Night Stalker & Gacy:

Both pretty decent flicks. Neither were as good as Ted Bundy or the Manson Family. I don't really like these sort of films when there done from the investigators perspective which was Night Stalker's case, good to see Gacy didn't follow this tired path.

American Splendor:

This film is amazing and has definatley become one of my favorites. If you haven't seen it check it out its got some great moments.

The Card Player:

Pretty average thriller that I wouldn't have bothered with but because Argento directed it I thought I'd give it a go. Lacking his trademark gore and surreal imagery I found this dissapointing. Not bad but far from great... like I said average.

The Driver:

Walter Hill's noir influenced crime/chase flick was amazing as usual. A great film I'll never tire off.

Aeon Flux

This is the first time I feel compelled to give a film two separate ratings. The visuals were amazing. The design of the futuristic city was very, very cool. However, the plot was a muddled mess. As we were watching this, I became convinced that a few scenes were cut out, probably to get that all important PG-13 rating. Therefore, the movie was very choppy. It's not the absolute disaster that I was led to believe, however. Overall: 8/10 (visuals), 3/10 (story.)

there's some old school right there :)
i'm the only person i know who actually saw it in the theatre.
I thought it was pretty badass when i was a kid and recently picked up a copy for nostalgia sake :)

mais ne nous délivrez pas du mal


and some mondo nonsence

The Amityville Horror [2005]


Have you ever seen a movie and hated it, then a few months later you decide it can't be as bad as you thought, so you decide to check it out again? Naturally it's as bad as ever, and now you're twice as mad because you've now you've wasted 3 hours of your life instead of only an hour and a half? For me, this is just that kind of movie. I saw it in theatres and thought it was garbage, but I recently bought it cheap, thinking/hoping that it would be better than I remembered it. Of course, it wasn't. First off, it had a lot to live up to; the original Amityville is one of the greatest horror films of all time. Most remakes are at least a bit disappointing, but this really takes the cake. First off, we have Ryan Reynolds in the James Brolin role. Reyolds should stick to stupid teen comedies, because this film proves that he's unintentionally hilarious even when he's trying not to be. The face he makes during a scene near the end had me in hysterics. Also, he's about as far from sympathetic as you can get. You really felt sorry for what Brolin had to go through, but you couldn't care less about this guy. Melissa George wasn't great either, her lines had no feeling to them. It's sad to think that what was likely the best actor involved also starred in the abysmal "Fear of the Dark". Speaking of that kid, how out of place was the whole deal with the babysitter? That whole scene was nothing more than pointless eye candy, and she wasn't even all that good looking. It shares this next flaw with a lot of modern horror movies: it takes the audience for idiots. The original hardly explained anything, it left the audience to think. It also never showed us the ghosts. Of course, this has to be the polar opposite. A really out of place scene was added near the end to explain every little occurrence, and we were treated to crappy looking CGI ghosts every couple minutes. I wont even start on how moronic the ending is, just so I don't spoil it for the poor souls who still want to see this drivel. One last complaint: the priest. He was one of the best parts of the original, but in this he only appears for a brief scene near the end, which is a shame as he seemed like a decent actor. The one thing this film had going for it was atmosphere. As pointless as they are, the scenes in the basement near the end visually look pretty awesome. Despite this small visual treat, I say avoid it at all costs. You wont be missing much, rent the original instead. On another note, I doubt that anyone who actually enjoyed this would like the original, but thats a rant for another day.

3.5/10

I am one of those people who enjoyed the remake a whole lot more then the original movie. I've voiced my opinion on this matter before, but I'll do it again.

My problems with the original were, mainly, it was boring. There were good scenes, yes, but the entire movie really had no pay-off. I was expecting a lot, as I had heard good things about it, and it was leading up fairly well at the end. But no, it just ended with an overlayed message explaining how the couple never returned for their posessions. I know this is how the actual story goes, but it could have been better tied up beforehand. I suppose it's a matter of taste. The effects were kind of silly as well, but good for the time - I can say that. The face appearing from nowhere, overlayed badly? That could have been removed, or done slightly better. Even for it's time, that single effect seemed poorly executed. As well, I have heard that the movie is unfaithful to the original novel - the original story.

