Movie Review - 30 Days of Night: Dark Days

I enjoyed the David Slade movie 30 Days of Night which starred Josh Harnett and Mellisa George. The 2007 film was stylishly directed, had a competent cast and a compelling story. If only the 2010 Direct to Video sequel had those same qualities. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days isn't a terrible movie, but it does have some problems.

A Direct to Video sequel is sometimes not a good sign. This usually means that the budget is much less than the original and or that the studio didn't like the finished film and determined that it wasn't strong enough for theatrical release. In the case of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, the producers had a smaller budget from the start and knew they were going straight to video before production began. This leads to the next problem of the film; The main character isn't played by the same actress as in the original.

Melissa George played Stella Oleson in the original 30 Days of Night, but chose not to star in the sequel. It could have been that miss George didn't like the smaller pay check offered, or the stigma of the Direct to Video release or the script. If you judge some of the other things Melissa George has stared in, like Triangle, then Direct to Video isn't a major concern to her. Though all three issues could have been part of the decision not to appear in the sequel.The fact that the script has the Stella Oleson character doing such stupid things through the entire story; would have to make most actors think twice before taking the part.



30 Days of Night: Dark Days has Kiele Sanchez playing Stella Oleson. Kiele is an attractive actress but seems to have come from the Kristen Stewart (Twilight) school of acting. Her acting range seems to only cover depressed and an expression that looks like she has indigestion.
The rest of the cast doesn't fair much better with the poor script they have to work with. Rhys Coiro who plays Paul the leader of a group of vampire hunters and Stella's new love interest seems kind of bored. Harold Perrineau is Todd the token black member of the vampire hunters. Diora Baird is Amber, another member of the group , who you spend most of the time rooting for her to die.

The lovely Mia Kirshner plays queen of the vampires, Lilith. Poor Mia isn't really given much to do and seems to mostly try to walk around with the black contacts in her eyes and not bump into the props. The one scene that could have been visually interesting has Lilith rising from a blood filled bath tub to stand before her minions in all her naked glory. Miss Kirshner has appeared nude in many productions and one would think this would not be a problem in this R rated film; but the limp direction by Ben Ketai has the audience left in the dark.

One of the stronger aspect of the original 30 Days of Night was the stylish and dynamic direction by David Slade. That dynamic direction is very much missed in this sequel. Director Ketai has little visual style and combined with a weak story he co wrote with Steve Niles makes the final result little more than a group of stupid characters doing stupid things to further the plot along.This film commits the one crime a film can never do; be boring and you will find yourself bored with 30 Days of Night: Dark Days

Movie Reviews: Vampire Movies Looking for Laughs : Vampires Suck, Bitten and Suck

A look at Vampires Suck, Bitten and Suck

They say that a trend in movies is on the way out when the movies become aimed at younger audiences and spoofs are made about the genre. But the Vampire trend doesn't seem to be slowing down and much of the market is aimed at young female movie goers. The Twilight series is squarely aimed at young girls and one could say that the film versions are they themselves spoofs of much better vampire films. The books by Stephanie Myers owe much (VERY MUCH) to other novels and series about vampires. The Anita Blake : Vampire Hunter series by Laurel K Hamilton predates the Twilight series by several years and is a much better series and one could argue that most of the plot and characters from Twilight are pale copies of characters and events from the Anita Blake series.

I could spend several blog posts analysis the short comings of the Twilight movies and books, but instead I'm going to review several recent vampire movies that are aimed more at your funny bone, than your jugular.



First lets look at a movie that spoofs the Twilight movies, called "Vampires Suck". If you haven't seen the Twilight movies, you may not get the feeble jokes this lackluster film shoots for. It would seem easy spoofing movies that are unintentionally laugh out loud funny because they are so badly done. But the film makers of "Vampires Suck" apparently couldn't come up with any real funny bits for this film. "Vampires Suck" does indeed suck.

Another vampire film that has suck in the title is called "SUCK" and is a much, much better movie than our previous example. "Suck" is about a not so great rock band called the Winners, who are barely surviving on the road.



