The Popcorn Kids

This is the first film I’ve seen by Park-Chan wook.

It is a story of a priest who becomes a vampire through a blood transfusion. This transformation makes him question his values and beliefs, leading him to an immoral immortal life.

What intrigued me most about the film was the way the different themes were interwoven to tell a compelling story.  Faith, morality, love, family and mortality—Park-chan wook masterfully brings these themes to elevate the ‘vampire genre’ to a new level.

Walking out of the theater, we summed up this film in three words:

Awkward Vampire Sex.

There’s a lot of it in this movie.  It’s really awkward and uncomfortably long.

But one of my biggest gripes about the film was how excruciatingly long it felt and was. There were several moments in the film that felt like the end. Then after a half-second fade-to-black, the screen would light up again and proceed with the next act.

Overall:  This film is not for your average movie go-er.  If you’re into foreign arthouse type films, then this is for you.  If not, go and watch GI-Joe or something.

This is my lazy attempt at a movie review post-Comic-con.  I got to see this film a couple weeks ago at a screening.  The trailers and ads don’t tell you too much about the film; it’s obvious they had somewhat of a hard time marketing for it.  Here’s how I sum it up:

- Funny? Yes!  Especially the self-deprecating jokes that nudge at their real-life selves.  It’s the Apatow flavor of humor you’re used to, only this time more tongue-in-cheek.

- Serious.  Although this film has some of the penis humor you’re used to from Apatow, the plot overall is a serious one. This may be off-putting to most viewers used to the loser-nerd statements from the likes of Seth Rogen.  But if you’re familiar at all with Judd Apatow’s work on Freaks and Geeks, you’ll know that he has the talent to balance belly-laughter and emotion.  This film is a great example of this balance.

- Seth Rogen delivers a heartfelt performance—his most serious to date. Without his facial hair and some pounds (he looks much thinner), we are reminded that Rogen is still very much a newcomer on the comedy stage at the ripe age of 27.

- Adam Sandler plays the veteran comedian diagnosed with a terminal illness, George Simmons.  Although this role is different from the regular family man character he normally plays, his performance lacked the bright-shiny acting chops we’ve seen from him in such flicks as Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish.

- Leslie Mann was fantastic in her role as George Simmon’s old flame.  Her performance was outstanding; it was probably the meatiest role I’ve seen her play.

- Cameos. Both good and bad.  Good because when you’re watching you get excited and think “Oooh look! There’s whats-his-face-famous-comedian!” But it’s bad because there’s a lot of cameos. You begin to think that this may be the highest form of ‘name-dropping’ someone could do.  We get it, Apatow. You’re mainstream now.  Get over it.

- Damn it felt long. Like, I wonder what’s on TV right now, long.