Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was and continues to be one of my favorite television series of all time. It was influential, not only because it was a bad ass supernatural show, but because it also was the beginning of creator Joss Whedon's long and, at times, frustrating career. Bringing Buffy to television was a way for Whedon to fix what went wrong with the film version from the early nineties. Season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is by no means perfect, in fact it is a little stilted, but maybe it's the series quirky charm, or the irresistible pull of nostalgia, that makes me care so little. I assume that if I'm watching a Joss Whedon show, especially one so young, that there will be complications (from the studio or otherwise) and rocky episodes. Kinks will be worked out, so I have little to fear. The scripting on a number of episodes is outstanding, and so is the directing, but neither are consistent enough to make the first season perfect. Same with the acting, but each of the series leads grow into their parts by the finale to make the journey worthwhile. Luckily, six more seasons would follow, most of them exceptional. But, all said and done, season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was what hooked me, so that is all the praise it needs.

Genre - Supernatural (3)

Screenplay (2)
Acting (4)
Production (3)
Directing (3)

Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck makes me nervous. When I head into one of his movies, I ready myself in advance to be disappointed, at least by his performance. He isn't God awful, but certainly not someone I praise after leaving the theater. But then Gone Baby Gone came along, and I found myself eating my own words. Sure, he didn't have an acting part in the film, but he did help write the film, and was the man behind the camera, which is arguably more impressive. The film is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, an author whose work is among my favorite. So I was shocked to hear Affleck would be the main creative force behind the movie adaptation, especially because the novel is in the middle of a series. But Affleck and his crew handled every aspect deftly, making a dramatic and exciting film. His brother, Casey Affleck, stars with Michelle Monaghan, and I will say the younger Affleck has the acting chops Ben doesn't. He turns in a wonderful performance, one that shocked me as much as Ben's creative turnaround. The story involves child kidnappings and murders, which makes for some uncomfortable moments, all of which enhance the overall quality of the film. Like I said before, the novel Gone Baby Gone is the middle of a series, and while Affleck (of the Ben variety) morphed it into the first, I would love to see more. Maybe one day.

Genre - Drama (3.75)

Screenplay (4)
Acting (4)
Production (3)
Directing (4)

The Hangover

Sometimes, my expectations are raised far higher than I ever thought possible. When going into The Hangover, I was worried about two things. One: that this would turn out like director Todd Phillips film Old School, a massively overrated comedy. Two: that The Hangover would follow too formulaic a story; i.e. by showing too much of the bachelor party and not focusing on the hangover/piecing-everything-together aspect. But Todd Phillips has surprised me. He didn't make that formulaic movie in The Hangover, he instead did exactly what I wanted but assumed I wouldn't get. The story, which follows three guys trying to find their friend (and soon to be groom) after a wild and crazy night in Las Vegas. The night is pieced together over the course of the film, and the quality of the humor in describing the events that took place in a drunken haze are pitch perfect. And to find that the final two-thirds of the film maintained the humor and not break down into too dense a romantic comedy storyline (I'm looking at you Apatow movies and Wedding Crashers). The cast was on the top of their game, the most buzz worthy of them being Zach Galifianakis, who played one of the best "idiots" put to screen in a long time. But credit really lies with screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. There were a number of paths they could have taken for a film like this, and most would have not been nearly as funny, yet they chose, in my esteemed opinion, the correct route. Multiple viewings and years later, I believe The Hangover will be just as hilarious.

Genre - Comedy (3.75)

Screenplay (4)
Acting (4)
Production (3)
Directing (4)

Pontypool

Atmosphere is important, especially in a horror film. Creating dread, fear, anxiety is the hardest job a director has, and Pontypool manages to make those feelings real. The story follows Grant Mazzy, his producer, and tech girl at a small town radio station in the snowy Canadian city of Pontypool. Over the course of the day, reports come in about a riot, some massive uprising in the townspeople, a madness spreading over the city. Director Bruce McDonald confines the events of the day in the radio station hidden in the basement of a local church, leaving the audience to fear the unknown, experience the anxiety of the characters, who are forced to report on this chilling story without any actual evidence. Tony Burgess, the writer of both the screenplay and the novel it is based upon, handles the first two-thirds of the story expertly, keeping most of the action out of the radio station, thus distancing it from his characters. The final third is the far more convoluted, when too much exposition is employed to explain the madness changing the town into cannibals. None of this would have worked, however, if the main cast wasn't able to sell it. Stephen McHattie, as Grant Mazzy, really makes his character believable, not knowing if the trouble rising in Pontypool is real, or just some elaborate hoax being played on the once star radio host. Pontypool is a clever twist of the horror genre.

Genre - Horror (3)

Screenplay (3)
Acting (3)
Production (3)
Directing (3)