The Thing (2011)

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A prequel to John Carpenter's film of the same name, and is a nod to the film The Thing from Another World directed by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks, which was based off the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell. An Antartica research team discovers something under the ice. An alien life form that had become frozen. They begin studying the new life form, but it escapes from its icy tomb. It starts attacking the people trapped in this research facility in Antartica. 

This film was directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. (a mouthful). This takes a difficult leap in that it is a prequel instead of a remake (as most modern horror films are doing currently). It being prequel also gives it the challenge of fitting in with John Carpenter's The Thing while retelling the story of the original. This film manages to succeed as a prequel while creating its own horror roots. The story is limited to the source material, and doesn't allow the characters much room to internally develop. It is different in that the lead female character keeps a calm head in an attempt to survive. It is great watching someone use general knowledge in a horror film. The story did great in keeping audience's guessing who else has become infected by The Thing. There is some gore, but it's not overbearing. However, it does have several disturbing moments when mixing alien and human DNA. The creatures in this film looked a little too glossy, but were terrorizing nevertheless. The severed arm was brilliantly done. It was interesting to watch how the end credits lead to John Carpenter's The Thing.

The cast worked well together. Mary Elizabeth Winestead played the role of Kate Lloyd. She was great in her leading role. She gave the film a heroine to follow who acted intelligently. Ulrich Thomsen played the role of Dr. Sander Halvorson. He was good in his generic role. Eric Christian Olsen played the role of Adam Finch. He was good in his role. Trond Espen Seim played the role of Edvard Wolner. He was great in his role. He was great opposite Winestead. Kim Bubbs played the role of Juliette. She was good in her small role. 

I give this film 4 out of 5 stars! It's a great film, but it felt too bound by the source material. There also isn't much for character development, but the story is a great creature film.

Answer to last blog: Actress Daria Nicolodi is the mother to actress Asia Argento (whose father is Dario Argento).

Que: Actress Mary Elizabeth Winestead also starred in the film... ?

Juno
Bridge to Terabithia
Live Free or Die Hard
Dan in Real Life

Land of the Dead (2005)

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This film, a sequel in the Living Dead series, follows the next step of the human battle against the zombie plague. The surviving humans have built a protective compound to keep themselves safe. In this compound has developed an obvious separation of the rich and poor. Zombies are also slowly beginning to show signs of menial intelligence. Riley Denbo, and his friends, become caught in this feud between the zombies and humans.

This film was directed by... yep... George A. Romero. This is the fourth in Romero's, popular, Living Dead series. This film carries on many of the traditions of its genre. It makes some political and social statements about the current world. This film mainly focuses on the rich and poor, human vices, and racial understanding. It is also filled with plenty of gore and tons of zombies for pure horrific entertainment. The story follows the human perspective, as these films always do. It shows how humans have reacted to the zombie outbreak. The film was also full of satirical humour. It also has some great character development in a short amount of time. The zombie effects were well done. It was interesting to see the various deterioration of the zombies. There is a lot of hinted gore in this film. There is plenty of blood to enjoy though. Surprisingly there isn't much sexuality in the film. Thankfully, it lives up to Romero's reputation for zombie filled films. 

The cast worked great together. The characters are highly generic, but work for this film. Simon Baker played the role of Riley Denbo. He was good playing the general good boy. He presented an dehumanized mentality to surviving the apocalypse. Robert Joy played the role of Charlie. He was good in his small role. He added a sympathetic feel to the film. Asia Argento played the role of Slack. She was good in her general role of the bad ass beautiful chic. John Leguizamo played the role of Cholo DeMora. He was great in his conflicted role. Dennis Hopper played the role of Kaufman. He was good in his role of being the corrupted rich man. 

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is the best of the Living Dead series up to this point. It carries on a popular horror legacy that hundreds of people enjoy.

Answer to last blog: Director Larry Charles also directed the documentary Religulous, and the film The Dictator.

Que: What is the name of Asia Argento's mother's name (also an actress)?

Mara Abba
Daria Nicolodi
Angela Finocchiaro
Laura Morante

The Dictator (2012)

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Aladeen is the general dictator of Wadiya in North Africa. He goes to America to end fears of a nuclear threat. After arriving in America he gets kidnapped, and his beard is shaved off making him unrecognizable. He escapes and learns that an impostor has taken his place, and is planning to sign a new constitution to make Wadiya a democracy.  Aladeen uses the help of Zoey and Nadal to fight to keep Wadiya a dictatorship. 

