by Scott Pospishil
Steve Carell is on the radar yet again in a movie that will touch all of your emotions, but, most of all, you WILL laugh. The story starts off showing Dan Burns (Steve Carell),who writes an advice column for his local newspaper, and his hardships when it come to raising his 3 teenage daughters. While heading up to his parents house for a family get together, he meets a woman, Marie (Juliette Binoche), at a book store and they hit it off. When he arrives at his parents house Dan’s brother Mitch (Dane Cook) introduces his girlfriend who is no other than the woman that Dan met in the bookstore. In this situation, however, Dan cannot take his own advice and gets caught up in an entertaining love triangle that includes Mitch and Marie.
This movie seemed as if it was broken down into three parts which actually worked out well. At first, it kind of eases you into the comedy and into Dan's life. I chuckled at some of the jokes in the beginning but nothing too crazy. Next, for the better part of the movie, it was hilarious. I mean one joke or awkward situation after another. This movie had one of the best shower scenes ever (don't get your hopes up its only rated PG-13). By best I mean funniest. The end part of the movie was where most of the drama occurred.
Steve Carell’s character was pure genius. It seemed to me as if he took all of his well known previous rolls and mixed them together. Let’s just say it worked. We definitely see his 40 Year-old Virgin character in his cheesy lines and dancing, his Little Miss Sunshine character in the "he is so depressed he's funny" parts, and we also see the famous Michael Scott character from The Office come out in some of the many awkward moments.
There was not much to dislike about this movie. I guess my one main knock on it was that it was fairly predictable. There were more than a few parts where the real life Dan, meaning Dan Scillieri my fellow critic, and I would call out what was going to happen next and sure enough we were right every time. The other thing that I noticed was the stupidity in some situations. What I mean is that if these were real life situations, no one would get caught in the situations that these characters found themselves in. However, these situations lead to some of the funniest parts of the movie so I can look past them.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the type of movie where you’re going to be memorizing the lines and using them in your everyday life. It was a very solid, smart comedy that will leave you with a good feeling when it’s over. You should definitely bring your significant other to this one; I think this movie will be a big hit with the ladies.
My Grade:: B+
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Dan in Real Life
Rated:: PG-13
Genre:: Romantic Comedy
Starring::
Steve Carell - Dan Burns
Juliette Binoche - Marie
Dane Cook - Mitch Burns
Alison Pill - Jane Burns
Brittany Robertson - Cara Burns
Marlene Lawston - Lilly Burns
Plot::
Dan Burns (Carell) is a single father who dedicates his life to his children, but one day he meets Marie (Binoche) at a bookstore. They get to know each other, but then Dan finds out that Marie is actually dating his brother, Mitch Burns (Cook).
Dan In Real Life
Dan Scillieri
Personal Grade: "B"
Scott and I decided to see this romantic comedy movie to add a bit more substance to our website. Trying to move away from just horror movies we took a few friends to go see Dan In Real Life starring the always funny Steve Carell. This being the first movie we decided to see after the launch of our Talking In Movies website, it is kind of a landmark event. So here is my review, I hope you enjoy and please do remember to comment or tell us another movie we should see and review.
The movie kicks-off with Steve Carell (Dan Burns) as a loving single father with 3 daughters ranging from 17 to 9. He is a newspaper columnist who writes witty and clever replies to his fan letters. People write to him about family problems, issues with work and a variety of other problems but he always provides a motivational response in his article, which is growing in popularity. Dan decides to take his 3 girls on a weekend vacation to his parents house ( Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) where all of his siblings and their families meet for an annual reunion. Dane Cook makes a comical appearance as Dan's brother Mitch, who keeps talking about a new girl in his life who is coming to stay with the family. The first morning at the house, Dan meets a mysterious but charming woman in a local bookstore. Marie (Juliette Binoche) is also in the area to visit a new boyfriend but spends most of the morning laughing and sipping tea with Dan (Steve Carell). Those reading this can probably piece 2 & 2 together and Marie turns out to be Mitch's new girlfriend, much to the dismay of Dan who has already begun falling for her. Over the next few days Dan must struggle with an overwhelming family and a growing love for Marie. These elements make for a great romantic comedy that I recommend, but here are my usual PROS and CONS so you can decide for yourself.
