Devil (2010) is the first movie in The Night Chronicles trilogy. It is written, but not directed, by M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, Lady in the Water, Unbreakable, The Village) Shyamalan wanted to try his hand at producing some of his ideas, the supernatural in a modern urban society. You could actually find yourself in the particular situation. I really enjoy M. Night Shyamalan films; I love his writing style, his directing style, all of it!
The opening shot is awesome! It is your typical helicopter shot of a city, however the whole thing is upside down as it takes you through the city. I don’t want to say to much about the movie because, in the style of Shyamalan, it would give the twists away. The story of Devil comes from a folktale called “The Devils Meeting” in which the Devil roams the earth in human form torturing the living before he kills them. The folktale is told in the movie in a creative way. I know it may not sound very good from that story, but it really is. It is a fascinating story with an intriguing ending.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Super 8
As much as I don’t like to say it, Super 8 (2011) was a disappointment to me. Maybe I just had really high expectations. I followed it for a long time and bought into all of the hype and secrecy about it. I am a huge fan of Steven Spielberg (Hook, Jurassic Park, E.T., Saving Private Ryan). I have also grown to like J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Alias). He is doing some interesting stuff and I kind of like his style. All of that being said I had very high expectations. That may be why I was so let down.
Super 8 takes place during the summer of 1979, Abrams, and Spielberg wanted to recapture the thriller movies of the 70’s and 80’s. They succeed in that. It has a very old feel and even though it has new CGI and such it is still very much a 70’s or 80’s thriller.
Joel Courtney plays Joe Lamb, the main character. This was his first role. He did a good job. He has a few other projects coming out in the next two years. Elle Fanning (Déjà Vu, Phoebe in Wonderland, The Door in the floor) on the other hand has been acting since 1988. She did a wonderful job and I enjoy watching her almost as much as I enjoy watching her sister. Yes, that is right, she is Dakota Fanning’s (The Runaways, Push, The Secret Life of Bees, Coraline) little sister.
I am sure there are people who will enjoy this movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up having a cult like following. It just didn’t grab me.
Super 8 takes place during the summer of 1979, Abrams, and Spielberg wanted to recapture the thriller movies of the 70’s and 80’s. They succeed in that. It has a very old feel and even though it has new CGI and such it is still very much a 70’s or 80’s thriller.
Joel Courtney plays Joe Lamb, the main character. This was his first role. He did a good job. He has a few other projects coming out in the next two years. Elle Fanning (Déjà Vu, Phoebe in Wonderland, The Door in the floor) on the other hand has been acting since 1988. She did a wonderful job and I enjoy watching her almost as much as I enjoy watching her sister. Yes, that is right, she is Dakota Fanning’s (The Runaways, Push, The Secret Life of Bees, Coraline) little sister.
I am sure there are people who will enjoy this movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up having a cult like following. It just didn’t grab me.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Secret Life of Bees
How did I miss this movie? I really don’t know how this one slipped passed me. With a cast full of some of my favorite actors The Secret Life of Bees (2008) was so fun to watch. Maybe fun isn’t the right word? The Secret Life of Bees takes place in South Carolina in 1964, and isn’t really an uplifting movie.
Dakota Fanning (Dreamer, I am Sam, Push, The Runaways) plays 14 year old Lily. She is an only child trying to come to terms with her mother’s death and an emotionally detached father. Paul Bettany (Priest, A Beautiful Mind, The Tourist) plays T. Ray, Lily’s father. As much as I like him I have to say he was pretty frightening and hard to watch. This means he did an excellent job! Lily and her caretaker Rosaleen end up running away from home. They go to South Carolina where they stay with three sisters who own a bee farm and make honey.
Queen Latifah (Chicago, Just Wright, Mad Money) plays August, the main beekeeper who lets Lily and Rosaleen stay with them. This movie is full of wonderful life lessons that Lily learns while staying with August and her sisters. Even though The Secret Life of Bees deals with difficult subject matter and a difficult time in the United States of America it is a very well written story and worth watching.
Dakota Fanning (Dreamer, I am Sam, Push, The Runaways) plays 14 year old Lily. She is an only child trying to come to terms with her mother’s death and an emotionally detached father. Paul Bettany (Priest, A Beautiful Mind, The Tourist) plays T. Ray, Lily’s father. As much as I like him I have to say he was pretty frightening and hard to watch. This means he did an excellent job! Lily and her caretaker Rosaleen end up running away from home. They go to South Carolina where they stay with three sisters who own a bee farm and make honey.
