Ok, so I love Scary/slasher films and with Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd drop a list of my 10 favorite scary/slasher flicks and a little reason why I picked them. Here we go
10. The final Destination movies- No these movies are not scary in any way, but that isn't really the point. Each time out the deaths get crazier and more creative and I admire that. I admire these movies for not sticking with conventional logic and not being afraid to let the audience watch these deaths being set up. They aren't for the faint of heart because as the deaths get crazier, the gore skyrockets!
9. Last house on the left- Wes Craven created one of the most debated horror movies ever with this tale of a gang who brutally rape and murder 2 girls and unknowingly seeks refuge into eh house of the victims parents. The parents torture and murder the 3 rapists in horrific ways. Craven has long been a master of the horror film and this one is brilliant in its over the top nature!
8. The Grudge- I know some think it is silly, but this movie captures a total creepy atmosphere all the way through and got a few really jumps out of me. Sarah Michelle Gellar is the perfect female lead and the little creepy Asian kid and the cat still creep me out.
7. The Sixth Sense- This movie is typically remembered for the shock ending, but throughout the movie, the dark overtones just never leave. The hallowed expression of Haley Joel Osment stay with you after the movie and the ghosts are portrayed in a real way, which is more frightening than an over the top ghost.
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- The original version of this film was kind of the epitome of the young teens stranded in a remote village film. The idea of Leatherface and a chainsaw are far more disgusting than Freddy or Jason and slimy feel of the entire town just leaves me needing a shower...ICK!
5. The second Friday the 13th- Most people forget that Jason's mother was the original killer of the series, but here is where Jason really lets loose on unsuspecting horny teens. It is a classic of the slasher genre and pretty much every new slasher film looks to this film for inspiration. I know it seems like just a rip off of Halloween, but Jason is a much more imposing figure and has a much higher body count!
4. Nightmare on Elm Street- Wes Craven's 2nd masterpiece, created a whole new version of the boogie man myth except he gave the boogie man long creepy fingernail a burned face and a Charlie brown inspired sweater. This was the first horror movie to really give the killer a personality. He was funny and you kind of liked watching him kill people, which is even scarier. It was innovative and bloody fun!
3. Scream- Wes Craven's most masterful masterpiece. Never has a horror movie been this scary, bloody and intentionally funny! The killers masks are about the creepiest ones ever. Wes was';t afraid to poke fun at the genre he made popular while still using new techniques to scare the crap out of people. Working with a lightening quick script from Kevin Williamson Craven gave new life to the slasher genre!
2. It- Clowns scare the crap out of me and Tim Curry is frighteningly brilliant as Pennywise. That is all I need to say because I don't think it freaks you out if you aren't freaked out by clowns.
1. Halloween- Michael Myers never runs and never dies. He just scares the crap out of a babysitter and everyone watching the movie. His moves are deliberate and he seems to have no reason for killing. He hides behind tricked out William Shatner mask with teased hair and giant eye holes and kills everyone while the doctors from the mental institution chase him down. Features the classic closet scene and shows why Jaime Lee Curtis is the ultimate go to scary movie girl!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The Prestige
Every so often you watch a movie and you just know you are watching something special and this is one of those movies. I try not to build movies up because I don't want people to be disappointed when they see them, but seriously 3 days after I saw this movie I can't stop thinking about just how spectacular this movie is in every way imaginable. Christopher Nolan has given the world yet another masterpiece. In the process he proves that his ability to weave the past and present were not a fluke in Memento because here he is flawless as he tells the story forward and backward and seemingly upside down at times, never losing focus and never slipping any lower then pure genius.
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star as magicians who start as colleagues, then become entangled in a battle of one up manship, doing everything they can to discredit the other magician that eventually turns into a brutal obsession that spins both their lives out of control. The movie is also a classic tale about the differences between talent and showmanship. Bale is the more talented magician but Jackman has the stage presence and charisma, so when he performs the same trick as Bale, with lesser talent, it looks better, therefore people like it better. Michael Caine puts in a tremendous supporting role as the mentor of Jackman and also tries to act a moral centerpiece trying to pull the reigns in on Jackman's out of control obsession. No matter what movie I see him in, Jackman is always Wolverine to me. Well, at least he was until this performance. He owns his character and perfectly portrays the parallels of obsession with drug addiction to a hilt. Bale, always brilliant is even more amazing here as a cocky, yet grounded man, torn between his love for his family and his love of magic. Scarlett Johansen rounds out the cast as the gorgeous bombshell assistant. Her role is vital to the story and she is at her smokey understated best here.
