are set in stone: One night. No further contact.

It's a desperate step, but it's the only way she can go to medical school and pay her mother's mounting hospital bills.

Difficulty Level: Millionaire CEO

Adam Drake, the enigmatic auction winner, is a software prodigy who made his first million at seventeen. Now, in his mid-twenties, he's sexy, driven and--as CEO of his own gaming company--he's used to making the rules. Before Mia knows what's happening, he's found the loophole in the rules of her auction. Every stipulation she's made to protect her heart gets tossed by the wayside.

She can't tell if he's playing her...or if he's playing for keeps. (AMAZON summary)

5) The Story of X by A.J. Molloy (***)

I came across this book at the Book Warehouse in North Dartmouth, MA and purchased it for $2.97. My expectations were not high, but I was pleasantly surprised. The mystery, the mafia, the sex, and the setting all came together to make a wonderfully diverting evening (I read this in one night). 

A darkly seductive and passionate tale of secret societies, elaborate rites and sexual experimentation, in the tradition of the captivating classic Story of O and Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut.

Shy American student Alexandra Beckmann—‘X’ to her friends—arrives in Naples desperate for adventures beyond the sheltered life she has led. She is there to study the Camorra, an infamous Italian crime organization. But in the sun-soaked, ancient city streets, her research leads her to a man like no one else she has ever met.

Irresistibly handsome, Lord Marcus Roscarrick is an Italian aristocrat with a mysterious past. Yet, underneath his refined exterior, X senses a man who is well-acquainted with danger.

Soon they begin a passionate affair, and X is drawn into Roscarrick’s world—a world she never dreamed existed. But as she falls ever more deeply under Roscarrick’s spell, X must decide whether she dares to submit entirely to this shadowy realm of dark desire. (AMAZON)

Three Directions I Wish Fashion Would Move Toward- Inspired by Film

3) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Okay, so maybe these outfits wouldn't have the same effect without Elizabeth Taylor being the one to wear them... but there is something universally sexy about the elegant fabrics and cuts of yesteryear. I've never been a fan of low rise jeans or tube tops of the 2000's. Give me an hourglass shape with a defined waist and tasteful cleavage any day. 

2) Basic Instinct (1992)

I want to be Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. I don't just want to look like her, but I want her brilliance and psychotic confidence. 

Nowadays the minimalist undergarment look is so chic (i.e. going commando, bralettes, etc.), but no one pulls it off like Stone (Literally!). The long, lean, oiled legs with the subtle, dark makeup and slicked-back hair... 

1) Her (2013)

The costumes are almost too hipster for me, but I love the simplicity of the casual office and day-to-day wear. Everything just looks so comfortable and almost like a Utopian, Future Society uniform... like everyone has these random pieces in their closets to select from and everyone looks eerily similar, yet subtly distinct. I find these choices to be very reminiscent of the menswear trend donned by Diane Keaton Annie Hall as well! 

“I’m realizing this retroactively. What a lot of futuristic films do and we didn’t, is add things. No epaulets, badges, materials, textures. Those are things you look at the entire film going ‘That’s the future. That’s the uniform.’ What we did instead was take things away. So something is off, but it’s not a distraction. All the costumes in the film are things someone could be wearing now, but we don’t have any denim or belt buckles or ties or baseball hats. We barely have a collar or lapel. The waist lines are all higher.” - Casey Storm in an interview with a NY Times Blog