HER Review

For the first hour of Her I couldn't decide what I was watching; I couldn't figure it out, I couldn't follow the hype. I understood the acuteness under which director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are) was operating and I could see why it was easy for the hipster crowd to so easily jump on board with the flick because our main character, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), seemed to very much be a hipster himself jumping on the latest technology and style trends with his belly button-high pants. What was perplexing me though was the way in which the film has seemed to entrance everyone else and not just those hoping to be in touch with their own spectacled intellectual, but those who aren't desperate contrarians or what you would necessarily call progressive and seem to have a balanced understanding of the value in both large and small scale filmmaking. The strange thing here is that despite Her having the ideals and philosophies of a small, independent film it looks magnificent, as if it were operating with a fairly large special effects budget. The ethereal atmosphere in which these characters exist, though obviously in the not too distant future, actually feels like a plausible place that we as a society might reach. I drank the Hoyte Van Hoytema cinematography in with wonder and the China serving as Los Angeles locations only re-enforced the color scheme and scope with which Jonze was able to convey the mood and minuteness of our main character. We take Theodore as a surrogate of Jonze as it is evident from the opening speech in which Theodore shuffles through his thoughts on what it must be like to share your life with the same person for half a century and that we are not only getting a love story, but an examination of love as an emotion and how it transcends everything else in our existence to ultimately become every persons main point of focus and fulfillment. If we don't have loved ones what have we done to make this life worthwhile? If we don't have people who care about us, what will allow us to live on after we're gone? Questions we've no doubt asked ourselves plenty of times before, but Her looks to take them, throw in a little social commentary, and inevitably come to an epiphany not about the technology at the center of the film, but the emotion that continues to define the satisfaction of our being.

CARRIE Review

I've only seen Brian DePalma's 1976 Carrie once before, last Halloween for that matter, and I had the same reaction to it I do to many "classics" that I've seen removed so far from when they were originally released that an honest reaction is hard to have and to speak negatively about a film deemed with that title, whether it has "horror" in front of it or not is typically taken as heresy. The film was fine enough for what it was and more than anything I enjoyed actually seeing those iconic moments put into context as well as featuring early performances from Sissy Spacek and John Travolta. Still, I wondered what we might get from an updated version of the story as the source material has always been an exaggerated twist on the effects of bullying and with that being a hot topic as of late not only would a re-telling of Stephen King's novel be timely and introduce the material to a new generation but it might be able to instill some faith in these younger audiences of today that grew up on countless Japanese horror remakes and found footage flicks that there is more to the genre than these kinds of films and that scary movies don't have to be about the gimmick, but can actually relate to the issues of the real world. That being said, since 2003's re-make of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre there have been a slew of re-makes giving fresh eyes to the horror classics of yesteryear (or more the studios trying to make money off familiar brand names) and though the majority of them have been plagued by generally bad reception this new incarnation of Carrie is playing in a different arena because it at least seemed to have a few things going for it the others didn't. To say this is to refer to director Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don't Cry) and her claim that her version of the film would be more of a strict adaptation of King's novel rather than pulling from the DePalma film. The added value of having such a prestigious cast that includes Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore didn't hurt much either. And with that all being said, this new imagining never comes off as bad or disrespectful, but in fact is fairly horrifying and effective if not for the fact it's overly familiar and ultimately a little pointless.

First Trailer for CARRIE

I usually take advantage of Halloween by using it as an excuse to go back and watch a few classic horror films I was too young or not alive to see when they were first released. Such was the case this past Halloween when I first experienced Brian De Palma's 1976 version of Stephen King's debut novel. Originally, the latest incarnation of King's story was set to hit theaters last month, but the studio decided to push the release back to a more suitable October time slot. On the eve of the theatrical release of the new Evil Dead, a full length trailer for Kimberly Pierce's (Boys Don't Cry) Carrie has debuted and though it seems to give away a bit too much it still manages to pique my interest to see what changes they've made as well as how this interpretation might be different. I enjoyed De Palma's film well enough though didn't see it in the time frame to likely appreciate it the way most do so I am rather excited to see a contemporary telling of this story especially as bullying in school is a hot topic at the moment and director Pierce clearly has some experience in documenting and finding the truth and relevance of these subjects. Throwing in the supernatural element, the stylized look of the abilities Carrie slowly learns to develop and a cast that features not only Chloe Grace Moretz in the lead, but Julianne Moore as the eccentric mother and you can count me in. I don't like that the trailer seems to give away almost every beat of the screenplay and that some of the more iconic moments from the original film are spoiled here, but I optimistically assume there is still plenty being held back and that this new vision of Carrie will prove to be just as memorable and frightening as its predecessor. This re-make also stars Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Ansel Elgort, Alex Russell, and Gabriella Wilde. Carrie opens on October 18th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.