My Weekly Update 04/21

Here we go. Two weeks in a row and I'm back again. I'll give myself a pat on the back for this. I'm even writing this in a car on the way to Clarenville of all places. I don't really know why I'm going to Clarenville but hey, why not right.

So this week was fairly uneventful. Not a lot going on as far as new movies go. I saw the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42 and that was it for the new things. I've been fairly disappointed by the amount of good movies that Empire Theatres have decided to pass on so far this year. I can count at least 6-7 that I'm genuinely pissed that we haven't gotten here. But enough of my belly-aching. They're making it up to me this week by bringing in The Place Beyond the Pines, which I am incredibly excited about and has the potential to be one of the better movies coming out this year.

A few weeks ago, the greatest film critic(arguably and in my own personal opinion) passed away. Roger Ebert was one of the only critics I trusted as far as their opinions on movies go. I would read reviews on other sites by the random critics they would have working there but I never knew their names. Roger Ebert was the only name that I could refer back to and trust. He was completely unbiased about his view on movies. He looked at every movie with an open mind and took them all for what they were. If he loved a movie, chances are it was truly a great work of art. If he hated it, it probably wasn't worth your time or money to go watch.

His passing, in some small part, spurred me along to get this blog back up and running again. So, in light of this, I've gone and found his most recent top 10 list that he completed for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll. This is a poll that has been completed by the Sight and Sound magazine since 1972 chronicling the best films chosen by the top film professionals. These films represent the best of the best. To be chosen to be in the top 10 films of a critic who has watched and reviewed thousands of films and has gained worldwide acclaim says something quite endearing of the films chosen. The list that Roger Ebert chose in 2012 were:

Aguirre, Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)

Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola (1979)

Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)

La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini (1960)

The General - Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton (1926)

Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)

2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick (1968)

Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu (1953)

The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick (2011)

Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)

Of this prestigious list I've only seen 3 in their entirety. I dare not say which ones for the inevitable mocking of not having seen some of the most iconic, classic movies there are. My soul hates me a little bit for this as well. Regardless, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to make a point of working my way through this list. Even the ones I've seen already. Finding some of the older ones may be a bit of a challenge but I'm sure I'll be able to locate them without too much trouble.

As I work my way through this list I'm going to keep this blog updated. Not necessarily with reviews of these movies. More so my thoughts, feelings and what I feel may have caused these movies to be adored by one of the greatest fans of the film medium.

So that's what I have planned for my immediate future. Now, as for what I've seen this week:

My Weekly Thoughts

42 7/10

Restraint is a hard thing for Hollywood to swallow these days. Bigger, louder, more offensive, more expensive, more over-the-top, more blood, more violence are all the things most movies strive for. Movies rely on moments that give the audience something they've never seen before. When these work it ends up being what the movie was remembered for. When these moments fail, it ends up being what causes the movie to crash and burn. It’s a very “make or break” world out there.

In the midst of all this, 42 is a great example of restraint at its best.

The movie started a little rough. It felt like it was going to shove its anti-racial ideals into your face in the first few minutes with Bench Rickey(Harrison Ford) gloriously stating his plans to introduce the worlds first black MLB player. And then another heroic show of anti-racism with a washroom incident and Jackie Robinson(Chadwick Boseman). Thankfully it tones everything back just enough shortly after.

The movie never tries to over shadow it’s main character, Jackie Robinson, with any sort of scene stealing display of prejudice. It shows restraint just like Jackie is told to show in the movie.

Movies like this, dealing with racism, have loads of opportunities to paint an extremely ugly face on the matter. To make the audience feel sympathy for the character through disgust from the extreme actions of others. 42 holds back with this, never over-glorifying any act. In fact, other than one poorly thrown baseball, there is no violence in the movie. The worst of the racism shown in the movie is just there to fuel Jackie. To push him to his brink. It’s not there for us for shock value. While this was happening I wasn't hating the person dishing this out. I wasn't a fan of him either, but that wasn't the point of his racist behavior. During this tirade I was focusing on Jackie and his response. It’s there for him and his development and Boseman plays this perfectly.

