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Reviews
Paranormal Activity (2007)
First movie that has ever physically affected me...
Not only is this gem-of-an-indie-film, 'Paranormal Activity' the scariest movie I have ever seen, it is the most horrifying experience I have ever been a part of.
'Paranormal' begins when a young man purchases a camera to record the paranormal phenomena that his live-in girlfriend has been reporting to have been experiencing. His purchase of the camera is out of naivety, and we soon find out he is more interested in electronics than the strange occurrences that seem to be haunting his partner. As the film progresses, the ghostly happenings become more and more apparent and intensify while the hand-held camera documents them and the terror of the young couple.
The genius, center, heart, and terror of this film lie in the realism of the performances. The actors who portray the couple are so convincing and so natural, you feel as if you are watching an actual homemade video. They do not follow the usual "shaky-cam movie" model of acting in which the performances often try so hard to be "real" that they are over-done and come off as a cheap imitation of as what is assumed would be somebody else's reaction to that scenario. Contrary-wise, we believe as an audience, that "Paranormal"'s characters are true to themselves, and the decisions they make and the things they say are true expressions of how the actors themselves would feel if they had been placed in the same situation. Thus, instead of feeling like you are watching actors in a movie portraying someone else, you feel as if are watching two actual people in an actual haunting scenario. You recognize that everything they say and do would be an actual reaction you could imagine yourself giving in response to that scenario. This produces an extremely uneasy effect in which you cannot escape out of their terror-filled world because you feel, yourself, that you are in it. There-in lies the key to this brilliant film.
The other key is the agonizing, yet wonderful uses of suspense and the imagination. The director does not assume his audience is a dull, thoughtless bunch, dependant on gore, sex, and explosions to be thrilled. Rather, in true Hitchcockian fashion, he fully utilizes the concept that imagining the "man with the axe" is far more terrifying than seeing the "man with the axe." We are forced to constantly think about what we just experienced. In some cases, blink, and you will miss something. Subliminal shocks are everywhere, so not only are your conscious senses attacked, your psyche is brutally terrorized. This makes, in one instance, viewing a completely empty room in dead silence for 30 seconds or more turn out to be one of the most horrifying scenes in the entire film. If you think about, just seeing an empty, silent room does not seem scary at all, but there-in lies the genius of this film: That something that simple can scare you down to the deepest core of emotion.
If you've read any of the other reviews for 'Paranormal Activity', you will notice almost all of them mention that a viewer will not be able to sleep after watching it. I will make my review one of them. You will not sleep if you see this movie. Not only is it terrifying, it's thought-provoking. Then when you think about it, you are terrified all over again. Don't believe me? Go ahead, watch it. I dare you.
The Omen (2006)
All-together good movie, but haven't we seen it before?
First I will comment on this movie as if it is stand-alone. I'm going to pretend for a second the original 1970's horror classic was never made. That said, it was a very well-made movie. Very entertaining and unsettling. The art direction is beautiful and the story is a very creepy original horror tale. Sure, the dialog and acting could be worked on, but the direction, and storytelling almost if not completely cover up the flaws. My rating: 8 out of 10!!
Now, we bring the original back into the picture and what do we have? Pretty much the same movie described in the above except you have to take out the whole "original" thing. While watching this film I felt like I was watching the original "Omen" with newer cars and computers, updated hairstyles and fashions. I couldn't help but be distracted from the movie with one burning question on my mind: was this really necessary? Beyond being totally unoriginal, and following the 1970's version almost to a tee (including some of the original dialog), magic was lost somewhere along the way. Because of this, sadly, (I say sadly because it really was a good movie) I have to give it a 5 out of 10. NOTE TO DIRECORS PLANNING TO REMAKE A CLASSIC: surprise us! We've already seen the original, now we want a REMAKE not an updating (Tim Burton did a wonderful job of this with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
Notorious (1946)
The Perfect Film - Notorious
Notice what I said in my summary, THE perfect film. Not A perfect film, THE perfect film. How can you get any better than The Master, Alfred Hitchcock, and arguably two of the greatest actors of all time, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman? The result is a chemistry that cannot be resisted by anyone, even the most hardest of critics.
Bergman, and her gripping performance as a sad, confused, and war-torn soul looking for love is simply stunning. I have to admit, as great of a star as Ms. Bergman is, before Notorious, I had never seen her in a film before. I was blown away by Notorious. If Ms. Bergman's performance in this film does not suck you into this film, maybe Cary Grant's will. What can I say? Mr. Grant is, in my opinion, one of the greatest actors of film's history. His work in Hitchcock's Notorious is no exception. As great as Ms. Bergman and Mr. Grant are, we cannot forget, shall we say, the real star of this perfect film? Alfred Hitchock. Mr. Hitchcock and his camera are superb. The way he uses the lens to capture images that tell the story is an inspiration to every director as the way to use the visual medium of film. But his amazing direction does not stop with the camera. You can see his masterful work in every aspect of the film, through his actors, through the story, through the writing and dialog, and through his trademark suspense.
What more can I say? If the combination of Bergman, Grant, and Hitchcock doesn't stir you enough to want to go and rent this movie as fast as you possibly can, then I don't know what to say! See it and be transfixed, thrilled, and amazed by the perfect film.
Hangman's Curse (2003)
7 out of 10
The first thought I had about this movie was, 'All right! A clean Christian flick for teens!!'. The I saw the trailer, visited the website, and read the tag line and my next thought was, 'Eh! This is going to be so-so...'.
Then, I saw it- and it was more then so-so. It was a creepy, suspenseful, thriller that keeps you guessing throughout the entire length of the film. I'm not sure if the creators would call it a horror film or not, but I wouldn't. It was far from "Alien", but it still kept you on the edge of seat!
Although this film moved right into place as one of my all-time favorite movies the moment I saw it, next to "Jurassic Park" and "Pirates of the Caribbean and the Curse of the Black Pearl", it still had some noticeable flaws. The acting is definitely not something to be noted for, and the ending is is NOT something to get excited about (I'm very picky about my endings. I HATED Jurassic Park's ending). I can almost guarantee you this is worth watching. So if you're looking for a suspenseful thriller (it made me jump a few times, but I'm kind of wimpy when it comes to jump scenes) go to your local Blockbuster and RENT THIS MOVIE!
My rating: 7.3 out of 10.
P.S. I WILL buy the DVD.
Duck Soup (1933)
Hilarious! The Best Marx Brother's Film Ever Made!
This movie is perfect! I love all three Marx brothers. Groucho Marx is as funny as ever in this movie with all his sarcastic comments, Harpo is hilarious with all his nonsense and the same with Chicco. This movie's got it all, from the ever famous mirror scene, and the lemonade and peanut stand skit. I highly recommend this flick to families and kids. Although almost completely clean, Groucho does make some comments about women (but it'll probably go right over young one's heads) and little ones might not like the format of black and white. But anyway, I highly recommend this movie if you're a fan of the Marx brothers, goofy stuff, and if you're looking for a good family movie night!!
Tall Tales & Legends: John Henry (1986)
This was actually pretty good!
The music was good. The animation was so-so. It paid attention to detail but someone decided not to erase the basic lines and shapes of the characters. Your kids will probably like it if you rent the American legends Video or DVD.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Best cartoon I've ever seen!
I've seen some pretty good cartoons in my time (Lion King, Beauty and the Beast). And this movie had it's typical cartoon spoilers, but most of it was really good! It really is a movie that everyone needs to see at least once. And if it ever goes on sale at your local retailer store you have to buy it! But probably is not worth paying a lot of money for. BUT YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!