Let the Right One In

Ok, so I don't watch many foreign flicks, similar to old movies. I just don't get their vibe for whatever reason. Don't know what it is, if it's the pacing or the cinematography. But for whatever reason, I've been searching for good thriller/supernatural/horror movies of late. It's a genre that has many bad movies, so I haven't given it much thought.

But I do know the law of averages and I know some good one's creep through. I've been scanning my review websites, MetaCritic and IMDB, and I've found some interesting ones to watch recently. If you've been paying attention, I've had very favorable reviews for Drag Me to Hell and The Others.

Well I got ambitious one day and I found a movie on Netflix "Watch Instantly." Long story short, it meant I didn't have to put any effort into watching it. Just point an click. It's a vampire movie, a subgenre that I haven't seen many movies in. I saw it got great reviews, 82/100 I think. But I don't put much into that on MetaCritic, because many foreign films get incredibly high reviews because they are based on many less reviews, and the ones that leak through are normally only the positive one's.

It's a movie based on a 12 year-old girl vampire. Well she's not 12, she's been frozen that way for quite awhile. I think the movie is based in Norway, so the scenery is quite drab. But I must admit the movie deserved every great review it received. The subtitles weren't painful at all, because the dialgoue is very simple with most of it coming from kids.

You know, the "Hey what's up? Give me your lunch money," type stuff. So there weren't any punch lines that you don't catch the nuances from because you don't understand the language.

The story is very strong, and the thing is filled with so many haunting but tasteflly done (well, as tasteful as a haunting image can be) images. It's creepy in an extremely gratifying way. A cute relationship develops inbetween the gore with the vampire girl and a human boy.

But like I said before, there are four or five separate scenes (all of them visuals) that will stick in my mind, which I've been able to tell some friends about. And if you've learned anything from my reviews, I really watch movies for great scenes more than anything. An average script, or a slightly slow story, can redeem itself completely with some bad ass visuals or a great liner.

I can pick out many parts of movies that weren't great, but had great moments. But the special one's are always filled with a handful which this movie had. The story is slow in developing, which I did think the pace could be picked up a bit, so that's the only very slight negative. This movie rocked and I'm not giving anything away, but it finishes with one of the most memorable scenes I've ever watched.

Ken's Score: 95
MetaCritic: 82

Rapper's Delight

So I was at work a couple days ago, and I was having a conversation about rap with one of my coworkers. Part of my job requirement is collecting e-mails, and the first person's email I needed to collect began with "teapot." But being in the rap mode I actually typed it "t-pot." The lady was elderly and quite confused. I didn't know how to explain the blunder, so I just said I flaked out and typed it the way it obviously should have been...so based on this error, I decided if I were to have a rapper alter ego, I will be named "T-Pot"...I would love to have some sort of posse, like most famous rappers do, so I am taking applications for two sidekicks which will be name "Short" and "Stout". Let me know if there is any interest.

So I actually came up with my first song, the lyrics anyway. I don't have a beat, maybe "Short" or "Stout" could provide that, but I've supplied the mad rhymes. So read and enjoy.


I like banana's with my seven ten splitz
I'd eat cheese by itself if it wasn't for the Ritz
I eat gritz

It's a southern style far from Eight Mile
But I like Eminem's not by the piece but by the pile
It's just my style

I weigh in at two hundred six
And it's not from nibbling on celery sticks
I eat Twix

I don't want to break the flow
But I make the dough
It's not the type you think
It rises not sinks

But you must add yeast
Don't forget to cook some meats
Then it's time to feast
I drop beets

On the table, cuz I'm not able
To eat that funk
My M.O. is junk

I hope you had some fun
But remember cholesterol's no fun
So I'm done

AKA finished
My belly's pushed the limits
So I need to quit
Cuz it's time to shit...on the real.


OK...so that's that. I think I may have a career opportunity here. I just need Kanye or something, maybe Dr. Dre if I'm desperate to lay the track.

Sorry I had to end on a vulgar note...I need to have an edge, and I need to keep it real...for the homies.

