Daybreakers

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Daybreakers

    --
    Last edited by asjah8; 01-13-2011, 07:43 PM.
    life happens
    despite a few cracked pots-
    and random sunlight

  • #2
    Re: daybreakers

    I was pretty underwhelmed. But then, while I like horror films, most vampire films leave me cold. Too much existential jibber-jabber.

    Daybreakers was no exception... too much telling when they could be showing (especially when it came to the sociopolitical satire... too much of it was spelled out slooowly so that the mallrats could get it).
    "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

    My YouTube channel.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: daybreakers

      I thought it was awful. Too short, too cliched and too predictable.
      After was all gendarmes and dick stitches...

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: daybreakers

        without telling, these movies go overbudget so fast, that's why it's a very commplicated genre and it's laced in exposition.
        You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: daybreakers

          i liked the premise as well and i haven't seen the movie so i was only speculating on what i know from these types of movies.
          You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: daybreakers

            Generally, unless I see at least something in the project, I put it out of mind and don't comment. I've also got a lot of genre history under my belt.

            Mostly I think I was the wrong demographic. The only vampire films I've liked since Near Dark was Innocent Blood and Let the Right One In.
            "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

            My YouTube channel.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: daybreakers

              It was poor.

              But my ill-feeling comes not so much from the notion I ponied up the dough for a poor movie, but that I ponied up the dough for what could have been (and was in the set-up) a great movie based around an interesting, if fairly obvious, premise.

              The final act was an anal hemorrhage in full gorefest glory. From the moment-

              SPOILER

              -the director tried to convince us with dodgy cinematic framing (Hawke gazing down at his brother in dubious back-of-brother's-head shot) that there were no adverse reactions to sucking formerly vampiric blood everything rapidly fell apart and slowly dissovled to an actual reach-for-vomit-bag moment when Hawkes Brother stepped from shadow into the light and WOAHH he forgot to put in his vampire contact lenses........ or he was no longer a vampire. One of the two.

              The third act was the equivalent of whisking a table cloth from the table top hoping to leave everything in place..... only cuttlery went everywhere and worse still.... that was your goddamn dinner!

              I really enjoyed the first two acts. From the 50's Neo-Noir feel of Vampire City to the clever twisted historic and pop-culture imagery dotted throughout (see Uncle Sam irreverently vamped up... and then later vandalized to reflect growing vampiric civilian unrest). And it's for this reason I feel so strongly against the movie. Because suddenly the table cloth is whisked away from me.

              I'm sat in a fairly empty cinema left with an inner monologue screaming "HEYYYY I WAS WATCHING THAT!" even though the projector is still running and Hawke has only just been betrayed by his "friend" of whom he's worked with for years, but for some reason still had no clue as to his real motive.

              From here the third act (excluding pointless slow-mo soldier massacre) lasts all of ten minutes and suddenly makes you feel almost as imbalanced as the movie at that point feels.

              Neill gives the movie one last shot at gravitas with a well written monologue about profit over cure which bludgeons with it's unsubtle real world analogy (but nevertheless is spot on and acted well).

              From then on we're greeted with the most obvious third act set-up and mini-twist in all of movie existence before the Spierig brothers suddenly realize they have a wealth of Walmart loyalty points still left and decide to invest soley in fake blood capsules left over from Haloween sales.

              Soldiers begin eating each other. Dafoe shows up for the least stirring or inspiring last shotgun blast shot in all of Vampire movie history.

              Cut to Car driving off into the sunset and some inane banter. Off shot, an accountant is remonstrating violently to the Spierig brothers whilst money-men prepare to roast them on a spit. Cause someone somewhere clearly pissed the budget against the wall.... and it shows in the ending.
              Last edited by Harbinger; 01-10-2010, 03:40 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: daybreakers

                Harbinger, you never cease to amaze me with your insightful and hilarious reviews of bad movies.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: daybreakers

                  I caught this yesterday for a matinee showing. I generally thought it was a bit too cliche and was disappointed with how little these great actors were given to work with.

                  Spoilers...maybe?

                  I thought it relied on a little bit too much coincidence, especially the beginning with how Ethan runs into the humans, the first appearance of the subsider, and the end when Dafoe pops in.

                  Also, I wish the directors hadn't told Sam O'Neill to do his best Agent Smith impression -- my GF actually thought that was Hugo Weaving...

                  After the movie I was convinced these guys want to be the next Wachowskis but simply can't. A lot of the mood of the film felt like it was trying to be the Matrix with Vampires.

                  All in all, a passable B movie.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: daybreakers

                    Originally posted by asjah8 View Post
                    i saw this one tonight. wow, such a great film. a teensy bit gory, but what the hell, i can roll with it when it makes sense with the theme; and this does. i won't give any plot spoilers this early, but suffice to say it's worth seeing if you like vampire flicks.
                    If you like ape flicks, may I suggest Planet of the Apes?

                    I won't say anything because I don't wanna give anything away.

                    Corona
                    I love you, Reyna . . .

                    Brown-Balled by the Hollywood Clika

                    Latino Heart Project's MEXICAN HEART...ATTACK!
                    I ain't no punk b1tch...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: daybreakers

                      As a general rule, any pictures released in Jan, Feb and often March that look mildly-appealing go straight to my Netflix queue. They are rarely worth a movie ticket. If Hollywood is a Mac computer, Jan-March is when the studio heads click "Empty Trash" with their mouse.

                      Now I've cursed myself with that bad karma, my first theatrical movie will probably get released in January...
                      NOTES / COVERAGE
                      15,000+ Screenplays
                      [email protected]

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: daybreakers

                        Originally posted by EvilRbt View Post
                        Now I've cursed myself with that bad karma, my first theatrical movie will probably get released in January...
                        Or on the same day as Superbad 2: Bad to the Boner
                        "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

                        My YouTube channel.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: daybreakers

                          Just saw this tonight. Terrible movie. I had no interest whatsoever in any of the characters. The protagonist was almost entirely reactive and none of the characters had any sense of depth or motivation. Ethan Hawke's character could have randomly have just turned into a sponge half way through the movie and I wouldn't have really cared.

                          And I don't know if it was just down to the theatre I saw it in, but the movie was deafening. I literally had my fingers in my ears during a couple of scenes.
                          "Only nothing is impossible."
                          - Grant Morrison

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: daybreakers

                            Originally posted by instant_karma View Post
                            Ethan Hawke's character could have randomly have just turned into a sponge half way through the movie and I wouldn't have really cared.
                            I liked how (as a character arc) his hair got poofy.
                            "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

                            My YouTube channel.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: daybreakers

                              Originally posted by instant_karma View Post
                              Just saw this tonight. Terrible movie. I had no interest whatsoever in any of the characters. The protagonist was almost entirely reactive and none of the characters had any sense of depth or motivation. Ethan Hawke's character could have randomly have just turned into a sponge half way through the movie and I wouldn't have really cared.
                              Amazing how the biggest problems with bad movies are always the fundamentals.

                              You would think that professional filmmakers would have that sh-t automatic by now.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X