Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

A List of My Favorite Bloodsuckers

Posted: October 28, 2012 in Review
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“How do you like my new lipstick? It’s called Without a Briefcase Bloodsucker.

With zombies being the new vampires, vampires have finally settled back into that mode where they’re considered cool but nobody over-does them or anything. In fact, I stopped writing a vampire novel because vampires were “all the rage” for a little while, so it kind of made no sense to write one when everyone else was. But like I said, they’re not the trendy thing they used to be. Sure, you still got the fifth Twilight film and two vampire TV shows on the CW and HBO networks, but those are the last ones really making any waves, and they’re kind of fading, in my opinion.

So with that in mind, I thought it was high time I talk about my favorite vampires, the ones I consider cool and awesome. Trust me though, I won’t have anything from Twilight or anything that mostly appeals to tweens and bored single moms. The vampires I list have broad appeal, so I’m sure you’ll find something here you’ll like.

Of course, if you do like tortured, handsome, and undead, I’ve got some here that actually have some depth to them besides brooding and stalking girls.

Mina Tepes, Dance in the Vampire Bund

“I’m full of surprises.”

The female protagonist of the hit manga series by Nozomu Tamaki, Mina is over 200 years old and queen of the vampires despite the fact that she’s a pint-sized, twin-ponytailed girl. At the beginning of the series, Mina has just created the Bund, a refuge for vampires from all over the world to live in, off the coast of Tokyo. The Japanese government allowed Mina to do this in exchange for her paying off Japan’s humongous debt, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it. In addition, there are several vampire nobles who are attempting to gain Mina’s hand in marriage to secure power over the throne, and a mysterious organization named Telomere is attempting to destroy the Bund from the inside.

Mina is an interesting and muti-faceted character. On the outside, she acts naughty, cute and teases others like a regular kid. But don’t let that fool you; she’s a shrewd politician and calculating general to make the most veteran leaders feel small in comparison to her. Mina is also very smart and wise, and has knowledge on a number of subjects. And beneath all that, there’s another part of her that we rarely see: an insecure and scared young girl who often relies on the support of her subjects and her werewolf companion and male protagonist Akira to help her through tough situations. It’s all this that makes Mina such an unforgettable character.

However, I wouldn’t recommend this series for anyone younger than fifteen, and only if they have read an extensive amount of horror and romantic-comedy manga beforehand. Still, it’s a pretty awesome series.

Lestat de Lioncourt, The Vampire Chronicles

“I’m tortured…without looking like I’m sickly or haven’t bathed recently.

The original sexy vampire, he brooded and fell in love long before Edward Cullen ever graced the world. Originally the deuteroganist in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Lestat quickly became popular and established himself as the main character of the series in the follow-up novels The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. Lestat was originally the youngest son of a nobleman in France before being made a vampire. He traveled the world, looking for companionship and losing it from time to time. At one point he met Louis, the main character of Interview, and in Lestat he formed a rock band that he left after Queen. In Memnoch the Devil he met God and the Devil, and in…you know what, why don’t you read it yourself? Those books were some of the best years of my short life, I tell you.

Lestat is a theatrical man, able to act sophisticated and like a gangster at any time. He also is a deep philosopher, viewing the world as a sort of Savage Garden of beauty and violence, and a romantic as well, loving many over the years and only having a true connection maybe once or twice over the series. Having legions of loyal fans though, Lestat is definitely one of the greatest vampires out there.

Vlad Dracula, Dracula

“Ah, the readers of this blog. What fine words they read.”

No list of vampires is complete without Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler or just Vlad to his wives. A former Romanian king and warlord, Dracula became a vampire after his death, and ruled the Romanian countryside with an iron grip of fear. At some point he heads to London, hoping to start an army that will allow him to take over the world. With a variety of powers at his fingertips, Dracula is all but unstoppable, and several characters die trying to stop this insidious man.

