Carrie (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 100 minutes
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Writers: Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sarcasa (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)
Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell

Carrie is now showing in cinemas everywhere and is distributed by Sony Pictures. Please see your local cinema guides for times.

Here is the question that the 2013 remake of Carrie encourages you to ask yourself, is there really such thing as a good horror film remake? And here we are not talking horror movie good where the film scares you and therefore it is a success, we are talking about whether it is actually a well made film. Or does that really matter when it comes to horror movies, as it only matters whether it scares you. The latter question's answer tends to vary depending on the person who is answering, but the first question leans more towards the negative.

Carrie, which has been reimagined for the 21st century, reminds us why some films should be left untouched and remain in the time they were made. Although the Kimberly Peirce's film has done a fine job at recapturing the suspense of the first film, this horror classic doesn't gain anything from being remade. Instead what we have is a rather unremarkable teen horror flick which leaves you completely unsure about what you should be taking away from it.

Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a young girl who has lived an incredibly sheltered life at the hands of her overly religious mother, Margaret (Julianne Moore). Carrie was home schooled for the majority of her life until forced to attend a normal high school and since then she has been an outsider and chronically awkward and shy. When she receives her first period in the girls change room after swimming at school, she is terrified as she was unaware what her menstrual cycle is. The girls in the change room, headed by Sue (Gabriella Wilde) and Chris (Portia Doubleday) ridicule Carrie by chanting and throwing tampons at her. Ms Desjardin (Judy Greer) breaks it up and punishes the girls involved, which is when Chris gets banned from attending their senior prom. She blames Carrie for her misfortune and plots a cruel plan to humiliate Carrie in front of the whole school. What nobody suspects is that when Carrie is pushed too far, her kinetic powers cause all hell is about to break loose.

Even though you want to view Carrie as a stand alone film, for those who have seen the original it is very hard not to compare the two. Rather than being the un-nerving and disturbing horror film which the 1976 film was, the 2013 Carrie seems just like an atypical teen horror film that is not at all original in it's delivery. In particular, in the scenes with Carrie's teenage classmates, we could be watching any film in the teenage subgenre which have been released in the past few years. The montage scenes of the girls and boys getting ready for the prom contain the same images and music as we have seen in so many films before it and Carrie's tormentors are like the girls we have seen in films such as Mean Girls with some Stephen King injected into them. It is obvious that what director Kimberly Peirce is trying to do is appeal to this target audience and update Carrie in order to fit into the young adult world of today. By doing this, all Peirce does is add to the pool of films which are soon to be forgotten after their release because there is nothing remarkably or positively original to remember them by.

As is the case with many remakes, the horror elements of the first are taken and inflated to make ideally more scary. What would be a horror remake without more blood and gore? Or a crazy religious mother who is even more crazy and religious than before? How about we also make Carrie in her rage like a real supernatural being with bizarre body movements like we have seen in other horror films? However, the saving grace for Carrie and the thing we can rejoice about when comparing it to the original is that there is still a great deal of suspense leading up to the infamous prom scene. There is a constant feel of dread and tension as you know what is coming up and there is also a feeling of excitement to see how Carrie does lash out with her powers. The last five minutes of the film doesn't hold the same power in this way and is a completely lack lustre finale. The dialogue of this ending doesn't give you any sense of closure and although many horror films do not like to give their audience's closure as a scare tactic, this ending just leaves you more confused about what you are meant to take away from the film.

The CGI used in the film is very touch and go. There are some fantastic moments, in particular the blowing up of a service station and shattering of the car, yet there are also some moments where it lacks, such as in the house towards the end. The use of slow motion and repetition towards the end of the film does create more emphasis in the scenes which they are employed in.

Chloe Grace Moretz does well as the title character in Carrie. However, there are certain characteristics  you wish she could have portrayed. In particular, Moretz does awkward and lonely well, but there isn't really a great deal of character development over the course of the film. There is of course the craziness she takes on in the prom scene, but her rage is completely unexpected when you think about how Carrie never seemed to be getting close to her breaking point. She is simply awkward, then almost happy, and then murderous. There is no smooth progression to any of these emotional states. Moretz's Carrie is sweet and vulnerable, but Carrie is far from being to role of her career.

