MOVIE REVIEW: Let Me In (2010)

Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire-romance film between two children was everything Twilight should have been, and deserves over half the attention that the latter, pedestrian, disaster-of-a-vampire-film turned out to be. Now we have an American remake, Let Me In, which is more of a re-imagining of sorts that draws upon the original literary source material a la last year's True Grit. While it presents some stylistically interesting departures from how I originally came to know the beautiful story, I had a problem shaking the overall feeling of deja vu which made the two films seem almost too similar to one another.

In the early 1980s, a bullied young boy named Owen, living in an apartment complex in New Mexico befriends his new neighbor; a shady young girl named Abby. What Owen doesn't realize is that Abby is in fact, a vampire, and her serial-killer guardian assists in her dirty work in order to provide her the sanguine sustenance she needs for her survival. When the curiosity of outsiders and Owens bullying start to go to a head, the two decide to take matters into their own hands.

Having really enjoyed Let the Right One In, I was determined to view Let Me In with an open mind. The trouble is, there wasn't really a whole lot stylistically, aside from the cinematography and art direction, that allowed me to disconnect those feelings of overly-embellished familiarity. While the acting and directing are quite good, I was still yearning for the tragic, gruesome subtlety of the Swedish version. Let Me In is played out more like a contemporary horror film, complete with explicit gore and loud scares. I can accept that fact as this is supposed to be a re-imagining, but again, it distracted me from my interest in how the relationship between Owen and Abby was supposed to develop. There's a lot to enjoy in Let Me In, and fans of the original will probably find it entertaining, if not, somewhat indulgent, in the tradition of most American remakes.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Mr. Deeds (2002)

Every so often, there's an Adam Sandler movie that tends to fly under the radar for me. Mr. Deeds is one of them; a Sandler-ized remake of an old comedy from the 1940s of the same story. Needless to say, I'm sorry I missed it when it came out. Add to the fact it has a great soundtrack, even unexpectedly so, one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs "Where Are You Going" is featured rather prominently in the film. It's a nice unexpected touch, and for a Sandler comedy, I'd say Deeds is rather underrated.

An 82 year old billionaire kicks the bucket, and his investors scramble to find an heir to his $40 billion fortune. All they can find is a distant beneficiary; a pizza delivery boy from New Hampshire named Longfellow Deeds. Untainted by greed, Deeds enters his benefactor's home in New York City with naivetee and generousity, whilst being dogged by a sexy reporter who he ultimately falls in love with, played by Winona Ryder.

The cliches of Sandler comedies run abound in this one, with greedy villains, goofy stock characters, and that moment of broken trust which forces a temporary break-up with the love interest. Additionaly, Sandler's character has a special talent that figures in the end as his saving grace to a better life. These elements are of no surprise to me now, and make the story a bit predictable, but hey, it's still funny! And for once, Sandler isn't playing a complete jerk who serendipitously turns his life around, his character of Deeds is genuinely likeable and good-hearted. I wouldn't be surprised if this signaled a turnaround in his career when he started playing less clowns and more "characters". I can definitely say I'm glad I watched it, it was a nice refresher from the glut of dramas I'd been watching lately.

8/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: True Grit (2010)

True Grit is a riveting love letter from the Coen Brothers to Golden Age-Hollywood westerns. Thought to have been a remake of the critically acclaimed John Wayne Oscar winner from 40 years earlier; from what I read apparently, the Coens went back to the original source material and based their screenplay more faithfully on the novel. Therefore, True Grit is not intentionally a "remake", nor do I think Jeff Bridges is playing off of John Wayne, either. This is a Coen Brothers imagining of a well-told story, which services their talents quite nicely.

In the American West of 1877, feisty fourteen year-old Mattie Ross enlists a rough U.S. Marshall named Rooster Cogburn to track down Tom Chaney, an employee of her father who murdered and robbed him in cold blood. Cogburn initailly refuses but agrees when Ross convinces him that his enduring quality of having "True Grit" is perfectly suitable for tracking Chaney down. They set off on an adventure that forms the real heart of the story, and transports the audience on a journey that wonderfully recaptures the rugged, minimalistic atmosphere of yesteryear western films blended with the Coen Brothers' penchant for vivid but engaging characters and surprisingly frequent but effective moments of deadpan and dark humor. For me, this was an unexpected and welcome touch from the Coens after the bland and aimless A Serious Man left a bad taste in my mouth.

