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The Hunger Games (2012)
Obvious cash-in novel adaptation
I was somewhat skeptical when going to see 'The Hunger Games', expecting a novel adaption claiming to be the next Harry Potter, but for older audiences (teenagers like myself).
Set in the Distopian not-too-distant future, The Capitol run by Donald Sutherland and other people with strange dress sense, rules the 12 Districts. Each year, a boy and a girl from each district are picked at random to fight in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death spanning days. And in this film, that's really all that matters. Instead of giving this film a heavy political theme, it backs out and presents itself as an action/adventure type film. By all means, that's okay if you want to build a large teenage audience demanding some sort of action, where no thinking is involved, but the action sequences themselves are what this film relies on, and is ultimately let down.
At the start of this film, you'll take a guess that this director loves close-ups, and you'll be right. You better like them, cause the director persists in using them the whole way through the film. As a result the action scenes that this film seems to rely on turn out to be horrible. We are given nearly no vision and it ends up stressful for the eyes.
Taking away the supposed action scenes we are left with minimal character development in the main heroine Katniss, boring dialog and a minimal plot.
What really bothers me is that there are already sequels lined up, ready to gross millions, luring in loyal fan bases for 2 hours of low-par filmmaking. Novel adaptations like The Hunger Games are filmmaking at it's lowest, requiring little to no effort, and shameless sequels, as if the millions this film made isn't enough.
Perhaps the novels are better, at least with books, there can't be a shaky camera with extreme close-ups every second.
Appalling novel adaption. 2/10.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Werefolf flick that continues to impress
In the bleak winter of Northern England, two American students travel Europe in search of fun, and women. But first take a pit stop at "The Slaughtered Lamb" a gritty pub with some shady characters and upcoming comedians. Upon noticing a mysterious five-point star on the wall, the pair ask about it, and are immediately forced to leave. But the community at the pub know full well that they are leading the two Americans to their dooms, for there's a full moon that night...
Ignoring the warnings of the pub members, the pair stray far from the roads. In a scene with some great camera-work, the pair encounter a werewolf, one of them is mauled to death, the other is cursed to become a werewolf the very next full moon.
The film makes some great use of the camera and some of the most unrelated music to entertain.
I would say this is slightly more of a comedy, as the kill scenes are short and sharp, and the funny moments are quite memorable. The film also blends the two elements together for some great scenes like when David, the hapless survivor, is visited by his dead friend, with half of his face mauled off, yet he talks as if nothing has happened.
The film also shows off it's technical know-how as it boasts the hands-down best transformation scene in a werewolf movie. There's no cheap stop-motion here as we see poor David shout in agony as his whole body slowly cracks and creaks into a new shape. This scene won the movie a Special Achievement Oscar in Advancement in Makeup. The makeup for David's slowly decomposing friend who persists in visiting him is also pretty good.
In one of his first scripts, John Landis entertains the audience with gory horror, yet at the same time some ridiculously funny moments in a short, sharp screenplay. Strap yourself in for ninety minutes you'll almost certainly enjoy.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Give it a chance, man!
Okay, Friday the 13th part 5. You know, I always had these rules with sequels. One of them was that the 5th movie in a series would very often be the least popular. Not the worst, the least popular, the most overlooked. I think I was right with this one.
People call this the 'black sheep' of the series. It is very different, I'll admit, but it isn't bad. I found that the 'fun' from the last film, The Final Chapter, is all gone in this film, I mean, this. is. dark. This is very, very dark compared to the 4th film. Isn't that what Friday the 13th is, though? In the sequels they didn't perfect the dark concept, they seemed better being dark and humorous at the same time. I'm just sayin'! The Friday the 13th series should be a little more serious.
Anyway, on to the movie. It's got a funky title, I think. A New Beginning, that's pretty cool. It doesn't really make sense, but it's still cool.
The guy who plays Tommy looks suspiciously like the guy from Troll 2. The guy that says: "OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, this guy only says 24 words in the whole movie. Now, hang on. The MAIN CHARACTER SAYS 24 WORDS IN A 90 MINUTE FILM, come on! It's like a breath of fresh air to hear him say anything. This dude doesn't even say anything interesting, he is probably one of the most lame characters ever in a film. He also knows karate for some reason. Weird.
The first guy to go is the fat guy. It's really surprising though. You might not see it coming, I won't spoil it.