My only problem with the movie is with the most seasoned actor there, Harrison Ford. While he does have a few good moments, I really felt that he overacted trying to play a gruff old man. He’s old. He’s gruff. I felt like he needed to tone it down a bit and just act a little more naturally. Now I don’t know much about baseball or the character he was playing, so that may have been a great portrayal of that person, but in my opinion his performance was more of a distraction from the beautiful restraint shown in the rest of the film.



So once again, thanks for reading this week. I was going to add another section about some movies news that got me excited this week but I feel I've rambled on long enough. I may do a separate post regarding that stuff later this week. Maybe not. But I will be updating with my thoughts on Roger Eberts top 10 soon.

Until then, cheers!

My Weekly Update 04/28

If I can finish this blog post, edit it and published before I go to bed tonight, it will be a good testament to my commitment to keep this a regular occurring event.

I had to put that statement at the beginning of this post because there is a small part of me that wants to skip this tonight, go lie down, read some of The Hobbit, and meander off into a drool filled sleep. A drive to Clarenville and back (3-4 hours of driving for anyone not versed in Newfoundland geography), and then a hefty turkey dinner at my parents before heading home has made me a sleepy meat-bag. But alas I trudge onward. Even though I'm moving on Wednesday and should be doing something in preparation for that as well.



Last week I listed ten films that Roger Ebert chose as his top ten in 2012 and stated my intentions on working my way through each of these. I won't repeat the list. It's below somewhere if you want to just scroll down. Go on, I wont go anywhere................. Okay. So I have been looking into this and have found all of these films except for one. Aguirre, Wrath of God. This is not on Netflix or iTunes, and I couldn't find it at HMV. I'm sure i'll be able to get it somewhere online but I really don't want to have to resort to torrenting it. I've managed to avoid downloading any movies lately. Just TV shows, which I have no ethical qualms with torrenting anyway. If anybody has a good, legit suggestion on where to find this I would greatly appreciate it. As for the rest of the list, I've only managed to make my way through two so far: The General, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. I hope to pick up the pace with the rest of the ten this week but it will still probably be another couple weeks before I get through them all. When I get through them I plan on doing a full post (maybe two) for that alone, discussing my thoughts on the films and such. But until then I'll just give a quick preview of what I think of the ones I've seen.

First one I decided to watch was fittingly the oldest. The General, made in 1926, is probably the oldest film I've ever watched in full (that I can recall). It's silent, black and white, and clearly looks very dated. That will make it a turn off for many people to watch in these days of CGI and IMAX 3D. But if you can, do yourself a favor and watch this. I was so happy I decided to do this list after watching this movie. I probably never would have seen it otherwise. Of course you need to go into this with an open mind, but if you can do that, you'll be treated to one of the best examples there is of a film, being used to it's full potential as a strictly visual medium.

The second movie I watched was 2001: A Space Odyssey, from one of my favorite directors, Stanley Kubrick. This is one of the movies on this list I have already seen, and was more than happy to watch this again for this blog. I love this movie. This is another example of film-making at it's best as visual art. Stanley Kubricks eye for detail and making every shot perfect was legendary and it's a damn tragedy that he's no longer among us. I'll never have the pleasure of going to the theater to be a part of the experience that was a Kubrick film being seen for the first time. In it's place we have classics like this that can be watched, and should be watched, over and over again.



The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful. I've got my move coming, so practically I've been busy procrastinating doing anything involved with that. I did find the time to watch a couple of new movies though:

My Weekly Thoughts

The Place Beyond The Pines 8/10

I already posted an individual review for this movie that you can find here. That was my first full review of a film and reading it over again now, I'm happy with how it turned out. The only thing I would like to add would be that I've felt a need to go see it again over the past couple of days. It seems that Empire Theatres have decided to keep it around for another week (which is awesome) so I strongly urge people to go see it while it's still here. And if anybody needs someone to go see it with, let me know.


The Disappeared 6/10

I went and saw this movie for two reasons:

1) It is a locally made movie (Nova Scotia actually, but I'll consider anything in Atlantic Canada local) that managed to get some screen time here. Considering the number of these low budget, indie films that Empire Theatres actually brings here to NL, I felt compelled to support it by having a look.

2) I wanted to see what a locally made movie could do on a presumably low budget. Especially considering the entire film takes place, and was filmed, at sea.