Jeff Bridges is outstanding in his own rendition of Rooster Cogburn. Again, while I have yet to see the original, I believe it would be unfair to draw comparison. Plus, I've seen The Duke act, and I'm confident that his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn is in an entirely different league from Bridges' interpretation. Here, Cogburn is a crusty, swaggering anti-hero with a taste for whisky that exudes the same bumbling appeal that Bridges gave The Dude in The Big Lebowski. One wonders if Bridges' Cogburn was descended from Jack Sparrow, given his charming clumsiness but endless resourcefulness that gives him the drive to do his job better than anyone else. I consider Bridges portrayal of Cogburn to be one of my favorite characters of 2010, and I really hope he locks another Academy Award nomination for his role,

Supporting Bridges in the stellar acting department are Matt Damon as the stubborn Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who's reluctant entanglement with Ross and Cogburn makes for some interesting character dynamics. Hailee Steinfeld makes her big break as Mattie Ross, and while I'm not quite sure she steals the show as much as Bridges did, her presence and performance are both strong for a young actress of her relatively ingenue status in Hollywood. The fast-talking, smart-as-a-whip young lady who manages to outwit her male "superiors" has become somewhat of a stock character since the days of Tatum O'Neil in Paper Moon. I don't believe this is Steinfeld's Academy Award-winning role, but I do think True Grit will open a lot of promising doors for her hopefully optimistic career.

True Grit may not live up to the expectations of overly-sentimental lovers of the original version, but the Coens have crafted their version with a careful hand. Thanks to the wonderfully charismatic cast and detailed production design, their vision is amplified to echelons that I would hope appeal to even the snobbiest of film critics. While it also isn't the most emotionally engrossing of films either, it does the western genre excellent justice, and that's something cinema has not seen very frequently in the new millenium.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon

DOUBLE FEATURE MOVIE REVIEW: Death at a Funeral (2010) & The Muppet Movie (1979)

Death at a Funeral is an unfortunate case of a missed opportunity. In this American remake, and in the same mold as the original, a dysfunctional family reunites at the patriarch's funeral, only to find the cracks deepen in their bonds as secrets, revelations, and mishaps drive them out of their minds. Although I had seen the original, and rather enjoyed it for it's quirky-yet-screwball blend of humor, I was willing to give the remake a chance since I felt it actually showed some promise: All-star cast of funny people and decent actors, along with the original screenwriter. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, I have no problem with re-hashes, as long as they're done right, like Home Alone 2, but this plays out more like a bad TV-movie remake of the original with shockingly bland crude humor. Like I said before, with the pedigree of the cast, it's disappointing that neither Chris Rock nor Martin Lawrence even bothered to bring their own brand of humor to the table. They along with the majority of the famous people in the cast seem like they're striving to play parts that are horribly underwritten for what they are normally capable of. And when it seemed like things were going blisfully silly for the first hour, the first of a few arbitrary gross-out gags happen, and it is gross. I won't spoil it, but I will say it involves Danny Glover, and feces.

All in all, I will warn anyone who enjoyed the original that they may be let down, perhaps unsurprisingly by the lower quality this American remake is. The cast tries hard, but their energy gets trounced by the awful script. However, I'll admit that I did laugh here and there, just not enough to satiate my level of expectation that I had for a "stupid-brainless-comedy", it's that, but very "blah" at the same time, too.

6/10

Living at home for the time being, I find myself with more leisure than I anticipated. Part of that involves these random moments of recapturing my childhood with things like movies I'll expect to still find remotely good as an adult. The Muppet Movie is one of those movies.

Part-road movie, part-musical. Muppet Movie deals with Kermit The Frog re-telling his big move to Hollywood from the swamp, how he got famous, and met his current friends and colleagues. A number of stars from the time the film was released make some hilarious cameos, as well. I had not seen this in quite a number of years, but in between that time and now, it still managed to make me laugh. There's something about The Muppets that makes them enjoyable for adults as well as kids, perhaps it's that they're still adorable and innocently-humored, but their naivete is something we can all relate to. Apparently, the powers-that-be have Jason Segal resurrecting them in a new movie due out later this year, and I hope it's going to be good. If I had any problem with The Muppet's first feature, it's that the story goes so quickly, the characters lose a little credibility in how their friendships started and relationships developed. But hey, they're The Muppets! And you can't necessarily expect Shakespeare when watching their stuff, either.

8/10

(Next review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966))

Peace,
- Jon