Fall Preview: 25 Films I Can’t Wait to See #10-6

The end is nigh. We’re down to the top 10 films I can’t wait to see. And we’ve got trailers for all 5 of today’s picks again.

Variations on a Theme: “Let Me In” Review

When I first learned that they were making an American version of Let the Right One In, one of my favorite films of 2008, I was less than thrilled. The original Swedish version is a beautifully bleak horror-fantasy, an understated, macabre pseudo-fairytale, equal parts eeriness and whimsy. Very good. Very dark. Very Swedish. To be perfectly honest, I was kinda pissed that they would try to Americanize Let the Right One In. How could they? But, when I learned that Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) was directing, Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) was starring, and Hammer (a name long synonymous with horror films) was producing, I decided to look on the bright side of life, if you will, hoping Let Me In would be good… and would therefore lead people to check out the amazing source material. That’s the nature of the beast, right? A foreign movie gets made, does well, piques enough interest that the studios think, “Hey, maybe we should remake this for all the people who are put off by subtitles,” and voila, Wings of Desire spawns City of Angels… fortunately, Let Me In is no City of Angels.

A Sucker Born Every Minute – Top Ten Vampires

Eclipse, the third installment of The Twilight Saga, came out Wednesday. I was going to review it, but just couldn’t bear paying $10 to subject myself to another round of Stephanie Meyer’s tired Disneyfication of vampire lore. Yes, I did see Twilight and New Moon, chalk it up to morbid curiosity, and the fact that the Los Angeles Public Library rents movies for free. Also, how can I critique something I know nothing about? It was research, mind-numbing research. And I’ll probably eventually see Eclipse, ’cause as much as I’m an opponent of Meyer’s brand of bedazzled bloodsuckers, I actually like David Slade (Hard Candy) and I’ve heard that his is the least painful of the series so far. If you are curious about Eclipse (it’s ok, I understand), head over to Film School Rejects and check out Neil Miller’s review.

So, with my evening free from Bella’s teenage angst and her aggravatingly chaste wavering between Broody McBrooderman and Tits McGee, I decided to watch some much more adult vampire fare and catch up on season two of True Blood. I love True Blood, and not only because it is the antithesis of Twilight, offering a much more satisfying vampire allegory in contrast to Twilight‘s restraint and abstinence; I think it’s actually a great show. Also, Bill would totally kick Edward’s ass, which led me to think about all the vampires out there who are infinitely more interesting than Edward. And frankly, there are a lot… hell, I’d take the Count from Sesame Street or Count Duckula over Edward any day. That being said, I present this list of my top ten favorite vampires.