This movie is full of brilliant twists and turns, yet it doesn't rely on them to make the movie good. Nolan creates this masterful vision of the world of magic. He uses minimal CGI, but when he uses it, it is most effective. He builds on the classic fog effect he utilized in Insomnia to create a dark dreary, yet gorgeous version of Colorado. The movie will probably challenge you and your thoughts on a few different issues that I cannot go into until you have seen the movie. The movie is about greed, obsession, sacrifice, family, betrayal and fame. With the exception of the Lord of The Ring movies, I haven't seen a better movie than this in many many years, Yes I mean it!
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star as magicians who start as colleagues, then become entangled in a battle of one up manship, doing everything they can to discredit the other magician that eventually turns into a brutal obsession that spins both their lives out of control. The movie is also a classic tale about the differences between talent and showmanship. Bale is the more talented magician but Jackman has the stage presence and charisma, so when he performs the same trick as Bale, with lesser talent, it looks better, therefore people like it better. Michael Caine puts in a tremendous supporting role as the mentor of Jackman and also tries to act a moral centerpiece trying to pull the reigns in on Jackman's out of control obsession. No matter what movie I see him in, Jackman is always Wolverine to me. Well, at least he was until this performance. He owns his character and perfectly portrays the parallels of obsession with drug addiction to a hilt. Bale, always brilliant is even more amazing here as a cocky, yet grounded man, torn between his love for his family and his love of magic. Scarlett Johansen rounds out the cast as the gorgeous bombshell assistant. Her role is vital to the story and she is at her smokey understated best here.
This movie is full of brilliant twists and turns, yet it doesn't rely on them to make the movie good. Nolan creates this masterful vision of the world of magic. He uses minimal CGI, but when he uses it, it is most effective. He builds on the classic fog effect he utilized in Insomnia to create a dark dreary, yet gorgeous version of Colorado. The movie will probably challenge you and your thoughts on a few different issues that I cannot go into until you have seen the movie. The movie is about greed, obsession, sacrifice, family, betrayal and fame. With the exception of the Lord of The Ring movies, I haven't seen a better movie than this in many many years, Yes I mean it!
Flag of our Fathers
Clint Eastwood seems to be hitting his stride as a director as he nears the age of dirt. A few years back he gave us a brilliant movie entitled Mystic River then he gave us the lesser,but still brilliantly directed, Million Dollar Baby, and now he hits us with the instant war classic Flag of our Fathers. I am not sure how the same man responsible for Blood Work turned into one of the most consistent directors, but I am not complaining. Working from a non fiction source material of the same name, Clint creates a giant film that feels like a small film. The battle scenes are grandiose, yet intimate as we follow 3 specific soldiers during and after the war. Clint's able hand and mind weave through 3 or 4 different time periods, yet never get his audience confused.
The film stars Ryan "I am not just a pretty face" Phillipe, Jesse "Hopefully this will be my break out role" Bradford and Adam "I do enough crying to win an Oscar" Beach as the 3 surviving soldiers from the famous flag raising picture from Iwo Jima. The film takes place during the big battle, before the big battle, after the big battle and after the war. Phillipe is the central heart of the film, in my opinion. His eyes kind of narrate the story to us and we mostly see things as he sees them as a naval doctor trying to keep injured soldiers alive. Before I saw this movie I was a doubter of his abilities but he made me a believer. He plays the role quietly and doesn't get any big "Oscar" moments but in my opinion everything he does here is good enough to be noticed by critics. Bradford seems completely at ease as a cocky, fame hungry soldier. The only one of the three who seems to revel in the limelight they are thrown into after leaving the war. As a native American dealing with constant racism Beach is impeccable. His character goes through the worst transition, dealing with alcoholism and a lack of respect as a Native American.
The journey we are taken on sometimes seems repetitive, but it works because it allows us to see just how badly our government exploited these "war heroes" or how badly we, as a country, need things to show us, we aren't bad. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and this movie is about possibly the most famous picture of all. Here, though, we see the picture for what it really was and not the symbol we were told to believe it was. People died before, during and after this flag raising and our 3 central characters make sure no one forgets the real war heroes were the ones who didn't come home.
The film stars Ryan "I am not just a pretty face" Phillipe, Jesse "Hopefully this will be my break out role" Bradford and Adam "I do enough crying to win an Oscar" Beach as the 3 surviving soldiers from the famous flag raising picture from Iwo Jima. The film takes place during the big battle, before the big battle, after the big battle and after the war. Phillipe is the central heart of the film, in my opinion. His eyes kind of narrate the story to us and we mostly see things as he sees them as a naval doctor trying to keep injured soldiers alive. Before I saw this movie I was a doubter of his abilities but he made me a believer. He plays the role quietly and doesn't get any big "Oscar" moments but in my opinion everything he does here is good enough to be noticed by critics. Bradford seems completely at ease as a cocky, fame hungry soldier. The only one of the three who seems to revel in the limelight they are thrown into after leaving the war. As a native American dealing with constant racism Beach is impeccable. His character goes through the worst transition, dealing with alcoholism and a lack of respect as a Native American.
