Dark Shadows (2012)

The first time I watched the preview for Dark Shadows I already got pretty excited to watch the whole thing. The story is about a vampire, Barnabas Collins. After being cursed by a witch and buried for 200 years, he is accidentally released by a group of workers. The only thing is... he is now in the 70s. Before you start thinking “another vampire movie?” you should know that the original Dark Shadows was a gothic soap opera that aired from 1966 to 1971 (and had a remake in 1991). As soon as it came out I mentioned to a friend and she told me there was no way she would go with me. Why? Because she is a fan of the soap opera and apparently it had a very different approach, it was really dark and scary while the preview for the movie clearly showed it was a comedy. Oh hell, I’ve decided to go anyway.

I am aware that director Tim Burton tends to get a love/hate reaction from people but I believe I’m something in between. I am not going to run to the movie theater whenever one of his movies comes out just because it’s him. But I’m not going to refuse to watch it either if the movie looks interesting.
The cast once again has Burton’s friend Johnny Depp and also Burton’s wife Helena Bonham Carter. No problem with that since they are both really good actors and they seem to get all the craziness and awkwardness of Burton’s characters. I loved to see Michelle Pfeiffer on screen again. Eva Green looks beautiful as the witch Angelique. I actually had to do a little  research to find out where I’ve seen her before, I would have never remembered it was from the 007 movie Casino Royale. Even singer Alice Cooper is there! Speaking of music, If you enjoy buying soundtracks there are two choices, the great original score from Danny Elfman - another longtime contributor in Tim Burton’s movies - or the one with all the cool 70’s hits you hear in the movie.

The visuals of the movie are impressive since the very beginning. The clothes and the sets fill your eyes. The whole mix of the 70’s culture with the old grey looks of the city and the Collins mansion turns out to be really interesting. That is the best the movie has to offer the audience and it can only get you so far. Even though it has its (few) funny moments it still ended up being a little bit too long. By the end I was already checking my watch and I don’t usually do that. If a good 20 minutes of it had been cut off I believe I could’ve kept my interest longer. All in all it is an interesting movie. I am curious to watch the old soap opera now and I wonder if it’s going to make me change my opinion about the movie....

50/50 (2011)

Not expecting much from a movie can be really gratifying sometimes. I saw the preview for "50/50" once and I didn't even remember it until the day I wanted to go to the movies and decided to check it out. First things first: so a movie with Seth Rogen is supposed to be a comedy right? But how can they make a comedy out of a subject like cancer? Believe me they can... and without turning it into something cheesy. I was actually surprised to find out that the story is based on a real story from the movie writer himself. It is about a 27 year old guy (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who finds out that his back pain was actually... cancer.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a face that I remember more from 500 Days with Summer than from Inception (blame it on Leonardo DiCaprio). He plays Adam with such charisma that all you want to do is take him home and take care of him. His best friend, played by Seth Rogen, is the one that provides most of the laughs in the movie. It was awesome to see Angelica Houston on screen again even though her portrait of Adam's mom is a little bit too much. Also in the movie are the beautiful Bryce Dallas Howard (even though every time I see her I cannot help remembering M. Night Shayamalan's The Village), and Anna Kendrick with the same sweet girl persona she played alongside George Clooney in Up in the Air.

Expect all those things you usually see in movies with similar plot lines, the chemotherapy scenes, the sick friends, the family sad reactions, and so on. However director Jonathan Levine managed to make a movie that can balance funny and sad with very well built characters that in the end just remind us how the simple things in life, like friendship and love, are the ones that matter the most. (aaaawwwwwwwwww...)

As usual, music is something that always gets my attention in movies, cause they totally mark moments and scenes. The choice of Pearl Jam's Yellow Ledbetter for the ending credit was more than perfect.

I dare to say that this was one of my favorites movies this year.

Drive (2011)

Haven't been here in a while, but this movie impressed me enough to make me want to write about it. I'm not going to lie either, I went to the movie theater because of Ryan Gosling. This movie was nothing like I expected from watching the preview. You think you are going to watch an action movie, about a stunt driver? Wrong. This was a lot more about drama then about action.

According to the dictionary, this is the definition of the word "noir":

1. Of or relating to the film noir genre.

2. Of or relating to a genre of crime literature featuring tough, cynical characters and bleak settings.

3. Suggestive of danger or violence.

Drive does have a bit of all of these elements. Characters are very well built, bad guys don't really need to show they have a reason to be bad guys, and no matter how awful are the good guy's actions, you still cheer for him. It was very interesting to see someone like Albert Brooks playing a character like the one in the movie, someone not very funny or likeable. I am biased when it comes to Gosling, he can pull off any kind of character, and as usual he is amazing at this role. Carey Mulligan, who you might remember as Michael Douglas' daughter in the new Wall Street movie, also did a very good job as the romantic interest for Gosling.