Now, the remake, I thought - was leaps and bounds better. Mainly due to the artistic nature of it which is hard pressed to find in most modern horrors. The scene in which the girl is on the roof, the babysitter in the closet, and much of the end - were just visually stunning. I can agree that Ryan didn't really act that well, but he did fit the part. And they used his body to attract viewers, a little too much. Now, the scene with the family escaping, the quiet setting - that's what I mean by "tie up". The story seems complete, and the following scene with Jodie was also both beautiful and well executed. I was dissatisfied with the priest scene, as while watching I was waiting a long time for it to occur. it was not that well done, at all. I would prefer the original scene in this case. This story was more faithful to the novel, except for maybe Jodie being a dead pig. I agree with their move - that would have been ridiculous.

You up for a debate? There will be spoilers for both Amityville '05 and the original, so avert thine eyes.


First off, the remake did the exact same thing. Both had them riding away, with a message saying they never came back. The thing that I prefer about the original's ending is the strength of the main character. In the original, Brolin's character fought off the temptation of evil, the power of the house. Reynolds, on the other hand, was simply beat over the head and he totally forgot about the grip the house had on him.


Ive never read the book, and I dont plan to. Ive never read Dracula either, and that's my all-time favourite horror film...I couldnt care less how close it is to the source material, that doesnt affect the film itself.


I was refering to the scenes leading up to the closet in my review. The original had a fairly unattractive girl come as the baby sitter, which made her seem real. This one had a Hollywood style beauty queen, which is about as realistic as having Brittney Spears show up at your door. Not that this kind of movie needs to be realistic, however it's always a good thing to have believeable characters. As for the closet scene itself, that was typical modern horror fare, nothing original or that we hadnt seen before. I did kind of like the religous reference, thouh I wish it would have been more subtle. In fact, thats a tip the whole movie could follow: subtlty. It came right ut with everything, it left nothing for the viewer to determine for themselves.

Tsk tsk, editing your post while I replied:p


I dont see what you mean by story story being "more complete" in the remake. They both ended the same way, only the original had a little thing called continuity.

As for the scene with Jodie at the end, what kind of redeeming feature could you find in that? It was as much pointless eye candy as the babysitter was, albiet a different kind of eye candy. Once I again I bring up the subtlty of the original. It never came out ad showed the house as being alive, it was all a more human story. The Jodie scene was there simply to contradict that idea even further, and show us how powerful and alive the house was, blah blah blah. I much prefer the original especially for that concept of humanity versus evil, rather than a familly versus a house. They are completly different ideas, one leaves the audience with something to think about, and the other is simply there to make money, nothing more.

They need to bring out a bunch of these old classics into the theatres again. I went to a film festival a few years back that screened heaps of great stuff like that which was really fuckin' cool.
Is your copy of The Driver just a bare bones edition like mine? R1 versions seem to have all the goodies :)

The_Return, I guess I can see where your coming from. Both of them are two very different films.

As for the endings being the same, I didn't think so at all. The original is as I stated, sort of... just ends. It has continuity, sure, and I guess it has the cliffhanger and spook factor going for it - but the remake. It showed them escape, not just them exiting the same frame as the house. It showed the family, how they re-accepted him as their father again, and not as the monster.

I don't think he was just hit over the head anf forgot everything at all. The supernatural aura around the house was causing him to act wierd, as if he wasn't in control. Knocking him out was the same as it would be to knock anyone out. They are unconcious for a while. Being unconcious, they were able to REMOVE him from the house's general area. When he awoke, he was himself. He remembered the events, and he felt ashamed. But his family still accepted him, even the children who didn't before. I found this a much better ending.

As for the scenes being more eyecandy then anything, yeah - they were. But a film is much more then essentially just the story being told. It's about visuals, it's the same as a piece of art. Things look pretty, doesn't mean they are bad. It may not add to the experience overall, or to the story, but it does add to the atmosphere. At least I think so. The babysitter being attractive, I didn't really find she was that much of a knock-out. I thought it was rather comical. It's the typical attractive-babysitter watching a smug macho boy, not WANTING a babysitter. But when he sees her, things change. I thought that as more of a homage then a negative aspect.

Your idea about taking him out of the "aura" of the house definatly works, but I still dont like it. The original was borderline reality, as opposed to 100% supernatural. Despite everything that happened, it was completly possible that it was all in Brolin's head: as Ive said before, it was a more human story. Shown to perfection in the "Im coming apart!" scene in the original, one of my all-time favourite horror scenes.


I agree the babysitter was a "knockout" in my opinion, but by Hollywood standards she was. It's obvious that it was comic relief, but it was still totally out of place in the film.

"Despite everything that happened, it was completly possible that it was all in Brolin's head: as Ive said before, it was a more human story. Shown to perfection in the "Im coming apart!" scene in the original, one of my all-time favourite horror scenes."

