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Contagion (2011)
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When I first saw the trailer for Contagion, I remember thinking to myself that it was going to be a mediocre disaster film, that tried to save itself with a cast full of established actors, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, and the list goes on. To my surprise though,I was completely wrong, I actually enjoyed every moment of this viral outbreak.
The film focuses on two groups, one being the Emhoff family (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the other being the team that is working with the CDC to try and figure out what the virus is, and where it came from. Mitch Emhoff lost his wife to the virus shortly after she returned home from her trip from Hong Kong, and immediately after he lost his son as well. The film is well paced, switching back and forth between groups, showing day by day how the virus rapidly spreads around the world. By doing this, the film shows how an average family most likely would react to an outbreak like this, but at the same time showing us a behind the scenes look at how a government might have to handle a situation like this.
For me the most interesting parts of the film was at the labs of the medical groups who were studying the virus. They did a great job of explaining how the virus works, and how it actually evolves to always beat our immune system. They never used fancy medical terms to make the actors sounds smart, but instead kept it simple so all viewers could understand and still kept very believable.
The way each scene is shot, close ups of people sweating, and focusing on actors hands touching objects, really intensified the fear that came a long with the virus. Unlike most disaster films this threat is a completely silent killer, and we have no idea who is going to fall victim to the virus. As the story progresses, and the virus spreads, we see how the population begins to react, as rumors spread of the government knowing exactly what the virus is, and how to cure the sickness as well. The entirety of the movie does a perfect job making the virus feel as if though it could be real, and this could happen to us any day. For those who have fear of germs to begin with, this film is absolutely not for you. I am in no way a germ freak, but after watching this, it's almost impossible not to feel sick.
My only issue with the movie, is the ending. I am not going to spoil anything, but to me I felt as if the ending was a little rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the film. The ending in no way ruined the movie for me, but I do hope they come out with a Directors cut later on with alternate endings, or do I dare say a sequel...hopefully not. In my opinion Contagion is one of the better blockbuster films of 2011, and definitely one of the better disaster films in the past few years.
Rating: 6/10
In Time (2011)
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From the Director of sci-fi classic, Gattaca(1997), and The Truman Show(1998), Andrew Niccol creates a unique story about a world where everyone is genetically engineered to live only a year after their 25th birthday. Although the government controls the population, there is a way to live past 25. The way to do this is to do whatever you can to get enough currency to continue to live past that final year. What this does, is it creates a survival of the fittest, and only the strongest and smartest who can obtain enough currency to survive, leaving the weaker to stop living. Time has become the new currency, and if you become wealthy enough, you can theoretically become immortal. Niccol wrote a wonderful story, with an underlying tone of today's government, and how banks in our society today have way to much control and power, and ultimately credit is what has driven us to such lows. We live in a world where money controls everything, and if you have enough money, you can only get richer. I can definitely see this film becoming the topic of many essays in film classes, economic classes, and probably even some government courses. The film has a many messages throughout, for us to learn from.
Although some might say that the casting choices were not the best in the film, I believe that Justin Timberlake did a perfect job playing the main role in this film. He showed that he is worthy of playing serious roles, when he played Frankie in Alhpa Dog(2006), and he did a good job in Southland Tales(2006) as well. After seeing both of those movies, I figured he would be great in this film, and to my surprise he actually is improving; he has come a long way from the lead singer in Nsync. Another great actor is Cillian Murphy, who is what the film calls "timekeepers". He is in charge of making sure that all time is accounted for, and that no illegal time trading is going on. Although for me, Murphy always plays great villains, he does a good job of bringing his eeriness he has, and blends it well with this role.
My biggest problem with the film was the use of the word immortal. There were a couple points in the film where a few characters had the chance to kill someone over how much time they had on their arm. The rich people with centuries on their arm, claim to be immortal and even tend to flaunt the fact that they are immortal. This makes no sense because the time on their arm, is simply how much time they have until their heart stops. That time has nothing do with the fact that you can still die from a stab wound, gunshot, etc. Everyone in the film is trying to get more time on their arm so they can feel immortal, but they can never be immortal, they are still human. Maybe I'm missing something here, but the scene where Will is holding the gun to Mr. Weis head, and he saying how he is immortal, Will should have just shot him right there, proving he is not immortal. I guess that was just the way the film shows that the rich people who had all the time in the world, were really blinded by the time on their arm. I guess they did this to compare to our society, where we are blinded by money constantly, when in reality we should just enjoy our daily lives, and not have to worry about money so much. Also the ending to me felt a little rushed, and seemed like nothing really got resolved. I don't want to spoil the ending here, but I feel like they could have come up with something a little more clever.
All in all, In Time is a fun sci-fi film that does not involve much thinking to watch. Still a great film to watch at least once, and I'll probably watch it again sometime down the road. If your on the fence about watching In Time, just give it a shot, its not to long either, just over 90 minutes, but I will say that this is not up to par with Niccol's other movies like The Truman Show(1998), or Gattaca(1997), in my opinion.
