Midnight Meat Train...Movie Screening
October 22nd 2008 19:29
August? Really? I mean, I know I'm lazy, but...August? I wonder how long you have to go without posting to have your blog shuttered by Orble (actually, I'm sure that's easy to find out, as most things here are).
Anyway, I guess I should have an excuse...in fact, I could come up with several, but who cares, really? There's a fat stack of movies blocking the screening room doors, so lets get to 'em.
The Midnight Meat Train
To say that I'd been looking forward to this one would be putting it very mildly. Everything I'd read and every clip I'd seen pointed to this being the best thing to happen to Clive Barker's work on screen since...well, since Nightbreed, or maybe even the original Hellraiser (not to totally dismiss Lord of Illusions, but, well...). Barker himself seemed right on board, too (more on that later).
And the verdict is...it's pretty goddamned good.
Bloody as hell, dark as...Midnight.
Meat Train
tells the tale of a big city photographer who's trying to add some edge to his work and comes upon a murderer who uses the subway system as his stomping (and smashing) ground. What on earth is that crazy butcher up to? If you're a fan of Barker's original story from his Books of Blood, you'll be happy to know that the film sticks closely to its source, especially in tone. The filmmakers aren't afraid to slam on the breaks either - slowing the momentum down at crucial moments that would kill a lesser film, but really it feels as though you're the fish on their line, and they let it out a little only to jerk you back in, violently. And the violence, whoo-boy...there are some seriously intense moments here. Unfortunately, my major problem with The Midnight Meat Train lies with its CG effects. No, the film doesn't rely solely on them, but when they're there, and they don't work, you sure do notice them.
Bradley Cooper ("Sack" from Wedding Crashers) capably plays the photographer, Leon, as both witness to and complicit in the subway atrocities committed by Mahogany (Vinnie Jones - and a fine f-ing Vinnie Jones role it is). I've never really been on the Leslie Bibb bandwagon, but it seems she's not going away, and here she's Leon's lady, Maya, and, for what it's worth, it's probably her best role since Popular.
I didn't really enjoy director Ryuhei Kitamura's Versus as much as I wanted to, either, but I like his style as applied to this particular story. Midnight Meat Train is definitely worth checking out for any fan of the genre, but personally, I was a little letdown. If nothing else, it deserved its shot in theatres, and, as you may have heard, it got unceremoniously dumped in a handful of places in the US. It was even at a local drive-in last week! Good for me, maybe, but bad for Midnight Meat Train...although it plays much better in a more intimate environment.
Here's a clip of Clive Barker introducing the film at Comic-Con, and boy is he pissed about the way it got treated:
YOU!
That's right...I know you only stumbled across this 'cause Laura Ramsey was on Mad Men and you were doing your little google image search for her. The stats even say so! So, since, she's so popular, I'll take a look at one of the two movies of hers that I haven't already mentioned here (this is the home of the Laura Ramsey Appreciation Society, after all).
Anyway, I guess I should have an excuse...in fact, I could come up with several, but who cares, really? There's a fat stack of movies blocking the screening room doors, so lets get to 'em.
The Midnight Meat Train
And the verdict is...it's pretty goddamned good.
Bloody as hell, dark as...Midnight.
Meat Train
tells the tale of a big city photographer who's trying to add some edge to his work and comes upon a murderer who uses the subway system as his stomping (and smashing) ground. What on earth is that crazy butcher up to? If you're a fan of Barker's original story from his Books of Blood, you'll be happy to know that the film sticks closely to its source, especially in tone. The filmmakers aren't afraid to slam on the breaks either - slowing the momentum down at crucial moments that would kill a lesser film, but really it feels as though you're the fish on their line, and they let it out a little only to jerk you back in, violently. And the violence, whoo-boy...there are some seriously intense moments here. Unfortunately, my major problem with The Midnight Meat Train lies with its CG effects. No, the film doesn't rely solely on them, but when they're there, and they don't work, you sure do notice them.
I didn't really enjoy director Ryuhei Kitamura's Versus as much as I wanted to, either, but I like his style as applied to this particular story. Midnight Meat Train is definitely worth checking out for any fan of the genre, but personally, I was a little letdown. If nothing else, it deserved its shot in theatres, and, as you may have heard, it got unceremoniously dumped in a handful of places in the US. It was even at a local drive-in last week! Good for me, maybe, but bad for Midnight Meat Train...although it plays much better in a more intimate environment.
Here's a clip of Clive Barker introducing the film at Comic-Con, and boy is he pissed about the way it got treated:
YOU!
That's right...I know you only stumbled across this 'cause Laura Ramsey was on Mad Men and you were doing your little google image search for her. The stats even say so! So, since, she's so popular, I'll take a look at one of the two movies of hers that I haven't already mentioned here (this is the home of the Laura Ramsey Appreciation Society, after all).
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