PROS:
Steve Carell may easily be one of the most popular actors of today, from his hilarious roll of Michael Scott on The Office to his ark building role of Evan Baxter in Evan Almighty. He plays a great father of 3 girls who is trying to understand them while being a good father. Each daughter presents an equal challenge that he must juggle, providing the movie with a steady flow of comedy. The best example of this would be Dan's relationship with his middle daughter Cara played by Brittany Robertson. She is a teenager who believes she has found true love at a young age. Like every father would, Dan steps in and would rather lock up his daughter then see her in a relationship with an equally young man. The level of laughs only increases when they make it to the family reunion and Dane Cook is just one member of this large family. That element of family is something everyone can relate to while watching this movie. Several times while in the theater I laughed while saying "that is just like my family". Every member of the family provides their own twist which makes Dan just a bit more miserable. Through out the movie you begin feeling so bad for Dan but those feelings usually come after a good laugh. "oh this poor guy" or " something has got to work out for him" was said on more than 1 occation. The chemisty between Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche is genuine and leaves you with your fingers crossed for a happy ending. The duration of the movie has you laughing and hoping that things work out for Dan who is searching for that missing piece of his life.
CONS:
There were not that many this time, like the previous postings we submitted here on Talking In Movies. One problem I had, that was not really a big deal, was the level of predictability. This is a common thing in romantic comedies, you catch yourself calling out events that are about to happen and hold your hands out moments later when they do. You go into the movie expecting that one terrible thing to happen because in every romantic comedy there is that one catostrophic event that the main character has to go through and eventually fix before the end of the movie. After that major event lead to my only other minor complaint with this movie, the quick ending. I won't spoil it but in my opinion, the movie comes to an abrupt ending which leaves you piecing together the remaining events. The ending still gives you a smile but could of had a bit more meat to it.
Overall, Dan In Real Life is a good romantic comedy that is suitable for a wide range of people. Both younger and older couples are not the only ones who can have a good laugh and a big smile during this movie. It hits so many levels of life that make it a movie you should go see in the theaters and rent when it comes out on DVD.
Personal Grade: "B"
Scott and I decided to see this romantic comedy movie to add a bit more substance to our website. Trying to move away from just horror movies we took a few friends to go see Dan In Real Life starring the always funny Steve Carell. This being the first movie we decided to see after the launch of our Talking In Movies website, it is kind of a landmark event. So here is my review, I hope you enjoy and please do remember to comment or tell us another movie we should see and review.
The movie kicks-off with Steve Carell (Dan Burns) as a loving single father with 3 daughters ranging from 17 to 9. He is a newspaper columnist who writes witty and clever replies to his fan letters. People write to him about family problems, issues with work and a variety of other problems but he always provides a motivational response in his article, which is growing in popularity. Dan decides to take his 3 girls on a weekend vacation to his parents house ( Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) where all of his siblings and their families meet for an annual reunion. Dane Cook makes a comical appearance as Dan's brother Mitch, who keeps talking about a new girl in his life who is coming to stay with the family. The first morning at the house, Dan meets a mysterious but charming woman in a local bookstore. Marie (Juliette Binoche) is also in the area to visit a new boyfriend but spends most of the morning laughing and sipping tea with Dan (Steve Carell). Those reading this can probably piece 2 & 2 together and Marie turns out to be Mitch's new girlfriend, much to the dismay of Dan who has already begun falling for her. Over the next few days Dan must struggle with an overwhelming family and a growing love for Marie. These elements make for a great romantic comedy that I recommend, but here are my usual PROS and CONS so you can decide for yourself.
