standardbearer
Joined Dec 2005
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Reviews38
standardbearer's rating
This movie had a terrific premise: The father of an isolated, poor family dies, so the family tradition is passed down to the children: the tradition of consuming human flesh!
I was expecting either a very campy horror flick, or a balls to the wall docu-drama, but all-in-all, a powerful movie.
I'm pretty objective about recent movies, so I'm not a wee bit personal, when I'm saying that this movie not just ignored all my expectations, but gave absolutely nothing instead.
Let's get one thing out of the way: the acting was terrific. Great casting choices, great performances. I admit that. But to what end?
There is so much wrong with this movie, it's easier to tell what was right. Besides the acting, the music was also pretty moving. It was terrible in this movie, but on it's own, it was pretty good music. ... Now for the bad parts: literally, everything else.
The plot. So we have this family, with a fiendish agenda. Why are they determined to eat people? did they really eat them before? If so, why do they want to stop now? What do they want to accomplish with cannibalism? What are their reasons? We never get to know.
The personal stories. What do the 3 kids want? Is Alfredo really gay? What's his history with his parents? And Julian? What drives Sabina? And the mother? Why does she think they should not eat prostitutes but something else, and why does she hates her children? Why does she do all the things she does in the movie? There's no logic in her motives. The only two characters who were remotely interesting and entertaining (two workers at the local morgue), had about 5 minutes of screen time only.
The gore. Alright. This is supposed to be a cannibal movie. It's okay to have no gore, if we have a strong story, or the movie takes a turn, and just starts to show the story from a different perspective. Which it doesn't. Also, no consumption of human flesh is shown. There are some very violent scenes, but since there is no one to care about in this movie, they are absolutely weightless.
The cinematography. Good god. There were some pretty nifty camera movements, and they didn't even come off as gimmicky, self-righteous idiotism. Respect for that. Too bad, the lighting just destroyed all of the shots. Seriously, I don't think I ever seen a movie as badly lighted as this one. It wasn't just dark, most times it was pitch black, with a very short depth of field. It was confusing to say the least, and stupid to be fair.
The direction. What were you thinking? No, that is not just a theatrical question. I'd like to know what was the aim of this movie? What were the reasons behind it?
In this movie, We know nothing, we see nothing, and we care about no one.
I rarely say this, but probably this was the most eventless 90 minutes of my life.
I was expecting either a very campy horror flick, or a balls to the wall docu-drama, but all-in-all, a powerful movie.
I'm pretty objective about recent movies, so I'm not a wee bit personal, when I'm saying that this movie not just ignored all my expectations, but gave absolutely nothing instead.
Let's get one thing out of the way: the acting was terrific. Great casting choices, great performances. I admit that. But to what end?
There is so much wrong with this movie, it's easier to tell what was right. Besides the acting, the music was also pretty moving. It was terrible in this movie, but on it's own, it was pretty good music. ... Now for the bad parts: literally, everything else.
The plot. So we have this family, with a fiendish agenda. Why are they determined to eat people? did they really eat them before? If so, why do they want to stop now? What do they want to accomplish with cannibalism? What are their reasons? We never get to know.
The personal stories. What do the 3 kids want? Is Alfredo really gay? What's his history with his parents? And Julian? What drives Sabina? And the mother? Why does she think they should not eat prostitutes but something else, and why does she hates her children? Why does she do all the things she does in the movie? There's no logic in her motives. The only two characters who were remotely interesting and entertaining (two workers at the local morgue), had about 5 minutes of screen time only.
The gore. Alright. This is supposed to be a cannibal movie. It's okay to have no gore, if we have a strong story, or the movie takes a turn, and just starts to show the story from a different perspective. Which it doesn't. Also, no consumption of human flesh is shown. There are some very violent scenes, but since there is no one to care about in this movie, they are absolutely weightless.
The cinematography. Good god. There were some pretty nifty camera movements, and they didn't even come off as gimmicky, self-righteous idiotism. Respect for that. Too bad, the lighting just destroyed all of the shots. Seriously, I don't think I ever seen a movie as badly lighted as this one. It wasn't just dark, most times it was pitch black, with a very short depth of field. It was confusing to say the least, and stupid to be fair.
The direction. What were you thinking? No, that is not just a theatrical question. I'd like to know what was the aim of this movie? What were the reasons behind it?
