What’s Got You Spooked This Halloween?

Halloween has once again come around just days before the Mexican Day of the Dead (2nd Nov) however once again us horror hounds are disappointed by the lack of films in the cinema. Where are our saviours: John Carpenter or Sam Raimi (to name a few) to haunt us with chilling tales? Instead we are left with ‘Paranormal Activity 2’, ‘Let Me In’ and the film which just won’t ironically die ‘Saw 3D’. And whilst a few of them aren’t necessarily bad they lack that spark that will keep people talking about then for years to come. This year has been a fairly terrible year for horror movies whilst last year we where satisfied with interesting and fun horrors such as Christopher Smith’s ‘Triangle’, Charles Guard’s ‘The Uninvited’ and Sam Raimi’s return to horror ‘Drag Me To Hell’. So whilst this year we have been “treated” with re-makes (or re-imaginings as the studios say), re-boots and sequel, I say save money from the cinema and go out and buy a stack of horror flick. What should I buy? I hear you ask, well here’s my list of some classic movies to keep you up.

First movie I’m going to mention is a film I personally hold dear and that’s John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ (1982). Set in Alaska in a remote research centre in the middle of no where the team is happy and safe until a helicopter chasing a cute dog comes along will all guns blazing. After handling the situation, our hero R.J. McReady (Kurt Russle) heads to the facility to which the helicopter came from only to find some bazaar corpses and locations of a crashed alien space ship. Before long the team discovers that the alien has infiltrated the research centre with the ability to replicate any organ mass leaving the rest of the men paranoid and frightened. Not for the faint heart this classic is sure to send disgusted shivers down anyone’s backs. Especially go see it because a prequel is coming next year to spoil all the fun.

Next film I’m going to recommend is a Canadian horror click which came out late last year named ‘Pontypool’ (Bruce McDonald, 2009). Now bear with me whilst I explain as little as possible; the film opens with radio presenter Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) on his way to work when a babbling woman stops him before disappearing into the snow, nothing to strange some may thing however when Mazzy gets to work in the basement of a church on a hill strange reports of cannibalism begins to flood the news team. Whilst hosting a radio station, Mazzy begins to decipher whether the reports are factual or a hoax. What makes this movie stand out is it’s take on zombie movies where by the infection is spread by a viral infection, ‘Pontypool’ plays with an infection which is spread verbally. This twist on the zombie genre is based on Tony Burgess’ chilling book ‘Pontypool Changes Everything’ this adaption will become a cult classic which is also going to spawn a trilogy.

With a terrible re-make coming from Satan himself Michael Bay, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’s credibility has gone down slightly, however seeing the iconic scene with Johnny Depp being pulled into his bed, we really remember what this film was all about. No one can take Robert England’s place as the burnt slasher killer as he moves from dream to dream, killing off the inhabitants of Elm Street. Possibly Wes Craven’s greatest achievement this film belongs in an true horror fans collection.

The last film to spook you this Halloween comes from director Stanley Kubrick whilst spawning from the disturbing mind of writer Stephen King. Of course I’m talking about ‘The Shining’ in possibly one of Jack Nicholson’s greatest performances as the troubled writer, who is forced together with his lovely wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and disturbing son Danny (Danny Loyd) in a claustrophobic haunted hotel miles from civilisation. The empty halls, creep corridors and haunting bathrooms all contribute to a great viewing experience which would keep you up all night.

The Thing * * * *

Pontypool * * *

Nightmare on Elm Street * * *

The Shining * * * *

Review for 'Paranormal Activity 2'

The story of ‘Paranormal Activity’ is one of an independent horror film’s shoot to fame and popularity, ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ on the other hand is very different. It’s like the first was a geek who had to work to get a girl, whilst the sequel is like the pretty boy who never had to try.

To explain the story of ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ is to say too much, once again it relies on the audience to believe that this is ‘found footage’ ala ‘Cannibal Apocalypse’, ‘Blair Witch Project’ and ‘[REC]’. On the arrival of new born baby Hunter, recently wed parents Dan and Kristi (whose acting credit is hidden whilst the film tries to keep the ‘found footage’ mentality) appear to be living a perfect life only until strange things begin to happen in and around the huge house. After returning home one night, the family find their picturesque house completely in ruin; they decide to set up security cameras around the house whilst mixing in footage from a hand held camera which individual characters hold at certain time. The end effect works really well as the audience sees the action from afar, but then are sucked into a sort of point of view angle as the characters scream and run.

What was so impressive about the first film is lost on the sequel. When the first (finally) came out audiences where left shaking and dreading the following night, however with this instalment it has all been watered down to the point when you are mainly surprised rather then shocked. For some audience members ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ will scare the life out of them but for any horror fanatics it’s not much.

The main problem with this movie is that it feels very ‘been there done that’. A lot of the spooky ‘activities’ pop up a second time from the first movie, however with a high budget gloss. Rather then playing on your nerves, it is just filled with cheap scares. Having said that the comedy makes a nice counter balance to the poor scares; horror and comedy are closely linked in cinema and it is a nice change from the quick scares which are too far apart.

