5 Best Horror Movie Sequels

It seems that horror movies really try to milk every movie franchise for what it's worth. Most horror movies that come out today are either sequels or remakes. Next month, two horror movies sequels are coming out that I'm really excited about: H2 and The Final Destination. In honor of those two movies I decided to make a list of the 5 best horror movie sequels. So here it goes: Enjoy!

5. Scream 2 & 3 (1997, 2000)

The Scream franchise doesn't exactly fall into the same category as most horror movie sequels. Scream was a planned trilogy from the The second movie was interesting, but I don't feel like it was completely necessary. The story really didn't further the first movie and it wasn't needed to explain the third movie. Basically it just felt like filler. However, I listed these sequels because the third movie was completely original and closed the franchise with the perfect, complex "twist" ending that explains who had Sydney's mother murdered and why.

4. Hostel: Part II (2007)

Hostel has probably one of the most brutal, gory, disturbing movie plots ever imagined. And Hostel II is even more disturbing than the first. It has a better plot that is much more disturbing than the first because of the whole good guy gone bad kind of theme. A young woman is taken hostage and then she turns on her killer consequently becoming what she was running from. Hostel II has some of the most brutal images I have ever seen, but it also made me laugh out loud in parts and the perfect irony used in the story.

3. Final Destination 2 (2003)

Final Destination 2 is probably the movie I've seen the most on this list. It is on TV all the time and I watch it every time I come across it even though most of the good parts have been cut out. Final Destination has one of the most creative plots I have ever heard and it actually played out pretty well to make a sequel. And personally, I think Final Destination 2 is better than the first one. The images are more gory, the ways people die are more creative, and the whole movie just works a little better to me than the first or third one did (it was actually scary while the other two were just entertaining.) Not to mention the fact that I get nervous every time I hear Highway to Hell when I'm in the car because of the opening scene of the movie.

2. The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)

Okay, I absolutely loved the first The Hills Have Eyes. But, I decided to include the sequel because I thought it was pretty amazing too. Just the idea of being out in the desert, away from civilization, in the scorching heat is disturbing to me. And I've always had a fascination with cannibal movies. So The Hills Have Eyes is one of the most perfect horror movie combinations. The second movie centers around a group of soldiers out in the desert searching for some lost scientist. The soldiers are stalked by the cannibals and some fall prey to the killers. While this movie is very good, it doesn't work as well as the first one. Because the cannibals prey on a normal family in the first movie, it feels more personal and realistic to the viewer which makes it scarier. However, The Hills Have Eyes 2 is a well-thought-out, interesting horror film.

1.The Devil's Rejects (2005)

So anyone who regularly reads this blog is probably sick and tired of me talking about The Devil's Rejects so I'll keep this short and sweet. The Devil's Rejects is probably one of the best horror movies ever made. The images are amazing, the music fits perfectly with the story and the acting talents of Sheri Moon Zombie and Bill Moseley are just incredible. The Devil's Rejects is 20 million times better than it's predecessor House of 100 Corpses and I consider it to be a horror movie masterpiece.

Well there you have it: my picks for the best horror movie sequels. Hope you enjoyed it!

-H

A Few Short Films

Here are a few reviews from short films that I have seen recently. There will be links at the bottom of every article if anyone would like to check out the films. I'd like to thank http://www.entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ and http://www.pbs.org/ for providing all of the films! Enjoy!

Spin- (UK, 2007)

Spin is an interesting little film clocking in at nine minutes. It shows a group of teenagers at a party, smoking and drinking and having fun. The film takes a surprising twist, however, when a teen that no one at the party knows is invited to play a game of spin the bottle. He spins and it happens to land on another young man. The two must go into the bathroom together where some true feelings are exposed. The film isn't explicit with its ideas but it's obvious that it wants to make a message about sexuality. I believe the film is trying to explain how confused many teenagers are about their sexuality and if they are bisexual or homosexual how hard it is to expose that and be who they truly are. Here's a link to that film if anyone would like to check it out:http://shootingpeople.org/watch/film.php?film_id=618

Pin Point- (James Kin)
Pin Point is a disturbing animated short that clocks in at four minutes. Probably the most disturbing animated film I've ever seen, Pin Point begins in a graveyard at the grave of a small child. After the funeral, a little girl and an older woman go back to the orphanage where the young girl lives. It is here we're we learn the older woman runs the orphanage. She is shown cooking food for the children and the putting poison into the stew. The little girl discovers this and decides to save all the children by killing the old lady. The story, however, isn't the only thing that makes the film creepy. The animation is very unique and interesting. It has a very child-like style that is extremely disturbing when paired with a story about the poisoning of children and voodoo. Here's the link if anyone would like to check the movie out: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/insideindies/shortsfest/player.html?chosen=pinpoint

The Furniture- (Tyler Measom, 2004)

The Furniture is a darkly comedic short film clocking in at two and a half minutes. It begins with a man on the phone with his psychiatrist, telling him that he is very scared. The psychiatrist talks to have for a few seconds and then the young man begins repeating "The furniture does not want to kill me." At the beginning the film I believed the movie was trying to explore the depths of mental illness, however by the end I'm pretty sure that wasn't the idea the film maker was going for. With an ironic and clever ending, The Furniture is a hilarious short film with a very smart plot that just wants to make people laugh. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/insideindies/shortsfest/furniture.html

That's all the short films for today! I hope you enjoy these films and please keep reading the blog for more reviews of independent shorts like these.