The fortunes of the band turn for the better when bass player JENNIFER (JESSICA PARÉ) goes to an after party with a very creepy looking guy called QUEENY (DIMITRI COATS,lead singer of Burning Brides)who looks like a vampire because he is one. Jennifer struggles not to eat her band mates, but soon turns most of the band except for lead singer JOEY (writer, directer and star ROB STEFANIUK)who wants the band to be famous because of his music and not vampire magic. This is a good little movie, that has a bunch of rock star cameos ( Moby, Iggy Pop and Alice Cooper to name a few)a rocking score, good performances and a nice, funny story. This is worth a look and will pleasantly surprise you.

Finally lets take a look at "Bitten" a dark comedy that looks at vampirism almost as an addiction and how can true love survive if your hot new girlfriend keeps eating people.



"Bitten" is a love story about paramedic Jack ( Jason Mewes ) who finds the beautiful Danika lying in a pile of garbage covered in blood. Jack takes Danika (Erica Cox) in and nurses her back to health, but it soon becomes apparent that Danika isn't hooked on drugs, but on human blood. Jack attempts to be an understanding boyfriend and one look at Eric Cox in this film and one could see a lot of guys putting up with a little murder now and then. But Jack has trouble adjusting to waking up in a pool of blood, next to his vampire girlfriend and the nude dead bodies of her victims. Can true love survive? Check out "Bitten" and find out. Not quite as good as "Suck" but still a funny dark comedy.

Movies Reviews: Virginity Hits and Suicide Girls Must Die

Hello gentle readers. Today I would like to look at a few films that you should be able to catch on DVD or at the local Multiplex. First lets look at "Suicide Girls Must Die". Which is supposed to be the "Worlds first horror reality movie" and it may well be , but who really cares if it is?

The basic idea of the movie is that a group of the tattooed and pierced models from the actual Suicide Girls website go to a remote lodge in the woods for a calendar shoot. The calendar shoot is the excuse for each of the girls to get naked for a few minutes in the film. I'm not complaining about that part, some of the girls are very attractive and the nudity is appreciated.

I will complain about the basic deceit of the film makers, who treat the audience as if we are as stupid as they make these poor girls appear to be in this movie.



Of course I could be giving the actors more credit than they deserve and they really are as stupid as they appear to be in this film, but I really hope not. The movie isn't really scary and logic soon disappears early on in the film. I will give credit to Amina Munster (I'm sure that's not her real name) who plays the photographer / uber lesbian bitch of the story. Amina is very attractive and has being a total insensitive bitch down to a T, I almost suspect that she wasn't acting.If you want to see a bunch of mostly attractive tattooed girls doing a lot of stupid things and are naked part of the time, then this may be the movie for you. If you're looking for a good scary movie, then you may want to skip this one.

Another movie shot in the cinema verite style is "Virginity Hits" a group of horny teen boys trying to lose their virginity kind of movie. Think Super Bad shot in the style of Paranormal Activity. The story follows the hapless nerdy, nice guy Matt trying to get laid and landing in one humiliating situation after the other.



The movie is kind of funny and it may be a good movie for parents to see with their teenagers. There are a lot of 18 years olds drinking, partying and many sexual situations, but parents could use this film as a spring board to discuss these things with their teenage sons and daughters.The film doesn't glorify these activities and shows how stupid people can be while doing them.

The young unknown cast does a good job and they do some pretty outrageous things on camera. The two main leads Matt Bennett and Zack Pearlman fit the Jonah Hill / Michael Cera roles of over the top fat friend and shy, so nice you wonder if he's gay guy; who wants to wait until everything is perfect to sleep with his hot girlfriend and screws everything up. Though for the most part the movies is entertaining, there are some moments that really cross the border into just cruel humiliation. Kind of funny, but shot on video, so you may enjoy it more watching it on the big screen at home instead of paying to see it in a theatre.

Movie Review: Solomon Kane

Solomon Kane is an action film based on the Robert E Howard novel. The story follows our title character Solomon Kane, a pirate and a rogue who encounters a demon who wants his soul. Kane barely escapes and locks himself away in a monastery. But soon the evil follows him to England. Kicked out by the monks Solomon travels the country side of England and soon is taken in by a Puritan family who are on their way to the English coast to sail to the Americas. The family is ambushed, by an evil warlord who has dark connections to the demon Kane fears. The family is slaughtered excepts for the nubile teen daughter, who Solomon must now attempt to save and risk his soul in the process.



