The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Vampire
Thirst (2009)
Aug 13th
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hae-sook Kim
Director: Chan-wook Park
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Horror
Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival
The popularity in vampire films in the last few years isn’t anything new. In fact, it’s just a resurgence of a fascination of a myth that goes back hundreds of years. But when we compare the different facets of vampirism in films today, it’s rather astounding the amount of differential nuances that can be found.
Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) directs this dark and twisted vampire tale that balances the romanticism of vampires with the remorse (or perhaps pleasure) derived from the constant sin that must be committed in order to survive. What better way to poise this balance than centering the film around a main character who is a man of the cloth. Sang-hyeon (played by the brilliant Kang-ho Song) is out to sacrifice himself to save lives by infecting himself with a disease to determine whether he has the immune system that could procure a remedy. Unfortunately it has some negative side-effects – simply put, it turns him into a vampire. While he tries to come to terms with his new ‘affliction’, Tae-ju, a stir-crazy housewife desires his powers and will stop and nothing to obtain them.
Park slowly develops the conflict in this film. It’s not immediately apparent what the obstacles are going to be. They seem to come like divine gifts with unexpected circumstances. After the halfway point, the film hurtles toward a climax that only Chan-wook Park could conceive, (and execute.) Utilizing his luscious cinematography and terrifically cringe-worthy sound effects, this might be Park’s best film to date.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Apr 8th
HORROR PICK:
Starring: Josh Hartnet, Melissa George, Danny Houston
Director: David Slade
Country: USA
Genre: Horror
Does for vampires what 28 Days Later did for zombies.
Vampires have taken an interesting turn in the last decade. They have almost split off into two paths… on one end you have the Anne Riceian heart-throb Twilight vampires, and the other end vampires have taken more of a beastly turn in the same direction that zombies have. 30 Days of Night falls under the latter, and provides some of the more gruesome blood-suckers I’ve ever seen on film. They are quite terrifying, and this film stays true to its gory graphic novel roots. Slade crafts a film that goes above and beyond just a gorefest and dips his toes into terror as well, making 30 Days of Night quite a memorable and entertaining creature feature.
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2000s
Feb 27th
Horror films, at their best, can present very effective mirrors to some of society’s biggest problems. Through the history of the genre, film after film has presented an outlet for anger, sadness, or even parody of pointless wars, consumerism, greed, and a slew of other attributes. In a way, horror films make the perfect allegory in presenting challenging ideas in an entertaining way. Some are schlocky fun, others have transcended into a beautiful art form.
Compiled here are This Guy’s picks for the top ten horror films of the 2000s (2000-2009.) The list is based upon theatrical distribution as well as loyalty to the genre, (as there are many films that might be considered horror, though they fit more applicably into another category, i.e. Shaun of the Dead.) *Note: this list is subject to change and if it does it shall promptly be reposted with the appropriate information.
Paris Je T’aime (2007)
Oct 4th
Starring: Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Buscemi
Director: Various
Country: France
Genre: Romance
There is a part of me that wants to say that this is my favorite film. Then I realize that by saying that I instantly become classified as someone who thinks they know a lot about films because they’ve seen this one partly-obscure arty-esque romance film. But then I watch it again and cry and fall in love and laugh my ass off and realize that this is one of my favorite films. It’s a cycle that continually keeps me from saying it’s one of my favorites. Plus, it’s kind of like saying that a “greatest hits” album is your favorite album of all time. It can’t be. It takes too much from other albums to be considered an album of its own. But I digress. Paris Je T’aime is one of the greatest modern examples of how different filmmakers can tackle the same subject and have the outcome be so incredibly different from one another. It’s essentially 18 short films about different aspects of love set in Paris by 18 directors and 20195801938 actors. The reason why I think I know this film is my [one of my] favorite[s]? I never knew mimes could make me cry [for them.]
Let the Right One In (2008)
Sep 23rd
Starring:Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Peter Carlberg, Per Ragnar
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Country: Sweden
Genre: Foreign, Horror, Drama
Vampire stories aren’t always pretty, but sometimes they are beautiful.
There are so few films that succeed in every area of the audience experience like Let the Right One In. The trailer has a definite allure being nearly wordless and showing such a compelling journey through the macabre in disturbing and beautiful images. The film delivers even more more in terms of beauty and such a harrowing yet delicate story of a two children finding their place in life. It comes at the mythology of vampirism from a whole new angle, using it as a perspective to look at relationships. Alfredson’s direction and the performances of the two leads leaves such a deep impact on the audience. It’s a film that lingers long after the first viewing, and one that everyone should invite into their lives. There are few other films that could be pointed to as a clear definition of what ‘cinema’ is.
(I must make note that the home distribution of this title is a bit hindered by an awful subtitle translation, and if you seek out this film, it’s worth putting in the time to find the proper translation.)
