Honest Abe? Try Honest Ass Kicker!

Posted by Boo

As some of you may know, I have been looking forward to the movie rendition of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Especially once it was tagged with an R rating. I recently read the book, and while a charming tale, I did find myself a bit wanting. Specifically, wanting a bit more action and gore. I wouldn’t be opposed to some flashy explosions, either.  In my book review (click here to read the entire review), I pointed out that I’m already accepting the ridiculousness that Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, hunts vampires. The concept is over the top. So why not give me some over the top fun to go with it? I’m so happy to report that the makers of this flick clearly felt the same way!

Not only did Abraham Lincoln get the Tim Burton producer stamp of approval, but it was directed by Timur Bekmambetov. If you’re left scratching your head at that name, I’ll enlighten you. Bekmambetov, a Russian director, gave us Night Watch and Day Watch. If you haven’t seen, I particularly recommend Night Watch with the subtitles. One of the most inventive uses of subtitles I have ever seen. Bekmambetov made them a part of the movie, using different colors, textures, and placement to transform them into an art form, something to enhance the dialogue, rather than just recycle it.

Note: The Watch books, by Sergei Lukyanenko, upon which those movies are based, are also high on my recommended reading list. They are a bit different, the supernatural and magical concepts a bit more abstract, but I easily found myself drawn into Lukyanenko’s world.

What the Watch movies and Abraham Lincoln have in common is their heavy use of digital effects. However, Bekmambetov isn’t interested in the typical uses of the technology. He’s not just using it to enhance a bloody scene or remove a limb. He’s using it to transform the entire fucking world as you know it. He is the perfect director to give me the over the top action that I want from this story.

My favorite action sequence involved Lincoln and a vampire fighting amongst a stampede of wild horses, while TD was awestruck by a sequence involving a brawl on a train (think Back to the Future 3 on steroids). Both scenes are filled with intricately choreographed fight sequences that kept us on the edge of our seats.

The action aside, this movie could have failed if put into the wrong actor’s hands, particularly the Abraham Lincoln character. Benjamin Walker, a relatively unknown actor, did a fantastic job as our Honest Abe. His demeanor captured the perfect combination of poise and balls-out fearlessness that Lincoln’s character needed for this story. And it didn’t hurt that he looked exactly like our 16^th President in his iconic beard and stovepipe hat.

Also noteworthy was Rufus Sewell as our head villain, Adam. Sewell has been on the acting scene since the 90’s, popping up in various TV and movie roles. His most popular role being from The Illusionist (haven’t seen it – I saw the other one, The Prestige, because the Hugh Jackman/Christian Bale sandwich was just too good to resist). Sewell clearly had a ball playing this character, and that energy translated well onto the big screen.  

I won’t give anything away, but I just have to say the ending in the flick far exceeded the book’s ending, which was predictable and flat. The movie’s ending, however, warranted a solid fist pump, followed by an audible “Fuck yeah!”

If you were looking for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to be a verbatim retelling of the book, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The movie has made several plot changes, and the end result is something vastly different from the book. However, keep in mind that Seth Graham-Smith, the author of the book, also penned our screenplay. The spirit and intent of the book has not been lost within this cinema adaptation. 

I am looking forward to this movie becoming a solid part of the TD and Boo movie collection, one that will be revisited often.

Ridley's Resurrection

Posted by TD

I’m going to be completely honest here. When I first heard that there was a possibility of a prequel to the Alien films, I was as nervous as I was excited about the prospect.  My favorite film franchise hasn’t had anything even resembling a quality entry in the series for over 20 years now. Alien Resurrection left a lot to be desired, and then there were the disastrous Alien vs. Predator films that sounded so great on paper… only to end up being so poorly executed that I wanted to personally shred that paper into a million incompetent little pieces.

A glimmer of hope for a return to respectability started to burn for me at some point in late 2010. That was when I heard Ridley Scott was on board to direct, with Damon Lindelof of LOST fame working on turning a script, by Screenwriter Jon Spaights, into a more original story. Ridley Scott, the Director who started it all, circling back to deliver a prequel sounded like just the kick in the ass this franchise desperately needed.

Interestingly enough, I actually prefer James Cameron’s Aliens to the original film - as a matter of fact it’s my favorite sequel of all time - but I have to admit that I’m not quite sure if I want James Cameron circa 2012 going near this franchise.  Cameron today seems more interested in pretending he invented 3D, rather than actually delivering hard hitting material with some substance. I know he is a very talented Director, but he hasn’t really done anything I’ve been interested in since Terminator 2. Coincidentally also over 20 years ago!