This is actually a pretty good movie. Quite a lot of action and violence. James Purefoy gives a very good performance as Solomon Kane and spends most of the movies, either drenched in rain, blood or mud and usually all three at once. This is kind of hard to find, but well worth a look if you like period action films.

Screen Writing Tips: Tension in your stories

What you choose to write about is far more important than any decision you might make about how to write it. You must come up with a good premise.
9 out of 10 writers fail at the premise stage. Nine out of ten fail at the first step. Think about what you want to write about, it must have meaning to you, you must understand what you are writing about.

Today I’m going to talk a little bit about suspense and tension in your stories. Wither you are writing a short story, novel or screenplay. You need to create a sense of suspense. In a mystery or thriller, suspense and tension are vital to the story, but you also need suspense and tension in almost all other types of stories as well.
In a love story you have the sexual tension and the suspense of “will they get to together?” “Will she find out about his affair?” “Will they stay together? And so on.
Comedy is based on tension and suspense as well. Even in a simple joke you have the set up, the complication and the pay off. We know something funny is coming, but it is the anticipation, the suspense, the tension that keeps us listen. Even when we think we’ve heard this one before; we still wait for the punch. The punch line maybe new.

Before we get in to creating tension and suspense, let’s talk a little bit about Plot and Story.

A Plot is a description of a sequence of events. The events should occur in a logical order and satisfy the expectations of the audience. You do not have to give the viewer exactly what they expect. Far from it, surprise the audience, but do it in a way that makes sense to the audience.
A sequence is a series of scenes that are related with a unifying idea. Two gun fighters have a shoot out at high noon is a scenes. A card game where one of our gun fighters is caught cheating by the other. The challenge to a gun fight. The two men preparing in different ways for the duel and then the gun fight are a series of scenes that create a sequence.

A man murders his wife is a plot, but isn’t a story until you describe why and how he killed her. A Story is how you reveal the Plot in the most interesting and dramatic way. To do this you use scenes and sequences.

What does a story or screenplay need? The story needs momentum. Move the story along, don’t stop, and don’t waste time here and there. Momentum is forward movement. This is the effect your story has on the reader or audience.
Almost every scene in a screenplay and most scenes in a novel should create tension and or conflict.
Tension is created when the audience or read hopes or fears that something will happen to the characters.
Will the lovers get together?
Will the bomb in the mail box kill the hero?
Will the team of misfits win the state championship against all odds?

Tension = Conflict + Contrasts. Murtaugh and Riggs in Lethal Weapon are a perfect example of contrast and conflict creating tension and entertains the audience along the way.
Opposites create tension:
Odd cop + young crazy cop (Lethal Weapon again)
Rich good girl + poor bad boy (but not too bad) The Note Book
Slacker guy + Uptight bitchy girl (any Katherine Heigl movie)

Next time we will look at how to create Tension

Movie Trailers: Due Date, The Town and Let Me In

I've added some previews of movies that I hope will be as good as the previews. first up is Due Date with Robert Downy Jr and Zach Galifianakis. Looks funny.



In a different vein is the new Ben Affleck movie The Town, this one looks like an intense action thriller. I actually don't mind Affleck's acting and I think he did a very good job in Hollywood Land and from this preview at least, seems up to the task in this film as well. Plus you have John Hamm and Jeremy Renner rounding out the cast. Might be a fun time at the movies.



The last one for now is Let Me In Which is the American remake of the Swedish hit: Let the Right One In . Starring Chloe Moretz (HitGirl in Kick Ass)as Abby; a 200 year old vampire trapped in the form of a 12 year old girl. Abby moves to a small town and befriends Owen played by Kodi Smit-McPhee ( Who I hated in the Road), who is bullied by almost everyone. Things change. The original was creepy and violent, let's hope the new version can retain the scary factor.



That's all for now. Keep writing and remember Fade In is just the Beginning

New Screenwriting courses coming up.

Hello everyone. The production of the short film "Out of Frame" has begun and so far has been an adventure. There are a few murders in the script. Let's hope we don't have any real murders getting it shot.

