THE THING (2011)

October 16, 2011

 Greetings again from the darkness. Let’s tip our ski masks and flamethrowers to John W Campbell Jr. He wrote the 1938 novella (“Who Goes There?”) that has inspired 3 versions of The Thing, plus the Alien series and numerous other sci-fi movies and TV episodes. This latest version is actually a pre-quel to the 1982 film John Carpenter’s The Thing starring Kurt Russell. First time feature director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr does a nice job of staying true to Carpenter’s version and offering a back-story, while still coming across fresh for a new generation.

 Going back to 1951, The Thing from Another Planet succeeded in frightening a bunch of young filmgoers and hooking them on sci-fi and terror at the theatre. In that version, James Arness (later famous as Marshal Dillon in Gunsmoke) was a hulking creature responsible for many nightmares for kids in the 50’s. John Carpenter updated the look in 1982 with a version that has become classic sci-fi and horror, and now this version takes advantage of today’s spectacular special effects.

 The special effects do dominate and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The creature and its process are on full display quite a lot, so instead of suspense, we get outright fright shown by the research team. If you aren’t aware, this research station is located in Antarctica, and the frozen tundra and isolation are characters unto themselves. There is very little character development in this most recent version. We do get a Ripley-esque Kate played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof cheerleader), a misguided scientist (are there any other types?) played by Ulrich Thomsen, and a right guy in the wrong place nice guy played by Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, Warrior). The rest of the cast are mostly Norwegian dudes who, I am sure, have had better vacations than this.

The movie has a couple of very nice shots depicting the frozen terrain and a very cool overhead of the creature frozen in ice. Other than that, fans of the 1982 version will be glad to know that the flamethrowers are back, as is the dog. Just know that this one is driven by special effects, so if you are up for a creature/alien film, you’ll probably be satisfied.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are a fan of either of the previous two OR you like the mixture of terror and sci-fi OR you never miss a movie featuring a flamethrower

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you think John Carpenter’s 1982 version can’t possibly be topped OR you aren’t the type to be impressed by gore-centric special effects OR you are protesting since Kurt Russell doesn’t make an appearance

watch the trailer:

1 Comment | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

IN A BETTER WORLD (Haevnen, Denmark)

April 26, 2011

 Greetings again from the darkness. As is customary, the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film finally makes it to Dallas in April, AFTER the awards show is long forgotten (well, except for the half-assed hosting job by James Franco). Denmark’s entry, directed by Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire), is overflowing with every human emotion one can imagine. However, the battle between two specific emotions is most prevalent: misplaced revenge and forgiveness.

At it’s core, this is a story of two fathers and two sons. The presentation is quite odd in that it tries desperately to tie in all spectrum of human emotion and economic standing. Anton (Mikael Persbrandt from the excellent 2008 Everlasting Moments) travels back and forth between an African refugee camp where he serves as a doctor, and his upscale Denmark home where he is separated from his wife and trying to set a good example for his son Elias (Markus Rygaard).

 The other father is Claus (Ulrich Thomsen) whose relationship with his son Christian (William Johnk Nielsen) is flat out terrible. Christian’s mother recently lost her battle with cancer and it has caused a rift between these two … and lit one heck of a fire of anger in young Christian.

Soon enough Christian stumbles upon Elias being bullied at school. His flaming temper sets the bully straight with a violent act, creating a bond between Elias and Christian. Sadly Christian continues to spin off axis and he drags Elias along.

 As a doctor in the camp, Anton constantly strives to repair the truly despicable acts of the local town bully. This is used to contrast with what’s going on with his own son at home. There are many parts of the film that are difficult to watch, especially as Christian just loses his grip on reality.

While I certainly see the excellence in the film, I believe the filmmakers tried too hard to stage the contrast. The story of the boys was plenty powerful enough to carry a film. Also, the doctor in the camp could have made a chilling movie on it’s own. Instead we gets bits of each and that’s fine … just not what it might have been.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you just haven’t seen enough struggling marriages or lousy father-son relationships OR you would like to witness what may be the longest list of human emotions ever seen in one film

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you believe horrible acts of human nature should be confined to the local and national news and that movies are purely for entertainment purposes.

Leave a Comment » | Drama, World Cinema/Foreign | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson