Halloween Movie Festival

Halloween is my favorite time of the year.

I like things that cause reactions in people, and one of the most primal, universal, and easiest ways to get people to react is to scare them. Everyone gets scared. There is at least one thing out there that frightens each and every one of us. The fun part is – what scares one person is usually different from what scares the next. One person might jump out of their own skin over spiders, while someone else might lose it over snakes, or heights, or zombies, or evil clowns, or who knows what. The list of things that scare people is as diverse as the people themselves. I think that’s awesome and fascinating.

Halloween taps into our fears in a big, big way. While children tend to view Halloween as an opportunity to play dress-up, to pretend to be a superhero or princess or some other relatively innocent character that they like, adults tend to embrace the scary aspect of Halloween. The holiday, at least for teenagers and older, is more a celebration of the things that disturb us. We dress up as scary clowns and zombies and vampires and try to frighten each other. We have fun with the idea of scaring each other and of having people try to scare us. It’s why haunted houses and horror movies are so popular around Halloween. We like being scared from time to time. It tests our fight-or-flight responses and appeals to the ancient, reptilian parts of our brains.

There is always a flood of horror films coming out during September and October that is geared to tap into that basic need to be scared. In fact, whole series of films live and die around an annual Halloween release. We’re coming up on Paranormal Activity 4, the third straight year of a Paranormal Activity film. Before that, we had seven Saw films released on Halloween weekend every year from 2004 – 2010. These films were, of course, insanely popular. All but one of the Saw films crossed the $100 million dollar mark, and none had a budget of over $20 million. All because we like to be scared, and all because Halloween is the time of year when we’re most in tune with those needs.

There are so many horror films produced each year that it’s often hard to keep track of what comes out. It’s almost impossible to think about other horror films from previous years or to remember which titles are classic and which are junk. People miss a lot of really good, seminal horror films due to the volume of films that are pumped out.

Here’s a fun thing I like to do every year. I strongly encourage you to do something similar, as it’s tons of fun!

Each week during October, I like to invite my friends over and watch a horror movie. I select a mix of classic and modern films from a variety of genres. I arrange the playlist in order from not-so-scary to guaranteed nightmares, ramping up the intensity each week. Each week I provide candy and treats, and my guests contribute whatever goodies they want. In the end, it's a fun way to spend time with your friends (Well, some of them. Not all will show up for the really scary stuff) and catch up on some great horror movies.

Here is an example playlist:

Week 1: Poltergeist

Week 2: The Exorcist

Week 3: Halloween (2007)

Week 4: The Human Centipede

Come up with your own list of movies you want to terrorize and traumatize your friends with and arrange your own mini-festival. If you really want to go all out, incorporate a costume contest the last night.

For the record, here are my selections for this year:

Week 1: Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

Week 2: The Howling (1981)

Week 3: Fright Night (2011)

Week 4: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Week 5: Zombie (1979)

Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter if you plan to do something like this. I want to hear your selections too!

Should you see Raiders in IMAX?

I’ve written about the IMAX transfer of Raiders of the Lost Ark elsewhere, so you all know that the film will be playing in IMAX theaters for this week only. The IMAX re-release is part of the celebration of the Blu-ray collection of Indy films, a collection that includes all four films that is coming out on September 18. I caught the IMAX re-release of Raiders on Friday afternoon, and I wanted to share a few thoughts with you all.

I know some of you are wondering if heading to the theater to experience the IMAX transfer is worth the cost of a premium ticket.

In a word: No.

I love IMAX films. They offer the best audio and visual presentations you are going to get for films. The ultra-clear visuals and crisp sound of IMAX theaters create a very immersive movie-going experience. It is by far my preferred format for seeing a new film. I’ll even go see stuff that I’m not too excited about, such as the upcoming Resident Evil: Retribution, just because it’s presented in IMAX.

But, I had some concerns about Raiders. Transferring a film shot in 1981 to the IMAX format seemed to be a risky proposition. Can you take a film that’s been sitting in a can for decades, clean it up, and shove it through an IMAX lens? Apparently not.

There are a few points to consider here.

