Carrie

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While living in his trailer, a very young author Stephen King started writing "Carrie" for Cavalier Magazine. After writing three pages, he thew it in the garbage but was later pressured by his wife Tabitha to finish it. King, an English teacher at the time shaped the story from two girls he knew from high school and grade school. After successful profiting from the successful novel, King quit teaching and moved full time to being an author.
    
Only two years later in 1976, a film adaption was made and directed by Brian De Palma. A classic film for it's time, it made every actor in the film to what they are today and as the saying goes "The movie made the book and the book made Stephen King". You can also say that after the Carrie movie it was the norm to make as many as possible film adaptions of Stephen King novels.

Now in 2013, there is a Carrie remake. Actually, you could say it's the second remake of this story with a 2002 tv film being the first remake but no one really saw it. To me, remakes are always a mixed bag. It's puts an older story into the present world while putting new actors in. But usually there is a question of why do need a new story of one we have seen once before and it usually shows that the director does not a have creative bones. If a remake like this goes bad, it's a waste and just a bad film to usually good story or in the rare case sometimes, a bad film to a poor story (Prom Night).

Following the same story as original and using similar dialogue, Carrie is about Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is an awkward teen who does not fit in well at high school. After a tampon incident in the girls locker room, Carrie learns that she has telekinetic powers that changes her life dramatically.  This is a story of horror, teen life and culture.

Carrie is a movie and more important than most remakes, where the cast is important. The story works and revolves around characters more than the other elements of the film. Chloe Grace Moretz has been around since even before 2010 with small parts but then found herself cast in larger movies like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and "Kick-Ass". She is a child actor that really has had a lot of variety to her career. Being pretty as she is, it's very hard to envision Moretz ever being an outcast in school but it's a flaw that is overshadowed by a powerful performance where she really runs with this character.

To anyone that's been through it, we know that the high school experience sometimes is not a positive one. While trying to do all the schoolwork, you have to try to fit into the cliques and the popular groups of the school. While Carrie White deals with that, she also deals with a crazy mother played by Julianne Moore.  Unfortunately, we are given no background as to how she had Carrie along with a very confusing first scene of Carrie's birth. This character is very unsettling and awkward and you want her out of every scene though that's exactly what the character purpose is and why she is there. When we will look at Moore's career down the road, this no doubt this will be one of her most different and unique roles while being still very much a positive one in this movie.

As mentioned earlier, this is a different type of remake with a really good cast and the prom scene is also very important different due to how it unfolds and it's importance to the plot and the close of the movie. There are some negatives with bad digital blood and a dated 70's feel but the prom scene does what it needs to do. It definitely shows another side to Carrie and is the big and spectacular action scene as it should be and it is very much out there.

In the long run, Carrie has a lot of  messages. A teen who in the end finds herself even though it's not a positive experience. A teen who's living with a difficult mother who never really resolves the issues with her. It is also about what really high school is and kid's manners and how they relate to each other. As with the original, there may not be a main overall message but this movie is still very powerful.

While a good movie, its is still really unnecessary. I don't think it is something that there is a big audience for and there are still much better horror movies out there in 2013. Like the 2011 movie Fright Night even with it's flaws, Carrie is a positive remake that pays homage to the original as well as bringing a good new and fresh light to this story.

3.5/5    
      

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

After three films, this series is really starting to impress me. The series is not perfect and has it's flaws but what is so strange and so great about the series is it's always funny, always fun and with this film, it provides a lot of things in this third sequel that most third films don't and that is really why this film really makes the cut.

The plot of the film is geared to these characters who are obviously getting older and are now pre-teens. This movie is set in the summer with Greg (Zachary Gordon) who again is getting older and has a rather big love interest in Holly Hills (Peyton List). His dad (Steve Zahn) is also trying to connect with Greg and there is also has a nice side story that has Greg's brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) trying to get closer to Holly's sister, Heather.

This film really works because of it's plot. It provides a lot of good things including some country club scenes and some nice "bonding" scenes with Greg and his dad even though Steve Zahn's acting is a bit over the top at times. There is also a pretty good scene involving a sweet sixteen party that has some pretty good music to it. The plot shows that all the characters have grown up and mostly in a good way.

Along with the two previous movies, Dog Days provides quite a few laughs throughout the film including some bizarre humor with the character Fregley. Rowley is also in many of the funny scenes and most of the jokes here are pretty original.

The performances also help the film. The characters all appear to be played just right and within each actor's ability. This could have been difficult with this being the third film and most the actors returning but they put out the same good performances that they did in the previous movies.

What I found to be different with this film from the other films, is that this one has a lot nice sets inducing the scenes at the country club, some scenes on a boardwalk and a couple scenes set in the wilderness. This may not help the movie all that much but they are nice to look at and are an added bonus to the film.

Even though it works on many levels, Dog Days struggles in some areas. There are some very unrealistic scenes including some in the school and a scene at a pool where it seems like some city ordinances are being broken by having way too many kids in the pool at one time. By the beginning of the the third act, the film does seem to drag and it has a hard time reaching it's conclusion.

Dog Days is good but in my opinion it is not better than the first film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I do think it is better than the second film, Rodrick Rules though. It is also a bit different and stronger then most third films in trilogy series as it doesn't rely on material from the first two movies and its starts "fresh". It is not an amazing or fantastic film but is still very watchable and I will probably watch at least a couple of more times.

3/5