0711 November 2007

A few cinematic things I liked:

1) The vampires were kept out of sight for the first half hour. You'd see their shapes, or hands, briefly. There's a couple shots where they start to come into frame and then we cut away.

2) I liked the photography, specifically the texture of characters' skin. Everyone looked good, but with believable splotchy or freckled skin. It's good make-up when no one looks like they're wearing make-up.

3) The behavior of the vampires, who were oblivious to the cold and splatters of blood. Just as the humans were struggling to stay warm, the vampires walked around in skimpy dresses or open shirts without flinching. Once they killed, they didn't bother to clean specks of blood from their faces. What's the point? They're not trying to pass for human.

This being the third or fourth time I've watched it, I really find it lags in the second half. Still a great movie, though. Not a laugh riot -- more of an ironic snicker riot.

Smart, suspenseful, and artful. I love the Coens' crime movies, and I was with this one up until the last half hour. When it went from being plot-driven to being character-driven, I felt betrayed. I know what they were trying to do, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Maybe I'll get something more out of it on a second viewing.

Pretty bleak, even compared to most BSG episodes. Good to see more Michelle Forbes and Katee Sackhoff again. The actor playing young Husker was good, considering he looked like both the elder and younger Adama characters. I hope they use him again in future flashbacks. I like the incorporation of the classic BSG Cylon robots and ships, too.

A great adaptation. Everything I loved about the short novel is here. The documentary style camerawork adds a great believability and makes up for the occasional CG looking tentacle. Ms. Carmity's religious caterwauling is abrasive, but it's supposed to be. One of King's favorite stories is Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and he comes back to the themes of mob mentality in several of his works. Carmity's call for blood sacrifice is one obvious (if accelerated) example. The ending is what it is, and at the very least gets you thinking.

About what I expected after seeing the trailer many months ago. I loved the short story when I first heard it read aloud in Blood & Cigarettes, and it actually frightened me. The movie is a fun trip into the weird as Cusack argues with himself, but not totally satisfying. The nightmares he experiences are somewhat "safe" compared to the unhinged insanity of the story.

One of my favorite headtrip movies. I love the way everyone talks in intellectual psycho-babble, plus the ideas presented about inherited memory are pretty cool. The dialogue and music are laughably melodramatic at times, but that's forgivable. The ultimate message about love being the answer to Hurt's religious quest seems a bit pat, but I guess it works given the other melodramatic aspects.