On the Bookshelf

(Or in this case, imdb.com)

I went to see this with a mixed group of people, including Twilight fans, people who think that the series is okay but are basically indifferent when it comes down to it, and myself who doesn't like the series so I feel that this review can come with the benefit of their opinions too.

Vampires Suck is brought to you by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer - the same guys behind Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet The Spartans, and Disaster Movie. Vampires Suck is a send up of Twilight and that is the film's first flaw. Often "spoof" movies target a specific genre and make fun of a few current popular films within that genre. Vampires Suck sticks to Twilight though to the point that you may begin to feel that you have seen this film before.

I had a few problems in regards to the continuity due to how they cut up and rearranged the plot from the first two movies/books. For example, you have the scene where Edward breaks up with Becca and she begs him to change her into a vampire before James attack then after she has been bitten by James she pleads with him to suck the venom out.

I also didn't like how there were times where they just couldn't help themselves but to spell out the joke to the audience. For example, in biology their teacher tells them to pull out their copies of The Vampire Diaries and Becca asks why they are reading vampire fiction in biology class. This leads Edward in to an unnecessary and long explanation into how it is because vampires are what are in right now. Later, during the thirty or so second that she appears on screen, a poor parody of Buffy (from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) can only be identified due to her name being printed on her chest.

On the more positive side of things, Jenn Proske as Becca Crane gets a mention for the way in which she perfectly mimics the facial ticks, excessive blinking, awkward body language, and stuttering of Kristen Stewart as Bella. On her first day of school, Becca Crane receives the kind of reception that would have actually made Twilight's Bella Swan's attitude of "woe is me" justifiable although, as she points out, despite being moody and supposedly unpopular every single guy in the school is going to lust after her.

Overall, I didn't hate the film and I will admit that it did get a couple of chuckles out of me but I think that there are vastly better parody films out there. Two of my friends, however, walked out of the theatre praising the film and pledging to buy Vampire Sucks on DVD when it is released. From this I can only gather that the movie may go down well with Twilight fans but if you haven't latched on to the vampire craze you will do just as will giving this one a miss.

Evernight by Claudia Gray
The Awakening by L.J. Smith
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Terra

Surprise, surprise. I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I have been busy car hunting, working, and, of course, reading. However, I did manage to find some time to go to the movies and check out the latest vampire flick, Daybreakers.

In the year 2019 the vast majority of the worlds population have become vampires. At first glance, immortality has done little to change the world. An aversion to daylight hasn't stopped people from driving their cars, going to work. There are still the rich and the homeless. But the population is nearly starving. Rations are tight and there is only enough human blood supply left to last until the end of the month.

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire and a hematologist attempting to create an artificial blood supply. He hopes that his work might alleviate the suffering of the dwindling human population. But a run-in with some renegade humans presents him with a new solution that he had not considered possible - a cure for vampirism.

For the most part, I enjoyed Daybreakers. However, whenever I started thinking about it too hard, I just couldn't help but feel that the vampires, well, weren't all that bright. For starters, the remaining humans were declared enemies of the state after refusing to assimilate and become vampires. What would the vampires have done from the get go if there were no humans at all to harvest blood from? Even with some human blood supply from the start, the shortage was an easily forseeable problem. Why was there no earlier attempts to stop it? No breeding program. No further development of cloning technology. Meanwhile, I could have sworn that that the guns fired at one point looked kind of lasery. Am I supposed to believe that they wasted time developing laser guns instead of using the money to fund the research for artificial blood? Why do they need lasers when humans are easily killed by a normal bullet and if they need to take down a vampire all it takes is a stake? One more thing: A security system that does nothing aside from alert you to the fact that your "door is ajar"? Whose bad idea was that? Also, why do vampires seemingly not feel compelled to lock their doors when there is obvious need to?

