Let Me In Review

Let Me In features two of the strongest lead performances I can recall which

is all the more surprising giving the leads ages.

Let Me In is an adaptation of both the novel and screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvistof's Let The Right One In, and is both written and directed by Matt Reeves who’s most notable previous work was Cloverfield and has since directed the fantastic Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Whilst I am no fan of Twilight, its advent has allowed for a number of vampire films that I find myself to have thoroughly enjoyed such as Only Lovers Left Alive and Byzantium. All of which are films that seemingly where only made possible by the extraordinary success the Twilight films achieved in spite of their own qualities. So is Let Me In another triumph or does it suffer the same fate as a lesser quality vampire film.

Let Me in is a film about the difficulties of adolescence and follows the young boy Owen who is relentlessly bullied at school and has not real support from home where his parents who are divorced are to busy with other matters to even notice the issues Owen is facing, let alone help him with them. Which is where Abby comes in, having recently moved into the same apartment complex as Owen she senses his loneliness and for 'questionable' reasons decides to befriend Owen. This is where Let Me In quickly differentiates itself from other films as it develops into what is a far more complex narrative then we usually see in genre films such as this as characters both young and old are well realized and have numerous reasons for their actions. At its core however Let Me In remains a film about isolation, adolescence and love.

Let Me In is one of the darkest films in recent memory and will test

even the best of displays.

Performances are simply sublime and the two child leads give far better performances then the overwhelming majority of films and are amongst the best performances I have seen let alone those by children/teenagers. The supporting cast for the most part has less to work with but are similarly impressive and the whole film is cloaked in darkness that whilst gorgeous will test even the best of displays to faithfully replicate the intended appearance. As expected from Michael Giacchino the score is similarly ominous with bursts of beauty that superbly enhances the film without becoming overwhelming or aggressive.

The main issue I expected I may have is that the film is strikingly similar to the Swedish film Let The Right One In, which whilst not entirely unexpected given that they are not only both based on the same source material but Let Me In is also based on the screenplay for the Swedish film, it was still worrisome given the .poor track record of American remakes of foreign films. At a cursory glance those familiar with Let The Right One In will find numerous shoots in the trailers for Let Me In that closely resemble one another and as one may expect the stories in both films are strikingly similar. However whilst there are certainly elements that closely resemble on another the two films are notably different. Most notably is the characters growth throughout the film being different to those in the original film and book. Likewise unlike the 'original' film, Let Me In remains aggressive and horrific throughout its entire proceedings (which ties in nicely with the leads perception of violence as the film progresses).

At it's core Let Me In is a film about isolation, the terrors of adolescence and love. Put simply Let Me In should not be missed and comes with my highest recommendation.

Carrie (2013) Review

The 2013 version of Carrie comes from director Kimberly Pierce and is an interesting hybrid of a remake of the 76 film Carrie by Brian De Palma and the original source material by Stephen King. Those hoping for an entirely faithful adaptation of the Stephen King novel will no doubt be disappointed. However those willing to accept the new film utilising some elements of the 76 film and combining them in a unique manner with the source material will find what is a terrific hybrid of both an adaptation of the Stephen King novel and remake of the 76 Brian De Palma film.

Carrie is a shy young girl in her final year of high school and is continually and mercilessly bullied. Her mother Margaret is a crazed religious fanatic who is similarly abusive albeit in a different manner to how those at school treat Carrie. Carrie however still loves her 'momma' and doesn't embrace how she is treat and as the film moves forward goes from a loner to one who begins to seek social acceptance. During a particularly egregious incident where Carrie is being bullied one of Carrie's classmates Sue has a change of heart and begins to try and make amends for her actions. The result of this incident is that Chris (one of the instigators of the bullying) has her right to the upcoming prom revoked when she refuses to accept her punishment for her actions. Chris is unable to accept any responsibility for her actions and seemingly unable to understand that she had even wronged Carrie. Conversely Sue ultimately sacrifices going to the prom and convinces her boyfriend Tommy to ask Carrie.

