April 2008 Archives

Have you ever taken a shower in the complete dark? I know it's weird. But try it...no really do it. I can almost gaurentee it's one of the creepiest things you can do. Maybe it's all the Psycho references as we grew up but I couldn't do it. Trust me I tried. It's something about the darkness. I mean the shower curtain blocks your view of what's going on anyway but in the darkness it's double creepy. The reason I mention this is that I watched 30 Days of Night the other day. Trust me this film is way more than another crappy vampire film. Although the acting was just okay the film has two main things going for it. The darkness and the cinematography. Both were amazing. The film has a look that's almost all it's own, some may argue that the vampires are very zombie in their looks but I disagree. The way they walk, the way they communicate is all very vampire. As I mentioned the film doesn't have the best acting from Josh Hartnett and company, but it's not too bad. However what makes the film stand out is the way it looks. You see the last bit of daylight in the first in 15 minutes and from their on in you really do believe you are up in Alaska expereincing 30 days of night. Oh you want some plot do you? Fine...small Alaska town...vampires attack and kill people since the sun does not come out at all for 30 days...nuff said.

The film does have some low points, the whole evil child vampire has been done to death in a 100 films before this and although Josh does a good job I thought the ending was very cheesy Hollywood. Also what's up with the final fight seen? Someone leave me a comment about that below and please explain it. Even if your not a fan of horror or a film geek like myself this movie is worth a rent for the feeling of darkness and the cinematography. If you ARE a film geek this DVD has got to be nominated for one of the best "Film Schools in a Box" for 2008. It's has over 5 features and they are amazing. Everything from how they filmed all the night scenes over the course of 33 nights, to how they shot in the cold, to how they trained the actors to act like vampires. All amazing stuff. It also features some great candid interviews from the Director and all the actors. If you want to see some samples of  them watch below and then rent or buy the DVD to watch them all. So go rent or buy this one and then try taking that shower in the Dark....I dare you.

I give the DVD a B-

Once again the 30 Days of Night DVD is a gold mine of Behind The Scenes footage. Check out how the crew drank over 20,000 cups of coffee and shot 33 nights in a row to give the film it's look. And check out how everyone slowly went insane on set. I miss night shoots!  

I remember when I first heard about this movie - there was this cryptic trailer that was associated with producer J. J. Abrams. So of course that got people talking.

So when I managed to get the DVD to review I was both aprehensive and excited to see what the hype was all about.

The movie is about a group of friends in New York getting together to have a going away party for one of their own when strange things begin happening in the city.

The movie is told from the point of view of one of the characters holding a video camera.  Much like the Blair Witch Project, we see the story unfold as if we are part of the group, via the camera.

The movie revolves around the "attack" of the city by a large monster that we never really get a clear view up until nearer the end of the movie, and the friend's attempts at getting out of Manhattan using any means possible.

When I say Film School in a Box this type of behind the scenes feature is exactly what I am talking about. Check out the detail the director goes into when training the actors as well the stunt practices the actors have to go through. So really amazing "behind the curtain stuff" in this clip below.

I give it a A

Normally I am not one to enjoy Oscar nominated movies. I generally find them too long and too full of hidden meanings.  But I am a big fan of Daniel Day-Lewis so I thought I'd give it a shot. And I was impressed.


Day-Lewis does carry this movie, but most of the other characters are also incredibly well developed.

The story follows the life of Daniel Plainview - a guy who seemingly stumbles into oil.  He starts out as a silver miner, but somehow manages to make a lot of money drilling for oil.

One day, a stranger tracks Plainview down and lets him know of a huge oil reserve in a little town.  So he takes his son with him to check the area.

We gave this film a D+ for the complete waste of the great actors in it but the behind the scenes action is pretty good. More of a B than a D+. They really go deep into the whole cops versus bad guys theme of the film showing you how the driving stunts were done. No green screen here this all crazy people putting thier lives at risk to make the scene look real. Yes that is real 18 wheeler jack-knifing and crashing. And yes that is a person on wires jumping out of that window and hitting the fence......crazy. A+

P.S. Also check this video out from the stunt team themselves on YouTube.

So I got around to watching the highest grossing horror film of last summer "I am legend". Anyway being a huge fan of the book "I am legend" by Richard Matheson I was really expecting this film to suck. I mean iamlegend was my Web avatar for a long time. I am a Huge Fan of the book.  In the book they are all vampires...while in the film they are virus driven zombies. In the book they know Nevelle's name and call it nightly right outside his door. In the film they are brainless killing machines. In the book he hunts them by day...while in the movie he rents DVD's by day with his German shepherd. Okay I will stop with the comparisons.

But even with all those differences I have to ask: Is Will Smith getting to be a better actor with age? Was he always this good and I didn't notice? Was/am I smoking crack? Also when this kind of stuff goes down, and I know it will, are the military really going to get preferential treatment? I mean think about it, military personal and the rich are going to get to get on boats and get the heck out of town while the rest of us sit around and wait to catch the virus. Kind of a scary thought. Being a doomsday kind of guy remind me to at least join the reserve in the next 5-6 years or something....Or maybe make some friends with military people.

Anyway being a huge fan of the book "I am legend" by Richard Matheson I was really expecting this film to suck. But not only did it not suck but it was actually pretty good. I really liked the use the cinematography to illustrate how desolate NY City had become after the virus spread. As I mentioned before I also really liked how well Will Smith acted. Am I on crack here? Feel free to leave us some comments below. Overall, even though this was a huge commercial success, I really did like this movie. The behind the scenes footage was missing entirely from the DVD, and I hope this just isn't some plot to sell an deluxe version later on. The dvd did contain some awesome animated graphic novels from DC Comics, which have to be seen to be believed. Check them out below this review.

Overall I give this one a A-

So the I am Legend DVD didn't have the traditional film school in a box content but instead had these really stunning animated graphic novels or comic books if your old skool. Check two of them out below. They were done in a partnership with DC Comics and the folks behind the film and tell alternate stories from the film. Interesting stuff. DVD review coming tomorrow.

I would give them a B+

Sigh....so in the film "Between" from Porch Light Entertainment DVD a lawyer learns her sister has gone missing in Mexico. Against the advise of everyone around her she takes off to find her. Finding the local police no help (suprisingly) she decides to wander around Mexico in a low cut dress to find her sister. After this things just start to get weird. Sometimes in a cool way and sometimes not. I mean I think this film has some good acting from Poppy Montgomery and company, and some gorgeous views of Mexico, but the editing is horrible. THey try that whole "did this happen before this thing" that LOST does but never can pull it off. Instead the audience is left wondering what the hell are they even talking about?



Want proof of this? Watch the film till around the last 15 minutes (I dare you) and you will see the world's longest flashback. Seriously there is like a 2 minute straight flashback. It could of been the damn trailer for the whole the film it's that long of a flashback and covers that much of the plot. Anyway it's no memento, and the behind the scenes are nothing to look at either. THe only thing they have is director's commentary. Yawn. Such a disappointment for a DVD that has the Darkon trailer on it. You watched that yet Rob? The DVD comes out April 8th.

I give it a C-