Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • August 31, 2011
‘Fright Night’
(continued from Entertainment page) Yelchin (Chekov in the “Star Trek” remake) is an appealing actor who could use a few lessons in balancing a performance. He acts on a similar note for most of the film and then goes overboard in the climax. Charley is skeptical of Ed’s admonitions. Then his interest in Jerry is piqued when he sees and hears odd happenings. Charley becomes guarded and protective of his mom. Later, he becomes downright terrified, and ultimately he must face the danger head-on. Gradations of performance and nuance are required, but Yelchin plays it a few notches above a table read. David Tennant co-stars as Peter Vincent, star of “Fright
Night,” an elaborate Vegas stage show about stalking and killing vampires. Drunk, obnoxious, and arrogant, Vincent is worked into the plot awkwardly as Charley for some reason consults him for vampire advice. Tennant channels Russell Brand’s Arthur character as Vincent, drinks nonstop, postures, and expounds on nothing in particular, as long as he has an audience. The character is a poor fit in the plot. Rated R for graphic images and some occasional strong language, “Fright Night” is only a fair vampire tale. It goes where viewers expect, telegraphs its shock moments, and comes off as a PG-13 movie despite the odd blood spurt or two. If you want to see some first-rate vampires, check out any of the movies mentioned above, or even the original, superior “Fright Night,” starring Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowell. format. As with every “Twilight Zone” season, episodes vary from inspired (“The Masks”) to below-par (“The Bewitchin’ Pool”). Classics of the fifth season include “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” starring William Shatner as an airplane passenger who sees a gremlin on the wing while the plane is in flight. He panics, but no one else sees what he does. Shatner gives the part his all, providing a frightening portrait of a man suffering from delusions -- or is he? This collection also includes “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” which was based on Ambrose Bierce’s short story and was the 1963 Academy Award winner for Best Live Action Short Film. With striking imagery, it traces the journey of a Civil War spy who miraculously escapes hanging and makes a long journey home to his wife.
DVDs
(continued from Restaurant page) surround one of high school’s major events. But in the Disney world, life takes on a golden aura, everyone joins forces to make the prom a success, problems are resolved, and no one has anything less than a perfect complexion. Bonuses include bloopers, deleted scenes, seven music videos, and a making-of featurette. “The Twilight Zone: Season 5” (Image Entertainment), new on Blu-ray, contains all 36 episodes of the final season of this sci-fi/fantasy series, which returned to half-hour shows after a fourth season experiment with the hour