The Wolfman. A film starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. It was well acted, well cast and had very good special effects and cinematography. My one complaint is that it was not even two hours long and the movie moved quickly in places. I don't think it needed more plot but they could've thrown in a bit more refinements to the existing story. More time between Lawrence and Gwen, a bit more about John Talbot's past, a little more cat and mouse between the werewolves and their prey. It's a real challenge making a movie just long enough, but not going too far one way or the other--and this one seems to have been cut a little too fine. The special effects for the werewolves were generally pretty good but when they stood on camera full-on, it looked a bit cheesy (like a guy wearing an elaborate costume). I think the werewolf in this story and, indeed in all werewolf stories, works best when we see them in glimpses and blurs instead. This movie does succeed in bringing back the mood and feel of those classic Universal monster movies generally. Recommended. (Feb. 20/10).
The Edge of Darkness. Mel Gibson's return to the movies is with a tale about a father's search for justice when his twenty-something daughter Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic) is brutally shot to death when she's come home for a visit. We quickly learn her job as a nuclear technician made her a target and it's up to her father, Thomas (Gibson) to find out why. I like revenge thrillers as much as anyone but this one was long and dull in many places. The action, what there was, was good but there wasn't nearly enough of it! We spend far too much of the movie with Thomas investigating one lead or the other, etc, etc. In the end, justice prevails--sort of. The ending is a bit of downer after all the work we have to do to get to it. I found last year's Taken much more entertaining then this drivel. Don't waste your time with it. Pass. (Feb. 5/10).
The Book of Eli. Yet another apocalyptic movie. This one follows the adventures of a man named Eli (Denzel Washington) some thirty years after the incident in question. He's a scavenger and armed to the teeth as he makes his way west across a harsh, unforgiving desert landscape. His most prized possession is a copy of the Bible. He happens into a town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who discovers Eli's treasure and wants it for his own. When Eli refuses, Carnegie gives chase, determined to get that book no matter what. It's a well acted movie and the world it creates is dark, bland and lifeless--a perfect setting for this type of story. The story is simple enough and the action is enjoyable. Not an extremely deep movie but a fun action flick that delivers. Recommended. (Jan. 19/10).
Daybreakers. Yet another vampire movie in an age which the concept threatens to grow very stale. Despite this, Daybreakers manages to do something interesting with the vampire concept and make a movie that's entertaining and imaginative. The film is set in 2019 and follows a world where almost everyone is a vampire. Society has been re-constructed around this new change to the bulk of its population. There are now cars to mask out sunlight; an elaborate sub-tunnel system; much living and working is now done at night under the cover of dark. All would seem to be well for this vampiric society, save one thing: they're running out of blood. Many humans are kept alive in vast farms to be used for supply while a precious few move about the world freely, evading their would-be captors as best as possible. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is the chief Hemotologist for his company, working frantically to develop a blood substitute to help save the others before they mutate into human-sized bat creatures. He accidentally encounters some humans one day on the way home and before he knows it, is embroiled in a frantic struggle to survive. It seems these people have a secret--a vampire who stumbled on a way to become human once more. Edward undergoes the procedure as well and then it becomes a race against time to stop the frenzied vampire populace before it devours the last remaining humans and before the mutation can claim them all. The acting, story and special effects are all very good in this movie. My only complaint is that it seems like the characters don't have a definite enough plan near the end of the movie (let's just walk in and hope we don't die!) Another minor nitpick is an early scene where Edward is seen to have no reflection, which seems silly given the real-world scenario they're trying to establish here (any physical object has a reflection. Period. Classic vamps were thought to have no souls, hence no image. But cameras and mirrors show real reflections, not souls, so this seems a little odd of a choice on someone's part). One other criticism I have is that the music is a bit too melodramatic, especially given the contemporary tone of the film (it seems a bit out of place). All in all, a good fantasy action movie and worth checking out. Recommended. (Jan. 13/10).
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