Since there is no technical copyright over the story or character, Dracula is in the public domain and becuase of that has appeared in a variety of works and has been portrayed by numerous actors. Most point to Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film version or Max Shrek in the 1920s silent film Nosferatu as the best portrayals of the character, but my favorites are Gary Oldman as a lovesick vampire searching for his long-lost bride in the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Roxburgh’s portrayal in the 2004 film Van Helsing as my favorites.

Akabara Strauss, The Record of a Fallen Vampire

“I will find what I’m looking for.”

Yes it’s another manga, but I swear it’s a good one. Written by Kyo Shiradaira and illustrated by Yuri Kimura, Record follows Akabara Strauss, the former vampire king who forsook his throne to find his queen, who was sealed away somewhere hidden when she couldn’t control her magical powers and nearly destroyed the Earth. Trying to stop Akabara are what’s left of the kingdom, a few vampires and half-vamps who do not want to see the world destroyed. In addition, a curse called the Black Swan follows Akabara in nearly every generation, and it won’t stop until it kills him through a host it selects to do its dirty work.

At first it seems like a simple tragic love-story, but it’s more than that. Soon, Akabara is contacted by a powerful man who wants his help to stop an alien invasion (plot twist!), and Akabara has to join up with vampires, the Black Swan, and humans to stop the invasion. At the same time, we learn the real events that led to the destruction of the vampire kingdom and why Akabara vacated the throne, and in doing so, we learn just how deep and selfless a king can go. A beautiful, introspective work, I looked forward to every volume I got.

That’s all I got for now. If this article is well-recieved, I’ll write a Part II with some more vampires, famous and otherwise. Have a good evening!

Carrie: The First Trailer

Posted: October 27, 2012 in Review, Scary Stuff
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“They’ll laugh at you. They’ll laugh at you. They’ll laugh at you.”

Honestly, those were some awesome lines, and I hope they make it into the new movie.

Earlier this month the makers of the new Carrie film released this trailer, a first look at what fans can expect from a modern-day retelling of the famous Stephen King classic. It shows a bird’s-eye view of the town of Chamberlain, Maine, with voice-overs by different characters giving hints at what happened and creepy music in the background. As the camera goes farther down, we see a burning school, buildings on fire, trees and cars and other signs of destruction all over the street. Eventually, we see Carrie herself, “just a girl”, standing in the street, looking scared and angry as hell. The creepy music playing the whole trailer begins to skip as if on a record player (knowing this story, it probably is).

I cannot wait to see this film, one that not only terrifies us, but teaches us how horrible bullying is and how it should be stopped and nipped in the bud, a theme we seem understand better today than we did when I was in elementary school.

I am counting down the weeks till March 2013. See you at the prom.

Review: Manhattan Vigil

Posted: October 24, 2012 in Review
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aka The 300th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit! Yeah, I know you guys had no idea I was a fan of SVU, from the way I write and what I write about you’d never be able to tell. Is my sarcasm coming through alright?

So yes, this was the 300th episode of SVU, which I’ve been waiting for like crazy ever since I found out about it. And let me just say, it was a pretty decent episode, especially considering the episode based on Fifty Shades of Gray was mediocre and the one on the prostitution ring with terrorist ties was only slightly better. In this episode, a young boy is kidnapped on a subway on the way to a baseball game, and the neighborhood it happened in reminds Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Sergeant John Munch (Richard Belzer) and Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek), the only remaining members of the original SVU crew since the show began, of a case that would’ve occurred during the show’s first season in 1999. Let’s just say, the similarities between the two cases are more than just coincidences.

What an awesome cast, huh?

The acting was pretty solid. I would’ve liked to see more of Munch (and not just in this episode, but in general; he’s featured in only haf the episodes these days, and he’s a main character!) and of Detective Fin Tutuola (Ice-T’s awesome!). Oh, and somebody bring back ADAs Cabot and Novak(Stephanie March and Diane Neal, respectively), they’re the reason I admire prosecutors so much! But I digress; back to the reviewing.

