Review: The Crazies

Based on a George Romero original, the inhabitants of Ogden Marsh are acting strangely. There lethargic nonsense soon evolves into violent insanity. Soon after, soldiers and other government employees show up to quarantine the town. The sheriff trying to rescue his wife from the soldiers uncovers a conspiracy revolving around a crashed plane. The plane was carrying a chemical weapon causing the symptoms, and they soon realize that the military is not going to let any of them survive.

Horror movie cliches are abound. It has all the elements of the average horror film, practically a text book example. The trailer promised a slow-moving but creepy pace, but the film has a much faster, action and gore motivated pace. It takes full advantage of "jump scares." The music bangs as something or someone quickly appears on the screen. It makes you jump (hence the name) out of your seat, but it leaves no lasting impression. No real sense of fear, just a fleeting startle.

The infected also showed very inconsistent symptoms. It all starts with a complete loss of inhibition. Anything and everything seems possible, and the infected's delusions drive them to desperate feats of violence. This is where it gets fuzzy. Some infected become zombie like leaving all aspects of their personality and memories behind. They become practically faceless, while others retain them. They reach back and dig up their darkest memories to justify their obviously unstable behavior. One character even goes as far to not show a single symptom until it is the most convenient. Even more absurd is that it happens after a "rule" is explained that basically proves that he should okay.

This is unfortunate because as I watched the original The Crazies, I thought that this movie would make a very good remake. Getting better acting and gore would have made the already impressive story great. Unfortunately, this lacks the social awareness of the original. Romero had the Kent State shooting on his mind where the Ohio National Guard opened fire on some student protesters. The analog worked perfectly, but nowadays, it is far too trendy to vilify the U.S. military. A serious opportunity has been missed considering that just 5 years ago there were accusations of National Guard abuse in the Louisiana Superdome during the Hurricane Katrina relief attempts. Keeping the film to a confined space would certainly accentuate claustrophobic paranoia from both the trigger happy military and the potentially sick.

The movie is not without its moments of tension. Most of the beginning and a certain carwash scene was notably well directed, and the acting was very good. Timothy Olyphant, Joe Anderson, and Radha Mitchell made for a great cast. They were easily relatable and likable. This allows the movie to succeed where so many modern horror movies fail, you are truly rooting for the protagonist. The audience has no iconic killer and entertaining death scenes to cheer for, nor are the characters vapid high school students focused solely on losing their virginity played by CW soapopera stars.

The caliber of the cast is not enough to rise this mediocre film and missed opportunity to greater heights. This is nothing more than a mildly entertaining horror film.

5/10

Review: Crazy Heart

Bad Blake is a washed up alcoholic has-been musician doing small gigs for loyal fans between binges. At one such gig, he meets rock writer, Jean Craddock. The two start a long distance affair as Blake continues to tour struggling to get out of the shadow of his much more successful protegee. Blake, not getting any younger, learns the hard way about how difficult life can really be.

Just like The Wrestler mirrored Mickey Rourke's film career, Crazy Heart mirrors Jeff Bridges'. Jeff is a seasoned veteran. He has been in the spotlight for so long. He has inspired generations of actors, yet an Academy Award and big dollar paychecks have alluded him so far. Bridges is easily one of the most underappreciated talents in Hollywood. Now with this grand slam of a performance, his Oscar win seems within reach, and he is every bith worthy of the praise and recognition he garners for this role. Stirring emotions when numbed by alcohol is no easy task. The scene in the mall where Blake loses Jean's son is incredibly tense. The old codger limps around on his bad leg sweating profusely words spilling out the corner of his mouth.

Colin Farrel gets by on his own in this picture, but it is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has performed so fantastically in the past, who just kind of falls short. She melds into the background so easily and becomes a piece of the set like a lamp or a chair. Her starry eyed rock writer quickly becomes a starry eyed rock groupie falling for all of Blake's corny tricks and ends up for a short period being apologetic of his faults until the last straw. This may seem more like a writing problem byt Gyllenhaal's inability to transcend them certainly halts any empathy from developing. But then again, it is not her show, its Blake's. Her eventual rejection of him is what sets him on the right path.

This is just a taste of the bigger problem. The story is flat, slow, and completely uninspired. Its elements are those that have been seen over and over again in these over the hump stories of redemption. It is usually unmemorable to do its minimalist approach. Often, it feels tenuous to go through so much turmoil with little balance in the opposing direction. Just stacking problems one on top of the other feels ingenuine. The progression is obvious and causes the viewer to check out with only Bridges to reel you back in.

The soundtrack is great. I am not usually one for country music, but this is not the twangy "She Thinks My Trailer's Sexy" country nor is it bubblegum pop with a southern accent. This is the Southern-inspired rock and roll a la Johnny Cash. Steeped in blues, where the musicians wear their emotions on their sleeve and believe in the unlimited power of love.

This is obviously a role handcrafted for Bridges and his inevitable Best Actor win. The role allows him a lot to do, but the plot is to thin for him to really get anywhere.

6/10