First, the transfer is uneven. While parts of the IMAX film look amazing and some of the sound editing is fantastic, there are other parts that don’t look or sound nearly as good. In particular, scenes shot outside have a grainy appearance that, when contrasted with very clean and crisp interior shots, really stand out. It pulls you out of the experience to go from clean and tidy to muddy and murky. The contrast is too jarring. You realize you are watching a decades old film that has recently been tinkered with. The sound also suffers from inconsistency.

Second, you’re paying a premium price for a ticket. The cost of the IMAX ticket was double the cost of a regular ticket for the films playing at my local theater on Friday afternoon. It’s a lot to ask of an audience to pay double for a ticket when the film isn’t amazingly fantastic OMG WOW. It better be great, not good.

Third, the Blu-ray collection will be out next week. It currently lists for about $70 on Amazon. Save your IMAX dollars and buy all four films in high-definition. I bet that the Blu-rays will look great on your home theater, you can pop your own popcorn, pour your own sodas, and have a great time at home. There’s no need to rush out and see it in the theater at extra cost.

Finally, if you really want to see Indiana Jones on the big screen, AMC Theaters is hosting an Indy marathon next Saturday, September 15. Select theaters will be showing all four films in one day. Tickets for that event run $25, and you get $5 off concessions and a poster. Do that instead.

It was cool to see Raiders of the Lost Ark in theaters. That’s an experience I missed out on as a kid. It’s been several years since my Raiders DVD has had a spin, and there were many details that I had forgotten. I also had forgotten just how impactful the Indiana Jones films have been on modern cinema. The pace of that film and how quickly they are able to establish characters and settings is remarkable.

It’s a great, great film; I’m not suggesting that Raiders suddenly turned bad in IMAX. I enjoyed the experience. I wish I had waited for the AMC Theaters marathon or for the Blu-ray instead.

Will you be seeing Raiders in IMAX despite my warning? Let me know how that goes for you in the comments below or on Twitter! 

Movies of the Month: September 2012

The month of August concluded a weak summer with a resounding ‘meh’. August 2012 was the lowest grossing August at the box office since 2006. None of the major releases knocked it out of the ballpark, and more than a few underperformed.

It looks like September will start slow, continuing the down period at the movies. But, there is hope for September. Several good-looking films are coming this month that should provide some great entertainment and could draw in audiences. A couple of good action films, an intriguing kids film, an amazing-looking drama from a stellar director, and a 3D re-release of one of Pixar’s best films highlight the month.

Here is a preview of the major releases of September 2012 with a couple of limited release films to keep an eye on.

Week of September 7, 2012

The Words

The Plot: A struggling writer publishes a manuscript he finds stashed away in a satchel. As the truth of his plagiarism comes out, he must deal with the consequences.

Who’s in it? Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana

Ultimate Fate: Well, at least Olivia Wilde is hot. The film has gotten, shall we say, mixed reviews from the festival circuit. Scathing, actually. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t really want to pass judgment. I will say, however, that I haven’t heard many kind words about the film. Apparently, good performances by the leads are squandered with a confusing story structure and convoluted narrative. Lower your expectations for this one.

The Cold Light of Day

The Plot: A young Wall Street kid goes on the hunt after his family is kidnapped while on vacation in Spain. Along the way he learns about his father’s role as an international superspy and discovers he has a few spy tricks up his sleeve too.

Who’s in it? Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver

Ultimate Fate: It’s like Taken, only with the kid doing the big action stuff instead of the old man. Actually, Bruce Willis gets involved, so the old man does crack some skulls in the name of family vengeance. This looks to be a rather standard action flick with perhaps a few interesting twists thrown in. Maybe it will be worth a look, but I’m not sensing much buzz about this one.

Where I’ll be this weekend: There’s a local movie festival going on this weekend, so I’ll probably be spending my time watching some independent films and, hopefully, chatting with some of the filmmakers.

Week of September 14, 2012

Resident Evil: Retribution

The Plot: Alice is back trying to take down the Umbrella Corporation once again. As the virus unleashed by Umbrella continues to decimate the human population with hordes of zombies, Alice must infiltrate the deepest sectors of the corporation to unravel some of their deepest secrets.