Honestly though, when I didn't think too much then I was able to enjoy it. I liked exploring a world where vampires were the powerful majority, not a minority in hiding, and seeing how people adapt to living in a world where the sunlight sets them on fire. These days it is definitely refreshing to see vampires portrayed as having a humane side yet without the goal of making teenage girls want to take them to prom. The plot line about Bromley (Sam Neill) and his daughter was an interesting touch which I would not have minded seeing explored further, although I know others have thought that it was a pointless addition. Perhaps it just could have been implemented a bit better. I am also a big fan of movies and books where you get to watch society crack and fall apart under the pressure of an extreme situation so I loved seeing how the vampires reacted to the blood rationing out of the knowledge of what their starvation would turn them into and seeing how what is left of their "humanity" is steadily stripped away, leaving behind something savage.

The nature of the cure is an interesting choice and, in the very least, it is original. However, the distribution of the cure creates a vicious cycle which makes the viewer question how much good it really would do to spread it. As a result of this, I was slightly disappointed with the conclusion as the protagonists plan felt like it had been set back and they were about back at step one which made certain sacrifices and scenes of gore seem like they had achieved little.

So, not an amazing movie by all means but good enough if you want to fill some time with gore, some cheap scares, and, of course, vampires.

Terra

The plan had been to post a book review today but there was unplanned for busy-ness today and it's not quite ready. Instead I have decided to follow up yesterdays review of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog with a review of Horrible Turn, the fan made prequel to Joss Whedon's creation.

Horrible Turn, set sometime back in the early nineties, gives you an insight into the pasts of Billy and Hammer. Why did Billy go from thinking that "the world is a mess and I just need to fix it" to "have to rule it"? Where do Billy's issues with Australia stem from? What lead him to creating the persona of Dr. Horrible? Why is it that everyone cannot help but love the idiotic and obnoxious Captain Hammer? Why does Johnny Snow insist that he is Dr. Horrible's nemesis? And where did Bad Horse come from anyway?

Horrible Turn will answer all of these questions. Of course, it all starts with a girl. Billy has a crush on the Australian foreign exchange student, Katie. When he, Wade (presumably Moist), and Kennard "Kenny" Hammerstein (Captain Hammer) discover that the prize for winning the maths competition is a trip to Melbourne (which Americans never seem to pronounce correctly), Australia, Billy sees an opportunity to spend more time with Katie. There's just one problem - Billy is pretty sure that the Evil League of Evil has marked the maths competition for their next attack! Fortunately Billy has invented Potion 10! A formula derived from flowers that will make everyone love each other. But Billy's plan depends heavily on Hammer and Johhny Snow. Are they intelligent and trustworthy enough to follow through?

Horrible Turn doesn't quite manage to achieve the same level of wit and humour that we see from Joss but it is in it's own right a very funny, well filmed, and well thought out prequel to the Dr. Horrible story, complete with Whedonesque tragedy. The songs are catchy and the singing is pretty good. My favourite musical piece from Horrible Turn has to be Hammer's song about how handsome and perfect he is while pulling out some great dance moves, closely followed by Billy's final piece where he creates the Doctor Horrible persona. In place of the Bad Horse Chorus we now have the Outback Sirens and the early nineties setting makes way for the usual gags about brick sized mobile phones being described as being "so tiny!" I loved the sexy cougar librarian.

Much of the plot, particularly the songs follow in the same formula from Dr. Horrible, such as Katie's solo being their version of Penny's Song sing of past loneliness and new hope, Billy's final song being their version of Slipping/Everything You Ever and Everyone's a Hero becoming Everyone's a Winner as Kenny discovers his new charismatic hold over people to match his ego. However, the blogging aspect is completely non-existent in Horrible Turn. It might have been interesting to see how the could have corporated it into the nineties setting. In Dr. Horrible Billy likes creativity and I wondered if perhaps they could have had him keep a diary but such a plot would probably have been too messy to incorporate into the sixty minute run time.

If you enjoyed Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, you have to give Horrible Turn a try. For a fan made project it is of excellent quality and you will definitely get a few laughs out of it.

Follow this link to go to the Horrible Turn website and watch the show. Be sure to watch past the end of the credits for a song from Johnny Snow and bloopers!

