Defiance

When I saw the trailer for Defiance, long before the movie released, I thought that it looked like a light on action, heavy on sentiment movie. I also knew that I wanted to see it. Both were results of watching a well-cut trailer that really didn't give any indication of what the movie would actually be like. So I started the film having a very different idea of what it was actually going to be like. Even with that, I still liked the movie a lot. Those who have seen Director Edward Zick's other work, The Last Samurai will know what to expect here. Specifically, a movie that tries it's damnedest to be a historical epic, with sweeping storylines that have just enough fact behind them to be believable and selfless characters that didn't quite change history, but made a difference in their own way. As much as either movie tries to be epic, they both fall just a little bit short. The Last Samurai comes across as being preachy and emotionally manipulative, and Defiance just doesn't have the kind of spark to be totally memorable. That said, I will admit that I liked both Defiance and The Last Samurai and I thought they both deserved better critical reception than they received. Defiance tells the story of the Bielske brothers who, in 1940s Poland, led a band of Polish jews in resistance to their nation's Nazi occupiers. The true story has not often been told and will most likely be unfamiliar to almost anyone watching, even though the story is inspiring and, I think, deserving of a retelling. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber's acting performances are adequate. The only fault in this film is the script's lack of any real life. I watched the movie and yet never really sympathized with, or even really cared that much about the characters. I would call Defiance a good, but not great, war drama.

-J

10 Best Horror Movies From the Last 10 Years

As anyone who has read this blog can see, I love to watch horror movies. After reading a post like this on another site, I realized I should make one of my own with the movies that I think are the best. Instead of trying to explain why I love these movies I'll just give you a quote from each movie that may help to explain why I love it. So here it goes: The 10 Best Horror Movies From the Last 10 Years.

10. The Last House on the Left (2009)

Directed by: Dennis Iliadis



"John Collingwood: Hi.

Krug: What is this? I can't move.

John Collingwood: You're paralyzed from the neck down. [shows knife]

John Collingwood: I didn't have any rope, or duct tape."

9. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

"Between 1945 and 1962 the United States conducted 331 atmospheric nuclear test. Today, the government still denies the genetic effects caused by the radioactive fallout... "

8. The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (2007)

Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona

All quotes are in Spanish so here's the movie's tagline: A tale of love. A story of horror.

7. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Directed by: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez

"Heather Donahue: I just want to apologize to Josh's mom, and Mike's mom, and my mom. I am so sorry! Because it was my fault. I was the one who brought them here. I was the one that said "keep going south." I was the one who said that we were not lost. It was my fault, because it was my project. I am so scared! I don't know what's out there. We are going to die out here! I am so scared!"

6. Halloween (2007)

Directed by: Rob Zombie

"Laurie Strode: [crying] Was that the boogeyman?

Dr. Samuel Loomis: As a matter of fact... I do believe it was."

5. Saw (2004)

Directed by: James Wan

"John: I'm sick from the disease eating away at me inside...

Kerry: [flashback] Sounds like our friend Jigsaw.

John: I'm sick of people who don't appreciate their blessings...

Kerry: [flashback] ... looks like our guy like's to book himself front row seats to his own sick little games

John: Hello Mark,Paul, Amanda,Zepp, Adam, Dr.Gordon.

John: I want to play a game."

4. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Red: "There she is boys, Mandy Lane. Untouched, pure. Since the dawn of junior year men have tried to possess her, and to date all have failed. Some have even died in their reckless pursuit of this angel."

3. The Strangers (2008)

Directed by: Bryan Bertino

"Mormon Boy: Are you a sinner?

Killer: Sometimes."

2. Final Destination (2000)

Directed by: James Wong

"Tod Waggner: We say that the hour of death cannot be forecast. But when we say this, we imagine that the hour is placed in an obscure and distant future. It never occurs to us that it has any connection with the day already begun, or that death could arrive this same afternoon - this afternoon which is so certain, and which has every hour filled in advance."

1. The Devil's Rejects (2005)

Directed by: Rob Zombie





"Otis: Consider me f*****' Willy f*****' Wonka! This is my f****** chocolate factory! You got it? My factory!"

There you have it! My picks for the top ten horror movies from the last 10 years.

