Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

The horror, scary film genre is really not one of my favorites, but when I read that "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" was made in a sort of gothic style, it intrigued me enough to decide to view it, and I must say, it was better than I thought.

A young girl, Sally (Bailee Madison) is sent to live with her estranged father, Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes) at their new home. Alex has plans to redo the old home with the help of Kim who is an interior designer. The previous owner of the home, Blackwood (Garry McDonald) was a famous painter who mysteriously disappeared. Sally soon realizes that there are strange creatures in the basement and they want to claim her as their own. There is an obvious connection with these creatures and the disappearance of Blackwood. Can Alex, Kim and Sally squelch these creatures and unravel the deep secrets of this mansion?

Others to round the cast are Jack Thompson as Harris, the groundskeeper of the mansion, Julia Blake as Mrs. Underhill, the housekeeper, and Nicholas Bell as the psychiatrist.

This was directed by virtual newcomer Troy Nixey and the pacing of it certainly kept you on the edge of your seat. With more experience under his belt, he could become a more effective director. The film was written by Guillermo del Toro ("Pans Labyrinth") and Matthew Robbins based on a 1973 teleplay by Nigel McKeand. Certainly if it wasn't for del Toro, this movie would've been like all the rest of the horror films out there. However, I just wonder what kind of story del Toro could've come up with if he wrote an original story himself. This film had del Toro's 'dark' stamp on it, but I believe it could've been even darker if it came out of his mind solely. Food for thought I guess.

As aforementioned, this certainly was a better film than I thought it would be, but it still missed that edge and creepiness that Guillermo del Toro could only give us if he wasn't tied to story that the film was based on. But if you are the type who loves the gothic horror genre, you'll love this and be screaming for more.

Out of 4 stars: 2.5                     Rated: R                        99min.

Fright Night

Hollywood must be running out of ideas in which to make movies. Why else would so-o many remakes be made in not a very long period of time? However, in the case of "Fright Night", I might make an exception. This was a fun, slick version of the the 1985 original of the same name.

This centers on a teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) which, through his best buddy Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandringe (Colin Farrell) is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths including Charley and Ed's friend Adam (Will Denton). When no one he knows believes him including his Mom, Jane (Toni Collette) and his girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots), he enlists a reluctant Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a self-proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.

This was slickly directed by Craig Gillespie ("Lars and the Real Girl" '07, "Mr. Woodcock" '07 and 16 years of TV commercials). With the small amount of feature film experience, this guy has certainly found his niche. He should get more work his way. I think he's paid his dues.

It was effectively written by virtual newcomer to feature films, Marti Noxon ("I Am Number Four" and a ton of TV). Like the aforementioned director, she too should be given future work. There were few, very few inconsistencies, but not even enough to take away from this roller coaster ride.

The special make-up effects were created and designed by veterans Greg Nicotera and Howard Berger ("From Dusk Till Dawn" '96, "Boogie Nights"'97, "The Haunting" '99, "The Green Mile" '99, "The Cell" 2000, "Thir13en Ghosts" '01, "The Time Machine" '02, "Identity" '03, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" '03, "Kill Bill Vol. 2" '04, "Sin City" '05, "The Amityville Horror" '05, "Hostel" '05, "Poseidon" '06, "The Hitcher" '07, "Disturbia" '07, "Death Proof" '07, "Transformers" '07, "Planet Terror" '07, "Seven Pounds" '08, "Inglourious Basterds" '09, "The Final Destination" '09, "Surrogates" '09, "Splice" '09, "The Book of Eli" '10, "Piranha" '10, "Water for Elephants" '11) and scads more to their credit. These guys are obviously busy with good reason. They are one of the tops in their field and still going strong. They've just finished two more films.

If you like horror with a comedic, almost campy feel to it, this will satisfy you immensely. I haven't had this much fun in a film, especially a horror film, in quite some time. I usually can take or leave 3D, but this is a killer process, because it adds to the campiness, and comic relief that's going on in this. If you have as much fun watching this as those in the film who looked as though they were having a ball making it, you'll wish the ride never ended.

