Masterchef

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

The latest in remakes takes the 1984 horror masterpiece A Nightmare On Elm Street as its inspiration. This time around, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) takes the role of child molester Freddy Krueger. Krueger comes back from the grave to seek revenge on the children of the people who killed him.

I don’t think there is anyone better for playing a small, wiry, twisted, nightmare killer than Haley. He oozes malice. The film though, is nothing exceptional, and there is a lack of killing and surreal visions. I could say that about the last six Nightmare films too. Despite the lack of originality, I still enjoyed Krueger haunting the teens, including Kyle Gallner (Jennifer’s Body), Thomas Dekker (Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), Kellan Lutz (Twilight), and Rooney Mara (Urban Legends Bloody Mary). Watching the film made me think of an interesting twist, what if Krueger was innocent and was wrongly killed.

George Lucas

Machete (2010)

Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror, Sin City, From Dusk Til Dawn) assembles a dream cast to make the full length version of the trailer he created for Planet Terror / Deathproof double.

The ageless Danny Trejo (Predators,Fanboys, Blood Ties) finally has lead billing in a film. He is Machete, a Mexican ex-Federale illegally in the USA. Machete finds himself caught up in the dealings of a Mexican drug lord (Steven Seagal – The Keeper, Urban Justice, Against The Dark, Cockpuncher), a US Senator (Robert De Niro – Frankenstein, Brazil), the senator’s spin doctor (Jeff Fahey – Darkman 3, The Lawnmower Man) and his trashy daughter (Lindsay Lohan – I Know Who Killed Me, Mean Girls), a Mexican hater (Don Johnson – A Boy And His Dog), an Immigration Officer (the hot Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Dark Angel), and a taco selling activist (the even hotter Michelle Rodriguez – Avatar, Fast & Furious, Resident Evil).

Rodriguez’s film is deliberately retro, violent, and funny. Iam sure much of what he does is what they tell you not to do at film school. That just makes Machete better. I’m still confused about the message the film is trying to convey, still appalled by some of the effects, and still amazed at how good the finished product is.

Toy Story 3D (2010)

Woodie (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang of toys are back and things look dire for them. Their owner is growing up and going to college, and the toys find themselves sent to a day care centre. They are lovingly greeted by the existing toys when they arrive, but the warm feelings subside as Toy Story 3 turns in to a prison movie with a malevolent warden and vicious guards, and Ken (Michael Keaton). Ken is great, and he loves fashion.

When the action is inside the day care centre, the film is very good and very dark for a children’s movie as it reworks prison movie cliches. The overlong, feel good ending, which is probably needed to cheer up the children watching the movie up, is less enjoyable.

Predators (aka Predator 3) (2010)

A group of unconnected killers wake up in a jungle and have to work together to fight a group of Predators.

Predators does away with the unnecessary story elements that slow down many action films to focus on action and conflict. This is the first of the Predator sequels to capture the spirit of the original. It's a simple premise that has character, comedy, guns, twists, and an impressive cast including Adrien Brody (Splice), Topher Grace (Spiderman 3), Alice Braga (I Am Legend), Walter Goggins (The Shield), Oleg Taktarov (Bad Boys 2), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Cherry 2000) Danny Trejo (Machete, Fanboys), Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (The 4400), and Louis Ozawa Changchien (Robot Stories).