My Review: Interview with the Vampire (7/10)

"Who will take care of me my love, my dark angel, when you are gone?"

I just recently got around to watching Interview with the Vampire, twenty years after Neil Jordan directed this successful film, and I have to admit the recent overload of vampire films and novels over the past decade did affect my viewing since most of the innovative elements that Anne Rice introduced here I have seen in later films and TV series (like True Blood). I'm sure many of these films were inspired by some of Rice's original ideas which made this movie stand out above prior vampire films. Unfortunately I'm giving this a lower rating because I am a bit tired of these films and in my opinion the best vampire film continues to be Let the Right One In (which managed to stay low key unlike this epic story). Rice's story is imaginative and Jordan's direction visionary, thus creating a unique and dark vampire drama with some strong performances. The film did drag at times and it is a bit too long but several scenes were intense and skillfully delivered. If you are a fan of vampire films or of Anne Rice's work then you will probably enjoy this much more than I did because it is dark and gothic, but it does have its weaknesses and the ending is a bit off note.

As the title suggests, the story is told in the form of an interview as a journalist named Daniel (Christian Slater) encounters a 200 year old vampire named Louis (Brad Pitt). His story begins in 18th century New Orleans after having lost his wife when he was 24. Deciding he didn't want to live any longer, Louis set out to destroy his life picking fights at local bars. One night while doing this he catches the attention of a vampire named Lestat (Tom Cruise) who gives him the opportunity to become like him. Louis accepts and becomes Lestat's apprentice, however he isn't satisfied with his new life as a vampire and refuses to kill humans. Louis hates who he has become, but his life changes when Lestat turns a little girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire and together they form a family. Louis continues to narrate his story through two centuries as they encounter troubles and betrayals along the way.

Tom Cruise is a huge action star and at times it's difficult to separate him from his characters, but surprisingly he lost himself in the role of Lestat and gives a convincing performance as a blood lusting vampire. Brad Pitt despite not losing himself in the role as well as Cruise does still delivers a believable lead performance. The real surprise for me however was the young Kirsten Dunst who gives the best performance of the film. Once her character is introduced the story really picks up and it becomes engaging. In my opinion the interview scenes didn't work too well; I would have preferred if Louis simply narrated his story directly to us considering Slater's character doesn't really do much as an interviewer. Despite some flaws in the story, the film does look good and the effects are also done well. Jordan and Rice were able to create a unique vampire film that stood out from the rest and that is the reason why 20 years later it is still talked about and referred too.

My Review: True Romance (9/10)

"If you gave me a million years to ponder, I would never have guessed that true romance and Detroit would ever go together."

I would never have guessed that Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino would ever go together, but what a pleasant surprise this romantic crime thriller turned out to be. Thanks to a sharp and witty script and entertaining characters True Romance was extremely cool. The best way I can describe this film is to take Patricia Arquette's character's words and sound like a broken record: all I could think of while watching this film was Quentin Tarantino you are so cool; Tony Scott you are so cool; every single actor in this film you are so cool, True Romance you are so cool. I can't believe I had to wait 21 years to get around to watching this considering how big of a Quentin Tarantino fan I am (and I'm also a huge fan of Tony Scott's work in Man on Fire). Tarantino's energetic script and Scott's stylized direction blended perfectly in this near masterpiece. The cast is absolutely brilliant here and there are so many memorable characters and scenes in this film. I think I enjoyed this film more watching it for the first time now than if I would have seen it in 1993 considering there are so many familiar faces that I probably wouldn't have recognized back then. Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini, and Chris Penn all have small but memorable roles. Oldman is barely recognizable playing a pimp with dreadlocks and a glass eye, but it is a unique performance. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette give the performance of their careers here; it's a shame Slater has been in so many terrible films in the past decade because his performance here was promising. Arquette is adorable as Alabama and I can't think of another sweeter performance than hers. There is so much energy and charm in this film that it's hard to resist. Like good wine, True Romance will probably age better over time considering I couldn't believe how much fun I was having watching an early 90's film for the first time. True Romance you are so cool!

Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) is a comic book store clerk who also happens to be a martial arts film buff. He plans to spend his birthday as he always does, at the movies, watching a triple feature of Sonny Chiba. What he doesn't expect is that he will find the love of his life there. While he is watching the film, a pretty woman walks into the theater spilling her popcorn all over him. She apologizes and introduces herself as Alabama (Patricia Arquette). The two fall in love with each other after she opens up to him about her true identity. This leads them through a series of dangerous adventures involving pimps (Gary Oldman), the Sicilian mafia (Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini), drug dealers (Samuel L. Jackson), police officials (Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore), and Hollywood producers (Saul Rubinek, Bronson Pinchot). The film is full of energy and thrills as the two lovers face several obstacles along the way. Thankfully, Clarence seems to have a mentor on his side to guide him: an apparition of his idol Elvis Presley (Val Kilmer) who is sort of his conscious.

Even if you aren't a huge fan of Tarantino you could still enjoy True Romance for all the beloved actors in this film that weren't probably big Hollywood names back then. The film moves so quickly and the script is so energetic that It makes for a very entertaining watch. There are so many memorable scenes in this film, like the face off between Gary Oldman and Christian Slater, the group mexican standoff, and the violent hotel scene involving Gandolfini and Arquette, but the real scene stealer would have to be the one in which Dennis Hopper, who plays Clarence's father, is ambushed by Christopher Walken and his gang and they have a not so friendly chat about Sicilians. It was a pure Tarantino moment and there are a lot of these great dialogues that allow for the film to have such a great pace and move along so nicely. The style and characters in this film make it such a unique experience and film lovers will enjoy the Hollywood satire as well. I am so glad I finally got to see this wild and romantic film. This is another reason why Tony Scott will be missed.

My Review: Bullet to the Head (3/10)

"Are we gonna fight or are you planning on boring me to death?"

The tagline for this film claims that "Revenge never gets old," but Bullet to the Head seems to prove the contrary. The film feels extremely old, overdone, formulaic, generic, and full of cheesy dialogues and senseless violence. The greatest problem with it is that it takes itself so seriously that it is just pain inducing. I have great respect for Sylvester Stallone and director Walter Hill because I grew up in the 80's loving most of their films. This film, however didn't even touch my nostalgic chords and I couldn't help but feel completely bored with it. It's a tiresome film because there aren't credible action scenes, likable characters, or believable situations. The film might have been better if they took the classic buddy cop comedy formula and let Sung Kang (who is really likable in The Fast and the Furious sequels) play off Stallone, but instead they just tried to look serious and cool all the time. The script (written by Alessandro Camon who doesn't even come close here to the success he achieved with The Messenger) was terribly adapted from a graphic novel and some of the dialogue here literally hurt my ears. The film is just an excuse to jump from one action scene to the next without making much sense. Believe me, when you see Bullet to the Head you will be convinced that, yes, even revenge can get old, and so do its stars.

I will try to be as brief as possible with the plot summary. James (Sylvester Stallone) and his partner Louis (Jon Seda) are hit men working in New Orleans. After their latest hit they are set up and Louis is killed by a man named Keegan (Jason Momoa). James escapes and decides to avenge his partner's death, but along the way he teams up with a DC detective named Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) who is also looking for the same men that have set James up. Realizing that they can help each other out they begin searching for their common enemy as they climb the corporate ladder along the way. Sarah Shahi plays Stallone's daughter, while Christian Slater and Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje play supporting roles as the villains. 

The main issue with this film is that it has a weak story. There is nothing that the cast can do to save this movie because the action scenes alone aren't enough to make this an enjoyable experience. There isn't even a strong enough transition from one scene to the next. This is just a formulaic and generic film that one would expect to find in a straight to dvd movie. None of the characters here are likable and there is no charm to this film. It doesn't have any clever twists or anything to say; it is just a straight up action film with nothing new to offer. It's as if they would have found this film in the 80's and decided to premiere it now. It's 90 minutes of complete dullness. The only thing that could have saved this film was if Stallone decided to make fun of the material (kind of the way Arnold did in The Last Stand), but he takes himself too seriously. This is as formulaic of an action macho flick as most romantic chick flicks are. It might appeal to straightforward action fans, but I surely didn't have fun with it. Maybe I'm just not macho enough.