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Movie Review: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

May 26, 2010 in Movie Reviews

As a kid, my older sister tormented me with her video rentals, most of which were horror movies.  And of all the movies we watched, the one that was etched into my memory more than any other was A Nightmare on Elm Street (and its many sequels).

So of course, I was very excited about this new “reboot” of the franchise, especially with one of my favourite actors, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Little Children, Shutter Island) playing Freddy Krueger.  Haley, while maybe not a physically imposing guy, has the uncanny ability to unsettle audiences with his creepiness, and I was sure he’d make a terrific Freddy.

The verdict?  Not great — one of those remakes that could have been a lot better, but on the bright side, could have also been far worse.

A Nightmare on Elm Street follows a familiar plot line to just about every other movie in the original franchise — a bunch of kids being terrified in their dreams by the horribly burnt, knife-fingered Freddy Krueger, except that if you die in your dream, you die in real life.

There is some attempt to make the story more compelling by inserting Freddy’s origins into the plot, and tying that to the central characters in the film to create a “mystery” that needs to be solved.  Not to say it worked, but at least they tried to give the characters an additional motivation to just simply staying alive.

The intention this time was to make Freddy more frightening as opposed to the wise-cracking, almost comical Freddy that he evolved into during the latter part of the original franchise.  This new Freddy is all malevolence and anger, though there is still a part of him that likes to toy with his victims.  For the most part, I think this is a welcoming aspect of the film, especially because Haley is so magnificently frightening, even without his make-up!

Speaking of Haley, I must say that he only half-worked as Freddy.  He did whatever he could with the character, but maybe it’s because I’m so used to the Robert Englund version that Haley’s version just didn’t quite feel right — like it was a poor man’s rip-off version of the real Freddy or something.  Englund’s prominent nose and impressive frame is replaced by Haley’s flatter nose and smaller frame, and even though they wore the same outfit and had the same burns (though Haley’s were more “realistic” thanks to improved prosthetics and CGI), it still took me a while to adjust.

I’m not sure if it would have been a good idea, but I would have liked to have seen them give Freddy a slightly new look — perhaps keep the burns and knives on the fingers but do something else with the rest of his outfit.  It would be destroying an iconic look but I felt like seeing something fresh rather than recycled.

What I liked about the film was that you didn’t really get a sense of who the main character(s) were right from the start, so you had a sense that anyone could die at any moment, or that perhaps this or that character may escape death for a while.

On the other hand, I do have two main gripes about the film (in addition to all the smaller gripes about the lack in logic I can forgive).  First, I hated how they telegraphed when a character was in a dream.  Almost every single time, it was bleeding obvious.  Doesn’t all the fun stem from the audience’s uncertainty as to whether a character is dreaming or not and their inability to tell the difference between the dream world and the real world?  Instead, we are basically told “he/she is dreaming now!” and we prepare ourselves for a Freddy’s appearance and/or a gruesome death.

Secondly, there was little innovation and originality in the deaths.  I think they simply recycled some of the better deaths from the original franchise and stuffed them in.  However, I wanted to see something new and creative, something unexpected and more shocking than just Freddy doing his thing with those fingers.

As for the young cast (ie apart from Haley), I actually don’t think they did too terrible of a job.  Kyle Gallner (The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer’s Body) is a veteran of these types of films now and he brings an uneasy presence to the screen — the clear stand out.  The others, Rooney Mara (Youth in Revolt), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz were all solid — but Katie Cassidy delivered one of the most irritating performances of the year as Kris.  Nothing against her personally but she just tried too hard.

Apparently, A Nightmare on Elm Street has done well enough at the box-office for talks of sequels to be in the works.  I just hope that if they do continue this franchise, they be a little more innovative and creative next time, and not just try and cash in on the popularity of the original.

2.5 stars out of 5!