Rating: 5/10
Solyaris (1972)
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Another work of art by the genius Tarkovsky, Solaris. There since has been an American remake with the very famous George Clooney, although I find Tarkovsky's to be in a whole other league of films. Like many of his films, Solaris without ever saying to much, can really make you think and dive deep into the story. It is extremely easy to get lost into the story and I found myself many times trying to answer the questions that are brought up in this film.
I have heard many describe Solaris as a close relative to Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, but in the Criterion version of Solaris, Akira Kurosawa states that Tarkovsky found 2001 to be "cold and sterile." Even though 2001 is a wonderful film, Solaris is filled with so much more human emotion, grief, love, hate, etc, where as for me, 2001 concentrated more on the hard science aspect of the film. I wonder if this could be the reason Tarkovsky wanted to make Solaris, because he wanted to do a science fiction film correct in his eyes? Regardless of why he did it, Tarkovsky himself ended up not enjoying it, and became his least favorite film to make.
Much like Stalker (1979), this film is not filled with much hope. From the moment the film begins in the prologue, we see that our protagonist, Kris Kelvin, is upset and filled with grief. It seems as if his trip to the Solaris station is more of an escape rather than a mission for his work. Kris wanting to leave earth is the main reason why some of the scenes in the opening of the film might feel like they drag on, but that was done for a reason. It is Kris' final day on earth, and this could very possibly be his last. Tarkovsky was showing off nature to the viewers as if it was our last day here. He was wanting us to take in every leaf blown in the wind, every cloud in the sky, and even when Kris arrives at the Solaris station, the other Solaris' most missed possession is the wind.
As the film progresses Kris begins to learn that the reason he was sent here is not so far fetched after all. The planet they are orbiting is known to harbor some sort of intelligent life, whether it be physical or just biological. The intelligent life somehow can understand what is in your deepest part of your conscious and actually reveal that to you. The intelligent life teaches us that the reason Kris is filled with so much grief is because the loss of his wife. So of course the second day that Kris is on the Solaris station, the intelligent life brings to him his wife. To some this may seem like a miracle, but as Kris slowly finds out, it is only going to bring him more grief. Kris' wife, Hari, still remembers everything, including her suicide. She wrestles with the idea that she is not the real Hari, but a duplicate created by Kris' imagination.
Solaris has one of the most conflict filled love stories, and is told so well through the experiences that each of the characters go through while on the Solaris station. Kris has to constantly struggle whether to leave the station forever and never see Hari again, or to forever stay there and live with the "phenomenon" Hari, because the moment they live the orbit of that planet the scientific phenomenon vanishes. My favorite line from this movie, and one of my favorite quotes of all time is said by Dr. Snaut on the station when talking about what is actually going on in the planets space ocean.
"We don't know what to do with other worlds. We don't need other worlds. We need a mirror. We struggle to make contact, but we'll never achieve it. We are in a ridiculous predicament of man pursuing a goal that he fears and that he really does not need. Man needs man!"
Dr. Snaut is trying to tell Kris, that even though there is something mysterious and powerful going on in this planet, we do not need it. We were put here on earth to discover other humans, to get to know our fellow species better. We do not need clones of the ones we used to love to make us happy, that is why we have memories. Dr. Snaut is telling Kris to go back to earth, back to his family, and try and get to know new people, that is what will relieve Kris of his grief.
For those who have not seen this film, you must. If films like 2001 bore you, than I guess watch the remake because it is a much shorter film, but there is a reason for that. It leaves out a lot of really great scenes between Kris and Hari, and from what I recall the ending is nowhere near the same. The ending to Tarkovsky's Solaris is one of my favorite endings, it stunned me the first time I saw it. I honestly don't think I have ever been disappointed by a Tarkovsky film, but Solaris is my favorite from him.
Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
A must see for vampire fans
I had actually started watching this movie about two years back, before the remake had actually come out, but I started watching it way too late at night and only got about 20 minutes into it. I had heard incredible things from it from friends and internet sources, but once the remake came out I had little or no desire to see it because remakes that come out so shortly after the original tend to have no purpose in watching.
Based on my first time fully watching this film I knew I already was going to have a biased opinion towards the remake, solely based on the performance by the two kid actors in this film. Both of them are so awkward, and are even more awkward when they interact with each other, but it fits so well with the movie, it's strange really. The way they both interact with each other is very unique, and really can't be replicated by force, it kind of just happens between two actors. They do a great job of telling the story of a vampire through a child's eyes.
The movie is a really neat take on the story of vampires, and is told through a story of two young kids, one of whom is a vampire. It reminds me a bit of Interview With a Vampire, because it shows that even though a child is a vampire, that child is still a blood thirsty beast, and they will forever need the assistance of an adult; they will never grow out of the childhood stage of their life. This is a really haunting dilemma to think about, because when thinking of immortality it at first sounds like a great thing. Although we have seen countless vampire movies show us the reality of being a vampire, and that it is not at all what it is cracked out to be.
