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The Story

Josh Hartnett stars as Eben Oleson, Barrow, Alaska’s hard-working and dedicated sheriff. While most of Barrow’s citizens take off right before the sun disappears from their town for 30 days, Eben stays put – ready to take care of the remaining townsfolk no matter what the emergency. But even Sheriff Oleson can’t protect the people of Barrow from a pack of vampires who figure out a town pitched into darkness by 30 days without the sun is the perfect feeding ground.

Only a handful of Barrow folks survive the initial attack by the vampires who invade the town only after a crazy man longing to be a vampire (played by Ben Foster who is so good at playing loony) does all the dirty work. ‘The Stranger’ steals and then burns everyone’s cell phones making communication with the outside world difficult. He also kills off all the dogs so that they can’t alert their owners about the oncoming invasion of vampires.

Those lucky enough to elude the vampires first attack include Eben’s estranged wife Stella (Melissa George), Eben’s younger brother Jake (Mark Rendall) and a few other assorted Barrowians (or maybe it’s Barrowers). The ragtag collection of survivors must use all their skill and cunning to escape from being made into vampire chow.

The Cast

Danny Huston makes one of the creepiest vampires in film history as Marlow, the leader of the vampire pack. Huston’s just recognizable beneath the jagged vampire teeth and scary vampire makeup. Delivering choppy bits of dialogue in a strange, made-up vampire language, Huston is pure evil. When he tells one afternoon snack there’s no God, Huston cements his place in movie vampire history.

Josh Hartnett’s very convincing in the role of sheriff, carrying the majority of the scenes involving the Barrow survivors on his shoulders with no problem at all. George and Hartnett work well as a couple experiencing major marriage problems, and the rest of the cast do more than just scream and run around like chickens with their heads cut off. There’s a little more meat on these horror movie characters than is normal for the genre – and particularly for vampire movies – so that’s a refreshing change of pace.

The Bottom Line

The night feeders in 30 Days of Night are ugly, monstrous creatures who care nothing about those of us running around with beating hearts, other than how quickly they can kill us. These vampires are a far cry from the romanticized versions which populate TV shows. Their kills aren’t clean and neat and they aren’t accompanied by witty quips. This is a vampire story for those ready for a whole lot of gore, and for those able to accept without analyzing the rest of the plot. Puzzling over how the humans survive without heat or electricity in the freezing cold - or how they get by when they never seem to eat – is pointless. Ignore the gaping plot holes. It’s just a vampire movie, albeit one that’s a fresh, gruesomely fun take on the bloodsucking creatures.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

In this modern retelling of the classic Jules Verne tale, the charismatic sociopath Captain Nemo uses his high-tech submarine to wreak vengeance on the surface world.

Don’t go into 3:10 to Yuma like I did, ready to see a film about a gunslinger versus the law with a clearly defined hero and villain. The story that unfolds is much more layered and complex, with the central characters flawed and their motivations tinged in striking shades of grey. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) pointed out that while most people recall the older Westerns as the “black hat/white hat” stories, the majority of the classic films of the genre did not have clear-cut good guys and bad guys. Mangold and screenwriters Michael Brandt & Derek Haas wove a myriad of layers into the central characters Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and Dan Evans (Christian Bale) and thus effectively evoke the best of what the genre has ever offered.

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With Von Doom back in his homeland of Latveria the fantastic four have new troubles when Galactus has decided that Earth is his next target. When his henchman, The Silver Surfer, is sent to Earth he discovers that he’s getting more than he bargained for when he encounters the Fantastic Four. But that’s not all when Dr. Doom decides that after two years in the homeland he is ready to return. Written by Gharrett Favinger

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Donald Lawson, the devil child from “666: The Child”, is now an adult and is determined to fulfill his destiny as the Antichrist.

Finals at the prestigious University of Dreyskill are finally over and it’s time to party. “The Crew”, as they are known by their peers and dorm mates, are invited to a rich classmate’s hideaway mansion high up in the hills of Colorado. What was supposed to be a weekend of fun and relaxation quickly becomes a trip they will never forget… If they survive! A simple game of prank scare phone calls becomes an intense game of survival and escape when one of the Crew members accidentally calls the wrong person. Written by Anonymous

88 Minutes is destined to go down as one of the worst choices of Al Pacino’s lengthy career. The plot might have sounded enticing on paper, but the execution is all wrong. If there’s 10 minutes of realistic dialogue in this movie, it must have occurred when I went to stretch my legs and clear my head. There are bizarre twists that don’t add up, improbable set ups, and such an utter disregard for logic that sitting through 88 Minutes is 105 minutes of pure torture. (more…)

A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman (Whitaker) bets his life on a horse race; a gangster (Fraser) sees the future; a pop star (Gellar) falls prey to a crime boss (Garcia); a doctor (Bacon) must save the love of his life.

Rykker is an intergalactic warrior trapped on Earth, destined to fight a gang of ruthless aliens known as The Syndicate. The syndicate is an alien fifth column plotting to take over the world. The film opens with a spectacular highway chase, as Rykker liquidates several syndicate agents. Saylon is a top syndicate leader who comes from outer space and crash-lands on Earth. His mission to build a wormhole link between Earth and the alien planet - a portal - making possible a full-scale invasion of the Earth. Isis is the sexy and ruthless leader of the syndicate on Earth. While launching a robbery spree to steal the spare parts necessary to build the portal, Isis becomes hell bent on destroying Rykker and clearing the way for Saylon’s master plan. Julie is a fifteen year old who’s family is murdered During the hijacking of a truck carrying material for the portal. Julie left totally alone in the world, Seeks vengeance on the killers. Rykker also seeks to find them. He must stop them before they complete the portal and flood the world with alien scum. Julie and Rykker are thrown together by tragic circumstance. They hook up - actually, she follows him against his will; he tries and tries to ditch her, but she keeps popping up, even saving his life at one point - and embark on a cross country journey, with Isis and an army of syndicate killers in hot pursuit. The final showdown, inside a nuclear reactor, is a balls to the wall action climax, as Rykker and Julie battle Isis, Saylon and their army of killers, and try to prevent the portal from opening a rein of destruction upon Earth. Written by Fries Film Group