I thought the way Benson and Detective Amaro (Danny Pino) finally settled their problems–with Cragen’s prodding–was well done. And although some of the connections between the cases took a little work for some to put together, I thought the writing was well done. Let’s keep it up, Dick Wolf and Company!

On my ratings scale, I’m giving this a 3.5 out of 5, showing that while I liked it, I think we need to recapture the energy and tension that we had in the season premiere and lost afterwards.

Review: Taken 2

Posted: October 14, 2012 in Review
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THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. PLEASE BE AWARE YOU MAY NOT WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE AFTER READING THIS POST.

Before I start, I just want to say one thing: I loved Taken. I loved Liam Neeson in that movie (he’s great in every movie I’ve seen him in, but he’s especially amazing here), I thought the story was amazing, the action was fresh and awesome, and the movie helped inspire my serial killer Snake.

So I feel a little sad that I have to write this review, and a little disappointed that the makers of Taken 2 couldn’t top Taken. In fact, they did several things that just sapped the excitement from the film and made it boring. For instance, the opening of the movie would’ve looked more at home in a sci-fi film about a conspiracy than the sequel of a thriller involving lots of shooting and killing. And then when they show the funeral, they make it explicitly clear that it’s an Islamic funeral while the antagonist vows revenge for his fallen friends. Seriously, I get that Albania’s mostly Muslim, but could you wait until after the funeral to discuss your evil plans? Or did you want the racist freaks out there to nod and say, “That’s just what Muslims do at funerals”?

Second, the action just seemed a little too…familiar. Even if Liam Neeson gets captured and beaten a little, it’s all the same, shoot people up in a foreign place, take them all by surprise, end up with very few wounds by the end of the film. And what was with the end of that bad guy? Honestly, you just kill him after offering to let him go. Makes no sense to me; I would’ve done it differently.

Unfortunately, this movie’s doing well at the box office, so perhaps some people disagree with me. However, I’m calling it as I see it, and I see this film as a 1.4 out of 5. Yes, that low! Hopefully when I see Alex Cross next week, they’ll be able to do a better job of doing a thriller than the makers of Taken 2, even if they’re not including the character of John Sampson in the former.

My Favorite Fantasy Stories

Posted: October 8, 2012 in Living and Life, Reflections, Review, Scary Stuff
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Anyone else wondering if Mickey Mouse is hiding behind a corner?

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of of books based on Celtic and Arthurian mythology. Knights, faeries, dragons, magic and wizards. I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy binge. So I’d thought I’d devote a post to some of my favorites…not including Harry Potter. Or Tolkein. Or Lewis. Or Game of Thrones. Why none of those, you may ask? Mostly because everybody’s read them and I don’t want to just tell people what everyone know. That, and I’ve only read two of the four mentioned.

So here’s my fantasy favorites, all for your enjoyment:

THE AGE OF MISRULE by Mark Chadbourn

Honestly one of the most interesting fantasy stories I’ve ever read, weaving together both Arthurian and Celtic myths with New Age philosophy and beliefs. In modern-day Britain, strange things start happening. Dragon in the sky…electricity failing mysteriously…technology going haywire…stepping out at night becoming an extreme sport. What’s happening is the ancient gods, demons, and magical creatures of days past are returning to our world, and the only thing standing in the way of humanity being bulldozed by this change is the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, five ordinary humans who’ve been gifted with the Pendragon Spirit, a power given to them by Existence itself to help humanity weather the coming change. Together the Brothers and Sisters must learn to work together and help humanity adapt, especially when the demonic Fomorii are working to bring their master Balor back to life and wage war on the god-like Tuatha Da Danaan.

I really enjoyed this trilogy, not only because it’s unique and Mark Chadbourn knows how to write a compelling plot and characters, but because even though the world is full of supernatural dangers, I’d want to live there. Heck, I’d want ot be a Brother of Dragons, helping to bring the change to humanity. After all, it’s a simpler life, one where if you’re not working on the land, you’re learning to be in harmony with nature and the spirits around you. And you get to learn magic, which is pretty cool.