I don't know if I'll ever have another installment from T-Pot or not, I feel I might be more like a one hit wonder. But it was fun anyway.

The Others

My main criticism of the movie Frost/Nixon was the fact that it took too long (in my opinion) to go anywhere. It just seemed like the movie was mainly set up of the characters, with a great 20 minutes at the end. So I liked it in general, but I don't like movies that need to catch up.

The Others is similar in that regard. It takes awhile to develop. I really think I'm just impatient with movies in general, liking to be drawn in from the get go, so it's not necessarily a criticism of the movie. It's actually more of a compliment that I was put off by the beginning, but ended up liking it so much more.

The movie has a twist and that's all I'll really say. For those who've seen it, they get it, and for those who haven't, I like letting people experience it for themselves. But it's not obvious and is truly a surprise. And it works so very well. Everything falls into place, and it's something you go over in your mind to find any holes to it, but I couldn't. It was an extremely satisfying well put together movie that works on so many levels.

Nicole Kidman as the lead seems straight forward, but by the end, you realize the subtle levels to her character that aren't immediately noticeable. I felt she was kind of boring, but her actions and the actions with her children paint a broader picture by the end. The children were quite engaging throughout the movie as well. I didn't feel cheated or mislead by the conclusion. It all fit together nicely.

It just comes down to the simple statement: well structured, well done.



My Score: 80
Metacritic: 74

Bruno

No pictures will be uploaded. Very little effort into this blog. I watched the movie Hostile several years ago. It was a miserable experience for me...a lot of people liked it...I don't know why, but people have different views on things, I obviously have mine. To me Hostile was a series of brutally honest torture scenes held together by a weak script. I'm sorry, but I don't find torture at it's core an honorable human activity, and even less honorable trying to reproduce the experience just because.

Bruno is the same movie, but in a different genre...Cohen simply goes about being as absurd as possible...anal sex joke after anal sex joke. Swinger parties...whatever. Bruno is nothing more than a series of exploitation skits that you could get the same result just by browsing porn on the internet...it's mindless...easy to do, extremely easy...simply think something as absurd as possible, shoot it, then do it over and over and over for 90 minutes...it's a shame. Any portion of this could give you a laugh in installments of a minute segment, and that's it...but being repetitive it just wore me down worse than a marathon would be. And should be a mockery and an embarrassment to any homosexual out there.

And in this installment, it is completely obvious that none of the skits are real...at least in Borat it seemed like he was really "fooling" people...everyone was acting. I refuse to see another Cohen movie. People always mention that he "pushes" boundaries. I don't consider pushing boundaries being able to fit a wine bottle up your ass...

My Score: 0
Metacritic: 54

People have different views on things. Long story short, I like to laugh. I don't like to feel ashamed for the human race. I would give it a negative...but a zero means unwatchable. Fair enough.

Death Race in YO FACE

OK, so the title of this blog is absurd. But it's fitting. The movie is over-the-top, plus adrenaline, times testosterone. But it's actually held together well enough for me to say, "Hey, that was actually pretty fun." The story is far-fetched, but makes enough sense to pull you in. Make you curious.

Jason Statham makes a lot of movies playing the same character in about every one. The only reason I'm not tired of him is because I usually don't watch his movies, so I haven't seen much. His big break was in Snatch, by Guy Ritchie. To be honest, he is exactly the type of guy needed for this movie. He does a fabulous job of making a completely implausible movie just plausible enough to watch. He believes in the role, you can tell, and he puts forth a solid effort.

It's fun, fast, and the car, or should I say, land tank, races are pretty well done. There's three separate races, and all of them are different enough to keep things interesting, even though it's all on the same track. It really is like watching your friend playing a video game that he's really good at. You can just sit back and enjoy without having to learn the thing yourself. The ending isn't obvious, it keeps you interested, and the stunts are done full scale, with very little CGI (which I learned through the special features on my Blu-ray).

This is "fun". Nothing more, nothing less. There are no hidden meanings. It's ok to watch movies like that. I actually don't like these types that much, but either it hit me when I was in a good mood, but really, I think it was done just right.