Julianne Moore is very good as Margaret White. She is very creepy and you find yourself at times being far more scared of Margaret than of Carrie. Moretz and Moore do have great on screen chemistry together. Gabriella Wilde is likable, but her role as Sue Snell doesn't allow for her to really do that much. Portia Doubleday gives an interesting performance as Chris. In all honesty it feels as if Doubleday has just been directed badly. She gives off an air of great potential, but her timing and deliverance of her dialogue is off the mark.

Carrie was again reinforces the fact that the real horror classics shouldn't be tampered with. There is no such thing (as of yet) as a wonderful horror film remake, and a remake being made so that teenagers of today can relate to it more isn't an idea that always works, as Carrie has shown us.

5.5/10



You may have also seen Chloe Grace Moretz in......
Kick Ass / Kick Ass 2 as Mindy Macready/ Hit Girl
Hugo as Isabelle

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 103 minutes
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writer: Jeff Wadlow
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, Donald Faison

Kick Ass 2 opens in Australian cinemas on the 22nd of August 2013 and is now showing in the USA and UK.

Sequel sequel sequel. Kick-Ass 2 couldn't possibly be any more stereotypically one.

As you would expect it to be, Kick-Ass 2 is just pushing the limits of what the original was. Kick-Ass was the stuff cult classics are made of. It was not a usual film of the superhero genre by a long stretch and shocked the masses of people who thought it was appropriate to take their children to see the film. So Kick-Ass 2 tries to push the boundaries even more by making it more violent, cruder and throwing in more wannabe superheroes.

While Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is taking a break from being his superhero alter-ego, Kick-Ass, there is a whole new league of new superheroes on the street, all ordinary people wanting to make a difference. Dave decides that he wants to give it another go and calls on Mindy Macready, AKA Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) to be his partner and help him out. Mindy has her own problems at hand with trying to deal with losing her father and also the typical teenage woes that come along with starting high school. While Mindy is AWOL from the superhero world, Dave teams up with a new team of superheroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). In the meantime, Dave's arch nemesis, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is building a team of super-villains all for the purpose of bringing down Kick-Ass.

Kick-Ass 2 is just overly silly. It isn't bad to the point where you should just get up and walk out of the cinema, but it is pretty much just an unnecessary sequel. Kick-Ass worked not only because of it's shock factor, but also because it was so unlike your typical superhero genre film. While Kick-Ass 2 is not entirely a regular type of superhero film, it does start to move towards being one with how many clichés are thrown into the mix. Director and writer, Jeff Wadlow wants to say in as many ways as possible that ordinary people can do super things and that we all can be superheroes is we believe we can be. The presence of such clichés and constant reminder of them throughout the film just take the Kick-Ass franchise in genre film territory.

There is still an element of fun to this film, regardless of how ridiculous and silly it can be at times. The fighting scenes and the defining personalities of each of the characters do make the film bearable. All of the characters in the film are enjoyable to watch and they all have a great deal of development to let the audience understand who they are. However, for the main characters of Dave/ Kick-Ass, Mindy/ Hit Girl and Chris/ The Mother-F**ker (yes, that is his name in the film), their defining character moments still belong in the first film so if you haven't seen the original, you may struggle to connect with them.

While Kick-Ass was notorious for it's shock tactics throughout the film, the sequel tries to do the same, but really just takes it a little too far. While this film is violent just like the first film and therefore not as much of a shock, it is it's crude humour takes the cake as being the factor that takes it just a little too far. The lunch room scene with Mindy and the mean girls is just too much no matter what way you look at it. Everything to do with Mindy and the other girls at school is just very overdone and also just ridiculous to the point that it is just cringe-worthy. Yet, it is definitely the lunch room scene that is the most ridiculous and disgusting of the film.

