Film Reviews
DVD Reviews
let me in the right one I must admit to being very sceptical about an American remake of the Swedish horror film Let the Right One In, seeing as it is one of the best vampire movies ever made. However, I was pleasantly surprised that director Matt Reeves has created a very faithful version with Let Me In by maintaining the creepiness and overwhelming sense of dread that made the original an instant horror classic. The movie is centred around pre-teen Owen, a somewhat odd and lonely boy who lives in a rundown apartment complex with his alcoholic mum. When a mysterious girl of similar age moves into the complex, Owen immediately feels an attachment to her. The only thing is Abby has a thirst for human blood and has been 12 years old for a very, very long time. Befriending her could be a very dangerous affair. But far from being the glamorous and romanticised vamp lifestyle seen in likes of Twilight, Abby’s bloodlust puts her in a seedy and murderous world where her cravings are a burden to those around her. Reeves has chosen two fine actors to play the leads. Chloe Moretz, who was brilliant in
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Let Me In r e vi e wed by
Mark Snelson r ated
4.5/5 stars Kick-Ass, puts in a haunting performance as the lonely and blood-starved Abby, and Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee, who proved himself in The Road, is equally captivating. The movie is shot in a very similar style to its European counterpart with some sections seeming like a frame-by-frame reconstruction. The only time Reeves slips up is the introduction of some rather silly looking and unnecessary CGI effects during Abby’s attacks. Let Me In is a true horror that harks back to classics like The Exorcist and The Shining where pacing and character development were equally as important as the shocks. It gets deep under your skin and stays there for a good while after you have left the cinema.
Life of crime
no rust for the wicked Back in 1990, seven years after being fired from Metallica and having released three Megadeth albums with moderate success, Dave Mustaine produced his defining moment, the album he was destined to make, Rust In Peace. 20 years on, Megadeth hit the road to celebrate the anniversary by playing the album in full, and on the tour’s last night at the Hollywood Palladium, he set the cameras rolling. Rust In Peace Live is purely that. This is no tour doco, no backstage pass, it is straight up, in-your-face concert footage of this now classic album in its entirety. When Mustaine walks out on to the empty stage, raises his arms and announces, “You all know why we are here,” you are with him 100 per cent. The sound quality is perfect and, visually, it is everything a metal fan would wish for — multiple cameras capture every grimace and hair whip without it turning into a video clip. Mustaine is almost the perfect metal guitarist — the
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Rust In Peace, Live r e vi e wed by
Kevin Bull r ated
4/5 stars sight of him hunched over his Dean VMNT ‘flying vee’, his legs hugging its wings, golden hair glistening under the stage lighting and shredding like his life depended on it — it’s the purest of metal images. Bonus footage includes six non-Rust In Peace songs that were included in the set, plus some backstage footage that includes band rehearsals and photo shoots. You also get a bonus CD of all the live trac ks, just so you can play it in the car on the way home after buying your copy. If you are a Megadeth fan, you need this. If you are a metal fan, you need this.
The Ed Sullivan Shows starring The Beatles
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The Town r e vi e wed by
Mark Snelson r ated
4/5 stars The Town is the latest film from Ben Affleck, who is director, co-writer and lead actor. This is a solid and suspenseful crime flick that successfully mixes nail-biting action with powerful, character-driven drama. The movie’s title is the nickname of Charles town, the Boston suburb where the film is set. It is a working-class neighbourhood with a high number of criminals. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, the ringleader of a group of professional bank robbers. He has only ever known a life of crime, his mother left at an early age and his father is serving multiple life sentences. After one of their meticulously-planned robberies goes wrong, they briefly take a female hostage whom they release during their getaway. Their hostage is bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) and when his righthand man James (Jeremy Renner) gets very edgy about the information she could provide to the FBI, Doug decides to do something about it. He ends up befriending her in an effort to see if she remembers any details that could identify his gang. But things get complicated Find us on Facebook
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The Ed Sullivan Shows starring The Beatles r e vi e wed by
Kevin Bull r ated
3/5 stars
and his loyalty is put to the test when he ends up falling for her, even though she has no idea he was one of her captors. Affleck’s direction seems to be influenced by Clint Eastwood, which is not a bad thing. He takes time establishing his characters and turns the action up at all the right moments. After a string of poor role choices, he also reminds us here that he can act. He is backed by a great ensemble cast, with Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men) being standouts. It boasts a sleek screenplay, and the action sequences are brilliantly executed and shot. The Town is a gritty and dialogue-driven heist flick that is the best example of this genre since De Niro and Pacino went head-to-head in Heat.
This two-disc DVD pack contains the four Ed Sullivan shows on which The Beatles performed in 1964 and 1965, and is a fascinating insight into not only the hysteria surrounding The Beatles’ introduction to America, but also the innocence of television variety programming from this era. On February 9, 1964, Sullivan presented the first live television appearance of The Beatles, the most watched program in TV history at that point. This appearance was quickly followed by return visits on February 16 and February 23, and a final performance on September 12, 1965. Across the four programmes, The Beatles perform 20 numbers, with a number a songs being repeated during the 1964 shows. Their performances are very clean cut and polite, with the larrikin only appearing occasionally and in the later shows.
The highlight, apart from witnessing the sheer manic reception The Beatles received from the girls in the audience, is their final appearance in 1965. By this stage, their songwriting had matured and we get wonderful performances of ‘Ticket to Ride’, ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Help’. It is not only The Beatles that are presented on these DVDs, but the entire Ed Sullivan programme that they appeared on, and it is this inclusion that makes the package worthwhile. The adverts for Anacin pain relief, Pillsbury biscuits, Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Pizza (with cheese, everybody!) and Aero Shave cream are hilarious, plus the other entertainers are, by today’s standards, sometimes quite cringe-worthy. Taken on the nostalgiac and historical value of Beatles’ performances, this is an essential purchase for any Beatles fan. reverb magazine issue #052 — November 2010 43