Well, we are then treated to many, many more bloody kills. Apparentley, the makers of this made a contract for everybody on set or something and it said that you couldn't give away the ending to anybody in the public. Wow, these guys were very surprisingly committed to this, the ending wasn't even that good, but it's good to know these guys who made this truly believed in this.
The ending is pretty weak, and the very end is just confusing.
Overall, Beginning is not as fun as part 4, and it's best seen with a group of mates, I guess.
So just give it a try, go in with low expectations and just watch it. It is a bit boring at times, but it's not bad. It's not bad at all.
Grade: C+ Rating: 5/10 Sequel Grade: 7/10
Halloween (1978)
My favorite horror film
This film is... magnificent! It's the most successful independent film of all time and one of the most popular horror icons. It's been referenced, spoofed, parodied and payed tribute to in many, many movies and the internet. It's spawned six sequels, a reboot, a remake and a sequel to that remake. But enough on that.
On to the movie. It starts out in the Myers house. 6 year old Michael Myers murders her older sister Judith, for some reason, and even though this is poorly done you can still feel a little chilled.
The film's protagonist is Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. (Yeah, you didn't know that.) Some people say she doesn't get enough development, but I think it's done perfectly. Laurie Strode, this spunky, smart teenager who also smokes weed. But then, she begins to get stalked by Michael Myers. From driving along the side of the road, to simply looking straight at her from ten meters away and then hiding behind a hedge.
But then night comes... and then Michael stops playing around.
Now, there are only four deaths in this, but Halloween says that horror films don't have to have many deaths to be scary, and there isn't much blood at all. Really, there is just suspense.
The music is brilliant, and basic too, but still pretty creepy. Especially in the chase scenes, when most of the time John Carpenter is just hitting the same note on the piano over and over in a pattern. It's beautifully directed too. It leaves us scared of the dark, always turning around to check what's behind you, always checking all the closets fully before using them, checking the back seats of cars, leaving us scared to go around corners, always locking our doors, always hiding...
And that is horror. That is Halloween.
Rating: 8/10 Grade: A
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Not too good, not too bad
Okay, we all know the suspense in this series is long gone. (In fact, it died after the first one!) So this film took another turn and gave up on suspense and focused all on humor.
And this was pretty funny. Freddy was cracking jokes and killing people pretty creatively. But a lot of people hate this film, and I can see why. It looked really cheap, and the atmosphere was pretty lame, (maybe that's why the makers shot it in 3-D.) and the movie was made very differently to it's predecessors in the series. A lot more weird than the others. But there's just something I like about this movie, and I'd say it's a guilty-pleasure movie,too.
Storywise, it's pretty much the same. Freddy's out killing teenagers.
Next in the series is New Nightmare, I haven't seen that, but I'm sure it has Freddy in it, so... so much for the FINAL NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!! After that it's Freddy vs Jason, which is completely unrelated to the series.
Grade:B- Score:6/10 As a Sequel:7/10
Chad Vader (2006)
The show still taking the internet by storm!
This well made internet comedy shot all in a grocery store is about Darth's younger brother, Chad, Chad Vader. Chad is the day shift manager of the store, and he takes his job very seriously, and even though he freaks out customers and drives away sales, the general manager, who Chad calls 'master', still accepts him.
But Chad's position may be in jeopardy as his nemesis, Clint, who is the night shift manager, fights to steal his job any means necessary.
And now Chad has to keep his job or be demoted to the night shift, where people go insane over only a few days.
This hilarious comedy, originally from the internet was made by two ordinary people, and is a great example of internet comedy.
7/10. Watch and enjoy!
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Classic example of a terrible remake
What is it with remakes and sequels today? It's all they're making today, or for horror movies, anyway. I seriously don't know why, but I had my hopes up for this movie, yet I was immediately disappointed. Everything bugged me about this movie. One thing was it's boring, over-used formula for kill scenes:
Idiot hears noise, idiot unnecessarily investigates noise by going out of safe house with no shoes and only a torch for protection, idiot walks to destination, "Oh, it was nothing!" Idiot thinks everything is safe and BOO! Freddy jumps out and kills idiot.
Another thing that truly enraged me was the certain shot-for-shot scenes from original movies. The bathtub scene: From the first movie. Shot in the exact same place as before with the exact same outcome. Freddy's shape coming out of the wall in the bedroom: From the first movie. Better graphics "That'll make it scarier!" than the original movie. Same outcome. Running up the stairs scene: From the first movie. Person runs up stairs and steps in goo on the way, and also the final scene where Freddy comes out into the real world: This is from the idea of 6th Freddy movie: Freddy's dead. So since not many people remembered that, they copied it too.
