Fright Night

Fright Night - Dir. Craig Gillespie (2011)

"Hey, guy. You've been watching me. I've been watching you. Your mom, there's a kind of neglect. Gives off a scent. And your girl? She is ripe. It's on you to look out for them because there are a lot of bad people out there…"

The strip mining of 80's culture continues with this remake of the 1985 cult classic directed by Tom Holland (Child's Play). The original Fright Night was never one of my fondly remembered 80's vampire movies. I always preferred The Lost Boys, The Hunger, and Near Dark. Still, it had some charm, particularly a fantastic performance from Roddy McDowall as horror television host Peter Vincent. McDowall's character was a throwback to the protagonists of the classic Hammer horror films. The name itself was an homage to Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. The remake of Fright Night is one of those rare do-over's that actually improves on the original by quickening the pace and steeping it into modern pop culture.

twists its predecessor's suburban setting by taking place in an artificial oasis just outside of Las Vegas. This is a prefabricated neighborhood of innocuous tract homes with "For Sale" signs littering the front lawns and the neon lights of Sin City illuminating the horizon. High schooler Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) lives here with his mom, Jane (Toni Collette), a real estate agent trying to sell these houses. Charley is one of the most popular kids in school with a beautiful girlfriend in Amy (Imogen Poots). But, it wasn't always this way for Charley. He was once a nerd who engaged in goofy LARPing in his back yard with former best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who was cast aside for the sake of Charley's popularity.

Charley reluctantly meets with his ex-BFF when several classmates mysterious disappear. Ed suspects Charley's new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Charley is naturally disbelieving until Ed vanishes as well.

The hip nature and clever dialogue of Fright Night owes a lot to the screenplay by Marti Noxon, one of the chief architects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Noxon is no stranger to writing believable teenagers (I Am Number Four, notwithstanding) and scary bloodsuckers with a mix of horror and comedy. The story plays with the perception of vampires in a post-Twilight world as well as all the usual tropes of the mythology. Let the Right One In answered the question of what happens to a vampire when they come in without an invitation. Fright Night answers the question of does a vampire need an invitation if the house has been abandoned due to a collapsing market. There is an unexpected poignancy to the movie with Noxon touching upon themes of teen angst with vampirism serving as an allegory for the predatory nature of high school and status supremacy. Charley isn't all that nice of a kid for having so cruelly shunned Ed in favor of the jerks who would have mocked him not long ago. Jerry too is attempting to build his own social circle by using some of his victims to repopulate his species.

Jerry as played by Chris Sarandon (who does the obligatory cameo) was more in line with the classical, seductive vampire. Colin Farrell's version exudes in alpha male arrogance. He's Dracula in a tight t-shirt and denim jeans. It's a role that Farrell is clearly relishing and it's one of his most fun performances to date. Not as nuanced as In Bruges, but not as cartoonish as Horrible Bosses or Daredevil. In the original film, it never made sense for Jerry not to kill Charley outright. Here, it's a case of Jerry toyed with his food before the big bite. He's centuries old with an unfathomable body count. What does he have to fear from a boy? This is exemplified in a suspenseful sequence in which Charley breaks into Jerry's home (with the help of a handy lock picking app) in order to free a hot blonde neighbor. It is clear Jerry knows they are there, despite their feeble attempts to skulk about unnoticed. The finish to the scene is a real kick to the balls.

Director Craig Gillespie earned strong critical notice for the indie comedy Lars and the Real Girl, but he shows a true flair for stylish action in Fright Night. In addition to the break-in sequence, there's a thrilling set piece that begins with Jerry ripping up the Brewsters' gas line and igniting their abode ("Don't need an invitation if there's no house."). This kicks off an exciting chase scene done as a continuous tracking shot with Jerry hurling a dirt bike at Jane's SUV and trying to carve his way in with his "fucked up vampire hand." The only detraction to these parts is the obvious CGI. Aside from these scenes, the special effects are strong, but the 3D version should be avoided as it dims the already dark night scenes.

One of the major changes in the remake is the envisioning of Peter Vincent as a larger-than-life stage magician. Vincent is portrayed wonderfully by former Doctor Who, David Tennant, who plays him as Criss Angel by way of Russell Brand.

Fright Night may have been dumped into theaters during the doldrums of August, but it's the kind of thrill ride that should have been released on Halloween. No sparkly bullshit here, Fright Night takes the vampire back to his spooky, bloodthirsty roots.