Out of 4 stars: 3.5                          Rated: R                           106min.

The Help

We've all seen 'message' films before whereas wrongs were to be made right no matter the situation or consequences involved, but "The Help" put a whole new slant on that type of film that kept you thinking hard well after leaving the cineplex.

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan (Emma Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends lives-- and a small Mississippi town-- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent white southern families. Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), Skeeter's best friend, Elizabeth's (Ahna O'Reilly) housekeeper, is the first to open up, second is Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer)-- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, especially with that of Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories-- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say.

Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged such as Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) hiring and befriending Minny, and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say when they themselves become unwittingly-- and unwillingly caught up in the changing times.

This was incredibly well written and directed by newcomer Tate Taylor and I'm sure he will kept in mind for future projects. This wonderful film was based on Kathryn Stockett's powerful novel. This was obviously based on a fictional piece of work, but could've easily been based on a true story, because of how the project was handled.

Davis could certainly be in the running for an Oscar nomination. Her performance was simply perfection. In fact, the entire cast was great, especially Sissy Spacek as Hilly's Mom. She was just a hoot. Others to round out the cast are Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's Mom, Anna Camp as Jolene French, Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote, Celia's husband, Cicely Tyson as Constantine Jefferson, and Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan, Skeeter's Dad.

Everyone should view this film for its message and the power that goes with that. But not only was the film powerful, it was also entertaing in that it was funny, beautifully shot and really showed how these characters progressed or regressed even more. When you can walk out of the theater and could hear a pin drop on the carpet, this has got to make one think.

Out of 4 stars: 4                         Rated: PG-13                        137min.

30 Minutes or Less

When am I going to get a comedy I can really sink my teeth into? As with "30 Minutes or Less", its premise was actually interesting, but when put in application, it just fell flat on its face. Trailer looked good, however it's supposed to look good to sell the film. But I have seen trailers that, in my opinion, didn't sell the film that turned out to be better films than I could've imagined. What happened here?

Two fledgling, inept criminals, Dwayne and Travis (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) decide to kidnap a pizza delivery guy, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), drug him, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else be blown to bits. The real sick part of this plot, if you want to call it one, is that the money Dwayne and Travis stand to get is for a hit guy, Chango (Michael Pena) to kill Dwayne's regimented, by-the-book, ex-military Dad appropriately called 'The Major' (Fred Ward) who is always on Dwayne's case about being a loser. Apparently Dwayne's Dad won a 5 million dollar lottery, so before he has the chance to spend the rest, Dwayne wants him out of the picture.

While Nick is rushing around to figure out what to do to remedy his situation with the bomb, he ends up spilling the beans to his roommate, Chet (Aziz Ansari). Chet flips and the two try to do something to remedy this horrendous situation. But to what conclusion?

Others to round out the cast are Dilshad Vadsaria as Kate, Chet's twin sister and Nick's girlfriend, and Bianca Kajlich as Juicy, Chango's girlfriend.

This was slickly directed by Ruben Fleischer ("The Girls Guitar Club" '01 (short), "The Right Now! Show" '07 (TV movie), "Zombieland" '09), however poorly written by Michael Diliberti based on a story by Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan. The writing, as with so many comedies, was the culprit here. This guy had an interesting premise to work with; a great idea, but instead of working off of Eisenberg's droll humor using clever lines to make this work, he, like so many, resorted to a cascade of expletives, toilet humor, sexual references and the like. I'm not trying to be prudish, I know these small time criminals are basic trailer-trash, but every other word out of their mouths was four-letter words and if I heard one more sexual reference crack about them getting laid, I think I would've vomited. This was not a smart-dumb comedy, it certainly was not a smart comedy. This was just a very dumb comedy. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a total wash. Eisenberg's presence definitely made this anything palatable at all, and it had some other funny moments, but all in all, it fell flat as a pancake. 

Hollywood needs to get the hint. You get what you pay for. If you hire writers with minimal experience, you'll get minimal impact and effectiveness in what is to be conveyed to the audience for an entertaining 'ride'.

