Away We Go (film trailer)5

Hmph.  Looks cute.  I mean the movie… But Yeah John Krasinski  is too. Even with glasses and a beard.  Aw.  Ahem…

Welp, it’s been out for a week.  Anybody want to go see this with me?

UPDATE:  Saw the film!! If you are straight, female, and single, don’t go see this movie. Every guy you meet after seeing this will look like a real bum.  John Krasinki’s character is so cute it’s unreal.  Other than that you should be good. It’s a good coming of age movie.  3.5 out of 5 stars.

Let The Right One In (Swedish, 2008)

I watched this movie last night. I was really good.  Definitely 4 out of 5 stars.  There is a lot to say about this movie, and I think if you go an see it you would agree with me. For starters :

• Swedish is a really cool language.  I wouldn’t mind learning it.  (I already know Russian from going to a tech high school,  so this wouldn’t be too far fetched for me.)
• No doubt the cinematography along with the scenery is just strangely gorgeous.
• Who knew that  11/12 year olds could be such good actors? Perhaps, their innocence lends itself to better molding?
• I definitely want to read the book.

In this story set in Falun, Sweden 1982, we meet a boy named Oskar, and a strange little girl named Eli ( pronounced Yel-li).  I hate being a plot spoiler, so I won’t tell you much, but I will tell you that the little girl is a vampire.  It is not in the same cheesy vein as Twilight,  thank God.  Much of the vampire lore, and mystery reminded me of the characters in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicle Series.  Being a huge Anne Rice fan, I am not easily impressed with other vampire stories be them film or books. (Although I must admit the film adaptation of Queen Of The Damned… meh.  Save your money. They make it kinda cheesy, and definitely dumb.)

Anyway, I am not the biggest horror movie fanatic, nor am I a lover of the popular and mainstream.  However, with ying, there is always yang.  Of course I like plenty of things that would be considered camp, mainstream, or cheese, but the vast majority of what I gravitate towards is withinin the yang arena.  I loved the first two Saw movies, The Ring, and I even enjoyed the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Those were all well done films that stuck to their genre, and gave their audience what they wanted.  They weren’t too far off the mainstream map, but strayed just enough to be unique.  You won’t get me to go to the movies to see the crap taht’s coming out now.  Drag Me Down To Hell? How about Can’t Drag Me To See This Stupid Looking Movie That Will Feature Hot Girl’s Tits and Hot Dude’s  Well Scuplted Eyebrows. No, I think not.  I think most horror flicks that come out regularly are trying to get some hot actress’ body and face out there. Anyway, moving right along…

This film does an excellent job of straying from many of the stereorypes of the vampire, and not camping it up too much.  I was really pleased to find that the film’s focus wasn’t to sell gore and terror.  It was a character piece about a strange person, with an unusual life, and a remarkable heart who meets someone equally bizarre and just as misguided. Good stuff.   Here is the trailer:

Directed by Tomas Alfredson 2008, Swedish. Starring Lina Andersson, and Kare Hedebrant. Based on the  novel  “Lat den ratte komma den”by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay.

Watch this film and I guarantee you will be googling Lina Leandersson, just to see what her deal is. I watched several YouTube videos with her, just to get a taste of her personality.  She is so beyond her years, and so beautiful.  When you see the contrast from her normal personality, verses the job she did with this role, you will be impressed.  Even her voice drops a few octaves for the part of Eli.

There is just so much here for an American to be intrigued about. The accents, the acting, the odd scenery, the twisted plot, the illicit sexual undertones, the motifs of blood, supernatural, gender, entrapment, and homosexuality. Very, very interesting flick.  Also, this just has to be said Swedish suburbs do in fact look like IKEA sets.  (Oddly enough the apartment complex looked like my college alma mater Marist College. That was kinda eerie. Especially if you have went there and know all too well about those  eerie yet beautiful Hudson- River gusty winter night walks  along the lamp-lit green. The sense and aesthetic is quite similar.)

I am looking forward to comments on this blog. If you have seen the film, I am really curious about your take on it.  What do you think of Eli? Oskar? How did the final scene leave you feeling? Happy? Worried? Sad?  So much to talk about here… I would go on but I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen.  Go see it! You will not be disappointed.  For chrissakes even open a Netflix account just to see this movie.  It’s one of those movies that you can watch instantly on your computer too!