Terra

My mind has been set on the creations of Joss Whedon seeing as just today it was announced that his television show Dollhouse has not been renewed for a third season. One thing lead to another and I found myself revisiting Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Dr. Horrible came into being thanks to the writer's strike in 2008. Joss, along with his brothers Jed and Zach, called on Neil Patrick Harris (squee!), Felicia Day (squee!), and Nathan Fillion (OMG! Squee!) to help bring their musical vision to the screen.

Your computer screen that is.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an internet musical television show comprising of three segments, and coming in at just under forty-five minutes all together. It tells the story of Billy, or Dr. Horrible as he is better known, an aspiring super villain who blogs about his ambitions to join the Evil League of Evil, fix all the problems in the world by being the one who rules it, and winning the affections of the kind hearted and community minded Penny. Standing in Billy's way is Captain Tightpants, I mean, ahem, Captain Hammer (wrong Nathan Fillion show, sorry) who not only keeps thwarting Billy's criminal attempts to impress Bad Horse and earn a place within the ELE, but steals Billy's love interest!

The dialogue packs all of the usual Whedon humour and wit, which I love. The characters are just delightful with NPH as the not so horrible wannabe villain Dr. Horrible and Fillion as the obnoxious, cocky, and not always the brightest, self styled super hero, Captain Hammer.

The music is catchy and I always end up singing along and then later humming the tunes back to myself. I find it impossible to pick a favourite song. I'll be listening to one song and be thinking that song is the best but then the next will start and I am instantly in love with that one. Owner's of the DVD while be delighted to find that even the commentary is a musical. In Commentary! The Musical the actors sing about the show, their refusal to sing about the show, who is better, and games on their phones. Even the extras get to jump in and share in the spotlight and Moist (Simon Helberg) finally gets to sing his piece. Again, I find it hard to pick a favourite song but it did get me playing Ninja Ropes.

Funny, tragic, and entertaining all in one, Dr. Horribe's Sing-Along Blog is quite possibly the best thing that resulted from the writer's strike. Go to the Dr. Horrible website for more information on how you can view the show!

Terra

The pounding in my skull and the drowsy sinus tablets both tell me that I should be sleeping right now. My desire not to fail at NaBloPoMo tells me that I should post instead. However, should this review descend in to gibberish that might just pass as English if you squint and turn your head to just the right angle, you know why. I will probably entirely rewrite this review in the morning but I am posting it now to make it count. In fact, it may be best just to ignore this post until then...

Seeing as it is the fifth of November I decided to review one of my favourite movies, V for Vendetta.

Summary from Amazon.com as I do not feel up to writing my own at the moment:
Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself - and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

Written by the Wachowski's (I don't think we are supposed to call them brothers any more from what I have heard,) of Matrix fame and directed by James McTeigue, V for Vendetta is based on Alan Moore's graphic novel by the same title.

What makes this film truely amazing is Hugo Weaving, who plays the role of V. For the entirety of the film, Weaving is hidden from head to toe behind a Guy Fawks mask and black clothing. You see nothing of his face, his eyes are completely obscured, and yet the character of V is brought to full life on the screen.

V's dialogue is also by far the most entertaining. Just try keeping track of all those words starting with the letter v!

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Half the fun is in breaking down such speeches and learning that vichyssoise is "a thick creamy potato soup flavored with leeks and onions, usually served cold." (From dictionary.com)

I suppose, that Natalie Portman should get a most admirable shout out for getting her head shaved on screen. Yikes! Though, am I the only one who finds it absolutely hilarious that the complaint "you cut my hair!" is what she complains about before "you tortured me!" because, if it were me, torture would be number one on my list of complaints.

I also appreciated that the film began with a brief scene, set to the famous "remember, remember the fifth of November..." to educate those of us not from the UK about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. (Robert Catesby who lead the conspirators, as always, is forgotten however it is intended to be a very brief "oh, look see - this is Guy Fawkes.) Here in Australia Bonfire night has been tragically long forgotten mostly due to the fact that fireworks are mostly banned for average Joe.

I would like to go in to the whole totalitarian dystopia plotline and of course the role V as either a terrorist or a freedom fighter but my brain just really isn't churning out the words for me right now to say much more intelligent beyond "Hugo Weaving good, braaiinnss...." Let's also not forget the whole "eggy in the basket" issue. I am scratching my head trying to remember a great little bit that V tells Evey about anarchy in the graphic novel.