Ridley Scott actually hasn’t done anything in the Sci-Fi genre since the excellent Blade Runner in 1982. But that doesn’t mean he has stopped releasing quality films. Hannibal, Gladiator, and American Gangster are three relatively recent examples of the quality in filmmaking this guy is clearly never going to lose. He can tackle any genre, but we all know where he shines the brightest…

Welcome back to the Sci-Fi genre, Ridley Scott!

To say I was not prepared for what awaited me when I walked into that IMAX theater is the understatement of the year so far. Not only has this film brought the franchise back to a level of quality not seen since Aliens, it has done so in such a masterful way that I didn’t even miss the fact that everyone’s favorite banana headed beasts aren’t really the focal point here. What we have here is a superbly crafted new story, set in the same universe as the Alien films, but around 30 years before the events of the first film.

In 2089, Archeologists Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace – the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in the Swedish version of the film) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a star map that is exactly the same through many unconnected ancient cultures.  They are able to get a mission to follow the map funded by Peter Weyland  (Guy Pearce) to the moon LV-223 in search of what they believe to be the origin of Human life. But since this is a film from the Alien franchise, you can imagine that what they find isn’t exactly what they planned for…or very happy to see them!

The film triumphs on every conceivable level for me. The visual effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen, the casting is perfect, and the performances are excellent across the board. If Michael Fassbender’s performance as the Android “David” doesn’t get an Oscar nomination, than there is something seriously rotten in Denmark. His performance is the heart and soul of this film…and he’s playing a robot! I knew this guy was talented the very first time I saw him in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, but I was not aware he had a performance of this caliber in him. I have a feeling he is going to be a huge star in the years to come. 

Fassbender isn’t the only one to have delivered what I would consider to be a breakout performance in the film. Noomi Rapace, having the role of the female lead in an Alien film, will inevitably be compared to Sigourney Weaver’s masterful performances that came before, and while not quite on par with Sigourney’s best work (not even fair to compare to who I consider to be the Best Actress In Hollywood!) she definitely holds her own. There is one scene in particular where she is dealing with a mind-blowingly hideous concept as far as pain is concerned, and I absolutely believed she was going through it. This is one actress who is not afraid to put it all out there.  Seeing the tendons in this girl’s neck looking like they were going to burst out at one point was really creepy. I could be wrong, but I think that was all performance there. Nothing to do with makeup or effects!

The rest of the cast does a fine job as well. Idris Elba, who until now I always remembered as Michael Scott’s boss on season five of The Office, plays Janek, the Captain of the Prometheus, and does his very best to channel one of my favorite characters from any of the Alien films, Apone. Fans of Aliens will recall Apone as the no nonsense Sergeant of the Marine squad. Incidentally I wanted to name our cat Freddy after that character. Obviously that was overruled by Mrs. Horror!

Charlize Theron plays the suit of the film, and is doing her best to transform into the bitch from corporate hell. From what I have read, she didn’t have the time available to play the lead character due to previous commitments, but said she would happily accept a smaller part because she knew it would be a great film. Her star quality, and the fact that she fills out the suit rather nicely, only added to the film, even if it was a lesser role than she would normally have.

When it was announced that the film was going to be shot in 3D, I have to admit to rolling my eyes at the thought. The Alien films aren’t about gimmicks, and Ridley is far too talented a Director to rely on them. I am happy to report that the 3D is simply used as another tool in the visual canon. It is not overbearing, and it only serves to enhance the visuals. I found it to be the most tasteful use of 3D I have ever seen. If all Directors would utilize 3D in the fashion that Scott has here, I would definitely be more interested in seeing it in the future.

I haven’t really gone into too much detail regarding the connection to the Alien franchise in this review. That is by design. The film has its own story, but is definitely set in the same universe as those acid-for-blood-having little shits are.  I was so wrapped up in said story that I kind of forgot about the fact that it is in the same universe for a while. That is until the last fifteen minutes of the film. Then things got…even more interesting.  I nearly cried tears of geek joy at the final shot in the film. I’ll just leave it at that!

 I had heard Ridley Scott was absolutely furious that the ratings board wouldn’t give him a PG-13 for this film. I have to say that the only mistake he may have made during the entire creation was being upset about that. There is NO WAY the cut of the film I saw was going to get anything less than an R! Ridley went for brutal with a capital B on this flick.  I know that meant a few less asses were allowed in the seats (and would be one of the major factors why Madagascar 3 won the weekend, even though Prometheus was a very strong $50 Million #2!),  but since the film is all the better for it, in the end it really doesn’t matter.

 Prometheus is an absolute masterpiece. It has instantly vaulted into my Top 10 Films of All Time list standing proudly right behind Aliens and Alien. It is the best film I have seen since Tarantino unleashed his aforementioned Basterds (interestingly enough Michael Fassbender was in that one too!) on me back in 2009.

