Vampires Week: Blade Trilogy (1998, 2002, 2004)

This whole week of reviews was inadvertently started by my housemate. We were reading over my list of possible films to review when she said, “We should watch Blade.” She hadn’t seen it in years and I’d never seen any of them. Always up for a new movie experience and being a big fan of both action films and comic books (on which Blade is based), I named this week “Vampire Week” and we checked out all three Blade movies with which to marathon. I have to say, I was not disappointed. I’ll comment on all three movies here as simply and succinctly as possible.

Blade

Call No: PN1997 .B5738 2001

The movie that starts it all. Basic rundown? Blade is the half mortal, half vampire protector of the human race. Known as the “Daywalker” because of his ability to walk during the day while having the healing and strength of a vampire, Blade must take down vampire baddie Deacon Frost with the help of his mentor Whistler.

First of all, props to Kris Kristofferson for not only managing to appear threatening at his age, but to do it in a leg brace. The storyline is tight and suspenseful, easily driven by the equal combination of action and drama (and by drama, I mean scenes where Blade doesn’t look like he’s going to kill someone and the other characters share memories and emotions). While the manner by which some mild gore was executed turned my timid stomach while eating (my own fault), I’d watch this film again in a heartbeat.

12 Angry Men (1957)

12 Angry Men

Call No: PN1997 .T82 2001

I need to start this review by saying that 12 Angry Men is my favourite film of all time, so I have a bit of a bias. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have seen it. I promise that this isn’t going to become a “Drop everything and see it now!” kind of review. Nor do I guarantee that this movie will change your life. It won’t. You’ll be the same person when you finish it. It won’t rattle your worldview or shake your ideologies or make you want to run out and save the planet. But if some of you see it, and I hope you will, you will be, at the very least, enjoying a good film.

The premise of 12 Angry Men, based on the play of the same name by Reginald Rose, is fairly simple. A boy is being tried for murder for stabbing his father. In order to pass a verdict of guilty, everyone must vote the same. Except that one man votes not guilty. As the eleven try to change his mind, evidence is reviewed, prejudices come to light, and it soon becomes evident that the verdict isn’t as simple as everyone thought.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon
Call No: PN1995.9.D4 M253 2000

Since the last two films I reviewed were both in colour, I decided to choose something a little less colourful. I’ve chosen The Maltese Falcon for three reasons. The first is that my housemate has put together a “must see” list of films for herself, and this film is on it. The second is that I spent some time watching two Marx Brothers movies earlier in the week, both of them black and white. Third and finally, the curators from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have released their top 100 films to watch, and The Maltese Falcon is on it (#85).

Based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name, The Maltese Falcon is the textbook definition of a film noir.  It has all of the basic requirements. It’s dark, it contains a serious crime, murders, a femme fatale, and has a cynical private detective.  Humphrey Bogart, whom many people will recognize as “that guy from that Casablanca movie”, plays Sam Spade, a private detective caught up in a web of intrigue surrounding the legend of the Maltese Falcon.

According to legend, the Falcon was a bird created by the Knights Templar of Malta, made of gold and encrusted with priceless jewels and intended as a gift for the King of Spain. It never reached him, stolen before reaching its destination.  The Falcon was covered in black to hide its true value.  Over the centuries it has been lost, stolen and bartered. Finally it has landed into the lives of Sam Spade and three other people. There’s Joel Cairo, a suspiciously quiet and soft spoken criminal. Then there’s Kasper Gutman, a heavyset man whose desire for the bird is stronger than anyone else. And there’s Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a woman involved who wants nothing more than to get out... or does she?