Joined: Aug 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 22 Location: UK & NY Karma: 2
Let the Right One In (2008) « Result #12 on Nov 28, 2008, 5:06am »
Låt den rätte komma in
Although "Let the Right One In" may be overlong for those with small brains and no ability to enjoy anything other than the trend of grainy, low-budget, shakycam nasties which we have been subjected to over the past few years, for me it was very nearly perfect. In fact I wish that it was even longer as it is yet another film that you get so caught up in that you really don't want it to end.
Everyone mentions the "beautiful cinematography" but the sad thing is that this is just how films used to be shot and should still be shot to get audiences back in to the movie theaters again. There are no bits that are too dark to see and nothing which will leave you with a splitting headache. It's just how a movie ought to be.
The plot is a simple one, not overly original but not too derivative either considering it is really just another vampire story. There is an independent movie by Jay Reel called "Dawn" (available from Tempe) which is pretty much the same thing but I doubt that anyone will have seen it so the best analogy is to say that "Let the Right One In" is like a children's version of "The Hunger" mixed with the kids' scenes from "Near Dark" and "Interview with the Vampire". It also pays a fair bit of homage to a few scenes from "Innocent Blood" as well.
There isn't a lot of humour in this, in spite of some bad CGI cats in a scene straight out of "Sleepwalkers" but it isn't overly scary either. Gore effects are realistic and minimal so think drama rather than horror and you'll be on the right lines. It's a hard film to fit into any genre really as it does tend to straddle quite a few non-horror themes most of which it deals with very effectively.
As far as the acting goes, since this is a Swedish film, it's hard to tell if the performances are anything other than just ok. I've heard from Swedish friends that some of the dialogue is a bit weak, verging on humorous, but, in translation (and with subtitles), this doesn't seem to matter to any English speaking audience. From what I could tell, the boy who played Oskar was a bit expressionless but seemed to have good chemistry with the girl who played Eli.
This is, without doubt, the best vampire film that I've seen for years and is one of my top films from this year alone. Apart from "Teeth" all this year's horror movies have been awful so this was a pleasant surprise at the end of the year.
I recommend "Let the Right One In" to everyone who likes good movies not just good horror movies. There's something here for everyone.
Joined: Aug 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 22 Location: UK & NY Karma: 2
Twilight - in cinemas from November 21st « Result #13 on Nov 27, 2008, 1:38pm »
Although hardcore fans of Stephanie Meyer were a bit nonplussed, to say the least, over this movie adaptation of her bestselling vampire novel, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can imagine that I'm going to take a lot of flak for my opinion, especially as "Twilight" is a movie meant primarily for teenage girls, but I'm willing to take that risk since the story and chemistry between the leading actors is so beautifully done that, if you are willing to overlook some minor flaws, you can't help but fall in love with this film too.
Yes, this film has flaws. Some of the camerawork early on is a bit amateur and some of the stunts are a bit cheesy but, even if this was to be judged by bad movie standards, it was still very entertaining.
I really didn't notice any major goofs though as the relationship between the incredibly strong leads of Kristen Stewart (as Bella) and Robert Pattinson (as Edward) really drew me into the fantasy in ways that only fans of something like "Buffy" or "Angel" could truly appreciate. Yes, this is all very much like a more serious and romantic version of the relationship between Buffy and Angel in the TV series but with a bit more of a "Romeo and Juliet" feel to it. "Star-crossed lovers" is, I believe, the correct expression for this situation.
Underlying the dominant love story though is also a subplot of good vampires against bad vampires and even the hint of werewolves on the horizon. With at least one sequel about to occur pretty soon, it's obvious that as much was being packed into this film as possible to create hooks. It all worked too. There wasn't too much given away but just enough to leave this as a stand alone movie while making the viewer wish there was more. A delicate balance has been achieved and this makes it such a commercial masterpiece that it has the potential to outsell "Harry Potter" now that the original audience of those books and films has grown up and moved on.
I'll mention again that what really drew me in was the acting. The vampire actors are all beautiful rather than just attractive while the humans are shown to be a lot more unkempt and immature even though everyone looks about the same age. Kristen Stewart is the middle ground between these two polarities as she is beautiful yet not quite fully formed as a woman. Her performance was exceptional albeit with some moments of unrealistic dialogue. The character of Bella was just such a paradox that she had to stand out as an attraction for Edward the vampire. She was a lot more controlled and mature than any of her peers yet still awkward enough to be one of them at times too so her reactions were realistic even if her words were not.
At 122 minutes, "Twilight" is a long film which, due to slow pacing, feels even longer. For once though this isn't a bad thing as if it had been trimmed then it could have ended up as just another MTV style teen flick. The added length adds some substance to things and allows the greater character development which will undoubtedly continue into the sequels.
Cinematically it is a beautiful film to watch. Only one rough piece of camerawork on the beach distracted me for a moment but everything else was framed perfectly and all the aerial shots, zooms and pans were done effectively. A baseball game used to show the speed and strength of the vampires was a moment of almost comic relief which didn't really work out too well but at least it is possible to see what was intended. The director, Catherine Hardwicke (of "Lords of Dogtown" fame), still seems to be learning about what works and what doesn't but, since no movie is ever perfect, the pros outweigh the cons especially considering the length.
The biggest problem with this film for horror fans, of course, is not the technical achievements or production values but that, like every other vampire film in recent years, it just isn't scary. I can't honestly remember a vampire film apart from certain scenes in "Salem's Lot" ever being scary though. When a lot of Edward Cullen's lines consist of the question, "Are you scared?", it does tend to provoke the audience, in this case me, to say "No" instead of waiting for Bella's equal response.