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DVD Review: Eastern Promises (2007)

May 24, 2010 in Movie Reviews

I had been wanting to watch Eastern Promises since it was first released in 2007 but never got around to it until now.  Directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence) and starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl, Eastern Promises is a brutal, uncompromising story about a British mid-wife (Watts) who becomes involved with the Russian mafia after coming across the diary of a young girl.

It’s an incredibly dark film that has won acclaim for its realistic portrayal of the Russian mafia in the UK, right down to the tattoos their bodies are covered with.  The film was nominated for three Golden Globes (including Best Picture — Drama), and Viggo was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (but lost it to Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood).

Eastern Promises is not an easy film to watch.  It’s hard to call it “enjoyable” because of how deeply depressing and violent it is, not to mention the mumbling (though apparently incredibly accurate) Russian accents.  But at the same time, I couldn’t help but be engrossed in the film because it kept taking me deeper and deeper into this frightening world, and there were plenty of unexpected twists and turns that kept me on my toes, uncertain as to what might happen next.  Thanks to Cronenberg, there is also this creepy, unsettling tone underlying the entire film.

Of course, there is the one scene that everyone talks about which I won’t spoil, but it’s an absolutely remarkable piece of visceral cinematic brilliance.

And you can’t appraise this film without talking about Viggo Mortensen’s performance.  It’s hard to believe watching this man on screen that he was once Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, or the loving father from The Road.  He’s an insanely good actor and in any other year he probably would have won the Oscar for his portrayal of Nikolai, the family’s “driver”.

4 out of 5 stars!

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Sydney Writers’ Festival 2010: Lucky Breaks and Big Bucks

May 21, 2010 in Book Reviews, On Writing

Sydney Writers’ Festival

I attended the Sydney Writers’ Festival for the very first time today.  It’s an interesting yet odd experience, watching so many writers and wannabe writers converge in the same location.  As expected, it was primarily an event for oldies (considering I went during work hours), and there was barely a person without grey hair (if they had any hair at all).

Things didn’t get off to a great start when I was stuck in traffic at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but this was compensated later when a stroke of luck gave me an unlikely parking spot right outside the venue where the event I was attending took place.

Having been inundated with writing assessments all week, I didn’t have a whole lot of time to check out some of the sessions that interested me.  I ended up choosing a ticketed event (about half the sessions are free and the rest require purchased tickets; most of the popular events are sold out very early) called “Big Deal”, where acclaimed writer Debra Adelaide (author of the hit The Household Guide to Dying) interviewed Kirsten Tranter and Rebecca James, two new Australian writers who have hit the jackpot with their respective debut novels, The Legacy and Beautiful Malice.

I’m a sucker for inspiring stories of “beating the odds”, and as a writer, there’s no secret  fantasy greater than selling your book for enough money to quit your day job (or in my case, render it unnecessary to look for one).  Of course, if the book sells well, that’s an added bonus, but the key is always to secure that mega advance or multi-book deal with a publisher that will put in the time and effort to promote your book.

The session went for only an hour, beginning with Debra asking each writer how they managed to sell their books for loads and loads of money, how it has changed their lives, followed by an extract reading of their novel.

Kirsten Tranter

Kirsten Tranter’s story is very interesting, though slightly less relevant to most writers out there — because she worked as a literary agent, her mother is a big time literary agent, and her father is a famous poet.  These things gave her a natural advantage in the publishing world, but still, she had to write something worthy of selling.

Her debut novel, The Legacy, tells the story of a beautiful Australian girl who disappeared during 9/11 and is a contemporary homage to Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady.  At the time of writing the book, Tranter and her husband were struggling financially thanks to the GFC.  However, she was fortunate enough to finish the novel with the assistance of an Emerging Writer’s Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.

Being a literary agent herself, it wasn’t hard for Kirsten to find representation (ie her mother).  They decided to put The Legacy to auction, something I wasn’t very familiar with.  Effectively, books usually only go for auction if there is sufficient confidence that it will sell and sell well.  Kirsten’s agent sent the manuscript to seven of Australia’s biggest publishers and gave them a deadline to make an offer.  Fortunately, at least one of them did, and it was for a very handsome sum.