PROS:
Steve Carell may easily be one of the most popular actors of today, from his hilarious roll of Michael Scott on The Office to his ark building role of Evan Baxter in Evan Almighty. He plays a great father of 3 girls who is trying to understand them while being a good father. Each daughter presents an equal challenge that he must juggle, providing the movie with a steady flow of comedy. The best example of this would be Dan's relationship with his middle daughter Cara played by Brittany Robertson. She is a teenager who believes she has found true love at a young age. Like every father would, Dan steps in and would rather lock up his daughter then see her in a relationship with an equally young man. The level of laughs only increases when they make it to the family reunion and Dane Cook is just one member of this large family. That element of family is something everyone can relate to while watching this movie. Several times while in the theater I laughed while saying "that is just like my family". Every member of the family provides their own twist which makes Dan just a bit more miserable. Through out the movie you begin feeling so bad for Dan but those feelings usually come after a good laugh. "oh this poor guy" or " something has got to work out for him" was said on more than 1 occation. The chemisty between Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche is genuine and leaves you with your fingers crossed for a happy ending. The duration of the movie has you laughing and hoping that things work out for Dan who is searching for that missing piece of his life.
CONS:
There were not that many this time, like the previous postings we submitted here on Talking In Movies. One problem I had, that was not really a big deal, was the level of predictability. This is a common thing in romantic comedies, you catch yourself calling out events that are about to happen and hold your hands out moments later when they do. You go into the movie expecting that one terrible thing to happen because in every romantic comedy there is that one catostrophic event that the main character has to go through and eventually fix before the end of the movie. After that major event lead to my only other minor complaint with this movie, the quick ending. I won't spoil it but in my opinion, the movie comes to an abrupt ending which leaves you piecing together the remaining events. The ending still gives you a smile but could of had a bit more meat to it.
Overall, Dan In Real Life is a good romantic comedy that is suitable for a wide range of people. Both younger and older couples are not the only ones who can have a good laugh and a big smile during this movie. It hits so many levels of life that make it a movie you should go see in the theaters and rent when it comes out on DVD.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Resident Evil 3: exSTINKtion???
Daniel Scillieri
Personal Grade: C-/C
Resident evil....such a great line of video games...such an average, possibly below average Zombie movie series. Mind you, it is a zombie movie, not a film that is going to be up for the best movie of the year award at the next Oscars. Still, there are tons of fans of the Zombie genre of horror films and an equal amount loyal to the hit video game titles (who have long hoped for a movie adaptation of a popular game to be a success) I myself fall into both those categories of fans so I had to go see the movie. Nomadic survivors searching for supplies, fuel and people who escaped the undead makes for a great movie. Their search for a safe haven gives the people hope and a purpose to fight on through a world that is dying a little more each day. As usual here are the Pro's and Con's of the Third and Final installment of the Resident Evil trilogy.
