Let the Right One In
I was working in Chicago today around Belmont and Western and whenever I'm there I visit my friends at Challengers comics. Today however I also made my way over to Piper's Alley to go see Let the Right One In. Mostly because my boss was talking about going to see it there otherwise I wouldn't have known it was still in the area.
So Swedish Vampire films are so derivative. Wait, that's not true. In fact this was clever and heartfelt and if you found Pan's Labyrinth enjoyable you'll probably like this -- though it's very low budget in comparison.
The movie is about Oskar, a 12 year old boy who is a social outcast picked on by school bullies. One night he meets Eli (think Elly not Manning) another 12 year old (mostly) who's just moved in next door. Except she doesn't get cold, can't eat food and drinks blood. Oddly the murder rate goes up about when she arrives.
Now Eli has her own "Renfield" (I can't remember his name, nor does IMDB seem to help) who is a little beyond middle-aged and none to competent. His only task is to procure blood for her yet he has little success forcing Eli to forage for herself. Eventually this brings death a bit too close to her new home and the threat of Eli's true nature is in real danger of being discovered. I'm not going to give away the ending or who survives but it's truly wonderful. You feel for this "girl" who wants to survive and how she bonds with this boy who wants the same thing. But you know that each mistake brings her closer to discovery and destruction. Maybe.
I'm not sure of Eli's nature. It's possible that she attempted to manipulate everything from the beginning which would make her the more sinister, old-school, plotting vamp. But I'm quite the romantic when it comes to movies -- I prefer to believe the magic bits of Pan's Labyrinth were real and Moana ended up being a fairy princess. Eli has a puzzle egg which is filled with rings. I'm guessing these are rings from past "Renfields".
Other stuff.
Started reading again. I like to read a minimum of one book every other month for my personal enjoyment (so not work reading). So 6 books a year. I'm not going to debate whether that's lots or little but last year I read zero. No books for 2008. This year I've already read the non-fiction Neil Gaimany Prince of Stories. So one more than last year.
Had a good new years. Spent it in Rochelle at Dr. Popp's. Played a decent amount of Rock Band (2?) and drove home (Des Plaines) at 3am because I forgot my keys to mom's place in Naperville.
Ultimates 3 - I bought the b/w trade which is all Mad's pencils. Good looking but not great, though I'm told more interesting than the color. Either way the story was complete crap. It just sort of ignored everything that came before.
I was working in Chicago today around Belmont and Western and whenever I'm there I visit my friends at Challengers comics. Today however I also made my way over to Piper's Alley to go see Let the Right One In. Mostly because my boss was talking about going to see it there otherwise I wouldn't have known it was still in the area.
So Swedish Vampire films are so derivative. Wait, that's not true. In fact this was clever and heartfelt and if you found Pan's Labyrinth enjoyable you'll probably like this -- though it's very low budget in comparison.
The movie is about Oskar, a 12 year old boy who is a social outcast picked on by school bullies. One night he meets Eli (think Elly not Manning) another 12 year old (mostly) who's just moved in next door. Except she doesn't get cold, can't eat food and drinks blood. Oddly the murder rate goes up about when she arrives.
Now Eli has her own "Renfield" (I can't remember his name, nor does IMDB seem to help) who is a little beyond middle-aged and none to competent. His only task is to procure blood for her yet he has little success forcing Eli to forage for herself. Eventually this brings death a bit too close to her new home and the threat of Eli's true nature is in real danger of being discovered. I'm not going to give away the ending or who survives but it's truly wonderful. You feel for this "girl" who wants to survive and how she bonds with this boy who wants the same thing. But you know that each mistake brings her closer to discovery and destruction. Maybe.
I'm not sure of Eli's nature. It's possible that she attempted to manipulate everything from the beginning which would make her the more sinister, old-school, plotting vamp. But I'm quite the romantic when it comes to movies -- I prefer to believe the magic bits of Pan's Labyrinth were real and Moana ended up being a fairy princess. Eli has a puzzle egg which is filled with rings. I'm guessing these are rings from past "Renfields".
Other stuff.
Started reading again. I like to read a minimum of one book every other month for my personal enjoyment (so not work reading). So 6 books a year. I'm not going to debate whether that's lots or little but last year I read zero. No books for 2008. This year I've already read the non-fiction Neil Gaimany Prince of Stories. So one more than last year.
Had a good new years. Spent it in Rochelle at Dr. Popp's. Played a decent amount of Rock Band (2?) and drove home (Des Plaines) at 3am because I forgot my keys to mom's place in Naperville.
Ultimates 3 - I bought the b/w trade which is all Mad's pencils. Good looking but not great, though I'm told more interesting than the color. Either way the story was complete crap. It just sort of ignored everything that came before.