The story takes too long to actually pick up and when it finally does it lingers for too short a time before its finale, resembling found footage Spanish zombie flick ‘[REC]’ and leaves the audience disappointed. It seems director Tod Williams didn’t know pacing very well, and the movie looses a lot of its subtleness which was what writer director Oren Peli got right with the first.

Although ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ lacks originality and subtleness, it ends up still being a fun trip to the movie which will haunt some audience members later that night.

* *

Review for 'The Social Network'

Bloggers Note: I know in the post 'Social Network: My Thoughts' I noted that I would not review the movie however after writting up those notes for my universities newspaper; I thought I would post it here as well.

One of the biggest problems with David Fincher’s new flick ‘The Social Network’ is everyone going to see it is calling it ‘The Facebook Movie’. What people don’t actually realise is that it isn’t about someone carelessly clicking ‘Like’ on their friends latest Facebook comment, but rather about the legal battles Mark Zuckerberg went through in the past decade to get Facebook to where it is.

The movie begins with soon to be billionaire Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg) on a date with his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara), with enough snappy dialog that the audience begins to establish what kind of a character Mark really is. He’s ingenious, fast and also a bit of an ass as his girlfriend soon dumps him, sending Mark off on a drunken rage to hack all the Harvard Universities ‘Facebook’ pages and make a sexist site called Facemash.com for people to rate their peers. After being suspended by his university, Mark is approached by the Winklevoss brothers, who ask Mark to create a site for them called Harvard Connections. However, Mark has an idea for his own site, a site which everyone with a Harvard email account can access and make a profile, and with best friend Eduardo Saverin backing him, Mark becomes unstoppable. It is this site which later becomes the Facebook we all know and use today. From just the opening scenes we understand the irony which is throughout the film, and that irony is how possibly one of the most anti-social people created the most social network in the world.

With the West Wing’s script writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher behind it, ‘The Social Network’ ends up being a contest of wit between writer and director. It is so refreshing have a director who can use CGI (in the case of the Winklevoss brothers both being actor Armie Hammer) as a tool and not a gimmick, and a writer whose pacing is so fast it doesn’t wait for the dim-witted to keep up.

The acting in it is excellent, Jessie Eisenberg has established himself before and with this movie catalogue behind him, he appears to completely embody Mark Zuckerberg as a character. As well as Jessie, up-and-comer British born Andrew Garfield has really grown from ‘The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus’ (2009) and only good things can come from the new Spiderman. Then there is Justin Timberlake (whose track record of movies haven’t been great until now) as the Napster inventor Sean Parker who becomes Mark’s mentor, whilst attempting to divide long time friendship with co-creator Eduardo Saverin. But even the minor characters grab the audience whilst making them laugh or emotional. Although it is too early for Oscar nods, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these three is nominated and it would be rightly so.

With the critical acclaim and its second week in the US Box Office chart this movie is really a testament to the fact that people would prefer to see a movie which is clever, funny and insightful. The quick dialog and snappy characters make the lengthy film time go flashing by. We are the Facebook generation, and this movie captures it’s creation in a captivatingly way.

* * * *

Review for 'Let Me In'

So I went to a special screening of Matt Reeve’s latest film Let Me In at the BFI Film Festival yesterday and have come back a different person.

To start with I reviewed Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In last year when it came out and it was definitely one of the best films of the year, if not the best. So when I and every other fan heard that good ol’ Hollywood were going to get their greasy paws on it for the audiences who can’t read subtitles, we were not happy. I also have read the John Ajvide Lindqvist book, so I am in somewhat a good position to judge this movie.

For those who don’t know the story, it centres on newly named Owen and Abby. Set in the snow covered hills of Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1983; Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) a troubled youth who by night becomes a knife wielding peeping tom but by day is bullied and humiliated by school bully Kenny (Dylan Minnette) on a daily basis. Owen’s only friend is his single fundamentalist Christian mother until a mysterious girl named Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves in next door. After a few rocky moments it only takes a Rubix Cube to begin their deep friendship. However, Abby isn’t all that she seems to be, whilst she acts like a sweet girl there’s something that lies beneath the surface. This brilliant coming of age story is heightened by the horror at which at times can make the true horror fan jump.

Whilst the film is a remake, it is surprisingly interesting. Remakes have a bad name which is only their own faults, and whilst this can’t hold a light to its original counterpart Reeve’s has done a respectable job. The several differences in motivations and character archetypes than Let the Right One In had given the fans of the original enough to come back for seconds. Whilst the film can stand on its own, it is not without its flaws and the biggest one is its script written by Reeves. In true American fashion the pacing never slows down and keeps going on and on, and whilst this doesn’t sound like a bad thing it is a complete change of pace from the first film. The original was slow to show how mundane Oskar’s life is and the progression in time; with Let Me In it feels like this is happening within a week. Reeve has also fiddled about with all of the character’s names, which is strange to say the least. But the most disturbing change is the fact that two characters now wear masks which is a surprising turn which attempts to make the film something of a slasher movie. One of them looks like Leather Face which the other looks like a bin man with a rubbish bag over his face.