 

 

 

 

EARL AND THE FAIRY by Mizue Tani

A series of light novels, the story follows a woman named Lydia Carlton, who is one of the last few fairy doctors around (fairy doctors being people who mediate between humans and fairies). Unfortunately for her, humans in 19th century are not too predisposed to seeing or believing in fairies, so Lydia’s kind of an odd duck to other people. That is, until she meets Edgar Ashenbert, a cunning, manipulative, and mysterious nobleman who enlists Lydia’s help in reclaiming his heritage, which includes a sword that belonged to the Blue Knight Earl, a warrior who had holdings in the realm of the fairies and Edgar’s ancestor. Torn between falling in love with Edgar and hating him for using her in his schemes, Lydia becomes embroiled with supernatural events that seem to gravitate around her and Edgar, sometimes endangering both their lives.

The series is quite popular in Japan, with 29 volumes out already, and a manga and anime series based on the books out as well. Unfortunately, only the manga is available in the US, and only the first 3 volumes as of last month. Still, it is worth a read, especially if you’re looking to get into manga and need an opinion on a good one.

 

 

 

MERLIN

A TV miniseries starring Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson, Merlin chronicles the life of Merlin in his battle against the supernatural Queen Mab. The story starts several years before King Arthur, beginning with Merlin’s birth, his magic training, his animosity with Mab, the rise and fall of Arthur and Camelot, and the final defeat of Mab and the death of magic. I saw this when I was younger, and I always thought it was an amazing story, though now that I think about it I’m not sure how pissing off Merlin and doing everything you can to hurt him is supposed to save your kingdom…oh wait, now I see what Mordred’s purpose was! I really need to rewatch that series now.

The special effects aren’t Avatar or Inception-grade, but the story is compelling and even if the effects aren’t top-notch, they do look believable for their day. Sam Neill is great as a pensive, all-knowing Merlin with anger issues, while Miranda Richardson is the ultimate femme fatale, a hoarse-voiced queen of magic with spells galore and a thousand and one tricks up her sleeve. You’ll love it if you watch it.

 

 

FAIRY CUBE by Kaori Yuki

Kaori Yuki has a reputation for powerful stories with Gothic and supernatural elements. Here she upholds her reputation with Fairy Cube, a story about a boy named Ian who sees spirits and fairies and is haunted by a spirit named Tokage. When Ian is killed by his father in a drunken rage, Tokage possesses Ian’s body and starts romancing Ian’s childhood friend Rin. Determined to get his body back, Ian teams up with a fiery fairy named Ainsel and a mysterious shopkeeper named Kaito in order to get his body back and save his friend. At the same time, Ian starts to become aware of a company called Gotoh that has ties to the spirit world and has sinister plans for the human world (I always knew corporations were up to no good).

Exciting and with Kaori Yuki’s awesome art and storytelling, Fairy Cube is an exciting read for all those interested in dark fantasy in general. I certainly enjoyed it.

 

That’s all I have right now. If I think of any other stories I’d want to put up here, I’ll let you know. If you have any suggestions, if you’ve read any of these works and want to give your review of them, or if you think I’m crazy because I haven’t read Tolkein or Game of Thrones, let me know.

Review: Daniel Craig on Saturday Night Live

Posted: October 7, 2012 in Review
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Well, here it is, folks. My final review of an episode of SNL for a while. And I’m sorry I’m getting it out later than I usually do, but them’s the breaks.

Alright, starting with Mr. Craig himself. As the current James Bond and a professional at killing people on screen while making women real and fictional swoon, we’ve been expecting a lot from this episode, and from Mr. Craig, who has not really done comedy up till this point. Sad to say, I was a little disappointed. I mean, he was great in the opening monologue…until they did that “In Memoriam” thing. And then it was just full of disappointments to me. Craig seems very expressionless, and although his New Jersey accent is convincing, he just doesn’t deliver the lines with the zing you expect from hosts on SNL. In fact, the cast members seem to overshadow him. Overshadow 007! Speaking of which, I was hoping he would do a whole skit on Bond, but all we got was a joke ad, with Craig in it only a quarter of the time. What’s up with that?

