Skip to main content

Let Me In

Sometimes there are reminders that there is a world outside of those who talk the most openly on the Internet. A recent example comes in the form of the forthcoming film, Let Me In.

If you believe the world is filled with people who leave comments on posts or message boards, then it's pretty safe to say that the Swedish film Let the Right One In is one of the greatest, most amazing, most awesome, frightening, gorgeous, and bad-ass films involving teenagers and vampires. There's no debate: it rules and it will be one of the greatest films for the rest of eternity. That is, until a surge of people bad-mouth it on the Internet and turn the tide.

But seriously, Let the Right One In is also a film that not that many people have seen, outside of the world of people who are really into films. (Mom? Dad? Susan? Matt? Diana's probably heard of it, but I don't think she's seen it.)

After reading an interview with Matt Reeves, the director of Let Me In (which is also based on the same book that Let the Right One In was based on) some things are starting to make sense as to why people would even want to tackle an American version of a film that's already been made in another country. Reeves sounds like he has intentions in the right place, so this will probably not be some generic cover version of a great song.

Sure, there are people who find this a bad, bad, bad idea, but is there any crime in introducing people to something that's not exactly that well known?

There are instances where I'd prefer that something remain as is and shouldn't be redone. Yet there are some things that I think are worth doing. Had I never seen Vanilla Sky, I would have never heard of Abre Los Ojos. Is that so wrong? I don't think so.

Frankly, I think it would be good to compare Let Me In and Let the Right One In because frankly, I wasn't that wowed by Let the Right One In. And I don't think it absolutely, truly matters which subtitles they used on the DVD edition, even I would like to see the film again with the original theatrical subtitles.

Back when I spent a little more time on the Internet (yes, there was a time), it seemed like popular opinion on stuff like Jimmy Eat World's B-sides, Screeching Weasel's best albums, and the merits of Kevin Smith's films was commonplace. More often than not, actually talking to people in person presents a (sometimes) different sort of view. It's a view that's frankly more engaging and understandable.

Again, just a reminder that there's a world out there beyond what people overly praise and overly hate on the Internet.

Comments

pimplomat said…
I'd be interested in seeing this new take on the story. You know me. I'm always wondering why more directors don't take on stories and craft them into their own films.

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air

Best of 2021

  Last year, my attention span was not wide enough to listen to a lot of LPs from start to finish. Too much went on in 2020 to focus on 10-15 albums, so I went with only a couple to spotlight. Well, 2021 was a little better, as I have a list of top four records, and a lot of individual tracks.  (I made a lengthy Spotify playlist ) So, without further ado, here’s my list of favorites of the year: Albums Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (listen) Hands down, my favorite album of the year. I was not sure where Deafheaven would go after another record that brought My Bloody Valentine and death metal fans together, but they beautifully rebooted their sound on Infinite Granite. The divisive goblin vocals are vastly pared-down here, as are the blast beats. Sounding more inspired by Slowdive, the band has discovered a new sonic palette that I hope they explore more of in the future. It’s a welcome revelation. I still love their older material, but this has renewed my love of what these guys do.  J