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simpletreatment23
Reviews
Beautiful Creatures (2013)
Way better then I expected, it's twilight with better actors
so this weekend I went out of my way to catch a movie that interested me a lot from the trailers and the concept. Beautiful Creatures I know at first glance it seems like a wanna be twilight but I actually found it a lot better. I had to drive to another city to a theater I've never been to and see it all by myself in an empty theater and I didn't care. It was that good lol .Both Twilight and Beautiful Creatures are in the same genre of "Young Adult" stories but both couldn't be more different. From a film level, this tops the twilight films.
The actors are way better. The two leads in the films were charming and great in their roles. They really made them seem like real people then cardboard cut outs of people (like twilight) so when the two leads fall in love... it's built honestly and naturally instead of it being unrealistic. Alice Englert was beyond impressive in this role. She natural, frail and yet you don't know what lies in her character. It's great seeing the object of affection of the main character being down to earth and yet gorgeous.
Alden Ehrenreich as the lead was pretty good, I wasn't sure how I was going to like his character because at first he seemed too silly but slowly the film makers made him seem real... someone who was willing to fight for what he knew was right... which was Lena. Not just that but the supporting characters were well rounded solid actors who really gave this film a sense of being a real story instead of a cheesy teen movie. Jeremy Irons is amazing as always. I love how the film flowed through out, it's not an original story but I loved the rich history of the story and the world that was in.
My issues with the film are small... mainly i wish they film makers would be have let this film breathe a bit and take it's time. They a great story and interesting history... i wanted to see them take the time to actually go deeper into the world and let us enjoy it for bit. At times, the film seemed to rushed at points or when something really cool or interesting happens... the film makers don't take the chance to really use it the best it can. Some of the CGI was kind of cheesy and towards the end the story uses a plot element that if they would have gone with completely then I would have hated this film but they didn't and gave me what I wanted for the characters.
At that point, getting to really enjoy the story and the characters... you can't help but to cheer them on. There's a lot of moments where i thought i knew where the film was going to go and it changed it on me. Personally I don't think i would have done some of those choices as a writer but it worked for this story. It really kept me interested. I didn't think I was going to like this film as much as I did. There was a lot that worked in it's favor and it's sad that not a lot of people turned out to go see it.
It's way better then the twilight films and it actually has good acting. I think with a lot bit more time and money... this film would have been even better, truth be told there are some moments that are on that edge of being too cheesy, but despite that... I completely loved this film and enjoyed it for what it was. A good little story about supernatural powers, good vs evil, love and the power of love. I know there's a lot of people that will think this film will be as bad as twilight and it isn't... I actually thought it was nice charming film.
Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
Oh wow. Texas Chainsaw 3D was a complete and utter waste of what could have been a fun slasher movie.
It is unoriginal, uninspired, unscary and so badly put together that it is a miracle that crap like this got made in the first place. I'm a huge fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films (I love the original film and I adore the second part) hell, i even liked the remake and the follow up to the remake. But this film makes the last two films seem like the Exorcist compared how terrible this film is.I first rolled why eyes when i heard who was picked to direct this film, the director of "Takers" which looked like an unoriginal music video looking wannabe gangster film and John Luessenhop lived up to that. This film is completely unoriginal and he creates no tension or scares.
(light spoilers below) As a horror fan, I don't ask for a lot... just show me a good time. I can watch a stupid ass horror movie as long as it's not boring and doesn't insult me as a fan. This film did both. The first being that it's clear that no one gave a damn about telling a good story... want proof... the film opens up with a scene that takes place in the early 70's with a character being a baby... then the film jumps to the present where the same character is in her mid 20's (i kid you not. she should be 40!!!!!) that's how little they cared. The characters are so badly written and in the case of the men... so badly casted.
Man, you know your in trouble when they put a special credit that says "introducing" Trey Songz, which makes me wonder if they even saw this film because he's Busta Rhymes in Halloween Resurrection cheesy and terrible in this film. He clearly doesn't have any real talent or charm as actor but the producers thought it would be "kool" and "hip" and that "the kidz today" would run out to see him and hear him on the soundtrack because that's what kidz like in scary movies.
the only saving this film from completely earning my hate is... Alexandra Daddario. She was out standing. She took a badly written character and really made brought her to life. She gave a paper cut out of a human being... emotion and made me stay with the film despite how terrible the film is. She's gorgeous, i love her eyes and has an amazing stomach (who the director felt he had to show off any chase he got... but I'm not hating ;p) it's only in the last 20 minutes where the film actually gets pretty good, mainly because they stayed with Daddario's character... which is how the movie should have been. Daddario is a real actress... unlike the male characters in this film. Tania Raymonde was gorgeous and played her slutty character down to the letter... nothing more... nothing less. The last 20 minutes is the only thing worth watching.
Besides that, it's a complete waste and an insult to real horror fans. This film wasn't made for fans... it was made by people who wanted to sell out the infamous horror series to the modern kids... with no care about telling a good story or making a good film. You can tell because they took Massacre out of the film title. They had a terrible script and it looks like they didn't really care. They had a director you didn't care as well besides making it look "kool"... and they failed at everything. Don't waste your time watching the first hour of of this unoriginal Hollywood committee made crap.
Silent Night (2012)
In the mood for a great horror film who respects the genre and also delivers scares and cheese of the 80's slasher... check this out. it's a fun ride.
oh wow. Steven C Miller's Silent Night (2012) was everything I wanted from a slasher film and more. I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this film. It's spot on with everything and really both embraces the cheese of the 80's but also keeps it scary. This is one of the rare remakes that is better then the original in every way.
Having seen the infamous original Silent Night, Deadly Night awhile back ago, I wasn't that impressed. It was a decent twisted tale but it didn't really live up to the hype. More could have been done and here the film makers have fully honored the original and not only build their own story on it but told it better. I have to give director, Steven C Miller a lot of respect not just as a horror fan but also as a film maker. I loved the fact that he actually made it scary. So little horror films, and even fewer slasher films, remember that not all the 80's slasher films were cheesy.
This film played it real and raw. I loved the fact that it looked like a real film. It was really well acted, well shot (loved the camera work and framing) and pitch perfect. Miller comes off as a real lover of horror and respects it, which is why this film works so well. Even though they play a lot of the horror in a realistic way... he still manages to give us outlandish death scenes, great gore, nudity and wonderful homages to the original. I don't want to give it away but if your lover of the original two films then you will catch them. I sure did and I screamed with joy because a lot of the film makers who do horror remakes, even more the ones who aren't horror fans, like to come off as snobbish when it comes to the original and Miller instead embraces them.
This film also works because it's not a retelling of the original film, instead it uses the original as a springboard to do their own version of the concept and in a lot of ways it stays really more true to the original's tone. Jamie King and Donal Logue really broke out for me acting wise because both delivered performances that really made their characters feel like real people with real emotions... that's rare in today's horror films. On the campy side, have to love Malcolm McDowell who totally hams up her performance in a great way. His character provides some great comic moments and really helps to remind us not to take this film too seriously and to have fun with it.
Silent Night is going to be high on my list of favorite films not just because I totally loved it as a film but also as an inspiration for me, as someone who wants to make these kind of films. This is a great example of why some films do need to be remade by people who love respect the genre and love it.