Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Daybreakers: Vampire Film Like No Other


We're all familiar with vampires. For as long as anyone can remember there has been the mythological legend of the vampires. If you are unfamiliar with them, then allow me to enlighten you. Vampires are creatures supposedly born of rabies. They pray on humans and suck their blood out, and like to say, "Bleh!" Sounds terrifying, no? Well, they used to be terrifying. In recent years the tender minds of our population have become corrupted. We now think that vampires are sweet loving creatures that are supposed to be there to catch you when you fall, tell you that you're special and call you cute things like "Spider-monkey." Why? What happened to us so that we would think such a dumb thing could possibly be the truth?! The culprit for this epidemic is a vampire poser known as Edward Cullen. Edward is supposed to be a vampire. But I'll blog about that some other time. If you want to know what kind of vampire Mr. Cullen is, then take everything you know about vampires and then turn it upside down... isn't the result gruesome? Doesn't the image in your mind make you want to vomit, or hit yourself in the face? No? Take a look at the picture below. Maybe it'll change your mind.


THE CULPRIT

Summing things up, modern day vampires suck. Enter Daybreakers. Daybreakers is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the modern day vampire film. Daybreakers is a vampire film where the vampires have taken over the world. They make up the majority of the world's population, and over the years they've managed established a decent society where they're civilized; they live in apartments, go to work, and even have their own bloody Star Bucks. (Yummy, right?) However, they still can't go in the sun. The vampires have established this head-company that hunts humans down and farms them for their sweet delicious warm blood. (I'm being detailed today.) They then distribute the blood around to various other companies, where they can give it out to the public, etc. It's a system that has successfully worked for years, but now they've run into one little problem...

They're running out of humans to farm for blood. This wouldn't be a problem, but if they don't drink their daily dose of human blood, then they begin to mutate into these strange and horrific mindless monsters. (Pictured left.) It's almost like they're zombie vampires. Which to me is not only awesome, but a truly terrifying creature.


The plot essentially revolves around Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke). Dalton is the head vampire hematologist and is also working on finding a blood substitute so that he can save the vampire race from ultimate anarchy. If he doesn't find one by the end of the month, then all of the vampires are essentially screwed. I won't say how, but Edward some how ends up joining the humans to fight back for their humanity. He joins the ranks of an ex-vampire named Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac (Willem Dafoe), and learns that he's discovered something far more valuable than a blood substitute. A cure for vampirism. From there, it's a full scale war between vampires and humans. It's intense, and very very bloody.

The acting for the most part was fantastic. Ethan Hawke portrays Edward Dalton as a conflicted character that you can root for. He not not only pulls off a humane vampire but a pretty awesome almost action hero type of character that you want to survive. Like I said before, you can root for him. I don't remember the name of the antagonist, but he pulls off an awesome performance.

Ethan Hawke as Edward Dalton.

Daybreakers is a vampire film like no other that you've seen. Never before have vampires been handled in a way that makes them feel like monsters and humane at the same time. They feel like vampires, but they also feel humane in the fact that the characters aren't flat. Unlike Edward Cullen, they have real personalities, and feelings. Instead of loving the vampires, you fear them in a way that you haven't in far too many years. Especially the zombie/vampire things; when those things first enter the movie I was a little freaked out. They're really gross. The movie also plays heavily on the idea of Pathos. When the vampires turn into these mindless monsters, you find yourself sympathizing with them. I won't say when, but there is a part of the film that makes you feel very sorry for the vampires. It is a sad film, and also a very dark film. Not just visually, but... in every way. The concept to Daybreakers is dark, violent and disturbing. The film shows many disturbing elements of humanity including murder, substance abuse, cannibalism and more. The film is an interesting take on a genre, and could've been a genre defying film.


The presentation and design to Daybreakers was very interesting. When the film circles around the vampires the film looks almost black and white, almost like it was symbolizing that they're dead. The blood also looks almost black like it too is a great symbol of death. But when the film shows the humans it takes on a sepia tone golden look, showing more life in a dying world. Everything relating to the vampires and humans contrasts with each other. The vampires are black and white and the humans are golden and colorful.

I must also mention the incredible use of sound in the film. Mostly due to the films terrifying sounds, you get shivers up and down your spine when the vampire/zombie freaks come out. The scariest part about these freaks of nature are the sound effects that they make. The musical score was also fantastic. It wasn't one of the best scores composed, but it was from a new composer, and I thoroughly enjoyed the music in the film. Unlike Twilight, it had real music.