I am going to go ahead and post this even though this post is going to get a major overhaul tomorrow, just so I can get my post in for the day. Bleh. Aren't I just terrible? If you like, you can blame Nanowrimo which has caused me to silence my inner editor who would normally be all over this post for quality control.

Ow. My head. =(

Terra

Seeing as it is Halloween night I thought why not review something a bit more scary? Seeing as I have just watched 30 Days of Night starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George and directed by David Slade that is what you are going to get.

30 Days of Night is based on the graphic novel of the same title, written by Steve Niles. Every winter the town of Barrow, Alaska experiences thirty days of darkness. Many people choose to leave Barrow for the duration of prolonged darkness but some do choose to stay behind. As the town empties disturbing signs begin to emerge showing that someone is trying to cut the town off entirely from the outside world. When the long night sets in a band of vicious vampires, taking advantage of thirty days without the sunlight to burn them, descend on the town to feast upon the terrified citizens. With the vampires having assumed control of the town, a group of survivors desperately attempt to evade them.

Unfortunately I cannot claim to have read the graphic novel on which this movie is based. I had hoped to get the chance to purchase it prior to Halloween so I could review the actual book instead, but alas it was not to be. I really would love to read it as I suspect that many of the things that I like about the movie are all thanks to the graphic novel that preceded it.

Anyone who is feeling sick of the current trends regarding the portrayal of vampires, whether it be in movies or novels or otherwise, should watch 30 Days of Night. The approach to everyone's favourite creature of the night here is wonderfully fresh, taking us back to what vampires were originally intended to be. Remember, even Bram Stoker's Dracula vampires were not originally a sex symbol. While Stoker has an amazing knack for writing in an underlying sexual current, Dracula was not physically attractive and let's not forget that he ate babies! These vampires are not sexy and that is a great thing. They are animalistic and vicious. They are human-like in appearance - until you look at their faces. I think I even prefer these vamp faces to the Buffy vamp faces.

My favourite shot in this movie is when the vampires are launching a full scale attack on the town. People are running, screaming, fighting, and dieing. Gun shots can be heard. The camera provides a bird-eye view over the town and you can see people scrambling, vampires feasting on still bodies, and red blood splattered on white snow. I would not blame someone who had just tuned in for thinking that they had switched on a zombie movie rather than one about vampires. I simply love it. You are not going to find one of these vamps playing "vegetarian", pretending to be a high schooler, and taking teenage girls on dates.

The vampires also have their own guttural language which they speak. I hear that in the graphic novel they speak English, but giving them their own language seemed to add to the sense of how ancient they are and further removing them from humanity. When they did speak in English I loved how cruel they would be, toying with their victims.

The group of survivors is made up of an interesting mix of people, even including a senile elderly man. Their differences make trouble and at times cause tension as they tuck themselves away in their claustrophobic hiding place. Eban's asthma and dependence on an inhaler is also an interesting physical weakness.

IMDb has some interesting tidbits in the movies FAQ section. For example, Barrow is a real place in Alaska and the buildings there really are built on raised platforms. The prolonged nightfall does not occur exactly as it is shown in the movie, however:
It might not be the greatest movie and I didn't much like the end scene with the sunrise to be honest, but 30 Days of Night is gory fun that breaths life back into the vampire genre. If you want to be scared of vampires again instead of wanting to snog 'em then this is a must see!

I hope that everyone has a good Halloween even if, like me, you live in a part of the world that does not particularly partake in the occasion. Obviously I have not managed to get up the rest of my reviews for the Classic Challenge but I do still intend to post them sometime.

Terra

I finally managed to go see District 9 yesterday and boy am I glad that I did. Directed by Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, District 9 is adapted from a short film that Blomkamp made in 2005, titled Alive in Joburg. The film is inspired by Apartheid, particularly District 6 of Cape Town. I've tried to say my piece about this film hopefully without giving away too much for those yet to see it.

