I haven't liked a film this much in a long, long time. Let the Right One In
is downright beautiful in every frame. The setting, the actors (kids!), the mood...all perfect. It's the tale of young Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a 12-year-old who's bullied at school, seems neglected at home, and passes his time with a Rubik's Cube. When Eli (Lina Leandersson) arrives with her caretaker, Oskar finally finds someone he can relate to, another outsider. As you've seen, or will soon see, in the trailer, Eli is a vampire. She emboldens Oskar to fight back against his tormentors with a rousing pep talk, while her (Renfield-ish) caretaker grows increasingly sloppy in procuring the blood she needs and the body count in the sleepy, snow-covered town rises. In a film full of standout scenes, a scene near the end at the swimming pool made this seen-it-all viewer's jaw drop. I couldn't imagine ruining any of the film's other surprises for anyone, so I'll leave it at that.
Adapting from his own novel (which I immediately ordered) John Ajvide Lindqvist gives director Tomas Alfredson room to let the scenes come to life and, well, breathe - to say your patience is rewarded would be a HUGE understatement. Both men did a fantastic job bringing this one to the screen, so it only stands to reason that someone in Hollywood already plans to ruin it. There's a sweet little petition HERE that probably won't do any good, but is a nice idea anyway. There are only a few signatures so far - certainly not enough to make JJ Abrams peer over his piles of money and take notice. Ah, well...I'm in a such a good mood after this one that I'm not about to let even the smallest germ of negativity spread here. In what turned out to be a great year for "foreign" horror films, not to mention a pretty decent one for U.S. horror (more on that next time), Let the Right One In trumps them all.
Trailer:
August? Really? I mean, I know I'm lazy, but...August? I wonder how long you have to go without posting to have your blog shuttered by Orble (actually, I'm sure that's easy to find out, as most things here are).
Anyway, I guess I should have an excuse...in fact, I could come up with several, but who cares, really? There's a fat stack of movies blocking the screening room doors, so lets get to 'em. The Midnight Meat Train
To say that I'd been looking forward to this one would be putting it very mildly. Everything I'd read and every clip I'd seen pointed to this being the best thing to happen to Clive Barker's work on screen since...well, since Nightbreed, or maybe even the original Hellraiser (not to totally dismiss Lord of Illusions, but, well...). Barker himself seemed right on board, too (more on that later).
And the verdict is...it's pretty goddamned good.
Bloody as hell, dark as...Midnight. Meat Train
tells the tale of a big city photographer who's trying to add some edge to his work and comes upon a murderer who uses the subway system as his stomping (and smashing) ground. What on earth is that crazy butcher up to? If you're a fan of Barker's original story from his Books of Blood, you'll be happy to know that the film sticks closely to its source, especially in tone. The filmmakers aren't afraid to slam on the breaks either - slowing the momentum down at crucial moments that would kill a lesser film, but really it feels as though you're the fish on their line, and they let it out a little only to jerk you back in, violently. And the violence, whoo-boy...there are some seriously intense moments here. Unfortunately, my major problem with The Midnight Meat Train lies with its CG effects. No, the film doesn't rely solely on them, but when they're there, and they don't work, you sure do notice them.
Bradley Cooper ("Sack" from Wedding Crashers) capably plays the photographer, Leon, as both witness to and complicit in the subway atrocities committed by Mahogany (Vinnie Jones - and a fine f-ing Vinnie Jones role it is). I've never really been on the Leslie Bibb bandwagon, but it seems she's not going away, and here she's Leon's lady, Maya, and, for what it's worth, it's probably her best role since Popular.
I didn't really enjoy director Ryuhei Kitamura's Versus as much as I wanted to, either, but I like his style as applied to this particular story. Midnight Meat Train is definitely worth checking out for any fan of the genre, but personally, I was a little letdown. If nothing else, it deserved its shot in theatres, and, as you may have heard, it got unceremoniously dumped in a handful of places in the US. It was even at a local drive-in last week! Good for me, maybe, but bad for Midnight Meat Train...although it plays much better in a more intimate environment.
Here's a clip of Clive Barker introducing the film at Comic-Con, and boy is he pissed about the way it got treated:
YOU!
That's right...I know you only stumbled across this 'cause Laura Ramsey was on Mad Men and you were doing your little google image search for her. The stats even say so! So, since, she's so popular, I'll take a look at one of the two movies of hers that I haven't already mentioned here (this is the home of the Laura Ramsey Appreciation Society, after all).
No, not the RockyHorror "Time Warp". That's for someone else to discuss.
God, it's been so f-ing long since I posted something here...luckily no one really reads it, and the few that may (still) are patient enough with me that they know I'll get around to tit eventually. Did I just type "tit eventually"? I'm gonna leave that one, 'cause it's the funniest spelling error I've made in quite some time.