I will be speaking at the Barnes and Nobel on Hurstbourne Lane in Louisville, this Saturday 9Sept 11th)for the Sisters in Crime writers group and I am looking forward to to that very much. I also have some fun and exciting courses coming up at the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University and these are open to everyone.

Introduction to Screenwriting
Writing a motion picture is quite different from writing a novel. A screenplay not only tells a compelling story. It serves as a blueprint for creating a film. In this class, you’ll discover how to plot your story, create fascinating characters, and structure the three acts. You will leave this class with your screenplay plotted out, your story outlined and the first act completed. Examples from a variety of movie genres will be viewed, as well as samples from popular screenplays. A fun and exciting course for novice and experienced writers.
Class Schedule: Sept 16th—Oct 21st (6 Sessions) Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM .For more information and to sign up, call (502) 852-6456. University of Louisville, Delphi Center. Or on the web: www.louisville.edu/delphi
Course # 119DPN Fee:$89

The Art and Craft of Creating Thrills and Chills in Movies and Novels
Do you love to be scared? Do you watch horror films or read thrillers? Do you have an idea for a horror or thriller story? If so, you will love this new class! Discover how to turn your ideas into compelling fiction. Using examples from popular short stories, novels and films, you will learn how to create vivid settings, memorable characters, suspenseful plots and much more. Just in time for Halloween, this fun class is for those who want to write thrilling and frightening stories as well as those who want insight into how scary stories work.
Class Schedule: Sept 28th to Nov. 2 (6Sessions) Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:30PM
Course # 119EPE also at the Delphi Center.
Fee:$89
Special Halloween Course for a Scary good time!

Mastering the Craft of Screenwriting
Discover the “secrets” of effective story telling: the art and craft of story design, going beyond three-act structure, character creation, and dialogue. Learn the tools and techniques to create effective and entertaining stories and scripts for motion pictures and other media. Examples from movies, screenplays and television will be shown and discussed. Both experienced and novice writers are welcome.
Instructor: John M. Risner is a professional screenwriter and story analyst. He is the founder of ScreenWriter-Ink.com, a website devoted to the screenwriter.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: 8 Wednesdays / Sept. 22 - Nov. 10 / 6:30 - 8:30 pm / $159 ($169 after Sept. 15)
For more information and to sign up , call (502)-452-8166. Bellarmine University. Or on the web : www.bellarmine.edu/ce. Sign up before Sept 15th and receive a discount

If you have been thinking about writing a screenplay or a story these courses are for you. If you are stuck on a screenplay or story and want to jump start the creative engine, then these courses are for you. If you've taken one of my courses before, then you know you will have fun and learn a great deal; so sign up, I would love to have you.

Out of Frame

The script for the short film "Out of Frame" is complete. Now if I can keep the director and producer from screwing it up with their helpful scene deletions and character enhancing dialogue. Just kidding, a script is a fluid thing sometimes and like soup everyone thinks they can make your original recipe better.

Out of Frame is actually the third incarnation of a story I came up with about a year ago. The original version was called Still Life and is a much longer piece which I plan to expand into a full length feature. Later I cut the story down to the bare bones with the same main characters but with less scenes and locations and that was called Death Scenes. Now we have Out of Frame which is basically Death Scenes with a new title and a few more scenes and character enhancing dialogue added in.

The story is about a young photographer named Damien Drake who has made a name for himself by creating morbid , but beautiful photographs of violence and murder. Damien with the urging of his girlfriend / manager Lorna, has changed his subject matter , but at the cost of sales and critical success.

The story begins with the opening of his new photography show , which is poorly received. Just as Lorna is ready to close up for the night, John Godewyn and Allette arrive to purchase some of Damien older pieces and to commission a photo shoot of Allette.

Are John and Allette much more than they seem ? Is their a hidden connection between Damien's scenes of death and real murders from around the country?

Hey got the computer working

Hello everyone, got the computer working again and can get back to some writing. I hope everyone had fantastic Holidays and I wish you all good luck in 2010. Coming up later will be a review of The Book of Eli and I want to warn you now that there will be spoilers in that review.

I want to mention that the Derby City Film Festival is next month (February) and I will be giving a seminar on screenwriting there. Also in February my course Getting Published begins and March sees the Solving the Mystery of Writing Mysteries and Introduction to Screening Writing courses begin. More info on the film fest and the writing courses to come.