Near Dark: September

Another month where I didn't get in as many films as I would have liked, only nine in total. However I did manage to catch a few with limited release dates, perhaps only staying in the screens for a week at most along with the larger releases of the month.

Elysium, You're Next, 42, In A World..., Rush, Riddick, Cold Comes the Night, R.I.P.D. and Prisoners.

Sports and dark, depressing topics seemed to be the order of things in September - maybe it was the darker nights coming in (hence the title film of the blog post). Despite that I enjoyed all the films and was happy they weren't all made up to have the happy Hollywood endings. 

Favourite Film - 42

I nearly missed this one, with such a short time in the cinema, but am immensely glad I managed to catch it (just like the baseball players!). The story of Jackie Robinson - a heart-warming tale of the battle against racism, and the beginning of change by an American sports icon. 

Harrison Ford works it as the old curmudgeon with a need for success and a heart of gold. Success that can only be found by wading knee deep through a pool of racist Americans. Chadwick Boseman is excellent as the put upon baseball player who just wanted to be his best, but had to break through a wall of (putting it mildly) criticism and hatred.

You leave with a sense of relief and hope for the future, that things could only get better. 

Eh, Are You Kidding? - You're Next

This started off so well. Suspense, gore, sick tricks, an unseen threat waiting to take your breath away. And then half way through - boom, there's your bad guy. Everything that had been building up a tense and twisty story vanished and the rest of the film just sauntered along after that. They threw in a couple of inventive death scenes to try and keep you hooked, but it had lost me and then to top it all off finished with such a predictive ending. It felt like they had just got bored writing half way through. Disappointing, unless you only watch the first half.

And the others this month...

Elysium - Neill Blomkamp can create worlds that are so realistic that you almost wonder if he has visited the future and seen what happens already. However the start did feel a bit samey to District 9 and I assume that is just down to the slums. 

In A World... - this was a fun and feel good film, that rips away the feel good part and makes you wonder if all the hard work is really worth it. Then turns it all around and lets you have that happy ending you were wanting (kind of). 

Rush - another biographical sports film taking a few artistic liberties with the truth, but overall creats a great sense of rivalry and speed. Both Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl play their characters well and makes you send the second half of the film hoping they become best friends.

Riddick - a welcome addition to the Riddick collection, following on from the Chronicles but getting back to the basics like Pitch Black. A hard character to be likeable, Vin Diesel turns Riddick into a distinguished anti-hero who you feel deserves more than the life he's been handed. Again missing Karl Urban, the cameo is just not enough!

Cold Comes The Night - a cold and depressing tale of desperation and fear, and compelling from start to finish. Alice Eve, post Start Trek Into Darkness, revels in the longer screen time and grips you (without having to take her clothes off) with a story so dire, you wonder why she hasn't just topped herself.

R.I.P.D. - the trailer sold this as a Men in Black type adventure, and the style of it did so perfectly. However the chemistry between the two leads just didn't quite hit the same heights and the CGI was about on the same level, which was a bit disappointing considering MIB was made in 1997.

Prisoners - maybe it was the tattoos and greased back hair, or the anger and pain, but I now have a new-found appreciation of Jake Gyllenhaal. Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman and Maria Bello all shine as well. The dark and often disturbing film, took that inbred fear of losing children and squeezed until you were hoping beyond doubt that they would be found. Even me, the 'child hater', was hoping for a happy ending.


Title Film - Near Dark (1987)
Starring Adrian Pasdar, Bill Paxton, Jenny Wright and Lance Henriksen
A young man reluctantly joins a travelling "family" of evil vampires, when the girl he'd tried to seduce is part of that group.