-H

Sunshine Cleaning

A deeply moving movie, Sunshine Cleaning follows two sisters who start their own crime scene clean up business to make more money. Unlike many movies I have seen recently, this movie had a very deep plot with many underlying themes and meanings.

On the surface, the movie deals with two women trying to get over past experiences and deal with each others differences. They go from call to call cleaning up houses after a person has died and get rid of everything that is left in the house. But more than that, the movie deals with many different thoughts and ideas about death and the way humans deal with others around them passing on. As humans, we all have fears about death and the afterlife. In the movie, a young boy asks the main question people wonder about, "What happens after we die?" And while this isn't answered, Sunshine Cleaning shows how different people deal with death.

The two young women who clean the crime scenes try to remain unconnected with the people who were involved, but sometimes this is impossible. In one scene in the movie, the women are called to clean up a suicide. Upon arriving to the house a little old woman is waiting outside to give them the keys and the women find out it was the lady's husband who committed suicide. One of the young woman sits with this woman and becomes emotional. But by sitting with the older woman, the young woman helps her through this difficult time. The emotion in this scene is so strong and upsetting, but shows how the smallest gesture can make someone feel better.Sunshine Cleaning shows that many people are affected by death, even those who do not know the person who has died.

One of the best movies I have seen in a very long time, Sunshine Cleaning is a dark comedy that is heavy on the dark and light on the comedy. However, it is such a fascinating movie it doesn't need much comedy to keep the viewer interested.

-H

Haute Tension (High Tension)

Released in 2003, this German psychological thriller is full of shockingly gory images such as the decapitation of a man by a piece of furniture to a woman's arm, gushing blood because her hand had just been severed by a crazed killer. This movie tells the story of Marie and Alexis, two best friends who travel to Alexis's family's home. During their first night there, a crazed man breaks into the house murdering the family and kidnapping one of the girls. After this, the story seems to drift off making less sense as it goes along.
The first half of the movie is packed with scares, mainly due to the extremely gory images. However, as the movie progresses, the plot seems to get stranger and stranger. The scariness level goes down and the confusion level goes way up.
Then, there is the twist ending. I'm not sure exactly what to say about the twist ending. I knew the ending going into this movie and I'm not sure whether that affected my view of it or not. To be honest, I couldn't pay attention to what was going on in the movie for thinking about how the ending makes absolutely no sense with what was going on at that time. At some points it was even so absurd that it made me laugh out loud. But in the end the only thing I do know is that this movie is not for those with a weak stomach and most people will be highly disappointed in the ending.

-H

Hannah Montana: The Movie

If you have ever watched the TV show Hannah Montana, you probably can guess at the humor and style of the new Hannah Montana movie. For anyone with children or someone who is a true child at heart, Hannah Montana will make you laugh and maybe even make you cry. Miley's dad decides that Hannah is taking over Miley's life so he takes her back to her hometown so she can get back to her "country roots." Viewers will follow Miley through her journey of self-discovery as she tries to figure out who she truly is: a self-centered pop star or a good country girl. The movie has some slap-stick humor and some more subtle humor, but the humor doesn't overshadow the message of the movie: It is important to know who you truly are.
For people who love country music, this movie has an incredible soundtrack. There are many new Miley Cyrus songs throughout the movie and Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Billy Ray Cyrus all appear in the movie and have songs on the soundtrack.

Hannah Montana: The Movie is a very warm, family friendly movie. It is very predictable and cliche but sometimes that can be refreshing to see. This movie will leave you smiling and singing all the songs in the movie and is something that the entire family can enjoy.

-H

Confessions of a Shopaholic

A truly entertaining movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic tells of a young woman, deeply in debt, who takes a job as a columnist in a financial magazine. She is "stalked" by a debt collector and is finally exposed for what she really is: a shopaholic. After this exposure, she must turn her life around if she wants to fix all the problems she has created.
The great thing about this movie was its use of humor. It sometimes used a very subtle humor and other times was in-your-face funny. Very rarely do I laugh out loud at movies that are considered to be romantic comedies, but this movie was very different. The humor was very deep, well-thought out and mature without using "mature" (inappropriate) subject matter. It was a very refreshing movie that could be enjoyed by people of all ages, especially people who can relate to the main character's love of shopping.
Confessions of a Shopaholic was also a very inspiring movie. It showed how a person can change their life no matter how bad things may seem. That no matter how much trouble a person is in, they can always make things better if they set their minds to it and don't give up. It is hard to find a newer movie with a moral but Shopaholic teaches a lesson that all shoppers must learn: possessions can't make a person truly happy. Finding love and being with friends and family are the things in life that mean the most, not money or clothes.