District 9 gives us an alternative history where, in 1982, a large alien spaceship stops above Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months of simply hovering, we humans force our way in to discover a malnourished population of extraterrestrials stranded on board. These alien creatures, given the derrogatory name of prawns, are taken from their craft and housed in a government camp called District 9, which soon becomes a slum. Fast forward to the year 2010 and the government has hired a private military contractor, Multinational United (MNU), to handle the policing and relocation on the alien population to a new camp. Wikus van de Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) is a MNU agent assigned to lead the operation, starting with giving eviction notices to the alien residents. During this process, Wikus is injured and exposed to a strange black liquid. He later falls ill from the exposure and is taken to hospital where it is discovered that the substance is altering his DNA. All the alien technology is tied in with their biology, making it inoperable to humans, and Wikus has just made himself the key to gaining human access to alien weaponry.

The film opens with a sequence of documentary footage and interviews but does not remain in this format. However, when it does break away from it, they do continue to use "shaky cam." While the camera work has been compared to that of Cloverfield, the majority of the film is not from the perspective of a hand held camera. Rather, the shaky nature of the camera work has been used to add to the gritty realness of the film. Some people have complained of experiencing motion sickness. I did not have any problems with the shakiness and was surprised that it was enough to make people feel sick, to be honest.

As good science-fiction does, District 9 has us explore the nature of humanity, drawing the conclusion that we are a pretty horrible lot. We are unnaccepting of others and their differences. We are cruel and we are greedy. We are selfish and care little for others that or not like us. Being intolerable of alien culture, we have them take human names. This intolerance is further reflected in that we never learn the name by which the alien race calls themselves, only ever hearing them referred to as "prawns" and "non-humans". The alien population that was rescued are overall unintelligent, believed to be a manual workforce that lost it's leadership in the events that lead to them being stuck on Earth. (This, presumably, explains the lack of resistance to the way they are treated by humans.)

Wikus, the main character, starts off pretty unlikable. He is bumbling, foolish, and naïve. Like the rest of his co-workers at MNU, he doesn't see the alien lives as having the same worth as human lives. He has a hut of alien eggs set ablaze and, seemingly enjoying the slaughter, comments how the burning young crackle and pop like corn. When he is being hunted by MNU and the government he seeks refuge in District 9 and selfishly places his own condition above the suffering of an entire race of beings on Earth. It is only as he is becoming more alien that he begins to develop likeable qualities, learning to be self-sacrificing and connecting with the alien, Christopher and urging him to survive for his young son.

Christopher Johnson, on the other hand, being an alien with apparently higher intelligence than what is average among those trapped on Earth, is by far the most likeable character in the movie. He is a loving father to his son and seeking a way to return his people home. I thought that a great job was put into giving his character depth, and enjoyed watching the emotions on his face and in his eyes.

I have seen some people call this movie racist due to the representation of African people but that wasn't the vibe that I got from this. Not only did I find it refreshing that this movie was not set in the United States (with humour they mention how, much to our surprise, the aliens did not sail their ship over Washington or New York) and I think that it would have lost it's impact if it was. There is a Nigerian gang in the movie that is exploiting the alien population and stockpiling alien weaponry but again, I would like to point out that there are no particularly likeable humans in this movie to say that any race is being shown favour. The Nigerian Warlord is disabled and confined to a wheelchair. He has turned to superstition to seek alien strength and power. The Warlord and his followers are just another example of human cruelty and selfishness, willing to see others suffer to achieve their means and placing their own survival above that of others.

District 9 is a great look into Xenophobia, segregation, and stereotyping and I definitely recommend it. It's not all hardcore social commentary either, there is a fair good balance of action including explosions, a mecha, and guns that make people go splat! It is all the more impressive to hear that Copely improved a great many of his lines. Also, all of the shacks in the District 9 slum were real shacks in Johannesburg from which the residents were being evacuated by the government to be moved to better housing, mirroring the events which take place in the movie.

Check out the trailer below!

Terra

The video pretty much speaks for itself but I simply couldn't let Zombie Week pass by without digging this little gem up.

For anyone wondering, this is a clip from the 1940 movie The Ghost Breakers.

Terra