A Nightmare on Elm Street Review

A Nightmare on Elm StreetThe remake of the classic Nightmare on Elm Street audience will sway the opinion of the movie itself.  If you were lucky enough to either see the original first hand, or to read the original book, this remake may leave you less than impressed.  Seeing the first one, first hand, no doubt left you shaky and haunted for years to come, and although the graphics and the technology for the remake make the adaptation of the book come alive visually.  The psyche of the original will never be able to be remade for those of us who experienced it back in the day.

Although the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street is a step above Jason or Michael Myers, it was never really about the visual stimulation limitations of the movie characters, but it was always about the plot and the disturbing nature of adding in imagination.  Where this movie makes up for being able to bring the images to life, it robs from your own imagination.

Almost like reading the book versus watching the movie, any new remake of this original can never parallel the original terror that it invoked on an entire generation of movie-gowers.

The Freddy Kruger of new lacks one main ingredient, he fails to be scary.  Unlike the original, he appears to be nothing but a sarcastic character who, albeit very unlikeable, is not the original horror character that Wes Craven created.  The Freddy Kruger from he original was the kind that haunted peoples nightmares for real when they left the theater.  This new character is left sitting in the theater as the audience leaves.  The new Freddy Kruger is nothing but an overgrown pedophile who is creepy and sarcastic, anything but truly scary.  Unlike the original, there were no audience screams, there was no sitting on the edge of your seat, there was no emotional attachment to this Freddy Kruger, he was just another villain among thousands.

Although hard to pinpoint why, either because nothing can ever be as scary as the original, or the hype was made too great, this new Nightmare on Elm Street can do nothing to parallel the original.  In the scheme of cinematography legends, this will not find it’s place.  The Nightmare on Elm Street that kept a whole generation up at night should have remained just that, an original.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Iron Man 2 Review

iron_man_2_poster-535x365Of all the mega-budget superhero movies that Hollywood has produced, Iron-Man  although being slick and fun humored, can not compare to franchises such as superman, batman or spiderman.  Although entertaining enough, and definitely having the hype of the later, Iron man as a character even with it’s metal suit, falls short.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, is a billionaire arms entrepreneur, Tony Stark, who becomes a computer generated superhero, falls short of the true nature of a superhero.  Marred by his own self-destructive nature as a playboy and a self-entitled narcissists, his character seems to be anything but tragic or heroic.  Add to that the fact that this failing superhero seems to be dying from the very thing, the suit, which makes him powerful, leads to a distracting and haphazard plot.

Along comes the half witted, Mickey Rourke, as a lugubriously-accented Russian villain called Whiplash, who one can not really figure out why he became at odds with Iron Man to begin with besides being Russian.  Sam Rockwell, Downey’s best friend than haphazardly enters the scene, and becomes a side kick.  With his introduction on the scene the already too conflicted plot, becomes even more confusing.  At times it appears that there are a myriad of plots all going on simultaneously, none being all that engaging or clear

Downey’s character seems to be trying to battle three sequels at once making it hard to distinguish what plot to follow.  There is no dominant threat or story line.  The addition of Scarlet Johansson, although fun to look at, only serves to confuse the plot further.  Dressed in skin tight goodness, she becomes some sort of black widow secret agent, all to create sexual tension between Gwenth Paltrow and Downey, although her role in the movie altogether is never quite clear, a little gratuitous eye candy.

On the upside, this movie is full of good banter and being far less politically charged than the original, allows it to be salvageable for entertainment purposes.  Although it will not be hailed as the greatest film of all time, it is somewhat entertaining and has enough good humor and visual stimulation to be worth seeing.  The effects of the movie alone are enough to grab your attention and if not in need of deep philosophical plotting, or any plot at all, your expectations will be met.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Movie Review: “Clash of the Titans”

clash of the titansBeing that the original “Clash of the Titans” produced in 1981 was meant for no great honors, it should be no surprise that it’s remake followed closely in its footsteps.  The addition of the technological advance of 3D, makes this version not only less attractive, but more, it produces more distraction.  Possibly because the film was only converted to 3D later on, the third dimension not only does nothing to enhance the visuals, but only serves to make it less appealing.

The dialogue and writing of the remake sound over the top, and quickly become clique, as the plot itself becomes cumbersome and predictable.  The notion that the Gods, who are supposed to be all powerful and knowing, cannot control themselves enough as to not wage the simplistic of childish war games, is contradictory to the very essence of the Gods. Although it is not clear why top actors such as Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes would be involved in such roles, they do nothing to enhance the attractiveness of this feature film.

