A Nightmare on Elm St -- Review

If asked to describe the man of your dreams, what would you say?  Would you call him "dreamy" or any other cliche term? Although this particular man has been known by many since the '80s to be associated with dreams, I bet only a few if any would think of him in this context.  In fact, Freddy would probably be the last person you'd name, however after this weekend he will be the one man in everyone's dreams.

From the opening scene and straight through to the end credits A Nightmare on Elm Street will have you jumping out of your seat.  The cast of young, up and coming actors will surprise you in the classic horror roles.  With Thomas Dekker (FOX's Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Jesse, Rooney Mara as Nancy, Kyle Gallner (Jennifer's Body and HBO's Big Love) as Quentin, and a very brief appearance of Kellan Lutz (Twilight) as Dean.  As is to be expected, you are only given just enough time you get to recognize these young actors in one of their first major role in a horror flick before Krueger comes calling their name.  Their deaths will give you chills and leave you with your mouth hanging open.

From the gruesome deaths to the creative visual effects used to transport the characters from reality to dream, this film is full of images that will make any horror fan grin from ear to ear.  With classic scenes included from the kids jumping rope, the micro-nap in the bathtub (which will give you a few chuckles due to the camera shot), and a familiar death scene, this remake is worthy of the Nightmare name.  It includes all the concepts that make the original so horrifying, but updated the presentation to appeal to today's audiences. It truly plays homage to the classic in a horrifyingly respectful fashion, only taking things to a much darker and more serious level than the campiness of the original.  This remake lets you see the black heart that is "Freddy".

As a fan of Wes Craven's 1984 classic I had my doubts of yet another remake, but Samuel Bayer's visions for Nightmare left me with nightmares of my own.  For me, the secret is all about Freddy.  Aside from my love of Jackie Earle Haley and his past roles as Rorschach in Watchmen and Guerrero in FOX's Human Target, I could not have pictured anyone else pulling off the nightmarish role better.  It could simply be that I can picture him going all rogue and badass, or the fact that he has a look that could scare the crap out of someone with just one look, or simply his own little touch of Krueger-ness that he adds to the character.  After watching this film you will not be able to bare hearing the sound of scissors or other sharp cutting tools without feeling the need to look over your shoulder to see if Krueger is coming for you.  These bladed fingers are certainly not as friendly as those of Edward Scissorhands'.

A Nightmare on Elm Street brings today's film-goers and the children of the 70s together as we will all be begging someone to wake us from our nightmares after seeing this film.  Samuel Bayer gives us a breath taking horror flick both visually and emotionally.  The nightmare sequences are as real on screen as they play in your own mind, and the clicking of his bladed fingers will leave you screaming for your life.   Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of Krueger will grab you and hold on for dear life.  There is no escaping his grasp, and that final moment, just when you think it is safe to fall back asleep, beware!

If you are looking for a thrilling film to go see this weekend I would highly recommend A Nightmare on Elm Street.  This film will entertain and scare everyone in the theater, and it's fun to catch a flick that has such a strong following with iconic characters like Krueger and Nancy that continue to bring fans of the series back together with the release of new version.  I can only hope that the franchise will continue to be re-imagined as I would love to see just how dark this Krueger really is.  I give Nightmare a 4.5 out of 5. 

1, 2 Freddy's coming for you

3, 4 better lock your door

5, 6 grab your crucifix

7, 8 gotta stay up late

9, 10 never sleep again

2010 Trailer

1984 Trailer

The Losers -- Review

This weekend will be a showdown of the comics. After it's opening weekend last week, I feel as though Kick-Ass needs a make-up session, and the challenger in the other corner is Vertigo comic's The Losers.  Last week Kick-Ass just barely beat out the family film from Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon, but I feel this weeks challenger should put up less of a fight.  Unfortunately I did not buy the hype of The Losers.  Yes, it looks cool.  Yes, there is a hot chick that can kick ass and will give any guy a hard on for her flexibility and ability to handle dangerous weapons.  But other than that this film lacks in a variety of areas.

As an action fan from the female prospective, The Losers left me wishing I had not wasted my time.  Regardless of several "hot" male actors there was nothing that truly appealed to action fans.  There wasn't quite enough action to keep me satisfied, and the overall dialog and story fell short even in comparison to some of the worst comic book adaptations like The Punisher, Hulk (Eric Bana version)  and The Fantastic Four.  I get that they tried to appeal to females by adding in Chris Evans who previously starred as Human Torch, but even for how bad the Fantastic Four films were we (female audience) were at least given a little skin to help us get through the painful moments of the film. But there was very little for me to hold onto during the 98 minute running time of The Losers.

