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Reviews
The Reaping (2007)
Sad state of affairs out there in Hollywood
Once again, Hollywood shows that it has an inability to make a good horror film without messing it up. An overuse of the hand-held camera, strange edits, and jarring noises intended for no other reason except to make you jump completely drown a decent, Gothic mystery that might have worked had director Stephen Hopkins gone for atmosphere instead of frenetic pacing. Our senses are assaulted rather then teased. By the end we are left dizzy from unstable framing, blurred visuals reminding us of a home movie where the camera operator is not always sure what to focus in on, and a murky conclusion that doesn't really make sense once you start to actually think about it. Good performances from both Hilary Swank and David Morrissey only add to the frustration when you stop to consider what 'The Reaping' might have been instead of the disaster it turns out to be.
Return of the Living Dead: Part II (1988)
Not funny. Not scary. Not campy. Not good.
Caught this on HBO the other night. It's about some kids living in a quintessential suburban cul de sac blight that meet the slow witted slow moving zombie menace brought about by banned government tests. Let's just say it was really really hard to sit through the whole thing.
Okay, if you want to make a campy zombie movie go for it but at least be clever or funny. This is neither.
Okay, then what about scary? Nothing scary. These zombies couldn't catch a grandmother with a broken hip.
After the first ten minutes or so you'll be asking yourself, "What was the intent of the film makers? Not to scare me. Not to make me laugh. Not to put an effort into production values. Not to find capable actors. Not to make socio-political allegory. Not to... well you get the point. Stay away from this one.
Captivity (2007)
Caught Off Guard
I was at a test screening a few weeks ago and I have to say I was really caught off guard. First of all this is not another Saw ripoff at all. It's much more psychological, dealing with mind games and phobias that make you think about what scares you at your core. It moves really quickly, jumping into the action before the credits finished rolling and didn't ever let up (till the end of course). It was totally demented and sick but didn't simply rely on gore. It's a smart movie that's shot really well so that it looks unlike other horror movies.
I thought I would hate it but I actually liked it a lot. Elisha Cuthbert is quickly becoming one of my top five (not that that has any bearing on my review here) and there's a sex scene that is pretty smoking hot. But surprise, surprise it's not an exploitive sex scene. There's actually some refined taste here exercised by the film makers.
The biggest surprise for me was this: I think women will really like Captivity more than the other movies in the genre because this comes more from a woman's point of view and is much more internal in the way it deals with fear.
All in all I have to recommend this movie.
An American Haunting (2005)
A great story told on many levels
This movie caught me totally by surprise. I saw it with fairly low expectations (always a good thing) and found it to be entertaining. The surprise ending totally blew me away. I see so many movies that I rarely see anything I was not expecting. If you don't already know the plot, this is the story of a family in 19th century Tennessee that gets tortured in a harrowing experience
It also scared the pants off of me because I believe in ghosts and spirits. The acting was phenomenal across the board
A great story told on many levels. Superb and I mean outstanding acting. I went into An American Haunting hoping to see a scary, alien thriller. I came out seeing one of the most thought provoking films of recent memory.
The Graduate (1967)
the presentiment of something important there
perfectly evokes that certain feeling; being able to say that about a movie is the biggest compliment you can pay it; this is true for art in general, to have nothing to say but "that feeling that that movie is to me, I know that feeling, it is in me and outside of me, I love it." Back to the graduate, let's talk a little about the feeling, floating in the pool, dull but deep aching, the presentiment of something important there, the detatchment from the world, the singularity of it, it is the soil of greatness, the state which allows for great love that is not bound by conventions of society...It's a blue movie too, a good color blue, and a great soundtrack also; I love Elaine, don't we all? And Mrs. Robinson, an affair with an older woman should become the American tribe's rite of passage from boyhood into manhood.