WE, THE GUARDIANS OF THE GENRE, DO VOW TO ABSTAIN FROM ALL THAT IS MUNDANE AND REVEL IN AND GLORIFY ALL OF THE MANY WONDERS THAT COME WITH THE
ACCEPTANCE OF THE GREAT AND GOOD GENRES!
SCIENCE FICTION! FANTASY! HORROR!
I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for BIG BUDGET sci-fi and
fantasy movies! Every year the huge Hollywood studios pump out several $100 –
$200 million dollar special effects opuses for fanboys to drool over in anticipation
every year. The first of these mega-buck epics for 2012 is John Carter!
John Carter is Walt Disney Pictures’ attempt at another tent-pole
film for a new franchise on the order of their Pirates of the Caribbean films.
After failing with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), which cost an
estimated $200 million to make and only grossed a little over $90 million in
the United States, they are rolling the big budget dice with John Carter. The
budget for John Cater is being estimated at $250 million and if the trailer is
any indication, most of that was spent on the vast special effects to create the
fantastic setting for the fantasy-version of the planet Mars.
John Carter the film is based on the novel "A Princess of
Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published under the title "In the Moons of Mars"
and serialized in All-Story Magazine in 1912. In the novel, John
Carter is a former Confederate soldier, who, while prospecting for gold in the Arizona
desert of the 1870’s is somehow transported to the planet Mars. It looks as
though the film John Carter has kept the time and character intact; which is
the only possible way that the fantasy setting of Mars could work.
The director of the film is Andrew Stanton, who was the
director and writer of the Pixar animated films A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo and
WALL-E. This is his first live action feature, but his experience with the all
CGI animated features should serve him well for the effects laden John Carter.
Another former Pixar director, Brad Bird (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) has
had great success with his first live action feature Mission Impossible: Ghost
Protocol, so there is hope that Andrew Stanton might have similar luck with
John Carter.
Portraying John Carter is 30 year old Taylor Kitsch, who is
best known for his role as high school football star Tim Riggins on NBC's
acclaimed television series "Friday Night Lights”, but will also be
featured in another big budget film in 2012 Battleship. Playing the Princess
Dejah Thoris is relative unknown Lynn Collins. Voicing (and motion capturing?)
Tars Tarkas is veteran actor William Dafoe.
The special effects are headed by Steve Benelisha, who has
worked recently on Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class.
I think Disney is taking a real chance on John Carter,
because the source material is not nearly contemporary or classic enough to be recognizable
to a large enough audience to sell it on name recognition alone. Also, by
releasing it in March, instead of the summer months when most blockbusters are
released, they are almost already admitting defeat. Perhaps they are hoping to
score at least the meagerly profitable numbers that Clash of the Titans made,
which was released in April of 2010.
Whatever the reasons for such an early release, I most
certainly will be headed to my local cinema on the weekend of March 9th
to see the visual splendor of John Carter! Enjoy the latest trailer!
"Overall, Underworld: Awakening achieves what it set out to do, which is build on the story and world of the previous Underworld movies, while still creating an exciting and visually stimulating supernatural spectacle!"
Action, Horror and Fantasy
Starring – Kate Bekinsale/Selene, Steven Rea/Doctor Jacob
Lane, Michael Ealy/Detective Sebastian, Theo James/David, India Eisley/Eve,
Charles Dance, Kris Holden-Ried/Quint
Directors – Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein
Writers – Len Wiseman, John Hlavin,
J. Michael Straczynski and Allison Burnett
Rated R – for strong violence, gore and language
1 hr., 28 min.
Thanks to a New England snowstorm last weekend, I had to
wait a week before seeing Underworld: Awakening. For reasons I can’t fathom, my
local theater did not have the film showing on any of its ten screens, so I was
forced to trek to a slightly more distant cinema to see it. Worst of all, this
theater has no stadium seating and they were only showing Underworld: Awakening
in 3-D! I don’t hate 3-D, but of the four films I have now seen in 3-D, I can
honestly say that the process added little to nothing to any of these films.
