Monsters (2010)

“Beware”

Low-budget indie films are the best, and that’s no exception to this year’s new sci-fi thriller Monsters. The film is about a photographer who is sent to retrieve his boss’s daughter deep in Mexico. The two attempt to make past the “Infected Zone” of Northern Mexico and into the United States.

The story focused more on the relationship growing between the two than it did on the extraterrestrial life forms. It had a drama effect to hit that didn’t really match the actual sci-fi-ness of the film. It also had a slow start, taking too long to get to the action. At times I found myself checking the time and how much of the film was left. I was pretty tempted to change the channel but something will tell me “No”, so I decided against it. However, the film did have great dialogue and was well written and also good acting. The extras in the film were actually people who were just there the time of shooting which added a more real vibe to it.

Now, for the titular monsters, their presence were known but not spoken of, or heard of, until probably a good 30-40 minutes into the film. At the climax is when we’re finally officially introduced to them. The special effects were amazing, but they seemed a little off in the film; almost like high school film project where the monsters where photo shopped in the scene.

With an ending that didn’t make sense to me until the second time I saw it, and a great cast with a great script, Monsters is a good film that I do recommend for 4.5 out of 5, but only for the those hardcore film enthusiasts. All you others can fuck off.

Let Me In (2010)

"Would you still love me even if I wasn’t a girl?"

Let Me In is an American remake of the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In, which itself is a film adaptation of the 2004 Swedish novel of the same name. All three stories share the same concept: a bullied young boy befriends and starts a relationship with a weird girl who moved in next door to him. Little does the young boy know is that the weird girl has super strength, wall climbing abilities, and a thirst for blood.

The film started off already in the middle of the film (if that makes sense) then went back to two weeks earlier. Everything basically stayed the same based on the original (I’ve never read the novel) but changed some minor things. One major thing the writers did change was the backstory on the girl. In this film her name is Abby.

Abby, in the original film and novel, was a boy in her human life and was castrated and turned into a vampire. In the original film, there’s scene where Abby is changing and her vagina is shown, or at least where it should be. This whole background was omitted from the film which changed the actual meaning of the quote above, which has a double meaning if you read it carefully.

The film was amazing and featured the best car crash scene in movie history. What I loved is the misguiding genre; it’s not necessarily a horror film, or a romance film, and I can’t piece together what it actually is but it is good. You probably are straining away from vampire films but you can’t stay away from this. Although it might disappoint fans of the original, it’s still a breakthrough nonetheless and will grasp the attention of any newcomer to this franchise. I give it a 4 out of 5 and it’s out now in theaters.

The Social Network (2010)

“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies”

That’s the tagline for 2010’s The Social Network. The film follows Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, and his crazy antics and exploits. It was based on a book that was consulted by one of the co-founders of the website.

The film starts off with Mark with his girlfriend at a bar. Mark seems to give out his narcissistic personality to early, setting the tone for the rest of the movie. After a fight with his girlfriend, he goes back to his dorm at Harvard and gets drunk, coming up with a crazy idea and insulting every girl that goes to his school. His actions attract two wealthy twins who have their own idea of creating a social networking site exclusively to Harvard students. One thing leads to another and Mark ends up getting sued for his- well for his asshole-ness. The scenes were structured with scenes of what happened accompanied with scenes of Mark being questioned by the lawyers of the plaintiffs suing him.

The film was very right on top and stuck to the same mood and tone throughout. It never got too serious and it didn't get too funny. It was very funny but kept a dramatic aroma to it.

It’s that rare true story that does the trick and in my opinion was a sleeper hit. Many people thought this film wouldn't have potential, but looking back at director's David Fincher's other films, I knew this film would do very good. It opened on October 1 to critical acclaim and positive reviews. From the buzz I was hearing before I saw it I know that this film is very Oscar-worthy.

I give it a 5 out of 5 and you can go watch it now in theatres.