PROS:
Milla Jovovich = HOT. She has been a hottie since her roll as Lelu in the 5th Element (cool movie, possibly a later review). Where can you go wrong with a smoking hot woman rocking post apocolyptic clothes and a whole array of zombie killing weapons. Later on she meets up with a caravan of survivors who also have a few hotties of their own (Ali Larter for one). The zombies are the stereotypical zombies, slow moving with little brain function besides an unending craving for human flesh. They aren't the insanely crazy zombies who can run fast and solve problems like undead in a few recent movies. I mean seriously, that is just unfair. These zombies use suprise and overwhelming numbers to spread so fast and in time destroy the civilized world. As every horror movie should, this film presents a good amount of death and gore that makes every fan of the genre grin from ear to ear. Those loyal to the game should be pleased at a few quality name drops from the hit titles. The world is dying, along with the few remaining survivors, all key essentials for a Zombie thriller. Bad ass characters and great fight sequences will keep your attention for the duration of the film
CONS:
For every good thing in this movie, there was something that made you shake your head in confusion and disappointment. The Umbrella Corp, enormous hives deep underground with supplies that are slowly running out do not seem to be in a rush to save the world from the mess they created. Such amazing technology and they can't figure out any way to do something productive to rid the Earth of undead? All the supposed brilliant minds of their company and only one man is trying to find a cure. All these supposed supplies, technology and man power, they can't find a system to start killing the zombies...i mean they are slow mindless undead, come on now. One of the earlier scenes is the above ground area of an Umbrella hive, the only thing protecting this facility is a small chainlink fence which is surrounded by thousands of zombies with thousands more on the way. I am pretty sure, mindless or not, a thousand zombies craving flesh could push a fence down and get into the facility. The film also has the "survivor stupidity" that happens in almost every zombie movie. One survivor will get bitten somehow but won't tell the others until it is to late, leading to him/her becoming a zombie and attacking fellow survivors. (usually killing at least 1). Another display of "Survivor Stupidity" is that one of the humans will chase after something they shouldn't, like a dog or something they dropped that they ABSOLUTELY DON'T NEED. They run back into the zombie horde and look back with confusion while the undead tear them apart. Finally another example of "Survivor Stupidity", which also happens in most zombie flicks is that one of the survivors will eventually be killed and turned into a zombie and one of the living can't kill them because they love them or won't accept they are undead and gets attacked by that same zombie.
Later on in the movie things just get more and more ridiculous, Milla Jovovich has crazy strong Psychic powers and can make huge fire storms with force fields and a few other insane powers. WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM?? Also from all the experiments on her, she can be shut off as if she was a robot from a Umbrella Satellite orbiting in space. Literally in the middle of the fight the satellite turns her brain off and her body goes into lockdown. But of course her impressive psychic powers fights back and turns her back on....( and shake head in confusion). Another thing that bothered me in the movie was the Umbrella scientists attempts to tame the mindless undead. They try to work these newly fixed zombies in hopes to have them do the small jobs when the living reclaim Earth. Zombie farmers, garbagemen and several other ridiculous jobs came to mind during these scenes. And finally, the ending, *sigh* I won't spoil it to much but the first word that came out of my mouth when the credits appeared was CLIFFHANGER. How does a "third and final" movie leave two amazingly huge cliffhangers. Alice (Milla Jovovich) has a new army and is looking to take on the remaining Umbrella Hives while killing the waves of undead. Claire Redfield ( Hottie Ali Larter) and the remaining survivors escape on a helicopter for a supposed safe zone to the far north but we never know if they make it there. These cliffhangers set up for a 4th movie perfectly, but I thought this was the final movie????
Overall, Resident Evil 3 offers fast paced intense zombie action, those fans of the zombie genre and video game series should find this movie some what entertaining. But even if you try to bear it, the movie leaves you wanting a stronger conclusion, a solid ending to a trilogy of movies. Don't Say the 3rd and final installment and then leave such an open ending. A few minutes of extra ending would have easily made a groovy ending.
Personal Grade: C-/C
Resident evil....such a great line of video games...such an average, possibly below average Zombie movie series. Mind you, it is a zombie movie, not a film that is going to be up for the best movie of the year award at the next Oscars. Still, there are tons of fans of the Zombie genre of horror films and an equal amount loyal to the hit video game titles (who have long hoped for a movie adaptation of a popular game to be a success) I myself fall into both those categories of fans so I had to go see the movie. Nomadic survivors searching for supplies, fuel and people who escaped the undead makes for a great movie. Their search for a safe haven gives the people hope and a purpose to fight on through a world that is dying a little more each day. As usual here are the Pro's and Con's of the Third and Final installment of the Resident Evil trilogy.
