Geek Movie: Fright Night (2011)

I'm sure I'll get some flak for not having seen the original, but I love, love, LOVE this remake!  It's just so well done!

Cast

I adore the cast of this movie!  Anton Yelchin is absolutely the right amounts of both geeky and badass as Charley Brewster.  He even plays it somewhat crazy/obsessed for a little bit, which I liked quite a lot.  Okay, so maybe I've been in love with David Tennant for years, but he was my favorite part of this movie!  It was totally crazy to see him in something other than a blue suit and Converse, but he rocked the role of Peter Vincent so well!  His near-manic energy served him well in this role, and damn he looks good in eye liner!  My only complaint with Colin Farrell is that I wanted to hear his sexy Irish accent, but other than that, he made for a great, rather creepy but very seductive, vampire neighbor Jerry.  Christopher Mintz-Plasse totally kills it as "Evil" Ed, Charley's rejected once-friend/geek buddy.  He's hilarious, especially as a vampire!  The only member of the cast I didn't really like was Imogen Poots as Amy.  She didn't really deliver her lines very well, and I think she was picked because she's got a pretty face.  Also, loved the cameo by Chris Sarandon (Jerry in the original).  I was all like, "It's Prince Humperdinck!"  They were all clever, calling him "Jay Dee" for Jerry Danridge, although I don't think they ever said Jerry's last name in this movie, so that might've been lost on some people...

Story

Hooray for vampires that don't sparkle!  It's about damn time we got back to vamps as killing machines rather than brooding teenagers.  I love the idea of a vampire in Vegas, of course they'd blend in with the freaky locals!  Sure, the plot's a bit thin in places (Just how did "geeky" Charley land "hot" Amy?  And I would've liked more backstory for Peter), but the dialogue is so good I didn't even care.  I was either in stitches or clutching a pillow in anticipation.  I did love that the movie has a happy ending, even if it was a close call for a few moments.

Visual Effects

Let me start this section by saying I so wish I could have seen this movie in 3D.  That said, the effects were good.  The thing is, some of them just looked a little funny because they were made for 3D, particularly the scene where Charley stakes Jerry.  There's this ridiculous, drawn-out shot of Jerry's scary vampire face that's obviously only there for a cheap 3D thrill.  That's my only serious complaint.  Otherwise, I thought the effects were really good.  I did really like the effects when a vampire died (It completely caught me off-guard when Doris exploded into a bloody, flaming mess!).  Ed's death was especially well-done.  I nearly cried when he said, "It's okay, Charley" and turned back into his old self for a moment.  The bit with Charley in the fire suit (I don't know what it's really called) was brilliant!  Sidenote: I'm pretty sure the black smoke effect when everyone de-vamp-ified was directly stolen from Supernatural ;) (Or it's something from the first movie, read that somewhere just now.  Can't be sure though)

Stand-Out Moments (I'll have to try hard to pick just a few)

1. David Tennant in LEATHER PANTS.  Oh dear God...still can't get over that.  Also, Peter Vincent in general: "I'm gonna pop your cherry." *shivers*, "I'm a great date; get me drunk, and I'll try anything."  He's just awesome.

2. Almost anything said by Evil Ed.  A few examples: "Don't you have some sluts to go fuck?" (The hilarious effect is lessened without his voice...), "Or how about that one time you took my Stretch Armstrong so you could tie it around your balls and jerk off for an hour?" "I'd really like Stretch back, by the way!"

3. Ginger.  She was a great addition to the movie! "Midori yourself, douchebag.", "I will fuck myself.  Someone's gotta do it!".  She and Peter had such great chemistry.  Too bad she got her throat torn out...

4. "That's a fucked-up vampire hand!" That line cracks me up every time!

5. All the badassery towards the end of the movie when Charley and Peter storm Jerry's house. "Let's kill something." Oh God, his voice...

6. The fact that they blatantly mock The-Sparkly-Vampire-Series-That-Must-Not-Be-Named by having Jerry eat apples all the time (I actually had to have that one explained to me by a friend who has seen the aforementioned series)

7. "Hey guy." What the hell was up with that line?  It was just so hysterically awkward.

Okay, I should stop.  Basically, the entire movie was a stand-out moment!

Overall Thoughts

Amazing!  This movie is entertaining on every level, and just scary enough at times to be really fun!  The actors work so well together, and the dialogue is killer!  If it's any indication of how much I love this movie, I watched it 3 times in 2 weeks.  And I'll probably watch it again soon!