If the above two reasons have no place in your stream of thought when deciding what movie you want to see then it's probably not going to be your cup of tea. If they are, then there may be something here worth seeing.

The movie follows a group of six fisherman stuck at sea in two dories after their boat inexplicably sinks. We follow them as they row, battle against the elements, against themselves, and ultimately row some more. And that's all there is. As you can see, plot wise, it runs a bit thin. There's no explanation or hint given as to why the boat sinks or if there were other crew on board. Only one of the crew sustains an injury from the incident and that isn't even explained.

This lack of detail in the film is a little off putting at first. And to some, the simplicity of the plot may ruin the movie all together. As the movie played on though I started to warm up to the whole idea. This lack of back story is what this movie needs. You don't need to be distracted by any logistics of what happened before. The history of the characters isn't important. The director (Shandi Mitchell) puts you, the viewer, in the boat with these six other characters as they do what needs to be done to survive. How they got there is of no concern and their pasts matter not. They're in those two boats, you're there with them, and it's about surviving the moment.

Once this element sinks in, the movie turns into something much greater. The closeness of the camera to the characters puts you in the boat with them. The lack of music (which I originally thought was a greatly missed opportunity for some artistic mood setting) fits the loneliness that one would experience in the middle of nowhere. The lack of special effects and constraints of a small budget make it all feel real. All these factors combine and the dire nature of their situation quickly falls on you. You know their odds are low and it becomes about watching this crew deal with a situation that likely has a grim outcome.

Of course all that is only part of the movie. The rest falls upon the actors. And in the close quarters of the dories and the smallness of the cast, there is very little room for error. There were a few moments where the acting and dialogue did make me cringe a little. In a movie with a little bit more going on these moments may have even slipped by without notice. Unfortunately they end up standing out here. But overall the acting was good. There were a couple of incredibly heart breaking moments in the movie that really stood out and credit goes to the actors involved for making them work.

In the end there's only so much that can be said about this movie without giving anything away. If you enjoy a slow paced movie, especially a bit of a sullen one, then please go see this in the next few days at the theater if you can. This doesn't have a Hollywood production budget and you can tell by looking at it. But it does the job it needs to. Maybe we'll get more indie films like this if it gets support. I can't say that you will love it, but it's definitely one of the best locally made films in recent years.



As per my note at the top, I'm giving myself a good pat on the back and heading to bed. See you all next week!

The Place Beyond The Pines Review

The Place Beyond the Pines is a clever, slow burning film. It’s not for everybody. If you saw and enjoyed Blue Valentine then this will be right up your alley. I actually think it’s a solid improvement over that, even though I did enjoy that movie. 

If you haven’t seen Blue Valentine than you need to know something about director Derek Cianfrance. Happiness isn't his game. Both of his feature films are tragic stories. Blue Valentine shows one of the most futile, realistic relationships that I have seen in film. There are bursts of happiness but they are fighting against the main narrative. They don’t last. They’re swallowed by sadness, anger, regret and resentment. All the things that make a good mind go bad.

The Place Beyond the Pines follows another example of simple lives turned bad. While Blue Valentine deals with a broken relationship and trying to mend it, Pines deals with the legacy we leave for our children through the good, and bad decisions that we make. It may not seem like that from the surface and the trailers, but it’s there.

The film starts by following Luke(Ryan Gosling), a motorcycle stunt driver working in a travelling carnival, as he reunites with Romina(Eva Mendes), a fling from the last time he was in town. As he tries to re-connect with Romina he discovers that she is now caring for his newborn child. A spark ignites and he starts a downward spiral into his attempt at being the father he thinks he should be. Unfortunately a lifetime of riding motorcycles hasn't prepared him for what he needs to do and he eventually runs into Robin(Ben Mendelsohn) while looking for a stable job. This meeting starts him on a tragic course that eventually crosses his path with that of Avery(Bradley Cooper), a rookie cop. Luke and Averys time together on screen ends up being brief, but it sets in motion a series of events that sees Avery become a hero, get involved with some dirty cops, and eventually make a decision that could have life or death implications.