The rest of the cast was phenomenal as usual. Jay Pharaoh did a good impression of Obama that was both funny and painful to watch for me. Aidy Bryant finally had more than a single line in an episode, and was hilarious as a crazy woman, so I hope I get to see her full range in later episodes. It was cool to see Chris Parnell come back as Lehrer during the cold open, and Bobby Moynihan is great as a kitten-obsessed dude that, while we sympathize with him, we also want to punch him. Oh, and Fred Armisen, I don’t know how you feel about getting in drag, but you always kill me when you are!

The skits themselves were so-so. The psychic woman skit was a laugh, with everyone tearing up. I enjoyed Weekend Update especially, with Kate McKinnon as a weird Italian artist, and–oh, Big Bird was there! How did they get him on the show? I don’t know how, but kudos to the producers for that! And he was funny as welll as appropriate, which with Big Bird I guess is required.

No comments on the musical guest Muse, since I’m more of a pop/rap/screaming metal kind of guy, but they did alright I guess. And was that Michelle Obama in the cold open, or was that footage from a debate? Someone tell me.

Overall, I give it a 3,8 out of 5. Look forward to my next reviews, when I go to see movies like Taken 2, Alex Cross, and Skyfall, where Daniel Craig shines in the mode he’s best at: serious.

Review: Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Saturday Night Live

Posted: September 23, 2012 in Review
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Yes, I’m doing another SNL review. But before you groan, let me just say, I got some very positive responses on the season premiere, and the SNL cast and writers are doing very well on fulfilling expectations. So I’ve got four words for you: can you blame me?

Alright, on to the review part of the post. Joseph Gordon-Levitt; oh my God, I think that guy became a sex symbol for both women and gay men this evening, when he not only did an impression of Magic Mike during the opening monologue, but cross-dressed during the latter half of the show. I think someone out there might’ve fallen in love with that guy. But that wasn’t all; he was funny, he could do various accents and impressions, and he reminds me of guys I knew at Jewish summer cap, so that’s a plus in my book. Add all the serious roles he’s done lately, and I think Mr. Gordon-Levitt could have a very long career in Hollywood as a star who can do many different roles. Just don’t go weird Scientology on us or jump on couches while on a talk show and we’ll be good.

As for the skits…damn! The writers seem to be thriving under the pressure. That cold open was great! And having Mumford & Sons, the musical guest, play a song during one of the skits was just great, especially when the writers somehow manage to work in an actually decent Jerry Sandusky joke. And Kate McKinnon on Weekend Update as Ann Romney had me laughing so hard. I hope she plays that role some more before the election is over. A special mention goes to the Republican-sponsored birth control fake ad and the rapper’s fashion talk show where it showed two rappers slowly becoming effeminate. Also, I’d like to say the “Powers & Powers” skit was great, though I was sad it had to be cut short due to time constraints.

Final score on the review scale: 4.7 out of 5. Join me for another review of SNL in two weeks, when Daniel Craig tries his hand at comedy (and if they really do have Jennifer Lawrence of Hunger Games fame afterwards, like the rumors are saying, I’ll review that too. Oh don’t roll your eyes, I like this show, and it’s doing really well so far this season!).

Review: Seth MacFarlene on Saturday Night Live

Posted: September 16, 2012 in Review
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Now, you all know I’m a huge horror fan. But I do like a little comedy every now and then, and I have been known to do a little reviewing on SNL every now and then. So, since there’s been some changes in cast and it’s an election year in the United States, I decided to do a review of the season premiere of Saturday Night Live!

First, let’s start with the host and the musical guest. Seth MacFarlane was awesome, doing numerous voice impressions throughout the show and at one point playing a stuttering Army sergeant (was not sure if I should laugh, or object over the fact that I’ve been to speech therapy before). I was not impressed by Frank Ocean as musical guest though, remarking that he reminded me of Usher trying to be Ne-Yo. But hey, I don’t really know his music, so whatever.

