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The X Files: Home (1996)
Maybe if it wasn't an X-Files episode...
It's so weird to find that this episode is so highly acclaimed.
Before I'm gonna start bashing on this episode, I wanna say one thing: I like the X-Files series a lot, and this could have been an incredible episode, but...
I was screaming at the screen for seeing how stupid every single character was and how cheese was every single line. It's a "Texas chainsaw massacre"-like episode that had pushed forward the story, the action and the tension with stupid character decisions and lazy writing.
At one point I was really hoping for them to actually die (Fox and Dana) just because they where so stupid. The writers took out every rational sense from them, leaving us with just some mindless stupid teenagers that where actually supposed to be the best FBI agents. No other episode has put them in harm's way quite like this one.
To this day, after all the X-Files episodes, I find this one to be in it's own league of worst X-Files episodes. No one should even consider this an X-Files episode. It a B-movie horror alright, but it doesn't represent anything that X-Files stands for other than "a mystery unsolved case".
Twin Peaks: Beyond Life and Death (1991)
Evil versus Good
This episode was nothing but amazing. The main questions that Twin Peaks is raising are...who is evil ? Why ? Are we humans evil ? All the show is about this perpetual fight between good and evil. And the answers...are in the end...revealed : humans are not evil...sure they can be very nasty and even evil comparable sometimes...but in fact they are not evil...we are just humans...with goods and bads... . On the other hand...evil exists, and it is among us...camouflaged...and will always win.
Now, what is really interesting is the situation of Special Agent Dale Cooper. Through the show...he becomes the image of purity and kindness. He is surrounded by a divine aura. He keeps saying Twin Peaks is heaven like and people here are nothing but divine...when in fact he is the real deal...he is the one that has no match, and it's almost like he's an angel or something. Then love blinds him...and following the call of his heart once again he is lost, and this time for good. And in his search of the loved one...he looses his soul. An angel has fallen, and with it...the equilibrium of our world, of our soul. This is the real horror in this movie, this is the real tormenting feeling that we get. We had no feelings for the ones that died, not even for that Harold Smith, not to say Laura, but our world collapses when we see Special Agent Dale Cooper changed. One of the best ending for a TV show ever seen by me. Everything flows naturally, and it is not suddenly accelerated and rushed like in other TV shows. The pieces are binding and the terror is finally getting me. (I'll just say, that it really did not scared me this movie, nor making me cry, not until this final episode with its end...o boy...the end worth the wait. I still have bitter taste in my mind when I'm thinking of poor Dale Cooper...after all...this was his show...and all the others...where just humans).
And as a one last thing. Why is Bob calling Annie in the end ? Frightening right ? Annie apparently survived, soul and body. Annie is the second angel in this show. That's why Cooper is following in love with her, and that's why Bob wants to loose her too. (but still..I wouldn't feel much sorry for her if it wasn't for the lost of Special Agent Dale Cooper. He sacrificed himself for her.)
1408 (2007)
"What do you want from me !!?"
This is it. I dunno how, but Cusack nailed it. "What do you want from me ? What do you what from me !!??" :)
I'm sorry if I disappoint some opinions, but this movie will make history. It's not the story, about which I will not talk here, and let you see it for yourself (maybe read the book), it's not the acting, nor the special effects. Not even the music or the directing. Sorry folks. It's not in the Hall of Fame for these. It is there for one big big big huge moment: John Cusack talking to the fridge. O boy. You got to see this movie. It is perfect. Absolutely brilliant. "What do you want from me ? What do you what from me !!??" I was roflmao. Cusack was born for this scene. So after seeing that scene I said to myself: There you have it. De Niro with his "you talking' to me ?" (Taxi Driver), Al Pacino with "Say hello to my little friend !!!" (Scarface), Tom Cruise with "Show me the money !" ( Jerry Maguire ) and John Cusack with this magnifique "What do you want from me !!?" (1408).
As a general opinion about this one....my 8 stars should be enough said ( maybe 7 would be more accurate, but I gave it an 8 for that special line :D ). It's a good movie. Not to scare the living rabbits out of you, but it is entertaining, in which the flaws don't kill the chill. It is not perfect but hey, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME !!!??"