-H

House of Wax

If I were to rate this movie out of 10 I think I would give it a 4. Two points because of it's cool and unique plot and two points because Paris Hilton gets impaled through the head with a big wooden stake. Not that I have anything against Paris Hilton because truly I don't, it's just that she's such a terrible actress that it was a relief when her character was killed off. Not that any of the other actors were incredible. Chad Michael Murray and Elisha Cuthbert, the actors who play the two main characters. do an adequate job. They are realistic with their emotions and with their brother/sister relationship, however, they both seem to fall flat in some way. And I'm not sure it's their fault. The script was not great so they didn't have very much to work with. It was a very shallow script with stupid, cliche horror movie lines. However, this is a stupid, cliche horror movie so it didn't sound that bad.

Now, to talk about the actual movie. The plot is interesting and very unique in it's ideas. The movie is set in an abandoned town where there is an incredible wax museum called House of Wax. The owners of the wax museum have been dead for years and now the only people left in the town are the crazed sons of the owners. The sons chase after their victims and eventually cover them in wax and place them around the town. It sounds scary, but the visuals are inadequate. One scene in the movie shows the wax museum catching on fire and melting. It should be the scariest, most climactic part of the movie, but it falls very short because it looks so fake.

However, it was a mildly entertaining movie, but unless you truly just hate Paris Hilton and want to see her death scene it is not worth the two hours it takes to watch it.

-H

Wolf Creek

Supposedly based on true events, Wolf Creek is about the abduction and torture of three friends backpacking across Australia. Wolf Creek, like The Blair Witch Project and The Strangers, drew attention by being "based on true events." While there is no particular incident that is the basis for the movie, Australian killer Ivan Milat was inspiration for the movie. Milat abducted backpackers, tortured them, then buried their bodies in a forest. This is not exactly what happens in the film, but it is close enough that it makes me never want to go backpacking down-under.

Wolf Creek is also a terrifying movie because of the gritty images. Like so many movie I've reviewed, Wolf Creek is very reminiscent of the dirtiness of 1970's horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It is filmed to look like the viewer is actually in the movie, suffering along with the characters. And the gore is not obscene, or in-your-face like many new horror releases, but it looks realistic and there is just enough that it looks like the actors are truly bleeding. However, the images would not have worked if the plot itself had not been frightening enough. While the idea of a "backpack" killer is hardly a "shocking, new idea!", the fact that this backpack killer is so friendly and personable is truly terrifying. The killer kindly offers help to the characters, gives the food and drink, the brutally tortures them.

The acting was also incredible. Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, and Nathan Phillips portray the anger and fear of the characters beautifully. They screamed and cried as if they were truly in pain. However, the movie was only effective because of one actor: John Jarratt. Jarratt starred as the crazed killer Mick and his ability to portray friendly and terrifying all at the same time was what caused the movie to frighten viewers around the world.

Wolf Creek is a brutal film and is not an easy movie to watch. However, if you can stomach the horrible torture scenes, it is truly a beautiful horror film.

-H

Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls is a horror movie based around the a town called Darkness Falls that has a very disturbing legend. Many years ago, a woman lived in the town and whenever a child lost a tooth they would bring it to her. One day, her house got on fire and she was severely burned. After that day she would only leave her house at night and she would always wear a scary porcelain mask. The townspeople became afraid of her and she was blamed for the disappearance of several of the local children. She was then hanged and she put a curse on the towns people. She said that what she used to do out of kindness (she's referring to taking the children's teeth) she would now do out of revenge. So basically, Darkness Falls is a horror movie based on the tooth fairy. While this sounds completely stupid, the movie was made very well and it provides with some serious scares.

Chaney Kley and Emma Caulfield, who have starred together on the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, play childhood friends Kyle and Caitlinwho are reunited after Caitlin's younger brother starts experiencing the same kinds of "night terrors" that Kyle had as a child. Kley and Caulfield both play their parts well considering neither of them have had many starring roles in films. Caulfield portrays her loving and caring character beautifully while Kley plays up his characters fear and paranoia. And above all, the two actors really connet with each other and with the young actor Lee Cormie who plays Caitlin's younger brother. While Kley and Caulfield are both incredible, the best actor in this movie would have to be Cormie. Only 11 at the time of the movie's release, Cormie delivers his lines with an intensity and sophistication that is usually only shown by more adult actors. His lines are one of the main reasons the movie is so disturbing. There is one specific scene where he whispers the line, "We're all going to die." It's not the actual words that he says but the way he delivers the line makes it one of the most disturbing lines in horror movie history.