 The Losers gave the impression to have great potential, but after Kick-Ass and the witty dark humor I felt the dialog and story choices made for The Losers just reached too far.  Granted I have not read the comics, but I have a feeling that several of the characters are not quite as bad as they are portrayed.  Jensen is over the top and is almost "clueless" to an extent that is unbelievable.  It's "cute" that he loves his niece but there is something about an elite special forces hacker that acts the way he does that just doesn't make it for me.  Clay is the most relateable character, however his character is so one-dimensional that I just couldn't seem to like him.  Aisha is a bad ass chick suffering from lack of bi-polar medication.  Her history and connection to the Losers makes sense but the lead up to the reveal make it less believable as to who her character is.  My only real porblem with Zoe Saldana as Aisha is the fact that I find her hard to believe as an action star.  Her dancing background adds to her ability to make the appearance believable, but her acting style is hard to keep up with.  I wish she would stick with drama films and leave the action genre to other actors for the time being.  The best part of the film for me was Cougar and Pooch.  Their contrast together made for the perfect pair in the team. Cougars lack of need to speak makes him a true bad-ass, and adds to his character as a sharpshooter. 

Over all I struggled to find something steady throughout The Losers to keep me grounded long enough to really appreciate it.  I guess having just come off Kick-Ass I have higher standards for comic adaptations and just wanted something more.  The Losers cannot touch Kick-Ass in overall quality of entertainment.  Personally I would suggest putting The Losers on the back burner and waiting to see it after it's out on DVD.  But who knows, maybe I just missed the point and maybe one of you can help explain to me what I missed. 

Kick-Ass -- Review

A year ago I assisted the MTV News team at the NY Comic Con for a panel discussion considering the topic of who the top ten movie badasses of all time are, and since then I have spent a lot of time contemplating the names on the list.  For me that question takes a lot of consideration, much like my answer for "what's your favorite movie".  But as I though of the names of the characters that made the list according to MTV, debates by the panelists, and my known knowledge of the characters I feel that in today's media and technology crazed world, that many of the names on that particular list should no longer be considered relevant for today's films.  I personally do not think of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry as being the ultimate badass any longer.  And no matter how much I love the Alien series and everything Ripley related (thank you Dave for the introduction), I cannot picture Ellen Ripley as the #2 badass of all time (regardless of where the votes and tallies came from).  Even my excitement for Bruce Willis' John McClane just doesn't quite make my top 5 for today's movie goers -- not even having blown up a helicopter with a police car in Live Free or Die Hard.  Especially after the large quantity of action flicks over the last few years, and those by rather ambitious directors to took action to the next level.  Picture Kill Bill or Reservoir Dogs with a cast of teens.  Tarantino meeting the end of a blade or coming face to face with the muzzle of a gun held by one of his own badass characters.  Think of Fox coming to her fateful end in a dark alley at the hands of a little girl.  Or Marv getting his ass kicked by a former cop out for revenge.  There is nothing right about any of those pictures, but Kick-Ass gets very close to something that would resemble each and every one of those images.

Kick-Ass is a hard punching, ass kicking, blade yielding, heavy metal flick that will literally blow your mind. Yes we can all connect with the idea that it would be cool to be a superhero.  Some may have even questioned why no one has ever truly tried to be a superhero like those in the comic books, but Kick-Ass will put all those thoughts to rest.  From the opening monologue and drop dead shocking death, Matthew Vaughn's direction of Kick-Ass is a film that truly puts the classic Tarantino style to shame.  With characters like Hit Girl and Big Daddy I feel that the traditional lists of "all time badass characters" are no long relevant.  Personally, I no longer look at any of the classic cowboys, "bad boys", "good cop/bad cop", or those vengeful characters as being badass enough.  Even though Dirty Harry, John McClane, and even Sarah Connor remain on the list of characters that I'd rather not run into on the street, these classic characters are beginning to lose their status to the new generation of "badassness".

Kick-Ass is a wild ride with several heavy hitters on the cast list.  It has been years since Nick Cage has played a badass like Big Daddy, and I loved every second of it.   Over the past year I have begun to feel like all of my favorite "old timers" are finally making a come back in some serious badass roles. Bruce Willis is always a favorite with Live Free or Die Hard, John Travolta showed us he could still kickass and sent me back to the Pulp Fiction days with his role as Charlie Wax in From Paris with Love, Denzel Washington shocked us with his skills and overall badassness in Book of Eli, and now Cage joins the league and gives those characters a run for their money.  I've miss the good ol' days when Cage was that dangerous man in Face/Off, Con Air and Bangkok Dangerous.  Big Daddy was a role meant for him and I bow down before the performance and he truly went down in a blazing glory.

