The Impossible

Disaster films are, generally, more about special effects than they are about story, but The Impossible manages to side step that pitfall, and create a story driven tear jerker, with amazing effects to boot. Naomi Watts (in what is probably the best performance of her career) and Ewan McGregor are parents who bring their three sons one a trip to Thailand for the Christmas holidays. While there, One of the largest tsunami's on record hits the coast, right where they're staying. The rest of the film is the aftermath of this event, but I don't really want to go into it, because I don't want to spoil anything.

The film was made by a Spanish production company, which explains why it's a good film. Hollywood would have jacked the budget up, cut anything remotely resembling story or good dialog out of the script, and tried to sell it as a summer blockbuster. This film was perfectly executed and needed to be released just the way it was. The acting and directing are amazing, and the cinematography, while often times the result of having to work around the effects, is still gorgeous.

This is one of the best films of the year. It will stick with you for a long time, afterwards, and I LOVE films like that. I highly recommend it, and if you get the chance, see it in a theater. It really is something amazing.

DVD - Fright Night (1985)

I saw the remake for this before I saw the original, and I'm kind of glad I did. The original Fright Night is such a stereo-typically 80's film. Focusing on the lead, Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who is trying to get into his girlfriends pants (Amy, played Amanda Bearse), until a man moves in next door, who, Charley is convinced is a vampire. The man, Jerry Dandridge (played by Chris Sarandon), is caught by Charley, through an open window, about to sink his teeth into an unsuspecting girls throat. From that point on Charley, Amy, and Charley's friend Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) are on Jerry's bad side. Charley approaches TV actor Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell), who plays a vampire hunter on the late night show Fright Night. Vincent plays along, after Amy agrees to pay him, but then he's in for real when he discovers Dandridge really is a vampire. It's up to the group to try and take Jerry down.

I didn't enjoy this version. I thought it was slow and cheesy. Very 80's. While the 2011 Fright Night has its ridiculous moments, it seems to do a better job at not being as cheesy as this one. A lot of people like this version, but it wasn't for me.