Queen Latifah (Chicago, Just Wright, Mad Money) plays August, the main beekeeper who lets Lily and Rosaleen stay with them. This movie is full of wonderful life lessons that Lily learns while staying with August and her sisters. Even though The Secret Life of Bees deals with difficult subject matter and a difficult time in the United States of America it is a very well written story and worth watching.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The Bad Mother's Handbook
In my post about the Green Lantern I talked about how many super hero movies deal with father son issues. Well, here is a movie all about mother daughter issues. The whole movie is about the relationship between a mother and her child, most specifically her daughter. Wow! I am just now realizing this has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I have been very focused on the musical Little Women for the last few weeks, which is also about a mother and her daughters. As I have mentioned I have three daughters of my own and come from a family of four daughters, no brothers. Just last week I was talking to my mom about watching my daughters grow into young women and she asked "Have you thought about what it is like to watch your daughters go through child birth. And then raise their own daughters." That really hit me because to be perfectly honest, no I haven't thought that far ahead. My oldest is 18; it isn't as far away as it used to be.
After that conversation I just happened to watch The Bad Mother's Handbook (2007). This movie deals with all of that, really. It is three generations of women all living under one roof. Catherine Tate (Starter for 10, Doctor Who (2005), Love and other Disasters) stars as Karen Cooper, a single mom trying to raise her teenage daughter and take care of her elderly mother who isn't really all there these days. Nancy, the elderly mother, is played beautifully by Anne Reid (Coronation Street, Hot Fuzz). She was wonderful to watch. Holliday Grainger (Bel Ami, Daddy Fox, The Illustrated Mum) plays Charlie. Charlie is a straight "A" student who does everything she should, for the most part. She is also a 17 year old girl trying to find her place in the world and figure out who she is.
The Bad Mother's Handbook is a made for TV British movie. It isn't a "Hollywood Blockbuster". There are no car chases, no explosions, no computer graphics. It is just a beautifully written film about being a mom. There are some interesting twists to the storyline, Karen finds out about a huge family secret her mother has been keeping and Charlotte, who goes by Charlie, finds out she is pregnant. Charlie's mother, Karen, doesn't deal with either of these things very well. Charlie's pregnancy is a reminder of her "mistake", she wanted more for her daughter then to be a single teenage mother. Enter Daniel, played by Robert Pattinson (Remember Me, Bel Ami, Water for Elephants) Daniel is a new transfer student, Charlie is asked to help him adjust to the new school, you know, show him around and such. When Charlie finds out that Daniel's dad is a doctor she begins to ask him a lot of questions about pregnancy and Daniel ends up being a huge support for her over the next nine months.
This is a very different kind of movie but I really enjoyed it. It is a very touching story with well written characters.
After that conversation I just happened to watch The Bad Mother's Handbook (2007). This movie deals with all of that, really. It is three generations of women all living under one roof. Catherine Tate (Starter for 10, Doctor Who (2005), Love and other Disasters) stars as Karen Cooper, a single mom trying to raise her teenage daughter and take care of her elderly mother who isn't really all there these days. Nancy, the elderly mother, is played beautifully by Anne Reid (Coronation Street, Hot Fuzz). She was wonderful to watch. Holliday Grainger (Bel Ami, Daddy Fox, The Illustrated Mum) plays Charlie. Charlie is a straight "A" student who does everything she should, for the most part. She is also a 17 year old girl trying to find her place in the world and figure out who she is.
The Bad Mother's Handbook is a made for TV British movie. It isn't a "Hollywood Blockbuster". There are no car chases, no explosions, no computer graphics. It is just a beautifully written film about being a mom. There are some interesting twists to the storyline, Karen finds out about a huge family secret her mother has been keeping and Charlotte, who goes by Charlie, finds out she is pregnant. Charlie's mother, Karen, doesn't deal with either of these things very well. Charlie's pregnancy is a reminder of her "mistake", she wanted more for her daughter then to be a single teenage mother. Enter Daniel, played by Robert Pattinson (Remember Me, Bel Ami, Water for Elephants) Daniel is a new transfer student, Charlie is asked to help him adjust to the new school, you know, show him around and such. When Charlie finds out that Daniel's dad is a doctor she begins to ask him a lot of questions about pregnancy and Daniel ends up being a huge support for her over the next nine months.
This is a very different kind of movie but I really enjoyed it. It is a very touching story with well written characters.
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