It Came from Letterboxd (Halloween 2017 Edition)

Happy Halloween everybody! Here are some horror movie reviews that I'm reprinting because I had nothing planned in advance...I mean to get you all in the mood for the season. Anyway, on with the show.

THE THING (1982)

What was wrongfully reviled and scrutinized in 1982 has slowly revealed itself as one of THE perfect horror movies over the past three and a half decades. All the ingredients are there and they’re prepared to perfection. Masterful practical effects from Rob Bottin, smart characters, clever plotting, skillful direction, Ennio Morrricone’s haunting score, and bone-chillingly effective atmosphere. Even above Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China, this film cements Carpenter and Russel as bonafide titans of genre cinema.
[RATING: 5 out of 5]

SAW (2004)

At times tedious, questionably acted and showing it’s age too well (the editing in the now-iconic Reverse Bear Trap scene done in a rapidly hectic manner that screams “THIS WAS MADE IN 2004!”), it’s still a decently entertaining sleazy B-movie posing as lower-tier psycho-thriller fodder that paved the way for a whole franchise of enjoyably deranged splatter flicks and the fantastic career of James Wan. Some good atmosphere and memorable set pieces also help.
[RATING: 3 out of 5]

NEAR DARK (1987)

Man, they really don’t make vampire flicks like this anymore. Great doses of dark comedy amongst Southern fried, blood-soaked carnage. Sure, the low budget occasionally reveals the film’s limitations and the romance between Jenny Wright’s Mae and Adrian Pasdar’s Caleb could’ve, nay should’ve, been focused a little bit more (the two of them share a remarkable warmth/tenderness that serves as a nice counterpoint to all the chaos unfolding around them). Plus, Bill  Paxton’s Severen is now one of the favorite movie bloodsuckers. Nevertheless, the climax is fun and that bar scene is a classic. Makes you wish Kathryn Bigelow was making more stuff like this and Point Break instead of heated Oscar baby pleasers. Finger lickin’ good!
[RATING: 4 out of 5]

BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992)

Coppola’s most phantasmagorical accomplishment as one of the all-time great filmmakers. Riveting acting (aside from Keanu Reeves and his much-maligned British accent), brilliant costume & set design, hauntingly operatic music and quixotic yet effective editing/cinematography choices. All of which add up to a horror film that truly earns being described as an epic. A true gothic standout from the horror pictures of its time that has yet to get the iconic status it deserves.
[RATING: 4 out of 5]

IT FOLLOWS (2015)

Perhaps the finest of the many recent homages to John Carpenter. Takes an initially silly premise and turns into something geniunely terrifying. A lesson in how to make a fantastic looking film with a small budget and creating a truly iconic horror soundtrack. Undoubtedly one of the best (if not the best) chillers of the modern era. Bla bla bla... you get the picture!
[RATING: 4 and 1/2 out of 5]

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)

Oh, what could’ve been if the Halloween franchise continued in this direction instead of bringing back Michael Myers for the umpteenth time. A unique little 80s horror picture whose campy sensibilities oddly compliment the haunting atmosphere, all wrapped with one bombshell of a down ending. Impressive gore and a well-utilized EC comics-esque premise are underlined by Carpenter & Howarth’s bone-chillingly eerie score. Year after year, I put this on and it always manages to get me in the mood for the season. Also, if you watch this and don’t have the Silver Shamrock jingle stuck in your head, I’m convinced you aren’t human.
[RATING: 3 and 1/2 out of 5]

THE NEW MUTANTS Promises a Different Kind of X-Men Flick

While my gripes with the X-Men movies being utterly bland are well-known at this point, I'll admit I'm onboard with this new shift in direction Fox is taking these movies (even if I think they're probably going to screw up the Dark Phoenix story arc yet again). Nevertheless, with Logan feeling like a 70s-era Western and the FX show Legion feeling like a Lynch/Cronenberg-esque psychological sci-fi thriller, its good to see there's at least one franchise out there that's trying to do something truly different with the superhero genre. Today, we just got the first teaser trailer for Josh Boone's upcoming cinematic interpretation of The New Mutants. Take a look at it if you haven't already.

Most of what I've heard of this production beforehand is how the creative team was going into full-on horror movie territory within the established X-Men film continuity and they weren't kidding. If you cut out the Marvel logo in the opening, this is almost indistinguishable from the crop of scary flicks that usually hit the multiplexes lately (in ways both for better and for worse). Then again, I do commend what Boone's going for here and what little footage is seen here already leaves me with questions upon questions about what exactly we're in for here. Besides, we've never had a true horror superhero flick. Sure, we've had movies based around supernatural superheroes (Constantine and Blade being among the few good ones) and movies based on actual horror comics; but, we haven't been getting anything quite like this. Plus, it has a decent cast of famous newcomers and relative unknowns. That should be interesting. 