The film is shot so well and at time is shot from a really interesting perspective. One of the scenes in particular, my absolute favorite scene in the whole movie is the pool scene near the end. When Oskar is being held underwater in the pool and Eli comes to save him. I loved how it was shot underwater and you see all the kids getting demolished by Eli all from an underwater perspective. It is a really neat shot, and I could imagine when director was first talking about the scene, I'm sure many people were confused as to how it was going to turn out. Tomas Alfredson shows off his creativity in this film by not going with the standard angles and scenery we normally see in horror films.
This movie deserves all the hype it gets, it did not disappoint one bit. Getting to see the kids grow as friends was neat but then eventually leading up to Oli learning that his only friend is a vampire. This film is easily in my top 3 vampire films, right next to Thirst and Interview With A Vampire. I loved how dark of a film this was even though it had to deal with story of kids, it never strayed from the darkness and brutality of being a vampire.
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Let Me In (2010)
Close to the original, but not close enough.
This is a tough movie to give criticism on because it is basically the exact same movie as Let the Right One In, and I've actually never seen a remake stay so close to the original.I knew from the start that it was going to be a remake, but this is literally scene by scene, almost verbatim, the exact same movie. I was hoping for a bit more back story on Eli, such as how she became a vampire, or showing more of the back story on her relationship with Hakan, because I'm sure he wasn't always fine with helping Eli get her blood. The only differences that I saw was the beginning of the film, where they showed the climax of the film at the beginning, doing a typical "Tarinto" scene, and also some of the scene were shot with different angles. I'm not sure if the director was doing this to be more artistic, or if he was just wanted to have something different about the film, and that was his easiest option. Like I said it is hard to criticize this film, because most remakes I dislike due to the fact that they change so much, but with this film almost nothing is changed.
My only problem with this movie is why a remake was necessary. I already have a hard time swallowing remakes to begin with, but I can understand sometimes when the movie has been outdated and is need of a remake by the right director, but Let Me In came out barely a full two years after the original. There is absolutely no need for a remake that soon, unless for two reasons, to add more to the story, or simply because people do not like reading subtitles, therefore people always give up on foreign films without ever giving them a chance. I think it is much easier and much more enjoyable to just leave a film as it is, and just read the subtitles, and watch the movie as it was originally intended.
On the other hand, Let Me In isn't that bad of a film. My favorite part of the film were the two main actors in the last one, and I must say the two American kids they picked for these parts are actually pretty on par with the other two. Although I feel like they don't have that connection and chemistry that the other two had. The biggest problem I have with this film is just how recent it came out, and to me it just looks like Matt Reeves wanted to take the shine away from Let the Right One In. I'm sure that actually was not his intention, but to me there was no reason to do a remake, and especially a remake that is so close to the original. If you're deciding on which one to watch first, without thinking watch the original, it is a much better film in all aspects. Unless you are someone who can't focus during a movie with subtitles, than go ahead and watch Let Me In, it does its part in staying true to the original.
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Bakjwi (2009)
Fantastic take on the legend of vampires.
To begin, Chan-wook Park is easily in my top 3 favorite Directors of all time. Everything he has made is a masterpiece. He treats every single scene of his movies like a painting, each of them a work of art. Thirst is probably his most strange and creative film I have seen by him. He creates a fresh and new story to add to the tale of vampires. Thirst is a much different film compared to Parks more gory films, like his Vengeance Trilogy. This film while still having its gory moments has much more of a comical side to it.
The main character is Priest Sang-hyeon. He gets involved in a experiment where he believes he is doing good and is going to heal people by going through this experiment. By the end of it he contracts the EV disease but survives and is transformed into a vampire. Now that he has the blood thirst, and sexual urges he tries and contains himself so he can still be a priest and serve the Lord.
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The whole first half of the movie is filled with awkward and very humorous moments. It's a side you don't see too often in Park's films. So for me it was great to see his sense of humor really come out in this movie but at the same time make it a very entertaining vampire movie. But about half through the way movie the story drastically changes and it begins to go back what were used to seeing in Park's films. The movie is basically split into two acts. The first being the goofier and humorous type, where we see the Priest learning what it means to be a vampire. But the second act stays more true to the vampire genre, with lots of eating of humans, and the vampires having more of the higher species mentality.
Both acts of the movie are fantastic, and the whole cast is superb. One actress in particular is OK-bin Kim. She is only 22 in this movie, but her character forces her to play many different types of roles. She starts out as a very submissive wife who was forced into her marriage, but we than get to see her grow and overcome her "nightmare" of a life, as she calls it. Each of the characters has a rise and a fall, and the movie is filled with very dramatic and even more intense scenes. I'd have to say the last 20 minutes is my favorite 20 minutes of any Chan- wook Park films, and maybe of all times. The ending is set in gorgeous scenery, and has a very emotional finale. If you are a fan of Chan-wook Park in the slightest, or interested in the myth of vampires, you must see Parks rendition of it.