Reviews

I'm always wary of hype, particularly with foreign films as there's always an implied "movie snob" air to some of it, but in this rare case it's totally justified. THE best vampire movie and probably the best movie I've seen in a few years. Actually it is much more than a vampire movie, with equal parts coming-of-age, revenge and love.

Cold, quiet and depressing, yet really touching with many scenes that stick with you. The two lead child actors are just amazing. They're able to convey so much just with expressions and movements that words aren't even necessary. I could watch the "come in uninvited scene" alone over and over again. Another fine point is the way some things aren't spelled out directly for us, allowing us to interpret as we see fit, as in the final scene. The filmmakers allow you to end it the way you feel it should.

For the gore-hounds, the grue is here as well, but it's more tasteful than there for sheer shock value (though it's well appreciated in the final scenes, that's for sure!). I'm trying to remember the last time I've seen children killing and being killed on screen in some fairly graphic depictions and it's definitely escaping me. This seems to be a taboo subject in American films, but I glad for the open-mindedness of others as it works in the context this film.

This is a movie that you will constantly be thinking about after seeing it and that is definitely the sign of a memorable piece of work. Everything comes together. Story, cinematography, setting, pace, direction. The whole package. My highest recommendation!

This is one of those movies from the studio known to put out similarly titled and themed DVD's to conveniently coincide with the real studio release movie. In this case we get When a Killer Calls, ripping on the Sony remake of When A Stranger Calls (2006). The movies are about an isolated teen babysitter getting terrorized by a prank caller. While Stranger was rated PG-13, Killer is unrated offering up graphic violence, nudity and language. Killer is obviously low budget, with passable-at-best special effects for the gore, though the acting is surprisingly decent for the most part. The storyline differs just enough from Stranger to keep them from getting sued, but it's your standard cliché slasher fare. I was expecting MUCH worse though.

I'm kinda surprised that names like John Cusack and Morgan Freeman would be associated with such a pedestrian film as this. Then again their names were the only reason I picked this up, so maybe the studio's ploy worked, and it's actually their performances that saved it from being unwatchable.

Cusack is having father/son issues with the teen after his wife passes away from cancer. In an attempt to devote some "quality time" and bond with his son they go on a camping trip in the Washington state wilderness. Unfortunately for them, rogue CIA spook Freeman happens to be en route to prosecution in that area when his mercenary buddies try to free him. The escape scenario doesn't go as smoothly as planned and Freeman ends up in the unwanted "custody" of Cusack (who just happens to be an ex-cop turned teacher) with the help of an errant handgun. In the middle of the nowhere they look to evade the trailing mercanaries and get to safety.

There are way too many implausiblities and clichés in the story to make this a good film (e.g., why wouldn't Cusack just take Freeman's advice and the gun, leave and not put his son in harm's way?). The meeting of the other hiking couple was totally unnecessary and felt tacked on just to try to add some drama at the last scene. The action was OK, but rote and implausuble again. But at least we get some nice scenery and decent performances from the leads, so if you're fans of theirs, as I am, you may want to give this a rent.

A nice little film that elicits a wonderful and (thankfully) restrained performance from Michael Douglas as a recent mental institute release who believes a long lost treasure is located underneath the local Costco. His 17 year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) has somehow managed to get on with life on her own through some bureaucratic foster home snafu, and has adjusted to eking out a simple life without her parents. When her Dad gets released after a few years in the loony bin, she has to slowly readjust to his presence and is not certain he is actually "cured", as he spouts off about buried treasure and naked Chinamen. But is there some truth to his wild claims? There are some good laugh-out-loud moments here and well as some emotional ones, though there is a slight depressing feel through the movie. Evan Rachel Wood, gives another great performance with a chemistry with Douglas that just gels.

