Fright Night (2011)

When you’re in the movie business it does not matter how successful you’re film is, there must always be things that you can see in a movie after it’s made and improve upon them. For Tom Holland he had the opportunity to work magic twice in 1985 he worked solely as writer and director of Fright Night, in 2010 he got the chance to go back and breathe new life into his cult classic, with the aid of screenwriter Marti Noxon. Many dreaded the remake of Fright Night, a movie that is no better, or no worse than the original, and by choosing not to remain faithful to the origins, it really is a different film altogether.

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And Soon The Darkness (2010)

As dreary as 1970’s And Soon The Darkness’ may have been, one thing you cannot escape is the ability it has to haunt you. It’s a familiar tale of tourists on holiday becoming separated, one of which ends up falling foul of something unpleasant. As human beings missing person’s cases trouble us, so the movie did play heavily on the minds of anyone who saw it. Penned by the creator of the Professionals Brian Clemens, and the inventor of Doctor Who’s Daleks, Terry Nation. Despite its emotional draw, and its uncharacteristic edginess for a British movie of that time, the film felt incredibly hollow, lots of pacing about and lack of substance, so it seems that the movie was perfect for a remake.

Continuing their stream of remakes Anchor Bay Films recent movie takes the story from the French countryside (which back in 1970 seemed alien and a million miles away) to Argentina. The story follows Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie (Odette Yustman) as American tourists preparing to end their cycling holiday in the country. Just one more night separates them from returning to normality, but a night on the town and a rather over enthusiastic Romeo causes them to oversleep and miss their connecting bus. After an argument between the two of them breaks out over sunbathing, Stephanie heads off leaving her friend in a remote location, but when Ellie fails to catch up Stephanie returns to where she last saw Ellie only to find she is gone. While the local police try to convince her that Ellie has just gone off with others for the day, Stephanie is adamant something has happened to Ellie, and the hundreds of missing person’s posters around the town do little to dispel her concerns.

This 2010 remake starts with a lot of promise, there is much more bonding between the two girls, the relationship far stronger than in the original. Add to this we have a much more adapted story, you’re allowed to like Ellie before she disappears, or not if you’re that way inclined. For at least half the movie this feels like a far better product, so much more finished than the original but sadly that is where the improvements end.

No sooner has Ellie disappeared and you can feel the weaknesses’ in the movie. One minute you have this cast iron strong storyline, the next you get all these loose ends that are never ever summed up. Elation turns to disappointment as the movie just continues down a darker path than the previous movie. Whole new plotlines are created but never explained, and as the movie draws to a close you have considerably more questions than answers.

Amber Heard does a reasonable job of keeping most of her clothes on for once, and as leading actress (and Executive Producer) she does a good job of making a like-able heroin, she literally fills the boots of the part she is portraying, and that in any movie is not always an easy task. Yustman also performs well, realistic in her behaviour, endearing as the movies principal victim. The final addition of the principal cast is Karl Urban who acts well, with a hollow character that is up until his final appearance in the movie, when acting school skills seem to have failed him. Indeed of all the cast there are no missing links, these are all good performers, and as a result the movies weaknesses’ certainly cannot land at the door of any of the performers. The direction is also very capable indeed.

No the fault is in the scripting, and that point alone; having not been privy to the original treatment for the 1970 movie, and to be fair not that enamoured by either film to hunt it out, I cannot tell you if either version of the movie is more to the authors vision. What I can say is that a reasonable attempt at correcting failure is dashed here, so many cliché additions, so many open scenarios just waiting for a story to fill them.

After the end of a lengthy action sequence you feel relived, relived that the story is over and that you can at last move on to something far more promising.

While a better version of the movie as a whole, the story still lacks much and on this basis I’d actually rate it lower than the original, because at least the original feature was consistent.

