tripperM

It wasn't the predictable bad-guy-from-the-first-movie thing. It wasn't the A-lister-is campy-bad-guy shtick. i love spy-movies. i know what's going to happen and i don't care - i love the action, the swanky spy, the "evil" bad guy, the preposterous plan of world domination.

oh, i know. it was the fact that the Americans were named after liquor instead of-oh, i dunno... STATESMEN!? The kingsmen are not named after tailors. it's not Ralph Lauren and Dolce and Gabbana. they are named after he legendary Knights of the round table. the characters of honour, loyalty, and leadership. the Americans, on the other hand, are named -not after the many many statesmen/women or great cowboys that helped our good country - but for the many types of booze we encounter. what a let down. i was SO stoked to see it and was disappointed how over camped this film was. there is a fine line "reality" in spy movies. no matter how insane - play it straight and it works. as soon as you let the kitsch overrun the camp, it becomes a farce instead of a homage or pastiche. also, Brits don't know how to write Americans without making them look like red-neck idiots. (on the other hand, Americans can't write a British part without making them look snobby - see the Avengers 1998)

If you liked 1985s Fright Night, you're in for a treat. This remake takes notes from the original, loosens the tongue from cheek a bit, and gets the ball rolling quick. Good nods (apples), great acting (Farrell surprised me), and cool FX without overdoing the gore factor. Peter Vincent is still a coward pulled into a realm he doesn't want to believe in, Mom is still clueless, The loner friend is still a prat, and the damsel is still pretty; but all else is new and exciting. For laughs and suspense, this holds up. Somehow there needs to be 10 lines of text, so... I liked seeing Yelchin is something other than Star Trek. I'll be sure to watch Huff now as well. Toni Collette was just about unrecognizable since I saw her in Sixth Sense and Muriel's Wedding, but her acting is still great. Enjoy!

Murder House - BRILLIANT Asylum - BRILLITAN Coven - BRILLIANT

Jessica Lang - BRILLIANT Sarah Paulson - BRILLIANT Frances Conroy - BRILLIANT Denis O'Hare - BRILLIANT

newcomers Taissa Farmiga - BRILLIANT Jamie Brewer - BRILLIANT Evan Peters - VERY PROMISING

I have seen lots of other anthologies (Friday the 13th,the series; tales from the dark side, Freddy's Nightmares) but NOTHING has ever got my attention like American Horror Story. The camera work alone elevates this particular anthology to excellence, as well as the spectacular choice of cast. This, the epitome of horror anthologies, is the best i have ever seen. Even with the fact that most anthologies were standard TV releases and this one is a Cable/Dish era release (we've come a long way in what we can show on TV). Not only did they have excellent stories - and the season-per-storyline is an excellent format - but as seen above, the actors are top notch and give a sense of quality within the show that other anthologies were missing.