Let the Right One In (2008)

Also known as Låt den rätte komma in.

Vampires have to eat. For all the romantic lilt and sway that this fact has received over the long decades of cinema, the simple fact is that a vampire's imperative is to drain a person of their blood. Perhaps better than any other film on the subject, Let the Right One In understands that this is grim business. Yet it isn't about the gore and spectacle, but rather about the extreme silence and loneliness from being a slave to the night. It's about alienation, and stillness. While it is a film in which people do die in bad ways it is not a horror film but rather a slow-burn drama with thriller elements, building a quietly mounting tension as each somber element falls into place. This really is a remarkable movie, delivered with a starkness and chill to match its snowy Swedish setting. Once you ease in to its atypical sense of momentum, this is an exceptionally engrossing ride.

9 out of 10.

Note: If you have access to Netflix Instant Streaming, it is recommended that you watch it there. Production and release of the film resulted in two different sets of subtitles for the film, and while both are certainly adequete the more accurate translation is only available on Instant Streaming, or on discs which specificially list "Theatricals Subtitles" which are difficult to find. Again: you can't go wrong either way, but you can do better.

Across the Universe (2007)

You know going into this whether or not you'll like the music at least; it's all by The Beatles. Now, whether you will like the arrangement of those songs is another story. In its attempt to lend these classic songs a sense of context and fit them all into a plot, the results are incredibly mixed. In a lot of ways, this weird mix of iconic rock and sixties America comes off as pretentious and pointless, stretching favorite songs to an end they were never meant for. But even so, it has its moments. The setting and re-branding of Let It Be is beautiful and heartbreaking, Strawberry Fields Forever gets a decent send up, and even Hey Jude manages to wring out a few smiles. Sadly these are the minorities, and many excellent songs, including personal favorite Dear Prudence, just don't get a worthy interpretation or setting. As an experiment in reconfiguring such well-known music there is definitely merit, but whether or not you'll enjoy it probably depends heavily on your tolerance for reinterpretation and how (ahem) psychedelic your mood is.

5 out of 10.

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

Were it not for Samuel L. Jackson's uncanny ability to give gravitas to just about everything he says, the vast majority of this film would be a wash. As one of the last legitimately notable National Lampoon films before they sunk into remaking the same sex-comedy over and over again, Loaded Weapon offers up a fair number of laughs. Each little bit of it does it's dead-level best to bring in that same level of Zucker Brothers zaniness, with a lot of whiplash inducing slapstick. Sometimes it works. The casting is laid on nice and thick too, with everyone from Corey Feldman to William Shatner eating some screentime. But it all comes back to Jackson, and his flavor of deadpan that's hard not to mistake for something far more serious. It isn't anything anyone will mistake for a classic, but for a bit of low-rent screwball comedy, you could do much worse.

6 out of 10.

Moon (2009)

Like a lot of the great fiction, Moon gives us a very small idea and just lets it grow. What starts as an ominous musing on loneliness as a single technician wraps up a 3-year solo tour overseeing an automated mining operation on the lunar surface quickly pushes in all sorts of odd directions, turning itself on its ear and becoming fascinatingly unpredictable. The tweaks that come in the story are the kind of stuff that make up the best of short fiction, expanded out to just the right size. At the film's core is an essentially one-man show by Sam Rockwell, who turns in a career performance while trying to sort out the increasingly bizarre circumstances of his job. For those who like a little more drama and a bit more concept in their sci-fi, this strange, manic tale hits all the right notes.

8 out of 10.

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

Military psychics and a stable full of farm animals, together at last! There's a weird kind of wonder going on in this film. Seeing Jeff Daniels as a hippie military commander akin to The Big Lebowski's The Dude boss around an amusingly addled George Clooney has a charm all its own. Toss Kevin Spacey into the mix and suddenly the movie has a certain kind of affable charisma that's hard to resist. Shame, then, that the final act is such a mess. Still, rolling around in the desert as Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor, tries to uncover the truth behind these military “Jedi Warriors” is just good fun and good laughs. It may fall apart at the end, but what is here is enough to be a worthwhile day trip into the psychedelic.

6 out of 10.

The Wire (TV Series 2002 - 2008)

Years from now, when historians look to see what life in America was like in the early 21st century, The Wire is sure to come up. “Grim” and “gritty” don't quite cover the breadth of what's on display here. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the historian), neither does “honest.” As a portrayal of inner city malaise and the bureaucratic interference keeping the problems afloat there are few, if any, pieces of entertainment that even dare to come this close to the truth. What starts as a look at the drug trade of Baltimore and the cops chasing it soon expands beyond those borders, taking on one American institution after another, showing many for a sham, showing others as potentially useful but kneecapped by those in charge. But the show is as much a compelling drama as it is a bullhorn. The cops and the dealers and the politicians and the teachers are built and shown with a staggering amount of complexity, their relationships such that no character is ever a throw-away, and every move made can have immensely far-reaching consequences. It all lends itself to an amazing amount of authenticity, and topics that can and will make almost anyone uncomfortable. Make no mistake: this is bleak television. But for those with the stomach for it, it is unforgettably real, utterly compelling, and almost Shakespearian in its depths and its tragedies.

10 out of 10.

Primer (2004)

Watching this film is a bit like squeezing your brain through a cheese grater: by the end you're divided across several individual opinions, and most of them aren't quite sure what just happened. There's a tearing point near the halfway mark where the possibilities ramp up so dramatically, like tossing an extra zero on the end of an exponential number, that most people will lose track entirely. I did. This workman-like tale of garage physicists cooking up a plan to break physics entirely, and the ramifications thereof, becomes too heady to follow. But there's a certain freedom here—being outsmarted by a movie—that can be fun and interesting. When you consider the possibilities, and you will, there's a sense of awe. That the film is nearly impossible to follow works to its advantage. As far as indie films go there aren't many that at least feel smarter, but then there are many others that make better sense.

6 out of 10.

Preacher (Graphic Novel - 1995)

Packed with about as much action, dark humor, and outrageous gore as you could possibly fit into the format, Preacher is an epic graphic novel series that still manages to somehow skip the most compelling part of its tale. Depicting a Texas preacher who decides to go on a warpath against God, holding Him accountable for the sorry state of the world, you would think that a philosophical take on religion would stand at the forefront. Instead it's a humorous romp through one amusing religious conspiracy after another. Any heady takes on the subject matter are buried under waves of serial killers, western-style shootouts, and a constant current of pitch black humor. That isn't to say it's a failure, however. The series has a breathless sense of momentum as it moves from one action setpiece, storyline, or fascinating revelation to another. Yet still none of it scratches the itch, none of it takes itself seriously enough to examine the things it's proposing. As wide a pool, as many great twists and terrific moments as this series has, the water is still remarkably shallow. It's fun and funny, and unfortunately that's all.

7 out of 10.