Whilst some characters roles have been dramatically diluted, for example the character of Virginia (Sasha Barrese), other characters have stolen scenes in a fairly convoluted what, i.e. the detective (Elias Koteas). Whilst some may see this as a bad thing, it is more apparent that Reeve’s wanted to focus on the relationship of seemingly innocent Owen and Abby.

Then you come to the awkward acting. Surprisingly Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz do a somewhat disappointing portrayal of the two lead characters as they try to mimic the relationship of Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson’s Oskar and Eli. This leaves their relationship stale and forced and is a problem in some scenes. Then there is Richard Jenkins who is a normally a capable actor, however is questionable when playing Hakan, now simply named the ‘Father’, who ambles around the film swearing and being a moody old man who we do not sympathies with.

Produced by the revitalised studios Hammer Films who are known for such vampire classics as Brides of Dracula, Dracula AD 1972 and Vampire Circus this is by no means a flop. The Cloverfield director has made an artistic and interesting view on the book which will not disappointing any true vampire fans. Abby can proudly stand among the likes of Christopher Lee’s Dracula. This incarnation of adaption is also far more explicit and will please those who have a strong blood lust. I recommend buying Tomas Alfredson’s original Let the Right One In, however Let Me In is not such a disgrace, and is probably one of the better films emerging around Halloween.

Anticipation - 2

Enjoyment - 3
Retrospect - 3

The Social Network: My Thoughts

So I just got out of the screening of The Social Network, David Fincher’s latest endeavours and rather then doing a review I will just put down my thoughts about the movie and let people decide whether they want to see it or not.

To begin with the movie is going to have a hard time selling it self and will forever be known as ‘The Facebook Movie’. What people don’t actually realise is that it isn’t about someone carelessly clicking Like on their friends latest Facebook comment but rather about the legal battles Mark Zuckerberg went through in the past decade. With the West Wing’s script writer Aaron Sorkin with director David Fincher behind it The Social Network is exactly what Roger Ebert said:

“It [The Social Network] hurtles through two hours of spellbinding dialogue. It makes an untellable story clear and fascinating. It is said to be impossible to make a movie about a writer, because how can you show him only writing? It must also be impossible to make a movie about a computer programmer, because what is programming but writing in a language few people in the audience know? Yet Fincher and his writer, Aaron Sorkin, are able to explain the Facebook phenomenon in terms we can immediately understand, which is the reason 500 million of us have signed up.”

The acting in it is excellent, Jesse Eisenberg has established himself and with this movie catalogue however he seems to completely embody Mark Zuckerberg as a character. Andrew Garfield has really grown from the Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus and only good things can come form the new Spiderman and then there is Justin Timberlake whose track record of movies haven’t been great until now. But even the minor characters grab the audience whilst making them laugh or emotional. Although it is too early for Oscar nods, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these three is nominated and it would be rightly so.

I really enjoyed The Social Network. Only an hour ago did I emerge form the cinema but already I’m planning on a second visit. The quick dialog and snappy characters make the lengthy film time go flashing by. We are the Facebook generation, and this movie captures it’s creation in an captivatingly way.

The Latest Films and NFB News

As many of you know I have recently run off to university so haven’t had time to think about blogging anything. I have settled in so I plan on doing some proper blogs. First of all I have an Unlimited Card at Cineworld so have been taking full advantage of that. So this will be a quick blog/review for the movies I have seen over the few weeks.

Also coming up I am heading to Leicester Square to go the BFI’s festival screening of Cloverfield director Matt Reeves’ remake of the brilliant Swedish vampire tale Let the Right One In (review here) names Let Me In. So after I have seen that I will be posting my thoughts on whether Roger Ebert was right.

So movies I have seen recently are as followed-

The Other Guys – it’s terrible, Will Farrel is quickly burning out after the success of genuinely funny Anchorman. Ferrel needs to go back and do something interesting: Stranger Then Fiction.

Salt – Once again a pointless and ludicrous story will naf acting. Salt’s been compared to movies like The Bourn Conspiracy but I feel it’s completely lacking in believability or entertainment.

Back to the Future: part 1 – classic movie worth seeing on the big screen. GO SEE IT.

The Town – If you’ve seen Michael Mann’s Heat, go watch it again because it’s The Town’s lead inspiration (despite it being based on a book) and feels like a children’s dramatisation of the classic heist movie.

Buried – Great underrated movie which reminded me of Hitchcock’s Rope. Don’t believe the terrible reports this is something worth seeing. Just remember the writer and director had to keep it in one very small location. That is talent.

Made In Dagenham – Great movie with Sally Hawkin’s leading. Very empowering to women and at the centre has a great heart.

So that’s it so far, I’m going to a preview screening of The Social Network tonight so that should be worth a blog. And the movie of the week is-

Buried