Regardless of the ridiculous and over blown nature of the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz still do well. They have wonderful onscreen chemistry and make the mot of the roles which are handed to them. They are both fine actors, and it is a credit to the two of them that when they are in such a film as this, it is still evident that the two of them have incredible talent. Jim Carrey has a much smaller role than is suspected. He does well enough in the role which he has, but it isn't quite as comical as you would want it to be.

Kick-Ass 2 isn't a complete loss, but still reinforces the fact that Kick-Ass really didn't need a sequel and nothing has really been achieved (besides the fact that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz can act well in anything) by having one.

4.5/10


You may have also seen Aaron Taylor-Johnson in......
Kick-Ass as Dave/Kick-Ass
Nowhere Boy as John Lennon

Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also our Movie Critical Rising Star of the Month in April 2010

You may have also seen Chloe Grace Moretz in......
Kick-Ass as Mindy/Hit Girl
Hugo as Isabelle

Chloe Grace Moretz was also our Movie Critical Rising Star of the Month in July 2012

Rising Star- Chloe Grace Moretz

Rising Star

Chloe Grace Moretz

If you can look at this picture of 15 year old Chloe Grace Moretz and not recognize her at all, you must have been living under a rock for the past few years….or you just haven’t been to the cinema for years.

To say that Moretz is a Rising Star may not be the most accurate term, as since making her debut in the hit television show The Guardian in 2004, she has appeared in over 25 films and several television series. At such a young age, she has secured herself a large following based on her versatility and brave choice of roles. Moretz has made the transition from child actor to the realm of movie adolescence and there is no doubt that this amazing girl has a very bright future ahead of her.

Chloe Grace Moretz was born on the 10^th of February 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia. Her older brother, Trevor, was accepted into the Professional  Performing Arts High School in New York City when she was only four years old and this is what sparked her passion.

Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2003, Moretz landed her first notable film role in 2005’s remake of The Amityville Horror as Chelsea Lutz. She impressed everyone with her chilling, yet completely innocent portrayal of the youngest child in the terrorized Lutz family.

From then on in Moretz has been constantly working in Hollywood. She appeared in TV shows such as My Name Is Earl, Desperate Housewives and Dirty Sexy Money and was the voice of Darby in Disney’s My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Some of her earlier movie roles also included Big Momma’s House 2, Room 6, The Eye, (500) Days Of Summer and was the voice of Young Penny in Bolt.

However, Moretz made her presence known and made a huge impact with her roles as Hit- Girl in Kick Ass. She shocked audiences with the things that came out of her mouth while in character and Hit-Girl’s choice of combat and defence. Moretz assured the public after this role that she was nothing like her character and never uses the type of colourful language she used in the film in everyday life.

Her next big role was as child vampire, Abby in 2010’s Let Me In and she took on a slightly less horror-related role in The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid in the same year.

Showing her versatility as an actress, she appeared in the Oscar nominated film, Hugo and received wide critical acclaim for her sweet and heartfelt performance.

Moretz has a number of films in production at this very moment, which shows just how in demand the young actress is right now. Perhaps her most highly anticipated role is that of the title role in the remake of Carrie. There is already talk of seeing her in the very popular prom scene which is often talked about when referring to the original. Carrie is due to be released in March 2013.

She is also rumoured to be reprising her role as Hit- Girl in Kick Ass 2.

Although Moretz is now gracing the pages of fashion magazines such as Vogue and W and becoming known for her fashion at movie premieres, she assures people that she is still just a typical teenage girl who loves being with her family and friends.

Moretz herself may believe that she is just a typical teenage girl, but we believe that this girl will be around for a long time yet and will make the move from child to adult movie star with complete and utter ease and grace. We look forward to reviewing more of her films in years to come!

References

The Internet Movie Database

ChloeMoretz.com

Access Hollywood

KidzWorld

Top News

Hugo (2011)

Hugo

Year:  2011

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helen McCrory, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Jude Law

Before I begin my review….