The decisions of both of these characters ultimately shape the lives of their sons. In the third segment of this epic drama we are introduced to AJ(Emory Cohen) and Jason(Dane DeHaan), 15 years later, all grown up and in their teen years as their lives cross fatefully. This is where the consequences of their fathers decisions come head on and change their lives for better, and for worst.

I’ll leave my synopsis at that. Watch the film to figure out the rest.

The first thing I feel I need to say about this film is how amazing Ryan Gosling is. He is by far one of my favorite actors out there right now and it’s clearly shown here why. He looks completely at home playing a deadbeat motorcycle driver dressed in grunge. He plays it perfectly and hits the highs and lows amazingly. He gets to enjoy some genuine happiness, but it’s short lived. I was enthralled with his character and wanted him to succeed. I wanted him to be a great dad. And I was equally as destroyed with the fate he weaves for himself.

Now that’s not to say there was anything wrong with the rest of the cast. I feel the need to point out Goslings performance because I feel there are going to be a LOT of people going to this movie just because he’s in it. He’s front and center in all the posters. They knew how to promote this movie. The problem is, the movie isn't just about him. It’s very much an ensemble cast and be forewarned that Ryan Gosling isn't the heart throb here. He’s a broken man. He hits rock bottom at times. And without giving away his exact fate, he’s only in less than a third of the movie.

Speaking of the ensemble cast, everybody else in this is amazing. Special nods going to Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta.

Mendelsohn, if you've never seen him, is an amazingly underrated actor. I first saw him in Animal Kingdom (if you haven’t seen that then you should really seek that out, it’s quite awesome). But since then he’s starred in Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt and a little movie called Dark Knight Rises. The point is, the man is on the rise, and its evident why in this. He plays the perfect role as the down and out junkie and is effectively good at making your skin crawl. His interactions with Gosling are perfect as he pushes him slowly along his destructive path. And at the end, when he sees what he has done to Luke. What he's turned him into. He has an amazing couple of scenes where he attempts to fix his mistake and Mendelsohn plays it so well. I can't state enough how underrated I feel he is.

Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta both give better than expected performances as well. With the little screen time given to them they make damn good use of it. Ray Liotta is one creepy fucker and he knows damn well how to play that up.

All of the performances under Derek Cianfrances direction are what make this movie what it is. On top of that you have some incredibly beautiful cinematography at work here. Most noticeable during the Ryan Gosling sequence of the movie. When he’s speeding away from the heists on his motorcycle, you get the sense of urgency and it makes you feel like you’re right in the action. The rest of the movie he builds an incredibly dark and almost mysterious atmosphere, fitting for the densely forested area where they filmed the movie. The score of the film backs this up perfectly. He effectively makes a movie about a small group of people feel much more engrossing than most would think it needs to be. And he does this all with a very realistic, down to earth style that only comes from a director with a background in documentaries.

The only area that I felt the film stumbled a bit was in the last third when we get to the lives of the kids in their teen years. The acting was still solid but I felt the pacing was a little all over the place. It felt like it was building to a climax a few times and then would just whimper off, before eventually working back up towards something else. I feel like the effect of the tragic ending was also dulled with this up and down pacing near the end. Up until this section of the movie I was completely glued to the screen, oblivious to the world around me. Once it hit these pacing issues I became a little disconnected from the movie. Finally becoming aware of it’s 2hr 20min running time. I’m sure if they had sliced 10-15 minutes off in that final sequence they could have had a much better build up to the end without it feeling as dragged out as it did.

Without the pacing issues at the end I would have easily said this was going to be one of my favorite movies of this year, hands down. But the end was too much of a distraction from the rest of the movie to be completely ignored. I still loved it. Time will only tell how it ranks with the rest of 2013 to come.

If you don’t mind a bit of a slower paced movie then I strongly recommend this, and to also have a look at Blue Valentine if you can find the time. My strongest advice would be to not watch either in a bad mood in hopes of being cheered up by the “dreamy” Ryan Gosling. You’ll be sadly disappointed.

*I gave The Place Beyond The Pines an 8/10 score on IMDB

My Week In Blog Form

It's experiment time guys. No, not that type of experiment. I mean the type that involves typing and trying something new.

