At the movies with Uberreiniger
Nov. 3rd, 2011 03:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
uberreinigerI'm someone who doesn't get to see a lot of movies, or who only sees them years after whatever fuss there was about them dies down. It seems like we've watched a lot of movies in the days since we've gotten settled in, and it's a mix of new and old.
Paranormal Activity 3 - Saw this one in the theatre yesterday. It's hard to discuss without getting spoilery. I can say that so far my fears have been averted and the sequels show no sign of declining in quality. However this sequel, while scarier throughout than either of its predecessors, is both intriguing and frustrating as it seems to directly contradict information revealed in previous installments. However, this may be explainable since the ending reveals that certain individuals' perception of events in their past may be heavily influenced by outside sources... This series is doing a good job of expanding the mystery of its universe while still delivering satisfying movies. Can't wait to see what they'll do next.
Tin Man - Started watching this on my own one afternoon. Haven't finished it but I intend to. It's a made-for-SyFy Channel remake of the Wizard of Oz that pulls heavily from a variety of fantasy and sci-fi genres. Better than any SyFy original has any right to be. There's some very hammy acting and some special effects that aren't very special. But Zooey Deschanel plays the protagonist and takes her job seriously and is more than strong enough as an actress to hold the whole thing together. I look forward to finishing it.
Trick r' Treat - Basically an anthology of four different horror stories that take place across one Halloween night in a town where the holiday's dark magical origins are said to still hold great power. It's actually a very funny yet very gory horror comedy that's very well-written. It got screwed out of a theatrical run despite being produced by Bryan Singer who brought on two of his heavy-hitting X-Men alums (Anna Paquin, Brian Cox.) And that's a damn shame because it's one of the few truly fun horror movies I've ever seen. It somehow manages to not take itself seriously while taking itself dead seriously at the same time. Give it a try if you don't mind anachronic story telling and buckets of gore. My only gripe is that it needed more Tamoh Penniket.
Daybreakers - I remember when this movie came out the trailers made it look like a cheap Blade ripoff. It's actually pretty good. In the near future a virus has transformed most of the world's human population into vampires who have in turned farmed normal humans to the brink of extinction. Vampires deprived of human blood quickly devolve into an insane, animalistic state and society is collapsing as increasingly violent measures are needed to control the growing feral vampire population. Ethan Hawke plays a scientist conflicted over his vampire nature and the ethos of the blood farming corporation he works for. One night he crosses paths with a group of human fugitives and that's where things get really interesting.
Daybreakers does a very decent amount of world building in two hours. The ending clearly sets up for a sequel and you can tell they're itching to build on what they've created even more but given how poorly the film did that will probably never happen. It's a shame too. The film is actually a maddening blend of action movie cliches and truly interesting plot twists and surprise revelations. It's not great film making, but it's pretty good film making. It's no secret that the vampire genre is pretty overextended right now and somebody made a really sincere effort to keep it exciting with this movie. It's not Twilight but it's not trying to be cooler than Twilight either. It is, however, a good look at a bleak hell on earth scenario with vampires. Richard Matheson would be proud.
Paranormal Activity 3 - Saw this one in the theatre yesterday. It's hard to discuss without getting spoilery. I can say that so far my fears have been averted and the sequels show no sign of declining in quality. However this sequel, while scarier throughout than either of its predecessors, is both intriguing and frustrating as it seems to directly contradict information revealed in previous installments. However, this may be explainable since the ending reveals that certain individuals' perception of events in their past may be heavily influenced by outside sources... This series is doing a good job of expanding the mystery of its universe while still delivering satisfying movies. Can't wait to see what they'll do next.
Tin Man - Started watching this on my own one afternoon. Haven't finished it but I intend to. It's a made-for-SyFy Channel remake of the Wizard of Oz that pulls heavily from a variety of fantasy and sci-fi genres. Better than any SyFy original has any right to be. There's some very hammy acting and some special effects that aren't very special. But Zooey Deschanel plays the protagonist and takes her job seriously and is more than strong enough as an actress to hold the whole thing together. I look forward to finishing it.
Trick r' Treat - Basically an anthology of four different horror stories that take place across one Halloween night in a town where the holiday's dark magical origins are said to still hold great power. It's actually a very funny yet very gory horror comedy that's very well-written. It got screwed out of a theatrical run despite being produced by Bryan Singer who brought on two of his heavy-hitting X-Men alums (Anna Paquin, Brian Cox.) And that's a damn shame because it's one of the few truly fun horror movies I've ever seen. It somehow manages to not take itself seriously while taking itself dead seriously at the same time. Give it a try if you don't mind anachronic story telling and buckets of gore. My only gripe is that it needed more Tamoh Penniket.
Daybreakers - I remember when this movie came out the trailers made it look like a cheap Blade ripoff. It's actually pretty good. In the near future a virus has transformed most of the world's human population into vampires who have in turned farmed normal humans to the brink of extinction. Vampires deprived of human blood quickly devolve into an insane, animalistic state and society is collapsing as increasingly violent measures are needed to control the growing feral vampire population. Ethan Hawke plays a scientist conflicted over his vampire nature and the ethos of the blood farming corporation he works for. One night he crosses paths with a group of human fugitives and that's where things get really interesting.
Daybreakers does a very decent amount of world building in two hours. The ending clearly sets up for a sequel and you can tell they're itching to build on what they've created even more but given how poorly the film did that will probably never happen. It's a shame too. The film is actually a maddening blend of action movie cliches and truly interesting plot twists and surprise revelations. It's not great film making, but it's pretty good film making. It's no secret that the vampire genre is pretty overextended right now and somebody made a really sincere effort to keep it exciting with this movie. It's not Twilight but it's not trying to be cooler than Twilight either. It is, however, a good look at a bleak hell on earth scenario with vampires. Richard Matheson would be proud.
