Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter Review

If you thought you knew the entire history of ol’ “Honest” Abe….think again!

Hello Everyone! It’s Richard here, and I’d like to wish you all a happy Memorial Day! So, I’ve been thinking of ways to celebrate the day with you all. One way, we can all get together and have a BBQ in my backyard, but I have a strong feeling it might take a while for you all to get here. So, I decided a review would probably be easier. Today, I will be reviewing Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter!

No, Its not a review of the movie. I’m not cool like some people, and get to see big movies early. I wish I was cool enough, but I’m not. This is a review of the book which was written by Seth Grahame-Smith. Now, This review would probably make more sense to be published during Presidents Day, or July 4th, but I’m writing it now cause the movie comes out before the 4th. Also, Presidents day has gone by already. Plus, the book does touch on the Civil War a lot, So there is a connection!

Anyways, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter’s plot is sort of explained from it’s title. The book follows Abe’s entire life, from boy hood to his presidency, but from the “true” perspective. When Abe was a boy, he witnessed his mother’s murder at the hands of a Vampire. This was the beginning of his life long war against the creatures of the night. I won’t say much more, but trust me when I say Vampires are the key motivation, and reason, for the vast majority of everything in Abe’s life.

So, I haven’t read a good novel in quite some time. When I was younger, I HATED reading. Because of my dyslexia, It was hard for me to get into anything. I loved a lot of different stories out there, but I hated having to read them. It was a big struggle in my life, and the biggest reason I didn’t do too well in my English classes. However, I became really inspired during High school, thanks to my awesome English teacher, and began reading books all the time. It was a mixture of both comics and novels, but eventually books would end up being dominated by comics and graphic novels.

Recently, I’ve wanted to jump back into the world of novels, but I couldn’t really find the right book. I was going to start with The Hunger Games, but I wasn’t amazed by the movie enough to check it out. I might still read it someday, but not any time soon. Eventually, I would read an older article saying that Tim Burton’s newest film, Dark Shadows, was going to be scripted by a guy named Seth Grahame-Smith. Now, I’m a HUGE Tim Burton fan. He is my all time favorite film maker. I grew up with his pictures, and they inspired me to want to make movies. Also, I know the DCR peeps didn’t dig Dark Shadows much, but I really enjoyed it. Yes, I said those words! I liked The Dark Shadows movie! Deal with it!

Anyways, When I read this article, I wanted to find out exactly who this guy was. Strangely enough, the first Trailer for the movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter had been released the same day. Once I viewed that piece of action packed, Vampire Slaying awesomeness, I ran out and purchased the book immediately! Now, admittedly, the idea of Abe killing vampires is pretty ridiculous. That being said, the book was so freaking amazing!

Its a big action packed thrill ride, that paints Abe as much more of a Badass then he already was. Grahame-Smith does such an amazing Job blending fact and fiction. So much so, That I questioned whether or not a few bits in the book were true. Example, I never knew that Abe hadn’t met Edgar Allan Poe before. The only connection the two have is Abe was a fan of Poe’s work. Also, I loved how Grahame-Smith took a real historical event, and kind of turned it into a diabolical plot cooked up by the Vampires. Kind of like X-Men: First Class. That flick took the Cuban Missile Crisis, and made it the evil scheme of a group of Mutants. Very clever use of the events, if you ask me!

Probably my favorite aspect of the book is Grahame-Smith’s character work. Especially in his dialog, Grahame-Smith captures the tone, voice, and nature of every character in the book. Fact or Fiction, you just love every character! My favorite character was Henry Sturges. Probably one of the cooler Vampire’s I’ve seen in a long time. He is arguably better than Abe! This aspect was what proved to me that Grahame-Smith would be a natural at writing screenplays, and what got me even more excited for Dark Shadows and the Abe film adaptation.

