Having been prevented from seeing anything at the cinema last week by the insane amounts of snow in Oxford, I finally managed to extract my car from the car park and see two films this week. Wednesday was Daybreakers, a film which I'd heard nothing about until a month ago, and which on paper (and on trailer) sounded like my kind of thing. Futuristic setting, vampires, Ethan Hawke, and a human/vampire romance. What's not to like? Sadly Daybreakers didn't live up to its promising premise. It's set in 2019, in an alternative future where most of the human population have been infected by bats and turned into vampires (traditional ones - pointy teeth, red eyes, no reflection, turn into lizardy things without blood, you know the type). The world has changed to accommodate its transformed population - night and day are reversed, cars have shutters and cameras on the roof for those who wish to indulge in 'day-time driving', and the remaining uninfected humans are farmed for their blood. Edward Dalton (Hawke) is a scientist working for one of these blood-harvesting companies, trying to find a viable alternative to human blood. For humans are a dying breed and the farms are running out. Meanwhile there is a small band of resisting humans who believe they have found a cure to the 'infection' and are working with sympathetic vamps to expand it to the world.
Daybreakers could be a brilliant film if its makers had gone down the Minority Report route and paired their excellent design and stylish photography with a meaty issues-driven story. Sadly, they decided to go down the horror route instead so this film is big on premise but sadly light on story and character development. The basic bones of the plot are great but the story is never filled out. Ethan Hawke makes a sympathetic hero, and Claudia Karvan is fine as his human love-interest, but like so many horror films all of the supporting characters are gruesomely killed before we can get to know them. There's just too much splatter and gore in this film, when it really doesn't need it. When you've got creepy vampires running around you really don't need to resort to exploding people's heads to give your audience a scare. Perhaps for fans of vampire horrors this will be a classy addition to the genre, but not being a fan of horrors in general I was sadly disappointed by Daybreakers.
My second cinema visit was yesterday when Matching Curtains and I went to the Odeon in town to see 'Nine'. I wasn't a big fan of Rob Marshall's last musical film: 'Chicago', but was impressed enough by the cast list of this film to be curious. It's inspired by the films of Federico Fellini and follows Guido Contini, an Italian film director and his relationships with the women in his life. These women are played by a list of impressive stars: Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Criz, Judi Dence, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, and randomly, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas.
I enjoyed watching Nine, perhaps more than I expected to; mainly due to the fact that the cast are all excellent. Having recently seen Daniel Day Lewis as scary moustachioed oil prospector Daniel Plainview in 'There Will be Blood' it was nice to see him in (relatively) light-hearted mode. Perhaps surprisingly his lanky frame lends itself to dancing and he is quite a delight to watch capering around his main stage looking very Italian. The songs aren't overly memorable but are enjoyable enough to keep you humming along during the film. I particularly liked Nicole Kidman's song, as it reminded me of her brilliant performance in Moulin Rouge. I wouldn't buy Nine on DVD, but on the big screen the combination of song and dance with some glorious Italian scenery is perfect fare for a grey January evening.
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