Up until now this blog has been sporadic at best. My last post was my first in quite a while. It was also a movie review of sorts which I never planned on using this blog for when it was in its early stages. Of course things change, and while I do still plan on following a career in some sort of film/media format like I motioned towards in earlier posts, due to a couple binding issues, I'm more or less staying put for the time being and for what looks to be the near future. But that's ok. I'm ok with it. I like where I'm to right now. I'm moving back into my old digs downtown at the end of the month. Nothing against the other people in my current living arrangement, but this area of town(the asshole of it) is shit. Suburbia is not for me quite yet. And after a few weeks of tedious apartment searching I came to realize that everything I was looking for was what I had in my last house before I moved here. So, due to some stroke of good luck(which is nice for a change), that old place of mine has once again become available and I have staked my claim once again.

I've also made a major step in the right direction for myself artistically and have gone and purchased a fandangled new camera. A Canon 60D DSLR to be exact:

I call her Caron. Well... I don't really, but we'll see what happens after this post.

Anyway, this is my new toy and I plan on spending a lot of time with it in the future. I haven't used it too much in the recent couple of months because of Newfoundlands lovely weather, and there's only so many pictures you can take of your dog before she starts to get some sort of complex. But now that the sun is starting to shine and the birds are starting to chirp again, I plan on getting as much use out of this as possible.

Another thing I have done, and plan on continuing to do a whole fucking lot, is watch movies. Like, a lot of them. At the beginning of this year I did up a rough figure for the amount of money I spent at Empire Theatres in the good ol' 2012. I won't get into exact amounts but I feel like I may have paid for a few of those comfy new chairs that everybody is rubbin their arse into. I am totally fine with this though because it was all money well spent. I enjoy going to the theaters quite a bit. But I think it may be time to do something productive with all that spent money as well.

So, like my previous post, I'm going to be sharing my thoughts on here regarding the movies I watch. It won't always be in the form of a full review like my Evil Dead post. Nor will it always warrant its own blog post. There may be some of those for movies I have strong thoughts/opinions on. But for the most part I'm going to make these mini reviews a part of a weekly blog post, commencing tonight. And I plan on taking a couple hours to do this every Sunday night since it's the only night I'm guaranteed to not be busy with work and generally have a few free hours somewhere in the day to do this. I'm thinking I may add some other material into each post as well but for now I'll start with just the movies I've seen. This should at least give anybody who reads this a bit of a more reliable reason to keep checking back here.

Now, without further adieu:

My Weekly Thoughts 

Jurassic Park 3D 10/10

Possibly one of the best sci-fi films of my generation. Steven Spielberg did something amazing back in 1993 by making you believe in dinosaurs with technology that still looks amazing 20 years after, and superb performances by a cast of characters you no longer see in hollywood films. The Ian Malcolms are now replaced by arrogant, save-the-whale, humanitarians that would have died trying to free the dinosaurs from their entrapment's. The John Hammonds are now replaced by power hungry corporate CEO’s who would have become tragic(not so tragic) victims of their own creations. Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Alan Grant would be swapped for much younger, sexier versions of themselves. And Dennis Nedry probably would have been left in the dust all together. The release of the dinosaurs being explained by some non-realistic technological malfunction. We also probably wouldn't have gotten one of the most quotable lines in movie history, “Clever girl”. 

That is how a movie like this would be made today. But back in 1993 it was made differently, it was made almost perfect. Of course there are some flaws, but no other movie in recent memory has struck the same jaw-dropping, awe inspiring chord that this did. 

Adding IMAX and 3D to the package is a respectable mixed bag. 3D only slightly works, being so bad at times it becomes distracting, and not seeming to do anything at all at other points in the film. 

IMAX on the other hand is the format this movie was born to be seen in. Hearing a T-Rex bellow in ear-shattering loud sound quality is the way it’s supposed to be heard. And the added screen size shows the crossbreed of CGI and mechanical dinosaurs on a scale that would only be rivaled by seeing them in the flesh. 

All in all, seeing this timeless classic for the first time in its big screen glory sent me home with a giant smile on my face, even 20 years later, and anybody who’s a fan should see it as well.

Revolution 6/10

While not as good as his first attempt, Sharkwater, Revolution is a visually striking documentary that exceeds its grasp on the subject of saving the world, but still manages to inspire a change. 

