Released earlier this year, British psychological thriller Exam chronicles the fate of eight candidates as they enter into the final stage of recruitment for a mysterious Fortune 500 company. However, being one of the most influential, and secretive, companies in the world, it soon becomes apparent that the candidates are faced with no ordinary selection process, and the movies 100 minute run time serves as an insight into what people will, and won't do for the sake of money, prestige and power.
With regard to the films premise, it's a remarkably simple set up; after making it to the final round of selection, the candidates are placed in an exam room together, and are given eighty minutes to complete a test. In order to do so, they need only answer one question. The caveat to this, is that the candidates must first figure out what the question is, all the while following a strict set of rules – deviation from the rules in any way results in failure of the test, and immediate expulsion from the selection process. As it winds toward its climax, the movie takes some bizarre twists and turns as the candidates try to figure out the question, with each idea becoming more and more outlandish as they get closer to the eighty minute deadline, and before long, the candidates begin to turn on one another as desperation and suspicion take hold.
Despite a chaotic, and somewhat predictable ending, the movie starts out well, and does a good job of drawing the viewer in by creating a palpable sense of intrigue, and before long you'll find yourself joining in with the guessing games and semantic evaluations. Most of the logic the movie employs in dealing with its central mysteries is easy enough for the viewer to follow along with, and in some cases the movie even does a good job of subtly leading the viewer to a certain conclusion, only to later show it to be nothing more than a dead end. The movie also does a good job of showing how easily people can get swept up by the tide of unfolding events, especially when part of a group of like-minded individuals; during the course of the movie, the candidates ideas dovetail from rational and well thought out, to tenuous and frantic all too easily as time continues to slip away from them.
However, the film is let down somewhat by the ending, both in terms of the deterioration of the volatile group dynamic, which seems a bit silly, and by the ending itself – parts of which seem largely telegraphed. Despite this though, Exam's premise is still an interesting idea for a movie, and is, for the most part at least, quite entertaining, as well as being something of a pastiche of (and perhaps a cautionary tale for) reality TV shows.
I was hesitant in watching Solomon Kane; I had heard about it and watched a trailer, but it looked to me like another attempt at milking a comic book story for some money. I read the Wikipedia article on the film and it said that it has an 82% "fresh" rating on rottentomatoes.com, which is really good for a community-fed statistic. Convinced of its merit, I decided to try it out.
To be honest, I couldn't stand it. It was a vague, slow, and unrelentingly boring film with CGI that is about 10 years out of date. It tells the tale of a guy that looks like Van Helsing who wears a pilgrim hat. Solomon's backstory is not very fleshed out beyond an obligatory flashback or two; being that this is the first film in a projected trilogy, they should have spent more time working the character's motivations so that I would actually want to watch the next two films. And in this case, I will not be watching the next two films.
And by the by, there are only 17 reviews up on rottentomatoes.com, so I don't think it's an accurate assessment. Rather, you should consider the hundreds of reviewers that were so unimpressed that they couldn't get around to writing something.
As a modern take on the vampire movie, Daybreakers puts an interesting spin on what is essentially quite a tired genre, and the films central concept is surprisingly fresh, and full of potential.
Set in the year 2019, Daybreakers takes place in a world where the human race has been all but wiped out by a vampire virus, with only around five percent of the human population immune to this virus. However, rather than tell the story from the point of view of the remaining survivors, as most films would, Daybreakers shows us a vision of a world ruled by its nocturnal inhabitants; where coffee shops sell coffee made with twenty percent blood; where once bustling city streets now sit empty during daylight hours, only to seethe with life during the night; and where technology has evolved in leaps and bounds, for the simple purpose of allowing vampires to live a very normal, very human existence.
The films main concept is extremely thought-provoking, and will have you pondering over some of the finer details long after the movie has finished. There's no doubting the fact that Daybreakers tries to do something bold and innovative with the vampire genre. However, as good as the initial concept is, some bad decisions, poor execution, and nonsensical plot development quickly turn a clever idea into a brainless mess.
Despite a promising opening, Daybreakers is clearly a movie with an identity crisis, and before long, all of the intelligence flaunted in the films opening scenes gets buried beneath layers of predictability, needless gore, silly characters, and an absurd plot. For example, while the movie initially takes the novel approach of making a fully-fledged vampire society the focal point of the plot, it isn't long before the small remaining faction of human resistance becomes the films real focus. From that point on, the plot plays out as predictably as you'd expect, and only ever deviates from predictability when trying to shock the viewer with over-the-top gore, or an outlandish plot device – the films ridiculous cure for vampirism being of particular note in that respect.
Ultimately, Daybreakers ends up as much of a disappointment by the films end. This is not to say that the movie is terrible, but rather, it's a disappointment in terms of not living up to the standard it sets for itself in its opening scenes. By that token, Daybreakers is a film with a brilliant premise, which is let down by bad execution, inconsistent writing, and no clear idea as to what the movie is supposed to be trying to accomplish. Also, having a terrible name doesn't help either.
Not being from the US, this one passed me by the first time, but I decided it was too good not to share. In sticking with the Lionel Richie theme, I present to you ... a Starburst commercial?!?
I want to watch the new HBO show Treme, but not until I learn how to pronounce it, which means I need to actually hear someone say the word, instead of just reading it. But I don't think anyone knows how to really say it, so no one will, then we're all fucked.
Well, they've already been picked up for a 2nd season, so we have plenty of time before it gets cancelled, and HBO airs another show about one of America's worst cities and/or states. They've already done New Jersey, Baltimore, and New Orleans, so my guess for the next place would be...Houston, Texas.
I enjoyed remixing the F.E.A.R. 3 trailer so much the other day that I've decided to make it a regular feature. In the video above you will find the God of War III E3 2009 trailer, with a new, more fitting audio track added.
The audio track is Iron and Wine doing a live in-studio performance on KCRW of The Flaming Lips' "Waitin' for a Superman".
I don't hide the fact that I'm usually too scared to play scary video games. So when the new F.E.A.R. 3 trailer debuted yesterday, I decided to do something about it, for the sake of wussies worldwide: I added my own soundtrack to it, significantly lowering the scariness factor by about 104%. The original trailer can be found after the break.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!