The  actors were pretty decent this episode: Jay Pharaoh took over the role of playing Obama with a stellar performance, which I approve of, seeing as he was underutilized last season. Taran Killam also did well as Paul Ryan, and Nasim Pedrad was able to match an impression for every one of MacFarlane’s. I did not see enough of the new cast members (Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Tim Robinson, for those of you who don’t know) to really form an opinion, but I think they’ll make the transition to SNL okay, if they jsut keep their heads about them.

The skits were also decent: during the cold open, Pharaoh and Jason Sudeikis (whom, I’m convinced, did not tell people whether or not he was rejoining the cast until the final week before the new season just to get interest for the new season) were playing off each other to get plenty of laughs from the audience. Weekend Update was phenomenal as usual, though I don’t think “Innocence of Muslims” is something you can make a joke about. And in one skit, YouTube sensation Psy (I didn’t know who he was until this episode either, but down below is the video that made him famous) made an appearance, which was hilarious.

I did think that the Amish website skit was too short for my tastes, and the commercial breaks were too long. Also, I thought the new opening credits for the show was interesting, if a little heavy on tranistion use. Other than that, very few objections, bringing my rating of the episode a 4.2 out of 5. Let’s hope they can keep up the yucks for the next episode, with musical guest Mumford and Sons and guest host Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

And if you’re curious who Psy is and why he was featured in an SNL sketch, here’s his video. Trust me, it’s great; he’s dance like me, except possibly worse!

Review: The Possession

Posted: September 3, 2012 in Review
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The movie poster for “The Possession”; if you want to scare your girl, bring her to this movie.

aka The Exorcist for both this generation and the Jews.

Did that opening statement interest you? Well if it did, then good, because this movie was awesome! I was freaking out! Based on a true story (there’s a book out there that explains that true story, and I’m trying to get my hands on it), The Possession chronicles a family’s troubles as the youngest in the family buys a box from a yard sale, unaware that the box contains a dybbuk, a type of demon or spirit from Jewish folklore. The movie featured among its cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan trying to be a good dad after divorcing his wife, played by Kyra Sedgewick, Natasha Callis as the possessed little girl (and who might have a good career going for her, if you ask me), and Hasidic rapper Matisyahu as an exorcist named Tzadok (and yes, there are Jewish rappers; including this guy, there are three professionals I know of).

The film was very well done in my opinion, with the little girl Em showing both some Exorcist, some The Ring, and even some Grudge in her performance. The effects were simple but very effective, with wind, flashing lights, and a roomful of moths among what was used. And in the end when you actually see the dybbuk, you can’t help but be grossed out by it; it’s disgusting to behold.

The script was also well-written, though reminiscent of The Exorcist in that at first the possession is considered a reaction to the divorce, followed by a medical/psychological problem, and only afterwards, with a little too much grace, is the supernatural acknowledged. However, even though the plot was done, it found new life here. Not to mention that the end left room for a possible sequel.

Oh, and Matisyahu’s character made a joke at some point that has a distinctly Jewish flavor to it.

For the possession, I give The Possession a 4.8 out of 5 for being utterly freaky, the actors convincing me with their emotion, and some very nice special effects. Points were taken off, because like I said, the acceptance of the supernatural was just too rapid for me, or at least there was less reluctance to accept it than I thought there would be.

What I Expect From The New “Carrie”

Posted: September 3, 2012 in Reflections, Review, Scary Stuff
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The cover of the original Carrie novel. Oh, does this bring back some fond memories.

In case you haven’t heard, MGM and Screen Gems are doing a remake of that wonderful debut novel of His Highness Stephen King, Carrie. I feel a strange connection with that novel, not just because I’m a huge fan of King, but because I was bullied when I was a kid, so I know what it’s like to want to lash out (and sometimes actually lash out) at the bullies who hurt you. So you can tell I’m super-excited that Carrie‘s getting a third chance at the screen, big or small.