PROS:
Milla Jovovich = HOT. She has been a hottie since her roll as Lelu in the 5th Element (cool movie, possibly a later review). Where can you go wrong with a smoking hot woman rocking post apocolyptic clothes and a whole array of zombie killing weapons. Later on she meets up with a caravan of survivors who also have a few hotties of their own (Ali Larter for one). The zombies are the stereotypical zombies, slow moving with little brain function besides an unending craving for human flesh. They aren't the insanely crazy zombies who can run fast and solve problems like undead in a few recent movies. I mean seriously, that is just unfair. These zombies use suprise and overwhelming numbers to spread so fast and in time destroy the civilized world. As every horror movie should, this film presents a good amount of death and gore that makes every fan of the genre grin from ear to ear. Those loyal to the game should be pleased at a few quality name drops from the hit titles. The world is dying, along with the few remaining survivors, all key essentials for a Zombie thriller. Bad ass characters and great fight sequences will keep your attention for the duration of the film
CONS:
For every good thing in this movie, there was something that made you shake your head in confusion and disappointment. The Umbrella Corp, enormous hives deep underground with supplies that are slowly running out do not seem to be in a rush to save the world from the mess they created. Such amazing technology and they can't figure out any way to do something productive to rid the Earth of undead? All the supposed brilliant minds of their company and only one man is trying to find a cure. All these supposed supplies, technology and man power, they can't find a system to start killing the zombies...i mean they are slow mindless undead, come on now. One of the earlier scenes is the above ground area of an Umbrella hive, the only thing protecting this facility is a small chainlink fence which is surrounded by thousands of zombies with thousands more on the way. I am pretty sure, mindless or not, a thousand zombies craving flesh could push a fence down and get into the facility. The film also has the "survivor stupidity" that happens in almost every zombie movie. One survivor will get bitten somehow but won't tell the others until it is to late, leading to him/her becoming a zombie and attacking fellow survivors. (usually killing at least 1). Another display of "Survivor Stupidity" is that one of the humans will chase after something they shouldn't, like a dog or something they dropped that they ABSOLUTELY DON'T NEED. They run back into the zombie horde and look back with confusion while the undead tear them apart. Finally another example of "Survivor Stupidity", which also happens in most zombie flicks is that one of the survivors will eventually be killed and turned into a zombie and one of the living can't kill them because they love them or won't accept they are undead and gets attacked by that same zombie.
Later on in the movie things just get more and more ridiculous, Milla Jovovich has crazy strong Psychic powers and can make huge fire storms with force fields and a few other insane powers. WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM?? Also from all the experiments on her, she can be shut off as if she was a robot from a Umbrella Satellite orbiting in space. Literally in the middle of the fight the satellite turns her brain off and her body goes into lockdown. But of course her impressive psychic powers fights back and turns her back on....( and shake head in confusion). Another thing that bothered me in the movie was the Umbrella scientists attempts to tame the mindless undead. They try to work these newly fixed zombies in hopes to have them do the small jobs when the living reclaim Earth. Zombie farmers, garbagemen and several other ridiculous jobs came to mind during these scenes. And finally, the ending, *sigh* I won't spoil it to much but the first word that came out of my mouth when the credits appeared was CLIFFHANGER. How does a "third and final" movie leave two amazingly huge cliffhangers. Alice (Milla Jovovich) has a new army and is looking to take on the remaining Umbrella Hives while killing the waves of undead. Claire Redfield ( Hottie Ali Larter) and the remaining survivors escape on a helicopter for a supposed safe zone to the far north but we never know if they make it there. These cliffhangers set up for a 4th movie perfectly, but I thought this was the final movie????
Overall, Resident Evil 3 offers fast paced intense zombie action, those fans of the zombie genre and video game series should find this movie some what entertaining. But even if you try to bear it, the movie leaves you wanting a stronger conclusion, a solid ending to a trilogy of movies. Don't Say the 3rd and final installment and then leave such an open ending. A few minutes of extra ending would have easily made a groovy ending.