Fortunately, despite all these seemingly opposing events, I still enjoyed
Underworld: Awakening immensely – with one caveat, which I’ll get to at the end
of this review.
Underworld: Awakening is a sequel to Underworld: Evolution
(2006) and takes place twelve years after “The Purge”. A prologue to the movie
tells us that six months after Selene gained the powers of the Vampire-Corvinus
strain and she and her lover Michael Corvin killed the remaining elder
vampires, the human race discovered the existence of Vampires and Lycans, which
began a worldwide purge of their species. Selene and Michael are captured by a medical
corporation Antigen and frozen in a cryogenic state for study.
Twelve years later, Selene escapes the medical facility, but
soon after begins having visions, which lead her to a vampire David, the son of
Thomas, a Vampire Elder who leads one of the few remaining vampire covens that
remain hidden from humans. David helps Selene rescue a young girl from Antigen,
who Selene sees in another vision. Selene and David fight a group of Lycans,
who are also after the girl, but she is injured in the fight. The girl, who is
another hybrid, is not healing, so David takes her and Selene back to his coven
to be looked at by a vampire physician.
Thomas blames Selene for the human’s discovery and
extermination of vampires, so he is anxious for her to leave his coven, but
David wants Selene to train his coven to defend themselves against both the
humans and the increasingly violent Lycan race. Dr. Jacob Lane, the director of
Antigen, was using the hybrid girl to develop an "antidote" to make Lycans
immune to the deadly effects of silver and enhance their physical abilities. The
girl, dubbed by Lane “Subject 2”, needs the hybrid genetic code to achieve
this, so Lane sends a super-Lycan Quint with other Lycans to the vampire coven
to recapture her. A battle ensues and many of the vampires and werewolves are
killed, but Quint dispatches and nearly kills David before leaving with the
hybrid girl. Selene heals David with her “immortal” blood and they depart to
confront Lanne, Quint and the minions of Antigen.
To start, Underworld: Awakening is even more reliant on
action and violence to carry its plot than any of the other three films. I
assume that the filmmakers knew that anyone going to see a forth film in a
series is going to be familiar enough with the Underworld mythology to not need
lengthy bits of narrative to understand the whos, whats and wheres of the
story. Even after having just watched the previous three films a few months
ago, I was still a bit dazed by how briskly the plot points of Underworld:
Awakening are gone over. I was able to keep up with the basic reasons for why
Selene was motivated to rescue “Subject 2”, but I would have liked a bit more
space between the action sequences to add some depth to the motivations of
Selene and the other characters in the film.
Still, the action sequences are the main draw of the
Underworld films and Underworld: Awakening does not disappoint in this regard.
The opening sequence of Selene’s escape from the high-rise medical center is
amazing. Selene demonstrates her uber-vamp powers on numerous occasions, where
she seems almost to defy the laws of gravity. The Lycans in this film are very
impressive, but the super-Lycan Quint – who is easily nine feet tall – is an
amazing creature to behold. If I have any complaints about the special effects
at all is that at times they are moving so quickly that you have little time to
admire their detailed effectiveness.
Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, who previously directed the
supernatural thriller Shelter (2010), do a fine job recreating the
dark-monochromatic look and feel of the previous Underworld movies. Len
Wiseman, who previously directed the first two movies – Underworld and
Underworld: Evolution – as well as having a hand in the story for all three
Underworld films, wrote the initial screenplay for Underworld: Awakening. The
three other writers, most notably J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame,
stepped in for rewrites, but there is so little narrative that is carried by
dialogue, that I have to wonder what, if any contributions he or the others
made to the script.
Kate Beckinsale steps back into the role of Selene after six
years effortlessly. Her cool, hard, but still quiet deadly passion fills the
screen for most the film’s short 88 minute run time. I do miss her interaction
with her Lycan lover Michael – who only makes a brief appearance at the
beginning of the film – and the leading male role of the vampire David played
by Theo James is little more than male eye-candy. Veteran actor Charles Dance
as the Vampire Elder Thomas adds a nice bit of gravitas to the film and Stephen
Rea as Dr. Jacob Lane is quietly sinister as the head of the medical
corporation Antigen. If Kris Holden-Ried, who plays the super-Lycan Quint, looks
familiar, it is because he plays a similar supernatural creature on the TV
Series Lost Girl. Holden-Ried’s facial features and physicality certainly add weight
to his role as the ferocious uber-Lycan, but I wonder if he is in danger of
being typecast in a way similar to that of actor Ron Perlman.