It’s nice to see that Rob Stewart has so much passion for what he’s doing, and it really shows. It gave me a sense of entitlement to change some of my ways. But the film seemed to have issues with staying focused, and with the subject matter he’s dealing with it’s a hard task to stay on one individual topic for too long. One of the things that was great about Sharkwater was how specific it was. It covered one topic and it did it well. It gave the sense that the director was trying to step in to make a change. That he was going above and beyond to assist with something he cared passionately about. Even risking prison time at one point. 

Revolution however, doesn't seem quite as personal. You know there’s a good cause here but I never feel like Rob was putting himself in danger to change anything. He’s still trying but this time it’s a different struggle. He’s trying to fit all the worlds problems into a mere 1hr and 25min. He’s trying to show the damage and the solutions at the same time. It’s very admirable but it causes the film to feel a little rushed and almost as if something is missing. 

The purpose of the film isn't lost with this though, it merely feels like a filtered version of what it could have been. It’s still a beautiful film with some great imagery, a great message, and something that anybody who cares about the environment should take the time to watch.

So there you have it. My first in hopefully an ongoing weekly update. I would greatly appreciate any feedback with this as time goes by. Positive and negative. I'm trying to get serious about this and want it to grow into something regular.

I'm also going to be changing around the layout of this site to try to find something I'm a little more comfortable with and appealing to the senses. I've changed it to a pretty safe style right now but I'm going to look for something a little more my own. Any feedback regarding this will be taken to heart as well.

Thanks again to anybody who reads this and hopefully I'll see you back here next week!

My Kinda/Sorta Evil Dead Review

I've said it a couple of times since Friday night, but I'll say it again anyway. It's hard living in a post Cabin in the Woods world.

Why say that now? Well it just so happens that the first movie I was truly excited about in 2013(that we got in theaters here in St. John's anyway), finally came this way. Almost a year after the greatness that was The Cabin in the Woods was released I finally got to lay my tired eyes upon the much hyped Evil Dead remake. Unfortunately, while being a good remake, it also let me down. Let me tell you why.

First and foremost, the huge issue I have with this Evil Dead remake(and it's an issue I have with a lot of movies these days) is that all the fun and shocking moments in the movie were shown in the trailer. I find that a lot of movies show just a little too much in the 3-4 trailers and countless TV spots they put out to promote their movies. I'm at a tense moment in the movie where a character is in a life or death situation, inches from having their head ripped violently from their body by some terrifying force. I should be on the edge of my seat. Sweating up a storm, gritting my teeth, praying, hoping that they make it through the next few minutes alive. Instead, I'm usually sitting back, shaking my head and slurping back some tasty beverage because I know that I've seen clips from plenty of scenes in trailers that show the character in question relaxing on a beach or getting their head lopped off in some other gruesome fashion that I have yet to see. Suspense ruined. Fuck you hollywood.

No, that was not a reference to this movie by the way. Evil Dead doesn't go that route with it. That was just an example. But one that's ruining movies for me left, right and center. I know, I could just not watch the trailers, but that's not going to happen. They're the reason people get excited for movies. They get people(myself included) into the theaters opening night. And a well done trailer does a damn good job at doing that. The reason I was so excited for the Evil Dead movie was directly because of it's trailer. Just look at it:

Awesome right? That's what I thought too. Sadly, that is the best part of the movie. That trailer right there. I would say about 75-85% of the "Holy Shit!" moments in the movie were shown in that short, 2 minute trailer. The rest of the movie just felt like it was there to fill in the spaces between those gory moments.

Now, there are good trailers out there. In fact, after re-watching The Cabin in the Woods last night, I went back and had a gander at some of it's trailers. Have a look see:

To anybody who's seen the movie, they'll know it does give a couple things away but it's pretty minimal. Otherwise the trailer does a great job of getting you excited for the movie by only hinting at the fact that there's something a little odd going on. It doesn't show it's hand up front like so many movies do. And I remember going to see this movie mostly from articles about it and the amazing reviews I read. Not the trailer. But, surprise surprise, this movie was so much better than that trailer could of ever have let on.