                Hugo to me was like having that “Hallelujah” moment where you finally see the light.

                I smiled, I cried and I was devastated when it was over! This was very much a “me” movie in that it contained so many things which I love such as the city of Paris, history, film, books, originality and a director by the name of Martin Scorsese.

                I have to admit, until Hugo I didn’t know much about George Melies, besides that he was the creator of the early film, A Trip To The Moon. When Hugo first speaks of his father telling him about the film he saw where the rocket hit the moon right in the eye, I immediately saw that infamous image from the film in my mind.

                However, of course I had to wonder how much of Hugo is actually based on fact. Not that it really mattered because it made a great story anyway, but it was still intriguing. So I did my research and came up with the answer that everything we see in Hugo about Melies’ professional life is true, but his personal life not so much. I can’t really say too much on this topic without giving away too much about the film.

                I am really looking forward to reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Oh, there is another thing which makes this film complete for me, a Selznick involved! Brian Selznick’s grandfather was the first cousin of none other than David O. Selznick, the producer of many a film in the golden years of Hollywood and was most well known for producing the epic Gone With The Wind.

Review

                It is not often a film like Hugo is brought to our cinema screens.

                Martin Scorsese has taken a chance with this film which is completely different to any other film he has ever made, and has proved that he really can do anything. Hugo is a beautiful film with a fantasy feel to it, yet the characters are so real and real human emotions are dealt with.

                Hugo tells the story of recently orphaned Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), who lives a quiet life in a train station in Paris in the 1930’s and looks after the clocks there. He feels like the only link he still has to his father (Jude Law) is the automaton which Hugo is trying to fix. His world starts to shift and he is taken on a great adventure when he starts to work for the train station’s unhappy toy maker, George Melies (Ben Kingsley) and meets his god-daughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz). He and Isabelle set out to solve a mystery that will change all their lives forever.

                Hugo is beautiful from the very beginning. It is visually stunning from the opening scene, where the inside of a clock turns into a shot of 1930’s Paris. The visuals make you feel as though you are watching a pretty, fantasy film, but there is nothing to support the notion of this being a fantasy film. Every scene is beautiful in its own way and the recreation of Paris in the early 1900’s is spellbinding.

                The film is for people of all ages. On the surface, Hugo comes across as a children’s film with the protagonist being a child. Yet, there is so much in the film that will keep people of all ages entertained right up until the end.

                It is incredibly hard to fault this film. Scorsese has taken such a risk with bringing the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick to the screen considering his past resume of films. Hugo is unlike anything he has ever done before and it is truly a triumph for him. The film is so tight and perfectly directed. Everything is done to perfection and every little piece of the film is a masterpiece.

                Asa Butterfield is absolutely superb as Hugo. He is heart-breaking as the orphan who clearly just wants to know where he is going and just misses his father. There is very little in the film of Jude Law, who plays Hugo’s father, and with such a small role, it is unusual to feel the connection between two characters when they appear on screen for so little time together. However, you actually feel more chemistry between Hugo and his father after his father dies. This is a credit to the young Butterfield. He is wonderful.

                Ben Kingsley is also perfect in the role of George Melies. He is the absolute perfect choice for the role, and not just because the resemblance is startling between the two. You really feel Melies’ pain of the past and he is, like Butterfield, heart-breaking. Helen McCrory is also wonderful as Melies’ wife, as she gives an emotionally charged performance and is so likable, even when she isn’t supposed to be.

                Sacha Baron Cohen is also very good in Hugo as the station’s inspector. He is very funny, but in a different way than we are used to. He is charmingly funny and at times you can really see the dramatic actor behind all the comedy. Chloe Grace Moretz is also very good, but her role isn’t as emotionally charged as her co-stars.

                Hugo is the type of film that does not come around very often and is a complete joy to behold. An absolute masterpiece.

