cirque du freak the vampires assistant Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Informant!
Matt Damon plays Matt Whitacre, the cinematic version of a real-life character, a scientist who became the vice-president of a chemical company and then turned informant for the government in the early 1990s. Scott Weinberg described it as a "quietly odd performance." It's also hilarious. Damon hits every note, blending into the story while retaining an innate goodness that makes you root for him even as you slowly realize you probably shouldn't. The story becomes increasingly jaw-dropping, resulting in one of the best movies you haven't seen yet. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Buy it.

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The Box
"Deliciously bizarre," as I wrote elsewhere. "Richard Kelly's meditation on the meaning of life, masquerades as a slow-boiling mystery thriller. Building on a slender, clever premise dreamed up by the great Richard Matheson in the short story 'Button, Button,' Kelly constructs a wonderfully odd tale that feels like a second cousin to Donnie Darko. ... It contains blissful moments of magical insanit. ... I'd rather have half-baked Richard Kelly psychological science fiction than a fully-baked and utterly routine mystery thriller." With Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella. Rent it.

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Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
"Paul Weitz' film stands tall whether it was made inside or outside this temporary rise in the vamp popularity," wrote Peter Hall in his review for Cinematical. "Remove the cynical marketing climate and The Vampire's Assistant is a charming, imaginative, and most importantly, very entertaining film for children, teens and adults alike." Rent it.

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Also out: the listless Sorority Row, Robert DeNiro in Everybody's Fine, the animated Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant has the unfortunate fate of arriving at the height of the vampire resurgence. I fear a lot of potential movie goers will dismiss it as part of the wave, as a major studio (Universal) trying to rush an adaptation of a very popular young-adult book franchise in an attempt to capitalize on the Twilight demographic. And while I understand that sentiment, in this particular case it's a shame, because Paul Weitz' film stands tall whether it was made inside or outside this temporary rise in the vamp popularity. Remove the cynical marketing climate and The Vampire's Assistant is a charming, imaginative, and most importantly, very entertaining film for children, teens and adults alike.

Having not read any of the 12 books comprising author Darren Shan's young-adult Cirque Du Freak saga, I can't attest as to how faithful an adaptation it is, but the macabre world About a Boy director Paul Weitz has brought to life on film feels like the kind of mysterious wonderland I could have easily lost myself in as a child. That's not to say that The Vampire's Assistant is a children's film, far from it, but it's the kind of film that's full of content that's simultaneously adult and juvenile, the breed of subtle scripting that provides eye candy for teenagers and nostalgic mind candy for adults.

Cinematical has just received the dark new poster for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, an adaptation of a young adult book series by Darren Shan. The film version stars John C. Reilly as a vampire -- which is enough to sell me on the movie right there!

But, for those who must know more, the official synopsis says in part that the movie is "a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares." Chris Massoglia plays a 16-year-old boy who becomes the assistant of a vampire named Larten Crepsley (Reilly). Among the assistant's new friends are Salma Hayek as a bearded lady (?!) and Ken Watanabe as a "gigantic barker." Josh Hutcherson also stars.

The film takes its title from the second installment in the 12-book series, The Saga of Darren Shan, but the script combines elements from the first three books. Directed by Paul Weitz (In Good Company, American Dreamz), look for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant in theaters on October 23, just in time for Halloween.

Have a look at the full-sized poster in the gallery below. The complete synopsis is available after the jump. And keep an eye out for the trailer, which will debut on Moviefone tomorrow.