Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

So, I rarely go to the movie theater and this year was the first year since 2009 that I had gone to the movie theaters more than once a year and 2011 was a theater-less year for me. Besides Prometheus, this was the only movie I've seen in theaters this year. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a revisionist history film where Abraham Lincoln's past life as a vampire hunter is detailed. The true genre for this film is an action thriller, which in all honesty don't really do it for me. The best thing about this movie besides the actual fighting scenes and special effects is that the actor, Benjamin Walker, whom they got to portray Lincoln, looked very much like the real life Abraham Lincoln, and that's saying something. The acting, from almost every actor, was incredibly overdramatic and was filled with emotional overload which became overbearing at times. The plot, was very unoriginal and I was able to predict literally every major event in the movie and I was even able to predict the gratuitous amount of jump scares. Alright, enough ripping on this movie, onto the few positives. The action/fighting scenes were actually choreographed quite well and were usually very interesting and the special effects were very fluid and well done. This movie is certainly interesting and would be worth watching with a few friends, especially if they are into supernatural films which a lot of action. The parts of the film that were intended to be dramatic almost always fell flat which really bog down the film's quality overall. For something that is produced by Tim Burton I expected better plot development and acting, but I am glad Johnny Depp wasn't in this movie. One thing I will say about this movie is that I don't think the Southern U.S. will appreciate this film seeing as the confederate army was portrayed as vampires. Just something to think about.

Bottom Line: Rent It/Skip It

Score: 6/10

Year: 2012
Director: Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch, Day Watch)
Cast: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie
Rating: R

The Boondock Saints

While this film is generally disliked by many critics, I find Troy Duffy's, The Boondock Saints, to be a very enjoyable crime action drama. This film is about two Boston-native Irish men who decide to "clean up the streets" from crime and become vigilante law enforcers. First off, generally in action films characters can seem very distant and not relatable because no normal person goes around killing people or blowing things up, but in the case of this film, you feel that you can't help but root for Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus' characters even though they technically are breaking law. Willem Dafoe plays an ingenious and homosexual FBI agent who at first vows to catch these "low-life" criminals but then has a change of heart. His character is, in my opinion, the most interesting and integral character to the plot. Onto the cinematography. The actual cinematography and editing is basically very typical of action drama films, use of slow motion, flashbacks, etc. So nothing too spectacular in that category but Duffy still does a good job of following this itinerary. The score for Saints is also very typical of action films as well but it is still very good for what it is. I feel that Saints is not the best film in terms of pushing boundaries and adding to the genre, but with what is has I feel it does quite well with it. Without giving away spoilers I can tell you that the film's ending is to be expected and that is why there is a sequel. Personally, I would watch this film multiple times for only one reason; to hear Dafoe yell, "There was a firefight!" with his arms raised to the sky.

Bottom Line: Rent It/Buy It

Score: 8/10

Year: 1999
Director: Troy Duffy (The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day)
Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe, David Della Rocco
Rating: R

Trainspotting

Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle, famed director of 28 Days Later..., Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours, is a film about a group of young Scots who struggle with getting a job, dealing with drug abuse, and getting an overall better life. Yes, I know the film is very similar to Requiem for a Dream which I already reviewed but I have seen both of these films recently so it only made sense to review both of them. Similar to Aronofsky's film about similar subject matter, Trainspotting also features many sympathetic characters in realistic situations, however, unlike the former film, Trainspotting deals with people actually coming off of drugs and ends up having a more optimistic atmosphere about it towards the end of the film. Also unlike Aronofsky's film, for some reason these characters feel somehow more relatable in that their situations are not nearly as outlandish at times. Boyle's film uses narration throughout to illustrate a story, and this narration, which is nowadays considered archaic, actually adds a significant amount of depth to Ewan McGregor's character and the plot. Also like Requiem, Trainspotting also has multiple surrealistic scenes, one example being where McGregor's character has to fish through a toilet for suppository pills and "dives in" and he is shown swimming in a large body of water towards the floor to find the pills but then returns back to the bathroom upon exiting the toilet. While Requiem is a great film, Boyle's film feels much more composed and more dignified than Aronofsky's film. Trainspotting still has a few scenes that can easily make the audience feel uneasy or even disgusted at times, but I feel that this movie is much easier to take and the more positive ending make for an easier time watching this film.

