10/26/2004

This thing called fear

Since I got enough attention from my last movie review, I thought I'd give it another go.
I've seen many scary movies in my day... too many to count. In the last few years, this genre has moved away from the slasher films, which has its own value, and moved toward the psychological way of scaring its viewers. With movies like The Ring and the new movie, Saw, we can see this transition. Not that the good 'ol slasher films aren't still around, but are not quite in the mainstream.
The movie I'm about to rant about is probably something you won't see, but if you have, kudos. This flick of choice is
The Grudge. One word: 'wow'. In an overview, this movie is deeply intense. The underlying story is that where there is a horrible murder influenced by rage, there is a curse that springs forth, and stays at the place where it was birthed. The catch is: once you become a part of it, it will never stop until you are dead.
Normally with movies like this, there's no real plot, besides the fact that the house is "haunted". The creators are just in it for shock effect in the audience. Not true for this story. There is a mystery to the events leading up to the curse, and no security in predictability. It keeps you guessing the whole way through, and continues to make you jump out of your pants.
Skeptics may say that since it's in a theater, with the music so loud and people around you building up the suspense, that you probably could go without being scared if you rented it when it came out on DVD. I defy anyone who is not scared at all by this movie. Go ahead and wait for it on DVD at Blockbuster or wherever you get you movies from. If you don't soil yourself three or four times during the movie, you'll continually hear the distinct sound that the creepy ghost/monster makes throughout the movie as you go down the hall to your bedroom, and lie awake in bed. Sweet dreams!
Rating: A+ for scariness, A for plot, B for actors/casting, A+ for ghost/monster creepiness.

10/18/2004

In Review

I've never been a fan of movie critics. Seems to me that it's only critically acclaimed if it's this tear-jerking drama about life as we will never know it. They are in love with Disney movies, good, bad and ugly. If it's action... tsk.. please, it just might get a decent rating, if enough people believe in the hype.

So, I take this time to review a movie I've seen recently. Not as a critic, but as a movie fan. The movie for this entry will be for the
"Butterfly Effect". If you didn't see the movie, go see it before you read any further! For those of you that watched, what did you think? Did Ashton Kutcher prove that he can act past the words "dude" and "sweet"? Would this suspense-thriller prove worthy of a fan-base? All this and more! Keep reading...

I love the idea of being able to go back in time within your mind and relive, even change, the not-so-good aspects. That's always fun to roll around in your imagination. What would you change about your life if you could go back? How much would it change your surroundings? Would you end up with more money? Would you end up with a different mate than you have now? I'm not sure what your answer is, but I am sure that I wouldn't change anything because I might not be the person I've grown to be. For better or worse, I trust that God knew what He was doing all this time, even if I didn't.

Now, would somebody please tell me who thought it was "in" to kill yourself? In entertainment, people seem to remember you better than you were, and maybe even get more famous. But, in reality, you're probably worse off than you were before, not to mention eternal consequences. The real question is: Is that the answer? In the case of this movie, Kutcher's character felt like he needed to just end the madness that he had created, and everyone else would be happier. Kayleigh, his love interest, married someone else. His friends grew up to be decent people. His mom was sent sobbing forever over the loss of another baby. Even by killing himself, he still couldn't solve all the problems.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this movie, but I find it hard to believe that the screenwriter, director and/or producer had no idea what implications they were making in this film. Nevertheless, the bottom line is this: A for creativity; A for plot; A for casting; A for special effects; C- for the ending. Questions, class?

10/06/2004

October edition 1

October is a good month. Football's in full swing. The weather is cooling (finally), and baseball is finally over. Good riddance! About half-way through the semester, which is going well. 3 tests this week, and again 3 more next week. Not to mention, 2 biblical background papers. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

My favorite part about October is toward the end of the month -- Halloween! I don't know what it is about this season. Maybe it's the mystery mixed with the full moon. And some years, it gets interesting when there's a full moon on Friday October 13th. My imagination seems to run wild and I get my fill of the latest horror, thriller or sci-fi movies. If you're interested in these types of movies, like me, check out: Fangoria, movies.com, Resident Evil 2, The Grudge, Blade: Trinity, and The Forgotten.