This time we're taking the screening room back...way back. 1981, here we come for a dose of slasher goodness. Both of these flicks were brought to my attention courtesy of the awesome doc Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, which I'm happy to mention again.
First up, The Burning
What a fun f-ing movie. To some extent, it's very similar to a certain film named for a supposedly unlucky day. Kids go to camp, kids get killed. The slasher in question here is called Cropsy (how goddamned cute is that? no, really, it's scary!) Cropsy was just simple laborer at the camp who got caught in a prank gone horribly wrong (see title). When it's not meandering along in a pleasantly Meatballsian manner, The Burning has its fair share of pretty graphic kills. You know what else it has? George Costanza and a pre-Short Circuit, pre-Michelle Pfeiffer Fisher Stevens pretending to be teenagers. They (and their fellow campers, including Holly Hunter) actually do have some amusing scenes, and the gore effects by Tom Savini are clever and always interesting to watch. The oft-referenced "raft scene" delivers on the hype, too. If you're bored with the current crop of studio horrors, which you surely must be (how 'bout that new Prom Night? how 'bout NOT), The Burning is a good antidote. If you need an antidote for the burning, I can't help you. (7/10) The Prowler
also boasts some neat-o blood work by Mr. Savini. That's the highlight, but that and the overall cheesiness of the proceedings are pretty much enough for me to recommend it for a late, drunken viewing. The film opens with a nicely done flashback to killings that occured at a graduation dance in 1945, an event that scarred the townsfolk so badly that they put off having another one for a whole thirty-five years. And wouldn't you know it, at the 1980 Graduation Dance, kids start getting killed! Bad f-ing luck, right there, no? There may be a few momentum-killing stretches of what I would (generously) call "padding"; but, with a killer clad in WWII army gear, plenty of blood, and kids making plenty of bad decisions, it's hard to go wrong in my book (though not too damn many people have that book). (6/10)
In a face-off, I think Cropsy and The Burning would hand The Prowler his gas mask and send him packing. That's not a bad idea...movie face-offs.
Clever title, no? No. Also, there's probably a bit more cash behind these two than Gutterballs or Knock, Knock
As I continued my slasher movie fiesta, how could I resist one with a puppet? Triloquist
Some filmmakers, like actors/actresses, have a way of making me want to believe in them. To hope for the best, you know? So, it's all my fault, really. Deep down, I knew The Happening would leave me cold (not unlike how I felt going into The Air I Breathe, or Virgin Territory). So when is it time to stop calling someone a promising filmmaker, and start using my/your head when making film-going choices? I made excuses for Lady In the Water (and reviewed it far more kindly than most did), but I can't for this. I wholeheartedly recommend that you do not see this movie.
Can a director return to his former glory? Is the latest installment in a beloved series a cheap cash-in? Or does it stand tall with its predecessors? Why haven't I posted in over a month?
Yes..Maybe...Not really...and, we'll get to that.
Though some of the aforementioned questions could apply to films everyone's seen and talked about...and talked about, the films I'm talking about are two that appeal to a decidedly smaller segment of the population. Unfortunately
This might be the shortest time between posts I've ever had, but it's hard to keep this one to myself 'til next week.
After all, it's not every week I see a movie about a vagina with Teeth (7/10)
I didn't mean to have the focus on the French this week, I swear! It just kinda came together that I was able to see these three buzzed-about fear flicks this past week. And yes, I liked them all better than High Tension (or at least I thought they all had better endings). Frontiere(s) (7/10)
First things first: I lied last week. It was pretty silly of me to predict that there wouldn't be a horror movie this week. But there are two non-horror flicks.
You won't be disappointed...especially if you set your sights low. As in "mooning" low. Mr. Alexander is also pretty funny as the purveyor of dirty mags to the spank-happy campers in The Burning.
I think the DVD is probably a better bet exactly for the reason you stated, but maybe the book goes into even greater detail. I'll have to pick that up.
I do read your page...it seems you're always seeing the films I'm about to or the other way 'round.
Hi John,
I did read your Michael Clayton review and couldn't agree more with the "anti-John Grisham adaptation" observation. Hopefully more people will discover this gem on dvd.
Hope you get a chance to take in The Darjeeling Limited soon!
Glad I'm not alone on Rambo, Kylie. It struck an action flick cord in me that has been dormant for quite some time. If you get a chance, by all means give Michael Clayton a look. I was surprised to find myself actually wanting to pay attention, if that makes any sense.
Thank you all for the comments!
It's definitely better than Captivity, but it's a very different style of film. In addition to being dull, Captivity was pretty silly, and of the many things that could be said about The Girl Next Door, silly isn't one that pops to mind.
Thanks for the comments!
Good to hear, Harry. Despite a bit of trouble towards the end, I thought it was a solid film. When Sunshine finds its way to your dvd player, let me know what you think!
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