The Shining (1980)
Not For Kubrick
There are two distinct things about this movie: the novel that stood as reference and Kubrick as an entity. They are like those geometric forms that you have to combine. One is a perfect cube and one is a perfect triangle hole in the wall, but they do not match ( go see Fight Club and read the novel to understand what I mean. The director and the writer match and seems like one ). Now if you have not read the book, you may consider this movie a masterpiece coming from Kubrick. On the other side if you read the book and have no knowledges about movies, and Kubrick, then this movie will suck ass just like Carrie. If you are not familiar with none above then this movie should be OK, maybe just a little bit old.
For those who read the novel and know Kubrick's work this movie will be so confusing that you will spend your entire life not knowing if you hated it or if you loved it.
Why to hate it? Well I'm not saying that Stephen King is a very complex writer, but he surely tries to spread some messages through his books. The Shining was a good read, and with lots of messages and many weird things. And this is the main problem. A lot of those messages did not came with the movie ( the wasps' nest, Tony, the most tensed part of the book where Danny reach into his father head, the big explosion, etc., and finally one of the most important thing: Wendy's smile from the end) Beside that, Wendy's past is totally give it away in the movie and the book is very much about her. The book is a road of initiation for her and Danny ( Jack Torrance is just a victim !!!). There where moments in the film when I went: "Oh my God!!! What the f**k is going on. They missed that part and that part and that part." " Oh my God!!! No No No. Why ? Why ?"
Why to love it? Not because it's a good horror ( which in my humble opinion it is not ) but because it's a work of art. The image is outstanding. Every moment of the film could be put as an wallpaper. Simply amazing. The lights, the shadows, the angles, the majesty ( which by the way all-in-all does not match the feeling from the book ). All mixed with a very good sound. Beside that, the cast is quite good. Nicholson is in one of his best role, and Danny Lloyd does a great job. The problem could be once again Shelly Duvall. She acts horrible. The only thing that keeps her in is her unusual face ( just like Sigourney Weaver ).
While I enjoyed watching another Kubrick's masterpiece I got the feeling that something was wrong with this one and to be honest I have not expected to be otherwise. This film was not for Kubrick, and I believe many of you think so. ( maybe it had been better if they changed its name, cause for many this movie is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining ).
Hostel (2005)
Eurotrip 2 ( enjoy )
WOW WOW WOW !!!
This movie truly kicked Eurotrip in the nuts. Jesus. Let me say something. I hate movies like Eurotrip, because I'm aware that they are cheap and stupid, but they're still making me laugh.
Back to Hostel. Somehow this movie comes to us like From Dusk Till Dawn, only this time Tarantino is not so much involved. In the beginning is nice and then boom: a lot of blood, and gore. Do not expect some typical Tarantino script or cut scenes ( one or two in the whole movie ) . This movie have other purposes, like kicking in the nuts the teen movies. This was a hit back. This movie made me cry of happiness. Hell they should have call it Eurotrip 2, just for fun. Although it does not deserve an 8 for the acting, and the feeling, and etc. . This 8/10 from me ( and I could have give it 10 very easy ) is just because...
Now let's see some connections with PULP FICTION.
Amsterdam. Well, in Pulp Fiction Travolta explains to Jackson how free Amsterdam and Europe are. All the legal s**ts...and it's funny cause it does not make any sense, for that they have very much freedom in America too ( they where gangsters remember? ). Well I'm from Europe, I know what they where talking about, but there are guys out there who got confused. Watch this movie. This is what Travolta was talking about.
And now the big connection. Europe is no such different from America. We got our psychos, they got theirs. The only difference is the perspective. This movie took the scene from Pulp Fiction ( the one from the basement ) to another level ( it does not have to be one up, just another level, an European one ).
And another thing. This movie is not an horror one. It does not have the classical tension of an good horror movie ( now-days they call Final Destination an horror movie. How low can we go ?) There where just so many movies about Europe and how beautiful and romantic is, that someone had to make a stand. This is the one: Hostel. ( it's like killing 50 Cent and raping Shakira with no philosophical intend ).