Pop Culture Buzz

“MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D”

** STARS

THE PLOT: A long buried nightmare returns to haunt a small town when one of horror’s most terrifying tales comes to life in a way it has never been seen before. A reimagining of the 1981 film which Quentin Tarantino called ‘the best slasher movie of all time, “MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D” uses the latest dazzling stereographic technology to put audiences in the middle of an unprecedentedly chilling nightmare.

Have you ever wanted to see a buck-naked woman being pursued by a psycho killer in 3D? Or what about plenty of sharp objects flying straight into your face? These are just a few things you’ll experience in Patrick Lussier’s remake “My Bloody Valentine 3-D,” the first live-action, big-screen horror flick to open in Real 3D. The gimmick of this new 3D technology is quite fun for the first 1/2 hour but unfortunately it gets old fast.

All of the fun over the top gore from the first film is still the same but the chills and scares are lost in this “retelling”. In the end “My Bloody Valentine 3D” doesn’t even compare to the original classic. The bad over acting and cheesy dialogue are what really hamper this film from becoming a new bloody cult classic. It’s as if the director put all of his efforts into the special effects and forgot about authentic acting style.

The fun scares and tricky camera work are the only thing worth recommending in this film. I can only assume that the limited amount of fun I did have with this movie will not translate to the small screen. You may want to just skip this film altogether if you cannot see it in the theaters to get the full effect.

“THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON”

** 1/2 STARS

THE PLOT: “Benjamin Button,” was adapted from the classic 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. We follow his story set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the twenty-first century. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Tilda Swinton, “Benjamin Button,” is a time traveler’s tale of the people and places he bumps into along the way.

Even before I saw this film I couldn’t help but feel that there were some striking similarities between this sweeping romantic epic and “Forrest Gump”. Now that I have seen this film I am sorry to report that there wasn’t much about “Benjamin Button” that seemed authentic to me. The eye popping visuals and sleek direction by David Fincher are top notch and Oscar worthy for sure, but Pitt’s wooden acting style and the glaring comparisons to “Gump” made it hard for me to fall in love with this movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the groundbreaking cinematic scope of a film like “Button” but I cannot excuse a 3 hour running time in a movie unless it is filled to the brim with originality and has a new story to tell from a unique perspective. “Benjamin Button” is one of those popcorn flicks that is resonating with people because of its sweet nature and instantly charming cast. But when we look back at this movie years from now, will “Benjamin Button” hold up to become a “classic” like that of “Gump”? My guess is that it won’t.

“THE READER”

** 1/2 STARS

THE PLOT: The Reader” tells the story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who as a teenager in the late 1950s had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. Michael alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that at the expense of her freedom.

Kate Winslet should have herself and Oscar by now, we all know that. Before the Academy Award nominations were announced a few weeks ago I would have bet that Winslet receive a nomination for her electrifying performance in “Revolutionary Road”. When the nominations were announced and Winslet did not get one for that film, but instead received one for “The Reader”, I figured the Academy knew something I didn’t. So I went to go see “The Reader” right away to compare her performances against each other. Now that I have seen both films I can say that the Academy got it wrong, BIG TIME!

From the get go I couldn’t bring myself to empathize with any of the deplorable main characters in “The Reader”. Winslet’s cold portrayal of a Nazi camp guard doesn’t even compare to her mind blowing work in her previous films such as “Little Children” or “Heavenly Creatures”. I kept hoping that there was more to this story than just the love affair between an older woman and a teenage boy. When the film ended I felt empty and cheated that I had invested my emotions into two characters that were so completely out of touch with reality. What this film needed was more courtroom drama and less sex. I count this film as one of the most disappointing critical darlings of 2008.