Really though, "Twilight" is more of a romantic drama with some action rather a real horror genre movie. The potential was never even there in the books, it seems, to make this into anything other than a kind of "Dark Shadows" for the 21st Century so you can't honestly go into this expecting another "30 Days of Night" because it's not going to happen.
There isn't a lot of blood in this considering it is a vampire movie and any death scenes are pretty much off-camera. I imagine that this was done intentionally to keep it within the PG-13 rating more than anything else. For my tastes, it could have used some harder and more gritty bloodletting but the target audience should be more than satisfied with what is there.
I've rated "Twilight" as 8 out of 10 based mainly on its value as an entertaining movie. As a horror movie, it is only worth half that score. I still recommend that you watch it though.
Joined: Aug 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 106 Location: Moscow Karma: 3
'Moby Dick' flick in the works « Result #16 on Sept 24, 2008, 11:49pm »
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 (UPI) --
Hollywood's Universal Pictures reportedly has hired "Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov to head its new big-screen adaptation of "Moby Dick."
Variety.com said Adam Cooper and Bill Collage are writing a script for the film based on Herman Melville's classic whale novel.
"Our vision isn't your grandfather's 'Moby Dick,'" Cooper told the entertainment industry trade newspaper. "This is an opportunity to take a timeless classic and capitalize on the advances in visual effects to tell what at its core is an action-adventure revenge story."
"We wanted to take a graphic novel sensibility to a classic narrative," Collage added.
Cooper and Collage previously worked together on the movies "Accepted," "The People's House" and "Nightcrawlers."
The Night Watch (Russian: Ночной дозор, Nochnoy Dozor) is a fantasy novel by a popular Russian writer Sergey Lukyanenko published in 1998. The story revolves around a confrontation between two opposing supernatural groups (known as 'Others'): the Night Watch, an organisation that seeks to improve the world - but isn't totally perfect and selfless either - and the Day Watch, which champions a Nietzschean, "every man for himself," philosophy, as well as an Aleister Crowley-esque, "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," attitude, and fights any Night Watch attempt to limit personal freedom. The novel is first in a tetralogy that continues with Day Watch (Dnevnoy Dozor, Дневной дозор), Twilight Watch (Sumerechnyy Dozor, Сумеречный дозор) and Final Watch (Posledniy Dozor, Последний дозор).
In the story's worldline there exists a magical realm that exists beneath the surface of all things which is referred to as the Twilight (or Gloom in other translations). The actions in the novels centers around a group of people referred to as the Others - human beings who tapped into the Twilight and gained supernormal abilities. The book mentions that the Others were the humans (shamans, soothsayers, and wisemen) from long ago who figured out how to step into the Twilight. It also mentions, however, that the Others are different from humans altogether. Others are born as such and humans are not able (at least in the first part of the tetralogy) to become Others. The Twilight doesn't offer its gifts freely; it feeds off the strength of those Others who enter it. If sufficiently weakened, they are consumed, never to return to the ordinary world. It also forces those entering it for the first time to choose between the Light and the Dark side in a process called initiation. Such a choice is usually final.
This division had always existed between the Others. Those of the Light believed it was their duty to help the weak and the helpless. Those of the Dark shunned all obligations. They did what they wanted, regardless of morals, and consequences. For many millennia, the two sides fought a vicious battle. Both were willing to use any means that would lead them to victory. Eventually they realized that if they continued their battle, neither side would survive. The leaders of both sides forged the Grand Treaty - a set of laws to govern the way the Others used their powers. The Light Others created the Night Watch, to ensure that the Dark Others would not violate the Treaty. The Dark Others created the Day Watch, to ensure that the Light Others would not violate the Treaty. The Inquisition, a group composed of both Dark and Light Others donning grey mantles, was created to ensure that neither side became too powerful.
This is an unofficial forum for all fans of Channel One/20th Century Fox's Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor and Day Watch: Dnevnoy Dozor movies plus the literary works of Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko. No infringement upon their copyrights is intended or should be inferred. All images used and information quoted is freely available from other sources on the internet. It is presented here under the "fair use" provisions of the United States copyright laws, and is used solely for the purpose of non-profit information and entertainment.
<!-- PASTE YOUR CHAT APPLET CODE HERE -->
<applet
codebase="http://client11.addonchat.com/current/"
code="Client.class" archive="scclient_en.zip"
alt="AddonChat Java Chat Software"
width=600 height=400 MAYSCRIPT>
<param name="room" value="331189">
</applet>
<!-- END CHAT APPLET CODE -->
Welcome to Dozor Fans!
![[Home]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/home.gif)
![[Help]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/help.gif)
![[Search]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/search.gif)
![[Login]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/login.gif)
![[Register]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/register.gif)
![[Live Chat]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/chat.gif)
![[Search This Thread]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/search2.gif)
![[Reply]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/reply.gif)
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/sendtopic.gif)
![[Print]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif)
Author
![[Quote]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif)
Logged
Author![[avatar]](http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/drbloodsvideovault/drblooddoodle.jpg)
![[yim]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/yim.gif)
![[msn]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/msn.gif)
![[aim]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/aim.gif)
![[homepage]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif)
![[image]](http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/drbloodsvideovault/forum/forumbanner.gif)
![[avatar]](http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/drbloodsvideovault/forum/avatars/maxim.jpg)
![[image]](http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5788/mashadollcf5.jpg)
![[image]](http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/3438/dozorfansbannercg0.jpg)
![[image]](http://nochnoydozor.unfaithful-mirror.de/layout.jpg)
![[avatar]](http://images.meez.com/user07/06/06_10004663145.jpg)
![[image]](http://images.meez.com/user07/06/06_10004673486.gif)
![[image]](http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/6088/nightwatchpicoh5.jpg)