Unappreciated

[JD]

Let Me In.

I know it had good reviews. But, a lot of us fanboy types wrote it off because it was "remake" of the Swedish film (Let the Right One In).

I was just reminded this morning when author Joe Hill tweeted and blogged about Let Me In and how good it is and how he to was predisposed to not like it. (As an aside, Joe's Dad Stephen King is pretty famous for something, too - not sure what though :rolleyes).

I've argued/discussed Let Me In v. Let the Right One In in the past (and really don't want to know). To me, I think the additions and subtractions make LMI a slightly better, slightly more powerful movie. Both are very stroing and it's hard to remove yourself from the experience when you've seen one or the other first.

In this world of sparkly vampires - doyourself a favor and watch both of them. Even if they are already appreciated.

I sat down to watch Let Me In predisposed to dislike it. This is, of course, the second adaptation of John Lindqvist’s novel, Let The Right One In; I thought the original Swedish-language adaptation of the novel was a staggering masterpiece, and that it couldn’t be improved upon, and that it was a mistake to try.

Wrong. Let Me In turned out to be great in every way a horror film can be great, and is a vampire story for people who are sick to death of vampire stories. Director Matt Reeves manages to make a film which recaptures everything that was wonderful about Spielberg’s early pictures: unbearable suspense and child-like wonder, grounded in the details of noisy, chaotic suburban life. But this is not just easy homage; it’s also an intensely scary and personal picture, about loneliness, and bravery, and feeling that you love someone enough to die for them. What a shame more people didn’t go see it when it was in theaters.

http://joehillfiction.com/2012/01/the2011gimmelist/

 

[rodneyfaile]

I've watched "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" again and I like it even more. Tom Waits is outstanding. Did the departure of Heath Ledger during filming hurt expectations that Gilliam would be able to salvage the movie?

 

[Columbo]

I saw Scott Pilgrim on DVD and thought it very good then was surprised to find out it had bombed in cinemas.

The Star Wars point makes sense IMO. When the generation that can't help thinking in PT and OT terms is dead and gone a new generation will just see SW as a whole story and the view of one being better than the other could change. Its worth noting that reaction among fans to Phantom Menace may be very negative but with the wider audience it was a massive hit. I believe the first film to come along and top its box office success was Avatar and that was like ten years later. Money isn't everything of course but my memory of 1999 is that kids LOVED Phantom Menace. Comic Book Guys not so much.