Both Chris and Sue are given ample time to develop as characters and their motivations and reasons for their motivations are fleshed out (which where unfortunately lacking in the flawed but superb Brian De Palma film). This is of particular importance as up until the prom the title character Carrie is the subject of others actions with both Sue and Chris decisions and actions being what moves the story forward. Characterisation also differs from both the source material and original film when it comes to the character of Margaret who is shown as a highly disturbed yet still loving mother. Numerous of the secondary characters are also given more room to develop which affords actual characterisation as opposed to the caricatures they where presented as in the 76 film.

The seemingly small changes from the 76 and 2013 film along with the more obvious changes permeate the entirety of the 2013 film and not only change the tone of the film considerably but also allows for unique twists on scenes which often utilise the structure of the 76 film but combined with elements from the novel. The most obvious example of this comes towards the finale, but suffice to say whilst not all will be happy with the changes made, their is ample differentiation for the 2013 film to stand alone from both the 76 film and novel.

Much like the novel one of the greatest strength of Carrie is in its depth achieved, which thankfully in the film is presented in a non overt manner. Reasons behind characters actions are well thought out and their is simply something horrifying in how enjoyable it is to watch some of the later horrors in the film as opposed to the earlier horrors.

As a fan of the Stephen Kings novel and Brian De Palma film, Carrie was one of my most anticipated films of 2013. This was especially the case with the Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Pierce at the helm. With that said it is impossible to not be disappointed by the lack of several elements from the novel that the initial teaser trailer strongly hinted at. This however is an unfair criticism of the film itself which has a different focus to what the initial teaser hinted at. The film itself is successfully able to differentiate itself from prior versions of the story and is a gut retching, haunting, horrific experience that comes with my highest recommendation.

Note: I would strongly urge people unfamiliar with the story to not watch the theatrical trailer for this film as it gives far to much away about the film (the trailer for the 76 film also had the same issue present) and seem to be deigned for those who are already familiar with the novel and 76 film.

Movie 43 Review

“A Very Bad Mistake”, that is one of the tag lines for the film Movie 43. I don't think anyone who is so unfortunate as to view this film will disagree. Movie 43 is potentially the worst film I have seen and should be avoided at all costs. None the less the rest of the review can of course be found below.

It seems that once every year or so a film that features an extensive and well regarded cast is released (usually a romantic comedy and films like New Years Eve and Valentines Day). In spite of the wealth of talent available, such films usually end of being rather bad. Movie 43 is the latest such film and stars a wealth of both well regarded and upcoming actors and actresses including Kate Winslett, Dennis Quaid, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Naomi Watts, Gerard Butler, Kristen Bell, Chloë Grace Moretz, Liev Schreiber and many more. It may seem odd that I have listed so many of the cast but the list is simply astonishingly big, but more puzzling is why any of them, let alone all of them decided it was a good idea to star in this unfunny, boring film with no redeeming qualities.

Movie 43 isn't much of a movie rather it is a series of poorly conceived skits that have little to no connection to one another. Whilst this is something that would be more at place on television I wouldn't say that it in of itself is necessarily a bad thing (though I am far from found of the idea). With that being said none of the skits are even mildly entertaining and the attempts at humor throughout often rely on meek attempts to shock or offend the viewer in a misguided attempt to presumably be outrageous. Nothing present is even mildly entertaining, none of the punchlines work and no moment is anything but a dreary movement towards the end of the film. In fact I would say that it is impressive that any video and audio presentation can be as painful and boring as Movie 43 is to watch, let alone one with so much talent present.

I have seen several thousand films and never did I think I would watch a film that made me wish I was enjoying something as dreadful as Batman and Robin or similar which is something Movie 43 manages to achieve. Which I guess could be considered an impressive feat for masochists. For everyone else it makes Movie 43 a film best avoided. In other words Movie 43 makes some of the worst films one will have had the misfortune of viewing seem notably more pleasant and relatively enjoyable in hindsight (much like having one limb cut of by a sharp blade is relatively enjoyable in comparison to all your limbs being cut of by a blunt tool).