Death Race

I was a little reluctant to look at Death Race, it had a couple of bad things going for it; firstly it was a re-make of a 1975 movie called Death Race 2000 which absolutely bored me to tears, and secondly the appearance of the incredibly dull Jason Statham. What made me change my mind I hear you cry? Will it was what in my opinion was the unusual casting of Ian McShane (best known from the long running BBC show Lovejoy). Add to this the fact that it's directed by Paul W.S. Anderson who made one of my favourite movies Event Horizon, the big question of course is were my initial gut instincts correct.

In the near future, 2012 to be precise the population burgeons and economy dies a slow and painful death, businesses close and it seems everyone is capable of turning to a life of crime. In order to furnish her pockets with cash, and to make use of the increasing amounts of prisoners in her prison Hennessey (Joan Allen) creates the reality TV sports show Death Race. In Death Race prisoners must race against each other in a three day, three event race. If a prisoner wins a race five times he is freed, given a full pardon in fact, if he loses, well it's best put that the losers don't get to discover the reality of losing, the only way out of Death Race is first across the finish line, otherwise your bound to be in the morgue.

Frankenstein (David Carradine reprising his role from the original movie) is the champion that all the viewers love to see, 90 million viewers in fact; Hennessey's pockets have never been so full. The problem being that after four matches Frankenstein finally breathes his final breath, dying in the prison hospital from severe injuries on his forth successful race. This leaves Hennessey with a problem, but luckily due to disfiguration Frankenstein could be replaced; the trouble being the only man capable of racing as well as Frankenstein is hard working family man Jenson Ames (Statham) who is sadly for Hennessey on the wrong side of the prison walls... What on earth can she do about that?

Death Race is a real no-brainer of a movie, a traditional action packed blockbuster; the sort we got so familiar with towards the end of the 1980's. There is nothing much to think about, a pretty shocking grasp of reality, and some poor judgement choices in the way the story goes, but what does this matter to me, I loved it. Death Race is the same sort of fun packed nonsense we all saw and loved in movies like Robocop. It's bloody, it's violent, but the time passes by like the blinking of an eye. The storyline overview I gave you to open this review quite literally takes you no more than five minutes into the movie, rather like real life racing it's so fast paced that there is no time to think about anything else. Once you allow yourself to be submerged into the world that is Death Race there is no coming out until the end credits roll.

Statham, and I have to hand it to the guy delivers the second movie in a row of his I have to confess enjoying, the first being The Bank Job. Now I really enjoyed The Bank Job, a sort of thinking man's (or woman's) action movie, but that does not even hold a candle to this, unless of course your one of those anally retentive souls that concerns yourself with realism, and accuracy. If we wanted realism and accuracy why go to the cinema or watch a DVD? Get outside and see reality for yourselves! For those that like to take your action with a pinch of salt, this is the place to be and as a much as it pains me to say it, I could see no other actor filling the shoes that Statham delivers here.

But forget Statham, he is the little fish, it was McShane that drove me to see the movie, and what a great job he did keeping me in it. As Coach, McShane is the engineer on the car that Frankenstein buys, engineer and trainer, and a very quick minded, and quick mouthed character too. He is the Mr. Miyagi, the Apollo Creed to Rocky, in fact he is every great action characters rock. This is a thousand miles away from Lovejoy, and the unusual casting of this star I believe has secured McShane the start of the career this very talented actor deserves.

There are a whole huddle of villains in the movie Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), Pachenko (Max Ryan), and Gunner (Jacob Vargas); but none of these are any competition for Joan Allen's Hennessey. Hennessey is the hardest and most ruthless female villain of a movie for years, changing the rules as she sees fit and ending the lives of those that cross her for the sake of it. Hard to believe that this is the same Allen who played Veronica Guerrin (Renamed Sinead Hamilton in When The Sky Falls), or the loving wife in the Ice Palace. There is nothing gentle about Hennessey, and the smiles and female methods of seduction fool no-one here. You can almost see the enjoyment in her eyes as she clearly loves to be bad.

It's inevitable that Death Race will be criticised and mocked, it will get rotten tomato awards, maybe a Razzie; but if your want, nay need a bit of light relief and a teleport back to the movie making style of the 80's then this has the power to be your big Autumn Blockbuster.