9.5/10

Sources
Imdb.com
Welcome to The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Let Me In

Year: 2010
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Kodi Smite-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins

In My Own Words
I often wondered (until about 2 days ago) why American studios decideto adapt foreign films not too long after they are released in their home countries. It used to make me slightly angry why they did, it was like I thought they couldn't come up with ideas of their own so they had to "steal" ideas from other countries. Now I realise that I was being really unfair by thinking this. Now I see that foreign films are remade as a means of exposing the story to a greater audience. Many people do not take pleasure in watching foreign films as they are too far removed from what they know, and they also involve a fair bit of reading of subtitles unless you know the language. So making the film into an English speaking film exposes the story to a greater audience. And if it is a great story, why shouldn't it be exposed to an audience? It would be selfish to let language barriers get in the way of great storytelling! Especially when it is a story like "Let The Right One In", the Swedish film which "Let Me In" is based on. I must admit, I was extremely weary going into this film, as I normally am when seeing a remade film, or watching a vampire film. However, it has cometo my attention as of late that a remade film doesn't mean a bad film, especially those that are remade from a foreign film. Just look at "The Departed"!

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
The thought of another vampire movie may bring on a cringe for some people. With so many vampires going around in movies and on television, one can be forgiven for thinking that "Let Me In" is just another one of those films that has come along with the fad. It isn't. It is far darker and more disturbing than any other vampire phenomenon you have seen in a long. long time. Like it's mother movie, "Let The Right One In", it evokes a number of emotions which are strange to see together in a film. There is tenderness and innocence, as well as fear and horror. Young Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an outsider at school, badly bullied and is in the middle of his parents divorce. He is without a friend in the world, until he meet a mysterious little girl by the name of Abby ( Chloe Moretz) in his courtyard of his apartment block. He develops a strong friendship and falls for her in the way only a 12 year old can. He finds out in the worst way possible that Abby is a vampire and that everything is far more complicated than it should be for 12 year old best friends.

"Let Me In" is dark, but somewhat beautiful. It stays true to the film which it is remade from, but it is set in New Mexico rather than in Sweden. There is nothing corny about this vampire film, and it represents what vampires should represent, fear in the heart of those who meet them. It is extremely unsettling at times and very intense and suspenseful. However, there is a feeling of sympathy for both Owen and Abby. The film focuses of human emotion and the troubles of a child growing up being bullied and in a troubled family. There is a real sadness to the film, as well as real terror. It wouldn't be a vampire film or a main stream remake without having more blood than it did in the original and therefore leading to some cringe-worthy moments. The "scary" scenes are definately not subtle. "Let Me In" is very dark and not for the faint hearted, it is everything a traditional vampire movie should be.

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz are perfectly cast for the lead roles. Smit-McPhee is wonderful in this film. He shows so much emotion and his performance will ring true to many parents who are watching their children going through the same things he is going through. He really has a bright future ahead of him. Moretz is no stranger to horror movies or to playing roles of the young girl who is beyond her years. She is not the traditional vampire girl, but that only makes her more suited to the role. She is very good in her role as she is cute and sweet, but also an absolute horror.

"Let Me In" takes the vampire movie back to where it belongs. When vampires were beings that were capable of violent killings and would kill without rhyme of reason and there is no corniness to be seen. There is always something troubling about children in horror films, and this movie is no different. Yet, there is still something very sweet about the friendship between Owen and Abby and that is what makes "Let Me In" work. The combination of childhood love and the presence of pure terror.
8/10

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass
Year: 2010
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong

In My Own Words
“Kick-Ass” is definitely one film that I had an opinion about even before I saw it. I have been looking forward to this film coming out for quite awhile, even before most people knew about it. As soon as I heard that it wasn’t a typical superhero movie, I was ready to line up for it as I love a film that defies the norm.

