1-16-10: 2010 at the movies is off to a good start!!!

DAYBREAKERS (2010) ***1/2
D: Michael & Peter Spierig.  S: Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Defoe.

In the near future, mankind has been over run by vampires.  The remaining humans are captured and harvested for blood.   But what happens when the blood supply runs out and there are no humans left?  


This vampire film was surprisingly good.  

It can almost be taken as a commentary on the issue of cure versus commerce.   If pharmaceutical companies are making billions on medication would they rather cover up the cure to keep the money coming in or would they take the ethical high road and help cure the sick.  

It's a fun, bloody and fascinating look into the vampire culture of the modern era.

THE BOOK OF ELI (2010) ***1/2
D: Albert and Allen Hughes. S: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson.

In this post-apocalyptic western, a man is carrying a valuable possession and is on a mission to carry it out west.  Along the way he crosses paths with Carnegie, a man who wants his parcel by any means necessary.

It's no secret that the package that is being delivered is the Bible, the last existing Bible on the planet.   Eli wants to carry the Bible out west while Carnegie wants to use it as a weapon. 

This mixture of Mad Max, samurai films and spaghetti westerns was a fun and entertaining ride.   Denzel held his own as an action hero.   The reasons why Eli is carrying the Bible west seems apparent but it's not.   The film doesn't bow down to convention and the action is not as over the top as one would expect. 

It's worth checking otu.