Geek Movie: The Thing (1982)

What?  Two posts in one day?  Crazy, I know.  But I just watched "The Thing (1982)" with my dad and felt like sharing my opinion.  I know many people love this movie because they grew up with it, but I like to think I'm watching with fresh eyes from a critical perspective.

Cast

There wasn't much genuine emotion to be found, especially not from Kurt Russell's perpetually-hammered R.J. MacReady.  There were only 12 real characters, and none of them were developed enough to be very interesting.  For example: why was Clark so attached to the dogs, or just what the hell was Childs' problem?

Story

My dad and I decided to point out just how many errors we could find in the plot.  There were A LOT.  Enough plot holes to drive a couple of spaceships through.  Speaking of spaceships, what the hell?  The premise doesn't make any sense, and there's hardly any backstory.  It would have been great if John Carpenter had decided to go further with exploring how humans react in a crisis situation, but unfortunately he didn't do that.

Visual Effects

Obviously there have been countless advances in the special effects field since this movie was made, but the effects were excellent for the time.  I think they were right up there with those from "The Fly (1985)" - which I'll have to re-watch and review later.  The film definitely had its gruesome moments, like the scene where Dr. Copper tries to revive Norris...oh lord.  That's pretty much all I can say about that.  And the crawling spider-head-thing, yikes.  The gratuitous use of flamethrowers and flares was pretty awesome too.

Stand-Out Moments

1. "I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!"  Oh my God, almost died laughing!  Some of the best (possibly) unintentional comedy I've ever heard!

2. The fact that the Dog-Thing is credited on IMDB and had a name.  His name was Jed.

Overall Thoughts

Completely and utterly bizarre, but not bad.  I was scratching my head for most of the movie, but eventually I just gave up on all logic and let myself enjoy it.  It certainly had its moments.

Geek Movie: Star Trek

Okay, so I know this is kind of old news, but I finally got around to watching the most recent adaptation of Star Trek.  It.  Was.  Awesome!  I'm going to assume that everyone's seen the movie, so be advised, there are spoilers here!

Bear in mind that I haven't seen the original Star Trek series, so I hope you won't fault me for that.  I have every intention of watching it now, though.  I do know the basis: Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Bones, Scotty, all that stuff.

Cast

I really loved Chris Pine as Kirk.  He was charming(ish) and certainly a ladies man, if only in his own mind.  He came off stupidly daring and pretty full of himself, just as I thought Kirk should.  But by the end of the movie, he'd evolved just enough where you'd believe he could make a good captain.

Zachary Quinto's Spock was, well, Spock.  He did a great job portraying the (relatively) emotionless Vulcan, but he rocked it even harder when Spock got emotional!  I loved seeing a softer side of Spock with Uhura.

Other Cast Highlights: Simon Pegg as Scotty.  Honestly, what can I say about Simon Pegg?  He's just awesome!  He garnered plenty of laughs from me and my family.  Also, Anton Yelchin as Chekov.  I spent most of the movie alternately trying to figure out if that was his real accent (I decided it was) and cracking up at his pronunciation. (Sidenote: can't wait to see him in Fright Night!  I will be blogging about that too!)

Story

Again, I don't know much about Star Trek, but I assumed that was okay because this was a prequel.  I liked the insight into the characters, especially Spock.  From what I know of the original series, he just seemed really cold, but now I get it a little more.  I loved seeing the camaraderie among the crew evolve as the movie progressed.

Visual Effects

Oh my God.  I was hypnotized for about half the movie because it was just so stunning!  The space scenes were awesome, not to say that anything else wasn't awesome.  It was all completely and totally awesome.  The parts that really stuck out were the red matter and the black holes, the ice cave on what my dad and I jokingly called "Hoth", and the "beaming".  I liked the beaming.

Stand-Out Moments

1. Young Kirk tearing down the road in the Corvette, listening to "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys.  I just screamed "YES!" when that song came on.  Fantastic!

2. Chekov running down the halls of the Enterprise, shouting "I can do zat!"  Hilarious.

3. The Vulcan neck pinch.  I've always wanted to see that.

4. "I am Spock." "Bullshit."  I laughed so hard I almost cried!

5. Scotty in general.  Simon Pegg always keeps me in stitches!

Overall Thoughts

I loved it, honestly!  There were just so many great lines, especially the throwbacks to the original series.  It only helped that my equally-geeky dad was watching with me, so we could make joke references to Star Wars and the like.  Great movie with enough action to be interesting, but enough backstory to make sense.