Rating: *** (*****)

The Beaver

The Beaver - Dir. Jodie Foster (2011)

"I'm the Beaver, Walter, and I'm here to save your god damn life."

There’s no need to delve into the erratic behavior of Mel Gibson, the former Hollywood power player who has since become headline fodder for the tabloids. Once a bankable star, he is now considered persona non grata in the movie industry. Members of the cast and crew on The Hangover: Part II went apoplectic when it was announced Gibson was in line for a cameo and the offer was withdrawn. Gibson’s ballyhooed return to acting went largely ignored by general audiences. A violent revenge thriller was likely not the best vehicle for a comeback. Will they be more accepting if he were to play a mentally disturbed individual who communicates through the use of a hand puppet?

The Beaver was written by newbie Kyle Killen (who would go on to create the critically acclaimed, but short-lived Fox series Lone Star) and made the famed Black List in 2008. Steve Carell and Jim Carrey were both attached to the lead at various points before Gibson signed on at a time when his reputation wasn’t too tarnished. Then, the ugly calls to his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, were leaked to the media and Summit Entertainment went from having a potential awards season centerpiece to a forgotten direct-to-video release. Predictably, The Beaver was shunted down the pipeline several times before receiving a very limited release in mid-May.

In a moment of heavy-handed symbolism, the opening scene introduces Gibson as a man at wit's end lying in a Christ-like position with his arms out. He stares blankly into the sky as he floats across a swimming pool. Gibson is Walter Black, the CEO of a once-successful toy company, who is now crippled by a debilitating bout of depression. He is barely able to summon the strength to get out of bed. Walter's wife, Meredith (Jodie Foster), who ironically designs roller coasters for a living, can't deal anymore and boots him out of the house.

While throwing away some belongings, Walter finds a tattered beaver puppet in a dumpster behind a liquor store. He takes it back to his hotel room where he gets drunk and fails to kill himself while watching a rerun of Kung Fu. Awakening the next morning, Walter begins speaking to himself as the Beaver, affecting a Cockney accent and sounding an awful lot like Ray Winstone. Passing the Beaver off as a legitimately prescribed treatment, Walter is given a new lease on life. His youngest son, Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart), loves daddy and his new puppet pal. Their bonding over woodshop projects inspires Walter to market a Mr. Beaver Woodshop Kit that revitalizes his sagging company. Meredith even welcomes her estranged husband back into the house, but not everyone is enthusiastic about the new Walter.

His eldest son, Porter (Anton Yelchin), still wants nothing to do with him. Porter actually catalogs bad habits he shares with his father on post-its as a means to eradicate any chance of becoming Walter. Meanwhile, Porter has been making easy cash by writing other students' papers for them due to his ability to write in someone else's voice. He also romances Norah (Jennifer Lawrence), the school valedictorian and head cheerleader, who has lived a more traumatic life than she lets on.

By no means is The Beaver a modern day take on Harvey. There's no attempt to pass the Beaver off as a separate entity nor do they even hide the fact that Gibson is moving his lips when talking as the Beaver. It's hardly a whimsical comedy either. There are some cute moments in the first half of the film, such as Gibson brushing the Beaver's teeth and taking a shower with it. The story takes a very dark turn during the second half when it becomes clear Walter can no longer communicate without relying on the Beaver.

Invariably, you're ability to watch The Beaver will rely almost solely on your ability to separate Gibson's real life with his on-screen persona. It's hard not to think of the real Mel Gibson since the plot is an odd convergence of fact and fiction. Without a doubt, Gibson gives one of the best performances of his career as a man who is charismatic, disturbed, and sometimes downright pathetic. It's not hard to fathom that he tapped into a wide reservoir of personal experiences to portray the character. There's also a running commentary involving the media's culpability in furthering the damage of Walter's already fragile psyche. Walter makes the talk show rounds doing interviews with Matt Lauer and NPR's Terry Gross, but when the novelty wears off, he is cast from the spotlight like a leper.