I can definately see what you mean, here. Yeah, maybe I can appreciate it a little more when looking at it like that, rather then as a ghost house. :)

I might even have to rewatch it this weekend.

I'm new here, and I hope it's ok to post here, with it being so many pages in...If not, feel free to delete this. *LOL*

Last movies I've seen:
Hostel
High Tension (Haute Tension)
and
Last Holiday

I was impressed with the first two, and didn't expect much of the last one. It was more or less a palate cleanser until my next batch of horror movies come in from Netflix.

Best in Show, I swear my GF hates me. Ok, it wasn't that bad, just slow. And off topic I can hear my upstairs neighbor snoring really loud right now.

not sure ... lets just say i didnt 'buy it' and i havent watched it yet :D

I saw -Sames lot
- the sineater (very very boring)
- alone in the dark (weird)
- hellraiser: hellworld (the movie doesn't belong to hellraiser anymore, even I could have made a much better movie for the series than this one)
- Doom again
and at the movies - Silent hill which had great effects

Oh yes I forgot the cave, also a weird movie

The Driller Killer


I'm not really sure what I thought of this. A strange film, that goes without saying, but did I like it? Ferrara does a good job on both sides of the camera, but his acting really grabbed me. Essentially this is more of a character study than a horror film, and Ferrara's performance was very convincing and believable. I liked the score, fit very well with the dark, depressing feel of the film. This is without question a very depressing film, I found myself feeling sorry for the main character. His decent into madness was brilliantly captured, carried by Ferrara's performance. By the time we actually got to them, the "Driller Killer" scenes almost looked out of place. They were very well done however, the attitude he had toward killing was very distressing and well portrayed. It wasn't very well paced though, I checked my watch lot more often than I should have. All in all this is a dark and depressing film, but Ferrara's performance makes it worth watching. One word of warning: Don't go in to it looking for a gorefest. Though there are a few very good gory moments, that's not what the film is about.

6/10

Turtles Can Fly 10 / 10

The Last Holiday (2006)- 3.5/5

The Longest Yard (2005)- 3/5

My family JUST watched this and told me I should check it out because it was pretty funny. I wrote it off as crazy talk because it stars Queen Latifa but it really wasn't bad eh?

Madagascar 10 / 10

An Inconvenient Truth ..

i'll explain in a seperate thread of its own ..

Noises Off 10/10

Hilarious, fantastic performances out of Ritter, Burnett, Reeves and Caine.

fantastic movie - one of my favorite comedies of all time

the dunwich horror

Bubba Ho-tep; ****/*****

SCARE FACTOR: 0.5/5
The monster was slightly scary when it walked down the hall while Elvis watched carefully. I'm sure this scene might scare a kid a bit, just for the sheer look of Bubba.

COMEDY FACTOR: 3/5
Some good laughs, INVENTIVE and ORIGINAL laughs - but there are funnier things Bruce has done.

BLOOD & GORE: 0/5
Nothing at all - unless you count a squashed bug.
Oh, and there are some bodies being removed from the home, three in all. But you don't see them, just the clump underneath the white sheet.

NUDITY & TA: 1/5
No skin shown at all, but Bruce does talk about his penis a whole lot.
---

Haha, oh boy... now THIS was a unique film. Tired of the old recycled horror movie plots? Then you'll definately want to give this a try. Elvis and JFK in an old folks home being hunted down by a soulsucker. Pure genious. Now, like you probably guessed, it was more comedy then horror. It stars Bruce Campbell, after all. Here, he gives a VERY good performance as Elvis - and I mean, V-E-R-Y good. He actually manages to look like a senile Elvis, with the help of an excellent make-up crew, and his actions and gestures are spot-on. Speaking of make-up and costume design, the monster - Bubba Ho-tep - is put together very well. If he was in a more serious horror flick, I'd definately fear him. Brrr, reminded me of The Creeper. The script for this film was rather intelligent, and has some creative jokes and laughs based on both of these idols pasts. Along with that, we are treated to a very smart explaination on why Elvis is still alive today, which in terms lends to the message the film converys in it's entirety. Live life to it's fullest, you only have one chance (RIP Ossie). Unlike other films that try and convery this same message, or any for that matter, Bubba Ho-tep does not preach it (or at leats not loudly). Rather, we are treated to it through Elvis' various flashbacks and thoughts on life as he sits in boredom in his bed, which I enjoyed. I do have some gripes with the movie however. Near the ending, when he is set ablaze the first time - he lives. Yet the second time, the souls are freed. I didn't really get that. Does he have some sort of Life Gauge ripped out of an RPG game? Two hits and he's down, or what? Along with that, I thought the ending was rather weak and compared to the entirety of the film - lacked originality. The final battle scene has been played out before in other films, and was very barely imrpoved upon here (by the addition of a wheelchair). Those two negative points brought it down to a 4-star rating, which is still damn good - just like this film. I'm definately awaiting the sequel. ---