However, the most incredible thing about Darkness Falls isn't the script or acting, but the visuals. There is one scene in particular that stands out in my mind. After seeing the tooth fairy kill someone he loves dearly, a young Kyle hides in a severely white bathroom with the black cloaked tooth fairy hovering over the door. The contrast between the white and black is incredibly striking and makes for one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie. Darkness Falls in an enjoyable movie that horror movie fans may laugh at at first, but after seeing this movie many, many times it is hard to overlook the disturbing concepts and ideas that are scattered throughout the plot.

-H

An American Crime

I watched An American Crime with H last week, and I'm still not exactly sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it's a creepily effective look into one of the worst crimes the state of Indiana has ever seen. On the other hand, the retelling gives us nothing new.

Ellen Page plays Sylvia Likens, a 16 year-old daughter of carnival workers. When her parents leave her and her sister with Gertrude Baniszewski's family while they travel with the carnival, they think she is being left in the hands of a kind, god-fearing woman. What they do not know is that Gertrude, played perfectly by Catherine Keener, is a psychopath who tortures Sylvia for no reason at all. Sylvia is kept locked in the basement, given little food and water, kicked, beaten, burned and branded by Gertrude, her children, and several neighborhood teens that have been invited to help in Sylvia's "punishment."

The strongest point this movie has is the strong performances each member of the cast puts in. I've only seen two of Ellen Page's movies, as you could guess one of those being 2007's Juno, the other being the quietly creepy Hard Candy, but all three performances have been superb. She played in turns a girl a guy dreams about in Juno, and a girl from a guy's nightmares in Hard Candy, she plays the helpless Sylvia very well. From about half-way into the movie until the end, her role does not allow for much more emotional depth than looking innocent and screaming, but Page still manages to make that look real. Catherine Keener also plays Gertrude perfectly. Her role called for someone more cool and collected than the usual psychopath and Keener delivered that. Her portrayal is more of a quiet killer, someone who is genuinely insane and believe that they are right, but still someone who would be a pleasure to meet and talk to. Keener definitely could have played this one up, coming across completely unhinged, but her low-key performance is perfect.

The movie's not-so-strong point is its script. I believe that it achieved what it was going for, but I would have preferred a bit more than that. What the writers intended was to give a stark, strictly-procedural view of the events. Much like Sylvia Likens, we have no idea how this terrible thing is happening or what can be done to stop it. The movie is strictly looking at the crime from the outside. It left me wanting a little more. Specifically; why was Gertrude doing this? What was her motive? How did this effect her and her children? What happened to the neighborhood kids who helped? What were they thinking and why did they do what they did?

An American Crime is certainly a shocking, gripping film, but it is a very cold one, having little emotional depth at all.

-J

The Best Horror Movie Villains

A horror movie would not be a horror movie if there wasn't some crazed lunatic trying to kill tons pf people. But many horror movies have different types of killers. There are the calculating killers who plan each murder and then there are the slashing killers who will kill anyone in sight. This list will show the10 best horror movie villains of all time.

10. Jigsaw (Saw)

Jigsaw is the villain in the Saw series. He is a calculating killer who tortures people as punishment for their sins. For example, in the first Saw movie, Jigsaw puts a man who has attempted suicide in a barbed wire trap where to escape he must keep cutting himself on the wire. Jigsaw believes that he's helping his victims get past their past problems by putting them in a situation where they must decide what they are willing to do to survive. However crazy Jigsaw may be, he is so high on this list because he never actually killed anyone. In his torture devices there is always a way for the person to live it just depends on how far they are willing to go to save their own lives.

9. Jason ( Friday the 13th, 2009)

Jason Voorhees drowned at Crystal Lake summer camp as a small boy. In the original, Friday the 13th Jason's mother did all the killing, but this was changed in the remake. Jason's mother dies within the first few minutes of the new movie which allows for him to kill whoever he wants. Like Jigsaw, Jason kills people who have committed some sort of sin. His victims are teenagers who are either drinking, doing drugs, having sex, or some other immoral act. He slowly stalks his victims while breathing heavily announcing his presence. However, the main reason Jason is such a bad killer is that he ignores all the potential weapons around him. In one scene, Jason had a perfectly good wood chipper to put his victims in and he chose to ignore the wood chipper and chases them around consequently allowing his victims to strangle him using the wood chipper making him a very stupid killer.

8. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Let me be honest, I feel asleep watching A Nightmare on Elm Street the first time I watched. Freddy Krueger just did not scare me. He was disgusting looking, but I think he look was a little over the top. It passed scary and just went into disgusting. And the fact that he was dead at the beginning of the movie just makes him seem even less dangerous. However, Freddy is still higher than Jason and Jigsaw because he kills people when they are the most vulnerable, in their sleep. More specifically, he kills people in their dreams and since people have no control over their dreams this makes him very powerful and creepy.

7. Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974)

Leatherface is creepy for three reasons: He seems mentally challenged, he wears a disturbing leather mask, and he carries around a huge chainsaw. Yeah mentally challenged and a huge chainsaw...usually not a good mix. And on top of that, he's a cannibal. And on top of that he kills people randomly. The teenagers he killed didn't do anything to him. They just happened to approach his house, and go inside, and trespass on his property, and probably just ruin his whole day so maybe they did deserve what they got. And besides, I would have tried to kill that one girl too, just to make her stop screaming like a maniac.