Overall, Underworld: Awakening achieves what it set out to
do, which is build on the story and world of the previous Underworld movies,
while still creating an exciting and visually stimulating supernatural
spectacle! The one caveat with the film that I hinted at at the outset of this
review, is that the film has a tenuous conclusion that leaves me wondering if
the writers had planned on a longer movie, but didn’t have the budget to film
it. Underworld: Awakening is in definite need of a sequel to finish the many
plot-threads that were left dangling at the end of the movie. While I’m glad
that the film should be financially successful enough to warrant a sequel and
I’m sure I’ll be attending it as well, it might have been nice if Underworld:
Awakening could have had a stronger finish that would not necessarily required
one.
Underworld: Awakening is a wild ride and a worthy addition
to one of my favorite supernatural fantasy series! See it now or later, but
don’t miss it.
“Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I
think even fans of the original film will appreciate.”
Horror
and Comedy
Starring
– Anton Yelchin/Charley Brewster, Colin Farrell/Jerry Danridge, Toni
Collette/Jane Brewster, David Tennant/Peter Vincent, Imogen Poots/Amy and
Christopher Mintz-Plasse/”Evil” Ed Thompson
Director
– Craig Gillespie Writer- Marti Noxon
Rated
R – for bloody horror violence and language
1
hr, 46 min.
There
have been a slew of genre movie remakes in the past ten years and more often
than not, the original is superior to the remake. The few exceptions that
spring to mind are: Death Race (2008), the Paul W. S. Anderson remake of the
1975 Death Race 2000 and Dawn of the Dead (2004) directed by Zach Snyder which
is a remake of the 1978 Romero classic of the same name. Now another film can
be added to this rare list of respectful remakes: Fright Night (2011).
While
I enjoyed the 1985 film at the time, more recent rewatchings have not been as
much fun; although I must admit I still like Roddy McDowall’s portrayal of
Peter Vincent as a horror host. Because I’m not an uber-fan of the original, it
probably allowed me to be more open to enjoying the remake.
The
2011 Fright Night follows the same basic plot of the original, with a few minor
character, plot and mythology changes. One of the major changes from the
original film is that Charley’s friend Ed is the one who discovers that
Charley’s neighbor is a vampire and not Charley himself. The other slightly
less important change is that Peter Vincent in the remake is a Los Vegas
magician and not a TV horror host as in the original. I didn’t think either of
these changes affected the overall tone of the film, which is still like the
original a blend of horror and comedy.
Charley
Brewster is a reformed nerd, who now has a girlfriend and has begun hanging out
with the cool kids in High School. Charley’s former nerdy friend “Evil” Ed Lee
tells Charley that their old friend has gone missing and they check in on the
his house only to find it abandoned. Ed tries to convince Charley that his
next-door neighbor Jerry is a vampire and that he is the one responsible for
the recent rash of disappearing students. Charley is convinced only that Ed is
delusional and is just desperately trying to get his attention.
Ed
continues his surveillance of Jerry, until Jerry catches Ed and seemingly kills
him. Charley now notices Ed missing and eventually begins to believe that Ed
may have been right about Jerry being a vampire. Charley sneaks into Jerry’s
house, where he finds that Jerry is storing victims in rooms hidden upstairs to
feed on. After narrowly escaping Jerry’s house, Charley goes to Ed’s house to
look for Ed’s research on vampires. It is there that Charley sees Peter
Vincent’s web site on Ed’s computer, which claims that Vincent is an expert
vampire hunter. Charley goes to Vegas and attempts to gain the aid of the
flamboyant magician, but Vincent pretends not to believe Charley’s story and
sends him on his way.