This film was directed by Larry Charles. Somehow, this film managed to hit every popular current political button available (i.e. racism, feminism, pro-life, dictators, homosexuality, corruption in the white house, etc.). Which is probably what got this film banned in various third world countries. The film was overly publicized. This film's story is an obvious satire on recent dictatorships and political disagreements. The comedy is highly slap stick and vulgar. There are moments when the humor is just plain disgusting. There are several moments when it just went so far over the top it became corny, but the rest of the film was hilarious. The film is predictable story wise, but not with its humor. This film did create a great addicting musical score. I would strongly recommend keeping children from seeing this film. Granted it's not Sacha's greatest comedic work, but it is worth seeing once.

The cast worked well together. Sacha Baron Cohen played the role of Dictator Hafez Aladeen and the role of Efawadh. He was usual satirical good humored self. He was good giving a generally hated persona some heart. Anna Faris played the role of Zoey. She was good in her general role. She was the political fighter with a gentle nature. Jason Mantzoukas played the role Nadal. He was great in his role. It was amazing to watch Cohen and Mantzoukas play off each other during the film. Ben Kingsley played the role of Tamir. He was great playing the role of the villain.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It is a good comedy that satirizes present political quandaries. It might not be the best of his works, but it still has several good laughs.

Answer to last blog: Actress Maggie Grace worked with writer/producer Luc Besson on the film Taken, as well as Lockout.

Que: What other film did director Larry Charles direct?

Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Encounters at the End of the World
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Religulous

Lockout

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Snow finds himself arrested after being accused of espionage and murder. He is given an opportunity to redeem himself by rescuing the imprisoned president's daughter; Emilie Warnock. She was on a trip to MS One, a prison space facility where the criminals are kept under stasis control, to investigate how the prisoners are being treated. One prisoner escapes and releases the others entrapping Emilie and others inside the MS One. Snow is sent in to rescue only Emilie. 

This film was directed by James Mather and Stephen St. Leger. This film was also written and produced by Luc Besson. This film has a decent story. However, it failed to provide any deep emotional attachment for its audience. This film was made purely to be an action science fiction film. Which is unfortunate because it was a great basic idea. The plot twists fail to provide any further tension for the story. The story is full of great sarcastic humor between the characters. There isn't any backstory provided for any of the other characters other than for Snow. The ending of the film did not fit well with the film. There was no reason for Snow and Emilie to be arrested after falling towards Earth (with remarkable speed). It also seems odd that Emilie has the mental ability to fully understand someone with dementia to solve a mystery. It also left an empty spot by failing to explain anything about the memory card (use or purpose). It is filmed way to clean cut to provide any real dramatic tension to the story. There is also way too much computer animation in this film and its obvious. The animation looks visually cheesy. The backdrop is good or providing the film with a dark atmosphere. 

The cast worked great together. Guy Pearce played the role of Snow. He was great in his role. He did go over the top with the sarcasm. Maggie Grace played the role of Emilie Warnock. She was good in her role. She gave Snow a softer side. Vincent Regan played the role of Alex. He did good in his role. He did not over shadow Gilgun in anyway; which was needed for his character. Joseph Gilgun played the role of Hydell. He was great in his role giving the film a real villain to hate. Tim Plester played the role of Mace. He was good in his small role. 

I give this film 2 out of 5 stars! It had all the basics down, but failed to provide anything more. It was a good science fiction film with plenty of action.

Answer to last blog: Actress Amanda Seyfried also starred in the thriller film Chloe (as well as Gone).

Que: What other film has actress Maggie Grace worked with writer/producer Luc Besson?

Taken
The Experiment
Transporter 3
Unleashed

Gone (2012)

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Jill returns home from work and can not find her sister, Molly. She believes that the man who had kidnapped her has returned, and has taken her sister. The police refuse to believe her story, because no evidence was found. Jill sets out on her own to save her sister.

This film was directed by Heitor Dhalia. The story is great for this film, but it is a little too generic for the mystery thriller genre. The story does keep some mystery in that you can't tell if Jill is insane or not. The story didn't allow too much room for suspense. It is somewhat predictable. There also isn't enough centered around the villain to make him stand out as a villain. There isn't a reason to fear him. This film almost feels like it has no real monsters/villains. It remains too center on Jill's mental plight. The film is also very cleanly presented unlike most modern mystery thriller films. The backdrop of using the forest was great. It adds that layer of dark mystery.