Bottom Line: Rent It (not a bad film but doesn't feel like it wouldn't be enjoyable multiple times)

Score: 8/10

Year: 1996
Director: Danny Boyle (127 Hours, 28 Days Later..., Slumdog Millionaire)
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd
Rating: R

Following

Christopher Nolan, whom I'm sure you all know as the director of the new Batman trilogy and Inception, has a very interesting film that was his directorial debut called, Following. This film is a neo-noir crime film that is somewhat edging on a psychological thriller. Unlike most psychological thrillers, this film has nothing to do with serial killers or the occult, however, revealing what makes this film that way would give away crucial spoilers. Following centers around a writer who decides to follow people for "no reason" as he states in the beginning, but then it develops into researching people for characters, and then eventually into something much more sinister. For those who have seen Nolan's later films, this one in particular features no actors that have been featured in any of his other films and are generally unheard of. Nolan follows a Tarantino-esque style of story telling where certain integrals of the plot are shown ahead of time or out of order, maintaining an extra sense of mystery to the film. Back to the acting, in my opinion, this is where the film falls flat. The majority of the characters in the movie are actually not very interesting, they act very typically for noir film characters and they don't do much to push the boundaries of what characters in this type of film could be. Occasionally, scenes also feel like they are drawn out for far too long and the lack of music in the majority of the film makes the scenes feel even longer. The incredibly minimalistic score for this film actually hurts this movie unlike Requiem for a Dream, which I last reviewed. While the film is quite short, a meager 70 minutes, it feels like it was approximately 2 hours due to the general uninterest I had developed about halfway through the movie. The plot development is actually quite interesting though and that's why this film borders on multiple genres. Overall, Following is a decent film but falls flat in some key categories. This film is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Bottom Line: Rent It/Stream It

Score: 7/10

Year: 1999
Director: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Memento, Insomnia
Cast: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell
Rating: R

First Film - Requiem for a Dream

So, because I just viewed this film for the first time recently, this will be the first movie that I talk about. First off, before I even say anything about the quality of the cinematography, acting, etc., I will say this: this movie will make you cringe. A LOT. Requiem for a Dream is a film about four people struggling with financial troubles, drug abuse, and more. All the characters want is to find their own version of happiness but they inevitably fall short. Darren Aronofsky, the director, uses many interesting techniques, especially the use of handicams when characters are moving and he uses many montages (in this case, many very quick, about one second, shots of the character doing something). The film's subject matter overall is quite dark, the film when released was originally given an NC-17 rating, and this movie can be quite difficult to watch at points, so viewer discretion is GREATLY advised. Aronofsky's film overall is very good, it creates very strong and real, maybe not necessarily relatable, characters that you truly feel sympathy for. The minimalist score fits the dark atmosphere of the film incredibly well. In fact, Lux Aeterna, the film's main composition, has been used in many other films and film trailers. While Requiem for a Dream is a very well done film, it is incredibly disturbing and gut-wrenching at many parts. Watching this movie is essentially like work, you feel exhausted at the end of it, like you had just gone ten rounds with Randy Couture in the octagon. Will I ever watch this movie again? Probably not, but only because of the subject matter, I reiterate that this film is a great movie but the subject matter is just far too deep and disturbing for me to watch over and over again.

Bottom line: Rent It, if you dare...

Score: 8/10

Year: 2000
Director: Darren Aronofsky (Pi)
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Rating: NC-17 or UR

Hey everyone!

Ok, so basically the purpose of this blog is talking about films, old films, recently released films (though I'm not a big movie goer, at all), cult films, etc. Some friends of mine suggested I make a blog to talk about films and my opinions/perceptions of the films. Generally, I'm quite tough on movies, so I expect some flak for what I say. And I do take suggestions for films to watch and make sure to give me time to watch it, don't send me a suggestion and expect it to be up the next day, unless extraordinary circumstances come around, but that's basically it! Thank you for wasting your time reading my pointless blog!