In the very rare chance that it isn't obvious I wish to state as plainly and simply as possible, Movie 43 may be the worst film I have and hopefully ever will have the misfortune of viewing. I wouldn't recommend just staying far away, I would recommend fleeing and never looking back.

Note: For anyone wondering if Movie 43 could potentially fall into the so bad its good territory. It simply doesn't.

Most Anticipated Releases for the Remainder of 2013

As we move out of the  winter (or summer depending on where you live) blockbuster period and towards the award and Christmas movie release schedule the quality of recent releases can become rather heterogeneous. It is a time of year where we often find some hidden gems or films with niche audiences released (like the recently released Riddick). Sadly it is also a time when studios often release films that are expected duds in terms of quality presumably to try and take what advantage they can of what tends to be a less competitive release schedule. Despite this their are several film releases I am anticipating. Below are my most anticipated titles for the remainder of 2013.


The Counselor

My main interest for The Counselor comes from the involvement of Ridley Scott who is of course directing and Michael Fassbender (who was easily the highlight of Ridley Scoots most recently released film Prometheus). I do have some concerns and reservations regarding this film which I justify based on some of the issues present in Ridely Scott's most recently released film Prometheus. In spite of these concerns I cannot wait to see how The Counselor turns out. I however am disappointed that both Ridely Scott and Martin Scorsese have seemingly abandoned 3d despite numerous comments both have made and of course as both Prometheus and Hugo are simply breathtaking in 3d.



The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

No doubt an obvious choice and one that needs little explanation, afterall how many times can one here and read that it looks to be a fun filled fantasy adventure film. Admittedly The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was a colossal disappointment and its trailers (especially the teaser) where even more tantalizing then what we have seen for The Desolation of Smaug (which looks as if it could also contain more fan service then I would like). None the less the prospect of seeing the next chapter still has me excited. It also helps that it has been shoot at 48fps (often refereed to as HFR) as apposed to the traditional 24fps which provides for a much smoother image and an experience that currently cannot be experienced at home. Furthermore it also stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and The Necromancer (both of which briefly appeared in An Unexpected Journey) and who doesn't want to see that?



Carrie

Carrie is easily my most anticipated film for the remainder of 2013. I am far from a large horror fan and remakes are something I am usually not all that fond of as they are notorious for adding little that the original didn't already cover and are far to often simply terrible films (this is especially true when it comes to remakes of horror films). However in this case I have not seen the original film and some excellent 'remakes' such as Let Me In and The Girl With T he Dragon Tattoo coupled with some excellent trailers has me thrilled to see how Carrie turns out. Hopefully it is not only a good film but provides a new twist on the source material so that it can stand on its on and not be viewed as simply a remake of a much better film (as Let Me In was able to achieve which also starred Chloë Grace Moretz).

Kick-Ass 2 Review

The first Kick-Ass film was released in 2010 and to my surprise was not only slickly directed, funny and full of unique and engaging action along with fun and interesting characters but has also since become my favorite film based on a comic book (and one of my favorite films period). Three years have since passed and the director from the first Kick Ass (Matthew Vaughn) and the screenplay writers (Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn) have been replaced by Jeff Wadlow who was in charge of both the script and for directing Kick Ass 2. Sadly whilst some parts of Kick Ass 2 prove to be a welcome continuation of the first film, other moments simply fell of out place and are at times poorly done.

As we continue the journey at the start of Kick-Ass 2 Dave has retired from being Kick-Ass and Mindy is skipping school to continue training as Hit Girl. Sure enough Dave gets the urge to become Kick-Ass again and to form a super hero team and thus starts to skip school in favour of being trained by Hit Girl in the hope of becoming a team with her. Oddly though we are left wondering what Davids motivations are to become Kick-Ass again, with the only reasoning given being that he was bored. This in of itself isn't a terrible reason within the scope of this film, but is none the less and area that could have had more attention given to it. This result of Dave training with Mindy is of course Dave getting beaten continuously as he trains and in an obvious but none the less fun homage to the first film shoot by Mindy whilst wearing bullet proof material. This along with the evolving relationship between Dave and Mindy proves to be the films greatest and sadly underutilised asset.

