Lincoln (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis does not carry an axe in this movie.
Repeat: Daniel Day-Lewis does not carry an axe in this movie.

Rorschach! Freddy Kruger!
The Confederate States Of America VP!

At a glance:

While thankfully avoidin the hollow stylings in disappointin recent biopics such as, say The Iron Lady (2011), US$50mil DreamWorks/Fox project Lincoln (2012) is a laborious Steven Spielberg exposition on presidential academia, obviously aimed away from the same audiences who were lappin up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) back in June. That is to say, this drainin, 150-minute history lesson is unapologetically talky and probably serves as school syllabus material as well as conversation fodder to the real-life U.S. presidential election in a matter of days. The same writer-director team last did Munich (2005) together, if that helps you picture what kind of biopic this is. Adapted from a 2005 biography by Doris Kearns Goodwin, it reportedly focuses on the final four months of Honest Abe's life, and central to the proceedings is the technical, even mathematical aspects of how the Thirteenth Amendment (abolition of slavery) in 1865 came to be. The timin of its release is supposed to echo the upcomin 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Bad news on the doorstep:
By now you'd have figured out that I'd appreciated more help for the uninitiated, as this movie speaks directly to those already familiar with American history. With only title cards to punctuate the course of events, my movie experience at an advance screenin at Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill in Oakville, Ontario, was compromised by my poor familiarity on the subject matter. Perhaps you'd want to read a more qualified review, say from Variety's Peter Debruge but even he writes that Lincoln "offers a largely static intellectual reappraisal of the great orator... Spielberg's most play-like production yet... a style that will keep many viewers at arm's length."

Perennial wonderment:

Can Daniel Day-Lewis ever put a foot wrong? By most accounts, the man has outdone himself again with several months of exhaustive method actin, what with the huge amount of dialogue, he definitely did need to stay in character. However, Tommy Lee Jones as radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens provides the moral heart of the story that audiences can relate to with ease.

Sally Field got a great run-out here.

Reminds me of:

Seein Sally Field again reminds me of Forrest Gump (1994). How I wish there were more roles like these for her so we can see her more often. She played Peter Parker's Aunt May in this year's Spidey movie but I stayed away from that one. Other big name cast members I recognise include Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Lincoln's eldest son Robert), Tim Blake Nelson, Hal Holbrook, Jackie Earle Haley and John Hawkes.

Most memorable line:

Probably said by Tommy Lee Jones.

Tommy Lee Jones - the most fun character here.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Abraham Lincoln is here portrayed as an endearin storyteller and warm family man but I wished more could be brought up about how he's allegedly as racist as any other, or that he was more Jewish than Christian, or any of the less desirable qualities that have been claimed. The movie doesn't allow him much room as a table-thumpin public defender hero either because his motivations and emotions are presumed onto us without an arc. Spielberg's slave movie Amistad (1997) was more accessible to me and I'd recommend this only for DDL if you're not academically interested in AL.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

At a glance:

New and old: Freddy still loves bathing pussies.

Creator Wes Craven, the man behind the 1984 original that spawned eight further films featurin That Other Guy With A Fedora Who Isn't Indiana Jones, would have good reason not to like this modern take. For him, he can be angry that he wasn't invited to contribute in some way for the new movie. For the rest of us who remember a time before Freddy vs Jason (2003), we can be disappointed that Freddy is now only half as scary and all the definitive ideas that Craven attached to the horror icon is burnt along with Freddy's face.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Speakin about his face, it was probably a good decision to have Freddy look more like a burn victim instead of the leprous miscreant we have come to remember him by throughout the 25-year franchise. What is disappointin is that the theme of abandonment and neglect, something that original Freddy man Robert Englund has always said was what he thought the character was about, is now only a small aspect of Freddy. The problematic teenagers and their recurrent nightmares about Krueger is a manifestation of their abandonment and neglect, even if you count in the in-universe backstory about how he his connected to them. That's why it's important that we see Kris' mum as an air stewardess in the movie. Without riskin a spoiler to those who aren't familiar with Elm Street's troubles, it's safe to say that it was a combination of this theme and the reality-fantasy duality narrative that captured the imagination of so many horror fans and made the franchise a classic. This new compromise makes Freddy suffer and it's incidentally ironic that the makers have gone ahead with the decision to drop all the jokes from Freddy's persona as well.

Katie Cassidy in a curious little see-through number.

Reminds me of:

Robert Englund. Can there ever be another Freddy? The relatively unknown young cast hold their own, but it must be said that Jackie Earle Haley's turn as Freddy, despite being a natural decision since his wonderful Rorschach in Watchmen (2009), is a little underwhelmin. Newcomer Rooney Mara looks (un)comfortable as one of Freddy's victims, Nancy Holbrook, and is delightfully easy to watch. In fact, her part seems to reference Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) in the original, as a special afflicted who can be key in nailin Freddy.

Most memorable line:

Don't remember any. For an R-rated horror movie however (18 in Malaysia, M18 in Singapore), it does give you decent value. There are several wonderful sequences, all borrowed from the franchise as a whole; and the nightmares are relived with better technology since we have progressed with more impressive CGI since. Freddy's appearances for example, are a mixture of traditional FX (prosthetics desiger Andrew Clement) and also CGI from the team who did Two-Face for The Dark Knight (2008).

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

To make this sound less like a bitter review from a fanboy writer, this A Nightmare On Elm Street reupdate would probably be enjoyed by a great portion of anyone going to see it anyway. It's just that Freddy isn't so fun anymore for those who know him better. Already you can read that Haley has been contracted for two more movies after this one. Frederick Charles Krueger R.I.P.★★1/2