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Reviews
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
Best Ghost Movie in Years
I saw The Haunting in Connecticut pretty much as soon as I could the day it came out. I don't know why, really, it just seemed interesting in the previews. I'm extremely glad I got to see it.
The movie starts off pretty shaky, showing generic creepy looking pictures and stuff in the opening credits. You'll be thinking "oh great, here we go again.." The movie starts to gradually pick up, showing a pretty sad story of a family that's been in some trouble with a 16-ish year old son Matt who has cancer and a dad who is recovering from alcoholism. The family decide to rent a house in Connecticut near the hospital Matt is going to, pretty much to make it easier for them to get Matt treated and whatnot.
Obviously, some weird stuff starts happening in the house. Matt starts seeing things, blah blah. You've all seen stuff like this before. There are some key elements that make this movie stand out from other horror movies involving ghosts.
For a movie that's PG-13, there are some ballsy scenes here. One that particularly stands out in my mind is where a mysterious man is scratching words onto some man's skin, and then he proceeds to cut off his eyelid with scissors. That's serious business.
Another thing that makes this movie a lot better is the lack of stupid little children ghosts that crawl around and make creaky noises and the lack of needless nudity and blood. This movie has no deaths or gore or stupidly awkward-moving ghosts.
The movie isn't so much scary as it is pulse-pounding and jumpy. I, a crazy horror movie fanatic, even jumped multiple times in this movie. The director really knows how to pull out a ghost at the perfect times and make you nearly pee your pants.
The rest of the movie is predictable, but satisfying. There are no needless twists at the end of the movie, like the ghost coming back out from the ashes or something. The end of the movie is the end, everything is happy.
All in all, if you think ghost horror movies have declined in the past ten years, think again, cause this movie breaks the mold. It's a fantastic ghost story and I would recommend to any horror fan.
Storm Hawks (2007)
Absolute brilliance
Of the vast amount of growing children's TV shows, most of which are total crap (although the new Chop Socky Chooks is pretty entertaining), there's really nothing to watch anymore. But if you ever stumble upon a time when Storm Hawks is showing, prepare yourself.
Storm Hawks sets itself in the vast world of Atmos, which is compromised of dozens of floating "continents" called Terras (Atmos = atmosphere, Terra = territory). Each Terra is much different from the others, and each episodes is usual set on another Terra. There's only been around one or two re-used Terras (Terra Neon, a massive amusement park), which brings a vast amount of variety among the 23 or so currently released episodes.
I've seen every single episode of the show released thus far, and I must say I've never been so entertained by television.
The show centers around the Storm Hawks squadron of Sky Knights, which was formerly defeated by the Cyclonian warrior Dark Ace. However, red spikey haired Aerrow comes to the rescue with his friends Junko, Finn, Piper, and his strange dog styled pet Radarr. Together, they form the new Storm Hawks squadron.
Each episodes centers around the Storm Hawks traveling to a Terra (or another location, like the dreaded Black Gorge or home of the Murk Raiders). Usually, the Storm Hawks find a problem involving the Cyclonians or Murk Raiders or some other form of treachery. Using Aerrows supreme flying skills combined with Finn's shot, Piper's intelligence, Junko's strength, and Stork's comedic brilliance (and ability to fly the Condor, the Storm Hawk's massive ship); the Storm Hawks overcome whatever treachery they find.
Every episodes is filled with fantastic action involving battles in the air on everyone's planes. You will be on the edge of your seat watching the epic battles unfold. Let's not forget the humor. This show doesn't use lame poop humor like Camp Lazlo or My Gym Partner's a Monkey, this show uses brilliant intelligent humor that's based around today's society. Stork, our emo paranoid friend, makes you laugh almost every time he speaks. Finn, commonplace idiot, brings out a few laughs.
Every supporting character brings something new to the table, and every location is a different experience for the episodes. Oh, let's not forget the different experiences. Almost every episode is something new. For instance, one episodes involves Aerrow and Radarr trying to escape a Cyclonian prison. Mr. Moss, head of the prison, leads a hilarious but exciting chase after Aerrow and Radarr. It's pure brilliance.
Overall, Storm Hawks is animated television at its best. If you watch any cartoons the rest of your life, watch this. If you buy a DVD set for any television show, get this. You will laugh, and you will be cheer. Storm Hawks, prepare for battle.