Friday, July 24, 2009

30 Days of Night & 500 Days of Summer

I'm a fan of movie series that span different genres. A classic example is Alien which is sci-fi horror, while Aliens gives the series more of an action movie spin. The newest cross-genre movie series is the "Days Of" series.

The first movie in the "Days Of" series is 30 Days of Night. This movie starts off in Barrow, Alaska. A small town hunkers down for an extended period without sunlight. Of course, vampires decide to venture up north for an uninterrupted killing spree. This movie stars Josh Harnett as Sheriff Eben Oleson.

This movie is packed with gory vampire mayhem. The survivors rally together and fortify themselves against the oncoming vampire hordes. It's messy and bloody... but somewhere in all this... there is a love story. The vampire madness is an opportunity for Eben to reconnect with his estranged wife Stella (played by Melissa George), to rekindle their lost romance. The underlying story of 30 Days of Night is a story of love.

The second movie of the "Days Of" series is 500 Days of Summer. It is a distinct departure from it's predecessor, blatantly distinguishing itself by proclaiming: "This is not a love story". This movie is an off-beat romance about Tom and Summer (played by Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel respectively). 500 Days of Summer seems surprisingly devoid of vampires. As Tom and Summer's relationship develops, there is a dichotomy between the two. Tom is convinced he's met the girl of his dreams, and not a girl who is secretly a vampire. Summer does not believe in long-term relationships, because her partner may turn out to be a vampire. These conflicting opinions are followed through to their inevitable outcome, which I will not reveal... because I don't want to spoil the movie for you.

In summary, 30 Days of Night and 500 Days of Summer are very different movies, despite being part of the same "Days Of" series. Based on the success of 500 Days of Summer, producers have expressed interest in funding a third movie to complete the "Days of" trilogy. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

PS: Stay tuned for my next cross-genre movie review comparing "Dead Man Walking" with it's riveting sequel: "Fifty Dead Men Walking".

6 comments:

Dangard Ace said...

Wha...you watched 30 Days of Night without me?! You can't watch my favourite Vampire flick without me! I curse you to an existance of moody emo vampire in Twilight!

Flocons said...

Don't worry. We can watch the touching sequel "500 Days of Summer" together.

Dangard Ace said...

Can we have popcorn too?

vxt said...

I haven't seen either of these movies. What I want to know is, are they actually related or is this similar to your 28 days and 28 days later blog.

celestialspeedster said...

Where does Three Days of the Condor fit in - sequel or prequel?

Speaking of vampire movies, I finally saw Twilight and now I think we should all watch New Moon together. Ahhhhhhh!

Dangard Ace said...

Why would you subject yourself to Twilight? Are you going through another Chinango phase?