Horror

Red State

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Red State
  • IMDB: link

red-state-posterI’ve been saying for years I wanted to see Kevin Smith try something different. With Red State, the writer/director attempts to create a horror film based loosely on the Westboro Baptist Church. It’s a departure of sorts (Smith still finds a way to slide in his usual assortment of dick jokes), and even if its not entirely successful, Red State does have its moments.

The film centers around the fictional Five Points Church led by the charismatic Reverend Abin Cooper (based on Fred Phelps and played by Michael Parks). No longer content to just protest at funerals of homosexuals, Cooper and his brethren have begun entrapping and executing those who they see as a blight on their community.

In true teen sex comedy fasion Red State begins with the lustful dreams of three teens (Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, Nicholas Braun), but, after more than a few twists and turns, ends with a shoot-out between the ATF and the Five Points Church.

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Buffy the Vampire Season Eight #40

/ / Comics

Buffy Season Eight has been an adventure. Almost twice as long as its original intended length, the story has meandered a bit on its way to giving us some great (and less than great) moments over the course of 40 issues.

The conclusion of “Last Gleaming” finds the Buffy and the Scoobies alive (with one big exception), but trapped in a world without magic. The world was saved both from a demon horde and the creation of a new reality but the line of Slayers has been severed as has any connection witches like Willow had with magic.

As final issues go this one’s not half-bad. I grew a little weary of Season Eight, especially when Twilight was revealed to be Angel and he and Buffy started going hot and heavy again. Thankfully, this final issue gives us an end free of the insanity that plagued the final ten issues of this season.

This feels like Buffy again, and sets down the events that lead to Fray as well as foreshadow the fallout which is sure to come in Season Nine (set to begin this summer).

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Black Swan

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Black Swan
  • IMDB: link

Darren Aronofsky is a weird dude. Talented, but weird. The latest from the director who has given us The Fountain, Pi, and Reqiuem for a Dream is a journey into madness. Black Swan, his companion piece to The Wrestler, examines the the insular world of ballet through the tormented mind of a rising star.

Nina (Natalie Portman), a sheltered but talented ballet dancer, is on the cusp of stardom after being chosen by a demanding director (Vincent Cassel) for the lead role in his new interpretation of Swan Lake. The pressure of the role added to the smothering affection of an over-attentive mother (Barbara Hershey), and the arrival of a talented new dancer (Mila Kunis) begin to fracture Nina’s world as she starts to have experiences that cannot be rationally explained. These include, but are not limited to, hallucinations of strange bird-like creatures, seeing herself on the street, a growing paranoia, and an odd rash on her back as well as fingers which bleed without cause. No one else notices what is happening to her.

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The Vampire’s Assistant

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
  • IMDB: link

vampires-assistant-posterI’m pretty sure Ed Wood would have loved Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant. Messy, flawed, riddled with odd choices and questionable casting, and stuck with a plot that make less, not more, sense as it progresses, The Vampire’s Assistant is in every way a B-movie. And, I’ll admit, I kinda liked it.

Based on a series of novels by Darren Shan the film’s main plot revolves around a rather bland high school student, Darren (Chris Massoglia), and his more rambunctious best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) whose main purpose it seems is to get Darren into as much trouble as possible.

A night out takes the pair to a freak show where events unfold that lead Darren into an agreement with vampire Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) in order to save his friend. Leaving behind his life, Darren becomes part vampire, and begins his new life in the Cirque de Freak as Crepsley’s assistant.

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Jennifer’s got a smokin’ Body but no soul

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Jennifer’s Body
  • IMDB: link

jennifers-body-posterHere’s what I learned from Jennifer’s Body.

1) Academy Award nominated screenwriters are just as good at writing mediocre horror flicks as everyone else.

2) People should really stop giving Æon Flux director Karyn Kusama work.

And 3) Asked to do some real acting, and without Michael Bay’s lascivious ogling lens, Megan Fox (who isn’t allowed to straddle motorcycles in cut-offs here) isn’t nearly the same sexy siren her fans drooled over in the Transformers franchise.

The film isn’t awful, but it wastes what little it brings to the table by serving up a lukewarm TV dinner that fails to satisfy. Jennifer’s Body makes several errors on it’s way to Best Buy’s DVD bargain bin, some of which I’ve summarized below.

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