6. The Firefly Family (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects)

The Firefly family consist of Mother Firefly, Captain Spaulding, Otis Driftwood, Baby Firefly, and Tiny. They are a nice, loving family who truly care about each other. They live in a large house out in the country and may seem like an average family from the outside. But they are far from average, they are serial killers. They kill anyone who crosses their path and they will kill for any reason. They like to torture their victims and murder them in gruesome ways. For example, in The Devil's Rejects, a man is skinned and his wife is forced to wear his face as a mask. All the while, the Firefly family is laughing hysterically. They may sound crazy and disgusting, but they are so high on the list because there is something so cool and funny about them you just can't help but like them.

5. Michael Myers (Halloween)

Like Leatherface, Michael Myers is creepy because of the mask. No matter what mask he is wearing, Michael Myers will scare whoever he looks at. Not only that, but he is one of the rare slasher killers who is actually alive at the beginning of the movie which makes it a much more realistic plot than most movies of its kind. However, Michael Myers, like Jason and Jigsaw, doesn't just kill randomly. He kills people who have wronged him and kills many teens who have committed immoral acts likes drinking and sex. But, while the mask is terrifying, he is a slow moving, heavy breathing killer who an athletic teenager could easily run away from.

4. The Strangers (The Strangers)

Not only is this one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, the killers are probably the most terrifying killers out of any movie ever made. Many killers wear masks to keep their identity hidden, but usually the viewers know who the killer is. However, in the Strangers, the viewers are as clueless about the identity of the murderers as the victims and this makes the killers very mysterious and creepy. And the mask are pretty creepy looking too, but they are not really smart to wear when killing someone when you consider the fact that it makes the male killer sound like he's having an asthma attack. Maybe if he had cut himself a nose hole he could have done a more effective job at killing the people considering only one of the victims dies. But despite the breathing issues, the killers are very creepy. Two out of three of the killers are young women who look like they could be as young as fifteen and they both wear these creepy little doll-like masks. And to top it all off, the killers play a cat-and-mouse game with the victims, chasing them around the house, playing weird sounding music, and moving things around just enough to make things disturbing. However, their job of killing the people wasn't that difficult considering the fact that the victims just ran around the house like idiots leaving behind the big rifle and all the bullets in the closet. The scariest thing about the killers though is that they had absolutely no motive. They just picked a house and they would have killed anyone who was inside and they would have enjoyed it.

3. Ghostface (Scream)

Ghostface isn't your average killer. He isn't scary or even creepy looking. He makes jokes and plays trivia games with his victims. He asks them about horror movies and if they answer wrong he kills them. If they answer right, well, that didn't happen in the movie so I don't really know what he would have done. He probably would have killed them anyway though. What truly makes Ghostface different from most killers, though, is that he is actually two different people which cleverly explains how he can pop up in so many different places at one time. But there is one thing that actually makes him pretty creepy, one of the two killers has absolutely no motive at all. He is just a crazy young man who claims that "peer pressure" caused him to lose his mind and go on an insane killing spree. The other killer has a motive, but after watching the movie several times, I've come to the conclusion that even if he hadn't had a motive, he still would have turned into a psychopath. His love of horror movies caused him to believe his life was movie and caused him to lose his mind.

2. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)

Silence of the Lambs is more of a thriller than a horror movie, but I think Hannibal Lecter is still cool enough to be on this list. Hannibal Lecter was a brilliant psychiatrist who treated many patients. Then he turned into a psychopath himself. He turned into a cannibal. But he was a completely genius cannibal. He probably took his victims back to his apartment, discussed Shakespeare, then dined on their legs or eyeballs or brains. What makes Lecter incredible is how interesting and awesome he is while simultaneously being completely disturbing. His brilliant one-liners and disgusting puns all add to his cool demeanor. Hannibal Lecter aids in the capture of serial killer Buffalo Bill by assisting Agent Starling in her investigation. The almost sexual tension between Lecter and Starling is so obvious that it adds to Hannibal's creepiness by making him seem so human. But the fact that he is just so darn likable is what makes his character terrifying.

1. Norman Bates (Psycho)

Not to be too predictable or anything, but Norman Bates has to be number one on this list. There has never been another character as crazy as Norman Bates and there never will be. While the movie itself was not very scary, the idea of a grown man taking orders from his dead mother who is stuffed up in his house is just too disturbing. For when this movie came out, the plot is just so intense that it is easy to see why Norman Bates has scared so many people out of taking a shower. There's not much I can say about Norman Bates that hasn't already been said, but Bates is definitely the craziest, creepiest, most horrifying horror movie killer to ever scare people all around the world.


-H

What About Bob?

What About Bob? is a surprisingly unpredictable comedy. Released in 1991, What About Bob? stars Bill Murray as an obsessive-compulsive psychiatric patient who is basically afraid of everything. He is afraid to leave his house, but must do so to meet his new psychiatrist, Dr. Leo Marvin, played by Richard Dreyfuss. After learning his psychiatrist is leaving for vacation, Bob decides to follow along and have a nice vacation of his own. This leads to chaos in the Marvin family and loads of humorous situations. Many of the jokes in the movie are surprisingly witty for a PG family comedy. With minor use of slap-stick humor the movie provides some predictable jokes, but the use of sophisticated one-liners, sometimes involving mental illnesses, makes it truly hilarious. But not only is the movie funny, it is refreshingly family friendly. It provides laughs without crude or suggestive humor.