I want to thank all involved for finally righting the wrongs against this franchise that have been going on for far too long, and in far too hideous (and not in a good way either)  a fashion. I can say without a doubt that I am looking forward to the sequel to this film which I know we will get. It was very successful at the box office this past weekend, and I don’t see any reason for a huge drop off next week. The word of mouth for it has been excellent. And for the people who say that Alien would be the sequel to Prometheus, I give you the following quote from Ridley Scott, “"If we're lucky, there'll be a second part. It does leave you with some nice open questions."

 Lucky means successful at the box office. It was, and I am ready to further explore. There are other worlds than these. Even if no one can hear you scream in some of them!

FIVE Jaws Barrels Out Of Five

Not Your Typical Creature Feature...

Posted by Boo

This weekend, TD and I took a jaunt into the backwoods of Louisiana. Not literally, of course, but vicariously, through a movie called Creature. Creature is the directorial debut of Fred Andrews, who has previously worked as a production designer on the TV show Without a Trace, as well as on one of the 8 Films to Die For called Dark Ride. Not only did Andrews direct Creature, but he co-wrote the script with Tracy Morse. Morse has dabbled in various facets of the movie biz, but nothing particularly noteworthy.

This movie begins with a group of young, college-aged kids taking a camping trip somewhere out in the forests of Louisiana. So far, it’s starting out like a lot of our favorite slasher flicks, and the homage becomes even greater when they stop off at a backwoods convenience store for a potty break, only to find the joint crawling with a few creepy locals.

Among those locals is none other than Sid Haig, the ever unforgettable Captain Spaulding from House of 1,000 Corpses. Spaulding has become as iconic as some of the other creepy clown favs, like Pennywise, the Joker, and that terrifying clown doll from Poltergeist. So it's not surprising that Haig tends to dominate any scene he's in, and this holds true for his work in Creature. And to make matters even better, he is surrounded by good company, because the other two creepy locals, Bud (Wayne Pere) and Jimmy (Davis Jensen) are rock stars in their own character skins. Jensen in particular sticks in my mind. He was able to perfectly embrace that Bayou accent, an accent that’s as muddy as the swamps from whence it came. Jensen is captivating, absolutely believable in his hillbilly-isms, and his on screen chemistry with his hillbilly cohort, Pere, is really fun to watch.

Our college kids are no acting slouches, either. Most recognizable is Mehcad Brooks, who played the character Eggs in the ever baffling season two of True Blood. And chances are every male viewer – and some female viewers – will find it hard to stop looking at Brooks’ movie girlfriend, played by the lovely Serinda Swan. The only actor in this film that didn’t impress me much was Amanda Fuller playing Beth, the straight laced chick of the bunch. I wasn’t surprised to find her career is riddled with mediocre bit parts in various TV shows, though she does have a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy.

Yawn.

But I digress…

As you can imagine, our fun-loving camping trip turns into a swampy nightmare of epic proportions. However, don’t be fooled! This isn’t your typical low budget movie monster senselessly rampaging and killing college kids simply because they dare fornicate and smoke pot. No, this monster has a calculated agenda, an agenda which requires some kind of smarts to execute. And whenever our monster has smarts, he stops being low budget cheese and starts being, well, plain fucking scary!

I won’t go into more detail, because there are a few plot twists that I don’t want to inadvertently give away. I am a firm believer that our internet community should use a little discretion in their spoilers, and if they must – absolutely must! – give something away, they should do so with a very clear spoiler alert. I, however, subscribe to the theory that if you’re so damn interested, don’t rely on internet spoilers, just watch the thing yourself!

I will say that while the plot twists were fun, I almost missed the first one. The hubby had to point it out to me. And I had a lot of questions, questions which were never fully answered. I suspect this was intentional, to give Creature a bit of mystery and intrigue, but sometimes mystery and intrigue stops being mystery and intrigue and just feels distractingly vague. As a viewer, I feel I must have certain questions answered, and when I don’t get those answers, I’m a little let down.

There was also a point near the end where I started to have a “this is getting weird, guys” kind of moment, the plot becoming a little unfocused and getting out of hand. But then I remember this is Andrews first directing, as well as writing, credit. For a first effort, it’s quite solid. I’ve seen some real stinkers out there, stinkers from seasoned film makers, mind you – and at this point we are all looking at George Lucas in shame for his epic turd, Phantom Menace – so, if the plot gets a little wonky in Creature, meh, we can hang with it.

In the end, the monster in Creature, with a really stellar creature design, is so fun to watch on screen that the flaws in its plot really don’t matter. And backed by some solid acting and an inventive story, this is definitely worth checking out, guys.