The actors did good in this film, but not great. I just wis there was more character build up for the secondary characters. Amanda Seyfried played the role of Jill. She was great in her role. She the character a lot of emotional depth. Daniel Sunjata played the role of Powers. He was good in his generic role. Wes Bentley played the role of Peter Hood. He was also good in his generic role. Sunjata and Bentley literally made the good/bad cop duo. Jennifer Carpenter played the role of Sharon Ames. She was good in her small role. Emily Wickershham played the role of Molly.  She was great in her small role. She gave Seyfried's character some heart.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It has a good story, but it doesn't have enough thrill. It also lacks in a great villain.

Answer to last blog: Chris Butler was the in the Art Department for the two films Coraline and Corpse Bride.

Que: What other thriller film stared actress Amanda Seyfried?

The Final Destination
Chloe
Obsessed
The Unborn

ParaNorman

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Norman is your average kid... except that he can see and talk to spirits. His small town is haunted by a witch's curse. Once a year, she must read from a book to be placed back asleep for a year. If she wakes then the cursed dead shall rise from their graves. This year, Norman is told to read from the book, but when he fails to read it in time zombies arise from their graves. Now, Norman must fight to save his small town from the witch's curse.

This film was directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell. This film is a horror film made for children. This has sort of become the norm for stop motion animation films. It was great to see this film poke fun and offer tribute to several of the classical films of horror. It is surprising that this film didn't come out closer to Halloween though. This film mixes both the stop motion animation with limited computer animation. The two work together very well instead of clashing. The story is great. It takes elements of true historical events, superstition, and recent beliefs in the supernatural and combines them. They are used to create a great story full of comical humor for both adults and children. There are moments that do make you jump. There isn't anything too gory or violent though. 

The voice acting for this film was great. Kodi Smit-McPhee voiced the character Norman Babcock. He was great in this role. He gave his character a lot of heart. Tucker Albrizzi voiced the character Neil. He was great in his role. He added great humor to the film. Anna Kendrick voiced the character Courtney Babcock. She was good in her general role. Christopher Mintz-plasse voiced the character Alvin. He was good in his general role, and added some humor to the film. Casey Affleck voiced the character Mitch. He was good in his film. 

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It has a great story that children and adults can enjoy. It is a dark film with some adult humor.

Answer to last blog: Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger played the role of Douglas Quaid in the 1990 film Total Recall.

Que: Director Chris Butler was involved the films Coraline and Corpse Bride as a ...?

Art Director
Character Creation
Assistant Director
Scriptwriter

Total Recall (2012)

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This film is a reboot from the 1990 film Total Recall; which was inspired by the 1966 short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, written by Philip K. Dick. This film follows Douglas Quaid, an assembly line worker who finds himself trapped by a constant nightmare. To escape his current life he goes to Recall to remember a different life. He opts for secret agent, but before the new memories can be implemented it is discovered that his current memories might not be real. Quaid sets out to try and discover what is real.

This film was directed by Len Wiseman. This film is more of a loose adaptation from the previous film. The characters remain the same, but the story is highly different from director Paul Verhoeven's film. The story is great because it manages to make both ideals legitimate. It is impossible to fully figure out if Quaid remains trapped in Recall or if everything is real. It makes the film a great mystery (is it Recall or Rekall?). The story also allows for great character growth adding to the films story. The script is also full of great single philosophical single lines. The film's special effects present some amazing technology. The idea of having a phone implanted into your hand was amazing, and fitting for current times. The lighted tattoo's add some amazing subtle imagery to the film. It was also nice that the technology was present, but it wasn't over done. It was also nice to see a science fiction film with robots that weren't trying to destroy mankind. The fight scene's were great. They kept to realism in this film which is uncommon in modern films. 

The cast worked great together creating this alternate world. Colin Farrell played the role of Douglas Quaid. He was great in this film. He made a sympathetic character that was shadowed by mystery. Kate Beckinsale played the role of Lori Quaid. She was her bad ass self. She was great being a villain who could outdo the men. Unfortunately that's all her character was. Jessica Biel played the role of Melina. She was great playing the female counterpart of Beckinsale. Bryan Cranston played the role of Cohaagen. He was great in his role. Bookeem Woodbine played the role of Harry. He was good in his small role. 

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It's a great philosophical film full of action. This film keeps you guessing from start to finish.

Answer to last blog: Actress Elizabeth Banks (Man on a Ledge) is known for her role as Effie Trinket (Hunger Games).

Que: Who played Douglas Quaid in the 1990 film Total Recall?

Tom Hanks
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Tom Cruise
Tommy Lee Jones