Who’s in it? Mila Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez

Ultimate Fate: This is the fifth entry in the video game adaptation/zombie franchise, all of which were written (and a few directed by) Paul W. S. Anderson. Plus, they’ve all starred Jovovich. With that kind of continuity, it’s safe to say we know what to expect from this franchise. It’s going to feature attractive women running around in skimpy outfits blasting zombies in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic city environment. Teenage boys are going to love this. These films have never been extremely profitable, but they’ve done enough business that Anderson and Jovovich have carved out a nice little cottage industry churning out one of these every couple of years.

Finding Nemo 3D

The Plot: You saw this back in 2003, right? I’m guessing that everyone knows about the tale of Nemo in this, one of Pixar’s greatest films.

Who’s in it? Nemo, Dory, Gill, Crush, Bruce, and the actors who voice them

Ultimate Fate: One of Pixar’s great films not only features a perfectly loveable story, but it is perhaps their most visually impressive film as well. Here, it’s getting the 3D treatment similar to the makeover Disney has given some of its previous masterpieces. Finding Nemo 3D will look amazing, and the chance to see Nemo on the big screen should not be missed.

The Master (limited release)

The Plot: A Navy veteran returns home, and, suffering from supreme boredom, falls under the guidance of a charismatic religious leader who promises salvation. It’s the story of a man trying to find his way, a man who is willing to do anything to keep hope alive.

Who’s in it? Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Ultimate Fate: This is a film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (two Paul Anderson films this week!), whose last film was There Will Be Blood. This guy is good. This go ‘round, he is working with a cast that would make any director alive giddy with excitement. The film has gotten rave reviews already with a lot of awards talk for Anderson, Phoenix, and Hoffman. This is going to be one of the year’s best dramas.

Where I’ll be this weekend: The Master, if it’s anywhere near me. This one is going to start out in a limited release, but I expect it to expand wider fairly quickly once people start clamoring for it.

Week of September 21, 2012

Dredd 3D

The Plot: In a bleak future, Judge Dredd assaults a high-rise building housing a criminal overlord who controls the production and distribution of a potent drug.

Who’s in it? Karl Urban, Olivia Thirbly, Rachel Wood

Ultimate Fate: The plot of Dredd 3D sounds an awful lot like the plot of The Raid: Redemption, and I’m betting the Indonesian martial arts film is way more insane and fun than the upcoming Hollywood action flick. That’s not to say that Dredd 3D sounds bad. By all accounts, it seems to be a perfectly fine action movie with some cool action bits and story. It can’t be much worse than the distinctly 90s Judge Dredd, which starred Sylvester Stallone during one of the down periods of his career.

End of Watch

The Plot: Two Los Angeles police officers wind up on a cartel hit list after busting up a drug operation.

Who’s in it? Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera

Ultimate Fate: I get the impression that this is a fairly hardcore buddy-cop drama. Much of this film was shot with handeld cameras to give an up close and personal feel to the Gyllenhaal and Peña confrontation with the cartel baddies. It should feel very immersive. If this stylistic choice is done well and can avoid being an out-of-focus shakycam mess, this could wind up being an intense experience. 

House at the End of the Street

The Plot: A girl who recently moved to town realizes that the house at the end of the street and the boy who lives there are hiding some dark secrets.

Who’s in it? Jennifer Lawrence

Ultimate Fate: The producers of this film must be jumping for joy that the virtual unknown they hired to star in this film a few years ago would turn out to be the lead in a blockbuster franchise. The suspense/scary flick was originally slated for April 2012, but with Lawrence dominating the big screen as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, the studio pushed it back to a Halloween release. I have no idea if this film will be any good, but The Hunger Games bump should get people in seats.

Where I’ll be this weekend: I’m not that excited about any of the offerings this week, but I am mildly curious to see how things go with End of Watch. I like a good action-oriented drama, and the trailers for this one have indicated a mix of personal, family drama and crazy, in-your-face shootouts. Could be worth a look.

Week of September 28, 2012

Looper

The Plot: A hitman who specializes in killing bad guys sent back in time from the future finds himself facing off with an older version of himself.