There are weak spots in the narrative with vital plot points being glanced over too quickly. Walter gets invited back home after a montage, for example. The focus is spread too thin drifting away from the central character towards the toy company and media appearances. The love story between Porter and Norah feels like it was lifted from any generic indie flick, despite solid performances from Yelchin and Lawrence. Directed with earnestness by Foster, The Beaver gets points for crafting a serious drama around an outlandish premise

Rating: ** (*****)

New York, I Love You

New York, I Love You - Dirs. Various (2009)


Anthology films are always a mixed bag filled with hits and misses. New York, I Love You is the follow-up to Paris, je t’aime and the second in the “Cities of Love” franchise. Films set in Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, and Jerusalem are coming.

Paris featured a series of short films set in the City of Lights and directed by a talented assortment of filmmakers such as Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep), Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, and the Coen Brothers. Its successor is comprised of several shorts about romance in the Big Apple. Though the directors aren’t of the same pedigree as Paris, New York has assembled an A-list ensemble of actors. Unlike Paris, New York attempts to connect each story with interstitials of the various characters bumping into each other.

The film begins with a segment by actor/director Jiang Wen (Devils on the Doorstep) with Hayden Christensen as a pickpocket who runs into Rachel Bilson and a more experienced thief in Andy Garcia. Mira Nair directs the next short starring Natalie Portman as a Hasidic Jew negotiating a sale of jewelry with a Hindu man. They bond over their respective relationships and religions. Portman also makes her directorial debut with a later vignette involving a male nanny (Carlos Acosta) and his young charge.

Scarlett Johansson also made her directorial debut with a black & white segment starring Kevin Bacon. Titled “These Vagabond Shoes,” it was cut from the theatrical release, but is available on the DVD.

It says a lot about New York, I Love You when the strongest episode is the one directed by freakin’ Brett Ratner. His segment features Anton Yelchin taking a blind date to the prom. The date (Olivia Thirlby) arrives at the door in a wheelchair. It’s a cute short that doesn’t end quite as you’d expect. Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace) helms the second best segment with Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman as an elderly couple bickering along the streets of NY.

The movie makes its audience feel like a passive viewer floating through the lives of the city’s inhabitants. Unfortunately, these lives are just plain dull. Everything is so innocuous. None of the directors have anything interesting to say about love, relationships, or the city. Except for a scene in Central Park, there’s nothing distinctly New York about the film. It could have been called Toronto, I Love You without much difference.

All the shorts look exactly the same with the sequence by Shekhar Kepur who took over from the late Anthony Minghella. Kepur gives his piece an ethereal quality grounded by the wonderful presence of Julie Christie as a blind opera singer. However, everything is so confoundingly pretentious (or pretentiously confounding, if you prefer) coupled with Shia LaBeouf laughingly playing a crippled bellhop with some indiscernible accent. Mutt Williams as Igor.

New York, I Love You may be a slick and polished affair, but it has all the substance of a bad student film festival.

Rating: *

Terminator: Salvation

Terminator: Salvation - Dir. McG (2009)

”Better than I thought it would be,” was the best compliment I could muster for the fourth Terminator film which takes place in the dystopian future the protagonists had so desperately hoped to avoid. Set nearly three decades after the original film, Terminator: Salvation is both a prequel and a sequel thanks to its Mobius strip premise of time travel.

The film opens in 2003 with a pair of characters facing death sentences. One is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a convicted murderer waiting a lethal injecting. The other is Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter), a scientist for Cyberdyne who is dying of cancer. Dr. Kogan convinces Wright that he can do some good by donating his body for research. Jump forward to the year 2018 and Marcus awakens to discover a world of bombed out cities and gun-toting homicidal machines. Judgment Day has come and pass and the humans are now a ragtag army of resistance fighters against the mechanical forces of Skynet. An adult John Connor (Christian Bale) isn’t the chosen one just yet, but he’s getting there. Connor recently learns that Skynet is capturing human prisoners for experiments to create the T-800s that would eventually be sent back in time to kill his mother. He also discovers a deactivation code that can shut down Skynet’s robots which may lead to a decisive victory over the machines. Meanwhile, Wright wanders into the ruins of Los Angeles and meets a teenaged Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the father of John Connor who must be protected at all cost lest his son never come into existence. Salvation also stars Bryce Dallas Howard as John’s wife, Kate; Common as John’s right-hand man Barnes; and Moon Bloodgood as a pilot for the resistance. Even a certain California governor makes a cameo appearance thanks to modern technology.