Oh, and just a few more things! Elvis vs. The Beetle was very nostalgic to many of Bruce's fights in The Evil Dead. Comedic, and you can tell the prop is very much fake. I thought it was a nice addition. If you are expecting a gorefest, then stay away, or get rid of those expectations. There is little, little gore in this film - if any, really. There are a few things that could be considered gore, but no more then you would see in many other films outside of this genre. Speaking of genre, Bubba Ho-tep is a mixture more then mainly horror. It's a memoir, a drama, a comedy, and a horror. It's less horror then anything else, but hell - it still counts, doesn't it?

j'irai comme un cheval fou

Andre the Butcher

This film was completely misrepresented by the copy on the back of the box. They made it seem like a serious gorefest movie, which was all I expected. What I got was a horror/comedy... starring Ron Jeremy. Defying all reason, it worked. I laughed my ass off from pretty much the very first frame. Recommended. Seriously, I mean it. Overall: 7/10

Lake Placid!

Awesome movie!

9/10 it's semi gory, very nice creatures, jump outs, and it's hilarious.

Highly recommended.

Brokeback Mountain.

A little long, a little slow and just as sad as the book.

7/10

Sleepaway Camp; *****/*****

SCARE FACTOR: 3/5
Has some tense moments, and the ending is a real shocker. I'm counting "twists" into the scare factor, because it pretty much causes your heart to jump like any scary scene would. I think twists are a lot better then scares anywho.

COMEDY FACTOR: 0/5
You might laugh at the 80's style, but nothing in the film is expecially funny. Not on purpose, at least.

BLOOD & GORE: 2/5
It had some nice kills that looked fairly realistic, but not as much gore or blood as what some slashers have. Fairly tame in this department if you're used to hardcore stuff. What it offers is still good, though.

NUDITY & TA: 5/5
A whole lot of shirtless boys, and a full frontal shot - even. Nothing from the ladies, except for a skimpy bathing-suit shot from the nasty-ass Judy.
---

HOLY BUTMUNCHING RACOONS! And here I was all along saying how bad slashers usually are. I take that back, twofold! Unlike other slashers, mainly Friday the 13th, this doesn't get boring fast. Actually, it manages to stay interesting all the way through. Baaah, I'm blown away by the ending >_< I need to recollect my thoughts. I got tinglies from the moment she said "Peter", and then it was followed by the best shot in the entire movie. Baaah! Ok, ok... so the entire movie was fairly interesting, a nice summer camp romp with a few killings here and there. But unlike other slashers, there is something BESIDES killing. There is a story, and a slight romance building up. Speaking of that romance, I couldn't help but smile very widely when Angela first spoke to the boy. from that moment onwards, I rather liked Angela. She made me happy, and all those nasty campers who made fun of her just pissed me off royally. Ok, so... yeah >_< this is incoherent. The effects were good, for the deaths that is - some of the best I have seen, or at least better then those in Friday the 13th. I was expecially impressed by the still-boiling skin, and the bee-attack victims. How the bubbles still popped actively on his face, and how utterly nasty those bee stings looked. I was glad the entire movie wasn't a string of murders, very happy. If it was that, I would have gotten bored - fast. Like I said before. The acting was subpar, and sometimes felt like a school production the way certain lines were delivered. And did anyone notice how homoerotic this film was? There was barely any female skin at all, but a whole lot of man. Yes, a whole lot. I think we saw every camper minus their shirts, except for the muscular councellor, but he wore revealing things anyway. So yeah, I'd reccomend this film. If you love slashers, or hate them - this might be a film that changes your mind. I'm not sure if I should go ahead and watch the sequels, heard they were bad... and I don't want to ruin my fond memory of this title.

Next up in the marathon - Dead Birds :)

Oldboy 9/10 - Great movie!!! Makes me proud that the country where I was born is responsible for this film. The acting is excellent and the story is engrossing.

Shopgirl 7.5/10 - Good movie, but the one problem I had with it is the casting of Steve Martin as Ray. I thought the movie would have been more effective with someone else. Claire Danes shines in the movie, and Jason Swartzman is on top of his game playing the clueless male who betters himself.

