What can I say? I like monster movies! I like films with evil, scary things going bump in the night. I like films that cause girls to grab me, terrified, in the darkness. So let me start by saying the new vampire film 30 Days of Night delivers those things in spades. Sure, it has some problems, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do, and today, I find that a rare thing indeed.
The plot, based on the Dark Horse graphic novel by Ben Templesmith and Steve Niles (who also co-wrote the screenplay), offers a wonderfully original concept and one which should have been thought of years ago. The vampires attack the far northern town of Barrow, Alaska, well above the Arctic Circle, where when the sun goes down for winter, it stays down for a full month. This gives the monsters plenty of time to hunt down their prey. And hunt they do. In the first few days these vampires, led by the beautifully dark-eyed Marlow (Danny Huston), take out most of the town, leaving only a handful of survivors. And, because they can, they do it in full view of God and the camera. Continue reading “Revoew: 30 Days of Night”
Do not go into The Kingdom expecting to come out with a Hollywood version of how the US involvement in Saudi Arabia should end. Peter Berg’s new film is full of hard questions and not so easy answers and sheds a little light into the dark corner that is our understanding of what’s happening in the Middle East. At least, that’s what they want you to think.
To paraphrase an old car commercial: This ain’t your father’s Halloween. No indeed. Where John Carpenter’s 1978 film was a modern fairy-tale about the dangers of pre-marital sex, Rob Zombie’s version eliminates the moralizing over-tones and brings in a back story which tries to define, once and for all, how an American psychopath is made.
Once upon a time, there was a film that encapsulated the idea of the modern fairy tale in a perfect 130 minute package. That film went by the title of Stardust and it has everything a fantasy film could want… there’s an evil witch, a scheming prince (or four), a fallen star, a quest for love, and hidden lineage which leads to great things – and Robert De Niro as a blood-thirsty air-pirate named Shakespeare!
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 