Although the budget behind the making of this movie was nothing short of extravagant, the characters outfits seem to be something out of a high school play.  Even when facing a menagerie of mythical monsters, the characters seem drab and unenthusiastic.

While the Gods, who appear to be nothing but an oversized council of nitwits who can’t seem to do anything but moan over the absence of worship, wage war over deep seeded unresolved control issues, the Greek inhabitants try desperately to please them.  The plot centers around the character Perseus who is making his way through the ancient world of Greece unbenounced to him as a demigod.  After spending years with his adoptive fisherfolk parents Spryos and Marmara, who found him floating at sea, he discovers his true origins and comes to realize that it is he how is in charge of saving the world.

Apparently the only person who can save the entire world seems to be Perseus who has a “daddy complex” and a chip on his shoulder.  In true Hollywood fashion, he is to save the beloved princess, Andromeda, and revenge his adoptive parents senseless death by killing the Kraken.

The remake of the “Clash of the Titans”, although not surprising, is nothing short of mediocre.  Some might say that the original was just enough and being that it was no award winner, maybe they should have just left it that way.

Popularity: 3% [?]

A Film Review on “The Hangover (2009)”

The HangoverPositives: The idea is an oldie but at the same time a goodie; 4 guys makes it to the Las Vegas Nevada in order to have a grand bachelor party but finish up managing to have a lot bigger night than anticipated, losing track over the whereabouts of the groom and slowly identifying how nasty a night they went through as they begin the quest for their groom friend with a big time hangover. One of the good ingredients to be having in a comedy as such is a good character interaction between the leads and in that respect “The Hangover” truly manages to deliver well. The roles of Stu, Phil, and Alan, are played by Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper the Zach Galifianakis, are the most implausible trio which you are likely encounter yet then their chemistry all together is pretty strong. Coupled with the script filled with intriguing one-liners and character infighting and you get to manage the feel of some very down to Earth and true comedy contrary to the highly artificial and as some say manufactured comedy which could have so easily derived of a film as such, specifically with the situations that these three characters face: beginning with trashing their Las Vegas villa in the posh Caesar’s Palace, then showing the courage in stealing the famous boxer Mike Tyson’s beloved pet tiger, to plainly pulling out own teeth, rapid weddings to a stripper, by mistake stealing 80000 dollars from the Chinese gangsters and cheating in the Vegas casino games by just counting the cards at a game of Black Jack. What converts this film right above the others in this genre is the fact that the lead characters have got a strong target to achieve; their most important groom is missing and provided their wild night experiences, he could just be anywhere and they are having less than just 2 days with a view to get him back in order to attend the wedding.

Negatives: The first 20 minutes of the film are devoid of almost anything that can prove it to be a comedy film. The female characters are given a very little chance to flourish.

The Bottom Line: In spite of a pretty slow beginning, “The Hangover” is amazingly funny, endowed with clever wit and a firm chemistry between the principal characters. Director Todd Phillips has been able to up raise to the very unexpected with an unbelievable ’stupid kind of comedy’ story to something really hilariously trustworthy and at the same time quite down to earth i.e. nothing extravaganza.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Summertime: A Must Watch

Summertime - The MovieSummertime is a 2010 English film directed and written by Max Weissberg. The film involves 8 principal characters from eight different professions. There exists an actress, a painter, a thinker, a photographer and so on. Summertime the movie can be described as a drama film with a bit of comedy and romance. The summertime film is in fact an intense film but is full of surprises to keep you on your toes. It is the story of two girls playing the role of one girl and the same girl in one single movie. This is where the drama just begins. The story then unfolds with surprises in every scene. In the film, a circle is formed by eight people quite unknowingly. The circle is formed mainly by means of a friendship, an attempt to love, or short sexual encounter. The stronger the bond among the circle member gets, the more starts twisting and bending of the spokes. Julia an actress who is also a member of the circle ponders that she has managed herself a big break when she lands up getting the role of Anya, whose father is a Russian arms dealer by profession. The stubborn director of the film puts ahead some unrealistic theory by stating that Julia has to fit in to the shoes of Anya by becoming Anya i.e. by doing whatever Anya does in the film and that too without any scripts. The director wants her to learn the ways of negotiating with the hit men, handling a gun and last but not the least enter into the psychic of the criminals. When Julia discovers the fact that, it is not her only who’s playing the role of “Anya; the circle starts cracking.

If you are a suspense film buff then you must watch summertime because of the fact that it has the entire surprising element to make you think every scene.

Popularity: 13% [?]