Terminator gets plenty right in terms of action and visuals. McG provides a surprisingly steady hand from the director’s seat in comparison to his usual flair for MTV-style theatrics. McG had cited Children of Men as an influence and you can see it in one of the action sequences which was filmed in one, long take. The look of the picture is a bleached out combination of sepia and metallic gray, giving the world a grimy, disparate feel. The action itself is more low-key than Terminator 3 which was driven by big, loud explosions. The acting is good with the notable exception of Common who gives several stilted line readings. Christian Bale is fine in the role of John Connor though he is repeating the same growling intensity he displayed as Batman. Bale is overshadowed by his co-stars Sam Worthington and Anton Yelchin, a pair of actors whose stars are definitely on the rise.

Worthington will also star in the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans as well as James Cameron’s Avatar. Cameron himself recommended Worthington for the role. Yelchin who was great as Chekov in Star Trek plays the younger Kyle Reese just as tough as he was when played by Michael Biehn. Bryce Dallas Howard follows in the footsteps of Linda Hamilton as the mother of the future though she only gets a tiny amount of screen time. Michael Ironside, one of the best character actors ever, ups the growly gruffness as Gen. Ashdown, leader of the resistance.

Still, there’s something ironically mechanical about Terminator: Salvation. The practical effects revolutionized by Stan Winston have given way to CG-monstrosities inspired by Transformers. The story feels like it’s going through the motions without any true emphasis on the actual characters. The story seems more occupied with choking the audience in a cloud of macho testosterone. Themes are laid out questioning the humanity of the humans themselves, but those are explored in a pedestrian manner. Despite all the time travel and set pieces, there were still deeper things running through the first two Terminator films.

The original film was Sarah Connor on the path to realizing she was meant for something more. Terminator 2 was a coming-of-age tale and focused on the young John Connor and Arnold as his surrogate father figure. There really isn’t anything lying beneath the surface of Terminator: Salvation. The script was originally written by the duo of John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris who also wrote Terminator 3 as well as The Game and ::ugh:: Catwoman. The screenplay was extensively rewritten to boost the role of John Connor when Bale expressed interest in playing him rather than Marcus Wright. It passed through the hands of both Paul Haggis and Shield creator Shawn Ryan. It doesn’t have the written-by-committee feel that many Hollywood blockbusters have, but there’s no resonance.

The Terminator is a great film and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of my favorite films of all time. I can watch the latter over and over again, but I don’t have the burning desire to see Terminator: Salvation a second time. It’s a decent enough action film, but lacks the originality of the previous installments.

Rating: ** 1/2

Star Trek

Star Trek - Dir. J.J. Abrams (2009)

Yes, I am a Star Trek fan. Like other Trekkies or Trekkers or whatever terminology is approved of, the thought of rebooting the original series must have been anathema. The idea isn’t completely unheard of as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote a treatment for a proposed remake series. Still, the very concept is like slaughtering a sacred cow. I approached the new Star Trek film with the same trepidation and disdain that I have with any other attempted remake from the Hollywood machine. I certainly didn’t consider J.J. Abrams to be the man that would be able to shepherd the franchise into the 21st century. Not to the mention the cast seemed as if they’d be more comfortable on a CW show than they would gallivanting through outer space. So it is with a great sense of surprise and satisfaction that I found the simply titled Star Trek to be a fantastic adventure film and the most fun theater experience I’ve had all year.

Abrams along with frequent collaborators Damon Lindelof (producer of Lost) and screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) take us back to a time when the iconic Trek characters were still fresh-faced cadets in Starfleet Academy. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a farm boy from Iowa whose father was captain of a starship for a only a few minutes and saved the lives of nearly every crew member including his wife and newborn son. This Kirk has a lot to live up to in more ways than one. He’s shunned Starfleet in favor of chasing girls and picking bar fights until a man-to-man talk with Capt. Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Light years away on the planet Vulcan, Spock (Zachary Quinto) has grown up torn between his Vulcan and human halves. Though he’s chosen the logical, emotionally repressed ways of his father Sarek (Ben Cross), he still possesses the fiery spirit of his mother Amanda (Winona Ryder). Long story short, they find their way on board the Enterprise along with plenty of familiar names with all new faces. These include; helmsman Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), communications officer Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), the cantankerous Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), and eventually engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).

The maiden voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise isn’t a smooth one as the crew must immediately go into battle against Nero (Eric Bana), a mad Romulan on a path to massive genocide. Nero has traveled back in time to avenge the destruction of his home planet by wiping out every world belonging to the Federation. Luckily for our heroes, an elderly Spock has found his way into the past to provide sage advice to the hotheaded Kirk.

