Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" isn't a great film, but it is a lot of fun, especially if you are a part of the lifestyle the movie showcases. The film does an excellent job of recreating the feeling of hanging out in the city and going to/playing shows with your buddies. Michael Cera (Nick) and Kat Dennings (Norah) make a nice, likable couple of misfits who are very easy to root for, and newcomer Ari Graynor is hilarious as Caroline, Norah's perpetually drunk best friend... I predict she's gonna be a big star in the future. It's also really refreshing to see a movie that portrays gay characters in a mostly non-stereotypical way. Sometimes the movie gets bogged down in rom-com cliches, but mostly it's an excellent film about music and love that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of personal musical taste. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" gets a 4 out of 5.Quarantine
"Quarantine," a film in which a small group of people are trapped in an urban apartment building while the residents are inexplicably going crazy, plays like "28 Days Later" done by the makers of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield." Like the latter two pictures, "Quarantine" is told through the viewpoint of a TV news camera, although the whole idea is a little more believable than it was in "Cloverfield." The film opens with a local TV news reporter shooting a story about spending a night trailing members of the local fire department. She is played by Jennifer Carpenter, who is becoming a regular "scream queen" with previous roles as the title character in "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and in the TV serial killer show "Dexter " (she also starred in "White Chicks" by the Wayans Brothers, which may be the scariest thing of all). Though short at 89 minutes, the filmmakers take time to build up to the horror. A good portion of the film is set at the fire station, where we get to know the characters as they explore and wait around for something to happen. I always appreciate it when films like these actually allow for suspense to build up (and thankfully the characters here are much more realistic and less annoying than they were in "Cloverfield"). When the horror finally starts, it's fast-paced and relentlessly scary. If you hate POV movies like the ones I've mentioned then you probably won't like this one either, but the truth is that "Quarantine" is a truly terrifying film that will leave you rattled... the perfect kind of movie for this time of the year. "Quarantine" gets a 5 out of 5.
Posts
