Let Me In (Reeves, 2010)

A very curious remake. I'm not entirely sure where I stand on this. Taken on it's own merits, Reeves's film is very, very good. And he does add a few new visual elements, including an incredible, visceral sequence towards the middle of the film. But the bulk of the reason that this film is so good is because it is essentially and undeniably Let The Right One In.

Dark Night Of The Scarecrow (De Felitta, 1981)

"Bubba didn't tell you that, Bubba didn't tell you anything. Bubba's dead."

"I Know."

An earnest, solid, workmanlike effort that attempts to scare with sound and suggestion rather than the violence we are so accustomed to seeing today. Durning commits himself completely to his villain role, and I can see why many people who caught this made-for-TV film back in 1981 remember it fondly, as it has a rather nostalgic quality about it, regardless of whether you've seen it before or not. Keep in mind that much of the popular opinion of this film is most likely inflated by memory, but still, watching this reminds one that there was a time when horror films were allowed to take their time and build up an atmosphere.

The 2nd Annual Shocktober Horrorfest!!!

Welcome to the sophomore edition of the Shocktober Horrorfest! It's something I do every year (or try to do), but the last time I blogged about it was way back in 2007. The concept is simple - Every day, from October 1st until Halloween night, I'll be watching and commenting on at least one horror film, culminating in a big marathon on the 31st. The comments will range from brief impressions to longer, in-depth studies, depending on how the film strikes me. As I did with Horrorfest no. 1, I'll be putting up a Horrorfest sidebar with easy access to every review in the series right here below this post. This is one of the great pleasures of the year in terms of film for me, and it is my hope that those of you who read my blog will discover hidden gems, rediscover and revisit old classics, and if you don't already, come to appreciate horror films (even the bad ones).

As always, please feel free to comment and discuss, and if anyone has any suggestions for horror films they'd like to see reviewed, send them my way. Enjoy!

Shocktober Horrorfest '10:
10/1:
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
10/2:
Let Me In
10/3:
Deepstar Six
10/4:
Vampyres
10/5:
Scarecrows
10/6:
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
10/7:
Tombs of the Blind Dead
10/8:
The Church
10/9:
The Fly II
10/10:
Critters
10/11:
Hereafter
10/12:
Pet Sematary II
10/13:
The Dunwich Horror

Back Again, or If A Blog Restarts In A Forest And There's No One Around To Read It....

Hey everyone. I doubt anyone is still actively following Direct Cinema anymore, after I proclaimed the blog to be back last year, and subsequently managed a grand total of two posts. But I'm stubborn, and I've decided that my annual October tradition of "31 Days of Horror," is a great reason/excuse to start posting once again and get this blog up and running once more. This entire month, I'll be watching (or trying to watch) a horror film every single day, culminating in a marathon on Halloween night. I try to select a healthy mix of horror films from different eras and sub-genres, and usually throw in a few I've already seen for good measure. Because of time constraints, a lot of the posts probably won't be full pieces but rather brief thoughts/impressions, or even just a way to keep track of the films I'm watching, but some posts will be lengthier... I just can't promise which ones or when. The goal now is to just get the ball rolling, and in due time, get this blog back on it's feet. If anyone out there is still reading, I sincerely encourage you to follow along, get the most out of your October, and try to watch as much horror as you can. Enjoy!

Brief Impressions: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Scott, 2009)

Days before the release of Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, I came across a handful of early reviews touting this third adaptation of John Godey's 1973 crime novel as being the best and most satisfying of the lot. As a great admirer of Joseph Sargent's 1974 adaptation, an underrated and under seen gem (and seminal "New York City" film), I struggled to understand how this could be possible, but nevertheless, my interest was piqued.

Having seen Scott's film, my immediate reaction is this: Anyone who champions this film as superior to Sargent's is immediately calling into question their cinematic taste. That is not to say this latest rendition of Pelham is a terrible film. Though Scott once again gives in to his typical directorial excess where a workmanlike, direct style would be more appropriate (see Sargent's film), he benefits from committed performances and a script from Brian Helgeland that adds some interesting depth to the main characters. But Scott's film isn't the portrait of a city and its inhabitants that Sargent's film was, and grit and personality are sacrificed at the altar of empty style. The end result: A solid, though unremarkable, surface-level thriller. And the last time I checked, the gap between unremarkable and classic was a fairly wide one.

A Random Thought: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

It fascinates me how movies of this particular genus are simultaneously crude - rough, unpolished, simple - dramatically (i.e. in terms of performance, narrative, thematics), and absolutely sophisticated in terms of technique. It goes without saying that the fight choreography is first rate, but what really caught me off guard was the cinematography, particularly the way director Chia-Liang Liu and dp Yeh-tai Huang move the camera around the action. There is a brutal, fluid elegance to the camerawork. The raw kineticism of the fights is breathtaking. The camera covers the carnage at intelligible distances for long stretches at a time, and Liu knows exactly when to cut. Over 30 years later, it's a wonder that the modern action film still hasn't learned.

Direct Cinema is back online... Again!

It's hard to believe that it has been over an entire year (15 months to be exact!) since my last blog post. It seems like only yesterday that I even decided to start up a film blog. In the interim, my life has drastically changed for sure, and really, the main reason why I stopped posting was simply because I didn't have the time or the inclination. But enough of that. The purpose of this blog is and always will be film, pure and simple, and now that I have settled into my new environs, my 'hankering' if you will, for blogging, has returned, along with another necessary component - time. So if the three of you who used to read this blog (excluding family) still do, thank you. The posts will probably start small and build up as I get back into the groove. As before, I encourage you all to post responses. After all, I started this blog as a means for sharing my passion for the cinema and generating intelligent discussions about it. But enough rambling... For the second third time, welcome to Direct Cinema. Enjoy!

-R.A. Naing