My Score: 75
Metacritic: 43

Understandably not well received. But several good critics thought the same thing I did. I'm not really that far outside of the box on this one.

Drag Me to Hell

Ok, so horror movies have never been my favorite, but there has always been some strange part of me that is willing to let go of my fears and give them a shot, once in awhile. But considering it's not a favorite genre of mine, it's extremely difficult to find a good one to watch. Most horror movies don't get good reviews because they just aren't good movies. They go for shock appeal. A lot of times with very little story. And they are by far the majority of B-Movies. So when I saw startling high reviews for the perfectly named, "Drag Me to Hell." An immediate excitment was formed. I didn't know what to expect, except that the movies were directed by Sam Raimi, the director of the Evil Dead movies from the eighties. Which of course were B-movies with a low budget, but they had a strange quirky appeal.

Well the ratings for Drag were spot on. Once Raimi directed the Spiderman movies, the studios obviously didn't mind throwing millions into a project he believed in. So this is Raimi's high budget version of the Evil Dead. There are many frightening, suspensful, moments in the movie where Raimi uses the standard tricks to perfection: dead silence to thunderous noise, shadows creeping, terrifying nightmares, seances, you name it. But what's missing from a lot of horror movies is humor. Many of them take themselves too seriously. This couldn't be further from the truth for Drag.

He makes it fun enough, so when there is a look away moment for some gross scene, say, I don't know, when embalming fluid pours out of a deceased women's mouth onto the face of the unfortunate victim, it's a look away moment with a smile. You hide your eyes in your hands, but look up just enough to find it hilarious. I've never had so much fun watching a horror movie. The story is solid, the acting strong, and it was a complete joy to watch. And I have to admit, I looked away more times than a man should. But whatever.

And by the way, anytime a horror movie can include a talking goat it gets an extra half star in my book.

Ken's Score: 90
Metacritic: 83

Reviewers found the movie just as fun as I did, and for damn good reason.

Revolutionary Road

Not every movie has to have a happy ending. Not to ruin anything for you, if you haven't seen Revolutionary Road. But the whole movie has a relatively negative vibe to it. But I absolutely love the themes of the movie. They yell out to me. They pull me in.

I'm constantly off in my own world, wondering what else life has to offer besides the daily grind. During the entire film, Dicaprio and Winslett, a married couple that's lost their spark, search for something. Anything new. They were dreamers when they were young, and as many, they lost their passions once the kids came along.

Winslett wants desperately to get that back. Her grand idea is up and moving the family to Paris. Dicaprio is shocked by the change this idea brings along in his wife, but just the idea alone rekindles the passion that was lost in their relationship. He eventually agrees.

They both begin to dream big. Opening their minds to new possiblities. Then there's a sudden change of plans. Winslett becomes pregnant with their third child, and all their dreams vanish. Dicaprio refuses to have the child in Paris. Winslett literally falls apart that she was so close to realizing her dream. She even had the plane tickets in hand.

The movie is not just held together, but is made into a classic in my opinion, due to Winslett and Dicaprio's acting. This movie is my version of an action movie. The level of instability in their relationship put me at the edge of my seat. I didn't know how or what would happen. Their exchanges evoke every kind of emotion. I was drained by the end of the movie, and full of sorrow. But it was the kind of sorrow that is inspiring in a strange way, to not make the same mistakes these two did.

There are so many underlying themes that made me ask many questions: What would happen if they actually made it to Paris? Would their relationship succeed? Were they ever meant for each other in the first place?

Long story short, the movie made me think. It's stuck with me, regardless if these are really "good" people or not, they are real. And they were made real by the acting. They just never had a firm grip on the concept of happiness, which is what so many of us search for.

Ken's Score: 100
Metacritic: 69

Many critics didn't like the two main characters. Not the actors, but the characters as people. That's never a consideration to me, because a lot of people aren't great people. These were real people, making decisions that real people come to. It's gritty. One of my favorite dramas.