Getting my nitpicks out of the way first, the script does feel rushed despite the film’s run time of over two hours. Kirk has an incredibly quick change of heart from rebellious youth to enlisting in Starfleet. From there, the story plays fast and loose as it assembles the famous crew of the Enterprise and gets them all in their proper place. Abrams manages to avoid the trendy shaky camera work that nearly everyone uses for action sequences in the wake of the Bourne trilogy. He does, however, utilize an awful lot of lens flare. It definitely works for many of the space scenes in accurately reflecting sun light off the hulls of the starships. I’m not so sure that it was needed for so many scenes, becoming quite distracting and obtrusive. Time travel probably wasn’t the most optimal choice for a storyline, but it was a necessary evil in order to placate the diehard fans in establishing this new Trek without wiping out or being beholden to previous continuity. It also allows Leonard Nimoy to take on a small role and symbolically pass the torch to this new ensemble. To their credit, the writers use time travel as a mere backdrop in order to avoid all the confusion and plot holes that usually comes with it.

The story, in and of itself, isn’t particularly original. It follows the basic journey of the protagonist into becoming the hero we know he will be while foiling the supervillain in his quest to destroy all life. Where the film shines is in its treatment of its characters and the actors who truly elevate the material they’ve been given. Chris Pine had the unenviable task of bringing life to James T. Kirk while the specter of William Shatner forever followed him. Pine captures the swashbuckling attitude of the original Kirk with a dash of Han Solo thrown in for good measure. His freewheeling ways stand in contrast to his restrained Vulcan first officer. Quinto not only looks the part of Spock, but captures his logical nature as well as the burning passions buried deep inside his human half. As expected, Simon Pegg provides the comic relief though neither he nor Sulu are given enough scenes to work with. Anton Yelchin nails Chekov’s Russian accent perfectly.

I’ve not been much of a fan of Eric Bana and found many of his performances a bit on the stiff side. I thought he was good in Munich though easily outshined by co-stars Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. As Nero, Bana really relishes the villainous role and chews the scenery whenever he gets the chance. There are echoes of Wrath of Khan in Nero’s confrontations with the Enterprise along with a heavy influence from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Both characters suffered the loss of their family and people thus dedicating their lives to battling what they feel are injustice and imperialism. Perhaps, the best performance out of anyone is Karl Urban who shows off amazing comedic timing as the grouchy, wild-eyed Dr. McCoy. Urban, a self-professed Trek fan, practically channels the spirit of DeForest Kelly.

For the first time in a long time, we have a Trek film that was truly meant for the big screen. Abrams and company have fashioned a widescreen spectacle packed to the gills with action and excitement. Will it please every longtime fan? No. This is a Trek accessible to the masses and unencumbered by past mythology. Just like Bond and Batman, this is a reboot that works. This is a new Star Trek that still pays homage to its predecessor not just in spirit. There are several scenes and lines of dialogue that call back to past episodes and films. At the same time, the film frees up the franchise to boldly go where no one has gone before.

There are still detractors. I know some fellow Trek fans who absolutely refuse to see the film. I also know several people (friends and relatives) who’ve never shown an inkling of interest in Star Trek and are either dying to see this new version or have seen it and loved it. If someone went to see Iron Man, loved it, and wanted to read some of the comics, I’m all for it. If Abrams’ Star Trek gets new fans to watch the original series or Next Generation or any iteration, I’m all for it. I don’t agree with the viewpoint that the new Star Trek detracts from classic Trek nor does it erase what’s come before it. I’ve been more than willing to accept this new vision as an alternate reality far removed from the original. Consider Star Trek to be a flickering light in the corner of your eye and ignore it if you choose. Me? I’m more than happy to enjoy all versions.

I’m also happy to see that in the future go-go boots and mini-skirts are still in fashion.

Rating: ****

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Bartlett - Dir. Jon Poll (2008)

Neurotic rich boy gets kicked out of fancy pants academy. Sent to public school and becomes de factor psychologist.

Like the lead character this film is a little too smug and assure of itself. Familiar, yet passable, high school dramedy.

Worth noting mainly for a strong performance by Robert Downey Jr. His turn as an alcoholic principal makes my mouth water at what he'll bring to the table for Iron Man 2 ("Demon in a Bottle~!").