Resident Evil 3: Extinction
Rated:: R
Genre:: Action/Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Starring::
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Oded Fehr - Carlos Olivera
Ali Larter - Claire Redfield
Iain Glenn - Dr. Isaacs
Ashanti - Betty
Plot::
Years after the Raccoon City disaster, Alice is on her own; aware that she has become a liability and could endanger those around her, she is struggling to survive and bring down the Umbrella Corporation led by the sinister Albert Wesker and head researcher Dr. Isaacs. Meanwhile, traveling through the Nevada Desert and the ruins of Las Vegas, Carlos Olivera, L.J., and new survivors K-Mart, Claire Redfield, and Nurse Betty must fight to survive extinction against hordes of zombies, killer crows and the most terrifying creatures created as a result of the deadly T-Virus that has killed millions.
30 Days of Night
Rated:: R
Genre:: Horror/Thriller
Starring::
Josh Hartnett - Eben Oleson
Melissa George - Stella Oleson
Danny Huston - Marlow
Ben Foster - The Stranger
Mark Boone Junior - Beau Brower
Plot::
This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.
30 Days of Vampires Standing Around In The Cold
by Daniel Scillieri
Personal Grade: C / C-
My partner in crime said it best in the previous posting. The concept is a classic horror story, Gang of bloodsuckers attacking a no name town where the remaining survivors fight to stay alive. BUT in my opinion the movie came up lacking in several areas. A few too many times were we sitting in the theater quietly shouting "WHAT" or "WORST MOVE EVER" and the occational "really?...really vampires?".
The Pros:
Its a cool story, vampires are a trademark to scary movies and 30 days of no sunlight (the #1 killer of suckheads) makes for one tough survival experience. The film has the classic horror sequences that make any movie give you chills, the infamous dragging of a screaming victim into a dark hole or the always popular sudden shadowy figure darting infront of the camera. The movie also provides a very good amount of the bloody gore that makes anyone cringe. When the Vamps hit the town, they hit it hard with great camera work. One scene shows an over-head view of blood soaked snow with terrified people screaming through the streets only to get taken down and eaten. Josh Hartnett plays a pretty good hero while saving those who he loves against overwhelming odds, even a few times during the movie he can work the pissed off badass.
The Cons:
Oh man, where to begin...This movie is ripe with a little thing I like to call "survivor stupidity". The first problem would have to be the amount of time left out or just plain skipped in the movie. The vampires get to the town and kill almost all of the humans in what seems a hour at most. Suddenly, after the initial chaos, it is Day 7 and the survivors are struggling to stay alive. 7 days, and entire week...what were they and the blood thirsty vampires doing the whole time? Having bloody snowball fights or making snow deamons? Staying on the topic of vampires...how come only the lead vampire spoke in some strange language, while the others just screeched and screamed like birds of prey. When he did speak in his strange tongue it was very philosophical phrases which made you think a bit to much while reading the subtitles. Back to the strange time changes, the survivors did not seem to change as the sunless days carried on, they didnt get skinnier or grow facial hair. They appeared to remain the same as if it were the same day the vampires attacked. One big thing that my friend and I called out several times was the ridiculous attempts at the love story between Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. (Survivor Stupidity at its finest) Dozens of vampires around and they try and find time to sort out there problems and rekindle a lost love. Just not the thing i would have on my mind when death is around ever corner. There are a few more kinks in the machine that I could write about but I dont want to bash it to much.
Finally, My friend and I agree that 30 Days of Night earned itself a "C" for having a groovy concept but left a few things up in the air and definitely several things making you scratch your head. Perhaps this is a movie to wait until it is available in your local blockbuster.
Personal Grade: C / C-
My partner in crime said it best in the previous posting. The concept is a classic horror story, Gang of bloodsuckers attacking a no name town where the remaining survivors fight to stay alive. BUT in my opinion the movie came up lacking in several areas. A few too many times were we sitting in the theater quietly shouting "WHAT" or "WORST MOVE EVER" and the occational "really?...really vampires?".