The best part of the movie, however, was not the humor but the acting abilities of Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray. Both were completely believable as their characters and both played the parts incredibly. Bill Murray was hilarious, but he also seemed like a truly nice yet insane man. Richard Dreyfuss, on the other hand, was somewhat of a jerk throughout the movie, but his harsh personality was believable and created some more subtle humor.

What About Bob? is an refreshing movie that can be enjoyed by anyone who wants a good, hearty laugh.

-H

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the sixth installment in the popular series following a young wizard as he tries to defeat the dark wizard, Voldemort, who killed his parents. Being an avid Harry Potter fan, there were a few things that bothered me by about the movie initially. There were many scenes that were taken out of the movie to cut down on the length and a few scenes that were added to further explain some key plot points. I understand that director David Yates couldn't put everything in the movie because of time, Half Blood Prince is the longest of the Harry Potter films at 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I do feel that some of the scenes that were cut out could have made the movie a little bit more enjoyable to the fans that have read the novels. For example, Yates cut out many of Dumbledore's memories about Tom Riddle. While not completely necessary, the memories are very interesting and would have let viewers learn more about Riddle's past. However, Yates did pick the most important of the memories to put into the movie and this will help viewers understand more about Voldemort.
The movie has several strong points, notably, the actors' performances. Choosing actors and actresses as young as the film makers did when the first movie was made is a tough proposition. One has to choose the ones that look like they will still be good actors and still fit the roles years down the line when later movies are made. I think they made the perfect choices for all of the actors. Everyone was excellent in their roles, not overplaying or underplaying anything. Jim Broadbent especially is a welcome addition to the series. An exceptional actor, but criminally-unknown in the states, Broadbent shone in his role as Professor Slughorn, giving a low-key performance that fit his role perfectly. Another standout actor was Helena Bonham Carter. Her role as Bellatrix suits her acting style perfectly and allows for her to act completely crazy and evil.
The cinematography was the best that the series has seen so far. New-to-the-series Bruno Delbonnel was the cinematographer for such movies as Across the Universe, Amelie, and A Very Long Engagement. The one shot in the movie that struck me especially was in the very end, with the death of a beloved character (I'm sure everyone already knows who it is, but I won't say anyway), the camera work came across as somber and respectful, never showing the character's face, instead focusing on the other character's grief and the dead character's hair. I hope he continues in the series through the last two movies.
Not only was this the longest of the Harry Potter series but it was by far the funniest. For being such a dark and disturbing book, the movie seemed almost light-hearted. There was a great amount of subtle humor and some scenes that were just obviously hilarious.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince may possibly be the best Harry Potter film to date. Fans of the books will truly love Yates' interpretation of the story, but the movie would be very difficult to understand with no knowledge of the books or previous films.

-J and H

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a gritty horror film that will leave viewers squirming in their seats. It is a gruesome and dirty film that relies more on implications than actual gore to provide shocks and fear. The story tells of five young adults who find a house out in the country. One by one they approach the house and are terrorized by a chainsaw wielding villain, Leatherface, wearing an oddly disturbing mask. Many of the deaths in the movie are not very surprising or scary. They are gruesome deaths but the viewer is able to see Leatherface coming and is not surprised. However, the movie does provide a few jumps and surprises.

The lack of surprise, however, doesn't make the movie any less frightening. While the plot is almost laughable in today's culture, it is easy to see how this movie must have terrified viewers when it was first released. Firstly, the villain was horrifying. Not only did Leatherface look scary, but the fact that his weapon of choice is a chainsaw expresses his love of brutality. Secondly, the plot was extremely disturbing for when it was made. Not only do the villains kill for the love of killing but they eat their victims. This is not bluntly stated, but is implied through many scenes. Lastly, the acting was very impressing for the time period. The actors interacted well with each other and the fear they portrayed was very realistic.

The director intended for the movie to have a PG rating. Because of this intention, he left out a great deal of objectionable content. There is no sex or drugs/alcohol in the movie and a minimal amount of cursing. However, the MPAA felt that the implied violence and gore would make such an impact with viewers that the film deserved an R rating. The MPAA was correct. The movie will leave viewers feeling disgusted and disturbed by the brutality presented in the film.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has inspired many modern horror movie directors like Rob Zombie and Alexandre Aja to make brilliant horror movies. It could also be considered the movie that inspired the slasher genre and the large, mask wearing villain that has been used in movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween. Without The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, many of the most highly-praised horror movies may have never been made. Without The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the horror genre would not be the amazing genre it is today.

-H

Science Fiction For the Beginner

Science Fiction is my favorite genre of film. I love sharing my favorite movies with my friends, however science fiction is one genre that is very difficult to just jump into without some prior sci-fi experience. Classics of the genre, like 2001: A Space Oddysey and Blade Runner are difficult to even understand if you've never seen or read anything like them before. So here I've compiled a list of the best science fiction movies for sci-fi beginners in the different subgenres. So here goes.


