Mr. A's review of.........Fright Night

The Story:

Former nerd Charlie Brewster actually has a pretty good high school life. He's got a girlfriend who loves him, he lives next door to a stripper, he's got a mom who gives him his space, and besides his motorcycle breaking down in the middle of the road, things couldn't get any better.

Well, until people start disappearing that is.

Suddenly Charlie's life is thrown into a tailspin. His girlfriend is on the verge of breaking up with him, his mom is flirting with the new neighbor, and his former childhood friend "Evil" Ed Lee, after trying to convince Charlie that his neighbor Jerry is a vampire, ends up missing, too.

But that can't be right. Jerry? A vampire?

Sadly it is and Charlie's entire life is now just a race against time to stop Jerry and save his family.

Turning to Las Vegas magician and self-proclaimed vampire expert Peter Vincent, Charlie must devise a plan to put Jerry down and save the people in his town from being turning into blood-sucking freaks.

Can he do it or will he end up one of the walking dead himself?

Welcome, everyone. Welcome.....to Fright Night!

The Review:

So right off the bat the soundtrack is awesome, including personal favorites like "Pumped Up Kicks" from Foster the People and "99 Problems" by Hugo.

The acting is awesome with most memorable performance by former Doctor Who star David Tennant. As soon as he appears on screen the film gets better. On the down side his character wasn't featured as much as I would have hoped.

Anton Yelchin holds his own as the reluctant hero Charlie Brewster, I must say that he is now one of my favorite actors.

Unfortunately I found Colin Farrel's portrayal of Jerry to be a bit underwhelming. Not to say he didn't get the job done or that he wasn't a good villain, there was just something missing.

The pacing was a little off for the first half of the film, but it does even out around the half-way mark.

The effects are a bit shoddy when it comes to one particular chase scene and during the final battle, but the rest of it is quite good.

The direction wasn't really anything new, but it worked for the film.

The Verdict:

With more kick-assery and humor than the original, Fright Night delivers on quite a few levels.

There really isn't much gore, however there is quite a lot of blood so please don't take your kids to see this, this isn't some sparkly BS like Twilight.

There are a few frightening moments, but any adult should be able to handle them.

As a last bit of advice I suggest you don't see it in 3-D, I've been told by many people that it really wasn't worth the extra $5.

Now get off your ass and go see Fright Night!

7/10

Jaa mata,

Mr. A

(Executive producer, vampire hunter)

Mr. A's review of........30 Minutes or Less

The Story

Nick, a lowly pizza delivery boy, is having a pretty rough time. He sucks at his job, he just got into a massive fight with his best friend Chet, and to top it off the love of his life (who happens to be Chet's sister) is moving out of state to take a high paying job at a hotel chain.

Dwayne isn't having such a hot time either. He hasn't done a whole lot with his life, his lottery-winner father treats him like crap, and the only friend he has in the world is Travis who lives in a junk yard and makes bombs as a hobby.

However, unlike Nick, Dwayne has a plan...

Hiring and out-of-town hit-man, Dwayne plans on having his father killed so he can get his inheritance and open a tanning salon (which would be a front for a brothel BTW). Not having the money to pay for the hit, Dwayne and Travis kidnap our poor hero Nick, strap a bomb to his chest, and force him to rob the local branch of a woefully under-protected bank.

With nothing to lose but his life, Nick sets out to get the cash, get the girl, and to hopefully get his life back on track.

Think he can do it? Don't worry, he does this for a living (inside joke).

The Review

So the casting was perfect. Jesse Eisenberg plays the incredibly pathetic Nick perfectly, but you do see a bit of his character from Zombieland bleed though so I guess that he's just really good at playing pathetic characters.

Nick Swardson does a great job as Travis, being stupidly funny at one moment and playing a great straight-man the next.

And a special shout-out to Aziz Ansari for letting his humor shine through as Chet ("'Do you think Lisa would go out with me?' You mean that Lisa? Hello no, she's laughing in your face! No texting in my class!")

The directing wasn't anything to praise, but it wasn't horrible either.

The pacing was sort of slow in the beginning, but once the bomb vest goes on it does pick up quite a bit and there's enough humor to cover whatever down-time there is in the film.

The action beats were pretty far apart, but they kicked a lot of ass when they did finally come around. In all honesty, if there wasn't any comedy in this film it would actually make a pretty good action-drama.

The Verdict

Funny, entertaining, and with just enough naked boobies, 30 Minutes or Less should not be missed. If you like action, comedy, or any combination of those words you should go see it in theaters at least once (I plan on seeing it twice).

But please, please, please, don't take your kids to see it...

8/10

Jaa mata,

Mr. A