However, even before I saw this film, the controversy surrounding it got my blood boiling. “Kick-Ass” has come under scrutiny because of its violent scenes and coarse language. Not only this, but most of the violence and bad language comes from 13 year old Chloe Grace Moretz. Many people have been up in arms about this, and don’t get me wrong, I can see how some people would find this offensive and wrong. My argument against this is that the movie is rated MA15+ in Australia and R17+ in the USA for a reason. People have taken their children to see this movie completely ignoring the censors warning and assuming it to be a typical superhero movie. If you ignore these censors, then yes, you will be completely shocked and if you take your children to see this, you will wish you hadn’t. Going to a film such as this, knowing what it is about and being offended, would be like watching a porn film and being offended by the sexual content. If you do get offended by strong language and violence, nobody is forcing you to see this film so don’t complain about it. This is the same for Chloe Grace Moretz. No doubt you would’ve heard some of the things which she does in this film and if you think this sounds horrible, nobody is forcing you to watch her. Miss Moretz is no stranger herself to horrific films after staring in the 2005 remake of “The Amityville Horror” and she will be starring in the upcoming “Let Me In”. I doubt she will feel particularly scarred from this role. I would love to hear other people’s opinions on this film and its surrounding controversy as well, so please feel free to talk about it here. My advice is, take note of the classifications and don’t complain if you don’t.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Kick-Ass” is unlike any other superhero movie. It is probably the most in your face superhero movie you will ever see, but nevertheless a breath of fresh air and great entertainment. Many people will find much of the film too hard to handle with its extreme violence, but if you can get past that and realise that this is only a movie, it is actually quite fun to watch. It has one valuable message in it, that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Of course, just remember, that this doesn’t mean that those extraordinary things will always involve killing the bad guys. Invisible high school student Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) has decided that he wants to become a superhero. He has no super powers and his only asset is his good heart. After his alter ego, Kick-Ass becomes an internet phenomenon, he inspires a whole new group of superheroes. Enter Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and his sidekick and 11 year old daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). These two are the real deal and come equipped with their own special weapons and fighting moves, also a motive for revenge on Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), who is after Kick-Ass.

The film opens with a taste of things to come, confronting and gruesome, but also hilarious. Most of the shocks come in the first half of the film and if you are not offended by then, you won’t be. Matthew Vaughn’s film is almost like a “Kill Bill” for younger people and Vaughn direction is much like that of Quinton Tarantino’s. There are some great moments in the film, with the right cinematography and editing chosen for the right scenes. The soundtrack is also notable, sometimes being creepy and other times being fun and uplifting. The script is witty and very well written. “Kick-Ass” is completely original for the most part, but it still has many aspects of it that are typical to a superhero movie. It does tend to get cliché towards the end and although it is still suspenseful, it also becomes quite predictable.

Aaron Johnson gives a solid performance as Dave/Kick-Ass. He draws a lot of laughs, but at the same time a lot of sympathy. He can be so pathetic in the first half of the film that you feel sorry for him and even embarrassed for him. Nicholas Cage also doesn’t give a bad performance, but it is quite a strange performance. He looks so much like Stanley Tucci as Mr Harvey in “The Lovely Bones” that it distracts from his character in the film. Chloe Grace Moretz is the star of the film, although she is also the most controversial. The people who do not find her role offensive, will find her very entertaining and girls will find her empowering. It would be true to say that if the character of Hit Girl/ Mindy was only a few years older, she would not have been as controversial. Yet if she was, she would have been the same run of the mill female superhero and be branded as corny. Hit Girl is anything but that. She is completely out of the ordinary and although some of the things that leave her mouth are shocking, at least she isn’t like every other female superhero that has been and gone.

It cannot be reinforced enough that “Kick-Ass” is not a film for everyone. It is almost difficult to pinpoint the target audience for this film as it is like a high school film, crossed with a superhero action film, crossed with a shock comedy. Yet, if you get past all the controversy and the shock, it is a great and entertaining film. The ending indicates that there may be a sequel, but one has not yet been announced yet. Sequels are known for stretching past what the first film has done, so we may be in for more “Kick-Ass” shocks in the future!
7.5/10