Apocalyptic Fiction

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The most popular apocalyptic future is the zombie apocalypse. Now zombie flicks can be a little intimidating to get into. There are few genres of film so dominated by small cult films. With the massive amount of zombie pictures out there, which do you start on? Shaun of the Dead is the perfect starting zombie movie. It has humor that is all-too-often lacking from the genre and you don't have to be a zombie fan to find it hilarious. It's easy to see why I consider Simon Pegg and Nick Frost one of the best comedic duos of all time.



Steampunk

City of Ember (2008)
At only around twenty years old, steampunk is one of the newest subgenres of science fiction. Steampunk normally describes fiction which shows a future where steam power and odler, typically 19th century era, technology is still in use for the creation of generally large and futuristic machines. An excellent example of steampunk is the novel Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, which describes the world as an apocalyptic wasteland with roving steam-powered predator cities who chase down smaller villages and cannibalize their parts to keep their city running. The recent City of Ember is the only accessible steampunk film made so far. Other examples of the genre include the Steamboy. That film is not featured in this post because I do not consider any kind of anime or manga to be anywhere close to accessible.



Time Travel

Doctor Who (2005)
I know it's not a movie, but the 2005 series of Doctor Who is the best beginner's time travel story. The show has been on the air since the 60s, but with the 2005 reboot, all of that backstory becomes unnecessary knowledge. The series can be picked up at any episode in its four season run and still be understood. This series has it all, humor, mystery, sometimes scares, and of course, there's time travel. The stories include ones going to the very end of the universe and even an episode featuring early twentieth century writer Agatha Christie. Absolutely something to check out for science fiction fans and non-fans alike.



Space Opera

Star Trek (2009)
Space opera is one of the most popular forms of science fiction that generally depicts a future involving multiple planet spanning empires and politics and generally involve multiple alien species. This is what most people think of when they hear the words science fiction. This subgenre includes the too-obvious-to-include-here choice of the original Star Wars trilogy. I chose not to include those films in this list because most of the population have already seen them, and if you haven't, you already have a dozen friends telling you that you must see them. This year's Star Trek reboot is an excellent starter's space opera. I have been a Star Trek fan for many years and I thought there would be too much backstory for the typical viewer, but H, my girlfriend, saw the movie with me, having never seen a single episode of Star Trek and still understood everything and thought, like me, that it was an excellent film.


Alternate Timelines

The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Movies about alternate timelines focus on how history could have been different if one small thing had been done differently. Common plots include what if the Confederates had won the war? and what if aliens had landed in World War II? The Butterfly Effect is a good movie about alternate timelines. In the movie, the hero has the ability to move back in time to change things in his past. Each time he goes back, he tries to fix everything in his current life by changing what he did in the past, but every time he tries, everything just gets worse.



Space Western

Serenity (2005)
Space Western is a peculiar form of science fiction. This genre tells stories that are set in space, yet still incorporate elements of a western. Serenity is based off of the television show Firefly, but no knowledge of the show is necessary to enjoy the movie. In the movie, the Serenity is a ship crewed by almost-outlaws who roam the outer limits of the galaxy looking for any kind of work they can find, whether it be smuggling or theft, or even occasionally something honest.



There's my list of the best beginner's science fiction films. I hope it enables someone out there to enjoy my favorite genre a little more.
-J

Cube

An odd mix of horror and science fiction, Cube will provide viewers with a very strange and unique experience. While I wouldn't necessarily say that Cube was a horror movie, it did have a very gruesome plot reminiscent of the Saw movies. Seven strangers with very dynamic personalities are locked into a cube-shaped maze that is full of deadly traps and surprises. Many of the first rooms shown in the movie use motion sensors to set off traps but as the strangers continue through the rooms chemical sensors and sound sensors are both used to further complicate the strangers journey through the maze. The strangers are seemingly innocent people who all have special knowledge that will help them reach the exit of the trap. Through a very complicated numbers system, the strangers figure out how the can go through the maze and remain safe. The plot is well-thought out and feels very realistic through it's knowledge of mathematical equations. The acting, however, is not up to par. At the beginning of the movie, the actresses are absolutely terrible. The two women are very over dramatic in their speech and in their movements. However, as the movie progresses, viewers will find that the actors are not much better. By the end of the movie, I came to the conclusion that the only truly inspiring actor in the film was David Hewlett who played a man very disappointed with his life and what he had accomplished. The actors are not completely at fault here. The script they had to work with was truly awful. The writers tried to make the script seem realistic, like real strangers making small-talk, but the lines come out as very shallow and out of place. However, if the actors had delivered the lines better the script may have worked the way the writers intended it too.
Despite the flawed acting and script, horror fans will enjoy the thrills and gore while Sci-fi fans will enjoy the intricate concept of the numbers in the plot. Cube provides many shocks and laughs and will be enjoyed by many viewers who appricitate a good story.

