Review Rewind: 30 Days Of Night (2007)

(Josh Hartnett after the premier of The Black Dahlia)

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George & Danny Huston

Directed by: David Slade

Screenplay by: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie & Brian Nelson

Plot:

A small Alaskan town comes under siege from a group of bloodthirsty vampires during a period of 30 days when the town receives no sunlight whatsoever.

Verdict:

Neatly echoing John Carpenters classic horror picture, The Thing, 30 Days Of Night is more than just another blood soaked vampire flick. The bleak white setting of an Alaskan town that succumbs to a month of absolutely no sunlight combined with a brilliantly composed, very creepy score allows 30 Days Of Night to stand out as a genuinely tense horror movie.

But unfortunately letting the side down is the lead performances. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George are pretty solid on their own but as a team they fail to spark any kind of chemistry. This proves particularly problematic come the final scene of the movie that is beautifully conceived but doesn't contain the intended emotional impact.

Elsewhere however, Danny Huston impresses as the leader of the genuinely scary bloodsuckers and when blood is splashed and sprayed, it is done with purpose and style, acting on behalf of the graphic novel on which it is based upon and storyboarded straight from, much like Sin City and 300.

Not quite the excellent film it potentially could have been, 30 Days Of Night is still refreshingly tense and atmospheric compared to a lot of other pictures within the genre.

DDD

Review Rewind: 12 Rounds (2009)

(John Cena, willing to go to 'explosive' lengths to retain his title...)

Cast: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris & Brian White

Directed by: Renny Harlin

Screenplay by: Daniel Kunka

Plot:

After his girlfriend (Scott) is kidnapped, Detective Ben Fisher (Cena) is forced to take part in a dangerous game consisting of 12 rounds to win her back.

Verdict:

Back in the 80's and the early 90's, action films all had something in common; a hero put through the mire till he eventually gets his man. They were a simple breed of film, the plot and dialogue irrelevant, the main character and action sequences the only real focus. 12 Rounds is without doubt a full-blown throw back to such flicks.

Director Renny Harlin - no stranger to the genre after directing Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger - does however have the benefit of an interesting plot device. The villain of the piece, highly camp, spits out rubbish dialogue, uses our hero, Detective Ben Fisher to play a game consisting of 12 rounds in order to win his kidnapped girlfriend back. It sort of neatly echoes the plot from Die Hard With A Vengeance.

WWE superstar, John Cena doesn't exactly convince with his acting ability. He lacks the natural charisma that another wrestler, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has successfully shown to become a major movie star. However he naturally does convince physically and therefore the action scenes are more believable. And it is the CGI free action sequences that make 12 Rounds an enjoyable, explosive old skool action fest.

DDD

Review Rewind: Night At The Museum (2007)

(The 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign was not to be taken lightly)

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan & Robin Williams

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Screenplay by: Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon

Plot:

Larry Daley (Stiller) becomes a night guard at the Museum Of Natural History, expecting it to be a breeze but soon gets more than he bargained for when the exhibits start to come to life.

Verdict:

"Everything Comes To Life!" screams the tagline for Shawn Levy's latest directional effort, Night At The Museum. Hmmm the problem with that particular statement is the fact that, everything about Night At The Museum actually fails to spring to life, from the big potential of the plot, through to the array of comedic talent on show here.

Sure, plenty of intriguing museum exhibits do indeed come to life but when they do, nothing exciting ever happens. A T-Rex skeleton for example just decides it wants to play fetch. So you know you've pretty much had it when the highlight of the film proves to be, two tiny squabbling miniatures; Centurion Octavius played by Steve Coogan and a Cowboy played by Owen Wilson. The duo manage to bring some decent laughs to proceedings. Meanwhile, cameos by Ricky Gervais and Robin Williams are dull at best and Ben Stiller just goes through the motions as leading man, learning life lessons, etc, etc.

To be fair, the CGI throughout is excellent and the appearances of, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney as former night guards at the museum raises a smile or two. Naturally the kids will have a blast too as in the end, Night At The Museum very much is family friendly fare that is sure to make millions, no matter what anyone has to say about it. Maybe a sequel - which is bound to materialise somewhere down the line - could do more with the huge potential that is clearly here.

DD