Who’s in it? Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt

Ultimate Fate: Willis and JGL are amazing actors, and the writer/director of Looper, Rian Johnson, wrote and directed the really smart and underappreciated Brick a few years ago. The cast and crew each have great pedigrees. The early reviews have been very positive. Accolades such as “masterpiece”, “astounding”, “revolutionary”, “perfection” have been tossed our. So, yeah. It’s getting some good hype, and it will likely be great.

Hotel Transylvania

The Plot: Dracula built a castle to provide a safe haven for all the monsters in the world. When his daughter wants to leave the castle on her 118th birthday, and a human inadvertently wanders into the castle, the monster’s idyllic lifestyle is thrown into chaos.

Who’s in it? The voices of Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi

Ultimate Fate: This animated film from Sony Pictures Animation looks to be a fun spin on the father-daughter relationship and fish-out-of-water dynamics. It looks like a lot of fun with vibrant imagery and playful characters. Hopefully, the story will be equally fresh and exciting.

Trouble With the Curve

The Plot: An ageing baseball scout gets some assistance from his daughter as he struggles with failing sight in the final days of his career.

Who’s in it? Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake

Ultimate Fate: Eastwood has a pretty good handle on playing old timers in dramas. His last film, Gran Torino, had him spouting, “Get off my lawn!” to some punk kids to the great pleasure of the audience, and this film also looks to tap into his curmudgeonly acting skills. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake are always worth your attention. The Trouble With the Curve is likely to be a good, if predictable, father-daughter relationship drama.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Looper is one of the highest regarded science fiction films of the year. Given the talent involved, it should be a tightly woven, exciting, and entertaining tale. I’m there.

Movie of the Month: It comes down to either Looper or The Master as the movie of the month. Do you want a cool action-adventure sci-fi film, or are you looking for a well-constructed and Oscar-worthy drama? Personally, I’m going to go with the excellent writing and directing of Paul Thomas Anderson and call The Master my movie of the month.

I know it was slim pickin’s for September, folks. Don’t worry though, the last three months of the year are packed full of great films, so things are going to get better at the movie theater very soon.

Let me know on the message boards or Twitter if any of these films has you really jazzed up! 

ParaNorman Review

Norman is a unique little boy. He has a special gift that sets him apart from everyone else, even the members of his family. Norman sees ghosts. In fact he sees them everywhere all the time.

It turns out that this gift is both a blessing and a curse for young Norman. Some of his best friends are ghosts. His grandmother’s ghost still lives in the living room, and many of the ghosts he encounters on the streets are happy to see him and very friendly toward him. The bad part of his gift is that all the living people know he sees ghosts, but they don’t believe him. Instead, they think he is a very weird little boy and ridicule him endlessly. He’s just some strange kid who talks to himself and says and does weird things. He gets picked on a lot at school, and his family wants him to stop acting out all the time. Nobody understands poor Norman.

But Norman’s special gift soon will pay off in a big way. The town in which Norman lives, Blithe Hollow, was cursed centuries ago by a witch. If the witch’s needs are not meet every year, then she will raise the dead and exact revenge on the townspeople. On the eve of the curse, as magical storm clouds gather, Norman bands together with his sister, a school bully, the bully’s jock brother, and the only friend he has (a chubby kid who, like Norman, is subject to bullying) to end the town of it’s curse once and for all.

It’s a fantastic film. It’s full of heart, packs a powerful message, has tons of humor, and will leave you laughing and feeling good about life.

It must be hard to produce a kids film full of ghosts, zombies, witches, and all manner of other scary beasties. The balance between scary moments and fun moments must be spot on in order to keep from frightening a young audience. In fact, while watching a trailer for ParaNorman before a different film earlier this summer, I saw a little girl lose it. The trailer was cut with too much scary imagery, and the poor girl was not happy about it. But the film itself has great balance in those regards. Even when there’s really scary stuff going on, when zombies arise or there’s a room full of ghosts, it’s done in a way that makes you laugh.

