Off To See Romero

This is something I never thought I’d get to do! I managed to get tickets to Frightfest’s All Nighter, to be held at the ICA in London in early November.

It all kicks off at 9pm with a showing of Diary of the Dead, introduced by the only and only George Romero himself. One of my personal heroes!

After the showing, George will be doing a Q&A. And after that there are showings of:

• Planet Terror - half of the ill-fated Grindhouse project, and something I’m looking forward to seeing on the big screen.
• Savage Streets - which will probably be crap, so I might nod off during this one.
• Frontiers  - looking forward to this one.
• Inside - sounds intriguing, but I think this starts at about 5am, so God knows what state I’ll be in.

Should be a great night’s viewing! Assuming I can stay awake. I’ve booked the day off work, and will attempt to not get up until 1pm or so. That way I should just about make it.

I’m going to try to LiveBlog from the screenings too.

Movie Review: Yet Another 300 Review

aka I Didn’t Like 300!

Yes, I know world + dog has now reviewed this, but I don’t care

Let me shout this from the very top of the review, as the doomed king Leonidas and his Spartans are so fond of doing: I DIDN’T ENJOY 300!

There, I’ve said it. I can hide my controversial opinion no longer. An army of fans - enough to put the fear of God in old Xerxes himself - is no doubt marching this way even as I write this. My review comes a little late to the party thanks to my location (why does the UK get everything last?), and it’s easy to attack something that’s met with success in order to court controversy, or do something different; but I can’t help the fact that, for me, a large part of Zack Snyder’s creation doesn’t make for very entertaining cinema.

For the record: I’m a fan of the original graphic novel, and a fan of Frank Miller in general. I’m also a fan of Zack Snyder, given that he took on a terribly unpopular idea - remaking Dawn of the Dead - and produced a damn fine movie as a result. There are moments in Snyder’s zombie apocalypse that throb with a visceral ferocity, and I had high hopes for 300. But that’s always my curse: high hopes = low opinion.

A note to the reader: at this point things get a bit spoilery. I’m assuming that, by now, pretty much everyone’s seen 300. If you’ve not, I’d recommend stopping at this point and coming back when you’ve been to your local multiplex and made your own mind up. And with that out of the way…

There are so many things wrong with 300; so many irritating elements that detract from what could have been a glorious whole. The ferocity that existed within Dawn is, despite all the violence, missing from 300. Limbs are severed, blood is spilled, and many a beefcake is pierced by a Persian arrow. The problem is: none of it seems real, none of it makes an impact. It’s the overuse of CGI that’s largely to blame: you can’t make computer generated blood look the same way as real blood, it doesn’t stain the clothes and skin, it doesn’t splatter, it just sprays unenthusiastically, unsubstantially. It’s the same with severed limbs; prosthetics give a real sense of ouch when blade meets flesh, but the lightweight CGI limb removal in 300 just doesn’t hurt.

Movie Review: The Departed

There is the most perfect cinematic moment in the later stages of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Cut off from his handlers, feeling more alone than at any other point in the movie, undercover police officer Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) receives a call on his mobile phone. The phone is his only real point of contact with the powers that be, and yet - under the circumstances - he knows answering it would be a bad move.

On the other end of the line is corrupt cop Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) - the yin to Costigan’s yang. While Costigan’s role is to infiltrate one of Boston’s most prominent criminal gangs, Sullivan’s origin rests in the heart of that very same group. Sullivan knows that whoever picks up the call is the infiltrator.

Neither speaks. Time stands still. The tension is astonishingly tangible; DiCaprio and Damon both sell the scene with magnificent performances, worthy of actors with far more experience than either of these two relatively young stars. I can’t help but be reminded of the Pacino - De Niro face off in Heat. The tension is that strong.

(Black) Christmas Is Coming, It’s Time To Double Dip

Better news from Arrow in the Head: A new Black Christmas DVD is coming.

It’ll be all shiny and remastered, and is intended to cash in on the upcoming remake. I have virtually no hope for the remake - the original is one of the finest horror films ever made and, much like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, should not suffer the indignity of being remade. The TCM remake is one of the few films I’ve ever felt compelled to walk out of. I didn’t, but maybe the Black Christmas remake can “succeed” where others failed.

So - if you’ve not got a copy of Black Christmas yet, wait for this one. Or pick one of the other versions up cheap. Any self respecting horror fan should see this film.

And Deathdream.

And worship the majesty of Bob Clark.

Depp Never Was Legend

According to Arrow in the Head, Johnny Depp was never, ever going to be in I Am Legend.

Which, on the one hand, is good. Why? Because it suggests that they’ve not messed about with the script too much, and introduced a buddy pairing of Depp and Smith versus mutant vampire hordes.

However, Arrow is also reporting that the script mirrors the Charlton Heston Omega Man remake, rather than Matheson’s original novel. Which - in my book - means this is going to suck quite badly. Apologies for the pun.

The more I hear about Legend, the more I’m convinced we’re heading for a I, Robot remake with hordes of cgi vampires instead of hordes of cgi robots.

Hopefully - and I am hopeful - 30 Days Of Night will live up to my expectations.

Fido

I’ve just come across a post on Cinematical that mentions a film called Fido.

I have to see this film. It sounds like a Canadian Shaun Of The Dead, with Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly. The interesting part? Connolly plays the titular zombie, Fido. Man’s best friend, apparently.

The zombies have, essentially, been enslaved following their resurrection by freaky space dust (or something) a few years before the film is set. The origin sounds a bit silly (and has more than a little in common with Undead, by the sounds of it), but the prospect of Connolly playing a Bub-esque zombie character sounds too good to miss.

Now: How do I get hold of this before its DVD release next year?