An American Haunting 6.5/10 - It was a decent film. Solid acting from Rachel Hurd Wood as the girl being tormented. Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek have done better work but are good. Not bad and Not great. I would wait for the discount theatres or DVD to watch it.

You did'nt know?


This film is legend.....you just get out of prison or something?:p :p :D

Terminator

Tom Sawyer (2000) 8 / 10

Dead Birds; */*****

SCARE FACTOR: 2/5
It had the atmosphere down, but nothing else really. Any quick cuts and jump scenes they had tried to use failed ultimately, as I did not jump once - nor did either of my parents. The makeup took away from the "frightening imagery" and made it look plain silly. The monster was well crafted, however, so I gave it a 2.

COMEDY FACTOR: 0/5
It was serious throughout, with no splashes of humour anywhere to be found, unless you laugh easily at some snide comments they make. Or at the laughable script and dailogue.

BLOOD & GORE: 3/5
In the bank robbery scene, there was some good shots of gore, but it was rather cheesy. The wounds and further shots looked half decent, and the victim tied to the floor - when her gut busted open - I was very pleased with that. Looked well crafted.

NUDITY & TA: 1/5
A shirtless guy who needs to tan better. Dark face and pasty body doesn't go to well for sex appeal. Oh, and there is some pathetic moaning going on.
---

So, hm... what we all said in unison after watching it pretty much summed things up - "dumb". It had a fairly boring opening, but did get more interesting as the plot proceeded. The main faults were in the script. Very bad dailogue, their trip was drug out far too long with fade-ins and outs, and the character's reactions to things weren't all that swell either. "Oh, must be a wild boar." Mhm. The whole story felt cheesy. I'm not into unrealistic horror, unless of course it has a decent explanation and things connect well. Uh, this didn't. It seemed like the backstory was thrown in for the hell of it, and the writer just wanted to get on with the "scares".

The scares sucked, too. There were some "Jesus!" moments, but it was more said for the sake of it, and not the-shock-it-out-of-you kind. Such as "JESUS!" and you throw yourself backward into the couch. Yeah, ok, that was a lame explanation, but whatever.

The acting was... egh... alright? Nothing good, not exactly terrible, just... meh. It's a period story, and the actors fell out of chracter a few times. I remember in the beginning while riding to the house, a certain character had a sort of way to his speech, and then suddenly it was gone for a whole sentance only to return again shortly. And again for continuity, there are some rather bad errors. They are walking up to the house, it's pure light, and they get in - pitch black. I could buy it if the sun was starting to set, but... no. It doesn't take you 3-4 hours to walk through the cornfields.

There was one thing I liked, sort of the message. If it WAS intended to be the message or I'm just trying to make it up for a reason to give this movie one star. The title Dead Birds has no revelence to the actual plot, and people may wonder why it's called that. If you recall when the guy steps on the dead bird just before entering the house, the girl doesn't really respond except for "let's get that blood out of you before it gets infected." Along with the ending, where the creature (the man) is shot, and the chasees just continue like nothings wrong. Perhaps it's a message as if "We're all just dead birds. People step on us and no one cares. You can be stepped on too, easily". That's what I got out of it, and for that it deserves a star.

---
If someone could explain why it seems people like this a lot, I would gladly listen and perhaps reconsider the movie. Maybe I missed something...

I just saw Vampires Los Muertoes. I have to say that i was impressed with Bon Jovi's acting.

The Ultimate Avengers "movie".
I've seen a few people rip into this film, and I don't really agree with them...I've actually read "the ultimates" entire series (and actually, every single thing from marvels ultimate universe...it's all pretty good source material IMO), and I think this was a pretty damn good effort. Sure, elements were added...some taken away...but I think mainly that was so they could cohesively put a storyline together in a limited "movie length" time. All the integral plot elements were there, though not neccessarily in the same order, I don't think it mattered...the storyline flowed.
The hulk fight was prety badass.
I couldn't help but thinking at the end that it definately has sequal potential...I mean, the plot of the movie only covered about a third of the first ultimates series (theyre 13 issues into their second series now), they could definately make more...I for one, hope that they do...the ultimate universe is a refreshing spin on some of these well known characters, I don't think they suffered from it at all. I'd love to see the introduction of hawkeye the assassin, the black widows betrayal of Stark (oops), quicksilver, scarlet witch, not to mention giant man going apeshit and near killing his wife...it's a pretty dark storyline, and they could definately put further work into it...not to mention, ultimate x-men would be the shit.

Anyways...I liked it...

I'd LOVE to see them do the Ultimates X-men!

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