The Pros:
Its a cool story, vampires are a trademark to scary movies and 30 days of no sunlight (the #1 killer of suckheads) makes for one tough survival experience. The film has the classic horror sequences that make any movie give you chills, the infamous dragging of a screaming victim into a dark hole or the always popular sudden shadowy figure darting infront of the camera. The movie also provides a very good amount of the bloody gore that makes anyone cringe. When the Vamps hit the town, they hit it hard with great camera work. One scene shows an over-head view of blood soaked snow with terrified people screaming through the streets only to get taken down and eaten. Josh Hartnett plays a pretty good hero while saving those who he loves against overwhelming odds, even a few times during the movie he can work the pissed off badass.
The Cons:
Oh man, where to begin...This movie is ripe with a little thing I like to call "survivor stupidity". The first problem would have to be the amount of time left out or just plain skipped in the movie. The vampires get to the town and kill almost all of the humans in what seems a hour at most. Suddenly, after the initial chaos, it is Day 7 and the survivors are struggling to stay alive. 7 days, and entire week...what were they and the blood thirsty vampires doing the whole time? Having bloody snowball fights or making snow deamons? Staying on the topic of vampires...how come only the lead vampire spoke in some strange language, while the others just screeched and screamed like birds of prey. When he did speak in his strange tongue it was very philosophical phrases which made you think a bit to much while reading the subtitles. Back to the strange time changes, the survivors did not seem to change as the sunless days carried on, they didnt get skinnier or grow facial hair. They appeared to remain the same as if it were the same day the vampires attacked. One big thing that my friend and I called out several times was the ridiculous attempts at the love story between Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. (Survivor Stupidity at its finest) Dozens of vampires around and they try and find time to sort out there problems and rekindle a lost love. Just not the thing i would have on my mind when death is around ever corner. There are a few more kinks in the machine that I could write about but I dont want to bash it to much.
Finally, My friend and I agree that 30 Days of Night earned itself a "C" for having a groovy concept but left a few things up in the air and definitely several things making you scratch your head. Perhaps this is a movie to wait until it is available in your local blockbuster.
30 Days of Vampires Doing Nothing
by Scott Pospishil
Super fast, Super strong, Super senses.... No, I am not describing Superman, I'm describing the ridiculous lot of 40+ vampires that couldn't catch 7 mere mortals over 30 days...
I will give you some good things about this movie: the vampires were pretty cool (despite their ridiculously loud screeching noises and their philosphical ways), it was a cool concept, and I did jump a few times. However, overall, the stupid moves by the humans and the convienient absence of the vampires super powers at just the right time made this a "wait for the dvd" movie...
Now, I have never read the graphic novel that the movie was based on but I just want to point out a few head scratchers that came to mind during this movie. First, the vampires came to this town via a ship. Vampires living on a ship... What's the deal with that? What do they do for food the rest of the year? Alright, now to the meat of the movie. There are 2 points in this movie where all of a sudden a week or two goes by just like that, one time where the survivors were huddled in an attic for the time. A.) What the hell were the vampires doing for these periods of time? I personally think that they had a couple hardcore poker games going on and the rest of the time they were busy making snow angels and B.) Why is it that when they go back to the characters, they havent changed one bit besides a little more facial hair? Sure they look like they have been away for a month but im pretty sure they were acting the same way from the start of this movie to the end. If I was stuck in an attic for 2 weeks I'm pretty sure I would get a little cranky or something. There were many more little things to pick at during this movie but the last issue I had was the forced romance between the two main characters. Seriously they picked the worst times to start telling each other how they feel. Stella Oleson (Melissa George) is trapped underneath a truck with vampires walking all around her and husband, or ex-husband, they dont make it too clear, Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) is talking to her through a walkie talkie, which can get loud (and remember these vampires have super senses). Anyway, they start to have a conversation about their relationship... REALLY? What about all that free time you had while the vampires were busy playing halo 3 during the weeks in between the movie? This I cannot understand...
Overall, the movie was bearable. I did enjoy watching the vampires do their buisness throughout the town(killing mass amounts of people). Also, like I said I did jump a few times which always makes the movie experience a little better. I gave this movie a C... but I wouldnt waste your $10...
My Grade: C
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