-H

Martyrs

A French horror film released in 2008, Martyrs is a gruesome and disgusting movie. It tells the story of young French girl who was tortured as a child. She escapes her captures and goes to live in an orphanage. She befriends another young girl and the two grow a very strong, possibly romantic, bond. At the orphanage the girl who was abused begins seeing a strange creature running around her room and the creature hurts her. After many years, the girl who was tortured finds her captures and takes revenge on them. The above plot described could have made an incredibly disturbing story. Unfortunately, all of the plot described happens within the first twenty minutes of the movie. The latter half of the movie falls short and is very flat. It relies heavily on gory visuals and extreme brutality that somehow fail to surprise the viewer.

The plot, however, could have made for an incredible movie. It is revealed later in the movie, that all of the torture, including regular beatings and isolation, is put upon these girls to make them into martyrs which in French translates to "witnesses." The scientific group performing these experiments is trying to make these young women witness the afterlife. The story is well written and interesting because of the insight into how pain can change the human mind, but the mediocre dialogue causes the movie to feel shallow and the overtly gory visuals will make the viewer feel the need to take a very long shower. Martyrs has an interesting story, but the images of a completely skinned woman who is still alive will haunt the viewers mind for many days.

-H

Saw IV

Spoiler Alert!

Like all of the other Saw movies, Saw IV relies mainly on extreme gore and brutality to shock viewers. However, this particular Saw's visuals don't shock as well as those in the other movies. Perhaps I am immune to the gruesomeness, but nothing in the movie made me gag or even feel remotely sick. I will say, however, that it does provide a few scares, if anyone is afraid of dolls like I am.

On the positive side, this movie provides background information for the Saw series. (Spoilers Ahead!) It tells the story of how the police find the body of Jigsaw. This is not apparent until the end of the movie which creates a small twist ending the somehow still fails to shock. It also explains what happened to make John Kramer (a.k.a Jigsaw) lose his mind. The back story is sad, but still cannot begin to justify his insane behavior.

Now to the negative side. There are only so many ways someone can find to torture a person. And because this is the fourth movie in the series, the ways are running low. One of the torture devices is designed to rip a woman's hair out. While this would be painful, it is not very scary or tense to watch. By this point, I'm not sure Darren Lynn Bousman could find another torture method that would be shocking or scary, because, having seen the first four Saw movies, I feel like I've pretty much seen it all. And yet, Saw VI comes out this year and I'm sure it will try it's best to gross out anyone who watches it.

Saw IV was gory and gruesome (and quite frankly better than the third movie in the series) but it still fell short in many ways. If you're a fan of the first three Saw movies then you may enjoy this movie, but if you are not a fan then don't waste your time.

-H

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is a different type of movie and true horror fans will really enjoy it. Filmed in a dirty, gritty fashion, the movie is reminiscent of a 1970's horror flick. The story follows a teenage girl named Mandy whom all the boys seem to love. She is gorgeous, sweet, and a girl-next-door type. Revolving mainly around teens, the movie seems like it will turn into a normal teen slasher that is neither effective nor scary. However, something about the way this movie is filmed causes it to be deeply disturbing. After a group of popular teens invite Mandy on a trip to one teen's father's ranch, the movie gets very interesting. One by one the teens begin to die off in gory and gruesome manners that could make even the biggest horror movie fan flinch in disgust. The real fear created by this movie, however, is not created through flashy visuals or extreme brutality, but through the interaction among the teens. It seems like every thing that happens in the movie could have been prevented if a different action had been taken by one of the teens earlier. The movie is disturbing because it shows viewers that every action can lead to a terrifying consequence. It has an ending that will shock any viewer and that will really make a person think about life and death. All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is well worth the 90 minutes it takes to watch.