In this movie, We know nothing, we see nothing, and we care about no one.
I rarely say this, but probably this was the most eventless 90 minutes of my life.
First of all, I'd like to state, that I'm a huge fan of the original movie 'Let the right one in', thus I was very skeptical about this remake. In the end, however, this film turned out to be really good. I'm pleasantly surprised! On the other hand, the first one is still better, in my opinion. Though it shows the story from an entirely different angle, comparing the two is inevitable.
The American version is much more concentrated, and compact than the Swedish original. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing, it only depends on the personal taste. This means 'Let me in' operates with a seemingly smaller cast, which means it is more focused on our heroes, Owen and Abby. Or at least it should mean, because I don't get the feeling that we get to know them much better than in 'Let the right one in' (but more on them later). We see most of the supporting cast from a greater distance also, which makes the bullying a more pivotal point of the story, but also makes other story lines weightless (for example, the neighbor who got bitten by Abby, is quite an unnecessary part in this remake, while in the original movie, we get to know the neighborhood a lot better). Also, the bound between Abby and her "feeder" is much more in focus, which is a good thing, but leads to some gimmicky (though well made) scenes, which distracts from the story.
Another difference is that this version shoves everything in your face. It takes place in the 80's, so they go to an arcade, listen to 80's music all the time, and such. It's a coming of age movie, so Owen spies on the couple next door, and watches people kissing at the store. It's a horror movie, so turning into a vampire results in some over-the-top effects, and we get to see a lot of blood everywhere. The same goes to the main dilemma of the story, which in the Swedish version came together in the head of the viewer, but here, it is shown in the form of a photograph.
But the biggest problem I had with this version is on casting choice. Namingly: Chloe Moretz. Owen and Oskar are almost entirely the same, but the character of Abby and Ely couldn't be more different. Don't get me wrong, I really like Ms Moretz (she was probably the best thing about 'Kick Ass' in the first place), but this is really not her role, in my opinion. While Eli at least seemed to be innocent, and a victim of her nature (again, what goes on behind that doe-eyed face is entirely up to the viewer in the original), Abby is openly manipulative, aggressive, and very intimidating. I think I can see what they were going for with this change, but unfortunately, this kills the chemistry between them. Moretz, though a year younger than Smit-McPhee, seems way older and stronger than him, making this 'romance' unlikely, and unpleasant to see.
In the end, this version might be more focused on them, and their fate, eliminating other plot lines, but their relationship is just not as subtle, as it was in the Swedish film, making this remake just a tiny bit more weightless than the original.
Still, highly recommended. I agree, that the story is good enough to deserve a worldwide recognition, and for those of you who have problems reading subtitles, this is a must see.
The American version is much more concentrated, and compact than the Swedish original. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing, it only depends on the personal taste. This means 'Let me in' operates with a seemingly smaller cast, which means it is more focused on our heroes, Owen and Abby. Or at least it should mean, because I don't get the feeling that we get to know them much better than in 'Let the right one in' (but more on them later). We see most of the supporting cast from a greater distance also, which makes the bullying a more pivotal point of the story, but also makes other story lines weightless (for example, the neighbor who got bitten by Abby, is quite an unnecessary part in this remake, while in the original movie, we get to know the neighborhood a lot better). Also, the bound between Abby and her "feeder" is much more in focus, which is a good thing, but leads to some gimmicky (though well made) scenes, which distracts from the story.
Another difference is that this version shoves everything in your face. It takes place in the 80's, so they go to an arcade, listen to 80's music all the time, and such. It's a coming of age movie, so Owen spies on the couple next door, and watches people kissing at the store. It's a horror movie, so turning into a vampire results in some over-the-top effects, and we get to see a lot of blood everywhere. The same goes to the main dilemma of the story, which in the Swedish version came together in the head of the viewer, but here, it is shown in the form of a photograph.
But the biggest problem I had with this version is on casting choice. Namingly: Chloe Moretz. Owen and Oskar are almost entirely the same, but the character of Abby and Ely couldn't be more different. Don't get me wrong, I really like Ms Moretz (she was probably the best thing about 'Kick Ass' in the first place), but this is really not her role, in my opinion. While Eli at least seemed to be innocent, and a victim of her nature (again, what goes on behind that doe-eyed face is entirely up to the viewer in the original), Abby is openly manipulative, aggressive, and very intimidating. I think I can see what they were going for with this change, but unfortunately, this kills the chemistry between them. Moretz, though a year younger than Smit-McPhee, seems way older and stronger than him, making this 'romance' unlikely, and unpleasant to see.