But it wasn't the old timer that did it for me.  He was more of a chaperon on set to the younger stars of the film.  I almost feel that if I was to match The Bride up against Hit Girl, she would easily "finish off" Tarantino's character in a matter of seconds before heading off to face the next badass on the list. The minute you see 13 year old Chloe Moretz playing with her first weapon, straight through to the final battle of the film you'll instantly be a Hit Girl fun.  Of course there is a chance you will puke in your lap at the degree of violence this little bombshell is capable of presenting.  It is her level of skill, power, and over all "girl-power" that is like no other character that has come before her, and instantly raises her level of badassness to a place on the top ten list.  Hit Girl could even give Jolie a run for her money as any action character in her repertoire.   This young star is an action star in the making that is someone to watch out for.  But don't worry, I have not forgotten about the boys in this flick.

Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse bring a whole new level to the "cool nerd".  It is their comedic timing and attempts at being a superhero that make Kick-Ass and Red Mist the new "cool kid".  It is the "losers" that are making it look cool to be the underdog.  With so many films hitting theaters about characters coming to terms with who they are and discovering that it is cool just to be yourself, it was the new "nerd" that every girl is going to be cheering for.  These character are going to put the "jocks" to shame in this new revolution in the "revenge of the nerds".  I could not get enough of the hard hitting characters, even when they were getting their butts kicked.  This adaptation of Mark Millar's graphic novel will place director Matthew Vaughn clearly on the radar for a career worth following.  I loved every second (even those that turned my stomach) and walked out of the theater wanting more, hoping for a sequel.  I give Kick-Ass a solid 10 out of 10 and highly recommend this film, with just one stipulation...

If you are a parent, older sibling, or relative/babysitter/etc of a child under the age of 13 I would suggest thinking twice about taking them to this film.  This film is an in-your-face ride that follows close to Frank Miller's Sin City and Alan Moore's Watchmen, and may not be appropriate for younger kids.  The screening I attended had several parents and family members sitting with young children between 3-10 years old, and all it took was the opening scene to send them into a fit of tears, ultimately causing their parent/relative/sibling to have to leave the theater until the child was able to calm down.  So please, do your fellow movie-goers a favor and come enjoy this film in an age appropriate manner, otherwise you may find a real-life superhero waiting for you just around the corner. 

Clash of the Titans -- Review

Do you remember that gag your friends used to play about "running through a forest"? The one where they'd flail their hands around in front of your face until "you run into a tree" and then they'd bopped you on the head.  Well, I just spent just under 2 hours in a film where I felt like I was just being played with before running head first into NOTHING.  I know that 3D is supposed to be the IN thing because it's "so cool", but I'm sick of having to feel like I can't see straight when I'm paying upwards of $18+ per 3D film.  And now,  with the 24% increase in ticket rates I'm sorry to say, that it is becoming less and less likely that I would willingly go to another 3D film.

This weekend we are being hit with the Clash of the Titans in 3D and but, I have to tell you, I have never felt so confused while watching such a simple story line.  This remake to the 1981 classic has so much happening on screen that I felt like I walked out of the theater cross-eyed.  With the combination of 3D, visual effects, complicated battle sequences, and the outrageous number of monsters constantly flying at the screen I could barely keep track of what was happening.  The picture looked like one big blur and about half way through the film I forfeited  the 3D glasses and chanced watching the film without their aid and discovered, it really made no difference in the viewing and interpretation of what was happen and to who.

Clash of the Titans was cram packed with so much action that it did not leave time for much else.  The story even left me scratching my head as there was no introduction to any of the character other than Perseus, Zeus or Hades.  Regardless of how much I love Ralph Fiennes, I found his portrayal of Hades almost too “Darth Vader”  like and the only thing that would have completely thrown the film would have been Perseus, I am your father" line spouted by Zeus.  Liam Neeson's portrayal of Zeus was strong, and "shiny", which reminded me of the sparkling vampires.   There was just too much going on in front of me (and I don’t mean those sitting in front of me) that I could not help but be distracted.  The film, although action packed which  normally what I'm looking for in a film, this one left me wanting a stop button with no repeat, since I couldn’t bear to see it again. 

For me, Clash of the Titans is an adventure ride I'd rather they had stopped the ride so I could have gotten off.  This film was a definite unnecessary remake to a classic that may be out dated but a much more enjoyable film to watch.  I rate this 3D a epic fail.  Maybe an attempt at the 2D version will allow me to rate the film.  With the jumpy camera and unfocused picture, motion sickness is the only thing that I can  register as the film achievement.  So barf to Clash of the Titans and please don’t regurgitate it and make it into a 4D film next go around.