And yet another entry into the waning torture porn genre, which I'll admit I'm a fan of. I mean come on, who doesn't enjoy watching someone get a hydrochloric acid shower or force-fed a blended body parts concoction through a funnel? :) This particular one has the definite feel of the Saw franchise, as we watch a stuck-up model psychologically and physically abused through the voyeuristic eyes of the captor/psycho via impossibly elaborate technical setups. As she bonds with another captive in the adjacent "cell" they attempt to escape a certainly unpleasant demise.

I'll give credit to Cuthbert who definitely seems to give it her all considering the type of film this is, which could certainly allow for some slumming giving her mid-level career stature. If the ending weren't so ludicrous, I may have ranked it even higher.

Though named The Hills Have Eyes 2, this sequel is not a remake of the original Hills Have Eyes 2 sequel from 1985, unlike the original Hills Have Eyes remake which was. Confused? Doesn't matter. This is just another entry into the torture porn genre. It won't win any awards, but it will deliver the grue in spades.

A group of impossibly good-looking reservists are sent out to the secret Army desert site for training. Eventually they meet up with the local mutants up in the mountains and abandoned mines, which doesn't work out to well for the grunts, to put it mildly. That's pretty much the story, so it's just up to us to try to guess who will survive the ordeal and await the next gruesome dispatching. Definitely not up to the original remake, which was pretty damn good, but if you're in the mood for no-brainer graphic violence this will fit the bill nicely.

Another of the rare breed of sequels-better-than-the-original movies, A Very Brady Sequel continues with the idea of the 70's Brady's being stuck in the present (in this case, the mid-90's) from the first film. While the original movie was very funny (grunge music nonwithstanding), the total lack of a plot was a pretty obvious hole.

This time around we're actually treated to a decent storyline (as relative as can be to the entire Brady aura, that is) involving Mrs. Brady's first, long-lost husband, Roy. This adds a whole additional avenue for laughs as we now have an straight outsider thrust directly into the everyday realm of the Bradys. As he tries to enact his nefarious scheme, he's dragged kicking and screaming through their loopy antics, breakout songs and Mr. Brady's lectures.

The same Brady cast returns and they're as spot-on as ever. A bulk of the laughs continue to go to insecure Jan, as she tries to convince everyone she's a viable person. A new "incest" angle is introduced between Greg and Marcia ("Does this mean we're not really brother and sister?") that plays very well throughout. Tim Matheson is an excellent addition as Roy Brady, and he gets some scene stealing parts as well, particularly when he ends up "tripping with the Bradys".

While Sam seems to have disappeared in this one, we do see a couple of other Brady icons who seemed to have been missed in the first movie, though blink and you'll miss them. Surprisingly no real-life cameos in this one.

As with the first movie, the more familiar you are with the TV series the more you will enjoy this movie. If you've never watched the Bradys then you'll probably want to skip these movies as most of the laughs are derived from inside references to the episodes, but if you have, then this is highly recommended and one of my faves.

Being just born when the show originally ran, I probably had last seen The Brady's back in the late 70's, early 80's during reruns on TV and had only remembered bits and pieces since then. Snippets like Bobby saving a girl from a falling shelf, orange hair and some sort of model volcano explosion. Nothing very distinctive at all. So when the movie came out in '95, I gave it a shot and didn't like it at all. It just seemed like another fish-out-of-water movie, and the jokes were of the inside type, which was to be expected for a movie based on a TV show. They just weren't funny. So I dismissed the movie (which apparently was pretty popular) and didn't even bother with it's sequel, which came out the next year.

Fast forward ten years to 2005. Thanks to the wonders of TV-on-DVD, I took another shot and bought the 1st season of The Brady Bunch and immediately got hooked. As I watched the episodes,those snippets suddenly became cohesive and the memories flowed back in. The warm, fuzzy, memories of a "simpler" time with the impossibly perfect family. As I eagerly awaited the subsequent season releases over the next year and a half, I held off on giving The Brady Bunch Movie a second chance until I had seen every episode again. I'm glad I did. Basically what I'm trying to say is that you definitely need to be familiar with the show, to fully appreciate the movie(s).