Charley
attempts to barricade his home from Jerry the vampire, but Jerry attacks
Charley, his girlfriend Amy and his mother Jane in his home, which they flee
from in their mother’s car. Jerry chases after them and they survive, but Jane
is injured in the fight. Charley once again pleads with Vincent for help and
this time Vincent joins Charley to hunt down the vampire and stake him.
There
is a lot to like about Fright Night. The direction by Craig Gillespie, who
previously directed Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Mr. Woodcock (2007),
shows off a real talent for comedic pacing those other films did not. There are
some scenes that stretch out to create tension and then speed up for the
inevitable violent confrontation, which are then punctuated by well-timed
humor. Some of this clever plotting and humor should be attributed to
screenplay writer Marti Noxon, who wrote dozens of scripts for the similarly
themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV program.
Anton
Yelchin, who plays the teenage Charley and is best known to genre fans for
playing Chekov in the 2009 Star Trek film, does a fine job playing a former
nerd and growing teen, trying to fit into his new social situation. Colin
Farrell plays the part of the vampire Jerry with a quite cool air in his human
form. But as a vampire, his vicious and malicious ferocity is truly
frightening. I also liked Toni Collette as Charley’s understanding Mother Jane
and Imogen Poots as Charley’s sweet and strong girlfriend Amy. The standout performance
for genre fans is David Tennant, who is best known for playing the Doctor on
Doctor Who for three-plus seasons. Tennant as Peter Vincent the Goth Vegas
magician is fantastic; playing both the drama-queen stage magician and the
slightly cowardly vampire hunter!
Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I
think even fans of the original film will apreaciate. While this version of
Fright Night is definitely more adult in its language and levels of violence
than its predecessor, I never felt that any of it was gratuitous or
unnecessary. If you’d like a break from the dark and dismal horror films of
late, you should give Fright Night a try.
"The action in Attack the Block is almost non-stop, yet the characters and the story are still well defined."
Science Fiction, Horror and Comedy
Starring – John Boyega/Moses, Jodie Whittaker/Sam, Alex Esmail/Pest, Franz Drameh/Dennis, Leeon Jones/Jerome, Simon Howard/Biggz, Jumayn Hunter/Hi-Hatz, Micheal Ajao/Mayhem, Sammy Williams/Probs, Nick Frost/Ron
Director/Writer – Joe Cornish
R – for creature violence, drug content and pervasive language.
1 hr., 28 min.
Director and writer Joe Cornish tells one one of his young actors in the blu-ray extras "Rap the Block" that he was inspired to make Attack the Block by the kids fighting off the aliens on their farm in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (2002). He wanted to transplant that story into the inner city block of Heygate Estate of Southwark London that he grew up in, because he thought that the kids of the block would present a much more difficult problem to invading aliens. The aliens in Attack the Block never had a chance!
The story begins with a young woman heading home at night from work when she is surrounded by a gang of teenagers from the block, who threaten her with a knife and and demand her valuables. The mugging is interrupted by a ball of fire that falls from the sky, smashing into a near-by car. The kids investigate and find an alien creature, which the leader Moses kills defending himself. They take the corpse of the alien back to their block, thinking that it may be worth something. They store the body in the weed room of their friend Nick's top-floor block apartment and return outside to do battle with more of the invading aliens that are raining down on their block.
What separates Attack the Block from the more recent alien invasion movies is that the main characters are all young kids. More importantly, these young teenagers are street toughs who must overcome their own inner block conflicts in order to defend their turf. You grow to like, or at least understand each one of these kids; particularly the quiet leader Moses.
The action in Attack the Block is almost non-stop, yet the characters and the story are still well defined. While the aliens are basically black furry men-in-suits, they are complimented with glowing teeth, which is all that you can see of them in the dark. For fans of pre-CGI monsters, the aliens of Attack the Block are a blast!
Give Attack the Block a rent and see if you like its unique take on the alien invasion genre. I know I look forward to returning to Attack the Block again.
Underworld: Awakening is being released this Friday on January 20, 2012 and I will be the first in line! Okay. Maybe the first in line for the Saturday afternoon show, but still... FIRST IN LINE! Enjoy the latest trailer!