Rebecca James

Rebecca James’ story is closer to a true publishing fantasy for the ordinary writer.  Her novel, Beautiful Malice, rose to prominence in the media after it sparked a bidding war amongst publishers.  It’s been promoted as both young-adult and adult fiction, and centres around the friendship of two girls, one of whom is still getting over the murder of her “perfect” little sister.

Beautiful Malice is actually not Rebecca’s first published work.  Apparently, after she finished her first novel, she was so excited about it all she sold it to an E-publisher for $100.  Yep, a hundred bucks.

Rebecca has four children (which makes one wonder how the heck she ever found the time to write!) and earned her income through a small kitchen business with her husband.  However, the business struggled and they had to close it down.  The very next day, she got her first six-figure book deal, and it changed her life forever.

Rebecca said she wrote around 80 query letters to agents in Australia, the US and the UK.  It’s a lot easier these days, because agents are now more willing to receive queries and manuscripts via email rather than hard copy.  She eventually scored an agent from the UK, also a relative newbie to the publishing world.  And together, they turned Beautiful Malice into a worldwide phenomenon even before it was published by selling it to 37 different countries around the world.  Insane, I know.

Throughout the session, there was no exact sum mentioned when it came to just how much these lucky ladies earned for selling their book rights, but from what I could gather Kirsten must have gotten at least several hundred thousand dollars and Rebecca at very least a million.

In all, it was an inspiring hour.  Both Kirsten and Rebecca were very down to earth and humble.  Kirsten, of course, had that natural writer’s aura around her.  You can just tell her life revolves around reading and writing fine literature.  Rebecca, on the other hand, had more of an everyday person vibe.  She’s the type that never thought she would be earn seven-figures for writing a book but kept writing because she knows how to tell a good story.  Nevertheless, both are very deserving of their success and financial rewards.  They also sent me rushing home to work on my own writing.

[PS: I was supposed to go to another free session later in the day about the future of e-readers and e-books, but the outrageously expensive street parking in Sydney made me give up on the idea.  Maybe next year.

PPS: Stories like theirs prove that the book publishing world isn't dead, at least not yet anyway.]

More info:

Kirsten Tranter’s website (and her blog)

Rebecca James’ website (and her blog)

Debra Adelaide’s website

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Finding a distinctive narrative voice

May 21, 2010 in Novel, On Writing

Narrative Voice

One of the most important things in creative writing is find the right voice for the narrator.  Admittedly, it is also one of the most overlooked.  I used to write without giving much thought to voice other than whether I would use the first or third person perspective, but I’m finally starting to realise that having the wrong voice can absolutely destroy what may have otherwise been a good story.

When I say “narrative voice”, what I mean is the way in which the narrator tells the story.  It’s the style, the tone, the use of words.  Do you want the narrator to be up close and personal, like a father telling his son a bedtime story, or do you want to be more distant, like eavesdropping to a stranger in a bar?

Picking the right narrative voice can be tricky.  For example, if you’re telling a story set in the 1800s, using contemporary language and prose probably won’t work.  Conversely, if you’re writing a story about the technologically advanced future, you wouldn’t want to write it like a Jane Austen novel.  Who knows, maybe you would.  That’s the thing — you can’t be perfectly certain until you try.

Finding a Distinctive Narrative Voice

Some writers always write in the same way and with the same narrative voice.  Some others like to experiment and try different voices in telling a story.

Regardless, finding a narrative voice that is distinctive and stands out is crucial.  Especially if you want to get it published.

I was reading a magazine the other day that interviewed a few successful authors.  When asked what the recipe for success was, most of them answered that it was to “stand out from the crowd.”