Daybreakers is by no means flawless. The film isn't without its corny dialogue, and has some moments that made the audience laugh. The pacing to the film slowed down significantly in some parts, which resulted in me checking my watch. The ending was also unsatisfying. The film could have been a half hour longer to give out some more character development and story telling. I think that was my biggest problem with the film. I must also mention how bloody the film was. I love blood and gore in movies. But this film was so bloody that it was borderline funny at some parts, at least to me. The film had several moments where I found the extent that the blood was used to be laughable. Overall though, blood wasn't a bad thing, it was for the most part really cool. The film also runs on a small budget, so some of the special effects looked like rubbish; but this wasn't a problem, since special effects don't make a movie. However, I'm willing to excuse all of my problems with the film just because it was such an interesting take on the vampire film, and because it was a smart film. A part from a few silly moments, the film was very smart and well thought out, and I appreciated that about the film.

If you're looking for a dark drama, with maybe some real and zombified vampires, then you'll love Daybreakers. It is a very unique experience, and I would recommend checking it out simply because it is a very smart film that has an interesting message.


FINAL SCORE

Story 8.9/10
Design 9.1/10
Presentation 9.3/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Musical Score 8.3/10
Replay Value 9.0/10

Total Score: 8.9/10

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Zeppelin of the Rings???



Before we start, let me excuse the lame title for today's post. I couldn't think of anything catchy and cool. Okay... Let's continue.

Can I start off today by saying that the picture I used for this post is pretty awesome? That being said, what's not left to be said about Led Zeppelin? They've been called many things by many people including the title, Greatest Rock Band of All Time. (My personal pick is The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. I can't pick.) This is easy to agree with after listening to Led Zeppelin, since they've written so many incredible songs, including what I believe to be the greatest rock song ever. (I'll blog about that some other time during Rock Week!)

I think Led Zeppelin is amazing. Jimmy Page is tied for my favorite guitarist of all time. He is an insane guitarist, and every time I listen to the guitar solos in "Since I've Been Loving You" I want to just start playing guitar. Which I usually do. His style of guitar is so unique because it blends folk and rock/metal together so well. He may not look like much, but this guy to the left (Jimmy Page) is one of the greatest rock gods ever. As is all of Led Zeppelin. They rule.

Every one loves Led Zeppelin now. If you don't then there's something wrong with you. However, when Led Zeppelin was first founded, they were not treated well. Their debut album was thrashed for sounding too weird, but today it's considered one of the greatest albums ever written. What's that tell you about our society? We're all jerks. (Like I needed to write the obvious.)

I don't think bands should be considered b
ad if they're music is different. I love any band that has their own style. (Coheed and Cambria, Pink Floyd, U2 etc.) However, Led Zeppelin has some of the most unique sounding songs, and that's why they've been around for over forty years.

So? Led Zeppelin has awesome sound, and is considered the Greatest Rock Band of All Time by many. But where did they get their inspiration? Hey kids, it's time for Brandon's Useless Knowledge!

The members to Led Zeppelin were all geeks. Their symbols are pretty nerdy. I think it's awesome.

Led Zeppelin received a large amount of inspiration from the J.R.R. Tolkien novels Lord of the Rings. Wait! What? Lord of the Rings is a book? Yes poopy pants! (Sorry if that offended anyone...) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was published as three separate books in 1954-1955. It was originally intended to be one large book, but Tolkien was convinced by his publishers that no one would read a book that long... which might've be true. Anyways, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant read Lord of the Rings and were touched by the messages of the books. The stories and characters of the books greatly influenced the lives of the members of Led Zeppelin spiritually, physically and musically.



Isn't strange that the books inspired Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to move out into the country together? They moved into the country together where they tried to get more in tuned with nature. Why? I have no idea, but as a Lord of the Rings junkie, I found this awesome. My favorite bands and I have a similar passion. (Go us nerds!)

Musical, Led Zeppelin has written several songs that contain very detailed lyrics and references from Lord of the Rings. The song "Ramble On" has lines that directly refer to characters from the books and it even includes fun little lines that only the big fans/geeks will notice. The first line in the song, "Leaves are falling all around," is a direct reference to a poem Legolas sings in the book. The song even mentions the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and his encounters with the creature Gollum.

"T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor I met a girl so fair. But Gollum, and the evil one crept up"

Doesn't that sound strangely familiar? Led Zeppelin didn't stop there though. The song "Battle of Evermore" is all about the battle of Pelenor Fields. It includes references to Aragorn as the Prince of Peace, the Nazgul and more. The song Misty Mountain Tops is a reference to the Dwarves, in Bron-Y-Aur-Stomp they sing about a dog named Strider (Aragorn) wandering through the woods. Stairway to Heaven can also be interpreted to have Lord of the Rings references, however I've never read any official information confirming that it does or doesn't refer to the Lord of the Rings... The list goes on, but I'm getting tired.

In the end Led Zeppelin and Lord of the Rings were an awesome combination. What more can you ask for? The only better thing would be if a magical Leprechaun brought you beer. (Not saying I drink. But that would be pretty cool.) So, hopefully you learned something today. Now go and tell your mother the uselesss knowledge you learned! By the way, Happy Birthday Jordan. :)