As I mentioned previously the movie takes the fish-out-of-water, squeaky-clean 70's Brady's and places them in the 90's. While you get your usual riffs on the culture clash enveloped in a pedestrian plot (albeit, their oblivious attitude is good for some laughs), the real comedic meat comes from the spoofing of the show. Swollen noses, squeaky voices, inner monologues, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia", the life lessons, the clothes, breaking into song. It's all there in their glorious cheesiness, deftly presented by the cast, with special kudos going to the spot-on portrayals of Mr. & Mrs. Brady, Marcia, Jan & Alice. Actually Ben Stiller probably says to himself every day, "I can't believe I landed Marcia Brady!" Christine Taylor IS Marcia Brady. And look for some great cameos as well.

Good, hilarious fun for Brady fans. Of course after this, I just had to run out and get A Very Brady Sequel, which is even better! Incest! The real Mr. Brady! Cousin Oliver! Oh my!

Wishing to be free from the contemporary world, Jack and his teen-aged daughter Rose live virtually self-sufficiently and alone on a small island off the East Coast.

However, all is not well in his utopia lately, as his health is failing rapidly and housing developments are beginning to encroach on his borders. It is now that he is realizing that being cloistered away may not be in the best interests of everyone, triggered by Rose's frighteningly sincere revelation to kill herself when he dies and the inappropriate feelings he is beginning to feel for her. His decision to enlist the help of his mainland squeeze and her two sons to come and stay on the island to "help out" does not go over well with Rose and she certainly does little to hide that fact. As this shaky "experiment" progresses, it leads to both tragic and life-changing events to all those involved.

This is all handled exquisitely by the players here, in particular Daniel-Day Lewis. It's a shame he doesn't work more often, because virtually every role he's been in is Oscar-worthy and this is no exception. You can just feel his pain (both mentally and physically) and concern for the well-being of Rose with his expressions as evidenced in his breakdown at Marty Rance's house. Great stuff and a great movie.

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the IMDb to see what D.B. Sweeney had been up to lately. Looking through his recent spotty filmography, Speak came up. I read the synopsis and it seemed like something I might enjoy, story-wise and cast-wise (big fan of Steve Zahn as well and was fairly impressed with Stewart's role in Panic Room). I decided to give it a shot and was glad I did, as it has given me quite a memorable movie experience.

Melinda Sordino (Stewart) is a high school freshman, who was once a bright, happy student. One night a terrible event occurs that instantly changes that and simultaneously ostracizes her from her peers. School, is now a torment for her as she has no one to relate to or confide in (her parents (Sweeney & Elizabeth Perkins) are caring but unaware of her issue and oblivious to her). She regresses and rarely speaks to anyone, even to the few who try to reach out to her. One person does manage to break through, her new art teacher, Mr. Freeman (Zahn), who gets Melinda to slowly express her emotions through her art projects. She tries to regain the confidence to open back up and ultimately break free of the shell she has created for herself.

This movie is definitely not a feel-good flick, but the screenplay (adapted from the same-titled book) affords some light moments (usually from Melinda's observations through her inner monologue and rare interactions in the classroom). Stewart is truly the revelation here as she perfectly nails the depressed and isolated role of Melinda and can deftly handle the couple of pretty harrowing incidents that occur. She is definitely one to watch for in the future. Zahn, usually cast for comedic parts, pulls off his best performance. The scene towards the end of the movie between Mr. Freeman and Melinda in her "safe place", was enough to bring me to tears, even though there were barely any words spoken. Just perfect.

Wow. What a great flick. I daresay it may even be better than the original. I say may, because the final scenes are a bit of an unnecessary letdown considering the buildup. While at first I thought I would miss Ginger, I realized her parts in this were pretty superfluous and could've been left out, since Bridgette was very capable of handling the film on her own. Of course then you couldn't have matching DVD covers. Atmosphere is way ramped up on this one (even the opening credits gave me the creeps, ugh) and the soundtrack definitely adds to the dread. A few nice scares and gore shots. This one was much more depressing than the first, which in my book is never a bad thing.