The movie is very intense. It shows a dark and ugly side of Los Angeles, with of course a lot of night scenes. If you are expecting crazy car chase scenes, a lot of action, forget about it. It has about.... ONE good car chase scene, and it doesn't last very long. Not to mention the movie also has some very violent scenes. If you have a weak stomach for that, be advised!

The soundtrack is amazing and suits the movie perfectly. It reminded me a little bit of the awesome soundtrack choices Sophia Coppola does in her movies. Original soundtrack by Cliff Martinez, who a long time ago played drums for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, despite the great music choices, a lot of the scenes have no music at all, which just makes the movie even more nerve wrecking and raw.

I have never heard of this director before, not familiar with any of his previous works either. But I am already a fan. If someone can make me not blink pretty much during the entire movie, hold my breath and not even move a lot of times while watching it, spend the rest of my day thinking about it, and wanting to buy the soundtrack the minute the credits are over, then he is my man.

Running Scared (2006)

My brother talked so much about this movie that I've decided to watch it. Never heard about it before but turned out to be better than I expected. The story talks about a low level mob guy that is in charge of disposing a gun used to kill a cop in this gone bad drug operation. The gun goes missing after his neighbour's kid takes it, causing a lot of bad thing to happen throughout the night.

About the cast: at first you might think that a movie starred by the guy from The Fast and The Furious cannot be that good... even though I thought the main couple characters are a bit too cliche, Paul Walker actually does quite a good job, a lot better than any other movie I've seen him in. And as his wife, Vera Farmiga is always good on screen. For those like me that spend a lot of time in front of a tv, there are some recognizable faces: John Noble (Fringe's Walter Bishop) and Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost's Juliet) have small roles in the story. Oleg, the Russian kid that takes the gun, is played by Cameron Bright. Seriously he is either really creepy or a very good actor. I would definitely be scared if I saw him around on the street at night!

The story gets a bit too much sometimes, like when the kid is taken by a very strange couple. Some of the scenes confused me specially when they begin to explain what is going on.... I admit I had to rewind a bit on those parts. And the end leaves a lot unexplained.

But the way the movie is shot, some unusual camera angles, the cinematography, the editing... I simply loved. It reminded me of Guy Ritchie's first movies. I know some people hate those fast edited movies but I think it makes it interesting and tense, specially with a plotline like this one. If you are a movie fan, the technical aspects alone definitely makes it worth watching.

The Social Network (2010)

Watched the new David Fincher movie last week. Was really excited about it because I am a huge fan of his work as a director, every time I hear he is on a new project I am already dying of curiosity to know what the hell is he going to make of it. In this case a movie based on the story of the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.

As usual he didn't let me down at all. Probably one of the best movies I've seen lately. Do not expect any major drama plotline like his previous movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". The movie is clearly based more on characters than anything else. It does not provide any kind of background for them and you don't miss it. The actors did a great job too, specially Jesse Eisenberg. I remembered his face from Zombieland and nothing else. Not even the presence of Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the creator of Napster, ruined the picture. I am still not used to seeing his face on movies but he didn't do such a bad job after all. Besides, it was exciting enough to find out Parker had anything to do with Facebook. Come on, the guy invented Napster! Who doesn't remember Napster? Hmm... I guess that depends on how old you are.

The movie jumps around a little on time, but clear enough that it doesn't take too long to place yourself and understand the chronological order of the facts.

Soundtrack by Trent Reznor? This reminds me of another one of Fincher's movies: "Seven". All instrumental, and if you know Reznor's work at all you will notice the songs pretty easily.

Another scene that I face as sort of a mark for David Fincher's movies was there as well. When they are having a party and the police shows up you see it: the dark room, with the police officer's flashlights. Typical. He also likes to plays sometimes with editing, cinematography, camera angles (something I missed terribly on Benjamin Button but in that case maybe the story didn't really apply). In "The Social Network" the rowing contest scenes will blow away the minds of any filmmaker or big movie fan. I am no expert on the subject but I've seen before some pictures that have basically the same look, and the effect on them was called tilt shift. Don't know if it's the same in this case. Still makes me wonder.... how the hell does he come up with ideas like that?

By the way, we all have seen this before but I was pretty amazed to find out that both the Winklevoss twins were actually portraied by one actor.

The ending scene (don't worry, I won't tell!) was also great. A perfect ending for an amazing movie. Definitely go check it out!!