-H

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a true story of James J. Braddock, former heavyweight boxing champion. Braddock is a down and out boxer in the depression, desperate for any means back in the ring to keep his family off the streets. The movie is a success in that it is everything it was made to be. Director Ron Howard is a very capable director, having made several wonderful films, including A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, and Willow. He's also made a few duds, likehis live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and 2006's overrated The Da Vinci Code. Depending on how you look at Cinderella Man, it could be placed into either category.
In the pros corner, Cliff Hollingsworth's script hits all the right notes, tugging at the heartstrings at every opportunity. The film was made to be an oscar-winner and it shows. Sporting an inspiring story in a historical setting and overall good acting, Cinderella Man is a contender. Russel Crowe turns in an excellent performance as always, and Paul Giamatti is an good foil to Crowe. Both actors are always above average in every film they act in. Renee Zellweger is adequate in her large in theory, but small in impact role. As too often happens with Zellweger, she is given an atrocious accent, but she does an okay job of working with it. The cinematography is good enough, no complaints there, and the music was unobtrusive and stereotypical.
In the opposite corner is the movie's downfall, it's overbearing and hypocritical sentimentality. Throughout, the scripting feels manipulating and forced. When the action goes into slo-mo and the music rises in tone and volume, you know you're being played. This can be a good thing sometimes, many films succeed in playing upon your emotions and making a great moive, in Cinderella Man however, such an emphasis is put upon the emotions that the story just becomes one-dimensional and pointless. Braddock is turned into such a bleach-clean human being that you can't help but root for such a pure character. The villain, Max Baer, in the movie is the epitome of evil, heartlessly killing two opponents in the ring, while in real life, Baer was a good man who only killed one man accidentally and was sorrowful for the rest of his life, sending a part of each purse that he won to the man's family.
That said, I did enjoy the movie the first time that I saw it. It was only after another viewing that I started to dislike it. It's an adequate enough film, one-dimensional, but inspiring, just don't expect it to be something you want to see over and over again.
-J

Announcement!

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading this blog. It's so nice to get on everyday and see the new viewers! I would like to say a special thanks to a guy I know who has kindly offered to post a link for this blog on his blog. He writes a college basketball blog so if anyone is interested here is a link for his blog: http://www.mrncaab.blogspot.com.

Thanks again everyone for reading and my boyfriend and I will try to keep posting as much as we can.

-H

5 Best Comedies From the Last 5 Years

After completeing my 10 Best Horror Movies from the last 10 years, I decided to start working on a comedy list. However, I couldn't decide on 10 movies to put on the list so I decided to shorten it to the best 5 movies from the last 5 years. So here it goes:

5. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Directed by: P.J Hogan

Best Quote:

Rebecca Bloomwood: You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well that's what it's like when I see a store. Only it's better.

4.Superbad (2007)

Directed by:Greg Motolla

Best Quote:

Officer Michaels: How old are you McLovin?

Fogell: Old enough.

Fogell: Old enough for what?

Fogell: To party.

3. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Directed by: Kevin Smith

Best Quote:

[Zack and Delaney are having a conversation]

Customer: Hi, can I have a coffee? Black?

Delaney: Can't you see we talking, White?

2. Sex Drive (2008)

Directed by: Sean Anders

Best Quote:

Rick: Ease it back, man. That donut ain't f*****' around.

1. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Directed By:

Jonathan Dayton

Valerie Faris

Best Quote:

Frank: Good night Dwayne.

Dwayne: [scribbles on notepad] Don't kill yourself tonight.

Frank: Not on your watch Dwayne. I wouldn't do that to you.

Dwayne: [on notepad] Welcome to hell.

Frank: Thanks Dwayne. Coming from you that means a lot.

Well there are the top 5 comedies of the last 5 years! Hope you enjoyed it!

-H

Shutter

Let me begin by saying I'm not a very big fan of remakes of Japanese horror films. However, Shutter was surprisingly good. While not the scariest movie I've ever seen, it did offer some frightening scenes. By relying more on lighting than gore to create fear, Shutter allows for the viewer to feel true fear rather than disgust. The movie follows a recently married couple as they move to Japan for work. One their first night in Japan, they are driving along the road when the run into a young Japanese woman standing in the road. This accident is only the beginning of many frightening accidents and experiences that happen throughout the movie. I was truly surprised by the depth of this movie. The plot was not some superficial love story gone wrong, but a story of confusion and lies that leaves the viewer wondering what really caused all of the young couples problems. With a shocking twist ending, Shutter will shock and surprise many viewers.

The story, however, is not all that makes this movie so scary. The visuals are stunningly scary for a horror movie remake. There is one scene in particular that was very creative with the visuals. The young man is in his photo studio and the lights turn out. It's completely black in the studio but then his camera begins to go off. And by the light of the camera we can see the ghost of a young woman crawling around the room. The creative lighting in this scene causes it to be very suspenseful.

I was very surprised that I enjoyed this film because as I have said before, I'm not a big fan of American remakes of foreign horror films but this movie was very creative and shockingly disturbing.