Part of the joy of ParaNorman comes from a very cool animation style. ParaNorman uses a blend of really smooth stop-motion animation and computer generated effects. Combined with a great artistic design for its characters and environments, ParaNorman looks really good and maintains a playful and fun atmosphere.

Perhaps the best part of ParaNorman is the story. I just wrote a review for a different film in which I complained that only one character in an ensemble cast had a story arc and that this led to a boring film. Everyone in ParaNorman has a great story arc. The events of the film really affect all of the characters in positive ways. There are a lot of payoff moments throughout the film where we see a character “get it”, when they stop acting in a negative or hurtful way and start acting like better human beings (or ghosts, or whatevers).

The anti-bullying message in ParaNorman is done very well. It’s a major issue in the news today – how do we stop kids from bullying each other? We could start by showing each of our kids ParaNorman. We are all different, we’re all a little weird, sometimes even we don’t understand why we act the way we do. ParaNorman reminds us that that’s okay.

ParaNorman is one of the best films of 2012 so far. It is a beautiful film both in style and in story. Do yourself and your family a good thing and go see this film.

4.5 out of 5

Do you believe in ghosts? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

Lawless Review

Lawless is a film adaptation of “The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story” by Matt Bondurant. The story follows the Bondurant brothers during the 1930s as they make moonshine and run their wares around Virginia during the Prohibition Era. In the beginning, the brothers are focused on making the best ‘shine in the county, but soon they are contending with corrupt members of law enforcement while trying to provide industrial-scale volumes of moonshine to Chicago gangsters.

I have not read the book on which the movie is based. But, I bet you $5 the book is better than the movie.

There's a solid cast in Lawless

The film has a solid cast. The brothers Bondurant are played by the likes of Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke while Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, and Gary Oldman also have sizeable roles. These are all quality actors, and each of them does their jobs capably. Too bad there isn’t much of a story here.

Certainly, there is a plot to Lawless. A corrupt lawman from Chicago, Charlie Rakes, in a fantastically over-the-top performance from Guy Pearce, wants to muscle out all of the moonshiners in the county. And by ‘muscle out’ I mean make them pay dues or be killed. But, the three Bondurant brothers (who I assume are Matt Bondurant’s granduncles) won’t be pushed around so easily. They hold fast to their way of life, and drag the whole county to the brink of war with the law.

Sociopathic cop

What is missing from Lawless is character growth. In good stories, a character starts out in a lesser place – usually they don’t realize they are the hero type. During the events of the story, we see the characters develop into the hero they were meant to be. We, the audience, have the pleasure of watching the hero develop and get to the point in life where they need to be. In other words, the character should have a story arc. In films involving large casts, each character should have a story arc. It gives the film life.

Only one of the characters in Lawless has a story arc. The youngest Bondurant brother, Jack (Shia Labeouf), starts out as a sniveling weakling in a land of tough guys. As the film progresses and he experiences threats and fights and fame and fortune and gets the girls, he toughens up into a real man. That’s it. Neither of the other brothers, nor the mysterious dancer from Chicago (Jessica Chastain), nor any of the other characters grow during the film. They are the exact same people at the last frame as they were in the first frame. That is boring. We, the audience, keep waiting for them to DO something, 

but they never change their routine.

The only cast member with a story arc

Not only is the lack of character growth damaging to the story, the inclusion of all of these static characters makes the film about 40 minutes too long. I counted at least three characters who, had they been cut in editing, would never have been missed. I assume they are in the film because they were in the book.  

All this negativity aside, there are some good elements to Lawless. It’s fun to watch a cast this talented work with each other. There are a few fun bits, particularly with the brothers ribbing each other and with young Jack trying to woo the cute girl (Mia Wasikowski). The action feels real and visceral. If you ever wanted to know what happens when brass knuckles meet face or when knife meet throat, then you can find out by watching Lawless (both of those scenarios look painful).

Read this instead

Unfortunately, a well-crafted Depression-era setting, good acting across the board, brutal action, and a few fun moments here and there can’t save Lawless for me. I kept waiting for something more meaningful to happen.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Is a good cast of characters who just do what they do enough to draw your interest? Or do you prefer to see characters grow during the film? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!