So, amazing trailer = ok movie. Ok trailer = amazing movie. Someone, somewhere please take note!

The trailer thing is by far the biggest issue that I have with Evil Dead. If I didn't see the trailer beforehand I'm sure my enjoyment at the time would have been much better. I wouldn't have seen a lot of the shock moments coming and I wouldn't have felt quite so let down.

But it still had other problems.

I for one, didn't find any connection with any of the characters in Evil Dead other than the main actress Jane Levy. I thought she did an amazing job jumping from a terrified, innocent looking girl, to a possessed little demon taunting the rest of the poor souls in that cabin. I was actually rooting for her and hoped she would walk out of it all. The other actors, not so much. They did a great job of filling the cookie-cutter roles penned out for them so they can die in the most grisly fashion available, but they didn't do much else. I was quite ok with them getting killed off in a spectacularly gory mess. I know that's the point of a horror film, especially a remake of the original classic, but I still wanted to have some sort of connection.

In contrast we have The Cabin in the Woods, where I found myself rooting for pretty much all of the main cast. In the first 30 minutes it did a much better job of raising all the characters involved above the level of death-ready mannequins that Evil Dead was littered with. Most still died in entertaining displays of bloody carnage(not quite as gory as Evil Dead), but they left a much more memorable impression because I didn't want them to die.

The last big issue I have with Evil Dead is the story. It has one. It shouldn't. Both The Cabin in the Woods and the original Evil Dead start off with very simple premises. A group of good looking people go to a cabin for a good time. Good times get cancelled. The original just doesn't need any story and it works just fine without it. The Cabin in the Woods ends up adding it's own story to the latter parts of the film, but it does so in fantastic style and ends up being one of the main things that blew my mind about it. I won't dare say more because I'm sure there are still people out there who haven't seen it yet. Shame on you! But regardless, neither of those movies try to complicate things by giving them any back story to try to explain what's about to happen, or some half-assed reason to be at the cabin in the first place. The Evil Dead remake spends it's first 10 minutes or so giving audiences a back story that is incredibly unnecessary, and then spends another 30 minutes or so trying to give a reason why our poor, stupid victims are at the cabin to begin with. The only reason I could see them putting this in there was to give them a semi-plausible reason to not pack up and get the hell out once shit started getting weird. I honestly feel that the movie would have been much better if it had spent this time on a bit of character development, or even if it started the carnage a little earlier and threw in a few more scares that they wouldn't of had room to squeeze into their spoileriffic trailers.

With all that being said, I didn't hate the movie. It was well done. It had a purpose and it served it. It never stooped to the level of being considered "torture porn" and it's something I hope future horror movies take note from. Once the carnage started, it picked up the pace and didn't let up until the end. Sure, none of the scares surprised me but they were still great and better than a lot of the options churned out by hollywood today. I'm also impressed with the amount of practical effects in the film. The production value was amazing and it's nice to see the franchise get that kind support finally. I can only imagine what Sam Raimi could have done with the original if he had this kind of money to throw into it. Also, there was next to no CGI used in the film and you could tell. Everything felt real. It's the way horror should be. Bloody, gritty and real. And of course the movie even made a couple solid nods to the original that worked well. Duct tape fixes everything of course.

In conclusion, it was a solid remake of an amazing low budget classic. It dropped some of the humor for over the top gore and tried to make itself stand on it's own without using its predecessors as crutches. It didn't fall by doing that, but it did stumble a little bit. And it probably wasn't fair of me to spend as much time comparing it to The Cabin in the Woods as I did. But the fact is that The Cabin in the Woods happened. It did what Scream did for the slasher films of the 90's. It was self aware and honored all of the glorious films that came before it, while at the same time showing everybody what they did wrong. It made the genre smarter for a little while. And now, watching horror movies, I expect them to be a little smarter, a little more to the point. Evil Dead almost got it right but I still felt a little let down. Next time they should trim some of the fat and stop making trailers that are better than the films.

Thankfully they are already planning a sequel. I'm still going to expect greatness. Maybe next time I won't watch the trailers.

*I gave Evil Dead a 6/10 score on IMDB.

**In comparison I gave The Cabin in the Woods a 9/10 and the original Evil Dead a 8/10.