-H

American Teen

American Teen is a very striking and dynamic documentary about normal, everyday American teens. The movie follows four main characters from different cliques throughout their high school careers. The characters include a homecoming princess, a basketball jock, a band geek, and a complete rebel and outsider. In the beginning the movie feels very flat and unemotional. The teens are all good actors, but nothing feels real. It was like watching an MTV show like The Hills. You want to believe it's real but everything is just too flat. But then, the rebel character gets dumped by her boyfriend and true emtions begin to show. With tears and laughter the teens work through many hardships of high school: from being cheated on, to getting caught vandalizing, to trying to get into college. While something about the movie feels a little unrealistic, many of the plot elements are dead on about high school. One scene portrays a young girl sending a nude photo of her self to a guy and having the photo sent all around the school via email and text messages. This plot point is so very realistic. For those of you who aren't in high school right now this may seem crazy, but this very thing has happened several times at my high school. Watching this movie, I feel as if someone stuck a camera in my school. And I'm sure any other teen watching this movie would feel the same way. While some of the characters are stereotypical and overdone, the plot is so emotional and realistic that it makes up for the other flaws in the movie. It takes a little getting into, but once you've started watching this movie you'll be hooked until the end.

-H

The Devil's Rejects

Spoiler Alert!

A throwback to the gritty, 1970's style of horror movies, Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects is a horror masterpiece. A sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects revolves around a family of murderers who have a love for brutality and gore. After escaping from the police, two of the killers contact their father and began a trip to find a hiding place. Along the way they stop at a cheap motel where the come across a family of performers. It is here that the movie picks up the pace and becomes the truly brutal and disturbing film Zombie intended it to be. The killers begin to torture their victims in odd ways. One of the killers, Otis takes the men out for a walk to find some hidden guns while he talks about what he intends to do with them. It is here where I fell in love with the movie. Zombie's use of dialogue is absolutely brilliant! Blending brutality and humor, Zombie creates two killers with whom the audience can actually connect. I did not fear either of the killers; I was intrigued by them. And yet, I was disgusted by them. Their methods of torture were so sadistic and crazy. They even skinned a man and made his wife wear his face. It was absolutely gross but beautiful at the same time. That scene made this movie a horror masterpiece! But if you have a weak stomach you should probably close your eyes because the level of gore just continues to increase from here.
The plot twists around and around causing the viewer to feel as if they were on a rollar coaster. With beautiful filming and an incredible use of music that juxtaposes the brutality of the scene, Zombie creates a dark and twisted slasher flick that may cause laughing and even some gagging.

-H

First Review: Eden Lake

Released in 2008, Eden Lake is a dark and disturbing movie about two young lovers who are terrorized while camping in the woods by a group of local teenagers. When first introduced, the teens are annoying, but don't seem to pose a large threat to the two lovers. However, as the movie progresses, the teenagers become a much larger threat.
At the beginning of the movie, the tone is almost light-hearted. Had I not known it was a horror movie, I could have thought it would turn into a romantic drama. But then, the teenagers are introduced. After a seemingly irrelevent conflict, the teens become angry with the lovers and decide to torture them and eventually kill them. The plot is fairly simple and could have failed miserably in it's simplicity, but the fact that the "villian" is a group of teenagers adds something very dark to the movie. The idea that teenagers, probably no older than thirteen or fourteen, could inflict such pain on an adult creates a very sick and frightened feeling within the viewer. These teenagers are just children and yet their is something so twisted and sadistic inside of them. It is that sadism that creates the darkness. As the movie progresses, it just continues to get darker and darker. The children become crueler, using barbed-wire to tie one victim and playing a cat-and-mouse game with the other, and the viewer becomes more and more disturbed. Without this disturbing concept, the movie would not have been remotely scary, but it still doesn't make the movie worth the watch. In a horror movie, there is no such thing as "too much gore" or "too much violence", but this movie takes violence to an entirely different level. The movie feels so realistic that the viewer is left thinking "if I went camping this could actually happen to me." With an ending that's darker than everything else in the movie combined, it leaves the viewer feeling dirty and in need of a shower and it is not worth the hour and a half it takes to watch.

-H