Have you ever been manipulated by a completely crazy person? Are they related to you? Thought so. But was it so bad that they crippled you with their car? Thought that would get you. In the classic thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, Davis shows us child stars [...]
From Bruges with Blood: Review of “In Bruges”
Dark comedy is not easy to do, since comedy itself is hard enough. With dark comedy, you have to have the right amount of bleakness or terribleness and then a mix of comedy for it to work. The Coen Brothers have perfected this art in such films as Fargo. Martin Macdonagh’s new dark comedy/thriller/action/shoot ‘em [...]
Long Time
It has been extremely hectic lately and I am so sorry, Faithful Readers, that I have not posted in a long time. So, I will just write what I have seen and provide a capsule review of each.
Doubt
The John Patrick Shanley translates to the screen well mostly because of its stellar cast. Meryl Streep as [...]
Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Review for “Coraline”
The team who brought you the stop-motion animation masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas is back delivering a terrifying but fantastic film yet again. Neil Gaiman’s wonderfully eerie children’s book hits the screen in a big way, and works great as a SMA movie. I imagine that a live action version would not be as convincingly [...]
All That You Love Will Be “Taken” Away: Review for “Taken”
As psychologically interesting it is to see what a father would do to save his daughter, I don’t really want to see something like that actually happen. Alas, the new action film “Taken” practically rubs that in your face in the TV spots.
Genial Liam Neeson, who gave an amazing performance in Schindler’s List, plays a [...]
Torture Worn: Review for “Saw V”
Putting moral messages is a messy and dangerous job. You want to make your point but you don’t want to rub it in your audiences’ faces. Subtlety is an art. However just because your message is subtle doesn’t mean it ends being a good movie. Witness: The Most Violent Morality Tale! It’s Saw! The first [...]
“Transsiberian” Orchestra of Horrors: Review for “Transsiberian”
Claistrophobia can be a key part of a suspense film. Whether you’re trapped in an old house or in a small town, that feeling can always creep up on you. Transsiberian is about a young couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) who are traveling back to the United States from China and take the Trans-Siberian [...]
Killer Appeal: Review for “Dexter”
While some may see it horrifying to identify with and empathize with a serial killer, think about this: we have no trouble empathizing with any other vigilante like Batman or Spider-Man. So why is it so hard to do it with a killer? Is it merely the idea that he is a killer? That is [...]
“Strangers” Than Fiction: Review for “The Strangers”
In this world of people having sex whenever they want on TV (they now can, apparently, show butts) and where violence is treated with minimal concern, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that violent “terror” films, a new so-called sub-genre of horror, are being churned our like butter. These days, you can get a ripoff of Saw [...]
My Top Scary Movies
I’ve listed my favorite scary movies, in honor of Halloween. For my top 3, I have included the theatrical trailers.