In the end, this version might be more focused on them, and their fate, eliminating other plot lines, but their relationship is just not as subtle, as it was in the Swedish film, making this remake just a tiny bit more weightless than the original.
Still, highly recommended. I agree, that the story is good enough to deserve a worldwide recognition, and for those of you who have problems reading subtitles, this is a must see.
Karateguard was intended to be a comeback-short by the original creators of Tom and Jerry, namely Joseph Barbera, and William Hanna. It was written and directed by Joe Barbera himself (Since Mr Hanna passed away in 2001), with the help by Spike Brandt. Back to the old formula! Sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, this cartoon just doesn't live up to the legacy of the original MGM theatrical series, made by Hanna-Barbera.
It's not a terribly bad film on it's own, it's just uninspired, unoriginal, surprisingly unfunny, and incoherent, compared to to the old series. However, the comparsion is inevitable, since it's been directed by one of the original creators, who's already proved his genius in animation. But not this time.
The story starts with Jerry, practicing Karate. Why? we don't know. There's not much build-up. Since it doesn't work out against tom, the spirit of his old master appears (who?), and gives him a magic gong, which summons a huge samurai dog. Pretty much the same stuff, as "The bodyguard", or "Fit to be tied". Only this way, there's no emotional connection between Jerry and his guard. He's stiff and distant, which is kind of funny, due to it's animation, but not very likable or interesting. There's also a segment, where they go into a toystore, and fly some toy-planes... Why not use only one or another? We've already seen whole episodes built up on each concept, and they worked out wonderfully.
But that's only one of the problems. The whole film has that very weird kind of pacing that many early 90's series had. It's fluid, it's followable, but has a few bumps, which ruin the rhythm (this has to be credited to Brandt). The problem with this, that it makes the jokes less funny. The timing is just not right with most of them. And even the jokes aren't that creative. There are just so many ways that dog could beat up Tom, and we only get a handful of them.
The colors are bizarre, again, they resemble something from the 90's, which is a huge step back, compared to the cozy, tasteful and elegant colors of the 40's and 50's. Same goes to the character design.
Camera movement seems to be senseless, and thoughtless sometimes. Where it doesn't wave to move, it shouldn't.
The music is okay, but still doesn't quite match up with the originals. All in all, a huge disappointment. Too bad, this was Joe Barberas swansong. It should've been spectacular, but instead it's unbearably mediocre and underwhelming.
It's not a terribly bad film on it's own, it's just uninspired, unoriginal, surprisingly unfunny, and incoherent, compared to to the old series. However, the comparsion is inevitable, since it's been directed by one of the original creators, who's already proved his genius in animation. But not this time.
The story starts with Jerry, practicing Karate. Why? we don't know. There's not much build-up. Since it doesn't work out against tom, the spirit of his old master appears (who?), and gives him a magic gong, which summons a huge samurai dog. Pretty much the same stuff, as "The bodyguard", or "Fit to be tied". Only this way, there's no emotional connection between Jerry and his guard. He's stiff and distant, which is kind of funny, due to it's animation, but not very likable or interesting. There's also a segment, where they go into a toystore, and fly some toy-planes... Why not use only one or another? We've already seen whole episodes built up on each concept, and they worked out wonderfully.
But that's only one of the problems. The whole film has that very weird kind of pacing that many early 90's series had. It's fluid, it's followable, but has a few bumps, which ruin the rhythm (this has to be credited to Brandt). The problem with this, that it makes the jokes less funny. The timing is just not right with most of them. And even the jokes aren't that creative. There are just so many ways that dog could beat up Tom, and we only get a handful of them.
The colors are bizarre, again, they resemble something from the 90's, which is a huge step back, compared to the cozy, tasteful and elegant colors of the 40's and 50's. Same goes to the character design.
Camera movement seems to be senseless, and thoughtless sometimes. Where it doesn't wave to move, it shouldn't.
The music is okay, but still doesn't quite match up with the originals. All in all, a huge disappointment. Too bad, this was Joe Barberas swansong. It should've been spectacular, but instead it's unbearably mediocre and underwhelming.