Out of 4 stars: 1.5                             Rated: R                          83min.

Crazy. Stupid. Love.

I must say, I've seen a bunch of romantic comedies in my time, but not quite with as many dysfunctional characters as with "Crazy. Stupid. Love.". It has an interesting premise if only there were enough people in this you could feel sorry for. 

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have the perfect life together living the American dream... until Emily asks for a divorce. Now Cal, Mr. Husband, has to navigate the single scene with a little help from a professional bachelor he met at a bar, Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Make that a lot of help. Let's face it, Cal's a mess and Cal's only association with dating was dating his wife when they were high school sweethearts. Also throw into the pot that Emily was having an affair with co-worker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), and Cal thinking innocently that their marriage is rock solid, and you have a perfect storm for one dysfunction after another. Is there still any hope for them or are they just another statistic?

Others to round out the cast are Emma Stone as Hannah, Analeigh Tipton as Jessica, Jonah Bobo as Robbie, Cal and Emily's son, John Carroll Lynch as Bernie and Beth Littleford as Claire, Jessica's parents, Marisa Tomei as Kate, one of Cal's dates, Liza Lapira as Liz, a co-worker of Hannah, Joey King as Molly, Cal and Emily's daughter, and Josh Groban as Richard.










This was adequately directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and was interestingly written by Dan Fogelman ("Cars" '06, "Fred Claus" '07, "Bolt" '08, "Tangled" '10). There were a number of twists and turns to peak your interest in keeping going with this, but it really took too long to get to a point where it was actually keeping you in your seat. Once it got going, it was a nicely done comedy; it's just getting there was the work.

This has a great cast and with all their dysfunction, the moral of this story was to wait and try to make that marriage work, because the work of separating seems to be more work than just making 'it' work.

Out of 4 stars: 2.5                       Rated: PG-13                       118min.

Cowboys and Aliens

How many times have we seen films where Earth is being attacked by aliens from another planet? Gee, I think about a bizillion times. But how many times have you seen a film where Earth is being attacked by aliens from another planet when our present is 1873? Give up? I'd say it's zero. This is what you get with "Cowboys and Aliens".

The old west... where a lone, wanted cowboy, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) ends up leading an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard town of Absolution. The only hint of his history is a mysterious shackle that won't come off and encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate town is attacked by aliens from the sky.

Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one at a time, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger(Craig) they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler, Ella (Olivia Wilde) and Dolarhyde (Ford), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents--townsfolk, Dolarhyde's boys, outlaws, and apache warriors--all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, will they succeed in an epic showdown for survival?

Others to round out the cast are Sam Rockwell as Doc, Paul Dano as Percy Dolarhyde, Col. Dolarhyde's whiny son, Abigail Spencer as Alice, Adam Beach as Nat Colorado, Keith Carradine as Sheriff John Taggart, Noah Ringer as Emmett Taggart, the sheriff's son, Clancy Brown as Meachum, the town's preacher, Ana de la Reguera as Maria, Doc's wife, and Chris Browning as Jed Parker.

This was directed with great intensity and incredible pacing by Jon Favreau ("Made" '01, "Elf" '03, "Zathura: A Space Adventure" '05, "Iron Man" '08, "Iron Man 2" '10), and it was based on Platinum Studios comic book by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The visual effects were masterfully created predominantly by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic), and they were stunning.

The chemistry between Craig and Ford was incredible, and how they slowly transformed from total enemies to working together for a common need was slickly done. Interesting, there were five screenwriters involved to come up with the script, and shockingly, it was well written. My usual benchmark for screenwriters is one, two tops, because the story just gets so bogged down with more writers. But this was obviously the exception to that rule.

This is one story that will keep you on the edge of your seat all the while making you a cheerleader for the down-trodden. A good old-fashioned western with a quirky kick is just what one needs to fulfill a Saturday at the cineplex. Yee-Ha!

Out of 4 stars: 4                         Rated: PG-13                       118min.