The journey we are taken on sometimes seems repetitive, but it works because it allows us to see just how badly our government exploited these "war heroes" or how badly we, as a country, need things to show us, we aren't bad. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and this movie is about possibly the most famous picture of all. Here, though, we see the picture for what it really was and not the symbol we were told to believe it was. People died before, during and after this flag raising and our 3 central characters make sure no one forgets the real war heroes were the ones who didn't come home.
The Grudge 2
Ok, so I can't give this movie a full review because I walked out at the 45 minute mark, which means I missed half of the movie. However, I think my walking out speaks volumes. Now, I love horror movies, I love the good ones and I love the bad ones. This movie, though, was beyond bad. To me, what makes a horror movie is not the jumps or scares because let us face it, most of us will jump when something goes from complete silence to very loud in a split second. What makes a scary movie good is what happens inbetween the scares. Does the movie give an overall creepy edge of your seat mood throughout? That is what makes the difference and in the first Grudge movie, I felt they captured that creepy ambiance completely, which had me stoked for this second film.
I can't give you much of a plot because what I saw was pretty incoherent. I do know that their are 3 separate stories and one of them seem to connect in any way shape or form. One story follows Jennifer Beals (no longer in leg warmers), another follows 3 teenage girls as they deal with the consequences that follow from going into the cursed house from the first movie and the third story follows a horrible actress and a horrible actor as they try to solve the question of what happened to Sarah Michelle Gellar. Now, Sarah reprises her role from the first film in the only worthwhile scene in the movie, which goes to show that the kind of acting one does has a serious affect on what the overall movie looks like.
There are no legitimate scares, some seriously bad acting, even worse writing and this movie has to set a record for amount of times it copied from its first film. Nothing in this sequel even hints at originality or creativity. The fact that I stayed even 45 minutes actually kind of amazed me because this film is truly that terrible!
I can't give you much of a plot because what I saw was pretty incoherent. I do know that their are 3 separate stories and one of them seem to connect in any way shape or form. One story follows Jennifer Beals (no longer in leg warmers), another follows 3 teenage girls as they deal with the consequences that follow from going into the cursed house from the first movie and the third story follows a horrible actress and a horrible actor as they try to solve the question of what happened to Sarah Michelle Gellar. Now, Sarah reprises her role from the first film in the only worthwhile scene in the movie, which goes to show that the kind of acting one does has a serious affect on what the overall movie looks like.
There are no legitimate scares, some seriously bad acting, even worse writing and this movie has to set a record for amount of times it copied from its first film. Nothing in this sequel even hints at originality or creativity. The fact that I stayed even 45 minutes actually kind of amazed me because this film is truly that terrible!
Friday, October 13, 2006
The Departed (minor spoilers)
As far as actors go, this movie has pretty much the highest caliber you could get in one movie. Jack Nicholson plays an out of control Irish mob boss, Matt Damon plays a cop, who moves quickly up the ranks to a detective, Leo Decaprio stars as a hot head cop who goes undercover and Mark Wahlberg is a foul mouthed hot headed federal agent and it all comes together perfectly in this brilliantly directed film by Martin Scorcese. Scorcese delivers his best movie in over a decade and the best movie of this year so far.
The Departed centers around a section in Boston where Irish mobs run the streets and the cops are trying to put fear back into criminals. Martin Sheen is perfect in a supporting role as a higher-up cop as is Alec Baldwin. Scorcese seems out to prove that no one makes intense, gritty crime dramas and with each scene he is slapping around the competition. The writing is crisp, the visuals pop off the screen in their realism and every single actor in this makes a giant contribution.
Nicholson appears to be in full force for the first time in many many years and Wahlberg is the perfect hot head. To me though, the real standouts are Leo and Matt Damon. Tough you rarely see them on screen together, these two incredibly talented actors weave in and out to make this story work. Decaprio, in his best role to date in my opinion, easily moves from hot head, to paranoid pill popper without ever letting Nicholson out do him, which is not an easy task. Damon on the other hand, is cold and calculated on the inside, yet comes across very jovial and charming. However, his quiet slow unraveling is brilliant to watch and reminds me of watching him in The Talented Mr. Ripley. There is really only one significant female role, played beautifully by Vera Farmiga (Running scared). she plays a shrink who falls for Matt Damon, but is Leo's Shrink and she is wonderful.
The movie runs over 2 and a half hours but only about 10 minutes of the movie are boring or utter nonsense, and it seems like 1 10 minute scene, so be prepared for that and endure it to get back to this amazing piece of cinema.