THE NEW MUTANTS arrives April 13th, 2018. Here's hoping we're in for something special.

THE LAST JEDI Gets Some More Awesome Promo Material

THE POSTER
First, there's now the first theatrical poster. Get a good look at it.

Personally, I dig it. Granted, its a bit of a disappointing follow-up to the first poster they released back in April (click here if you need a refresher), considering how that has a stark color palette and excellent compositional work while this feels a little less memorable. Regardless, it looks pretty cool.

THE TRAILER

Yep, that'll do quite nicely. All of the new locations all look pretty interesting, the dynamic between Luke and Rey seems intriguing, Also, lets talk about that ending. The main hot take on all of this that I'm predicting is God knows how many clickbait headlines hyperbolically asking id Rey is going to turn to the dark side; however, my take is that she's trying to win over Kylo Ren away from the light side. Who knows? Maybe, she's just trying to get him to surrender and then straight up murders him (that probably won't happen, by the by). Ah well, this still a pretty good trailer. Much like The Force Awakens, it doesn't give too much away and draws you in to see what happens next. Here's hoping it lives up to the hype like last time.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 Review

Just a heads up: this will be a spoiler-free review. Regardless, I'd advise you all to go see this movie ASAP (and maybe watch the first Blade Runner just as a quick refresher before you check out the sequel) before everyone else spoils it for you. In the meantime, on with the critiquing.

Sitting in my local IMAX theater, witnessing the awe-inspiring marvel that is Blade Runner 2049 made me feel like I was experiencing the real-life equivalent of the Stargate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey. So much complex beauty to take in, that you're left speechless and thinking "Wow! That was an experience!" I haven't left a screening so speechless and awestruck since I saw Christopher Nolan's Interstellar about three years ago. To discuss the plot in any way would potentially ruin a mystifying experience that I wouldn't dare deprive you of.

It must be said that the entire cast brings all that they got to the table. Ryan Gosling manages to undercut a very cold demeanor with layers of raw emotion. The pain and melancholy his character goes through is poignant and thought-provoking. Robin Wright does fine of giving her expository dialogue some personality and pathos. Despite their relatively brief amounts of screentime, Jared Leto and Dave Bautista leave big impressions in their respective parts. Incidentally, Harrison Ford's extended appearance around the end of the second act turns out to be quite satisfying while adding a few more layers to his character. There are also great moments from bitplayers like Barkhad Abdi, Mackenzie Davis, and Sylvia Hoeks. With all that said, the real standout here acting-wise is relative newcomer Ana de Armas. Her relationship with Ryan Gosling's K is tender and sweet while also maintaining an ethereal aura of tragedy. Here's hoping this is a breakout for her like how it was for Sean Young in the 1982 original.

Thankfully, the fantastic acting and masterful storytelling are matched by near flawless technical aspects. If Roger Deakins doesn't win next year's Best Cinematography Oscar, the Academy Awards will be officially worthless*. He conjures up so many colorful, instantly iconic images that one might say this is his best work to date (and that's saying a lot). Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch provide a mesmerizing score. While not living up the astronomical heights of Vangelis' compositions from the original (really, what can?), it complements the film extremely well and is easily among the former's best work since Man of Steel. Fortunately, it doesn't rely on constantly using cues from the original to work and provides the movie with something truly fitting. Don't get me wrong, there are occasional tones from the original score; but, they're used sparingly and with great purpose. All of the effects work is jaw-dropping. It manages to expand upon the already fascinating world of the original in novel and interesting ways. Plus, its still kind of funny to see Atari is a huge voice in the consumer market in the not-too-distant future. My only nitpick about the movie is a certain plot point regarding Gosling's character near the beginning of the third act. Maybe I'm in the minority on this, but I feel like it robs his character of a little more intrigue. Even with that, that doesn't stop everything else from being absolutely top-notch.



In the end, only time will tell if Blade Runner 2049 goes on to become a classic work of cinematic science fiction like its predecessor; nevertheless, its a relentlessly captivating work of filmic artistry in its own right. Director Denis Villeneuve and company should be applauded for accomplishing the impossible. Aside from being an amazing sequel, it displays the very best of what mainstream blockbusters and the very medium of the motion picture can offer.


BLADE RUNNER 2049 gets an...
ARTISTIC TRIUMPH out of TEN

*Which, if we're being honest with ourselves, they kind of are already.