Review of Control (2007) by Tim G — 10 Nov 2008

I loved [b]The Mist[/b]. Another pairing of director Frank Darabont ("The Majestic") with material from writer Stephen King makes me want them to work together all the time. King knows how to create characters and they all work here. The story starts fast. The claustrophobia is great, as well as the reactions of the people trapped in a supermarket when a strange monster inhabited mist descends on the town. Marcia Gay Harden ("Into the Wild") is in top form here. Excellent, gut wrenching ending. See it now.

[b]Control[/b] is the biopic about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. I don't know much about the subject matter, but the film seemed to paint a pretty honest portrait. Shot in black and white, Sam Riley ("24 Hour Party People") as Curtis, is sometimes painful to watch as he deals with epilepsy. Samantha Morton ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age") is equally good as his wife, Deborah. The film uses much of Joy Division's music, as well as other music from that era. I didn't love it, but that may have been because it was so bleak and depressing.

[b]Step Up [/b]is pretty much everything you could want in a teen dance movie. There's a love story between two people from different worlds. There's angst. And, of course, lots of dancing. Quite entertaining and a feel good ending.

I caught [b]Pet Sematary[/b] on AMC during their Halloween Horror Fest, and it was just as creepy as I remembered. However, the acting's pretty bad. I didn't remember that. But director Mary Lambert ("14 Women") handled Stephen King's story well, and all the parts that are supposed to be scary totally deliver. And we can learn something from this - Never bury your pets, or children, in an old Indian burial ground. Side note: to this day, I cannot spell cemetery correctly. I blame this book and film.

I don't really have anything good to say about [b]Saw V[/b]. The series, which is not my favorite anyway, just ground to a screeching halt. Sure, even though Jigsaw's dead and the movie ends setting up a sequel, the fun has gone out of it. No interesting characters. No really cool traps. I tried to take a nap, but it was too loud. Just watch some old Friday the 13ths. They may be bad, but at least they're entertaining.