Usually, I would presume that to mean having a fantastic, original premise, or at least an original slant on an old premise.  And while I still think that is probably the quickest way to get noticed, this particular publisher (Louise Thurtell for Arena) said:

A strong or distinctive narrative voice is gold to a publisher.  So many manuscripts we receive are marred by a bland, forgettable narrative voice.

And that was when I said “Crap!”  She’s absolutely right!  I thought about some of my favourite novels and what I liked most about them — The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (off the top of my head) — and I realised that apart from having a pretty decent story to tell, what I loved most about them was the way they told the story.

If you have a great idea for a story, you might be able to get away with it, but let’s face it, considering how hard it is to come up with anything truly original these days, it won’t hurt to put a bit more thought and effort into creating a distinctive, powerful narrative voice.

Which just reminds me — I’ll probably have to do something about that when it comes to my stagnant novel, when I eventually get back to it…

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Movie Review: The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

May 20, 2010 in Movie Reviews

As far as I can recall, the last film I awarded 5-stars was the Japanese film Okuribito (aka Departures), which won the Best Foreign Film category at the 2009 Oscars.  So I was understandably excited when I attended the screening of the Argentine film El secreto de sus ojos (English title: The Secret in Their Eyes), the 2010 Oscars’ Best Foreign Film winner.

While The Secret in Their Eyes was ultimately not a 5-star film in my opinion, and despite not having seen any of the other nominees in the category, I do think it is a worthy Oscar winner.

The Secret in Their Eyes won Best Spanish Language Foreign Film at the Goya Awards in 2009, and it’s easy to see why.  The film, directed by Juan J Campanella, is fascinating, compelling and complex.  From the script to the direction to the performances, the entire production oozes class and style.

It tells the story of a recently retired federal justice agent, Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darin), who is writing a novel about a 25-year-old rape and murder case (back in 1974) that continues to haunt him.  The film moves back and forth between the past and the “present” (ie 1999) as Darin’s investigations lead him down a path that will change his life forever.

The core plot of The Secret in Their Eyes is very strong, but there are also plenty of intriguing subplots revolving around Espósito’s life — such as his alcoholic partner Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) and his boss Irene Menéndez-Hastings (Soledad Villamil), the woman he longs for but can’t have.  And of course, there is the escalating political violence in Buenos Aires brewing in the background the entire time.

The performances from the three leads are impeccable, but special mention is reserved for Pablo Rago, who plays the grieving husband Morales, and Javier Gudino, who gives a chilling performance as the prime suspect Gomez.  While neither dominates screen time, these two characters anchor the most dramatic scenes throughout the film.

Speaking of dramatic scenes, there is a masterful 5-minute sequence in a football stadium that is all filmed in one long take.

Having praised the film, there are some complaints.  The first, and my main gripe, is that the film could have been tighter.  The pace is steady, although there were times when I felt a conversation outstayed its welcome or a scene dragged on for too long.  There was also a slight tendency for repetition to bring out character traits (eg Sandoval) that did get a bit tedious eventually.  If these things were finessed a little to bring the running time down from a long 127 minutes to a more manageable 115-120, the film would have been even better.

Secondly, The Secret in Their Eyes stretches the believability factor far more than it should.  There are quite a few coincidences and unlikely occurrences that have to be tolerated in order for the film to work.  To be honest, it didn’t bother me too much but I can understand it if others thought it was too fanciful.

Thirdly, just a small complaint about the make-up to convey the 25-year age difference.  It wasn’t bad, but it could have been a lot better, especially for the leads (who mainly just changed hair styles and colour).

The Secret in Their Eyes doesn’t have a premise or story that will necessarily blow anyone away, but for the most part, it is a mesmerizing, satisfying experience.  It knows when to push the right buttons and how to create the right atmosphere, whether it is brutality, fear, tension, creepiness, excitement, loneliness, love, hate, or pain.  There is an abundance of powerful imagery and memorable dialogue to go along with its messages about our lives and memories, meaning it will likely be one of those films that will resonate long after you have walked out of the cinema.

4.5 stars out of 5!

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