As Mindy and Dave finally appear to be making some progress with the training, the surreal world that Hit Girl inhabited collides with that of the world that Marcus(Mindy's guardian) inhabits. This ultimately results in a Mean Girlsesque scenario whereby Mindy no longer dons the costume or attitude of Hit Girl and attempts to live a normal teen life. This is a point in the film I imagine will be divisive amongst fans, I however found it to be a refreshing change of pace for the character and one that added more depth to an already interesting character. Sadly not all elements in Kick-Ass 2 work as well as this. For instance as this is occurring Chris D'Amico who was Red Mist in the first Kick-Ass becomes 'The Motherfucker' and begins to plan his revenge on Kick-Ass. Unfortunately in this film Chris D'Amico is elevated to being the lead villain but lacks the presence to fell like a genuine threat and has his goons do all the dirty work for him, which leaves the villain nonthreatening at best. For obvious reason this is not ideal and the film had several opportune moments to give The Motherfucker moments that could lead you to genuinely see him as a villain and threat, but the film at each instance attempts to lighten the moment with humour. This humour more often then not is not only out of place and a detriments to what is meant to be the threat in the film but is also profoundly unfunny. Thankfully their is one new inclusion who is simply a joy to watch who comes in the form of Colonel Stars and Stripes played by Jim Carey who Kick-Ass joins along with several other 'super heroes' forming Justice Forever.

The action scenes prove to be rather hit or miss and in general lacked the intensity and originality of the action present in the first film where I found each action scene to feature its own identity and be wildly entertaining. In terms of the action the worst sin present is some middling use of shaky cam. Shaky cam is something that can be used to great effect, but here its only achievement is to disorient and confuse the viewer in a negative manner. This isn't the case for all the action present which makes it all the more confusing that it is present at all and it isn't so prevalent as to ruin any of the action scenes, rather to simply detract from some moments. One highlight of the film and a stupendously fun action scene involves Hit Girl fighting several of 'The Motherfuckers' goons upon a moving van. Sadly despite some spectacular scenes of similar quality to this their is sadly one unforgivably bad scene (more on that soon).

Kick-Ass 2's most egregious of errors is its humor often falls flat, most notable is the humor surrounding the 'new' villain who names himself the Mother Fucker as previously touched on, who comes of as uninspired and as if it assumes it is more amusing then it actually is (it also doesn't help that the Mother Fucker doesn't fell at all threatening throughout the film). Worst of all is Kick-Ass 2 not only uses toilet humor but does so in a way that is anything but funny, which results in easily the worst scene in the film involving stupidly over the top projectile vomit and spectacularly poorly done diarrhea effects. If this wasn't poor enough the film then seems to take such pride in said scene and references it during the climactic battle of the film.

Despite the several faults present the evolving relationships between Mindy and Dave manages to mostly save the film from itself and what it doesn't make up for Jim Carey's brief but scene stealing role as Colonel Stars and Stripes certainly comes close at doing so. Hence whilst I can't say that I wasn't hugely let down by Kick-Ass 2 I am also likely a bigger fan of the first film then most and no doubt had higher hopes and expectations for Kick-Ass 2. Hence whilst Kick-Ass 2 is not as good as the first Kick-Ass it still manages to inject enough quality action, fun characters to come recommended to fans of the original despite some middling use of shaky cam and one truly terrible scene. However if the original didn't wow you as it did me, you may be better of waiting for a rental if not skipping th.

Note: I must mention that whilst the score in Kick-Ass 2 fails to reach the dizzying highs of the first films score, it is none the less more then up to the task and features several well done variations of themes from the first film along with some new well fitting themes.