What I would love to see is Grahame-Smith adapting his book in comic book form. The book, and even the movie it seems, just ooze comic book potential. He should team up with an artist like Roger Cruz or Sean Murphy, and create an Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter Graphic novel or comic series. I’d pick that up instantly! Though, It’d have to be written by Seth Grahame-Smith, or I probably wouldn’t pick it up. Overall, even though its a ridiculous idea, Seth Grahame-Smith deliver’s one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time! I highly recommend each and everyone of you go out and pick up the book! I have a strong feeling you won’t be disappointed.

I give Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter a 5/5!

PS Click on the photo! Just do it!

TDCRS vs. Men In Black III

This week we review Men in Black III and Kristin complains about the top ten list, Top Ten Part 3’s with Aliens. Russell uses air time to hit on cute women by promoting their products, and somehow finds time to talk about Chernobyl Diaries. Sean talks about the city he lives in and a very special movie about the people that make up his neighbors.

Marvel Hosts a Gay Wedding!!! (COMICS!)

Same-Sex Marriage has been a hot button topic for quite a long while. Its been a heavy news topic recently when President Obama voted in favor of gay marriage. Now, in the world of Mainstream comics, writers and creators always try to keep current and tell relevant stories. Well, Marvel Is doing just that in their Astonishing X-Men series. Known Gay superhero, Northstar, is finally getting hitched to his long time boyfriend in issue #51 of the series. Also, DC made a some what similar announcement this past weekend. An iconic character from DC, whom has yet to be introduced in the New 52, will come out of the closet. As to whom it will be, your going to have to wait till June to find out. Personally, I don’t see the issues with gay marriage. Love is love, no matter if its between a man and a woman, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Its nice to see comics telling this kind of story. Yes, it could easily be a publicity stunt, but still. Click the picture above to checkout the latest episode of COMICS! Also, leave a comment on your thoughts of this whole thing. Enjoy the video!

TDCRS vs Battleship and Avengers Behind the Scenes

This week on The Directors Cut Radio Program we review “Battleship” and talk Behind the Scenes of “The Avengers” with Rich Shepherd and Theresa Quinn. Russell Pinkston our middle American movie reviewer checks out “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”. We also highlight the musical talents of Jenn Summers, who was very sweet towards us on Twitter. Unfortunately, TDCRS isn’t as sweet. Though we do think her music is quite fantastic!

The Directors Cut Vs Dark Shadows

Tim Burton has brought Johnny Deep, his wife (Helena Bonham Carter), and Danny Elfman back to the theaters. Thus marking it the 8th time Johnny Depp and Tim Burton has worked together. Also, marking the idea that Tim Burton really needs a new box of tools for his art projects. We’ve seen Johnny Deep trying to be dark and creepy several times before. But it really has made me not care about Burton or any of his movies. Yes, I used to be Burton fanboy, but now I just feel angry. Sean Gandert and I talk about Tim Burton and debate whether somebody should take away his favorite “go-to” film favorites. Dan complains that he’s “made attracted” to a 15 year old and Kristin calls in (because Brian ruined this weeks recording) to give us her 2 cents on Dark Shadows. Also Russell calls in, and Brian runs the board. This is all in a days work of The Directors Cut!

The Directors Cut Vs The Avengers

This week we cover the The Avengers! Yes, it had the highest grossing opening weekend of all time with a whopping $200,000,000. So far they have greenlit a sequel (amongst sequels for other Marvel flicks, including the “rumored” Hulk). We also had tons of votes on our top ten list which was “Top Ten Most Quotable Movies” which had more than 90 votes by you guys! So thanks! Sorry about the website not getting updated as often as we’d like. It really hurts our listenership and we know it sucks for you guys. But Dan really hasn’t had the time or availability to do it. Also, it’s really not an appealing job, so getting a volunteer is almost null and void. So if you’d like to volunteer to update the website, that would be amazing, and I know thousands of other fellow listeners would appreciate it. And if we start getting more money for the show, this could be a paying gig too. But beside that, hopefully you enjoy the show!