I hope your learning something about this, or about Michael Bay. Anyway if you haven't seen this movie already, you must avoid it at all costs. Expect to see it in the supermarket bargain bin for movies.
Although I must admit the movie picked up in the second half, nothing is original. It will enrage you if watch it.
3/10. Avoid.
Carrie (1976)
You were warned never to push Carrie to the limits, now you shall face the 5 minutes of consequences
The trouble with this is that it goes for a full 100 minutes and yet there about 5 minutes of anything that's close to horror. But you might just call that build-up. Well, this might be harsh, but when I just saw this on Television I expected a lot more. I expected to be scared, It's about a teenage girl who's prom is completely ruined! She wants revenge! REVENGE! They could've used this so much better but they didn't.
What annoyed me more was that I felt more excited about the pig's blood scene then angry for Carrie, and when it finally came, it just felt like they could've done so much better, and when Carrie started her rampage I just didn't feel anything.
I'll admit that was the best scene in the movie, but only because everything else was just so forgettable.
In the end, this is a pretty ordinary film for me. Watch it if you want to but don't expect it to be amazingly good.
5/10. Period.
Halloween II (1981)
An exception to the sequel's curse
It really is, this is a great movie, but nobody will believe it! But sequels were better back then, when will sequels become better than the original again, when? The film kicks off where the first one landed. Laurie Strode is rushed off to the hospital and Dr Loomis and the sheriff are ruthlessly hunting for Michael Myers.
The traumatized Laurie is left in a deserted hospital, with everybody else out 'celebrating' Halloween. Of course, Michael escapes the clutches of Dr Loomis and heads straight for the hospital to finish what he started.
In this we get terrifying chase scenes including when Laurie is almost cornered in an elevator and creative kills. Also using the same method that leaves us scared to turn around corners and open closets, and hoping the elevator gets there just in time.
The great music really creates the atmosphere of pure suspense.
Well done to John Carpenter for that, in some scenes I got too scared to look on, why does that never happen anymore with other movies, I wonder?
The Box (2009)
Bring this out of the shelf and look at it.
First of all, I have to say that this didn't get enough attention at the box office, compared to all this crap they call horror lately. I found this movie really creepy.
The reason I give this film a 6 is that when tension is at it's highest it plummets right down to the confusing, hard to follow sci-fi path, which is very disappointing because I thought this could be the next great thing in the thriller genre.
It's about a 70's family that's struggling financially. The wife, played by Cameron Diaz is a school teacher that we learn has a deformed foot and the husband is a worker at NASA, who is played by James Marsden. The family finds a small parcel on their front doorstep. They open it up and find a black box with a big red button on it. The family is visited by the suspenseful and mysterious Arlington Steward. We find that half his face is missing but toned down and un-screamworthy. Steward tells the couple that they will receive one million dollars if they simply push the button. In return, if they push the button somebody in the world will die.
If I made this I would've taken an entirely different road with it, yet when it gets most confusing it comes to an end that fits most of the pieces in.
Why has the mysterious Steward given them this oppourtunity, will somebody really die if the button is pushed, and if so, who?
Later thinking about this movie after it's finished is required if you want to find out the rest.
A tale of belief, hope and the worthiness of the human race,
Well Done, 'The Box'.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
They don't make horror movies like this anymore!
This is simply a great movie. But it's something nobody understands anymore.
Today, people don't appreciate what true horror is anymore. Today movie makers take brilliant, timeless classics and squeeze all the juice out of them. Then they make them into remakes with popular actors, special effects and loud noises and expect it to be suspenseful. The prime culprit of this crime against horror is Michael Bay (A Nightmare on Elm Street).
However, Paranormal Activity is suspenseful by actually working to make it scary and has a very low budget, and most important of all, it isn't made by Michael Bay or some other idiot.
The story is about a young couple who has just moved to a house in the suburban parts of San Diego. The girl, Katie, has been haunted by a demonic presence since she was 8. the guy, Micha, is obsessed with carrying around a camera to record his, and Katie's life. When things begin to go very weird overnight, the couple set up the camera in the bedroom to record what happens when they sleep. Sounds pretty creepy, right? Well you'll have to find out what happens by watching it for yourself.
To summarise, don't deny yourself the opportunity to see this. If you're a true horror fan you won't regret it. This may be the first horror to actually scare anyone in a very long time.