-H

Seven Pounds

A beautiful mix of romance and mystery, Seven Pounds is a love story unlike any other. Will Smith once again proves himself to be any amazing actor by portraying a young man overcome with guilt and grief after a tragic accident. To deal with his emotions, he searches for people who he can help through life threatening situations. His perseverance and strength are truly inspiring and make this film beautiful.

With some mildly disturbing scenes, this movie provides the viewer with suspense and a little mystery that you can try to solve while watching. The dialogue adds to the mystery by being very vague, allowing the viewer to draw their own interpretation of what is being said.

However, what truly makes this movie amazing is not the mystery or even the dialogue: the romance truly makes this movie. It is a love story unlike any other love story ever filmed. It shows how much love can influence a person in their life and their decisions with a very dark twist. It brings up many questions about how much a person is willing to sacrifice for the ones they love and how far a person will go to atone for their sins.

-H

Primer

Primer is a strange little movie about Aaron and Abe who run their own electronics company out of their garage. During one project, the two accidentally create a time machine. Sounds like a simple premise, but the movie is much less than simple.Moving backwards and forwards in time, with unexpected paradoxes, and technical jargon that would confuse a career physicist, this is not what I would call a simple movie. But that is precisely why it's so good. Shane Carruth, the writer, director, producer, music-composer, and cinematographer, pulls no punches with the technical talk. A former mathematician and engineer himself, he decided that actual science language would sound more real to the audience than anything he could have made up, so as a result of that, much of the explanation for the machine in the movie is completely incomprehensible. The plot is just as bad. After my first viewing, I am extremely confused as to some of the events, I don't think I would understand it fully with five viewings. The unconventional narrative is intended however, Shane Carruth says that he wanted to give a feeling for how a time paradox would actually work, that he wanted the audience to be just as confused as the characters feel. With both of those provisos, I still applaud the makers of Primer for an outstanding achievement. Working with only $7,000 and a crew of five, Primer ended up looking professional and feeling like something from a more well-known director, maybe Stanley Kubrick. The movie does have some similarities to his classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Being a fan of science-fiction, I've seen dozens of movies that go for main-stream appeal with flashy effects and otherworldly machines. Primer brings scifi back down to Earth. The story feels real, almost like something that could actually happen. I want to see what this team could make with a larger budget. Though this film is dense and only recommended for someone who really wants some brains with their scifi, I thought Primer was an excellent movie.
-J

Watchmen

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to see Zack Snyder's adaptation of Alan Moore's classic graphic novel, Watchmen. I can't say I'm overly impressed, but I will say I'm reasonably impressed. The movie centers on five aging "super"-heroes that are long past their prime. Set in an alternate 1985, where Richard Nixon is in his third term of office and our heroes have helped to win the Vietnam War. An excellent opening credits montage shows the heroes in their prime as they fight crime, winning the adoration of the public, and it shows them as they begin to age and some die and slowly lose the nation's praise. Heroes are outlawed, the only one left still working is a mysterious masked man calling himself Rorschach. The visuals of the movie are beautiful, I wish I could have seen it while it was still in the theater. Zack Snyder captured the look and fell of the source material almost perfectly. It's been some years since I've read the book, but certain images still stood out in my mind and I was instantly reminded of them when I saw them in the film. The plotting was the movie's weak point. It remained mostly very true the the original, but it didn't work nearly as well in visual form as literary. Watching the movie, I was several times confused as to who certain characters were, especially in the beginning. That worked in the novel, but in a movie, it worked less well. I was able to follow the plot almost completely, but I think that anyone who has never read, or even heard of it, as is normally the case, will have great difficulty following along. The dialogue was excellent, especially what was taken from the book. Alan Moore is an excellent writer and watching this movie I was reminded often of his other work, V for Vendetta, on of my favorite movies. Like V for Vendetta, Watchmen is mostly dialogue and a little action, but for this movie, it works. V for Vendetta however, is only a bit over two hours long, while Watchmen is quite a bit longer. I watched the director's cut, which was over three hours long. That's Watchmen's other major shortcoming, it just feels too long. Toward the end I just wanted it to get on with things and get to the climax, which was slightly anti-climactic, but makes sense, given the rest of the movie. Overall, I would recommend this movie for fans of the graphic novel, or of comics in general. It looks great and sounds great, but is not for the casual viewer. This is a movie for serious viewers.
-J

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Referred to as a true "coming of age" movie, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is one of those rare movies that parents and children alike will enjoy. Released in 1989, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure tells of two teenage boys who travel through time in order to pass their final exam in history. They meet many historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, and even Billy the Kid. The story is entertaining but could also be considered mildly educational. For parents, the movie will give you a chance to teach your children who all of the historical figures in the movie are and what they are famous for. And the great part is children will not even realize they are learning anything.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this movie is it's lack of drama. Many movies today just have so much drama it's hard to enjoy them. From fights between family members in some comedies to deaths of loved ones in many animated movies, children's movies are sometimes hard to truly enjoy because some parts are so sad or stressful. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is a great example of a movie that is enjoyable without relying on sadness to create depth in the plot. The script of this movie is what makes it incredible. The dialogue is hilarious and Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter both play the part of the dumb teenager excellently.

-H