The Departed centers around a section in Boston where Irish mobs run the streets and the cops are trying to put fear back into criminals. Martin Sheen is perfect in a supporting role as a higher-up cop as is Alec Baldwin. Scorcese seems out to prove that no one makes intense, gritty crime dramas and with each scene he is slapping around the competition. The writing is crisp, the visuals pop off the screen in their realism and every single actor in this makes a giant contribution.
Nicholson appears to be in full force for the first time in many many years and Wahlberg is the perfect hot head. To me though, the real standouts are Leo and Matt Damon. Tough you rarely see them on screen together, these two incredibly talented actors weave in and out to make this story work. Decaprio, in his best role to date in my opinion, easily moves from hot head, to paranoid pill popper without ever letting Nicholson out do him, which is not an easy task. Damon on the other hand, is cold and calculated on the inside, yet comes across very jovial and charming. However, his quiet slow unraveling is brilliant to watch and reminds me of watching him in The Talented Mr. Ripley. There is really only one significant female role, played beautifully by Vera Farmiga (Running scared). she plays a shrink who falls for Matt Damon, but is Leo's Shrink and she is wonderful.
The movie runs over 2 and a half hours but only about 10 minutes of the movie are boring or utter nonsense, and it seems like 1 10 minute scene, so be prepared for that and endure it to get back to this amazing piece of cinema.
Employee of the Month
First, let me say that every movie is better when you see it for free and this was no exception. Employee of the Month stars hilarious stand up comedian Dane Cook, Horrid c-list singer, Jessica Simpson and a host of random, barely memorable actors. Dane is a slacker, do nothing 30-something who is working as a box boy at a Costco like store who decides to try and be employee of the month when he finds out new hire Jessica Simpson only nails the employee of the month. His adversary, Dax Shepard (TV's punk'd) is the greatest cashier in the southwest and is going for his 18th straight employee of the month. Yes, it does sound bad and it is pretty much as bad as it sounds.
There are jokes about bodily functions, someone gets hit in the face, there are gay jokes and even an angry midget. Yes, it is exactly like every other bad comedy you see trailers for. The reason I went to see it in the first place was because I wanted to hope that Dane Cook could make this kind of movie better and sadly he could not. When you watch him do stand up Dane is likeable, charming and uses the stage with reckless abandon and it works more often then not. Here he is trapped by a know nothing director and an unfunny script. The ending is obvious and very few of the jokes hit their mark.
Of course, it isn't all bad. Jessica Simpson's body looks as fantastic as ever. The 4 buddies in the movie have an awesome clubhouse and the guy who plays the Manager of the store is actually very funny, playing a Steve Carrel like role. Dane shows a minor vulnerability that could play well in movies in the future but overall I am not sure movies really play to the strengths of Dane as a comedian.
There are jokes about bodily functions, someone gets hit in the face, there are gay jokes and even an angry midget. Yes, it is exactly like every other bad comedy you see trailers for. The reason I went to see it in the first place was because I wanted to hope that Dane Cook could make this kind of movie better and sadly he could not. When you watch him do stand up Dane is likeable, charming and uses the stage with reckless abandon and it works more often then not. Here he is trapped by a know nothing director and an unfunny script. The ending is obvious and very few of the jokes hit their mark.
Of course, it isn't all bad. Jessica Simpson's body looks as fantastic as ever. The 4 buddies in the movie have an awesome clubhouse and the guy who plays the Manager of the store is actually very funny, playing a Steve Carrel like role. Dane shows a minor vulnerability that could play well in movies in the future but overall I am not sure movies really play to the strengths of Dane as a comedian.
Friday, October 06, 2006
The Kite Runner book review
Khaled Hosseini's book The Kite Runner is a story of jealousy, redemption, war, salvation, courage and cowardice. It is about friendship, love, devotion and isolation. The book is beautifully written with passages that jump off the page and others that bring the reader to near tears. However, be warned that you will loathe the protagonist for roughly the first 200 or so pages. In fact, you will wonder why you even keep reading and then you remember just how stunning the actual writing is. The story is set in Afghanistan, then the USA, then Afghanistan again and is about a man who is on a mission for redemption. The story is deliberately paced, yet towards the end it turns into a full fledged page turner as you race to find out how it ends. This is the kind of book you want to read with a highlighter so you can highlight certain passages you wish to share with other people. This book is about as character driven as a book can get. Yes, there is a plot and a relevant story, but it all seems secondary as you watch this tortured man try and atone for his childhood behavior. I do not want to give anything away, so My review will be short, but if you enjoy those classic works of literature that put the reader in a position to challenge his/her thoughts about what people are capable of, I highly suggest this book, because you can easily get passed how predictable it is and become glued to the language and the heart.
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