I’d like to devote two posts to Carrie. One will be on what I hope the filmmakers will do with the novel, in comparison to what others have done with the novel. The second post, which I will write in the morning or afternoon, will deal with what I hope people will get from a new film adaptation of Carrie. And trust me, what I’m thinking of, is probably different than what you’re thinking of; they are two very different subjects.

Theatrical poster for the wonderful 1976 film.

Alright, the first film, the one that’s famous, starred Sissy Spaceck as Carrie, and Piper Laurie as Margaret White. Spaceck was very believable as Carrie, though a tad prettier than I expected, while Laurie was freaky as hell as Mrs. White (honestly, I’m soooo glad my mother, who’s a rabbi, is not like her!). The prom scene seemed not as scary as I’d hoped, though that may be because I’m a Generation Y-er, which means I’m used to special effects and whatnot. And of course, Chris Hargensen was a total bitch. 4.2 out of 5, if I had to review it.

The second film, a made-for-TV movie, could’ve done a lot better. Angela Bettis not only looked like a real Carrie, she embodied the role to the point I believed that girl was Carrie. Patricia Clarkson, on the other hand, did not intimidate, but then again what do you expect: the woman was passive, and wore colors other than black. Not scary in the least. The music for that film also was better suited for a Hallmark Channel white-women romantic drama centered around family life, not a Stephen King-based horror movie. There were high points though: not all the characters were Caucasion, and Sue Snell was even African-American, so kudos for diversity, which I think should be looked for in every movie, especially horror with its nearly-always white victims. And the special effects, while not exactly state-of-the-art enough to look very real, were done in such a way that during the prom scene, I had a huge grin on my face from glee. Once again, freaky as hell.

Poster for the flop of a TV remake.

Like I said however, the TV remake could’ve been better, barely getting a 2.9 on my review scale.

Now what I hope from the new movie: we’ve learned by now that Chloe Grace Moretz, the little girl with a punch from Kick-Ass, is playing Carrie, while Julianne Moore, who I’ve seen in a couple of films but never really taken note of till now, is playing Margaret White. Now, as I’m not that familiar with Moore’s work, I’m going to decline to specualte on her in the role and hope she plays a good crazy woman. As for Moretz though…well, she’s a very pretty fifteen-year-old. The make-up artists are going to have to work hard to make her look plain. I’m also a little surprised that they didn’t include an actress who’s maybe a little chubbier so as to be more in-line with the book, but hey, if Moretz can seel it, I won’t complain.

As for special effects…let no expense be spared. This is a movie about a psychic girl with a ton of issues, and the one thing the TV remake did right was make that prom scene scary to behold. So this time around, I hope they can top that: students screaming, flames burning students while scoreboards fall into water to electrocute other students, and Carrie standing in the middle of it all, a melding of the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen, silently chopping off heads.

Promotional image for the new movie. So far, I like what I’m seeing.

 

Was that a great metaphor or what?

Two other things I’d like to see: one would be more of a stand-off near the end between Chris Hargensen and Carrie. It just seems a little anti-climactic that Chris and Billy always see Carrie on the road and then get killed while accelerating at her. Can’t Carrie have a few seconds to say, “Very funny, bitch” or something before crushing them? Or maybe just a stare to say, “Our eyes are locked. Here’s my revenge”?

I’d also like to see the inclusion of the subplot featuring Sue’s pregnancy. So far, that hasn’t made it to the films, but I would love to see it happen in this one. After all, it plays a big part near the end of the novel, especially since this is a story centered around blood. Blood starts it, blood is at the climax, and blood should symbolically end it.

By now I’m thinking my words won’t affect the script, but hey, I can hope, right? Let’s see what happens.

Tune in at some point tomorrow; I’m planning on doing some thoughts on the subjects of Carrie and bullying, all before I go to see a movie at the theater near campus.

Bye.

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