THE STRAIN (2014) – My rating 8.5/10

The Strain is only 1 season down but is a pretty good one.  It’s a little different as a horror/sci-fi series because it has a little of many horror characters rolled into one or two characters.  I couldn’t decide if the main monster was a vampire, zombie or the devil himself.  It all starts when a Boeing 767, on its way across the tarmac, stops at JFK then goes totally silent.  The engines are shut down, the belly of the plane is cold and there are no communications from anyone inside the plane, including the pilot and co-pilot.  Every organization known to the USA was brought in to investigate, including Corey Stoll who plays Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the Center for Disease Control ( CDC) Canary Team in New York City. After entering the plane, the team is able to determine, via ultra violet light, that some sort of bacteria was all over the plane and all but 4 passengers were dead.  The plot thickens from here and the mystery begins to unfold.  There is plenty of territorial fighting among the different agencies jockeying for position.  There is also a warning from an unlikely source that gets ignored but later picked up as the plot developes.  I’m trying not to give away too much of the story away because it is pretty good and the element of surprise puts the suspense where it belongs.  The Strain airs of the FX channel and I think it is different enough to hold your attention.  Check it out!

ROSEMARY’S BABY 1968 9/10 vs 2014 8.5/10

1968

I saw the original Rosemary’s baby when it came out in 1968 and again in May of 2014, a couple of days after the new Rosemary’s Baby mini series ended.  The original starring Mia Farrow, was in the movies but the remake, starring Zoe Saldana as Rosemary Woodhouse, was on TV (NBC) as a 2 part mini series.  I am happy to see a modernize version of this classic tale of evil remade.  However, because it was remade for TV, Rosemary’s Baby was swarming with commercials.  The original was dark, mysterious and scary.  The remake definitely  lacked some of the mystery although most of the elements were there.  The scary and mysterious aura were not.  In all fairness, this could also be because I already knew what to expect.  I found a few small problems with the remake.  I think it should have been produced for and aired on a premium channel like HBO, Showtime or Starz.  The

2014

commercials were a huge turnoff.  Another really tiny thing that annoyed me was  Zoi’s long straight hair wig.  It looked artificial.  Over all, Rosemary’s Baby was excellently done the first time (a 9/10).   I would give the remake a 8.5/10 because of the obvious updates and how they fit it all in the story without compromising the plot.  In the original, Rosemary didn’t have the luxury of a cell phone or internet so she relied on using pay phones as well as books from the library.    I liked the way Rosemary and her husband interacted with one another.  They definitely seemed closer in the remake.  Now that the mini series has aired, I suspect you can catch it ON DEMAND then after a while on Netflix.  I think Roman Polanski did a very good job on the original and  Agnieszka Holland did equally as well on the remake.  The story was slightly changed to accommodate modern times without compromising the film.  I loved Patrick J. Adams (Suites) as Guy Woodhouse.   BTW:  I really am not into Devil movies but this one was an eye opener in it’s hay day.  You can learn a thing or two and keep your eyes open, you never know what so folks are up to.  Overall, check this one out especially if you’ve never seen the original.  I don’t think it will scare you as much as intrigue you.