The DVD of the week is vampire survival horror 30 Days Of Night. Based on the comic by Steve Niles it tells the story of a small town in Alaska that is invaded by a group of vampires during it’s yearly month long period of darkness. The characters might be a little thin and the leads a bit too pretty but director David Slade keeps the tempo going and creates some truly memorable images amidst the carnage. This is a solid piece of genre cinema. Sadly, it seems that the UK DVD release has been cropped to 1.78:1 so I would suggest savouring the ice cold cinematography by purchasing the Region 1 release that retains the 2.40:1 ratio used in cinemas.
From such a high point it’s a long way down to St Trinian’s, a girl-power remake of the slightly amusing originals. Russell Brand is in it, as is Rupert Everett … and that should be all you need to know. In truth I ain’t seen it but from the trailer alone I feel that I am qualified to wonder what exactly has happened to Colin Firth’s career?
The Lookout is ideal rental viewing. It is an intriguing noir tale featuring Joseph Gordon Levitt as the brain damaged janitor who gets involved in a plot to rob the bank which he cleans. It is a well acted film that rises above the norm through a sparse script, fully formed characters and a deliciously tough finale. The acting is great and the story compelling.
To finish off is a bit of great television that slipped through the net when Channel 4 screened it a while back. Kidnapped: Season1 follows Lucian Knapp, an ex-F.B.I. kidnap specialist (do I need to say the word ‘maverick’?), who is called in by a wealthy family when their son is held for ransom. The drama unfol
ds amidst a string of double-crosses, red herrings and clashes with the authorities – and it is engrossing stuff, so it’s just a pity that no one watched it.
In the U.S., following a poor rating performance on the third episode it was announced that the show would only air for thirteen episodes and not the usual twenty two (which explains why it does not suffer from the flabbiness of some U.S. shows), it was then rescheduled and given the kiss of death when the last few episodes where made ‘online exclusives’. Even Channel 4 lost heart, they showed it at 9pm then moved it back to 11pm then started showing it in batches of two just to finish it quickly.
This show is a genuine mystery. It is intelligent and exciting television featuring some great actors (Linus Roache, Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay, Timothy Hutton and Jeremy Sisto) and yet it was cancelled before it was even given a chance…
