Fright Night (2011) - Craig Gillespie

Fright Night (2011)
Director: Craig Gillespie
Writer: Marti Noxon (Screenplay), Tom Holland (Story)
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Sandra Vergara

No, I tend not to be the biggest fan of remakes. However, I am a pretty big Doctor Who fan so the fact that David Tennant stars in this probably helped me decide to see it. It also didn't hurt that Shaw Girl thinks David Tennant is a total hotty and he spends a lot of the movie with his shirt off. Tennant isn't the only reason I saw this film though, the trailer actually made it look pretty good so I was at least a bit interested in how this remake would turn out.

I was pleasantly surprised.While it certainly did not outdo the original, it stood on its own as a pretty decent horror/comedy. I had a few problems with it but overall I was thoroughly entertained. The film pretty closely follows the plot of the original; a teenager finds out his neighbor is a vampire, no one believes him, he enlists the aid of a TV vampire killer, hijinks ensue.

Photos from the Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria NY

Me and the Mutoscope (pic by Shaw Girl).

A few weeks ago, my Fiancee and I went up to Brooklyn, NY for her birthday and to have our engagement photos taken. We had a great time exploring parts of the city. I hadn't been to New York since I was in high school and I really enjoyed the trip. We mostly stayed in the Brooklyn area, there was so much to explore that we didn't have to leave the area much. We ate at many great restaurants, explored Prospect Park, bought way too much at the Brooklyn Flea Market and I even got myself lost in a couple used books stores while I was there.

One of the things we did leave Brooklyn for was a trip to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. Even though it was her birthday she made sure to plan time for this because she knew I would love it (isn't she sweet?). It isn't a very large museum but it does have a great collection of film industry memorabilia. Their exhibits range from props and costumes to old cameras and projectors. They even had some old vintage video games there, including an original pong arcade game (which wasn't in working order) and an original Frogger arcade (which was working). It did make me feel kind of old when I ran across a Sega Genesis though. Nothing from my childhood should be in a museum.

I thought I would dedicate a post to just showing off some pics that I took while I was at the museum. I highly recommend going there if you are ever in New York. Apparently they do film screening on occasion as well. I'd love get up there for one of those some time. Perhaps on my next trip. I hope you enjoy the pics but keep in mind I am not the best photographer and these were all taken with my iPhone. There is so much more in the museum than what you see here though, so visit if you get the chance.

The Wraith (1986) - Mike Marvin

The Wraith (1986)
Director: Mike Marvin
Writer: Mike Marvin
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid, Matthew Barry, David Sherrill, Clint Howard

Are you a fan of the 1973 Clint Eastwood film High Plains Drifter? Have you ever watched it and thought, "How could this movie possibly be any more awesome?" Have you then answered that question by saying to yourself, "well, some fast cars might make a tad bit more awesome." If you have had this small conversation with yourself then The Wraith (1986) may just be the film for you. After you get some professional help for that talking-to-yourself problem, I highly suggest checking it out.

Mike Marvin's The Wraith perfectly combines the the spiritual revenge story of High Plains Drifter with the exciting street racing of Death Race 2000 (1975). This combination creates the perfect movie for those that can't sit still for the slow pace of High Plains Drifter but still want to see a story about a spirit coming back from the grave to take vengeance on those that killed him. I really hope that isn't giving too much away, but honestly every description of the movie I have read pretty much gives away the "avenging spirit" aspect of the movie.

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977) - George Barry

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977)
Director: George Barry
Writer: George Barry
Starring: Demene Hall, William Russ, Julie Ritter, Linda Bond, Patrick Spence-Thomas, Rosa Luxemburg, Dave Marsh

Last week a friend sent me a link to an A.V. Club video entitled Ridiculous Horror Movie Adversaries, which as you may guess is about horror movie villains that are way to ridiculous to be taken even remotely seriously. One of the movies mentioned in the video was Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977). Apparently after the movie was made, everyone involved with it pretty much forgot about its existence but through some showings of bootleg prints it managed to grab a small cult following over the years. It finally got an official release (on DVD) in 2003.

Now, as soon as I saw the A.V. Club video, I knew I would need to track down Death Bed and watch it. The concept sounded so ludicrous that I had to know how anyone could possibly get a full length movie out of it. George Barry managed to milk the implausible scenario for all it is worth though.

The Social Network (2010) - David Fincher

The Social Network (2010)
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Aaron Sorkin (Screenplay), Ben Mezrich (Book)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Joseph Mazzello

Well I finally got around to watching David Fincher's The Social Network (2010). I am not sure why I put it off that long, I had read the book and even if it wasn't well written it still told an interesting story. I was pretty confident that Aaron Sorkin would be able to adapt the book into an excellent script that David Fincher would turn into an amazing film.

The film did not disappoint. I know a lot of people have been avoiding seeing this one, dismissing it as "that movie about Facebook." They don't know what they are missing though. Yes, the film does tell the story of the rise of Facebook, however that is not what the film is about. This is a film about the revenge and betrayal of a petty man who turned a small idea into a multi-million dollar business that, for better or worse, changed the way people communicate all over the world.

Black Swan (2010) - Darren Aronofsky

Black Swan (2010)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Mark Heyman (Screenplay), Andres Heinz (Screenplay & Story), John J. McLaughlin (Screenplay)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

As one of my two or three loyal readers, you may have noticed that I have not posted anything in quite some time. I have seen plenty of really good movies but just haven't had the energy to write about them. If you hadn't heard the news, I am getting married. Now, weddings are expensive so I decided to take a second job in order to help pay for it. I was able to take a job at a  movie theater near where I live. One of the nice ones that shows independent and foreign films, not one of those giant multiplex deals. So far, I am really enjoying the job and one of my favorite parts is the number of people that stop and talk to me about the movies they have just watched.

One of the best comments I have heard so far was from a gentlemen that had just walked out of Black Swan (2010). He just looked at me as he walked out and said, "I no longer want to be a ballerina." I'm not sure why, but the comment made me laugh and really just made my day. Another times a woman came out of Black Swan and stopped to talk to me for a few minutes about the movie. Apparently she was a psychologist and was very impressed with how the film portrayed Nina's (Natalie Portman) descent into madness.