Go see Seven Psychopaths

A few days ago, I blogged that this was the opening film that I most wanted to see, so of course I went to it at my first opportunity.

It is wonderful, brilliant, funny, and just the best movie I've seen in some time. 

The more I say about it, the more I risk hurting your experience, so I'm not going to discuss any details.

I will say that its plot makes moves you won't expect--and lots of them.  Its cast is uniformly wonderful, and both Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell deserve Best Supporting Actor nominations for their performances.  I laughed more frequently and harder than I've laughed at any movie in ages, and yet I was frequently touched by it. 

If you don't have a sick sense of humor, or if violence or bad language offend you, I can imagine that you might have a very different reaction, maybe even hate Seven Psychopaths. 

The rest of you, though, should run to the nearest cinema, buy tickets, and have a great two hours.

Fright Night

I’ve never seen the original film of the same name, so all the expectations I brought to this one came from the trailer and the fact that the director and producers had somehow persuaded Colin Farrell, David Tennant, and Toni Collette to star in it. I entered the theater hoping only for a fun vampire flick with some serious scenery chewing.

I was not disappointed. Colin Farrell played every moment with heavy-handed menace and evil humor, and he made the combination work. Whether warning our young hero to stay away or hypnotizing a new conquest, Farrell was wonderful to watch.

David Tennant began with a darn good impression of Russell Brand and then slowly morphed into a more serious and likable character. Though the character's growth didn’t ring entirely true, Tennant still managed to be fun throughout the film.

Toni Collette accomplished something rare: she became more and more attractive and believable as the movie wore on. The writers didn’t give her much to work with in building her character, the youngish mom, but she overcame the script and delivered the most complete character of the film.

You may have noticed that I haven’t yet mentioned the protagonist and the girlfriend. That’s because both were completely adequate but no more, neither one so good nor so bad that I even remember their names.

With several fun performances and enough good lines that you don’t have to wait too long between them, Fright Night is a solid B vampire movie that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.